Blue Cheese and Bacon Shortbread

Its holiday season again somehow.  I was invited to a cookie exchange and tree trimming last night so cookie ideas have been buzzing around in my head all week.  I thought that it might be good to bring something with a little protein to compliment all the sugar and champagne I was sure to consume.  This recipe is one that my friend Ellen has been tantalizing me with for months so I've been looking for an excuse to try them out.  I think that the crowd was happy for a tasty little treat that helped lessen the blood sugar spike. 

Blue Cheese and Bacon Shortbread
Adapted from Sips and Apps by Kathy Casey (Chronicle Books, 2009)

makes 3-4 dozen bite-sized cookies 
¾ cup pecans (about 2 ½ to 2 ¾ ounces)
4 strips bacon, minced  (about ½ cup, packed)
Salted butter, as needed to make ½  cup with bacon drippings (about ¾ of a stick)
1 cup crumbled bleu cheese (about 4 ¾ ounces)
1 teaspoon fresh thyme (1/4 teaspoon dried)
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour


1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.  
2.  Spread nuts on rimmed baking sheet and bake until lightly toasted, about 5 to 6 minutes.  Let cool and then coarsely chop.
3.  In a medium skillet over medium to medium-high heat, sauté the minced bacon until crispy, about 5 minutes; do not scorch.  Drain the drippings into a heatproof measuring cup and reserve the bacon separately.  Let cool.  To the cooled bacon drippings, add butter as needed to make ½ cup total.
4.  In a medium bowl, cream the bleu cheese, thyme and pepper together.  Add the butter mixture and mix in well.  Add the flour and mix the dough for about two minutes.  Add the bacon and nuts and mix until just evenly combined.  
5.  Divide the dough in half and roll each half into a log with a diameter the size of a quarter.  Cover the logs with plastic wrap and place in the fridge.  Chill for at least half an hour, but preferably overnight.
6.  Slice the logs into ¼  inch thick slices and place on parchment lined cookie sheets.  Bake cookies for about sixteen minutes at 350 F, rotating sheets halfway through to ensure even baking.  Cool on the sheets.  


Notes:


- Cookies are very crumbly with this list of ingredients.  Recommend try Shirley Corriher’s recommendation in Bakewise:  create gluten in the flour prior to adding it to the fat.  Stir in  about 1 ½ teaspoons water to the flour prior to mixing it with the other ingredients; it will have some little lumps, but they will disappear when added to the other ingredients. 

Sweet Potato-Rutabaga Soup with Bacon and Blue Cheese Crouton

This fall has been a particularly balmy one, with Thanksgiving in the 60's bizarrely. This means I save soup-making for escapes to the country, where there is a definite chill in the air. This is a hearty soup that makes a fine dinner, served with an arugula salad and a nice glass of Macon-

Village Chardonnay. I added the rutabaga because I got them from my CSA and thought that they would work well with the sweet potatoes. If you want to make this vegetarian, you could replace bacon with tempeh bacon, but I think the smoky flavors compliment the sweetness of the soup

quite well.

Sweet Potato-Rutabaga Soup with Bacon and Blue Cheese Crouton

Serves 6

2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and large diced

1/2 pound rutabaga, peeled and large diced

2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup shallot, fine diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

6 cups vegetable broth

sprigs of thyme, sage, and rosemary

Salt and white pepper to taste

3 strips of bacon

baguette slices

4 oz blue cheese

2 tablespoons hazelnut oil

1. Heat olive oil in a soup pot and saute shallots and garlic over medium heat until soft, about 6 minutes.

2. Add broth, potatoes, rutabaga, and herbs and simmer until the potatoes and rutabaga are soft.

3. Turn off heat and let cool a bit. Puree in batches in a blender or food processor. Return soup to cleaned pot to reheat.

4. Fry bacon until crispy and transfer to paper towel to blot excess oil.

5. Put baguette slices on a baking sheet and top with blue cheese. Broil on low until cheese melts.

6. Put soup in soup bowls; top with bacon and blue cheese baguette slices. Drizzle a little hazelnut oil on soup.

Winter Vegetable Gratin

One of my favorite things about Thanksgiving is the hearty, savory side dishes. This year, I was a guest at the big feast and was tasked with bringing a side. I love sweet potatoes but wanted something a little more savory and less sweet. This dish highlights the gems of the season, all in one very tasty dish.

Winter Vegetable Gratin

5 tbsp butter, divided

3 garlic cloves

3 bunches red-veined Swiss Chard

10 oz white potato, peeled and sliced into 1/8 inch rounds

10 oz sweet potato peeled and sliced into 1/8 inch rounds

1 lb butternut squash peeled and sliced into 1/8 inch pieces

1 bunch thyme

1/3 cup minced shallots

3 cups 2% milk

5 tbsp flour

salt and pepper to taste

3 oz (3/4 cup shredded) Parmigiano-Reggiano

½ cup gruyere cheese

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Sauté garlic lightly with 1 tbsp butter; add swiss chard and sauté until wilted. Add salt to taste. Put in fine mesh strainer and press to remove liquid.

3. Melt 4 tbsp butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add shallots and garlic; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Weigh or lightly spoon 1.1 ounces (about 1/4 cup) flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Add to pan; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk. Stir in thyme. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly with a whisk; cook over medium heat until slightly thick (about 3 minutes), stirring constantly. Stir in Parmigiano-Reggiano; cook 3 minutes or until cheese melts. Stir in salt and peppers. Remove from heat.

3. Arrange potatoes, chard and squash in alternating layers with a very thin layer of sauce in between in a broiler-safe 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray; spoon sauce over potato mixture. Top with Gruyère. Bake covered in foil at 375° for 40 minutes.

4. Uncover and bake another 15 minutes, or until the top is brown and bubbly and the veggies soft. Let stand 10 minutes.

Grilled Kale Salad with Garlic-Anchovy Dressing

I became somewhat fixated by re-creating the Grilled Kale Caesar Salad that they have at Back Forty in the East Village. The grilling made the edges of the kale crisp and toasty and the leaves were coated in a thick, intensely garlic-y dressing. Its like a fantastic Caesar on steriods and its completely addictive. I have now made it two days in a row and am convinced that it can rival the Back Forty version, hands down.

Grilled Kale Salad with Garlic-Anchovy Dressing


1 bunch of kale
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Garlic-Anchovy Dressing

1. Cut stalks of kale off and then trim out the harder parts of each leaf's stalk, keeping the leaves as in tact as possible. Wash well and spin dry.

2. Put in a bowl and toss with olive oil to coat all leaves lightly.

3. Heat up grill or cast-iron grill pan to medium-low. Grill leaves until they are just brown at the edges and tender. Grill in batches. If you are grilling on an open grill, you will want to use a grill pan so the leaves don't fall through.

4. Tear large leaves into smaller pieces. Toss with the Garlic-Anchovy dressing and top with breadcrumbs and cheese. Serve warm or room temperature.


Garlic-Anchovy Dressing


5 tbsp anchovy paste
2 garlic cloves, diced
1 tbsp Dijon-style mustard
1 egg yolk
3 tbsp  red wine vinegar
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Puree first 6 ingredients until well-blended. Gradually add olive oil in a stream until incorporated. Transfer dressing to a storage container, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Dark Chocolate-Chile Mousse

This mousse is a luscious vegan dessert and I love that you can’t tell that it’s vegan or mostly avocado. The touch of chile peppers adds a nice zing which cuts through the creaminess of the chocolate.

It finished our meal at the dinner that Kiki and I did at the Natural Gourmet Friday Night Dinner and it was big hit. The portion size should be small, between ¼ and ½ cup, because its so rich.

Dark Chocolate-Chile Mousse with Cashew Crème and Sweet Cinnamon Tortilla Crisps

Dark Chocolate-Chile Mousse

4 servings

2 large Hass avocados (about 2 cups diced)

1/2 plus 2 tbsp maple syrup

2 tblsp agave

2 tblsp coconut oil

4 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste

garnish of pomegranite seeds and toasted pine nuts

1.    Dice avocados.

2.    Place all ingredients other than cayenne pepper in mixer or processor.

3.    Blend until smooth.

4.    Season to taste with cayenne pepper.

Garnish

Seeds from one pomegranite

Toasted pine nuts

Southwestern Squash Soup with Spiced Pepitas and Tofu Crema

Southwestern Squash Soup with Spiced Pepitas and Tofu Crema

Serves 10

1 small onion, diced

2 garlic cloves,minced

3 tbsp olive oil

1 celery , diced

1 carrot,diced

2  tsp cumin

1 1/2 tsp ancho chili powder

1/2 tsp Spanish smoked paprika

1/4 tsp white pepper

2 tbsp lime

1 can coconut milk

6 cups diced butternut squash, tossed in EVOO, s&p and roasted (about 4 lbs of squash)

8 cups veg stock

Spiced Pepitas (recipe to follow)

Tofu crema (recipe to follow) or sour cream

Saute onions and garlic in olive oil until transclucent. Add celery and carrot and continue sautéing until tender. Add spices and mix well and sauté until spices are fragrant.

Add roasted squash and broth and simmer for 15 minutes.

Let cool a bit and process in a blender until smooth. Add lime, coconut milk, salt and white pepper to taste. Add extra broth if needed to thin. Heat gently and serve with spiced pepitas and tofu crema or sour cream.

Spiced Pepitas

10 servings (on soup)

1 cup raw pepitas

1 tbsp sea salt/ 

½ tbsp ancho chile powder

½ tbsp smoked paprika

½ tbsp cumin

½ tbsp chipotle powder

2 tbsp canola oil

Preheat oven to 350. Toss pepitas in oil; mix spices together and then coat the nuts. 


Put on baking pan and toast 7-10 minutes. 


Remove from pan and cool. Sprinkle on soup to finish. 

Tofu Sour Cream

Yield:  1 1/2 cups or 24 tbsp

Serving Size: 1tbsp

4 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp lime juice

1 pound firm tofu, drained

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tbsp canola or safflower oil

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1. Crumble tofu and transfer to blender.

2. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.

3. Add salt and white pepper, to taste

Friday Night Dinner at The Natural Gourmet Institute: TONIGHT!

Tonight is the dinner that Kiki and I are doing at the Natural Gourmet.  We are working with an excellent crew of students so its going to be excellent! Come join us!

There is one 6:30pm seating. Its a three course meal and its BYOB so its the best deal in town for $40. There is still a few reservations available  so call 212-645-5170 (ext 0) to reserve a spot. Visa, Master Card, and American Express are accepted

Southwestern Butternut Squash Soup with Tofu Crema and Spiced Pepitas   

Grilled Orange-Ancho Glazed Portobello Mushrooms over Pinto Bean, Roasted Poblano, Spinach Ragout 

with Cilantro-Infused Quinoa and Jicama-Red Cabbage Slaw 

  

Spicy Dark Chocolate Pudding with Nut Crème and Sweet Cinnamon Tortilla Crisp

Heirloom Apple, Green Chile, and Roasted Pinon Nut Relish

Heirloom Apple, Green Chile, and Roasted Pinon Nut Relish

(yields 8 pint sized mason jars)

Good as an accompaniment to roasted chicken or pork. Also good in a quesadilla with gruyere or swiss cheese.

1 large red onion, diced neatly

8 medium sized red skinned heirloom apples, diced neatly and tossed with 1/2 cup of the apple cider vinegar

2 T. olive oil

1 cup apple cider vinegar, divided

4 cups roasted, peeled, and diced hot NM green chile and sweet red chile

2 cups whole pinon nuts, toasted until golden

6 cups reduced heirloom apple cider

1 Tblsp kosher salt

Quickly saute the diced red onion in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil until crisp-tender and deglaze with 1/2 cup of the apple cider vinegar. Stir the onions quickly then remove them to a small stainless steel pot.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of live oil then quickly saute the diced apples, also to crisp-tender.

Add the sauteed apples and all the remaining ingredients to the pot wit the onions and stir well. Taste the relish for salt and adjust if necessary.

The relish can be cooled and refrigerated and used witin one week or canned according to the canning directions on the Mason Jar package.

Concord Grape Mousse Parfaits

The CSA I belong to provides many opportunities for creative culinary thinking. This summer my challenge was green beans and squash and how to use them in different ways each week when tons arrived so that I didn't get sick to death of them. I mean, really, a pound of green beans each week? Oy.

This fall, my challenge is concord grapes and pears. I'll highlight
some of the recipes that were my favorites on my blog this fall.

Coming up, Pear and Pecan Bread...yum.

I was inspired by Deborah Madison to find an interesting way to use these grapes. They have so many seeds that I don't enjoy eating them raw so I wanted to find something to do with them.  Deborah made an amazing concord grape pie as part of the Santa Fe Culinary Tour lunch that was delicious but very time-consuming. I was looking for more simplicity and her Local Flavors cookbook had just the solution with this mousse. The colors are striking and it tastes surprisingly light and fresh. Adding the nuts gives it a bit of a PB&J-like flavor but I personally think that's a good thing....

Concord Grape Mousse Parfaits
Serves 4

1 quart container of concord grapes, de-stemmed
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup turbinado sugar
2 tablespoons of lemon
2 tablespoons agar agar (or one envelope of gelatin)
2 egg whites

1 pint of whipped cream
Mint sprigs (optional)
1/4 cup crushed cashews (optional)

Rinse grapes and put in saucepan with water, sugar and lemon. Simmer on
medium heat until grapes break down and become soft, about 6-10 minutes.
Pour the mixture into a chinois or fine-mesh strainer, over a mixing bowl
and mash the grapes to remove all of the juices.

Put juice back into saucepan and add agar or gelatin and simmer and stir until dissolved. Pour
into a container to cool and then cover and refrigerate until set firmly.

Scoop jelled juice into food processor and whip until smooth. Beat two egg
whites until you get soft peaks and then fold into whipped grape mixture
completely. Whip cream until light and fluffy.

Put alternating layers of grape mousse and whipped cream into parfait
glasses. Cover and chill about 2 hours. Top with crushed cashews and mint
to serve.

Upcoming Chef's Tasting Dinner at The Natural Gourmet

I wanted to let you all know that I will be making a Southwestern meal as a guest chef at the Natural Gourmet Culinary Institiute, as part of their Friday Night Dinner programs. 

The date is Friday, November 6th and there is one 6:30pm seating. Its a three course meal and its BYOB so its the best deal in town for $40. Reservations are REQUIRED so call 212-645-5170 (ext 0) to reserve a spot. Visa, Master Card, and American Express are accepted

Southwestern Butternut Squash Soup with Tofu Crema and Spiced Pepitas    

Grilled Orange-Ancho Glazed Portobello Mushrooms over Pinto Bean, Roasted Poblano, Spinach Ragout 

with Cilantro-Infused Quinoa and Jicama-Red Cabbage Slaw 

   

Spicy Dark Chocolate Pudding with Nut Crème and Sweet Cinnamon Tortilla Crisp