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  • Z's Potato Salad

    Salad:

    • 3 lbs potatoes, scrubbed and cut into half inch cubes
    • chopped green olives
    • a few hard boiled eggs
    • handful of chopped roasted red peppers (we roast our own and freeze them in the fall)
    • a scoop of capers
    • fresh carrots, diced up mini
    • fresh peas or greens or any other veggie (colored cauliflower is great)
    • Fresh herbs (cilantro, dill, basil, thyme, tarragon, anything you like, in any combination)

    Steam or boil the cubed spuds until just tender (don't overcook! they keep cooking even after you drain the water). Add the rest of the ingredients to the drained spuds.

    Dressing:

    I always wing it, but I usually do some combo of the following in the blender to taste:

    • glug of olive oil
    • a couple big spoonfuls of mayo or vegenaise
    • splash of tamari (soy sauce
    • little glug of vinegar (cider or red wine is good)
    • plop of sweet pickles & their juices (we make our own in the fall and our recipe includes onions)
    • salt
    • pepper
    • dash of Cranky Baby Hot Sauce

    Blend. Pour over the potato mixture and mix together.

  • Fresh Pea Soup

    Fresh Pea Soup
    makes 6 cups

    We use organic frozen peas to make this beautiful bright-green soup. Adding them to the pot at the tail end of the cooking time preserves their sweet flavor and vivid green color. It's lovely garnished with lots of snipped fresh chives, dill or chervil. Adding a small dollop of creme fraiche, sour cream, or whipped cream to each serving is pretty delicious, too.

    2 tablespoons butter
    1 leek, trimmed, washed and sliced
    1 russet potato, peeled and cut into small pieces
    4 cups chicken broth
    2 pounds (6 cups) frozen peas
    Salt and pepper

    Melt the butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the leeks and cook, stirring often, until soft but not colored, about 10 minutes.

    Add the potatoes and chicken broth to the pot and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Add the peas and season with some salt and pepper. When the peas are heated through, about 1 minute, remove the pot from the heat.

    Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender. For a smoother texture, pass it through a strainer into a bowl, discarding the solids. Taste the soup and season it with more salt, if you like, as it will probably need it.

    Return the soup to the pot and warm it over low heat. Or, cover and refrigerate it until cold. Serve the soup hot or cold.

  • Sweet and Sour Celery

    Makes 8 servings

    • 3/4 cup water
    • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
    • 3 tablespoons olive oil
    • 3 tablespoons mild honey
    • 2 bunches of celery, cut into 2-inch pieces, reserving about 1 cup inner celery leaves
    • 1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

    Cut a round of parchment paper to fit just inside a wide heavy 6-to 8-quarts pot, then set round aside.
    Simmer water, lemon juice, oil, honey, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in pot, stirring, until honey has dissolved. Stir in celery (but not leaves) and cover with parchment round. Simmer until tender and liquid is reduced to about 1/4 cup, 35 to 40 minutes.
    Meanwhile, coarsely chop reserved leaves.
    Serve celery sprinkled with celery leaves and parsley.

  • Stuffed Artichokes

    Makes 8 servings
     
    For stuffing:

    • 4 cups fine fresh bread crumbs from an Italian loaf (1/2 pound)
    • 1 1/2 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (3 ounces)
    • 3 tablespoons finely chopped garlic (5 cloves)
    • 1/2 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
    • 1/2 cup minced sweet soppressata (dried Italian sausage; 2 1/2 ounces)
    • 1 cup finely chopped provolone cheese (1/4 pounds)
    • 1/4 cup olive oil

    For artichokes:

    • 8 medium artichokes (8 to 9 ounces each)
    • 1 lemon, halved
    • 1 cup water, divided
    • 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided
    • 1 cup olive oil, divided
    • 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic, divided
    • Equipment: a 6- to 8-qt pressure cooker or a wide 4- to 6-qt heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid

    Make stuffing:
    Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
    Spread bread crumbs in a shallow baking pan and toast in oven, stirring once or twice, until pale golden, about 10 minutes. Cool completely, then toss with parmesan, garlic, parsley, soppressata, provolone, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a bowl. Drizzle oil (1/4 cup) over crumbs and toss to coat.
    Trim and stuff artichokes:
    Cut off artichoke stems and discard. Cut off top 1/2 inch of 1 artichoke with a serrated knife, then cut about inch off all remaining leaf tips with kitchen shears. Rub cut leaves with a lemon half.
    Separate leaves slightly with your thumbs, then pull out purple leaves from center and enough yellow ones to expose fuzzy choke. Scoop out choke with a melon-ball cutter or small spoon, then squeeze some juice from other lemon half into cavity. Repeat with remaining artichokes.
    Spoon about 2 tablespoons stuffing into cavity of each artichoke and, Starting with bottom leaves and spreading leaves open as much as possible without breaking, spoon a rounded teaspoon stuffing between each leaf.
    Cook artichokes:
    Put 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup broth, 1/4 cup oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in pressure cooker (without insert) or pot and arrange 4 stuffed artichokes in liquid in 1 layer. Drizzle with 1/4 cup oil.
    If using pressure cooker, seal lid and cook at high pressure, according to manufacturer's instructions, 13 to 15 minutes. Put pressure cooker in sink (do not remove lid) and run cold water over lid until pressure goes down completely.
    If using a regular pot, simmer artichokes, covered, until leaves are tender, about 50 minutes. Transfer cooked artichokes, along with any liquid, to a shallow bowl and keep warm, loosely covered with foil.
    Repeat procedure to cook remaining stuffed artichokes. Transfer artichokes with tongs to 8 shallow soup bowls and spoon cooking liquid around them.

    Adapted from epicurious.com
     

  • Rack of Lamb with Swiss Chard

    For swiss chard filling

    • 1/2 cup sweet (red) vermouth
    • 1/2 cup golden raisins
    • 1 medium onion, chopped
    • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
    • 1 large bunches Swiss chard (1 pound total), stems and center ribs reserved for another use and leaves coarsely chopped
    • 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

    For lamb

    • 4 (8-rib) frenched racks of lamb (each about 1 1/2 pound), trimmed of all but a thin layer of fat
    • 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
    • 2 teaspoons finely chopped thyme
    • 1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
    • Equipment: kitchen string

    Make swiss chard stuffing:
    Bring vermouth and raisins to a boil in a small saucepan, then remove from heat and let steep until raisins are soft and plump, about 15 minutes.
    Cook onion in oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is tender but not browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Add chard, raisins with any remaining vermouth, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook over medium heat, turning chard constantly with tongs, until chard is tender and liquid has evaporated, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and stir in nuts, then cool.
    Prepare lamb:
    Cutting as close to bones as possible, make 1 long incision to separate meat of each rack from bones, stopping 1/2 inch from bottom (do not cut all the way through). Roll meat away from bones to create a long opening, then season inside with salt and pepper and fill with stuffing. Roll meat back over stuffing, then tie meat to bones with string (between every 2 ribs).
    Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle.
    Stir together mustard, thyme, and rosemary and spread over both sides of each rack. Put racks of lamb in a large shallow heavy baking pan, pairing racks so that they stand up with their bones interlocking but leaving space between them at base.
    Roast lamb until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of meat (do not touch bone) registers 130°F for medium-rare, 25 to 35 minutes. Let stand, loosely covered, 15 minutes.
    Cut each rack into 4 double chops, discarding string, and serve.
    Cooks' note: Stuffing can be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.

    From epicurious.com
     

  • Sweet corn and basil soup
    • 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
    • 2 sweet onions (such as Maui), chopped
    • 8 ears white corn, kernels removed from cobs (about 8 cups), cobs reserved
    • 10 cups water
    • 3/4 cup whipping cream
    • 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

    Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add half of onions and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add corn cobs and 8 cups water. Simmer until liquid is reduced to 4 cups, about 25 minutes. Cool slightly. Refrigerate overnight. Strain corn broth; discard cobs.
    Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in another heavy large pot over medium heat. Add remaining onions and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add corn kernels and sauté until almost tender, about 15 minutes. Add strained corn broth and remaining 2 cups water. Simmer uncovered 40 minutes. Cover and simmer until corn is very tender, about 20 minutes longer. Cool slightly.
    Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Return soup to pot. Stir in cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly, then cover and refrigerate. Bring to simmer before continuing.) Divide soup among 6 bowls. Sprinkle with basil and serve.

  • Southwestern style squash

    Makes 6 servings
    1 large onion, chopped
    1/2 cup bell pepper, minced
    1 clove garlic, minced
    1 Tbsp.  corn oil
    1 cup corn kernels
    1 lbs. summer squash and/or zucchini
    4 roasted hot peppers, seeded and peeled (optional)
    1/2 cup hot water
    salt to taste
     
    1.  In heavy skillet over medium-high heat, saute onion, sweet pepper, and garlic in oil.  Add corn;  cook and stir until uniformly browned. 
    2.  Cut squash into matchsticks.  Cut chilies into long thin strips (try kitchen scissors).  Add squash, chilies, water and salt in skillet.
    3.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes.  Serve with hot tortillas.

  • sauteed escarole

    yield: Makes 5 servings

    active time: 30 min
    total time: 45 min

    Anchovy and red pepper flakes balance the bitterness of the escarole, giving it a sweetness that goes well with robust flavors.

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    Ingredients

    • 2 heads of escarole, cored and coarsely chopped
    • 1/8 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus additional for drizzling
    • 2-3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
    • 1/4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
    • Half of a (2-oz) can anchovy fillets in olive oil, drained, patted dry, and chopped

    Preparation
    Wash escarole well in a sinkful of water, then lift out and drain. Cook escarole in a 4-6quart heavy pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 10 minutes, then drain in a colander.
    Heat oil in same pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté garlic and red pepper flakes, stirring, until garlic is golden, about 1 minute. Add anchovies, then reduce heat to moderate and cook, stirring, until dissolved, about 1 minute. Add escarole, stirring to coat with oil, then increase heat to moderately high and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until escarole is tender and most of liquid is evaporated, 8 to 10 minutes. Season lightly with salt.
    Spoon onto a platter and drizzle with oil to taste.
    Cooks' note: Escarole can be sautéed (but not drizzled with oil) 1 day ahead and cooled completely, uncovered, then chilled, covered. Reheat in a large pot over moderately low heat, stirring, until hot.
    Adapted from epicurious.com

     
     

  • Broccoli stir-fry

    Makes 6 servings
     
    2 Tbsp.  sesame oil
    1/2 cup chopped walnuts
    1/4 cup chopped onion, shallot, or leek
    4 cups broccoli florets
    1/4 cup sweet pepper strips
    2 Tbsp. soy sauce
     
    1.  Heat oil in skillet until hot.  Add walnuts and onion;  stir-fry for 1 minute.
    2.  Add broccoli;  continue to toss for 3-4 minutes.
    3.  Add pepper and soy sauce;  cook 1 minute longer.  Serve immediately.
     

  • Tomato Seafood Soup Infused with Fennel

    2 T. olive oil
    2 fennel bulbs, sliced paperthin
    2 leeks (white part only) sliced paperthin
    1 lg sweet onion
    3 tsp. dried oregano
    1 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
    1 T. chopped jalepeno pepper
    4 lg tomatoes chopped
    1/2 cup orange juice
     2 cans chopped clams plus liquid
    1 pound sea scallops
    1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
    1.  Warm oil over medium heat in a heavy, large pot.
    2. Add next 6 ingredients (through peppers), saute until tender, about 7 min.
    3. Add tomatoes and orange juice.
    4. Add clams and scallops.  Cover pan, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.  Be careful not to overcook.
    5. Sprinkle with fresh basil and serve. 
    Makes 8 servings.
     

  • Corn Chowder with Bacon, Crab and Chanterelle Mushrooms

    Fall is when the wild mushrooms, particularly Chanterelles, start mysteriously popping out of the dark forest duff around here. It's also when the corn is ripe, making a perfect marriage. This soup would go great with a pile of steamed kale, drizzled in olive oil and a splash of cider vinegar and salt.
     
    Corn Chowder with Bacon, Crab and Chanterelle Mushrooms

    Ingredients

    • 4 ears fresh yellow corn
    • 4 cups chicken or veggie broth
    • 3 cups whipping cream (or milk or milk substitute if aiming for a lower fat soup)
    • 2 tablespoons olive oil
    • 7 bacon slices, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide strips (optional)
    • 1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
    • 1 1/2 cups finely chopped leeks (white and pale green parts only; about 2 medium)
    • 3/4 cup finely chopped celery (i didn't have any and went without - it was fine)
    • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
    • 1 3/4 pounds potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
    • 1-2 colored sweet peppers, diced
    • 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
    • 6 ounces fresh chanterelle mushrooms, thickly sliced
    • 2 tablespoons dry Sherry
    • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, or 1/2 tsp. dried
    • 1 pound fresh crabmeat (optional)
    • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

    Preparation
    Cut kernels off corn cobs. Set kernels aside and put the cobs into a large heavy saucepan. Peel the potatoes. Set diced spuds aside and add peels to saucepan. Chop the leeks. Save the butt ends and the leaves, chop up, rinse and combine with the corn cobs, broth, and cream. Simmer 5 minutes, being careful not to scorch the cream. Remove from heat.
    Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add bacon and sauté until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 3 tablespoons pan drippings; add onion, leeks, celery, and fennel seeds to pot. Sauté until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Stir in potatoes and sweet peppers. Strain cobs, leek leaves and potato peels from cream mixture; add strained stock into potato mixture. Simmer until potatoes are almost tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Stir in corn kernels. Simmer chowder until potatoes are tender, about 5 minutes longer.
    Meanwhile, melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in Sherry and thyme. Add mushroom mixture to chowder. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
    Sauté crabmeat in same large skillet over medium-low heat just until heated through, about 3 minutes. Divide crabmeat, reserved bacon, and parsley among bowls. Ladle chowder over and serve.

  • Roasted Jalapeño and Tomato Salsa
    • 3/4 pounds ripe tomatoes (about 3 medium)
    • 1 bell pepper, seeded and stemmed
    • 1-2 fresh jalapeño and/or serrano chiles, stemmed
    • 1/4 of a small onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick
    • 2 garlic cloves, peeled
    • 1/8 cup water
    • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, loosely packed
    • 1/2  teaspoon salt
    • 1 teaspoon cider vinegar



    Preparation
    1. Heat the broiler. Lay the whole tomatoes, sweet pepper, and jalapeños out on a broiler pan or baking sheet. Set the pan 4 inches below the broiler and broil for about 6 minutes, until darkly roasted — even blackened in spots — on one side (the tomato skins will split and curl in places). With a pair of tongs, flip over the tomatoes and chiles and roast the other side for another 6 minutes or so. The goal is not simply to char the tomatoes and chiles, but to cook them through while developing nice, roasty flavors. Set aside to cool.
    2. Turn the oven down to 425 degrees. Separate the onions into rings. On a similar pan or baking sheet, combine the onion and garlic. Roast in the oven, stirring carefully every couple of minutes, until the onions are beautifully browned and wilted (even have a touch of char on some of the edges) and the garlic is soft and browned in spots, about 15 minutes total. Cool to room temperature.
    3. For a little less rustic texture or if you're canning the salsa, pull off the peels from the cooled tomatoes and cut out the "cores" where the stems were attached, working over your baking sheet so as not to waste any juices. In a food processor, pulse the jalapeños (no need to peel or seed them) with the onion and garlic until moderately finely chopped, scraping everything down with a spatula as needed to keep it all moving around. Scoop into a big bowl. Without washing the processor, coarsely puree the tomatoes — with all that juice that has accumulated around them — and add them to the bowl. Stir in enough water to give the salsa an easily spoonable consistency. Stir in the cilantro.
    4. Taste and season with salt and vinegar, remembering that this condiment should be a little fiesty in its seasoning. If you're planning to use your salsa right away, simply pour it into a bowl and it's ready, or refrigerate it covered and use within 5 days.

  • Nicoise Salad

    Salad Niçoise (pronounced nee-suaz) is essentially a French composed salad, much like our American Cobb Salad but with tuna, green beans, and potatoes, instead of chicken, bacon, and avocado. Salad Niçoise hails from Nice, on the Mediterranean Sea, though like so many foods we enjoy here of French origin, has changed a bit to adapt to our tastes. Like its American Cobb salad cousin, the Salad Nicoise takes some time to prepare, given all of the ingredients. This is one dish where setting up your mise en place (all ingredients chopped and ready to go) will help the salad come together smoothly.
     

     
    Vinaigrette
    Rounded 1/2 tsp. anchovy paste, mashed with 1 clove of garlic
    1/2 cup lemon juice
    3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
    1/2 small leek, minced
    1 Tbsp minced fresh thyme leaves
    2 Tbsp minced fresh basil leaves
    2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano leaves
    1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
    Salt and freshly ground black pepper
     
    Salad
    2 grilled or otherwise cooked tuna steaks* (8 oz each) or 2-3 cans of tuna
    6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and either halved or quartered
    1.5 pounds new potatoes, each potato scrubbed and diced into 1" cubes
    Salt and freshly ground black pepper
    2 medium heads butterhead lettuce or other leaf lettuce, leaves washed, dried, and torn into bite-sized pieces
    3 small ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into eighths
    1 small red onion, sliced very thin
    1 sweet pepper, sliced into long, thin strips
    3/4 lb. green beans, stem ends trimmed and each bean halved crosswise
    1/4 cup niçoise olives
    2 Tbsp capers, rinsed and/or several anchovies (optional)

     
     
    *Marinate tuna steaks in a little olive oil for an hour. Heat a large skillet on medium high heat, or place on a hot grill. Cook the steaks 2 to 3 minutes on each side until cooked through.
    1 Whisk lemon juice, oil, shallot, thyme, basil, oregano, and mustard in medium bowl; season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
    2 Bring potatoes and 4 quarts cold water to boil in a large pot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and cook until potatoes are tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer potatoes to a medium bowl with a slotted spoon (do not discard boiling water). Toss warm potatoes with 1/4 cup vinaigrette; set aside.
    3 While potatoes are cooking, toss lettuce with 1/4 cup vinaigrette in large bowl until coated. Arrange bed of lettuce on a serving platter (I used two serving platters, shown in the photos). Cut tuna into 1/2-inch thick slices, coat with vinaigrette. Mound tuna in center of lettuce. Toss tomatoes, red onion, 3 tablespoons vinaigrette, and salt and pepper to taste in bowl; arrange tomato-onion mixture on the lettuce bed. Arrange reserved potatoes in a mound at edge of lettuce bed.
    4 Return water to boil; add 1 tablespoon salt and green beans. Cook until tender but crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain beans, transfer to reserved ice water, and let stand until just cool, about 30 seconds; dry beans well. Toss beans, 3 tablespoons vinaigrette, and salt and pepper to taste; arrange in a mound at edge of lettuce bed.
    5 Arrange hard boiled eggs, olives, and anchovies (if using) in mounds on the lettuce bed. Drizzle eggs with remaining 2 tablespoons dressing, sprinkle entire salad with capers (if using), and serve immediately.

  • New Potatoes with Basil

    This recipe celebrates the wonderful flavor of new potatoes, in all their buttery glory!
     
    3 lbs. new potatoes, cut in to small cubes
    1 stick (8 Tbs.) sweet butter
    salt and reshly ground black ppper, to taste
    chopped fresh basil
     
    Scrub the potatoes and dry. Melt butter in a heavy flameproof casserole with a tight-fitting cover. Add potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Coat with butter. Cover and cook over low heat for 30-40 minutes, shaking occasionally - until the potatoes are tender and can be pierced with the tip of a sharp knife. Toss with the basil and serve at once.
     
    You can also add a little minced garlic to this recipe for extra kick.

  • Kohlrabi and Apple Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette

    Apples aren't exactly in season yet, but the combination of sweet/tart apple with the kohlrabi, all mixed together with a mustard vinaigrette is a delight! If you have any hakurei turnips from last week still in the fridge, add them in (julienned like the kohlrabi). You can also throw in some diced celery if you have any on hand.
     
    The Salad
    Thickly peel your kohlrabi and cut into fine julienne strips. Slice or grate an apple - your favorite variety - and toss into a bowl with the kohlrabi. If you're adding turnips or celery, add them to the mix.
     
    Mustard Vinaigrette:
    2 T red wine vinegar, sherry vinegar or fresh lemon juice
    2 shallots, finely diced
    1 garlic clove, minced
    salt and fresh ground pepper
    1 T fresh dijon mustard
    2 T creme fraiche or sour cream
    1/3 c extra virgin olive oil
    2 T snipped chives
    1 T chopped parsley
    3 T capers, rinsed
     
    Combine the vinegar, shallots, garlic, and 1/4 tsp. salt in a small bowl. Let stand for 15 minutes, then vigorously whisk in the mustard, creme fraiche and oil until thick and smooth. Grind in a little pepper, then stir in the herbs and capers. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.
     
    Serves 4-6
     
    Adapted from Deborah Madison's cookbook: Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone