Pomodori Al Forno

I’m not sure what happened to tomato season around here. It seems like it passed in the blink of an eye, before I’d had my chance to fill up on caprese salads and tomato sandwiches. The unusually hot, dry weather may have had something to do with it; our tomatoes seemed less prolific and less flavorful than usual this summer.

In July I did manage to can quite a bit of tomato sauce with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. In the past I have canned whole tomatoes to cook with in the winter but I decided forgo that this year in favor of experimenting with new tomato recipes. I’ve never much cared for plum tomatoes; they seem like the less flavorful cousin to the meaty beefsteak or juicy standard tomato. But I decided to give them another chance in a recipe I’d been saving for a while.

Molly Wizenberg, who blogs here, also writes one of my favorite columns in Bon Appetit. Her poetic storytelling can always draw me in, even when the recipe is for something I will never make (country pate anyone?) Two years ago she wrote about a recipe for pomodori al forno, or oven-roasted tomatoes. Her description of their silky, rich flavor – paired with a crusty piece of bread and some bright, creamy goat cheese – made me swoon. This year I finally got to make them and they were every bit as good as I imagined.

We ate these pomodori on a caprese pizza of sorts.  I folded slivers of fresh basil into my whole wheat deep dish dough and kept the toppings simple – nothing but fresh mozzarella and the tomatoes. (Ok, so the pizzas in the background of this photo also had some kalamata olives on them. You caught me.) The oil from the tomatoes melded with the mozzarella in the oven, making for one of the most flavorful pizzas I’ve ever had. The experts always say that using fewer toppings on a pizza makes for a better final product and though it’s hard to restrain from adding a touch of this or that, it’s well worth it in the end.

Roasted Potatoes

It’s a little strange to post a recipe for roasted potatoes. I’ve made them dozens of times and never once consulted a recipe. But when Cook’s Illustrated proclaimed this method the best way to make the “crispiest, creamiest roasted potatoes ever,” I was intrigued. Typically I toss chunked potatoes with olive oil and seasonings, throw them on a sheet pan, stick them in the oven, and call it a day. The method here is a bit more involved, requiring a parboil of the potatoes and a two-minute toss with olive oil and coarse salt to roughen up the exterior. But any extra steps are 100% worth it; these are by far the best roasted potatoes I’ve ever made.

Yukon golds are definitely best here, as they have the creamiest flesh. However, I’ve also enjoyed this recipe with small red potatoes, carola potatoes, and even purple potatoes.  Sometimes I toss some minced fresh rosemary and a couple cloves of minced garlic while tossing the potatoes to amp up the flavor, although they are delicious with simply salt and pepper.

Cabbage & Potato Gratin

 

Some of you may be here looking for a Thanksgiving recipe. I have one that would be a welcome addition to any holiday meal. The first time I flipped through Local Flavors I was immediately drawn to this recipe.  I almost never cook gratins (though they are delicious) because of the amount of dairy they contain. This recipe, however, looked heavy on the veggies and light on the milk & cheese. I put it aside several months ago, waiting for our winter CSA to begin. Cabbage is almost always on our CSA list in the winter months and though I like it, I have to admit I usually don’t know what to do with it unless I’m incorporating it into some other dish. It was awesome with the potatoes here, adding  sweet kick to their starchiness. This dish is relatively easy to put together and could be prepared ahead of time. Enjoy!

Tomatoes & Shell Beans

I don’t remember eating black-eyed peas as a child, but somewhere along the line, I developed an intense love for them. They sell them fresh at the farmer’s market in the mountains and I experimented with them a few times many years ago, but couldn’t quite figure out how to cook them properly. No one in my family knew what to do with them, so after a few discarded batches, I gave up.

A few years later, I was living on my own and discovered that they sold them during the summer at one of my local Whole Foods stores.  I figured out how to turn them into hoppin’ john, which became my regular summertime lunch from then on. It took some time, but I eventually convinced Jeff that yes, he does like shell beans, and also, hoppin’ john does in fact make a delicious and satisfying meal.

Broccoli Two Ways

Broccoli shows up on our plates frequently at our house; it’s one of the veggies J & I both love. Though we usually eat it unadorned – simply steamed with salt, pepper, and lemon juice, I do sometimes need to spice it up, especially out of season when the broccoli available is a little limp. These are two recipes that I love. They take a little extra effort but make the broccoli the star of the meal.

The herb flavor of this recipe is pronounced and somewhat unexpected. I don’t find the garlic flavor overwhelming, but I am a garlic lover. Whenever I make fresh breadcrumbs I make extra and stick them in a bag in the freezer. That way I can pull them out the next few times I need them without digging out the food processor.

Market in the Fall

After last night’s last minute novel.. whew, that’s a tongue twister!, I feel the need to keep this short and sweet. Luckily I have the perfect photo of a dish that needs no recipe.

Hopefully this inspires you to grab some of your favorite root vegetables (fingerling potatoes, butternut squash, and turnips in our case) from a farmer’s market near you, toss them with some olive oil, chopped rosemary & garlic, and coarse salt & pepper, and roast them at high heat until tender. You won’t be sorry!

End of Summer Corn

I haven’t had corn nearly enough this summer. It’s one of those items that I never eat out of season because it’s just not even the same species. When I saw some fresh local corn was still available last week, I knew I’d use it in this recipe. I made it over the weekend and ate it as a base for a lunch for a few days. I halved the recipe and used the BEST black forest bacon from Whole Foods. I wish I’d pureed a little more than half of it, because it was still a little chunkier than I had imagined it being. However, for a creamed corn without the cream, I’d say it was a real winner. Coincidently, this appeared in the Cooking Light’s “Best of” edition this September as the best grain side dish. I guess there’s a reason it won the title!

Creamed Corn with Bacon and Leeks
Serves 6

6 ears corn
2 cups 1% low-fat milk
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 slices bacon
1 cup chopped leek

Cut kernels from ears of corn to measure 3 cups. Using the dull side of a knife blade, scrape milk and remaining pulp from cobs into a bowl. Place 1 1/2 cups kernels, low-fat milk, cornstarch, sugar, salt, and pepper in a food processor; process until smooth, scraping sides.

Cook bacon in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat until crisp, turning once. Remove the bacon from pan, reserving 1 teaspoon drippings in pan; crumble bacon. Add leek to pan, and cook 2 minutes or until tender, stirring constantly. Add pureed corn mixture, remaining 1 1/2 cups corn kernels, and corn milk mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 3 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Sprinkle with the crumbled bacon just before serving.

From Cooking Light

Two Non-Recipe Recipes

It’s so good to be back in the kitchen! I overdid my planning a bit this week and pulled out more recipes than I’ve had time (or appetite) for. Hopefully we’ll get hungry before the ingredients go to waste. 

When I saw green tomatoes at the market on Saturday I realized that I hadn’t made them yet this summer. So we had fried green tomatoes and some other veggies one night. They are just sliced, salted and peppered, coated in cornmeal, and fried in some olive oil. I love mine with goat cheese and honey on top. I convinced J to try the honey and he wasn’t so sure about it, so I guess it might be a personal taste. But hey, I thought I’d throw it out there. This was our first use of my new cast iron skillet. The whole not using soap thing is still a little hard for me, but I’m looking forward to using this skillet for cornbread, fried chicken, and my favorite blackberry cobbler, among other things I’m sure.