Judy is reading about Red Kuri Soup from Dorie’s Around my French Table while Philip holds up the star of the show. Note that this week the spine separated itself from my well-worn and beloved cookbook.
Once upon a time, in the snow-peaked Colorado High County, lived a brilliantly colored, teardrop-shaped squash named Red Kuri. She tipped the scales at three pounds, a bit hippy, you might say. It’s all about her unique essence of squash infused with chestnuts that suggests her possibilities. Her fatal flaw? If she is baked, braised, or steamed, her shell softens, is edible and, when pureed, completely dissolves. Think Frosty the Snowman.
Béatrix’s Red Kuri Soup garnished with goat cheese and cranberries.
If you read last week’s Post, you are familiar with my midweek dinner party, Dorie’s Profound Sweet & Salty Nuts, and other food-fun nonsense. However, you didn’t realize we rapidly motored into serious mode, featuring a Squash Seminar followed by the tasting of this week’s recipe choice, Béatrix’s Red Kuri Soup.
The three Presenters: Judy, Philip and Donna
Leave it to the French to romanticize this delicate squash, calling it potimarron. Potiron means pumpkin and marron is the word for chestnut. Perfect and parfait. First, my guest, Judy, read about the recipe from our weekly bible, Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table cookbook. Judy, who spent her career teaching Aspen’s high school kids both French and Spanish, can roll her rrrrrr’s like none other. For those of us who have spent serious money to speak san succès français, it was a revelation.
Philip’s responsibility was to hold up the Red Kuri, my table centerpiece, every time the little darling’s name was mentioned in English or in French. He was kept busy. I had previously asked the mastermind of our nature study group, Donna, to give us the lowdown on the Red Kuri from a botanist’s point of view. She did such a good job she was rewarded with the centerpiece.
It looks like a squash, it cuts like a squash, it tastes like a squash but its delicious shell is edible.
Because the Red Kuri is so flavorful, there’s not much work involved in pulling together this delicious soup. Dorie first tasted it at the table of her friend, Bèatrix Collet. I’ve posted her recipe below. This is a keep-it-simple dish, requiring little else for flavoring but 3 slender leeks. Use your creativity with the garnish. I used toasted walnuts and chopped apples. For my next-day’s lunch, I tried a goat-cheese/ cranberry mixture. Think also about sliced avocados, a squirt of olive oil and fresh lime juice.
Feedback from my taste testers, Steve, Jessica and Don, who are taking their responsibility very seriously.
In the winter you can find Red Kuri squash, in various sizes, at most local grocery stores. Although I prefer a thick soup, it’s the cook’s preference and quite tasty, filling and satisfying either way. French Fridays with Dorie is an international on-line group winding its way through Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan. To see what my colleagues stirred up this week, go here.
Le Potimarron
The cubed Red Kuri, sliced leeks, liquid and seasonings are in the soup pot and ready to boil and simmer.
3 slender or 1 1/2 larger leeks, white part only, trimmed, split lengthwise and washed
3 cups whole milk
3 cups water
Salt, freshly ground pepper and freshly grated nutmeg
For the garnish (optional):
1 tart apple, peeled, cored and cut into tiny dice
About 1/3 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts or walnuts
About 1/2 cup crème fraiche or heavy cream
Instructions
Scrub the red kuri squash under water, using a brush, if necessary, to scrape off any stuck-on dirt. With a heavy chef’s knife, cut off the pointy tip of the squash, then cut the squash in half from top to bottom. Scoop out the seeds and the strings that bind them, then cut the squash into 1-to 2-inch chunks, shell and all.
Toss the squash into a large casserole or Dutch oven. Cut the leeks into inch-thick slices and put them in the pot, too. Add the milk and water, salt generously and bring to the boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook the soup about 25 to 35 minutes, or until the pumpkin is soft enough to mash when pressed lightly with the back of spoon.
Using a hand-held immersion blender, a standard blender or a food processor, puree the soup until it is very smooth. Depending on how much liquid boiled away, you may have a thick soup and a decision to make: leave it thick or thin it to whatever consistency pleases you with either more milk or more water. Taste for salt and season with pepper and nutmeg. Heat the soup if it’s cooled in the blender or if you’ve thinned it – this soup is at it’s best truly hot.
Notes
Serving: If you’re using the apples and nuts, spoon some into the bottom of each soup bowl and ladle over the hot soup; top with a little cream.
Storing: The soup will keep for up to 4 days in a covered jar in the refrigerator (it will thicken as it stands, so you might want to thin it when you reheat it) and for up to 2 months packed airtight in the freezer.
Bonne Idée: There are so many flavors that go well with this soup that you can make the basic soup and serve it several different ways. Top the soup with olive-oil sautéed bread cubes. Toss shredded sage into the skillet along with the bread. Or, use thin slices of toasted baguette sprinkled with grated cheese and run under the broiler – use a nutty cheese like Gruyere or Emmenthaler, or a blue cheese like gorgonzola or Roquefort. Why not sauté some cooked chopped chestnuts (you can use bottled chestnuts) in a little butter or oil, season with salt and pepper, chopped fresh thyme or sage. Either spoon a little over the soup or, better yet, over the crème fraiche, if you’re using it.
This is a Hooray for Husbands! post. Last Tuesday it was Michael’s birthday. He would have been 86 years old. Instead of feeling sorry for myself and imbibing in Woe is Me, I decided to do what Michael loved best and invite friends to dinner. I asked two Aspen couples with a friendship history of 25 years, and another couple, who had only known Michael through my eyes, to join me.
I warned the gals about wearing lipstick, my code phrase for blogging purposes and photo ops and got down to the business of planning and cooking a meal. We neglected to mention to the men that this would be a work/blog dinner as well as, hopefully, a pleasurable evening.
…..which brings me to my French Fridays recipe choice, Sweet and Spicy Cocktail Nuts. The Doristas made these in 2010 prior to my joining the clan. Since everything I was serving for dinner I’d never made before, these would be a simple and tasty cocktail nibble. If as delicious as anticipated, wouldn’t they be a great hostess gift when packaged in holiday finery?
The whole almonds after they have been mixed thoroughly into the frothy egg white.
Although you can use a variety of nuts, I chose only whole almonds. After beating an egg white to a runny froth, I swished 2 cups of almonds until all were coated and shiny. Then I poured in a mixture of sweet (sugar and cinnamon) and spicy (salt, chili powder and cayenne). After the almonds were thoroughly coated, I separated the last bit of egg white from the nuts and transferred them to a parchment lined baking sheet. Thirty-five minutes later at 300 degreesF, I had toasty brown almonds to serve my guests.
All shiny and covered with the spice mixture, the almonds are headed to my oven.
Fast forward to Tuesday evening. Picture the scene: we have our wine and have just settled down to deal with the appetizers. The first guest to go for the nuts was Steve Chase who hardly got one into his mouth before I said, “What do you think?”
“About what?” he asked.
“The nuts,” I replied. “Do you taste the sweet? The spicy?”
At this point, all conversation has stopped to hear Steve’s and my exchange. At this point, also, Steve is looking at me like I’m nuts. (He’s given me this look before so I’m unbothered by it.) By the way, during the conversation I am also clicking photos of Steve eating the almonds. His wife, Donna, jumps in to explain that ‘Mary made these and is blogging about them’.
Long story short, the two other husbands, Philip Salet and Don Wrigley, took a handful of nuts and the critiquing began: “some spice, not too much, however,” “festive,” “still salty but sweet,” “perfect with a light red,” and “I just like them.” Not to be outdone, Philip’s wife, Jessica, suggested, “How about profound? These nuts are profound.”
Brown and toasty. It’s time to cool off.
We all agreed, Dorie’s Sweet and Spicy Cocktail Nuts are “profound”. I’ll include photos and more about our dinner party in next week’s post when our recipe is Béatrix’s phenomenal Red Kuri Soup. In the meantime, if you would enjoy making these Profound Sweet & Spicy Cocktail Nuts, here’s the recipe:
2 cups nuts, whole or halves, but not small pieces, such as almonds, cashews, peanuts, pecans, or a mix
Instructions
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
Spray a nonstick baking sheet with cooking spray or line it with a silicone baking mat.
Mix the sugar and spices together in a small bowl.
Beat the egg white lightly with a fork in a larger bowl – you’re not making a meringue, just breaking up the white so that it’s liquid.
Toss in the nuts, stir to coat them with egg white, then add the sugar-and-spice mixture and continue to stir so that the nuts are evenly covered.
Using your fingers, lift the nuts from the bowl, letting the excess egg white drip back into the bowl (you can run the dipped nuts against the side of the bowl to de-excess them), and transfer them to the baking sheet, separating them as best you can. Discard whatever sugar-egg mix is left in the bowl.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the nuts are browned and the coating is dry.
Cool for 5 minutes, then transfer the nuts to another baking sheet, a cutting board or a piece of parchment paper, break them apart, and let them cool completely. The nuts crisp as they cool.
Storing: Kept covered in a dry place, the nuts will hold for about 5 days at room temperature.
Notes
Bonne Idée: You can swap the spices at whim. For a change, omit the chile powder and go for 5-spice powder (you can keep the cinnamon, if you’d like), curry powder (I’d use just a smidgen of cinnamon with the curry) or even cardamom (in which case, I’d cut out the cinnamon). You can also make herb-flavored nuts using finely chopped fresh herbs or dried herbs (just make sure your dried herbs are brightly colored and still fragrant). Keep the sugar and salt, drop the chile powder and cinnamon, and try mixing the nuts with fresh rosemary or thyme or dried herbes de Provence.
In America we generally call my French Fridays recipe, Beef Stew. Plain and simple. In France, it’s a Daube, a stew cooked in wine in a deep casserole. Dorie suggests it could also be named Boeuf aux Carottes. That gets my vote and here’s why.
Dorie’s Go-To Beef Daube, also called Boeuf aux Carottes.
It’s already snowed twice in Aspen. Old Man Winter is knocking at my door. I’ve never found the perfect beef stew recipe, a go-to winter meal. By chance I discovered that my French Fridays colleagues made My Go-To Beef Daube, a recipe from Around My French Table, in May, 2010. Unfortunately, that was before I joined FFWD. It seemed that it was Opportunity knocking at my door this week.
What interests me most about the recipe is there are very few stars in this production. The economical beef chunk roast, which gets a lazy, three-hour braise, is the meat of choice. The only other major players are carrots and parsnips. Being from the same family, Apiaceae, they dance well together. That’s what I love about this stew. It’s simple goodness.
While beef, carrots and parsnips may be the main ingredients, it’s the flavoring and spices that pack the wallop. Oh, yes, there’s that bottle of red wine. Before the beef chunks and veggies ever hit the pot, the heady, aromatic sauce is already bubbling nicely. Bacon, onions, shallots and garlic provide rich flavor and a bouquet garni lends the spice. Did I mention the Cognac? This stew is a keeper. I posted the written recipe at the end of this post.
The star players: beef, carrots and parsnips. C’est tout.
I’ve polished off the stew these past few busy days, happy for the tasty leftovers. We leave this week for another presidential library tour, this time to Texas. You may remember that I consider the 13 presidential libraries managed by the National Archives to be the uncrowned jewels of our country’s historical tourist opportunities. Very little is written about these treasures. I hope to change that.
With the completion of this journey, I will have visited 9 of the 13 libraries. The ones I haven’t seen will be: G. Ford, Ann Arbor, Michigan; J. Carter, Atlanta, Georgia; F.D. Roosevelt, Hyde Park, New York; and J.F.Kenndy, Boston, Massachusetts. Can you figure out where I have been?
Last fall my good friend and companion in all things presidential, Donna Grauer, accompanied me on the road trip to the midwestern libraries of Eisenhower, Truman and Clinton. This year she’s game for the fly/drive to Dallas, Austin and College Station. With Donna, our resident brainiac, it’s always an adventure. Stay tuned.
My colleagues made Osso Bucco à l’Arman this week. See their efforts here.
We are an international cooking group working our way through Dorie Greenspan’s Around my French Table, more than 300 recipes from my home to yours.
A bouquet garni—2 thyme sprigs, 2 parsley sprigs, 1 rosemary sprig, and the leaves from 1 celery stalk, tied together in a piece of cheesecloth
Instructions
1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Put a Dutch oven over medium heat and toss in the bacon. Cook, stirring, just until the bacon browns, then transfer to a bowl.
3. Dry the beef between sheets of paper towels. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil to the bacon fat in the pot and warm it over medium-high heat, then brown the beef, in batches, on all sides. Don’t crowd the pot—if you try to cook too many pieces at once, you’ll steam the meat rather than brown it—and make sure that each piece gets good color. Transfer the browned meat to the bowl with the bacon and season lightly with salt and pepper.
4. Pour off the oil in the pot (don’t remove any browned bits stuck to the bottom), add the remaining tablespoon of oil, and warm it over medium heat. Add the onions and shallots, season lightly with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until the onions soften, about 8 minutes. Toss in the garlic, carrots, and parsnips, if you’re using them, and give everything a few good turns to cover all the ingredients with a little oil. Pour in the brandy, turn up the heat, and stir well so that the brandy loosens whatever may be clinging to the bottom of the pot. Let the brandy boil for a minute, then return the beef and bacon to the pot, pour in the wine, and toss in the bouquet garni. Once again, give everything a good stir.
5. When the wine comes to a boil, cover the pot tightly with a piece of aluminum foil and the lid. Slide the daube into the oven and allow it to braise undisturbed for 1 hour.
6. Pull the pot out of the oven, remove the lid and foil, and stir everything up once. If it looks as if the liquid is reducing by a great deal (unlikely), add just enough water to cover the ingredients. Recover the pot with the foil and lid, slip it back into the oven, and cook for another 1 1/2 hours (total time is 2 1/2 hours). At this point the meat should be fork-tender—if it’s not, give it another 30 minutes or so in the oven.
7. Taste the sauce. If you’d like it a little more concentrated, pour the sauce into a saucepan, put it over high heat, and boil it down until it’s just the way you like it. When the sauce meets your approval, taste it for salt and pepper. (If you’re going to reduce the sauce, make certain not to salt it until it’s reduced.) Fish out the bouquet garni and using a large serving spoon, skim off the surface fat.
8. Serve the beef, carrots and parsnips moistened with sauce.
9. Storing: Like all stews, this can be kept in the refrigerator for about 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If you are preparing the daube ahead, don’t reduce the sauce, just cool the daube and chill it. Then, at serving time, lift off the fat (an easy job when the daube’s been chilled), reduce the sauce, and season it one last time.
Today is Dorie’s birthday. October 24th. We tasked two of our Doristas, Liz Berg, That Skinny Chick Can Bake, and Susan Lester, Create Amazing Meals, to organize a virtual celebration worthy of our leader. Also, of note, Dorie’s 11th cookbook, Baking Chez Moi, Recipes From My Paris Home to Your Home Anywhere, arrives in bookstores next week.
Palets de Dames, Lille Style, a frosted tea cookie, from Baking Chez Moi, Recipes from my Paris Home to Your Home Anywhere
Why not be the first to bake from Dorie’s new book, they suggested, before it’s published? We had a Plan. Dorie shared four recipes from Chez Moi so we each made our choice. Cookie-monster than I am, the Palets de Dames, Lille Style, a frosted tea cookie, was my pick. Described as “adorable”, Dorie suggests that “with wide, flat uppers iced in white with rounded bottoms, they look like children’s tops or open parasols.”
With Dorie Greenspan who was the keynote speaker at last year’s IFBC in Seattle.
To that I will add, “and, are doggone delicious”. The palets are easily made, a sugar cookie that’s hand-dipped in icing. I know two 11 and 13-year-olds who can bake these for Christmas. The secret, I discovered, was to make them small. I started large and finally worked down to using a 2-teaspoon capacity cookie scoop. Because I devoured five of these little darlin’s while they were cooling, I packed the rest up and delivered them to the Pitkin County Library crew and The Gant kids. No complaints.
I balanced off my sugar-high with Pacific Cod and Double Carrots, last week’s French Friday’s recipe choice. Dorie’s recipe called for monkfish but any fleshy white fish will work well. What makes this dish a hit is the double carrots sauce. I’m not a fan of cooked carrots and this recipe doubled down on them, using both carrots and carrot juice. Surprisingly, this duo worked, enhancing the fishy taste of the cod. Good enough for dinner guests, that’s for sure.
Pacific Cod with Double Carrots
For her past five birthdays, Dorie has been working on Baking Chez Moi. One can only imagine the work, time and effort that this cookbook represents. Having received an advance copy months ago (thank you, Dorie), I’ve discovered these are plain and simple baked items that I can replicate quite successfully. I know that was Dorie’s goal and, to my mind, she scored. My next effort? Tarte Tropézienne, so named because it was Brigit Bardot’s favorite dessert!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, sweet DORIE and, also, to my many good friends who have October Birthdays – Ellen Fahr, Michelle Morgando, Amalia Sciscento, Cathy O’Connell, Marysue Salmon, my Mother, who would have been 98 years old on October 4th – and, yours truly.
To see what my colleagues chose to bake this week – Cannelés, Chocolate Cream Puffs, and Brown Butter-Peach Tourte – visit our French Fridayslink. I have shared links to all the recipes in today’s Posts. As I mention weekly, we are an international cooking group having a blast working our way through Dorie Greenspan’s Around my French Table, more than 300 recipes from my home to yours.
Next-Day Beef Salad, my French Fridays recipe this week and my last lunch on my balcony. Can you tell by the shadows that Old Man Winter is lurking nearby?
This week presented another opportunity to choose a recipe my colleagues made before I joined them. My family’s been here for their autumn vacation and my friend, Judy Boyd, brought us some fantastic meals. Judy deals very patiently with Low-fat, Gluten-free, No Dairy, Bring It On (my son-in-law) and I’ll Eat Anything (me). She had our bases covered all week while Melissa and I relished the breather.
After the kids left, I dealt with leftovers. When I spotted the remains of a skirt steak, Dorie’s Next-Day Beef Salad came to mind. It wasn’t hard to pull together this voluptuous salad by revisiting my fridge. What’s distinctive is its simple dressing – mayo and two French mustards, Dijon and grainy. A diced, tart apple alerts us to this salad’s sweet side. Add onions, olives, cornichons, tomatoes, capers, red bell and chile peppers to the mix and it’s a meal. Serve it over greens, with crusty bread, and your leftovers become super stars.
A big bowl of ingredients for my beef salad: diced beef, onions, olives, cornichons, tomatoes, capers, red bell and chile peppers.
Last Tuesday’s Post, Pumpkin & Raisin Tea Loaf, tackled the 6 steps involved in putting together a post: Choose; Make; Photograph; Eat; Write; and Go Live. For me, it’s a week-long process. As promised, here’s Part II, “Why the effort?”“Why bother?”
WHY I BLOG
1. Realistically, a food blogger must be multi-talented, blessed with kitchen skills, camera-ready, technically astute, creatively imaginative, and more. Think Barnum & Bailey’s Big Top and you’re the only performer. Truthfully, I didn’t qualify. I began blogging because I needed Structure, a framework in which to rebuild my Life. For the last two years of my husband’s life, while in a Memory Care Unit and under Hospice care, and for the next two years that it took to plant myself where I could nurture, the one constant activity in my Life was that damn blog. Whatever else was happening with me, I plodded through those six necessary steps to post a “product” every week. It often wasn’t pretty but, for me, a great accomplishment, week in, week out.
2. “I don’t know where the Summer went,” a friend lamented to me recently. “I can’t even remember what I did.” That’s not a problem for me. My blog is a Diary and Journal. I associate weekly Posts with lifestyle events and activities. At a time when pen-and-ink has become passé, my Blog lives safely on my portable hard drive.
To complete this lunch (or, dinner) cut up crusty bread and pour a glass of apple cider.
3. Using business jargon, food blogging requires a Low Start-up Fee. This project was something I could begin at a nominal cost. I found inexpensive tech assistance via Craig’s List. We all need to eat. Food bloggers wisely feed their families and friends with menus incorporated into their Posts. In our French Fridays group, there are many fine bloggers who are thrifty and cost-conscious.
4. I Am The Boss. My blog is all ME. A dream come true! For the first time in my adult memory, I am responsible for and to no one. When I returned to Aspen, I could either wilt or blossom. Throw a pity party or do and be everything that wasn’t possible in prior decades. I felt I owed my friends and family who offered us unconditional caring, support and love for ten years, to at least try. My blog has evolved from that effort.
I poured a two- mustard/mayo dressing onto the mixture and tossed lightly to saturate it.
5. Friendships. Number 5 is an unanticipated bonus. Without a doubt and throughout my life, I’ve collected the best group of “reality” friends ever. To me, they are priceless. But, virtual friends? Who knew about that? Being a lover of all things Greenspan, in February 2011, I joined French Fridays, an internet food group cooking through Dorie’s Around My French Table. Somewhere between the Cauliflower-Bacon Gratin (12/30/11) and Cocoa Sablés (3/23/12), I realized these were not just colleagues, they were friends. Through virtual networking I’ve met other foodie pals. Blogging in not a lonely sport and I’ll keep doing it if only to maintain these relationships.
6. Through blogging or because of it, my little world has grown richer and been enhanced by the experience. Examples — Because my kitchen is a constant companion, I’m a better cook. I’m on a first-name basis with all the butchers, bakers and candlestick makers up and down Colorado State Highway 82. Food blogging is a daily on-line education. What I’ve realized is how much I don’t know especially when interacting with international colleagues. There’s no time-out for boredom when your investment is in yourself. I thrive on praise (who doesn’t?). Alex, a young bellmen here at The Gant, is still talking about the meatballs I made last Christmas. My blog comments are encouraging, uplifting and sometimes hilarious. “Wear Your Lipstick.” is the heads-up to my friends whenever a social occasion is to become a blog. Good Sports, always. Every day has become an adventure.
Just too much salad – it’s filling. My eyes were bigger than my appetite.
7. By dumb luck, I slide into a perfect niche. As I’ve written, I believe anyone can flourish in the landscape where they’re planted just by dovetailing their passions into the Life they’ve been dealt. We’re all blindsided by challenges and bumps. How we deal with those is key. My blog tells my story, showing how I muddle through my days. My greatest wish is that it provides Inspiration, Hope & Humor to my readers.
To see how my colleagues muddled through their week, visit our French Fridayslink. The recipe for today’s salad is here. As I mention weekly, we are an international cooking group having a blast working our way through Dorie Greenspan’s Around my French Table.
French Fridays with Dorie, an international cooking group making its way through Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table, has been in business since October 2010. While this week’s 4th Year Anniversary is cause for jubilation and a tip of the toque to all my colleagues, I must extend the deepest sympathy to my cookbook.
My well-worn and weary cookbook, Around My French Table.
As you can see by this forlorn picture, it’s been a rough ride. I pre-ordered my book from Amazon in 2010 and it’s been my constant sidekick since first arriving at my doorstep. Sometime between the Duck Breast with Fresh Peaches (August 9, 2013) and Tuna-packed Piquillo Peppers (Sept. 20, 2013), the spine separated from its cover. My Compote de Pommes (Nov. 8, 2013) and Sugar-crusted French Toast ( Nov. 29, 2013) pages are totally ripped out and crammed back in place. And, not to seem ungrateful, but Melissa spilled rice vinegar on several pages while making Crunchy Ginger-pickled Cucumbers ( July 6, 2012) when she stepped in to help after Michael died.
Cake Salé, Savory Cheese and Chive Bread, is my French Fridays recipe choice this week.
My book moved from Nevada to Colorado and has been on all my car trips of the past 4 years. Ironically, my odometer just rolled over the 100,000 mile marker this week. I plead guilty to the occasional chocolate stain, greasy spatter and water mark. And, I keep a treasured Christmas note from Dorie between pages 386-7. Love her chocolate eclairs. What I now understand is every recipe I’ve made has cooked up a memory journal which has turned worn and battered into a treasure.
To celebrate Year Four, this week my FFWD recipe choice is Savory Cheese and Chive Bread which the others already baked in March 2011. I missed making this savory loaf of yum. To the French it’s a Cake Salé (salé means salty or savory). “I know this looks like a good old American quick bread,” Dorie explains, “but it’s got a French soul.”
This loaf baked at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. During the last 15 minutes I sprinkled more grated cheese over the top.
Although I’ve included the recipe below, a successful Cake Salé lends itself to imagination and leftovers. Use whatever combination of hard cheeses you have on hand. Choose fresh herbs over dried. As for add-ins, plug into your creative gene. Mix in diced ham, crispy bacon bits, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, minced shallots, small pieces of cooked vegetables or jalapeño bits, for example.
My favorite way to serve this bread is lightly toasted and buttered.
This bread can be served slightly warm or when cooled completely. The French offer it with aperitifs. Cut your loaf into 8, half-inch thick slices, cutting in half again. For me, a dab of chutney is a delicious touch. It’s also perfect for brunch and really tasty with salads. Since this is not a moist bread, after a day or two it’s best when lightly toasted and buttered. Use your end crusts as croutons. Another idea? Muffins. Bake in individual paper Lotus Cups and serve with winter soups and chili.
Must Bake This. You’ll impress your family and friends. Promise.
1/2–1 teaspoon salt (depending on what cheese and add-ins you’re using)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
3 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup whole milk, room temperature
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 generous cup (about 4 ounces) coarsely grated Gruyère, Comté, Emmenthal, or cheddar
2 ounces (1/2–2/ 3 cup) Gruyère, Comté, Emmenthal, or cheddar, cut into very small cubes
1/2 cup minced fresh chives or other herbs (or thinly sliced scallions)
1/3 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
Instructions
1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter an 8-x-4½-x-2¾-inch loaf pan — a Pyrex pan is perfect here. If your pan is slightly larger, go ahead and use it, but your loaf will be lower and you’ll have to check it for doneness a little earlier.
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, white pepper and cayenne together in a large bowl. Put the eggs in a medium bowl and whisk for about 1 minute, until they’re foamy and blended. Whisk in the milk and olive oil. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and, using a sturdy rubber spatula or a wooden spoon, gently mix until the dough comes together. There’s no need to be energetic — in fact, beating the dough toughens it — nor do you need to be very thorough: just stir until all the dry ingredients are moistened.
3. Stir in the cheese, grated and cubed, the herbs, and the walnuts. You’ll have a thick dough. Turn the dough into the buttered pan and even the top with the back of the spatula or spoon.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the bread is golden and a slender knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and wait for about 3 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the pan and turn the loaf over onto the rack; invert and cool right side up.
5. Well wrapped, the loaf will keep for about 2 days at room temperature or for up to 2 months in the freezer (thaw in the wrapper).
