Dorie suggests plating these sealed vegetable packets and letting each guest have the pleasure of savoring the first fragrant puff of steam when the seal is broken. My friend, Ruth, enjoyed the moment.
My! My! My!
Everything about this week’s FFWD recipe was a delicious, winning, you-must-make-this, choice. Let’s just forgeddabout last week’s not-so-good and race quickly on to better and best: Brown-Sugar Squash and Brussels Sprouts** en Papillote.
The cubed squash, apples, halved Brussels sprouts, olive oil, salt and pepper are easily and simply mixed together.
Dorie echoed my original thought when I first read this recipe. “I don’t thinkI’d ever have put the squash and Brussels sprouts together if they weren’t packed into the bin side by side,” she said. “And it was just a stroke of luck that I had both an apple and fresh sage, which is perfect with the vegetables and fruit.”
Divide evenly between four non-stick, 12-inch squares of aluminum foil. Frankly, this was the hardest part and, yes, I counted!!!
To my surprise and Dorie’s, what pleased her most about this serendipitous side was ‘the play between earthy and sweet’.
I sprinkled brown sugar over each bundle and topped with fresh sage. Earthy. Sweet.
Although this is really a recipe for your Fall menus, it is tasty in Winter also. Once again, our Doristas who live in South America and Australia, where it is Summer, are very, very good sports.
I sealed the packets, leaving room so the ingredients can steam, and put them in the refridgerator.
Because I am particularly busy right now, I bought a pound package of pre-cut, cubed squash so it took only 15 minutes to throw this together. I also made the packets in the morning, refrigerated them and added a few minutes to their baking time.
Luckily my veggie-lovin’ Colorado friends, Peter and Ruth Frey, joined me for this week’s successful taste testing. The Freys, enroute to a two-month stay in Cambria, California, stopped to observe my January 31st house-closing (or to “manage” my emotional fall-out if there was a closing glitch).
To accompany this week’s FFWD recipe, I served a green salad and Yotam Ottolenghi’s “Very Full Tart”, a delicious recipe from his cookbook, “Plenty”.
Fortunately we enjoyed two sunny days of exploring Nevada’s outdoors fueled by wonderful food, drink and friendship. Plus, we were able to celebrate yesterday’s successful house closing/sale before their leaving for Callie this morning.
The reason Peter is not smiling is that he had already begun to open his packet before Ruth and I scared the hell out of him by telling (well, yelling at) him to STOP. I needed a photo, of course. A long-time professor at Northwestern University, he understands ‘learning experiences’ and patiently re-sealed his packet for picture-taking. But, he’s all-business so couldn’t smile.
Peter’s silent compliment to the cook.
To see how my FFWD colleagues handled their tinfoil this week, go to our group link. If you want to try this recipe, and I urge you to try it, go here.
I enjoyed introducing my Colorado friends to Nevada’s outdoor hiking opportunities. Nevada is over 80% public land, forty-eight million acres of that land is administered by the Bureau of Land management. Since Ruth and I are both volunteer forest rangers in Colorado’s High Country, she especially enjoyed our hikes at Lake Mead, the Red Rocks National Conservation Area and Black Mountain, a totally different experience from hiking in the Rockies.
** These tiny cabbage-like vegetables are named after the Belgian city of Brussels, which has an “S” on the end. The correct spelling is “Brussels sprouts.”
What did you find in your stocking Christmas morning? I found celery root.
Odds are that when you planned Christmas dinner, celery root did not come to mind. When you were thinking about pies, I’m betting it was whether to bake pumpkin, pecan or apple. “Pot” probably didn’t enter the picture.
Here’s the problem. During the past six months, my Christmas dinner guests here in Henderson turned sorta-kinda-vegetarian. Sorta-kinda-vegetarian means they will not eat four-legged animals. If it moos, baas, oinks or whinnies, it’s a nonstarter. Furthermore, they won’t eat creatures with wings. Flying is a no, no. Swimmers? Yes, but only those with a shell.
Peel and cut up 2 celery roots and one medium russet potato. Quarter an onion. Add this to a pot of boiling milk, water and salt. To avoid a strong peppermint flavoring, discard the candy canes.
Here’s another problem. The French Friday with Dorie recipe this week is Go-With-Everything Celery Root Purée. To answer your question? Neither had I.
Merry Christmas. Ho! Ho! Ho!
Doesn’t everyone serve Lobster Pot Pie on Christmas Day? (With profound apologies to my Iowa born-and-bred, very traditional Mother.)
Thankfully, this story has a delicious, Christmas-bells-are-ringing ending. My menu may not have been traditional but, with a little help from you foodie friends, I pleased all our palates. Here are the 3 principal players —– We began with Cranberry and Avocado Salad topped by Candied Spiced Almonds and Sweet White Balsamic Vinaigrette as featured by Chris Scherer on The Café Sucré Farine. I added some baby beets, quartered.
The Barefoot Contessa’s Lobster Pot Pie solved my main course dilemma in a very tasty, très élégant manner. A bubble off, perhaps, but, hey, lobsters swim and have shells.
Thank you, Dorie, for this delicious, nutritious, Go-with-Everything Celery Root Purée.
Again, Dorie is correct. Why do I ever doubt that woman? When she calls this recipe, Go-With-Everything Celery Root Purée, she means business. “Because the flavor is subtle, complex, and just a little sweet,”, she writes “the purée is the perfect accompaniment to fish, meat or poultry, whether it’s a main dish that is robust and big flavored or one that is light and mild.”
No one at my table had ever sampled celery root served as a purée. It’s a wonderfully, less caloric, and more nutritious substitute for mashed potatoes. I used my Immersion Blender, instead of fussing with a food processor, to whirrrrr it into a smooth ivory purée. If you want a more silky texture, use the processor. Surprisingly, the lobsters and the celery root did not do battle. This dish totally complimented the pot pie with one guest even using it as a tasty base under the pie.
Seconds, anyone?
The ultimate compliment? No room for dessert.
Dessert, anyone? Last night Michelle and I contributed the sugar for our neighbor’s, Bobby & Adriana Scrima, annual everything-Italian Holiday Open House.
Michelle’s Eggnog Panna Cotta and Dorie’s Top-Secret Chocolate Mousse. When Lilly, a party guest from France, tasted this, her eyes brightened. “Very french,” she remarked. I asked her if she knew the secret? She replied, “Oui,” and preceeded to rattle off the recipe from the back of the Nestlé Dessert Chocolate Bar wrapper that Dorie had discovered and shared with us.
May I wish a Happy New Year 2013 to all you loyal Readers and my fellow Doristas, far and wide. And, to you, Trevor, for loyally cooking with us as our one-and-only FFWD “token” male. May the year ahead be filled with peace & happiness, good health, family & friends and the fellowship of food.
For the past several weeks, since returning to Henderson for the Winter, my nightime social life has skyrocketed from zero to seven (on a scale of 1 to 10). While that’s a good thing, it’s played havoc with my usual 8:30 pm bedtime but I’m not complaining.
This week’s FFWD recipe, Creamy Cauliflower Soup sans Cream, is smooth, silky and beautifully white in color. (I mention the color because this picture implies that the soup is a light pink. My bad. Annie Leibovitz was unavailable.
This past month, many friends who could not attend Michael’s service in Aspen, have found their way to Las Vegas to see me and have dinner. Next week my brother and his cronies, Denver businessmen turned wannabee cowboys, are here for their annual junket to the 10-day Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Since I’ve never attended next week’s event, I’m joining them (and, 175,275 other fans).
Lastly and even better, last night was Date Night.
My Date (l), always a good sport, and my long-suffering Trainer ( r).
Every year the physical trainers in Anthem Country Club’s Athletic Department have a very, very nice holiday party for all their clients. I have never attended and, because my trainer is the head honcho, I know it has hurt his feelings. This year, realizing it would be my last opportunity before moving back to Colorado, one of my early morning workout colleagues told me I was to be his date for this year’s party. He’d be by at 6:30pm to pick me up and, he added, “look nice”. I didn’t even hesitate – Ray is 49 years old, good-looking and very buff. Way to go, Mary.
You might be asking what all this has to do with this week’s FFWD recipe, Creamy Cauliflower Soup sans Cream. Here’s the segue…..
A mixture of onions, garlic, celery and fresh thyme are cooked slowly in a soup pot after first warming the pot with olive oil and melted butter.
Although Ray is sweet in temperament, he is not sweet in taste. He doesn’t do sugar. To thank him for the anticipated evening as well as acknowledging his being a good sport, my baking some Christmas goodies was a non-starter. However, when he asked what I was cooking for Dorie this week, I answered, “Cauliflower soup.” His response, “I would really like some of that.”
Done.
I like cauliflower so this soup was on my radar and I was anxious to share it. Surprisingly, it emerged to be full-bodied and robust. No cream nor potatoes for thickening usually translates to watery, thin soups but not in this case. Just less calories. Expecting the soup to possess the pungent earthy flavor of the vegetable itself, I was surprised by its mildness. I would have enjoyed more of a kick.
After buying a large head of cauliflower, remove the leaves and break into florets. Be sure to discard the tough core.
This is a relatively simple soup to make. Just add chopped onions, garlic, celery and thyme to a soup pot containing warmed olive oil and butter. Season with salt and pepper (I always use more seasoning than Dorie suggests.) After simmering that mixture for 20 minutes, pour in chicken or vegetable broth and toss in the cauliflower florets. Bring to a boil and simmer another 20 minutes.
I allowed my soup to cool a bit before using my immersion blender to puree it to a very smooth liquid, leaving no chunks. Reheat and then season to taste. Be creative with a topping of your choice – shaved truffles, crème fraîche topped with caviar, or grated Parmesan or Comté. I drizzled a little walnut oil on top of the soup and then tossed some chopped, toasted walnuts onto that, adding some crunch.
I toasted some walnuts and then coarsely chopped them. After drizzling some walnut oil on the soup I then threw some chopped walnuts on top.
A perfect lunch or light dinner. Add a salad of fresh greens and crusty bread and you’ve got a memorable meal.
If this is a soup for you and your friends, go here to find the recipe. See how other Doristas coped with cauliflower this week by linking to French Fridays with Dorie.
The drizzle of walnut oil topped with toasted chopped walnuts added a nice texture to the smooth and silky soup.
This week’s FFWD recipe is all about veggies: Eggplant Tartine with Tomatoes, Olives and Cucumber. A tartine is actually an open-faced sandwich with a spread on top. For today’s presentation, however, the bread has been banished and replaced by eggplant. The result is so delicious and tasty, you don’t realize the grain product is missing. Don’t ask. Don’t tell.
I’m especially pleased to be making a nutritious dish today because Less is More this week. Needing to eat Less this week because More is happening on Saturday night. I’ve returned to Nevada to attend my first Project Dinner Table charity event on Saturday. This exciting event benefits two organizations that have become dear to my heart lately: Safe Nest, a charity that promotes the eradication of domestic violence and The Shade Tree, a 24-hour shelter designed specifically to support abused women and children in Southern Nevada.
The purpose of PDT is to create meaningful and adventurous experiences around the dinner table, celebrating local food, community and philanthropy. That the dining table is loooooong, accommodating 175 people, six courses, and served pass-the-plate family style, brings Pop-Up Entertaining to an entirely new level. Oh, yes, this time it’s open-air, streets closed, a Main Street meets the Strip atmosphere. Hello, new experience.
The Chefs for this PDT, Executive Chef Royden Ellamar of Sensi at Bellagio and Executive Chef Edmund Wong of Bellagio, only raise the bar.
Executive Chef Ellamar of Sensi, Bellagio, Las Vegas PDT Photo
Executive Chef Wong of Bellagio, Las Vegas PDT Photo
What I have found, since moving to Henderson, is that local casino conglomerates are very philanthropic and generous locally. They can afford to be, of course. One-upmanship is the game name here. Now is Bellagio’s moment and I’m betting they’re up to the glitz-and-grits task. Their Horticulture department, in charge of decor, is already loading up citrus trees and potted fruit plants. No chandeliers necessary, stars will suffice. A feel-good moment for Las Vegas.
The Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, a popular attraction on the Las Vegas Strip. Kudos to the hotel-casino’s reknown horticulture department. destination360.com photo
The tartine dovetails nicely with this upcoming gastronomic overload. Roast 1-inch thick eggplant slices for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Toss together a delicious salsa using tomatoes, celery, onion, garlic and green olives. The dressing is simply red wine vinegar and olive oil with red pepper flakes, salt and pepper added for seasoning. Throw some cucumber slices haphazardly over the top and you’ve got a lunch, snack or dinner.
Eggplant slices waiting for olive oil, salt and pepper, before basking in 350 degree temperatures for 45 minutes
Saturday evening will be an eye-opener for me, a charity function, Vegas-style. Since moving here, I’ve been so focused on my personal life and responsibilities, I’ve spent little time thinking about those less fortunate. For me, now, it’s a different world and I’m looking forward to using my considerable energy to help others, particularly women. A feel-good moment for me.
Eggplant Tartine with Tomatoes, Olives and Cucumbers
Minted Zucchini Tagliatelle with Cucumbers and Lemon, this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe choice
If you read my Blog, it’s a given that I have great friends and a spectacular daughter. You already understand that. What you may not know is that as far as relationships with me, it’s usually Go or No. Meaning, I’m the kind of woman you either flat-out like or flat-out don’t like. Nothing middle-of-the-road. Pretty clear-cut.
Ouch.
Let’s just admit that if it’s a popularity contest, I won’t win. However, credit me with being solid, fiercely loyal, unwavering and (fun)/ny. Always got your back. If you need to laugh, I’m your girl! Promise always to make you smile.
Who knew a mandoline could cause so much havoc?
That’s why this week’s FFWD recipe choice, Minted Zucchini Tagliatelle with Cucumbers and Lemon, almost sent me kicking the can down the road. Touch-and-Go. First, with a friend. Then, with a daughter.
I’d not seen my friend, Linda, who lives part-time in Aspen, for two years. Since she’d be heading South soon after my arrival back in Colorado, we needed to make a lunch date.“Why don’t you come to my condo for lunch,” I asked, during our first telephone conversation. “I’ll do the salad we’re making this week for French Fridays with Dorie.”
“Oh, that might be fine,” she replied, cautiously. “What is it?”
I explained that we were making a zucchini, onion and cucumber salad with pistachio oil dressing and mint flavoring. “That sounds interesting,” she said, sounding optimistic.
Then, I mentioned, “It will be the first time I’ve ever used a mandoline.”
“No,” she stated emphatically. “Let’s go out.”
Normally, Linda, a former Miss Savannah, is gracious, diplomatic and kind. However, hidden behind every Georgia Peach is an Iron Magnolia. Right? “No” meant “No”. As much as she wanted to support my blogging adventures, she did not trust me with my mandoline. I realized visions of all things unappetizing must have danced through her head. In the end, we thoroughly enjoyed our lunch at “Above the Salt” in downtown Aspen.
The mandoline guard/gadget that allowed me to safely and carefully create 1/8th-inch-thick zucchini tagliatelle strips. It’s a process!!!
Soon after that, my daughter, Melissa, called. During our conversation she asked what I was cooking this week. Without thinking I described the salad, telling her I was using a mandoline for the first time. Five seconds of silence. Then, “Mom, don’t you have a potato peeler?”
Our conversation deteriorated quickly. Me, laughing, hysterically, insisting I’d be careful. Melissa, not laughing at all, insisting “my” careful might not be careful enough. “Mom, seriously, those blades are dangerous. You’re a writer. You need all your fingers.”
“Mom, I am not kidding, you’re still scattered these days and shouldn’t be using a sharp instrument.”
And then, the shot through my heart, “Well, I think you know, Mother, I won’t sleep a wink tonight.”
In the end, I used the mandoline to make beautiful 1/8th-inch-thick zucchini tagliatelle slices. I was very, very, very careful. Still, except for very, very, very special occasions, I will not be using my mandoline again. For the amateur cook, caution is prudent.
I must admit that, to me, this salad looked better than it tasted. I didn’t enjoy this dish.
After all the drama, I didn’t enjoy this salad, finding the zucchini, cucumber, onion combo rather pugnacious, battling each other for the primary taste position. The pistachio oil/lemon juice/salt dressing didn’t blend the veggies strong flavors together. Surprisingly, the mint seemed to grab the salad and play a more important role than was ever intended. Although handsome in appearance, this wasn’t a palate-pleaser for me.
If you want to try out your mandoline on this salad, you will find the recipe here. To see how other mandoline mavens fared this week, go here.
The Palisade peach trees are being ambushed by the grape vines. The Grand Valley of Colorado, as this area is called, is the heart of Colorado’s ambitious and growing fruit and wine industry.
For me, carottes râpées and céleri rémoulade are the quintessential French bistro cruditiés, the fancy French word for raw salad. I’ve made these two recipes for years. Just take two rather ugly garden root vegetables, peel and shred, toss in a few extra ingredients and you’ve gone all exotic with your upcoming dinner menu.
A pound of newly-minted carrots just purchased at our Sunday Farmers Market.
Or, so I thought, asa young, rather Plain Jane cook in my kitchen. This week’s French Friday With Dorie recipe choice is Dorie’s delicious and versatile take on that café-style grated carrot salad. Serve it as a starter, side or snack. Slip it in a lunch box or pack for a picnic. It’s nutritious, filling and quickly made.
I needed a quickly-made something this week because I finally am making that long-anticipated move, at least until Thanksgiving, back to Colorado. For the past eight years my trips have been in the necessary flash-and-dash mode. I’d drive the ten-hour trip, stopping only for gas, in one day, stay in Aspen for three, and return the long albeit beautiful 510 miles the next. Each journey would end with my thinking, “Too old for this.”
This journey, no pressure, I could savor and enjoy. I left the still-darkened Henderson/Las Vegas area, as usual, at 5 A.M., the temperature was already 87 degrees. Since I lost an hour, due to the Pacific/Mountain time change, I arrived hungry in Green River, Utah at 1 P.M. While this community of less than 1000 residents may be a mecca for white water rafting (the Green River is the chief tributary of the Colorado River), the town itself is pathetically depressed with a boarded-up, for sale or rent, decapitated and delapitated main drag.
What’s not to love about Ray’s Tavern, a well-worn fixture in Green River, Utah.
Except for Ray’s Tavern. The destination-of-choice and only legitimate hang-out for, to quote Emma Lazarus, the tired, poor, hungry and huddled masses, Ray’s is a model for small town-institution. As one blogger put it, “The place is so authentic it doesn’t even have a website.” It’s a Jane and Michael Stern, Guy Fieri sort-of-place. It didn’t disappoint. Still crowded, authentic and hilarious, I sat at the 18‘ long community table to enjoy my teriyaki chicken sandwich, skins-intact fries and homemade slaw. As another blogger put it, “If for some godforsaken reason you happen to end up in Green River, Utah, then you might as well go to Ray’s Tavern.“
Two hours laterI reached my overnight destination, the tiny, vibrant Colorado community of Palisade. Population, 3,000. With its 78% sunshine average and 182-day growing season, it’s proudly billed as “The Peach Capital of Colorado”. This week-end, Palisade is strutting its fuzzy stuff with their 44th Annual Palisade Peach Festival.
Writing this, I have just checked into the Wine Country Inn, a lovely, faux-Victorian 80-room, wine-themed hotel built in 2007**. (**Nope, no perks, not free, always pay retail.) Set at the base of the Bookcliffs and next door to two wineries, the Inn is packed with Colorado peaches-on-their-mind tourists. Tonight I head to Main Street for the kick-off event, an Ice Cream Social and Street Dance. The peach sundaes are free, the Peach Queen will be crowned, recipes judged, pie-eating contests to begin, and the band will play on-and-on. Reminiscent of Manchester, Iowa, where I was raised, this is small town America at the ultimate and I couldn’t be happier. This year’s theme? “Life’s a Peach”. That’s true.
Let’s first return to this week’s recipe which can be found here. As I was saying, it’s simple. I made it Sunday to join an American hamburger and British ale for my international supper while watching the Olympics closing ceremonies. My only suggestions:
It’s easy to grate the carrots in a food processor.
One pound of carrots makes an ample supply of delicious carrot salad. The French like it plain, Dorie says, but she suggests we may add raisins, nuts and parsley. If one’s good, three is better. I added everything!
An All-American hamburger and French salad and………..
Pub Ale for a perfect supper to close the Olympics and salute the Brits for a job well done.
If possible, buy Farmer’s Market carrots with a little dirt still clinging.
In a hurry? Use the processor to grate the carrots and make the dressing.
If the carrots weep, don’t you cry, just wring them dry.
Although the French eat this “naked”, I added, at Dorie’s suggestion, raisins, roughly-cut walnuts and chopped fresh parsley this time. More nutritious. Yummy.
One pound (5 large carrots) makes “beaucoup de” (lots of) salad. It took the neighborhood to get me packed and loaded for my Colorado trip so I shared with them.
Palisade, Colorado
Wine Country Inn, Palisade, Colorado
To see what my other French Friday with Dorie colleagues grated up this week, go to this Site.
