Raw Kale Salad with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette

I first ate this at Seester #1's house one Thanksgiving and I was well and truly hooked. There have been weeks where I ate this five days in a row.  Sometimes I wash, dry and prep the kale and then wrap it in a length of paper towel, then store it in a plastic bag.  It will stay fresh for several days.

I most often see this kale labelled as "Dino" because of the pebbled surface of the leaves.  There are many types of kale, but this is my favorite and I can't imagine making this salad with any other type. See: Kale (Wikipedia) and Google Image search for "kale varieties".


Raw Kale Salad with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette
Serves 2 to 4

Ingredients:

1 large bunch Tuscan kale (also known as dino, black or lacinato kale), leaves washed and thoroughly dried.

1/4 cup homemade toasted bread crumbs (coarse)

1/2 or 1 medium garlic clove, mashed into a paste

1/4 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese, more for garnish

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 table spoons freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste.

 Method:

1. Trim bottoms off of the kale stems (up to the bottom of the leaf) and discard. Stack the leaves (as many as can be handled).  Chiffonade the leaves (crosswise, along the length of the leaves)  into ribbons no wider than linguine pasta. You should have 4 to 5 cups. Place kale in a large bowl.

2. If using bread, toast it until golden on both sides. Tear into small pieces and grind in a food processor until mixture consists of coarse crumbs.

3. Transfer garlic to a bowl. Add the cheese, lemon juice, salt, pepper flakes and whisk for about 30 seconds. Add  the oil in a thin stream and whisk until emulsified.  Pour the dressing over the kale and toss very well to thoroughly combine. Add black pepper to taste and toss again.

4. Let salad sit for 5 minutes (I've let it sit for up to 20 minutes), then serve topped with bread crumbs and a dusting of additional 2 tbsp. finely grated cheese. 

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

A Crazy Good Make-Ahead Creamy Mac & Cheese

Several people asked for this recipe from Seester #1:

"I used a 'make-ahead' recipe from Cook's Country, amping up the mustard x2 (no need to use dry; I used Dijon), the cayenne by x3, adding Worcester--about two teaspoons, and replacing some of the Colby with Fontina, another good melter with a more interesting flavor.

The recipe was developed to allow making it in advance without it drying out while in the oven-- a problem with baked mac n'cheese. You'll see it references freezing it prior to baking and to quicken defrosting, using 2 8" pans instead of 1 larger one. I didn't freeze it; I simply made it the day before so used a larger pan."


Make-Ahead Creamy Macaroni and Cheese
Serves 8-10


4 slices hearty white sandwich bread, torn into pieces
1/4 c. grated Parmesan
1 clove garlic, minced
8 T. butter, melted
salt and pepper
1 lb elbow macaroni
3 T. AP flour
1/4 to 1/2 t. cayenne or to taste
1/2 T Dijon mustard
2 t. Worcestershire sauce
4.5 c. low sodium chicken broth
1.5 c. heavy cream
2 cups shredded Colby cheese
2 cups shredded Fontina cheese
2 cups shredded extra sharp Cheddar



Topping:
Pulse bread, Parmesan, garlic and 2 T butter in food processor until coarsely ground. If freezing the macaroni and cheese, divide the crumb mixture between two zip-lock bags and freeze.

Cook Pasta:
Bring 4 quarts of water to boil. Add 1 T. salt and macaroni and cook until barely softened, about 3 minutes. Drain pasta--don't rinse--then spread out on half-sheet pan to cool (not rinsing the pasta preserves the starch, which helps to stabilize the sauce while baking).

Make Sauce:
Heat remaining butter, flour, cayenne and mustard in 4 qt saucepan or dutch oven over medium high heat until golden and fragrant, stirring constantly, for 1 to 2 min. Slowly whisk in broth and cream and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until slightly thickened about 15 min. Off heat, stir in cheeses, 1 t. salt or to taste and 1/2 t. pepper until smooth.

Freeze:
Stir cooled pasta into sauce and divide between 2 8" baking dishes. Cool to room temp, about 2 hours. Wrap tightly in plastic, cover with foil and freeze up to two months.

Bake:
Adjust oven rack to middle and preheat to 375 degrees. Remove foil from casserole and reserve. Microwave casserole dishes until mixture is thawed and beginning to bubble around the edges, 7 - 12 min, stirring halfway through the cooking time. Discard plastic and cover casseroles with foil. Bake 20 min., then remove foil and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Continue to bake until topping is golden brown and crisp, about 20 min. longer. Let cool 10 min. before serving.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Baked Corn Pudding: Simple and Delicious

This recipe has been updated, see: Baked Corn Pudding - Version2: Updated and Improved

No cream, no aromatics, no bacon, no cheese (gasp!).  Corn, butter, salt. and pepper.  Eat it and be happy.

Ingredients

• 6 ears fresh corn


• 2 tsp kosher salt (1 tsp iodized salt)


• 4 tbsp unsalted butter + more for greasing the baking dish


• 1/4 tsp kosher salt  (a small pinch iodized salt) for the top


• Pepper to taste

Equipment:

• Box grater or corn creamer


• A big, wide bowl in which to grate the corn


• 8" square baking dish, greased with butter (compare the a volume of corn to the volume of your baking dish before greasing it - use a smaller or larger size baking dish as necessary)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 F (204 C)


• Using the box grater, remove the meat and juices from each of the ears working very close to the cob - you want this to be very mushy and milky.  For me, cutting the ears in half makes them easier to handle.  Once you have finished the corn, season with salt and pepper, tasting the mixture.


• Pour the corn mixture into the baking pan.  Smooth out the top and dot with butter.  Sprinkle the top with the additional salt.


• Bake on the middle rack at 400 F uncovered for 45-50 minutes (start checking it at 40 minutes), or until the top is golden brown around the sides and the corn is bubbling.  Remove from the oven and let it rest for a few minutes before serving.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Brussels Sprouts with White Beans and Pecorino

This is a Thanksgiving "must have" for me.

From: Epicurious: Bon Appetit, November 2005

Serves: 6 as a side dish.

4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 pounds brussels sprouts, trimmed, cut in half lengthwise

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 cup low-salt chicken broth (or water, for a vegetarian dish)

1/2 15-ounce can cannellini (white kidney beans), drained

1 tbsp butter

1/2 cup coarsely grated young pecorino like Pecorino Toscano

Method:

Heat 1.5 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. When just about to smoke, add half of the brussels sprouts. Cook until brown, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Transfer to large bowl. Heat 1.5 tablespoons oil in same skillet. Add remaining brussels sprouts, reduce heat to medium-high, and cook until brown, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Transfer brussels sprouts to same bowl.

Add remaining oil to skillet; increase heat to high. Add garlic; sauté until brown, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. Add broth and brussels sprouts. Cook until brussels sprouts are crisp-tender, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes. Add beans and butter; stir until butter melts and broth is reduced to glaze, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Take off-heat and stir in the cheese.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Tamarind beet salad

Tamarind beet salad with blood orange

                                                             Yield: 2 servings

Tamarind beet salad is slow food. The sweet-sour character of tamarind, together with the added spices, renders this dish a prime accompaniment for roast beef, moose, venison or bison, or for game birds.

Tamarind beets

Tamarind puree is made in the old-fashioned way, requiring slow and careful stirring of the mixture by hand. When the puree is cooked, it is stored to cool. Cooked beets are then sliced and the puree is added to the beets, along with a sliced and segmented blood orange.

Tamarind puree

                                               Yield: approximately ½ cup puree

Soft dried tamarind

Ingredients:

¼ cup soft, dried tamarind (approximately), without seeds

7 - 12 tablespoons hot water

½ teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon whole fennel seeds

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

pinch of garam masala

Preparation:

1. In a heat-proof bowl or small cooking pot, place tamarind and 3 tablespoons of hot water. Squish, stir and generally do what you must to loosen and soften the tamarind, liquifying it into a puree. Add hot water, 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture becomes a liquid puree rather than a paste. It may take 20 minutes to reach the puree stage, depending upon how soft the block of tamarind was initially.

Even although there are not supposed to be seeds in the tamarind block, often there are. Remove seeds and discard them.

2. In a small cooking pot, place the tamarind puree over medium heat until steam rises, then reduce heat to simmer.

3. Add the remaining ingredients. Stir gently and continually for 5 - 20 minutes, allowing the spice flavours to be released and to mingle.

Tamarind puree

4.  Decant into a tightly-lidded container and store in refrigerator to cool.

Tamarind beet salad

Chopped beets, blood orange and fresh mint

Ingredients:

4 small beets, cooked according to your preferred method, peeled, sliced and chilled

1 blood orange, peeled, sliced and segmented

3 tablespoons prepared tamarind puree

fresh mint

Blood oranges

Preparation:

Place  all ingredients in a bowl and fold them together. Spoon into serving dishes and garnish with mint.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Spinach Ricotta Gnocchi with Creamy Tomato Sauce ♥

Today's vegetable recipe: The classic Italian spinach gnocchi [pronounced NYOAK-ee, or, read on, there's a musical mnemonic too], what you might call a dumpling but light and airy and slightly cheesy. Gnocchi are not difficult to make but do take some time. The results, however, are worthy of a special occasion or a relaxed weekend meal.

So I like to joke that there's an Unofficial Alanna Kellogg Fan Club and that it has exactly one member. That's our new friend Charlie and given his long-standing encouragement, I've appointed Charlie president. (Update: And someone's appointed himself vice president! Hello, David Sacis!)

Laugh if you will but it's true. Some years back, Charlie read and liked Kitchen Parade when it was published in the local newspaper. He's a volunteer poll worker too so one election, Charlie watched for me and put out his hand to introduce himself. Fast forward to 2011 and Charlie and and his wife Jan's introductions to the Missouri Mycological Society and a smaller culinary group, the Incurable Epicureans. Both warmly welcome new faces. They're good good people and they don't just like mushrooms, they love good food! Four times a year, they prepare a 'theme meal' for forty or fifty people. On Sunday, we attended our first, a feast of Marcella Hazan recipes. What a meal! There are at least two, maybe three recipes I'll make to post here on A Veggie Venture, simple, fresh and seasonal, you know, the recipes we like best!
Keep Reading ->>>

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Nutritional value of beets - Part 5: Beet greens (raw)

Raw beet greens

Beet cultivation originated in the Mediterranean basin well before the Greeks became a predominant force. Beets were valued for their leaves rather than their roots; they were commonly known as blood root. Thus, when we use beet leaves, we are reverting to the original use of the plant.

Beet greens are also called beet leaves and beet tops. Whatever you wish to call them, they are a rich source of nutrients and nourishment.

This article discusses only those nutrients present in the highest quantities in beet greens. For a more extensive list of nutrients and their associated values, please refer to the USDA National Nutrient database.

The nutritional values of beet greens are most abundantly represented in the following listed vitamins and minerals:

Measure: 38g (1 cup)

Calories: 8

Principle	Nutrient value	% of RDA*  M --- F
Vitamin A	2404 IU	48 - 60
Vitamin C	152 mcg	19 - 19
Vitamin K	11.4 mcg	190 - 190
Potassium	290 mg
Magnesium	26.6 mg	7.4 - 8.9
Manganese	0.1 mg

IU = International Units; mg = milligram; mcg = microgram

RDA = Recommended Daily Allowance; M = male; F = female

* RDA has been made obsolete by the USDA and so, as of March 2011, when I do mention it, it shall only be as a quaint matter of historical interest. RDA has been replaced by three other measures which are (a) unrelated to RDA and (b) meaningless for all practical purposes at this time. This will remain the case until such time as the new measures are sufficiently and comprehensively developed to the point of serving a meaningful purpose.

For a broad overview of one of the new, incomplete standard measures, check out Dietary Reference Intake .

For more information on the health benefits of beets, follow the links below:

Nutritional value of beets - Part 1

Nutritional value of beets - Part 2 

Nutritional value of beets - Part 3

Nutritional value of beets - Part 4

Nutritional value of beets - Part 6

Nutritional value of beets - Part 7

Nutritional value of beets - Part 8

Nutritional value of beets - Part 9

Nutritional value of beets - Part 10

Nutritional value of beets - Part 11

reade more... Résuméabuiyad