Warm Your Cockles With Soup

Butternut Squash Soup with honey and Sage

I don’t buy cookbooks too often these days, they take up room and I subscribe to cooking magazines! But I was at a museum bookstore open house recently and instantly fell in love with Long Nights and Log Fires, a book packed with winter time recipes. Aah, I couldn’t resist!

So I made a butternut squash soup (it was billed as pumpkin soup but butternut is more accessible) and tweaked it a bit. If you can really blend it well into a puree you really don’t need the cream. But go ahead and add it if you wish. This is delicious and will warm your cockles.

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 small-medium onion, roughly chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
dash red pepper flakes (optional)
2 ¼ lbs butternut squash, seeded, peeled and cut into cubes
2 heaping tablespoons clear honey
3 sprigs sage, plus extra crisp-fried leaves (optional) to serve
3 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup heavy cream (optional)
freshly squeezed lemon juice, to taste
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Gently melt the butter in a large lidded saucepan. Add the onion, carrot and garlic. Stir, cover and cook, over low heat for about 4-5 minutes. Add the squash, honey, and sage, stir, replace the lid and continue to cook very gently for about 10 minutes. Pour in the stock, bring to a boil and cook for a further 10 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Turn off the heat and allow the soup to cool slightly, then remove the sage and strain the soup, retaining the liquid. Put half the cooked vegetables in a food processor with just enough of the reserved cooking liquid to blend into a smooth puree. (If, like me, you have an excellent blender, just blend veg and liquid into a puree. No straining needed.)

Transfer to a clean saucepan and repeat with the remaining vegetables, adding the puree to the first batch. Bring the soup slowly to a boil, then stir in the cream if using, off heat. Season to taste with lemon juice, salt and pepper.

If desired, fry some sage leaves in a neutral oil like grapeseed until crisp. Use to garnish bowls of soup. Serve with crusty bread.

I added a little heat to the recipe because that’s the way I like it.

I have some upcoming projects I am wanting to try: chiles en nogada – stuffed poblano chiles with walnut sauce. I had it last year in a Mexican restaurant in Santa Fe, NM and just can’t forget about it. So I randomly decided I had to read Like Water for Chocolate, found it in a used book store, and googled “are the recipes in Like Water for Chocolate any good?” and found a great looking recipe in Melissa Guerra’s Latin Kitchen Market blog. I’m going to try it soon. (I saw the movie of Like Water… years ago and finally decided I had to read it. Just so you know, I really disliked Mama Elena.)

For the first time ever, I have a more than decent crop of Meyer lemons. I have been giving lemons away, but I am really wanting to make Crema di Limoncello. Limoncello is a lemon liqueur from Italy. It’s nice but a little harsh tasting for me. Last summer our neighbors served us crema di limoncello (with milk in it) and it was amazing. I found a great looking recipe and I’m going to get some good Vodka (Tito’s – it’s reasonably priced and has been distilled 6 times) and go for it. Wish me luck!

A Day Without Kale is a Day Without Sunshine

I know kale is a big nutritional fad right now, and I’ve been eating it off and on for years. Reluctantly, I might add, because it’s so tough. However, I found a recipe that improves on the texture by freezing the greens before cooking them; it breaks down the cellulose. I wonder if that would work on leathery collard greens? Try it and let me know. I amped up the flavor by switching up some ingredients. It’s a good veg dish, fit for company, with a Mediterranean flavor. Use Tuscan, also called lacinato kale, if available; otherwise use the normal grocery store kale.

Tuscan Kale with Pancetta

3 lb Tuscan kale, washed, stemmed and frozen for at least a few hours
couple shakes red pepper flakes
1 tb olive oil
6 oz pancetta or smoked bacon, cut into lardons (1/4” crosswise strips)
1 ½ cups thinly sliced red onion (about 1 medium)
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 ½ cups low sodium chicken broth
red wine vinegar

Fill an 8 qt pot with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add big pinch of salt and dump in the frozen, straight-from-the-freezer kale. Mostly cover the pan cook on high heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender but not mushy. Drain in a colander (save the cooking water if you like) and press out excess liquid. When cool enough to handle, chop up kale.

Warm up the pot with olive oil over medium high heat and add pancetta, cooking until starting to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the onion, garlic and pinch salt and sweat until tender. Don’t worry about a little color on your aromatics, it will add flavor. Add the broth, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes. Add the kale and black pepper. Cook gently for 7 minutes, adjust seasonings.

Transfer to a serving bowl and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Offer red-wine vinegar, it really adds great flavor.

I’ve been working on my love-hate relationship with making fresh pasta. I watched Giuliano Hazan, evidently a renowned cookbook author make tortelloni online. I did make a tasty batch so I may try some more.

A stop at Lockeford Meats yesterday inspired me to try my hand at sausage making. They make incredible sausage; the Hawaiian luau is amazing. Just a little sweet, with a hint of pineapple. My mom bought some Italian sausage but it didn’t have any fennel in it!!!! What the heck!? So she and I are going to make Italian sausage soon. I have a pork shoulder in the freezer, a recipe from Top Chef University and she has the grinder and stuffer attachment. I just need to track down the casings. No nasty nitrates/nitrites are added; the sausage will go in the freezer. AND THEN, I am going to make Sunday gravy this fall, with my own sausage in it! Maybe I will make pasta to go with it. Or not. Probably not. Ciao!

Pasta and a Central Coast Drift

I periodically watch the Barefoot Contessa and recently recorded a program from 3 years ago on Italian cooking. This recipe originally came from Florence, Italy and she swore it was her favorite. So I made it and it was delicious but a little too spicy for Paul so I cut the crushed red pepper flakes in half in the recipe below. If you want to warm up your boca a little more just use the ½ teaspoon crushed red peppers originally called for. I also added pancetta at the end for texture and color, buying a package of diced pancetta at Trader Joe’s. However, next time I will buy pancetta at the deli counter, slice it into ¼” strips (lardons) and brown them. I think it would look nicer. Smoked bacon would be good too, I think.

Yes, the recipe calls for penne which will be excellent but Paul and I were 1 block away from the Genova Bakery in Stockton and I took him in there. It’s about 100 years old, in a dicey part of town and well known for their bread. Their foccaccia is divine! When we walked in I was hit by the heavenly aromas of freshly baked bread and aged cheese. They sell pasta making tools and bottled peppers and thingies and I picked up a package of cavatelli from Italy for our dish. (It worked out well.) So use this recipe as a guide, swerving as you may. (I used Manchego because I had it on hand.) It is really delicious. I might use half and half next time instead of cream. Maybe.

Penne Alla Vecchia Bettola

Serves: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, diced
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 cup vodka
• 2 (28-ounce) cans peeled plum tomatoes
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound penne pasta
• 4 tablespoons fresh oregano
• 3/4 to 1 cup heavy cream
• Grated Parmesan or Manchego or other hard aged cheese
• 4 oz pancetta, cut crosswise ¼” thick, optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a large oven proof saute pan over medium heat, add the onions and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes until translucent. Add the red pepper flakes and dried oregano and cook for 1 minute more. Add the vodka and continue cooking until the mixture is reduced by half.

Meanwhile, drain the tomatoes through a sieve and crush them into the pan with your hands. Add 2 teaspoons salt and a pinch of black pepper. Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid and place it in the oven for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes.

While the tomatoes are roasting brown the pancetta strips if using and set aside on a paper towel.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta al dente. Drain and set aside.

Place the tomato mixture in a blender and puree in batches until the sauce is a smooth consistency. Return to the pan.

Reheat the sauce, add 2 tablespoons fresh oregano and enough heavy cream to make the sauce a creamy consistency. Add salt and pepper, to taste, and simmer for 10 minutes. Toss the pasta into the sauce and cook for 2 minutes more. Stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan. Top with pancetta and serve with an additional sprinkle of Parmesan and a sprinkle of fresh oregano on each plate.

I love to tell you about restaurants I’ve tried (the good ones) and Paul and I went away to the Central California Coast this weekend. We started in San Luis Obispo (SLO) and hit the Thursday night farmer’s market. It’s a big social event in SLO and there’s entertainment as well as street food. I had Mamma Mia’s lasagna and it was pretty great street food. We did eat breakfast at the Apple Farm, and it was wonderful. They served a buttery scone that was almost like shortbread with their own boysenberry jam. Yum.

At coffee we ran into some people I knew, and they suggested Giuseppe’s in Pismo Beach for dinner. I was wondering if it was going to be one of those Olive Garden type places, but I was happily wrong. It’s white table cloth with fun décor and a great wine list. I don’t normally drink Syrah but this Syrah made for Giuseppe was smooth, medium on the way to full bodied and delicious. Two glasses and nary a headache later. Huzzah! The osso bucco with saffron risotto was cooked perfectly, I think in white wine. Paul’s bacon wrapped large prawns were slightly overcooked but still delicious. The service was excellent. A little expensive but so worth it. Go to Pismo and eat at Giuseppe’s. It’s on Price St. as is everything else of note in Pismo.

We drifted on up to Cambria, a very pretty town on the ocean with nice shops and galleries and great restaurants. Have breakfast at Linn’s on Main St and try the olallieberrie jam. Dinner at the Black Cat Bistro is pretty important. It’s an old house so the dining is all over the place. They were fully booked but the bar was empty at that moment so there we landed. We have eaten there in the past and I knew good wine was important to them but I was surprised to learn they serve wine in Riedel glasses. They are designed in such a way as to bring out the best in the flavors of the wine. Heck if I know how that works, but it does. Paul and I decided to share some plates and had a risotto, a gnocchi appetizer and a goat cheese plate with a short bread cookie with a couple of jammy things that was delicious. The smoothest chevre I’ve ever had. The wine she was good too. So, yes I recommend the Black Cat. You might want to make reservations. It’s popular.

P.S. if you love succulents there is a wonderful nursery called the Garden Shed in Cambria that sells rare and exotic succulents. A really great selection; Paul and I went gaga. We also bought some plants. We have a new plant addiction for Paul.

We drifted further north to Monterey on the hairpin ride of Hwy 1. I was reminded why it is such a pain to drive but filled with beautiful sights. We returned to the scene of the crime (we ate there a year ago) at Esteban, a mediterranean/tapas restaurant in the Casa Munras hotel. I wanted to try the bacalao, salt cod mixed with mashed potatoes. It’s fishy, but I decided I liked it without the bread, as did Paul. The lamb burgers were juicy, the pickled onions added a nice brightness to contrast the lamb. The butter lettuce salad with blue cheese and candied pecans was nice and fresh and delicious. Our server Ernesto was very helpful and friendly. And yes, the wine was good.

Wild Plum café is a block away and a great place to have breakfast. They really know how to cook breakfast potatoes – actually cooked through and well seasoned. I had a wonderful frittata with feta and other delights. Their bread and pastries are house made.

One last place to stop: we had agreed to stop in at Andy’s Orchard in Morgan Hill on the way home. I had read about it in Sunset Magazine, mooning over the apricots picked ripe instead of green, the wonderful cherries. You get my drift. Well his little country store had extremely sweet and delicious Rainier cherries and the apricots I brought home are juicy and flavorful. I will be sad when we have eaten them all, as you would be.