Sauces for Ham

My nephew, Gino, surprised us with a 5-lb ham he ordered from a family-owned farm and delivered to our doorstep this morning; just in time for New Year's Eve! The problem is, I never prepared ham before so I was scrambling to find a recipe for the glaze. I was planning to bake the ham, but my sister suggested that I carve the ham, cook the number of slices I need and serve them with sauce instead, which is a great idea.

Here are several simple sauces I found on the internet:

1/4 c. water
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 tbsp. catsup
1 1/2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1 1/2 c. crushed pineapple with juice
1 1/4 tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 c. water

Combine water, sugar, catsup, soy sauce, mustard and pineapple in saucepan. Bring to boil; simmer 10 minutes. Dissolve cornstarch in 1/2 cup of water; add to sauce. Cook stirring until clear. Serve over ham slices. Yield: About 4 cups sauce.

PINEAPPLE SAUCE FOR HAM

Read more about it at www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1715,147161-230194,00.html Content Copyright © 2010 Cooks.com - All rights reserved. 1 lg. can pineapple chunks in juice 2 tbsp. cornstarch Water Mix 2 tablespoons cornstarch with equal amount of water or a little bit more to make mixture for gravy-sauce. Pour pineapple juice into saucepan-gentle bring to a boil-stirring constantly. Add cornstarch mixture until sauce thickens. (Optional) add cut up pieces of pineapple to sauce-also cherries. Pour over cooked ham slices.

Chorizos Revueltos (Scrambled Eggs with Chorizo)

I love chorizos and would like to try this for dinner when I ran out of things to cook.

Revueltos are a Spanish form of scrambled eggs. The eggs are cracked directly into the pan and cooked rapidly over high heat while you break them up and swirl them around, gathering threads of white and yolk and, in this recipe, bits of chorizo. Revueltos make a fine breakfast and an even better first course for dinner. The fat in the chorizo has a way of making the eggs taste creamy without the need for any cream.

1 1/2 ounces mild Spanish chorizo, thinly sliced, cut crosswise into half moons
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 large eggs, cracked into a bowl
Coarse sea salt

Spread the sliced chorizo over the bottom of a large nonstick skillet and place over medium-high heat. When the chorizo begins to sizzle, add the olive oil to the pan. Pour in the eggs, then, using a wooden spoon, very quickly stir the eggs, breaking the yolks and turning the eggs over and over again, until just barely cooked, lifting the pan off the heat halfway through. It will take less than a minute.

Pour onto a serving dish, sprinkle with sea salt, and serve.

Asparagus with Miso Butter

My family loves asparagus.

Adapted from David Chang
Time: 20 minutes

4 tablespoons or 1/4 cup vegetable oil or rendered pork or bacon fat
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and peeled if necessary
Salt and pepper
¼ cup not-too-salty miso, preferably white
¼ cup unsalted butter
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
2 poached (or warm-bath-cooked) eggs.

1. Put oil or fat in skillet and turn heat to medium-high. Add as much asparagus as will fit in a layer, add salt and pepper to taste, and toss and stir until browned and shriveled, about 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, over low heat in a small saucepan, warm and whisk together miso and butter, so they combine, and butter softens but does not melt. Whisk in vinegar and keep warm. Warm a serving plate.

3. When asparagus is done, put some miso butter on bottom of serving plate. Blot excess fat from asparagus if you like, put on top of the miso butter, and top with poached eggs. Serve immediately.

Yield: 2 main course servings or 4 starters.

Asparagus Mimosa

This recipe has several versions, but this version from the The Essential New York Times Cookbook is one of the simplest I've seen.

1-1/2 pounds (680 grams) asparagus, trimmed
1 large egg
Extra virgin oil
1/2 lemon
Maldon or other flaky sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Fill a large pot with water, season with salt, and bring to a boil. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Drop the asparagus into the boiling water and cook until just tender, about 4 minutes. Lift out the spears an plunge them into the ice water. Once cool, drain and dry the asparagus on tea towels.
2. Bring the water to a boil again and drop in the egg. Cook for 9 minutes; let it cool before peeling it.
3. Arrange the asparagus on a platter. Sprinkle with olive oil, and squeeze over a little lemon juice. Place the egg in a sieve and use the back of a spoon to mash it through the sieve and over the asparagus. Finish the dish with a dash of salt and a coarse grind of pepper.

Serves 4.

Asparagus, Prosciutto and Egg

This recipe is by Carlo Mirarchi, the chef and co-owner of Roberta’s in Brooklyn

20 stalks medium-thickness asparagus, washed
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for serving
Sea salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Juice of ½ lemon
5 large eggs (chicken or duck)
1/4 cup heavy cream
4 large, thin slices La Quercia prosciutto (see note)
4 to 6 tablespoons freshly grated pecorino Romano
Freshly ground black pepper.

1. Prepare the asparagus: trim the ends off the asparagus where they break naturally. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in large sauté pan over medium heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the asparagus and season with sea salt. Turn frequently and cook until the spears are crisp-tender, about 8 minutes. When the asparagus is almost ready, add 1 tablespoon butter to the pan and use it to baste the asparagus. Squeeze lemon juice over the asparagus, and lay the stalks on a paper towel to drain.

2. To cook the eggs, heat 1 tablespoon butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Once it is melted, crack the eggs into the saucepan and add the cream. As the whites of the eggs become visible, slowly whisk the eggs with a fork until they have a soft and creamy texture. It is important that they remain very creamy and soft. They will continue cooking off the heat, so stop before they are fully cooked. Once the eggs are the desired texture, add sea salt to taste.

3. To assemble the dish, divide the asparagus among 4 warm plates. Drape a slice of prosciutto over each bundle of asparagus. Spoon the soft scrambled eggs over the prosciutto, followed by the grated pecorino and black pepper. Sprinkle with olive oil and serve immediately. Serves 4 as a first course.

Note: La Quercia prosciutto is available at Whole Foods and at laquercia.us.

Asparagus alla Fontina

This dish was described by Mimi Sheraton as "much like a quiche without a crust."

Salt
2 1/2 pounds thin asparagus, trimmed and washed
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg
1/3 cup grated Gruyère (see note)
3/4 cup finely minced or slivered prosciutto
2 tablespoons minced parsley
3 eggs, beaten
3 to 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add the asparagus and cook until crisp-tender. Drain and cut into 1-to-1½-inch lengths. Return the asparagus to the pot. Add the butter and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Set over low heat and stir to melt the butter. Remove from the heat.

2. Turn the asparagus and the melted butter into a 9- or 10-inch pie plate. Arrange in an even layer. Sprinkle with the Gruyère, prosciutto and parsley. Pour the beaten eggs on top, gently shaking the pan to distribute.

3. Top with the Parmesan and bake until the eggs are set into a custard and a golden-brown crust forms on top, about 35 minutes. Serve hot or warm. Serves 4 to 6.

Note: You may use fontina in place of the Gruyère.

Yette's Garden Platter

This dish is similar to one we made a few months ago.

This dish has superb design. The foundation is a nod to the French tian, a shallow casserole of baked vegetables, but its reconstruction and fine-tuning are distinctly American. Potatoes, zucchini, and tomatoes are combined and layered in such a way that they all cook to the perfect, concentrated consistency.

You slice the potatoes into large slabs and spread them on the bottom of the baking dish, then top them with 1/2-inch-thick slices of zucchini and peeled, seeded, and chopped tomatoes seasoned with onion, garlic, and lots of olive oil. The tomatoes, having been drained of much of their juice before being added to the casserole, moisten the vegetables without making them soggy, and at the very bottom of the casserole, you get a beautiful tomato-scented oil. Make sure you spoon it over every serving. - Amanda Hesser

3 medium potatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick
3 medium zucchini, sliced 1/2-inch thick
4 tomatoes, peeled, cored, seeded, and chopped
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
3/4 cup olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Layer the potatoes and then the zucchini in a shallow baking dish. Combine the remaining ingredients, and add to the dish.

Bake uncovered until the vegetables are tender and well-browned on the edges, about 1-1/2 hours.

Serves 3 as a main course, 6 as a first course.

Maple-Candied Bacon

I would love to try this and see if my son will like it.

What makes this maple-candied bacon recipe really sing? Dijon mustard with its nice vinegary bite that cuts through the saltiness of the meat. Grade B maple syrup, richer in flavor, is the only syrup I use.–Claire Robinson

Author’s What to Toss In If You Have It Note: Throw a pinch of chili powder or smoked paprika into the maple syrup mix for added zip. Make extra of this stuff—it definitely flies off the plate.

• 1 pound good-quality, thick-sliced bacon
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (optional)
• 1/2 cup pure Grade B maple syrup
• Finely ground black pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F (204°C).

2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with heavy foil. Place a baking rack over the lined baking sheet and arrange the bacon slices across the rack next to each other, not overlapping.

3. If using the mustard, whisk it into the maple syrup in a small bowl. Generously spoon the maple syrup over the top of the bacon and bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Turn and baste with the remaining syrup. Bake until the bacon has reached the desired crispness, 5 to 10 more minutes.

4. Carefully remove the baking sheet from the oven. Sprinkle the hot bacon with a scant pinch of pepper. Let rest on the rack for 5 minutes before serving.

Purple Plum Torte

This plum torte is both the most often published and the most requested recipe in the Times archives. By my count, Marian Burros (who was given the recipe by Lois Levine, with whom Burros wrote Elegant but Easy) ran the recipe in the paper twelve times. And when I asked readers for recipe suggestions for this book, 247 people raved about the torte. The plum torte happily lives up to its billing: crusty and light, with deep wells of slackened, sugar-glazed fruit.

I’ve thought a lot about why this torte struck such a chord with people: the answer, I think, is that it’s a nearly perfect recipe. There are only eight ingredients, all of which, except for the plums, you probably already have in your kitchen. There are just four steps, most of which are one sentence long. You need no special equipment, just a bowl, a wooden spoon, and a pan. The batter is like pancake batter, which most everyone is comfortable making. And baked plums are sweet and tart, making the flavor more complex and memorable than a hard-hitting sweet dessert.

It also freezes well. “A friend who loved the torte said that in exchange for two, she would let me store as many as I wanted in her freezer,” Burros wrote one year when she ran the recipe. “A week later, she went on vacation for two weeks and her mother stayed with her children. When she returned, my friend called and asked, ‘How many of those tortes did you leave in my freezer?’

“‘Twenty-four, but two of those were for you.’

“There was a long pause. ‘Well, I guess my mother either ate twelve of them or gave them away.’”

In later versions of the plum torte recipe, Burros cut back the sugar to 3/4 cup—feel free to if you like—and added variations, such as substituting blueberries or apples and cranberries for the plums (I haven’t tried either, but Burros was a fan). She jumped the shark, in my view, though, when she created low-fat variations with mashed bananas and applesauce. While I respect her enthusiasm for innovation, this is one recipe that needs no improvement.—Amanda Hesser

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Large pinch of salt
• 1 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon, or more or less, depending on the tartness of the plums
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 12 purple plums, halved and pitted
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, or more or less, depending on the tartness of the plums
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Heat the oven to 350°F (176°C). Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt.

2. Cream 1 cup sugar and the butter in a large bowl with a hand mixer (or in a mixer) until light in color. Add the dry ingredients and then the eggs.

3. Spoon the batter into an ungreased 9-inch springform pan. Cover the top of the batter with the plum halves, skin side up. Sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of sugar and the lemon juice, adjusting to the tartness of the fruit. Sprinkle with the cinnamon.

4. Bake the plum torte until the cake is golden and the plums are bubbly, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool on a rack, then unmold.

Serves 8.

Cooks note: I like this best with oval Italian plums, available in early fall.

Special equipment: 9-inch springform pan

Pierre Herme's Chocolate Sables

I made refrigerator cookies a few weeks ago and told myself I will stick to drop cookies, but I might give this a try.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick and 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel or 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
5 ounces best-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chip-size bits.

1. Sift the flour, cocoa and baking soda together. Put the butter in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat at medium speed until the butter is soft and creamy. Add the sugars, salt and vanilla extract and beat for another 1 or 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the sifted dry ingredients. Mix only until the dry ingredients are incorporated (the dough may look crumbly). For the best texture, work the dough as little as possible. Toss in the chocolate; mix to incorporate.

2. Turn the dough out onto a smooth work surface, divide in half and, working with one half at a time, shape the dough into a log that is 1 1/2 inches in diameter. (As you're shaping the log, flatten it once or twice and roll it up from one long side to the other, to make certain you haven't got an air channel.) Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and chill them for at least 1 hour. (Wrapped airtight, the logs can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for 1 month.)

3. Center a rack in the oven; preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

4. Working with a sharp, thin-bladed knife, slice rounds 1/2-inch thick. (If the cookies break, squeeze the broken-off bit back onto the cookie.) Place the cookies on the parchment-lined sheets, leaving an inch of space between them. Bake only 1 sheet at a time and bake each sheet for 12 minutes. (The cookies will not look done nor will they be firm, but that is the way they should be.) Transfer the sheet to a cooling rack and let the cookies rest, on the sheet, until they are only just warm. Repeat with the second sheet of cookies.

Makes about 36 cookies

Sausage, Bean and Corn Stew

The ingredients make this the perfect bridge between summer and fall cooking.

1 pound small white navy (pea) beans
7 cups cold water
1 teaspoon salt
6 coarsely ground sweet Italian sausages (about 1 1/2 pounds)
6 hot Italian sausages (about 1 pound)
1/2 cup water
2 onions (about 12 ounces), peeled and cut into 1-inch dice (2 cups)
2 carrots (about 6 ounces), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 1 cup)
1 1/2 cups sliced celery
3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced (about 1 1/2 tablespoons)
1 small jalapeno pepper, coarsely chopped, with seeds removed (1 teaspoon), optional
5 plum tomatoes (about 1 pound), cut into 1-inch pieces (about 2 1/2 cups), or the tomato ''lids'' and insides from the blackfish-stuffed tomatoes
3 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
4 ears corn, kernels removed (3 cups)

• Wash the beans and remove and discard any damaged beans or pebbles. The beans do not need to be pre-soaked, provided they are started in cold water. Place them in a large saucepan and cover with the seven cups of cold water and the one teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover and boil gently for 75 minutes. The beans should be just tender but still a bit firm.

• Meanwhile, prick the sweet and hot sausages (see note below) and place in one layer in a large saucepan. Add the half cup of water, cover, lower the heat to medium and cook about 20 minutes. By then the water should have almost completely evaporated and the sausages should be starting to sizzle in their own fat.

• Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic and optional hot pepper and continue cooking, covered, for another 10 minutes. Set aside.

• When the beans are cooked, drain, combine the sausage mixture with them and add the tomatoes and thyme. Cook together for another 15 minutes. By then the beans should be tender and the mixture just slightly soupy. (The dish can be prepared to this point the day before serving.) Set aside, ready to be reheated when needed.

• At serving time, bring the mixture to a boil on top of the stove or, if at the beach, on the grill. When boiling, add the corn kernels, return the mixture to the boil and serve.

Serves 6.

• NOTE:
  

The sausages can be left whole or cut into chunks before or after cooking.

Amazon Cake (Cocoa Cake)

I finally tried this dessert today. I added some chocolate chips though to make my partner happier. He couldn't believe this recipe did not have eggs in it.

You know how you occasionally forget until the last minute that you were supposed to bring a dish to the potluck or bake a cake for your kid's school thing? This is the cake for those moments. It will take you longer to think of another cake than it will to get this one in the oven. Will it be the best cake ever? No. But it will be very good and it will be homemade. And it will show that you care, even though you kind of forgot. - Amanda Hesser

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons corn oil
1 cup cold water
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
Confectioners' sugar for dusting

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan. Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, sugar, and salt.
2. Whisk together the oil, water, vanilla, and vinegar in a large bowl. Whisk in the dry ingredients, blending until completely lump-free. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the top springs back when pressed gently.
3. Cool on a rack before removing from the pan and dusting with confectioners' sugar (or frosting, if desired),

Serves 6-8.

Clear Steamed Chicken Soup with Ginger

I wonder if this tastes similar to Tinola Soup.

To make this soup, which comes from A Spoonful of Ginger by Nina Simonds, you combine all the ingredients in a pot, cover it tightly with a foil and a lid, and cook in a water bath in the oven for 2 hours. The steaming produces a limpid, intense broth. You remove the aromatics - ginger and scallion - before serving, so all you are left with are the chicken pieces and an aromatic, rice wine-infused tonic.

One 3- to 3 1/2-lb (1.3-1.5 kilos) chicken, excess fat removed, cut into 10-12 pieces
1-3/4 cups rice wine, preferably Shaoxing
10 scallions, trimmed and smashed lightly with the side of a knife
10 slices fresh ginger (the size of a quarter), smashed with the side of a knife
6 cups boiling water
1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste

1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Bring 8 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Blanch the chicken pieces for 1 minute. Drain.
2. Combine the chicken, rice wine, scallions, ginger, and boiling water in a Dutch oven or casserole with a lid. Cover tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil, then cover with the lid. Place the pot in a roasting pan and fill the pan with 1-1/2 inches of boiling water. Bake for 2 hours, replenishing the boiling water as needed.
3. Skim the top of the broth to remove any impurities and fat. Add the salt. Remove the ginger and scallions and ladle the soup and chicken into bowl.

Serves 6 as a first course.

Garden Minestrone

I like making Minestrone soup, especially if I have a lot of leftovers, so this soup, made without water or broth is interesting. Although I won't be able to use leftovers for this one!

Carefully constructed vegetable soups like this were relatively rare in the early 1970s. Nika Hazelton, whose recipe this is, instructed you not to put the pot on the stove until you had layered it with tomatoes, onions, garlic, zucchini, lettuce, peas, parsley, basil, broad beans and olive oil. "Be sure to follow this order, and do not stir," she wrote. Then you cook it all gently, letting each vegetable release its liquid on its own. No water or broth is added - the vegetables cook in their own juices and a slick of olive oil.

2 large tomatoes, peeled (see Cooking Notes) and sliced
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large zucchini, sliced
1 medium head Romaine lettuce, shredded
2 pounds fresh peas, sheeled, or one 10-oz (283 g) package frozen peas
2 tablespoons minced basil
1 cup minced flat-leaf parsley
2 pounds fresh broad beans or lima beans, shelled, or one 10-oz (283 g) package frozen lima beans
1/3 to 1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Put the sliced tomatoes in the bottom of a deep 3-quart casserole that can go to the table. Top with the sliced onions and garlic. Top with the zucchini. Add the shredded lettuce. Place the peas on top of lettuce. Sprinkle the basil and half the parsley over the peas and top with the beans. Sprinkle the remaining parsley and the olive oil over all. Be sure to follow the order, and do not stir or mix the vegetables.
2. Cover the pot and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes or until the vegetables at the bottom of the casserole release their liquid. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Now stir the vegetables and mix well. Cook, covered, over low heat, stirring frequently, just until the beans are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Do not add water; the vegetables have enough moisture of their own. Serve hot or lukewarm, with Parmesan cheese.
   

Serves 6.

Cooking Notes:

• To peel tomatoes, cut a shallow X in the bottom of each tomato. Submerge in boiling water for 5 to 10 seconds to loosen the skins. Remove and chill in cold water. The skins will slip off.
• If you have a small piece of Parmesan rind, you can add it to the soup at the beginning of cooking for extra flavor. Either way, before serving, you should stir a small amount of the grated cheese into the soup, and then sprinkle a little more on top.
  

Creamy Farro and Chickpea Soup

The book, The Essential New York Times Cookbook, is due back at the library and I have barely skimmed the surface, so the next few recipes come from the book.

This recipe comes from Wolfert's Mediterranean Grains and Greens. You build the soup on a foundation of prosciutto, onion, and celery, later adding nutmeg and marjoram to the farro, and just before serving, you puree some of the cooked chickpeas to thicken the broth and integrate the parts into a coherent whole.

3/4 cup dried chickpeas, rinsed, picked over, and soaked overnight in water to cover
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 bay leaves
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon chopped prosciutoo
1 tablespoon minced celery
3/4 cup farro or hulled barley, rinsed and soaked overnight in water to cover
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
2 pinches freshly grated nutmeg
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Chopped flat-leaf parsley for garnish

1. Drain the chickpeas and place in a medium saucepan. Cover with plenty of cold water and bring to a boil. Add the sea salt and bay leaves, reduce the heat, and cook, covered, until the chickpeas are very soft, about 1-1/2 hours.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add the onion, prosciutto, and celery and cook gently for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft but not brown. Drain the farro and add it to the onion mixture, along with the chicken broth, marjoram, and nutmeg. Cook, partially covered, for 1 hour.
3. Drain the chickpeas, reserving the cooking liquid; discard the bay leaves. Puree the chickpeas with 1 cup of the reserved liquid in a food processor. Add the pureed chickpeas to the farro mixture; if necessary, add more of the cooking liquid from the chickpeas to achieve the consistency of a creamy soup. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepepr. Wait for 10 minutes before serving.
   
4. Sprinkle each portion with chopped parsley and a drizzle of olive oil.

Serves 4.

Roasted Squash Soup with Cumin

Here's another soup recipe from The Essential New York Times Cookbook.

So many butternut squash soups overdo the sweetness. This one trots it out but keeps it under tight reight with cumin, vinegar, and cayenne - and salty cumin-scented squash seeds for added emphasis.

1 large buttternut squash (about 3 pounds/1.3 kilos)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
4-1/2 cups chicken broth
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar (or wine vinegar)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line 1 large and 1 small baking sheet with aluminum foil. With a large knife, split the squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out and reserve the seeds. Brush the cut sides of the squash with 2 teaspoons of oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place cut side down on the large baking sheet and roast until very tender, 35-45 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, remove any orange fibers from the seeds and rinse the seeds under cold running water. Drain and place on paper towels to dry.
3. Toss the seeds with the remaining teaspoon of oil and 1/2 teaspoon cumin, and season with salt. Spread on the small baking sheet and roast along with the squash, stirring occasionally, until well browned, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
4. Scoop the flesh from the squash shells and place in a pot. Add the chicken broth, garlic, vinegar, sugar, cayenne, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon cumin. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
5. Working in small batches, transfer the soup to a blender and blend until smooth. Return the soup to the pot, stir in the cream, and bring just to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper and serve garnished with the squash seeds.

Serves 4-6.

Pasta and Bean Soup

This is the first recipe I tried from The Essential New York Times Cookbook.

Tom Valenti, the owner of Ouest, in New York City, is most famous for his braised veal shanks, a dish that kept his fans jockeying for reservations through the first decade of the 21st century. But Valenti is really a master of anything hearty and succulent - like this pasta and bean soup. You won't believe it doesn't have any meat other than some diced prosciutto. Even the broth is vegetable.

2 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 lb (about 113 grams) prosciuttto, cut into medium dice (double-smoked bacon can be substituted)
1 small carrot, peeled and cut into small dice
1 small Spanish onion, cut into small dice
1 stalk celery, cut into small dice
2 cloves garlic, smashed
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste
4 cups vegetable broth
4 cups water
2 medium baking potatoes, peeled
1 cup ditalini pasta (or macaroni)
Two 14 1/2-oz (411 g) cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained (or white navy beans)
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling
Extra virgin olive oil

1. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add the prosciutto and cook, stirring, until it begins to render its fat, about 4 minutes. Add the carrot, onion, celery, and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are softened but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, stir to coat the other ingredients, and cook for 2 minutes. Add the broth, water, and potatoes, raise heat to high, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the potatoes are very soft, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the potatoes to a bowl and mash them.
2. Meanwhile, add the pasta to the soup. When it is nearly done, return the potatoes to the soup. (If not serving immediately, let cool, cover, and refrigerate for up to a few days or freeze for up to 1 month. Reheat before proceeding.)
3. Add the beans to the soup and cook over medium heat until warmed through, about 3 minutes. Stir in the rosemary, crushed red pepper, and Parmesan. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
4. Ladle the soup into 8 bowls. Top each with more cheese and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Serves 8.

Chinese Beef Broccoli

This is the second recipe I tried from the cookbook. It was quite good, too.
I used round steak, thinly sliced, and a mixture of frozen broccoli, cauliflower and carrots.

SERVES 4 AS PART OF MULTICOURSE MEAL
1 lb (500 g) top sirloin or flank steak, thinly sliced into 1/8-in (3-mm)-thick strips
11/2 lbs (750 g) broccoli, cut into bite-size florets
1 tablespoon high-heat cooking oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic

BEEF MARINADE
1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon cooking oil
Freshly ground black pepper to season the beef

STIR-FRY SAUCE
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
2 teaspoons Chinese black vinegar (or balsamic vinegar)

1 In a bowl, combine the ingredients for the Beef Marinade. Add the beef and let mari- nate for 10 minutes at room temperature.

2 In a small bowl, mix together the ingre- dients for the Stir-fry Sauce.

3 In a wok or large sauté pan, add 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water and bring to a boil. Add the broccoli and cover to steam for 3 minutes. The broccoli should be bright green, crisp tender and you should be able to pierce the stem with a fork. Drain.

4 Discard the water in the pan and dry the pan well. Set the pan over high heat and when hot, add the high-heat cooking oil and swirl to coat. Add the garlic and fry for 15 to 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the steak strips, keeping them in one layer and fry 30 seconds. Flip the strips and fry the other side.

5 Pour in the Stir-fry Sauce and stir to combine. Simmer until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 30 seconds. Add the cooked broccoli back into the pan and toss to coat well.

Baked Crispy Chicken with Citrus Teriyaki Sauce

I borrowed another cookbook last week and this is the first recipe I tried. My son loved it when we had it for dinner last night, but complained that it had turned soggy by the time he had the left-overs for lunch today. Instead of chicken breasts, I used thighs.

1/2 cup (50 g) all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1 cup (120 g) panko breadcrumbs
1 lb (500 g) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Nonstick cooking spray

Citrus Teriyaki Dipping Sauce
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons orange juice
3 tablespoons sake
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons mirin


To make the sauce, combine the soy sauce, orange juice, sake, sugar and mirin in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 6 minutes, until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 475˚ F. In a shallow bowl or pie plate, whisk together the flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper. In a second bowl, lightly beat the eggs together. Place the panko in a third shallow bowl or pie plate. Place a wire rack over a baking sheet and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.

Butterfly the chicken breasts into halves so that you have 4-6 pieces total. Lightly season both sides of the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Using tongs and working with one piece of chicken at a time, dredge the chicken in the flour mixture to coat both sides. Shake lightly to remove any excess. Then dip into the eggs and shake gently to remove any excess. Finally place in the panko, turning to coat well. Transfer to the prepared wire rack. Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces. Once all the chicken pieces are in place, spray lightly with cooking spray.

Bake for 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the bread crumbs are golden. Let rest a few minutes before slicing and serving. Serve with the teriyaki dipping sauce.

Slow-Roasted Garlic and Lemon Chicken

I meant to try this slow-cooker recipe from Apartment Therapy, but someone commented that she makes a similar version from Nigella Lawson, which I think I prefer.

This is one of those recipes you can’t make once: that’s to say, after the first time, you’re hooked. It is gloriously easy: you just put everything in the roasting dish and leave it to cook in the oven, pervading the house, at any time of year, with the summer scent of lemon and thyme – and of course mellow, almost honeyed garlic.

I got the idea of it from those long-cooked French chicken casseroles with whole garlic cloves and just wanted to spritz it up with lemon for summer. The wonderful thing about it is that you turn the lemon from being flavouring to being a major player; left in chunks to cook slowly in the oven they seem almost to caramelise and you can eat them, skin, pith and all, their sour bitterness sweetened in the heat.

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

• 1 x 2-2.25kg Chicken cut into 10 pieces
• 1 head Garlic separated into unpeeled cloves
• 2 unwaxed Lemons cut into chunky eighths
• fresh Thyme
• 3 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 150 ml white wine
• Black pepper

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Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 160ºC/gas mark 3.
2. Put the chicken pieces into a roasting tin and add garlic cloves, lemon chunks and the thyme; just roughly pull the leaves off the stalks, leaving some intact for strewing over later.
3. Add the oil and using your hands mix everything together, then spread the mixture out, making sure all the chicken pieces are skin side up.
4. Sprinkle over the white wine and grind on some pepper, then cover tightly with foil and put in the oven to cook, at flavour-intensifying low heat, for 2 hours.
5. Remove the foil from the roasting tin, and turn up the oven to 200ºC/gas mark 6.
6. Cook the uncovered chicken for another 30-45 minutes, by which time the skin on the meat will have turned golden brown and the lemons will have begun to scorch and caramelise at the edges.
7. I like to serve this as it is, straight from the roasting tin: so just strew with your remaining thyme and dole out.

Chickpea and Chorizo Soup

I love chickpea and chorizo! Will try this recipe from Apartment Therapy soon.

makes about 2 quarts

12 ounces chorizo sausage
1 large white onion, chopped and thinly sliced
4 stalks of celery, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespons fresh thyme, minced
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 can Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup Italian parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper

Chop or crumble the chorizo into bite-size pieces. Film a heavy pan lightly with olive oil and put over medium-high heat. Cook the chorizo for about five minutes or until it starts browning and and smoking. Lift out and drain on a plate lined with paper towels.

Pour a little more olive oil into the pan and turn the heat to medium. Add the onions and celery and cook for about ten minutes, or until soft. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for another couple minutes, or until golden and fragrant. Add the chorizo back in, along with the chickpeas and beans. Cook all together for a minute, stirring, until the beans are well coated with the onions and oil.

Add the broth and white wine and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and add the parsley and olive oil. Simmer for about half an hour, or until slightly reduced. Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving.

(Image: Faith Durand)

Vanilla Quinoa Pudding

This recipe is by Melissa Breyer

Quinoa in this application results in a cross between rice pudding and tapioca, with more protein than either.

• 3 cups whole milk (works well with soy or nut milk for a vegan version)
• 1 vanilla bean (split, or 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract)
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup quinoa

Rinse quinoa. Mix milk, vanilla, maple syrup and salt in a saucepan and set on simmer. Add quinoa and cook for 30 minutes, stirring frequently (but not constantly).Once thickened, remove from heat and allow to cool. Serve warm, or refrigerate. Top with all kinds of delicious tidbits; berries, dried fruit, nuts, nutmeg, brown sugar, etc.