Monthly Archives: April 2011
Winging It
Another tough week of getting my act together for cooking. I haven’t been particularly organized about planning meals or shopping. I stopped at the store last night, but only picked up depleted staples: yogurt, grapefruit juice, breakfast cheese. This morning, I realized we really didn’t have anything for dinner.
The weather this evening was supposed to be balmy, so Howard said he’d grill. This morning, he pulled some Chestnut Farms’ sweet Italian sausage from the freezer and left it in the fridge to defrost.
Now, what to have with grilled sausage? I wasn’t I the mood for pasta, so I pored over a pile of cookbooks to find some inspiration. I didn’t find an exact recipe that appealed, but I found a few different ones with elements that did. From those ideas, I came up with my own concoction.
I had to stop at Wilson Farm on the way home from work to pick up some broccoli rabe, but everything else I needed was in the pantry. The result was a warm mess of spicy bitter greens with tomatoes and white beans. I topped each serving with a link of grilled sausage. It was nearly perfect. Next time, I think I’d slice the grilled sausage and just toss it into the greens. The flavors went well together, and it was a successful dinner!
Braised Broccoli Rabe with Tomatoes and White Beans
Serves 2-3
1 lb broccoli rabe
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can (14 oz) diced Italian tomatoes with juice
1 can (15 oz) cannellini (white kidney) beans, drained and rinsed well
½ tsp red pepper flakes
Remove the very ends of the broccoli rabe (¼ inch or less). Slice the stems and leaves into 1- to 2-inch pieces. Rinse well. There is no need to dry the greens. The clinging water will cook off while braising.
Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large sauté pan. Add minced garlic and cook until fragrant, but don’t let it brown. Add the broccoli rabe and stir to combine with garlic. Stir in the tomatoes, beans, and pepper flakes. Cover, and cook until the liquid evaporates, about 10 minutes. Season with salt to taste. (Personally, I thought the canned tomatoes and beans added more than enough salt, and I didn’t add more.)
If desired, serve topped with grilled sweet Italian sausage.
French Fridays with Dorie: Mustard Bâtons with an Asian Flair
This was actually the first recipe I made after I bought Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table, before French Fridays with Dorie even started. I was happy to see this recipe on the docket because they were relatively easy to make and quite delicious.
Mustard Bâtons is yet another one of Dorie’s versatile template-more-than-recipes to add to your repertoire. The first time, I made this recipe “straight” with a fresh bottle of Dijon mustard and a seed medley (flax, toasted sesame, black caraway, midget sunflower, poppy, & anise seeds) on top. They were the perfect elegant nibble to serve at a reception.
This time around I wanted to be a little more creative. I checked out the pantry shelves for inspiration. I found a little jar of something called Goma Shio, also labeled Rice Seasoning. It’s meant to be a Japanese condiment, though my jar was made in China. It contains just black sesame seeds and large crystals of salt and sugar. This inspired me to go with an Asian theme. I had some dried wasabi that I thought I could mix into Dijon mustard, but then I spotted a jar of Trader Joe’s Sake Wasabi Mustard on the condiment shelf of my fridge. A little taste confirmed that this mustard had enough bite to use as is.
The hardest step in this recipe is rolling out the puff pastry. I’m good at rolling things out, though I found it a challenge to get a true rectangle. No worries, I cut the sides straight, and the ends are just a little curvey.
I liked the sweet and salty flavors from my topping. I think a little sprinkle of sugar and salt would be nice with plain seeds. I also think of a light sprinkle of seeds on the inside would be fun. You wouldn’t see them, but they would taste good!
These crispy treats were a treat to nibble on. There were some leftover that I served with salad for lunch the next day. They were a little soft after the night in a plastic container, but a quick crisp-up in the oven would fix that.
Overall, I give this week’s recipe a hearty thumbs up. This is the kind of recipe I love. The steps are simple and anything could go inside or on top of the batons for an endless variety of elegant appetizers.
As always, I love to see my fellow FFwD bloggers did with this week’s recipe. I’m sure they’ve been very creative. Check out their links at French Fridays with Dorie. We don’t post the recipes, but Dorie has posted the recipe on her site, so you can find it here.
First Try at Mustard Batons
A Plateful of Happiness 