Cat Food

Dinner

A quiet dinner. Rosemary crostini, Soppresatta & Camembert.

Octopus Salad @ Tia Pol

Stopped for a snack on my way home the other night. Tia Pol has the best tapas and they didn't disappoint. Octopus medallions, fingerling potatoes and shaved baby beets in a light onion vinaigrette. Yum.

Cullen Skink Revisited!

Well, it's been a few days of nasty cold damp weather and I thought I'd make a big pot of soup! Oh yeah ... I still don't really have a proper working stove. DAMN!

For those of you out there who are thinking it's soup weather too why don't you try a nice hearty recipe for a Scottish favorite and let me know how it turns out. I have to cook vicariously through you till the new stove comes in!

Cullen Skink ... or Haddock Chowder

A Healthy Snack for the New Year!

Ahhhhh - the holidays are almost over and it feels like the right time to scale back in the food department.

One of the little starters I served on Christmas day was my Roasted Pumpkin Seeds. They’re fantastically crunchy and when you roast them with some fresh rosemary, a little lemon zest & salt they’re down right addictive! They’re fantastic to serve with cocktails or as a snack by themselves, and pumpkin seeds - I use the green pepitas - are really healthy.

Pumpkin seeds are packed with minerals especially zinc and are known to help keep the prostate healthy as well as having anti-inflammatory benefits for sufferers of arthritis among many other health benefits.

So start the New Year off right and make a nice healthy nosh to go with those festive New Year’s Eve cocktails! You’ll definitely be ahead of the game in the resolution department!

Cat’s Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients

2 cups green pepitas
2 Tbs. fresh rosemary, minced
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
2 Tbs. olive oil
salt to taste

Method

1) The easiest way to combine the flavoring ingredients is with a morter and pestle. Place the rosemary, lemon zest and a pinch of salt into a morter and bash it around really well so that the mixture is combined.

2) In a separate bowl, toss the pumpkin seeds, flavorings and olive oil together till the seeds are well coated and glossy.

3) Spread the seeds out on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or tin foil and roast till they start to become a lovely burnished gold and the rosemary is fragrant.

Check out this site for more info. on pumpkin seeds - link

What a day!

I have not abandoned my site. I promise. I had no idea how nerve wracking buying a house would be. I've been obsessed with getting everything together and that has left me exhausted and feeling none to creative in the recipe department. I'm now starting to pack up my house for the big move and that means my kitchen too! Yikes! If you could see all the gadgets I have ... oy!

Last weekend I took a break from all this house stuff and we celebrated fall in all its glory at the Montclair Farmer's Market Harvest Festival. There was all kinds of great stuff for kids, cooking demos by myself and a local caterer named Nicky Mesiah, even a petting zoo. Here are the recipes I shared with the folks who stopped by.

Curried Harvest Fruit & Nut Salad
4 – 6 servings

Salad
1cup barley
2 red skinned apples
2 pears
1 cup dried apricots, diced
2 stalks celery
2 cups or 1 small bunch red or green grapes
½ cup raisins
1 cup chopped nuts

Dressing
¾ cup low fat yogurt
1 Tbs. Honey
1 tsp. Curry powder
Pinch of salt
Water or apple juice to thin if necessary

1) Rinse barley and pick out any foreign material.
2) Bring 4 cups of water to a boil, add barley and cook till al dente – approx. 20 minutes.
3) Drain barley and rinse with cold water – set aside to drain.
4) Chop apples, pears, apricots & celery to ¼ inch dice. Slice grapes in half and combine with the diced fruit. Sprinkle with lemon juice to retain color.
5) Combine fruit, veggies and barley in large bowl.
6) Combine yogurt, honey, curry powder & salt in separate bowl and wisk till smooth. Thin with water or juice if too thick.
7) Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.

** Serve as a side dish or add chunks of grilled chicken or firm tofu for a complete main course salad

Roasted Veggie Pizzas

1 Red Pepper
1 Eggplant
1 Zucchini
10 Mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
Olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste
½ cup tomato sauce
1 cup mozzarella cheese
¼ cup parmesan cheese
1 recipe pizza dough

Roasted Veggies
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees

1) Dice all the veggies to about a ¼ inch size cube except the garlic. You can leave the garlic whole if you only want a light garlic flavor, otherwise mince it up and toss with the other vegetables.
2) Toss all the veggies in a bowl with the olive oil and pepper. You will add the salt after the vegetables have been roasted.
3) Place veggies on a sheet pan and roast for about 30-40 minutes until they are fragrant and turning a nice golden brown.
4) Remove them from the oven and set aside.

Pizza Dough
Raise oven heat to 400 degrees
Makes 2 - 12 inch pizzas

¼ cup warm water
1 package of dry yeast
4 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 cup warm water

1) Mix the yeast and the ¼ cup warm water and let sit
2) Measure most of the flour into the bowl along with the salt
3) Add the yeast mixture, oil and 1 cup of warm water and stir till it starts to hold together.
4) Knead until the dough comes together into a soft ball, adding flour to keep it from being sticky. You may not use all the remaining flour.
5) Plop the dough into a bowl and spray with a little oil to keep it from sticking as it rises to double its size
6) Once it's risen, divide the dough into two balls. If you're only making one pizza then put one ball into a freezer bag & into the freezer to use later. To use the frozen dough, allow it to defrost in the refrigerator before rolling it out.
7) Press dough into any shape you want and place on a baking sheet.
8) Top with the sauce, veggies & cheeses and bake till the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbly.

This is a great recipe to make with kids. There's a science, math and reading lesson all in one. Plus I've never met a kid who didn't like pizza. If your kids like different toppings on their pizzas let them each roll out a smaller portion of dough and make their own signature pizza.

White Bean Soup with Garlic & Rosemary
please see "Batten Down The Hatches"

All photos this post by Eric Seftel

Batten Down the Hatches!

Looks like it's going to be a nasty weekend weather wise! If you can't make it out to the farmer's market why not take some time to make a hearty - healthy soup. This is a complete one pot meal that stores in the frig well and reheats even better.

White Bean Soup with Garlic & Rosemary

Ingredients

1 bag great northern or cannellini beans, rinsed and picked over to remove any debris
2 carrots, diced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
Olive oil
5-6 sprigs fresh rosemary, finely minced
6-8 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
1-2 Tbs. sour cream
Salt & pepper to taste

Method

1) In a large pot sauté carrots, onion and garlic with a bit of salt and pepper in a couple tablespoons of olive oil.
2) When veggies are softened add the rosemary and sauté for a minute more till the rosemary is fragrant.
3) Add the beans, toss with the vegetables and add the stock.
4) Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and allow the soup to simmer till the beans are tender, about an hour.
5) Remove the lid and add more stock if the soup is really thick. Allow the soup to cool a bit. At this point you need to puree the whole thing. I find the easiest way to do this is with a handheld blender but you can also use a food processor or blender and puree the soup in batches.
6) Warm the soup again and swirl in the sour cream. Adjust the seasonings and serve.

Garnish with a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt and some chopped flat leaf parsley.

Serves 6-8

Cullen Skink!

This just in! Our roving reporter from Asia, with cravings for something from his mother country, has just sent us a recipe for Cullen Skink! Cullen Skink you say ... what the hell is Cullen Skink?? Well as told by this wandering Scotsman, Cullen Skink is a soup (skink) that originated in the small town of Cullen on the Moray Firth in Scotland.

As far as I can tell it's similar to our clam chowder but instead of clams they use haddock. It's the kind of soup you'd normally crave on a cold blustery evening - but hey - when a craving strikes - you just gotta have it no matter how hot it is out there! Enjoy your soup my friend!

Cullen Skink
Serves 4

1 lb. Finnan Haddock - or any available smoked white fish
1 Onion, chopped
2 ½ cups milk
Salt & pepper to taste
4 oz. Mashed potato or about a ½ cup
2 Tbs. Butter
2 Tbs. Single (light) cream

1) Wash the haddock, then place in a shallow saucepan and just cover with boiling water. Add the onion to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes or until the fish is tender and turns opaque.

2) Remove the haddock, discard the skin and set the bones aside. Flake the fish.

3) Return the bones to the pan of liquid, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour, then strain this stock into a clean bowl.

4) Pour the stock into a clean pan and add the flaked fish, milk and salt & pepper to taste and bring to a boil. Add enough mashed potato to make a creamy consistency. Gradually stir in the butter and cream, and blend all the ingredients together. Do not allow it to boil after you have added the cream & butter.

5) Serve in warm soup bowls

Prep & Cooking time: 1½ hours

… and more tomatoes …

The other day I promised more tomato recipes. So, seeing that they’ll be available for some time yet every few days or so I’ll post another one. Today’s recipe is inspired by Alice Waters. I’m not sure where I saw her but the simplicity of this is wonderful and the flavor is intense when using the tomatoes that are in season now. I used a combination of baby red plum tomatoes and tiny yellow tomatoes.


Whole Roasted Tomatoes

Take a baking pan, any shape or size and tightly pack the tomatoes next to each other to fill the pan – Tightly! Take a couple of cloves of garlic and wudge them in between the tomatoes. You can use as much or as little garlic as you like. Even if you’re not a garlic lover use at least a little because it brings a note of flavor that’s important. Take 5-10 leaves of fresh basil and chiffonad them. Sprinkle over the tomates and then drizzle olive oil all over the top. Season with salt & pepper to taste then pop in a preheated oven (375 degrees). Bake until the tomatoes give up their juice and are a burnished golden color. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.

You can use these tomatoes as a topping for bruschetta or pasta, as a filling for a panini sandwhich or you can puree the whole mess and serve as a soup. The uses are endless! Let me know what you come up with.

The Wonderful World of Melons

Man there are a lot of melons out there! The Canary melon is described by “The Cook’s Thesaurus” as thus:

Canary melon = Juan Canary melon Notes: These tend to vary in quality, so unless you're good at selecting melons, stick with more idiot-proof varieties like the honeydew or cantaloupe. Canaries should, at a minimum, have bright yellow rinds. They're in season in the fall. Substitutes: honeydew OR cantaloupe

Well – the Canary melon is in season now and I found it at the Bloomfield Farmer’s Market. They told me it would ripen in a day or so out on the counter and sure enough a couple of days later the skin was a shocking “crayola” yellow and fantastically fragrant.

I ate half for breakfast this morning and it tasted like a cross between honeydew and cantaloupe but much juicier and sweeter. I have just made a salsa with the other half and it’s destined to top a grilled chicken paillarde for dinner this evening. Sweet and quite hot, serve some simple steamed rice along side to help squelch the fire!

Canary Melon Salsa

½ ripe canary melon - diced
1 small or ½ large, red pepper - diced
½ red onion - diced
3 garlic scapes - diced or 1 clove garlic finely - minced
½ inch piece of fresh ginger - peeled and grated
½ tsp. Thai chili oil or 1 small Thai chili pepper minced **
1-2 Tbs. canola oil
¼ cup lemon or lime juice or a combination of both
salt & pepper to taste
1-2 Tbs. cilantro - roughly chopped

Combine all ingredients except cilantro in a bowl and toss to combine.

Let marinate for ½ hour and serve with chips, pita toasts or as an accompaniment to chicken, pork, or fish.

Garnish with cilantro

Yields approximately two cups

**Start with a little of the fresh chili or chili oil, give it a mix then taste. You can always add more but once it's too hot it's hard to go back.

A special note:
Take care when handling chilies. Wear gloves and/or wash your hands really thoroughly after you touch them and try REALLY hard not to get them or their lovely essence anywhere near your eyes!!!

You say tomato ... I say ... make a tomato tart!

Rustic Tomato Tart
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Crust
½ recipe Pate Brisee. See Pie Crust 101 in the photo albums section for crust recipe and “how-to” instructions

Filling
¼ cup of ricotta cheese
5 oz. of goat cheese (plain or herbed)
1 egg yolk
4-5 assorted tomatoes sliced into ¼ inch rounds
1 large ball or 6 small balls, fresh mozzarella cheese – sliced into ¼ inch rounds
2-3 tablespoons chiffonade of basil
1 tablespoons good quality olive oil
1 egg for final egg wash

Method
1. Roll dough out to a 10 - 12 inch circle. It does not have to be perfect – this is a rustic tart. Transfer it to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
2. Combine the ricotta cheese, goat cheese and egg yolk in a bowl and mix till smooth and set aside to chill in the frig.
3. Slice the tomatoes and mozzarella cheese and chiffonade the basil
4. Assemble tart by spreading the goat cheese mixture on the dough to about an inch or two from the edge.
5. Arrange the sliced tomatoes and mozzarella artfully on the goat cheese and sprinkle with basil.
6. Add salt & pepper to taste and drizzle a little olive oil over the top
7. Fold the crust up and over the filling
8. Mix the final egg with a bit of water and brush over the crust
9. Bake till the crust is nice and golden brown and the tomatoes look done.

Serve as a first course or with a salad as a light supper
Serves 4-6 people

Since the supply is staggering ... a couple more ideas to help get you through the season ...


Tomato Tarragon Soup

1 ½ Yellow onion - chopped
4-5 cloves - roasted garlic
12-15 plum tomatoes- seeded & chopped
4 - 6 cups chicken stock (you can substitute veggie stock or water)
fresh tarragon – roughly chopped - to taste
1 cup heavy cream
salt & pepper to taste
¾ cup each, yellow & red pepper - ½ inch dice and lightly sautéed

Combine the onion, garlic, tomatoes, chicken stock and tarragon and simmer till everything is soft and mushy. ** Start with a couple tablespoons of tarragon, you can add more later if you wish.

Puree in a food processor, blender, or with a hand held blender till smooth.

Add the heavy cream slowly. Add salt & pepper to taste and adjust the amount of tarragon.

Once the soup is smooth and creamy add the diced yellow and red pepper.

Garnish with a sprig of tarragon and additional diced pepper.

Oven Dried Tomatoes

Cut tomatoes in half or quarters depending on how large they are. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or tin foil and lightly season with salt & pepper. Dry in the oven at 200 degrees for approximately 4 - 6 hours.