Tag: cooking

Winter

Cheesy Italian Charcuterie Sandwich

by Rebecca3 Comments on Cheesy Italian Charcuterie Sandwich

There’s this little Italian shop in Corvallis that W and I love so much.  Most people go there for the lovely Italian sandwiches.  We mostly go there for the meats, cheese, and wine.  The gentleman-owner seems to slice his cuts thinner and nicer than any other place in town.  And he knows his stuff too.  And the place just makes me want to step on over to Italy. Right now.

Now that I only get to Corvallis a couple times a month, it seems important somehow to try to stop by when I’m in town.  Though we’ve tried a variety of meats, we tend to always go back for the same ones.  A recent jaunt led us to this amazing creation.  One that though completely unplanned until the instant those ingredients were smacked on the bread, will go down as one of the best.

Though something about the bread may have added to the intrigue.  I was supposed to post about the December Daring Bakers Challenge last month.  But a month of traveling and work and planning for other life changes led me to be a bit behind on the sourdough challenge.  So when I finally did get around to it, I made a Rice, Flax, and Brazil Nut recipe that just didn’t have enough activity for me.  (Wild yeasty sourdough activity, that is).  And while I’d like to say it was the obscure ingredients, this time I think it might be that that particular cookbook just doesn’t work for me.  I own a copy and have tried multiple recipes with and without various sourdough starters.  I’ve never met with success.  And so when I saw the challenge recipe source, I really did groan as I just knew I was doomed for failure.  As such, the bread never did rise, really.  But it sure tasted good.  Not like the brick it looked like.  But real flavor that was a real match for the lovely ingredients that topped it off.  So while I won’t recommend you try this particular bread recipe, do have a go at the ingredients on top, with or without a sourdough bread.

Our Daring Bakers Host for December 2011 was Jessica of My Recipe Project and she showed us how fun it is to create sourdough bread in our own kitchens! She provided us with sourdough recipes from Bread Matters by Andrew Whitley as well as delicious recipes to use our Sourdough bread in, from Tonia George’s Things on Toast and Canteen’s Great British Food!

Cheesy Italian Charcuterie Sandwich
good quality bread
3-4 thin slices good quality salami
3-4 thin slices good quality pepperone
1-2 thin slices medium or sharp cheddar cheese
1-2 thin slices good quality mozzarella cheese
4-5 kalamata olives, sliced
1-2 brown muchrooms, sliced
Sliced yellow bell pepper
handful fresh spinach leaves
 
  • Turn oven to broil.
  • Toast bread until slightly dry.
  • Layer on meats, mushrooms, pepper, olives and cheeses.  Pile spinach on top.
  • Place in the oven on broil for 2-3 minutes.  You want the cheese to sizzle and pop and the spinach leaves to start to charcoal.
  • Take out of the oven and enjoy!
Winter

Hearty Winter Curry Pie

by RebeccaLeave a Comment on Hearty Winter Curry Pie

Some days I just love a good curry.  They are usually days when I could use a little comfort.  The soothing flavors of coconut, cream, curry spice, and ginger just make me want to fill up, then sit back with a nice cup of tea, warm slippers, and a good book.

For all intensive purposes, curry should not spark this reaction.  First off, I can hardly call this a comfort food when we were only introduced in the last couple of years!  Comfort foods require fond childhood memories, I should think.  But perhaps I am wrong and they only need warm memories of moments past.  Which this dish certainly has.

I tried a similar curry pie at an Irish pub a few months back that invoked fond memories of my months in the Eire–summer months that were cool enough to invoke a heavily-spiced dish such as curry.  Add to that the fact that I was eating at that particular pub on the cool Oregon coast–when you are as likely to chance an outstandingly lovely day in February as you are in July.

For months I’ve been meaning to recreate the curry pie I had there and seemingly never could get around to it.  With all this cool, gray, rainy weather we’ve finally been getting in the Pacific Northwest lately, the time has come for a comforting dish that warms the inside with good spices and winter veg, and brings fond memories of both a lovely summer in Ireland, and warm beaches on the coast!

Hearty Winter Curry Pie, serves 2-3
drizzle of olive oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 parsnips, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup bell pepper, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
3 large brown mushrooms, chopped
1 cup cooked kidney beans
3/4 cup frozen peas
1 cup light coconut milk
2 tbs. heavy cream
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. fresh grated ginger
2 1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. salt
pinch of cayenne pepper
small handful raisins
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
  • Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and garlic and brown for a couple of minutes.
  • Add carrots, parsnips, bell pepper, celery, and mushrooms.  Cook for 8-10 minutes until golden brown and carrots begin to soften.  Stir in beans and frozen peas.
  • Add coconut milk, cream, lemon juice and spices.  Modify spices to taste by adding more ginger or cayenne, if necessary.  Stir in raisins and cook for 2 minutes more, until they begin to plump.
  • Spoon mixture into a small 2-quart casserole and lay puff pastry over the top.  Cut pastry and crimp to fit pan.  Dash steam vents in top of pastry.
  • Bake at 400 degrees F for approximately 25-30 minutes and enjoy!
Winter

Smoked Gouda Bacon & Turnip Frittata

by RebeccaLeave a Comment on Smoked Gouda Bacon & Turnip Frittata

It was one of  those days when I arrived home, had nothing planned for dinner, opened the fridge and proceeded to pull out everything edible.  It resulted in turnip bacon frittata.   A winter delight.

This is a perfect “It’s cold outside and I’m tired” dish that satisfies in all the right ways.  Which includes the quick turnaround from “let’s clean this fridge out” to the “now I can relax in front of the fireplace”.  Unfortunately I do not as yet have a fireplace .   The turnip bacon frittata, however, can do all of the warming and comforting that for now, a fireplace cannot!

Smoked Gouda Bacon & Turnip Frittata, serves 2
1 large turnip, thinly sliced
1/2 large onion, thinly sliced
3 or 4 slices of thick, good quality bacon
4 eggs, scambled
1/2 cup peas
1/4 cup shredded smoked gouda cheese, or sharp cheddar
salt and pepper to taste
  • Cut bacon into small pieces and cook in large skillet until crispy brown.  Remove from pan and drain.
  • Sauté  turnip and onion in a small bit of bacon drippings until golden brown and starting to caramelize, about 10 minutes.
  • Add eggs, seasoned with salt and pepper, to pan and sprinkle bacon pieces evenly over the top.  Cook until nearly set and bottom is cooked, 8-10 minutes.
  • Add peas and shredded cheese and continue to cook 1-2 more minutes.  Under oven broiler, crisp top of frittata until eggs are set all the way through.
  • Remove from oven, cut into pieces and serve straight away!