I (Lauren) made appetizers. I made a cucumber, onion, and red pepper salad with an avocado oil and balsamic vinaigrette. I did not use a recipe for this salad or dressing. In summer I often make a salad similar to this and it is a favorite.
For the dates, I stuffed each date with 1/2 teaspoon of herbed goat cheese, then wrapped each date with prosciutto.
Ingredients
6 wonton wrappers
Cooking spray
1 1/2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
1/8 teaspoon salt
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Cut wonton wrappers in half diagonally.
3. Arrange triangles in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.
4. Brush evenly with dark sesame oil.
5. Sprinkle evenly with sesame seeds and salt.
6. Bake at 425° for 4 minutes or until browned.
Cooking Light
MAY 2013
I (Kim) made Palak Paneer. Even though this was not a favorite from when I was growing up, it reminds me of the creamed spinach that my mom used to make and I think of Palak Paneer as an updated version of it. While I was adding the spinach to the pot and allowing it to wilt, it looked very much like the creamed spinach I remember.
Palak Paneer: Creamy Spiced Spinach wtih Fried Cheese
from Carla's Comfort Food: Favorite Dishes from Around the World by Carla Hall
Serves 6
INGREDIENTS:
Paneer
8 ounces fresh ricotta cheese
canola oil, as needed
Spinach
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, or half oil, half butter
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red chiles flakes
1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
kosher salt
1/2 cup sour cream
2 pounds baby spinach
1 large beefsteak tomato, cut into 1-inch wedges
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves
METHOD:
1. To make the paneer: Line a fine-mesh sieve with paper towels and set it over a sturdy bowl. Place the ricotta in the paper towels and press until all the liquid is released and the solids are dry. The ricotta needs to be firm enough to cut. Transfer the pressed cheese to a cutting board and cut it into 1-inch cubes.
2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 1/2 teaspoons canola oil over medium-high heat. Add a single layer of cheese cubes and cook until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Repeat with the remaining cheese cubes, replenishing and reheating the oil between batches; reserve.
3. To make the spinach: Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, deep skillet. Add the onion, garlic, chile flakes and half of the ginger. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add the coriander, cumin, turmeric and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring for 1 minute.
4. Stir in the sour cream, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the spinach, a handful at a time, stirring to wilt the leaves before adding the next handful. Transfer the wilted spinach to a blender, along with the tomato, cilantro and remaining ginger. Puree until finely chopped.
5. Return to the skillet and simmer over medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Top with the paneer and serve hot.
8 T (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for casserole
6 slices good white bread, crusts removed torn into 1/4-1/2 inch pieces
5 1/2 C milk
1/2 C all purpose flour
2 t salt
1/4 t fresh grated nutmeg
1/4 t fresh ground black pepper
1/4 t cayenne pepper
4 1/2 C (about 18oz) grated sharp white cheddar cheese
2 C (about 8oz) grated Gruyere or 1 1/4 C (about 5oz) grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1 lb elbow macaroni
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish, set aside. Place bread in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 T butter.
Pour melted butter into the bowl with the bread; toss. Set the bread crumbs aside.
2. Warm milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Melt remaining butter in a high-sided skillet (or saute pan) over medium heat. When butter bubbles, add flour.
Cook, stirring 1 minute.
3. While whisking, add hot milk a little at a time to keep mixture smooth. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until mixture bubbles and thickens, 8-12 minutes.
4. Remove pan from heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, peppers, 3 C cheddar cheese and 1 1 /2 C Gruyere (or 1 C Pecorino Romano); set the cheese sauce aside.
5. Cover a large pot of salted water, and bring to a boil. Cook the macaroni until the outside of the pasta is cooked and the inside in underdone, 2-3 minutes.
Transfer the macaroni to the colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well. Stir the macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce.
6. Pour mixture into a prepared dish. Sprinkle remaining cheddar and Gruyere (or Pecorino) and bread crumbs over top. Bake until golden, about 30 minutes.
Transfer dish to a wire rack for 5 minutes; serve.
Serves 12
You can easily divide this recipe in half; just use a 1 1/2 quart casserole.
I (Katharina) made stuffed beef roulades with gravy and boiled potatoes. The roulades are a family recipe for which I don't have exact instructions. In Germany, you buy specially cut roulade beef (very thin, narrow and long slices) which I have not been able to find here. But I typically use thin-cut round beef (perhaps with some additional pounding) and that works well. Since the meat is braised for a long time, an inexpensive cut like round works well. So, for one roulade, you'll need:
1 thin (think thickness of rolled-out pastry dough) piece of beef, about 4 inches wide and about 10 inches long.
Mustard, salt, pepper
1-2 strips of bacon
Some thinly sliced onion
1 small pickled gherkin
Lay the meat out on your work surface. Spread with some mustard (about 1/2 tsp), sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the bacon on the meat, and some thinly sliced onion. Put the pickle on one end, then roll up into a tight roll. Secure with rouladen picks, or toothpicks, or some twine.
To cook the rouladen: Heat some oil in a skillet. Brown well from all sides, about 12 minutes. Add some hot water to the skillet (about 1/2 cup), cover and turn heat to Low. Braise for 75 - 90 minutes until done. Check every 20 minutes or so, turning the roulades, and adding more hot water as needed so the skillet does not go dry.
For the gravy: Remove the roulades from the skillet and cover to keep warm. Add some water to the skillet and boil to deglaze the pan. Stir some cornstarch into cold water and add to the skillet to thicken. Adjust the seasoning. Any of the following makes good additions to this gravy: Red wine, sherry, chopped parsley, cream or sour cream. Depends on what you have on hand.
Serve roulades and gravy with boiled potatoes. Peel potatoes and cut to uniform size. Put in pot with cold water to cover and 1 tsp salt. Cover, bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat and cook for about 13 minutes until done. Pour off water, leaving potatoes in pot, and cover pot with clean dish cloth and lid and let stand for a few minutes. I like to use waxy potatoes (red or yukon gold).
I (Rebecca) made a classic blackberry pie. My grandmother was a great pie baker and we would always have berry pies for dessert over summer visits. I don't have a pie recipe from my grandmother because she didn't use one - it was just something she made easily without thinking about it. I have to think a lot about it, so I used a basic all-butter crust that I like from King Arthur Flour and a berry filling from Rose Levy Beranbaum's Pie Bible. We never had ice cream or whipped cream with our pies, so I served the pie the way my grandmother did, without adornment.
All-Butter Pie Crust
- 2 1/2 cups (10.5oz/298g) Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (16 tablespoons, 8 ounces/227g) unsalted butter
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup (2-4oz/57-113g) ice water
With a pastry cutter or a fork, cut in the butter until it looks well-distributed but you still have some pea-sized lumps of butter.
With a fork or cool hands, stir this mixture as you drizzle in the lower amount of water. Squeeze together some of the dough. If it holds together, you have used enough water. If not, drizzle in more water a tablespoon at a time while mixing until you have a dough that will stay together.
Gather the dough into two equal sized balls, press into a flat round and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.
Remove one of the dough disks from the refrigerator. Let sit for 10 minutes or so to soften enough to roll out. Roll out the dough into a large circle about 1/8" thick. Drape this into the pie pan. Cover loosely and refrigerate for 1/2 an hour.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling.
Blackberry Pie Filling
1/2 cup (3.5oz/100g) sugar2 12 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
pinch of salt
2 Tbsp (1oz/31g) freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 cups (1 lb/454g) blackberries (fresh, or frozen, undefrosted)
In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest and salt and whisk to blend. Whisk in the lmeon juice. Add the berries and toss gently to coat them. Allow them to sit for 15 minutes, until they start to release some of their juices and the dry ingredients are moistened completely.
Roll out the 2nd disk of dough into a large circle. Cut out any decorations desired.
Toss the berries gently again and transfer into the prepared pie shell.
Cover the filling with the remainder of the pie dough, centering the design if applicable.
Trim the edges a little past the edge of the pan. Press them together and then tuck them under into a ridge along the top edge of the pan. Crimp as desired with your fingers or a fork.
Cover loosely and chill the pie for at least an hour before baking.
Preheat the oven to 425°F for 20 minutes before baking. Place a baking stone or a baking sheet on the lowest rack before preheating.
Set the pie on the baking stone or baking sheet. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is thickly bubbling. After 30 imnutes, protect the edges from overbrowning with foil if necessary.
Cool the pie on a rack for at least 4 hours before serving.
