Week One, and I've already realized how foolhardy it is to expect to create a completely new recipe. The Flavor Bible's subtitle is "The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs". Likely, the people who make their living being creative with food have tested any combination that I may think is my own inspired thought.

I'm a visual person. My approach when I'm looking for inspiration is to pull everything out of the pantry that qualified as a complimentary ingredient; dump it all on the counter; and stare at the pile. Then as ideas begin to bubble, I'll start putting away anything that doesn't fit.

I reviewed the complimentary flavors for plums and found a pantry full of eligible spices. Many more than should be sharing space in one dish. Then there were lemons, butter, candied orange peel, hazelnuts, red wine, fresh ginger, vanilla, brown sugar, honey, & prosciutto. The honey, hazelnuts, allspice, ginger, vanilla and bay leaves all went back into the pantry.

My mind wondered through some of my favorite plum applications and one of them was homemade Thai plum sauce. That Asian drift led me to steamed buns. So instead of the traditional pork stuffing, why not steamed buns stuffed with a spiced plum sauce mixed with prosciutto? The prosciutto would cut the sweetness enough to allow steamed buns to be an appetizer instead of dessert.

The first thing I did was start a spiced red wine reduction, simmering all of the following ingredients together in a saucepan over low heat until the liquid is reduced by 1/2:

1 c - dry red wine
1 T - chopped candied ORANGE peel
1 - 4" CINNAMON stick crushed
5 - green cardamom pods crushed
1 t - freshly grated nutmeg
3 - whole cloves
2 - sage leaves
1 - 4" sprig thyme
1/2 t - fresh ground black pepper
juice of 2 LEMONS

While wine is reducing prepare ingredients for plum/prosciutto mixture.

24 - Italian Prune PLUMS, diced w/skin on and stones removed
1/3 lb - prosciutto in a single 1/4" thick slice.
1 T - unsalted butter
1/3 c - lightly packed brown SUGAR
1/2 t - kosher salt
grated peel and juice of one small LEMON

1) Trim the fat away from the prosciutto & reserve.
2) Dice Prosciutto into 1/4" cubes.
3) Render fat in a hot pan, remove whatever didn't melt, add butter.

4) Caramelize prosciutto in melted fat & butter. Remove prosciutto and drain well on paper towel.

5) Add diced plums, brown sugar, salt, lemon zest and juice to the fat that remains in pan.
6) Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.
7) Once pulp begins to separate from the peel use a fine mesh strainer to remove all solids from wine reduction and add to plum mixture. Continue to cook, stirring frequently.
8) In a food processor, pulse drained, cooled pieces of caramelized prosciutto into a coarse meal. then add to plum mixture. Continue to cook mixture down to the consistency of a very thick jam, then remove from heat and cool completely.

Having the advantage of some great resources in St. Louis for international foods, I elected to let someone else do a little of the work for me. Instead of making my steamed bun dough from scratch, I used two boxes of Tippy Salapao Mix - enough for 24 steamed buns.

However, if you need to make yours from scratch, you can do an internet search and find several great recipes. Here's one I found: http://www.annathered.com/2009/03/26/how-to-make-steamed-pork-bun-dough-with-yeast/

So, follow the directions on the package or the recipe for scratch. When you are ready to assemble buns, you will need to have small squares of parchment cut and ready to hold the buns while they steam.

Lay a flattened piece of dough on a parchment square and put a heaping teaspoon of plum/prosciutto mixture in the center.

Cup the edges up around the filling; pinch the top edges together; and give it a final little twist.

Bring enough water to boil in a wok to not quite touch the bottom shelf of the steamer. Place half the buns on the bottom shelf and half on the top. Cover and steam for about 15 minutes.

Serve immediately.

I've decided to report the results of each week with the following grading method:

Home Run (will follow the exact recipe next time); Good (but will make some minor changes next time) & Flop (need to start from scratch).

I've graded my first week's effort Good. I will make this again. But, I'll do three things differently.

1) I used prosciutto because it was listed as a complimentary flavor. I now realize that it doesn't lend itself well to caramelization the way pancetta would have. Next time, pancetta and adjust the salt.

2) With that much work on the filling, I should really put the effort into making my own dough from scratch.

3) Spice adjustment - more black pepper.

So here we are with my first entry into the flavour pool.

A word of warning - I have to admit that I'm not putting a ton o'effort into the first 4 'flavours' in the challenge. This lack of effort has nothing to do with me not liking apples, plums, mushrooms, or duck because I do. Instead it has more to do with the fact that we were madly finishing up work all over the place and in the midst of a close election campaign and trying to get ready to jet to Italy and boom - design four recipes to blog ahead so I don't become known as the Favour Blogger who is always 5 cycles behind the rest of the crew.

By all rights I should be in Napoli right now.

Buon giorno.

Where is the nearest gelato shop?

For this recipe I envisioned a flatbread that combined sweet plums, salty prosciutto, a wee bit of tang from goat cheese, and some fresh herbs all on a bite of crispy bread. Normally I might have made my own flatbread - if you have your favourite recipe for this I encourage you to do so. However, being raced beyond sanity for time I went lazy and used a store-bought baguette.

Plum Flatbread

3 black plums, sliced lengthwise
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 baguette sliced in half lengthwise
5 thin slices of prosciutto, roughly chopped
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
1 tsp chopped fresh mint
Balsamic glaze (optional but REALLY good)

Mix the plums, cardamom, and lemon juice in a bowl. Let sit for 30 minutes to allow flavours to blend.

Turn on the oven broiler element.

Arrange the macerated plums on the cut baguette. Drizzle any of the juices in the bowl over the plums.

Sprinkle with the chopped prosciutto, ensuring that it is evenly distributed.

Sprinkle with the crumbled goat cheese, ensuring that it is evenly distributed.

Place the prepared flatbread on a cookie sheet and put it under the broiler. Broil until the prosciutto is crispy and the cheese starting to bubble. Since all broilers vary in temperature and rack placements you should watch this carefully. For us it took about 5 minutes. Don't watch and you can go from delicious toasted bread and crispy prosciutto to charred mess you'd not even feed the 'guy in the office who took a bite of your sandwich and then put it back in the refrigerator' in seconds.

Allow the cooked flatbread to cool slightly. Sprinkle with the chopped mint.

If you have balsamic glaze (we have bottles we bring home from Italy and I know stores here carry it) you can gild the lily be drizzling some over the finished flatbread. You can make your own glaze by boiling down some balsamic vinegar until it thickens considerably. Take my advice - buy the prepared glaze if you can find it. :-)

These were quite good. Surprisingly good for a self-confessed lazy recipe. Yes, they'd have been even better with a homemade base but I suspect I'd be in a locked ward right now and NOT in Italy so there you have it.

Porcini is the Italian name for the King Bolete mushroom. As far as I'm concerned they are royalty in the world of mushrooms. They're what I reach for first when I want a mushroom focused dish, and I could fill an entire week with my favorite porcini concoctions. One of the best is deep-fried Mac & Cheese, made with provolone, mozzarella, and porcini. Try it.

But today, I'm sharing an easy to assemble pass-around appetizer that never fails to earn raves when I serve it.

Ingredients:

1 oz - dried Porcini Mushrooms (Use premium mushrooms with as much white meat as possible).
Prosciutto sliced not quite paper-thin. Enough slices to wrap the bottoms of 24 mini-muffin tin cups.
Olive oil cooking spray
3 T butter
2 T OLIVE OIL
1 large clove garlic, finely minced
1 small to medium onion, finely chopped
2 cups Carnaroli or Arborio rice (whichever you prefer to work with)
1/2 cup dry white wine
4-5 cups chicken or vegetable stock (this is an approximation because the rice will determine how much you need)
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano plus
fresh ground pepper and salt to taste

To create Proscuitto cups:

Spray bottom side of 2 mini-muffin tins with oil.

Cut thin slices of prosciutto into roughly 4-5 inch pieces and wrap around the bottom of each muffin cup. You may want to do two layers for complete coverage, but don’t do more than two. Don’t worry about being perfect. Rustic is the look you are going for.

Broil in oven until prosciutto cups begin to harden. Don't take your eyes off them because they can burn before you know it.

Remove trays from oven and transfer cups, right side up, to a thick layer of paper towel to drain and cool.

To make risotto:

Soak porcini mushrooms in 2 cups very hot water.

Drain mushrooms, filtering and reserving soaking water.

Chop porcini into small pieces.

Bring stock to a boil in a saucepan and keep at a simmer for use.

In another pan, melt butter and heat with olive oil. Add minced onion, cooking until they become translucent, then add garlic, cooking to a light golden brown.

Add chopped porcini and rice all at once, cook and stir until rice grains are coated with butter and oil. Add wine. Cook, stirring constantly until evaporated.

Add filtered porcini water. Cook, stirring constantly until absorbed.

Begin adding simmering stock, one ladleful at a time and stirring until absorbed.

When rice is tender, remove from heat and stir in salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup of the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

To assemble:

Fill proscuitto cups with risotto mixture, top with remaining 1/4 cup grated Parmigian-Reggiano and put under oven broiler just long enough to barely begin browning cheese.

Serve warm. These are meaty and rich, so as a pass-around you will only need one per guest. If it is an appetizer, serve two per guest. I'll admit that I sometimes make an entire meal of them.

I've made this mushroom recipe many times and tinkered with it as I went. So I'd call it a Home Run.

I kept it VERY simple this week! I have been broiling portobello mushrooms with gorgonzola for years, but I did add two additional ingredients for this week's recipe:

2 portobello mushrooms, stemmed, washed and dried
3 oz. gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
2 oz. chopped pancetta, slightly cooked and drained
olive oil for brushing
2 sprigs of fresh thyme

Turn on broiler, and place rack at second position from the top.
Brush rounded sides of portobellos with olive oil, and place them upside down on a baking sheet. Brush open sides of mushrooms with olive oil. Crumble gorgonzola into empty mushrooms. Sprinkle with slightly-cooked pancetta and fresh thyme.

Cook on second rack under broiler for 8-10 minutes until cheese is bubbly.

Cut into 6ths or 8ths and serve with toothpicks for an easy appetizer.

Here we are in week three of the flavour challenge and I am still on the road. Life is tough some time kids, yes it is.

For those of you not ready to kill me yet I am in Torino today. Well, that is where I am supposed to be so if I am not that something has gone array with the plans. *smile*

Let's make you really happy with a picture from Torino taken on our last trip there:

Interesting fact about the cafe - it has always been owned and operated by women.

Enough about me and my travels. You came here looking for a recipe. You're in for a treat. we had our house sitter over for dinner the Sunday before we left and I made this as the appetizer. Oh my. This certainly was met with ohhs and ahhs. The best thing about it is that everyone thinks you worked really, really, really hard to pull it together and the reality is that you didn't.

Who doesn’t love excessive praise when it really isn't warranted?

Mushroom and Goat Cheese Tart

3 cups chopped assorted fresh mushrooms
2 T olive oil (divided)
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/2 cup chopped prosciutto
8 oz goat cheese, brought to room temperature
3 T fresh thyme leaves (divided)
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, beaten

Heat 1 T olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the mushrooms. Sauté until almost soft - add 1 T thyme leaves. Cook for 1 more minute. Remove mushrooms from the pan.

Add the remaining oil to the pan. Sauté the sliced onion over a medium-low heat until it is caramelized - about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

In a small bowl use a fork to blend 1 T thyme leaves into the softened goat cheese.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Place the puff pastry sheet on a parchment lined-baking sheet.

Lightly brush a 1/2 cm strip along the edges of the rectangle. Carefully fold the edges over the egg and press to seal. You should have a thin raised 'crust' all around the edge of the rectangle. Brush this raised crust with egg. Prick the centre with a fork. Place the baking sheet in the oven for 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven. If the pastry in the centre of the shell has puffed up press it down with the back of a spoon.

Allow to cool slightly. Arrange the goat cheese over the pastry shell. Sprinkle the cooked mushrooms over the goat cheese. Sprinkle mushrooms with caramelized onions. Sprinkle the prosciutto over top. Finally, sprinkle the remaining 1 T thyme leaves on the tart.

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

Cool. Slice into 6 - 8 pieces and serve as a first course.

Here we are beginning week four, and we find ourselves working with duck. I’m trying to see how far into our Flavors project I can get by cooking only around the edges of a meal. Instead of main courses and side dishes, I'm challenging myself with each featured ingredient by sticking to appetizers, first courses, desserts, and drinks.

As I began to contemplate duck, I knew for sure I wanted to try my hand with the meat grinder. I bought a whole frozen duck and removed all the skin, fat and bone. Because it was previously frozen, I realized the ground flesh would be mushier than if it had been fresh meat. So, even though I wanted a fine grind, I ran it through a grinder set on the medium setting. I didn't add any seasonings.

I think Asian when I think Duck. The complementary ingredients I pulled from the Flavor Bible list were PEANUT OIL, SUGAR, LEMON, GARLIC, cilantro, lemongrass, & Thai fish sauce. To that list I added additional Thai inspired ingredients to come up with the recipe.

8-10 firm, unblemished Thai Eggplant, all about golf ball size.
1 T PEANUT OIL
Salt and Pepper

4 T fresh chopped, or 2 T dried cilantro
2 T fresh sliced or bottled lemon grass (rinse the bottled if that is what you use)
1 T Thai fish sauce
2 T Thai style chili sauce
1 T Thai seasoning blend
2 T SUGAR
Juice of one LEMON
1 clove GARLIC minced finely.

1 lb ground duck meat (both breast and leg) all skin and fat removed
1 T PEANUT OIL

½ cup chopped lightly roasted peanuts, skins removed

Cut eggplants in half, leaving a portion of the stem on each half to act as a 'handle'.

Crosshatch the halves through the meat, but be careful not to pierce the skins. Then rub skins and cut sides with one of the tablespoons of peanut oil before sprinkling with salt and pepper.

Roast, cut side down on parchment, in a 400 degree oven until tender to the touch, but not shrivelled. Remove from oven and let cool only long enough to be able to handle without burning fingers.

While eggplant is roasting, cook finely ground duck meat in the second tablespoon of peanut oil. Do not brown or over cook. Then set aside.

Combine lemon juice, all of the spices, and the sauce ingredients with the minced garlic in a bowl. Then carefully scoop the cooked eggplant pulp, seeds and all, from the skins. This requires a delicate touch to avoid tearing the skins. Add the pulp to the spice mixture. Stir completely and then puree with a stick blender.

Mix the cooked duck into the puree, then stuff mixture into eggplant shells. Top with chopped peanuts and broil just long enough to begin browning peanuts.

Serve warm from oven. Your guests will eat them with their fingers, using the stems as handles. This is all that remains.

I don't think my Duck Stuffed Thai Eggplant Bites had enough fire. I didn't count on the eggplant pulp mellowing the taste down so much.

I'm rating this effort Good, but I think next time I will add more chili seasoning.

As I'm reading some of the entries to our Flavors blog, I'm realizing that you don't always know who the person who made the recipe is. So I'll probably begin starting my posts with some dorky sentence like "It's Cindy, and ....". Okay, now you know it's me.

The ingredient for this week is duck. I enjoy duck whenever I eat it, but it is not something that I eat often. I've only cooked it a couple of times, and I just cooked duck breasts. This time as I was at the meat market contemplating between duck breasts and a whole duck, I decided to challenge myself even more and choose the whole duck. I can now add that to my repertoire.

I knew that I was going to be using some of the shredded duck for my appetizer recipe, so first I needed to decide how to cook the duck. I decided to roast it, and I used the recipe from Barbara Kafka's "Roasting, a Simple Art". I'm not going to post that recipe since it's not really part of the recipe I did today, but I can tell you it's a great way to cook the duck. You place it in a pot of simmering stock for 45 minutes before you roast it. This melts away a large amount of the fat, so the duck wasn't greasy at all. I ate the duck breasts with some of the Red Wine Cherry Sauce one night for dinner, then used the thighs, etc. for this appetizer the next day.

Now onto today's recipe. I decided to make an appetizer. I wanted a little sweet potato cake topped with the other ingredients that you could hold in your hand for a small bitefull. These didn't turn out where you could hold them in your hand, you definately needed a plate and fork. I think you could play around with the potato cake recipe to come up with the consistency of one that you could hold. If you make them smaller, and finely shredd the potatoes that might make the difference.

The flavor of this appetizer was delicious. Making (and eating) these was the first time I kinda blew my weight watcher diet since I joined a month ago. I just couldn't stop eating them. They provide a mouthful of contrasting flavors. You have the crispy sweet potato pancake, topped with some tangy goat cheese, the rich duck meat, and topped off by the tang of a dried cherry/red wine/balsamic vinegar reduction. I think this will be another one I'll be making in the future. I think you could do lots of different kinds of meat here also. Chicken thighs or shredded pork are a couple of suggestions.

The complimentary ingredients I used in today's dish are CHERRIES, honey, leeks, shallots, sweet potatoes, thyme, and balsamic VINEGAR.

I like carrots. I really do. Even as a child I used to eat them all the time ... raw. Sometimes, for the Jewish holidays, we'd have them glazed with sugar or honey. They were always in our matzo ball soup too. At Thanksgiving, Mom made her amazing carrot muffins (I make them now). And just last weekend I made an amazing Carrot Sheet Cake. Yet, when it came time to come up with a recipe that featured carrots, I was at a loss. Completely uninspired.

Palma made muffins, Sandi a carrot cake, Ruth the soup (though I have to admit, in the past, I've never been much a fan of carrot soup), what was left? Palma suggested a carrot salad and I turned that idea over in my mind for a morning, then it hit me, pickles!

On Weight Watchers, sometimes it's hard for me during "cocktail hour" that time of day, before dinner, when we might put out some noshes to nibble with a pre-dinner drink. Years ago I discovered jars of pickled green beans and pickled okra at Whole Foods that I now keep on hand to munch on pre-dinner, so I thought why not pickled carrots? And I love spicy, so it seemed only natural.

Now, I am a canner (though I haven't really canned anything this season) but for the purposes of this challenge, I really didn't want to get so involved (remember, I told you I was uninspired), so instead I opted for a jar in the fridge. I checked my Ball Blue Book, just to get an idea of measurements and stuff and came up with these ingredients, which I actually had on hand.

Ingredients

1C water
1C Cider Vinegar
1.5T kosher salt
.5t - 1t dried crushed red pepper (honestly, I can't remember what I used but they're darn spicy!)
12 strips of peeled, fresh GINGER (I used a carrot peeler to get the strips)
3/4 - 1lb carrots, peeled, quartered, and sized to fit into a 1pt Canning Jar
1 jalapeno pepper

Directions

1. Blanch the carrots for like 15 seconds in boiling water, drain.
2. Place the carrots, ginger and jalapeno into the jar.
3. Bring the water, cider vinegar, crushed red pepper and salt to a boil.
4. Pour hot liquid into the jar, leaving about 1/2" of head space.
5. Put the lid on and store in the refrigerator for a couple of days to meld the flavors.

That's it! Easy peasy and these are delicious! Spicy (but you can adjust that accordingly by the amount of crushed red pepper you use). I even ate a ginger strip and liked it this way. I'm totally making these again and will probably can a bunch too (maybe I'll post and update to this when I do that with the canning instructions).

Spicy Pickled Carrots

And for my Weight Watcher peeps, yeah, I can put this in the recipe builder, and maybe it will tell me 1 point for the jar or something but really, come on, they're pickles! I'm going with zero points plus for this baby!

I really didn’t intend to go Russian again after last week’s Carrot Candy. But, this week, I wasn’t in the mood to shop. The package of unseasoned fresh ground pork in the refrigerator needed to be used. I pulled out the Flavor Bible and began checking my fridge and pantry for ingredients.

It started with the red cabbage. How could I combine ground pork and red cabbage? What flavor profile did it remind me of? German? I scanned my spices and my eyes fell upon Tsardust Memories. Eureka! Those of you who are fortunate, as I, to have a Penzey’s Spices in your town, or have discovered them online, will know what I’m talking about. For the rest of you, yes that is the name of a spice blend. It was originally called Russian Sausage Seasoning. Tsardust Memories has a better ring, don’t you think? It’s a spicy, sweet, and savory blend of salt, garlic, cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, & marjoram.

I decided that red cabbage, and Tsardust must be the basis for my dish this week. So now what? I had rice and spring roll wrappers in the pantry. Do Russians make spring rolls? Do Russians, for that matter, use much rice? What the heck. Russian/Asian Fusion it will be.

For the pork/rice filling:
1 c water
¾ c white rice
2T olive oil
¾ c finely diced ONION
¾ c finely diced celery
2 cloves GARLIC, finely minced
¾ lb fresh ground, unseasoned pork
1½ t Tsardust Memories
Salt & *PEPPER to taste

Cook the rice in water and set aside.
Saute onions, celery & garlic in olive oil until softened but not carmelized.
Add pork, salt & pepper, sauté until just past pink, breaking meat into fine crumbles as it cooks.
Drain remaining cooking liquids and reserve.
Mix Tzardust Memories into rice & add to pork mixture. Set aside.

For the cabbage:
Reserved cooking liquid from pork
1 c good dry red wine
1 medium head red cabbage shredded.
1½ t Tsardust Memories

Combine all ingredients in heavy pan
Cook over medium-high heat until cabbage begins to soften and wilt.
Turn heat to medium-low, cover, and continue cooking for at least an hour, stirring occasionally, until cabbage cooks down to a very soft state and all the liquid has been absorbed.

At this point, you can immediately begin to assemble your spring rolls, or if you like, you can refrigerate the pork/rice filling and the cooked cabbage separately for up to two days for future use.

For spring rolls:
24 pieces of parchment cut to 1½” by 3” size.
24 spring roll wrappers
24 long sprigs of chive, additional chive.
Pork/rice mixture
Cooked red cabbage

Soak spring roll wrappers one at a time in warm water until soft.
Put a tablespoon of cabbage in the middle of wrapper.

Top cabbage with another heaping tablespoon pork/rice mixture.
Add a few small cuttings of chive.

Fold one side over top. Then fold in each end, tightening into a smooth roll. Finally finish rolling over the last side.
Technically these aren't tight enough to be spring rolls. They are more like little packages. So, with cabbage side up, tie a chive around the middle making a knot on top.

Place completed spring rolls on parchment in bamboo steamer being very careful not to let them touch each other or the side of the steamer.
Place steamer in wok with boiling water. Steam for about 5 minutes and serve either warm or room temperature.

As strange as it sounds, this one rates an absolute HOME RUN. I love them, and will make them again soon. I took them to the store and was very surprised at how many people really enjoyed them.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and cranberries are de rigueur, aren’t they? I thought I’d offer a little appetizer recipe that makes use of not only cranberries, but also the other prerequisite – turkey.

1 cup fresh ground turkey (dark meat), finely crumbled
½ cup red onion minced
1 tsp fruity olive oil
1 tsp butter
1 ½ cups fresh cranberries
½ cup roasted corn nibblets (I use the ever popular frozen Trader Joe’s brand)
2 tbs dry white wine
Juice of 1 medium ORANGE
Zest of one medium ORANGE
2 tbs honey
1 pinch ground clove
1 pinch crushed sage
Salt & pepper to taste
1 prepared pie crust sheet
1 beaten egg for wash

Cook the turkey separately and drain well.

In a sauce pan, soften the red onion in the olive oil and butter

Add the cranberries, corn, wine, ORANGE juice, ORANGE zest, and honey and continue cooking as if you were planning to make jam.
When most of the cranberries are reduced to a mush and the corn is coated with a red glaze, add cooked turkey, ground clove and crushed sage.
Continue cooking only long enough to blend flavors and heat the turkey through.
Remove from heat and set aside.

Cut the pie crust into 12, 3 ½ inch rounds. Brush each round with egg wash.

Place a heaping teaspoon in the center of each round and form into a gondola shape, pinching the ends together. Then roll the ends to form a scroll shape. Make dents in the sides to create a ‘free form’ cup. Flatten bottom enough to keep cups from tipping over.

Bake on parchment at 400 degrees until crust browns. Serve warm. Because they promise many of the flavors of the meal to come, these are a great pre-Thanksgiving Dinner pass-around.

Home run.

Y'all have seen that the flavor for this week is Cranberry.
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, Y'all know that we could easily find a recipe for cranberries.
I was ready to post our favorite cranberry chutney ~ I love it almost as much as the turkey and dressing at Thanksgiving. But~ the whole challenge here is to make something new.
Then I looked at the Flavor Bible . . . Jalapenos? That will kick it up a notch.
I likeie! This is a traditional appetizer ~ with a bit of spice and another bit of crunch. The creaminess of the brie is perfect with the bite of the spicy cranberries. I have capitalized all of the flavors that are recomended with cranberries
Baked Brie with Spicy Cranberries
1 (7-8 oz) round Brie
12 ounces fresh cranberries
1 cup water
1 cup white SUGAR
2 teaspoons LEMON JUICE
1/4 cup ORANGE JUICE
Zest from lemon and orange
2 JALAPENO PEPPERS, seeded and minced
1/2 cup WHITE WINE
1/2 or more of chopped PISTACHIO nuts
PEARS and GINGER crisps for serving
Combine cranberries and zest with sugar, water, and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add minced peppers (to taste). Simmer until thickened. Add wine and stir well, reduce the liquid. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Place Brie in a baking dish. Cover with cranberry mixture and chopped pistachios. Bake at 350° for 10-15 minutes. Be careful not to over cook the nuts on top. Serve with ginger crisps and slices of pear.
Y'all enjoy~
Sandi

I've obviously lived my entire life under a rock. I actually thought I had come up with something completely new, so I didn't even bother to check for existing recipes. All I can say in my defense is, this one was an original idea to me, even if it wasn't at all original. I guess if I lived in a part of the country where it would be reasonable to expect fish tacos to be good, I would have known it was a popular topping.

When I contemplated cabbage, I thought about my favorite way to eat it -- slaw on top of a pulled pork sandwich.

I thought, "Why not switch up the slaw recipe a bit? Why not add some interesting flavors and textures?" I didn't want to go shopping, so I decided to limit myself to stuff I had in fridge and pantry.

There was a pineapple I originally was going to use for pineapple liqueur, but never got around to. It needed to be used. Cool sweet pineapple in the slaw sounds interesting. I had a couple of fresh jalapeno peppers, half a red pepper, some broccoli, a new bottle of rice VINEGAR. I could make a salsa type slaw with this. Cabbage & Pineapple Salsa, what a cool idea!

12 oz - unflavored rice VINEGAR
1 cup - water
2 - jalapeno peppers (split, remove seeds, & cut into narrow slices)
1/4 cup - sugar
1/2 teas. - salt
12 - 16 oz - cabbage (core removed, shredded and diced)
2 cups - fresh pineapple (finely diced)
1/3 cup - minced RED ONIONS
1/2 - medium sized red pepper (finely diced)
1/4 cup - chopped broccoli florets
2 tbs - minced fresh cilantro

Bring the vinegar, water jalapenos, sugar, & salt to a boil in a large saucepan. Let it boil until the liquid has reduced by half.

Add the cabbage and cook for another minute or so just long enough to slightly blanch. Strain , reserving the liquid. Put the cabbage, jalapeno mixture into a bowl over an ice bath. Stir to cool quickly. Once cool, add the rest of your ingredients.

Even though I planned this specifically to top the pulled pork sandwiches, the recipe made 2 cups - way too much for just Dan & I. I had a bag of baked organic blue corn tortilla chips in the cupboard. Why not put the extra in a bowl for an appetizer?

As it turned out, we like it much better as a salsa dip that as a sandwich topping. I think the problem may have been the cilantro. My pulled pork recipe is of the hickory smoked variety. Hickory and cilantro really don't love each other. I'll make this again. Both as a chip dip and as a sandwich topping. But I'll leave out the cilantro. Maybe use parsley instead. Maybe not.

Homerun as a chip dip.
Good as a sandwich topper.

By the way, although I'm not on WW, I'm betting the points on this are very low. The fresh pineapple and the little bit of sugar. Aren't they the only offenders?

My goodness, I was almost a Flavours delinquent! Life has been so crazy lately that Wednesday rolled around and I realized that I hadn't made my recipe for the week.

Well, back up a bit. Not only had I not made my recipe, to be truthful I had no idea what the ingredient of the week was!

This is what happens when you bake 36 kinds of cookies and squares at a time when work is throwing all sorts of curveballs. Blogging gets set aside for a bit. Cooking certainly was NOT a focus.

The good news is that things are almost under control again. The better news is that I made this recipe which, ahem, was flipping delicious!!!!!

Parsnips are a vegetable without a ton of flavour - this is why they are generally mixed with other vegetables as they don't overwhelm. I figured that if I roasted them more of their natural flavour would come out. Parsnips are also versatile - they can be combined in a sweet dish or a savoury one. With all those cookies and squares under my belt (literally *smile* one needs to taste) sweet was ruled out immediately!

I decided to make a savoury appetizer using parsnips which we ate last night as a part of our 'It's December 16th, We Haven't Decorated the House, and We Have Company Coming Tomorrow Decorating Blitz' dinner. I used cumin, curry, olive oil, coriander, maple syrup, and onion - from the list of ingredients suggested in the 'Flavour Bible'.

The result of my last minute panic was a delicious dish that you could use as a starter or a side The crisp parsnip 'fries' went well with the dip and were the star of the meal - really, they were addictive! Paul and I ate an entire pound of parsnips.

Later I found out that the concept of parsnip fries isn't new or unusual - a quick google search revealed 100s of similar choices. SIGH Oh well, I console myself by being amongst the company of happy eaters then. :-)

Parsnip fries with Curry Yoghurt Dip

1 lb parsnip
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1 tablespoon maple syrup
salt and pepper
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon curry powder curry paste
1 green onion , minced

Peel parsnips; cut into 2 x 1/2-inch sticks.

In bowl, toss together parsnips, oil, cumin, coriander, and maple syrup. Add a 'grind' of salt and pepper.

Bake on greased baking sheet in 425 degree oven, turning occasionally, for 30 to 40 minutes or until browned and tender. You'll need to watch carefully near the end as the smaller parsnip sticks will brown quickly - don't toss them out as they are particularly delicious even though they might look like something you'd find on the forest floor.

In small bowl, stir together yogurt, curry paste and green onion. Serve sauce with parsnip fries

I planned to make chestnut stuffing for arancini. I had no intention of making the spirals at all. But, what can I say, here we are.

Chestnut & Porcini Risotto Spirals

For the filling:
1 - dozen fresh chestnuts, roasted, peeled and chopped into a fine dice.
1/2 oz - dried porcini, soaked in 1 cup hot water, drained and chopped (filter and reserve soaking water)
1/3 cup finely diced sweet onion
1/2 cup finely diced celery
4 oz mild Italian sausage lightly flavored with fennel seed
1 T- olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Break sausage into crumbles as you brown in small saute pan. Drain on paper towel.
Saute onion and celery in olive oil until celery is soft and onion lightly golden.
Add chopped porcini and heat through.
Add drained sausage and chopped chestnuts along with reserved porcini broth. Cook down until all liquid evaporates. You'll have about 1 1/2 cups. Set aside to cool.

Make a traditional risotto using a 16oz package of rice. I prefer carnaroli to arborio, but that's just me. Use whatever you like. Instead of beef stock, use CHICKEN STOCK . Substitute a slightly sweet white wine for the traditional dry white. You'll want your risotto to be creamy and thick for this application.

Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread risotto evenly over entire sheet. It should be no more than a 1/4 inch thick layer. Allow the risotto to cool and 'set' for a few minutes, then spread the chestnut porcini mixture evenly over the top.

Picking up the edge of one of the long sides of the parchment, begin rolling like a jelly roll. loosen the parchment as you go. When your roll is complete, moisten your hands and smooth the outer surface of the roll, making sure you gently press the seam closed. Wrap in the parchment and, leaving on cookie sheet, put in refrigerator to chill completely.

Removed chilled log from fridge, spray with olive oil spray, and coat with plain bread crumbs. Working quickly to keep chilled, slice log into 1 inch slices. Spray oil on both cut sides and coat with more bread crumbs.

Place slices in a skillet with hot vegetable oil to brown quickly. Gently turn with tongs and brown other side. Remove to drain oil briefly on paper towel. Serve immediately. The sauce is made of freshly ground roasted chestnut flour, salt and pepper, a little cream, and some white wine. No measurements, just wing it.

This recipe made a 18 spirals. One would be a hearty primo. Two could easily serve as a main dish.

I've got a dozen left that I put in the freezer. I have no idea how they will hold up to freezing and reheating in the oven. We shall see.

They are delicious, but if I make them again there would be a couple of tweaks. The porcini was a little too pronounced, so I would reduce it to about 1/4 ounce dry weight. I'd increase the chopped chestnuts to about 18 instead of 12.

This was one of those happy accidents that happen in cooking.
I bought a bag of fresh (that is really questionable) chestnuts and roasted them.

When I peeled them most were moldy inside. YUCK! Still wanting to do something with the remaining handful, I added some other nuts I had in the pantry.
The result was a terrific little snack—great with a glass of prosecco.

I think you could easily do this with just chestnuts or any combination you like. The flavors were all from the Flavor Bible: butter, salt, fennel, thyme and maple syrup.

Recipe:
1 handful roasted and peeled chestnuts
1 handful raw cashews
1 handful raw walnuts
1 handful raw almonds

1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon fennel seeds
1 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
1 Tablespoon maple syrup

Grind the salt, fennel seeds and thyme in a spice grinder or small food processor. Melt the butter in a pan. Add all the nuts, including the chestnuts, spices and maple syrup. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the raw nuts begin to brown, being careful not to burn the butter.

Cool on a piece of parchment or a silpat.

Watch out—you definitely can’t eat just one.

Hooray, my first subbing gig for the Flavors blog! Kim asked me to take on Chestnuts for her, which I gladly accepted. I have loved chestnuts since my aunt started putting them into her Thanksgiving stuffing. A few years back I made a Chestnut and Porcini Soup which was delicious, and mushrooms were highlighted as complements for chestnuts in the Flavor Bible. I had dried porcini in the pantry, and chantrelles happened to be on sale that week. Additional ingredients I pulled from the Flavor Bible were cream, shallots, butter, Marsala, and thyme.

Oh, and about those chestnuts. I've tried the usual technique of cutting an x into the bottom, roasting, then attempting to pry the stubborn little things from the shells. Bloodshed, cursing, and a mess was the result. This time I tried another way which was much more successful. Cut the chestnuts in half, then put them in a ziploc bag with a drop or two of water. Seal the bag, and lay it flat in the microwave, so the chestnuts are in one layer. Microwave for 40-60 seconds, until soft. Let sit for a minute to cool, carefully open the bag, and the chestnuts should easily separate from their shells. Worked a treat!

Chestnut and Wild Mushroom Crostini

2 shallots, diced
1 Tbs. unsalted butter
3 cups sliced fresh mushrooms, preferably some of which are wild, such as chantrelles or shitakis
1/4 cup dried porcini, soaked in hot water, then drained and chopped. (strain and save liquid)
1 cup chopped chestnuts
3 Tbs. Marsala wine
pinch fresh chopped thyme
3 Tbs. heavy cream

1 baguette, sliced

Heat a large skillet. Saute the chopped shallots in the butter until translucent, then add the fresh and soaked/ drained dried mushrooms. Cook until liquid emerges then evaporates. Let the mixture brown slightly, then add the thyme, Marsala and a Tablespoon of the mushroom soaking liquid. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the chestnuts, and then the cream. Let the cream glaze the mixture, cook down a few minutes. Keep warm while you toast the crostini.

Toast the baguette slices. Top each with a spoonful of the mushroom-chestnut mixture, and serve.

Oh man, this was good. It made quite a lot of topping. I used the leftovers to stuff boneless chicken breasts, which was also delicious.

I created this appetizer several years ago for another cooking challenge - Sunday Slow Bites. It was a hit, so I've made it several times since. When I saw sweet potatoes on the list, I knew this would be my offering.

The Flavor Bible lists chili peppers, BUTTER, and cheese. I barely meet our requirements here.

Sweet Potato & Brie Bites
makes 24

1 – Wedge Brie cheese (6-8 oz)
2 – Organic red sweet potatoes, peeled & sliced into 24, 1/4-3/8 inch rounds (choose long uniform width potatoes that are about 2-3 inches in diameter)
sea salt to taste
3T - BUTTER
2 – 3/8” thick slices pancetta diced
1 – egg, beaten
3/4 - cup Italian bread crumbs (extra fine)
Chili pepper jam (I used a wonderful homemade habanero one of our booksellers at the store makes)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees (convection if you have it)

Slice Brie wedge down the middle like you were splitting a bun
Lay open on a small cutting board and cut into 3/4 inch squares.
Put, as is, into freezer to harden while you cook pancetta & roast potatoes.

Arrange potato rounds on a large cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle with small amount of sea salt and roast just until top begins to brown, flip and roast other side. Remove and let cool enough to handle.

Cook pancetta in a hot skillet until crisp and all of fat is rendered into pan. Remove with slotted spoon, drain on paper towel.

Retain rendered fat in pan and add butter. Heat to just below smoking point.

Dip sweet potato rounds in egg and dredge in bread crumbs. Fry quickly to a light golden brown, turning once. Remove from oil, drain, and pat out excess oil with paper towel.

Remove brie from freezer, and select 12 square pieces from center. Cut off rind on bottom and then cut each piece in half.

Arrange sweet potato rounds on a parchment lined baking sheet. Top each round with piece of cheese and place in oven to just begin melting cheese.

To serve, garnish top of brie with a small dab of habanero jam and a few pieces of pancetta.

You can serve these arranged on a platter for passing, or you can serve two or three on individual tidbit trays. They are addictive.

I'll admit to not being a huge oyster fan. I don't hate them. I just don't think they're all that special. Since I love coconut shrimp I thought I'd see what would happen if I tried it with oysters.

I found a pint package of fresh Pacific oysters at Costco. After rinsing well and trimming them up, I was left with 10 ounces or about 20 small oysters to work with.

Here's the recipe I came up with:

For the Marinade...

1 T each, finely minced SHALLOTS, LEEKS, and grated ginger
3 cloves roughly chopped garlic
Juice of 1 large lime
1/4 cup rice VINEGAR
2 T Thai chili sauce
1 T soy sauce
1 T each dried basil and Thai Seasoning Blend
2 T red pepper flakes
1/2 T cayenne pepper
1 can coconut milk (you can use reduced fat, but don't use fat free)
10 oz prepped oysters

1- Whisk the lime juice, vinegar & coconut milk together
2- Add soy sauce, chili sauce, shallots, leeks, ginger & spices. Mix evenly.
3- Add prepped oysters and toss to coat.
4- Cover and refridgerate for at least 4-6 hours.

For the coating:

2 cups shredded coconut
1 cup fine unseasoned bread crumbs

In a food processor, chop shredded coconut to the same consistancy as the bread crumbs. Mix the two together.

Remove oysters from marinade, gently shaking off some of the excess marinade. Coat the oysters with the coconut/bread crumb mixture and fry in hot peanut oil for just a few minutes until golden brown.

I served with a sort of aioli made by straining some of the marinade and bringing it to a boil with an equal part white wine. I then let it cool to room temperature.

My verdict: Won't replace coconut shrimp for me. But not horrible. There was something a little "off" in the flavor. I think it might have been the rice wine vinegar. I don't think it combined well with the flavor of the coconut. If I were to make this again, I'd leave out the vinegar and rely only on the lime juice for my acid.

I must admit, I wanted NOTHING to do with this week's flavor! I've noticed that the "winter foods" in this project are not my cup of tea (or coffee, as I also dislike tea). Luckily, Brad will eat oysters, so they did not go to waste. Brad will eat ANYTHING, except one of the upcoming ingredients... but you will find out what that is soon enough.

Brad threw the oysters on a hot grill until they opened up. (about 3 minutes) I thought, "Poor things... I wonder if they know they are one of the ugliest foods on earth?" Beware that sizzling spits of juice and fragments of shell may fly at you during this part. I was safely in the kitchen mincing parsley, and in no danger.

He brought them inside, popped them open with his oyster knife, and left the oyster in the half shell. I quickly drizzled them with olive oil, minced garlic, chopped parsley, a couple drops of Worcestershire sauce, and a little grated parmigiano.

I have no idea if this is a typical way of eating oysters. I was lucky to even FIND oysters, and Brad ate 3 of the 6 we cooked. You know where the rest went. The best adjective I could get out of Brad was, "They were OK. " Since I did not taste them, this does not sound like a recommendation. We won't be doing this (or anything else with oysters) any time soon. Is it Spring yet?

PS: The grill was hot so we had a great steak, grilled asparagus, and Pommes Anna for dinner. REAL FOOD.

By now, y'all know that the 'flavor' for the week is oysters . . . perfect timing, since this is januaRy and it happens to be New Year's ! The flavor suggestions all come from The Flavor Bible. Along with Oysters, the recommend flavors include . . . lime, horseradish, WINE and Champagne(among others). Perfection!
This 'recipe' is as much a process as anything. Please follow along closely.
Oysters with Pearls
First . . . a trip to Whole Foods to find the freshest local gulf oysters. Now plan to have friends over for a New Year's shuckin' party.
Mince horseradish with vinegar and process to a fine pulp. Place tiny rounded scoops in a freezer. Slice limes. Get out the garden gloves and shuckin' knife. Pour the wine! Perfection!
Y'all enjoy~
Sandi

I've been really nervous about this week. Oysters. I only started eating them 11 months ago. Until then I'd been afraid of that slimy thing going down my throat (basically afraid I'd gag it all up). Anyway, once I tried them though, I was hooked. Yet I couldn't imagine eating them any other way than raw with a little mignonette sauce, so this became a real challenge for me. Until I looked at the flavors book that is...

You see, a few complementary ingredients that go with oysters jumped out at me... horseradish, caviar, cucumber and vinegar which made me think ... sushi! Okay - I used wasabi but wasabi is horseradish!

I've never made sushi before so this totally intimidated me. Also, I was concerned about the concept of "chewing" the oysters. I mean, I'm fine when they slide down my throat but I was concerned about the chewiness, so I decided to flash fry them (kind of like a shrimp tempura or spider roll).

The only other concern for me was shucking the oysters. Chris is my shucker and he was out of town. Whole Foods though stepped in and shucked them for me and told me to eat them within 90 minutes - no problem!

I may have gotten a bit heavy handed with the rice but this was my first attempt at a roll and overall I'm really proud of how they came out!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup arborio rice coating (I stole this from Michael Chiarello; it's what we use to coat our fried calamari and you can find the recipe here. We make it in batches and keep it in the freezer.
• 1/4C buttermilk
• 6 oysters (I used Chincoteague because they were small. I originally wanted kumamotos b/c I like them best. The Chicoteague were maybe a little too briny for this)
• small egg caviar
• 1C jasmine rice
• 2T seasoned rice VINEGAR (I didn't have seasoned and used regular but it seemed good)
• 1T wasabi powder (i.e., horseradish)
• 1T water
• 1 cucumber, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and seeded, then cut in long strips the length of the seaweed roll
• nori sheet (seaweed)
• Canola oil for frying

Directions

Cook the Jasmine Rice (any short grain rice will do though) according to package directions. When done stir in vinegar, cool to room temperature.

Shuck and drain the oysters. Soak in buttermilk to coat and then drain. Sprinkle with arborio rice coating, shake off excess and fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Spread out Nori, shiny side down (I couldn't tell which side was shiny) on bamboo mat (I didn't have this so used a piece of parchment paper covered with saran wrap). Spread rice on seaweed, leaving 1 inch border with wet hands. Dab some wasabi on center of rice lengthwise (depending how hot you want it). Spread oysters and cucumber slices down the middle. (Note: this time I dolloped the top of the pieces with caviar. Next time I'll put it in the middle with the oysters).

From the long side closest to you, roll Nori over the filling by lifting mat (or parchment paper). Continue to roll away from you until the Nori is under itself (there are good picture directions of this maneuver on the back of the packages of the Nori). Using gentle pressure, shape roll with your hands. Remove mat (or paper and saran) and cut roll into 6 to 8 slices. Dollop with caviar. Serve with some soy sauce and more wasabi.

What would happen if a Persian explorer was stranded in the Americas with nothing but his favorite spices from home and a little something he picked up on his way through China?

Because The Flavor Bible says "(see pumpkin)" in its listing for winter squash, I'm taking the liberty of using pumpkin for this weeks challenge. Wanting to create a savory appetizer, instead of a dessert, how will I use pumpkin that avoids playing to its natural sweetness?

I may have gotten slightly carried away with all the ingredients and spices. But I really wanted to represent the two parts of the world equally. The Middle Eastern part is the spices and apricots. The Native American is of course the pumpkin, tomatoes, quinoa, corn and wild mushrooms.

This dish is jam packed with flavors and textures and is one of the most satisfying things I've eaten in a long time. Although a long recipe with lots of ingredients, it is surprisingly easy and quick to make.

Step One:
One medium heirloom pumpkin of your choice, cleaned, peeled, & seeded.
3-4 garlic cloves finely minced
Salt & pepper to taste
Olive oil to coat
Cut only the firmest part of the pumpkin flesh into about 1/2” cubes and measure six cups into a bowl for tossing.
Add olive oil and minced garlic and toss to coat.
Spread out in a shallow pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Roast in a 450 degree convection oven until edges begin to brown.
Remove and allow to cool.

Step Two:
While pumpkin is roasting, soften in a small amount of olive oil —
1 cup red onions (diced into uniform 1/4” pieces)
1/2 cup diced mushrooms of your choice (used a handful from my container of dried mixed wild mushrooms and soaked them in warm water before dicing)

Step Three:
Add in —
1 cup diced tomatoes (Use firm ripe tomatoes. Remove all seeds and dice same size as onion)
1/2 cup warm water in which you have been soak 8-10 saffron threads. (leave the saffron in)
1/2 cup minced dried apricots
1 cup pre-cooked Heirloom Red Quinoa
1 teas. dried cilantro flakes
2 tbsp. minced fresh mint
1/2 teas. each Zatar & Sumac berry spices (I get mine from Penzey’s)
1/4 teas. each CINNAMON, five spice powder, and red pepper flakes
1 1/2 teas. Salt
Toss all of these ingredients together then add —
1 1/2 cup roasted corn kernels (I use the frozen bags from Trader Joes. Just thaw it first)
6 cups roasted pumpkin cubes

Step Four:
Add up to 3 cups broth, one cup at a time as you simmer and gently stir your ingredients to combine. (I used chicken broth, but you could use veggie broth for a completely vegan dish if you wish). Don’t use more broth than you need to make a stew that has almost no liquid at all. You want this to be a chunky stew you eat with a fork, not a spoon.
You also don’t want to stir so hard that you break down your pumpkin.

To Serve —
Before roasting the pumpkin, I hollowed out 4 small ornamental pumpkins, coated them in oil and added them to the roasting pan.
I used these as serving bowls for the pumpkin stew and garnished with a sprig of fresh mint.
Each mini-pumpkin held about 1/3 cup.

This recipe makes about 10 cups of stew. So, I used only a small portion of the stew as an appetizer, and saved the rest to be used the next day as a main course. It keeps very well for several days in the fridge and can be successfully heated in the microwave, one bowl at a time. time.

The ingredient this week is beets. I love beets. As a kid, I ate canned beets. I liked them, but as an adult when I discovered fresh, roasted beets, my love for them grew more. One of my favorite ways to eat them is on a salad. A salad with roasted beets, goat cheese, and toasted walnuts. Yum. This week I decided to take the flavors of that salad and put them into a tart. This tart was absolutely delicious. The crunch of the crust, tang of the goat cheese, sweetness of the beets and earthiness of the walnuts complement each other perfectly. I served it the first evening with a simple green salad that was dressed with mandarin orange-infused olive oil and a sweet balsamic vinegar. Then I had some of the leftovers the next morning for breakfast. The tart is very versatile and could be served as an appetizer if made in individual small tart pans, or as a light entree alongside a salad, or as a breakfast or lunch course. It reheats nicely, but be sure and reheat in the oven, not the microwave or you will have a soggy crust.

Roasted Beet, Goat Cheese and Walnut Tart
Yield: one 10" tart
3 small to medium beets
Drizzle of olive oil
Salt & pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
1 tablespoons dry white wine
3 large eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream
3 ounces soft goat cheese
1/2 cup toasted chopped walnuts
10" tart shell, blind-baked (recipe below)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Wash and dry the beets and place them on a large piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Close the foil tighly around the beets and bake until beets are tender, about 1 hour. When cool, peel the beets and cut them into small chunks. (Can be prepared up to 1 day in advance.)
2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring often, until the onion is soft. Add the wine and stir up any bits stuck to the bottom of the skillet. Cook until the wine has all evaporated.
3. Preheat oven to 350. Spread the cooked onions evenly in the bottom of the cooked tart shell. Then evenly distribute the beets on top. Sprinkle with the toasted walnuts.
4. Whisk together the eggs and cream and season lightly with salt and pepper. Pour this over the beet onion mixutre. Crumble the goat cheese over the top.
5. Bake until just set, about 40 minutes. Let sit 5-10 minutes before cutting.

Tart Shell (Pate Brisee) Yield: one 10" shell
1 1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
8 tablespoons ( 1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, diced
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Ice water

1. In a food processor, combine the flour, salt and butter, and pulse until the mixture resembles course meal. Add the egg and pulse again until dough comes together. If dough is a little dry, add a few drops of ice water. You want the dough to hold together but you don't want a sticky wet dough.
2. Pull dough out of processor and with floured hands, shape dough into a flattened ball or disk. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 1 day.
3. When ready to use, let dough stand at room temperature long enough you can roll it, about 10 minutes. Roll dough on a floured surface until it's large enough to fit in the tart pan with extra to come up the sides. Gently pat into pan and press up the sides of pan. Cut off excess.
4. To blind-bake the shell, preheat the oven to 375. Line the shell with foil and fill with beans, rice or pie weights. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and continue baking until the crust is nicely golden brown all over.

Ah beef, it’s what’s for dinner. Well, maybe not. Because today I chose to do a snack, a dim sum.

You see for me, this week wasn’t as much about coming up with a new recipe featuring the flavors as much as a new … technique. Because seriously, how many new recipes can you really come up with for beef (well, at least seven I guess.)?

So instead, I decided to combine two of my favorite dishes, barbecued beef and Char siu bau – pork buns (okay well, technically Char siu bau are steamed but I like my buns baked ;D).

So here’s what I did. The other night I made barbecue beef (actually, I made it a couple of weeks ago, with a Cooking Light recipe using flank steak but I didn’t like how that came out, so I did it again). This time I based it upon one of my favorite recipes that I got years ago from Taste of Home. Really, you can mix this up with anything. Put a little honey in sometimes, or maybe some maple syrup. The chipotle will make it spicy, don’t want it so spicy, leave the chili out but you get the idea.

Barbecue Beef

Ingredients

• 2 large ONIONS, chopped
• 1C ketchup
• 1 1/4C beef broth
• 1/4C cider vinegar
• 1/4C packed brown sugar
• 3T Worcestershire sauce
• 2T mustard
• 2T Molasses
• 2T citric juice (normally I use lemon but this time I used fresh orange b/c I didn’t have lemon)
• 1t salt
• 1/4t chipotle chili powder
• 1 canned chipotle chili, minced
• 1 4lb boneless chuck roast
• 2T canola oil

Directions

In a medium pot sauté the onions in 1T oil until they’re tender. Add everything else to the pot (except the meat), bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, brown the roast with 1T oil in an oven proof dutch oven. Pour sauce over meat, cover and put in a preheated 325 degree oven. Cook for 2 hours, turn and cook, covered for another 2 hours or until the roast is fork tender. Shred the meat with two forks, return to sauce and serve.

Now this makes a lot, and you only need like two cups (at most) for the buns, so go ahead and have this for dinner on hamburger rolls with some coleslaw.

Now for the buns.

Barbecue Beef Buns

It’s basically a sweet bread dough that you make so here you go.

Ingredients

• 4T sugar, divided
• 1/2 cup warm milk (like 105 – 110)
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2t yeast
• 2 1/4 – 2 3/4 cups flour
• dash of salt
• 1 egg yolk

Directions

I did this all in my kitchen aid. First I primed the mixing bowl. That’s when you put really hot water (from the tap) into it and let it sit for a minute. That way if the bowl is cold, it will warm it up so it doesn’t lower the temperature of liquids.

Next, I put the milk and water in the bowl, and dissolved 2T of the sugar into it. Then I sprinkled the yeast in and let it sit for about 10 minutes until it was foamy. If it doesn’t get foamy, either your yeast is dead or your liquids were too hot or too cold.

Add 2 1/4 cups flour, dash of salt and remaining sugar, mix until smooth and elastic, using the remaining flour as necessary. You can do this by hand, kneading for about five minutes.

Put into a bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top, cover and let rise about 30 minutes or until it doubles in size. If you poke it with your fingers, and the indents remain, it's ready.

Take it out, and roll it into a 12” log (wipe your dirty minds!!). Cut into 12, one inch pieces and roll those into balls (again with your dirty minds?). Cover with a moist towel and let it rest for five minutes.

Flatten out a ball with a rolling pin into a four – six inch circle. Put 1T of the barbecue beef (hopefully cooled) into the middle and then stretch the dough over the top, twisting, sealing, pinching whatever. Place seam-side down on a baking sheet (leave space in between), and repeat with 11 remaining pieces (keep those covered while you work so they don’t dry out).

Cover the baking sheet and let it rise for 30 minutes.

Brush with beaten egg yolk (I like to add a splash of water to the yolk before I beat it).

Let rise for 15 minutes.

Bake for 20 or so minutes in a 350 degree oven until they’re golden brown. You can see some leaked; I need to seal them better next time.

Done!

Yes, I know, traditional caponata is made with eggplant. But this was a good way to use the part of broccoli that is often thrown away. When I stopped at the market to buy fresh broccoli, all they had were the tops with hardly any stalk at all. I asked the produce guy where the stalks were and he said they were in the back ready to be tossed. YIKES! So I asked him to sell me just stalks. He looked at me like he thought I was crazy.

Broccoli stalk caponate ---

1 T each butter and olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion (dices should be small and uniform in size)
1/3 cup diced celery (matching onion dices in size)
1/2 T minced garlic
2 cups broccoli stalk dices (Stalks carefully peeled and then diced into about 1/2 inch cubes)
1 medium firm crisp apple (apple peeled and diced slightly smaller than broccoli)
salt & pepper to taste
2 cups apple cider

Put butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and celery, cooking until they soften but not brown. Stir in garlic, broccoli, and diced apple, coating completely with butter and olive oil. Continue to cook over medium heat until the apple begins to break down.

Add apple cider. Stir continually while cider comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook for almost an hour. Stir frequently, but gently. When broccoli is very tender and the apple cider has evaporated, remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

In order to abide by the rules of this project, I needed to use an ingredient listed in bold caps. The problem is there was only one on the list -- CHEESE. So I decided to put the caponata on crostini, top it with anchovies and some grated Parmagiano Reggiano.

The sweet element of the apple, the tang of the cider, and the saltiness of the anchovies & cheese were great with the mellow broccoli. I had some caponata left over, but not enough to get out the canning equipment for. So, I pureed it, added some cream and cheese and made a very nice soup.

Speaking of canning. When I make this again, I'll make a much larger batch and do just that.

Medjool dates are my favorite variety. Last trip to Global Foods revealed that a large new shipment had arrived. So, I bought a box without any idea of using them in any way other than just to stuff my face. They were sitting on the kitchen counter next to some nice crisp apples when I brought home an anemic looking little 4oz lobster tail that cost me $9.00.

Suddenly my plan for lobster bloomed fully formed in my head. Who says appetizers have to always be savory? I would make a lobster salad and stuff my dates with it as an appetizer. I realized that the amount of meat in the small tail I purchased was only half what I needed. I was also completely unwilling to buy another one. So, I ran to the store for a package of imitation crab chunks. As luck would have it, I found lobster flavored.

1 - six oz package of imitation lobster chunks, finely chopped
1 - crisp unpeeled apple (finely dice 1/2 half, keep second half whole)
juice of one LEMON
1 - small GARLIC clove minced
Lobster tail
celery - diced finely to make 1/4 cup
1/3 cup mayonnaise (preferably homemade)
SALT & pepper to taste
bunch of fresh Italian parsley, chopped

Toss the apple dices in the lemon juice to prevent them from browning. Then drain and reserve juice.

Boil the lobster tail in salted water with the half of the apple that wasn't diced, the garlic & reserved lemon juice.

Cool the cooked lobster completely and remove meat from shell. Chop finely and mixed with previously chopped imitation lobster, diced celery & apples, chopped parsley, salt, pepper, & mayo.

Split 12 Medjool dates in half lengthwise, but don't cut all the way through. Remove seed and any stem tip that may have remained after picking.

Stuff each date with a heaping teaspoon of lobster salad. Garnish with a parsley leaf. Cover and refridgerator for several hours or more before serving.

When I think about food, I almost immediately think of something sweet. I was convinced I would make some sort of cauliflower dessert. But then I decided to stay in line with Deborah’s appetizers/small bites theme. So I made Savory Cauliflower Profiteroles.

Cauliflower Flavors: CHEESE, BLACK PEPPER, SEA SALT, chili sauce

Step 1 – Steam Cauliflower (med sized head) until tender. Drain well. Let cool down in bowl. Add 4 oz goat cheese, sea salt and black pepper. Blend with emersion blender until almost smooth. Chill while making dough.

Step 2 – Make a batch of Pâte à Choux. This is the pastry dough used to make éclairs and crème puffs. I like Nick Malgieri’s recipe. Add to pastry bag and pipe out 1 1/2 “circles on parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake as directed. Cool for 5 minutes.

Step 3 – Cut off top 1/3 of dough shells with serrated knife. Put the tops to the side.

Step 4 – Pipe/spoon filling into puff. Drizzle filling with Sweet Chili Sauce. Top with tops.

This recipe is an absolute FAIL. It was not at all how I thought the flavors would work together. Here’s the break down:

The Pâte à Choux shells turned out perfectly. I’m always afraid I’m going to burn them but the key to success with this dough is making sure you bake it until it’s done. Few things are worse than soggy dough. You are aiming for a deep golden, crisp buttery shell.

The ratio of cauliflower to goat cheese was good. Goat cheese can be overpowering. In each bite I could always taste the cauliflower. I could eat this as a side dish. One thing I forget was how much moisture is in cauliflower. The mixture was very soft; even after thorough draining/pressing and chilling.

The Sweet Chili Sauce was too much. It just clashed with the filling. The filling and shell alone tasted better but it was still missing something. I can’t figure out what.

*Note: Thanks, Irene, for picking up this one for me. It looks beautiful, even if you weren't happy with the results. I'm envious of your talent with baking. -Deborah."

Global Foods strikes again.

I picked up a box of dried pineapple rings and I picked up a fresh pineapple. I meandered up and down the aisle trying to think of something interesting to do with pineapple. I could chocolate dip the dried rings? Yawn. I could hollow out the base of the fresh pineapple to make a bowl and use the fruit in some interesting combination of flavors making a sorbet to fill it. Ho, hum.

Then at the beginning of the Southeast Asian aisle hung the flag of the Philippines. And in the very first bay of the Philippines section a half-dozen of these were hanging on a hook.

I looked at them an thought, "Well, we bake hams by paving the outside with pineapple rings, don't we? Why not reverse it? What if I used crushed pork rind as a sort of panko for pineapple rings?" I looked at the packet and realized that, not only did it sport an expired date, it also contained MSG. I decided to crush my own pork rinds. I bought a packet anyway, just to take a picture. I contemplated which form of pineapple to use for quite a while. Fearing that fresh rings would fall apart on me in the cooking oil, I settled on the dried rings.

Ingredient List:

2 C - Pineapple Wine (I had this bottle from a trip to Costa Rica a couple of years ago. Believe me, it wasn't worth drinking. - YUCK) You could use any sweet white wine as a substitute.
12 - Dried Pineapple Rings
½ C - Grated COCONUT
zest of two LIMES
5 or 6 slices - crystalized ginger
2 - whole Thai chilies
1 - large clove garlic, smashed
1/2 - teaspoon salt
Vegetable oil for frying
1 bag - Pork Rinds
1/2 c - flour
1 - egg, beaten
Juice of 1 LIME
zest of one LIME for garnish

Simmer the pineapple slices in the pineapple wine to partially rehydrate them. Simmer long enough to evaporate the alcohol, but not boil dry (10 - 15 minutes). Remove the pineapple slices and set aside.

Add coconut, ginger, garlic, lime zest, salt, and Thai chilies to the remaining liquid and continue boiling for 5-10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Heat vegetable oil in a skillet. Break up the pork rinds then pulse in a food processor to crush them to a fine crumb. Dredge each pineapple ring in flour, dip in egg, & roll in pork rind crumbs.

Fry two or three at a time (do not over crowd or allow slices to touch) in hot oil just long enough to set crust. Turn only once, being careful not to knock crust off. Remove to paper towel to drain slightly. Then roll, while still hot in more crushed pork rind. Place on a wire rack to cool.

To make dipping sauce:

Remove & discard chilis & garlic then pulse coconut mixture in food processor until almost a puree. Press mixture through a mesh strainer into a bowl. Press as much liquid out of the mixture as possible. Add lime juice and whip with fork.

I put two pineapple rings on a tid-bit plate, then used a ceramic soup spoon for an individual serving of dipping sauce, garnishing it with a little of the lime zest.

My six year old grandson is adventurous. He'll try anything once. He makes a great taste-tester, if you're ego can take his brutal honesty.

This is what he had to say: "MeeMaw, they taste good, and it's fun to dip them. But they feel like gummy bears on my teeth. I don't like that."

I think he was right. The texture of the dried pineapple rings was not pleasing at all. The flavor was surprisingly good. I may try this again with fresh rings. Perhaps.

Are you looking for an interesting appetizer for the upcoming Easter dinner? How does this look? And if you're cooking for Passover rather than Easter, you could always change the dough to something unleavened.

I was parsimoniously contemplating the cost of lamb as I tried to envision what direction to go with my dish this week. The cheapest was ground for $7.69 a pound. I decided that questionably "inexpensive" variety would have to do.

I considered lamb stuffed ravioli; lamb stuffed arancini; even going retro and doing lamb meatballs in the crockpot with grape jelly. That led me to the equally retro idea of doing pigs-in-a-blanket with lamb instead of little smokies.

This is a two part recipe. First the dough for the blankets:

2 cup - all-purpose flour
1 tbs - sugar
2 teas - baking powder
1/2 teas - salt
4 tbs - unsalted butter, cold, cut into small squares
1/2 cup - grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 sprig fresh *ROSEMARY

Bruise the leaves of the rosemary sprig by cracking them between your fingers. Then put the whole sprig in a saucepan and add buttermilk. Bring to a very gentle simmer and allow buttermilk to take up flavor of rosemary for several minutes. Strain out rosemary and let buttermilk cool.

Sift the dry ingredients together; mix in butter pieces until mixture is crumbly. Stir in cheese until evenly distributed. Add cooled buttermilk. Stir well and let dough sit for a few minutes to rest.

Sprinkle the dough with flour and with floured hands, pat into a 16 x 8 inch rectangle on a floured surface. Handle the dough as little as possible so it remains tender.

Cut the dough into 18 triangles as they appear in photo below.

Now, for the elongated lamb meatballs:

2 slices fresh white bread, torn into small pieces
2 tablespoons dry red wine
1 pound ground lamb
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 cloves GARLIC, chopped
2 Tbs. chopped fresh PARSLEY
1 teas. SALT
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground PEPPER
1 teas. dried *ROSEMARY, crushed
3 Tbs. pine nuts, chopped finely

Place bread in a small bowl and drizzle with the wine. Allow to stand for a few minutes.

In a larger bowl, combine the lamb with all the other ingredients. Mix with hands. Add wine soaked bread and mix again.

Form lamb mixture into 18 oblong shaped meatballs, simulating the appearance of the little smokies you would normally use.

Lightly roll meatballs in flour and brown in hot oil. Do not cook through. You want the meatballs to be nicely browned but still rare inside. They will finish cooking in the oven.

Starting with the wide end, roll meatballs in the dough triangles and arrange, point side down on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 12 - 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Transfer to a wire rack for a brief cool-down before serving. Dan and I had two each as an appetizer before dinner. Then I refrigerated the remaining 14 and took them to work the next day. Some people ate them cold and said they were great. Others reheated them in the microwave and said the dough was still tender. At any rate. They disappeared fast.

This one was a group effort several years ago when some of our wonderful SlowTraveler friends were here for the St. Louis GTG.

Let me start by saying yes, I know that there is a long standing and treasured ban on mixing seafood and cheese. But the ricotta in the filling and the parmesan dusting on top work.

Ingredients:
3 dozen — jumbo pasta shells cooked al dente, rinsed in cold water and patted dry
3 dozen — medium raw shrimp, shelled & cleaned and patted dry
Prosciutto—thinly sliced, enough to wrap a small piece around each shrimp

For Filling: (whip together with fork)
1 - egg beaten
1—12 oz carton whole milk ricotta
1/2 c—grated parmesan
2 Tbs—Penzey’s Fox Point seasoning
1Tbs—crushed thyme
1Tbs– finely chopped rosemary leaves
1 teas — cayenne pepper powder
PEPPER & SALT to taste

For Coating:
2-3 — eggs, beaten
2 C — Italian bread crumbs

To Assemble:
Wrap each shrimp in a small piece of prosciutto
Holding a shell in one hand, place a scant teaspoon of filling in center.
Top the filling with the wrapped shrimp.
Add another scant teaspoon of filling to top shrimp.
Dip finger in beaten egg and wipe on edges of shell.
Fold edges around shrimp filling and seal.

To Cook:
Dip in beaten egg
Roll in Italian bread crumbs
Deep fry in hot canola OIL until shells float and turn golden brown. (do not crowd in oil)

Remove and let rest on paper towel for at least five minutes before serving.

Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan and MARINARA sauce for dipping.

When I mentioned to Paul that this week's ingredient was shrimp he begged me to make coconut shrimp. Yes, begged!

I looked at the 'Flavor Bible' and realized that i'd need to make an impressive sauce to go with the shrimp if I were to use ANY of the ingredients listed in the book.

This turned out AMAZING!!! I was particularly impressived with the sauce with a delicious combination of spicy hot from the tobasco sauce and jalapeno pepper cut with the cool sweetness of the mint. it was such a great combination that we found ourselves eating it with a spoon - when no one was looking of course. LOL

The sauce paired beautifully with the shrimp and would pair nicely with a grilled chicken breast, tuna, or other firm, mild-flavoured protien.

Beer Battered Coconut Shrimp with Hot and Cool Mango Sauce

2 cloves garlic
3 very ripe mangoes , cut into chunks (I used frozen mango since it was impossible to find decent ones in the market)
1 tablespoon grated lime zest
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1/3 cup sugar
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
3/4 cup coarsely chopped mint (about 1 bunch)

1 1/2 cups self rising flour
4 teaspoons kosher salt
2 1/2 cups cold beer, plus more as necessary (if there is some leftover DRINK it!)
1 pound large shrimp , shelled and deveined
4 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
3 quarts vegetable or canola oil

In a food processor with knife blade attached, mince garlic. Add mangoes, lime zest, lime juice, vinegar, Tabasco sauce, salt and pepper, and sugar. Process until very smooth. Pour into a bowl, stir in the mint and chopped jalapeno pepper. Cover and refrigerate until serving.

In a large bowl, whisk flour and salt to combine. Add beer and whisk until smooth. Mixture should have consistency of pancake batter; add more beer if necessary. Spread coconut on a plate.

Pour oil into an 8-quart heavy-bottom pot. Heat over medium-low heat until temperature reaches 350° on a deep-fat thermometer.

Pat shrimp dry with paper towels; add to batter and toss to coat. Remove shrimp from batter one at a time, letting excess drip off. Dredge in coconut.

Carefully drop shrimp into oil, about 8 at a time and fry until golden brown and just cooked through, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove to paper towels, skimming coconut from oil between batches.

Serve hot with dip.

There were so many intriguing flavor opportunities with tuna, I really had a hard time deciding what I wanted to do. Then when I found the beautiful yellow fin tuna steaks, I knew I must somehow keep the texture of a solid bite of tuna steak and still have an appetizer.

Ingredient list:

3 Tbs - olive oil
juice of two LEMONS
2 Tbs - red wine VINEGAR
1 clove - GARLIC, crushed
1 tsp - crushed red pepper flakes
2 Tbs - dijon mustard
SALT & PEPPER to taste
2 Tbs - finely chopped fresh PARSLEY
12 oz- yellow fin tuna steaks

Cut the tuna steaks into bite sized square chunks.

Mix all of the other listed ingredients together to make a marinade. Gently toss tuna chunks in the marinade until they are well coated.

Arrange coated tuna in single layer in a plastic container that has a tightly sealing lid. Make sure there is a little room between pieces, but not too much.

Pour the remaining marinade over the top. Seal lid and refridgerated for at least two hours, but preferably overnight.

The acid in the lemon juice and red wine vinegar will 'cook' the tuna, so when you are ready to bread and fry the pieces you will want to work fast. Here is what the tuna chunks look like after they marinade has worked its magic.

Put vegetable oil in pan to a depth of about 1" and bring to a high, but not smoking heat.

Dip the marinade coated tuna chunks in dried bread crumbs and brown quickly, turning only once. They have already cooked, so all you want to do is brown the bread crumb crust and warm the meat through.

Arrange four large radicchio leaves like serving bowls on a plate with a cup of cocktail picks in the center. Fill each radicchio leaf with tuna chunks and serve.

This week our ingredient is tuna. I was thinking about making tuna tacos like a get at a restaurant in Anchorage. I decided to make something very similar. I chose to make a tuna tower. This is a mixture of ahi tuna that has been lightly marinated in a soy sauce-based mixture, avocado and mango, served with wonton chips. I don't have an exact recipe here for you, but I think you've got enough to make it work.

Tuna Tower 4 servings
Wonton Crisps:
1/4 cup sesame oil
20 wonton skins, sliced in halg
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Brush 2 cookie sheets with sesame oil. Lay the wonton skins on the sheets in a single layer. Brush with oil. Bake about 15 minutes, until crisp and golden. Transfer to plate to cool.

Tuna:
1/2 lb sushi-grade tuna (I used ahi), cut into small dice
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon red chili paste
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1. Mix together the last 4 ingredients and stir until sugar is dissolved. Stir in tuna, cover, and refrigerate 15 to 30 minutes. Do not let set too long or fish will be mushy.

To serve:
Peel one mango and cut into small dice. Place in a medium bowl. Cut one avocado in half and cut into small dice. Add to the same bowl. Drain the tuna mixture and lightly stir into the mango and avocado until mixed. Serve with the wonton chips. If you'd like the presentation I did, just use a ring mold and layer the ingredients in, then gently remove the ring.

I served this with a little wasabi mayo on top. This is where I don't have the measurements, as I kept adding things until I liked the taste. I placed 2 tablespoons mayo in a small bowl. I mixed in about 2 teaspoons wasabi powder and stirred until blended. Add sirachi and stir to blend. Add a little water if lumpy or too thick.

I ADORE Italian canned tuna in olive oil. I used to bring home a couple dozen cans each year, but now it is in my supermarket. Tonnato sauce is a staple at our house. We love it in the summer over cold chicken, turkey or tossed with pasta and arugula for a quick meal.

Traditional Veal Tonnato uses a cold poached veal roast (usually a loin or leg). I became a big fan after my first taste in Piemonte a few years ago. My quick version was to quickly cook some veal scallopini in a little butter and lemon juice. Place cooked veal on bruschetta and top with the tonnato sauce and a few capers. YUM!

Quick Tonnato Sauce

1 can Italian tuna in olive oil
1/2 c. mayo
2 T. capers
1 T. anchovy paste (or 1 anchovy fillet)
1 T. lemon juice
salt and pepper
a splash of olive oil (less than 1/4 c.)

Throw all ingredients in a food processor until blended. It couldn't be easier. You will become hooked! Try the leftover sauce (if there is any) with pasta and arugula!

This is a hearty recipe that can be prepped a day in advance. When you are ready to serve all you will need to do is roast the artichokes, bake the polenta rounds, assemble and finish in the oven.

Since you don’t really need a recipe to make pesto, I'm not giving you measurements. Take the ingredient list and combine as it suits your own taste. In fact, pesto is so forgiving, go ahead and change up the ingredients if you like.

For the pesto:
Soaked sundried TOMATOES
Roasted walnut pieces
GARLIC
Basil
PARSLEY
OLIVE OIL
LEMON juice
SALT
Red pepper flakes

Combine all ingredients in food processor and pulse to the texture you prefer. I made mine almost pureed with only a bit of tomato and walnut chunks still identifiable. Refrigerate until ready to assemble.

For the Polenta Rounds:

Make you favorite polenta, I use yellow instead of white because I like the color. Roll into a tight two inch wide by 8-9 inch long log. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill completely.

With one rack placed near bottom of oven with a pizza stone on it, and another rack in middle of oven, preheat to 400 convection.

Take one package frozen artichoke quarters, I use Trader Joes brand. Thaw and drain on paper towel to remove excess moisture. Coat with oil and your favorite dried spices, Italian blend is ideal. Spread out on cookie sheet and place on top rack to roast.

While artichokes are roasting, take polenta roll out of refrigerator, remove plastic wrap and slice quickly into 1/4th inch rounds. Dip in olive oil. Dredge in Italian bread crumbs. Bake on the pizza stone until rounds are dark golden brown. Drain on paper towel.

You will need to watch the artichokes and remove them from the oven when they are roasted, even if the polenta rounds are not ready.

To assemble:
Line a baking sheet with parchment. Place baked polenta rounds evenly. Spread a dollop of pesto on top. Top that with a couple of pieces of artichoke. Stick back in a hot oven for a couple of minutes. Serve immediately.

I've been making my cousin Aimee's mother's Moroccan Lamb-Stuffed Artichokes for years, so used the Artichoke prompt this week to try to lighten them to less of a guilty pleasure. I subbed chicken for lamb, added some rice, cut way down on the pistachios, and eliminated the potato and oil. I also cooked them in tomato, to keep the chicken moist. From the Flavor Bible I used: chicken, garlic, coriander, mint, onions, parsley, pepper, rice, and tomatoes. They turned out more delicate than the original, and very tasty. The stuffing mixture also worked well as little meatballs, poached in some of the sauce. And yes, I start with frozen artichoke hearts I buy at the Middle-Eastern grocery store.

Moroccan Stuffed Artichokes

10-12 large frozen artichoke bottoms (Look in middle eastern markets)

2 tablespoons white rice
2 cups chicken broth, divided in half
1 egg
1/3 cup minced scallion
1/2 pound lean ground chicken(about 1/2 cup)
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup chopped pistachios
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup minced fresh mint
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
several grinds freshly ground pepper
Sauce:
½ small onion, chopped
1 small can plum tomatoes, chopped
2 garlic cloves, sliced
pinch saffron threads, crushed
1 cup of the remaining chicken broth

Boil rice uncovered in a small saucepan of 1 cup of boiling chicken broth for 10 minutes. Rinse with cold water and drain well. Transfer to a medium bowl.

Beat the egg in a medium bowl. Add scallion, minced garlic, cilantro, paprika, coriander, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and pepper. Mix well. Add ground chicken, pistachios and the rice. Mix well.

Sprinkle artichoke bottoms with additional salt and pepper. Spoon stuffing into artichoke bottoms. Spray a deep skillet with oil, and saute the chopped onion. Add tomatoes, sliced garlic, saffron, a pinch of salt and pepper and 1 cup broth to pan.

Bring to a simmer. Carefully place the stuffed artichokes into the pan. Cover and cook over low heat about 30 minutes or until artichokes are tender.

Refrigerate for a few hours with some of the sauce over each, to let flavors blend.Serve hot, with a little of the tomato sauce spooned over each artichoke.

Yield: 6-12 appetizer servings, depending on if you’re serving one or two per person

If you are tired of dipping your artichoke leaves in melted butter try this for a refreshing change.

Steamed Artichokes with Mint Dipping Sauce

For sauce:

1-cup mint
1 clove garlic
1/4-teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup prepared mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon Olive oil
2 Teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Ground black pepper to taste

Put the garlic into the food processor with the motor running. Add the mint and process for a few seconds.

Add the rest of the ingredients.

Serve with steamed artichokes.

I knew I wanted to make a stuffed squid dish, but I wasn't sure what I wanted to stuff them with. I went to our local asian/seafood/specialty market, where I knew they carried whole squid. I bought a pound, and the only problem was that the squid were pretty small. I had thought I would stuff them with a rice/shrimp mixture, but I decided they were too small for that. So I decided to stuff them with minced shrimp instead.

This preparation is rather long, but if they squid were larger they would be easier to stuff and wouldn't take as long. I was having a friend come over for a late lunch on Saturday, and I woke up early, which gave me the opportunity of piddling around in the kitchen taking my time and making most everything in advance.

I started out by making a sofregit sauce. Sofregit is a foundational sauce in Mediterranean Catalan cuisine. It's a fragrant tomato-based sauce made with tomatoes, onions, olive oil, garlic and onions, it can include other vegetables like mushrooms and peppers. These are cooked at low heat for a long period of time, so the vegetables become very flavorful.

As this sauce was cooking, I peeled my shrimp, minced it, and seasoned it with salt and aleppo pepper.

Then I cleaned my squid. I had done this before, so I knew how. Once you've done it once, you realize how easy it is. Okay, some people might find it a little unappealing, but it doesn't bother me. When the squid was cleaned, I stuffed them like little sausages with the shrimp mixture. Close the open end with a toothpick woven through, and back in the refrigerator to wait until their time to cook. Oh, I also kept the tentacle part to cook in the sauce alongside the stuffed bodies.

I next made an aioli sauce, which is basically a garlic mayonnaise. If you make this recipe, be sure to include this element. The bright sharp flavor of this really made a difference in the taste of the dish.

The stuffed squid turned out delicious. The shrimp inside was firm with the texture of a seafood sausage. I served simply with crostini alongside. (Take a loaf of good crusty bread, slice, lay on cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper and broil on low until crispy.)

Shrimp-Stuffed Squid in Sofregit Sauce with Aioli
Serves 2 as a main dish, 4 as an appetizer

1 pound whole squid, cleaned.
1 pound shrimp, peeled and minced
salt and pepper
aleppo pepper
Sofregit (see below)
Aioli (see below)

1. Make the safregit and set aside. Can be made in advance and refrigerated until ready to use.
2. Make the aioli and refrgerate until ready to use. Can be made a day in advance.
3. Season the raw, minced shrimp with salt and a sprinkling of aleppo pepper.
4. Stuff the squid bodies with the minced shrimp and close the end by weaving a toothpick through each. Make sure to cut the eyes and the hard white piece off the tentacle part of the squid and set aside.
5. Heat the sofreigit in a large skillit. Place the stuffed squid among the sauce and add the tentacles also to the sauce. Keep the heat on low, cover, and cook until the squid are firm and you think the shrimp are cooked through. I forgot to watch exactly how long this took, but I would guess about 20 minutes. You don't want to overcook or they'll get tough but you need the shrimp to cook through. You could cut one open when you think they might be done.
6. Divide the sauce and squid among 2-4 plates and drizzle the aioli sauce over. Serve with crunchy bread.

Sofregit
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped (I used a yellow one)
5 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, chopped (I used cremini, you can use portabello, buttons or any kind)
1 bay leaf
Large pinch of cumin
Large pinch of oregano
Salt to taste

Place all ingredients in large skillet and cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until all of the vegetables are soft. (I probably cooked mine for an hour to 1 1/2 hours). Can be made ahead and refrigerated until ready to use.

Aioli (The recipe for aioli came from Epicurious.com)
2 garlic cloves
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Mince and mash garlic to a paste with a pinch of salt using a large heavy knife. Whisk together yolk, lemon juice, and mustard in a bowl. Combine oils and add, a few drops at a time, to yolk mixture, whisking constantly, until all oil is incorporated and mixture is emulsified. (If mixture separates, stop adding oil and continue whisking until mixture comes together, then resume adding oil.)

Whisk in garlic paste and season with salt and pepper. If aïoli is too thick, whisk in 1 or 2 drops of water. Chill, covered, until ready to use.

Great... All that work, and Movable Type won't post a scheduled blog.
Y'all know, I have said before that the most exciting thing about the 'Flavors' is the challenge. This week the challenge was quite an adventure. It is my week to cook with Squid~ no problem! We Southerners are good at frying things!
The true challenge was to find a fresh squid in Birmingham. When Jan and I were cooking up our Bottarga in Venice... I wish we had bought some of these babies at the Rialto Fish Market and fried them up right then and there.
'Allora'~ I was on a search. My first stop was Snapper Grabber's in Vestavia~ the best place for fresh seafood in this area. (one word of advise... don't go on monday because they are closed)

I ended up at Whole Foods... and ended up with a bag of frozen squid. The best part about these squid are that they are already cleaned!The process of frying the calamari rings is very simple. Pat the rings dry, lightly coat with flour and shake off the excess. Fry in vegetable oil without crowding, drain and sprinkle with salt. . . lots of salt!

Once again, a fun adventure. One that has the flavor of the Pescheria in Venice.
Y'all enjoy~
Sandi