Creamed Spinach

Today I'm going to talk about creamed spinach.  It is a topic I never thought would appear on my blog.  But here it is, like it or not.

It was the Boursin in this recipe that caught my eye.  I do like that stuff.  After reading the rest of the ingredients I thought I'd give it a go.  Glad I did.  It was delicious and very versatile.  Naturally Bryce nor the girls would partake with me.  I've nearly resigned myself to the fact that I'm the only one in the family who will eat vegetables.  It's kinda a bummer.  But whatcha gonna do?  Can't force feed.

I saw the recipe in a booklet that I received in the mail for subscribing to Sunset Magazine.  It is called Cuisine at Home.  I adapted the recipe quite a bit removing as many carbohydrates as possible - flour, bread crumbs and milk.  So in addition to being delicious it is low carb - if that is important to you.  It is to me.  At least right now.

Herewith is your road map to creamy goodness:

Creamed Spinach with Boursin

1/2 cup diced onion
1 T butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 pkg. Boursin Garlic & Fine Herbs cheese (5.2 oz)
1 pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dray of moisture (10oz)
2 T grated Parmesan
1.5 t lemon zest (this makes the dish!)
Roasted pine nuts or sliced almonds

Method

1) Saute onion in 1 T of butter.

2) Wisk in heavy cream and simmer for 1 minute or so.

3) Stir in Boursin, a little at a time and wisk until completely incorporated and smooth.

4) Remove from heat and add spinach, Parmesan, zest

5) At this point you could place it in a buttered, glass pie pan, sprinkle the nuts on top and bake at 425 OR put it in some Tupperware and store it in the fridge to use with other dishes.

If you don't eat this as a side dish (so great with steak) here are some other ways to use it:  As an omelet filling, placed over chicken breasts and baked, stuffed inside chicken breasts, stirred into rice or quinoa to add interest or placed on a sandwich instead of mayo or other condiments.

Try it and let me know how it goes!

Squash

Truth be told I like all kinds of squash.  But spaghetti squash is one of my favorites.  It has a light flavor and crunchy texture when cooked.  It makes a simple side dish or a main with some pasta sauce.

The funny thing about spaghetti squash is that even though it is so simple to prepare most people I know have never tried it.  Have you? I feel lucky my mom introduced me to it.  Next time you're in the grocery store and you see the display of assorted squash(es?) pick up a spaghetti squash and give it a try.  It is so easy to prepare and very delicious to eat.

Spaghetti Squash
Prick your squash a few times with a fork.  You won't be able to prick it very deeply as the squash is so hard.  Don't worry about it.

Stick in in the microwave for 8 minutes on high power.

Check it after 8 minutes.  If it is slightly soft take it out and slice it in half.  If not, keep it in the microwave until it is - 1-5 more minutes.

After you've sliced it in half, scoop out the "guts" and put it in the microwave for 5 more minutes.

Check it again.  The inside should easily shred into "noodles."  They should be tender with a slight crunch.  Keep microwaving 1-2 minutes at a time until this consistency is reached.

When the squash is done take a fork and shred the interior into "noodles."

At this point you can top it with your fav pasta sauce OR add a pat of butter, salt, pepper and grated parmesan and serve it as a side dish (this is how I like it - lots of freshly ground pepper!)

Enjoy!

The girls and I tried to fool Bryce into eating it by contending it was pasta!

If you have a favorite way to eat spaghetti squash please leave a comment.   I'd love to hear about it.

Pucker up

I was just telling my friend Christina about this recipe. Actually I wasn't telling her about it I was GUSHING. Talking with my hands, speaking too loudly . . . gushing. For a good reason too, this recipe is kick-ass. I've always wanted to make a tarte au citron the famous French tart. When we had family here a few weeks ago I decided that was the time to give it a go. Glad I did.

I found the recipe on David Lebovitz's blog. This recipe is great from the shell all the way to the filling. The tart shell recipe, though, is totally amazing. So easy to make - no rolling, cutting in butter, adding pie weights before baking or anything annoying. Easy to work with too. Needless to say, I'll never use another tart pastry recipe again. This is it. David described the filling as moderate, meaning it didn't make very much. I found it to be just right. We tossed fresh strawberries over the top before eating. The berries were nice, but between you and me, I prefer my tarte straight-up. Maybe with a dollop of cream.

So, now you know what to make this weekend. Ya know for that thing you have to go to and bring a dessert. No need to tell me how it goes, I know it will be awesome*.


*Can't use the word - awesome - without a smile. Such an Americanism. When my English friends want to tease me about my accent and vocabulary this word invariably comes up.

If Life Gives you Limes . . .

I highly suggest you make Ina's Frozen Key Lime Pie.

There I was left with 10 limes, purchased for Gin & Tonic's at a friend's going away party and wouldn't you know it not a single G & T was consumed. We stuck to cremant and wine all night long. On a side note, did you know the English make G & Ts with lemons?!?! Shock, horror. I decided to bring some limes to the party and create and international incident. Never got the chance, though.

Anyhoo, so I had a bunch of limes. I remembered Ina's recipe and there was born this delicious and easy pie. Instead of graham crackers (which don't exist here) I used Lotus Speculoos. Mmmm, mmmm delicious. Probably better than graham crackers.

Keep this recipe in mind for summer time. It is so darn easy and would be great after anything cooked on the BBQ.

Buttermilk Breakfast

Have you made buttermilk pancakes recently? I hadn't either until a few weeks ago. They are delicious! Why didn't anyone tell me how good they were? Since I had buttermilk sitting in the fridge leftover from my brown bread I thought I'd use it for pancakes. So glad I did.

Here is the recipe I've been using. I found it somewhere on the web, but for the life of me I can't find it again. Glad I wrote it down.

Buttermilk Pancakes

1 cup flour
1 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
2 T sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
40 grams butter (melted and cooled a bit)

1) Sift dry ingredients together.

2) Gently beat egg. Add wet ingredients to dry. Stir to combine. Batter will be slightly lumpy and thick. Add more buttermilk to thin if desired.

3) Cook on a hot griddle or pan.

YUMMERS!

Happy weekend to you!

Comfort Food

The first time I had spatzle was in Fussen, Germany. Right away I could tell it was the stuff comfort is made of. The kind of food that sticks to your ribs and warms your belly. The perfect food for those cold fall and winter evenings. But here I am writing about it at the end of May. Whatcha gonna do?

I think of spatzle as a cross between pasta, dumplings and scrambled eggs. It is has a chewy, dense, doughy, sort of uncooked loveliness to it. I think you're either into such things or you're not. Just for the record, I am!

I was delighted when friend, Christina gave me her extra spatzle maker and her recipe to boot! I made it a couple times this winter and then again for my mom on the last day of her visit. We had a ball. It is as fun to make as it is delicious to eat. I searched on line for additional recipes and was surprised to find a large variation in them. Mostly with the addition of richer ingredients; cream, chicken broth and more eggs. Silly! I am smitten with the simple recipe Christina shared with me. Why complicate matters? Here is her spatzle recipe along with directions.

Spatzle

400 grams flour
4 eggs
250 ml water
salt

1) Whisk flour and salt together in a large bowl. Make a well and add the eggs and water. Combine. Dough will resemble very wet, sticky pizza dough. It's a cross between a dough and a batter. If it seems wrong, it is probably right.

2) Boil water in a large spaghetti pot. Set spatzle maker onto of pot.

3) Add about 1/3 of the dough into the maker. Move cup part of the maker back and forth. Little globs of dough will come out and fall into the boiling water. Look at my mom in action!

4) As soon as the globs come to the surface of the water, skim them out into a colander and rinse with cold water. Repeat with remaining 2/3rds of dough.

YOU MADE SPATZLE!!

To the spatzle I add some Gruyere cheese and caramelized onion. I put 1/2 of the spatzle into a non stick skillet and let it warm up. Next I add the cheese and onion and cook until melt-y and delicious. Oh, don't forget to add LOTS of fresh ground pepper. You'll need salt too. Serve with a big green salad. Or not.

The Mirabelle Diaries

My obsession with making a mirabelle tart started when our neighbors (the ones of raspberry, hazelnut, and red berry tiramisu fame) gave us a bounty of mirabelles from their tree. That set me off and I didn't relax until my 3rd tart. You can read all the frantic details of my obsession in my comment to Kerrin's post about plums and melons.

Long story short: I used a pate brisee as called for by nearly all the recipes I found. It was soggy even after pre-baking. My second tart was all custard. See the mess here. After this I asked my neighbor for her recipe. I was unsure about the result, as I had the memory of a Mirabelle tartlette I ate from Oberweis in my mind. Pure heaven, btw.

My neighbor's tart is different. It is rustic. It is thrown together. It doesn't use very much sugar. I'm sure it is the homemade tart I'd find in most Luxembourgish homes.

Here is her recipe, copied as she wrote it. The measurements are general; I think that is the way it's intended. It is meant to be thrown together, catered to your own liking. She recommended used a large ceramic tart pan. I didn't have one so I used a glass pie pan. If you use a pie pan you'll need to cut the ingredients by a 1/4th or so. I ended up with too much crust. This is the crust she uses for all her tarts - plum, apple and rhubarb. It is very different. It's almost bread like, sort of cookie like and not very pastry like. I'm anxious to try this again. I'm curious to see what you think. Here goes:

Mirabelle Tart

Crust:
250 grams flour
100 grams butter
2 teaspoons of yeast
1 egg
3-4 spoons of cream (or water, though not as good)
a little bit of salt
3 spoons of sugar

Mirabelles - wash and push pit out. do not cut in half. This is rustic, people.

Filling:
1 egg
2-3 spoons of sugar
2-3 spoons of cream
1 spoon of potato starch

Combine the crust ingredients with your hands. Press into your tart dish. Scatter enough fruit to cover the bottom on the tart. Combine filling ingredients, mix with a fork. Pour over fruit.

Bake at 180 degrees (350 degrees Fahrenheit) until done. About 20 -30 minutes.

Look what I found in my La Cure Gourmande stash.

My Sister Had a Food Moment

Ya know, one of those times when all the flavors, textures and smells of what you're eating come together for one big happy party in your mouth? Well, she had one and it was here in Luxembourg at a neighborhood Italian restaurant. She ordered a tomato and buffalo mozzarella bruschetta starter. Something so simple, but apparently so powerfully delicious. I did try it and it was good. But it wasn't my party to crash.

Emily swears there were 2 key factors to this dish - salt and buffalo mozzarella. Do you know about buffalo mozzarella? It is a fresh mozzarella made from the milk of a water buffalo. Yum. It sounds way better in Italian - mozzarella di bufala. It is softer, creamier and richer than regular fresh mozzarella.

I recreated this dish at home. It was really quite easy. After a few tries I got it so it is, indeed, party worthy. But, really, how could you go wrong with this list of ingredients?

Mouth Party Bruschetta

Yield: 1 meal or a starter for 2 people

Ingredients:
Rustic bread, sliced about 3/4th of an inch thick. If you have a rustic baguette cut 3 slices.
1 tomato, chopped
2-3 generous pinches of dried oregano
1 clove of garlic, peeled
1oo grams of buffalo mozzarella (1 ball)
Handful of Arugula (Rocket)
Olive Oil
Salt

1. Coarsely chop tomato, place in bowl. Mix in oregano and a heavy sprinkle of salt. Set aside.

2. Drizzle bread slices with olive oil. Bake until crisp at a 400 degree oven, about 5 minutes.

3. Gently rub the peeled garlic clove over the toasted bread slices. Use a light hand. Don't go crazy or all you'll taste is garlic. Discard remaining garlic clove.

4. Put bread on a serving plate. Scatter tomato pieces over the top, use a bit of the juice.

5. Coarsely chop the mozzarella and scatter over the tomato and bread. Salt.

6. Place hearty wad of arugula on top. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil.

7. Eat with a knife and fork.

This dish is best served at room temperature. Actually, I recommend letting each refrigerated ingredient come to room temp before assembling.

The picture of Emily was taken on her last day here. Naturally she wanted to go back to that restaurant to relive the dream.

Have you had a Food Moment? Ooooo, please tell!

It's "Mine"

My Grandmother told me that after you've made something enough times it becomes yours, even if it didn't start out that way. It is in that spirit that I share My Coffee Cake* recipe with you. Every time my sister comes to visit I have a pan of it waiting for her. This time was no exception.

This cake is for those of you who like more crumb than cake in your coffee cake. For this coffee cake is all about the crumb topping. It is not for the weak or faint of heart. It starts with 2 sticks of butter and goes from there. Get the idea. Serve it once and they'll ask for it again. Hey, it may even become your coffee cake.

Coffee Cake

2 T Canola oil, plus more for pan
4 cups flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
2 t vanilla
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 1/2 t ground cinnamon
1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Powdered sugar for dusting
9 X 12 inch jelly roll pan

1) Place rack in center of oven and heat to 325 degrees. Lightly brush baking pan with canola oil, dust with flour, and tap to remove excess. Set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together 1 1/2 cups flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a second bowl whist together egg, milk, canola oil, and vanilla. Using a rubber spatula fold dry ingredients into egg mixture.

2) Spread batter evenly into prepared pan and set aside. In a medium bowl combine remaining 2 1/2 cups flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Pour melted butter over flour mixture and toss with a rubber spatula until large crumbs form.

3) Sprinkle crumbs over batter and bake, rotating pan after 10 minutes. Continue baking until a cake tester comes out clean about 10 minutes more.

4) Cool on a wire rack. Dust heavily with powdered sugar. Cut into 3 inch squares. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

The cake is a bit moister and holds together better the second day. Some times if I'm feeling a bit punchy I add more cinnamon. As for the pan, I use a smaller jelly roll pan. It is 9 X 12 inches and about 1.5 inches tall. Don't use a regular size cookie sheet, it is too big.

*Clearly this isn't my recipe. It is called Sara Foster's NY Crumb Cake. I saw a Martha Stewart Living episode on TV about 9 years ago where Sara made this cake. I've been making it ever since. It is only mine in the sense that I've made it so many times, friends and family now refer to it as mine.

Tiramisu with Red Berries

Here it is! Brought to you by my Luxembourgish neighbor.

Tiramisu with Red Berries

Serves 4 - use an 8x8 inch pan (or 4 ramekins)

4-5 cups of fresh red berries* (strawberries, raspberries, red currants)
100 grams of sugar (a heaping 1/2 cup)
2 egg yolks
1 egg white
500 grams of Mascarpone (a bit more than 1 lb)
2 spoonfuls of Cognac (optional)
Pack of Lady Fingers

*She didn't give me an amount - this is about what I used. A scientific measurement is not required :) Use what you have.

Mix the sugar, egg yolks and Mascarpone together. In a separate bowl beat egg white until stiff. Fold egg white into Mascarpone mixture.

Heat berries in a sauce pan. Add Cognac.

Layer ingredients as follows: Lady Fingers, berries, Mascarpone mixture. Repeat and top with fresh berries. Refrigerate before serving. Can be made the night before.

My Notes:

:: I followed her recipe exactly when I made it, except for the Cognac which I didn't have.

:: I used all three berries. Next time I would not include the currants. They are VERY seedy and the seeds are quite large.

:: Just heat the strawberries and gently stir in the raspberries off of the heat. They just don't hold up when heated.

:: If your berries are very sweet and fresh, I'd use less sugar. A scant 1/2 would be fine.

:: I know some people feel uncomfortable eating raw eggs. . .I'm sure there is a substitution. Any ideas?

:: I think this is better served in individual dishes or ramekins.

Enjoy! It's delicious!

Summer Tomato Recipes #2 & #3

Our monster sungold plant is continuing to produce lots of tomatoes! The Fresh Pasta Toss recipe I'm going to share with you is perfect for using up *lots* of cherry tomatoes at one time. It also doesn't require cooking. What?! Yeah, that's right. Probably explains why I've made it so often this month.

Fresh Pasta Toss

4 cups cherry tomatoes, rinsed and halved
1/4 - 1/3 cup olive oil
2-3 T balsamic vinegar
2-3 minced garlic cloves
2 t dried oregano (you can omit and add 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil)
pinch of red pepper flakes (more or less depending on preference)
generous pinch of sea or kosher salt

Put everything in a bowl, toss together, put a dish towel over the top and let it sit on the counter. The flavors will meld together and the tomatoes will soften. It can sit anywhere from 1-3 hours . . . probably more, who knows? All ingredient amounts are guesses - cater it to your liking.

Toss with spaghetti (or whatever pasta you have on hand) top with parmesano reggiano cheese. You'll want to eat this with a thick slice of crusty bread as well to mop up all the oily, garlicky goodness at the bottom of your pasta dish.

This recipe doesn't seem like much, but once you try it you'll be a believer.

My final Summer Tomato Recipe is this:

Place your tomatoes in a disposable container and GIVE THEM AWAY!! You can have too much of a good thing. I've picked 3 of these 2lb containers from my plant this month. It's totally nutso.

Digging for Gold

Michele and I, with the help of our little assistants, harvested our potatoes last weekend. It was so thrilling! We split the harvest and both ended up with a very generous amount. While digging, we listed all the potato yummies we could make - home fries, hash browns, soup, salad, bread . . . In my mind though, there was only one thing that I *had* to make. My mom's potato salad. Simply the best. The only one I eat. It's chunky, savory and not very mustardy. Potato salad is a funny thing. Everyone likes it a certain way. Some not at all, like Bryce. Managed to whip up a batch last week. For the first time ever, it actually tasted like my mom's. Emily, I wish you were here to share it with me.

Here's the recipe. No amounts, of course. I'll even tell you the secret ingredient - my mom learned this recipe from my Aunt (her sister-in-law.)

My Mom's Potato Salad

Boiled Potatoes (I used white)
Mayo
Plain old yellow mustard
Dill Pickles
Celery
Green Onions
Boiled
Eggs
S&P
The Secret: Bernstein's Italian Salad Dressing

Cut potatoes into medium to large chunks in a large bowl. While potatoes are still hot, pour on a generous amount of Bernstein's Italian Dressing. Let it soak in for a while. Add a teaspoon of mustard and a dollop of mayo, stir together. Taste. Add more mustard if needed. Add diced pickles, celery, green onions and eggs. Mix again. Salt and pepper to taste.

Summer Tomato Recipe #1

A friend of mine in Quilt Club makes this salad and recently shared the recipe. It is just the thing for fresh cherry tomatoes and basil from the garden. Make it on fiery day when it's too hot to turn on the oven.

Not My Bean Salad

1 15oz can black beans, rinsed & drained
1 15oz can cannellini beans, rinsed & drained (garbanzos or favas also work)
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup chopped red onion (I like a bit more)
1/4 cup shredded fresh basil
4 oz. smoked mozzarella, cubed
10-12 (or more!) cherry tomatoes, halved
S & P

Mix ingredients and then dress with vinaigrette

Vinaigrette
1/2 cup olive oil
2 T rice vinegar
1 T sherry vinegar (I used balsamic)
1 t Dijon or whole grain mustard
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper

This is a great lunch. Serve with a piece of whole grain bread.

Hide-and--Seek Muffins!

My daughter's preschool teacher told me about this activity. Couldn't wait to try it out for myself and tell you all about it. So fun, so clever and so seasonal! This is possibly my last strawberry post. Ha!

First read this story with your child. It is about a little mouse who finds a red ripe strawberry. Warned about a hungry bear headed his way, the mouse tries everything to hide the strawberry. In the end, he finds the perfect way to hide the strawberry - to eat it!

As an extension of the book, make Hide-and-Seek Muffins. Bet you can figure out what's going to be hidden in each one!

From the Kitchen:
Muffin Tin
12 Muffin Wrappers (or as many as your recipe calls for)
Basic Muffin Recipe and all ingredients
12 *smallish* strawberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Step 1: Make your muffin batter. Use any standard muffin recipe. I found one in this cookbook. However, the oatmeal muffins caught my eye and I made those instead. If you'd like the recipe, just let me know.

Step 2: Place muffin wrappers in your muffin tin. Wish I had these to use. Had to settle with plain old foil ones.

Step 3: Find 12 small strawberries. My mom had just given me a huge basket full from her garden. So I had plenty of littler ones to use. I've found that local and homegrown strawberries tend to be smaller. Hopefully you have access to some. Roll your strawberries in granulated sugar. My 23 month old LOVED this part!


Step 4: Fill the muffin cups about 1/3 way full. I found this was about 1 generous scoop with a spoon.

Step 5: Place a sugared strawberry in the middle of each 1/3 full muffin cup.

Step 6: Add more muffin batter to each cup until they are about 2/3 - 3/4th full.

Step 7: Bake according to your muffin recipe. Some of the strawberries may leak out a bit, but don't worry. It's still a surprise!

ENJOY!!

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I am thrilled with the response to the RAINBOW challenge. Thanks to all of you for sending in your gorgeous posts. There is still time! I'll accept RAINBOW posts all week.

Don't forget to join the flickr group!
www.flickr.com/groups/muffintinmeals
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Weekend Breakfast - Pancake Cups

This idea sprang from a recipe I found in the book Kitchen Playdates by Lauren Deen. In her version thinly sliced wheat bread forms the cups instead of pancakes. I didn't have any thinly sliced bread on hand nor did I want to run to the store so I gave pancakes a try. It was great! Here's how to do it:

Step 1: Make your favorite pancake batter but add a few extra tablespoons of water. Add 1 tablespoon at a time to make sure the batter doesn't get too thin. You want the batter thinner than usual but not watery.

Step 2: Use a 1/4 c. measuring cup to add the batter to the pan or griddle. Cook pancakes.

Step 3: Lightly grease your muffin cups with butter. Don't forget the sides

Step 4: Gently press pancakes into the muffin cups. Remember to press around the bottom edges of the muffin cups.


Step 5: Bake in a 325 degree oven for 5-8 minutes.

Step 6: Let pancakes cool in the muffin tin.

Step 7: When ready to serve, remove your pancake cup, place on a plate and reheat in the microwave (if desired.) Fill with yummies and eat!



Filling ideas:
Strawberries and whip cream (as shown)
Scrambled eggs, bacon and syrup drizzled on the plate (as shown)
Peanut butter and bananas
Blueberries
Ricotta cheese and berries
Lemon curd, raspberries and a dollop of whip cream

See you on Monday for you-know-what! I have a surprise for you!