Blue Cheese and Red Potato Tart

I woke up entirely too early this morning to the smell of brisket cooking away in the slow cooker. I gave up on sleep when my stomach wouldn't stop rumbling and I decided I should at least try the meat. Brisket in the morning? Yum! Being the responsible person that I am, I decided (perhaps against my lazier instincts) that I should go ahead and make the cheesecake layer of a cappuccino fudge cheesecake so that it has plenty of time to cool. Now that the cheesecake is safely in the oven, I believe it's time to finally update this blog. I've been somewhat behind this week thanks to a migraine wiping out two of my evenings (and sadly for both of us, I think one of the meals I made this week isn't good enough to post even if it was better reheated than the day of!).

When this recipe was first posted in June, I fell in love with the idea of it, but it was June which posed two large problems. 1. I was trying to savour all of the fresh summer fruits and vegetables, so cooking with ingredients that are easily found in winter just seemed like a waste. 2. There was no way I was turning on the oven for an hour. Luckily, the recipe kept and was worth the wait. I cheated and bought a pre-made tart shell, but the original has a recipe that you're welcome to try. For the rest, I followed the recipe faithfully, using a mandoline so that the potatoes were nicely sliced in 1/4" thick slices, a nice bleu chevre cheese, and fresh thyme that was sitting in the fridge.

Be warned, the smell from this lovely tart is almost better than the taste and the aroma has been known to carry up stairs, so be prepared to share or eat quickly.

One year ago: Chocolate Layer Cake (in preparation for a friend's baby shower!)

Blue Cheese and Red Potato Tart (from Smitten Kitchen, adapted from Gourmet)

Ingredients
1 Savory Tart Shell in a 9-inch tart pan and ready to fill
450g small red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 cup heavy cream
1 large egg yolk
115g blue cheese, crumbled (about 3/4 cup)
1 tablespoons finely chopped thyme
Fine sea salt for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a medium saucepan, cover potato slices with water by two inches. Simmer, uncovered, until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain. If the potatoes don’t seem very dry, pat them dry with towels.
3. Arrange potato slices, overlapping slightly, in concentric circles around the tart pan.
4. Sprinkle blue cheese over potatoes.
5. Whisk cream and egg yolk together and pour into tart shell, then sprinkle tart with herbs of your choice and salt (I may have added some cracked black pepper here as well).
6. Bake tart on a baking sheet until bubbling and golden brown, about 45 to 50 minutes.
7. Cool in pan on rack and serve warm or cold.

Chinese Beef with Broccoli

I'm trying to do a cheap grocery shopping week in preparation for Saturday's cooking extravaganza. I had some neglected broccoli (I can't seem to resist broccoli or cauliflower when it's cheap!) and leftover scallions sitting in the fridge and decided this recipe would be a good way to use up both. The recipe was a little fussy (stir-frying in batches so the beef browns instead of steams, cooking the broccoli separately first, marinating the beef for an hour). I also found the amount of oil excessive. This recipe is supposed to be a healthier alternative to deep-frying the beef, but it's still a lot of oil. I did not end up using the full 1/2 cup.

As far as changes go, I stuck to the recipe fairly well. I cheated and used pre-sliced fondue meat from Maison du Roti. My bunch of broccoli was less than 900 and I used 2 scallions instead of one. I also substituted rice noodles for rice (cooking them in the broccoli water to add a little extra flavour and save on time/pots). The key to this recipe is having everything ready before you start cooking. The end result is tasty ... although anything with oyster sauce, soy sauce, and rice wine would probably be tasty. Next time around I might try to find a way to make it quicker/easier and more of a weeknight meal. This serves 4 ... unless you go back for seconds.

One year ago today: Asparagus, Oka, Pine Nuts, and Lemon Pasta (Where has all the good Providence Oka gone? The last two times I've bought it, it's been sadly disappointing!)

Chinese Beef with Broccoli (adapted from Gourmet Today)

Ingredients
450g flank steak, cut in half and crosswise into 1/8 inch thick slices (or fondue meat)
1/4 cup soy sauce, divided
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp rice wine, divided
2 tsp sesame oil, divided
3 1/2 tsp cornstarch, divided
1 tbsp 2 tsp chopped garlic, divided
2 tsp sugar, divided
900g broccoli, cut into florets, stems peel and sliced
1/3 cup chicken stock
3 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 cup peanut oil, divided (I used much less)
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 scallion, finely chopped
Serve with: white rice (or noodles)

1. Put steak in a bowl. Add 2 tbsp soy sauce, water, 1 tbsp rice wine, 1 tsp sesame oil, 2 tsp cornstarch, 2 tsp garlic, and 1 tsp sugar. Stir to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate at room temperature for 1 hour.
2. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add broccoli and blanch until crisp-tender, 2 minutes. Drain, shock with cold water to stop the cooking.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together stock, oyster sauce, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp rice wine, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp sugar, and 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch.
4. Drain beef in a colander, gently pressing on beef.
5. Heat a 14" flat bottomed wok over high heat. Pour 3 tbsp peanut oil down side and swirl to coat. Add 1/4 of beef, spreading it in one layer. Cook until it begins to brown, about 30 seconds. Stir-fry until meat is just browned, about 1 minute. Transfer to plate. Wipe wok and cook remaining 3 batches in same manner, adding 1 tbsp oil for each batch (wiping seemed too dangerous to me, so I just added more oil as needed).
6. Pour remaining 2 tbsp peanut oil on wok (I went lighter on this). Add ginger, scallions, and 1 tbsp garlic and stir-fry until golden, about 1 minute.
7. Add broccoli and stir-fry for 30 seconds.
8. Add beef an stock mixture and cook, stirring, until sauce boils and thickens, about 2 minutes.
9. Serve with rice or noodles.

Spicy Squash Salad with Lentils and Goat Cheese

Despite my best attempts at menu planning and trying not to waste food, I often find myself getting near the end of the week staring at vegetables or herbs in my fridge that are about to go bad. I couldn't resist arugula at the store this week and had planned on pairing a nice arugula salad with the SK blue cheese potato tart. Somehow the tart didn't happen. When I saw SK post a recipe calling for both arugula and fresh mint (leftover from this week's celeriac and lentils), it seemed like the perfect opportunity to use up all those greens withering in my fridge. The dish is good, not exceptional, but it comes together easily. SK's version passes on the arugula, but I thought it added a nice flavour to the dish. I went to the store knowing I needed to buy red wine vinegar, but once again I forgot while I was there, so I ended up using balsamic again because my white wine vinegar isn't very good quality.

One year ago today: Pasta with Cauliflower, Walnuts, and Feta

Spicy Squash Salad with Lentils and Goat Cheese (from Smitten Kitchen, adapted from Bon Appetit)

Ingredients
3/4 cup French green lentils
6 cups peeled, seeded and cubed butternut squash (1-inch cubes) (from about a 2-pound squash)
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon hot smoked Spanish paprika
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
4 cups baby arugula
1 cup soft crumbled goat cheese
1/4 cup thinly sliced mint leaves
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, plus additional to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss squash cubes with 2 tablespoons oil, cumin, paprika and salt. Arrange in a single layer on baking sheet and roast 20 minutes. Flip pieces and roast for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until tender. Cool.
2. Meanwhile, soak lentils for 10 minutes in a small bowl, then drain. Cook lentils in boiling salted water until tender but firm, about 30 minutes. Rinse with cold water, then drain and cool.
3. Combine lentils and squash with arugula, goat cheese, mint, vinegar, and 1 tablespoon oil. Season with salt and pepper and extra vinegar, if desired.

Cosmopolitan Cupcakes

This is an adaptation of cupcakes I made previously. Ever since I saw the previews for Sex and the City 2, I knew it needed to be a girly bad movie night and what bad movie night would be complete without cupcakes? Given the theme, they needed to be cosmopolitan cupcakes. Sadly, the movie turned out to be one of the worst movies (I can't think of a worse one at the moment) I've ever seen, but at least the cupcakes were good! The cake part turned out slightly dry ... maybe a little more oil next time? The frosting, however, was perfect (which is good because I used 8 eggs making it after breaking a yolk in the whites on the 4th egg the first time around ... arg!).

One year ago today: Lemon Yogurt Cake

Cosmopolitan Cupcakes

Ingredients
Cake Portion
1 cups sifted cake flour
3/4 cups sugar
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, separated
5 melted frozen cranberry juice concentrate
1 tablespoon grated lime zest
1 tablespoon Cointreau
1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line muffin tin with 12 muffin liners.
2. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into large bowl. Beat in vegetable oil, egg yolks, cranberry juice, Cointreau and lime zest.
3. Combine egg whites and cream of tartar in another large bowl. Using clean dry beaters, beat until stiff but not dry. Fold 1/4 of whites into batter to lighten. Gently fold in remaining whites.
4. Fill muffin tins with batter. Cook for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Soaking liquid
1/4 cup melted frozen cranberry concentrate
2 tbsp Cointreau
2 tbsp lime juice

1. Combine all ingredients in small bowl.
2. Brush on cupcakes.

Cosmopolitan frosting
1 cup sugar
4 egg whites
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp Cointreau
1/4 cup melted frozen cranberry concentrate
1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Place the stand mixer bowl over a simmering pot of water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water). Whisk the sugar and egg whites until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture registers 160 degrees with a candy thermometer.
2. Place bowl on the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk on high speed until the mixture is cool and holds stiff, glossy peaks (approximately 10 minutes).
3. Change to the paddle attachment and beat in one tablespoon of butter at a time on medium. The mixture might appear curdled but keep going, it will pull back together.
4. Add lime juice, Cointreau, cranberry juice, and vanilla. Increase speed to high and beat until the frosting reincorporates and is smooth and fluffy (approximately 10 minutes).

Kung Pao Chicken (Revisited)

There are points in time when you realize you've become a cooking snob. Oh how far I've come from the days when Hamburger Helper was probably the height of what I would cook. Two things today make me feel a bit ... different. First, while discussing bourbon pumpkin cheesecake at work and how I'd like to try it, assuming everyone knew I was talking about a recipe (especially after mentioning Smitten Kitchen) and not a local bakery (for the record, I'll happily make this and share if someone wants to bring me 2 tbsp bourbon ... sadly that's what's stopping me atm!). Second, looking at a recipe in a Chinese cookbook I have and thinking to myself ... and the best part of this recipe is it's things you usually have on hand. Since when are 2 types of soy sauce, rice wine, dried chiles, and sesame oil things people usually have on hand? Right ...

On to the recipe changes ... I omitted the Sichuan pepper because I didn't feel like going on a hunt and my red chiles were Thai, not Sichuan. Other than that, I stuck faithfully to the recipe. For a more Americanized version of Kung Pao chicken, try this one. This version is a little less sweet and more spicy (although I might've been heavy handed with the chiles).

One year ago today: Carnitas with Ninfa's Green Sauce


Kung Pao Chicken (adapted from Land of Plenty)

Ingredients
2 boneless chicken breasts
3 cloves garlic
2 inches ginger (or so, about the same amount as garlic)
5 scallions, white parts only
2 tbsp peanut oil
generous handful of dried red chiles (I should've maybe done slightly less generous)
2/3 cup roasted unsalted peanuts
Marinade
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp rice wine
2 1/4 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp water
Sauce
3 tsp sugar
1 1/8 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp light soy sauce
3 tsp black Chinese vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp water

1. Cut the chicken into 1/2 inch strips, then cut these into small cubes. Place in small bowl and mix in marinade ingredients.
2. Peel and thinly slice the garlic and ginger. Chop scallions into chunks as long as their diameter.
3. Snip chiles in half or into 2-inch sections. Discard as many seeds as possible.
4. Combine sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
5. Heat oil in a wok over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the chiles and stir-fry until they are crisp and oil is spicy and fragrant (I took starting to cough when inhaling the fumes coming off the wok as a sign of fragrance).
6. Add the chicken and fry, stirring constantly.
7. As soon as the chicken cubes have separated, add the ginger, garlic and scallions and continue to stir-fry until fragrant and the meat is cooked through.
8. Stir the sauce and add it to the wok, continuing to stir and toss.
9. As soon as the sauce is thick and shiny, add the peanuts, stir in, and serve.

Celeriac and Lentils with Hazelnut and Mint

Apparently, I tried celeriac for the first time a year ago. It's such an ugly vegetable, but I've become quite fond of it.

It's strange, I mean to make more meat, but I still find myself oddly drawn to vegetarian food ... and it doesn't help that Ottolenghi's Plenty is a gorgeous cookbook. I scaled this recipe in half after realizing that my small celeriac was half the size of the one the recipe called for (thank you for using weights and the scale!). The original also calls for hazelnut oil and red wine vinegar. I didn't feel like investing in hazelnut oil and assumed I had red wine vinegar (nope, only white wine and rice wine), so I stuck with a good quality olive oil and balsamic. If you have hazelnut, add 1.5 tbsp of it to the dish. I'm sure it would be better with hazelnut oil and red wine vinegar, but it's delicious even without it. The scaled down version is below and serves two.

Celeriac and Lentils with Hazelnut and Mint (adapted from Ottolenghi's Plenty)

Ingredients
30g whole hazelnuts (with skin on)
100g French green lentils
1 1/2 cups water
1 bay leaf
2 thyme sprigs
1 small celeriac (325g), peeled and cut into chips
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar (or balsalmic)
2 tbsp chopped mint
salt and black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 275F. Scatter hazelnuts on a small baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes. Let them cool, then roughly chop.
2. Combine lentils, water, bay leaf, and thyme in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes or until al dente. Drain.
3. Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan, cook the celeriac in boiling salted water for 8 - 12 minutes or until tender. Drain.
4. In a medium bowl, mix the hot lentils with olive oil, vinegar, black pepper and salt to taste.
5. Add celeriac and stir. Adjust seasoning if needed.
6. Stir in half of the mint and half the hazelnuts. Garnish with the remaining mint and hazelnuts.

Tomato, Semolina, and Coriander Soup

This is a surprisingly hearty stew, perfect for a chilly day. The only major change I made was to substitute a large can of San Marzano tomatoes for 500g peeled and chopped tomatoes (and in the process ended up adding about 200g extra tomato-ey goodness). To me, this tastes like a fall and winter soup ... definitely not peak tomato season! I also blended the soup before adding the semolina to make the texture a little bit smoother. You could skip this step, but I like a smooth soup. The water in this recipe may seem like a lot, but once the semolina is added, the soup gets ridiculously thick. Make sure you use a pot big enough to handle all the liquid. Finally, I used corn semolina because that's what I had in the cupboard. Corn + tomatoes just seems to make sense to me, but you could certainly use regular. I ate this with fresh bread to dip and garnished with a bit of aged cheddar cheese. It's excellent without the cheese, but I needed more dairy!

One other note, this cook book was published in the UK, so most of the ingredients are measured by weight, not volume. I'm making good use of my new kitchen scale with this book and finding it much easier than using cup measurements. My apologies in advance though if it makes the recipes more difficult to follow. You can always try to ask me for equivalents.

Tomato, Semolina, and Coriander Soup (from Plenty by Ottolenghi)

Ingredients
3 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp paprika
2 tsp chopped thyme
50g cilantro, chopped and divided
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 796ml can San Marzano tomatoes (see note above)
6 cups of water
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
150g semolina (I used corn)
salt and black pepper
cheese for garnish, entirely optional
bread for dipping, entirely optional

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium pot (or large dutch oven). Add onion, celery, ground coriander, cumin, paprika, thyme, and half of the cilantro. Saute until the onion is golden and soft (this should smell amazing).
2. Add the tomato paste and stir for a minute.
3. Add the tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for a few more minutes.
4. Add the water and sugar, bring to a boil, simmer for 20 minutes.
5. With an immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth (optional).
6. Add the semolina in a slow stream as you whisk vigorously.
7. Cook for an additional 10 minutes, whisking occasionally to avoid large lumps.
8. Before serving, add additional water if necessary and adjust salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with remaining cilantro.