5 second rule

Empanadas

What do you do with brie?  You eat it, right?  Put it on a cracker, maybe.  Smoosh it on some French bread with a few apple slices, some honey mustard.  Maybe you'll trim off the bloomy rind when your kids whine, "We don't like the white part!" or maybe you'll just say, "Suck it up and eat it."

So when I got my sample of Ile de France brie, it weighed on me.  What the hell was I going to do with it? I'd already made an apricot paste for their Saint Andre, already tucked their goat cheese into a mess of spring vegetables.  And now this brie.  Honestly, my creative juices were out to lunch.

But I did have to test some empanadas for a tapas class (more info soon).  Now empanadas are Spanish.  Brie is French.  I'm not saying it made culinary sense, but I killed those two birds with one big fat stone.

Martha Stewart saved my ass with her shockingly easy empanada dough, and an apple, some frozen spinach, and a few raisins came along for the ride.  Look, if France and Spain can touch each other, no reason brie and empanadas can't do the same.

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Recipe for Spinach, Brie, and Apple Empanadas

You can fill empanadas with anything from chicken and beef to chorizo and shrimp.  Or you can go vegetarian like I did with this spinach, apple, and brie version.  The dough recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart's Hors d'Oeuvres Handbook (Clarkson Potter, 1999).  I only used about 1/2 the dough (I saved the rest), so you'll have plenty left over for future empanada escapades.

Makes 12 to 16 empanadas, plus plenty of leftover dough

Dough

3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

6 tablespoons shortening

12 tablespoons cold butter, diced

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons ice water

Filling

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 cup minced sweet onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Fuji apple, cored, peeled, cut into small dice

1/2 cup (packed) spinach leaves, rough chopped (you may use frozen, but defrost first and press dry)

4 ounces brie (or other cheese), diced

1/4 cup raisins, plumped for 5 minutes in boiling water, drained, and pat dry

1 egg plus 1 tablespoon milk, for egg wash

In a food processor, combine the flour, salt and sugar.  Add the shortening and butter and pulse about 20 times until sandy.  Turn the machine on and add the water through the feed tube in a slow, steady stream.  Then pulse in short bursts about 25 times until the dough pulls clean away from the sides and begins to form a ball.  Wrap the dough in plastic, press it into a disk, and refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight.

Meanwhile, make the filling.  Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add the onions and garlic and saute until softened, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes.  Raise the heat and add the apple and saute 4 minutes longer, or until apple softens and begins to turn golden.  Add the spinach and wilt for 1 minute.  Remove from heat and let cool.  Stir in the cheese and raisins, season with salt and pepper, and refrigerate until ready to use.

To make the empanadas, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Roll out one half of the dough (freeze the rest) on a floured board until about 1/8" thick.  Stamp out rounds with a drinking glass or a 3-1/2 inch cutter and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Place 1 teaspoon of filling in the center of each circle.  Dip your finger in the egg wash and run it around the perimeter, then fold the empanadas in half, enclosing the filling.  (Make a little decorative fluting or scalloping around the edges, if desired.)  Brush the tops with more egg wash.(You may need to refrigerate the dough circles or empanadas if the dough has gotten too warm.)

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the empanadas are golden.  I blasted mine under the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes at the end to get some nice color on the top.  You may want to do the same.

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Dance

Remember the first time you had a cool green salad with a round of pan-fried goat cheese?  How the two flavors and the two textures and the two temperatures did a little ballet -- no, a tango -- no, a flamenco --  and you announced, to no one in particular, "Now that's a salad." 

Remember that?

Because I remember, and I've been a fan of goat cheese ever since.  But, and this is important, I've always favored aged goat cheeses -- those covered in rinds, whose outside is a bit yellow and whose inside is creamy-white, whose tang is assertive, edgy. 

I like crottins.

And it's not that I don't like the more pedestrian logs of soft, fresh goat cheese, but I do find they pale in comparison to their more complex cousins.

So when my 2nd Ile de France cheese arrived* and I saw it was a creamy log of traditional chevre (a buchette), I didn't violate the plastic and whip out the crackers like I did when the Saint André thunked on my doorstep a few weeks ago.

But the buchette is friendly.  It's the nice neighbor you'll invite for coffee, or the banana in the fruit bowl.  Not something you get all wide-eyed and breathless about -- not a new boyfriend or a fresh, succulent fig -- but something you're perfectly happy to have in your life that doesn't cause you any trouble.

I coaxed some life into it by snuggling it among freshly sautéed spring vegetables.  The residual warmth caused the cheese to slip and ooze, and I could almost hear the proper asparagus, favas, and snap peas purr at the creamy stranger nestled among them.

Sure, I'd dance with this cheese, but only if a little heat gets things going.

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Spring Vegetable Trio with Goat Cheese and Pistachios

Pretty and quick, this dainty vegetarian lunch or elegant side joins seasonal spring veggies with dollops of creamy French goat cheese. It also whispers Mother's Day, doesn't it?

Serves 2 for lunch

20 fava beans

4 teaspoons olive oil

20 spears pencil-thin asparagus, ends snapped off and discarded, remainder cut on the bias into 1-1/2"-lengths

20 plump snap peas, trimmed

1/4 cup toasted pistachios

1/4 cup crumbled, fresh goat cheese

Fill a small pot with salted water.  Shell the fava beans, discard the pods, and  plunge the beans into boiling water.  Cook about 3 minutes, then run under cool water.  Slit each bean with your thumbnail and squeeze gently to release the inner bean into a medium bowl.  Discard the shells

Meanwhile, place a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat.  When hot, add the olive oil.  Toss in the snap peas and asparagus and saute, shaking the skillet, for 2 or 3 minutes or until the vegetables are crisp-tender.  Add to the bowl with the favas and immediately nestle in the cheese so it begins to warm.  Sprinkle with pistachios and serve immediately.

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*Disclosure:  Ile de France occasionally sends me cheese samples for review.  I am not paid by the company and am under no obligation to like their products.  If they suck, you'll know.

Greens

There's been so much going on, but I'm not quite ready to talk about it, so instead I'll share with you my Sunday lunch, something my husband Colin affectionately referred to as "that green horror."

Can we all agree that -- at least on the subject of vegetables -- he should be firmly ignored?

Please put your faith in me and recognize that while greens may not be something you crave with the frequency of, say, gelato or fried chicken, they're still worthy of your adoration.  They've got vitamin A,  and C!  They've got iron and calcium.  I could go on, mentioning things like phytochemicals and micronutrients, but if I haven't captured your interest with the photo I'm guessing the word phytochemical may not seal the deal.

Look, the truth is, I had a bagful of chard leftover from last week's soup.

And when I say a bagful, I mean it:

Ready?  I'm about to make your life easier and more convenient.  Follow along...

No one wants to open their fridge and see a bag of stemmy, soil-speckled, floppy leaves, especially if they're hungry.  Greens require a bit of foreplay.  So please, take a deep breath, give yourself about 8 minutes tops, and prep your greens as soon as you get home from the market.**   I guarantee that the likelihood of your actually consuming them later in the week will increase 70-fold, because you'll have this very conversation with yourself:

Lord, there's that chard again.  I can't believe I spent time on Sunday washing them, pulling the leaves off, and chopping the stems, and now it's Wednesday and they're still sitting there in that bag.  If I don't actually eat them, that will have been a pathetic waste of time and I will be a loooooooser.

So do this:

1) Cut off the bottom sliver of the stems and discard;

2) Cut off the rest of the stems (set aside), then fold the leaves in half and remove the central ribs;

3) Chop the stems and ribs crosswise, like celery half-moons, and give them a good rinse;

4) Wrap them lovingly in a paper-towel bundle;

5) Stack the leaves on top of one another and roll them up like a cigar, then thinly slice them crosswise into a chiffonade;

6) Toss the now-ribbony greens into the water-filled bowl of a salad spinner, give them a nice swishy soak (or two, or three, depending on their filth); and

7) Spin them dry to within an inch of their life.

Then:

8) Place the leaves and the little packet of stems into a large ziploc  with about 2 more paper towels to absorb any excess moisture and preserve their freshness.  Squeeze out any air and zip shut.

There.  Now you have greens that will stay fresh for at least a week, and all you'll have to do is find something to do with them.  Like last week's soup, for example. 

Or even (dare I suggest?) some garlicky greens atop a swollen mound of warm, buttery polenta.

**UPDATE 3/5/09: Please see the comments section for an important discussion of the nutrient value of pre-prepped greens.  You should be aware that in an ideal world, you'd cut your greens immediately before consuming them to maximize their vitamins.  If the PITA factor means you might not otherwise eat them, prep them first. 

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Recipe for Garlicky Currant-Flecked Greens over Polenta

For purposes of this recipe, I'm going to assume that you've followed my advice above and have a bag filled with cleaned, prepped greens at the ready.  I used rainbow chard.  Pair them with loads of garlic and a generous sprinkling of crushed red pepper flakes and sweet currants, then kiss with just a touch of vinegar.  Serving over warm polenta turns these greens from health food to comfort food.

Serves 2, generously

3 cups cold water

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup polenta (coarse cornmeal)

2 teaspoons unsalted butter

1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 bunch cleaned rainbow chard or other greens, stems chopped, leaves cut into ribbons

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar (or any vinegar you have on hand, or lemon juice)

Pinch (or several) crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

1 to 2 tablespoons dried currants

To make the polenta: Bring 3 cups of water and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil in a medium saucepan.  (Nonstick will aid clean-up enormously.)  Slowly stream in the polenta, whisking all the while.  Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring frequently (I used a nonstick whisk but you can use a heatproof spatula or wooden spoon), until the water is absorbed and the polenta is nice and creamy, about 20 minutes.  (You should aim for a very low heat with an intermittent sputter.)

Remove from heat and stir in the butter.

Meanwhile, cook the greens: Combine the oil and garlic in a large skillet and set over medium heat.  Warm the garlic, stirring frequently, until fragrant and sizzling, but not brown, about 3 minutes.  Add the chopped chard stems and a good pinch or two of salt and pepper, and continue sauteing for about 2 more minutes.

Now add 3 big handfuls of chard ribbons and 2 tablespoons of water.  Stir with tongs, flipping the greens over and over until they're coated with the oil, garlic and water.  Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for about 4 minutes, or until the greens are wilted and tender, but still bright.  Remove the cover, raise the heat slightly, and cook out the remaining water, about 2 minutes longer.

Stir in the vinegar, red pepper, and currants.

Spoon the polenta into bowls.  Top with greens.

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Stir-fry

Vegetarian entrees are the new meat and potatoes of 2009.  What I mean is that more non-vegetarians, like myself, are beginning to cook vegetarian meals several times each week, not in an act of defiant meat avoidance, but because we like the way the food tastes and how it makes us feel.

Last week, my colleague Charmian Christie of Christie's Corner posted a request from one of her readers for a lactose-free, vegetarian meal for her family of 5.  The comments and suggestions flew back and forth, and today Charmian, Elizabeth Kricfalusi from Embrace Adventure, and I are all posting vegetarian entrees for our readers.  (Charmian's recipe is here.  Elizabeth's is here.)

For my part, I offer up a classic Asian stir-fry.  This may be old-hat to many of you, so if you're a stir-fry pro, feel free to jump ahead to the recipe.

Can you throw any old vegetables into a wok and turn out a slam-dunk dish?  Not quite.  You'll want to avoid those that take too long to cook (sweet potatoes, for example, or beets) and stick to veggies that pair nicely with Asian accompaniments.  Beyond that, let the contents of your fridge guide you.

A primer:

*Think about color, texture, and flavor as you gather your ingredients.  A creative nod to all three will produce the most appealing meal.

*Cut everything into relatively small pieces for quick cooking.

*Have ingredients prepped and ready before heating up your wok or skillet.

*Choose an oil like canola, peanut, or garlic oil for high-heat cooking.

*If you like your tofu with a nice brown crust, stir-fry it alone first, and then remove it to a plate before adding the vegetables.

*Don't overload your wok. Doing so will cause your vegetables to steam and lose texture, character, and personality.

*Never underestimate the power of garnishes.  Sprinkling your creation with cashews, peanuts, fresh herbs, and/or toasted sesame seeds adds a top layer of crunch and an added hit of flavor.

*Drizzle the lot with sesame oil, soy sauce, or both just before serving, and keep the bottle at the table.

Have more stir-fry tips or flavor combinations to share?  You know what to do.  And don't forget to see what Charmian and Elizabeth have on offer today, too.

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Recipe for Vegetable Stir-Fry with Crisp Tofu and Toasted Cashews

The mix of vegetables in this dish can be swapped at will.  I simply used what I had on hand, but you can make as many substitutions as you like.  Just remember that harder vegetables will take longer to cook than softer ones, and that you really want to maintain each component's crunch and character.  If you're using a wok or skillet to which food has a history of sticking, you may need to use slightly more oil.

Serves 4

4 teaspoons canola, peanut, or garlic oil, divided

4 ounces tofu, pressed dry with paper towels, cubed

1/4 cup unsalted cashews

1/4 yellow onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

8 ounces broccoli florets, cut into small pieces

4 ounces julienned carrots

2 ounces julienned daikon

2 teaspoons soy sauce, plus additional for seasoning at the end

2 ounces bok choy, baby bok choy, you choy, or any choy you like, chopped

1/4 cup frozen peas (no need to defrost)

2 green onions, cut on the bias into 1-inch lengths

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Cooked brown rice, for serving

Heat a well-seasoned wok or very large skillet over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes.  Swirl in 2 teaspoons of the oil.  Add the tofu and brown on all sides, flipping frequently, for about 3 minutes.  Add the cashews and stir-fry with the tofu a minute longer until the nuts and tofu have colored.  Remove both to a plate and set aside.

Swirl in the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil.  Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring, for two minutes.  Add ginger and continue stirring.  Add broccoli, carrots, daikon,  and soy sauce.  Raise heat to high and stir-fry for about 4 minutes.  Add choy, peas, and green onions and continue stir-frying 1 to 2 minutes longer, or until vegetables are brightly colored and crisp-tender. 

Add tofu and cashews back to the wok, tossing until heated through.  Drizzle with the sesame oil and additional soy sauce to taste.  Serve immediately, over cooked brown rice.

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Chili

I had no idea chili could be so divisive.  I knew Kansas and Texas (and Tennessee?) would fight to the death over barbecue.  I've heard Chicago deep dish loyalists talk smack about New York thin crust fanatics.  But I had no idea about chili.

A few weeks ago several food writing colleagues entered into a protracted online discussion over the relative merits of different chili styles.  With beans or without?  (Um, with?)  With ketchup or without?  (Um, without?)  Turns out there's a Chili Appreciation Society International (International!) with a vast membership, and outposts called "pods" (pods?) in 25+ states. They hold over 500 cook-offs (500!) every year.

Apparently chili is a Very Serious Food.

I did not know this.

So when one of my colleagues asked for our favorite chili recipes, I commented thus:

Funny, I just made black bean chili for dinner last night and had some again for lunch today. I used a vegetarian recipe I developed for EatingWell a few years ago... it's really, really good!  It also has a secret ingredient -- wheat berries.

The internets went silent.

All of them.

I don't know if the fan on my computer always cycled so loud, but it's all I could hear after submitting my email because no one replied to my offering.

Had I done something wrong?  Crossed a line? Broken a taboo? Offended the gods?

All of the above?

I stand by my chili.  It's zesty, it's vegetarian, it's wholesome, and it freezes beautifully.

I'm starting my own society.  The wheat berry black bean chili society.

Membership is open.

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Recipe for Zesty Wheat Berry Black Bean Chili

I developed this recipe for EatingWell magazine, and it ran in their March/April 2007 issue.  (It's still online here.)  Remember to have your wheat berries cooked and ready to go before you begin.  If using frozen, cooked wheat berries, just toss them directly in the chili and heat through  (no need to defrost).

Makes 6 servings

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 large yellow bell pepper, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed
2 14-ounce cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
1-2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced
2 cups vegetable broth
2 teaspoons light brown sugar
2 cups cooked wheat berries
Juice of 1 lime
1 avocado, diced
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add beans, tomatoes, chipotle to taste, broth and brown sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes.

Stir in cooked wheat berries and heat through, about 5 minutes more. (If using frozen wheat berries, cook until thoroughly heated.) Remove from the heat. Stir in lime juice. Garnish each bowl with avocado and cilantro.

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Discovery

I'd gotten everything on my list, but the woman in front of me was blocking my way.  She grabbed a couple cans of tomatoes.  A bag of pasta.  Polenta.  At the end of the aisle she stopped completely and bent way down, looking for something in the far recesses of the bottom shelf.  She only took 2-1/2 seconds, but it seemed like forever because I was nearing the free sample table and it looked like they were giving out something good.

When she stood up, she wore a satisfied smile and tossed her find into her cart.

At this point, of course, I was curious.  I mean, what could be so special that it'd force someone to a complete halt and cause her to dig around like that with such intensity?  Low rise jeans are no longer in vogue or it would have been embarrassing.

Maybe she found gold, I thought, or buried treasure. 

Nope. 

She found a bag of beans.

Now, I don't buy a lot of prepackaged stuff.  Sure, my rice comes in bags and my milk in cartons, but mixes rarely make it into my kitchen. These little beans, though, were different.  They offered whimsical colors (yellow! red! speckled! green!) and a friendly price point ($1.69).  Plus, if some lady was willing to rummage around for 10 hours on the bottom of a supermarket shelf just to find them, they must have been pretty special.

And they were.

I feel like a broken record, but the beans came from Trader Joe's, and I know not all of you have access to this market.  No problem.  Here's what's inside:

baby lima beans, black turtle beans, black-eyed peas, dark red kidney beans, garbanzo beans, great northern beans, green lentils, green split peas, large lima beans, light red kidney beans, navy beans, pink white beans, yellow split peas, pearl barley

I see no reason, truly, why you can't go to your favorite natural foods store and mix up your own bean medley.  Just choose very small beans to ensure relatively quick and even cooking, and make sure to wear a belt in case the bulk bins are set way down low.

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Recipe for Smoky Vegetarian Bean Soup

Smoked paprika lifts this soup out of the ordinary, just as it did with the roasted garlic-eggplant dip I made a few months ago.  But the real secret is in the mix of little beans.  Use Trader Joe's 17 Bean & Barley Mix if you can find it, or  use 1 pound of small, mixed beans if you can't.  Be sure to soak them overnight for faster cooking and best results.  This recipe is my adaptation of the recipe on the back of the TJ's bag.

16 ounces small, mixed, dried beans

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup each diced onion, celery, and carrot (or 1 container Trader Joe's Mirepoix)

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

5-1/4 cups vegetable broth

2-1/2 cups cold water

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Soak the beans in cold water to cover in a large pot overnight.  Rinse, drain, and rinse again.  Let them hang out for a minute in the colander.

Wipe out the pot, add the oil, and heat it over a medium-low flame.  Add the onion, celery, carrots, garlic, and smoked paprika and saute, stirring frequently, for a few minutes or until vegetables are softened and fragrant, but not browned. 

Add the beans back to the same pot along with the vegetable broth, water, bay leaf, and Italian seasoning.  Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer, covered, for about an hour.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

The soup is even better after a day or two, but it's wonderful immediately as well.

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Predictions

First of all, if you're here from Accidental Hedonist, welcome.  I'm giddy to have you and hope you'll poke around, help yourself to coffee, and find a nice, cushy chair.  We're a pretty decent bunch, though some people seem to have strong feelings about mayo, smoked oysters, and silicon dioxide.

If, on the other hand, you're a regular 5 Second Rule reader and have no idea what I'm talking about, when you're done here, please click over to Accidental Hedonist, where I'll be guest blogging every Tuesday for the next 6 months.

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Media types everywhere are making predictions about what will be trendy in the new year.  Is this insightful, or annoying?  I mean, the year is only 6 days old and everyone in the food community is all, "This is hot!" or "This is not!" How do they know so fast?

Case in point: the San Francisco Chronicle ran an article last week in which one chef, when asked to predict the coming year's trends, said, and I quote:

"More chefs using duck fat and suet, instead of flavoring sauces with tons of butter."

Uh, okay. 

("I'll take the Eggs Benedict, please, with extra suet in the hollandaise.  It's just so yummy.")

But two can play at this game, so here's my prediction for 2009:

Quiche.

From the French Laundry to roaming quiche trucks, from Main Street to (say it with me now) Wall Street, quiche will replace sliders as the overexposed menu item du jour.  McDonald's will introduce the Cr'Quichewich and Taco Bell the Quicharito. And bye-bye Aidan, Emma, Sophia, and Jayden, the most popular baby names of 2008.  In 2009, it will be...

I don't even have to say it.

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Recipe for Caramelized Onion Quiche with Cheddar, Spinach, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

I made this quiche for my annual New Year's Day party and was so frenzied with all the cooking and baking and general mess-making of all the other dishes that I didn't pay as close attention to what I was doing as I probably should have.  As a result, my ingredient list is a bit vaguer than normal.  I must also give proper credit to Epicurious since Susan Hermann Loomis's Quiche au Fromage served as my inspiration and jumping off point for this recipe.

1 recipe pastry dough, preferably made from scratch (here's my new favorite)

a few tablespoons of olive oil

4 yellow onions, halved and sliced thinly

a few oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (how about 6 to 8), rough chopped

a few handfuls of baby spinach, rinsed

a few handfuls of shredded cheddar cheese

6 eggs

2/3 cup heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1.  Roll out the pastry and use it to line to a 10-1/2-inch quiche pan or glass pie plate.  Prick the dough all over with a fork and place it in the freezer for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees with the rack in the lower third, and begin caramelizing the onions.

2.  Place a large skillet over medium heat and glug in the olive oil.  Add the onions, a good dose of salt and pepper, and let cook, stirring occasionally for even cooking, until very soft, very brown, and very sweet.  This should take at least 30 minutes, maybe longer, and it's very important to remember to stir and to adjust the heat as necessary so the onions don't burn.

3.  Place the quiche plate onto a rimmed baking sheet.  Set a sheet of tin foil over the cold pastry and fill with pie weights or dry beans.  Bake for 15 minutes, remove the foil and weights/beans, and return to the oven until the edges are golden but the pastry has not completely browned or cooked through.  Set aside to cool while you finish the filling.  Keep the oven on.

4.  Once the onions have caramelized sufficiently, remove them to a plate but don't wipe the skillet.  Set the heat at medium high.  Add a bit of oil from the jar of sun-dried tomatoes to the same skillet, and then add your rinsed spinach.  Turn with tongs until spinach wilts, which should only take a few minutes.  Stir in the tomatoes.  Remove the spinach and tomatoes to a double thickness of paper towels, and, when cool enough to handle, squeeze well over the sink to remove any excess liquid.

5.  Toss a few handfuls of cheddar onto the par-baked crust.  Scatter the caramelized onions over the cheese, and then scatter the spinach and sun-dried tomatoes over the onions.

6.  To make the custard, whisk together the eggs, cream, and milk.  Season with the nutmeg and with a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper.  Pour over the vegetables until the custard nearly reaches the top of the crust.  (You should still have the quiche pan on a rimmed baking sheet.)

7.  Bake for 30 minutes, or (and this is very important) until the quiche is cooked through, puffy, and doesn't wiggle when you jiggle the pan.  Serve warm.

N.B.  If you'd like to make this ahead of time, you may.  I made mine 24 hours in advance with great results.  Cool the quiche completely to room temperature, then cover tightly with plastic wrap.  The next day, slice the quiche while it is still cold, wiping your knife between each cut to keep things as neat as possible.  Place in a preheated 275 degree oven, covered with foil, until nice and warm, about 20 to 30 minutes.

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History

I'd like a medal, please.  A nice big, shiny one, preferably with some weight to it so it strains my neck forward just a touch.  That way, people will look at me and say, Wow, that's some medal she's wearing.  See how it strains her neck?

Today, a Saturday, I drove my kids 90 minutes to Carmel to visit the Mission San Carlos Borroméo.  This is not how I normally spend my Saturdays, or any days for that matter, but with a fourth grader in the family I didn't have much choice.  See, if you're a fourth grader in California, and you go to the public schools, you and your parents and your 2nd grade brother are tasked with studying the California missions.  And if your dad is out all morning training for a marathon, your mom may just toss you and your brother in the car with a giant bag of snacks, put pedal to the metal, and take to the wide, open road.

Now, as a native New Yorker, and one of the Jewish persuasion, I didn't know a whole lot about the missions.  I suppose I should have, being American.  I mean, I must have studied the missions at some point in my countless years of grade school, college, and grad school.  (I'm pretty sure we didn't cover them in culinary school, though a friend just suggested I make a replica out of cake.)

So today I learned that in the 18th century, the Spanish sent an expedition from what is now Mexico to Alta (upper) California to erect missions in order to convert the Native Americans to Christianity.  On June 3, 1770, they established the one we visited today in Carmel.  It was quite lovely, and impressive. 

I imagine you're wondering how I'm going to segue this important historical and religious monument to my food blog and lead it all seamlessly into the requisite recipe. 

Ready?  Pay attention or you'll miss it...

Last night I made an outstanding wild rice dish with squash.

It's uncanny, no?  We just happened to eat wild rice and squash -- you know, native foods, and today, we visited the mission, where the Spanish tried to convert the Native Americans to Christianity. 

I amaze myself.

Medal, please.

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Recipe for Wild Rice with Butternut Squash, Spinach, and Toasted Hazelnuts

Serve this healthy side hot with dinner, then drizzle the cold leftovers with a thin stream of hazelnut oil for lunch the next day. Hot or cold, you'll appreciate the dish's mild, nutty flavor and the mix of dramatic colors and textures.

Serves 4 to 6

1-1/2 cups wild rice

1 tablespoon olive oil

One 1-pound butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2" dice (yielding about 2-1/2 cups diced squash)

1/2 cup vegetable broth (or chicken broth)

6 ounces baby spinach, rinsed

1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Hazelnut oil, optional, for leftovers

Cook the rice according to package directions.  I cooked mine in a rice cooker with about 4 cups of water, and it took about 45 minutes.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat.  When hot, swirl in the oil and add the squash.  Season generously with salt and pepper.  Sauté the squash, flipping several times with a spatula and shaking the skillet with some muscle until it's golden brown on all sides, about 5 minutes.  Reduce the heat, carefully add the broth, cover, and let cook on low heat until tender, about 3 minutes longer.

Uncover and raise the heat again to medium-high.  Add the spinach and a bit more salt and pepper, and toss with tongs until spinach wilts and the liquid has evaporated slightly, about 4 minutes.  Stir in the toasted hazelnuts.  Remove from heat.

When the wild rice has finished cooking, add it to the skillet.  The rice will be hot enough to warm up the squash mixture.  Just be sure to give everything a good, thorough toss.

Serve hot immediately, or cold the next day with a slick of hazelnut oil.

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Parenthood

When I became a parent, I knew I'd give up a lot. 

Spur of the moment movie nights.  Sleeping in on the weekends.  Reckless driving.

Okay fine, I never really indulged in those things (even before parenthood), but in theory I could have.  What I hadn't counted on, what I'd really never imagined, was that I'd also have to give up mushrooms.

My family tolerates many of my culinary quirks, but they don't tolerate mushrooms.  Even my husband loathes them.

Colin's sitting across from me right now.  Watch this:

"Colin."

"What."

"What do you think of mushrooms?"

"They're rotten fungus."

Case closed.

A few weeks ago I picked up a handful of creminis at the farmers' market, and while I was there I grabbed some flowering, leafy greens. Just having the mushrooms in my basket meant I'd be cooking for myself, so I decided to go all out. 

"Excuse me.  What's this?" I asked the market lady, pointing at the greens with the teensy yellow flowers.

"You choy."

"Me what?"

"You choy.  It's like bok choy, only sweeter and more tender."

And it was.

I paired the veggies with a giant tangle of soba noodles, creating a trio of foods no one in my house would eat but me.  Finally, a meal I didn't have to share.  And I've got to tell you, it was one of the best lunches I'd ever made.

p.s. I just showed Colin this post.  He looked at the pictures and said, "That's just nasty, dude."

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Recipe for Soba Noodles with Stir-Fried Greens and Cremini Mushrooms

I happened upon you choy, a Chinese cabbage, at the market, but you're welcome to substitute baby bok choy, or other easier-to-find greens.  Like all stir-fries, this meal comes together quickly.

Serves 1 to 2 as an entree or 3 as a side

3 ounces soba noodles

2 teaspoons peanut or olive oil

2 cloves garlic, smashed and thinly sliced

1 bunch you choy, or baby bok choy or other greens, trimmed, stems cut in 1-inch pieces, leaves roughly chopped, rinsed but not dried

4 to 6 cremini mushrooms, sliced

2 tablespoons Soyaki, or teriyaki sauce

Boil soba noodles according to package directions, about 3 minutes.  Drain.

Heat a wok or large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil and garlic.  Stir until garlic is golden, then add the greens.  Stir-fry 3 to 4 minutes, tossing with tongs, until the water clinging to the leaves has evaporated and the greens have wilted a bit.  Add mushrooms and stir-fry 2 minutes longer.

Add the sauce and the cooked soba noodles, and toss until heated through, about 1 minute longer.  Serve immediately.

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Kugel

If there's anything friendlier than noodle kugel, I haven't found it.  Sure, cheese blintzes and ricotta-filled crepes come close, but kugel, kugel is a thing apart.  And don't even talk to me about potato kugel.  My heart belongs to the noodle. 

This humble Jewish holiday food earns top honors for two good reasons:  First, egg noodles don't have attitude.  They're not whole wheat rotelli or spinach tortelloni or sun-dried tomato capellini.  They're just egg noodles: soft, slippery, extra wide.  Like a cozy sweatshirt, or that hole-riddled cardigan your grandma knit with the sleeves that are way too long, but you wear it anyway because she always offered you Andes candies when you'd come to visit and it's the only thing left that reminds you of her.  They're like that.

This is not the time for any al dente business either.  Cook the noodles till they shimmy and shine.

Second, the cottage cheese and sour cream get sweetened with a little sugar.  I know, I know, is this a side dish, or a dessert?  Exactly!  That's the beauty of noodle kugel.  It can be anything you want it to be.  But please, don't even think about going fat-free. Using fat-free dairy in kugel is like making a fat-free cake.  It's untenable, not to mention ill-advised.  Here's my suggestion: for breakfast, have a bowl of shredded wheat with skim milk, sprinkle it with flax seed, and then fold all your laundry.  There.  Now you're healthy, and you've done a good deed. 

Carte blanche to toss full-fat sour cream and cottage cheese in the kugel.

The best kugel I've had, the kugel to end all kugels, is my Grandma Arline's.  She's actually my step-grandma, but why fuss with semantics?  I don't really remember any kugel before Arline's, and that should tell you something.

That said, I'd be a liar if I said I didn't tweak it just a little bit. 

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Recipe for Grandma Arline's Noodle Kugel, tweaked

Exercising patience before cutting into this isn't easy, but if you care about neatness and presentation, you'd be wise to make it the night before and refrigerate it overnight.  It's much easier to cut neatly when cold.  Re-warm (covered) before serving.  Arline tops hers with crushed cornflakes, but I leave them off.  The choice is yours.

Serves 8 to 10

8 ounces extra-wide egg noodles
4 eggs, separated (you'll use all 4 whites but only 3 yolks)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1/4 teaspoon salt
16 ounces cottage cheese
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup sugar
Pinch cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, for dusting on top

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Butter a 13x9x2-inch baking dish.

Cook the egg noodles in a large pot of boiling water according to package directions.  Drain and rinse in cold water.

In a large mixing bowl, gently whisk the 3 egg yolks.  Slowly add the melted butter and salt, and whisk well to combine.   Add the cooked noodles, stirring to coat.

In a medium bowl, stir together the cottage cheese, sour cream, and sugar.  Scrape into the bowl with the noodle mixture and give everything a good stir.

In a clean, dry mixing bowl fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites with a pinch of cream of tartar until stiff peaks form.  Fold gently into the noodles.  Spread into the baking dish and smooth the top.  Dust with the cinnamon.

Bake in the center of the oven for 45 minutes.  Serve warm, or refrigerate overnight (cool to room temp first), cut into squares, reheat, and serve.

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