Spinach Pie with Yeast Crust

One of my first uses of the yeasted pastry crust was this spinach pie. I like to think of it as a cross between a spinach pie, where the majority ingredient is spinach and is only bound together with a bit of egg, and a quiche, that deliciously silky dish of eggs and cream, sometimes flavored with a bit of spinach. This pie is light, almost fluffy, green with spinach and kept from boring with a bit of herbs de provence, nutmeg and cheddar cheese. If you have a crust ready to defrost from the freezer it comes together in just a few minutes. I've served it with salad, although that is a bit unnecessary with all the spinach. A light soup might be nice or, you could do what I did, and wrap up a leftover slice and take it to the airport with you- the crust will hold it together - then, when everyone else is buying $9 sandwiches that taste like cardboard, you can unwrap it and enjoy. Recipe after the jump.

Spinach Pie
Serves 6, 8 as an appetizer
Adapted from the Weight Watchers Cookbook

1/2 recipe yeasted pastry crust OR 1 recipe better for you pie crust OR a 9-10 in pie crust of your choice
16 oz (450g) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and water squeezed out
1/3 C low-fat cottage cheese
2 eggs
3 egg whites
1, 12oz (300ml) can fat-free evaporated milk
1/2 t salt
a few grinds fresh pepper
a grate or two of fresh nutmeg
1 t herbs de provance
2 oz. (56g) cheddar cheese, shredded


- Preheat oven to 375. Grease a pie plate or ovenproof skillet. Roll out the dough and inch or two bigger than the baking vessel (just pop the pan on top of your rolled out dough to see if you need to roll it bigger). Gently roll the dough about half with up the rolling pin, starting at the far end and picking up the dough with your finger and letting it roll under the pin as you roll it back. Lift the pin with the dough straight up, drape the loose bit over one end of the pan and roll it across. Press the crust down into the pan and trim the edges so they don't hang overboard. Use the trimmings to patch up any holes that may have occurred.

- Sprinkle the spinach evenly over the crust.

- Place remaining ingredients through the herbs in a blender or blending beaker and wizz the heck out of them, until the mixture is perfectly smooth. [if you don't have a blender just wisk it well by hand, the cottage cheese will remain a bit lumpy but it'll taste fine]. Pour the egg mixture over the spinach in the crust and then sprinkle the cheese on top.

- Carefully place the pie in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until puffed and very nearly set in the center (test by jiggling the pan slightly- be sure to use and oven mitt). Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Daring Cooks: Ricotta Gnocchi

For the launching of Daring Cooks, Lis and Ivonne chose a ricotta gnocchi recipe from the Zuni Cafe. The recipe looked easy enough, especially after watching this helpful demo from the cooks at the Zuni Cafe, so I planned on making the gnocchi as a light Sunday night dinner. Since ricotta is the star ingredient of these gnocchi, I made a special trip to Whole Foods to get an artisanal one, instead of the usually grocery store variety. Both the recipe and the video advised straining the ricotta overnight to ensure that the gnocchi wouldn't be too liquidy so I did. When it was finally time to make the gnocchi, my ricotta has firmed up a bit but it didn't look like the video as it was still very soft. What is a daring cook to do but press on with the recipe in the face of possible failure?

I followed the rest of the recipe exactly yet the gnocchi mixture looked more like soup than anything that could be scooped into quenelles. I poured a bit of the soup onto a plate of flour and attempted to jiggle it into some sort of shape and when that didn't work, I used a spoon to scoop it up and into a waiting pot. My test gnocchi promptly disintigrated and I didn't think that one egg white would do much to help it. I poured it back into the strainer and decided to try to drain some additional water out of it. One visit from my aunt and uncle and two days later, I remebered the gnocchi at approximately 10am.

I ran down to the kitchen, certain that the batter would be a solid mass, to find a that it really hadn't firmed up much at all. I prepared a test gnocchi though, determined to salvage something from it, and it held together all right so I had the batch and put them straight into the freezer.

A few days later I made the gnocchi for lunch. The gnocchi held together when cooking but didn't fare so well coming out of the pan. The ones that survived were light and fluffy, if a bit salty, probably from concentrating everything by extracting the water. I served them with a brown butter sage sauce, which was mild enough not to overwhelm the ricotta but still added a bit of flavor.

Even though my my gnocchi fell apart the recipe was easy to make, so I'd like to try them again with a different ricotta in the future.

Note: These gnocchi are gluten free except for a dusting of flour as a very last step. I think that you could easily use an alternative flour and keep them totally gluten free.

Zuni Ricotta Gnocchi
Source: From The Zuni Café Cookbook.
Yield: Makes 40 to 48 gnocchi (serves 4 to 6)

Prep time: Step 1 will take 24 hours. Steps 2 through 4 will take approximately 1 hour.

Tips:
- If you can find it, use fresh ricotta. As Judy Rodgers advises in her recipe, there is no substitute for fresh ricotta. It may be a bit more expensive, but it's worth it.
- Do not skip the draining step. Even if the fresh ricotta doesn't look very wet, it is. Draining the ricotta will help your gnocchi tremendously.
- When shaping your gnocchi, resist the urge to over handle them. It's okay if they look a bit wrinkled or if they're not perfectly smooth.
- If you're not freezing the gnocchi for later, cook them as soon as you can. If you let them sit around too long they may become a bit sticky.
- For the variations to the challenge recipe, please see the end of the recipe.

Equipment required:
- Sieve
- Cheesecloth or paper towels or coffee filters
- Large mixing bowl
- Rubber spatula
- Tablespoon
- Baking dish or baking sheet
- Wax or parchment paper
- Small pot
- Large skillet
- Large pan or pot (very wide in diameter and at least 2 inches deep)

For the gnocchi:
1 pound (454 grams/16 ounces) fresh ricotta (2 cups)
2 large cold eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) unsalted butter
2 or 3 fresh sage leaves, or a few pinches of freshly grated nutmeg, or a few pinches of chopped lemon zest (all optional)
½ ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated (about ¼ cup very lightly packed)
about ¼ teaspoon salt (a little more if using kosher salt)
all-purpose flour for forming the gnocchi

For the gnocchi sauce:
8 tablespoons (227 grams/1/4 pound/4 ounces) butter, sliced
2 teaspoons water

Step 1 (the day before you make the gnocchi): Preparing the ricotta.
If the ricotta is too wet, your gnocchi will not form properly. In her cookbook, Judy Rodgers recommends checking the ricotta’s wetness. To test the ricotta, take a teaspoon or so and place it on a paper towel. If you notice a very large ring of dampness forming around the ricotta after a minute or so, then the ricotta is too wet. To remove some of the moisture, line a sieve with cheesecloth or paper towels and place the ricotta in the sieve. Cover it and let it drain for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. Alternatively, you can wrap the ricotta carefully in cheesecloth (2 layers) and suspend it in your refrigerator for 8 to 24 hours with a bowl underneath to catch the water that’s released. Either way, it’s recommended that you do this step the day before you plan on making the gnocchi.

Step 2 (the day you plan on eating the gnocchi): Making the gnocchi dough.
To make great gnocchi, the ricotta has to be fairly smooth. Place the drained ricotta in a large bowl and mash it as best as you can with a rubber spatula or a large spoon (it’s best to use a utensil with some flexibility here). As you mash the ricotta, if you noticed that you can still see curds, then press the ricotta through a strainer to smooth it out as much as possible.
Add the lightly beaten eggs to the mashed ricotta.
Melt the tablespoon of butter. As it melts, add in the sage if you’re using it. If not, just melt the butter and add it to the ricotta mixture.
Add in any flavouring that you’re using (i.e., nutmeg, lemon zest, etc.). If you’re not using any particular flavouring, that’s fine.
Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and the salt.
Beat all the ingredients together very well. You should end up with a soft and fluffy batter with no streaks (everything should be mixed in very well).

Step 3: Forming the gnocchi.
Fill a small pot with water and bring to a boil. When it boils, salt the water generously and keep it at a simmer. You will use this water to test the first gnocchi that you make to ensure that it holds together and that your gnocchi batter isn’t too damp.
In a large, shallow baking dish or on a sheet pan, make a bed of all-purpose flour that’s ½ an inch deep.
With a spatula, scrape the ricotta mixture away from the sides of the bowl and form a large mass in the centre of your bowl.
Using a tablespoon, scoop up about 2 to 3 teaspoons of batter and then holding the spoon at an angle, use your finger tip to gently push the ball of dough from the spoon into the bed of flour.

At this point you can either shake the dish or pan gently to ensure that the flour covers the gnocchi or use your fingers to very gently dust the gnocchi with flour. Gently pick up the gnocchi and cradle it in your hand rolling it to form it in an oval as best as you can, at no point should you squeeze it. What you’re looking for is an oval lump of sorts that’s dusted in flour and plump.
Gently place your gnocchi in the simmering water. It will sink and then bob to the top. From the time that it bobs to the surface, you want to cook the gnocchi until it’s just firm. This could take 3 to 5 minutes.

If your gnocchi begins to fall apart, this means that the ricotta cheese was probably still too wet. You can remedy this by beating a teaspoon of egg white into your gnocchi batter. If your gnocchi batter was fluffy but the sample comes out heavy, add a teaspoon of beaten egg to the batter and beat that in. Test a second gnocchi to ensure success.

Form the rest of your gnocchi. You can put 4 to 6 gnocchi in the bed of flour at a time. But don’t overcrowd your bed of flour or you may damage your gnocchi as you coat them.

Have a sheet pan ready to rest the formed gnocchi on. Line the sheet pan with wax or parchment paper and dust it with flour.

You can cook the gnocchi right away, however, Judy Rodgers recommends storing them in the refrigerator for an hour prior to cooking to allow them to firm up.

Step 4: Cooking the gnocchi.
Have a large skillet ready to go. Place the butter and water for the sauce in the skillet and set aside.

In the largest pan or pot that you have (make sure it’s wide), bring at least 2 quarts of water to a boil (you can use as much as 3 quarts of water if your pot permits). You need a wide pot or pan so that your gnocchi won’t bump into each other and damage each other.

Once the water is boiling, salt it generously (mine ended up too salty, so you might want to go light on the salt.

Drop the gnocchi into the water one by one. Once they float to the top, cook them for 3 to 5 minutes (as in the case with the test gnocchi).
When the gnocchi float to the top, you can start your sauce while you wait for them to finish cooking.

Place the skillet over medium heat and melt the butter. Swirl it gently a few times as it melts. As soon as it melts and is incorporated with the water, turn off the heat. Your gnocchi should be cooked by now.

With a slotted spoon, remove the gnocchi from the boiling water and gently drop into the butter sauce. Carefully roll in the sauce until coated. Serve immediately.

Freezing the gnocchi: If you don’t want to cook your gnocchi right away or if you don’t want to cook all of them, you can make them and freeze them. Once they are formed and resting on the flour-dusted, lined tray, place them uncovered in the freezer. Leave them for several hours to freeze. Once frozen, place them in a plastic bag. Remove the air and seal the bag. Return to the freezer. To cook frozen gnocchi, remove them from the bag and place individually on a plate or on a tray. Place in the refrigerator to thaw completely. Cook as directed for fresh gnocchi.

Laban

Second in the brunch series.

I went to the library to study last week and one of the books on display caught my attention. It was a Joy of Cooking book about party foods and since I knew we were going to have people over, I grabbed it on the way out. A lot of the recipes were a little too fussy for what I was looking for but the Laban, homemade yogurt cheese rolled in paprika and mint, kept catching my attention every time I flipped through the book.

My grandma, who was perpetually watching her cholesterol, used to make yogurt cheese but I hadn't had it in years. It's really simple to make, just take plain yogurt and let it strain for a day on the counter, then transfer it to the fridge to firm up overnight. Then it's ready to use. Laban (at least my version of it) has the consistency of softer cream cheese with a creamy, tangy taste. It's yogurt, but it's not yogurt at the same time, as the flavor has deepened. The sweet paprika and mint coating made the laban look great on the plate and added an unusual but delicious flavor. The laban went over really well- I will be making another batch in the near future.

Laban
Adapted from The Joy of Cooking
Makes 18 grape sized balls

2 C. plain, lowfat yogurt
1.5 t. salt
1 T. sweet paprika
1 t. crushed dried mint
Equipment: bowl, mesh strainer, cheesecloth (or coffee filters)

- Line the mesh strainer with a double layer of cheesecloth or two layers of coffee filters. Place the strainer over the bowl. Mix the yogurt and salt and pour into the strainer. Fold the cheesecloth over the top, or place a coffee filter on top. Let sit at room temperature for 24 hours.

- Place a few coffee filters or paper towels on a plate. Turn the cheese out onto the plate and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight. The cheese will be slightly dry on the outside.

- Mix the paprika and mint. Form balls of the cheese (I did mine grape sized) and roll in the spice mix. Serve immediately.

Autumn Gallette with Better For You Crust

After making the butternut squash ravioli, I had about two cups of roasted squash left over. Since the ravioli didn't wow me, I wanted to do something sort of exciting with the rest of the squash. I resolved on making a sweet butternut squash galette for desert. I went as far as making the pie dough before realizing that I wasn't particularly hungry and Zach wasn't home so it was rather pointless to bake. The next day at work, I was thinking of how to turn the sweet galette into something acceptable for dinner (only on my breaks, of course). I started talking with my co-worker S-- about ideas. I suggested goat cheese to balance out the sweetness of the squash and add some visual color contrast and she suggested craisins (dried cranberries) for more flavor. We both agreed that walnuts would be an excellent addition for some crunch (and a little bit of healthy fat to balance out the pie crust) but I knew they would have to be easily removable since Zach has an aversion to nuts.

The resulting galette came together in about ten minutes and was on the table 40 minutes after that. Along with some green beans, it was a totally satisfying dinner. Very comfort foody and rich with the pie crust, but not totally unhealthy since I had made a lower-fat crust* and butternut squash packs a Vitamin-A power punch. I will definitely make this galette again, maybe without the crust for something a bit healthier. With the crust it makes a great option for a vegetarian dinner, or as a side dish for a dinner when you have both meat-eaters and vegetarians in the crowd.

* I really didn't set out to make a low-fat pie crust. I was all set to make make a regular one when I took a look at the recipe. There was no way I was going to put a whole stick of butter into a cup of white flour. I decided to go with a two to one ratio of white to wheat flour and decreased the butter from eight to five tablespoons and told the little voice in my head to be quiet. The crust turned out way better than I expected- it was still flaky and crumbly and the addition of wheat flour went really well with the butternut squash. The best part- I didn't feel nearly as guilty eating something in pie crust for dinner as I normally would.

Autumn Galette
Serves 4

2 C. butternut squash, cut into 1 in. cubes and roasted (see below)
1 recipe pie crust (see below)
2 oz. goat cheese
1/4 C. dried cranberries
2 T. walnuts, chopped

- Preheat oven to 450F.

- Roll out pie dough in the plastic bag (see below) to a circle about 12 in. in diameter. Leaving a 2 inch border on the outside of the circle, add the squash then sprinkle on the goat cheese, cranberries and walnuts. Carefully fold up the sides of the galette to cover the outer edge of the filling. If the crust breaks just pinch it back together.

- Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and serve. The galette keeps very well in the fridge for a day or two. Reheat in the toaster oven.

Better for You Pie Crust

2/3 C. (4 oz.) white flour
1/3 C. (2 oz.) wheat flour
1/2 t. salt
5 T. butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
1/4 C. ice water.

- Mix the flours and salt in a bowl. Add the chilled butter cubes. Use the tips of your fingers to work the butter into the dough using a rubbing motion between your thumb and index fingers (like you are feeling a piece of fabric) until the butter is is evenly distributed and the mixture looks like coarse sand.

- You want to be able to form the dough into a ball using the least amount of water possible which will depend on your flour and the humidity of your kitchen. Start by adding two tablespoons of the ice water and stir together. Add more water only if needed.

- Form the dough into a ball and then place it into a gallon size ziploc bag. Flatten the dough into a disk and (if you have time) refrigerate for 30 minutes before using. The dough can be made several days ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator- just take it out about 30 minutes before you need to use it or the butter have made it a solid mass that is impossible to roll out.

Beetroot and Goat Cheese Souffle

I have been thinking about souffle a lot lately. I couldn't really tell you why, as I have only had it once or twice in my life, but the idea got stuck in my head. The lack of a souffle dish held me back for a few weeks, as I though, and I'm sure some purist out there would agree, that a souffle can only be made in a special vessel of an exact height and circumference and with a very small lip on the top to help the souffle rise. For weeks I dispared of buying a yet another piece of kitchen equipment and one that had such a specific purpose that I probably couldn't use it for anything else. Then I finally said 'to heck with it' and decided that I would make mini souffles in my ramekins instead.

At first I thought I might be dooming myself to failure because of all those old kitchen myths I had heard about souffles (like the kind that say you can't even walk through the kitchen while its baking or it will fall) but I had become so fixated on the idea I will willing to risk utter defeat. When I started looking up recipes, I was shocked to come across some that were specifically for individual size souffles baked in 6oz ramekins- just what I have.

I selected two recipes that seemed the most promising, one from Alton Brown because I trust his proportions and directions and another from the food network website that was specifically for mini souffles, and decided to combine the two. I must have been feeling more than usually adventurous that night because in addition to combining two recipes, I decided that instead of making a plain cheese souffle, I would make a roasted beet and goat cheese souffle.

After getting out all the ingredients I got to work. First I peeled and chopped three little beets and roasted them for a few minutes. Then I separated the eggs, added the whites to the bowl of my mixer and putting the yellows into a medium bowl. Next I set out to making the flavor base of the souffle by making a roux, then adding hot milk (that had a bay leaf steeping with it), garlic powder and the goat cheese. I wisked this mixture into the egg yolks and then added the beets, which promptly turned the whole thing a lovely shade of pink. After the eggs whites were beaten to a stiff peak, I carefully folded them into the beet cheese mixture and then realized I hadn't prepped the ramekins. As I folded, I shouted for Zach and then barked a set of instructions something like 'butter' 'grate cheese' 'like you would flour' that made no sense at all. I calmed down enough coherently as him to butter the ramekins and then sprinkle Parmesan cheese around the sides.

I poured the souffle mix into the 4 ramekins but still had about half the mixture left over. At this point I was frantic, afraid that all the souffles would fall since I couldn't seem to get my act together on anything. I put the ramekins in the oven and searched for another pan. I didn't have anything else remotely resembling a souffle dish, so I used a loaf pan. After everything was in the oven, I could finally calm down.

Half and hour later, the souffles were so puffy and golden. The picture you see really doesn't do them justice as the rose to about 3 inches about the edge of the ramekin but began falling as soon as I took them out of the oven. I hurriedly snapped a few pictures and we sat down to eat. I had never had a savory souffle before and I was not disappointed with my first attempt. It had both a rich and airy taste, a bit like a mousse and the beets had turned the bottom a vibrant maroon color. My only complaint was that I couldn't really taste the goat cheese- the Parmesan crust, while deliciously crispy, really overpowered the goat cheese. The beets did stand up well and added a hint of sweetness but I also would have made the pieces a little bit bigger.

I'll give you the recipe here as I made it, but I hope you will figure out a way to either up the goat cheese flavor, or take out the Parmesan. If you do know how-- please let me know. Now that I know souffles aren't impossible and really hard to make, I'm definitely going to try again.

Beetroot and Goat Cheese Souffle
Makes 8, 4oz. ramekins

2-3 small beets (about 3oz or 100g)
1.5 C milk (I used 1%)
1 bay leaf
3 T. butter
3 T. flour
1/2 t. kosher salt
1/2 t. garlic powder
4 oz. (120g) soft goat cheese
2 egg yolks, room temperature
4 egg whites, room temperature
butter for greasing the ramekins
a few tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese for the ramekins

- Preheat oven to 375F.

- Butter the ramekins and sprinkle the insides with Parmesan cheese, just enough to coat. Place the ramekins on a cookie sheet.

- Peel the beats and chop them into small cubes (about 1/4 in. [.5cm] cubes) and set aside.

- Add the bay leaf to the milk. Heat the milk (I did it in the measuring cup to save a dish) in the microwave or on the stove until hot but not boiling.

- Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and allow the water to cook out. The butter is ready when it stops making a sputtering noise.

- In a small bowl, stir together flour, salt and garlic powder. In a larger bowl, beat the two yolks for a minute or so (by hand). Add the flour mixture to the butter and stir constantly for 2 minutes to cook the flour. You have now made a roux. Fish the bay leaf out of the milk and add the milk to the roux, stirring constantly. Increase the heat to medium-high and continue to stir until the mixture comes to a full boil. Once it boils, remove it from the heat and stir in the goat cheese until melted. Then, slowly add the cheese base to the eggs yolks, wisking constantly so you don't scramble the eggs. This is not as scary as it sounds-- just go slowly. One trick is to have someone else do the pouring so you can concentrate on the wisking. Once all the milk mix in incorporated, stir in the beets.

- Put the eggs whites in the bowl of your stand mixer (if you are lucky enough to have one) or a metal or glass bowl if you don't. Beat on high until the reach stiff peaks. Mix in 1/4 of the mixture to the cheese base to lighten it, then carefully fold in the remaining egg whites. Some streakiness in the batter is ok- you don't want to overmix and take all the air out.

- Spoon the souffle mixture into the ramekins and bake for 25-30 minutes or until puffy and golden. Serve immediately.*

Since the recipe made much more that I though it would we had a few portions of leftover souffle. It did deflate, but was still really tasty for lunch the next day with a salad.

Summer Gratin

After a weekend of eating beach food (read fried things, ice cream and brownies) I really needed some vegetables. I happened to come across a new-to-me blog, Flexitarian Menu, and was immediately inspired to make not one, but two things from it, starting with this summer vegetable gratin. The recipe was so simple it took hardly any time at all to put together and the simplicity highlighted the flavors of the fresh tomatoes, squash and zucchini.

I modified the original Flexitarian recipe quite a bit (both because I forgot to print it out and was looking to cut the fat.). The sliced veggies (which you can see above) rest on a bed of sauteed onions and where the original recipe called for olive oil for sauteeing I used butter. While this does add a bit more saturated fat, I decided to do it to follow Marcella Hazan's (the best Italian cookbook writer ever) principal of not mixing olive oil and cheese and because onions cooking in butter may be the best kitchen smell ever.

Once the onions were softened I spread them out on the bottom on the gratin dish and arranged the other vegetables on top, sprinkling some parsley, oregano, salt and pepper on each layer. The original recipe called for liberally topping the dish with olive oil before sprinkling on the breadcrumb and cheese topping but I wasn't sure that would actually improve the flavor and skipped it entirely. For the topping, I used a combination of panko bread crumbs, fontina and Gruyeres cheeses and it baked into the most deliciously crispy crust.

This recipe will easily feed four for a main course and has only 1 T. butter and a little more than half a cup of cheese (shredded) but tastes so good, you'd never think it was a lower-fat dish. The onions on the bottom get caramelized during baking and add a hint of sweetness to balance the tang of the cheese and the oregano adds just a hint of flavor. If Zach will happily eat this for dinner without a piece of meat in sight, I think you'll like it too. I served it with a whole wheat drop biscuit, which I will be posting about later this week.

Update: I liked this so much I've made it a second time using eggplant in place of the squash and basil in place of oregano- also delicious.

In the recipe below I've given approximate measurements for the vegetables but it really depends on the size of your baking dish and the size of the veggies.

I'm submitting this post to Bookmarked Recipes hosted by Ruth at Kitchen Experiments a roundup of recipes that one has been meaning to make...


Summer Vegetable Gratin
Adapted from Flexitarian Menu
Serves 4 as a main dish, 8 as a side

1/2 large onion, sliced (about one cup)
1 T. butter
3 tomatoes
1 small zucchini
1 small squash (or eggplant)
fresh oregano (from about 5 stalks)
1/4 c. chopped parsley
1/2 c. panko
1/3 c. fontina cheese, grated
1/3 c. Parmesan cheese, grated

- Preheat oven to 350F. Heat a skillet on the stove with the butter, add the onions and cook till softened, about 10 minutes.

- While the onion is cooking, slice the vegetables into rounds about 1/4 in. (1/2 cm) thick. Mix the cheeses and panko in a small bowl. Mix the parsley and oregano together and add 1 T. to the cheeses and mix again.

- When the onion in cooked, spread it over the bottom of your baking dish (8x8in works, as does an oblong casserole) and sprinkle with salt and pepper, then arrange the vegetables on top in alternating rows, sprinkling with the herb mix, salt and pepper every few rows. When your dish is filled, top with remaining herb mix and sprinkle on the cheese and panko topping. Bake for 45 minutes or until top is golden brown, serve immediately.

The gratin does pretty well as leftovers, especially if you heat in in the toaster oven the next day.

Salade avec Cerises, Fleurs et Fromage de Chèvre

Why the French title? Well, this salad of mixed greens, fresh cherries, flower petals, toasted almonds and goat cheese seemed too special to get just an ordinary title and French makes everything sound so much fancier and more 'culinary', doesn't it? The inspiration for this one was really just what I had on had in the house and it turned out so well, I wanted to post it right away. It does take a few more minutes than just mixing pre-bagged lettuce with a bottled dressing but the results are like comparing apples and oranges.

The greens are fresh and crisp and the cherries decadent. When you get a forkful with everything on it the flavors just pop- creamy cheese, tart cherry, crunchy almond and fresh greens. The flower petals don't have a very distinct flavor but they add such pretty color to the salad and would totally impress your guests if you decided to serve this as a first course. Recipe after the jump.

Salade avec Cerises, Fleurs et Fromage de Chèvre
Serves 1 for dinner

A few handfulls of fresh greens, washed, dried and torn into pieces
6 cherries
scant 1 oz. goat cheese (about a fifth of the normal US size log)
1 T. toasted almond slivers
3 calendula flowers, 1 whole, 2 with petals removed
Sweet balsamic dressing (recipe below)

- Put the greens in a large bowl. Cut three of the cherries in half and remove the pit. Cut the remaining cherries into fourths. Add cherries to greens.

- Use a fork to flake about 3/4ths of the goat cheese into the greens, reserve the rest. Toss the greens mix with the dressing and plate. Sprinkle the almonds, remaining goat cheese and calendula petals. Top with the whole flower and serve.

Sweet Balsamic Dressing
For dressing one salad

I don't measure ingredients for dressings because I hate to dirty a set of teaspoons for such a little thing. I've given approximate values here but the best thing to do it make it then taste it and decide if you'd like more of any one ingredient.

1/2 t. balsamic vinegar
1 t. red wine vinegar
1 t. honey
1/4 t. dijon mustard
2 t. highest quality olive oil
salt and pepper to taste.

- Add everything but the olive oil to a bowl and wisk well. Add the olive oil and wisk again. The mustard should hold the oil in an emulsion and the dressing will get a little thick and opaque. Taste then add salt and pepper. If the dressing is too sweet, add more vinegar. Not sweet enough, add more honey. If it just won't come together (meaning the oil and vinegar don't want to get along) add a touch more mustard.

Cheesecake Pops

Daring Bakers challenge #2- completed!  This month's challenge was hosted by Deborah at Taste and Tell and Elle at Feeding My Enthusiasms , who chose cheescake pops as our recipe.  I went through a phase a couple of years ago when I tried (for a few weeks) to make a good cheesecake at home and ended up giving up in frustration and haven't thought about attempting one again so I was a little bit nervous about this month's challenge.  It turns out that I really didn't need to be as the batter for the cake comes together really simply and then bakes at one temperature (previous recipes I've used have called for starting at a higher temp and then dropping the oven) and didn't have a complicated cooling process.  The most complicated thing  was wrapping my springform pan with aluminum foil to make it watertight.*

So- the cake batter only took about 10 minutes to make and it went into the oven for about 55 minutes until the cake was set (but it had not turned golden brown but remained a sort of ghostly white).  I took the cake out, let it cool on the counter for an hour and then popped it in the fridge.  After chilling the cake, I formed it into little balls of 1.5oz (45g) as I thought the 2oz. balls the recipe called for were just a bit too big and then skewered them with cut up straws for the pops to add some color (and because I had no idea where I could by lollypop sticks).  I did have some issues when I tried to dip the frozen pops in the chocolate as my chocolate just wouldn't get thin enough. It was the consistency of a thick pudding and therefore coated the pops a bit too thickly for my taste. I rolled some of the pops in crushed graham crackers with a bit of sugar and coconut, as the crust is one of my favorite parts of the cheesecake and I was a bit sad not to have one.

The pops turned out really prettily but I have to say I didn't love them. They were good- perfectly adequate but not fabulous. The cheesecake had a great smooth texture but seemed to lack depth of flavor and the thick chocolate coating overpowered the cheesecake on the first bite. I don't think that I will make this recipe again, but I am really glad that I tried it and I now know cheesecake is not beyond by power, but maybe something I should leave to the pros nonetheless. If you'd like the recipe check out Elle or Deborah's blogs.

Update: I just ate one of the leftover cheesecake pops (I made them Friday and now it's Sunday) and I have to say that they have improved with time.  On Friday I thought they were missing part of that essential cheesecake flavor but it seems like two days in the fridge helped it to develop.  Maybe my problem was serving them the day they were made instead of giving the cake some time to chill- have any of my fellow Daring Bakers experienced this?

* I decided to only make half a recipe as I had no idea who I would feed 40 cheesecake pops too. I took Elle's advice and decided to measure a smaller pan by the amount of water it would hold but the water immediately started pouring (I was using a springform pan). Before baking the cheesecake, I double wrapped the pan in aluminum foil till about 3/4 way up the sides which worked out fine- just be really careful when you take the pan out of the water bath if you do this, as some water may accumulate in the bottom of the aluminum and could pour out and burn you.

Pasta with Spinach, Feta and Soy

I seriously debated putting 'soy' in the title of this post, thinking it might scare some people away, but I decided to do it- I will say here in the first sentence that you don't have to use soy, but more on that later. I have been making some variety of this dish since I was in high school and decided to become a vegetarian (as you can see by some of my other entries, I'm not vegetarian now but I try not to eat a lot of meat). I first made this dish when I was trying out all the soy based meat substitutes and while I made some pretty strange things in that period- this pasta dish was a keeper. Since it´s one of my favorite pasta dishes, I've decided to enter it into this weeks Presto Pasta Roundup, hosted by Ruth at Once Upon a Feast.

It starts with about 2 oz. of pasta per person. While the water for the pasta boils, you chop up some garlic and spinach. Then when you add the pasta to the water, put the garlic in a separate pan with a little bit of oil and start to heat it. When the garlic is just golden, add the soy protein (or ground beef, chicken, or turkey, or just skip the protein) and the spices (in this case oregano as I was going for a greekish flavor). Sauteé till browned and wait for your pasta to cook. Save 1/2 cup of the pasta water and then drain it. Put the spinach on top of the soy protein, then add the pasta, pasta water and a bit more olive oil. Mix the whole thing on medium heat for a few minutes until the spinach wilts, then crumble in the cheese and mix to combine. It's that easy' and the best part is you can change up the flavors for variety. Some of my favorite combos are basil, oregano and parmesan cheese and herbs de provance with a soft goat cheese.

Though the dish doesn't have a sauce per se, it's not dry as the spinach gives it moisture and the cheese gives it a ton of flavor. The feta I used was really creamy and melted slightly to coat the pasta and I added a few grates of fresh nutmeg at the very end, which added another level of flavor. It's really quite healthy too, especially if you use a whole wheat or multi-plus pasta. The leftovers reheat well too.

Pasta with Spinach, Feta and Soy
Serves 4

8 oz. whole wheat penne
1 T. olive oil, divided
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 t. dried oregano
8 oz. meat substitute (I use Gimme Lean Ground Beef Style)
4 oz. spinach, roughly chopped, or the same amount of baby spinach, whole
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
freshly ground nutmeg
vegetable or chicken bullion (optional)

- Bring a large pot of water to boil. Chop the garlic and the spinach.

- Add the pasta to the boiling water, set timer for the recommended cooking time (the pasta should be quite al dente).

- In a large pan, put garlic and half the olive oil. Heat over medium low till the garlic is golden then add the soy protein and oregano. Use a wooden spoon to break the soy up into little chunks and brown.

- Reserve 1/2 cup pasta cooking water and drain pasta (you can add a pinch of bullion to the reserved cooking water for extra flavor). Put the spinach over the soy in the pan, then pour the pasta on top. Add a bit of the pasta water and the remaining olive oil and mix everything together over medium high heat till the spinach wilts. Turn off heat and add crumbled feta. Serve immediately.

Creamy Spinach

I spent pretty much the entire day working on my econ take home midterm this Sunday. The afternoon went something like this: Study, Coffee, Study, Pizza, Study, Chocolate, Study, Bacardi. By the time I got home at 10 I was beat but craving vegetables and desperate to take my mind off of topics like "the value of Honduran exports to Brazil" so I decided to cook some Spinach.

A few weeks ago I came across a post on a blog that I cannot recall at the moment for creamed spinach, the traditional way, with lots of heavy cream. It looked great but I wondered if there was something I could do to create a creamy spinach dish without so much effort (and so many calories!) and at 10 o'clock on a Sunday night the inspiration (or it might have been desperation) hit.

I washed and and roughly chopped a big bowl of spinach, around half of one of those grocery store packages, then I smashed a garlic clove to get out some econ aggression and flavor the spinach. I put the garlic and about a teaspoon of olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat and cooked it just until the garlic turned pale gold. I added the spinach to the skillet and let it wilt and then (this is the exciting part) I added grated Parmesan and a bit of cream cheese along with a few grates of nutmeg and gave it all a mix.

The result: deliciousness. The spinach retained a bit of texture as it had only been cooked briefly, the Parmesan added major flavor and the cream cheese provided the hit of creaminess I had been craving. Even Zach thought it was pretty good. An added bonus- it only took about 10 minutes to make. This one will definitely be making a reappearance.

Mashed Potato Pancakes

I cannot even tell you how excited I am about this post.  You know how sometimes the simplest  things are sometimes the tastiest and most satisfying?  This is definitley one of those times.  Last week Zach and I made mashed potatoes to go with some leftover meatloaf that my dad sent home with me.  We cooked a few too many potatoes and had enough for a lunch for each of us and another container of leftovers for the fridge.  I happened to catch Michael Chiarello on the food network while at work (it's really not as bad as it sounds-- we were stuffing envelopes) and saw him make an Italian potato pancake stuffed with cheese.  I thought, why not just make pancakes out of the leftover mashed potatoes?

I mixed the potatoes with an egg and flour to provide some structure and then divided it into two portions, one for each of us. I dusted my hands with flour then shaped the potato into a ball and stuffed in a piece of Edam cheese, then rolled the potato balls in a bit of flour, to help give them a nice golden crust and flattened them slightly into patties. The got a quick fry over medium high to make them crisp and then got an extra topping of cheese and went into the toaster oven. They emerged, 10 minutes later, puffed and golden, with a fluffy, creamy potato texture and a bit of melty cheese in the center.  We ate them for breakfast but they would be great for a weekend lunch or even for dinner with a bit of salad or wilted spinach.

Mashed Potato Cakes

Enough for one large and one medium cake, can easily be adjusted 

2 c. mashed potatoes, seasoned with salt and pepper

1 egg, slightly beaten

1/3 c. flour plus additional for dusting

1-2 oz. cheese (Edam, gouda, cheddar or whatever you've got that melts)

1/4 c. oil for frying (olive, canola or a mix)

-  Preheat your toaster oven, or if you are making mass quantities of cakes, your real oven to 400F.

-  Mix the potatoes with the egg and flour.  Cut the cheese into domino sized disks, one for each patty, shred the remaining cheese.

-  Scoop up about 1 cup of the potato mixture and form it into a ball (yes- your hands will get covered in it but you can wash them later).  Press one piece of cheese into the center and cover it with the potato.  You want the cheese to be at the center of the potato sphere, sort of like the core of the earth.

-  Roll the ball in flour to cover, than lightly toss it between your hands to remove the excess flour.  Press the ball slightly so it assumes patty form.  Repeat these two steps till you are done with the potato mixture.

-  Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium high heat.  When the oil just starts to shimmer, carefully place in the potato pancakes.  Cook 2-3 minutes or until golden brown, flip and repeat.

-  Remove the pancakes to you baking tray and top with the remaining cheese.  Bake for about 10 minutes.  You can tell they're done when they have puffed up and the cheese is melted.  Serve immediately.

Goat Cheese and Dried Tomato Sandwich

After a very late breakfast on Saturday morning, I needed a snack before heading out the grocery store to shop for dinner. It had been a week since our last shopping trip, so there wasn't much left in the cupboard so I headed instead to the fridge and freezer. I defrosted a roll, then put a bit of goat cheese on top along with the tomatoes that I dried in the toaster last week. The sweetness of the tomatoes went well with the tangy goat cheese and pumpernickel bread... a good snack but it didn't prevent me from taking advantage of the free samples at the grocery store.

Cooking: Fondue Style

Yes, that is the name of the cookbook that I inherited from my grandmother along with her bright orange fondue set. The book is copyrighted 1964, so I think it is safe to say it's a bit of a cooking relic. I've had the fondue set for over a year and have always wanted to have a fondue party but never quite got around to it. Then one day a few weeks ago I decided to just do it and send out the invitation over email. Only afterwards did I realize that I had never had fondue before so didn't know if I would even like it, much less be able to make it.
After looking at many recipes, both in the cookbook and online, I decided to go with Alton Brown's. For my first attempt at fondue cooking I thought Alton's recipe would be a safe bet- also, it called for emmenthal and smoked gouda in a base of hard cider. Since I am not a fan of swiss cheese, I thought this would be more to my liking than using the traditional mixture emmenthal and swiss. The recipe called for 10 oz. of cheese total and as this was going to feed 5, I didn't think it sounded really ridiculous, healthwise. I tried to make our dipping choices a bit healthier too with broccoli, mushroom, carrot and grilled chicken along with the requisite bread.

Fondue, it turns out, is really quite easy to make- you just grate the cheese, toss it with some cornstarch and slowly add it to the sauce base (wine, beer, cider, stock) on the stove, before moving it to the fondue burner on the table.* There, your guests will be impressed both by the fire on the table and your cooking skills and they dip and swirl away. Unfortunately, while the emmenthal melted quickly, the smoked gouda was being rather stubborn and refused to melt, no matter how long I stirred it. We ended up with a delicious tasting, if slightly bumpy fondue. I think it may have been my particular brand of smoked gounda (the full fat variety from Trader Joe's) that didn't melt, as this particular recipe seems to have had good success judging from the comments on the food network website.

I followed Alton's recipe to the letter on this one, so I will give you the link here. If you try it out, do let me know how it turns out.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_8793,00.html

*I did have a bit of a problem with the fire part that I should warn you about. My fondue set has a small alcohol burner that fits perfectly into the fondue stand. I just assumed that I would be able to pick up the fuel alcohol at CVS or at the camping goods store down the street. It turns out that even the term 'fuel alcohol' is archaic and caused Zach some unwelcome stares when he asked for it. Now it's called denatured alcohol and apparently isn't widely available, at least where I live. I had to improvise, creating a little platform out of a cut up cereal box wrapped with tin foil on which I perched as many tealights as I could fit. So- the moral of this tale is- don't wait to purchase the fuel for your fondue burner until an hour before dinner begins.