Lunch Outdoors, Yes

After the outdoor dinner that didn't happen outdoors, I was slightly trepidatious  about planning two outdoor lunches.   One involved a little voyage "upstate" - according to my NYC friends, I live upstate, but when I go to visit my friends in the northern Catskills it's real upstate - about 1 1/2 hours from Hudson.
It turned out to be a knock-out day, ever so blurred by an ounce or two of haze, enjoyable company, and delicious food.

My friend, Rita always sets pretty tables - this one on her screened-in porch overlooking the rolling lawn and pond - with the best flower (out of her garden) arrangements anywhere.  It's because they're so simple.  They feature the blossom.   And that's how she makes food she too.  It stars the main ingredients.

 

Rita found a locally-grown cauliflower at a farm stand in Middleburg, which is just that much farther north to have the cold nights that the compact white head needs to  thrive.  She made her interpretation of a frittata recipe out of Yotam Ottolenghi's book, Plenty.   Basically, Rita followed the recipe - she just didn't add as much cheese as it called for.  Could've fooled me - it tasted like it should have.  Super savory.

SMOKY FRITTATA

This is what Yotam says, " Scamorza affumicata  is an Italian cheese that melts fantastically well.  Often labeled 'smoked mozzarella', it is highly effective in adding depth and pungency to vegetarian dishes."    Rita didn't use scamorza - and as I said, I didn't miss it.  However, if it had been added to the frittata it would have elevated the flavor even further.   You might be able to substitute a more readily available smoked cheese.
Serves 4 - 6
1 small cauliflower, cut into medium florets
6 eggs
4 tablespoons crème fraiche  (or sour cream)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons sweet smoked paprika
3 tablespoons chopped chives
5 ounces smoked scamorza, grated (including the skin for extra flavor)
2 ounces mature Cheddar, grated
salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

Simmer the cauliflower in a large pan of boiling salted water for only 4 to 5 minutes, until semi-cooked.  Drain and dry.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Break the eggs into a large bowl.  Add the crème fraiche, mustard and paprika and whisk well, making sure the eggs and crème fraiche are thoroughly blended.  Now stir in the chives and three-quarters of the cheeses, and season well with salt and pepper.
Heat up the olive oil in a large ovenproof frying pan.  Fry the cauliflower for about 5 minutes, or until golden brown on one side.  Pour over the egg mixture and use a fork to spread the cauliflower evenly in the pan.  Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes.
Scatter the remaining cheeses on top, then carefully transfer the pan to the oven.  Cook for 10 - 12 minutes, or until the frittata is set.
Remove from the oven and let rest for 2 to 3 minutes before cutting into wedges.  Eat immediately with a peppery green salad.

Our salad was full of stuff: nascent leaves and shoots from Rita's garden, cucumbers, crumbled blue cheese and walnuts.

Bread from Hudson's Bonfiglio & Bread.  Where else?

Dessert - Alice Water's recipe for baked rhubarb.  Rhubarb from the garden cut into 1 - 2-inch pieces, sugar ,and orange juice and zest baked 'til soft.  Not too long.  Rhubarb cooks quickly.  It was served with homemade kefir - sour milk.

Frankie, Rita's dog decided that she'd just watch Allegra cross the rapids

 

This fall's apples starting to grow

Then we went for a post prandial stroll through the lower meadow until we reached the usually docile creek which had become raging rapids from the previous stormy days.  My intrepid dog, accustomed to crossing the creek to get to the upper fields, did so - without thinking.  She made it - but thought long and hard about her return trip.   I told her that I couldn't go in to rescue her so she had better figure out a way to get back.  And she did at age 13 years and 3 months.  Brava Allegra.

Next outdoor lunch was planned a few weeks in advance.  Some friends were coming up from the city to attend a wedding on the other side of the river - the left bank.   As their destination was only about 1/2 hour from Hudson I asked them to come for lunch at my house the next day.  They accepted, and I invited some mutual friends who had recently moved to a hamlet near Hudson.

I made the meal easy for myself by buying just about everything at the previous day's farmers' market.   It's amazing how fresh ingredients can speak for themselves and give you the most delicious repast.

.    Grilled sausages from Pigasso Farm served with a sauce that I made by sautéing fresh, spring garlic in olive oil and adding chopped grape tomatoes, fennel seeds, chopped capers, hot peppers and fresh, from my garden, basil.
.    Roasted asparagus - easy peasy - place the spears on a parchment-paper covered baking sheet with sides, toss with olive oil and flaky sea salt and cook at 400 degrees F. until crispy on the outside and soft as asparagus flan on the inside
.   Tossed market salad with radishes, dressed with mustard-shallot vinaigrette
.   Assorted local cheese,  Amazing Real Live Camembert, Adirondack Cheddar, Ewe's blue
.   Bonfiglio & Bread.  Of course.

.   Semolina, coconut & marmalade cake, fresh strawberries and sheep's milk yogurt


SEMOLINA, COCONUT & MARMALADE CAKE

Another recipe from my culinary crush, Yotam Ottolenghi.  This one comes from his and Sami Tamimi's  2012 multi-award winning Jerusalem.   He says,"  Semolina cakes soaked in syrup are so numerous all over the Middle East and vary in so many ways it is hard to find a single definition or an accurate enough name to fit.  Some cakes have coconut in them; some have yogurt; some bakers prefer  flavoring them with citrus syrups, others with flower blossoms; some use sugar and others honey.  In any case, the moist light texture and the aromatic flavors are what 's all about.

Makes two 1 pound loaf cakes

3/4 cup sunflower oil (I used canola)
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (the juice of 2 oranges)
1 cup orange marmalade (fine-cut or without peel)
4 large free-range eggs
grated zest of 1 orange
1/3 cup superfine sugar
3/4 cup shredded dried coconut
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup plus 1 1/2 teaspoons semolina
2 tablespoons ground almonds
2 teaspoons baking powder

thick Greek yogurt with 1 or 2 drops orange blossom water to serve

Soaking Syrup
1 cup superfine sugar
1/2 cup plus 1 1/2 teaspoons water
1 tablespoon orange blossom water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.   Whisk together the oil, orange juice, marmalade, eggs, and orange zest until the marmalade dissolves.   In a separate bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients and add to the wet ingredients.   Mix until well combined.  The mixture should be runny.
Grease and line two 1-pound loaf pans ( 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 -inches) with waxed paper.  Divide the filling evenly between them.  Bake for 45 - 60 minutes, until a skewer inserted in a cake comes out clean and the tops turn an orangey brown.
Near the end of the baking time, place the syrup ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, then remove from the heat.  As soon as the cakes come out of the oven, start brushing them with the hot syrup using a pastry brush; you'll need to do this in a few goes, allowing the syrup to soak in for a minute or two before you carry on brushing with more syrup.  Make sure you use up all the syrup and it is all absorbed into the cakes.
Once the cakes have cooled down a little, remove them from the pan and leave them to cool completely.   Serve with the Greek yogurt flavored with a drop of orange blossom water.

These cakes will keep well for at least five days if wrapped carefully in parchment paper or aluminum foil.


SUSANSIMONSAYS:   This Saturday at the Hudson Famers' Market come meet Rebecca Miller Ffrench and let her sign a copy of her newest book, SWEET HOME, just for you - or a friend who's having a birthday, etc.  Rebecca will be serving samples made from one the recipes in her book.

Favorite Things #3

I can't believe that almost a year has passed since I last posted a collection of my favorite things.  Each post I write is actually a favorite thing.  In between the main posts I'm cooking up something that's tasty but doesn't seem to contain enough information to stand on its own.  Or maybe it does - I seem to like to crowd up the posts with lots information. Have you noticed?  It's kind of the way my house is too - full of lots of stuff.  I keep throwing things away, having yards sales, and giving it away - but it just keeps growing.  It's like this stuff has spores. 
Sometimes the inside of my refrigerator  starts to look like my bedroom - a jumble of things that I forgot that I have.  The reason that I purchased the products in the first place, is, well, because they are favorite things.  If I'm lucky I'll get to that head of cauliflower before it needs to be tossed.  
The easiest and tastiest dish that I make with the cauliflower is Roasted Fragrant and Spicy Cauliflower:  

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F; separate the head into florets; spread them out on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, sprinkle some fennel seeds, red pepper flakes , sea salt flakes, and olive oil over them and toss to thoroughly coat; roast, turning from time to time until deep gold - 30 - 40 minutes - depending on your oven.  If you have the capability to use a convection setting - you may not even have to toss them, and they cook more quickly.   Serve the roasted cauliflower as a side to anything.  I ate about half the head with a piece of Adirondack cheddar cheese and found it to be a most satisfying meal.

One of my Christmas presents from my sister, Laura were two winter squashes from her fabled garden.  I call them pumpkins - because that's what they look like - but she reminded me that we're not in England or Italy where they're are called pumpkins.  Oy.  A squash by any other name.  However, they were in fact an Australian Butter squash and a Speckled Hound squash.   They both have very hard skin and I think are quick dangerous to peel as you risk seriously slashing your hand if the knife slips from the skin.  Which it's sure to happen when the skin is so hard.  I baked the Australian Butter squash in order to remove its flesh and continue with my recipe - Seychelloise Pumpkin (!) Chutney:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F;  remove the stem end from the squash; stab it in several spots all around (to keep it from exploding in the oven!); place it on a parchment-paper lined baking sheet; bake until a tester easily passes through the skin and the flesh seems to be tender - 45 minutes to an hour; meanwhile, caramelize two thinly sliced red onions in canola oil; remove the cooked squash from oven and let cool to the touch;  cut it into quarters and use a soup spoon to remove the seeds- if you're ambitious you could rinse the seeds, let them dry out then roast them with a bit of salt - then remove the flesh from the skin and place it in a bowl; add the caramelized onions, the juice of a very juicy lime, hot pepper flakes and salt.  Stir to combine.  Serve at room temperature as a side dish to anything.

I've extolled the pleasure of Sunday lunch with friends, and was pleased to be able to recently share  another with the same friends I wrote about in that post.  This time it was at their house where Bert cooked a plant based meal that started with a  colorful, and emphatically-flavored beet and orange salad on radicchio leaves (for my salad, Bert added some shards of ricotta salata).   The main dish was a super-savory mushroom farrotto.  Farrotto is made with same method as you use for risotto - just a different grain, farro instead of rice.  Bert used mushrooms two ways to achieve deep, layered flavors in his dish.   He hydrated dried porcini mushrooms in warm water, and in the meantime sauteed - no, more like pan-fried little cremini mushrooms in olive oil until they were crispy and deep brown.   The farrotto was started by sauteing chopped red onions and the hydrated mushrooms in olive oil, in a large saucepan, until translucent.  He added farro to the pan and let it dry out for about a minute.   He used the water in which the porcini had hydrated as the liquid to cook the farro.  Basically, add the liquid a few cupsful at a time and cook until evaporated, and then add more until the farro is cooked.  Bert added more water to the mushroom water in order to finish the dish.  The fresh mushrooms were added to the pan just as it finished cooking. As the photo shows - the finished dish is wet - what the Venetians call, all'onda - like a wave.  Now, if this weren't a strictly plant-based dish you might want to use chicken broth in combination with the mushroom water and finish the dish with a shower of grated Parmesan cheese.   Either way, it's the perfect dish for a chilly winter's day.

Even Allegra was treated to a warm lunch.  Lucky dog.

SUSANSIMONSAYS:   Starting this Friday, February 22nd, my weekly column in The Register Star, Hudson's daily paper, and The Daily Mail, Catskill's daily paper will begin.  If you don't have access to a real paper you can find it at www.registerstar.com  .   It's called SUSAN SIMON SAYS - FOOD FOR THOUGHT   Should be easy enough to remember??**!!!  Yes, the information for the column will be different from the blog.

Disaster Averted, Distraction Not

This is the first time in over a year that I've let so much time lapse between posts.  And I don't have the excuse of having been without power due the destructive storm innocently called Sandy.  I was prepared for her arrival - she just never really demonstrated much force here in the upper Hudson Valley .  I remember a summer lightening and hail storm that did more damage than she did. So how did I prepare?   I cooked up a BIG pot of kale and mustard greens.  Actually, simply sauteed the leaves, ripped off their ribs, in olive oil with garlic, and hot peppers and finished with freshly squeezed lemon juice.  I knew that these cooked greens would last days longer than fresh greens and would serve as a backdrop to versatile preparations.   A poached egg on the greens,  for that matter an omelet with greens( and grated any kind of melting cheese), or chopped hard cooked eggs with greens would make rather tasty meals.   Fully aware that if the power had gone out that the first thing in the freezer to thaw would be the sausage so I preempted the possibility and made a potful of pasta e fagioli  - pasta and beans  (I actually used chick peas) with bits of grilled sausage tossed into the mix - the potful of starch and protein - cooked with an inch of its life would surely have lasted a few days - unrefrigerated.  And gotten tastier as each passed and the flavors of the ingredients absorbed each other.

 

 

Another freezer package that I knew would not have survived 12 hours without electricity were those plump strawberries from Blue Star  that I froze in June with hopes to let them defrost  on New Year's  Eve in order for them to accompany a first bite of panettone on New Year's Day (the Italians believe - among many other things - that a first-of-the-year morsel of the classic sweet bread augers well for the upcoming year).  Instead, I let them thaw and cooked them for a few minutes with light brown sugar and cinnamon.  I made pancakes - nothing special - just Bisquick pancakes - Yikes! you say?   Yep, from time to time I use a classic convenient food.  Pancakes with June strawberry sauce - for dinner.  Very satisfying.   And of course, a strawberry - banana smoothie makes for an excellent breakfast.

 

 

Not finished yet.  There was a big old cauliflower staring at me through its bag.  Something had to be done with it.  So I made soup:

.  Cut the cauliflower into florets, placed them on a parchment paper -covered baking sheet with sliced red onions, sprigs of fresh thyme and some red pepper flakes.  Tossed everything with olive oil and roasted them at 350 degrees F. until the cauliflower and onions were nicely browned - about 30 minutes.
. Added the cauliflower, onions and thyme leaves (removed from their stems) to a large saucepan and covered it with about a quart and 1/4 chicken broth.  Simmered the soup until the vegetables were soft.  When it seemed that the vegetables were about 2/3 of the way finished I added maybe 1/4 cup crumbled Black Ledge blue cheese from Cheese! in the Hudson Farmer's Market.  The cheese had begun to dry out but hadn't lost any of its wonderful nutty flavor.  It was a perfect addition.
. Pureed the mixture with an immersion blender.  Reheated soup and served it with a dollop of whole milk yogurt and some crumbled blue cheese.
Something happens to the cauliflower when it's roasted.  Its flavor changes.  The soup tasted almost like a veloute of Jerusalem artichokes.  Maybe it was the addition of the cheese too.

Would you be surprised to learn that more than two weeks after I made all of that food that I've just finished it?   Egad.  Better safe than sorry.  I guess.

Now, I avoided nature's disaster simply by geography.   I'm sorry for my friends and strangers in my favorite city, New York, and along the east coast, who suffered the supreme discomfort of lack of electricity (ancient doggies who had to walk up and down many, many flights of stairs several times a day) - and so much worse.

I am, however, extremely distracted from my normal routine because of the recent purchase of a new home - which is really an old wreck and needs more work than I ever could have imagined - even although everyone warned me this would happen.   Honestly, it makes me nervous all the time.  Except for the moments when I imagine all the beautiful colors on the walls.  Thanks to some friends, I was directed to Hudson Paint in Red Hook, NY.   I was bowled over by the colors and then learned that the wall paint was made with lime.  I was hooked.  In addition to all the benefits of having my walls painted with a substance that has low VOCs and is a natural disinfectant - my walls, when covered with the gritty paint will look like frescos - blank frescoes.
So, excuse me if I get distracted for awhile again.  You're never far from my thoughts.  Color = food, food= color.
SUSANSIMONSAYS:    
FINALMENTE - finally.  BONFIGLIO & BREAD  (formerly LOAF) is set to open its 738 Warren Street doors on Friday, the 16th November.
VIVA  Gabriele e Rachel.   Can't wait to patronize you.