President’s Day Holiday Recipes

February 14, 2014 by 8 Comments

I thought I would link up to some posts I did previously for President’s Day. What better way to celebrate a holiday, any holiday, even President’s Day, than with food right? Food brings all people through all times together.

I did three President’s Day Holiday Recipes, each honoring 3 different presidents.

President George Washington and Peanut Soup


President George Washington loved cream of peanut soup, so here is my vegetarian take on a presidential peanut soup in honor of the upcoming Presidents’ Day holiday. This peanut soup version does not use chicken stock and serves about 6 people.

George Washington in a painting at Gadsby Tavern President's Day Holiday Recipe: George Washington and Peanut Soup

President Abraham Lincoln and Chicken Fricassee


In a way, this recipe honors two presidents: chicken fricassee, which is a dish that President Lincoln enjoyed  (he liked it with biscuits), and the way I adapted this recipe comes from Thomas Jefferson’s Chicken Fricassee via CD Kitchen in order to also pay respects to also past awesome president Thomas Jefferson (sometimes called “America’s founding foodie” because he was such a lover of food). Check out my Vegetarian Fricassee– I used fake chicken in my post, but I have also totally omitted any chicken whatsoever when I’ve made this recipe and just had it be a really hearty sauce that you can place on biscuits, rice, pasta, quinoa, etc.

President's Day Holiday Recipe: President Lincoln enjoyed (and this recipe is from Thomas Jefferson) Chicken fricassee, with chicken, made vegetarian with chik'n by Quorn

President Franklin D Roosevelt / FDR and Grilled Cheese

Grilled cheese was one of FDR’s favorite foods. Franklin D Roosevelt is one of the most quotable presidents of history, and his quotes reveal his introspection and understanding of the nature of humanity and the path America was on – including stating several warnings about the rise of private power and how poverty and unemployment and a culture of fear was the enemy of democracy.



For my recommendation of a grilled cheese recipe, I would point to asparagus and cheese sandwiches. Any grilled cheese sandwich is good- I particularly like the addition of coating the outside with Parmesan for a bit extra richness and because it gets crispy!

President's Day Recipe for President FDR, who loved grilled cheese. This Asparagus Cheese Sandwich has Parmesan coating outside the sandwich for extra cheese and crunch!

Ales of the Revolution

One last fun note: did you know Yards Brewing Company (based in Pennsylvania) has a series of beers called Ales of the Revolution that are based on our founding fathers and beers they enjoyed? For instance, Poor Richard’s Tavern Spruce is based on a recipe by Benjamin Franklin that does include essence of spruce. A Tavern Ale pays homage to Thomas Jefferson, who was a brewer himself. Finally, a Tavern Porter is based on is based on some letters from George Washington in which he notes using molasses to give a caramel notes to a roasty ale that might have been similar to this porter beer.

Since this brewery is from the east coast you will probably not find this beer in stores locally here, but hey, it had to do with beer and this IS Beervana we live in, so I had to throw it in!

Tavern Porter, Washington, Ales of the Revolution series from Yards Brewery, colonial food, Virginia   Tavern Spruce, Ben Franklin, Benjamin Franklin, Ales of the Revolution series from Yards Brewery, colonial food, Virginia Thomas Jefferson, Tavern Ale, Tavern Porter, Washington, Ales of the Revolution series from Yards Brewery, colonial food, Virginia

How are you celebrating Presidents Day?

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Roasted Cauliflower and Leek Soup Recipe

February 6, 2014 by 4 Comments

For a cold winter day, sometimes all you want is a soup that warms you, radiating heat from the your middle to all your fingers and toes that are a bit stiff and chilled from the blustery winds of late or being a little soaked from the rain or snow.

Even better is if that soup is low carb, healthy. Something like this Roasted Cauliflower and Leek Soup Recipe.
Roasted Cauliflower and Leek Soup- Low Carb, Healthy, Vegetarian Soup: Easy Recipe Roasted Cauliflower and Leek Soup- Low Carb, Healthy, Vegetarian Soup: Easy Recipe

The roasted cauliflower in the Roasted Cauliflower and Leek Soup Recipe is pretty classic. All the pieces of this recipe are delicious, so putting it together only increases that right?

Especially this roasted cauliflower, which you have the option to season how you’d like- with garlic, in my case with dill, or whatever are your favorite herbs. Then roast!

In fact, you might be tempted, after pulling it out of the oven and quality tasting a floret or three florets, to just start eating then and just have a meal of roasted cauliflower.
Roasting Cauliflower with olive oil and dill for an easy, vegetarian, light and healthy Roasted Cauliflower and Leek Soup recipe

There’s something very low key about just putting something in the oven and letting it be while you attend to other matters, like laundry. Especially in the winter, roasting becomes one of my go-to ways to make a meal.

Temptation also appears with portion of the recipe with the sauteed leeks in butter- you may be tempted to rather than waiting another 40 minutes for flavors to combine in a soup, to just pour the leeks in pasta with a sprinkle of cheese and call it good. Especially right now at the Farmers Market, I can never resist grabbing a few leeks.

Patience and perseverance here will pay off though-  this Roasted Cauliflower and Leek Soup Recipe makes 6 servings. However, that didn’t stop F from, after I had one bowl and left for some errands, eating the rest of the pot of soup before dinner.

I guess it must be a testament to how good this soup is.  It is full of flavor, but light and not creamy (unless you switch out the skim milk for cream, or add potatoes instead of flour to thicken it a bit). If you are gluten free you can ignore the flour, and if you want this vegan, switch out the skim milk for soymilk or a bit of evaporated milk, and the butter for olive oil.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cloves of minced garlic (optional) and/or any herb you want to flavor the oil with for roasting- I picked a teasp0on of dill and left out the garlic since I needed to be around people later
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
  • 1 head cauliflower broken into florets – this was 1 1/2 pounds of florets for me
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 2 leeks, white part only, chopped
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 quart stock – I used vegetarian stock
  • 1/3 cup skim milk
  • 1 teaspoon parsley and 1 teaspoon of chives (or green herb of your choice)
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon cracked black pepper

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Stir garlic and olive or vegetable oil together in a small bowl. Alternately, you can choose to flavor your oil with herbs instead of garlic (I picked dill). Arrange cauliflower florets on a baking sheet; pour oil mixture over cauliflower. Toss to coat, and then distribute to the cauliflower is laying flat all across the baking sheet so it will brown better. Roast the cauliflower in the oven until tender and lightly browned, about 30-40 minutes or so- just look for the color to be right. Halfway through, use a spatula to turn over the cauliflower so it browns on the other side.
    Roasting Cauliflower with olive oil and dill for an easy, vegetarian, light and healthy Roasted Cauliflower and Leek Soup recipe Roasting Cauliflower with olive oil and dill for an easy, vegetarian, light and healthy Roasted Cauliflower and Leek Soup recipe
  2. Melt butter in a 4-quart stockpot over medium heat. When the butter is melted, stir leeks and flour in the melted butter until cook until well blended, 5 to 10 minutes. Instead of flour, another option might be to use potato to help thicken- or just ignore it all together.
    Cut up leeks for an easy, vegetarian, light and healthy Roasted Cauliflower and Leek Soup recipe Sauteed leeks in butter for an easy, vegetarian, light and healthy Roasted Cauliflower and Leek Soup recipe
  3. Add cauliflower, stock, and skim milk to the stockpot with the leeks. Simmer all together until flavors have combined, about 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in the parsley and chives (or green herbs of your choice), salt, and pepper into the soup; simmer until desired thickness, 10 to 15 more minutes.
    Roasted Cauliflower and Leek Soup- Low Carb, Healthy, Vegetarian Soup: Easy Recipe

If you want the soup to be smoother, use an immersion blender, but I liked that it was a bit chunky! It makes your mouth work a little longer with it, feeling the textures in your soup, so you can savor it a little bit longer. I also think it makes you feel more full. I love soups that have texture.
Roasted Cauliflower and Leek Soup- Low Carb, Healthy, Vegetarian Soup: Easy Recipe
Serve with some bread! To keep it healthy I served it with one slice of Dave’s Bread- Blues Bread specifically, essentially a wheat bread with seeds like sunflower, flax, unhulled sesame and black sesame seeds, rolled oats, and blue cornmeal, and a little molasses for sweetness. But you can make a simple sandwich, or maybe a toasted piece of bread- maybe even garlic bread. Or a salad.
Roasted Cauliflower and Leek Soup- Low Carb, Healthy, Vegetarian Soup: Easy Recipe
For a little bit of richness, you may want to just sprinkle just a pinch of cheddar- that’ a very small luxury you can add. I think cheese can’t hurt that much!
Roasted Cauliflower and Leek Soup- Low Carb, Healthy, Vegetarian Soup: Easy Recipe

How do you like to pair soup with a meal? Would you go with just bread, upgrade to a sandwich, go full healthy with a salad, or indulge with sprinkle of cheese?

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Cooking with Beer Leftovers: Beer Braised Onions and Beer Stout Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie

February 2, 2014 by 2 Comments

I don’t believe in wasting beer. Do you have leftover beer in a growler, perhaps say from the Superbowl party, or an Olympics viewing party , or just a lonely bottle from a six-pack in the fridge? For me, it doesn’t get poured down the sink. I find a way to save it by still using it. I believe in cooking with beer.

I’ve previously covered cooking with beer via chocolate porter cake, and beer cheese (2 kinds)– and even made a saison ricotta on cucumber before. There are also plenty of beer fondue recipes out there – in general fondues are an easy way to use leftover beer or wine for that matter.

dark chocolate porter cake recipe, use up some beer with this recipe beer cheese recipe beer cheese recipe Saison Beer Ricotta on Cucumber recipe

Another easy way to use beer is by doing beer braised onions- you can then use these in a multitude of ways, be it on a burger or other kind of sandwich, in mac and cheese, onion soup, wherever you would usually be using slow cooked onions.

Beer Braised Onions for Anything

Beer Braised Onions Recipe- simple, and uses over leftover beer in a pinch and can be used for so many things, be it burgers or mac and cheese and more Beer Braised Onions Recipe- simple, and uses over leftover beer in a pinch and can be used for so many things, be it burgers or mac and cheese and more
Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
  • 1 large onion, thinly sliced or diced or however you’d like.
  • 1 cup of beer
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • Freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. On medium heat, melt the butter in a pan. Add the cut onions and cook until tender and translucent, about 10 minutes.
  2. Add 3/4 of the beer amount,  and all of the sugar and salt. Cook approx 15-20 minutes on high heat until the beer is absorbed and the onions are starting to brown. Or, if you were using a stout like me, look for the absorption and not the browning 😛
  3. Add the remaining beer and simmer gently until the onions are the consistency you wish- this may mean less liquid for a burger/sandwich, but doesn’t matter for say a mac and cheese dish. Ground the pepper to taste.

So simple right?

I decided to go all in with the beer braised onions by then using them in a Vegetarian Beer Shepherd’s Pie, since I was using a stout!
Beer Stout Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie recipe - use up leftover beer by cooking with it!

Vegetarian Beer Stout Shepherd’s Pie

Beer Stout Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie recipe - use up leftover beer by cooking with it!

Ingredients:

  • 2 pounds skinned potatoes turned into creamy mashed potatoes. I don’t know what your recipe/preferences is for mashed potatoes, and I have to say depending on the type of potato (my favorite is Yukon Gold) I vary the butter and dairy I might use to make it, all without measuring since it’s to taste. I did not use all the mashed potatoes to top it. Suffice it to say you should have 2 pounds worth because it’s more than enough- and maybe you’ll snack on some while you are cooking your meat portion, and so maybe there is a quarter pound or so of mashed potato loss…
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 large onion – peeled and chopped
  • 1 cup of diced carrot
  • 1 pound ground meat- be it fake meat, ground beef, or the traditional ground lamb. I used 1 and part of a 2nd package of Morningstar Veggie Crumbles
  • 1 1/2 cup of a Stout beer
  • 2 tablespoons ketchup
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
  • 1 cup peas
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, heat the oil, then add the onion, carrot, and meat. Cook until browned, 8 to 10 minutes. If you are using the beer braised onion, you don’t have to cook them with the carrot and meat since it is already cooked! When browned, drain the fat and return to the pan.
    Beer Stout Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie recipe - use up leftover beer by cooking with it!
  2. On the same medium-high heat, now to the pan with the onion, carrot, and meat (add the onion in now if you are using the beer braised onion), add the beer stout, ketchup, and the ground cumin and parsley. Simmer until the juices thicken, about 10 minutes, then add the peas. Pour the mixture into a baking dish. I used a 13×9 3 quart glass casserole dish so it was not a tall “pie” at all, but if you have a 1.5 quart round dish that would be more traditional so you can cut “pie slices”. Whatever, I’ve also seen it done in square dishes. Spreading it out further like I did yields more of the browned part of the mashed potatoes I personally like.
    Beer Stout Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie recipe - use up leftover beer by cooking with it!
  3. Now, spread your mashed potatoes over the meat mixture. Bake until golden, 30 to 35 minutes.
    Beer Stout Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie recipe - use up leftover beer by cooking with it! Beer Stout Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie recipe - use up leftover beer by cooking with it!

Pairing this with more beer, or a nice red wine, was a homey, hearty gut-filling dinner. Not a bad use for a beer, right?
Beer Stout Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie recipe - use up leftover beer by cooking with it!

 

Have you cooked with beer before? What did you make?

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Book Review: The Flavor Thesaurus Review, and Cumin Smashed Potatoes

January 31, 2014 by 10 Comments

For February, the book club selection is The Flavor Thesaurus: A Compendium of Pairings, Recipes and Ideas. My The Flavor Thesaurus review, at a high level,  is that you should go in with the expectation that this is a reference book, not a cookbook.

Inside its covers, the London author Niki Segent, has compiled a list of 99 main flavors, which then translate into 99 chapters. In each chapter she explores how the chapters titular ingredient might play with the other 98. For each pair, the exploration is usually in a few sentences to perhaps a tangential story or referring to a general recipe guideline that might be 1/3 of a page.

Based on this, the book is not one you really can sit down and read. Instead, it is one you pick up to uncover some inspiration for some interesting flavor combinations.

For example, her highlight of chicken going with walnut was inspiring to me. She references the kormas of northern India which I have experienced before in thick luxurious sauces, but she also introduced the Turkish dish of Circassian chicken with shredded poached chicken at room temperature with a sauce of onions, garlic, ground walnuts, soaked bread and maybe ground coriander and cinnamon.

She also mentions satsivi from Georgia, with its walnut and spices sauces that is supplemented with sour flavorings like vinegar or pomegranate juice! I had never heard of these before, and it sounds incredibly interesting.

Other ah hahs included beef and cinnamon (citing a Elizabeth David recipe for pasticcio with beef ragu flavored with orange zest and cinnamon), blue cheese topping some mashed avocado on toasted brioche, cumin and potatoes or anchovy and potatoes (the latter exemplified by a dish called Jansson’s Temptation, a Swedish variation on potato dauphinoise), watercress with blue cheese (like with Stilton) and walnuts (say a walnut bread, and/or walnut oil), and the list goes on and on.

This is an excellent book to quickly look up when you have an ingredient you want to use and are looking to experiment with a little twist from what you know. There are not many recipes, and any that are listed are more very casually written like it is part of a conversation you are having- folded right into conversation of the paragraph summation of two flavors together.

So you will probably finding yourself searching online for more after an inspiration, as I’ll be doing with some of the examples I gave above, or just experimenting on your own. The book is definitely not showing you what or how to do anything, only offering ideas for you to grow for yourself with a few guiding hints to start your quest. If you are looking at this book as a start of thinking about what to make, and not to give you an actual meal, than the book will work for you.

I tried out one of the flavor combinations that was suggested- cumin and potatoes. The suggestion was simple- boil some potatoes, and then afterwards I roasted it in an olive oil with cumin. I used 4 medium sized potatoes, which can serve 2-4.

Flavor Inspiration: Crispy Cumin Smashed Potatoes

Smashed potatoes with olive oil and cumin Smashed potatoes with olive oil and cumin
Ingredients:

  • 4 medium sized potatoes, though you can also use half a dozen baby potatoes or a dozen fingerling
  • 6 tablespoons of Olive Oil
  • Ground Cumin – 3/4 tablespoon, divided into 1/2 and 1/4
  • Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Boil the potatoes- your choice on whether you want to peel them or not, depending on the type of potato. I like them with the skin on, and in this case I was using gold potatoes. Start with cold water and the potatoes in a pot with enough water to just cover the potatoes and a bit of salt, and then bring to boil with no lid. You know they are done when you poke them with a fork and there is no resistance.
  2. In a pan, heat the oil until it is hot but not smoking. Add 1/2 tablespoon of cumin and cook until fragrant, about one minute. If you’d like here, you can also add garlic
    olive oil and cumin, preparing to put on boiled potatoes
  3. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. On a baking pan covered with aluminum foil, take the potatoes and using another pan or pot or other cutting board, smash the potato down to flatten it so it is maybe an inch tall. Now pour the cumin oil over the potatoes. Using a spatula, lift the bottom of each potato and tilt the pan so the oil coats both side. Because of the size of my potatoes, I used about 1 1/2 tablespoon for the top and bottom for each potato, but you may be able to make do with less depending on your potatoes if they are smaller. Sprinkle a little more cumin on top, as well as the salt. Do a few turns of the freshly ground pepper- you don’t want to use too much as you want the cumin to stand out.
    Smashed potatoes with olive oil and cumin
  4. Roast in the oven at 450 degrees F for 35 minutes or so until browned and crispy at various edges. Serve with your choice of protein- be it as breakfast potatoes with sunny side eggs to kickstart your morning, or at dinner with your protein and veggies.
    Smashed potatoes with olive oil and cumin Smashed potatoes with olive oil and cumin

I read this book as part of the online book club the Kitchen Reader. For our casual online club there is a new book selected for every month, each book is related to food, and members write a review on their blog during the last week of that month. If you are interested in joining, check out the website.

For February the book club selected reading is Below Stairs: The Classic Kitchen Maid’s Story that Inspired Upstairs, Downstairs and Downton Abbey by Margaret Powell.

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Creamed Kale or Creamed Cabbage Recipe

January 13, 2014 by 4 Comments

It was kismet that led me to exploring both a Creamed Kale or Creamed Cabbage Recipe.

While I was in Cleveland at the beginning of December, one of my colleagues at lunch mentioned how he loves the Vitamix his wife brought, and how they’ve been able to make soup out of anything and everything. He then noted though that just as all these nice ingredients go in, his wife then “ruins” it by making it a green monster by adding kale.

Other trivia he bestowed included that you should massage kale to make it less tough, and before kale became a trendy superfood the #1 use/purchaser of kale was apparently Pizza Hut, which used it to decorate its buffet and then would toss it out!

This made me want to do something with kale besides my usual saute or eating them as kale chips, and I recalled this recipe I had bookmarked for Oui Chef’s Creamed Kale Gratin. The author of this creamed kale recipe was inspired by a creamed kale at one of Bobby Flay’s Bar Americain restaurants. My vegetables are usually in sauteed or roasted form, and I had actively been avoiding a creamed vegetable recipe as I browsed Thanksgiving veggie sides. But this recipe caught my eye anyway, and though it didn’t make the Thanksgiving cut, I couldn’t forget the intriguing possibility.

I see kale looking to come home with me at the Farmers Market every visit, and imagined it would love to snuggle up with a bit of cream and be indulgent once in a while despite its healthy reputation. I sensed it wanted to be a rebellious bad boy for once.

fresh kale from the Farmers Market, excited that I took it home

Yes, I totally put human characteristics in inanimate objects, though I have to cut it off because if I lived in a Pixar world where lamps, umbrellas, and pipes had feelings I’d never be able to throw anything away.

My thoughts were further reinforced by the fact that while traveling on the plane I have been reading Orangette‘s aka Molly Wizenberg’s A Homemade Life and she has a chapter in which she also writes about cream, though the recipe she provides is with Cream Braised Green Cabbage.  Mmmm that sounds good too.

And I’ve seen forlorn cabbage in their haphazard piles on those folding tables at the Farmers Market too, hoping to also be tucked into my reusable bag. And it is so easy to imagine hopeful faces on those round orphan heads, hoping for a good home. Damn.

Can you imagine a face on this head of cabbage from the Farmers Market?

Well… the temperatures were cold for a few weeks in early December- below freezing! A creamed vegetable dish, perhaps served on rice, fits right in with comfort food. Maybe even TWO creamed vegetable dishes, and then see which one we like better, and it could serve as a meal for both Saturday and Sunday. After all, both these recipes yield 4-6 servings. Hmmm…

And, I even had almost exactly 1 2/3 cup of cream in the fridge leftover from Thanksgiving when I made the Pumpkin Mac and Cheese, still waiting to be utilized (I subscribe to the use every little bit of food philosophy a la An Everlasting Meal). The Creamed Kale recipe used 1 cup. The Creamed Cabbage used  2/3 cup. Yes, it was a bunch of cream, but with these great vegetables and over multiple meals on two days… I only needed kale and cabbage. It seemed like I had to follow where fate was telling me to go.

Creamed Kale

Easy vegetarian side dish: recipe for Creamed kale with caramelized onions
Ingredients:

  • 2 bunches Kale, washed, dried, stemmed and cut into ribbons. I wash my kale by dunking it and leaving it in a bowl of water a few times until the water isn’t dirty anymore.
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 medium yellow onion, minced
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon)
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Fill a large mixing bowl with ice water and set it aside. Boil a large pot full of salted water over high heat. Add the kale ribbons to the boiling water and blanch until slightly tender, about 3-4 minutes. Scoop the kale from the water and toss it into the ice bath to stop it cooking and set its color. Drain the kale and squeeze any excess water out of the kale (or you can use a spinner if you have it- I used it to help justify to F why I made him get one for me) and set it aside. I don’t know about you, but after the prep of cutting all that kale, seeing it blossom into that beautiful green always makes me happy.
    Kale getting blanched into a beautiful green
  2. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat and add the minced onion, cook until translucent. Or in my case, since I know F is not a fan of onion, I do what I usually do- cook it much longer until it really browns and caramelizes. This does have the side effect, in this particular case, of making the dish look more brown than white. If you want the white creamy sauce look, stick with translucent.
  3. In the skillet, Add the minced garlic and red pepper flakes and cook another 2 minutes. Add the kale and the cream and turn the heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the cream thickens to a sauce consistency, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and remove from the heat. If you want it to be smoother after it cools you can put it in a food processor, but I served it as is.

This would be so great in making yourself a steak dinner at home, just pour yourself a nice glass of red wine and you’re set! Or, as I mentioned, I actually served mine with jasmine rice. Jasmine rice is a staple because of my Thai background. I can’t imagine not having rice in the house. As I mentioned, this dish will look more white if you don’t brown the onions as much as I did!
Easy vegetarian side dish: recipe for Creamed kale with caramelized onions Easy vegetarian side dish: recipe for Creamed kale with caramelized onions

Cream Braised Green Cabbage

This recipe calls for a small cabbage, as Molly notes small ones are often sweeter and more tender than their big-headed siblings. You can certainly use any size you want, as long as you make sure each wedge is no thicker than 2 inches at its outer edge, and only use as many wedges as fit into a single layer in the pan, so the cabbage cooks properly. I walked around the whole Farmers Market trying to find the smallest one and only found a medium one, so that left me a wedge after I filled the pan for a future wedge salad. Molly also notes that you can try this recipe on halved or quartered Brussels sprouts.

Ingredients:

  • 1 small green cabbage (about 1 1/2 pounds)
  • 3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
  • 2/3 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions:

  1. Prepare the cabbage by pulling out any bruised leaves, and trim its root end to remove any dirt. Cut the cabbage into quarters, and then cut each quarter in half lengthwise. When you cut, make sure you keep a little bit of the core in each wedge to hold the wedge intact so that it doesn’t fall apart in the pan. You should wind up with 8 wedges of equal size. Again, make sure that each wedge is no thicker than 2 inches at its outer edge. You will only use as many wedges as fit into a single layer in the pan so the cabbage cooks properly.
  2. In a large (12-inch) skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the cabbage wedges, arranging them in a single crowded layer with one of the cut sides down. Allow them to cook, undisturbed, until the downward facing side is nicely browned (the more brown the more sweetly caramelized), 5 to 8 minutes or to your liking of brownness . Then, using a pair tongs (I used tongs and a spatula), turn the wedges onto their other cut side to brown.
    Cabbage getting browned in the pan for a Creamed Cabbage Recipe Cabbage getting browned in the pan for a Creamed Cabbage Recipe
  3. When the second side has browned, sprinkle the salt over the wedges, and add the cream. Cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid, and reduce the heat so that the liquid stays at a slow, gentle simmer. Cook for 20 minutes, then using tongs, flip the wedges. Cook another 20 minutes, or until the cabbage is very tender and yields easily when pierced with a thin, sharp knife.
    Cabbage with cream in the pan for a Creamed Cabbage Recipe
  4. Add the lemon juice, and shake the pan to distribute it evenly. Simmer, uncovered, for a few more minutes more to thicken the cream to a glaze that loosely coats the cabbage. Serve immediately. Molly recommends serving with salt at the table, but F is not a huge fan of salt so we went with lots of cracked pepper instead.
    Creamed Cabbage Recipe may not be very photogenic but is delicious

I have to admit visually, the Creamed Cabbage perhaps isn’t quite as pretty as the Creamed Kale. However, F said he liked the Creamed Cabbage the most of the two- its flavor is more subtle, sweet and nutty. I did like the kale a lot though, it had just the slightest hint of a bit of spiciness from the red pepper as an undercurrent to the sweetness of the caramelized onions and the backbone of the kale- it was more rich than I had ever experienced kale. The Creamed Cabbage was so easy to do though- not much prep, and easy to manage as a side dish while multi-tasking other dishes in your kitchen.
Cabbage may not be photogenic but is delicious with this Creamed Cabbage Recipe

Both of these winter vegetable recipes take advantage of the season so you can enjoy the freshness while also taking comfort in them. I know creamed vegetables are not the healthiest way to get your vegetables, but when it’s below freezing, I think you can give yourself a treat- and make it a vegetable too.

You know there is still a Portland Farmers Market open now, don’t you? The one at PSU on Saturdays is on winter vacation just until March (and then will be back on all Saturdays), but the one at Shemanski Park  at SW Park Ave & SW Salmon St, just a few blocks north on the South Park Blocks, is open January and February 10-2 on Saturdays to fill that gap.

Furthermore, starting in February, you can also visit the Beaverton Farmers Market, which is open first and third Saturdays from 10:00 – 12:00.

It’s a smaller market than the ones at better weather, but seems like even more reason to come out and see these hardworking farmers standing in the cold, waiting for you.

Which is the winner for you- the Creamed Kale or Creamed Cabbage Recipe? What’s your favorite creamed vegetable dish?

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