recipe Archives - Page 21 of 26 - Pechluck's Food Adventures

Caprial + John’s Sunday Supper Tuesday

October 10, 2012 by Pechluck 2 Comments

I recently attended a Caprial + John cooking class. This class was titled “Sunday Supper Tuesday” because the class was being held on Tuesday Oct 9th at 6:30pm, but was composed of recipes that would be perfect for a family Sunday dinner. The various menu items for the class included

Roasted Garlic Goat Cheese Dip with Crostini
Cappy’s Biscuits
Bacon Cured Pork Chops with Honey Glaze
Roasted Cauliflower with Crispy Breadcrumbs and Garlic
Parsnip and Caramelized Apple Puree
Apple Pie with Cheddar Crust

All my previous experiences with John and Caprial had happened to be in the summer, where they had held a supper club dinner and one cooking class both which were held at their beautiful home property (and which I blogged about previously). This time, I got to experience a class at a more professional location, Abby’s Table for the Kitchen at 609 SE Ankeny.

Similar to the setup at their home, they had lots of tall stools/chairs placed around the kitchen area so we could observe as they demonstrated the cooking techniques and their recipes coming to life, step by step. They also had long tables set up for when we could then eat the results of their demonstrations as our dinner not far away. Their recipes are already printed out and stapled together at the beginning of class so that as they were talking through creating each dish, you can write down any notes or extra tips they shared. As before, it is BYOB, whether your beverage be soda or beer or in most cases, bottles of wine.

We started out with the appetizer of roasted garlic goat cheese dip, which was placed in the oven and then we were served while we continued the class. I appreciate this pacing where we were allowed a snack, especially since as we get into more of the dishes the kitchen begins to smell torturously tantalizing. This dish was very quick, though they had already prepared the roasted garlic beforehand and just summarized what it took and showed us the end result because, well it is slow-roasted garlic.

Caprial + John’s Sunday Supper Tuesday cooking class roasted garlic goat cheese dip

Meanwhile, Cappy carefully instructed us on how critical it is not to overmix the pie dough or the biscuits, and showed us how even though the mix didn’t look that smooth or pretty, how it would turn into moist tenderness later. She also advocated not using biscuit cutters because of the extra dough you end up having to reform and cut again, resulting in tougher biscuits- instead, she utilized a pastry dough scraper to create triangle pieces.

Seeing an experienced chef who’s done them hundreds of time from start to finish is definitely a great way to see exactly what it needs to look like, including how to eye it, which you can’t get just from following a recipe or watching a video or quick segment on show. The fact that biscuits was on the menu was specifically one of the reasons I signed up for this class, and it was a successful lesson I hope (we’ll see when I try this myself next month).

Caprial + John’s Sunday Supper Tuesday cooking class making biscuits

Meanwhile, we were shocked to find that she was not putting the pie dough in any pie tin- instead it went straight onto a baking sheet for more of a “free form” pie in which the dough is just folded into the center over the filling (sort of like a giant galette). I did not take a photo of the finished pie before the oven, but I do have the piece that was cut for dessert during dinner… personally I think I would added X-sharp cheese, and more of it… both in the crust, and probably sprinkled on top afterwards. Never can have too much cheese! And, pair it with a port.

Caprial + John’s Sunday Supper Tuesday cooking class apple pie

The other two vegetable sides included Parsnip and Caramelized Apple Puree and Roasted Cauliflower with Crispy Breadcrumbs and Garlic. Although the flavors of the puree were fine, I think I still prefer mashed potatoes or “faux” mashed using cauliflower. However, I appreciated learning the trick of heating the sheet pan in the oven so that when you pour the seasoned cauliflower onto the sheet to start the roasting process, you can get a sear on the side resting on the pan as well.
Caprial + John’s Sunday Supper Tuesday cooking class parsnip apple puree

The main dish were these thick cuts that were marinated and then quickly seared Bacon Cured Pork Chops with Honey Glaze. You can also use chicken instead of pork chops. I knew I was with fellow peers when the other guests at the cooking class at my end of the table all poured a little bit of juice from the family style platter after serving themselves a chop.
Caprial + John’s Sunday Supper Tuesday cooking class pork chops

John and Caprial also talked a bit about the new micro restaurant Basa Basa they recently opened that specializes in Korean Fried Chicken and a few sides (rice, mac salad, ramen fries with Cappy’s special sauce) which seems remiscent of a Hawaiian plate lunch- carbs and chicken. The other neighboring micro restaurants in the same space specialize in meatballs, burgers, and tacos apparently- mega meats around the world! I haven’t thought about Korean Fried Chicken for a while and now I’m craving it, dammit. I might need to wait a bit to visit though after the amount of butter and cream I saw going into the Sunday Dinner recipes. I know they were making enough for 2 dozen guests, but a few of us guiltily giggled how we’ve never seen cream in half gallon containers before… and they used multiple containers of them during our class. Same with bricks of butter as wide as the size of my hand. The roasted cauliflower is definitely the healthiest dish on the menu (and the only recipe without butter and cream- second place is the pork chop that doesn’t have cream or cheese at least).

While they are working through the new restaurant, John and Caprial are still going to be teaching classes once a week, and supper clubs once a month- check out their website for the menu details of each event they have scheduled.

Filed Under: Cooking Tagged With: Apple Pie with Cheddar Crust, bacon cured pork chops, cappy's biscuit, caprial and john, parsnips and caramelized apple puree, recipe, roasted cauliflower, sunday dinner

Broccolo romanesco: The Fractal Veggie

August 31, 2012 by Pechluck 1 Comment

This vegetable caught my eye at the Portland Farmers Market at PSU for its fractal looking florets of spikes in logarithmic spirals. It is basically a relative of the cauliflower (in fact it is sold as one of the "colored cauliflower" at the farmer market stand of DeNoble's Farm), though its greenness might make you think of broccoli. Why not both?

In fact, this is Broccolo romanesco, also known as Roman Cauliflower or broccoflower, a typically Italian vegetable that goes sublimely with fresh pasta with good olive oil and some Italian cheese. And so that's exactly how I decided to have it.

First, I separated the florets and chopped the stalks.

I did a quick blanch and shock of the broccolo romanesco after the chop- my kitchen is still in a state of remodel, so I have an oven but no sink, and I couldn't really wash these in the bathroom sink or tub, so this was my way to get around that (filling a pot with water from a sink is do-able. I saved the water from the blanching to also briefly cook the fresh pasta later (I got fresh pasta from the Farmers Market stand Pasta Del Sol, he always has an interesting quote on a whiteboard at the market too). Also, I admit I did sneak in several bites of strands of the raw pasta. Quality checking.

Next, I used a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and heated up some smashed fresh cloves of garlic in a pan, and then added some (but not all) of the florets and chopped stalk for a saute. Pepper and salt to taste. After the saute I also smashed all the chopped stalk portions in a food processer to get them to a creamy consistency so that they could coat the pasta.

I left some of the florets to keep a cool texture and look to the dish by taking those and after a spray of misty butter-flavored cooking spray, then roasted them in the oven at 400 for about 15 minutes for a bit of char.

Then, the al dente pasta and the smashed garlic/broccolo romanesco mixture were then mixed together in a big serving dish. It was all finished with the roasted florets of broccolo romanesco and a generous sprinkling of fresh grated parmesan romano and a few red pepper flakes for heat. The photo below is pre-mix- I had put all of the broccolo romanesco in, but in hindsight, wait for the roasted florets after the mix.

Filed Under: Cooking, Food and Drink, Portland Farmers Market Tagged With: broccoflower, broccolo romanesco, fractal cauliflower, portland farmers market, recipe

Early Summer Bounty: Asparagus and Sugar Snap Pea Salad, Strawberries and Creme Fraiche

June 7, 2012 by Pechluck Leave a Comment

Ingredients and Directions

1/2 a bunch of Asparagus that has been steamed and then refreshed in cold water. Cut the asparagus into pieces about 3 inches long
About 2 cups of Sugar Snap Peas that has been blanched (boiled and then plunged into ice cold water)
For the dressing, whisk together the following
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- juice of 1 lemon or to taste
- big squeeze of honey to taste- I used agave nectar
- a couple of grinds of sea salt
- a couple of grinds of black pepper
Pour the dressing over the cooled combined vegetables. Toss thoroughly so the dressing coats everything.

So all the prep probably only took 15 minutes… but now cover and let sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes to let the flavor get more infused and then enjoy chilled on its own, or during that 30 minute wait make your other dishes- to make this a main instead of just a salad, put it atop some quinoa. Tasty yet healthy too, great for a hot day.

Follow up with dessert of freshly washed Hood strawberries (a little more expensive then other kinds and smaller, but the flavor is more intense while being both tart and sweet) and the other accompanying farmer's market find of Jacobs Creamery creme fraiche

Filed Under: Cooking, Food and Drink Tagged With: asparagus, creme fraiche, hood strawberries, recipe, salad, sugar snap peas

Asparagus and Cheese Sandwich

June 3, 2012 by Pechluck 2 Comments

At the Portland Farmers Market on Saturday, there were asparagus everywhere looking so green and crunchy as it is now in full season for it. As I was also passing by one of my favorite bread vendors Fressen and their hearty German bread, I saw they had Jogger bread. Jogger is a white bread (so softer and more delicate than the usual Vollkenbrot I use to pair with cheese and charcuterie) peppered with lots of Sea Salt, Pumpkin Seed, Flaxseed, Sesame Seed, and Sunflower Seed… soft seedy goodness.

So for a Sunday lunch, I decided to try making asparagus sandwich, and took inspiration from a few different recipes online but mainly Homesick Texan for her Parmesan coated toasted bread.

Ingredients (makes 4 sandwiches):

Half a bunch of asparagus. I picked out the thinnest stalks- I saved the other half for roasting with hazelnuts or making asparagus/edamame salad.
8 slices of thick good bread
4 teaspoons of your choice of flavored mayo
2 tablespoons of melted butter (either thanks to heat from the pan or microwave)
1/2 cup of grated or shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup of shredded or 4 slices of your favorite cheese

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 F
Cut the stalks- I can usually look and know where the hard portion is and cut that part off, but another trick is to hold each stalk in the middle and then bend the bottom part from the bottom fo the stem until it snaps (it will snap where it begins to change from hard stringiness to what will be crunchy stalk). After you have done that with all the asparagus, steam the asparagus for a few minutes (they should be a bright green but still firm and crunchy), refresh in cold water. Cut the asparagus into pieces that can fit into your sandwich- I kept them relative long by cutting them in half, but I recommend cutting them shorter.
Meanwhile, spray a baking sheet. Dip or brush one side of each of your slices of bread in the melted butter- you will need this later to have the Parmesan stick to the bread instead of fall off. Lay the bread on the sheet so the unbuttered side is on the inside.
Spread one teaspoon of flavored mayo on one side of the sandwich, then top with the cut asparagus.
This was an inspiration I got from a recipe on All Recipes.com for a simple roasted asparagus sandwich with red pepper, tomato, swiss cheese and lemon mayo on a hoagie. You can make your own lemon mayo thanks to that recipe to give a bit more brightness to your sandwich, but I had a extraordinary ingredient in my fridge thanks to William Sonoma: Truffle Aioli. If you want the richer version without truffle, you might consider roasted garlic aioli, such as what Stonewall Kitchen offers- actually they offer lots of wonderful aioli options, though you can also make your own for the effort and dishes involved I’m willing to buy mine.
Cover with your choice of cheese- I used shredded colby jack mix, about 2 tablespoons per sandwich. The Lonely Texan’s original recipe used cream cheese and mixed it with the asparagus, but I didn’t have cream cheese on hand and I am not a fan of warm cream cheese… besides, the thought of the All Recipe and the melted gooey Swiss cheese had resonated with me. It’s up to you how cheesy you want this to be inside.
Top the sandwich and on the buttered side that is now on top, sprinkle half the parmesan you have atop your sandwiches (the other half of the parmesan goes on your other side of the sandwich).
Place in the oven for about 10 minutes, then flip over put back into the oven until both sides are now golden and the parmesan crispy.
=

Let it cool slightly, and then EAT

Filed Under: Cooking, Food and Drink Tagged With: asparagus, fressen, recipe, truffle aioli, william sonoma

Transylvanian Eggplant Casserole: from Moosewood

May 16, 2012 by Pechluck 3 Comments

F has a Moosewood cookbook… he swears he used to have two, but one got lost somewhere in his moves from Portland to Chicago back to Portland. It doesn’t matter, because he never really cooks. However, for a get together on a warm Monday evening, I had called for a potluck. While I prepared the watercress orange soup of last post, I picked out this Transylvanian Eggplant Casserole from Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant for his contribution. I had always been curious about it.

He didn’t quite follow it as he adapted it based on what we had. For instance the recipe calls for all the spices except for the parsley to be dried… but he went the opposite, where everything but the parsley was fresh. We also switched out the pine nuts (which he thought were too expensive) for slivers of almonds instead because i still thought the nuts should be present to add some crunch texture. And he did not do the original topping of sauteed bread crumbs and pine nuts in butter on top, instead using some Italian seasoned breadcrumbs I already had in the pantry.

The yield of this is enough for 8 people, and takes about 1.5 hours of bot prep and cook time. It’s a great way to get a lot of vegetables in, and is a pretty healthy recipe.

Ingredients:

2 medium eggplants, cut crosswise into 1/2 inch round slices
2 cups chopped onions
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cups, about 1 lb of sliced mushrooms
4 fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons marjoram
3/4 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika
salt and ground black pepper to taste
4 cups cooked brown rice
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (or to taste)
1/4 cup parsley
2 tablespoons pine nuts (although we used slivers of almonds instead, and increased the amount to 2/3 cup)
4 eggs (though we used egg whites)
1/2 cup bread crumbs (the recipe calls for whole wheat, but we used Italian seasoned bread crumbs)
Optional: additional topping made with 2-3 tbsp of oil or butter, 2/3 cup pine nuts, more parsley, and sliced pepper. He didn’t do this step.

Directions:

Place the eggplant slices on an olive oiled baking sheet, salt them lightly, and cover them with aluminum foil. Bake at 400 degrees until tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, saute the onions in the oil until translucent.
Add the mushrooms and continue to cook, covered on medium heat until the mushrooms have released their juices and become soft.
Stir in the tomatoes, marjoram, thyme, paprika, salt, and black pepper. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
Combine the rice, lemon juice, parsley, and pine nuts. Instead, we substituted almond slivers instead of pine nuts, and we increased the amount of 2 tablespoons to 2/3 cup.
To assemble the casserole, oil a 9x13x2 1/2 inch baking dish. Spread half of the rice mixture on the bottom and cover with half of the eggplant slices. Spoon half of the sauteed vegetables on top of the eggplant layer. Repeat this process using the remaining rice, eggplant and vegetables.
Pour the beaten eggs (though we just used egg whites) evenly over the top of the casserole so that they drizzle down into it.
Optional: Combine the bread crumbs and nuts and saute them on low heat in the oil or butter for about 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Top the casserole with the nut mixture. What you see below is that he decided against the additional oil or butter and just topped the casserole with Italian seasoned breadcrumbs.
Bake the casserole, covered, at 350 degrees for about 350 minutes. Then uncover and bake for 10 minutes until the top is crisp and the casserole still moist.
Optional: Garnish with parsley and peppers.