An End-of-Summer Menu + Refrigerator Pickles

I could tell that summer is winding down even if I didn’t know the date. The humidity and record temperatures have thankfully eased off. The garden is looking bedraggled and is only spitting out the odd zucchini at this point. Winter squash and root vegetables are becoming prevalent at the farmers market.

Last night, I thought I’d celebrate the last days of summer with an end-of-summer tribute meal. I tried to pull as many of the ingredients as possible from the remnants of my garden, focusing on herbs, tomatoes and cucumbers. Here’s the menu:

• Refrigerator pickles (see below)
• Bruschetta with fresh tomatoes and basil
• Eggplant broiled and marinated in a mixture of parsley, capers, balsamic vinegar and olive oil
• Chicken marinated in a mixture of red wine, mustard, rosemary, basil and olive oil, and pan-roasted

It was an excellent meal — almost like a picnic at the dinner table. Everything was good, but the refrigerator pickles, a recipe from Sara Foster’s Fresh Every Day, were particularly easy and tasty, so I wanted to share the recipe with you (with my few minor adaptations).

Refrigerator Pickles

• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 4 to 5 small cucumbers, sliced into ⅛-inch-thick rounds — You could use pickling cucumbers, but I used the regular kind, and they worked fine.
• 2 scallions, sliced thinly

Combine the vinegar, sugar, salt, black pepper, cloves, bay leaves, red pepper flakes and dill seed and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Layer the cucumbers and scallions in a quart jar or 2 pint jars. Press them tightly into the jar. Pour the liquid mixture over to cover. Place the lid on the jar, shake it well and refrigerate at least 4 hours. These pickles will keep in the refrigerator for at least 1 month.

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Super Bowl Menu

The Super Bowl is a good excuse to eat bar food at home. Here is what I am planning on making today:

• 2 kinds of dip: guacamole and sun-dried tomato hummus
• chips and crudites for the dips
• buffalo chicken strips with blue cheese dip — The recipe is from Fresh Every Day by Sara Foster and is perfect for Super Bowl watching.
• potato skins — Contributed by my father-in-law.
• blondies — Kind of like what would happen if chocolate chip cookies married brownies and had tasty, tasty babies.

Now I just need to find out who’s playing, and I’ll be set.

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Review: The Cookbooks of Sara Foster

Cover via Amazon

Sara Foster is the owner of Foster’s Market, a couple of local gourmet markets and casual eateries best known for their breakfasts and sandwiches. So I was already familiar with her style of cooking when I bought her two cookbooks, Fresh Every Day and Sara Foster’s Casual Cooking. Still, I did not expect that they would become the go to cookbooks in my kitchen.

Foster’s cooking style is very similar to my own. She favors simple, highly adaptable dishes that rely on fresh, seasonal ingredients for flavor. These cookbooks, with plenty of full-page color photographs, will make your mouth water. It’s become a routine in our house, whenever we have something particularly good for dinner, for my husband to ask, “Did the recipe come out of one of Sara Foster’s cookbooks?”

Fresh Every Day is a fairly straightforward cookbook of favorites from Foster’s Market, adapted for home cooking. I really appreciate the numerous tips, shortcuts and variations that Foster provides for her recipes. My favorite chapters are “Breakfast for Anytime,” “Simple Soups,” “Seasonal Salads and Salad Meals” and “Seasonal Sides”; I think the chapter titles say it all.

Favorite recipes: One-eyed Jacks; Fresh Mozzarella Salad with Avocado, Roasted Corn and Grape Tomatoes; Black-Eyed Pea Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese; Roasted Tomato, Corn and Potato Salad with Wilted Spinach; Roasted Red Bell Pepper and Carrot Soup; Wild Mushroom Soup with Sherry and Thyme; Grilled Buffalo Chicken Strips; Chicken Cacciatore; Lemon Icebox Pie with Gingersnap Crust

Sara Foster’s Casual Cooking focuses even more strongly on home cooking by providing not only recipes but also lots of ideas for day-to-day cooking, so that you can put together a great meal even when you’re tired or haven’t been shopping.  Most recipes include lots of ideas for variations as well as tips for putting together full menus. My favorite chapters were “Party Platters” for its snack as well as party ideas; “Sandwiches, Wraps and Rolls,” which is replete with great ideas; and “Anytime Eggs,” because I love eggs anytime.

Favorite recipes: Caramelized Onion Dip; Tomato-Mozzarella Cheese Toasts; Pan-Seared Tuna Tacos with Mango-Avocado Salsa; Grilled Bacon, Egg and Cheddar Sandwich; Rotini with Sausage, Cannellini Bean and Swiss Chard Ragu; Poached Chicken Breasts with Spring Vegetables and Horseradish; Classic Cucumber Salad; Green Rice; Mini Baked Potatoes

If you are looking for cookbooks that inspire you to get into the kitchen, both of these will do the job. Even after having made most of the recipes, I keep returning to them again and again.

Find recipes adapted from Sara Foster’s cookbooks on this blog.

When Your Garden Gives You Zucchini, Make Zucchini Slaw!

Image via Wikipedia

Yes, it’s that time of year, when we start wondering what we’re going to do with all this zucchini (and why did we plant so much in the first place). Here’s a fresh idea I got from Sara Foster’s Fresh Every Day cookbook: zucchini slaw. The main component is zucchini, of course, but this is a fairly adaptable recipe in which you can easily mix up the vegetables to accommodate what you have on hand. I made a few substitutions myself. I enjoyed the sweet-tart flavor of the dressing, which made for a much lighter slaw than the traditional mayonnaise-dressed versions. This slaw would make a great side dish for grilled hamburgers or chicken, a relish for hot dogs or sausages, or pack it in a picnic basket.

Zucchini Slaw

Time to make: ~20 minutes (less if you use a food processor to shred the vegetables)
Yields: 4 servings

• 1 lg. or 2 med. zucchini
• 2 carrots, peeled
• 2 scallions
• 2 sm. sweet or hot peppers — I used an Italian hot yellow pepper, which added a nice subtle heat
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• ¼ cup sugar
• salt and pepper to taste

Trim off the ends of the zucchini and carrots. Cut in half or quarters, depending on the length. Then cut into matchsticks, or julienne using a mandoline, or shred using a food processor. (I used the food processor, which made short work of this task.) Set aside in a large bowl.

Trim the root ends and dark green stalks from the scallions. Cut lengthwise into thin strips and add to the bowl.

Halve the peppers and remove the seeds and stem. Cut into thin strips and add to the bowl. Mix the vegetables well.

In a jar mix the vinegar and sugar. Close tightly and shake vigorously until the sugar is dissolved. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour over the salad and toss well. Serve immediately after dressing.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Bacon and Fried Egg

Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Bacon and Fried Egg

This sandwich makes my husband lose his senses. I only make it for him once a year, on Father’s Day, which I’m sure you’ll understand once you look at the recipe. It’s not exactly the most healthy of breakfasts, but it is delicious!

The recipe comes from Sara Foster’s Casual Cooking, but the recipe is so simple that you’ll probably memorize it after making it once. There are a lot of steps, though, so make as much ahead as you can, and then assemble and grill the sandwiches right before serving.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Bacon and Fried Egg

Time to make: ~30 minutes
Yields: 1 sandwich

• 2 slices bacon
• 1 egg
• 2 slices any kind of bread
• butter
• cheddar cheese, sliced

Fry the bacon until crispy. Drain on paper towels and set aside. Wipe out the pan.

Fry the egg in the same pan as the bacon to desired doneness. It is best to leave the yolk a little runny, as it makes the sandwich that much more delicious.

Heat a flat griddle over medium-high. Butter one side of each piece of bread. Assemble the sandwich with the cheese, egg and bacon, buttered sides out. Place the sandwich on the hot griddle and cook until well browned. Flip carefully and cook the other side. Serve right away.

Notes: If you are making several sandwiches, you will have to lower the heat between sandwiches or they will start to burn before the cheese gets melty.

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Emergency Dinner Guests? Pesto Vinaigrette!

Not too long ago, I blogged about the five things I always have in my fridge, freezer and pantry to ensure that I can put together a delicious meal anytime. I didn’t put pesto on that list, but I probably should have. I made a big batch of pesto last summer and froze it in ice cube trays. All throughout the winter I have been making use of that pesto whenever I need to make a quick dinner with a big flavor boost. It’s come in handy for pasta sauces, pizza, soups and risotto.

Now I’ve found another great use for pesto: the pesto vinaigrette.

Last night I unexpectedly had three guests for dinner. As it was the end of the week, I didn’t have a lot of groceries left, but fortunately I had sausage in the freezer and salad greens in the fridge (both on my “five things” list). I pan-fried and sliced the sausage, and tossed it with the greens and the pesto vinaigrette to make a hearty salad that was a big hit. For vegetables, I only had odds and ends: a couple of potatoes, a leek or two, an onion, a few carrots. I chopped them into large pieces, tossed them with olive oil, salt and pepper, and roasted them together at 400 degrees for 45 minutes or so. The roasted vegetables were also delicious drizzled with the pesto vinaigrette. I imagine it would also be tasty as a sauce for grilled chicken or a dressing for sliced tomatoes.

I do like to plan out my menus, but when I have unexpected guests drop in, it really stretches my creativity and leads me to discover new combinations I might not otherwise have tried.

Pesto Vinaigrette

Yields: 8 servings
Time to make: 5 minutes with prepared pesto

Whisk together:

• 4 tbsp. prepared pesto (any flavor)
• 2 tbsp. white wine vinegar
• Juice of 1 lemon
• ½ cup olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Adapted from a recipe in Sara Foster’s Casual Cooking.

Building Flavor for Soup: Mushroom Broth

Making mushroom broth.

Soup is one of my favorite dishes to make. During the winter months, I think we eat it at least once a week. Soup is a go-to dish because I can usually put together something hearty and satisfying just from what I have in my refrigerator and pantry in less than 30 minutes for a weeknight meal.

Lately, however, I’ve been experimenting with longer cooking soups. Putting together a soup over the course of an hour or three gives you the opportunity to really build up the flavors, and that can make a huge difference. A slow-cooked soup, starting with a homemade broth and then layering in the flavors, is just so much more satisfying and special. It’s well worth spending a Sunday afternoon on.

For our Thanksgiving meal, I made a wild mushroom soup that really showed the time I put into it. The flavors were intense but not overwhelming, rich and earthy with just a hint of acid, not too heavy. A small cup of the soup made a perfect start to the meal. I’m not going to reprint the recipe here, as it’s rather long and I didn’t vary it at all, but if you want to try it, pick up a copy of Fresh Every Day by Sara Foster. You won’t be sorry.

What I wanted to write about, though, is how easy it is to make a quick vegetable broth for a mushroom soup like that one, any other vegetable soup or even risotto. Making the broth takes about 1 hour, but it provides such a great foundation on which to build the soup flavors that it’s worth the extra time. If you make a big batch, it freezes well for weeknight cooking. And it makes use of all the vegetable trimmings and scraps I would have discarded anyway.

For this broth, I used the mushroom trimmings, but mushrooms have a strong flavor, so that may not be appropriate unless there are mushrooms in the finished dish. This broth can be made with any vegetables, though, so substitute freely.

Mushroom or Vegetable Broth

Time to make: ~1 hour
Yields: 2-3 quarts

Combine in a large stockpot or dutch oven:

• stems from 2½ lbs. mushrooms, cleaned
• 1 roughly chopped onion, unpeeled
• 1 roughly chopped celery stalk
• 1 roughly chopped carrot, unpeeled
• trimmings from other vegetables to be used in the soup (carrot peels, celery leaves, potato peels, leek greens, herbs, etc.)
• 3 bay leaves
• handful of whole peppercorns
• 2-3 quarts water (enough to cover the vegetables)

1. Bring to a boil.
2. Lower the heat to a slow simmer.
3. Simmer up to 1 hour.
4. Strain, pressing down on the vegetables with the back of a wooden spoon to extract all the juice.
5. Let cool a bit, then refrigerate up to 5 days or freeze up to 6 months.

Planning the Thanksgiving Menu: One Week Out

It may not have sunk in yet, but it is only one week until Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving has become my favorite holiday. I like that it revolves around family and food, rather than the orgy of gift-giving that Christmas has become. And because it is a harvest celebration, Thanksgiving is the perfect opportunity to search out local, sustainable, seasonal foods for the meal. It also gives me an opportunity to stretch myself and try out new dishes.

For me, Thanksgiving is all about the sides. I can’t even remember the last time I had turkey on Thanksgiving. I didn’t eat it for many years, and then when I went back to eating meat, it was always too much trouble to cook a turkey, so we made chicken or salmon instead. Usually, cooking the meat is not my department. I guess that is a man’s job (ha ha).

But Thanksgiving provides the opportunity to make the sides the star of the meal. For everyday cooking, I tend to neglect sides by opting for easier one-pot dinners or just adding a simple salad or some roasted veggies to the plate. On Thanksgiving, each side can shine with those extra-special touches I wouldn’t normally take the time to do.

This year, I am cooking mainly out of Sara Foster’s Fresh Every Day, supplemented by a couple of recipes found in recent New York Times dining sections. With its emphasis on seasonal ingredients and tons of interesting recipes for side dishes, Fresh Every Day is tailor-made for Thanksgiving cooking. This is the second Thanksgiving I’ve turned to it for inspiration for almost the entire meal.

I participate in two Thanksgiving dinners, one on Thursday and one on Saturday. Since I have to travel to both and cook in a strange kitchen, I try to plan well and get as much as I can done ahead of time. I’ll start on Sunday with grocery shopping, planning what I’ll do all week, drawing up packing lists and making what I can, such as dishes that can be frozen or ingredient prep. Then I’ll try to do something each day until T-day, so my holiday can be as relaxing and stress-free as possible.

Here is the way my menu is shaping up:

Appetizers

• Caramelized Onion Dip
• Spinach-Walnut Pesto (from the November issue of Bon Appetit)

Soup:

• Wild Mushroom Soup

Sides:

• Rosemary Caramelized Parsnips
• Green vegetable — undecided, probably green beans
• Orange-Maple Roast Sweet Potatoes and Stir-Fried Sweet Potatoes with Sage Butter (I’m doing 2 sweet potato dishes this year, one for each dinner; the second is a ridiculously easy recipe from Mark Bittman)
• Cranberry-Walnut Relish (from the New York Times dining section)
• Skillet Cornbread

Desserts:

• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars (I got this recipe off the Internet; it looks good and satisfies the cheesecake requirement, a family tradition — even though I personally don’t like cheesecake much)
• Lemon Icebox Pie

I would love to hear about everyone’s Thanksgiving plans and menus!

Roasted Sweet Potato Soup

Image by shannon_turlington via Flickr

When the days get chilly and gloomy, I get in the mood for soup. We eat a lot of soup around here, at least once a week, and I am always on the lookout for exciting new recipes to try. Now that I am in the habit of making my own stock, I always want to make soup when I have a fresh batch on hand.

I never thought of making sweet potato soup before, although we eat a lot of butternut squash and potato soup. But when I saw the recipe for Roasted Sweet Potato and Tomato Soup in Sara Foster’s cookbook, Fresh Every Day, it sounded just like fall to me.

This soup was not very difficult to make, although it requires quite a bit of time. Most of that time is not hands-on, so this is a good choice for an afternoon when you want to do other things while making dinner. The flavor was warm, hearty and filling. The smooth sweetness of the sweet potatoes were punctuated by the acidity of the tomatoes. I definitely advocate adding a bit of browned sausage–it provides a contrast to the sweet flavor and turns this soup into a meal.

The recipe makes a lot of soup, enough for 8 or more portions. I ended up freezing 3 batches of it for later. I made a few adjustments to the recipe. I cut back on the amount of oil and butter used to lower the fat content, and I omitted some herbs that I didn’t have. The recipe calls for stirring in some fresh-squeezed orange juice at the end, which I forgot to do, but we didn’t really miss it.

Roasted Sweet Potato Soup

Yields: 8 servings
Time to make: ~2 hours

What you need:

• 5-6 med. sweet potatoes
• 2 tbsp. olive oil plus some extra for oiling the sweet potatoes
• 6 plum tomatoes, cored and halved
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 6 cups stock
• salt and pepper to taste
• 8-10 thyme sprigs, leaves removed
• sausages, sliced or crumbled, for garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. Rub the sweet potatoes with some of the oil.
3. Place the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet covered with foil and put them in the oven to roast for 15 minutes.
4. Toss the tomatoes and garlic with 1 tbsp. olive oil and vinegar.
5. Spread them on a baking sheet covered with foil and place them in the oven alongside the sweet potatoes.
6. Continue roasting another 30 minutes, until the tomatoes are slightly shriveled and the sweet potatoes are soft when squeezed.
7. Remove the pans from the oven and let cool a bit.
8. Tear the tomatoes into pieces over a small bowl to catch the juices and set aside.
9. Remove and discard the skins from the sweet potatoes.
10. Melt the butter with the remaining 1 tbsp. oil in a large saucepan or dutch oven over medium.
11. Add the onion and saute until translucent, 10 minutes.
12. Add the carrots and celery, and cook until soft, 10 minutes.
13. Add the stock and season to taste.
14. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
15. Add the sweet potatoes, thyme and garlic cloves, and simmer another 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
16. Meanwhile, brown the sausage.
17. Remove the soup from the heat and puree until smooth (an immersion blender works best).
18. Stir in the tomatoes, season again and reheat if necessary.
19. Garnish with the browned sausage to serve.

Note: This soup can be made ahead and served cold as a kind of vichyssoise.

Rotini with Swiss Chard & Sausage Ragu

Rotini with Swiss Chard and Sausage, originally uploaded by shannon_turlington.

Please forgive me for posting this rich, hearty, warming pasta recipe in the middle of summer. Yes, this is truly a wintry dish, but it was so good that I couldn’t wait to share it with you.

This is the first recipe that I have tried from Sara Foster’s Casual Cooking, the follow-up to the wonderful cookbook Fresh Every Day. I have been loving Fresh Every Day so much that when I saw this new book in the store, I had to buy it. It is full of gorgeous food photos and easy, adaptable recipes for entertaining and family dinners. Like this one.

Some notes before I give you the recipe. The original recipe claims to serve 4-6, but the quantities were enormous. I cut down the quantities quite a bit, and I think it will still comfortably serve 4. Also, this pasta doesn’t reheat very well, I think because the sauce is so reduced — which makes it so thick and flavorful — that there isn’t enough liquid to facilitate reheating. So plan to eat it all when you make it.

And do make it, even if you have to bookmark this recipe until a more appropriate season. But with all the fresh greens and herbs, there’s no reason you can’t make it right now.

Rotini with Swiss Chard and Sausage Ragu

Yields: 4 servings
Time to make: ~45 minutes

What you need:

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• ½ onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Italian sausage links, sliced or crumbled (I used chicken sausage)
• 1 14.5-oz. can chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup chicken stock
• ½ lb. rotini or other large pasta shapes
• ½ bunch Swiss chard, stemmed and roughly chopped
• handful of basil leaves, sliced
• 1 tbsp. fresh oregano, chopped
• 1 15-oz. can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• salt and pepper to taste
• grated Parmesan to taste

1. Heat the olive oil over medium
2. Saute the onion until translucent, 4 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and saute 1 minute.
4. Add the sausage and brown about 5 minutes.
5. Add the tomatoes and stock.
6. Reduce the heat to low and simmer 30 minutes, until reduced and thickened, stirring occasionally.
7. Meanwhile, cook the pasta and reserve a cupful of the pasta cooking water.
8. Add the drained pasta to the tomato mixture along with the Swiss chard, herbs and beans.
9. Add enough reserved pasta cooking water to ensure that the sauce coats everything.
10. Cook until the chard wilts and the beans are warmed through, about 4 minutes.
11. Season and garnish with Parmesan.

Adapted from Sara Foster’s Casual Cooking.

This is my entry for Presto Pasta Nights, hosted this week by Chew on That.