Pumpkin Orange Mascarpone Pie

Thanksgiving approacheth.  And while we all have our favorites and tradition does not allow us to stray much from the set menu that we have used for years, I offer you my favorite pumpkin pie from Sunset Magazine.  It is a pie with depth.  With character.  With serious OMG flavor.  With mascarpone cheese, a hint of orange flavor and a gingersnap (brilliant!) crust.  This will kick your regular old pumpkin pie in a pastry crust to the curb...I promise you.

And you can make it in advance.  Which ups the usefulness quotient by one hundred thousand for me...and hopefully for you.

Total: 1 Hour, 20 Minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups finely crushed gingersnap crumbs (about 32 gingersnaps)
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 
• 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature 
• 8 ounces mascarpone cheese (thank you Trader Joes, for carrying this item all the time!)
• 2/3 cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar 
• 3 eggs 
• 1 can pumpkin purée (15 oz.)
• 2 teaspoons orange-flavored liqueur, such as Grand Marnier
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest 
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest 
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup crème fraîche

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 325°. In a 10-in. pie pan, stir together gingersnap crumbs with melted butter and press into a crust. Bake until set, about 6 minutes. Set aside.

2. Increase heat to 350°. Beat cream cheese, mascarpone, and 2/3 cup sugar in a large bowl until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each egg. Add pumpkin, 1 tsp. orange liqueur, citrus zests, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Mix until smooth.

3. Pour filling into crust and bake until edges are firm but center still jiggles a bit, 45 to 50 minutes (bake any extra filling in ramekins). Cool to room temperature, then chill at least 6 hours and up to overnight.

4. When ready to serve, beat cream, crème fraîche, and remaining 2 tbsp. sugar and 1 tsp. orange liqueur in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Serve pie with orange whipped cream.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Jeff was out of town this week, which left me to cook whatever caught my fancy (as long as the children were adequately mollified by some random pasta dish.)  One night it was a head of roasted cauliflower, another it was leftover lamb shank with dilled rice and lima beans from Raffi's Place in Glendale.  Tonight, it was sweet potato.  Yup. Sweet potato for dinner.  Not as a side (though, that would certainly work for those who desire a more balanced meal) but as the main attraction.  And it was good.  Great, even. Which, of course, is why I bother to share it with you.

It is adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi's new book, Jerusalem.  I have been waiting for this book to come out since his other tome, Plenty, makes me plenty happy in a vegetarian sort of way.  And it is the first recipe that I have seen on the internet (oh, the internet makes me so happy sometimes!)

I used a purple sweet potato which just happened to be lying around my house (because I have that kind of house with random ingredients,) but any color will work.  Without further ado, I bring you:  Dinner (or Side Dish.)

Yield: 6 servings 

Cook Time: 25 minutes

• INGREDIENTS
• 
  
4 medium sweet potatoes (about 2¼ pounds) (the recipe doesn't specify that you peel them, but the photo in the book looks like they are peeled, so I did it.)


3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided


2 teaspoons flaky sea salt (such as Maldon) (I actually just used kosher...totally ok.)


Freshly ground black pepper


2 tablespoons plus 2½ teaspoons balsamic vinegar


1½ tablespoons granulated sugar


12 scallions--white and light green parts only, stalks halved lengthwise, then sliced crosswise into 1½-inch segments


1 Fresno chile (or another small, mild red chile), thinly sliced crosswise (I could only find a red jalepeno, so I seeded it and it was fine...not too hot.)


6 ripe figs, quartered (optional) (this was not in my fridge tonight, so no figs for me...)




DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 475°. Halve the sweet potatoes lengthwise, then slice each half lengthwise into thirds. On a rimmed baking sheet, place the sweet potato wedges and season with 2½ tablespoons olive oil, the salt and some ground black pepper. Toss to combine and arrange the wedges skin side down. Roast until soft and dark around the edges (but not mushy), 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, set aside to cool, then arrange on a platter.




2. In a small saucepan set over high heat, add the balsamic vinegar and sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until thick, 2 to 4 minutes. Once the vinegar looks slightly runnier than honey, remove it from the heat (it will continue to thicken as it cools; stir in a drop of water if it is too thick to drizzle).




3. In a medium nonstick skillet set over medium heat, add the remaining ½ tablespoon olive oil. Once the oil is hot, after 1 to 2 minutes, add the scallions and sliced chile. Fry until the scallions are browned and frizzled, stirring often so they don’t burn, 3 to 5 minutes (I actually cooked it at medium heat for about 7 minutes without it turning brown.) Spoon the scallion-chile mixture over the sweet potatoes. Add the figs, if using, then drizzle with the balsamic reduction. 

Fresh Tuna Salad

Yes, it is still hot in Los Angeles and though I was foolish enough to heat the oven to 500 degrees to get some pizzas going last week (another blog post on that, coming soon!), I really tried to make things as cool as possible.  Hence, this really fabulous looking and eating Nicoise Salad from Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc at Home cookbook.  The Ad Hoc cookbook is huge...as in coffee table size huge.  And even though I generally go for function over form when it comes to cookbooks, this is a pretty good one.  The recipes aren't IMPOSSIBLE (where, oh where, do I find corn fungus or freekeh?) and the pictures are glossy and inspirational.  

Trader Joes and a decent fish market are your best friends for this dish, though you can get everything from just about any ol' market.  Just make sure your fish is sushi grade (thank you, ubiquitous Japanese markets around West LA.)  It is definitely company worthy, but totally worth making for you and whatever other members of your family will eat it.

INGREDIENTS
1 lb trimmed center cut tuna loin (4 x 4 x 2 block if possible)
3 heads Bibb lettuce (or you could use another delicate lettuce like the butter lettuce package from Trader Joes)
3/4 c Canola oil
2 Tbl Dijon mustard
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
6 oz haricort verts (skinny french green beans, again available at TJ's)
bowl of ice water
4 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 c pitted kalamata olives
4  eggs
avocado
tarragon leaves (tasty, but the dish will work without it)
chervil (yep, this is one of those ingredients I just left out...where on earth do you find chervil?)

DIRECTIONS

1.  Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil and dump in the haricort verts for a couple of minutes, until bright green. Drain and put in ice water for 5 minutes or so until cool.  Drain again and put aside.  Get more ice water ready for the eggs.

2. Put the eggs into a pot of cold water and bring to a simmer over medium high heat.  Cook for 4 minutes once water is simmering.  Transfer the eggs to the ice water to stop them from cooking further.

3.  Make the dressing:  combine canola oil, red wine vinegar and dijon mustard in a small jar...shake, shake, shake like a polaroid picture.  

The above steps can be done ahead of time.  You don't have to use all of it in one salad...use your judgment....it will stay in the fridge for more salads of any sort during the week.

4.  Season the tuna on all sides with kosher salt and pepper.  Heat some canola oil over a frying pan and when it is really hot, add the tuna.  Turn the tuna when the bottom has cooked through (you can see it on the ends) and continue to cook until the top has cooked through.  Remove the tuna from the pan and drain on paper towels.  Slice tuna into 1/2 slices.

5.  Assemble the salad:  Toss the lettuce with some of the dressing and add kosher salt and pepper.  Cut the haricort verts in half and add to salad along with tomatoes, olives, peeled eggs cut in quarters, and cut up avocado.  Taste and add salt and pepper to taste.  Place tuna on top and add tarragon, if using.

 

Gazpacho! Gesundheit....

It has been hot all over.  Yeah, the rest of the country has been making headlines all summer and I know that corn has been withering all over the Midwest like nobody's business.  But when the temps go high in West Los Angeles, it is especially brutal as many of the older homes don't have any air conditioning.  So what is a girl to do? Make gazpacho, of course!

This recipe is adapted from Thomas Keller of French Laundry/Ad Hoc fame and the best part about it is that you rough chop all of the vegetables, put them in the blender with tomato juice, DON'T BLEND and stick it in the refrigerator all day or overnight.  When you get home, pull it out, blitz the daylights out of it, pour it in a mug/bowl/dainty tea cup with roses and dinner is ready. If you are feeling especially fancy, you can chop up avocado and add that on top.  You will have about 1 1/2 quarts of soup.


Ingredients

1 cup chopped red onions

1 cup chopped green bell pepper (I don't even LIKE green peppers, but still good in this soup.)

1 cup chopped English cucumber (I used Persian Cucumbers...I live in Westwood after all!)

1 cup peeled and chopped tomatoes (You could use canned, but it is summer and what is summer but tomato heaven?  Slice a shallow X into the bottoms of tomatoes, drop in boiling water, wait 30 seconds or so, pull them out, drop them in an ice bath and slip the skins off...this is the HARDEST part of the soup.)

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped garlic

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

3 cups tomato juice

Sprig of thyme

Directions

In a large bowl, mix together the red onions, green bell pepper, English cucumber, tomatoes, garlic, salt, cayenne, tomato paste, white wine vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, tomato juice and thyme. Cover and refrigerate overnight. The next day, remove the thyme (yeah, I totally forgot to do this removal business...no worse for the wear)  and blend the soup in a blender until it is smooth.

Mexican Corn Salad with Salmon (or Shrimp)

Sometimes we (and when I say "we," I really just mean "I) just get lazy.  We make great food, but forget to take a picture or we put the "recipe to blog" on a to do list that never gets done.  Or we start a blog entry with said good food and get interrupted and never quite get back to it.  So many reasons, so little time.  But I happened to bring a corn salad with salmon to my Friends of Westwood Library board meeting and people really liked it and requested the recipe.  Luckily, I had the forethought to have snapped a photo with my trusty iPhone (no fancy food styling photos for me!) and I had a few minutes to put this entry together.

I made the salad for my camping trip last weekend (sans the salmon....just served some TJ's carne asada with tortillas and the salad) and was so happy that there were enough corn salad leftovers for me to scarf down the next day for a pre dinner snack.  And while it is called "Mexican," that seems to merely be a function of the lime and jalapeño ingredients...it doesn't come off that specific in flavor.  Which is why I paired it with a simple seared and flaked salmon for the meeting.  But I think sauteed or grilled shrimp would be equally delicious.

And considering the insane amount of pork product that I ate on the camping trip (scrambled eggs cooked in bacon fat and laced with andouille sausage, anyone?) this seemed like a nice antidote to start the week off on a better foot, healthy heartwise.

I adapted the recipe from a fab blog called Serious Eats.

• Ingredients
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 ears fresh corn, shucked,  (I use a pie tin to catch the kernels as I slice them vertically off the cob.)
• Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise (I was tempted to disregard this as I am not a big mayo fan, but it really really works well.)
• 2 ounces feta or cotija cheese, finely crumbled..I have also used queso fresco cheese
• 1/2 cup finely sliced scallion greens
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped (I have omitted this as not everyone is a big cilantro fan, but if I were making it just for me and Jeff, I would go nuts on this one.)
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and stemmed, finely chopped (doesn't end up that spicy...in spite of the whole pepper chopped.)
• 1 to 2 medium cloves garlic, pressed or minced on a microplane grater (about 1 to 2 teaspoons)
• 1 tablespoon fresh juice from 1 lime
• Chili powder or hot chili flakes, to taste
• 
  

   Directions

  1.  Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet or wok over high heat until shimmering. Add corn kernels, season to taste with salt, toss once or twice, and cook without moving until charred on one side, about 2 minutes. Toss corn, stir, and repeat until charred on second side, about 2 minutes longer. Continue tossing and charring until well charred all over, about 10 minutes total. Transfer to a large bowl.

 2.   Add mayonnaise, cheese, scallions, cilantro, jalapeño, garlic, lime juice, and chili powder and toss to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and more chili powder to taste. Add flaked seared salmon or shrimp.  Serve immediately.  Eat and get seconds.

Chickpea Saute with Swiss Chard and Greek Yogurt

Those of you lucky enough to have seen my Facebook feed the other day (or unlucky, if you get bugged by constant status updates involving food porn) saw this delicious looking veggie type dish that I had made for lunch.  I found the recipe in Yotam Ottolenghi's amazingly gorgeous cookbook, Plenty.  This book is a fantastic collection of Mediterranean-ish recipes that just happen to be vegetarian.  My copy has plenty of drool marks as the photos just inspire such a salivatory response.

The notes in the recipe suggest that if Swiss chard is not available, you can use a combination of arugula and spinach.  But right now, there is plenty of chard around. Just make this one soon. I'm telling you, I wanted very much to lick the bowl when I was done. It was that good.

Ingredients:

3/4 lb Swiss chard
1/3 c olive oil (I used 1/4 cup to no ill effect)
4 medium carrots, diced
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 1/2 c cooked chickpeas (yup, the can will do nicely here..just drain and rinse)
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp chopped mint
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper
1/2 c Greek yogurt
1 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

Separate the stalks from the Swiss chard leaves.  Blanch the stalks in lots of salted boiling water for 3 minutes.  Add the leaves and continue cooking for another 2 minutes.  Drain everything, rinse under cold water and squeeze dry.  Chop roughly.

Heat a large skillet with olive oil and saute carrots and caraway seeds for 5 minutes over medium heat.  Add the chard and chickpeas and cook for 6 minutes more.  Add the garlic, herbs, lemon juice and salt and pepper.  Remove from heat and check seasonings.

Just before serving, mix the yogurt, olive oil and some salt and pepper.  Put the veggies in a bowl and spoon the yogurt over.  If you want to get fancy in the presentation, sprinkle it with more pepper and a few drops of olive oil.

Enjoy.

Quinoa Patties

It is Passover.  And while I am not the most kosher keeping person (just how many shrimp recipes do I have on this blog?) I always feel a little bit better when I can stray from my usual glutenous palate and stay wheat free for at least one of these eight days.  I have been meaning to make this particular recipe for a few weeks and when husband left town for a few days, I took advantage of the situation by concentrating on recipes he might be reluctant to try.

I pulled this recipe from a blog called eatingwelllivingthin, which focuses on recipes limiting carbs, calories and fun in general.  While I am never a fan of substituting nonfat anything or fake sugar where the real ingredient will do, this recipe stays true to real food.  I jacked up the spices a bit in the version below, and the salt a lot...but I do love my salt!  So play with it.  I also didn't bother to measure out the two rounded cups..I just mixed everything into however much quinoa comes from one cup uncooked.

The true test was the friend who came by to drop off her daughter so the girls could go to a UCLA softball game.  First she commented on the yummy smell when she walked in, then she split a patty with her daughter and then she gladly took some home for dinner.

Ingredients:



2 rounded cups cooked quinoa (see note below for cooking instructions)


3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or other variety, if you prefer)

1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese

1 medium carrot, finely grated 

3 eggs

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

2 green onions, including white parts

1 /2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Olive oil for frying

To cook quinoa:

1 cup uncooked quinoa

2 cups water

1/2 teaspoon salt

• In a medium saucepan bring the 2 cups water and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil over high heat.  Add quinoa and reduce heat to low.  Cover and cook for 18-20 minutes, or until all water is absorbed and the seeds are tender.  Allow to cool for a few minutes.

• In a large bowl combine the cooked quinoa, cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, carrot, eggs, flour, green onions, sugar, pepper, cumin, salt, and garlic powder.

• (To help them stay in patty form and not fall apart, I cook them on med-low slowly so they have longer to set-up without burning.  Makes them easier to flip, too.)  Heat a frying pan and a couple teaspoons olive oil over medium-low heat.  Mixture will be slightly sticky, so using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, drop mixture into pan and lightly flatten to 1/2 inch thick.  Fry until golden-brown, about 4 minutes on each side.   Makes approx. 10 burgers.