Potatoes & Eggplant Chat Indian Style

This is a very easy recipe and it lends itself to any kind of chutney. I like mint chutney and
tamarind chutney to go along side this.

You can also have a cooling raita if you like. This takes only a few minutes to whip up. You will have to go to an indian grocery to get chat masala and fenugreek seeds.


This dish is best eaten with puri. A deep fried whole wheat bread. If you are more heath conscious about fat, then by all means whole wheat flat bread is great too!

4 or 5 small Japanese eggplants sliced into 1 inch cubes
1 pound of small white potatoes sliced into 1 inch cubes
1/4 teaspoon of turmeric
5 teaspoons of ground coriander
1 teaspoon of chipotle chile pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon of fenugreek seeds
1 teaspoon of chat masala
chopped fresh mint for garnish
lemon wedges for garnish

Toss the eggplant & potatoes with the ground spices. Heat a heavy dutch oven with about 3 tablespoons of canola oil. Add the fenugreek seeds. Toast for a few minutes. Now add the potatoes and eggplant. Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Place the pot with the lid in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Then remove the lid and place back into the oven for 8 minutes more.

Avocado, Potato, Chicken Quesadillas

This is the best use of leftovers !
It is spicy and easy to make.

3 slices of apple wood smoked bacon
1/4 cup diced red onion
1 clove of garlic minced
1 Fresno chili diced
freshly grated extra sharp white cheddar cheese
1 Yukon Gold Potato
(left over from night before that was roasted)
1 avocado diced with a little lime juice
2 cups of left over diced roasted chicken

Green Salsa Verde for dipping
Chopped Tomato for garnish
Sliced Cilantro for garnish


In a frying pan brown the bacon and then set aside. Drain most of the fat and add the onions, garlic, sliced potato, Fresno Chilli and brown. Now set aside. To make the Quesadillas set one flour tortillas in a frying pan. Add grated cheese, bacon, onion, potato, avocado and top with a second tortillas. Fry the Quesadillas until it is golden brown on both sides. Serve with chopped tomato, sour cream, cilantro and salsa.

Four & Twenty Blackbird's Rhuby Razy Square Pie

I regularly scan the best seller cook book lists. The Four & Twenty Blackbird's Pie Book has been on
these lists for some time. This got me wondering. I picked up the book at a local book store and started thumbing through it. Thinking that I know every kind of pie out there, I was pleasantly surprised. This book is about South Dakota and I mean rural South Dakota. We are talking Hecla.

It is written by two sisters and their mom, that run a local restaurant in town. Their grandma made all the pies for the restaurant. Since then, they have been named the "Artisans of the Year". I have tried a couple of their recipes and this one is really amazing.

 Now step up and come to the black hills of the Dakota's, because this is really worth the effort to make!

https://www.facebook.com/birdsblack.

For the double crust:

2 1/2 cups of AP Flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 sticks of very cold unsalted butter
1 cup cold water
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 cup ice

In a food processor add all the ingredients, with the exception of the liquids. Pulse until the mixture looks like pea sized clumps.

Now mix the water, vinegar and ice together. Now add this to the dry ingredients by the tablespoon until the mixture just comes together.

Shape into two squares and refrigerate for at least one hour.

For the filling:

1 pound of fresh rhubarb that you have cleaned, chopped and froze the night before
(According to their grandma this is a very important step)

2 cups fresh raspberries

2/3 cup of sugar

2/3 cup light brown sugar

3 tablespoons of arrowroot

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of Kosher salt

Dash of Angostura bitters

1 egg beaten for the egg wash

Combine all the above mentioned ingredients together, except for the egg. Roll out two pieces of pie dough for a 8 x 8 x 2 pan. Line one of the pieces of dough in the pan for the bottom crust. Add the filling to the pan. Now with the other dough, slice it into strips about 1/2 inch wide. You will now lattice this on top of the filling.

Make sure your oven has been preheating at 425 degrees. Now brush the lattice top with the egg. Sprinkle the top with sanding sugar. Now bake for 25 minutes in the lowest rack of your oven. Then turn the heat down to 375 degrees and bake for thirty five minutes longer.

Involtini

This is a fun five minute meal that is great for summer. I like the veal rolls grilled, but they are great fried too. I just make a simple salad and top the dish with the involtini. The secret to this dish is using the best quality pecorino romano.

In a food processor place 1 cup of grated pecorino romano, 1/4 cup of fresh bread crumbs, 1/2 of a cup of fresh Italian parsley, a half a clove of garlic and pulse. You will pulse until the mixture is a fine crumb. Now add 1/4 cup of lightly toasted pine nuts and 1/4 cup of dried currants to the mixture. This is your stuffing.

Now you will need  8 slices of veal top round. Using a mallet you will pound each slice until 1/10 of  inch. You can also just buy it already done at your butchers. Now lay the veal roll down on your board. Spread out the stuffing and roll up your veal. Secure the rolls with tooth picks. Season lightly with salt and pepper and brush with olive oil.

Now heat a grill or a sauce pan and cook for 3 minutes on each side. Serve with a garnish of salad and lemon dressing.

Lamala

Alsatian bakeries are already selling “L’agneau de Pâques,” often known in Alsace as
Osterlammele, Lamala or Lammele. It is traditionally baked in a lamb-shaped clay mold made in the Lower Rhine town of Soufflenheim. The cake is a rich egg batter, that is a kind of pound cake. The cake is usually generously dusted with powdered sugar and given to children the morning of Easter. It is to symbolize purity and innocence. If you don’t have access to an antique split mold, with a wire to hold the pieces together, you can get metal molds at local cooking stores. The clay molds are really expensive and the metal molds are a good alternative. Below is a fun link.

http://www.myelsass.com/blog/en/

This is a really easy cake. It can be served sliced, with whipped cream and fresh berries.

Fore the cake:

3 1/2 ounces of clarified butter
1 cup cake flour
1 1/2 tablespoons of cornstarch
4 eggs
1/2 cup of sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla
1 tablespoon of honey

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Treat your mold as recommended by the manufacture. Now sift the cornstarch and the flour on some parchment paper. Combine the whole eggs, sugar, vanilla and the honey in a mixer. Place the bowl of the mixer over a double boiler. The water in the double boiler should be at a boil. But the mixing bowl should not be touching the water. Using a hand whisk or a hand mixer, mix until the mixture reaches 165 degrees. The clarified butter must be at 105 degrees. Now hand fold in the flour mixture and clarified butter in batches. Being careful not to collapse the volume.

Now pour the batter into your prepared mold. Bake for about 25 minutes. Unmold onto a wire rack. When cool dust with powder sugar. Often the neck of the lamb will have a bow with a small bell tied to it. You can make a chocolate version by replacing the cornstarch with cocoa powder.

Calling all children !

Chicken Pot Pie

A quick skip on puff pastry makes this a easy make ahead meal. This recipe will make quite a few little pies,that you can stick in the freezer. You have to use chicken thighs for this recipe. I add grated parmigiana reggiano to the bechamel and the top of the crust. Bake these little pies in the bottom third of a 375 degree oven.

Quick Puff Pastry

2 1/2 cups of AP Flour
1 1/4 teaspoons of kosher salt
2 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter
5 tablespoons of ice cold water.

Place the flour, salt and butter into a food processor. Buzz for a minute and then add in the cold water. Shape into flat disks and refrigerate.

Filling

1 cup of Yukon gold potatoes diced
1 1/4 cups of carrots diced
1 small box of sliced mushrooms
1/2 of a large onion diced
1 1/4 cups of diced celery
2 cups of diced cooked chicken thighs
3 bay leaves
several long peppers or 24 regular black pepper corns
3 thyme sprigs and tarragon sprigs
3/4 cup of frozen peas

Note:  Long pepper's flavor closely resembles regular black pepper. It has a hotter taste with sweet and somewhat earthy, gingery undertones.

Bechamel

4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
4 tablespoons of AP flour
2 cups of 2% milk
1 cup of cream
2 chicken bullion cubes
1 garlic clove minced
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
freshly grated nutmeg to taste
a handful of fresh parsley minced
1/4 cup of parmigiana

Roll out the chilled dough and place in the vessel of your choice. Chill again in the refrigerator. Put the potatoes, carrots, onion, bay leaves, long peppers, thyme in a large sauce pan of water. Cook for 8 minutes and then add the celery. Cook for a minute or two more. Now drain and remove the peppers, and herbs. Set aside.

For the bechamel place the butter and garlic into a sauce pan. Bring to a simmer and toast for a minute or two. Now add the flour and toast again for three minutes. You need to have the heat a little lower, so the flour will not get any color. Now add the cream and milk whisking all the time. Add the bullion, mushrooms and rest of the bechamel ingredients. Check for seasoning. You will now add the chicken and vegetables to the filling mix. Allow to cool completely.

Preheat you oven to 375  degrees.

When the filling has cooled you can add it to your prepared pie shells. Cover the filling with a top crust, brushed with a beaten egg and topped with parmigiana.

Bake in the lower third of the oven for about 50 minutes.

Italian Wedding Soup

With a lot of luck, I was able to find fresh escarole. The flavor of escarole is lightly bitter and it keeps it's crisp snap for quite some time. You can use any type of ground meat for this dish. I would not suggest using sausage, as this would compete with the flavors of the soup. Chicken, beef, turkey or pork will work well.

 The Italians have a soup called " Married Soup".  It is a soup with bits of this and that you have in your refrigerator. I have seen it with beans, assorted vegetables and leftover dried pasta. It often has small pieces of beef in it too.

 Enjoy this soup !


For the meat balls, you will preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

1 1/2 pounds of ground meat of your choice
2/3 cup of day old bread minced
2 small cloves of garlic minced
1 minced Fresno chile
1/2 cup of Pecorino Romano
2 teaspoons of lemon thyme
1/4 cup of white wine
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
2 large eggs

Mix all the above mentioned ingredients in a bowl and shape into small balls. Bake in a 350 degree oven until not quite done. You want them to release the fat and set. Now set aside.

For the soup:

1 onion minced
4 carrots minced
1 cup celery minced
12 cups of really good chicken stock
1 1/2 cups of Orzo Pasta
1 cup white wine
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons of Balsamico Vinegar
2 small heads of escarole chopped
2 tablespoons of fresh tarragon
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
salt an pepper to taste
red pepper flakes to taste

In a very large pan, heat the olive oil. Now saute your carrots, celery, and onion. The vegetables should be soft and just turning brown. Now add all the other ingredients with the exception of the meat balls. Bring to a simmer and taste for seasoning. Add this point add the meat balls. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with Parmesan.

This soup freezes well.