Redheaded Green Salsa

Roasted Tomatillo and Poblano Pepper Salsa

I am a big fan of the flavor concentrator dry heat and this recipe showcases it.

1 10/2 lbs tomatillos halved, papery skins removed and sticky residue rinsed
5 or 6 poblano chilies, halved, seeded, pith removed
2 Red bell peppers halved, seeded, pith removed
8 or 9 whole garlic cloves, skins intact
3 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, minced
cilantro or dandelion greens, chopped for garnish

Preheat oven to 475. Toss first 4 ingredients together. On a large, foil lined baking sheet spread out mixture in one layer, skin side up. Place in oven with the skins as close to flame as possible, or use your broiler, you may choose to grill these as well. I respect that. In 25 minutes test the tomatillos, peppers and garlic for doneness. The peppers' skin should be black and ready to peel off the pepper meat. Peel the peppers and garlic, combine with tomatillos and minced onion in a food processor and pulse until desired consistency is attained. Add chopped greens (cilantro or dandelion} and salt and pepper to taste.

I served this over roasted chicken legs and roasted potatoes this past weekend to universal acclaim. It can be used on anything but ice cream.

Winter Soup with Sweet Potato, Squash and Apple a.k.a., how to use up everything in your pantry.

Sooo I get this box of vegetable and fruit delivered every week to my apartment (check it out - http://www.doortodoororganics.com/ - I get the "bitty box"). I try my best to use everything up, but my good intentions are often (hmmm, nearly always these days) stymied by my schedule. In an effort to use up last week's bitty box, and start to use this week's stash, I went googling for soups. My effort yielded a winner, which I now present to you.

Ingredients:
1 medium kabocha squash, cubed (I didn't know what this was either. Thank goodness for the internets. Turned out I didn't have one (it's a Japanese squash in case you are wondering), so I used a butternut, peeled first with a vegetable peeler)
3 large sweet potatoes, cubed (I had 2 and used a regular to supplement; peel these guys too)
3 carrots, chopped (try 4) (peel if you'd like)
3 apples, cubed (peel 'em first)
1 red onion (I used white, it works the same)
2-3 stalks celery (I had really sad looking celery in my fridge from last week's Shephard's Pie - still turned out well)
4 cups broth (really, six to eight)
2 cinnamon sticks
3 cloves garlic (um, I went with six)
2 tablespoons ginger (I'm not big on measuring, I just grated a bunch - go to taste)
3 tablespoons honey
kosher salt
oliver oil

My additions: spinach and yellow squash.

Parsley and sour cream to top.

Goat cheese and bread for pre-soup snack (for ravenous chefs who cook at 9 pm....)

In a large bowl, toss squash, sweet potatoes, apples, half of the onion and half of the chopped carrots with the ginger and garlic. Add a bit of olive oil and a sprinkling of salt. Roast in single layers (so use multiple pans if necessary) in a preheated oven at 425 for 35-45 minutes until soft and brown.

As vegetables roast, mix celery, remaining carrots, onions [plus any other veggies you'd like - I did some yellow squash] in a deep pot with a bit of olive oil. Heat over medium high heat to make sure veggies are brown (but don't burn them!) After 5-10 minutes, pour in broth and add cinnamon stick. Get 'er boiling, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Allow to cook for 10-15 minutes (or until the roasted veggies are brown). Pull out the cinnamon sticks.

If you have handy, dandy hand blender, go to work on the soup - blending to your desired consistency (some like it smooth, I like some chunks to remind me of the vegetables contained within). If no hand blender, start transferring in batches to blender (or resign yourself to a broth soup, which is still quite tasty).

Salt to taste, which for me is quite a bit (I rationalize my added salt intake with my lack of processed food intake). Then stir in chopped spinach (if you'd like). Kale would work equally well. Once it's had a few minutes in the soup, start ladeling it up. Top with sour cream and some parsley.

Good stuff.

Theresa's foray into cooking meat: Steak with gorgonzola sauce.

When I first started experimenting in the kitchen (circa 2004), I was a near-vegetarian, some would say pescatarian (or just call me picky). As a result, cooking with meat has always been a challenge. I am adept at any ground meat or fish (hard to screw up!) but shy away from a good ol' steak. I decided it was time to get out of that rut. I was assisted by a seasoned meat eater, sometimes meat cooker (albeit on the grill). We explained our dilemma to the Whole Foods meat counter guy and he recommended a top sirloin, which, lucky for us, was on sale.

Here's what you'll need:
About a lb of steak
8 oz of blue cheese (we went with gorgonzola)
one red onion
some butter
red pepper flakes
garlic
some sour cream (optional)
parsley (fresh is better, dry will do)

For sides, I had sweet potatoes and white asparagus on hand. Pretty much any potato, veggie combo would go nicely with this steak (dousing anything in blue cheese sauce is a sure crowd pleaser).

First sides: I up some sweet potatoes, added a good strong coating of olive oil, salt and pepper, and a bit of cinnamon and cayenne. They went into the oven at 400 for about 20 minutes (check frequently - I got involved in a conversation and they ended up quite crispy). Start the steak in the meantime. After they came out, and while I was doing the finishing touches on the steak, I covered the asparagus in olive oil, salt and pepper in the broiler for about five minutes with a pinch of lemon juice.

The Steak: I sliced the red onion and sauteed on medium high in a little bit of olive oil and butter until soft. I added the garlic and a bit of salt and pepper. I turned down the heat and started adding the cheese, stirring frequently.

At this point, get some butter nice and hot in a separate pan and then add the steak, cooking to your desired rareness. [I let my sous chef handle this, but if you don't do meat, just google. Post suggestions in the comments].

As the cheese melts down, add about 2 tbls of white wine and a bit of sour cream along with some red pepper flakes. Turn off the heat. When the steak is ready, add 1/4 c. water to the drippings and boil for two minutes. Stir the water/drippings/butter mixture into the cheese sauce. If you haven't satisfied your saturated fat intake for the year at this point, you could consider adding a tiny bit of bacon or prosciutto to the sauce.

Prepare a plate with steak, asparagus and potatoes. Drizzle blue cheese sauce over steak (or the whole thing!) Top with chopped parsley.

Yum.

Saturday Night Winebalaya

Or the way a frugal Yankee (redundant?) learns the meaning of lagniappe when applied to jambalaya. Thanks to Pat "Papa" MacAlinden for the euphemism.

I started making this recipe decades ago. I was once described by my brother as a cooking one-trick-pony because it was my go-to recipe for many family functions. Another brother forbade me from cooking in his kitchen for years after making winebalaya there one night. My blessed mother just groaned at the mere mention of its name.

In Chautauqua, one year, I toiled while guests ate bread and drank wine for so long we could not eat it that night, but, oh, did we feast in the morning (it makes a wonderful omelet stuffing.)

I have filled pots and vats and bellies and tupperware in four time zones, I once bought a 32 quart pot to cook it for a bachelor party. I have made it in a beach house, at 9000+ feet, in a hotel room on a hot plate, in one room garrets and in a luxury high-rise apartment who's owner waxed nostalgic that he smelled it for a week after we cooked it when he got off the elevator on his floor.

It is something that begs the company of friends and family, of a conversation where we get to know one another, or catch up after a long time apart. It demands no great skills, no expensive equipment, it needs no timer, and it is really kinda cheap to make.

I will include a stock I have formulated for it, but one may use a packaged chicken stock or one's own homemade stock if one desires.

Winebalaya

4 quarts stock
1 lbs andouille or kielbasa or linguica or Italian sausage, chopped bite sized
2 lbs chicken meat, your call, boneless, skinless breast or a cut up fryer
2 medium yellow onion chopped
4 stalks celery chopped
2 bell peppers chopped
1 jalapeno minced pepper, seeds are up to you
1 banana minced pepper, seeds are up to you
1 Anaheim minced pepper, seeds are up to you
2 28 ounce cans of whole peeled tomatoes, tomatoes crushed by hand (trust me on this)
17 cloves of minced garlic (or your discretion)
.75 liters red wine, something you like (again, trust me)
3 cups long grain rice
1 bunch scallion, chopped
1 bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped

Brown the chicken on all sides (Mario Batali, the great chef, once said the most common mistake a home cook makes is not letting things brown to the mahogany brown that builds rich restaurant flavor) and reserve.
Brown the sausage (see above) and reserve
Sweat the onions, garlic, carrots, celery and hot peppers (this is my school of slow heat, you may want to add some of the hot peppers with the bell peppers at the end for a brighter heat. Same with the garlic)
Add tomatoes with juice and stock and 1/3 of the wine

Simmer for 1/2 hour, add 1/3 more wine and the chicken and sausage. Simmer for another 1/2hour add last 1/3 of the wine and bring to a boil. Add the rice. Cover and turn the heat down until the rice is al dente, soft or exploded and mushy, rice texture is up to you.

Add the parsley, scallions, bell peppers, and any remaining garlic or hot peppers. I let the whole thing sit on the stove for a while at this point. There is enough residual heat in this pot to melt all the ice in your freezer if you put the pot into the refrigerator, if you want to defrost the freezer feel free.

I like to serve this after about 20 minutes of resting on the stove. This is easily a main dish or one-pot-meal in the classic sense. Maybe serve it with a green salad and some crusty bread.


Stock:
3 lbs stock bones
1 onion, rough chopped
6 cloves garlic, rough chopped
4 ribs celery, rough chopped
3 medium carrots rough chopped
3 tbsp oil
5 quarts water

Heat oil over med-high heat in a large heavy stew pot or dutch oven until shimmering. Caramelize bones until brown on all sides (Remember Mario).Add the remaining ingredients and sweat until tender. Add water and simmer hard for 90 minutes until reduced by 1/5, strain and reserve stock.

J&T

Lamb Parsnip Tomato Sauce over Penne

I made this the other night. It's a quick, easy and relatively healthy little meal that I found on Epicurious. Enjoy!

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 very large onion, sliced (about 4 cups)
  
• 12 ounces medium parsnips (about 4), peeled, cut on slight diagonal into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 4 garlic cloves, minced [I used two small cloves]
  
• 8 ounces ground lamb
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 14 1/2-ounce cans diced tomatoes in juice [I used 2.5 cans]
  
• 12 ounces penne
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
• Crumbled feta cheese

Saute onions and parsnips in olive oil on medium high heat until softened (about 10 minutes). Add garlic and continue to saute for one minute. Add lamb, and saute until no longer pink, breaking up with back of spoon, about 2 minutes. Add cinnamon and a healthy amount of salt and pepper. Add tomatoes with juice and boil it up. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until parsnips are tender, about 12 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook pasta in water. Drain. Top with sauce, feta and parsley. Eat!