Pumpkin Sage Lasagna

An experiment I decided would be good to serve to some vegetarian friends we invited for dinner on Saturday night. I served Mushroom Caviar with ficelle first, a green salad with the lasagna and Mexican Meringues with clementines for dessert. I used no-cook lasagna so increased the liquids accordingly. Next time, if I can find  the proper size, I am going to try using fresh pasta.

Serves 3-4



PREPARE FILLING

(1) Defrost:

1 package frozen chopped spinach (if using no cook lasagna, defrost only until spinach can be easily spread and do not squeeze out any water)

OR use

10 oz fresh spinach, stems and large viens removed, sauteed in 1 t olive oil until barely wilted

(2) Sautee until the onion is wilted:

1/2 large sweet onion, thinly sliced then cut in 1 inch lengths
2 t olive oil

then add:

1 t sugar
1/3 c pecans, coarsely chopped
1/3 c dried cranberries

and cook until the onion is browned/caramelized.

(4) Meanwhile combine:

1 1/2 c pureed pumpkin
1 T dark maple syrup
Water if needed to make the mixture the consistency of  tomato sauce

(5) In addition assemble:

~15 leaves of fresh sage, coarsely chopped
10 ounces fresh ricotta cheese (I use part-skim)
Nutmeg

5 sheets of pasta (~3 1/2 inches by  6 1/2 inches, if no-cook, larger if fresh) - if using no-cook pasta soak pasta briefly in hot but not boiling water

ASSEMBLE LASAGNA

(6) Oil bottom of a 5 inch x  9 inch x 3 inch deep bread pan

(7) Place a piece of pasta in  pan and cover with, in this order:

1/2 c pureed pumpkin mixture
1/3 of the caramelized onion mixture
1/3 of the chopped sage

(8)  Place a piece of pasta on top of the mixture and cover with, in this order:
5 oz of ricotta cheese
Nutmeg - sprinkle evenly on the ricotta
1/2 of the spinach








(9) Repeat step (7)

(10) Repeat step (8)

(11) Repeat step (7)








Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a 350 degree F oven for 50 minutes; uncover and cook for 5-10 more minutes or until top is lightly browned.  Let sit 15 minutes before slicing to serve.









Reviewed 5/30/2017

Potato Cakes

I remember Moogie making potato cakes from the potatoes left over from Thanksgiving. I doubt Moogie's mashed potatoes contained as much cream and butter as the potatoes Jason made for Christmas this year. At any rate the potato cakes from the left over Christmas potatoes were even better than those I remembered.  Soft and very smooth on the inside, crispy on the outside.  The ultimate "comfort food".

These will only be as good as the left over potatoes you start with. Form potatoes into cakes and fry in butter or a mix of butter and olive oil until the cakes are heated through and browned on both sides.

Reviewed 8/24/2017

Best Christmas Present of All

The best Christmas present of all is having family together and this year we were delighted to have Chris, Alex and Dan and Moogie (in order of arrival) here for a great Christmas visit. Alex and Dan, who had received a pasta maker as a gift last Christmas, gave Christopher one this year. Then Alex and  Dan (grounded in Lincoln for an extra 24 hours because of a snow storm) and Christopher decided to shop and make dinner the night after Christmas.  A real treat for me!



They made fresh pasta and cooked a wonderful pork ragu from a recipe Alex and Dan had used before (omitting the pancetta, mushroom demi glaze and using considerably less pork).

It was absolutely delicious!  Christopher declared the pasta a bit "rustic", and I understand that since returning to Brooklyn, he has been perfecting the pasta recipe and  technique and will hopefully post the results on this blog soon :-)



This was a gift that kept on giving. Ed and I enjoyed the rest of the Pork Ragu, albeit with store bought fresh pasta for New Year's (photo lower left).

Reviewed 9/20/2017

Fish Cakes

Fish cakes were one of my Dad, Ja's, "favorite foods".  My brother Jason often indulged Dad by making them for him.  I am quite fond of them too, but had not had them in a very long time.  It was a special treat when Jason made them for us for breakfast this fall. The following recipe is basically the one Jason uses.  I have added a few steps based on my experience making crab cakes.

Soak

1 pound boneless salt cod

in water for 1 - 3 days changing water at least 3 times a day.  The saltier the cod the longer it will need to go though the soak - rinse cycle.  Drain cod and place in a pot and cover with 2 inches of water.  Bring water to a simmer and let cod sit until it flakes,  Do not boil or cod will become tough. Drain, flake and mix with:

2 cups (1 pound) cooked and mashed Russet potatoes

1/2 cup onion, grated

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Form  into 10 - 12 cakes (about 3 inches in diameter) dip both sides in 

Corn meal

and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (or overnight) or place in freezer for 10 minutes.

Heat in a skillet, covering the bottom surface at least 1/8 inch deep:

Olive oil or a mixture of olive oil and butter.

Place a few cakes at a time in the hot oil mixture and fry until lightly browned all over, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Placing too may cakes in the pan at one time will release too much moisture and compromise the form of the cakes (see photo at left - fewer cakes would have been better).

Pat with paper towels to remove excess oil and serve with lemon wedges and cocktail sauce and/or a mayo-mustard sauce.

Reviewed 5/22/2017

Pecan Pie - Thanksgiving 2010

I have never been a pie person, but starting last year the Thanksgiving dessert responsibility has been delegated to me.  Last year I made an Apple Tart and a Pumpkin Pie and had planned to do the same this year (even had the pumpkin pureed and ready) when Kiki said she would really like a pecan pie. Although I think I liked Mom's pecan pies when I was younger (recipe below), pecan pies now remind me of corn syrup and runny over-sweet middles, not the best finish for a big Thanksgiving dinner.   But not wanting to disappoint. I consulted How to Cook Everything (original edition/1998) where Mark Bittman shares my sentiments: "There are two kinds of pecan pies, one of which contains not only sugar but corn syrup. I don't like this version - not only is it too sweet, if you taste corn syrup by itself you'll never cook with it again."*  Though I have never tasted it straight-up, I can imagine. Then after you've made the corn syrup laden dessert that was pretty awful, you have the almost full corn syrup bottle staring you in the face every time you open the pantry closet until you finally pour the syrup down the drain and recycle the bottle.  I liked Bittman's alternative, a custard pie that thickens the sugar with eggs.  Moogie and I made the pie using Bitmann's recipe but I reduced the vanilla from 1 T to 1 t.

Prebake the Pie Crust.  While heating the oven for the pie crust, place

2 cups shelled pecans

on a baking sheet and bake  (this can and should be done well before oven reaches 425 degrees F) shaking and stirring for about 5 minutes or until pecans are hot.  Cool the pecans. Select one cup of in tact whole pecan halves and coarsely chop the remaining nuts.

Start the filling while the crust is in the oven.  When the crust is done, turn the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium saucepan, beat until foamy:

5 eggs,  then beat in:

1 c white sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
Pinch of salt
6 T (3/4 stick) butter, melted

Warm this mixture over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until it is hot to the touch. Do not boil, then stir in:

1 t vanilla extract and the pecans.

Pour this mixture into the still-hot pie crust and bake 30 - 40 minutes, until the filling shakes like Jell-O but is still quite moist.  Cool on a rack and serve warm or at room temperature.  Unsweetened whipped cream is an excellent accompaniment to offset the sweetness of the pie.

A WORD ABOUT CONVECTION OVENS:  I cooked this using the convection oven option at 375 degrees F.  The filling was too hard when I checked the pie after the minimum time, 30 minutes.  I am going to use the regular oven option next time.  Alternatively if you do use a convection oven use a lower heat.

*  How to Cook Everything,(original edition/1998) page  694

MOOGIE'S PECAN PIE RECIPE

Prepare pastry and make an unbaked 9 inch pastry shell. Chill throughly.

Cream:

1/2 c butter

Gradually add:

1 c sugar gradually and cream together until light and fluffy.

Then add and blend well:

3 eggs, lightly beater
3/4 c dark corn syrup (Moogie notes: if I don't have dark, I use light)
1/4 t salt
1 c pecans, halves or broken

Pour mixture into pastry shell. Bake on lower shelf in moderate oven (350 degrees) 45 minutes or until a knife inserted into the filling comes out clean.

AND THE TURKEY
Jason did an awesome job of cooking the turkey (without stuffing - stuffing was baked and served on the side) on his Sykes grill.  It was greatly enjoyed by Moogie, Jason, Kiki, Christopher, Ed and me. Parker was at a ski camp in Colorado and Alex and Dan stayed in Portland and cooked their first Thanksgiving turkey. They got the turkey (from the Pine Mountain Buffalo Ranch in Bend OR) at the Portland Farmer's Market the Saturday before Thanksgiving.


Reviewed 6/17/2017

Sole Variations

Serves 2

If necessity is the mother of invention, then necessity = available ingredients.  I had pureed pumpkin left over from Thanksgiving (the vote was for Pecan Pie and Apple Tart this year) and Ed was getting sick of Pumpkin Soup.  Hence a variation on Sole Florentine.

Dry:

2/3 pound sole/flounder filet (4-6 pieces, approximately the same size) and rub with:

Nutmeg

Blend:

1 c pumpkin puree
2 T dark maple syrup
2 T dried cranberries
2 T fresh sage, chopped

Divide mixture among the filets, spreading evenly over the top of each filet.

Roll the fillets and place them in a  lightly oiled baking dish..

Sprinkle ground nutmeg on the tops of the rolled filets.

Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes (less time if pumpkin is warm to start) or until fish flakes.

I served this with fall crop Haiku Turnip Sautee dressed with a bit of tarragon vinegar - a good contrast to the sweetness of the pumpkin.

Reviewed 5/22/2017

Pumpkin Soup 2010

And the pumpkins.... One turned into pumpkin soup. Unlike the Pumpkin Soup recipe posted earlier on this blog, this soup contains no cream/milk.

Peel, seed, quarter and cut into one inch cubes:

~ 5 pounds pumpkin

Steam the pumpkin until tender or brush with olive oil and bake in a 350 degree F oven until tender (about 30 minutes).

While pumpkin is cooking, in a heavy stockpot sautee until onion is tender:

1 T olive oil
1 sweet onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced

Then add:

Pumpkin chunks
4 c chicken stock and simmer for ~ 30 minutes until heated through

Puree the mixture in a food processor* until smooth, adding additional stock if necessary to get desired consistency. Either refrigerate/freeze for future use or return some or all of the soup to the pan and keep warm until served.

Garnish with:

Shallots, thinly sliced and fried in olive oil until browned and

Sage leaves fried in oilve oil until browned (bowl at lower left) OR
Roasted chili (bowl at upper right).

* April 2013: Just made some Beet Soup with Cumin with an immersion blender (see Cool Tools 3). Wow! The prep time is shorter and the clean-up much easier. Going forward I will be using the immersion blender instead of the food processor for all pureed soups.

Reviewed 9/7/2017