Brats and kraut leftovers salad

Boy, am I on a roll today, or what?

After receiving a lo-hot of cabbage in my farm share over the summer, I decided a few months ago to make my own sauerkraut. I won't be posting the recipe here, because I did not document the process with pictures and I basically just followed a random recipe found on the internet.

A couple nights ago, I decided to use the kraut in a basic beer-brats and kraut recipe. Long story short, I found myself stuck with leftovers and did not feel like eating full-on sauerkraut and sausages yet again today, so I came up with this salad on the fly.

INGREDIENTS (for 2)


- 1 romaine heart salad
- 1 small red apple
- 1 cold leftover grilled bratwurst
- about 1/2 cup leftover kraut
- shaved gruyere cheese
- white balsamic vinegar
- olive oil
- salt and pepper

RECIPE

- with a stick blender, puree the kraut with the salt, pepper, vinegar and olive oil: that will be your dressing for the salad.

note: I used white balsamic because I had this at home already. I think it might be better with apple cider vinegar, since it will pair well with the fresh apple.


- dice the cold brat and the apple in small cubes.
- cut the salad in bite size chunks.
- toss everything together, add the dressing and top with shaved cheese.

Bon appetit!

Winter roots and squash gratin

So..... Today I am going to a late "Halloween/day of the Dead" potluck dinner with my colleagues. I decided to tweak a french staple: the Gratin Dauphinois.

I decided to use whatever winter veggies were sleeping in my fridge, and ended up using potatoes, butternut squash, parsnips and turnips.

This recipe is dead simple. No pun intended ;)

Here goes:

INGREDIENTS (about 10 servings as side dish, 6 servings as vegetarian entree):

- 1 large butternut squash
- 1 huge turnip (same size as a rutabaga)
- 1 medium yukon gold potato
- 1 medium parsnip
- 1 small carton of whipping cream (I would normally use heavy cream, but that's all there was left at the supermarket today)

- a splash of milk
- about 2 cups grated Gruyere cheese (it really does make a difference to use this nutty-flavored delicious cheese in stead of cheddar or mozzarella. If you can, splurge! -it's not that expensive-)

- grated nutmeg (fresh is better, but already ground is fine too)

- salt, pepper

RECIPE:

- preheat the oven at 350F (~175C).
- wash, peel and quarter all veggies.

- using a mandolin, cut the vegetables in thin slices (~2mm thick).

Be very careful with the mandolin and protect your fingers with the guard. I promise that this is really the ONLY way to go with a mandlin. I recently discovered what it feels like to be a veggie going through that blade, and I do not recommend it... Lost the fingerprint and sensitivity on my right ring finger :(

- Put the vegetables in a thin layer on the bottom of a dish. Add salt, pepper, a little bit of nutmeg and some cheese.

Add another layer of veggies, salt, pepper and cheese. No nutmeg on that second layer. Then repeat layers only adding nutmeg every other layer (I find that if I add nutmeg on every layer, it becomes overpowering). Finish with a nice layer of grated cheese on top.

- Pour the cream and milk on top of the veggies.
- Bake in the oven for 60 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

- Enjoy!

2011 recap

It's been almost a year since my last post... Shame on me! It doesn't mean however that I've been slacking in the cooking department...
Here's a photo-recap of what's been going on in Poupette's kitchen since September '10:

Homemade pickles

Coconut-lime scallop soup

Hot italian sausage and rice timbale (recipe on food network website) and raw fennel bulb salad

Chickpeas, heart of palm and baba ganouj salad

Bresaola and Tomme de Savoie pizza

Grilled zucchinis and eggplants, rucola, salami and tomme de savoie sandwich

Chopped chicken livers, eggs and onion compote

Thai-ish shrimp, bell peppers and pinapple stir-fry

Bohemienne

Spaghetti al pesto

Homemade paprika

Homemade paprika

Macarons a la Pralinoise

Homemade butter with pink himalayan salt

Cherry tomatoes, eggplants and fresh goat cheese barley risotto

Southern-style green collards

Lemon-coconut cupcakes

Pancetta and yellow summer squash barley risotto

Red velvet cupcakes

Tomates farcies

Spinach, shiitake mushrooms and sweet italian sausage potato gnocchi

Again, if you want any of those recipes, just ask in the comments, and I'll put my full recipe or the link to a borrowed recipe in a future post :)

Enjoy!

A busy weekend

Hey everyone!

I've been MIA for a while now... Here's a quick photo update of my weekend, culinary-wise :)

Roasted Bell Peppers Soup

Roast 6-7 bell peppers (I used all colors: green, yellow and red) directly on the flame until they charr. Then put them immediately in a plastic bag (ziplock works wonders) and close tightly. Let them sit for a while, and the skin will come right off when you peel them.

Peel the peppers and chop them up in small strips. Chop up an onion and a clove of garlic. Pell and cube two small potatoes.

In a deep pot, melt some butter and fry the onion and garlic until transparent and tender. Then add the peppers, a sprig of thyme (I used fresh, but dried works fine too), the potatoes and 4 cups of chicken stock.

Simmer for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through. Puree with a stick blender, and serve piping hot with a splash of thick cream and sprinkled with fresh thyme leaves. Enjoy!

Tarte Tatin

Peel and quarter 5-7 apples (use sweet apples, not sour like the Granny Smith). Scrub the quarters with lemon juice so that they do not oxidize. arrange them in the bottom of a cake from (make them in a pretty pattern, as you will see that pattern when you turn the pie upside down for serving).

In a frying pan, melt 2 1/2 oz unsalted butter and 3/4 cup of caster sugar. cook until it forms a golden brown caramel, and pour over the apple quarters in the cake form. The caramel will set really fast on the cold apples and become crunchy. No problem! When the apples bake, they will release some moisture and the caramel will melt and cook with the apples. Lay down a sheet of pastry (whichever kind you like) over the apples and bake for 35-40 minutes in a pre-warmed oven at 365F). Bon appetit!

Chicken Pot Pie

Roast 4 seasoned (salt, pepper olive oil) boneless thighs of chicken in a 350F oven for about 40 minutes.

Put the thighs aside and deglaze the juices from the dish with 2 cups of chicken stock. Reserve the liquid.

Slice and cook a handful of button mushrooms in a little butter until golden brown. Put aside.

In a deep pot, melt about a half a stick of unsalted butter (~ 5tsp) and mix in 1/3 cup of flour. Cook the flour gently (the mixture will bubble up and fluff), then add the chickn stock and immediately stir until it thickens and add the chopped up chicken, 3 carrots (sliced), the mushrooms and about a cup and a half of frozen peas. Transfer into an oven safe dish and cover with puff pastry. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the pastry is fluffy and golden brown. Enjoy!

When in Rome... (pun intended!)

Ever since relocating to New England, I've had a craving for clams.
Yesterday, I indulged in homemade linguine alle vongole and boy, were they satisfying!

Ingredients for 3 people (or 2 very hungry):

- 2lbs littleneck clams

- 3 cloves of garlic

- one lemon 

- red chili flakes, 1tsp  

- dry white wine, 3/4 cups (I used pinot grigio for cooking and drinking with the meal afterwards)

- non-salted butter, 3 tbsp

- chopped flat leaf parsley, to taste

- 1 lb dried linguine (spaghetti work just fine too)

- freshly grated parmesan cheese, to taste








Recipe:

- start off with rinsing and cleaning the clams in a bowl of cold water several times. Discard any clam that is not closed tight. If they are open, you can tap on them and they will close. If they stay open, it means that they are already dead and potentially toxic. DO NOT eat those!

- Then cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water

- While the pasta is cooking, fry the grated garlic and chili flakes in olive oil over medium heat in a pot for a couple of minutes

 

- Add the clams and the wine combined with the lemon juice.

- Cover and let simmer over medium heat until the clams are cooked (you know they are when they open up)

- Discard any clam that did not open, just like this one here:

- Drain the cooked pasta, and add them to the clam sauce. Add the parsley and give a good toss.

- Eat hot, sprinkled with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

BON APPETIT!