Cookin' in Brooklyn
So tonight, we wander into the kitchen of Chef P. Though I pretended to start the squash soup (recipe to follow), I was quickly rescued from the monumentous error of cutting the raw squash in half horizontally instead of vertically--the horror! D. later explained his hostile takeover by arguing that it's much easier to peel in verticle pieces. Left to my own devices, I spent many minutes cleaning the inner squash junk off the seeds to make delightful toasted squash seeds (virtually indestinguishable from the pumpkin seed). Mix them with a little olive oil, salt and toast in a 250 degree oven for an hour and a half or so until crispy.
Our first dish, Pasta and Chard, perfect together
8 oz cheese agnollotti (or ravioli)
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 strips of applewood smoked bacon, chopped raw
2-3 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
1 T olive oil
2-2 1/2 cups chopped swiss chard
1/2 cup white wine (sauvignon blanc)
(from the mind of Mr. P)
Boil water for pasta and once pasta is cooking begin sauteeing the remaining ingredients.
Cook bacon in skillet with garlic and olive oil for about one minute over medium heat. Add pine nuts. Stir for another minute. Add chard. Continue stirring for two minutes. Add wine. Let mixture cook down for a minute or two. Add pasta and lightly sautee. Mix and serve.
For our stolen dish of the evening, it's Squash Soup with Parmesan and Fried Sage (from Bon Appetit, Nov. 2001)
3 T butter
1 onion, chopped
1 t chopped fresh sage
2 3/4 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped (about 5 cups)
5 cups canned chicken broth (or veggie)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
fresh sage leaves
Melt 1 T butter over medium heat. Add onion. Cook until soft, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes. Add chopped sage; stir 1 minute. Add squash and broth. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until squash is tender, about 25 minutes. Cool slightly. Puree soup in blender. Return to pot. Mix in cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Melt 2 T butter in skillet over medium heat. Add sage leaves and sautee (be careful not to burn). Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with fried sage leaves.
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Let's see here.. I "rescued you".. Bascially I was trying to help, but you ran off and started something else. Dinner was definitely great tonight.
We should've included a recipe of the vegetarian braised collard greens we had last night. That was the first time I've had tasty collards that weren't made with 1/2 of an adult pig.
Mmm! G. and I have taken on the intimidating task of feeding Jon and Elizabeth tonight before the debates... pehaps we'll attempt the above fare. I was just talking about how I wanted to toast pumpkin seeds last night!
I'm having the squash soup for lunch right now and I must say it totally rocks.
The night before we made this vegetarian braised collards.
8-9 collard leaves, well washed and chopped.
1 medium sweet onion, diced or julianne (Vidallia's are the best)
3/4 cup diced carrot
2-3 cloves of garlic minced or pressed
1 Tsp crushed red pepper
2 cups veggie stock
2 Tbs olive oil
1 1/2 Tbs molasses
1 1/2 Tbs dark brown sugar
Over a low to medium heat, sweat the onions, garlic , and carrots in the olive oil until onions are translucent. Add collards and red pepper, mix well with previous ingredients in pan and cook for 1 more minute. Add 1 cup of the stock and the molasses. Cook (simmer) for about 4 minutes while checking the liquid in the pan, if it's getting dry add more stock. Add the brown sugar, keep stirring.. pull the collards back to one side and tilt the pan so the liquid flows to the empty side. If it's too wet keep cooking the mixture if it's too dry add the remainder stock.. The sauce is ready when it bubbles. Turn stove off and set aside (on cold burner) for 2 minutes.
Serve on top of rice.
-- I've combined a few recipes found on the 'net.. feel free to use your own judgement.
Enjoy!