Leavenworth Update

As of tomorrow, December 1, all of the original residents of 1301 Leavenworth Street, apartments 22, 42, 44, and 48, will be gone. It's the end of an era! For real real! You can now find these core Team Dinner members at the following locations:

#22 - Timmy - Durham, NC
#42 - Alex and Laucha - Inner Sunset, SF
#44 - Jacob - Bowling Green, OH
#44 - Karen - Shrewsbury, MA
#44 - Melissa - Hayes Valley, SF
#48 - Thomas - Inner Richmond, SF

Shed a tiny tear for the end of 1301 Leavenworth, people. But wipe it away slowly with the hankie of relief that is this here blog.

Vegetable Tagine

I made this last night and it came out really really good. It's vegan! I based it on a recipe from Chow.com, but I made several changes as can be seen from my recipe.

Here's the original recipe: http://www.chow.com/recipes/10840

Here's what I used:

6 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2-3 teaspoons cinnamon
1-2 teaspoons turmeric
1-2 teaspoons ground coriander
dash of cayenne pepper
2 thumbs worth of chopped fresh ginger
6 cloves garlic, chopped
5 medium carrots, peeled, sliced diagonally
1 cup canned diced tomatoes in juice
2-3 cups vegetable broth (depends on how much liquid you want)
Pinch saffron - this ingredient is pretty key - pre-soak in a small amount of hot water
2 zucchinis, in half moon slices.
1/2 cup green olives, halved
2 cups cooked chickpeas or canned chickpeas, drained (I used one can)
1 cup dried currants (can also use raisins, apricots, prunes, whatever)
1 preserved lemon, seeds removed, finely chopped (I used fresh lemon juice instead)
salt and pepper

Directions: Slice the onions and sautee with olive oil until onions are mostly wilted. Add all spices except saffron. Add salt and pepper. Add a bit of broth if the spices start to stick to the pot. Add carrots, garlic, ginger, cook for 4 mins. Then add tomatoes, broth, saffron, lemon. Let stew come to a boil and simmer for 10 mins. Add chickpeas, simmer for 5 mins more. Then add olives, zucchini, currants (or other dried fruit) and cook for 10 mins on medium simmer until zucchini and carrots are the preferred consistency. Adjust salt, pepper and other spices to taste - there should be a good balance of cinnamon and saffron.

I really liked what I made, but next time I would adjust a few things. Mainly, I'd add more olives (I felt unsure about this, but they ended up tasting really good) and more dried fruit - the currants were the best part. I already adjusted the recipe to call for 1 cup instead of 1/2 cup. I actually used some raisins too since I ran out of currants.

I served this over quinoa, which worked really well! Would also be great with couscous or rice....other possible veggies include cauliflower, eggplant, squash - these would all be great.

Enjoy
David

Merguez Sausage, White Bean and Swiss Chard Soup

I made this soup tonight and based it roughly on an Italian sausage soup recipe. However, I changed several ingredients mainly to adjust to what I had in the house. The principal important ingredients are merguez sausage (lamb or beef usually), beans (white or not white) and greens (I used swiss chard, but kale would also be excellent).

Ingredients:

2 T olive oil
8 sausages - about 1.25 lbs of meat
1 leek, finely chopped
2 shallots, finely chopped
8 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 can white beans, with liquid
1-1.5 cups chopped tomato (fresh or canned)
1 large bunch of swiss chard (red chard looks nice)
3-4 cups chicken broth
1-2 tsp thyme
1/2 - 1 tsp white pepper
1/2 - 1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 - 1 tsp turmeric
salt and black pepper to taste

Directions: In a large pot, heat olive oil and add whole sausages. Fry until browned on all sides. When browned, add garlic, shallots, leek and sautee for 2 minutes. Add beans, broth, tomatoes, and all spices and bring to a simmer. While the liquid gets hot, take sausages out of the pot one at a time w/ a slotted spoon, cut them into bite sized pieces, and put the pieces back in the soup. Let the soup simmer for a few minutes to make sure sausage is fully cooked, then add swiss chard. Continue simmer until swiss chard is tender. Serve immediately, or save to serve later or the next day. The soup is very nice with a squeeze of lime or lemon.

I ended up inventing this recipe because one of the vendors at the Ferry Building gave me all of this sausage for free. Merguez sausage is very good and has nice spices that really add to the flavor of this soup, but a similar soup can easily be made w/ other types of sausage.

Asparagus Risotto with Lemon and Peas

adapted from a recipe from Mario Batali

Asparagus Risotto with Lemon and Peas

Time: 45 minutes

1 pound asparagus, peeled, trimmed and cut into one-inch-long pieces, tips reserved
6 to 8 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 package frozen peas (fresh if they're in season!)
zest of 2 lemons
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/3 cup chopped basil
10-15 sage leaves
2 1/2 cups Arborio rice
3/4 cup dry white wine
Salt to taste
about 2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese.

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add half the asparagus stalks and cook until quite soft, at least 5 minutes. Rinse quickly under cold water. Put cooked asparagus in a blender or food processor and add just enough water to allow machine to puree until smooth; set aside. (mbc note: i pureed them raw- admittedly i wasnt reading this recipe while i cooked)

2. Put stock in a medium saucepan over low heat. Put oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large, deep nonstick skillet over medium heat. When it is hot, add onion, stirring occasionally until it softens, 3 to 5 minutes.

3. Add rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is glossy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add white wine, stir, and let liquid bubble away. Add a large pinch of salt. Add warmed stock, 1/2 cup or so at a time, stirring occasionally. Each time stock has just about evaporated, add more.

4. After about 15 minutes, add remaining asparagus pieces and tips, basil, sage, and peas, continuing to add stock when necessary. In 5 minutes, begin tasting rice. You want it to be tender but with a bit of crunch; it could take as long as 30 minutes total to reach this stage. When it does, stir in 1/2 cup asparagus puree. Remove skillet from heat, add lemon zest, lemon juice, and remaining butter and stir briskly. Add Parmesan and stir briskly, then taste and adjust seasoning. Risotto should be slightly soupy. Serve immediately.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

Corn Bisque and Lime Cream

Hi! I'm one of Karen's friends from vet school and I brought this soup to a recent potluck. I didn't serve the lime cream then because the sour cream I bought was spoiled, but the soup is plenty good without it.
Adapted from "A New Way to Cook"

Corn Bisque
2-3 tbsp peanut oil, preferably Spectrum brand
2 med yellow or Vidalia onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp sea salt
30oz cooked corn, either fresh or frozen
2 dried red chiles, crumbled
1/2 ancho chile (optional)
2-3 tsp toasted cumin seeds
2 c. veggie broth
2 tbsp parsley or cilantro
2 c. 2% or whole milk

Lime Cream:
1/2 c. sour cream
1/4 c. buttermilk
1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro or parsley
1 tbsp chopped chives or scallions
1/4 tsp salt, to taste
1/4 tsp sugar
1-3 tbsp lime juice, to taste
pepper to taste
1 lime, sliced into wedges

Corn Bisque: Saute chopped onion in peanut oil until translucent and lightly browned. While the onions are cooking, mash the garlic cloves with salt. Once the onions are done, add the corn, both kinds of chilies, the cumin seed, and the veggie broth. Cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off burner and let sit until cool enough to puree in food processor, or use immersion blender. Puree 3/4 - all of the soup depending on desired consistency, adding parsley/ cilantro to the portion to be pureed. Add the milk, taste and adjust salt, and heat gently until warmed through. For the Lime Cream, just mix all ingredients together, and serve on top of soup.

Winter Squash Lasagna with sage, walnuts and black kale

This was great. Kind of dairy heavy... but the kale was a great addition. This is from Deborah Madison's cookbook. It is especially good on a cold fall evening :)
hope you kittens are well!
love, kareni

ingridients:
3.5c milk
aromatics: 1 garlic clove, 1 slice onion, 1 bay leaf, 1 parsley sprig
1 large butternut squash (3lbs or less)
4 plump garlic cloves
20 or so sage lleaves
packed .5c parsley leaves
.25c olive oil
1 large onion cute into squares
1 c lightly toasted walnuts or hazlenuts finely chopped
sea salt and ground pepper
1.5 Tbs butter
3.5 Tbs flour
1 8 oz package no boil lasagne noodles
1c grated gruyere cheese
1c freshly grated parmesan cheese
3 bunches black kale
pinch of red pepper flakes

1. butter large baking dish and preheat oven to 375F. in a small pot heat the milk w aromtatics and when its nearly boiling, cover the put, turn it off and let it stand
2. peel squash and chop into .5 inch cubes. chop 2 cloves of garlic and the sage and parsley. heat olive oil in skillet add the sqyash... cook until they are a little softened. Add the onions and continue cooking until squash is tendor. reduce heat and continue to cook until slightly caramelized. add garlic and herb mixture. cook a few more minutes then turn off heat. add s and p to taste
3. melt butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour. reheat the milk and pour it thru a strainer into the roux....while wisking briskly! turn heat low and wait until it thickens (like 15 min) season w s and p to taste.
4. spread .5c sauce onto baking dish and lay 3 noodles over it. cover with half the squash mixture, 1c of sauce, half the gruyere and a third of the parmesan. repeat and then add the third layer of noodles. spread remaining sauce and top with parmesan. tent with foil. bake for 30 min, then remove foil and continue to bake until bubbly and golden (20 min longer). remove from oven and let rest while you cook the kale
5. strip kale from ropy stems. cut into .5inch strips. head oil and garlic. when oil is golden add the kale
add some crushed red pepper flakes. and some salt, toss in the pan and coat with oil and then add 2 c of water (I added much less then this, and there was still too much water.. i would say go with .75c) cook until it is as tender as you like it!
6. lay kale on plate and top with cheesey bubbly goodness :)


enjoy!

Pao de Queijo - Brasilian Cheese Bread

I made this last night and they came out excellent as usual. It made 20 small cheese breads. The picture I am including was not taken by me....it's from the web. But mine looked sort of like this, but even better. These are so easy to make and so delicious!

2 cups manioc flour (can be found at any Asian or Brasilian market...it's super inexpensive, I buy a Vietnamese brand)

1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter (can also use canola oil, or combination of the two)
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups grated parmesan cheese or other hard cheese....stronger cheese is really nice. Adding more cheese doesn't hurt either...the cheesier the better.
2 eggs

Mix milk, salt and butter in a pot, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, then add the manioc flour. Then add the cheese and eggs, kneed with your hands or spoon until it's smooth, then form balls (depending on how big you want the small breads to be) with your hands. Cook on greased baking sheet at 400 degrees until they are lightly browned and crispy on top, about 15-20 mins. Serve right away. They are delicious.

I personally love the texture of bread made with manioc flour, and ate lots of pan de yuca in Ecuador when I was there last year (same idea, but without the cheese).