Cacio e Pepe

This is out of the February 2010 Cook's Illustrated. It's a good quick weekday pasta for which boiling the water is the biggest time suck. I've made it a couple times now and think it may be something of a replacement for my famous ham and cream pasta which often ends up too hot for Eeva's taste. I fudge a lot of the stuff in the recipe (don't measure or use a Dutch oven) and it turns out just fine.

6 ounces Pecorino Romano, 4 ounces finely grated (about two cups) and 2 ounces coarsely grated (about 1 cup)
1 lb spaghetti
Salt
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons finely ground pepper

1. Place finely grated Pecorino in medium bowl. Set colander in large bowl.

2. Bring 2 quarts water to boil in large Dutch oven. Add pasta and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt;cook, stirring frequently. Drain pasta and reserve cooking water. Return pasta to bowl.

3. Slowly whisk 1 cup reserved water into finely grated Pecorino until smooth. Whisk in cream, oil, and black pepper. Pour mixture over pasta, toss to coat. Let rest, adding up to 1/2 cup more water to adjust consistency as needed. Serve passing coarsely grated cheese separately.

Tartiflette...Soul Food of the Alps

Approximately 1.5lbs potatoes At least 6oz diced smoked bacon/poitrine fumé/ streaky bacon 1 onion Whole Reblochon cheese Crème fraiche 1 glass dry white wine (optional, preferably Savoyarde or Alsacien)

Peel and boil the potatoes in water until cooked. Drain and allow to cool. Preheat oven to 220 degrees C or 425 F

Dice bacon into small pieces (thick, rectangular pieces) and dice onions. Start cooking the bacon first then after it cooks for a few minutes on medium throw in the onions. Cook until browned.

Thinly slice the cold potatoes. Rub garlic on a gratin dish then butter. Make up the Tartiflette in layers: First potatoes, then the lardon/onion mixture. Then spread a layer of crème fraiche.

Next, cut half of the Reblochon, rind removed, into thin slices and layer. Then add another layer of potatoes, and finish with the other half of Reblochon thinly sliced, this time with the rind left on.

I have not tried adding the dry white wine as some recipes have recommended, but I'm sure it would add to the flavor quite nicely.

Bake in the oven for about 20-30 minutes, until the cheese has melted and browned. The last time I made this, I forgot to butter the dish and rub with garlic and I did not notice the difference...do not skimp on the quality of the bacon as the smokier the better!

Jordan's Tartiflette sounded so good I had to make it while we were in the Alps even though we were experiencing a heat wave. I also didn't use white wine. The only thing I did differently was just lay the bacon on the top. I must say the bacon I got from the butcher in Thones was fantastic. I had to cook it longer so that the bacon was crisp. The bacon flavor penetrated the entire tartiflette. My tartiflette is the round one. If you have a chance to eat tartiflette, go for it. Yum! Joan

We wanted to have tartiflette for our sheltered in place 2020 Christmas dinner and unfortunately it is impossible to find Reblochon cheese in Santa Cruz. I asked my French friend who works in the cheese department of Whole Foods in Capitola what cheese I could substitute. She recommended Rush Creek Reserve a soft-ripened cheese wrapped in spruce made by Uplands Cheese of Dodgeville, Wisconsin. It was definitely a good replacement. If you can find it and not find Reblochon, use it.

Christmas Pecan Pie

I have always thought that pecan pies were too sweet, but then I tasted the pies Chris made for Thanksgiving this year using maple syrup and no corn syrup. They were very good. He used a recipe from The Best Recipe Cookbook by Cook's Illustrated magazine. I looked at other recipes and basically went with the recipe Chris used, but added a couple of ingredients from the recipe in the cookbook from Tartine Bakery. The taste was great and I wouldn't change the ingredients. The crust was somewhat soggy. The filling was pretty cool by the time I poured it into the crust and that may have been the problem. Best Recipe's recipe is the only one I have seen that uses a low temp (275) to bake the pie. It is hard to believe that other cookbooks I respect would have recipes that produce inferior pies and they all use higher temps. Tartine uses 350 and I think next time I will go with that. The directions I am giving are therefore based on the Tartine method, not Best Recipe's low temperature method.

Pecan Pie

3 lg eggs

1 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbsp bourbon

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup butter

1 tsp vanilla

finely grated orange zest (from about 1/2 a large orange)

2 cups chopped pecans

prebaked 9" pie shell

In a saucepan, combine sugar, maple syrup, bourbon, and salt. Place over medium heat and bring to a rolling boil. Boil for 1 min. Take pan off heat, add the butter, and whisk as it melts. Let the mixture cool to room temp. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add vanilla and eggs to cooled mixture and whisk to mix well. Stir in pecans and orange zest.

Bake until filling is just set, 40 to 60 mins. If the top is browning too quickly, cover with a piece of foil.

Cinnamon-Nut Pull-Apart, a Moore Family Holiday Treat

This has been the Moore family traditional breakfast bread for Christmas and Easter. I love that I can assemble it the day before I need it and then bake it just before breakfast. The original recipe called for 1 cup of raisons but the raisin hater in my family made me leave them out.

Pull-Apart Coffee Cake

1 tblsp (1 package) active dry yeast (9 grams)

1/4 cup warm (110 degree) water (59 ml)

1/2 teaspoon (2.5 grams) salt

1/4 cup sugar (50 grams)

1/4 cup salad oil (59 ml)

3/4 cup warm (110º) milk (177.5 ml)

1 large egg

about 3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (406 grams)

1/2 cup (1/4 lb) melted butter (113.5 grams)

Cinnamon-nut sugar (recipe follows)

Sprinkle yeast over warm water and let stand to soften, about 5 mins. Stir in salt, sugar, oil, milk, and egg until blended. Stir in 3 1/4 cups of flour until smooth. Knead about 10 minutes, with a mixer or by hand, until smooth and elastic, adding flour as required to keep from sticking.

Divide dough into 3 equal portions, then cut each portion into 16 equal pieces. Shape into balls, roll in butter, then in cinnamon-nut sugar. Stagger balls, barely touching, in layers in greased 9- to 10-inch ring mold (angel food or bundt cake pan). Sprinkle with remaining nut sugar and drizzle with remaining butter.

Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until puffy, about 45 mins. or chill 16 to 18 hours. Bake at 350 degrees until well browned, 30 to 35 mins.

Let cool in pan on a rack for at least 20 mins. or up to 3 hours. Run a knife between cake and pan side
and then turn out onto plate.

Cinnamon-nut Sugar

Stir together 3/4 cup sugar (150 grams), 1 teaspoon (2.6 grams) ground cinnamon, and 1/2 cup (55 grams) finely chopped walnuts or pecans.
If baking in a rectangular pan, cover when browned and cook an additional 10 minutes. The middle pieces with not be full cooked otherwise.

Sunset's Best-Ever Gingerbread

Yesterday I went for a lovely ride down San Andreas with Sue and Betsy. As often happens the subject of food came up and I mentioned this gingerbread. It is easy, moist, light, keeps well, and is delicious. They asked me to put it on my blog so they could have the recipe and so here it is.

Best-ever Gingerbread

1 cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cloves

1 cup salad oil

1 cup molasses

2 tsps baking soda

1 cup boiling water

2 1/2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour

2 eggs, well beaten

Grease 9x13 baking pan and preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine sugar, salt, and spices in bowl. Stir in oil, then molasses, mixing well. Stir the soda into the boiling water and immediately stir into the mixture. Gradually blend in flour to prevent lumping. Then mix in the beaten eggs. Pour into pan and bake about 40 mins., until a toothpick comes out clean.

Panade of Leeks and Mixed Greens with Cantal Cheese

There is nothing better on a cold winter day than a panade. Think very rich stuffing without the turkey. The turkey is never as good as the stuffing anyway. I have never actually made this with Cantal cheese because I have only found Cantal in France. It is great with Comte, but Gruyere would be very good also. A good chewy bread is important. Feel free to vary the vegetables.

3 large leeks (white and light green parts only) chopped

1 red onion, chopped

5 green garlic shoots or 8 to 10 garlic cloves, sliced.

(leeks, onion, and garlic should equal 4 cups)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt

1 lb loaf of stale chewy bread with crust

1 1/2 lb mixed leafy greens (such as sorrel, chard, kale, spinach, arugula, a braising mix would be good) deribbed and shredded (about 10 cups)

juice of 1/2 lemon

freshly ground pepper

grated nutmeg

3 cups whole milk, heated to simmering

1/2 lb Cantal, Comte, or Gruyere cheese.

you might want to add pine nuts or walnuts

Slowly stew the leeks, onion, and garlic in olive oil for 10 minutes. Add 1 tsp salt and cook for 5 more minutes. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Cut bread into 1" cubes. You should have about 2 qts.

Spread cubes in one layer on an oiled baking sheet and bake for 45 min. or until just golden.

Add greens to the pot with the leeks and cook over low heat for 45 min. Uncover and boil away excess liquid. Allow to cool. Add lemon juice, pepper, and nutmeg to taste. Adjust salt. (Up to the point the recipe can be prepared 1 day in advance and refrigerated. Bring to room temp before continuing.)

About 2 1/2 hours before serving, oil a deep 3 qt casserole, perferably earthenware. Place 1/3 of the bread cubes in the dish, top with 1/2 the greens, and repeat, ending with the bread cubes and patting lightly to make an even topping. Gradually pour the hot milk down the insides and over the top of the panade so everything is moist. If necessary add 1/2 cup water. cover with the grated cheese and a sheet of foil.

Bake in 250 degree oven for 1 3/4 hours. Raise the oven temp to 400 degrees, uncover and bake 20 more min. Remove from oven and allow to relax for about 10 min before serving.

I have thought it would be good to bake the panade in a shallow pan so as to have more crust.

Apricot Pie

Anna and Doug came over for a fun and relaxed dinner (for me at least) so we could catch up on our time in France after we went separate ways. I made an apricot pie and Anna asked for the recipe and so here it is.

Apricot Pie

pastry for 2 crust pie

 6 heaping cups fresh (or frozen) apricots, preferably Blenheim apricots

4 tblsp tapioca

1/4 cup honey

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

a couple of dashes of nutmeg

juice of 1 large lemon

Preheat oven to 400º. Toss fruit with tapioca and spices. Drizzle the lemon juice over the apricots. Roll out bottom crust, add filling, roll out upper crust and place on top of filling. Bake 10 minutes at 400 degrees, then turn the oven down to 375 and bake another 25-35 minutes or until the pie is browned and the filling is bubbling.