Cheese Steak Crostini

I made these for one of the playoff game weekends. The idea was to have a finger food that had the flavors of "game day" (that is, unhealthy!). These were pretty tasty, though I will likely tweak the recipe a bit.

Ingredients:

3 medium red onions, halved and sliced thinly

2 tablespoons of fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon hot pepper flakes (more or less depending on how spicy you like it)

16 oz ribeye steak

1 french baguette

1 chunk (12-14 oz) really sharp provolone cheese, cut into ribbons with a vegetable grater (or just shred).

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Directions:

First, take the ribeye, pat dry and generously salt and pepper the outside. Again, if you like spicy, add a little cayenne or hot pepper flakes as well. Grill over high heat to rare (trust me, do not go past rare - you will get additional cooking when you finish the dish), which will be about 4 minutes per side. Set on a plate a loosely cover to rest, at least 15 minutes.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a sautee pan over medium heat. Add the thinly sliced onions, thyme, red pepper and good pinches of salt and pepper. Sautee the onions until they are just starting to caramelize. This will take a while - 15-20 minutes. Don't rush it or else you will get burned, instead of caramelized, onions.

Slice the baguette on a bias and arrange sliced on parchment paper on a large baking sheet. Slice the ribeye fairly thin in lengths just short of the length of the baguette slices. Spoon on a thin layer of the onions on each slice, next a piece of ribeye then a ribbon of provolone. Put under a high broiler until the cheese is melted and a little browned.

Oma's Potato Soup

This is a soup my Grandmother (Oma) and my Mother made all the time. The best part is the poached egg...yes, it sounds unusual, but trust me, it is delicious.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
4 Tbl Olive Oil
3 Medium Onions, chopped finely
6 Tbl Chopped Parsley
4 Tbl Paprika
5 Cups chicken broth
5 Cups water (you can add more broth than water if you like)
8 Medium-large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
2-3 Carrots, cut into 2" pieces
Salt and Pepper
Eggs (number depends on how many your are serving)

Directions:
Saute onion in oil over medium heat until the onion is soft and translucent. Add parsley and paprika and mix with onions for about a minute, making sure not to burn the paprika. Add water and stock and stir together. Add potatoes and carrots, and simmer over medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes, or until potatoes are soft. Salt and pepper to taste.

Bring soup to a calm boil (medium heat) and add eggs to poach in broth (1 egg per person, approx. 7-10 minutes).

Serve with flat bread or fried pizza dough.

Chickpeas and Balsamic Vinegar Bruschetta

A good friend of ours made this for an appetizer one time - it was delicious - a great summer appetizer, nice and light.

Ingredients:
1/2 baguette
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained, rinsed, and roughly chopped
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:
Thinly slice half a baguette. Place the rounds on a baking sheet and broil them until they're golden brown (about 1 1/2 minutes per side).

In a medium bowl, combine the chickpeas, parsley leaves, garlic, oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Spread the mixture on the rounds.

Yield: Makes 4 to 6 servings

Gnocchetti di Semolina

This is a recipe from Gina, the cook we met in Italy (Tuscany) while taking her cooking class. It is really simple and very delicious. It can be modified in a number of different ways (imagine adding some roasted mushrooms and thyme) and is easy to make ahead of time.

Ingredients:

1 quart milk
1 cup semolina flour
1 stick butter
2 egg yolks
Grated parmigiano reggiano
Fresh sage leaves
1 teaspoon salt



Add the salt to the milk and bring to a boil. Whisk in the semolina flour a little at a time to avoid lumping, whisk vigorously.

Take off the heat, add the butter and egg yolks and spread onto a buttered baking dish. Dot with more butter, generously spread with cheese and sage leave and bake in a 375 degree oven until golden brown and set. Serve warm or at room temp.

PS - The butter is a bit much for me - I use one stick of butter total – a little to grease the pan, about 1/3 cut into bits to put on top and the rest to mix into the semolina. I think this was enough butter! You may also substitute the butter you mix in with some good olive oil, but I would keep the butter you put on top to help it brown and get a nice nutty flavor.

PPS - I also sometimes sautee some rough chopped sage leaves and mix into the semolina to accentuate the sage flavor.

Oven Roasted Mushrooms with Goat Cheese and Chili Oil

This is a Bobby Flay recipe - it is terrific with a loaf of crusty french bread.

Chileoil:
1 cup pure olive oil
2 ounces dried New Mexicopeppers
1 ounce dried arbol chile powder
2 tablespoons ancho powder

Place all ingredients in a blender and puree. Strain mixture through a fine strainer. Reserve. This may be done up to one day in advance.

Roasted mushrooms:

8 cups mushrooms (combination of portobello or cremini, shiitake and oyster mushrooms), stems removed and sliced
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup thinly sliced shallots
1/2 cup chile oil
8 ounces goat cheese, cut into 8 slices
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, combine the mushrooms with the olive oil, and shallots, then season to taste with salt and black pepper. Arrange the mushrooms evenly in one layer in a heavy roasting pan and roast for 15 minutes or until tender. Remove the mushrooms from the roasting pan and place into a large cazuela or baking dish. Drizzle with 1/2 cup of chile oil and top with the slices of cheese. Bake until hot, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from the oven, garnish with thyme, and drizzle with the remaining chile oil. Serve with lots of crusty French bread.

Yield: 8 servings

Pasta with Ramps

Ramps are a very northeast thing. They are a summer bulb that has a garlic and onion flavor and are really intense. I love them......Libbie, not as much. But this is a great, simple recipe that I pulled from somewhere that referenced they used to make this at Babbo, one of Mario Batali's restaurants (if someone knows the exact reference, please let me know).

Ingredients:
1 large bunch ramps
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1/4 cup breadcrumbs (fresh if possible)
8 oz dry linguine
Olive oil

Directions:
Remove stems and leaves from the bulbs of the ramps. Slice bulbs in half (unless they are small, in which case leave them whole). Cut the stems and ends off the leaves and julienne into strips.

Bring a big pot of water with salt to a boil to cook pasta.

Heat pan to medium high and add a few tablespoons of olive oil. When hot, pull off the heat and add the ramp bulbs and sautee letting them blister and get slightly brown, putting back on the heat as necessary. Add garlic and allow to brown slightly.

Add in the cooked linguine and just a few tablespoons of the pasta liquid. Add the ramp leaves and breadcrumbs and toss. Plate and grate fresh Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese on top.

Pasta Bolognese

I made this based on a few recipes I saw. I modified the ingredients from what I actually used given my view of the results, which were great (but a few small mods can't hurt, right?). I want to try this with some stew beef and shred it, which sounds like a very good idea (I'll post that when I do it!).

Ingredients:
4 medium carrots, quartered and chopped
3 stalks celery, sliced in half lengthwise and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 hot cherry peppers (or equivalent) chopped
1 pound of chopped beef (or veal, lamb, pork or a combination)
10 sprigs fresh thyme, tied together
1 sprigs fresh rosemary, tied together (with thyme is OK)
1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
1 28-oz can San Marzano (or plum) tomatoes, crushed with juice
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup red wine

Directions:
Heat large pan over medium-high heat and sautee carrots, celery, onion and hot peppers in olive oil with some salt and pepper for 3-4 minutes to soften. Move veggies to the edges of the pan and add meat into the middle and break into big chunks. Let sit for a few minutes to brown the meat, then stir the meat to brown other parts in a similar manner. When it is fully browned, break into smaller chunks and mix with vegetables. Add wine and reduce 1-2 minutes then add tomatoes, rosemary, thyme and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, stir well, cover and cook for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Cook your favorite pasta (spaghetti is a classic, though I like the wider pasta such as fettucini or pappardelle) 2-3 minutes less than package instructions for al dente. Just before taking the pasta out, remove 1 cup of the pasta water and add it to the sauce. Transfer pasta to the dish with the sauce and combine, cooking an additional 2-3 minutes.

Serve with grated cheese.

Vegetarian Cassoulet

I love cassoulets - both the traditional with duck confit, or my own sping with a nice piece of fish. I take the same basic idea and switch a few ingredients to make it my own!

This version is vegetarian, and I use the tomatoes and kale to add a heartiness to the recipe.

Ingredients:
2 cups carrots, diced finely
2 cups celery, diced finely
2 cups onion, diced finely
4 cloves garlic, diced finely
3 cups kale, chopped in thin strips
6-7 sprigs of thyme, tied together
1 28oz can of plumb tomatoes, chopped with juice
1 29oz can of small white beans
2-3 cups vegetable stock
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
2 tablespoon butter mixed with 2 tablespoons flour

In a large sautee pan, sautee garlic, carrot, celery and onion in olive oil until tender. Add kale and cook until wilted. Add thyme bouquet, tomatoes, and 2 cups of vegetable stock and cook for 30 minutes. Add butter-flour mixture as necessary to thicken. About 30 minutes before service, bring back to a boil and add beans to cook until serving, using the extra stock to thin the mixture as necessary.

This can also be used as a pasta sauce. Or, if you up the broth to 4-5 cups and eliminate the butter-flour thickener, it is a terrific and hearty soup.

Winter Squash Ravioli

This is a nice savory filling for ravioli. Though it is a lot of work, it is worth it! Use a sauce of brown butter and sage or some other light sauce so you can really let the taste shine through.

For the pasta:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup semolina flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
4 eggs
2 tablespoons olive oil
Water

Mix the ingredients together to make a pasta dough (using the water and extra flour to get the dough to a correct consistency) and knead for 5-10 minutes. Let rest for 60 minutes then run through a pasta maker to make sheets at a 5 thickness.

For the Filling:
1 1/2 pounds squash, cut into small pieces (roughly 1/2" square)
4 cloves garlic
1 cup parmesean cheese, grated
Breadcrumbs
1 egg
Salt and pepper

Place squash in a single layer on baking sheets and roast at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, until soft and most of the moisture is gone. At the same time, but in a separate plan, roast the garlic until golden brown. Let both cool then put into a bowl and add the cheese, egg, salt and pepper and the breadcrumbs, using just enough of the latter to absorb any excess moisture in the mixture.

Making Ravioli:
Cut the pasta into rounds using cooking cutters and place about a teaspoon of filling in the middle. Wet half of the outside edge of the pasta and fold over, being careful to remove as much air as possible from the pocket. Press the edges of the pasta together, and line on a baking tray to wait for cooking. Cook in salted boiling water for 4-5 minutes and then toss with your favorite sauce.

- Cook 4 minutes

Sweet Pumpkin Bisque

This came out of a few ideas to start off a dinner with a sweet component. You can use either butternut squash or a cooking pumpkin (I used a heirloom white pumpkin) for this recipe. If you are using butternut squash, you can leave the skin on (it will break down).

Ingredients (serves about 8-10 bowls):
5 pounds winter squash or pumpkin, cut into chunks
2 small-medium apples, cored and cut into chunks
4 med carrots, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 medium to large onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
10-12 sage leaves, roughly chopped
1 quart vegetable or chicken stock plus water to cover squash by 1”
4 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon nutmeg (fresh if available)
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Topping:
4 oz mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon honey

Directions:
In a large pot over medium heat, put the carrots, celery, onions and garlic in with some olive oil and sautee until tender then add sage leaves and sautee for a couple of minutes more. Add the squash, apples and stock and bring to a boil, cooking for about 30 minutes, until the squash is nice and soft. Remove from heat and let cool for 15 minutes, then add honey, nutmeg, salt and pepper and blend with a hand immersion blender (or break into smaller batches and blend in a blender).

For a sweet topping, take the mascarpone cheese in a cold metal bowl and use a whisk to loosen it up. Add the honey and cream and whisk until you get a nice, thick whipped cream consistency. Plate the soup and put a spoon full of the cheese mixture in the middle, topped by a few roasted seeds from the squash.

Polenta Pizza with Mushroom Ragout

This is the first of 4 recipes I made for New Years Eve 2009.

Ingredients:
1 cup polenta
4 cups water
4 cups mixed mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 14.5 oz can chopped tomatoes (or chop 2-3 fresh tomatoes)
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
4-5 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 400F

Prepare polenta according to package instructions and set aside to cool.

In a large sautee pan or a roasting pan, combine mushrooms, tomatoes, rosemary, olive oil and salt and pepper and mix together. Put in oven and roast for 30-40 minutes, until almost all of the liquid has cooked out.

Spread polenta in a lightly oiled or buttered pan (I use a non-stick 12" frying pan) and place slightly cooled ragout on top. Top with grated parmesean and put under the broiler for 5 minutes to heat and brown the cheese. Cut into slices and serve.

If you bake it too long or if you don't let the polenta cool enough, the polenta will become soupy. Don't panic (I didn't!) - just serve as a rustic polenta dish that you can scoop right out of the pan.