Zucchini Pudding Souffle





This recipe has been on my to do list for quite some time, but it always just seems to get passed over. So finally in the middle of winter way past zucchini's shining hour in the Summer garden, I get it accomplished (better late than never). It comes from Richard Olney's book "Simple French Food", and it is a lovely little thing. Richard, in his beautiful prose recommends it as "a prelude to an amicable chunk of rare meat".

They are just twice baked souffles, but they must be baked in individual molds or a ring mold, not the traditional souffle pan. After the souffle is baked and collapsed, and cooled, it is unmolded, brushed with some cream, dusted with parmesan, and placed back in the oven for 20 minutes, until the souffles rise slightly again and brown nicely. I baked them the second time on top of a tomato sauce. They possess a delicate and fresh zucchini flavor.

1 pound small zucchini

salt

Grate the zucchini and salt liberally, place it in a colander and let the excess water in the zucchini drain for 1/2 hour. Press all the liquid out of the zuchinni and rinse, tie the zucchini into a clean tea towel and continue to wring out all of the excess moisture.

Make the Bechamel

2 tablespoons of butter

3 tablespoons of flour

3/4 cup milk

Salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste

3 eggs, separated

Butter, to grease the molds

Melt the butter in a small sauce pan and stir in the flour. Stir cook for 3 to 4 minutes, the flour should not brown. Add the milk and continue to cook until the sauce is thick and bubbling. Let the bechamel cool slightly and fold in the zucchini and egg yolks. Taste and correct the seasonings.

Whip the egg whites until soft peaks form, stir 1/3 of the whipped whites into the bechamel mixture to lighten the batter, fold in the remaining whites.

Bake in a bain marie in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

Let the souffles cool slightly and unmold.

Pour some tomato sauce into the bottom of an oven proof pan and place the souffles on top of the sauce.

Brush the souffles with heavy cream and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Place the pan in a pre-heated 450 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes longer, or until the sauce is hot, and the souffles are puffed and browned.

Crepes Poulet Lyonnaise

Poulet Lyonnaise was a dish that was served to the first class voyagers on the Titanic the night it sank 99 years ago this April. In the original recipe the dish is an elegant bonelss chicken breast with a delicious tomato and onion sauce, but I don't care for chicken breast and I had some chicken thighs in the refrigerator, so I braised the chicken thighs in the same sauce components used for the breasts. When the meat was cool, I pulled it and strained the braising liquid. I stuffed some crepes with the pulled chicken and sauce. This is a very easy and tasty recipe.

6 chicken thighs

2 T vegetable oil

2 onions, thinly sliced

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/3 cup white wine

1 cup chicken stock

1 T tomato paste

pinch of sugar

Salt and pepper to tastte

In a large deep ovenproof skillet, brown the thighs in the oil over medium high heat.

When the thighs are browned on both sides, remove from the pan and lower the heat. Add the onions and saute them, stirring often until they are golden brown and caramelised.

Add the tomato paste to the onions and stir to slightly caramelised the paste.

Add the wine and stock, bring it to the boil and reduce for about 2 minutes, add the sugar, salt and pepper.

Return the thighs to the pan and and baste them with sauce and place the pan in a preheat 350 degree over for 25 minutes until the thighs reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees.

Serve the thighs like this with some potatoes lyonnaise or rice, and if there is leftover chicken, pull it and stuff it into crepes to get a second dinner out of this recipe.

Eckert's Country Store

I taught a class in the new culinary center at Eckert's in Belleville. The Eckert's began planting orchards and selling their crops in 1830. Today eighth generation Chris Eckert and his wife Angie oversee this multifaceted farm-to -table market. In addition to the grocery store, they sell plants and nursery items and there is a restaurant as well.

The beef case and the cheese case are especially enticing. The beef is locally grown and processed, some coming from the Eckerts herd. The cheese case is also remarkable for it's selection of artisinal and European cheeses.

My longtime friend Lana Shepik heads up their culinary and cheese programs.

Here are some pictures of the classroom as my assistants prep the stage and my recipes

The menu was "Steak House at Home":
Crab cakes with Roasted Pepper Aioli

Mayfair Salad

Grilled Ribe Eye Steaks sauced with Port, Buttermilk Blue Cheese and Pink Peppercorns

Cauliflour and Potato Gratin

The Eckert's bakery supplied cherry pies

The class also sampled a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Muscato'd Asti rom the wine department.

I want to thank Lana, Angie and my assistants Desi and Chris for all their help.

Keith Richard's Bangers and Mash

I just finished reading "Life", the recently published autobiography of Keith Richards. He is brutally honest, it's all there-the ridiculus amount of drug addiction, the egos and ambition, the obsession with American Blues-not so much about the sex, Keith isn't a kiss and tell kind of guy. My favorite parts of the book deal with his music, the drug interludes are pretty tiresome. The recording and concert stories are already legendary-we've been reading about them since the 1960's, but his telling of them makes for a fresh and fascinating narrative even if alot of it is rehash. His love of the guitar and creating a hard driving rock version of authentic blues is the true Keith Richards story.

I was just out of college in 1976 when the Stones played in Louisville. I was living with Aunt Shirley and Uncle Keith in Louisville, while looking for some kind of employment. I never got a good job in Louisville, but I had a great summer with my aunt, uncle and cousins. And I got to see the Stones live at Freedom Hall. It was their "Tour of the America's '75" and it was just thrilling. I wore a Hawaiian shirt and Elton John sunglasses-trying to look cool-I'm glad there are no photos. The Stones were controversial in this Bible thumping city-I remember people were up in arms about the song "Sympathy For The Devil" . People considered it downright Satanic, and of course the opening number featured the giant inflatable penis which Mick Jagger rode to the center of the stage. I guess I need to get off Memory Lane and get to the food.

On page 525 of the book he gives his recipe for bangers and mash-He enjoys cooking for himself.

I don't really want to copy his recipe here because you need to read it, but I will say he loves to add carrots, peas, and onions to his "mash". He also uses HP Sauce with it. HP Sauce is a tamarind based English bottled steak sauce. I also added my own touches to the dish, when I sauteed some onion and sweet pepper with the "bangers"-I also deglazed the pan with some sherry to make a little sauce. It is delicious-sometimes I don't know why English food gets such a bad rap.

Salmon, Peas, and Punxsutawney Phil

I'm getting tired of the heavy roasts and braises of Winter. Spring is 6 weeks away and despite all the snow and ice we're getting this year, I felt like making this salmon and pea dish. I think salmon and peas are pretty much a Spring classic. And just this morning Punxsutawney Phil has confirmed my early Spring thoughts, by predicting an early Spring.

This salmon dish has three parts;first I made a stirfry of pea tendrils and sugar snap peas, the roasted salmon sits on the stir fry, and a spoonful of sweet pea hummus tops the salmon, garnished with some crisped pita chips.

For the Stir Fry
2 cups pea tendrils, sliced into 1" pieces
2 cups of sugar snap peas, cut into 1" pieces
2 scallions, minced
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons of grapeseed oil
1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons of rice vinegar
1/4 cup sesame oil

Get the wok hot with the grape seed oil, add the cumin first to bloom the flavor, then add the scallion, garlic, sugarsnaps, and tendrils-two minutes at the most, you want the vegetables to retain some crunch.

Toss the stir fry with the hoisin sauce, lemon juice, vinegar, and sesame oil.

For The Salmon
Mix together equal parts of whole grain mustard and hot pepper jelly, I used a Habenero jelly.

Spread the mustard mixture evenly over the salmon, and roast in a preheated 400 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of your piece of fish.


For the Hummus
2 cups of baby frozen peas
2 cloves of garlic
juice of 1 or 2 lemons-depending on how tart you like your hummus
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup of fruity green olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Put everything in the processor and puree together until smooth, scaping down the sides of the processor bowl as needed.

Taste for seasoning and adjust with more lemon, salt, cumin, pepper, or olive oil. If the hummus is too thick you can thin it with more juice, oil or a bit of water.

This is delicious served with pita bread cut into triangles and crisped in hot oil flavored with some ground cumin.

Bluecoat Gin

This was a special Christmas gift. As a matter of fact I got alot of esoteric booze for gifts this year-I may not have to stock the bar for months (who am I kidding?). Here is a picture of the Christmas liquor presents. Bluecoat is a small brewery in Philadelphia, the product is not widely available-this particular bottle was shipped from California as it is not available in Missouri. It has an ardent cult following. Read the whole story here. This gin has alot of delightful citrus and the always present juniper. It is quite smooth with a depth of botannical flavors-it is the polar opposite of the overly flowery Tanguery. I made a martini to highlight Bluecoat's pronounced citrus qualities. In a shaker filled with ice, pour in some gin, a dash of dry vermouth, a couple dashes of orange bitters, shake and strain into a chilled glass and garnish with orange peel. Olives or pickled vegetables, which are almost always complimentary to gin, would be sort of clunky and inelegant in this martini. I think the cobalt bottle with gold lettering is gorgeous.

Asian Brussel Sprouts with Crispy Won Tons

This simple salad of brussel sprouts served on a crispy wonton are ridiculously addictive. I used this recently as a little hors de ouevre with cocktails. I just put out a big bowl of the salad with some wontons and let everyone chop stix a little salad onto to their chip. I sliced the brussel sprouts on my mandolin to get really thin shreds of brussel sprouts. Then I just tossed the brussel sprouts with the Asian dressing and let them marinate for 1/2 hour. In the meantime I fried some wontons and shook some martinis. I only made 1 pound and they were quickly gone, I wish I'd made more to keep some in the refrigerator for later.

1 pound brussel sprouts, trimmed of outer leaves, cored, and thinly sliced

Juice of 1 lemon

2 Tablespoons rice vinegar

1 Tablespoon hoisin sauce

2 Tablespoon sweet Thai chili sauce

1/4 cup dark sesame oil

Black and white sesame seeds to garnish

Mix up everything and let it sit a few minutes before serving.

I used chop stix to serve it with, but you could also use a tongs or spoon.

Chalet Suzanne and Christmas Beef Wellington

A friend of mine just returned from a trip to Florida. In addition to playing alot of golf, she likes to tour factories. Forget the beach, swimming, and sunbathing, she prefers the factory circuit. This trip included a stop at the Chalet Suzanne resort in Lake Wales Florida. Go here for a virtual visit. It wasn't really the spectatular pink resort and its renowned restaurant that attracted her, but it was their soup canning plant, located on the resort's premises.

They can and market their famous restaurant's famous soups. The most famous is the Soup Romaine, which is called moon soup because it went to the moon as part of the Apollo 15 and 16's astronauts diet. I was the lucky recipient of a couple of gift cans of soup. On Christmas morning I utilised my much neglected can opener and used the Chalet Suzanne French Onion soup to make sauce for Beef Wellington. It was beefy and oniony, not really too much different from the stuff in the ubiquitous red and white can. The resort also boasts its own air strip just in case you want to fly in and pick up a couple of cans of soup-I highly recommend it.

Christmas Fatigue

I am still recovering from Christmas fatigue. We celebrated with presents, of course, parsnip soup and Beef Wellington. This soup is so elegant and flavorful, sweet and slightly nutty-very warming and rich.

Peel and cut up 1 pound of parsnips

Peel and cut up 1 apple

cut up 1 small onion

two cloves of garlic, peeled

chicken stoch

1/4 cup dry sherry

1/4 cup heavy cream

Place the cut up vegetables in a soup pot and cover with stock, bring to the boil and simmer until the vegetables are soft.

Puree the mixture and add salt and pepper to your taste. Bring the soup back to the simmer, thin with a little more stock if the soup is too thick, or reduce it if the soup is too thin. Stir in the sherry and heavy cream, simmer 1 more minute and serve.

Christmas Ham

This ham came from Schubert's in Millstadt Il. It takes a little sleuthing to find a good ham-most super market hams will not measure up to this beauty. I removed any excess rind, panited the entire exterior with Dijon mustard and sprinkled it with brown sugar. I decorated it with the ubiquitous pineapple, cherries, and cloves. Eating celebratory pork is one of those traditions which date back to the pagan practices of the Hessians and Norsemen (like the wreath and the Christmas tree)-where the pineapple comes in I do not know and I'm too busy right now to research it, but it probably has something to do with the Dole Corporation. I baked it in a 300 degree oven, covered with aluminum foil for 4 hours. Increase the temperature to 450 degrees and brush the ham with a syrup of pineapple juice and brown sugar every 8 to ten minutes until glazed and shiny about 25 minutes.

Fruitcake-The Sarah Palin of Christmas Treats

Sarah Palin is much like a Christmas Fruitcake. They are both attractive packages-Sarah with her big hair and beauty contest looks, the fruit cake filled with jewel like colors of candied and dried fruits. And, of course there is also that old cliche "nutty as a fruitcake". Many people adore Sarah, many people adore fruitcake-many people detest both. Here is an easy recipe that I sort of like. The recipe came from another controversial person, chef Jeff Smith-who went down in disgrace after a brilliant career-it is from his "The Frugal Gourmet Celebrates Christmas"-although I've altered the recipe so much you wouldn't recognize it.

2 cups mixed candied fruit-chopped I used pineapple, orange and lemon peel-no citron

1 cup candied cherries, halved

4 cups dried fruitsI cleaned out the pantry of little bits of leftovers-plums, pineapple, craisins, apricots, golden raisins, and mango

1/2 cup brandy

1 cup butter-room temperature

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

6 eggs-room temperature

1/2 ounce of melted unsweetened chocolate

3 cups coppped nuts-I used half pecans and half walnuts

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup brandy

In a large bowl, combine the candied and dried fruits with the brandy. Cover and let marinate at room temperature for at least 3 hours.

With a mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, add the eggs one at a time. Add the chocolate, add the flour, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and baking soda. Mix until all is incorporated.

Fold in the fruits and nuts. Spread into greased 10 by 4 inch tube pan-I used mini-loaf pans. Bake in a preheated 300 degree oven for 2 hours and 10 minutes-less for the mini pans. Remove to a rack, and when cool enough to handle, remove from the pan and cool completely.

Brush the cake with half the brandy, cover and store for one week. Brush the cake with brandy every week and re-wrap and store until Christmas.

Sweedish Meatballs

Bishop Hill IL is an historic village in central Illinois not far from where I grew up. It is a place my mother likes to visit for day trips, and she got this cookbook for me several years ago. Bishop Hill began as a group of Swedes seeking religious freedom in this country. They were a utopian, communal society which flourished for 15 years befrore disbanding shortly after the Civil War. You can see pictures of the chamring village and read more about its history here.


This book contains 6 recipes for Sweedish Meatballs, I chose to follow Alfhild Bergen Oberg's recipe. Ground Allspice and Cloves are two spices that all of the recipes have in common. Oberg's recipe did not include cream, many others did. I served the meatballs with mashed potatoes and a spoon of Sweedish Lingonberries. I also had some terrific beef gravy left from a brisket dinner, so I did not use Oberg's recipe for gravy, but I included it as written in the cookbook.


1 1/2 cup soft bread crumbs or crackers
1 cup light cream
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 Tbls butter
3/4 ground beef
1/2 ground veal
1/4 ground pork
1 egg
1/4 cup finely minced parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
1/8 teaspoon each nutmeg, ginger, ground allspice, and ground cloves
2 Tbls butter

Soak the bread in the cream for about 5 minutes. Saute the onion in 1 Tbls butter til soft, but not browned.

Mix the meats, the crumb mixture, onion, egg, parsley, salt, pepper, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and cloves until all ingredients are well combined.

Shape the mixture into 1 1/2 inch balls.

Brown the balls in 2 Tbls of butter.

Remove the balls from the skillet and make gravy (recipe follows), add the meatballs back to the skillet in the sauces and simmer ther for 30 minutes.


Gravy
2 Tbls of butter
2 Tabls flour
1 1/4 cup rich beef stock
1/4 tsp instant coffee
Salt and pepper to taste

Pour off most of the grease from the meat balls, add 2 Tbls of butter to the pan and lightly brown the flour. Add the beef stock and bring to the boil, whisking until the gravy is thick and bubbling. Taste for seasoning befor adding the meatballs back into the gravy.



My personal pet peeve about meatballs are that they are usually hard little hockey pucks of meat floating in sauce:making really good meatballs lies in forming the balls. It takes a light hand. You need to form them so that they stay together when browning and cooking, but to compress and pack them too tightly makes for dense and unappetising meatballs, so remember to always use a light touch.

99 CENT BASKETS OF FRIED ASPARAGUS ALL WEEK-WE MUST BE CRAZY!

The powers that be-John and Susie, who own the restaurant-have requested more 99 cent fun from the kitchen. This week will be asparagus-check out our Facebook page and let us know what you'd like to buy for 99 cents, and we just might be able to make it happen.

Rack of Pork Stuffed with Apples and Dried Plums

Stuffing

2 Tablespoons butter

2 apples, peeled and sliced

1/4 cup dried plums

1 small shallot, minced

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/4 cup diced celery

1 bay leaf

Fresh thyme leaves, or 1/8 teaspoon dried

2 Tablespoons fruit vinegar-cider or raspberry
Salt and pepper to taste

Saute everything except the vinegar in the butter until soft, but not browned.

Deglaze the pan with the vinegar, taste for seasoning, remove the bay leaf, and let the stuffing cool.

Prepare the pork rack and vegetables

You need a pork rack with the chine bone removed and the ribs frenched.

Brine the roast for 2 hours in 2 quarts of water with one cup of salt

Butterfly the loin without detaching the ribs, and lightly pound out the surface until it is flat and even.

Salt and pepper the surfae of the pork and sprinkle with some cognac or wine.

Spread the stuffing over the surface, and roll up the pork jelly-roll style, truss with string.

Place the pork on a roasting rack and roast in a preheated 325 degree oven for 1/2 hour.

Blanch the vegetables (I used turnips, potatoes, carrots, acorn squash, and onions-onions do not need to be blanched) until tender-crisp. Drain and hold until the pork has roasted for 1/2 hour.

Add blanched vegetables to the roasting pan, toss to coat them in the pork drippings, and place the pork rack directly on the vegetables, discarding the roasting rack, to finish roasting. Place everything back in the oven for about 1 hour, until the internal temperature of the pork registers 140 to145 degrees-Most safety guideline stipulate 150 degree, but that is too done for me. Let the roast rest for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.

Ardelle's Figs

One of our farmers is Ardelle Waltog, She supplies alot of spinach and tomatoes for the restaurant, but she also grows figs. During our recent Pumpkin Fest I bought all of Ardelle's figs with the intention of making preserves. They are very sweet and tasty. The recipe and canning are simple.

Weigh your figs, and use an equal amount of sugar.

Quarter the figs and mix with the sugar-add one thinly sliced lemon and the juice of one lemon, bring to a simmer and cook for about 1/2 hour until the jam is bubbly and thick.

Pack into sterilized jars, secure the lids and rings and process in a water bath for 10 minutes.

Dia de Los Muertos

Here is a tray of beautiful bakery goods from Cherokee Street. There is quite a collection of

Mexican restaurants, bakeries, and Hispanic shops along Cherokee Street. This morning I was surprised with this gift box of breakfast goodies. I think the skulls look especially tasty-Happy Halloween.

99 Cent Fried Green Tomatoes all Week

I know I already posted about our fried green tomatoes a couple of years ago, but this year the restaurant has been gifted with so many green tomatoes from several gardeners-just dropped off at the back door. GM James Gallagher came up wih the idea of this promotion, and I just love the idea, I think it's alot of fun. And a basket of fried green tomatoes are just perfect with a dry martini, a pilsner of Ale, or its Southern cousin iced "sweet tea".

I don't like the traditional fried green tomatoes, which are usually breaded with corn meal, I'm the heretic that uses beer batter. I know all of you green tomato purists are calling me names, but..... actually as I write this I'm missing that gritty-crunchy cornmeal batter, served with a homemade southern-style chili sauce like my aunt Viola used to make-maybe next year back to mah roots of cornmeal dusted green tomatoes with Aunt Vi's chili sauce.

Waterloo 1ST Annual Pumpkin Fest

Last week I was asked to be one of the judges in a pumpkin cook-off at the first annual Waterloo Pumpkin Fest. There were two ctergories-pie and other. We were all unaminous in the first place winners;a beautiful dark and spicy pie with flower cut-outs on top, and for other a delicious and moist pumpkin bundt cake with chocolate ganache.

In addition to the cook-off there were many other booths, crafts, live music, etc. It was a beautiful day and a perfect showcase for small town charm. The other judges were chefs Jennifer, Jeremy, and Dave-all from wonderful local restaurants and the country club.

Spicy Dill Green Tomato Pickles

The summer tomatoes are all gone, but the tomato plants are still producing. These hard little green gems are perfect for pickling. You need smaller firm tomatoes.

25 small green firm tomatoes, washed, cored, and quartered

1 3/4 cups white vinegar

1 3/4 cups water

1/8 cup pickling salt

12 cloves of garlic, peeled

6 hot peppers, I used Habanero for extra spiciness

2 tablespoons mustard seeds

6 large sprigs of fresh dill

Sterilize 6 glass pint jars, prepare lids and rings.

Bring the vinegar, salt, and water to the boil.

Pack the tomato wedges into the sterilized jars, add 1 teaspoon mustard seeds, two cloves of garlic, one large sprig of fresh dill, and one Habanero pepper to each jar.

Ladle the boiling vinegar mixture over the tomatoes into the jars, wipe the rims, top with the lids, and screw on the rings-let cool and refrigerate. These pickles are not processed in a hot water bath, so they must remain refrigerated.

Let the pickles rest and mature at least 1 week for optimum flavor, but they keep well refregerated for up to 6 months.

Dancing Mushroom Sauce

I bought these Hen of The Woods mushrooms at farmer's market last week. They grow locally here and can reach 40 to 50 pounds each-They are found in the forest around Oak trees. They don't seem to have the following that our Spring mushroom the Morel has. They are much revered in Japanese cooking where they are known as Maitake-Maitake translated to dancing mushroom, because the way they grow resembles a dance chorus. They are slightly nutty and earthy in flavor, and they also hold their shape after being sauteed or simmered in a sauce. They retain a firm bite after being cooked, which adds a nice texture to the sauce. I served the sauce with a roast chicken and stuffing.

Since I had a big juicy roasting hen, I made a chicken stock with the neck and giblets. I included the neck meat and diced giblets in the sauce.

2 cups chicken stock

1/4 cup white wine

1 cup cream

2 tablespoons minced shallot

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 pound fresh Hen of the Woods mushrooms

2 tablespoons butter

Reserved cooked neck meat and diced giblets.

Salt and pepper to taste

Fresh minced parsley

In a sauce pan, saute the mushrooms, onion, and garlic in the butter for about 4 to 5 minutes.

Add the stock and wine, reduce by half

Add the cream and continue to reduce until you reach sauce consistency.

Fold in the reserved neck meat and giblets.

Tastte for salt and pepper and add fresh minced parsley.