Kale. Who Knew It Could Be This Easy?

Spring is here. At least in SF. It's got to be close to 70 degrees here with lovely clear, blue skies. A perfect day for a walk over to our local farmer's market.

There was a nice kale salad in our lunch this past week, so I decided to try my hand at cooking some. I've used kale in soups before, but never any other way.

Many varieties of kale showed up this week at the farmer's market. I got some and then stared it in on my kitchen counter for a good long time. I realized that I had no idea what to do with it. Since it seems very fibrous, braising seemed like a good idea. Then I remembered how we always cooked sausages in boiling red wine before putting them into the tomato sauce when I was growing up. Maybe red wine was the way to go.

It most certainly is the way to go with kale. I don't know if there are purists out there who have a particular right way to cook these hearty leaves, but I recommend that you give the red wine a try.

Once I had the kale cooked down, I thought I'd try two different final dishes with it. I served it alongside boiled potatoes straight from the pan with some of the braising liquid and garlic.

And, I made a pesto-style preparation, by pureeing the cooked kale, garlic and braising liquid in the food processor. Both were good, but I preferred the pesto-style, since I'd never tasted kale this way before.

Red Wine-Braised Kale with Boiled Potatoes

  • 1 bunch Kale (or Hearty Greens)
  • 1 cup Red Wine
  • 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 3 cloves Garlic, whole, skin removed
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • 3 cups Potatoes, cubed and boiled
  1. Wash Kale thoroughly in cool running water.
  2. Set a large skillet over a burner turned to high-heat.
  3. Add the oil and water.
  4. Turn off the heat and add the wine.
  5. Turn the heat back to high.
  6. Add the Kale and garlic. It will run over the side of the pan at first. It shrinks to less than half it's original volume once it is cooked down.
  7. Cook over medium heat for 20 to 25 minutes, until leaves are tender.
  8. Serve over the boiled potatoes, being sure to scoop up some of the cooking liquid to pour over the potatoes.

Red Wine-Braised Kale Pesto with Boiled Potatoes

  • 1 bunch Kale (or Hearty Greens)
  • 1 cup Red Wine
  • 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 3 cloves Garlic, whole, skin removed
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • 3 cups Potatoes, cubed and boiled
  1. Wash Kale thoroughly in cool running water.
  2. Set a large skillet over a burner turned to high-heat.
  3. Add the oil and water.
  4. Turn off the heat and add the wine.
  5. Turn the heat back to high.
  6. Add the Kale and garlic. It will run over the side of the pan at first. It shrinks to less than half it's original volume once it is cooked down.
  7. Cook over medium heat for 20 to 25 minutes, until leaves are tender.
  8. Put the cooked Kale and its cooking liquid into a food processor.
  9. Process until all leaves and stems have been chopped up and incorporated into a mixture.
  10. Serve over the boiled potatoes.

A version of this recipe is featured on The Fruit Guys website.

What to Bring to Dinner: Apple and Pear Crisp

What were the odds that I would happen to have a piece of fabric with apples and pears on it to present this lovely crisp? Slim to none, I'd say.

I hadn't pre-planned including the pears in the crisp, but as luck would have it, I ran out of apples and had to combine the two fruits. The mix of the flavors turned out well: one bit might be all apple, the next all pear, or you may get two-for-one!

I've never made a crisp before. We were invited upstairs to dinner with our fabulous neighbors. When they came down to invite us over, I asked what I could bring. Somehow, the topic of a crisp came up and knowing that they liked my granola, I offered to make one.

Pastry dough and I aren't generally friends, but I am good at cutting and mixing things, so this was the perfect project for me. And, I found a funny little knife that made the fruit into crinkle cuts. I think it's meant to be used for potatoes, but it worked just fine on my pears and apples. You can't go wrong with the combination of flavors here: butter, vanilla, lemon, cinnamon, fruit and oats. And it's the easiest thing I've made for a dessert in a long time.

The neighbors loved it. I think this will go into my regular rotation of easy, take-along desserts. Hope you like it.

Apple and Pear Crisp

adapted from Simply Recipes

serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 2 medium Pears, cut into chunks
  • 2 medium Apples, cut into chunks
  • 3 tsps Lemon Juice
  • 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1 cup Brown Sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
  • 1 cup Rolled Oats
  • 1/2 cup Butter, room temperature
  • 5 to 10 almonds, crushed
  • 5 to 10 Walnuts, crushed

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  2. In a mixing bowl, combine fruit, lemon juice, and vanilla. Toss to combine.
  3. Put the pear and apple pieces into a baking dish. I don't really layer, just put them in there, and any baking dish will do here, I used a souffle dish.
  4. Mix together the dry ingredients (oats, cinnamon and brown sugar) with the butter.
  5. Using a pastry blender or a fork, chop up the butter until it is in small pea-sized pieces.
  6. Cover the fruit with the oat mixture.
  7. Place the nuts on top of the oat mixture.
  8. Set in the oven for 45 minutes.
  9. Bake until the topping looks crunchy, being careful not to burn the nut topping.
  10. Serve with ice cream on the side.

Chicken, honey? Sure, but it's Honey Chicken.

One night, a few months ago, just when I started shooting almost every meal I made for this here site, my friend came to dinner.

She is a lovely tiny woman. But she can eat. Which is just the kind of friends I love to have. When she arrived, I realized I hadn't come up with a main dish. There were some chicken thighs in the fridge, so I started there. As I thought about what else I had in the house, I came across some fresh oregano and sherry vinegar. The recipe began to form in my head, all I needed was some lemon and a bit of honey and we were off and cooking.

It's a simple affair, if a little messy. I started by heating a pan to super hot, added some oil and salt and put the chicken thighs in skin side down. The fat splatters, so be ready for a little bit of cleanup. The extra step of searing these on the stove top before baking them makes the skin come out super crisp and delicious.

The key to this dish is the combination of the honey, sherry vinegar and oregano. You add these just before the chicken goes into a hot oven for 15 to 20 minutes. And let me tell you, the chicken comes out moist, a little sweet, and very tender. I served it with some roasted brussels sprouts and a quinoa salad. Most delicious.

This past weekend, I found myself with some chicken thighs and recreated the dish for my daughter. She ate two pieces and asked that I save the others for her dinner the next night. A hit, if I do say so myself, and a dish that is so quick to make, I can do it on a weeknight while helping with homework.

So if you are asked "Chicken, honey?" I hope that you respond "Sure, but it's Honey Chicken."

Honey Chicken with Oregano and Sherry Vinegar

makes 4 portions

Ingredients

  • 4 Chicken thighs, skin-on and with bones
  • 4 Tbsps Olive Oil
  • A pinch of Salt
  • 3 sprigs fresh Oregano (or 1 tsp Dried Oregano)
  • 3/4 cup Sherry Vinegar (Red Wine Vinegar works here, or just some leftover White Wine is good, too)
  • 2 Tbsps Honey (I like the dark amber kind)

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Heat up a large non-reactive skillet over high heat.
  3. Put the olive oil and salt in the pan once it is super hot (technical term).
  4. Place the chicken thighs in the pan, skin-side down.
  5. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the skin starts to curl up on the edges.
  6. Turn the thighs over. Cook for 1 minute more.
  7. Turn off the heat. Add the sherry vinegar.
  8. Turn the heat back on and cook for 2 minutes.
  9. Add the honey, turn off the heat and put the pan in the preheated oven.
  10. Bake on the top rack of the oven for 15 to 20 minutes until the chicken juice runs clear.
  11. Remove from the oven, let rest for 5 minutes, and then dig in.