It's Almost Easter....Time to Boil Eggs

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you'll know that I've written about boiled eggs a few times already. I feel the need to get this post out there at Easter time, when the boiled egg is the centerpiece of any good Easter egg hunt.

So, it's a lot of the same, as my method for egg boiling does not change, but I tried to give you some new pictures to ponder this time. I'll post the dyed eggs as soon as they are ready!

Perfect Boiled Eggs

from Julia Child's How To Cook Everything

makes 12 eggs

Ingredients:

• 1 dozen eggs
• 3 and 1/2 quarts of water
• 1 Large Stockpot

Method:

• Lay the eggs in the pan and dd the cold water.
• Set over high heat and bring just to a boil.
• Remove from heat, cover pan, and let sit exactly 17 minutes.
• After the 17 minutes, transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice cubes and water.
• Chill for 2 minutes.
• (This next step, I do not do, but Julia does, so I am including it here: Transfer the eggs to the boiling water again and let boil for 10 minutes. Return the eggs to the ice water, craking the shells in several places.)
• Chill the eggs in the fridge.

Enjoy!

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.

My Love Affair with Anchovies (and Pasta)

I take it from the low traffic on my Anchovy Butter post day that most people aren't as enamored of anchovies as I am. If I could, I think I'd eat them everyday. I love the saltiness and the texture. The little bones kind of freak me out a bit, but if you get those salt-packed Italian ones, there are fewer of those to worry about.

Well, we grew up eating this Pasta with Anchovy dish. It makes a yearly appearance at Christmas during the Feast of the Seven Fishes. My friends just moved back to SF from NJ and their first request was a bowl of Pasta with Anchovy. It was my duty to oblige, especially because I can count on one hand (less than one hand, actually) those around me who would enjoy this dish with me.

As I was preparing to cook the anchovy filets, I recalled when my sister first made this dish for our family, probably when she was about 15 years old. She made the dish and set it on the table. She was pretty proud of herself. It was (and still is) a feat to serve Gran Fran one of her dishes made by yourself. Though there was a tough moment when some of the tiny bones in the 'chovies made themselves known, overall she did a great job. She lives here in SF, too, and I do believe her version always turns out just a little bit better than mine.

Actually, I think I've tasted this dish made by all of my sisters (3) and my brother (1), as well as Gran Fran. Each dish is excellent, but a bit different. Just like taking a photograph, each person interprets things in their own way and no two images or dishes are ever exactly alike. I know there is the joke about the Italian grandmas who don't share quite everything in their recipe or method with anyone so that their version of the dish is always the best. This theme was even used on the Dick Van Dyke show when Laura didn't tell Millie everything she had included in her dip recipe. I don't think Gran Fran is keeping anything from us, it's just that we each have our own style and it comes through in our versions of this dish (and many other old favorites).

I won't try to convert anyone to become an anchovy lover, but I will ask you to give this recipe a try since it is delicious!

Pasta with Anchovies

Serves 8

You will need a heavy-bottomed non-reactive saucepan and a 5 to 8qt stock pot.

Ingredients:

• 2 cans best anchovy fillets wrapped around capers
• 3 cloves of garlic quartered
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• Red pepper flakes to taste
• 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs ground from good quality white bread (I use crumbs made of rice bread like Udi's)
• 2 tablespoons chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
• 1 1/2 pounds spaghettini (I use rice pasta like Tinkyada)

Method:

• Put salted water on to boil for pasta.
• While pasta is boiling, in a skillet heat olive oil until it shimmers.
• Add garlic and cook until it is golden.
• Add red pepper flakes and anchovies with their oil.
• Stir rapidly to break up anchovies. Reduce heat.
• Add bread crumbs and toss until crumbs are golden.
• Remove skillet from heat. Drain pasta. Stir in sauce.

Note: The recipe above specifies salt only in the pasta water because the recipe contains salty anchovies.

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.