BostonZest

Lemon, Love, and Olive Oil Cookbook New Favorite Cookbook

How many recipes do I want to make from Lemon, Love, and Olive Oil by Mina Stone?

This many!

Each sticky note represents a recipe I want to try. I've decided to cook through this excellent book, as a winter cooking project. Right now, I have one of the Boston Public Library's copies. I will add a copy to my cookbook collection. I have to decide, as I work with it, if I need the Kindle or print edition. 

Do you have a winter cooking project or a cookbook you should pull out and cook your way through?

First up was this quick, easy lunch of Tuna Salad with Fennel, Apple, and Parsley. Ed and I love the flavor twist and lighter notes from the fennel and apple that offset the heavier tuna flavor. 

Watch this space for more from this book!

 

Words: Penny Cherubino Photos: ©2021 Penny Cherubino

Farmers Market Asparagus Ragout à la Jacques Pepin

We have had Asparagus Ragout for supper repeatedly in recent weeks. We visited the Provincetown Farmers Market on a recent trip to our favorite spot on the tip of the Cape and bought a bunch of asparagus from Silverbrook Farm. We didn't want to turn on the oven in our rental apartment to roast it, so Penny remembered a Jacques Pepin cooking technique for cooking fresh vegetables in a little water and a bit of butter. We both loved the result. 

After returning home, we located a Jacques Pepin video with instructions for what he calls Asparagus Ragout. (This dish is first up on this the program.)  

Via Wikipedia we found this about Ragout, "The term comes from the French ragoûter, meaning: 'to revive the taste." The Italian ragù (the word being borrowed from French) is a sauce such as Ragù Napoletano used typically to dress pasta."

While this farm fresh asparagus did not need reviving, this method of cooking it certainly results in great flavor complete with a light sauce. (Naturally, Ed selected his favorite utensil – a slice of fresh bread – and sopped up every drop of the sauce remaining on his plate.)

When we returned to Boston, we bought more asparagus at the Atlas Farm stand at the Copley Square Farmers Market and had a second supper of lovely, local asparagus.

We do peel the stalks and this time we had watched the video and followed Jacques' method. If you have the time, you can make an asparagus soup from the trimmings. 

We highly recommend this quick and easy cooking method for many of the fresh, local vegetable you'll be gathering at local markets this summer. 

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2018 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

Roasted and Smashed Potatoes for Easier Shepherd's, Cottage, or Fish Pies

A bag of small potatoes that I had planned to turn into smashed potatoes recently inspired a new look at the traditional shepherd's pie. I had a package of ground lamb that my friend Liz suggested I try instead of always grinding my own. Naturally shepherd's pie came to mind, but I still wanted those crispy delicious smashed potatoes. 

I decided to have the best of both worlds by topping my meat mixture with smashed instead of mashed potatoes.

First I scrubbed and cut slits in the potatoes, tossed those plus some carrots and sweet potatoes in olive oil, salt and pepper, and roasted them on a full sheet pan lined with parchment paper. The next time I make this, I'll also roast some onions and garlic to add to the meat when I brown it. 

As soon as the potatoes were soft enough, I smashed them with a fork, sprinkled on a bit more olive oil, and returned the tray to the oven.

For this batch I diced two slices of bacon, cooked it, removed some of the bacon fat, and then browned the lamb, onions, garlic, and herbs in that pan. After the meat was transferred to a porcelain baking dish, I scattered the roasted carrots around, topped it with the cooked (but not totally browned) potatoes, and dabbed on a few bits of butter. I put the dish into the already hot oven for about 20 minutes for the flavors to meld and for the final crisping of the smashed potatoes.

When potatoes are a daily menu item, as they were for many of my Irish ancestors, having leftover mashed potatoes to turn a bit of leftover roast into a cottage pie was easy. However making the dish from scratch the way I often do can limit the number of times you enjoy this lovely meal.

By roasting off everything on a tray in the oven, it's much quicker and you have the bonus of that caramelized, roasty-toasty flavor on all the vegetables. And remember, you can use this method to make cottage pie with beef or a fish pie. You can also turn a tray of wonderful, roasted root vegetables into a meatless version.

Related posts:

10 Tips for Shepherd's Pie

Making Food in Layers Can Be Much Easier!

 

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

Super Quick, Super Easy, Delicious Tomato Soup

Even those of you who only use a microwave to heat things up can transform a box of tomato soup into a stunning bowl of delicious with just two added ingredients.

You buy a box of tomato soup. This one was the Organic Creamy Tomato Soup from Trader Joe's and we look for one with the fewest ingredients. 

The secret ingredient to take this soup to a new level is a bit of Boursin Cheese with Garlic & Fine Herbs. We were making this one bowl at a time, so we added a tablespoon to each bowl of hot soup. You can swirl it around, mash it against the side of the bowl, and stir until the cheese dissolves. 

A sprinkle of fresh, ground, black pepper added a bit more zip. 

While we are sharing the recipe, we cannot take credit for it. Years ago we invited two of our favorite restaurateurs on a fall sail with us. They arrived at the boat with thermoses of soup. When we stopped for lunch, everyone on board raved about the soup, asked for seconds, then asked for the recipe. It was at that point the friends told us their chef had not made the soup, they had.

What's more, making soup was a last minute decision after they realized how chilly the sail was going to be. They ran out and bought the ingredients then heated, mixed, and packed the soup in vacuum jugs, and brought it to us. When they told us how to make it, we all stared in disbelief.

The doubting only lasted until one of the gang, then another and another, made it at their own home and discovered how easy it could be to raise the bar on a bowl of tomato soup. 

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

Three Meals from One Pot of Braised Chicken Thighs

The best way to avoid tiring of something you take the time to cook ahead is to have your initial cooking session create a product you can use to make other meals. In this case Penny braised a pan of chicken thighs in white wine, ginger, garlic, soy, and scallions. (Here are a bunch of recipes to help you find one to your taste.)

For our first meal, we enjoyed the thighs with brown rice, pea pods, and tomatoes. Penny cooked up a big batch of brown rice in our Instant Pot for us to use during a week with a lot of things on our to do lists.

On day two, the chicken was shredded and became part of a wok full of fried rice. This was a big batch so that second act for the chicken became two extra meals ready to go. (Just like when we order more takeout than we need for one meal.)

The third meal from our pot of braised chicken was a frittata with chicken, pre-cooked sautéed onions, a bit of the rice, a few scallions for color, and some grated pecorino. (Check out this post to learn about having sautéed onions on hand.)

Judith Jones in her delightful book "The Pleasures of Cooking for One" called this approach to using leftovers, "second rounds." We like that concept!  

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

Make a North End Muffuletta

Sometimes we eat something delicious because we need that particular item for a photo shoot. That was the case of a recent muffuletta adventure. For a recipe we turned to our old friends at Serious Eats. (How to Make Classic New Orleans Muffulettas.)

(Note: We've seen more than one spelling for the name of this sandwich, but we're going with Muffuletta as used by Central Grocery in New Orleans, "home of the original Muffuletta.")

Here is our version, before pressing. We were pretty pleased with the result. Naturally, there are things we would do a bit differently (more oil in the olive salad) next time, but it was delicious! This was part of a newspaper column we were doing on "Sandwiches for a Crowd."  

 

Finding the Bread

Over on Serious Eats, Kenji wrote, "This is the only ingredient that is truly difficult to source outside of New Orleans." Penny remembered  Scali bread at Bova's Bakery in the North End that seemed to fit the specs. So off we went to the perfect neighborhood for gathering muffuletta ingredients.

They not only had it but, as you can see, had it in two sizes. Since this sandwich was for a small group, we picked the smaller loaf, but for you the bigger one might be a better fit.

Slicing Up the Filling!

For the filling we walked over to Salumeria Italiana. We knew they would have the meat, cheese, and makings of the olive salad. They thinly sliced everything we needed for perfect stacking.

We bought mortadella, provolone, fennel soppressata, hot capocollo, and, for our own touch and a light color in the center, added a bit of porchetta. The containers hold olives and the pickled vegetables that make up the olive salad.

Step one is to chop those with some capers, mix with olive oil, and spread it on the bread. This is even better when you make it ahead and give the ingredients time to mellow and blend. 

Next, stack the meat in layers.

Wrap the sandwich, weigh it down, move it to the refrigerator, and let a few hours do their magic.

We mentioned above that this is a sandwich for a crowd. You can make as many as you need. Prepare the salad ahead, assemble, and weigh-down the beast long before your guests arrive.

Then serve it up on a cutting board and let everyone slice off the size piece they would like. Easy for entertaining, a fall picnic, or to bring to a potluck.

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

Grilled Cheddar Cheese with Onion, Thyme, and Tomato on a Rustic Bread? "Yes, Please!"

The lunch in the photo above was pulled together from what was left in the house before farmers market day. The sandwich is grilled cheddar cheese with onion, thyme, and tomato on a rustic bread.

 

Thanks to a tip I follow from David Leite, I had a jar of sautéed onions in the refrigerator. I always sauté extra, since I bought the New Portuguese Table, years ago. (Here's more about that in our post: Cook's Treasure: Sautéed Onions and Garlic.)

Since I was being lazy and trying to make a quick lunch, I don't think I would have sautéed an onion to add to these sandwiches. But since I had these softly sautéed onions all ready, I sprinkled a few on each pile of goodies as I prepared a platter of grilled cheese. The thyme came about because I keep a vase of herbs on my counter right where I do food prep. 

My other helper in making this meal was my induction burner. It makes controlling the temperature of the pan, to get just enough toast on the sandwich, easier. Since I added this to my kitchen, I seldom use my stovetop. Induction gives me faster heat, better control, and a much easier clean up.

My electric stovetop has become extra counter space and the place where I setup my induction burner, since that puts it under the kitchen vent. I place a large wooden cutting board under the induction burner and a full sheet pan covered with newspaper or parchment over the burners next to it. This makes clean up a snap!

 

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino