Enjoying Pomegranates with Less Mess

This time of year pomegranates make their annual appearance in produce aisles, and despite being beautiful, delicious, and nutritious, many shoppers avoid them because they simply don’t know how to work with the colorful, but mysterious fruit. This video shows a great method for harvesting all those juicy seeds without any mess. By the way, the individual kernels are water-proof, so don't worry about them losing any flavor in the bowl. Enjoy!

“Local” Roasted Beets with Goat Cheese and Walnuts – Kill Once, Cook Twice

They say if you video blog long enough, you’ll eventually post a snuff film. Okay, so no one says that, but that’s what this roasted beets with goat cheese and walnuts kind of felt like, as I harvested my homegrown, and completely defenseless beet.

I was obviously kidding about vegetables being able to sense pain, but the more I think about it, who knows? Anyway, until I find out otherwise, I’ll assume the bloody root didn’t suffer for my pleasure, and just enjoy its incredible goodness. It’s the same assumption I use when eating chicken wings.

There are very few things that pair as perfectly as roasted beets and goat cheese. Simply a match made in occasional-vegetarian heaven. When you toss in some crunchy walnuts, foraged greens, and a simple walnut oil/vinegar dressing, you have something that’s way beyond the sum of the parts. 

I really can’t think of a more perfect fall lunch. By the way, in addition to making a great mid-day meal, this would also work nicely as a fancy side dish come holiday time, and you have plenty of time to practice. I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 portions:

1 or 2 tbsp walnut oil

1 roasted beet (*about 8 oz)

2 oz goat cheese

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup roasted chopped walnuts

2 tbsp champagne or sherry vinegar

thinly sliced beet greens and fresh chives to top

toasted walnut bread to serve with

*Note: Since beets come in all sorts of sizes, you’ll just have to go by feel. Roast a beet or two, slice it up, see how much you have, pick a baking dish that large enough for one layer, cover the bottom with walnut oil, toss in the beets, fill in between with goat cheese, season, bake and dress as you see fit.

Next Up: Death of a Beet

Bolognese Sauce – Hip Hip Hazan!

This bolognese sauce is dedicated to the late, great Marcella Hazan, who passed away in September, at the age of 89. She was considered the Julia Child of Italian food, and at a time when most Americans though “bolognese” was spaghetti sauce with chunks of hamburger it, Marcella taught us just how magnificent this meat sauce could be.

One thing that always surprises people making this recipe for the first time is the absence of garlic. Hazan railed against the common belief that garlic should be added to any and all Italian recipes. She once wrote, “the unbalanced use of garlic is the single greatest cause of failure in would-be Italian cooking,” and “Garlic can be exciting when you turn to it sporadically, on impulse, but on a regular basis, it is tiresome.”

Would a few minced garlic cloves ruin this incredibly delicious pasta sauce? Probably not, but since this is supposed to be something of a tribute, I decided to remain true. Speaking of ingredients, I used ground beef here, but I’ve also done this with cubed chuck roast, which works wonderfully as well.

Anyway, I really hope you give this classic bolognese a try, and if you do, and there’s some extra wine around, please raise a glass, and toast the “Nonna” of Italian cuisine in America. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 6 portions:

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp butter

1 cup finely diced onions

1/2 cup finely diced celery

1/2 cup finely diced carrot

1 1/2  tsp salt, or to taste

freshly ground black pepper and cayenne to taste
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1 1/2 lb ground beef

1 1/2 cups milk

2 cups white wine

1 can San Marzano plum tomatoes (28-oz), about 3 cups

2 cups water, or as needed

Next Up: Bolognese Sauce

Not That Mole

I saw a tweet about October 23 being National Mole Day, which served to remind me that I’ve still not done a take on this magical Mexican sauce. The video below is from my friends at Allrecipes.com, and looks like a great place for me to start my experiments.

By the way, as I searched for more info on how National Mole Day came to be, I realized it wasn’t “Mole” the sauce; it was actually “Mole” the scientific unit of measure. Now, why would scientists name a unit of molecular weight after this delicious Mexican sauce? Anyway, enjoy the video (you can see the written recipe here), and if you have any secret mole-making knowledge, feel free to pass it along. Enjoy!

Apple & Cheddar Cheese Soufflés – Great for People Who Stink at Folding Egg Whites

After doing such a great job folding the egg whites into this apple and cheddar soufflé batter, I celebrated by dropping a measuring cup into the bowl. By the time I fished it out, cleaned the sides of the bowl, and shook my fist at the heavens, I’d lost a lot of micro-bubbles.

I pressed on, and despite my tragic encounter with gravity, the resulting soufflés were simply fabulous, which just goes to show that maybe we need to relax about this whole folding thing. Sure, more bubbles would make it go a little higher, but if you’ve never made a soufflé before, I hope this gives you some new-found courage.

By the way, I don’t know why most similar recipes call for extra egg whites. Actually, I do know; it’s to make them more visually impressive, but I think this dilutes the flavor. I use about half the egg whites normally called for, and these are still light as a feather.

If you decide to give these a whirl, please promise me you'll use a great cheddar. I used a sharp and creamy Cabot, but any other quality, aged cheddar will work. These apple cheddar soufflés are very versatile, and would make a great appetizer, a special holiday brunch starter, or deliciously different dessert. I hope you give them a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4  (I used Le Creuset 4 3/4-ounce size):

For the apples:

1 tbsp butter, heated until edges start to turn brown

1 apple, cubed

1 tbsp sugar

For the batter:

2 tbsp flour

2 tbsp butter

1 cup milk

1/2 tsp salt

pinch freshly ground black pepper

pinch cayenne
pinch nutmeg

3 oz sharp white cheddar, or almost 1 cup grated

2 eggs, separated

Bake at 400 degrees F.  for about 22 minutes

*Assuming you don’t drop a measuring cup into your folded egg white fluffed batter, you should have about 2 cups of batter. You can divide each 1/2 cup portion into whatever sized ramekin you have, but a 4 3/4 to 5 oz size is ideal. Basically, when it’s fully puffed and browned, it’s done. And for goodness sake, serve very warm, but not piping hot!