Cauliflower Gratin

Jake and I celebrated Thanksgiving with our neighbors, and we brought a few side dishes. In addition to the favorites that are absolutely required for T-day (mashed potatoes and broccoli rice casserole), I was hoping to try a new vegetarian recipe. Originally I was going to tackle Emily's delicious white beans, but I chickened out. Instead I tried this cauliflower gratin, and we really liked it!

Recipe from Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients:
1 (3-pound) head cauliflower, cut into large florets (I used 2 smallish heads)
Kosher salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups hot milk
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3/4 cup freshly grated Gruyere, divided
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cook the cauliflower florets in a large pot of boiling salted water for 5 to 6 minutes, until tender but still firm. Drain.

Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the flour, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Pour the hot milk into the butter-flour mixture and stir until it comes to a boil. Boil, whisking constantly, for 1 minute, or until thickened. Off the heat, add 1 teaspoon of salt, the pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup of the Gruyere, and the Parmesan.

Pour 1/3 of the sauce on the bottom of an 8 by 11 by 2-inch baking dish. Place the drained cauliflower on top and then spread the rest of the sauce evenly on top. Combine the bread crumbs with the remaining 1/4 cup of Gruyere and sprinkle on top. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and drizzle over the gratin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is browned. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Brie, Apple, and Arugula Quesadillas

Fuji apples offer a crisp counterpoint to the rich, creamy cheese. Substitute Honeycrisp or Ambrosia apples, if you prefer.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 2 wedges)

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons apple cider
• 3 (10-inch) flour tortillas
• 6 ounces Brie cheese, rind removed and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices, divided
• 1 Fuji apple, cored and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 1/2 pound), divided
• 3 cups arugula, divided
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided

Preparation

1. Combine mustard and cider in a small bowl; stir well.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spread each tortilla with about 1 1/2 teaspoons mustard mixture. Place 1 tortilla, mustard side up, in pan. Arrange one-third of cheese slices over half of tortilla; cook 1 minute or until cheese begins to melt. Arrange one-third of apple slices over cheese; top with 1 cup arugula. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Fold tortilla in half; press gently with a spatula. Cook 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove from pan. Repeat procedure twice with remaining 2 tortillas, cheese, apple slices, 2 cups arugula, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cut each quesadilla into 4 wedges.

These were really easy (especially if you have an electric skillet so you can do several at a time, no longer just for pancakes anymore ;-)

Squash-Apple Turnovers

Jonagold apples bring some tartness to the lightly sweet squash-based filling. You can also use other good baking apples like Honeycrisp or Rome. Serve as a side dish or appetizer.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 turnover)

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 2 cups (1/4-inch) diced peeled butternut squash
• 1 cup (1/4-inch) diced peeled Jonagold apple (about 1/2 pound)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled goat cheese
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 1 (11.3-ounce) can refrigerated dinner roll dough (i used biscuits - could also use pie crust)
  
• 1 tablespoon honey mustard
• 2 teaspoons water
• 2 tablespoons 1% low-fat milk
• Cooking spray

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté for 3 minutes. Add squash; sauté for 5 minutes. Add apple; cook 6 minutes or until squash and apple are tender. Stir in salt and pepper. Remove from heat, and cool to room temperature. Gently stir in cheese and thyme.

3. Separate dough into 8 pieces. Roll each portion into a 5-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Combine mustard and 2 teaspoons water in a small bowl. Lightly brush top sides of dough circles with mustard mixture. Spoon about 2 tablespoons squash mixture onto half of each circle, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Fold dough over filling; press edges together with a fork to seal. Brush milk over dough. Place turnovers 1 inch apart on a baking sheet lightly coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 19 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Jamaican Sweet Potato Pudding

Grating the sweet potatoes for this tasty dessert gives your arms a workout! I served this topped with a simple rum sauce.

from Sugar and Spice & Everything Irie - Veda Nugent and Marrett Green

2 pounds sweet potatoes (4 to 5 potatoes)
2 1/2 cups coconut milk
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup raisins or currants
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 300 F. Grease a 9 inch square baking dish.

2. Peel and grate the sweet potatoes.

3. In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, coconut milk, flour, sugar, raisins, butter, vanilla, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Mix well.

4. Pour the mixture into the baking dish and bake for 45 to 60 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed and the top of the pone is golden brown.

Cool before serving.

Rice and Peas

This recipe does not use green peas, but rather pigeon peas or red kidney beans. You can find canned pigeon peas in Caribbean specialty stores, and sometimes in the Hispanic food section of larger grocery stores.

Recipe courtesy of eatjamaican.com

Serves: 4-5

1 medium sized can red kidney beans (or dry pigeon peas, if you can find them, to be extra authentic)
1 can coconut milk
2 cups of rice
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 table spoon oil
1 scotch bonnet pepper (whole, do not chop up... though you can prick with a fork for extra spice)
water

1. Drain the liquid from the can of beans into a measuring cup and add the can of coconut milk and enough water to make four cups of liquid.

2. Place liquids in a pot with beans, onions, garlic, thyme and oil, bring to a boil. Add rice and stir for a minute. Reduce heat to Medium-Low.

3. Place scotch bonnet pepper on top of liquid and cover tightly for 30 minutes or until rice is cooked. Remove scotch bonnet pepper before serving.

Jamaican-Style Greens

I've got to give a shout out to the Caribbean Market in Takoma Park, MD for this recipe in particular. It is an island escape in a strip mall with a dizzying array of produce, spices, and teas... plus a butcher, a food counter, and various and sundry other crazy crap. Need chocho? Cow cod? Soca CDs? No problem, mon! Anyway, it is where I got honest-to-Jah fresh callaloo to make this dish, plus a can of ackee to throw in for good measure.

You can just as easily make this dish with collard or mustard greens, but callaloo will give it authentic island flava.


Jamaican-Style Greens

2 pounds callaloo, collard greens, kale, or mustard greens
1/4 c. water
1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup onion, finely chopped
1 small jalapeno pepper, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons lime juice
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Wash the greens well in several changes of water. Remove the thick rib from the center of the leaves; chop coarsely.

2. Put the greens with 1/4 cup water into a large pot. Place over medium heat, cover and cook until wilted, about 10 minutes. Stir often. Drain.

3. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and jalapeno; sauté 5 minutes. Stir in the greens, allspice, salt and pepper; sauté 5 minutes.

4. Stir in the lime juice and serve.

Jamaican Jerk Tofu

The flavors of the marinade were delicious, but something about the baked tofu lacked a certain sumpin'-sumpin'. If I were to do this again, I would maybe try grilling the tofu for some extra texture. I did press the tofu for a couple of hours prior to marinating so it would soak up as much flavor as possible.

For the carnivores out there, this marinade would be terrific on chicken or pork... or goat, if you want to go balls-out authentic.

Jamaican Jerk Tofu

Makes 2 blocks of tofu, serving 4-6.

6 scallions, sliced thinly (discard top 1/3 of green ends)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbs. fresh ginger, minced
2 jalapeño peppers, minced
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbs. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. thyme
1 Tbs. vegan brown sugar
1-2 blocks extra firm tofu

1. In a large bowl, mix the first nine ingredients, including olive oil.

2. In a smaller bowl, combine spices and brown sugar. Add to liquid mix and stir.

3. If using one block of tofu, spray an 8 x 8 pan with oil. Slice tofu into three slices from its narrow end. Place in pan and pour HALF of marinade over tofu. For two blocks of tofu, use a 9 x 13 pan, and pour ALL the marinade over tofu.

4. Let stand for 15 minutes. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.

Recipe courtesy of Ethnic Vegan

Plantain Chips with Mojo and Creamy Cilantro Garlic Dip

This was my first foray into pan frying. Maybe it's because I have an electric stove, but I found the temperature of the oil very hard to regulate. Still, the chips turned out crisp and golden as expected.

I used three good-sized plantains to make chips for 5 people. Some recipe commenters said you could store the chips in an airtight container until ready to serve. Don't do that... instead, serve them immediately or leave them out in the open for a couple of hours until ready to serve. I put them in an airtight container, and while they were still flavorful they got a little... um, flaccid.

Recipes courtesy of A Spoonful of Thyme.

Plantain Chips

1. Cut off the tips and remove the peel. Make two lengthwise slits to loosen the skin.

2. Prepare a bowl of ice water add 1/4 tsp of salt.

3. Slice the plantains into chips that are about 1/8-1/4 inch thick. (If thinner chips are desired slice them 1/16-1/8 inch thick.)

4. Soak the plantain slices for 15 to 20 minutes in the bowl of ice water.

5. Fry the plantains in 1 1/2 inches of oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan. Heat the oil to 365 degrees.

6. Lower a few slices of plantain at a time into the oil, do not over crowd. Fry for 1-2 minutes until crisp, remove to paper towels to drain, and salt while hot. Allow the oil to return to temperature before the next batch is fried.

Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen Mojo

Mojo ("mo-ho") is a thin, flavorful citrus sauce that is pretty common in Caribbean and Latin American cooking. This particular recipe has a nice bite from the garlic, and it will keep the vampires away as a bonus. Cumin gives an earthy depth.

12 small cloves garlic
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup bitter orange juice (available in the market; or 1/4 cup sweet orange juice plus 2 Tbsp lemon or lime juice)
1 1/2 tsp toasted ground cumin seeds
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

1. Place the garlic and salt in a blender. Pulse until finely chopped.

2. Blend in the bitter orange juice and cumin, finely process.

3. With the blender running, slowly add the oil in a thin, steady stream until mojo is emulsified. Season with pepper.


Creamy Cilantro-Garlic Dip

Easyeasyeasy and super tasty!

1 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 bunch cilantro, leaves and tender stems, coarsely chopped
2 Tbsp capers, rinsed and minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Chill.
2. Share with friends. Or not, if you're stingy.

Irie Jamaican feast

Hi everyone -- I've been a total slacker and haven't posted anything from the Jamaican dinner I hosted back in August. Here are a few pics from the night... recipes to follow shortly.

Hot food, cold drinks, and great company!

Clockwise from left: Jamaican jerk tofu, rice and peas, sauteed callaloo with ackee.


And for dessert, sweet potato pudding with rum sauce.

NYT: Well's Vegetarian Thanksgiving

I wanted to share this link to a collection of delicious sounding vegetarian recipes for Thanksgiving. Let me know if you try any of them!

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/11/08/health/20101108_thanksgiving.html

Costco Find: Dave's Gourmet Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

We found this today at Costco for the first time, and it is DELICIOUS! (And all natural!) We had it tonight on whole wheat spaghetti, but I'm sure it would be a delicious substitute for a tomato-based sauce in any pasta dish.