Raspberry Shortcake with Lemon Curd

Our Easter this year was a more quiet celebration--but no less fun or tasty.  For dinner, I roasted a chicken with some oranges and scallions.  There was also sauteed tofu with ginger and honey, mashed potatoes, carrots, deviled eggs, and a spinach salad.  And then for dessert, mostly after finding what are apparently elusive at Whole Foods this week--fresh raspberries (though clearly I've bought a lot lately)--I made raspberry shortcakes with lemon curd.  Flaky, slightly sweet biscuits were layered with chantilly cream, lemon curd, and then piled with raspberries.  It's hard to go wrong with that combination really.

Storm the Gates

In salute to Bastille Day and the end of the French Revolution, I made crepes for dessert tonight. The crepes were filled with raspberry jam, fresh raspberries and peaches, and a dollop of cream. A few toasted almonds were sprinkled on top.


Before that we had quiche, along with a big green salad and cantaloupe. The quiche was made with eggs, milk, spinach and fontal, a semi-soft cheese. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Spinach and Feta Mini Quiches in Phyllo

Quiche is pretty straightforward--a few eggs, milk, seasonings and some kind of filling. Making the crust, however, takes a little more effort. Phyllo dough is a nice solution--and it's lighter as well. I layered four sheets of phyllo, lightly brushed with olive oil in between, and then sliced the stack into six pieces. Each sixth was pressed into a greased muffin tin cup, repeating with more phyllo as needed, and then filled with the custard mixture and baked.


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Spinach and Three-Cheese Soufflé

I keep saying this because it's true: soufflés are a lot easier to make than they seem, and they're always a big hit. Even if your soufflé doesn't rise sky-high, if you put sufficient flavor in the base, it will still taste good. But you can protect against low rising by adding an extra egg white, giving the beaten whites just a little more volume. For this soufflé, I lightly steamed some baby spinach--and I could have used a lot more, but I only had about a cup or two raw--and then squeezed it dry and chopped it fine. For the cheeses, I grated Parmesan, Gouda, and a goat Brie--but you can use what you like.


Alongside this, we had steamed asparagus with toasted hazelnuts


And a mixed berry salad



 Spinach and Three-Cheese Souffle

10 eggs, separated (you'll need 10 whites and 8 yolks)
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
6 Tbs unsalted butter
6 Tbs flour
2 c hot milk
pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper
1 bag baby spinach (steamed, squeezed dry, and chopped fine, or you can use frozen)
2 c grated cheese (use whatever combination you like)

 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Butter a large souffle dish well, and then coat with grated cheese (like you would with flour for a cake.)

1. Start by making the white sauce: melt the butter, then add in the flour and cook for a couple of minutes.  Then add the hot milk and whisk til it's smooth and thickened.  Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.

2. Off the heat, add the egg yolks, one or two at a time, and whisking them in quickly so they don't scramble. Then add the chopped spinach and cheese and mix well.  Pour this mixture into a large mixing bowl and set aside.

3. In another large bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar, starting slowly and working your way up to high speed.  Beat til the egg whites are stiff but not dry.

4. Whisk about one quarter of the egg whites into the sauce mixture.  Then, carefully fold the rest of the whites into that mixture, til it's well blended (a few little bits of white are ok, better to keep the volume.)

5. Pour the mixture into the prepared souffle dish.  Carefully put this into the oven, and turn the heat down to  375 degrees.  Bake for 25-30 min.--and don't open the oven til it's about done, browned on top and not too jiggly.  If it seems not quite ready, cook for a few minutes more, but it will continue cooking even out of the oven, too.  Serve immediately.

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Pasta with Shrimp, Mascarpone and Spinach

The original recipe is for bruschetta, but in the days after Thanksgiving, when we all needed something different for dinner, pasta seemed like a good idea.  I also used spinach instead of arugula and a can of fire-roasted tomatoes instead of fresh plum tomatoes, as that's what I had on hand.

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Bruschetta with Shrimp, Tarragon and Spinach

This recipe is based on one from Giada de Laurentis. It's bruschetta but with shrimp and wine and creamy mascarpone. The combination is pretty amazing on top of the slightly garlicky toasted ciabatta, but it would also be good with pasta, rice, or just a spoon. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Chicken Tagine with Tomatoes and Honey

We're in Morocco tonight, at least for dinner. We had djaj matisha mesla, or chicken with tomatoes and honey, rice pilaf with almonds, carrot salad, and spinach with raisins and pine nuts. The chicken was cooked with onions, tomatoes, saffron, ginger, and cinnamon til the mixture was a thick, caramelized sauce. Honey was added, and the whole thing was topped with toasted almonds and sesame seeds. All of the recipes, except for the rice, come from Claudia Roden's New Book of Middle Eastern Food.

Fusilli With Fresh Spinach and Ricotta

Fusilli con spinaci e ricotta. Based on a recipe from Chef Lidia Bastianich, this dish is creamy and full of spinach, but not bitter, as greens sometimes get. Fresh ricotta is mixed with half-and-half (or half 1% milk and half heavy cream) and then added to lightly cooked green onions and a ton of spinach (4 cups, packed, for half a recipe). I added a pinch of nutmeg, too.

Chicken Fricassee With Mushrooms

Cooking with a friend tonight: fricassee de poulet aux champignons chez Rose, from Patricia Well's Bistro Cooking, et deux salades. The chicken fricassee, or freaky chicken as it was called, was simmered with garlic, fire-roasted tomatoes, and sauteed mushrooms until it was falling off the bone. Delicious, and it took less than an hour to make. We served it on top of fusili, though rice or crusty bread would also be good. We also made a caprese salad, with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and lots of basil, and a spinach salad with tart Granny Smith apple, orange bell peppers, and Cambozola cheese, a combination of Camembert and and Gorgonzola that is absolutely fabulous.

Greek Meze

It's cold and icy outside, but inside we're sitting at a little cafe in Greek islands. The sun is out, the glasses are full, and we're nibbling on meze all afternoon. To start with there are three kinds of phyllos pastries, hot and flaky just out of the oven.


There's tiropita, a combination of feta, ricotta, and onions; spanikopita, with spinach and feta; and a squash, feta, and ricotta mixture, too.

There is also marinated artichoke hearts with red peppers and garlic, sweet and salty walnuts, a variety of olives, slow cooked beef with honey and bay leaves, and hummos with pita triangles.

Spanikopita

I made spanikopita for dinner tonight, the first time since the Great Spanikopita Disaster, I think. And it was good! I was suspicious about the phyllo, as it contains no butter--and yet here it was the only kind available at both Whole Foods and Balducci's--and it tasted just fine. In addition to the phyllo, what's not to like about lots of fresh spinach, feta, and eggs? The middle layers of phyllo melt into the spinach layers, while the top and bottom are crisp and flaky. The original recipe came to me years ago from a Greek friend. It's delicious, but an added bonus is that it's also surprisingly quick to put together. We ate this with a big salad of mixed greens, pears, walnuts, goat cheese, sliced grapes, and dried cranberries.


Hot out of the oven. I probably should have brushed the butter on, instead of leaving it in little dots, which then turned brown, but it didn't hurt the flavor one bit.

Lots of spinach ...

Spanikopita
(with thanks to Mrs. A.)

olive oil
1 package phyllo dough
1/2 lb fresh baby spinach, medium chopped
1/4 c parsley
3/4 - 1 lb feta, crumbled
5 eggs
1 small sweet onion, chopped fine
salt and pepper (not too much salt, as the feta has plenty)
nutmeg
1 Tbs butter, melted

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, mix the spinach, parsley, feta, eggs, onion, salt, pepper, and nutmeg til combined.

3. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking pan with the olive oil. Then take three sheets of phyllo, each folded in half and lay them in the bottom of the pan (on top of each other, not side by side.) Each sheet of phyllo should be able to be folded in half and fit perfectly in the bottom of the pan.

4. Take about 1/4 of the spinach mixture and drop it by the spoonful on top of the phyllo. Don't worry about covering everything, as it will spread out as it bakes. On top of the spinach, place another sheet of phyllo folded in half.

5. Repeat with the remaining spinach, each layer separated with a folded sheet of phyllo, and then top with two folded sheets of phyllo.

6. Brush the top with the melted butter, and place the pan into the oven.

7. Bake for 45 min-1 hour, or until the top is golden brown.