Parsnip and Apple Has with Pork Chops or Monday Night

One of the joys of this project is that sometimes on a Monday night, after working all day, you just end up with a home cooked meal that looks like this. It might be at 9pm, but this is the kind of meal you can expect if you are a nice uncle who takes his nephew on adventures so his mom can work in peace.

I found this recipe for Parsnip-Apple Hash that I cut out of the newspaper way before I could identify a parsnip in a root vegetable line-up. I was digging through my box of recipes looking for a carrot bread recipe to make use of the glut of carrots we keep accumulating when I stumbled on this one. I also happened to have some parsnips from our Farm Box, so this seemed like a great idea.

1/2 cup diced bacon (I know! I've been meaning to make more bacon, but I want to get the pork belly from this new butcher shop in Los Feliz, and I haven't been over there, and it takes a week, and all that. Not to mention that it is mainly salted meat, and we decided a long time ago that salt doesn't count if it is the only ingredient. Anyway, I bought 4 slices of bacon at my local butcher. Sue me.) 
3 Tbs unsalted butter
1 small onion, cut into 1/4 dice (about 1 cup)
3 parsnips, peeled and cut into 1/2 dice (This is supposed to equal 2 2/3 cups. Apparently these are parsnips from the land of Gigantor. I had six, petite parsnips and it added up to about 1.5 cups. I was worried, but it all worked out fine.)
1 apple, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 1 1/4 cups)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped into 1/4 inch dice (about 1 cup)
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme (I didn't have this. Oh well)
Coarse Salt
Freshly ground pepper

Brown the bacon until crisp in large skillet over medium-high heat, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon and set aside leaving the bacon fat in the pan.

Add the butter to the bacon fat. (That's right, I said add the fat to the fat) and onions and cook, stirring until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the parsnips, cover and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 10 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook until golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.

 Add the apple, bell pepper and thyme (if you have it) and continue to cook, stirring until they carmelize a bit, about five minutes. 

Stir in the reserved bacon. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve with medium rare pork chops that were cooked by your handsome husband with butter, Pasta Seasoning (Ingredients: Onion, Garlic, Basil, Lemon Peel, Paprika, Fennel, Oregano, Black Pepper, Ginger, Thyme & Lemon Oil) and Season All (Ingredients: Salt, Spices (Including Chili Pepper, Black Pepper, Celery Seed, Nutmeg and Coriander) Onion, Paprika, Maltodextrin, Garlic, Silicon Dioxide (added to make free flowing) and Annatto for color) on the broiler for about 90 seconds per side, and a salad left over from Saturday night's dinner.

If you are really lucky, your handsome husband will also make his Grandmother's Hot Chocolate Pudding for dessert. And maybe someday he will write a post about it for you.

Butternut Squash Puree

I made this in the middle of my tamale making adventure, while I was waiting for the chicken stock to cook and the corn husks to soften. I bought a butternut squash almost two weeks ago on a whim and kept putting off doing anything with it.

I got this recipe off of The Pioneer Woman blog. It couldn't be simpler. She took about a million really beautiful pictures, and I don't even want to try to compete with them, so you will have to check out her site if you want a visual on this.

Basically. Cut a butternut squash in half, scoop out the seeds and membranes. Place the halves, cut side down on a baking sheet with about an inch of water. Bake for about 30 minutes (until soft when pierced with a fork) at 350º F.

Scoop the softened flesh out of the skin into a bowl with half a stick of butter, cut into pieces. Mash up and add 2-4 tablespoons maple syrup. Put the whole mess in the blender and puree until smooth. Voila Deliciousness! This can easily be cooled, refrigerated and reheated over the next couple of days.

Sehr gute Kartoffeln

My parents were married in Offenback, Germany and lived there for the first year of their marriage. In the square outside their apartment there was a man who came everyday and sold potatoes out of the back of a van. "Sehr gute Kartoffeln! Ein mark zwanzig!" He would call out. This means "Very good potatoes! One mark, twenty!"

Everyone in my family uses this expression whenever discussing good potatoes. It is the one German phrase we feel confident using. I know a few other niceties, yes, no, please, thank you, some numbers... but none of that is as useful as a phrase for very good potatoes, and today I have for you a recipe for Sehr gute Kartoffeln indeed.

I found this recipe on the blog Chocolate & Zucchini, which is written by Clothide Dusoulier who edited the English version of my current cookbook obsession, I Know How to Cook. She found the recipe on the blog of her friend Pascale, who got the recipe from her British mother-in-law. These potatoes dispute the argument that the Brits don't know good food. Pascale's blog is in French, and while I know a bit more than "trés bonne pommes de terre" in French, I don't quite trust myself to follow French instructions properly. I run into more than my share of recipe misunderstandings in English.

So here it is, a brilliant little secret passed around Western Europe and United States that will make your roasted potatoes crispy on the outside and soft and delicious on the inside.

Preheat the oven to 410º F

You can use any kind of potatoes you choose. I used Yukon Gold. If you use something with a rough skin, like a russet, you will probably want to peel them. If the skin is smooth, you can just scrub all the dirt off and peel alternate stripes, leaving them half-peeled. Then cut the potatoes into bite sized chunks. Place them in a saucepan large enough to accommodate them, cover with cold water, and add a teaspoon coarse salt. Set over high heat, cover, bring to a low boil, then lower the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes.

Once the water is boiling and the oven pre-heated put a baking sheet with about 2 tablespoons of oil, or whatever type of fat you would like to use for roasting in the oven, so the fat and baking sheet will heat up.

After the 5 minutes of boiling, drain the potatoes and return them to the saucepan. Place a lid on the saucepan. Holding the lid firmly shut with both hands (the saucepan will be hot, so wear oven mitts or use dish towels), shake the saucepan vigorously for a few seconds, until the surface of the potato chunks is fuzzy; this will help the formation of a crust.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven, pour the potatoes onto the sheet, sprinkle with sea salt, and stir well to coat with the fat.

Return to the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, flipping the potatoes halfway through, until cooked through, crusty, and golden. If you want a little more color on them, you can switch to grill mode for the final few minutes.

Serve immediately.

Leek Puree (Purée de Poireaux)

This recipe is from the new cookbook I got for Christmas, I Know How to Cook by Ginette Mathiot. It sounds better in the original French, Je Sais Cuisiner. This is "the Bible of French home cooking since 1932" and it was published in English for the first time this year. Cookbook author Clotilde Dusoulier helmed the effort to bring the French answer to Joy of Cooking to the U.S. after all this time. It's a beautiful book and full of information at 975 pages. So far I have only tried two recipes, this being one of them. Everything is very French, lots of Gruyere cheese and creme fraîche. I have been comparing it alongside my Mastering the Art of French Cooking and it has many of the same recipes, but they are generally more straightforward and updated. Anyway, the Leek Purée was a perfect accompaniment to the Beef Stew and rather simple to make.

12 leeks, sliced (Actually I only had 8 and it worked out fine)
1 pound 2 ounces potatoes chopped (I don't have a food scale, so I guessed... I used two very large Yukon gold potatoes. Everything in this cookbook is in weight, so I guess I need to get one.)
Salt
Generous 3/4 cup creme fraîche (I didn't have any, nor did I have 24 hours to make it out of buttermilk and cream, so I just used cream.)


Cut the green upper part of (this can be reserved for use in soups and stews) and keep the white part. Cut off any damaged leaves, then slice and wash very carefully to remove any soil trapped between the layers. (There is always soil between the layers). Place in boiling salted water and boil, uncovered for about 8 minutes. Then add the potatoes, reduce the heat and simmer for another 15-20 minutes. When the potatoes are tender, drain thoroughly and process the leeks and potatoes in a food processor to make a smooth purée. Season with salt , stir in creme fraîche and serve.

Johndor's Snowpocalypse Mashed Potatoes

This post is from my cousin Johndor who braved the elements to bring us these perfectly mashed potatoes:


As the family’s Senior Adjutant for Potato Mashing, I have long been an advocate of food made from scratch, as has always been my approach to potatoes. The extension of this principle meal-wide was, therefore, a welcome one. What follows are my ruminations on family, Christmas Mass, blizzards, and potatoes.


The harrowing ordeal of the Nativity Blizzard of 2009 couldn’t stop us from celebrating the chief tenets of an Irish Christmas: Mass and potatoes.

We departed my mother’s house at approximately a quarter past six in the evening, tasked with collecting Father George and bringing to the house to say Mass and spend Christmas with us. Such are the conveniences of families that befriend their spiritual advisors. The nine-mile journey to pick up Father and get to the party took an hour, most of which was spent listening to the incessant buzzing of a broken open-door alarm.

Needless to say, between the snow and the noise, when I arrived at the house, I was very much in need of some spiritual fortification. And I wanted Mass to start too.

Upon arrival, hurried greetings were exchanged, and a reading from First Timothy was thrust into my hand. “Aha!” I thought. “Lectering and potato mashing! Truly this is a Christmas miracle.”

Mass was beautifully done, and, feeling refreshed and renewed, I turned my attention to the main event. The potatoes had already been peeled and cooked. All that was left was for me to whip them into shape.

At this point, I feel some back story may be appropriate. I don’t really recall when I was placed in charge of mashed potatoes. I think it happened, as many things do in the family, when someone assumed I knew how to do something I didn’t know how to do and made me do it. In that situation, I assume I performed adequately, and was thus deemed an expert by Aunt Kate. I’ve been mashing ever since.

The ingredients for Johndor’ Famous Smashed Potatoes are as follows:

    •    A bunch of big potatoes- Russets work well, get about 10 or 12. Peel them, and if you are in a hurry, chop ‘em into quarters. They are less fun to mash that way though

    •    A stick of butter

    •    Milk- Probably 2 cups, but I usually just eyeball it. My mom claims that you have to warm it up, but she only started insisting that at Thanksgiving, so I don’t know what she’s talking about. I always have used cold milk and it works fine. But in the interest of keeping my mother happy, you should probably warm up the milk

    •    Salt and Pepper- Sea salt and freshly-ground pepper taste better

    •    A healthy knowledge of the history of Irish oppression

Once you get your potatoes peeled, toss them into a pot of boiling water. When they are cooked all the way through, drain them and set to work. First start to break up the potatoes with your masher. Once you’ve got them smooshed a bit, begin to pour in some milk and about a quarter of the stick of butter. Mix the milk and butter around evenly and keep smashing. At this point, begin to season with salt and pepper. Add more milk and butter.

Around here, I change my technique. It becomes less smashing and more like slowly mixing. Use a rocking motion and go in circles. Continue with that, the season and the milk and butter until you get rid of all the big lumps of potato. Whip it around a bit to make them a little fluffier, and you’ve got yourself a big heaping pot of mashed potatoes.

I’ve made myself indispensible to my family by placing myself in charge of lay spiritual affairs and mashed potatoes. That way, no matter how many Christmas or birthdays I ruin with my off-color humor, I keep getting invited back. So remember: for every joke you tell out of your copy of Milton Berle’s Private Collection, you have to deliver one heartfelt grace and make one pot of potatoes. Follow my advice and you too will fast become the most popular member of your family!

Vegetable Quinoa Bake with Kuri Squash

I bought this red Kuri Squash at Figueroa Produce last week just because I had never seen one before and I thought it was beautiful. I guess I have a weakness for a pretty squash... fully knowing that I have way more vegetables than it is reasonable to prepare and eat before I leave town for Christmas, and having absolutely no idea what to do with this odd speciman, I bought it anyway.

It sat for a over a week in the windowsill of my kitchen, taunting me. I figured it was like a pumpkin and could be used in any of the numerous pumpkin recipes I've made in the past. But that felt like cheating. This is something new and exotic and I should make a new and exotic dish with it. So it sat and sat on the pedestal of too high expectations. I was unable to engage it for fear of seeming plebeian and dull. So finally I sat down and searched the good old world wide web and found a recipe, that while not exactly exotic, at least it something I've not made before and did not require a trip to the store. It turned out to be a nice, hearty, vegetarian entree (if you use vegetable stock rather than chicken stock). I found the recipe on a website called fatfree.com (not my usual stomping ground). It was adapted from a recipe published in the December 1994 issue of Vegetarian Times. I have adapted it somewhat here.

white wine or chicken stock
 1 medium onion, chopped
 1 large bell pepper, diced (I used 1 red & 1 green and part of 1 yellow)
 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (optional) (I didn't have one)
 1 small zucchini, diced (I didn't have any zucchini, but I suspect it would have been a good addition)
 2 cloves garlic, minced (I used 4)
 3 cups chicken broth
 1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed well
 2 cups peeled and diced red kuri, pumpkin, or other winter squash
     (I used the whole squash, I would guess about 4 cups)
 1 cup chopped greens of your choice
 2 TBSP fresh parsley or 1TBSP dried (I forgot!)
 1/2 tsp salt    
 1/2 tsp pepper

 Preheat oven to 400ºF.
 Saute with wine or broth the onion, peppers, zucchini, and
 garlic for about 5 minutes.  Stir in rest of ingredients and bring to
 a boil.  (I did NOT stir in the greens, instead I placed them in the
 bottom of the dish first.)  Transfer mixture to a 9x13 casserole dish
 and cover.  Bake until liquid is absorbed, about 35 to 40 minutes. 
 Remove from oven and fluff with a fork.  Let stand 5 minutes before
 serving.  Makes 6-8 servings

I think you can adapt this pretty easily to whatever veggies you have on hand. The recipe posted asked for 8-10 mushrooms, which I don't care for, but perhaps you do...I served this with a lovely Persimmon, Walnut & Pomegranate Salad. I loosely stole the recipe from my friend Louisa who made it for our Community Garden Holiday potluck. I added avocado, which is always a nice touch. I used this meal to trap my friend Jan Smelk at my house for many hours when she dropped by to deliver her homemade Holiday Kahlua, a delight of the season I look forward to every year.

Pan Roasted Pork Chops with Creamy Cabbage and Apples

This recipe was in the December 2009 issue of Food & Wine Magazine

1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp olive oil
4 Thyme Sprigs (I used Rosemary because I have a ton of it)
1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
4 12oz bone in pork loin chops
3 thick slices of applewood-smoked bacon cut into 1/2" dice (I used unsmoked, cured pork belly because that's where it was in the process)
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 head Savoy cabbage thinly sliced crosswise
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2" dice
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
3/4 cup heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. In a large, shallow dish combine 1/4 cup olive oil with thyme (or rosemary) sprigs and garlic. Add the pork chops and turn to coat with the marinade. Refrigerate overnight. (I didn't read this ahead of time - so they marinated for almost 2 hours)
2. In a large skillet, cook the bacon over moderate heat, stirring a few times, until browned, about 4 minutes; pour off the fat. Add the butter and cabbage to the skillet, cover and cook over moderate heat, stirring occaisionally, until the cabbage is tender, about 7 minutes. Add the apple and vinegar, cover and cook, stirring occaisionally, until the apple is tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the mustard and cream and simmer uncovered until the cream has thickened, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, cover and keep warm. (This can be made ahead of time and refrigerated overnight. Gently reheat)
3. Preheat the oven to 325º. In a large, ovenproof skillet, heat the remaining 1 Tbsp of olive oil until shimmering. Remove the pork chops from the marinade; discard the thyme sprigs and scrape off the garlic. Season the chops with salt and pepper and add to the skillet. Cook over moderately high heat until richly browned, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast the chops for about 12 minutes, turning once halfway through, until just pink in the center. Transfer the pork chops to plates and serve with the cabbage.

Turnip Greens

I found this recipe at Just Vegetables This is a site where you click on the name of a vegetable and it gives you a bunch of recipes for that vegetable. I did not have the 2 pounds of greens called for in the recipe, so I just winged it terms of amounts... I just wanted to use the greens from the turnips I was using in the Casserole.

2 lb Tender turnip or mustard greens
1 tb Olive oil
1 sm Onion, chopped
2 Cloves garlic, crushed
2 c Water
1/2 ts Salt
Hot pepper vinegar

Pick over greens and remove tough stems.
Wash in cold water until no trace of sand remains. Set aside to drain.
Heat olive oil in large Dutch oven or stockpot. Add onion and saute until almost browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook another minute, then add water. Bring to boil.
Add greens and salt, cover and simmer over low heat 15 minutes to 2 hours, or until greens are of desired doneness. Add enough water during cooking as necessary to produce at least 1 cup cooking juices, known as pot likker. Serve with hot pepper vinegar on side, for sprinkling over greens.
Makes 8 servings.