Spinach and Pancetta Strata for Recipes to Rival

  This Month's challenge at Recipes to Rival was Spinach and Pancetta Strata.  Selected and hosted by Temperance at High on the Hog.  A perfect choice, seeing how over the years I have collected countless recipes for Strata, meaning to make it, but somehow never have.  So, this was just the push needed.

On the other hand, I don't know why it rarely seems to work out that I just do it by the book, use every ingredient called for, and FOLLOW DIRECTIONS.  Well, first off, pancetta does not seem to be an ingredient in our Natural Foods Store.  And, I prefer not to buy pork products from other sources.  Therefore, we (in the royal sense) used prosciutto instead.  Also, as you may be sick of hearing, I have certain greens to use up every week from my CSA box.  Those did not include spinach this month.  Everything else, yes.  So, we were creative here as well, using mizuna. The Good Lord saw fit to give us such an amazing selection in the greens department of creation.  What variety!  I just love it.  The milk around our house is often soy milk, and as for the bread, what I had cubed in my freezer was pretty close, Kalamata olive and Rosemary French, rather than Italian.  But, hey France is very near to Italy. And those extra yummy little bits could only help, right?  Then, I'm all ready to go and discover, oh woe, no onion at hand.  But, we had some lovely shallots.  All my substitutions worked out well, still here is the recipe as given:

Chicken Molé Poblano for Recipes to Rival

Our February Recipes to Rival project, hosted by Temperance of High on the Hog, was a delicious Chicken Molé  Poblano.  Since this entry is coming from Hawaii, I should perhaps call it my Tsunami Chicken Molé?

It wasn't really all that difficult, and well worth the bit of effort as it was soooo good, besides making twice the amount needed.  So, you can freeze enough for a different meal later.  I love molés and, in looking through my various cookbooks to compare recipes, realized that they come in a rainbow array of  black, red, and yellow ones, besides this Poblano, which is a lovely terracotta color.  Like Mexican quarry tiles, ha ha, sounds better than brown.  And, what is guacamole, but a green molé?  My favorite Mexican cookbook, the fabulous Frida's Fiestas,  is full of wonderful photos of her house and art, with recipes for the black, yellow and red ones, as well as a fresh green.  Each very different, and now I've got to try them all.  In fact, this feels like the beginning of a post series.  Look for it right here folks.

Chicken Molé Poblano

Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

Ingredients
Molé sauce:
2 dried Ancho chilies, stemmed and seeded
2 dried Anaheim chilies, stemmed and seeded
2 dried Chipotle chilies, stemmed and seeded
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup whole almonds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
1 cinnamon stick, preferably Mexican, broken in pieces
1 tablespoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican (I used my fresh Puerto Rican)
4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 small onions, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Serrano peppers, stemmed and seeded, chopped
6 plum tomatoes, chopped
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, preferably Mexican, chopped

Chicken:
1 capon or large chicken, cut into 10 pieces
1 lemon, juiced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups chicken stock
Cilantro leaves, for garnish
Cooked white rice, for serving
I added salt to taste at the end
Directions after the jump ...

Recipes to Rival: Eggplant Parmesan

These were so pretty, calling to me from the market produce bin, I couldn't resist.  And, that purple-flowered basil matches so well.  However, don't know about the rest of you, but I tend to forget things in my fridge.  They were fast approaching their "use by" date, when I finally had everything together for Eggplant Parmesan, Mario style, our latest Recipes to Rival dish, hosted by Temperance at High on the Hog.

Most of my family (extended included) don't really care for eggplant, so the real challenge is always to make it so they can hardly resist.  Quite a feat for my granddaughter especially.

The dish was good, though I really don't see the point of those individual towers, other than for cute servings.  I think it works easier and just as good to layer them in the ordinary way.  The towers likely derived from the whole haute gourmet plating style in restaurants, where everything has to be artfully stacked on top of each other.  Just my opinion.  Also, I think my usual recipe tastes lighter.  I first roast the eggplant slices with just a brushing of olive oil.  I had to use way too much  in this.  Probably the oil wasn't hot, hot, hot enough??  Really not sure.  But, there certainly wasn't any left in the pan after the first batch was done.  Had to keep adding more.  Also, if you roast the eggplant, there's no need for any breading.  You can just sprinkle the herbs on when layering.

For the recipe - 

Recipes to Rival: Olive Straws

Here is a recipe for which you do not need an aebleskiver pan. Guaranteed.  My "series" on uses for that pan will continue later.  Our challenge this month for Recipes to Rival was Olive Straws, one of three choices we had, actually, and they looked so cute and tasty I couldn't resist.   As an added bonus, you can watch Martha and Michel Roux make these little appetizers (Pupus if you're being Hawaiian).  They seemed to be having a good time with them, and Martha's demonstration can be found here: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/olive-straws.

Hosting RTR this time is Lori of Lori's Lipsmacking Goodness.  I enlisted my granddaughter, Kealani, as sous chef on this project, as it is always more fun cooking with her.

 Olive Straws

* All-purpose flour, for work surface
* 13 ounces Puff Pastry
* 15 large green pimento stuffed olives, about 1 1/4 inches long
* 1 medium egg yolk
* 1 tablespoon milk

1. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out puff pastry to a 12 1/2-by-6-inch rectangle, about 1/8-inch thick. Using a large sharp knife, cut the rectangle into a 5 1/2-by-6-inch rectangle and a 7-by-6-inch rectangle. Place both rectangles on a baking sheet and transfer to refrigerator; let chill 20 minutes.
2. Place the 5 1/2-by-6-inch rectangle on a baking sheet. Place 5 olives, end-to-end, in a straight line along the short side of the rectangle, leaving about a 5/8-inch border. Repeat process two more times to make three lines of olives.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk and milk. Brush egg mixture on all exposed spaces between olives. Cover with the 7-by-6-inch rectangle of puff pastry, pressing the whole surface of the dough between the olives firmly with your fingertips. Transfer to refrigerator; let chill 20 minutes.

  4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Using a very sharp knife, trim edges of dough; cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide straws. Lay flat-side down on a baking sheet. Transfer to oven and bake until pastry is golden and crisp, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer straws to a wire rack to cool slightly. Serve warm

Well, they don't look like Martha's.  The mistakes we made or things we would do differently, were as follows  (even after watching the video several times, we evidently didn't pay enough attention to directions):
 1. Drain the olives better
 2. Freeze and refrigerate longer - til very firm.
 3. Lie the straws flat on pan rather than upright.
 4. Have the oven hotter.

But, and this is the good news, they tasted delicious, crispy and olive tangy.  Perfect with a glass of white wine.  Since I have another sheet of that puff pastry, we will definitely be making these again soon.

"Old World Rye" for Recipes to Rival

The November challenge on Recipes to Rival, was hosted by Temperance of High on the Hog.  She chose a hearty, Old World Rye bread.  I pretty much stuck to the recipe, except for (you were waiting on that, right?) using my sourdough starter instead of powdered yeast.  I proofed a sponge with it overnight, then next morning, using the remaining ingredients, completed our recipe:

Old World Rye
A World of Breads by Dolores Casella, 1966

2 cups rye flour
1/4 cup cocoa
2 T yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
1/2 cup molasses
2 tsp salt
2 T caraway seed
2 T butter
2 1/2 cups white flour or whole wheat flour (I used 1/2 cup whole wheat spelt here)

Combine the rye flour and cocoa. do not sift.
Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup warm water.
Mix molasses, 1 cup warm water, salt, and caraway seed in large mixing bowl.
Add the rye/cocoa mix, the proofed yeast, the butter and 1 cup white flour or whole wheat flour.
Beat until the dough is smooth.
Spread the remaining flour on a breadboard and kneed it into the dough
Add more flour if necessary to make a firm dough that is smooth and elastic.
Place in buttered bowl and cover. Allow to rise until double (about 2 hours).
Punch dough down, shape into a round loaf and place on a buttered cookie sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal.
Let rise about 50 minutes.
Bake at 375 for 35 to 40 minutes.

I've only recently started using a bread peel with my baking stone (now broken but still usable), and here's something learnt the hard way.  When letting your loaf rise the final time on the peel (is this generally done?), anyway, make sure to put lots of cornmeal under it. Otherwise, when you give it that good shake, which is supposed to slide it nicely off the peel and onto the stone, it won't go anywhere at all, whilst heat is escaping from the oven, and you're standing there wondering what to do now.  Any bakers out there with a better idea??

This bread was very flavorful, with the molasses and caraway being right out front. A bit too much molasses for my taste, to be honest.  The cocoa was not really evident, but I'm sure added to the depth of taste as well as the color.  If you've been wondering how in the world those old German bakers got their dense, dark rye bread, without adding molasses, cocoa, caramel color, coffee grounds, etc. etc., I found a very informative  post on Jugalbandi called "Devil's Fart Bread" - the true meaning of pumpernickel, just so you know. I didn't make that up. A good link to send any adolescent boys in your family.

French Onion Soup

This was my first ever attempt making French Onion Soup, the October challenge at Recipes to Rival.  It was a bit more time consuming and involved than I would ordinarily allow for a meal, but those savory aromas coming from the kitchen, first with simmering beef stock, and then my pot full of caramelizing onions, were a payoff, even before we got to the tasting part, three days later.  Day one making the beef stock from scratch; day two caramelizing onions, which for some reason took 8, instead of 5 hours, for me to get to the point described as a "rich, deep brown", unfortunately not in time for dinner that evening.  So, day three we ate the finished soup.  I now appreciate fully having it served up to me in a restaurant, by a smiling, sweat free waiter. 

First, in making the stock I skipped the step where you put a half onion, cut side down in a hot skillet and let it char black for 30 minutes.  Just couldn't see blackening my nice Le Creuset pot.  Instead I put it in the roasting pan after the bones were done, removing most of the fat first.  That worked very nicely.  Also, I used some of that reserved fat to coat the rest of the vegetables for roasting, in the same pan.  Not working in a commercial kitchen with lots of sous chefs helping, it's good to save on pans and washing up.

As I had mentioned, wanting to keep to the low temperature stressed in the recipe, this large (over 2 gallon) pot full of onions took me from 1:00 in the afternoon until 9 p.m. to reach the deeply caramelized state.  Next time, if there ever is one, I'd speed this process up a wee tad.  I had a question with the amount of onions called for as well.  It gives you about three times what is needed for the soup.  I'm not complaining here, friends, they'll be dandy in Pommes de Terre Boulangère, a recipe I noticed yesterday at The Wednesday Chef.  Basically, crispy fried potatoes with caramelized onions.  Luisa mentioned that she would have doubled or tripled the recipe if she'd known how good they'd be.  Well, here we are with a triple portion.  I'm going to make those potatoes  with eggs for breakfast tomorrow.

So, now on day three, all the elements are present and accounted for, combined in my big Dutch Oven pot, simmered for an hour, and then into individual, oven-proof?  soup bowls.  Topped with croutons and then cheese (I used Gruyere for the extra zap of flavor) and put them under the broiler for a few minutes.  I was a bit nervous at this step, worrying about the bowls cracking, things boiling over, and ended up not filling them as high as recommended. I think you just have to resign yourself to a mess, and go with the overflow.

Served with extra bread and a salad of arugula, fresh tomatoes and steamed green beans, it was very filling and the flavors were wonderful.  The rest (and I'm glad there is quite a bit) should be even better after melding together for another day or two.  Check out the recipe for a really delicious classic soup, hosted by Sara this month at Recipes to Rival.  For everyone's take on it, visit the blogroll.

PS - or The Morning After French Onion Soup

What can be done with some of those brilliant, sweet caramalized onions left over?  Lacking the potatoes mentioned above, I layered the onions, after they were nice and hot in the bottom of my skillet, and  to which I had added a bit more of that Sherry Vinegar, with eggs and topped it all off with thin slices of beautiful Serrano Ham.

Next on the agenda of things to do with them: French Onion Pizza - which you have to admit has almost everything the soup does: caramelized onions, cheese, bread.  Looking forward to it.