Golden Cauliflower with Penne, Prosciutto and Gruyere Mac 'n Cheese

I saw this lovely veg, sometimes referred to as a cheddar cauliflower, in a produce bin and, as occasionally happens to me in markets, it emitted a come and get me siren call.  I visualized colorful florets mixing and mingling with pasta in an upscale Mac'n cheese, with prosciutto and grated Gruyere cheese.   Luckily, the cheese aisle was right near, and I had the prosciutto.  Doesn't that  make you happy when an idea comes in time.  Not at home with ingredients missing.

According to an article in the Daily Mail, about the bright colored cauliflowers, "Some scientists have even claimed that they are healthier for you.  Andrew Coker, a spokesman for the plant company Syngenta - which is developing the plants in Europe - stressed that the colourful cauliflowers were not the result of genetic engineering, but came after decades of traditional selective breeding....

Tests of the orange cauliflowers in America found that they contained 25 times the concentrations of beta carotene in normal cauliflowers."

Saffron Scented Lobster, Sweet Potato and Green Beans, Baked En Papillote

Our July 2012 Daring Cooks’ host was Sarah from All Our Fingers in the Pie! Sarah challenges us to learn a new cooking technique called “Cooking En Papillote” which is French and translates to “cooking in parchment”.

Several years ago, baking in parchment became one of my favorite cooking methods, still it was good having the opportunity to expand upon it..  I wanted to try some new takes on the fabulous En Papillote.  For instance, I realized from the given recipes that various oven temperatures and cooking times were possible.  Previously I'd just stuck to a basic formula, with variations only in the ingredients, herbs, etc., on the theory that if it works, don't mess with it.

Fish seems to lend itself perfectly to this method of cooking.   So, for my first reprise it was salmon with sweet potato slices in a dressing of seasoned olive oil, paired with blanched kale, salted lemon and a few pats of butter.  I used fresh ginger in the sweet potato dressing, but those garlic chives got eliminated.

There is an element of fun in opening your mystery (to anyone else at the table) packet, aromatic steam puffing out, and dinner revealed.  They had just the right amount of moisture from the blanched kale, butter and sweet potato marinade.  Scoop it off the paper onto your plates and enjoy.

The next take involved a pair of overpriced lobster tails, saffron (they deserve each other), sweet potato again, just because it was so good, green beans and butter.  I sprinkled those garlic chives and blossoms on top after we opened the packets.

First cut out your 12x17" rectangles, then make a heart out of them by folding in half and cutting.  Now get all your ingredients ready.

I tossed the raw veggies separately in a mixture of melted butter, saffron, salt and pepper, then put the potatoes on the bottom, followed by green beans, and lobster tail, topping it all off with slivers of salted lemon and pats of butter.

You just make a nice little stack on one half of the heart.  Pretend you're a fancy chef plating up your creation.

And, remember the butter is good for you.  Everyone needs some healthy fat in their diet, to make sure all those fat soluble vitamins get utilized.

Now fold the other side over so the edges meet, make a seam, turning up a 1/2 inch or so to close the opening, then crimp little pleats to secure the edges.  Before closing off the top I added a tablespoon of white wine into each of my packets.  Bake at 400F for 15 minutes.  Let the packets sit for a few minutes before opening.

Just fabulous, decadent and so delicious with the saffron, butter and lemon scented lobster, the sweet potatoes and green beans done to perfection and then sprinkled with chopped chives.  Make yourself some and enjoy!

I still want to make the prosciutto wrapped asparagus, which was one of the recipes provided by our Daring Chefs hostess .  I'll add the directions for it after the break, as it is a bit different, being slow-roasted.  Our markets were out of asparagus, so my trial on that one may have to wait.

Salad Burrito with Green Olive Tepenade and Feta

Continuing with the salad variations for summer theme, this is a salad  burrito, which was inspired by a salad pita I saw online recently.  Pita, burrito, sandwich, breadlike thingy you put stuff in.

I have a long history of rutlike things I do.  One of which was only buying corn tortillas.  Recently I broke the mold, went hog wild and bought some flour tortillas.  So, we had a few.

This is not a recipe.  You don't need one.  It's just a thought.  Something you might like to try and then say, wow, so glad I did!  Many variations are possible.  I used feta, but you could lay some Mexican cheese on the hot tortilla, let it get a bit melty and then add on a bit of salsa and the salad.  I used Green Olive Paste or Tepenade, and that was quite tasty.

Crab Salad with Colorful Pasta Swirls

Going with the proposition that one can never have too many salads in the summertime, (and yes, you can be too thin - think anorexic) we have found another winning combination.  One with crunchy things, savory crabby notes, some green, some red, a carb or two (got to love those colored spirals), a hit of salty capers and a bite of daikon dice.  Just what your day needs to finish in a satisfying manner.  The actual elements can be varied according to what's available. 

The dressing has its own thing going with mayo and mustard, kefir, squeeze of agave nectar and lemon. It aims to please.  I think we need jolts of high intensity flavor when the weather is warmer.  Not to mention HOT.  It's not really here, but I know some of you are enduring real scorchers.   On the other hand, you folks in Australia and NZ might be more in the mood for hot stews.  With a side of Crab and Pasta Salad

The Lentil Salad to Die for, with Mangoes and Arugula

What in the world would summer be without salads?  Yes, a rhetorical question.  The answer being obvious.  When we are wilting, possibly melting into a puddle of sweat on the kitchen floor, who in their right mind wants to turn on that blasted oven?  No one, that's who.  We start thinking, from our nice lie down on the cool floor, of various and sundry salads.



This one begins with a foundation component of healthy flavor and protein, the lentils called in France, du Puy, renowned for holding their little shapes whilst being tossed about in a bowl with compatible associates.  We don't want mushy here.  This is not a curry.  It is a carefully composed work of art, with jewel like color, varied textures and loads of flavor.

Cannelloni di Magro for Daring Cooks

I was shocked to discover that Italians do not put chicken with pasta.  All these years I have been doing it  wrong.  Of course, I was also calling mannicotti, cannelloni.  And using the terms interchangeably.  Bad, bad, bad.  What was on my menu as cannelloni, it turns out, was actually mannicotti, since I have always used crepes instead of pasta.  Well, except when I bought the tubes of dry pasta on occasion.  So there you have the history of my culinary wrongdoing.

Manu from Manu’s Menu was our Daring Cooks lovely June hostess and has challenged us to make traditional Italian cannelloni from scratch! We were taught how to make the pasta, filling, and sauces shared with us from her own and her family’s treasured recipes!

I am now on a reformed course.  However, possibly I wasn't too, too off the mark, as far as chicken goes, since technically, the filling was in CREPES, not pasta.  So there.  It has always been a very handy way of using up a bit of left-over meat.



 I decided to do the Cannelloni di Magro version of the various ones suggested, using grated zucchini instead of spinach.  According to our hostess, “Magro” means “lean”, but when used in a recipe it actually means “without meat”, so it is a vegetarian dish."   Our market's organic spinach selection didn't look all that great, so going with locally grown zucchini seemed a better bet, especially paired with some fresh garden herbs.



A few green onions, basil and parsley were added to kefir cream cheese, Monteray jack, which I happen to prefer to mozzarella (so kick me) and parmesan Reggianito cheese, mixed together with the grated zucchini for my filling.  After grating your squash, be sure to salt and drain on paper towels for 30 minutes or so.  Then squeeze any extra liquid out before adding the other ingredients.



 The directions for the bechamel sauce and the pasta I followed as given.  I did notice that the amount of flour called for was more than what I usually need, but did it anyway.  Yes, as it turns out, I had to add more milk (and some wine) to get it right.  Other than that, everything went great.  The pasta was as easy as doing a batch of crepes.

Spiced Shortbread with Passion fruit Ginger Glaze

My Nephew, Kalani, back in Hawaii after several years away on the Mainland, informed me that he had made this shortbread for his co-workers there, to great acclaim.  I then asked, "...and where did you get the recipe?"  To which he said (as I knew he'd better), "From mom."  "And, where do you think she got it???" I asked.  Yes,  the end of the recipe trail, as you may have guessed, moi.  At least as far as our family goes. So, an old favorite here in an upbeat incarnation, with the addition of lillikoi (as we call passion fruit) syrup in the glaze.  When they are in season I make both jam and syrup, so we have it on hand all year.

It's  a wonderful buttery, crunchy shortbread, abetted nicely by spices and the fresh ginger, citric tangy glaze.  But even better, if that's possible, it bangs together so quickly.  Which is a good thing in my book, otherwise I don't usually have either time or energy to make dessert, unless for a special occasion.

Creamy Green Puna Penne with Three Cheeses

Our latest Cook the Books Club selection, The United States of Arugula, by David Kamp, has been on my shelf for at least two years, waiting I guess for this incentive to take more than a brief dip.  Just to dive in and immerse myself in "The Sun-Dried, Cold-Pressed, Dark-Roasted, Extra Virgin Story of the American Food Revolution" as per the book's sub title.  So glad I did.


This well-researched, historical commentary on the food movement, which however predates the more recent explosion of internet food blogs, is filled with tongue-in-cheek, and out of cheek foodie gossip, fascinating background information on food production in America, biographies of the culinary leaders of our day and their impact on The Art of Eating, as M.F.K. Fisher called it.

What grows in our own neighborhoods, and turns up at the local market, the big move to regional cooking, well covered in this history of the food revolution, inspired my take on the prosaic Mac 'n Cheese, well known in its often insipid, pre-packaged, boxed incarnations.  I loved the idea of a green revolution in this common, yet favorite dish.  Locally grown kale from my natural foods grocery and the cream cheese I make from kefir.  Creamy green goodness, proving that food can taste as delicious as it is good for you.

Gazpacho Sevillano for Summer

Another retro dish, or we could say a classic, popular in way more places than Spain.  Fabulous in hot weather, an icy cold soup full of  fresh vegetables that scream Summer is here!  I must confess to having some in a new favorite restaurant, and thinking, "This is not the way it should be.  I can do a much better job."  And I did.  So, no one is perfect.  They make great tapas.

My take is not going to please any purists, but as the original version, eons ago, had no tomatoes (this was before they hit the Old World), relying instead on almonds and lots of bread, do we really want to be iconic about it?  Anyway there are a gazillion versions out there. 

Here's the thing.  Just because it's hot, there is still soup stock to be used.  I recycle those bones and bits of veggies into my freezer bag until it is full, and then there is stock.  So, for this version, since a container of the stuff got defrosted to make something that didn't get made, I reduced it down to half, then let it chill out in the freezer.  A flavor boost of umaminess.  For all I know, this is a happening thing in Seville or Cadiz.