Greenling Local Box: Feb. 8-12

I tried making a turnip puree last week, and while the flavor was good, it seemed a bit like eating baby food. So I think I'll stick with roasting them for now. Anyone have any great turnip recipes?

This week, we're getting a huge head of Napa cabbage from Farm Patch; spinach from Naegelin; lettuce from Bluebonnet Hydroponics; meyer lemons from G&S Groves; turnips, cilantro and green shallots from Acadian; baby bok choy leaves from My Father's Farm; and mushrooms from Kitchen Pride.

So I'm making:

Dinner:

• Lazy man's cabbage casserole
• Pasta with meyer lemon, spinach and creme fraiche
• Meyer lemon and chili fresh pasta (hopefully I have enough lemons for both!)
  

Side dishes:

• Green salad
• Oven-roasted turnips with cilantro, green shallots and lime
• Shanghai bok choy and mushrooms

Spinach Pasta

I have awesome friends. They figured out exactly what I wanted for my birthday -- a kitchen scale!

Yes, folks, I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I didn't own a kitchen scale up until a week and a half ago. And to be honest, I have no idea how I lasted that long. Now I'm trying to find excuses to break it out at every meal. My only problem is that most of my recipes are measured in cups and teaspoons, rather than pounds and grams. So I took the opportunity to find a recipe that utilized both my new kitchen scale and a huge, beautiful bag of spinach.



I'm not sure if it was the scale, the freshness of the spinach, or the fact that fresh pasta is plain old awesome, but this pasta was the best I've ever tasted. THE BEST. The best. It wasn't heavy at all, despite the use of almost 7(!) eggs. It was tasty and flavorful, and the color (the color!) was a beautiful neon green with bright green specks of spinach running throughout each piece. And it only took an hour or so, making it do-able on a weeknight. I tossed the pasta with good olive oil (do I sound like Ina Garten yet?) and pecorino romano, as I didn't want a sauce to compete with the pasta (yes, that's how good it is).

If you're thinking of wising up like I did and getting a scale for your kitchen, mine is the Cuisinart WeighMate digital scale. It's got a digital (duh) display that converts between pounds and grams, a tare button so you can put measure all ingredients in the same bowl, and touchpad buttons so you don't have to worry about getting flour particles in the mechanics. It's also glass, so it looks pretty. Can't get much better than that! And in the interest of full disclosure, Cuisinart is not paying me for this endorsement, but I would definitely try some products if you would like to send me any (hint, hint).

From Emeril Lagasse

Ingredients:

• 5 oz. spinach
• 1 lb. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 large egg, plus 6 egg yolks
• 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

• Blanch the spinach by dunking it in well-salted boiling water for 30 seconds, then immediately removing it to an ice bath. Drain and set in the bowl of a food processor.
• Add the flour and salt to the spinach in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times, then turn the food processor on and add the eggs and olive oil through the feed tube. Keep the food processor running until the mixture resembles coarse, wet cornmeal (~2 minutes).
• Divide the dough into 4 balls and work the pasta into the desired shape with a pasta machine according to the manufacturer's instructions (I use the pasta attachment for the KitchenAid mixer). Boil for ~3 minutes, then serve.

Home-Cured Lox

There are very few things that I couldn't imagine making myself. I just feel like things like peanut butter or hot dogs wouldn't be as good if I were to make them. Until very recently, lox was on that list, too.



I love lox. Love, love, love the stuff. Put it on a lightly toasted everything bagel with a healthy smear of cream cheese, a thick slab of juicy tomato, plenty of briny capers, and a few thin slices of red onion and I'm in heaven. It just doesn't get much better than that. So when I saw a tutorial about how to make lox and realized that it was seriously easy, I jumped at the chance. I didn't have high hopes (how could it get better than the premade stuff?), but I wanted to at least give it a try.

I am so happy I did. I will never buy pre-packaged lox again. Smoked salmon, maybe, but this home-cured lox is fantastic. It's salty, but not overwhelmingly so, and it's got smoky-sweet notes also. After it cures, it's a beautiful bright reddish-pink hue and just slightly translucent. Not to mention it's incredibly easy to make.

From 17 and Baking

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. skinless tail section of salmon (The tail section doesn’t have pin bones.)
• 1/2 c. light brown sugar
• 1/2 c. white sugar
• 1/2 c. kosher salt
• 1/2 c. smoked salt
• 1 heaping Tbsp. dried dill
• 1 tsp. finely ground black pepper

Directions:

• Place a large sheet of plastic wrap on a metal tray. Sprinkle half the cure over the wrap and place the fish on top of the cure. Sprinkle the top of the fish with the remaining cure, and wrap tightly in the plastic wrap.
• Cover heavily with weights and refrigerate for 24 hours.
• Drain the liquid from the tray and rinse the fish. Pat the fish dry with a paper towel and slice thinly on a bias. Keep refrigerated prior to serving.

Greenling Local Box: Jan. 25-29

Better late than never, right? We're getting our Greenling box this afternoon (shoot, I forgot to put the empty box outside this morning!), and as always, it's got some nice winter-y goodies for us.

This week, we're getting broccoli, pac choi, baby collards, and turnips from My Father's Farm; lettuce from Animal Farm; oranges from G&S Groves; cilantro and red spring onion from Acadian; tomatoes from Village Organics; and white button mushrooms from Kitchen Pride.

So I'm making:

Lunch:

• Tuna salad on a bed of...salad?

Dinner:

• Veggie stir-fry with broccoli, pac choi and mushrooms
• Lentil dal with collards, red onion, cilantro and tomatoes

Side Dish:

• Turnip puree

I'll also make some fresh-squeezed OJ with waffles for Sunday breakfast.

Hot Chocolate on a Stick with Marshmallows

Williams Sonoma puts out an incredible holiday catalog. After drooling over the cooks tools in the first half, I flip through to the back, where they have cheeses, hors d'oeuvres, and edible gifts perfect for the holidays. I've had the opportunity to sample their marshmallows, and they are just as good as I hoped they were. They're light, fluffy and melt perfectly in a hot cup of cocoa. The problem? They cost the earth.



Luckily, homemade marshmallows are incredibly easy (and inexpensive!) to make and yield just as decadent results as those from Williams Sonoma.

Many people haven't had the chance to experience fresh, homemade marshmallows, so I thought that for holiday gifts this year, I would give my family, friends and colleagues a gift set of hot chocolate on a stick with some homemade marshmallows. Though Cory thought the square marshmallows were a bit odd, luckily, they were a huge hit!

A few tips for the hot chocolate:

• Wilton party/nut cups are great vehicles for the hot chocolate -- they're they're lined with wax so that the molded hot chocolate is shiny and it can be easily remove from the cups. They're also just over 1 oz., so it makes measuring and serving easy.
• My chocolate completely seized when I added the confectioner's sugar/cocoa powder mixture and only became workable after adding a few tablespoons of canola oil.
• Use wooden stir sticks instead of lollipop sticks. They're a bit studier and hold up better to hot milk. For a more festive choice, a peppermint stick would be fun also!
• This recipe as written below yields ~15 servings. I doubled it and it worked fine.

Ingredients:
For the marshmallows:
From Alton Brown

• 3 packages unflavored gelatin
• 1 c. ice cold water, divided
• 12 oz. (approximately 1-1/2 c.) granulated sugar
• 1 c. light corn syrup
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 c. confectioner's sugar
• 1/4 c. cornstarch
• Pam spray

For the hot chocolate:
Adapted from Givers Log

• 12 oz. chocolate, chopped into small, even chunks (I used semisweet Guittard chocolate. The chocolate should have a relatively high percentage of cocoa butter so that it melts easier.)
• 1/4 c. plus 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted
• 3/4 c. confectioner's sugar, sifted
• Pinch of salt

Directions:
For the marshmallows:

• Add the gelatin to 1/2 c. of the water in the bowl of a stand mixer. Don't turn the mixer on yet. Spray the whisk attachment with Pam, then attach it to the head of the mixer.
• In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the remaining 1/2 c. of water, granulated sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Cover the saucepan and cook for 3-4 minutes.
• Uncover the saucepan and attach a candy thermometer (this is the one I use and love). Continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees (this took me ~10 minutes).
• Once the mixture reaches 240 degrees, remove from the heat. Turn the mixer on low speed and drizzle the corn syrup mixture down the side of the bowl, then increase the speed to high. Whip the corn syrup mixture until it becomes quite thick and fluffy, yet still lukewarm (~14 minutes). Add the vanilla during the last minute of mixing.
• While the corn syrup mixture is mixing, spray a 9x13" baking pan with Pam spray. Combine the granulated sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl, then coat the baking pan with this sugar-cornstarch mixture. Reserve the rest of the sugar-cornstarch mixture.
• When the corn syrup mixture is finished mixing, spray a rubber spatula with Pam and pour the marshmallows into the prepared baking pan. Dust the top of the marshmallows with the rest of the sugar-cornstarch mixture, then allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
• After the marshmallows have set, turn the marshmallow slab out onto a cutting board. Spray a knife or pizza cutter with Pam and slice into 1" squares. Dust each side of the cut marshmallows with the leftover sugar-cornstarch mixture (there should be a ton left in the baking pan) and store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

For the hot chocolate:

• Sift the cocoa powder, confectioner's sugar and salt together in a small bowl and set aside.
• Melt the chocolate over a double-boiler. To preserve a shiny finish, avoid letting the chocolate get too hot.
• Once the chocolate is melted 2/3 of the way (with just some pieces of the chocolate unmelted), remove the bowl from the double boiler and continue stirring until chocolate is fully melted (to prevent the chocolate from getting too hot).
• Add cocoa powder mixture to the melted chocolate and stir until fully combined. This is the point at which my chocolate seized and became quite difficult to stir. If yours does, adding a bit of canola oil little by little should loosen up the chocolate again.
• Spoon the chocolate into the party cups, tapping the mold on the counter to make sure all the chocolate settles into the mold. Add a stir stick; the stir stick should stay upright in the chocolate without any trouble.
• Let the chocolate cool either at room temperature or in the fridge.
• Stir the chocolate into 1 c. of hot milk, then top with the marshmallows and enjoy in a festive mug!

If you're giving these as gifts, package the marshmallows and hot chocolate in cellophane bags or a mug, then affix instructions letting the recipient know how to enjoy the hot chocolate with a pretty ribbon.

Greenling Local Box: Jan. 18-22

Seems like despite the deep freeze of 2010, Texas farmers are churning out lots of yummy produce! I'm really excited about this cauliflower. I hope it comes in neon colors, like the ones I've seen recently at the Pearl Farmer's Market! What can I say? I'm easily amused.

This week, we're getting cauliflower or broccoli from Home Sweet Farm; green shallots from Acadian; green garlic from Naegelin or Green Gate Farm; a salad kit from My Father's Farm; spinach from Oak Hill; red potatoes, garlic and mustard greens or kale from Naegelin; citrus from G&S Groves; a slicing tomato from Village Farms; and green or red leaf lettuce from Bluebonnet.

So this week, I'm making:

Snacks:

• Winter bruschetta with white beans, tomato, garlic and green shallots

Dinner:

• A steakhouse dinner with Caesar salad, creamed spinach and mashed potatoes with green garlic
• Mustard green/kale gratin

Side Dish:

• Cauliflower puree (recipe to come from my brand new Top Chef Quickfire cookbook -- a gift from my wonderful husband!)

Dessert:

• Citrus chiffon cake

Peppermint Brownie Tart

Chocolate and peppermint is one of my favorite flavor combinations, especially for the holidays. The ganache topping makes this tart especially decadent, but the icy minty flavor cut the richness perfectly. I took this to a holiday party, where the flavors were perfect for a chilly and festive night.



This is one of those desserts that are so easy to make, yet the presentation is really beautiful, making it seem like it was a ton more work to make than it actually was. Hey, good cooks impress with strong flavors and visuals, right?

I made some substantial tweaks to the original recipe: I halved it (who has 2 full-size tart pans?!), I skipped the peppermint buttercream, and I used my chocolate ganache recipe that I flavored with peppermint extract (though I did decrease the cream to chocolate ratio, as I wanted the ganache to be a bit thicker than normal).

Adapted from Southern Living

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
• 1/2 c. butter, softened, plus extra for greasing the pan
• 1 c. granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 c. all-purpose flour, plus extra for greasing the pan
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips, divided
• 1/3 c. heavy cream
• 1/8 tsp. peppermint extract
• 1/3 c. crushed peppermint candy canes

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease and flour a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom and set aside.
• Melt the unsweetened chocolate in either the microwave or over a double-boiler, then set aside.
• Beat the butter and sugar together until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the melted chocolate and mix to combine. Add the flour and mix until just blended. Add the vanilla extract and 8 oz. of the chocolate chips and mix to combine.
• Spread the batter into the prepared tart pan, then bake for 20 minutes or until then center is set. Cool the tart completely on a wire rack.
• For the ganache, melt the remaining 4 oz. of chocolate chips in the microwave or over a double-boiler. Heat the cream and peppermint extract in a saucepan over medium-high heat until just simmering, then whisk the cream mixture into the melted chocolate. Pour the ganache over the cooled tart, then sprinkle the crushed peppermint candy canes around the outer edge of the tart. Let the ganache set at least an hour before serving.

Cranberry-Oat-Pecan Muffins

If you're wondering why this recipe looks familiar, you're not going nuts. It's really similar to my peach-oat muffins recipe from last summer, but I switched up the fruit and added some chopped nuts. What can I say -- I love fruit and oats in my muffins! Oats give them a nice texture, and fruit makes it seem a bit healthier.



Since we have so much local citrus around these days, you could add some orange or tangerine (even grapefruit) zest to these. I didn't want to over-complicate the flavors on this go-around though, so I didn't. If you do add zest, let me know how it turns out.

Ingredients:

• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 c. whole-wheat flour
• 1 c. old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, freshly grated
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 c. unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 c. vegetable oil
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 c. white sugar
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1-1/2 c. fresh cranberries (about 1/2 bag), roughly chopped
• 3/4 c. toasted pecans or walnuts, chopped

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin tin with baking cups. (You could spray the pan with Pam, but muffin liners cut down on the fat used in the recipe.)
• Combine the flours, oats, spices, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
• In a separate bowl, combine the applesauce, oil, eggs, and sugars.
• Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir to combine. Fold in the cranberries and the chopped nuts.
• Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan (fill ~3/4 of the way to optimize the proportion of muffin body to muffin top -- everyone knows the muffin top is the best part!). Bake for ~25 minutes. Cool in the pan for ~10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack. If freezing the muffins, freeze individually for 30 minutes before storing them in a Ziploc freezer bag.

Greenling Local Box: Jan. 11-15

Given the devastating freeze that afflicted South Texas last week, I wasn't hopeful that our Greenling Local Box would contain too many goodies. Luckily for us, I was mistaken! Though I expect that some of these items may change due to unpredictable quantities, I still wanted to make a plan for the things we would get.

We're supposed to get bok choy and radishes from My Father's Farm, apples from Top of Texas, tangerines from Orange Blossom, collard greens from Naegelin, Louisiana spring shallots and green leaf lettuce from Acadian, broccoli microgreens from Bella Verdi, and purple turnips from Lundgren.

So I'm making:

Snacks:

• Radish and goat cheese raita (thinking this would be a nice dip for this weekend's playoff games)
• Winter fruit salad

Lunches:

• Collards with farro
• Green salad

Dinners:

• Penne with cilantro pesto
• Bok choy with garlic and baby shrimp
• Dumplings (made with spring shallots) with soy and sesame-dressed microgreens

Side Dishes:

• Maple-roasted turnips (coincidentally, I just tweeted this article about using turnips yesterday!)

Persimmon Bread

I'm never sure what to do with persimmons when they're really mushy. I used them in sorbet, and that went well, but it's been so cold that I haven't been in the sorbet mood lately. I've put them in waffles, but I wasn't as pleased as I was with the fig waffles experiment, as the persimmon flavor didn't really come through as much as I had hoped. I scoured the web for some new ideas, and found a recipe for persimmon bread on David Lebovitz's blog. His recipes have always worked out well, and since it was originally from James Beard, I had high hopes.



Besides, it called for a ton of whiskey. What could be bad!?

Let me tell you that I loved this bread. The spicy notes of the whiskey came through really nicely, and complemented the sweet persimmon so well. No one was able to pinpoint what those spicy notes exactly were though, so I had fun keeping people guessing. This was as easy to make as any other quickbread, but flavor-wise, it was so different (in a good way!) than the typical pumpkin or banana bread that I'll be keeping this in my rotation for a while (as long as persimmons are in season, that is!).

Since I only had 2 persimmons, I halved the original recipe to make just 1 loaf.

Adapted from James Beard, via David Lebovitz

Ingredients:

• 1-3/4 c. all-purpose flour, sifted, plus extra for greasing the pan
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, freshly grated
• 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 3/4 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature, plus extra for greasing the pan
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup Cognac, bourbon or whiskey (I used Jack Daniels, since we already had some in the house.)
• 1 c. persimmon puree (from about 2 squishy-soft Hachiya persimmons. I run the persimmon chunks through the food mill to preserve the consistency, but I'm sure a blender would be okay too.)
• 2 cups pecans, toasted and chopped

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Butter a loaf pan, then dust with flour. Tap out the excess.
• Sift the flour, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, granulated sugar and brown sugar together into a mixing bowl.
• Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, then stir in the butter, eggs, liquor, and persimmon puree. When the dry ingredients are incorporated, fold in the nuts.
• Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for ~1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out cleanly.