I got this idea from a Julia Child and Jacques Pepin show I saw a long time ago. It just popped into my head "all of a suddenly," as an old friend used to say. It is kind of a modified pot pie. I called it "Mystery Charlotte" because you could put almost any filling inside.
The crust is made from pieces of bread brushed with melted butter and pieced together to line an ovenproof dish.The side pieces are tall rectangles. The bottom of the dish was lined with one piece of bread cut in a circle to fit. The top was more pieces of bread (crusts cut off) cut to cover the top evenly.
I remember on the show, Julia wanted to use a LOT of butter and Jacques kept saying "More butter??" in a very worried tone.
For the filling I sauteed garlic, diced yellow onions, sliced carrots, potatoes celery and mushrooms with a bit of my new Penzey's Spices chipotle chile powder, fresh thyme and sage, some poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. I also threw in about half a cup of frozen peas, a little water, and a little vegetarian soup base.
Then I loaded it all into the bread-lined dish (I used Trader Joes Whole Wheat Poppyseed bread), topped it with more pieces of bread, and baked the thing at 350 for about 25 minutes.
I had to cover it with foil after about 15 minutes to keep it from browning too much.
It turned out deliciously! The buttery crunchy crust was a contrast to the steaming veggie filling.
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Phoenix dining
On a five-day trip to Phoenix for baseball spring training, I was determined to ferret out some good restaurants. I like baseball (my cousin's son
I knew there would be enough ball park food to go around - and as a veg the selections are pretty limited. The ball park vendors aren't grilling up many tofu dogs, that's for sure.
With the help of my friends at
The first stop was Mucho Gusto Taqueria (AZ Republic Review) for afternoon snacks and margaritas. The big surprise was that they didn't sell margaritas by the pitcher. A really pleasant setting on University Avenue with a nice outdoor patio, part covered and part in the open. All Southwestern style, tiles and chile ristras. I had an Indian Fry bread pizza - black beans, lettuce, queso fresco and tomatoes on a piece of oh-so-healthy fried bread. It wasn't fabulous but it was a great place to enjoy a snack, a margarita, and the afternoon breeze. Tony claimed one of the shrimp in his shrimp cocktail was bad, but he didn't suffer any ill effects over the next three days.
We had lunch at Ibiza Cafe in Scottsdale and it was excellent. It is a tapas place, a very modern and interesting room with a huge bar. We split a big salad with a wonderful citrus vinaigrette, herbed goat cheese and pecans. We also had a nice garlicky hummus with warmed pita bread triangles. The best part of the meal was mushroom risotto croquettes served with a tomato mayonnaise. They had a great deep rich flavor and were crispy on the outside with a panko crumb crust.
The only bad part was the music, which was awful dance-trance stuff that I guess was supposed to make the room seem hipper than it was. It would have been fine at 11 p.m. with a bar full of people, but it just didn't suit a lazy Phoenix afternoon.
A late dinner at Bungalow Restaurant was good, too. It was quite the bar scene - dozens of fashionable twenty- and thirty-somethings ignoring loud 80's dance-music videos to talk at the bar or at tables out on the patio.
I had a good veggie burger with roasted red peppers with a monster pile of crispy fries and my friend had 4 tiny angus burgers that he just raved about, along with a huge salad dripping with a creamy dressing. I didn't look at the wine list before I ordered and when the bill came, I found my glass of Pinot Noir had set me back $11. The burger was only $9. Oops.
While the guys were at a baseball game, I had a solo meal at the Udupi Indian Buffet (AZ Republic Review) Madras-style vegetarian food.
The buffet had about 6 vegetable dishes, a dal, idli, parathas, salad, lemon pickle, 3 chutneys, raita, yogurt, papadum and dessert. Each meal also came with a wonderful, large, light rice-flour dosa (crepe), which enclosed a bit of mild spiced mashed potato.
The buffet was all-you-can-eat and had a nice mix of spicy and mild. They would bring you more dosas if you wanted, but after one big plate I was full and happy. The food wasn't fabulous like The Woodlands in Chatsworth, but it was far better than I, for some reason, expected to find in Phoenix. The place was a big bustling room full of Indian families, a kind of diner for South Asians.
On our last night, we made a trek over to Mesa to the Blue Adobe Grille. I had heard a lot about their wonderful New Mexican cuisine.
It was great, but if you're looking for vegetarian food I have to warn you - it is a meat palace! The food is really, really, good but it all has meat. The rice and beans are made with chicken stock. We got them to make us stacked cheese enchiladas - one with red sauce, one with green - which were just tortillas layered with cheese and sauce. The sauces were to die for, but it wasn't the most creative or tasty thing I have ever eaten.
Greg got 2 soups, because there wasn't a vegetarian one so I gave him mine. I, being a very bad vegetarian, tasted them both. There was a creamy chile, potato and pecan (with chicken stock) and a pork pozole. Both were just great - complex, deep flavors wonderfully combined.
The people obviously know their way around the kitchen and how to make very fine food. It just isn't a place for the veg heads among us.
I knew there would be enough ball park food to go around - and as a veg the selections are pretty limited. The ball park vendors aren't grilling up many tofu dogs, that's for sure.
With the help of my friends at
The first stop was Mucho Gusto Taqueria (AZ Republic Review) for afternoon snacks and margaritas. The big surprise was that they didn't sell margaritas by the pitcher. A really pleasant setting on University Avenue with a nice outdoor patio, part covered and part in the open. All Southwestern style, tiles and chile ristras. I had an Indian Fry bread pizza - black beans, lettuce, queso fresco and tomatoes on a piece of oh-so-healthy fried bread. It wasn't fabulous but it was a great place to enjoy a snack, a margarita, and the afternoon breeze. Tony claimed one of the shrimp in his shrimp cocktail was bad, but he didn't suffer any ill effects over the next three days.
We had lunch at Ibiza Cafe in Scottsdale and it was excellent. It is a tapas place, a very modern and interesting room with a huge bar. We split a big salad with a wonderful citrus vinaigrette, herbed goat cheese and pecans. We also had a nice garlicky hummus with warmed pita bread triangles. The best part of the meal was mushroom risotto croquettes served with a tomato mayonnaise. They had a great deep rich flavor and were crispy on the outside with a panko crumb crust.
The only bad part was the music, which was awful dance-trance stuff that I guess was supposed to make the room seem hipper than it was. It would have been fine at 11 p.m. with a bar full of people, but it just didn't suit a lazy Phoenix afternoon.
A late dinner at Bungalow Restaurant was good, too. It was quite the bar scene - dozens of fashionable twenty- and thirty-somethings ignoring loud 80's dance-music videos to talk at the bar or at tables out on the patio.
I had a good veggie burger with roasted red peppers with a monster pile of crispy fries and my friend had 4 tiny angus burgers that he just raved about, along with a huge salad dripping with a creamy dressing. I didn't look at the wine list before I ordered and when the bill came, I found my glass of Pinot Noir had set me back $11. The burger was only $9. Oops.
While the guys were at a baseball game, I had a solo meal at the Udupi Indian Buffet (AZ Republic Review) Madras-style vegetarian food.
The buffet had about 6 vegetable dishes, a dal, idli, parathas, salad, lemon pickle, 3 chutneys, raita, yogurt, papadum and dessert. Each meal also came with a wonderful, large, light rice-flour dosa (crepe), which enclosed a bit of mild spiced mashed potato.
The buffet was all-you-can-eat and had a nice mix of spicy and mild. They would bring you more dosas if you wanted, but after one big plate I was full and happy. The food wasn't fabulous like The Woodlands in Chatsworth, but it was far better than I, for some reason, expected to find in Phoenix. The place was a big bustling room full of Indian families, a kind of diner for South Asians.
On our last night, we made a trek over to Mesa to the Blue Adobe Grille. I had heard a lot about their wonderful New Mexican cuisine.
It was great, but if you're looking for vegetarian food I have to warn you - it is a meat palace! The food is really, really, good but it all has meat. The rice and beans are made with chicken stock. We got them to make us stacked cheese enchiladas - one with red sauce, one with green - which were just tortillas layered with cheese and sauce. The sauces were to die for, but it wasn't the most creative or tasty thing I have ever eaten.
Greg got 2 soups, because there wasn't a vegetarian one so I gave him mine. I, being a very bad vegetarian, tasted them both. There was a creamy chile, potato and pecan (with chicken stock) and a pork pozole. Both were just great - complex, deep flavors wonderfully combined.
The people obviously know their way around the kitchen and how to make very fine food. It just isn't a place for the veg heads among us.
Friday, March 25, 2005
Penzey's Spices Field Trip
I am in Phoenix for baseball spring training. Luckily for me, Penzey's Spices has a brand spanking new store in Scottsdale.
What an incredible, lovely, wonderful (let me see if I can get any more effusive) opportunity. They have spices, herbs and blends categorized and organized from A to Z. Each product has a sample jar you can smell before you buy. This enabled me to do side-by-side comparisons and realize that some of the products I had been told were "best" weren't to my liking.
For instance, I had always heard that Tellicherry peppercorns were the best. But I liked the Malabar better, so that was what I bought. And you'd think that the French pepper blend would be delightful, but it smelled like a barnyard to me.
I ended up buying several kinds of cinnamon. The Vietnamese extra-fancy cassia cinnamon was complex and deep. I didn't like the smell or the Korintje, but was intrigued by the Ceylon Cinnamon - it is more citrusy and doesn't have the deep bottom notes. They recommend it for fruit dishes, so I bought a small jar.
Their prices are really good. Most 1/4 ounce jars were under $3. Vanilla beans had come down in price to $6 for 3 or $23 for 15.
They sell herbs, spices, mixes and salt - and that is pretty much it. Empty jars. But no accoutrements, cooking tools, books, art, or anything else to get in the way of the full spice experience.
I only spent $37, but my friend Tony was so inspired that he decided to replace all his herbs and spices and add some to his collection. He ended up with $370 worth - 4 boxes - and had to buy a new piece of luggage to get it all home.
What an incredible, lovely, wonderful (let me see if I can get any more effusive) opportunity. They have spices, herbs and blends categorized and organized from A to Z. Each product has a sample jar you can smell before you buy. This enabled me to do side-by-side comparisons and realize that some of the products I had been told were "best" weren't to my liking.
For instance, I had always heard that Tellicherry peppercorns were the best. But I liked the Malabar better, so that was what I bought. And you'd think that the French pepper blend would be delightful, but it smelled like a barnyard to me.
I ended up buying several kinds of cinnamon. The Vietnamese extra-fancy cassia cinnamon was complex and deep. I didn't like the smell or the Korintje, but was intrigued by the Ceylon Cinnamon - it is more citrusy and doesn't have the deep bottom notes. They recommend it for fruit dishes, so I bought a small jar.
Their prices are really good. Most 1/4 ounce jars were under $3. Vanilla beans had come down in price to $6 for 3 or $23 for 15.
They sell herbs, spices, mixes and salt - and that is pretty much it. Empty jars. But no accoutrements, cooking tools, books, art, or anything else to get in the way of the full spice experience.
I only spent $37, but my friend Tony was so inspired that he decided to replace all his herbs and spices and add some to his collection. He ended up with $370 worth - 4 boxes - and had to buy a new piece of luggage to get it all home.
Sunday, March 20, 2005
Pumpkin Cupcake/Muffin with Coconut Custard Topping
These pumpkin cupcakes with coconut custard topping were my entry in the "Is My Blog Burning?" monthly themed cooking challenge. This month's theme is "My Little Cupcake (or Muffin)."
I was inspired by my interview of ex-White House Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier earlier this month and decided to use a recipe from his recent book Dessert University. found a recipe that he describes as either cupcakes or muffins - perfect!
I followed Chef Roland's recipe to the letter, except for one modification: he uses raw coconut in the custard topping. I toasted the coconut beforehand, because I like toasted coconut a great deal and am not so big on the raw stuff.
I have been handicapped in tasting by a terrible cold. When I first tasted these, the pumpkin and spice flavors seemed too subtle. Two days later, my sense of taste is returning and they are becoming quite lovely. They are moist and a nice dark orangey-brown color. I think the topping is a bit of lily-gilding – a little too sweet for my liking. I like them cut open and toasted, with a little butter.
Pumpkin Muffins with Coconut Icing
Muffins:
1 1/2 cups white flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg, freshly ground if possible
2 large eggs, room temp
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup white sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 12 muffin tin.
Combine dry ingredients except sugar. Combine wet ingredients and sugar in a different bowl. Mix together until just moistened. Put batter in muffin tin and bake for about 25 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
Cool in tins 5 minutes. Turn out and cool completely.
Topping
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup white sugar
2 egg yolks
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened grated coconut, lightly toasted in toaster oven or regular oven until barely brown.
1/2 tsp vanilla
Combine ingredients except coconut and vanilla in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk until the mixture boils. Remove from heat, add coconut and vanilla. Cool to room temperature before spreading on muffins.
If you are serving them for breakfast, call them muffins. For dessert, call them cupcakes. Isn't that sneaky!
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