It's Friday!

Fridays mean pizza night around here!

I have a guilty love for taco pizza - what's not to love?  Apparently a lot, according to Mike.  This week I decided to ignore Mike's protest and put together an easy taco pizza.  I used the Pioneer Woman's "Mexican Flatbread Pizza" recipe as a base but made my own crust, skipped the meat, and put spinach on top.  It was delicious!  Everyone seemed to like it (and Mike's plate was clean - hrm!).




Last week, we made a Bird's Nest Pizza. I could have licked the plate clean! The recipe calls for Saint Nectaire cheese but I couldn't find it so I used another french cheese - l'edel de cleron. The creamy and stinky cheese coupled with the runny eggs and parmesan was so amazingly delicious. I left the l'edel de cleron off the kids' side of the pizza because I didn't want them to waste it and then they picked off the asparagus, too. Ah well.



Jim Lahey's Bird's Nest Pie

serves Makes one 10- to 12-inch pizza

3 thick asparagus spears
1 ball of Pizza Dough, shaped and waiting on a floured peel (I like Emeril's dough recipe and I use cornmeal on the peel)
1/4 C finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
3/4 ounce Saint Nectaire cheese, cut into 6 chunks (I used l'edel de cleron)
4 to 6 quail eggs (we used regular eggs which was a bit of a problem with cooking time - use small eggs if you can)
Pinch of kosher salt

Place the pizza stone in a gas oven on a rack about 8 inches from the broiler. Preheat the oven on bake at 500°F for 30 minutes. Switch to broil for 10 minutes (or until egg whites are set).

Cut away about 2 inches of the base of each asparagus spear. With a vegetable peeler, shave the entire asparagus from bottom to top, reversing your grip and rotating as necessary to shave as much as possible. Don’t rush it; be deliberate for the greatest precision.

With the dough on the peel, sprinkle the Parmigiano evenly over the surface and distribute the chunks of Saint Nectaire (or other cheese) on top. Arrange the asparagus shavings over the cheese.

With quick, jerking motions, slide the pie onto the stone. Broil for 2½ minutes under gas (somewhat longer with an electric oven). The cheese should be bubbling, the crust only slightly charred. Using the peel, pull the pizza out of the oven. Close the oven to conserve heat.

Crack the eggs very carefully to keep each yolk whole. Place the eggs around the pizza (one for each slice). Sprinkle the salt evenly over the pie. Return to the oven to broil for 1 minute (or more depending on size of egg - use the small eggs if you can!), until the eggs are set but not hard and the charring is deeper.

Using the peel, transfer the pizza to a tray or serving platter. Slice into wedges (cutting through the egg yolks to allow them to spread slightly). Serve immediately.

Note: If quail eggs are unavailable (farmer’s markets are often an excellent source), go with the smallest eggs you can find.

Pasta with Asparagus, Carrots and Broccoli

This pasta was so delicious - I think using high quality parmigiano-reggiano had something to do with it. Oh, and the cream and butter!



Adapted from Bottega Favorita by Frank Stitt.

1 teaspoon olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 heaping cup sliced spring onions
12 slender asparagus spears, tough bottoms discarded and cut into 2-inch pieces
Sliced carrots or other spring vegetables
Broccoli florets (or other vegetable... peas, etc.)
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 pound pasta
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or pecorino romano
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper


1. Heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until very soft.

2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of generously salted to a boil for the pasta. Bring a large sauce pan of water to a boil, add the asparagus, and cook for 1 minute. Add the broccoli and cook for 30 seconds, then drain. Add the asparagus and other vegetables to the onions, then stir in the cream. Set the pan aside while you cook the pasta.

3. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente. Drain and transfer to the pan with the onions.

4. Place the pan over high heat and cook, tossing, for 1 to 2 minutes, until the vegetables are hot. Add the chives abd 1/2 cup of the cheese, the lemon zest, and the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and toss well to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Serve in warm bowls, garnished with more mint and the remaining grated cheese

Goat Cheese and Chive Gnocchi with Asparagus

Mike commented at dinner tonight that we find making a dish two years in a row redundant. It's true! We say things like, "should we make Ramp Risotto again? But we made it last year! Maybe we should try something new."

We rarely eat the same meal twice with the exception of beans and rice and friday night pizza but even that is always tweaked differently. There a few things we've had several times but our weekly menus are almost entirely always full of new recipes. That's strange, right? Maybe I should make a list of recipes that we have made more than once. That might be interesting.

Back to the gnocchi! We all gobbled this up (Owen was more impressed with the gnocchi than the asparagus but Jillian ate nearly an adult portion). We said this one made it to our "make again...some year!" list.


Goat Cheese and Chive Gnocchi with Asparagus
Recipe from the kitchn



4 ounces goat cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup fresh chives, chopped
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 - 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 lb. asparagus, washed and trimmed
3 tablespoons butter

In a small mixing bowl, combine goat cheese, Parmesan, egg, 1/4 cup chives and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix with a fork until smooth. Add flour a spoonful at a time until dough comes together but is still a little wet.

Lightly flour a work surface and line a jelly roll pan with wax paper. On the floured surface, knead dough for about a minute. If it's still a little sticky, add some flour as needed, a spoonful at a time.

Divide dough in half. Flour hands and roll into each piece back and forth until it becomes a rope about 1-inch thick. Cut each rope into 1-inch pieces. If desired, roll each piece against the back of a fork to add texture. Place gnocchi on wax paper-lined pan and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Bring a pot of water to boil for the gnocchi.

Meanwhile, cut asparagus on the bias into 1/2-inch pieces. Steam for about 2 minutes, remove from heat and set aside.

When water is boiling, salt generously. Add gnocchi and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until they rise to the surface. Drain and set aside.

In a large sauce pan, heat butter over medium heat until it begins to brown. Add the asparagus, gnocchi, 1/4 teaspoon salt and remaining chives. Cook for 1 minute. Add black pepper to taste. Serve. Garnish with chive blossoms if desired.

serves 2-4

What we did with Box #5

Spicy Stir Fried Chicken with Peanuts
(recipe included in HVF newsletter, originally from epicurious.com)

For some unknown reason, I'm not a big fan of stir fry. I always think I'll really like it but it often just doesn't do it for me. Must be a lack of cheese. Or cream. Or both.

With that said, this dish was pretty good. Not plate licking good but good. I'd make it again.



2 Tbsp soy sauce, divided
2 Tbsp dry Sherry, divided
3 tsp Asian sesame oil, divided
2 tsp honey, divided
1 1/4 pounds skinless boneless chicken breast halves, cut crosswise into
1/3-inch-wide strips
3 Tbsp peanut oil, divided
4 green onions or 2 green garlic, white parts and green parts
chopped separately
2 tsp chopped dried chiles
1 large bunch greens (such as spinach, hon tsai tai, bok choi,
mustard greens, kale), spinach left whole, other greens cut into
1-inch strips
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup asparagus
1/4 cup chopped roasted salted peanuts

Whisk 1-tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon Sherry, 1-teaspoon sesame oil, and 1-teaspoon honey in medium bowl. Add chicken; marinate 20 to 30 minutes.

Whisk remaining 1-tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon Sherry, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, and 1-teaspoon honey in small bowl and reserve.

Heat 2 tablespoons peanut oil in large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add white parts of onions and garlic and chile flakes; stir 30 seconds. Add chicken; stir-fry just until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer chicken mixture to bowl. Add 1 tablespoon peanut oil to same skillet; heat over high heat. Add broccoli, asparagus and greens by large handfuls; stir just until beginning to wilt before adding more. Sauté just until tender, 1 to 6 minutes, depending on type of greens.

Return chicken to skillet. Add reserved soy sauce mixture; stir until heated through, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to serving bowl; sprinkle with green parts of onions and peanuts. Serves 4


Breakfast Sandwich with Sauteed Pea Vine
(another recipe from the HVF newsletter)

We often don't use our produce for breakfast but we saw this recipe in the newsletter and to try it. We love breakfast sandwiches, especially when they include bacon and creamy sauce. This one didn't disappoint. My only regret is that I didn't make homemade muffins to use for this. Someday...



Sauce: 1 ½ Tbsp fl our
1 ½ Tbsp butter
½ tsp Dijon mustard
1 ¼-1 ½ cup milk
Salt & Pepper, to taste

2 Biscuits or English Muffins, warmed
6 oz bacon or ham, cooked
1 Tbsp butter
4 eggs
1 bunch pea vine

In a small sauce pan over medium-low heat, melt butter for the sauce. Sprinkle in fl our and stir to combine with a rubber spatula until it is well combined and has the appearance of wet sand.

Stir in mustard and gradually add milk in small amounts, stirring with a wire whisk. Once all the milk has been incorporated, reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring frequently. Simmer for 15 minutes, then season with salt and pepper. Set aside and keep warm until ready to serve.

Heat a small sauté pan over medium heat. Melt 1 ½ tsp butter and sauté pea vine just until wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from pan and set aside.

Start to assemble sandwiches. Open biscuit or muffin. On each half, place crumbled bacon or slices of ham.

Coat the small sauté pan with butter over medium heat. Cook the eggs one at a time. Cook to over-easy so the yolk is still liquid. Remove from pan and place on top of bacon or ham on the open-faced sandwich. Repeat with remaining 3 eggs.

Top eggs with sauce and then sautéed pea vine. Enjoy!


Chinese Braised Pork Ribs
(from Eating Out Loud via A Good Appetite)

I saw this recipe on A Good Appetite and decided I must have the ribs and I must have them now. The ribs were finger-licking good - literally. The meat fell off the bones and the sauce was delicious. We served the ribs with brown rice and a side of bok choy (sauteed with a few random asian ingredients from the pantry) as A Good Appetite did. I drool just remembering the taste of these ribs.



1 rack baby back ribs, about 2 - 2 1/2 lbs
2 T canola oil
1/2 c soy sauce
1 c sweetened rice wine (we find this in the Asian section of the grocery store)
1/4 c hoisin sauce
1/4 t red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T fresh ginger, peeled & minced
2 T honey

Cut the rack of ribs into separate ribs. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a dutch oven. Add the ribs & brown on all sides, about 5 minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients & bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat & simmer for 45 minutes, stirring from time to time.

Remove lid & let boil gently until the sauce is thickened & coating the ribs, 15 - 20 minutes.

Serves 3 -4 (depending on how many ribs you serve per person.)


Pasta with Asparagus, Arugula, and Ricotta
(from NY Times)

I'm not a big fan of cooking elaborate meals (my definition of elaborate = rib recipe above). I like eating them but not cooking them or cleaning up the mess from cooking them. This recipe for pasta is more my style - simple, quick and tasty. I will note that mixing the ricotta with water seemed really, really wrong. We did it anyway and it worked. I might just throw lumps of ricotta in if we make this in the future.

3/4 pound thin asparagus, woody ends snapped off, cut into 1-inch lengths
Salt
3/4 pound penne, fusilli or bow-tie pasta
1/2 cup fresh ricotta
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
A generous handful of baby arugula or wild arugula leaves, rinsed and spun dry (about 1 ounce, or 1 cup tightly packed)
Freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add a generous amount of salt. Add the asparagus. Cook pencil-thin asparagus for two minutes, three to four minutes if stems are medium-thick. Transfer to a bowl of ice-cold water. Drain and set aside.

2. Place the ricotta in a large pasta bowl.

3. Bring the water back to a boil, and add the pasta. Cook al dente, following the directions for timing on the package but checking a minute before the suggested cooking time. Stir 1/3 cup of the pasta cooking water into the ricotta. Drain the pasta and toss at once with the olive oil and ricotta, the arugula, asparagus and Parmesan. Serve hot. (Serves four)

Tofu with Spinach Sauce
(recipe by Mark Bittman)

I love, love, love, love this recipe. It's almost like palak paneer but not quite (because, obviously, it has tofu and not paneer and that's a huge difference). But, I'd be content eating this rather than getting palak paneer takeout. Just don't plan to have people over the morning after cooking this unless they really like the smell of garam marsala.

A note about this recipe which makes it even more fantastic - you can use any sort of greens (as long as they don't have a real strong flavor) in addition to the spinach. We added turnip greens and it was great.



1 1/2 pounds spinach
12 ounces firm or extra-firm tofu
2 tablespoons butter or oil
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 dried chilies
2 tablespoons garam masala or curry powder
Salt to taste
1/2 cup yogurt
1 1/2 cups light cream or half-and-half

1. Trim and wash spinach; do not dry. Chop leaves in one-inch pieces. Cut tofu in two horizontally and wrap in paper towels. Put it under a couple of plates.
2. Put butter or oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. A minute later, add ginger, garlic and chilies and cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic begins to color.
3. Stir in garam masala or curry powder and a large pinch of salt and cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds. Add spinach and cook, stirring, until it wilts, then add yogurt and a cup of cream. Pick out chilies and discard.
4. Cook mixture over medium-high heat; liquid in spinach will boil off. When mixture is nearly dry, cut tofu into half-inch pieces and incorporate. When tofu is hot, add remaining cream and cook for another minute or two, stirring. Adjust seasoning and serve. (4 servings)

Variations - Spinach sauce: In Step 4, omit tofu. Purée mixture with 1/2 cup remaining cream. Add squeeze of lime juice. Serve with grilled meat, poultry, fish or vegetables.


Parsnip Rosti
(adapted from UKTV Food)

We had quite a few parsnips to use up. Time for parsnip rosti! Pretty much like a potato pancake but with parsnip and some potato onion. Mike whipped up a sour cream/yogurt/onion topping (not pictured), too. Even Owen liked this one!

Asparagus, Spinach, Hon Tsai Tai, OH MY!

Over the past few days, we've used up most of Box #4. Here are the results:

Grilled Pizza with Mushrooms, Green Garlic, Spinach and Goat Cheese

This was our first time grilling pizza and it was fantastic. I can't wait to do it again! We added some shredded mozzarella to hold everything together in addition to the goat cheese.



Asparagus and Mushroom Bread Pudding
Recipe courtesy Deborah Madison, Local Flavors (by way of Barbara Kingsolver's Book, Animal Vegetable Miracle)

This recipe is absolutely delicious. The original recipe calls for morel mushrooms. Unfortunately, we cannot afford to buy a pound of morel mushrooms at this moment but I can only imagine how wonderful it would be if we had used morels.





3 cups milk
1 cup chopped spring onions with green shoots
Add onions to milk in sauce pan and bring to a boil, set aside to steep

1 loaf stale or toasted multigrain bread broken into crouton sized crumbs
Pour milk over crumbs and allow bread to soak

1 lb. asparagus
Chop into ½ inch pieces and simmer in skillet full of boiling water until bright
green

2 tbs. butter
1 lb. morels (or other wild mushrooms)
Salt and pepper to taste
Melt butter in skillet, cook mushrooms until tender, add spices and set aside

4 eggs
1/3 cup chopped parsley
3 tbs. oregano
3 cups grated Swiss cheese
Break eggs and beat until smooth, add herbs and plenty of salt and pepper, add
bread crumbs with remaining milk, asparagus and mushrooms with their juices
and 2/3 of the cheese. Mix thoroughly and pour into a greased, 8x12 gratin,
sprinkle remaining cheese on top and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes (until
puffy and golden).


Flank Steak with Hon Tsai Tai
Recipe courtesy Harmony Valley Farm

Owen has been such a trooper with trying our new creations. He really liked this one, but picked out the Hon Tsai Tai (it's green!).



1 ½lb. Flank steak
1 stalk green garlic
1 bunch Hon Tsai Tai or 2 heads baby bok choi
Peanut Oil to taste (we left this out because Owen hasn't had peanuts yet)
Mirin, to taste
Juice from one lemon
¼ cup sesame seeds, toasted
Soy Sauce to taste
4 small dried chile peppers, chopped finely
1 cup mushrooms, washed, and sliced, stems removed (can save and add to a stock)
¾ of package Soba noodles
5 Carrots, peeled, lengthwise slices

--Marinate steak in equal parts mirin, soy sauce, peanut oil and juice from one lemon for 1 hour
--In a large sauté pan over medium high heat, heat 1 tbsp oil. Sear flank steak on both sides, then reduce heat and cooked to desired degree of doneness. Set aside and let rest for 15 minutes. Slice thinly on a bias.
--Prepare soba noodles according to package, drain and set aside.
--Saute mushrooms until soft and cooked down, add carrots, green garlic, chile peppers and sauté until carrots are tender.
--Add a light drizzle of peanut oil (1-2 tsp), a dash of mirin (2-3 tsp), and a splash of soy sauce (1-2 Tbsp) to desired taste and enough to just to coat veggies.
--Cut Hon Tsai Tai and/or bok choi into bite-sized pieces and add to veggies. Cook until the greens are wilted.
--Add soba noodles and flank steak—stir until well combined and heated through. Top with toasted sesame seeds and serve. Peanut Marinated Flank Steak with Hon Tsai Tai
Serves 4-6

Box #3

We're finishing up Box #3. The contents?

Asparagus
Ramps
Parsnip
Sunchoke
Spinach
Salad mix
Green Garlic
Egyptian Walking Onion
Spring radish
Rhubarb
Sauté Mix
Garden Herb Packs

We went to the cabin for the holiday weekend and took a few items with us. We used the spinach salad to make a spinach, strawberry and onion salad with a poppyseed dressing. Delish!



Also while at the cabin, we made sunchoke dip with half of the sunchokes. Not my favorite recipe. Too bland and the texture wasn't right for me.



So far, the best use of the sunchoke was sunchoke pancakes (like potato pancakes). I think cooking sunchokes at a very high temperature so you get them nicely brown and crispy is the way to go. With the sunchoke pancakes, we had the asparagus with poached egg, ramp biscuits, and radish.





Sunchoke (jerusalem artichokes) Pancakes
via What's in the box

1 small onion
1 ½ pounds of Jerusalem artichokes, scrubbed
1 large egg, lightly beaten
½ cup of all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon of pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon of walnut or hazelnut oil (Optional) -- I used hazelnut
1 ½ teaspoons of kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
A pinch of cayenne
1/8 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg
¼ cup of vegetable oil, or more as needed
1 tablespoon of butter

Using the shredder attachment, grate the onion in a food processor or through the largest holes of a hand grater, and transfer to a large bowl. Do the same with the Jerusalem artichokes.

Add the egg to the bowl and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until well blended. Add the flour and stir in lightly; do not overwork. Add the maple syrup and the nutmeg, if using, and season with the salt, and the black pepper, cayenne, and nutmeg. Form into 8 or 9 equal pancakes, about 3 inches in diameter and a ½ inch thick. Place each pancake on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.

Heat the vegetable oil and butter in a large heavy-bottomed skillet or on a griddle over medium heat. Working in batches, cook the pancakes until golden brown, about 5 to 7 minutes per side. You may need to adjust the heat as you work to avoid browning the outside of the pancakes too much before the inside cooks through. If the pan or griddle gets dry, add up to one more tablespoon of oil. Place the cooked pancakes on a plate lined with paper towels to drain, and cover loosely with foil to keep warm until ready to serve.

From Second Helpings from Union Square Cafe by Danny Meyer and Michael Romano

Ramp Biscuits from Bon Appetit April 2009

• 3/4 cup chilled buttermilk
• 3/4 cup thinly sliced trimmed ramps (bulbs, stems, and green tops)
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 large egg, beaten to blend (for glaze)
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds, cracked
  

Preheat oven to 425°F. Mix buttermilk and ramps in small bowl. Mix flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper in processor. Add chilled butter to processor; using on/off turns, cut in butter until fine meal forms. Transfer flour mixture to medium bowl. Add buttermilk mixture; stir until dough forms. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface and press out to 7-inch round, about 1/2 inch thick. Using 2-inch-diameter biscuit cutter dipped in flour, cut out rounds. Gather dough scraps; press out to 1/2-inch thickness and cut out additional rounds. Transfer dough rounds to baking sheet. Brush biscuit tops with some of egg glaze. Sprinkle with cracked coriander seeds. Bake biscuits until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool on rack. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

The last (and I mean last, we're not getting anymore) of our ramps, we made Ramp and Green Garlic Pasta.



Fantastic recipe. Simple and delicious. Even Owen liked it!

Box #2

Here's what box #2 contained:

Asparagus
Chives
Ramps
Sunchoke
Arugula
Spinach
Black radish
Salad mix
Sorrel

We're a little behind on box #2 because of our weekend of camping and some unexpected meals out this week. But, here's what we've done so far.

Asparagus on the campfire.



Spring Greens Salad with Goat Cheese and Dried Cranberries



BLT with Arugula instead of Lettuce (one of my favorite ways to have arugula!). I just noticed you can't see the bacon on the sandwich. I assure you there was bacon and plenty of it. It must be hiding under the tomato.



Bagel with Chive Spread and Arugula and another Spring Greens Salad



Chive Spread (adapted from all recipes)

3-5 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
A few dashes of garlic salt
12 ounce ontainer whipped cream cheese
8 ounce container Greek-style yogurt

Mix together. It's better the next day when the flavors blend together but who can wait that long? The second batch I made (yes, second), I used less cream cheese so it was about a 1:1 ratio of cream cheese and yogurt. I also tried 2% yogurt instead of whole. It's a little looser of a spread but still delicious.

Sorrel and Spinach Salad with Sunchoke and Chicken



Recipe coming soon...