Bacon is not one of my most favorite foods. I have a very clear ‘taste of a memory’ from the bacon my father would cure on the farm when I was growing up. It was way too salty and fatty for my liking, so I avoided it like the plaque. Brion, on the other hand, loves bacon! Over the years I have come to find there are many versions of smoked bacon that can really take a recipe to another level. I have used it on, in and around so many things. I have dipped filets in it, encrusted filets in it, wrapped chicken and salmon filets in it, extra, extra …
Bacon fans are an innovative bunch. Forget the simple slice alongside eggs. Diehards have dipped the meat in chocolate, crumbled it into ice cream, infused it into vodka and the list goes on. You’d have to be living under a rock to miss the signs of our cultural obsession with bacon these days.
In this meal I’m making some sliced turkey-bacon rolls to have with our mushroom risotto. Should be quite flavorful.
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Turkey-Bacon Rolls w/ Mushroom Risotto
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Instructions
Turkey/Bacon Rolls
Chop the rosemary & thyme leaves, add a pinch of dried marjoram, parmesan, breadcrumbs & a little lemon zest.
Lay out turkey slices on a work surface, brush them with mustard, distribute the prepared mixture & roll them up to perfectly contain filling. Wrap each roll tightly with a slice of bacon. Secure with a toothpick if necessary.
Sauté garlic in a drizzle of oil for 1-2 minutes over low heat. Add more oil if necessary & brown mini rolls evenly for 3-4 minutes, turning occasionally & adding salt & pepper to taste.
Add wine, lower heat a little & put the lid on & continue cooking for 5-6 minutes, adding very little boiling water if necessary, Remove from heat & keep warm until risotto is cooked.
Mushroom Risotto
In a medium saucepan, bring the broth to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the porcini mushrooms, remove the pan from the heat & set aside for 30 minutes until mushrooms are tender. Then, using a slotted spoon, remove the mushrooms & set aside.
Return the broth to a simmer & keep warm over low heat.
In a large, heavy saucepan, melt 2 Tbsp of the butter over medium-high heat. Add onion & mushrooms & cook for about 3 minutes, until the onions are tender but not brown. Add rice & stir to coat with butter. Add wine & simmer for about 3 minutes, until the wine has almost completely evaporated.
Add a soup ladle full of warm broth & stir for about 2 minutes, until almost completely absorbed.
Continue with remaining broth, adding a ladle full at a time & allowing each addition to be absorbed, until rice is tender to the bite & the mixture is creamy. This should take about 20-25 minutes in total.
Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the parmesan, gorgonzola, chives, salt & pepper. Transfer to a warm serving bowl & serve immediately.
Don’t think for a moment that cabbage doesn’t belong on pizza — it definitely does. When the days grow shorter, we start to crave heartier meals. Cabbage is good … meatballs are good … cabbage/meatball pizza is double good! Here’s a new spin on the classic pizza – topping a pizza crust base with meatballs, cabbage, spices & cheese.
People have been piling ‘stuff’ on dough, and then heating it up, for thousands of years. That includes the Chinese, who some believe gave Marco Polo scallion pancakes, leading to the theory that he introduced pizza to Italy.
Others point to the ancient Greeks, who covered their flatbreads with herbs, oil, and cheese. But no matter who is responsible for pizza, there is no denying that it has serious global appeal.
Cabbage is an unsung kitchen hero. It’s actually one of the most versatile veggies in your arsenal. If you’re just reserving it for slaws and salads, it’s time to broaden your horizons and discover some of the amazingly delicious things a simple head of cabbage can do.
While the dough is pretty critical, the toppings are just as important to get right. Specific toppings will come down to personal preference.
The duo of sautéed cabbage & meatballs makes for a hearty, satisfying topping perfectly suited for crisp autumn weather.
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Pizza w/ Cabbage & Meatballs
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Instructions
Pizza Crust
Cook potato, peel & mash. In a bowl, combine yeast with lukewarm water. Allow to stand for about 3 minutes until foamy; add butter, salt, sour cream & potato & mix well. Stir in flour, one cup at a time. When dough is completely blended, turn onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead dough about 10 minutes, until smooth & elastic. Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap & allow to rise in a warm draft free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
Cabbage
In a large pot, place thinly sliced cabbage, water, sugar & salt. Cover & simmer for a few minutes until cabbage is soft & has reduced in volume. Place cabbage in a dish. Melt butter & oil in pot then add flour & cumin to make a roux. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring so that there are no lumps as it thickens. Add cabbage to roux & cook for a couple of minutes. Remove from stove & stir in fresh dill & chives; set aside.
Meatballs
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In a bowl, combine all meatball ingredients & mix well. Form into 28 balls & place on foil lined baking sheet that has been lightly greased. Bake for about 10-15 minutes, until JUST cooked. do not OVERBAKE as they will bake some more when they are on the pizza.
Assembly
Line a 9 x 11-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Press out pizza dough over the bottom & up the sides of the pan. Sprinkle a bit of the smoked cheese on the crust, then place a layer of half the cabbage mixture & lightly drizzle with a small amount of tomato soup (sauce). Repeat again with cheese, cabbage & sauce. Roll cooked meatballs in remaining tomato sauce. Place meatballs, in rows on top, then sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Bake for 40 minutes or until crust is golden. Garnish with fresh dill, slice & serve.
There is something about fresh roasted fish that always appeals to me. This simple preparation really allows the fish to be the star of the meal.
Trout are fresh water fish, with firm textured flesh and a medium to high (good) fat content. Rainbow trout is probably the best known and one of the most popular varieties in the world. Being a mild, white fish with a light, clean flavor and just a touch of ‘sweetness’, makes it perfect for even a non-fish lover.
Rainbow trout fillets vary from ivory to pink as they belong to the same family as salmon. They’re most often fried but can be poached, baked, steamed, grilled or broiled. Whole trout is often stuffed before being cooked. Mushrooms and fish are an underrated combination but a good one nonetheless. Fish cook very quickly so its important to make sure the stuffing is cooked first.
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Rainbow Trout w/ Mushroom Stuffing
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Instructions
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Clean & scale trout; set aside.
In a saucepan, heat butter. Add onions & celery; sauté for 3 minutes. Stir in mushrooms & season well; continuing to cook 3 more minutes. Add breadcrumbs & mix well. Add cream, fennel & chives; cook 3 minutes.
Remove pan from heat & stuff trout. Tie with string. Dredge with flour & bake 12-15 minutes.
Crepes hail from the Brittany region of France and can be served either sweet or savory. While savory crepes are traditionally made with buckwheat flour, this particular recipe calls for wheat flour.
In North America, pancakes are a breakfast time staple best served with a large helping of syrup. However, crêpes — the humble French pancake’s ‘skinny‘ cousin — come in both sweet and savory form and can be enjoyed any time of the day. Crepes differ from typical North American pancakes in that they don’t contain a leavening agent causing the batter to rise, hence the flat outcome.
Around 2001, Emy Wada, a Japanese pastry chef who had studied in France, introduced a ‘mille crepe cake’ at her New York city bakery. The word mille means ‘a thousand‘, and while there really aren’t a thousand crepes, it might seem like it!
Crepes have become a favorite, sweet or savory delicacy all over the world. Made with just flour, sugar, salt, milk, eggs and butter, its simplicity is transcended by its versatility. A crepe can be used as a wrap or even stacked to create an elevated dessert or entrée.
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Herbed Seafood Crepe Cake
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Instructions
Crepe Batter
In a bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. In another bowl, whisk together eggs & milk. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients then whisk in melted butter. Batter should be runny. Place in refrigerator while preparing the filling & sauce.
Filling
In a large skillet, sauté shrimp in olive oil for several minutes. Add zucchini, green onions & garlic; stir-fry for several minutes. Add mushrooms & sauté over medium-high heat until mushrooms release their liquid & soften, about 5-6 minutes. Add ginger, soy sauce & water; cover pan & cook on low heat for several minutes or until cooked. Set filling aside. Grate cheese.
Sauce
Sauté minced garlic & onion in butter. Add crushed, undrained tomatoes (& water, if using). Bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer uncovered 15 minutes. Place in a food processor & puree. Reserve for serving with crepe cake.
Cooking & Assembly
Using a large nonstick skillet or crepe pan, add a small amount of butter over medium-high heat. Pour about 1/4 cup crepe batter onto skillet & form a circle with the bottom of cup or swirl it around the crepe pan so it flattens out. Cook 30 seconds on the first side or until it firms up, then carefully flip the crepe & cook for another 15-20 seconds. Repeat until all batter is used.
Place a crepe on a large serving plate, top with a portion of the shrimp filling & some of the grated cheese. Continue with remaining crepes, filling & cheese.
When ready to serve, place entire crepe cake in microwave & heat only until warm & cheese has melted. Slice & serve with warm tomato-onion sauce.
Even if we are not quite at the peak of zucchini season, is no reason to forget about it. I love zucchini and because its such a mild flavored vegetable, you can find it in recipes from appetizers to dessert. Its versatility lets you steam, poach, saute and fry it but it also makes great cakes, bread, relish and sauce. In Canada, we use it extensively for just about anything you can imagine.
In Mexico, they prefer the flower to the zucchini bulb in soups and quesadillas.
In Italy, it is served in many ways, especially breaded and fried.
In France, it is the key ingredient in ratatouille or stuffed with meat, tomatoes and bell peppers.
In Turkey, zucchini is the main ingredient in pancakes or stuffed with ground meat, rice and herbs.
In Greece, there are numerous uses for zucchini such as fried, boiled, stuffed, hors d’oeuvers and main dishes. Sometimes the flowers are stuffed with white cheese or a mixture of rice, herbs and occasionally ground meat.
In Egypt, zucchini are cooked with tomato sauce, garlic and onions and the list goes on and on—
Today’s blog recipe uses a fresh zucchini sauce to compliment the cod fillets which have an herb and sunflower seed stuffing.
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Stuffed Cod Rolls with Fresh Zucchini Sauce
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Instructions
Saute the garlic & onion in olive oil until softened but not browned. Remove from heat & toss together with the remaining stuffing ingredients. Prepare 6 fish portions in roughly 5 X 7-inch size rectangles. Overlap slightly if using two pieces of fish to prepare the portion.
Squeeze handfuls of the stuffing into sausage shaped portions the width of the fish fillet and place at one end, roll the fillet rectangle all the way around the stuffing.
Preheat oven to 400 F. Lay out bacon slices in 6 portions; place the prepared cod & stuffing at one end. Roll bacon tightly around the cod & place in a lightly oiled shallow baking dish. Do not crowd the portions; allow at least an inch or two between the portions for good air circulation in the oven.
Bake stuffed cod for about 25 minutes. Remove from oven & serve with warm fresh zucchini sauce.
Fresh Zucchini Sauce
In a skillet, saute zucchini, onion & mushrooms until tender crisp. Remove from heat; add flour & spices mixing well. Return to heat & slowly add milk & chicken broth. Cook until thickened & bubbly, stirring constantly. Remove from heat & serve over stuffed cod rolls.
Edible bread bowls were a huge hit in the 80’s and 90’s, but the idea fizzled at the start of the 21st century. Bread has always been a main stay of any meal, from toast at breakfast to sandwiches at lunch and rolls for supper. Many restaurants used the bread bowl idea as a way to justify charging more for soup. They are an extremely versatile way to hold thick, creamy soups, spicy chili or stews as well as dips and warm melted cheese.
While its not that difficult to make a bread bowl, the kind of bread you make determines your success. Some examples would be a hearty bread like pumpernickel or a chewy, crusty sourdough. Rye, crusty white or wholewheat will work fine as well.
It’s always a good idea to match the flavor of your bread bowl to the filling used if possible. These roasted vegetable bread bowls were just perfect with the oyster stew.
Bread bowls will always hold a special memory for Brion and I. Over the course of probably the last sixteen years we have made many trips to the California coast. We always stayed in the Carmel/Monterey area and walked the coastline with our destination being Fisherman’s Wharf. It was a special treat having clam chowder in a sourdough bowl at a wharf restaurant.
I used roasted potatoes and parsnips in my dough today, which added an amazing flavor to these bread bowls. The stew is made with smoked oysters which adds a unique smoky flavor. The whole meal came together beautifully and was super good!
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Roasted Veggie Bread Bowls with Oyster Stew
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Instructions
Roasted Veggies
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Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a small baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Peel potato & parsnip & cut in uniform pieces. Place veggies in a bowl; add olive oil, garlic powder, salt, pepper & toss to combine. Spread veggies evenly on baking sheet; bake for 45 minutes, until roasted & soft enough to mash. Remove from oven, mash & cool.
Bread Bowl Dough
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In a small bowl, combine yeast with warm water; whisk until yeast is dissolved. Let stand about 3 minutes until foamy. Add butter, salt, sour cream & cooled, mashed veggies; mix well. Add bacon & chives; mix until just combined.
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Stir in flour, one cup at a time. When dough is completely blended, turn onto a lightly floured surface. Knead dough about 10 minutes, until smooth & elastic. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap & allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
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Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Punch down dough & divide into 2-3 pieces. Form each piece into a ball as if you were making a large bun. Place 'buns' on baking sheet allowing enough space in between each for rising. Cover with plastic; allow to rise for about 15 minutes while preheating oven to 350 F. Brush bread bowls with egg wash; bake 25-30 minutes until golden. Remove from oven to a wire rack.
Smoked Oyster Stew
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In a saucepan, fry bacon until crisp; remove to paper towel, blot off grease & crumble. Set aside. To bacon drippings, add carrot, onion, celery & potatoes. Saute, seasoning lightly with salt & pepper; add garlic, seafood seasoning & flour. Saute 1 minute more, making sure to coat everything with flour.
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Add clam nectar & chicken stock, stir well to dissolve the flour & bring to a boil. Cook until veggies are cooked through. Turn heat to low & add the chopped smoked oysters, bacon & 1/2 & 1/2 cream. Stir until heated through; remove from heat.
Assembly
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Using a serrated knife, carve a deep wedge out of the top of bread bowls. After the initial cut, use your fingers to pull the soft bread out to make a big enough soup bowl. Fill with oyster stew, serving the top piece on the side.
