Tina's Vegetable Crêpes

I cooked these!!!

As I've already told you, I'm a recovering salad-hater. Well, unfortunately, the avoidance of all things healthy has infiltrated my vegetable consumption, so much so that between my saladaphobia and my husband's broccospinachaphobia, the only veggies cooked on a regular basis chez nous were potatoes, carrots, onions and bell peppers. That ain't good. Sadly, I can't even remember the last time I cooked cauliflower, and I'd never in my life cooked brussel sprouts, so this recipe really pushed my veggie limits. These crepes filled with a creamy mixture of veggies comes from Tina, a lovely Swiss exchange student who is currently living with the in-laws aux Etats-Unis. She keeps the tastiest vegetable preparations up her sleeve and I was quite inspired during my recent visit back home to dig in and conquer some good veggie dishes after sampling some of her creations.

This is a highly adaptable recipe (after all, what doesn't taste good stuffed in a crepe?) but there is something special about this combination of veggies. It's very savory, almost like a pot pie filling. Unfortunately, I couldn't find kohlrabi here (called chou rave) as I think it may be out of season, but my substitution of potatoes was acceptable, though I prefer the kohlrabi. The crepe recipe is very simple, with a few more eggs than most recipes, I think. I also enjoyed learning that you can still make crepes when you're out of milk, which has stopped me in the past! Since I was making this for some friends, I was more concerned than usual about the appearance of the food. The filling isn't all that beautiful, but the taste more than makes up for it. I would put this dish in a category with fondue and other "serve yourself" type meals that are really fun to share with good friends.

Crêpes
(measurements converted from metric, so bear with me!)

2 cups flour
4 eggs
1 tsp. salt
.8 cup water (I measure 2 scant 1/2 cups)
1 tsp. oil + .4 cup water

Whisk eggs together and stir in .8 cup water. Whisk in flour in small amounts until batter is smooth. Combine oil with the .4 cup water in a measuring cup and stir to break up oil. Add this to the batter and whisk until smooth. Let rest on counter 1/2 hour.

Heat 1/2 tsp butter in a large non-stick skillet over high heat. You want to get the pan very hot. Once the pan is hot, ladle about 1/2 cup of the batter into the pan as you hold it off the heat and tilt the pan in a circular motion to spread the batter into a circle. Place pan back on heat and use a spatula to gently spread out any unsettled batter to make a larger crêpe. When crêpe looks dry on top, flip it over and cook on the other side for 30 seconds to a minute. Remove to plate and repeat with remaining batter. It might take one or two until you get the system down; don't worry if they aren't that pretty, they'll taste good!
Makes 10-12 large crêpes, but I made about 13-15.
Vegetable filling

1 Tbsp butter
2 onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced (not in original recipe)
4 carrots, peeled and sliced into coins
about 15-20 brussel sprouts, cleaned, trimmed of tough root end, sliced in half
2/3 - 1 medium cauliflower, cut into 2 in. pieces
1 large kohlrabi, or 3 small, chopped to similar size as cauliflower
(I substituted 5 small potatoes, peeled and chopped)
1.5-2 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp flour
3/4 cup cream
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
grated cheese for passing: parmesan and cantal were our choices
(*cantal was the favorite)

Melt butter in a large pot and sauté the onions 3-4 minutes. Add the rest of the vegetables and mix well. Pour 1.5 cups of broth over veggies, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until veggies are cooked but not completely falling apart. Mix together the flour and cream to make a slurry. (Tina sprinkles the flour directly into the broth and adds the cream at the end, but I felt safer making a slurry since there's less chance that the flour would clump.) Pour 2/3 of this mixture into the simmering broth and stir, watching to see how thick it becomes. Add more flour and/or cream until you have the desired consistency. Add salt, pepper, and fresh herbs. Taste for seasoning. Tina has been seen to add dried Italian seasoning, garlic powder, seasoning salt, etc. Honestly, as you can tell, getting this recipe was like begging it off a reluctant grandmother, but I gathered that you can really go at it with whatever spices sound good!

To serve, pass crêpes and have guests fill their own!

Notes:

Though I think this recipe is fabulous as is, I do think it would be fantastic with buckwheat crêpes, or galettes au sarrasin, as is traditional for French savory crêpes. They are simply heartier crêpes with a bit more flavor. Plus, never having made them, I'm intrigued at the pairing. Plus, I'm naturally biased. Most things are now plundered by my pseudo-French sensibility and it's just not a crêpe unless you're drinking cidre brut and having an apple tart for dessert.

Meatball Sandwiches

Meatball sandwiches, damn it! Does it get any better? I think not. Just look at it. Now look at it again. Now try not to look. Can't do it, can you? You looked. I know it.

Meatball sandwiches are the sort of thing you make when you have leftover meatballs, right? Frankly, I usually make the meatballs with the soul purpose of creating this sandwich, as I'm continually underwhelmed by my pairings of spaghetti and meatballs. In general, sandwiches have become something of an art form for me. Walking home with a warm baguette under my arm naturally gets me thinking about what I can do with it when I get home. Not that simply breaking off a chunk, dipping it in a dish of olive oil that's been sprinkled with aged parmesan doesn't do the trick just fine most of the time!

This sandwich is definitely a fork and knife affair. You might notice from the picture that I have a hard time making sandwiches that realistically feed less than 3 people, so really the fork and knife are just necessary. I mean, good luck fitting that in your mouth! It's a problem; I'm dealing with it.

Meatball Sandwiches

3/4 - 1 lb ground beef (the pkg. here = 3/4 lb. so that's what I use)
1 egg
1/2 cup dry oatmeal; or 2 sliced soft bread torn into chunks; or bread crumbs
1 Tbsp. tomato paste (or ketchup)
1 tsp. salt pepper to taste
1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil (or a handful of fresh)
1/4 cup grated parmesan
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 onion, finely chopped

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 jar (or maybe 3 cups) of your favorite marinara sauce, or make your own
a baguette, ciabatta, or other crusty rolls
thinly sliced fresh buffalo mozzarella (could also use provolone)
grated parmesan

Lightly beat the egg in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the oatmeal or bread to soften. Add all the ingredients except the meat and mix well. Add ground beef and mix until thoroughly combined. Now a neat little trick from Rachael Ray: divide the mixture into 4 parts (roughly, just mark it in the bowl) and divide each part in roughly 4 again, making 16 meatballs. Roll meatballs and place on a baking sheet. (This worked well for me using 3/4 pound of meat, but I think you'd end up with really big meatballs if you did this in her recipe that calls for 1-1/2 pounds of meat. yikes.)

Heat the olive oil in a non-stick skillet (important!) and saute meatballs in batches until nicely browned on all sides. Pour marinara sauce (or prepare your own) into pan and add meatballs. Bring sauce to a simmer, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes. Cut a meatball in half to see if it's done. (I've also heard of baking the meatballs, but don't have experience with that...if you do, please share your thoughts!) I cut a reasonable (some would argue with that) length of baguette and cut a slit along the top, spreading it open slightly to make room for the meatballs. You're making a boat, in fact. Add 3-4 meatballs with plenty of sauce, top with mozzarella slices and grated parmesan. Place under the broiler until the cheese is bubbly and melted and the bread is slightly toasted. Serve extra sauce on the side. This would pair nicely with this salad. Serves 4. Enjoy!

Soupe à l’Oignon Gratinée

French Onion Soup just makes me smile. Spending a night slowly caramelizing onions lets me drift into a zen-like state of foodie happiness. How can a recipe this simple and pleasing to prepare taste so freaking good, too?!? To me, making French Onion Soup is cooking in its essence. Take a kilo of onions, cook them down until they melt, add delicious broth, a beautiful French baguette, and stinky cheese. I’m naked and trembling, and you have just offered me the cup of life and that cup is filled with onion soup gratinéed. I am reborn.

Seriously, though, this is quite possibly my favorite recipe to make. I do enjoy cooking, but the majority of what I do in the kitchen could still be filed under “chopping and combining.” To truly cook; to transform bare ingredients into something sublime is not a day-to-day occurrence for me. Caramelizing the onions takes patience, slowing you down for a minute to simply spy on a pot of butter and onions.

How are you doing in there, guys? I’m not worrying about anything else in my life right now because we have a goal. But, we’re not in a hurry to get there, are we? Nope, we’re gonna take our sweet time. When you do get caramelized, I’ve got a surprise for you! A white wine bath, that’s what, and I saved a good bottle for you!

In addition to talking with onions, this recipe is actually geared towards lazy people like me. Once you get the onions where you want them, add in the liquid and simmer for another hour and a half. Et voila! Top with bread and cheese and you can be damn happy with yourself for the next week.

Better yet, delay your satisfaction and serve it the next day after the flavor develops a bit more. Serve it to your friends. Invite strangers in for a bowl. Serve it to republicans for all I care. Everyone in the world is entitled to the bare necessities and I think this qualifies. I’m all out of hyperbolae, so I’ll give you the recipe now.

Soupe à l’Oignon Gratinée
(adapted from Julia Child’s The Way to Cook)

3 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 ½ - 3 lbs white or yellow onions, thinly sliced
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. flour
8 cups beef broth, preferably homemade or quality store-bought stock
1 cup dry white wine, such as Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc
¼ cup Cognac or good brandy
Thick slices of baguette, toasted
1 – 1 ½ cups grated gruyère cheese

In a heavy dutch oven, melt butter and oil over medium low heat. Add onions and stir to coat with the butter. Cover and cook over low heat until translucent and wilted, around 10-15 minutes. Remove the cover and
turn heat up to medium high. Add the salt and sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally while onions begin to brown. Once onions start to brown, they will go fast, so stir more frequently to keep them from burning. Cook until onions are caramelized, a deep brown color, about 30-40 minutes.

Sprinkle flour over onions and cook for 3-4 minutes. Pour in 2-3 cups of beef broth, stirring constantly to incorporate the flour. Add the rest of the broth, cognac and white wine. Bring to a boil and turn heat down to low. Simmer for 1 ½ hours with a loose lid, adding a little water if liquid is evaporating too quickly. Stir occasionally.

Pour soup into oven-safe bowls. Place toasted bread slices on the soup and top with a large handful of cheese to completely cover the bread. The broth itself is quite rich and it's the contrast with the cheese that makes this meal interesting, so use a stongly flavored cheese. Place bowls on a baking sheet and broil until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately, with some good, cheap red wine and maybe another entrée like half an avocado stuffed with crab or chicken salad, or an endive, walnut and roquefort salad. Serves 4-6.

Chicken Curry with Cashews

One of the great things about Bloomington, Indiana (I never thought I'd start a post like that...) is its great ethnic restaurants. It's also one of the most surprising things about Bloomington! I have no idea how or why this happened, but you can find excellent Thai, Indian, Moroccan, even Ethiopian restaurants there. I really miss Indian food here in Paris, and I have fond memories of eating at Shanti and Bombay House in the land of the Hoosiers. Chicken Tikka Masala, tender basmati rice with chewy garlic naan to soak up all that sauce! My mouth is watering.

Sure, there are tons of Indian restaurants here, but I haven't found a great one. I guess my real excuse is that I'd rather eat authentic French or other European cuisine while I'm here than eat Indian food that's been watered down for French palates. Most Mexican or Tex-Mex food here is also pathetically bland. (Except for my beloved Anahuacalli!) The salsa you find here is like sweet tomato pulp mixed with a few onions and peppers. Yuck!

But back to the recipe at hand. To say that the following curry is in any way authentic would be completely irresponsible of me since I have no idea, but given my horrible luck at recreating restaurant style curries, this one is amazing. So, it shouldn't come to you as a surprise that my husband made it, not me! Unfortunately, there isn't a picture, except that we used the leftovers to make the most delicious Curried Chicken Sandwiches the next day!

Seriously, this curry is worth making and skipping the take-out from Shanti. I'm definitely making this again soon. You can also check out this post for more on Indian food in Paris and a great Butter Chicken recipe, which I have yet to try, but it sounds great!

Chicken Curry with Cashews
(an Epicurious recipe)

3 Tbsp. butter
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp. fresh ginger, minced
3 Tbsp. curry powder
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. salt
1/2 - 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 cup (or more) fresh cilantro (coriander), chopped
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes
4 large chicken breasts, cut into 2 in. pieces (about 1-1/2 pounds)
3/4 cup cashews
3/4 cup plain whole-milk yogurt

Heat butter in a large pan. Saute onions, garlic and ginger until softened. Add curry powder, cumin, salt and cayenne. (We used 1/2 tsp cayenne and thought it could've been hotter.) Cook 2-3 minutes or until fragrant. Add chicken and stir to coat with the spices. Add tomatoes with their juice and half the cilantro. Cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 20-25 minutes. When chicken is cooked through, this dish can be refrigerated several days. Reheat on the stove before the next step.

Just before serving: using a food processor, finely grind the cashews and add them to the chicken. (We don't have one of those here in our small Parisian kitchen, so we put the nuts in a ziploc bag and smashed the hell out of them with a heavy skillet. It won't get them very finely ground, but it works.) Stir in the yogurt and remaining cilantro. Stir over low heat until slightly thickened. Serve over basmati rice. Serves 4.

I know that many of you out there are thinking that this looks way too simple to be any good. A good curry has to be complex and call for all sorts of ingredients we'd never have in our pantry. Well, like I said, I'm sure there are more authentic recipes out there, but this one delivers as far as flavor is concerned. I was skeptical, too, but try it and you too shall be enlightened...

A Quick Dinner: Pasta with Pesto Cream Sauce

I've been sick with a cold this past week, so apologies for the lack of posts. We've all been there...what do we cook when we don't have much energy to do anything? Well, besides having the husband do most of the work (wink), I managed to throw together this incredibly yummy pasta sauce. I'm not sure how reliable a recipe this will be as I was sort of throwing things together in a dizzy state, but I'm sure you can play around with the idea. Obviously, using homemade pesto would be better, but this was a very comforting, easy dinner!

Sorry for the incredibly unappetizing photo. You'll just have to trust me when I say it's delicious.
Pesto Pasta with Chicken and Artichokes

1/2 box spaghetti
1 cup leftover cooked chicken, chopped
1 can artichoke hearts, rinsed and drained, cut into quarters
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 Tbsp. pine nuts, toasted
1/3 cup prepared pesto (add more or less to taste)
1/2 cup cream
about 4 oz cream cheese
about 1/2 to 3/4 cup pasta cooking water
1/4 cup grated parmesan

Sauté the red onion in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes until tender, add garlic and cook another 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low and stir in cream cheese, cream and pesto sauce. Stir until cream cheese has melted. If sauce is too thick, dilute with some milk. Add artichoke hearts, chicken, parmesan and pine nuts.

Boil pasta according to package directions, salting the water well. Drain pasta when done, reserving cooking liquid. Add some pasta water to the cream sauce to achieve desired consistency. Combine pasta with cream sauce and serve. To serve this in a more presentable fashion, I would not add the chicken to the sauce, but rather top the pasta with some sliced chicken, additional pine nuts and fresh basil leaves. Serves 3-4.