Bad News/Good News

It's been such a mixed bag of a week.  It started with the friend who was behaving so awfully last fall suddenly deciding that he wanted to reconcile, for the oddest of reasons--still don't know what to do about that one--and then progressed to my beautiful old cat Ingrid being diagnosed with hyperthyroidism yesterday.  For those who have not had the experience of pilling a cat, it's a sight to be seen.



It's not a great photo, but just look at that face.

The good news is that the Eleemosynary cast, all three of them, put down their scripts yesterday and it turned out that they all knew their lines.  What could have been a train wreck of a rehearsal turned into my gushing at them about how wonderful they are.  We still have two weeks' worth of hard work to do before opening, but I am optimistic.

The other piece of good news is that it looks like we are headed back to Italy this year.  If you have restaurant recommendations for Rome, Verona or the regions of Alto Adige and Emilia-Romagna, please let me know.

Because I'm here to tell you:  I need a vacation, not to mention some good Italian food.

There are several things I always try to keep in my pantry, because it seems every savory dish is improved by them:  olive oil, lemons and shallots.  Those three things make a great salad dressing by themselves, but they also dress up simple side dishes, like these roasted green beans.

This healthy side dish could be varied with whatever nuts you have in your pantry, but buttery cashews add a great crunch and hit of salt.  It goes together in less than 10 minutes, and the combination of soft and crunchy is out of this world.

Roasted Green Beans with Shallots and Cashews

Adapted from Gourmet Magazine, February 2009

1 1/2 lbs. green beans, trimmed at the ends

1/2 cup salted cashews, roasted and chopped

1/3 cup shallots, chopped coarsely

1 1/2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Pinch of finely-ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 500 degrees--you will want to cook these in the lower part of the oven to prevent scorching.

In a medium bowl, combine all of the ingredients and toss to coat thoroughly.  Spread evenly on a large cookie sheet with sides.

Roast until the beans are thoroughly tender and starting to turn brown, about 20 minutes.  Stir often to make sure that the shallots aren't sticking to the pan or burning.

Serves four as a side dish.  We served with a gorgeous medium-rare steak, but the late lamented Gourmet recommended this as a side for roast chicken.

Stuff It

Do you remember when I said work was pretty calm?  This has not been a great week--without getting too specific, which I can't, suffice it to say that there is someone who is making me a little miserable.

So the title of this post is what I wish I could tell this person, possibly in less polite terms, but can't.  It's also about a much more pleasant topic, the stuffed eggplant that I made on Sunday.

I like eggplant, but it has to be cooked correctly.  I've had some bad deep-fried eggplant experiences, along with some sauteed eggplant experiences that left me wondering why the vegetable had the texture of a foam pillow and approximately the same flavor.

This is not either of those experiences.  This is the eggplant to serve the doubters who say that they don't like eggplant.  It's full of flavor and so many goodies that it will bring those doubters to their knees.

As an aside, I've been loving cooking from the Lidia's Italy in America cookbook (you can find other experiments with that cookbook here, here and here).  I rarely follow the recipe exactly, but I think the recipes are a great framework that can be altered according to taste, season and what you have on hand at the time.  Her savory recipes often contain more olive oil than I think is absolutely necessary, so I usually scale back to keep things healthier.

The original recipe uses small eggplant;  I used one medium eggplant, which would feed four as a side or two as a main course. 

Italian Stuffed Eggplant

Adapted from Lidia's Italy in America by Lidia Bastianich

1 medium eggplant
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 lb. chicken sausage, removed from casings
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 yellow bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup homemade bread crumbs or day-old cubed bread
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup Pecorino Romano, finely grated or an equal amount of Parmesan
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
4 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Cut the eggplant in half and scoop out the flesh to make a shell.  The shell should be thick enough to hold its shape but thin enough to allow plenty of stuffing to go in it;  1/2 inch is about perfect.  Coarsely chop the removed eggplant flesh.

Warm two tablespoons of the olive in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook until golden, then add the chicken sausage and use a large spoon to break it into small chunks.  When the meat starts to brown, add the wine.

Cook until the meat juices and wine are almost gone, then add the bell pepper, chopped eggplant and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt.  Cover and cook for about ten minutes, or until the bell pepper and eggplant are very tender.  Once this mixture is cooked, remove from the skillet and set aside.

Combine the milk and bread crumbs in a small bowl and stir to combine.  Then add the bread mixture to the cooled meat mixture, along with the cheese, parsley and sun-dried tomatoes.

Place the eggplant halves snugly in a baking dish and then drizzle with the remaining olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining salt.  Mound the eggplant halves with the stuffing, then cover with foil and cooking for approximately forty minutes, or until the eggplant is very tender.  Uncover the dish, sprinkle with a bit more cheese if desired and bake for another ten minutes uncovered.

Chasing the Blues Away (Carbohydrates Edition)

As anyone who read my last entry knows, the last few days have been difficult ones.  Fortunately, the "Inspecting Carol" cast seems to have rallied and perhaps even thrived by having some of the (offstage) drama removed from the show.  The rest of the fallout--my friendship with the departing actor, in particular--is going to have to wait.

I don't know about everyone else, but I'm a carbohydrate addict.  When blue, I have two modes with respect to food:  either my appetite disappears altogether, or I want as many starchy, bready things as you can pile on a plate.

Has anyone ever been to the Zuni Cafe in San Francisco?  It's run by Judy Rodgers, who has been there for almost twenty-five years and has turned it into a combination of neighborhood hangout, foodie destination and upscale Parisian bistro.  It features a long zinc bar and is incredibly loud, and according to my friend Stacey, crammed at all hours.



Photo from the Zuni Cafe website, http://www.zunicafe.com/.

The Zuni's signature dish is its roast chicken with bread salad and a side of lightly dressed frisée.  The chicken is wonderful--its skin is thoroughly salted and the bird is refrigerated overnight, which leads to perfectly crisp skin--but the real winner is the bread salad. 

If made correctly, it has a combination of crispy and soft pieces, the tang of vinegar tempered by the sweetness of the dried fruit, and is utterly irresistible.  The ideal bread to use is a hearty country white loaf, and you should avoid French and sourdough breads.  French bread doesn't have the right crumb to crust ratio, and the tang of the sourdough will overwhelm the flavor balance of this dish.

When I handed David the grocery list, I obviously failed to mention the "no French bread" aspect (oops), because that's what he brought home.  It wasn't ideal, but this recipe is solid enough to survive it.

It won't chase the blues away, but it might help.  I've adapted it for the season by swapping out the currants for dried cranberries, if you can find unsweetened craisins.  If they aren't available, use the currants.  I've also substituted leeks, which are readily available and look great right now, for the traditional scallions.

You will have leftover vinaigrette, which can be used for a side salad.  The Zuni primarily uses frisée, but the dressing would be delicious on any kind of baby greens.

Zuni Cafe Bread Salad

Adapted from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook by Judy Rodgers

1 lb. chewy bread, preferably a fresh country-style white bread

8 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

3 tbsp. Champagne vinegar

2 tsp. red wine vinegar

2 tbsp. dried unsweetened cranberries (craisins)

2 tbsp. warm water

4 tbsp. pine nuts, toasted

4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/2 cup leeks, green and pale white portions, thinly sliced

4 tbsp. low-sodium chicken stock

Kosher salt and fresh-ground black pepper, to taste

Slice the majority of the crust off the bread, being careful to leave as much of the loaf intact as possible.  (If you feel like it, eat some of the crusts.  I know I did.)

Preheat the broiler.  While it is heating, cut the bread into about four chunks, and rub them all over with two tablespoons of the olive oil.  Place them on a cookie sheet and broil them until lightly brown all over, turning as necessary.

Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool briefly.  Then tear the bread into irregularly sized chunks.  Don't make the chunks uniform, because the texture of the salad depends on some pieces getting really crisp while others remain soft.  Place the bread chunks in a large bowl.

This is how the crumbs should look, although use a larger bowl, because you'll need the space to toss the bread with the other ingredients.

In a small bowl, combine four tablespoons of olive oil with the Champagne vinegar and whisk together.  Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.  If the mixture is too oily, add a bit more vinegar.

Drizzle half of the vinaigrette on the bread chunks and toss to coat well.  Taste a chunk of the bread and adjust the seasoning again as necessary.  Add additional vinaigrette if needed.

In a ramekin, combine the craisins, red wine vinegar and warm water.  Leave to soak.

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.  While it is heating, warm two tablespoons of olive oil in a small skillet and add the leeks and garlic over low heat, stirring until they are softened and slightly golden.  This will go fast--don't let the garlic burn.



I had green onions in the house, so used them for the photos. 
The next batch I make will have the leeks.



Add the leek-garlic combination to the bread salad.  Drain the craisins and add those as well, folding these items into the bread.

Drizzle the chicken stock over the bread and fold again.  If the mixture is dry, add a little more vinaigrette. 

Pour the bread into a large round baking dish, ensuring that it is not spread shallowly.  The magic of the salad is that some portions remain soft, while others get crispy.

Place the salad in the oven and bake for approximately 30 minutes, until the salad is lightly golden and thoroughly warmed. 

Serves four to six as a side dish.

And a P.S.--thanks to those both in Anchorage and here in cyberspace for the good thoughts and sympathy over the last couple of days.