One Pot Stovetop Creamy Kale Mac and Cheese

Yes, adding kale can justify mac and cheese being “healthier”, can’t it? Please say yes because that’s what my conscience was telling me when I wanted to combine two of my top 25 foods all in one pot. Perhaps I’m making up lost time as a kid when all I wanted to eat was mac and cheese, but instead I was fed a healthy diet of fresh fish, greens and rice. Oh, the “trauma” of eating fresh homemade food during childhood.

Please, let me explain.

As a hungry kid growing up in a family with five younger siblings, we add suffered from the pain of growing up in two cultures. When I say “pain”, it’s from the perspective of a thirteen year old who was always hungry for American foods. Granted, we never were actually hungry because my parents had a whole backyard of garden fresh vegetables and herbs. Practically every meal we ate was homemade, 50% homegrown and always fresh.

Fresh and homegrown were bad words back then when my siblings and I were growing up. Why? Because all we wanted to eat were mac and cheese, hamburgers, french fries and pizza. As kids, not only was it torture to have to help out in the garden and pull weeds every weekend when we wanted to play Atari, but it was even more torture to have to eat all the greens that my parents grew.

Yuck. That’s all we could think of every day for three meals a day. That amounted to 21 meals a week that had to be homemade and fresh. But we ate everything my parents put in front of us or else we’d starve.

The pangs of hunger and cravings for cheesy mac and cheese were only satisfied once a month. And that was in the form of the boxes of Kraft mac and cheese. If it was on sale, then my Mother would treat us to three boxes. Now if you did the math, that would mean three boxes between six kids, which meant that after it was all cooked, each kid only had about 1.5 cups of mac and cheese.

Yes, we were all good at math, including the two year old twins who knew how to count out exactly their fair share of 1.5 cups of  Kraft mac and cheese.

So, now as an adult, I often have cravings for this comfort dish and always remember how little I had it growing up and am now making up for all those childhood years of lost mac and cheese dinners. So what does all mean?

Well, what it all means is that I indulge in my quick stove top mac and cheese, my “healthier” broccoli mac and cheese and now this kale version that’s super creamy, quick and satisfying.

Now that you know my childhood struggle, you can now join me and enjoy a big bowl of kale mac and cheese for me. And I’ll enjoy a few bowls of this creamy goodness myself.

Enjoy,

diane

Yield: Serves 6-8

Total Time: 40 min

Yes, you can certainly bake this dish to cook the macaroni into the cheese a bit more like I did in my past Broccoli Mac and Cheese Recipe. But if you're an impatient eater like me, this stove top version will be equally satisfying. Cook based on how patient (and hungry) you are. If you choose to finish it off in the oven then pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and bake the mac and cheese in an oven proof vessel for about 20 minutes.

16 ounces pasta (penne, elbow macaroni or shells)1 large bunch of kale, stems removed and leaves chopped1/4 cup unsalted butter1 medium onion, minced1/4 cup flour2 cups whole milk1 cup chicken broth8 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese1 cup grated Parmesan cheeseabout 1/2 cup of extra cheese for topping (optional)1/4 cup bread crumbskosher or sea salt, to tastefresh cracked black pepper, to tasteIn large pot, boil water and cook pasta to package instructions. Rinse pasta with cold water and allow to cool.Heat the same large pot on medium heat, melt butter and add onion. Cook onions until soft, then add flour. Stir the flour quickly to combine the flour and onion roux mixture. Add milk and chicken broth.Allow mixture to come to a gentle boil and sauce will thicken. Return heat to low and add cheddar cheese and Parmesan cheese. Continue stirring gently until all the cheese is melted.Add the kale and pasta to cheese mixture. Gently stir together until the pasta is heated through and kale is tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add extra cheese and bread crumbs on top.Serve warm.

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Cream Cheese Chocolate Layer/Lapis Cake For Chinese New Year

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Chocolate, Berry and Cream Cheese Danish

Rarely do I ever watch television. Call me a tv-hermit, but between the newspaper, the internet and twitter, I seem to be caught up with everything that I need to know.

Then there was the straight 12 hours I sat on a flight from Australia to Los Angeles that forced me to either sleep (which wasn’t all that easy) or stare at the blank tv screen in front of me. I felt helpless, sleepless and restless. Reading wasn’t so much of an option because I have a tendency to get air-sick when I read.

So my only choice was to watch a movie or watch tv and watch lots of it.  I chose the television route because it seems more entertaining for me to keep scrolling through the different channels rather than focus on a single 2-3 hour movie.

Channel surfing was a good thing because I ended up (surprise!) watching about 4 hours of Food Network. Is this a good thing to admit? Watching 4 straight hours of Food Network? This was way more Food Network than I have watched in the last 3 years combined. Wow, I hit a milestone and a record.

During those 4 hours I watched one of Ree’s holiday shows (Hi Ree!), Giada, Trish, Ina, Guy, more Ina, more Trish, more Giada and way too much Guy.

But I have to say, I was superbly entertained because some of what I saw was truly remarkable. Like Trish’s take on thanksgiving where she made a dry-looking turkey casserole instead of serving the whole bird. Why?

And another remarkable television moment was seeing Guy eat way too many sandwiches, burgers and fries with the same expression and remarks—“wow! Incredible!”. Has he ever had a bad meal in his life? Probably. But we’d never see that in the final cut.

And then there was the delicate little Giada. I didn’t think I could take more than an hour of Giada cause she has such perfect teeth…. all the time… even when she’s zesting her lemons.

Anyways, I was thoroughly inspired by Giada and many of her dishes. As simple as they appear, she made them elegant yet approachable, something I admire in recipe developers and cooks. Being able to take a seemingly complicated or time consuming looking dish and making it easy to the home cook is a skill. And talent.

On hour 2.5 of Food Network, I saw Giada make these chocolate and cheese danishes. By the end of the show I was inspired and even more so, I was CRAVING one of these with a cup of coffee. Trust me, after the 7th straight hour on the plane, I would have loved to eat anything warm, fresh and baked. All I had to choose from were Doritos and hard cookies out of a bag.

A few days after we landed, I made an attempt to re-create what inspired me so: these chocolate and cheese danishes. But I made them a little different, with Thanksgiving in mind and needing to feed an army, I made these danishes on a sheet pan.

It was so much easier to feed a Thanksgiving crowd with this version of the danishes. It’s basically making one huge sheet pan Danish, then cutting them into individual servings. That way, all the cheese, chocolate and fresh berries can cook together nicely in one beautiful big puff pastry crust.

This chocolate, berry and cream cheese Danish was such a hit at our Thanksgiving gathering, I might just make another batch (or two) for Christmas. It’s that easy and delicious. And best of all, everyone enjoyed it down to the last finger lick of chocolate and berries.

Enjoy!

diane

Yield: Serves 8-10

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

one - 17 ounce package frozen puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed1- 8oz package of cream cheese, softened1 egg yolk2 Tablespoons brown sugar1 teaspoon ground cinnamon1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract1/8 teaspoon kosher or sea salt½ - ¾ cup chocolate chips, depending on how much chocolate you likeone - 6 ounce package of fresh berries (if using strawberries, slice the strawberries)1 egg, beaten for brushing the puff pastryPre-heat oven to 400 degrees F and make sure to have the oven rack in the center of the oven. Line a 15x10 inch baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.In a medium bowl, mix together the softened cream cheese, egg yolk, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract and salt until smooth.Carefully place one full sheet of the thawed and soft puff pastry dough on the parchment paper. Gently spread the cream cheese mixture on the puff pastry sheet within one inch of the puff pastry edge. Then evenly sprinkle chocolate chips and berries over the cream cheese mixture.Lay the remaining sheet of puff pastry over the cheese/chocolate/berry mixture.  Gently press the edges of the top puff pastry on to the bottom puff pastry to seal the whole pastry.With a sharp knife, gently cut 2-3 small slits in the top pastry sheet to allow steam to escape during baking. Brush the whole pastry with the beaten egg.Bake pastry for about 40-45 minutes or until the pasty if puffy, golden and cooked on the bottom.

If using juicy berries such as raspberries, blackberries or strawberries or frozen berries, moisture will be released causing the bottom pastry to become soft. To avoid a soft bottom pastry, you can roll out the bottom pastry and pre-bake it for about 10-15 minutes so it’s slightly cooked. But make sure to roll it out a bit before baking because the puff pastry will shrink.

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Cream Cheese Pineapple Tarts For Chinese New Year

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A Proper Swiss Cheese Fondue

(The 10 year anniversary of JustHungry is at the end of this month. To commemorate this pretty big birthday for the site, I’m highlighting some of my favorite posts from the archives. This recipe is for an authentic Swiss cheese fondue. It was my late mother in law Martha’s recipe. It’s perfect for a chilly evening. Originally published on December 26, 2008, one year after Martha passed away.)

Martha passed away on the 26th of December last year. When she was still healthy, we shared many a pot of cheese fondue with her during the cold winter months. Her fondue was without question, the best I’ve ever had anywhere. So in her memory, we made a proper cheese fondue.

I’ve already posted Martha’s fondue recipe 5 years ago (she was still making them then), but since it was one of the very early posts here on Just Hungry, it has no relevant picture to accompany the recipe or anything. To rectify that, here again is Martha’s proper Swiss fondue, with many photos and detailed instructions.

Cheese fondue is a traditional Swiss dish that originated in the Alps, mainly in and around the canton of Valais (French) / Wallis (German). Contrary to popular view outside of Switzerland, it did not originate as an après-ski snack; it’s a hearty peasant dish, using ingredients that were available in the winter: cheese, wine, coarse peasant bread. And since it a traditional dish, it never went ‘out of fashion’ or ‘died out’, as you might think it did if you live in the UK or the US or any place that had the Great Fondue Craze of the ’70s, when a fondue set was a ubiquitous wedding present.

In Switzerland, ‘la fondue’ means a cheese fondue and nothing else. Other types of dip-bits-of-food-in-a-communal-pot dishes are specifically called fondue-something, e.g. fondue bourgignonne (bits of beef filet fried in a pot of oil), fondue chinoise (thin slices of beef or other things cooked in a pot of broth), and so on. (You might be surprised to know that chocolate fondue isn’t that popular in Switzerland. It may be served at touristy restaurants here, but is not a home cooking fixture by any means.)

Finally, fondue is always served as the main dish, not an appetizer or as part of a multicourse meal.

So, what do you need for la fondue? First you need an appropriately shaped pot. The traditional shape is a fairly shallow, rounded ceramic pot with handle, like this one. The critical part is the rounded part, as we’ll see later. This is one of the two pots we have.

You also need something to keep the cheese warm. You actually cook the sauce on the stovetop, so you don’t need a tabletop burner, though you can use one on a low flame. The ideal is a spirit burner, like this one. The pot is suspended over it on the iron frame.

Finally you need fondue forks. Fondue forks are long and thin, perfect for skewering the bread. (Antique chipped hand-me-down plate is optional.)

The cheese sauce is usually made up of 2 or more types of cheese. A good moderately aged Gruyère (aged at least 8 to 12 months) is usually one of them, since it has such great flavor.

Another popular cheese is Emmenthaler, the stereotypical ‘Swiss cheese’ with the big holes. Emmenthaler does make the sauce very stringy and somewhat gooey, which can make it a bit hard to handle.

Martha’s preference was to use Vacherin Fribourgeois, which has a full, distinctive flavor and does not make the sauce stringy.

Her secret ingredient was one block of the ‘spreadable cheese’ that comes wrapped in foil triangles in a round cardboard box (e.g. Laughing Cow). The otherwise icky cheese helps all the cheeses melt together and stay together coherently.

The other important components in a fondue sauce are white wine and kirsch. Here in Switzerland, a young Chasselas Romand, aka Fendant, with a slight sourness is used. If you can’t get hold of such a wine, a Sauvignon Blanc will do, perhaps with a squeeze of lemon juice. And kirsch just adds that extra kick.

In Switzerland, only bread is dipped into the cheese. Any kind of bread with a sturdy crust and a fairly robust crumb is good: a decent baguette, any kind of ‘artisan’ bread. Here we used a Weizenbrot, a hearty country bread. Notice all the pieces are cut so they each have a side with crust.

I guess you could dip other things, but you will still want to have a good quantity of bread. I know people like to dip things like raw or boiled vegetables, apple or pear slices and the like (in Japan they like to dip things like boiled quail eggs, wiener sausages and chikuwa (fish sausage-like things)…), but I think that if you need vegetable crudités or fruit, they are best served alongside the fondue, and to just dip bread in the sauce. (And if you get invited to a Swiss home for fondue, you’ll only get bread in most cases.) If you are gluten-intolerant, use a gluten-free bread.

So, let’s make fondue!

This amount of sauce will serve 4 people as the main course. If you only intend to have fondue as part of a bigger meal, adjust the amounts accordingly.

1 garlic clove50ml / about 1/4 cup kirsh2 tsp. cornstarch 400 g / a bit less than 1 lb Gruyère cheese (aged at least 8 to 12 months), shredded 400g / a bit less than 1 l Emmenthaler or Vacherin Fribourgeois cheese, shredded (Please use real Emmenthaler. A generic ‘Swiss Cheese’ will not do. Note that in Switzerland you can buy bags of pre-shredded mixed cheese called “Moitié-moitié”, meaning ‘half and half’.) 1 piece of ‘spreadable’ cheese, e.g. Laughing Cow/La Vache Qui Rit (not the mini-Babybel type, the triangular foil-wrapped soft gooey double-creme type) 3 dl / 1 1/4 US cups of young slightly sour white wine such as Chasselas or Sauvignon Blanc

Rub the inside of the fondue pot with the garlic clove. Discard the garlic. (This optional step adds a little extra flavor to the sauce.)

Dissolve the cornstarch in the kirsch. Set aside.

Put the fondue pot on a medium-heat. Add the wine and cheeses. Heat while stirring, until the cheeses melt. Add the kirsch and keep stirring until the sauce is smooth and bubbly. This takes about 20 minutes.

Now, set up your fondue pot stand and burner and transfer the pot to the stand. The burner flame (or tabletop cooker) should just be hot enough that the sauce stays how and just sort of seething on the surface. Any hotter and the cheese will burn on the bottom.

Take a piece of bread, and spear it firmly on the fork so that the crust is on the outside. You can optionally lightly dip it in kirsch at this stage.

Take your speared-bread fork and stir it around in the cheese sauce. Each person should scrape the sides and the bottom of the pot at least once with each go. This prevents the cheese sauce from sticking or burning on the sides. None of that namby-pamby dip-and-go!

Here the bread being used to scrape off the cheese bits that stick to the surface of the pot. Now you see why a rounded-sides pot is ideal; a pot with sharp angles is much harder to scrape around properly.

If you do insist on dipping other things into the sauce, you will just want to dip those lightly, but still use the bread for that stir-wipe action.

(A point of etiquette: Pull the bread off the fork with your teeth, trying not to touch the fork itself with your mouth. And absolutely no double-dipping!)

As the cheese sauce gets less and less, it will get thicker. It’s important to keep stirring-wiping. You may gradually want to lower the flame’s intensity if you can too.

When there’s just a little cheese left in the pot, turn off the heat. Keep scraping off the cheese. If you’ve done it right, you’ll just be left with a small circle of burnt on cheese, which you can carefully pry off. (Note how the pot is scraped almost clean.)

The burned bit is considered to be the final treat of a fondue. A generous cook may cut it up and share it, but a more selfish one (cough) will just pop the whole thing in her mouth.

So, there you have it. A proper Swiss cheese fondue, eaten the Swiss way.

The same wine that you put into the fondue would be perfect. You could also have kirsch in shot glasses. Martha always served strong black tea, which served as a perfect palate cleanser to counteract the strong taste of the cheese sauce.

The winter fruit salad she also served as dessert (usually just whatever citrus fruits were available, like grapefruit, blood or regular orange, etc.) was a nice refreshing ending to the meal.

Do remember that this sauce is properly cooked on the stovetop, not just heated through until the cheese melts, so most of the alcohol content will evaporate. Swiss kids eat fondue along with the adults and grow up to be fine upstanding citizens. If you can’t have alcohol for religious reasons and so on, this recipe may not be for you.

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Sigrid’s Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting from The Pioneer Woman

To make a long story short, we triangulated the US in the last seven days from Long Beach, to New York City to Seattle and back to Long Beach. After stumbling off the last flight and back into the house, we found Ree’s new book waiting for us on the dinner table. What a sweet treat to come home to after a week of travel. This made us smile. It wasn’t soon after, we were craving to cook again and before you knew it, we were diving into one of the best carrot cakes that we ever had.

If you’ve been searching for the easiest and most tender carrot cake recipe, then look no further. This is THE carrot cake to make. Two well deserved credits are tied to this recipe: Ree, The Pioneer Woman and her mom’s longtime friend, Sigrid. We’ve never met Sigrid before, but we owe her a big hug for passing on such an heirloom recipe. And we owe Ree a big hug for sharing such a timeless, winning recipe and a big congrats on her latest book, A Year of Holidays.

Ree’s cookbooks are like no other and for any of you who have flipped through one, you’ll know it’s a warm invitation into her home. It’s just not her life that flows through the pages, but the lives of everyone dear to her. Including her doggies, whom always have a special place in our doggie-loving-hearts. This latest book is special because the recipes revolve around the holidays, a yearlong seasonal feast for the most special days of the year.

Indeed, there’s plenty of family pictures too and it’s fun to see how her kids have matured. They’ve grown like weeds!

Though this carrot cake recipe was in the Easter chapter, we feel that this is the type of cake that embodies the sensibilities of Fall too. Warm spices like cinnamon, ground ginger and nutmeg (we added these extra spices) lend perfectly to a holiday table. It’s even perfect for Halloween, so don’t rule it out as an option for the kiddies!

Paired with a great cup of coffee, fragrant hot tea, warm apple cider or holiday eggnog, this carrot cake comes even more alive on the senses. It’s the perfect sweet treat to share on your holiday table. And the carrot cake is true to the title of the book, it’s worthy for a year of holidays!

Enjoy and eat more cake!

-diane and todd

Yield: 12 Servings

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks A Year of Holidays. Ree attributes her recipe to Sigrid, a longtime friend of her mom, declaring the carrot cake one of the best in the Northern Hemisphere. After trying it, we'd have to agree whole heartedly. It is amazing. We adapted the recipe, adding a few more spices, increasing the amount of oil, and by changing the frosting to be a bit more fluid since we like to drizzle over the bundt shapes rather than spread. It is super moist, soft, and heavenly delicious. We divided the cake between two smaller bundt molds, reducing the time by 5-10 minutes, however this recipe is written up for the larger bundt mold since that is what most people will have available. Thanks Ree for another great recipe!

2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt1 teaspoon baking powder1 teaspoon baking soda1 teaspoon ground cinnamon1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (or 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg)1/4 teaspoon ground ginger1 cup (200g) sugar1 cup (220g) brown sugar1 1/4 cups (300ml) vegetable oil4 large eggs4-6 large carrots, washed, peeled, and grated (about 2 cups)1/2 cup (1 stick or 113g) unsalted butter, softenedone 8 ounce (225g) package cream cheese, softened1 pound (455g) confectioners sugar2 teaspoons vanilla extract1/4 to 1/2 cup milkPreheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 12-cup bundt pan. Set aside.In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and spices for at least 20 seconds. Set aside.In a mixer, beat together the sugar, brown sugar, and vegetable oil. Beat in the eggs until combined. Stir in the dry ingredients until smooth. Stir in the carrots until completely incorporated.Pour the batter in the prepared bundt pan. Smooth out the surface and firmly tap the pan against the counter to release any bubbles.Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the thickest part of the cake. Un-mold the cake and allow to cool before icing.Make the frosting: Beat together the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Slowly beat in the confectioners sugar and vanilla extract. Beat in the milk starting with 1/4 cup, and then adding 1 tablespoon at a time until the frosting is at your desired consistency.Spoon the frosting over the fully cooled cake (you may have leftover icing- save it to frost some cookies!), and then slice and serve.

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Roasted Broccoli Grilled Cheese and More from Bountiful

The birth of our Bountiful cookbook wasn’t as painful as we had originally thought. Aside from a few weeks of never ending dirty dishes, the whole journey was creatively liberating and fun. Thanks a million to all you guys and gals and so many nice cooks, bloggers and friends out there who spread the good cheer.

Seeing what everyone is cooking from the book reminds us why we love what we do so much. Those late nights in the kitchen recipe testing, developing, editing, writing and washing dishes makes it all worth it when someone shares their favorite dish that they made from the cookbook.

Our goal was to make the recipes, approachable, non-fussy, delicious and make a vegetable or fruit the hero. We’re always looking to incorporate more vegetables into our meals, so writing this cookbook helped us do more of it on a daily basis. And we’re sharing some Bountiful recipes with you that amazing bloggers have shared. And some of them are hosting a giveaway of the book too!

A simple and favorite lunch is our roasted broccoli grilled cheese sandwich. Pair it with a bowl of chicken soup or tomato soup and what you have is a meal that everyone in the family will love. The roasted flavor of the broccoli and melted cheese is almost like eating a broccoli/cheese soup, but even better. It’s sandwiched within two crispy slices of bread. Now try to dip it in some tomato soup. It’s really to die for!

Maria from Two Peas and Their Pod made this Roasted broccoli grilled cheese and is sharing the recipe on her blog.

Tracey from Shutterbean perfected our Braised Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta and Parmesan. Love the photo.

Julie from The Little Kitchen made our Baked Eggs in Tomatoes. It’s beautiful! Head over there for the recipe.

Kelly from Just a Taste is a egg rolling master! Check out our Kale and Chicken Egg Roll recipe that she mastered.

Elise from Simply Recipes added kale to our Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Sausage and Parmesan. Brilliant.

So there you have it, a sampling of some recipes from Bountiful. Make them all for lunch or dinner!

And come visit us at our next signings in New York City, Seattle, Salt Lake City, San Francisco and Melbourne, Australia! Link is here.

Happy Weekend,

diane and todd

Where to buy the book online? Here’s also a list of some great independent bookstores in your area. Please support them!

AmazonIndiebound Book Larder, Seattle (signing on Friday, October 25, 2013)Book Soup and Vromans, Los AngelesKings English, Salt Lake City, Utah (signing on Saturday, November 16th, 2013)Powells Books, Portland, OregonBarnes and Nobles Avenue Bookstore, Melbourne Australia (signing on Saturday, November 9th, 2013, 11am )Book Passage, San Francisco (signing on Saturday, January 18th 2013, 1pm)

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Savory Kale, Corn & Feta Cheese Galette

Summer hasn’t left yet and we’re still squeezing out the best of the season, or what’s still left of it before all the pumpkins arrive. Speaking of pumpkins, have you seen all the new pumpkin recipes out there? Pinterest is inundated with them and we’re still boycotting anything that has to do with holiday-ish or fall-ish dishes. Goodness, it’ll still be a while before you see us posting pumpkins. Or at least a few weeks.  Or until we run out of corn at the markets!

Until then, we’ve been working heavily on Thanksgiving shoots. How ironic that in our personal lives we don’t want to have anything to do with a pumpkin, yet our studio was filled with turkeys, pumpkin pies, pecan pies and all the cranberry/stuffing/gravy you can eat. Seriously, we had enough Thanksgiving food to feed a block party in September. Here’s a picture of what we were drilled with last week. Now you can see why we’re still clinging on to Summer corn and anything that resembles August sunshine.

To fulfill our continuous Summer cravings, we gathered some of the many leftover vegetables and ingredients in the fridge. The nice thing about our shoots is that we have leftovers to cook and share with so we’re never without a home cooked meal, post-shoot.

Four leftover ears of corn, check. Is there kale in the fridge? yes! and how about cheese? Feta came to the rescue.

Between those three ingredients, some fresh dill and the wonderful combo of butter, flour and eggs we made a satisfying lunch of kale, corn and feta galette.

The inspiration for this savory galette came from sifting through our Bountiful cookbook (yes! we have our hands on a review copy). In our cookbook we have another savory galette (buy the book and you’ll find out ) and as we were perusing through the recipe, a craving creeps on us for a savory galette again. So thanks to that trio of leftover ingredients in the fridge, lunch was served.

Sweet galettes are always a treasure during Summer. I mean, it’s hard to not resist all the stone fruits and berries that scream out to us from the farmers market bins. We answer their call and everyone seems to be sharing a sweet gallette. But we’re all for savory concoctions too and today, it was to satisfy the need for something full of vegetables and salty cheese.

Here it is, for you to make and hold on to Summer for a bit while longer. Besides, it’s another example of why we can never have too many kale recipes! #GoKale

hugs,

diane and todd

More Kale and Galette Recipes:

Spicy Smoky Kale Chips Recipe
Sea Salt & Black Pepper Kale Chips
Apple Galette with Brown Butter
Pear Galette
Braised Kale

Yield: 2 Galette

Total Time: 2 hours

We give instructions for making the dough by hand, but if you prefer, it comes together nicely in the food processor also. Pulse the flour, butter pieces, and salt a few times until it is crumbly. Then add the egg and water and pulse until the dough comes together. That's it. Divide, make into disks, and chill.

2 cups (250g) flour½ cup (1 stick / 113g) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch (12-mm) pieces1 teaspoon salt1 egg¼ cup (60ml) cold waterheavy cream, for brushing crust2 tablespoons olive oil1/2 medium onion, chopped3 cloves garlic, minced2 bunches kale, de-stemmed and chopped2 ears of corn, shucked (about 2 cups)1/2 teaspoon minced dill1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea saltfresh cracked black pepper, to taste6 ounces (170g) feta cheese crumbled

Line two baking pans with parchment paper.

In a bowl, pinch together the flour, butter, and salt with your fingertips until most of the big chunks of butter are flattened or broken up.In another bowl, whisk the egg with the ice water until combined. Incorporate the egg mixture into the flour until the mixture binds together and forms a rough ball (you may need to gently knead the ball to incorporate the last of the flour).Divide the ball in two, roll each half into a ball, and then flatten each ball into a disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add oil, onions, and garlic and cook until light brown and soft, about 2 minutes.Stir in the kale and corn, and then cook until the kale is softened and wilted, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Allow kale/corn mixture to cool for 15 minutes. Stir in the feta cheese.On a floured surface, roll the dough disks out to a circles slightly larger than 10 inches (25-cm) in diameter. Place each disk on a lined sheet pan.Divide the filling mixture between the two dough circles, starting in center and spreading outwards, leaving about 1 1/2 inches of the outer rim of dough uncovered. Fold the edges of the dough over the filling. Brush the crust with heavy cream.Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the crust is golden. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Cheese Pairings with Spirits, Cocktails and some latest work

Happy Friday and now it’s time to take a break and treat yourself to some spirits, cocktails and good cheese!

A few months ago we received a photography work request from a client all the way in Europe. The best part about this project is that it entailed working with spirits, cocktails and cheese for Alexander and James. This assignment was a breath of fresh air because the week prior, we were shooting lots of salads and salmon. Now don’t get us wrong, we love salads and salmons. Photographing healthy and fresh is super fun to play with bright colors, textures and ingredients. But sometimes, just sometimes, it’s fun to work with some spirits, mixing cocktails and a whole platter of ripe and beautifully stinky cheese. Best of all, these subjects are all completely edible and drinkable. Trust us, nothing went to waste.

Our work with Alexander and James and our lovely editor, Kate, entailed a shot list of spirits and cocktails in some very gorgeous Alexander and James glassware. We developed some cocktail recipes, taste tested them till they were perfect and photographed them to the story that worked best for the theme of the month.

It’s a hard job, but someones got to do it. We really do love our work.

So, treat yourself to some cocktail recipes and visit the site to get a peak at some of our work and learn about some awesome pairing information from our editor! We learned so much already from this assignment and our cheese pairings are now going beyond wine!

British Cheese and Spirits – Learn how to buy, store and pair cheese

Pairing Rum and Cheese- learn how great rum pairs with triple cream &  rind washed cheese

Pairing Gin and Cheese- bring out citrus notes and botanicals in Gin with great cheese

Pairing Whiskey and Cheese- these pairings are fantastic

Talisker Peach Smash Cocktail Recipe

 

Ciroc Coconut Cocktail - Love grapefruit? you’ll enjoy this one.

Strawberry Daiquiri- a cocktail to please a crowd

There’s more recipes and images soon to be published on their site, so keep checking back to their magazine. Have a great weekend everyone!

-diane and todd

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Chicken-Fried Tofu and Sriracha Pimento Cheese Sandwich Recipe

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« Surprise! Tofu with a Southern Touch |Main

August 08, 2013Chicken-Fried Tofu and Sriracha Pimento Cheese Sandwich Recipe

How’s that for an oxymoron? Tofu disguised as chicken in aSouthern favorite, deep-fried tofu with dairy, everything encased in an airybun. It’s a sandwich that may put off Southern purists, vegans, and healthfanatics but it’s one that tastes quite good. I didn’t think of the idea, onlyriffing from a sandwich created by chef Lee Gregory at The Roosevelt inRichmond, Virginia.

Chicken-fried steak is an old timey Southern dish thatinvolves a cubed beef steak coated and shallow or deep-fried like chicken.Wanting a vegetarian sandwich on his menu, Lee developed this meatless take onchicken-fried steak. I’ve been making a lot of pimento cheese and read aboutusing the spread for sandwiches.

You can see where I’m going here: What if you combined thetwo in a sandwich with sliced dill pickle? Well, it works deliciously well. A bit salty, rich, crisp and tangy. It tastes kind of bad but in a healthy, good way. 

Toarrive at this recipe, I checked out two insightful books: Robb Walsh’s TexasEats and the SouthernFoodways Alliance Community Cookbook. I decided on a simple approach ofmarinating slabs of tofu in buttermilk, Korean ground chile (there’s a currentlove affair in the South with Korean foodways) and salt. Then I coated the tofuin seasoned flour before quickly deep-frying it.

Super-firm tofu. The fried pieces show all-purpose flour on the left, rice flour on the right.
I tried it out with super-firm and extra-firm tofu. I likedthe latter more for the tender insides but the coating didn’t stay as crisp aswith the super firm tofu, which has a heartier, slightly rubbery texture. The firmer the tofu, the better it is to grip onto the coating because of the the tofu's lower moisture content. That said, super-firm tofu is akin to overcooked chicken breast or pork loin. 

Spread the Sriracha pimento cheese directly on the hot tofuif you want to melt the cheese a bit. Otherwise, spread it on the bread. Iadded extra Srirachato give a spicy hit to the sandwich. 

Chicken fried steak goes by CFS in the South. I suppose thiswould be CFTS.  It’s a fun sandwich tomake, especially if you have lots of Sriracha pimento cheese around like I dothese days.

RECIPE

Chicken-Fried Tofu and Sriracha Pimento Cheese Sandwiches

Yields: 3 or 4sandwiches

Ingredients

16 to 20 ounces (450 to 565 g) extra-firm or super-firmtofu1 cup buttermilk1 teaspoon Korean ground chile pepper(gochugaru), or 1/2 teaspoon cayenne1 1/2 teaspoons plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt1/2 teaspoon black pepper1 cup all-purpose flour or regular rice flourCanola oil for deep-frying4 hamburger buns or ciabatta rollsMayonnaise, optionalSriracha chile sauce (optional)SrirachaPimento Cheese 2 dill pickles, sliced

Instructions

Cut the tofu into 1/2-inch (1.25 cm) slabs. Seton a dry dish towel or several layers of paper towel to drain for 10 to 15 minutes.Blot away excess moisture then set aside briefly.In a small glass container or zip-top plasticbag, combine the buttermilk with the ground chile and 1 1/2 teaspoons koshersalt. Add the tofu and turn to coat well. Refrigerate for 2 hours or as long as24 hours. Return to room temperature before frying.In a shallow bowl, combine the remaining 1teaspoon kosher salt with the black pepper and flour. Lift the tofu from thebuttermilk then coat well in the flour. Pat the tofu to ensure the floursticks. Set aside on a plate to let the flour and buttermilk turn into a batterof sorts. The tofu will darken a bit.Heat 1 inch of oil in a skillet or deep fryingpan to just above 350F. Meanwhile, toast the buns or rolls.In batches, deep-fry the tofu for about 2minutes, turning midway, until crisp and rich golden-brown like autumn leaves.Drain briefly on a rack.To assemble sandwiches, spread mayonnaise (and/or pimento cheese) on thebottom portion of the bread. Squirt or drizzle on some Sriracha, if you like.Add the pickle, tofu (If needed, cut the tofu so it fits into the bread). Spreadthe pimento cheese on the warm tofu or on the top portion of bread. Close andeat.

Tip: You canreuse the buttermilk for another batch of tofu or maybe marinating catfishdestined for a fish fry. Don't want to deep-fry? Then just pan-fry the tofu; don't marinate it, just salt and pepper it. If you need an assist on buying and frying tofu, see the links on the Asian Tofu page. 

Related posts:

SrirachaPimento CheeseSriracharound-up (links to homemade sriracha, sriracha taste offs, etc.)Surprise! Tofu with a Southern TouchPosted in Asian Tofu, Recipe: Sandwich, Recipes: All, Recipes: Appetizer and Snack, Recipes: Gluten-Free Adaptable, Recipes: soy | Permalink

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Comments Chicken-Fried Tofu and Sriracha Pimento Cheese Sandwich Recipe

How’s that for an oxymoron? Tofu disguised as chicken in aSouthern favorite, deep-fried tofu with dairy, everything encased in an airybun. It’s a sandwich that may put off Southern purists, vegans, and healthfanatics but it’s one that tastes quite good. I didn’t think of the idea, onlyriffing from a sandwich created by chef Lee Gregory at The Roosevelt inRichmond, Virginia.

Chicken-fried steak is an old timey Southern dish thatinvolves a cubed beef steak coated and shallow or deep-fried like chicken.Wanting a vegetarian sandwich on his menu, Lee developed this meatless take onchicken-fried steak. I’ve been making a lot of pimento cheese and read aboutusing the spread for sandwiches.

You can see where I’m going here: What if you combined thetwo in a sandwich with sliced dill pickle? Well, it works deliciously well. A bit salty, rich, crisp and tangy. It tastes kind of bad but in a healthy, good way. 

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