Spinach Souffle with Rosemary Fennel Sausage and Fresh Tomato Confit

Let it be stated that I take great delight in the pleasure that is breakfast. Upon launching my day, I relish the opportunity to indulge  the senses and take great pleasure in a good, hearty breakfast! To be exact, nothing tickles me more.

Eating becomes the most simple of delights, when lifted from its elemental role of necessity. Air, water, sustenance, they are the root of our mere existence. But to merely exist alone is the highest form of treason against self one dare commit. We must go forth and live boldly! For it is through simple pleasure that life is truly lived.

It is my guess Publilius Syrus knew a thing or two about living a life devoid of pleasures. A Syrian slave during the 1^st century B.C., he gained release from his captors in a battle of wits staged by Julius Caesar and would go on to pen several volumes of philosophical tomes containing basic moral maxims. In short, Publilius Syrus wished nothing more than to serve as a spiritual advisor, instructing his fellow man on how to live a fulfilled life.

We wake daily bent on living our lives to the fullest.  No venture is undertaken by man with greater fervor than to establish our purpose in life. We struggle to leave our mark in the world, often over looking the fact that the greatest mark we dare to leave is often just enjoying the ride. Taking cue from Publilius Syrus- “Every day should be passed as if it were to be our last.”

Let us all begin by enjoying a hearty breakfast! Here is something a little different for you to try.

Spinach Souffle

3 large farm raised eggs

1/2cup heavy cream

8 oz. chopped spinach

1/4 cup whole milk ricotta

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon water

Salt

Preheat oven to 350º

In a medium bowl, mix the ricotta cheese with 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg and a pinch of salt. Set aside and reserve.

Heat 1 tablespoon of water in a skillet over medium heat. Add spinach and toss until wilted and liquid is evaporated. Don’t over cook and dry out. Set aside and reserve.

Place 3 fresh eggs, ½ cup heavy cream and a pinch of salt in a medium mixing bowl then whisk until frothy. Add chopped spinach and gently stir until combined.

Grease 3 or four small ramekins with a light coating of butter, then place in a roasting pan. Pour soufflé mixture in until each is about half full. Place small ½ teaspoon dollops of ricotta mixture evenly distributed amongst ramekins until all is gone.

Fill roaster pan with lukewarm water until the level reaches about half way up each ramekin. Carefully place in the oven and cook until the tops of the soufflés are a light golden brown. About 15 minutes depending on your oven.

Remove the roaster pan from the oven. Carefully remove each ramekin from the pan and arrange them on a wire rack from 5 minutes to cool before loosening and plating.

Fresh Rosemary Fennel Sausage

1 lbs Pork Shoulder Roast, Cut into 1 inch wide strips

2 tablespoons Fresh Rosemary, diced

2 tablespoons fennel seed, crushed

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper

Generously season the pork strips with fennel, rosemary, salt and pepper. Begin placing strips into a meat grinder, bit by bit, until coarsely ground. In a medium skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Brown Sausage and serve.

Tomato Confit

2 Cups Cherry tomatoes, rough chopped

2 cloves fresh garlic, minced

½ teaspoon olive oil

½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Salt to taste

Add chopped tomatoes to a small mixing bowl along with minced garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and a pinch or two of salt to taste. Serve.

Time Flies

Two weeks. The amount of time which has lapsed since I have graced these pages with an update. It has been a busy state of affairs indeed. In the last week, I have been contacted by two major corporate identities, both asking me to serve in various forms as a guest Chef, sharing my cooking savvy. The prospect is thrilling and I will fill you in with more details as I become privy to them.

Additionally, I have been serving as the food coordinator for an upcoming festival at Garst Museum located in my home town of Greenville, Ohio. The museum is an historical venue which houses memorabilia from the likes of Annie Oakley, Lowell Thomas, Tecumseh and The Treaty of Greenville as well as other local lore. The event is taking shape for its inaugural launch this July and should prove to be a stellar get together. If you are going to be in the Ohio valley July 30-31, mark your calendars and swing by The Gathering at Garst!

Then there was the much needed overhaul of our very outdated kitchen. You see, last June we moved into a circa 1920’s farm house situated on the edge of town. Although we embrace our farm roots, we were having a hard time embracing wall paper which would have been at home in my great grandmother Ruth’s farmstead. It was quite the chore getting things in shape. We dug through the first layer which resembled a plaid table clothe only to find an even more hideous layer below that was very early 1960’s Betty Crockeresque. Need less to say, we spent a good bit of time with scrapers in hand and now our walls are a much more pleasant warm gray hue. A few more designer touches and it will be Home and Design worthy!

Oh, and did I mention I have been cooking? Our overly loaded Fridge is a testament to that fact. Anyone care to help us keep the left-over situation at bay? It seems I always manage to cook for an army but we can only manage to muster a few meager troops around here. Needless to say,  there is usually an abundance of goodness to go around. The following pictorial is a small sampling of what’s been cookin’…

I leave you with this simple recipe which I have culled from the mess to share with you.

Eggs Benedict Florentine­­­

8 Oz Fresh Spinach, Stems removed and rinsed

4 English Muffins

8 Thins slices of Canadian Bacon or Smoked Ham

Dash of Ground Nutmeg

8 Large Poached Eggs

*Hollandaise Sauce

In a Large saucepan over medium heat, blanch spinach in two tablespoons of water. Cover until wilted, tossing once with a fork, about 3 minutes. Drain in a colander.

Place 2 muffin halves on each of four plates. Top each half with a slice of ham or Canadian bacon, 1 heaping tablespoon of spinach, and a sprinkle of nutmeg. Spoon on some of the Hollandaise Sauce then add a poached egg to each muffin half. Serve immediately.

Hollandaise Sauce

4 egg yolks

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon water

¼ teaspoon salt

Dash of cayenne pepper

1 cup butter (2 sticks) , melted

In a small, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, combine yolks, fresh lemon juice, water, salt and cayenne pepper. Whisk constantly until mixture bubbles and begins to thicken, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrap mixture into blender. Add butter in a slow, steady stream and blend until all the butter is used and sauce is thickened, about 30 seconds.

Sheep Wrecked- Lamb Chops with Balsamic Reduction and Poached Pears

It always happens, anytime I have a meal that involves a lamb dish, I am reminded of Spring. I know it sounds rather twisted and a tad bit warped to mention visions of lambs frolicking through the meadow. The scene growing even further distorted when envisioning putting fork and knife to little bow peeps little sheep.

Growing up, I was a HUGE fan of Chuck Jones cartoons. For those of you who aren’t in the know, Mr. Jones was the animator and produce of such infamous Looney-Tunes cartoons as Bugs Bunny, The Road Runner, as well as Rocky and Bullwinkle. Chuck had a flare for making light of that classic battle of good versus evil. He never let the face of evil get so skewered that it became ominous.

In that way, I see Chuck Jones as somewhat of a zen master, always letting us know that no matter how dark or down things seem to get in life, there is will always be light and laughter on the other side. What does this all have to do with lamb you say? My favorite Chuck Jones cartoon of all time is Droopy Dog. With is slow as molasses drawl and always calm demeanor, Droopy never seems to let the best of a bad situation get him down.

And finally, we stray back to sheep, or lamb, more precisely. My plus one, Leslie, purchased for me a deluxe DVD anthology of all the classic Chuck Jones cartoons. There buried amongst all that youthful nostalgia is the Droopy Dog episodes to top them all. A little ditty entitled “Sheep Wrecked” which featuring Droopy’s arch nemesis, The Wolf. He never has a name, but oh, what a character! In “Sheep Wrecked”, the wolf in relentless in his pursuit of sheep did profess his love for that barnyard favorite, rattling off a slew of his favorite methods of lamb cookery.

I found myself playing the wolf today as I scoured the local market for something sheepishly delicious. With a little luck, I turned up a few choice lamb chops and whipped up the tasty little recipe I am sharing with you today. “Man, Alive…” was that lamb ever good! Thank goodness I didn’t have to work as hard as old mister wolf.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsweetened apple juice
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 Bosc Pears, peeled, cored, cut into 1/4–inch–thick slices
• 3 fresh thyme sprigs plus 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• Eight 1 1/4–inch–thick lamb loin chops
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon aged balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

Preparation:

Combine apple juice and sugar in small saucepan. Bring to boil over medium–high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add pear slices and thyme sprigs. Reduce heat to medium–low, cover, and simmer until pear is tender, about 20 minutes. Strain, reserving pear and juices separately. Discard thyme sprigs.

Sprinkle lamb with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over medium–high heat. Add lamb; cook to desired doneness, about 3 1/2 minutes per side for loin chops for medium–rare. Transfer lamb to platter; cover to keep warm. Pour off drippings from skillet; place skillet over medium heat. Add reserved pear juices; boil until reduced to 1/4 cup, scraping up any browned bits, about 2 minutes. Remove skillet from heat; stir in vinegar, butter, oregano, rosemary, and 1/2 teaspoon chopped thyme. Season pan sauce to taste with salt and pepper.

Top lamb with poached pear. Spoon pan sauce over and serve.

For more great lamb recipes, visit www.gourmet.com.

The Farmer, The Miller and The Baker Featured in Edible Columbus Spring Edition (via )

Sustainable food- It’s a cause near and dear to my heart. You see, farming is in my roots and if you trace the blood lines back as far as you can go, I come from a rural people. My kin, on both branches of my family tree, left rural Germany to land here in the United States then venture forth to the Lancaster, Pennsylvania area to live off the bounty of the earth. Eventually moving on to the Ohio valley, They toiled long and hard to clear the land and make it fit for hearth and harvest.

For generations now (more than seven strong), local food was so much more to my families than a buzz word or catch phrase for the latest foodie trend. Local food was running a farm by which to feed your family, friends and neighbors. The land provided you with just what you needed and any abundance was stored back for the leaner, harsher seasons. There where no large industrial farms and if you didn’t grow it yourself, you could find the products you needed either from the neighbor down the road or the little market “up the way a piece”.

My father was a farmer, that is up until he decided he had enough of waking at the crack of dawn to milk cows or bail hay! It was there that my roots strayed elsewhere- but not far enough that I forget not only my heritage, but the value of a hearty meal born of the earth as well!

With this heritage and remembrance of times past, I have not forgotten my link to the days when you feed yourself directly from the earth.  All the nutrients and soul where not sucked out of your diet via the process of making food “commercially accessible”. Our creator provided us with a food system, and as we have run astray from that system, we have lost site of the true value of where and how are meals are born.

This is precisely why I am sharing story of The Farmer, The Miller and The Baker Brand, a line of local food products that are grown, processed and produced within a 30 mile radius in west-central Ohio… the heart of American agriculture.

This is how food was meant to be- “REAL FOOD, REAL GOOD!”

The Farmer, The Miller and The Baker are getting a little press! We’re proud to be featured in the Spring Edition of Edible Columbus, our closest division of Edible Communities Publications. Take heed foodies and families: If you’re still unfamiliar with Edible Publications, you should find a way to pick up the spring issue today in your area. Edible Publications spread the good word about the importance of local food not only in our fertile Ohio … Read More

via

Dreaming of Martha Stewart

The ghost of Martha Stewart, apparently, came to visit me in the wee hours of this Sunday morning, as I awoke with the uncontrollable urge to bake today. Sunday’s tend to be a free-for-all kind of day at our household and one never knows what might surface on the stove or emerge from the oven. It’s truly a mixed grab bag as we let our culinary desires run a tad bit wild on the Sabbath. So much for a day of rest, as the dishes tend to pile up and the kitchen looks as if the Keebler elves have had their way with it!

 

It seemed my time in the kitchen this week was invariably cut short no matter how deep my desires to indulge in some cookery might be. There was this tasty sounding recipe for the most unusual of muffin offerings I had been wanting to “toy” with and tweak a bit more to my own liking. It seemed we would never find a spare minute from our daily grind to pick up a few essentials for them. Nevertheless, we managed to slip out last night, take in a movie, and swing by the local market for a stock up. For the record, Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston score two BIG thumbs up from Les and I both for “Just Go with It”. If you are up for some light-hearted comedy, this one is definitely a must see!

 

So, our Sunday began, with Martha whispering her sweet nothings in my ear and I managed to throw together both my Ham and Cheddar Scones AND these very tasty Parsnip and Pecan Sour Cream Muffins…

 

A strange sounding combination, I know, but trust me, they are Delish!

Parsnip and Pecan Sour Cream Muffins

Ingredients:

 

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature. ( a bit more to coat the muffin tin )

¾ cup lightly packed brown sugar

2 large eggs

½ cup whole mapled pecans, chopped ( plus an extra 12 to garnish muffin tops with )

½ cup golden raisins

1 ½ cups sour cream

1 ½ cups parsnip, peeled and coarsely grated

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground Saigon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger

½ teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

Pinch of salt

 

Preparation:

 

Preheat the oven to 375º F. Generously butter a standard 12-cup muffin tin.

 

In a medium bowl, cream the butter and sugar, then add the eggs. Stir in the pecans, raisins, sour cream, grated ginger and grated parsnips.

 

In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the moist ingredients, stirring just until blended. Do not overmix.

Portion the batter evenly among the buttered muffin cups. Place an additional mapled pecan on top of each muffin.

 

Bake until a toothpick stuck in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Be careful not to overbake or the muffins will be dry. Let the muffins stand for about 10 minutes before turning them out onto a rack to cool.

Mapled Pecans

Mapled Pecans

 

These tasty pecans make a tasty addition to many recipes. You can add them for a little extra kick. They also make a great topping for ice cream, especially home made butter pecan or vanilla!

Ingredients:

1 cup whole pecans

1 tablespoon butter

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons maple syrup

 

Preparation:

 

Preheat over to 375º F.

 

In a small skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add whole pecans, maple syrup and brown sugar then toss until well coated. Continue stirring over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and place skillet in the oven for another 5 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately turn pecans out onto a baking sheet and allow to fully cool. Can be frozen and stored for future use.

Corny Snow Days

I love snow days! You see, they always seem to afford me with both the opportunity and motivation to try something new in the kitchen. Yes, when the snow starts to fly around here, so do the pots and pans. Nothing starts the day like a hardy breakfast, particularly on snow days and since they happen on such rare occasion, why not whip out a special dish to chase away the cold?

This light and airy corn Soufflé would seem more suited for a summer brunch but it just so happens the local market had sweet corn on hand. Why not chuck it into a tasty Soufflé? Besides, it made me forget about the snow for a few minutes and I could almost feel that warm summer sun shining down on me…

Savory Corn Soufflé with Candied Bacon and Sweet Corn Relish

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

2 cups corn kernels (about 3 ears)

½ cup unsalted butter, extra for the ramekins

¼ cup all-purpose flour

3 large eggs, separated

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 or 3 grinds black pepper

1 Tablespoon scallions, diced

Preparation:

Put the milk and 1 ¼ cups of the corn kernels in a blender or food processor. Blend until puréed. Strain the purée through a medium- fine sieve, using a rubber spatula to push through as much pulp as possible. You should have about 1 ½ cups of purée.

In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for a minute, still whisking. Slowly whisk in the corn purée from the strainer and whisk over medium- low heat for two minutes. Add remaining milk mixture from the strainer and continue whisking until the mixture is as thick as pudding, about 3-5 minutes. Pour mixture into a large bowl and let cool to room temperature. Heat the oven to 400º F. Generously butter six 6-oz. ramekins.

When the soufflé base is cool, stir in the egg yolks, the remaining ¾ cup corn kernels, salt pepper, and scallions. In a clean, dry bowl, beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Working quickly, use a rubber spatula to gently stir half of the whites into the soufflé base and then fold in the rest. Be sure not to over mix.

Fill the ramekins just over three-quarters full and set them in a baking dish or broiler large enough to hold all the ramekins. Pour enough hot water into the baking dish or broiler to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

Bake the puddings until they’re puffed, set and golden brown, about 30 minutes; rotate the pan once during baking.

Remove the puddings from the baking dish and let cool for about 15 minutes. Unmold the puddings by sliding a knife around the edge of each ramekin and gently inverting the pudding into the palm of your hand. Set the puddings browned side up on a serving plate.

Sprinkle the puddings with a light dusting of cayenne pepper then garnish with Candied Bacon crumbles and sweet corn relish. Great when accompanied with an egg either poached or sunny-side up.

*See Candied Bacon Recipe

Sweet Corn Relish

Ingredients:

1 Ear Sweet Corn (remove kernels)

1 Red Bell Pepper

1 Yellow Bell Pepper

2 Scallions, diced

1 Tablespoon Fresh Diced Cilantro

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Kosher Salt

Dash of Cayenne Pepper

Preparation:

In a medium sauce pan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Blanche corn kernels for about 5-8 minutes, just till slightly al dente. Remove from heat and fill pan with cold water. Drain water and continue to rinse in a strainer with cold water. Drain well and place in a medium mixing bowl. Toss in diced Bell peppers, cilantro and scallions mix together.

Add apple cider then season with kosher salt to taste. Garnish with a pinch of ground cayenne pepper.

Candied Bacon

 

Serves 2

 

6 slices extra-thick applewood smoked bacon

2 Tablespoons maple syrup

1 ½ Tablespoon light brown sugar

 

Preparation:

 

Position  a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 425º F. Arrange the bacon slices on a rimmed baking sheet. Brush both sides of the bacon with the maple syrup and then sprinkle the tops evenly with brown sugar. Bake until browned and crisp, about 20 to 22 minutes.

 

Eggactly Perfect

Simplicity has been the bulk in focus of my kitchen endeavors as of late. I have been exploring the notion of taking the most basic of food elements and combining them in ways that seem fresh and inventive, my attention turning to technique or the layering of flavors. I’ve been paying special attention to how different flavors interact with each other. Sweet balanced with savory. Tart balanced with saltiness and so forth. The goal- a Zen-like balance of taste perfection.

You see, we hope to soon open a little diner spot geared towards the breakfast/brunch crowd. The basic principle of the whole place is taking simple elements which are readily available locally and then finding ways to elevate these building blocks to monumental stature. It is relatively easy to find a decent breakfast meal on a quick schedule and at a reasonably affordable price. Nevertheless, it’s a thing of beauty when you find that rare bird which provides these things plus a certain je ne sais quoi powerful enough to stop you in your tracks. That, kids, is my one aim!

When it comes to simplicity and basic essentials, nothing can be more elementary than an egg salad. With its few elements, it is hard to screw up but even harder to take to another level. The former, rather sadly, usually taking precedence over the latter, I stake my claim to put a little ZING! into the affair.

So, without further a due, I present to you…

Egg Salad with Sweet Red Peppers and Cilantro

-Makes 4  Sandwiches

Ingredients:

8 free range cagefree eggs

½ cup organic mayonnaise

1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons raw clover honey

1 Sweet Red Bell pepper

1 Tablespoon Fresh cilantro

¼ roasted cumin

Kosher salt

Ground white pepper

8 Slices crusty country bread

4 large lettuce leaves

Preparation:

Place the eggs in a saucepan with enough cold water to cover them by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove the pan from the heat, cover, and let stand for 14 minutes. Drain the eggs, then transfer them to a bowl of ice water to cool for at least 5 minutes.

Peel the eggs and coarse chop them, taking extra care not to crumble the yolks. Transfer the eggs to a bowl and stir in mayonnaise, mustard, honey, cilantro, cumin and white pepper. Mix lightly to combine, being careful not to mash the eggs together. Season to taste with kosher salt.

You say Tomato, I Say Tomahto

On a cold, winter night, after a long day of work, sometimes nothing is more satisfyingly simple than a steaming hot bowl of tomato soup along with a gooey ham and cheddar sandwich. I have never been the biggest fan of canned tomato soups. Although they will do in short notice, they truly lack any pizazz or real punch. Most of the time, they are overly runny and the only discernible hint of flavor comes form loads of sodium. Don’t get me wrong, I like my salt as much as the next guy, but I like soup which packs a little more substance.

We found ourselves in a position at our household this evening in a rare mood when we didn’t feel like making much of a fuss in the kitchen. I had spent the late morning whipping up a mean batch of Heuvos Rancheros for breakfast after a grueling trip to the market to stock up on seemingly everything under the sun.  Our appetites where light, so soup and sandwich seemed the perfect fix. Here is the lovely Tomato Bisque I concocted full of flavor and stick to your ribs goodness!

Project 3x365 Dinner 2-22-11 Wildflower Honey Ham and Cheddar Panini with Roasted Tomato Bisque

 

 

Fire-Roasted Tomato Bisque

Ingredients:

1 28 can Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted Tomatoes

1 cup water

1 Medium Sweet Onion, Chopped

2 Tablespoons Mascarpone

1 tablespoon butter

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon celery salt

1 teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon white pepper

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1 pinch raw sugar

Preparation:

In dutch over, combine 1 can fire roasted tomatoes and 1 cup water. Bring to a simmer. Add garlic, celery salt, sea salt, white pepper and nutmeg and cover. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

In a skillet, melt butter over medium heat and add onions. Sauté until golden brown. Allow to cool slightly and add to food processor. Add tomatoes and mascarpone then puree until smooth.

Return to dutch oven and simmer over medium heat until warm. Add salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar to taste. Garnish with fresh cilantro.

Wine Selection:

Espuela Del Gaucho, Malbec, 2009

86 Points – Wine Enthusiast, Dec. 2010

Deep red juice with purple & brown hues, narrow ring. Plum & cherry on the nose, desert flora, vanilla & spice, cassis, distant mineral; seems a little tight. Good juice, prune & cherry with a pleasant raisiny bitter chocolate character on the back of the tongue. Tannins are silky if minimal; short but tasty dusty mineral finish.