1080: Cauliflower Pie. Oh yeah.

I like funky savory pies -- crawfish pie, tomato pie, shepherd's pie, and the like -- so when I found a recipe for Cauliflower Pie in 1080 I knew what had to happen. When I first saw the recipe I pictured a deep, crusted pie full of whole cauliflower flowerets, a rich creamy sauce, and a few bites of chunky carrots. I suppose I pulled my idea from a chicken pot pie minus the bird, but the actuality is much more satisfying than my imagined dish. It's light, creamy, and full of air. Imagine a savory flan than melts into buttery polenta and you're getting close.

Before we get into the recipe, a little information regarding how to choose fresh cauliflower is in order. When selecting cauliflower, for this dish or any other, look for a head with green leaves still attached. The leaves are not eaten but their presence is a good indicator of the vegetable's freshness. Look for cauliflower that is crisp, very white, and has tightly clustered florets.

Cauliflower Pie

ingredients:

1 cauliflower, about 1 1/2 lbs, separated into florets

juice of 1/2 lemon

2 1/4 cups milk, plus a little to cook the cauliflower

2 1/2 Tbsp butter, plus extra for greasing

2 Tbsp sunflower oil

3 Tbsp all-purpose flour

pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

4 eggs

scant 1 cup grated gruyere

salt

*NOTE: When cooked, cauliflower releases magnesium and potassium, causing an unpleasant smell. To counteract this add a couple of bay leaves to the water. A tablespoon of milk will also lessen the smell.

Rinse the cauliflower florets in cold water mixed with the juice of 1/2 lemon. Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil. Add the florets and a little milk and cook, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, until tender.

Drain well, then refresh under cold running water. Pour onto a clean dishtowel to drain once more. Transfer to a bowl and mash with a fork.

(At this point you could just add a little butter, salt, and pepper and serve the mashed cauliflower as a side dish. It has a similar taste to mashed potatoes without all the starchiness. I'm a big fan.)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a tart pan with butter. Melt the remaining butter with the oil in a pan. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Gradually stir in the milk, a little at a time. Add the nutmeg, season with salt, and cook, stirring constantly, for 8 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Beat two of the eggs, then beat them into the bechamel sauce. Repeat with the remaining eggs. Stir in the gruyere and when thoroughly incorporated, add the cauliflower.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and place the tin in a roasting pan. (I didn't have a roasting pan that was large enough so I used a cookie sheet with a high lip. Don't skip this step. The water bath ensures even cooking throughout the pie.)

Pour in boiling water to come about halfway up the sides of the roasting pan and bake for about 1 hour, until set. The pie should be firm and golden on top.

To serve, run a round-bladed knife around the edge of the tart pan and turn the pie out onto a round serving dish.

Serve immediately.  (I plopped a little parsley on top just for kicks.)

My pie turned out beautifully. It easily slid out of the pan and held its form with no trouble. It's simplicity and the pale color reminded me of a goat cheese tart that I made earlier in the year. The goat cheese tart held its shape perfectly when sliced and looked lovely on a plate, though it did lack in flavor. I suppose I expected this pie to behave in the same ladylike manner so imagine my surprise when it collapsed upon slicing! I found it impossible to cut a pretty piece from the pie.

By the time a piece made it to a plate it had lost its shape completely and resembled a serving of grits or polenta. The texture followed suit. It's very creamy and rich because of the milk and gruyere, but the texture isn't quite as smooth as I expected, and I'm glad. It's much more interesting with a little grit.

I could not stop eating it. Seriously. I devoured this pie with very little help from anyone else. How can I possibly explain how luxurious this pie was? I had a couple servings the night I made it and enjoyed it tremendously then stuck in the fridge. Over the next few days I somehow managed to forget how sumptuous it truly is. Lucky me! I was blown over again when I reheated a little in a bowl with a sprinkling of sea salt, and after that it was all over. I consumed the remaining pie in ten minutes flat. I know this baby looks plain jane, but it packs a mean, buttery punch.

The recipe suggests pouring homemade tomato sauce on top of the cauliflower pie, but I think that would be overkill. This pie shines on its own. If I poured anything on top I think it would be pesto or something equally fresh, but it's probably best to just leave it as is. I'm still a little surprised by how much I loved this recipe. It spoke to my love of all things salty, starchy, and creamy. If you like cauliflower at all (or butter, or gruyere, or deliciousness...) try this.

1080: Green Beans in Vinaigrette

One reason I like this month's cookbook club pick is because of the many and varied recipes for vegetables.  A number of vegetables have entire sections devoted to them which include information on the origin and season of the vegetable, selection, nutrition, a basic how-to-cook, and tricks particular to the vegetable.  I love that sort of thing.  I really do want to know how to glaze shallots, tricks for peeling carrots, and why the ancient Egyptians and Greeks loved fennel.  That's good stuff!

So, when I wanted a fresh, vegetable side dish I turned to this book and found Green Beans in Vinaigrette.  This recipe is as simple as the title suggests, and it's just bursting with freshness.  I served the beans as an accompaniment for dinner one night and sandwiches the next day for lunch.  Again, this is very simple but also very satisfying.   This recipe makes a lot so either half it, plan on having a crowd over, or take it along on a picnic to share. 

Green Beans in Vinaigrette

ingredients:

3 1/4 lbs fresh green beans, trimmed

2 Tbsp white-wine vinegar

6 Tbsp sunflower oil (extra virgin olive oil can be substituted)

1 Tbsp chopped shallot

1 tsp chopped fresh parsley

2 large firm tomatoes, sliced

salt

Fresh green beans are so lovely.  

If the beans are large, cut them into smaller pieces.  Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil.  Add the beans, bring back to boil, and cook, uncovered for 10 - 12 minutes, until tender, then refresh in cold water.  

Drain immediately and pat dry.  

Make a vinaigrette by combining the vinegar, oil, and salt and whisking vigorously.  

Put the beans in a serving dish and sprinkle with the chopped shallot and parsley.  Pour the vinaigrette over the beans and toss to mix.  Lightly season the tomato slices and use to garnish the beans.

I made a couple of slight modifications, per usual.  I was out of white-wine vinegar so I substituted champagne vinegar, which was lovely.  I also decided to chop the tomatoes and add them to the green beans so they were more incorporated.  Delicious.

1080, Take One: Salmon Medallions Cooked in Egg and Bread Crumbs

Recipe modification. We all do it, and there's no shame in that. However, it is important to remember that it isn't the recipe's fault when a modified version flops. In this case it didn't flop, not even a little bit. It was actually very good. It just lost a piece of its soul. Rather than following the recipe to the letter and deep-frying the salmon like it said I made the healthier choice.

Boy, if I have a pet peeve about cooking it's when someone modifies a recipe then complains that the food isn't any good because the recipe was bad. I know one person in particular who regularly substitutes skim milk for heavy cream, omits butter, uses fat-free versions of anything she can get her hands on, and leaves out any ingredients that she hasn't heard of. Needless to say, her food isn't very good, and I often bite my tongue when she blames the recipe for the failure. Don't worry, I'm not going to do that. Like I said, it wasn't bad, just lacking in depth.

Here's the deal. Last night I chose a recipe from 1080 Recipes (this month's Cookbook Club pick!) and prepared it for dinner. After some consideration I chose Salmon Medallions Cooked in Egg and Bread Crumbs. Charlie very sweetly offered to run by the grocery store on his way home from work (an offer I took him up on) and brought home a lovely piece of salmon along with the other needed ingredients. Then I read the recipe. Hmm...what's wrong with this story? If this story was drawn out in steps, printed on cards, then placed before a child for sequencing, a smart child would put "Read the recipe" before "Send husband to the store for ingredients". In this story the smart child outsmarts the lady.

After reading the recipe I learned that the salmon medallions should be deep-fried, and I wasn't up for that. I didn't want to smell up the kitchen, and I didn't want to eat deep fried food, so I modified. I pan-fried, and I (probably) killed the thing that makes this dish special. Like I said, it was still very good. Charlie really enjoyed the sauce (creamy and tart -- very nice), and I found the pan-fried salmon paired nicely with the mushrooms. I'd really never considered breading and frying salmon in any way, and it was tasty.

Salmon Medallions Cooked in Egg and Bread Crumbs

*modified from a recipe in 1080 Recipes

ingredients:

8 oz mushrooms (I used baby bella)

2 Tbsp butter

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 egg

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup bread crumbs

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1/2 lb salmon fillets, skinned

3/4 cup light cream

salt

*NOTE: The original recipe serves six. In addition to changing the preparation of the salmon, I also modified the recipe to serve 2.

Put the mushrooms, butter, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt into a pan and cook over medium heat, shaking the pan occasionally, for 6 minutes.

Remove from the heat and keep warm. Beat the egg in a shallow dish, pour the flour into another shallow dish, and pour the bread crumbs into a third. Heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat until the oil shimmers and a cube of day-old bread browns in 30 seconds. (At this point you may choose to heat 4 cups of sunflower oil in place of the olive oil in order to deep-fry the salmon.)

Cut the salmon fillets into medallions and season with salt.

Coat first in the flour, then in the beaten egg, and finally in the bread crumbs.

Add the fish to the hot oil, in batches, and cook until golden brown.

Remove from oil and keep warm in a serving dish while you cook the remaining fish. Return the pan of mushrooms to low heat, gradually stir in the cream, and heat gently but do not let boil.

Pour the mushroom sauce over the salmon and serve immediately.

It was better served over soft basmati rice. The rice absorbed the sauce and tamed its acidic qualities. Steamed broccoli also made a nice accompaniment.

Don't get me wrong! It was good! It's just that I think I removed a tiny piece of its midnight-dinner-before-the-club, deep-fried, tapas-loving soul. So, I have this to say. Make this dish. Make it any way you like. But, if you want it to speak to you, deep fry the damn fish.

Cookbook Club - review and new pick

Charlie and I spent last weekend in New York traipsing around the city and joining friends for a wedding celebration.  We had a glorious time and enjoyed delicious food that ran the gamut from French bistro fare at Les Halles to oversized slices of street corner pizza in the village.  In between we also had Asian fusion at Shi in Long Island City, moussaka and octopus salad at Opa Souvlaki, peach and pistachio gelato in Little Italy, and the most decadent tri-chocolate mousse you can imagine at French Roast.  We're talking about going back this fall, and when we do I'm going to eat my way through the whole city.  

Here are a few food-related pictures from the trip.

Opa Souvlaki's outdoor dining area

Greasy New York pizza -- a perfect dinner

Candlelit tri-chocolate mousse

And now for a cookbook review.  Last month's Cookbook Club pick was Martha Stewart's Cooking School: Lessons and Recipes for the Home Cook.  My book club picked this because we believed it would be accessible for everyone in the group and would offer inspiration for weeknight dinners.  That didn't work out quite as planned.  While this is certainly a worthwhile volume for a cookbook collection it did not serve me well as a go-to for inspiration.  Instead it offers a wealth of information on technique, including full-color step-by-step photographs for a number of operations.  So, while I'm glad to own this cookbook, I don't think it's the best cookbook club pick we could have made.  I give the cookbook itself four stars, but as a cookbook club pick it gets only three.  Some of the dishes I cooked from this cookbook include: profiteroles, spatchcocked chicken, and herbed rosti with wild mushrooms.  Charlie also tried out the chocolate cupcakes, buttercream frosting, and french fries.  The profiterole recipe is definitely a keeper, and I'm sure I'll try a few other things from this book in the coming months.

 

I'm super excited about this month's pick, 1080 Recipes by Simone and Ines Ortega.   It's a collection of Spanish recipes and includes the loveliest hand-drawn illustrations.  Dozens of ingredients are spotlighted and include information regarding seasonality, proper storage, and suggested food pairings.  This book is a monster and, I believe, has a little something for everyone.  I've already enjoyed flipping through and bookmarking a handful of recipes.  Last night I cooked a little something out of the new pick, and it was interesting and tasty with a twist I wouldn't have come up with on my own.  I love it when that happens.  :)  I have a feeling this one's going to really going to be spot-on for a cookbook club pick.  

A Few Changes and Updates

Right now I'm tinkering with my blog a little.  I've changed the name from Yes, But Can She Cook to Banging on Pots and Pans.  There was some confusion over the difference between the title and the URL so I decided to just make things simple and switch over.  So, Banging On Pots and Pans it is!  

Also, you might notice that I've added a drop-down list of recipes.  I'm really in love with this feature, and I'm excited to watch it grow as I blog more and more!   If anyone has any suggestions as to how I can improve the drop-down list (such as other categories I should add) please send me an email or leave a comment.  I'm completely open to and would, in fact, love to hear suggestions from you!

Finally, I'm working on adding a new feature that I think I'll call Currently Cooking With that features three or four cookbooks and/or cooking gadgets that I really like.  My cookbook club's Cookbook Of the Month will always be featured so you can join virtually if you like.  These picks will be linked to amazon.com in case you would like to purchase them yourself.  :)  

Again, any feedback would be great!   Hopefully these small changes will make my site a little easier to navigate and a little more fun to explore.  

Spatchcocking a Chicken or How to Crash and Burn

This week's theme for girls night was Grills Gone Wild!  Yes, that's right. My friend Gabi had everyone over, and we grilled out on her rooftop swimming pool deck that overlooks the city. It was beautiful!

I decided to take a brined spatchcocked chicken to grill and checked this month's cookbook club pick (Martha Stewart's Cooking School) for instruction.  Brining sounded difficult but proved to be very simple.  Preparing the chicken (I refuse to say dispatching the cock, which is technically accurate) was also a snap.  Everything went super well until I got to the actual grilling part.  I'm a lousy griller.  I can use my indoor grill pan like a pro, but real grills freak me out, and I never feel confident using them.  In this case I was reminded of why I should not be confident when grilling. 

But...back to brining.  Brining is done to keep the chicken juicy and tender.   A very simple brine can be made of only salt, sugar, and water, and that will work, but what not spice it up a little?  I used the brine suggested by M.S. and was not disappointed.

For brine:

finely grated zest of one orange

finely grated zest of one lemon

3 Tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup coarse salt

2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns

2 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled

4 cups water

4 cups ice cubes

Place all ingredients except ice cubes in a large stock pot and heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar and salt have completely dissolved.  Remove from heat, add ice cubes, and stir until completely cooled.  

 

Not a beautiful picture but that's what it looks like!  Also, it smells pretty great.  If you can handle that then you can brine.  Now you need a spatchcocked chicken.

How to spatchcock a chicken:

Place the chicken on a clean work surface, breast side down.  Use kitchen shears (make sure they're sharp!) to cut along both sides of the backbone and remove it.

Flip the chicken over and press firmly to flatten.  

And...that's it.  So far everything was going really well.  I had brine.  I had a spatchcocked chicken.  Great!  Let's keep going.

As directed, I submerged the chicken in the brine, breast side down.  The chicken should stay in the brine for at least one hour but no more than three.  Any less than an hour and it won't have enough time to do its thing.  Any longer than three and the texture of the chicken can become unpleasant.  I put the brine and the chicken in a portable container and set out for Gabi's beautiful apartment.  Once there we heated up the grill and plopped it on, breast side down.  I then drizzled a citrus glaze (1/4 cup honey, 3 Tbsp orange juice, 3 Tbsp lemon juice beat together) on top.  It smelled great!

A few minutes later I opened the grill to check on it and...

it was sort of on fire.  Bummer.  This picture was taken after we put out the fire and flipped it over.

So, after flipping it we closed the grill top again and waited another 20 minutes.  The grill hissed a little as the glaze dripped off the chicken, but after a few minutes it was silent.  Of course I didn't notice that it wasn't making any sound because I was gabbing with my friends.  The twenty minutes passed, and I checked on the chicken only to discover that the grill was no longer on because somewhere along the line it ran out of fuel.  

I have no idea how to change the gas tank on a grill, and, frankly, I don't care to learn.  Fortunately, there were other people around who do know how to do those sorts of things and ten minutes later we were back in business.  I had no idea how long the grill worked before running out of fuel so I decided to cook the chicken for another ten minutes and call it a day.

After ten minutes I took it off and cut into the brined, glazed, spatchcocked, blackened chicken to make sure it was cooked through.  Of course by now the sun had set and I had only the light of a tea light candle and the warm glow of my iPhone.   It looked like it was probably cooked.  Maybe.  Really, I have no idea.  

The girls discussed and decided it was probably cooked.  We cut it up, passed it around, and everyone marveled at how tender and juicy it was.  Everyone agreed that it had been on the grill for awhile and it was probably fully cooked.  Surely it was so tender because of that wonderful brine!   

It did have a nice flavor, and no one got sick so I must assume I did alright.  Still, not exactly a success story.

There's nothing quite like thinking you might be serving your friends raw chicken.  I really need to work on this grilling-out thing.

Profiteroles

Keeping with the cookbook club plan, I decided to make profiteroles last weekend.  Profiteroles are nothing more than cream puffs.  I just like the slightly fancier name.  :)  

This was not a particularly difficult undertaking, but it did take several hours to make the cream puffs.  Also, the mastery of a few (simple) techniques is necessary to make it a smooth and enjoyable process.  It was definitely worth all of the trouble.  I ended up with beautiful puffs full of a satiny, not-too-sweet vanilla cream. 

Before even thinking about the pastry, pastry cream must be made.  Pastry cream can be used in a variety of confections including eclairs, napoleons, and cream pies.  I'm sorry to say it's also delicious on it's own, and I couldn't keep my fingers out of it.

Pastry Cream

ingredients:

2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped

pinch of salt

3 large egg yolks

3 Tbsp plus 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Bring the milk, 1/4 cup sugar, vanilla seeds, and salt to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat, whisking to disperse seeds.

Whisk egg yolks and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a medium bowl.  Whisk in cornstarch, 1 Tablespoon at a time.  

 

Ladle 1/2 cup hot-milk mixture into yolk mixture, whisking.  Add remaining milk mixture, 1/2 cup at a time.  This process is called tempering and is very important.  If you simply add the eggs to the warm liquid they will curdle, and you will have to start over.  By slowly adding the warm liquid to the eggs and whisking constantly you will end up with a smooth mixture with no lumps.

Pour mixture into pan, and heat over medium-high, whisking constantly, until mixture comes to a full boil and is thick enough to hold its shape when lifted with a spoon, about 2 minutes.  

Stir in butter and vanilla extract.  Remove from heat and pour mixture into a bowl; place plastic wrap directly on surface to prevent a skin from forming.  Refrigerate until cold, at least two hours (or up to two days).

I, being me, forgot to make sure I had enough cornstarch before I was halfway through the recipe.  Rookie mistake!  I had approximately 2 Tbsp of cornstarch, and I used all-purpose flour to make up the rest.  It's the starch that's important so this will work, but it's much easier to deal with cornstarch and it produces a much silkier texture.  Just the same, if you end up in a similar predicament you can use all-purpose flour, but you must take extra care with the whisking. 

Let me repeat one thing: pastry cream is delicious on its own!  Make this while others are around, or you may find yourself licking the bowl.  Consider yourself warned!

So, now you have the pastry cream, and it's time to work on the actual profiteroles!  This is where the fun really begins because cream puffs are made of pate a choux.  Pate a choux refers to a type of dough that is cooked on the stove.  When baked, it puffs up and creates a little pocket inside which is ideal for filling with cream, chocolate, or any number of other yummy, gooey things.  It's a lot of fun to work with and isn't to make as it at first appears.

Cream Puffs

ingredients:

1 cup water

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 tsp granulated sugar

1/2 tsp table salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

4 to 5 large eggs

1 large egg

1 Tbsp water

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 recipe pastry cream (see above)

confectioners' sugar (optional)

*Note the breaks between the ingredients.  The first set will be be used for the pate a choux.  The remaining ingredients will be used for the rest of the recipe.

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with nonstick baking mats (such as Silpat).

Combine the water, butter, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  Bring to a boil, and immediately remove from heat.  

Using a wooden spoon, stir in the flour. 

When flour is combined, return to heat.  Dry the mixture by stirring constantly over heat until it pulls away from the sides and a film forms on the bottom of the pan, about 4 minutes, maybe a little less.  (At this stage it reminds me of homemade playdough.)

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed, about 2 minutes, until slightly cooled.  

Add eggs, one at a time, on medium speed, letting each one incorporate completely before adding the next.  Test the batter by touching it with a flexible spatula or your finger, then lifting.  It should form a string.  If the string does not form, lightly beat the last egg and add it, a teaspoon at a time, until the batter is smooth and shiny.  If you have added all the egg and the batter still doesn't form a string, add water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until it does.

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain round 3/4-inch tip with pate a choux, and pipe 1 1/2 inch rounds onto baking sheets.  

**NOTE: I hate using pastry bags.  They are such a pain to clean, and I don't really use them often enough for it to matter if I keep one around.  Instead, I use a gallon ziplock bag.  Just snip off the corner and fit the coupler and pastry tip on the end just as you would with a pastry bag.  Then when you're finished just toss the ziplock in the trash.  Be sure to save the coupler and pastry tip!  

Beat together egg and the water; use your fingertips to rub egg wash over entire surface, being careful not to let it drip onto the baking sheet, and flatten tips.

Cover one sheet with lightly oiled plastic wrap, and place in refrigerator.  Bake the other sheet 15 minutes; reduce the oven heat to 350 degrees F.  Bake about 20 minutes more, or until puffs are golden brown.  

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Return oven heat to 400 degrees F, and repeat process for remaining batch.

Whip heavy cream to medium peaks in a small bowl.  Stir pastry cream to soften.  Add whipped cream to pastry cream in two batches, folding to combine after each.  

Fill a pastry bag (or ziplock!) fitted with a coupler and plain round tip.  Insert tip into the underside of each cream puff, and fill.  (I found that when I filled the pastries from the bottom they leaked a little so after a few puffs I began filling them from the side.  It creates a slightly more rugged look, but they are easier to manage, and they still look great!)

 Cool completely before dusting with confectioners' sugar, as desired.

Store any leftover (ha!) cream puffs in the refrigerator.

Voila!  Homemade profiteroles!  I just loved making these, and I was very pleased with the finished result.  I served them with brunch, and they looked lovely piled on a cake stand in the center of the table.  And they taste so good!