We had several non cooking classes after our class on Pasta. We were very lucky to have Ronna Kabatznick, the author of The Zen of Eating come and conduct a class. Ronna took us through the stages of mindful eating and posed some interesting questions for us to explore about our relationship with food. The next class was conducted by Lulu Cook, the nutritionist for Bon Appetit Management Company, the dining services company at Mills. Lulu gave the students a comprehensive overview of solid nutrition. Lulu will be joining us again to give us tips on real life healthy eating.
After those two sessions we were back in the kitchen happily cooking again. When I surveyed my students prior to the class beginning about what they would like to learn to cook many of them wanted to learn how to roast a chicken, so that’s what we did. I provided them with an easy week night roast chicken recipe. Additionally we roasted many other items, both sweet and savory so that everyone could have an overview how to best use their oven to create a meal. If you’re going to turn it on, you might as well fill it up!
Following Roasting we had our Thanksgiving Side Dishes. I must say, this was one of my favorite classes because the students did all the work! We broke into groups with each group in charge of a recipe. The biggest hit was the Apple Pie in a Bag, followed by the Green Beans with Shallots. I’m hope some of these recipes become new family traditions.
Roasted Mushrooms with Orange Cumin Glaze
14 crimini mushrooms, stems removed
5 T Olive Oil
1-2 t ground cumin (to taste)
½ t salt
Zest and juice of one orange
Pepper to taste
Heat the oven to 500. Reserve the zest of the orange. Combine all remaining ingredients in a bowl to coat the mushrooms with orange juice and olive oil. Place the mushrooms in a pan and roast for 7 minutes, remove from the oven and stir the mushrooms so that they cook evenly and return to the oven for an additional five minutes. Add the orange zest and serve.
Serves 4-5 as a side dish
Whole Roast Tandoori Cauliflower with Mint Yogurt Sauce
1 head of cauliflower, washed with all the leaves removed and the stem trimmed
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 t minced ginger
1 T Tandoori paste
Juice of one lemon (you need two lemons total for the recipe)
1 t salt
½ C yogurt
1 T chopped cilantro
Juice from one lemon
Combine the garlic, ginger, Tandoori paste, lemon juice, salt and yogurt. Spread the yogurt mixture all over the cauliflower and cover and marinate at least one hour or up to 12 hours.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the cauliflower on the baking sheet. Roast for 45-60 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with chopped cilantro and squeeze the juice of a lemon over it. Serve with Mint Yogurt Sauce.
Serves 6 as a side dish or appetizer
Mint Yogurt Sauce
½ C yogurt
½ C chopped mint
½ C chopped cilantro
1 shallot minced
½ a chili, minced
1 T olive oil
Touch of honey
Salt to taste
Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl until well blended. Serve with roasted cauliflower.
Roasted Whole Trout with Fennel
4 boned trout
Salt and pepper
2 T olive oil
Juice of one lemon
2 bulbs fennel
1 T butter
1 T olive oil
Juice of one lemon
½ C white wine
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 500
Place the trout on a baking sheet, or large plate and season with salt and pepper. Combine olive oil and lemon juice and pour over the trout and allow to marinate while cooking the fennel.
For the fennel, remove the stems and stuff the stems into the trout cavity. Slice the fennel into thin slices. Place the butter and olive oil in the bottom of a pan large enough to cook the fennel and the trout. Place the sliced fennel in the pan and add the lemon juice, and white wine and season with salt and pepper. Place the fennel in the oven and cook 20 minutes, or until the fennel is just beginning to brown (this can go really fast if you’re oven is true to temp and your fennel slices are really thin, so keep an eye on it). Remove the fennel from the oven, place the trout over the fennel and return to the oven for about 15 minutes or until the trout is cooked.
Serves 4
Pan Seared Roast Salmon
4 salmon filet portions
2 T olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat the oven to 425. Rub the salmon fillet with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place a cast iron skillet over a high flame. When the pan is very, very hot place the salmon, flesh side down in the pan and cook until golden brown. Turn the salmon so the skin side is down and place the pan in the preheated oven. Roast 10-12 minutes (depends on the thickness of your fillet), Remove from the oven, allow to sit 10 minutes before serving.
If you are trying to do this in a non-stick pan sprinkle the salmon with just a touch of sugar, it helps the browning. If you don’t trust your cast iron skillet and think it might stick once the pan is hot add a touch of oil and swirl it around the pan before you add the salmon.
This technique works for any protein, fish, chicken, beef, pork, lamb. Start in a hot pan, bake, rest, serve.
Every Night Roast Chicken
1 chicken 3-4 pounds
Olive oil, or butter, or coconut oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Half a lemon, 1 bay leaf or a couple sprigs of herbs, garlic clove peeled, shallot (all optional)
2 C water or wine
Remove the chicken from the packaging and wipe it with a paper towel. Place a rack in a small roasting pan. Place the chicken on the rack, rub the chicken with olive oil (or butter or coconut oil) and season with salt and pepper. Let the chicken sit at room temperature for at least an hour (if you have the time, if you don’t, go ahead and cook it).
Heat the oven to 375. Place the water or wine in the roasting pan and carefully place the chicken in the oven. Depending on the size of the bird it will cook in an hour and a half or two hours. The chicken should be golden brown and if you pierce the thigh with a knife the juices should run clear. Allow to rest 10 minutes before serving. Serves 4.
Roasted Honey Vanilla Pears
4 Bosc pears
Zest and juice from 1 lemon
2 whole cloves
4 T butter melted
¼ C honey
½ C water
1 vanilla bean, cut in half lengthwise, seeds scraped out
Heat oven to 500.
Peel the pears, cut in half and core and stem. Brush the pears with lemon juice and place the pears in a glass or ceramic baking dish. In a small bowl combine the remaining lemon juice, zest, butter, honey, water and the seeds from the vanilla bean and mix to combine. Pour over the pears and place in the oven and roast 20-30 minutes basting he pears occasionally with the honey sauce. Serve warm or cold with ice cream.
Serves 4
Gluten Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars
1/2 cup Pumpkin puree (from a can)
2 Eggs
1 tbsp Olive oil
1/4 cup Blackstrap molasses
1-2 tsp Vanilla extract
½ C brown rice flour
½ C millet flour
1/4 cup Granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp Allspice
1/4 tsp Cloves
1/8 tsp Nutmeg
1/4 tsp Salt
1/3-1/2 cup Dark chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, eggs, oil, molasses, and vanilla until well combined.
In another smaller bowl, stir together the flours, sugar, baking powder, spices, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Pour into a greased 9 in pie pan or 9×9 in baking dish. Bake for 15-20 minutes. If a toothpick does not come out of the middle clean after 20 minutes, bake another 5-10 minutes until the middle is set.
Let cool completely before cutting and serving.
Makes 16-20 servings.
Fresh Green Bean Casserole with Shallots
2 pounds green beans, trimmed
3 T butter
3 shallots, peeled and sliced thin
1 ½ C heavy cream
1 t Dijon Mustard
Salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste
Bring a large pot of water to boil, once boiling add a about 1 T of salt to the water and add the green beans and cook 3-5 minutes or until they have turned a brilliant green. Strain the green beans and set aside.
Melt the butter in a medium skillet and sauté the shallots until they are a deep golden brown. Remove the shallots from the pan and discard extra butter in the pan. Place the cream in the pan and bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and simmer several minutes until the cream has thickened. Whisk in the mustard and season to taste with salt, pepper, and freshly grated nutmeg.
Combine the beans with the cream sauce and spoon into a lightly oiled baking dish, top with the fried shallots and place in a 350 oven about 10-15 minutes, just to heat through.
Serves 6
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
2 pounds Brussels, stems cut off, sprouts cut in half lengthwise
3 T coconut oil
3 T butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch sugar
2 T balsamic vinegar
Heat oven to 425
Place the prepped Brussels sprouts in a large bowl. Melt the coconut oil and butter and pour it over the Brussels sprouts. Season to taste with salt and pepper, add a pinch of sugar and the balsamic vinegar and toss to combine. Pour the contents of the bowl onto a baking sheet and place in the oven for about 25 minutes. How long it will take will depend on how young your Brussels sprouts are, the fresher they are the faster they will cook. About half way through the cooking use a spatula to move them around on the pan so that they cook evenly. Serve warm or room temperature.
Serves 6-8
Mashed Root Vegetables
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch pieces
2 large parsnips, peeled and cut into ½ inch pieces
2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 8ths.
4 T butter (or coconut oil or olive oil)
Salt and pepper to taste
3 T cream (optional)
Combine the sweet potatoes, parsnips, and apples in a large pot and cover with water, bring to a boil and boil until the sweet potatoes are tender (about 8-10 minutes). Once cooked drain the vegetables. Place the cooked vegetables in a large bowl, or return to the cooking pot and mash with a potato masher. Add butter, and season to taste with salt and pepper and mash until smooth (it’s ok for it to be a bit lumpy and rustic). Stir in cream if desired.
Serves 6-8
Mashed Potatoes
4 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 t salt
1 C room temperature or warm milk
½ C cream, room temperature or warm
4 T butter
A couple of pinches of freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Add the teaspoon of salt and bring the pot to a boil. Boil until the potatoes are soft, about 10 minutes. Drain the potatoes and return the potatoes to the cooking pot. Place the pot over a low heat and cook about 3-5 minutes to thoroughly dry the potatoes. If possible using a potato ricer, rice the potatoes, if you don’t have a ricer you can mash them, but a ricer will give you a much smoother finished product. Once riced or mashed add all the remaining ingredients and either whisk or stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the potatoes are smooth and fluffy.
Serves 6-8
