Apple Cranberry Skillet Tart

This one was inspired by a Sunset Magazine (Dec 2012) recipe for pear and cranberry slow cooker pudding cake.  I  adapted it quite a bit as it happens, and took it untested to a dinner party where the skillet was literally wiped clean, and five people asked for the recipe.  

Because it was originally intended to be a tart tatin of sorts, I made it with the intention of flipping it over to serve, but when I put the pastry-cakey topping on and realized I didn't have enough, I just made a circle with it around the edges to let the center of the tart exposed to then serve it as is.   If going this route, just make sure place the apple pieces that will be exposed in a pretty pattern.  Alternatively, double up the cake portions to make enough of a full covering so that yo can then invert the tart out of the oven to make it into a tatin style dessert.  Note too, you can make this in any tart pie dish (ideally one that springs free from the sides) or skip the cakey part and just use puff pastry.

• 4 large or 6 medium apples, peeled, cored and sliced (I used fuji's but any kind that can hood up to baking can do. Here's a good overview of what apples are good for cooking)
• 1/2 cup cranberries
• 6-8 tbl spoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup raw cane sugar

for the topping

1 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

5-6 tblsp unsalted butter, cold and cut into small squared or better yet, pop in freezer for 30 mins, then grate.

1 cup milk

cinnamon pinch

orange zest (optional, but it does make a difference!)

Preheat oven to 375. Make the topping by combining dry ingredients in a bowl. drop the butter pieces and rub it into the flour with your hands until little "crumbs' form and the butter is evenly incorporated.  Add organic zest and cinnamon, mix well. Add the milk and vigourously stir to blend it well.

in iron skillet melt the butter over medium heat, don;t let it brown. Add the sugar and over medium-low heat stir the sugar in and let cook through to a bubbly point. Take off heat.  Start placing the apple slices in concentric circles around the edge of the pan and work in rows towards center. it's OK to have the slices slightly overlap each other.  Sprinkle the cranberries around the apples and sprinkle more sugar if desired.  Pour the cake mixture on top-it'll be stiff, so it's OK to plop in spoons and gently spread it around. Start on outside edges first and work towards center if deciding to just make the version that stays in the pan.

Pop in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until cake cooks through to toasted brown. depending on your oven's temperament, this could even be 40 minutes. just keep an eye on it.

Remove from oven and if flipping it to a tatin, let it cool for 1-15 minutes so that the caramel sets a bits, but doesn't get cold enough that it sticks to the pan. place a plate over the top of skillet or tart baking dish, carefully flip over and peek slowly under the plate to gauge how easily it is coming off the baking pan. If reluctant, slide a knife through to help it along. note: if planning to invert, best to use a spring form pan or tart dish with bottom that removes.

Serve with whipped or pouring cream.

Zucchini cakes and tomato dipping sauce

Love zucchini, but the bumper crop in my garden had me struggling what to do with it all without getting sick of eating it daily. Enter these cakes inspired by a recipe from Paula Dean's repertoire, and who , admittedly, needed much adapting for my tastes as she seems to put a stick of butter in everything and uses lots of store bought pre-made ingredients. Yuck.

• 3-4 medium zucchinis
• 1 cup bread crumbs-ideally used home made
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan or Romano cheese
• 1/3 cup finely chopped onion or minced shallot
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• fresh tarragon or dill, or both. Or oregano. Whatever fresh herb you like and/or have handy. Used dried if you must.
• sea salt to taste
• good twists of ground black pepper mill
•  frying oil. I sued Safflower but Canola would work as would olive oil but it may be a heavy flavor.

Grate zucchini leave in a colander over a bowl to collect the water for a few hours or overnight. I also put a heavy stone on top to squeeze it out, or you can just press it down. Don't be shy.

In a medium bowl, combine the zucchini with the rest of the ingredients. Shape mixture into patties, not too thick as you want to make sure they cook through, about one inch thick tops.
In a medium pan, add the the cooking oil to be about 3/4 of the way up the thickness of your cakes.  Heat to  medium high heat, you don;t want the outside to brown too quickly leaving the inside uncooked. Cook 3 to 4 minutes per side or until browned. Remove with slotted spoon and let drain on paper towel.
Serve with tomato dipping sauce, or a yoghurt/sour cream mint sauce.

Fava bean, green beans and mint salad

With fava beans in season, we get carried away with buying pounds and pounds of the stuff.  Normally, I steam them and just serve with cow-parsnip seeds sprinkled on top. But this go round I was inspired by the mint and parsley in my garden.

Fresh fava beans-shelled
green beans-cut into 1" pieces
fresh mint leaves
fresh parsley
chopped red onion or shallot
lemon juice (1 or  lemons to taste or depending on quantity. I use just 1 for 3 portions of salad)
garlic (chopped)
cumin seeds, toasted and ground
salt
olive oil
pecorino cheese grated (optional)

Shell the fava bans and steam over low heat until tender but still firm (about 20 minutes) with the lid on. In the last five minutes of the fave beans' cooking, add green beans to steam. If the beans are tasting close to done (still crisp), I like to turn off the heat and let the remaining heat of the water finish off the cooking.  Once the fava beans are cooled, you can peel the outer skin (it is tough and bitter tasting to me.)

Chop the leaves. In a bowl prepare the dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, cumin seeds, salt.  blend well with a small whisk.  Toss and mix with the beans, incorporate the leaves. Just before serving, sprinkle pecorino cheese.

Organic Red Cabbage Kimchi

Planning what to bring for the 1st San Francisco Swappers Food Swap, I wanted to make something familiar but with a twist. I was tempted to make my crowd pleasing pickles, but figured there would be a slew of pickle variations, so went for kimchi, a long favourite of mine since living in Korea a lifetime ago.  This go round, I opted for Red Cabbage vs. the traditional Napa Cabbage...never tried it before, so we'll see how it goes and if I actually have the courage to take it along next weekend!

As with all my recipes, measurements are rough and to taste, so have at it!

• Cabbage: traditionals use Napa cabbage, I used organic red cabbage. Cut into rough 2" pieces and smaller (knowing it needed to fit into the mouth of glass jars)
• Salt-lots of it. I used Korean sea salt from the Korean store (which abound in Oakland), but kosher, or even regular supermarket salt would work
• Red chile pepper powder-do not use the kind you over pour in pizza places!! They sell it in skads in Korean or Asian markets-that is, more finely ground, no seeds.
• Garlic cloves-lots of it
• Ginger-fresh, I used about 3" piece for 2 whole cabbage heads, but it's to your taste, just make sure it doesn't overpower the flavour of the paste
• Fish Sauce-about 1/3 cup but eye-balled it for the paste to make sure it was the right viscosity to macerate the cabbage in. Not too thick, not too runny. Juuuuust right.
• 1 Onion: I used red onions
• Spring onion or wild garlic. To colour and flavour a wee bit. I used 2 wild garlics and 3 spring onions (what I had in the fridge). Chopped into 1/4" pieces

Put the cut cabbage into a large bowl of heavily salted tepid water. Let soak, covered for minimum few hours to overnight. Because red cabbage is sturdier, I soaked overnight.  Rinse at least 3 times with clean water.

In a blender or food processor, put the chili powder, fish sauce, garlic cloves, ginger and onion. Blend well, adding fish sauce if needed to make it a loose paste-like wall paper or henna.

Poor the paste over the cabbage, toss in the chopped spring onion, and really work it into the cabbage until it is all coated and lathered in it. Put into cleaned, sterilized* glass jars with tops. Leave it for a week before serving. It will last even up to a year!  You can serve it up with a dash of sesame seeds, or make a kimchi soup with it.

* sterilize using large metal pot with a few inches of water, put jars in a metal steamer, colander, or  a strainer attachment. Cover and let water boil and steam the jars and lids for 15 minutes.

Baked fish with potatoes and onions

Super easy is one way to describe this. Delicious is another. I have very strong and fond memories of my mum making this when we lived in Puerto Rico when I was a child.  I heard a friend of mine who does not like fish, utter a soft "mmmmmm" when she ate this.

1-2 Potatoes (any at hand, I used Yukon) cut into rounds
Fish: white fish is best such as cod or sea bass, but use what is fresh and what you like. Cut the fish into the serving sizes. This is a great way to make a clean, de-boned side of fish go further too by cutting across and then in half.
1-2 yellow onions (red would work too) sliced into rounds
Bay leaf for each piece of fish being prepared
Optional: Tomato, sliced. Make sure at least one slice per serving

Pre-heat oven to 375. Butter a pyrex or ceramic baking dish. Line the bottom with potato rounds. Loosely scatter the onion rounds over the potatoes. If using tomato slices, layer them next. Place a bay leaf per fish piece on top. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Place each piece of fish on top. Salt again lightly. Drizzle with olive oil. Whack in oven for 20-25 minutes until fish is cooked or even starting to brown on top.  Potatoes should be cooked through from the moisture of the onion, tomato and fish juices being absorbed in.  Serve with salad or other veggies such as beans or peas.

You can be inventive with this dish: sprinkle fresh herbs such as oregano, chives, sage in the layers of potato and onion. You can add a dash of stock or milk to add flavour into the potatoes that will absorb the liquid. Or you can go balls out and make a bechamel sauce enough to just cover the potato layer.

Mushroom ragu with kick

I am actually not a fan of mushrooms, unless someone else prepares them. I just don't seem to have the knack to cook them well it seems, unless on a BBQ grill.  That is, until I turned my imagination to create this recipe which goes well with fresh pasta, I prefer tagliatelle, but knock yourself out with your preferred pasta shape.

4-5 tomatoes (I vary depending on what is fresh, Roma's are good)
olive oil
4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
2-3 onions chopped coursely (red or yellow)
2 bay leaves
1 large sweet red pepper
2 red chili peppers
1 lb mushrooms  chopped ( I use a variety of them, but one variety works too, though try to avoid boring buttom mushrooms. I find them lacking in flavour.)
1-2 Tblps chipotle pepper (the sauce of the can) or smoked pepper flakes (optional)
1 cup red wine (any kind)
Feta cheese (optional)
salt to taste

Boil water i a sauc epan. When boiled, drop the tomatoes in and let blanch for 2 minutes (until you see the skins pucker). Drain and let cool down a bit to handle. Slip off the skins and with a potato masher in a bowl, roughly mash them into a course sauce.

In a sauce pan, heat olive oil and when hot add the onions. Lower heat and let the onions sweat until they are almost caramelized. Add the sweet red pepper, garlic and chile peppers.  Cook through stirring and until they start to reduce and thicken. Add the mushrooms and bay leaves, cooking through until starting to reduce and thicken.Add the tomatoes and chipotle pepper sauce, cook to reduce. Add the red wine and continue cooking over  a low heat until well thickened.  Optional: add broken bits of feta to add texture, colour and flavour. If using feta, taste first before adding more salt.

I find sauces, soups and stews taste better the next day or two, so this is good to prepare in advance. Re-heat and toss in cooked pasta to coat

Variation: at the point when you have the onion and red pepper base, you can add chopped bacon to add flavour.

Chupe-my take on it

Freshly back from my trip to Peru and the cold snap here in the Bay Area prompted my making this soup.  It takes great just made, but for optimal flavour, make it one or two days before serving to let the flavours get to know each other and harmonize.

Fish stock:
I keep fish heads and shrimp shells from cooking other dishes in my freezer until it is time to make a stock.  In a large soup pot submerge the fish bones, shells etc with water. Toss in celery, pepeprcorns, onion, bay leaf and simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes.  Drain and set aside.  Hopefully there are 4-5 cups of stock. If not don;t worry-we will use water to top up the liquid.



3 yellow potatoes diced or cut into rounds if on the smaller side (i.e if using fingerling potatoes)  I leave the skins on but you can peel them.
1 onion diced
1/2 cup rice
3 yellow peppers finely chopped 
3 tblspns of tomato paste or freshly blanched tomatoes, skinned
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon orégano
1 rocoto pepper, seeded and finely chopped or 2-3 red chili peppers
2-3 juiced lemons and a few strips of their zest
2-3 cloves garlic. if you like garlic, pile it on!
Seafood: clams, mussels, bay scallops, jumbo shrimp-any kind and size and combination that floats your boat


In a soup pot slowly sweat the chopped onion and then add the yellow pepper. Cook over a low heat to allow the pepper to soften and almost melt turning the mix yellow. Add the tomato paste and paprika giving it a good stir and a minute or two to blend.  Toss in oregano, chili pepper, lemon zest and garlic, cook until garlic glistens. Add the fish stock and potatoes, let simmer for 30 minutes or longer.  It should be a bright yellow soup base.   If yo are cooking a few days ahead, leave it at this stage and resume the rest on the day.  Resume by adding the lemon juice & shellfish and simmer until cooked.  It;s ready to serve but also note that in Peru they add whole egg yolks and milk at this stage, which yo can too if you want to be more authentic.


Disfrute!