Ratatouille Tartine

"Ratatouille tartine" sounds fancy. But a tartine is just an open-faced sandwich. And ratatouille is a French dish of cooked vegetables.

Ratatouille usually includes eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, tomatoes, bell peppers, garlic and herbs. If there’s a “right” combination of vegetables and a “right” way to cook it (and given that ratatouille is French, I’m sure there is) then I don’t know what it is. I do know that almost any combination of vegetables piled on top of luscious ricotta cheese and crusty bread is going to be delicious.

I first made this in August. It was a perfect summer dish. Warm veggies on cool ricotta and grilled toasts.

I made it again last week. And now it feels like the perfect fall dish, with eggplants, zucchini, yellow squash and tomatoes all in season.

I'm guessing it's going to be just as good in the winter and spring.



Gather your vegetables. Grab whatever looks good.

Start chopping and sautéing. Cook a couple of vegetables at a time, so they have enough room to get tender and golden. Salt and pepper each vegetable as you cook it. I started with bell pepper and red onion.

As the veggies cook, put them into a large bowl.

Zucchini next.

Then yellow squash.

Finally, the eggplant. I like to do the eggplant by itself, to make sure it's completely tender.

Mix the cooked vegetables until they are well combined. Allow them to cool slightly.

To the mix of vegetables, add minced raw garlic and fresh thyme.

Then add uncooked tomatoes. Mix well and taste for salt and pepper.

In a separate bowl, mix ricotta cheese with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. This gives the ricotta more flavor. (And makes it so delicious you want to eat it straight from the bowl.)

Toast the bread or grill until it's light brown. Top with ricotta cheese and veggies. Enjoy!

 

Ratatouille Tartine

Recipe from The Garlic Press

olive oil

1 red bell pepper

1 red onion

1 zucchini

1 yellow squash

1 eggplant

1 tomato

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

1 pint whole milk ricotta cheese

salt

pepper

baguette or other crusty bread

1.    Chop the vegetables, all the same size. (A small dice gives you a nice combination of flavors in each bite.) You can chop all the vegetables at once, or chop as you cook.

2.    Put olive oil in a saute pan. Add one or two vegetables, then a little salt and pepper. Don't crowd the pan or the veggies will steam. Once each vegetable is golden brown and tender, add it to a large bowl.

3.    Continue until the bell pepper, red onion, zucchini, yellow squash and eggplant are cooked. Mix the vegetables together and allow them to cool slightly. Add the chopped raw tomatoes, minced raw garlic and fresh thyme leaves. Add salt and pepper if needed.

4.    In a separate bowl, mix ricotta cheese with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper.

5.    Toast the bread or grill until light brown. Top with ricotta cheese and vegetables.

Serves 6 to 8 as an appetizer or 4 for dinner.

The Best Banana Bread

This is it. The only recipe for banana bread you need. The only one you’ll ever make again. Dense. Moist. Banana Heaven. Go ahead and toss all your other banana bread recipes. 

Then go make this banana bread.  

Whisk together dry ingredients – flour, sugar, baking soda, salt.

Add walnuts and stir to incorporate them.

In a separate bowl, mash bananas. It’s important to use very ripe, darkly speckled bananas to get the best flavor.

To the bananas, add yogurt, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Mix well.

Fold the banana mixture into the flour.

Spread into a nonstick loaf pan.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the banana bread comes out clean.

Enjoy!

The Best Banana Bread

Adapted from Cook's Illustrated 

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (I use 1 cup all purpose flour and 1 cup white whole wheat flour)
3/4 cup granulated sugar (I like 2/3 cup, but my husband prefers it a little sweeter)
3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped (optional)
3 or 4 very ripe bananas, mashed well (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/3 cup plain yogurt
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
6 Tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

1.    Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a nonstick 9-by-5-inch loaf pan; set aside.

2.    Combine first five (flour through walnuts, if using) ingredients together in large bowl; set aside.

3.    Mix mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla with wooden spoon in medium bowl.

4.    Lightly fold banana mixture into dry ingredients with rubber spatula until just combined and batter looks thick and chunky. It might look at first like there is too much dry ingredients and not enough liquid, but don’t worry. It will come together, just keep folding gently but consistently.

5.    Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake until loaf is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 55 minutes to an hour. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then remove from pan and finish cooling on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes one 9 x 5 inch loaf.

Corn Muffins

Rachael of pizzarossa was our August 2012 Daring Cook hostess and she challenged us to broaden our knowledge of cornmeal! Rachael provided us with some amazing recipes and encouraged us to hunt down other cornmeal recipes that we’d never tried before – opening our eyes to literally 100s of cuisines and 1000s of new-to-us recipes!

Corn bread. Corn cakes. Polenta. Grits. I’ve made those. And yet, strangely enough, I’ve never made corn muffins from scratch.

This month’s challenge asked us to use cornmeal in a new way. Corn muffins certainly weren’t the most interesting or difficult recipe I could have chosen. But I wanted to try something that, if successful, I’d make again and again.

To boost my chances, I went with an Ina Garten recipe. The Barefoot Contessa rarely steers me wrong. And again, she had my back. The muffins were moist and tasty. Almost as easy to pull together as muffins from a mix. I will definitely make these again.

Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt.

In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, melted butter and eggs.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry.

Fill the baking cups with the batter.

And bake until the muffins are golden, with a crisp top.

Yes, that’s it. Oh, and enjoy.

Corn Muffins

Recipe by Ina Garten

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup medium cornmeal

2 tablespoons baking powder

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1/2 pound unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 extra-large eggs

1.    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

2.    In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the flour, sugar, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt.

3.    In a separate bowl, combine the milk, melted butter, and eggs. With the mixer on the lowest speed, pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and stir until they are just blended.

4.    Spoon the batter into the paper liners, filling each one to the top.

5.    Bake for 30 minutes, until the tops are crisp and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly and remove from the pan.

Makes 12 muffins

Shortcakes with Berries and Whipped Cream

  

When I was growing up, the 4th of July meant driving to the fairgrounds with my parents and sister. We'd join everyone else in town, patiently waiting as the car slowly snaked up Cranbury Road, to turn into the fields that were normally covered with kids in soccer jerseys and shin guards. We'd park in orderly rows, then lie down on the hoods of our cars, waiting for the sky to darken and the fireworks to begin.

These days my Independence Days are a little different. My son can't stand the loud sound of the fireworks. So instead of putting down a picnic blanket for the local show, we settle down to watch the fireworks on TV.

Last night we sat down with these berry shortcakes. Moist, crumbly shortcakes, juicy berries and lightly sweetened whipped cream. Red, white and blue. 


I really encourage you to try making the shortcakes from scratch. You can buy ready made at the grocery store, and they'll be fine. But I promise you'll be rewarded for the extra time and effort.

You can make the recipe in stages, like I did. Whip the cream and store it in the fridge for several hours. Make the shortcake dough and refrigerate until you're ready to bake it. Just don't combine the berries and sugar too early or you'll end up with mushy berries.

To make the whipped cream, combine cream, sugar and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl.

Whip together until the cream forms firm peaks. Put in the fridge for a up to several hours, until you're ready to use it.

For the shortcakes, cut butter into small pieces, then put it back in the fridge to keep it cold.

In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Whisk until well combined.

Add the butter pieces and toss to coat with flour.

With your fingers or a pastry cutter (I used a pastry cutter), cut and mix the butter into the dry ingredients. You'll have butter pieces that range from the size, bigger and smaller than the size of a pea. This is good.

Add cream to the bowl and combine with a fork until everything is moist and you've got a soft dough.

Now gently knead the dough with your hand, but don't handle it more than you need to. The dough should be soft and sticky. Mine wasn't, so I added an extra splash of heavy cream. If you're not going to bake the shortcakes right away, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge.

30 minutes before you want to eat, put your berries in a bowl and sprinkle with sugar. Use more or less depending on how sweet your berries are.

In half and hour you'll have a bowl of sweet, juicy berries.

When you're ready to bake the shortcakes, measure 1/3 cup scoops of dough and put them on a sheetpan covered with a piece of parchment paper. Pat them down to about and inch tall, but again, don't work them too much.

Bake until the shortcakes are lightly golden on top and give slightly when you touch them. Cool slightly on a cooling rack.

To assemble, gently cut the shortcake in half horizontally using a serrated knife. Place berries on the bottom layer, with some of their juice. Top with a mound of whipped cream. Then partially cover with the top of the shortcake. Enjoy!

Shortcakes with Berries and Whipped Cream

Recipe by Dorie Greenspan from Baking: From My Home to Yours

4 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
6 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 sticks (12 Tbsp) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream

1.    Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. 

2.    Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together in a large bowl.

3.    Drop in the butter and, using your fingers, toss to coat the pieces of butter with flour. Quickly, working with your fingertips or a pastry blender (that's what I used), cut and rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is pebbly. You’ll have pea-size pieces, pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and pieces in between – and that’s just right.

4.    Pour the cream over the dry ingredients and toss and gently turn the ingredients with a fork until you’ve got a very soft dough. When the dough comes together, you’ll probably still have dry ingredients at the bottom of the bowl – just use a spatula or your hands to mix and knead the dough until it’s evenly blended. Don’t overdo it; it’s better to have a few dry spots than an overworked dough. Even with all the flour mixed in, the dough will be soft and sticky. (Mine wasn't, so I added an extra splash of heavy cream.)

5.    Spoon out about 1/3 cup of dough for each shortcake onto the baking sheet, leaving about 3 inches of space between the mounds of dough. Pat each mound down until is between 3/4 and 1 inch high. (The shortcakes can be made to this point and frozen on the baking sheet, then wrapped airtight and kept in the freezer for up to 2 months. Bake with out defrosting – just add at least 5 more minutes to the oven time.)

6.    Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the sheet from front to back at the midway point, until the shortcakes are puffed and give just a bit when prodded. Pull the sheet from the oven and transfer the shortcakes to a cooling rack.

Makes 10 shortcakes

Whipped Cream

2 cups heavy cream

4 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1.    Combine ingredients in a mixing bowl.

2.    Whisk until cream forms soft peaks.

3.    Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Macerated Berries

1 pint strawberry, washed, dried and sliced or cut in quarters

1 pint blueberries, rinsed, dried and picked over

2-4 Tbsp sugar, depending on how sweet your berries are

1.    Place berries in a bowl and sprinkle sugar over. Toss to combine.

2.    Allow berries to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

Baked French Toast with Pecans

Last weekend my college friends came over for brunch. There's something really special about college friends. These are the people who accompanied you on your journey from the kid you were when you left home to the adult you are today. In fact, you're probably the adult you are today because of your college friends.

When I get together with my college friends, no matter how long it's been, it's as if no time has passed. We pick up conversations we started years ago and talk and talk and talk.

The friends who visited last weekend were friends I hadn't seen in a while. I wanted to make them a nice meal. But I didn't want to miss a moment of their company.

That's the great thing about brunch. It really lends itself to dishes you can prepare ahead of time. 

Like this French toast. Not traditional French toast prepared at the stovetop, slice by slice. No, I'm talking about baked French toast that's more like a cross between a casserole and bread pudding.

The prep is super easy. Slice up some bread (I used challah). Mix up some eggs, light cream and flavorings (essentially, a custard). Combine. Bake. That's it.

The French toast I prepared — rich, vanilla custard with a maple pecan topping — is just one example. But you could do a hundred variations. Put some orange zest in the custard. Add some dried cherries or raisins to the bread. Leave out the nuts altogether. Whatever you like.

The point is that you assemble the whole thing the night before. It actually needs an overnight stay in the fridge for the bread to soak up all the custard. Then, in the morning, pop it straight into the oven.

Grab a hot cup of coffee and enjoy good friends and good conversation, while your French toast happily bakes away in the oven.

First prepare the maple pecan topping. Combine butter, brown sugar and maple syrup in a saucepan.

Heat until the butter melts.

Pour the mixture into a baking pan and sprinkle chopped pecans on top. Set aside.

Slice your challah into pieces about 1 inch thick. Set aside.

To prepare the custard, whisk together eggs, light cream, cinnamon and vanilla until everything is thoroughly combined.

Now, one piece at a time, dip a slice of challah into the egg mixture...

...then lay it into the baking pan on top of the maple pecan mixture.

Repeat until the pan is full. After a few slices you may have to tear the challah into smaller pieces and smoosh them in the pan in between the larger slices. That's fine and it will still look beautiful once it bakes.

Pour the remaining egg mixture on top. Then cover the pan and refrigerate overnight.

The next morning, put the baking pan in the oven and bake until the french toast is puffed and golden.

To serve, cut a piece of the French toast and place it pecan-side up on a plate. Drizzle with warm maple syrup.

Baked French Toast With Pecans

Recipe from Bon Appetit magazine

This dish is assembled a day ahead so the buttery sauce can soak into the bread.

½ cup unsalted butter

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup maple syrup (the real stuff)

1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

8 eggs

1 ½ cups light cream (or half and half)

1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

1 1-pound loaf challah or egg bread, sliced (1 inch thick)

maple syrup, warmed, for serving

1.    Stir butter, brown sugar and maple syrup in heavy saucepan over medium heat until melted and smooth. Pour into 9" X 13" glass baking dish. Sprinkle pecans over butter mixture.

2.    Whisk eggs, light cream, cinnamon and vanilla in large bowl to blend. Dip bread slices into egg mixture and arrange in single layer in prepared dish.

3.    Pour remaining egg mixture over bread slices in dish. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

4.    Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake French toast uncovered until golden brown and puffed and knife inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.

5.    Cut into six pieces. Serve pecan-side up with additional warm maple syrup. 

Serves 6