I never planned to write about Kale Chips. I just assumed that with the popularity of kale, just about everyone had made, or at the very least, eaten them. I was late jumping on the kale bandwagon. I had read about the health benefits of eating kale, but am embarrassed to say, had never cooked with it. It's high in vitamins A,C, and K, filled with antioxidants that fight cancer, and if that's not enough, kale is low in calories. It's a no brainer that we all should be eating it. But it wasn't until last summer that I first ate a kale chip. My sweet next door neighbor called me one evening and said, "Pour yourself a glass of wine. I'm bringing you some kale chips". It was love at first bite. I've planted two different varieties of kale in my garden this year. My favorite, for the beautiful, slender blue-green leaves, is the Lacinato Kale (above). Curly Kale is pictured below. Nearly everyone that has come to our patio for dinner this summer has been served Kale Chips when they arrive. Guests love them (really love them!) and I'm surprised when even the most devoted kale eaters tell me they haven't eaten kale chips before. So I am now giving you my directions for making Kale Chips, hoping that if you haven't done it yet, you will start baking them now! • Fresh kale leaves (I will use about 6-7) • Extra-Virgin olive oil • Kosher salt + Kale chips are extremely easy to make, but you want to be sure that once rinsed, they are perfectly dry before proceeding with the recipe. I pat dry my leaves with a paper towel. 1. Rinse kale leaves and dry thoroughly. Using a sharp paring knife, slice down the center of the kale along both sides of the stem and remove. Slice the remaining kale leaves in 2 to 3-inch pieces and place in a medium size bowl. 2. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil over the leaves. I use about one tablespoon of oil. Take a thin metal spatula and very gently toss the leaves. I do this slowly, over and over. The goal is to have a thin film of oil coating both sides of the leaves. You DO NOT want them drenched in oil. 3. Preheat oven to 300˚F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Arrange kale leaves in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt. Place baking sheet on center rack of oven and bake for approximately 10 minutes. Check at 8 minutes and watch closely after that. Ovens differ and you do not want them to burn. Prepare second baking sheet while the first is in the oven. 4. Gently transfer kale chips to a bowl for serving. I will use my same metal spatula to remove the chips from the baking sheet. They are very delicate and can shatter easily. + Enjoy, and know you are eating a healthy treat! TAKE a LOOK:
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Usually, when I travel, I have good food and not such good food. On my recent trip to Provence, I'd have to say that sister Susan, friend Renate, and I ate quite well at each meal. No complaints. No negative critiquing by me or the others. And three of our meals were exceptional. At the beginning of our trip, we stayed in the town of Carpentras and ate at restaurant Chez Serge. Before a previous trip to France, I had read about Chez Serge in the New York Times and then ate lunch there. On this trip, we booked a reservation for dinner. The night we ate at Chez Serge, there was an abundance of black truffles... We were served an Amuse Bouche of sliced black truffles and olive oil along with a basket of French bread. Susan and Renate ordered the black truffle risotto as their main course. Our next exceptional meal was at Chateau de Mazan's Restaurant l'Ingénue. (more on that in a future post). It turned out to be our favorite -- partly due to the magical setting, but mostly because of the incredible meal. There we again had truffles in our amuse bouche; a small bowl of chilled, puréed Cavaillon melon with several thinly-shaved slices of black truffle on top. At one of the Provençal weekly markets we visited, there was a young man selling black truffles. He had a small table set up with just a handful of truffles for sale. He could tell I was interested and held his largest truffle under my nose. I knew I couldn't risk having it confiscated at the airport so I reluctantly thanked him and walked away. I think of that truffle often... The second half of our trip we moved to Le Moulin des Sources in Les Gros, Gordes. Anyone planning a trip to Provence should check out this Bed & Breakfast's website. It is charming beyond belief and a good location for the places we like to visit when there. Before this trip we had never been to Ménerbes, but this time drove to the village 15 minutes from our B&B to dine at La Verandah. And this is where I had the Cream of Cauliflower Soup with Truffle Oil, Croutons, and Chives for the first time. The three of us had this soup for our first course and I think we agree that we would have been happy with nothing but that soup as our dinner. It was amazing. Amazing enough for me to come back home and immediately make it for a dinner party I was hosting the following week. On my last visit to Paris in 2011, I also had a cream of cauliflower soup that was so good I needed to recreate it when I returned home (recipe HERE). I use the same recipe for both soups. The differences between the two (besides the temperature) are the oils and the toppings that are used to finish off the soup. • 2 heads cauliflower • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter • 2 leeks, white part only, finely sliced and well-washed (about 5 ounces) • 3 ounces unbleached, all-purpose flour • 2 quarts plus 2 1/2 cups chicken stock • 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoon heavy cream • 2 large egg yolks • Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste • Truffle oil • Croutons (recipe follows) • Fresh chives, finely chopped 1. Wash, core, and chop the cauliflower. Set aside. 2. Melt the butter in a stockpot over medium heat. When hot, add the leek and cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon for several minutes, or until the leek has sweated its liquid but has not taken on color. 3. While stirring, sift the flour into the leek-butter mixture, and fully incorporate. Remove from the heat and set aside about 10 minutes, or until cooled slightly. 4. Place the stock in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer, skimming off any foam or particles with a metal spoon. Remove from the heat and, whisking constantly, add the hot liquid to the leek mixture. 5. When well blended, return the stockpot to medium heat and bring to a simmer. Immediately add the reserved cauliflower and return to a bare simmer. Simmer, stirring occasionally with a wooden spatula to ensure that the bottom does not stick or burn, for about 20 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender. If at any point the cauliflower sticks or scalds, remove the cauliflower from the heat, transfer the soup to a clean pot without scraping the burned portion into the new pot, and return it to the stove. Do not allow the soup to continue cooking once it sticks or burns. 6. Remove the pot from the heat and either pass the soup through a food mill or purée it in a blender. You want this soup to be silky-smooth. If necessary, after blending the soup, press through a fine mesh colander. (I purchased a Vitamix blender just for this soup!). 7. Place a saucepan with the cauliflower soup over medium heat. Add 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the heavy cream and bring to a simmer. 8. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 3 tablespoons cream and the 2 egg yolks. Whisk in some of the hot soup to temper the mixture before whisking it into the simmering soup. Taste, and if necessary, season with salt and pepper. 9. Ladle soup into bowls. Drizzle with truffle oil. Garnish with croutons and chopped chives. + CROUTONS No cutting corners on these croutons. The amount of butter and oil seem excessive, but don't cut back on those ingredients! • 3 tablespoons butter • Extra-virgin olive oil • 6 slices of a good, white loaf bread (I use a sourdough loaf from Whole Foods), crusts trimmed and bread cut into 1/2-inch cubes. 1. Melt butter in a large skillet. Add enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the skillet. 2. Add the bread cubes and over medium-low heat use a thin metal spatula to turn the bread cubes. You want all of the croutons to be evenly covered in butter-oil. Add a little more oil if necessary. Keep turning the bread cubes, almost constantly. Your goal is to have them perfectly golden on all sides, but not burnt! When golden, remove from the pan to a small plate or bowl and set aside. TAKE a LOOK: I would never consider myself a picky eater, but growing up I was not fond of asparagus and refused to eat it. I vaguely remember my mother boiling the life out of the tender spears... maybe that was the reason I couldn't stomach it. I'm crazy about asparagus now, however, due in part to these recipes. And I have my fingers crossed that three times a charm. Having struggled for years to grow asparagus in my vegetable garden, I made my third (and final) attempt to plant last year. I'm now waiting to see if it pokes through the ground this spring. This Lemony Ricotta Tart with Asparagus is perfect for a spring bunch. Invite some friends over to celebrate the end of winter! And consider doing what a restaurant in Prague does to welcome asparagus season. Plan each course around the vegetable. It's a meal my husband had several years ago when he was in Prague on business. His dessert? Asparagus sorbet. • Pâte Brisée for 11-inch tart pan (recipe below) • 1 pound asparagus • 2 large eggs • 1/2 pound fresh ricotta (if necessary, drained of any liquid) • 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan • Grated zest of 1 small organic lemon • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice • 1/2 cup heavy cream • 1/2 teaspoon salt 1. Prebake tart shell following recipe below. Reduce oven temperature to 375˚F. 2. In a large sauté pan, gently boil asparagus until just tender, approximately 4 minutes. Drain and wrap asparagus in a dish towel. Set aside. 3. In a medium-size bowl, combine the eggs, ricotta, Parmesan, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Whisk by hand until mixture is smooth. Stir in the heavy cream and salt. 4. Trim asparagus to roughly 4 1/2-inches and arrange in a spoke pattern on the crust. Use leftover trimmings to fill spaces inbetween the spears. Pour the cheese mixture over the asparagus and transfer tart to the middle rack of preheated oven. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until tart is set. Remove from oven and allow to rest for several minutes. Unmold and serve warm or at room temperature. Pâte Brisée • 1 1/2 cups flour • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 8 tablespoons very cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes • 4 tablespoons ice water 1. Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the cold butter and pulse until you have tiny pieces of butter about the size of peas throughout. Pour the ice water in slowly and pulse just until the dough starts to come together. You may need a bit more or a bit less ice water. 2. Turn the mixture out onto a piece of plastic wrap and press into a disc. Wrap and chill for at least 2 hours. 3. Roll dough thinly to fit into an 11-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Wrap in plastic and place in your freezer while you are preheating the oven. 4. Preheat the oven to 400˚F. When the oven is hot, line the pastry shell with foil and fill with rice or dried beans to keep the pastry from puffing-up during baking. Place the tart shell on a baking sheet and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and rice or beans and return the tart shell to the oven and continue to bake until golden brown. (Watch closely) TAKE a LOOK: Simple and delicious... Bake 2 large yams at 400˚F until tender. Meanwhile, peel 5 apples (I had Gala on hand, so that's what I used). Thinly slice the apples and place in a large sauté pan. Add 1/4 cup water, cover, and over low heat cook the apples until tender. In the bowl of a food processor, combine 1/4 of the apples with 1/4 of the yams. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 of an orange over the mix and process until smooth. Transfer to a medium saucepan. Repeat with the remaining apples, yams, and orange juice. Rewarm over low heat, adding salt to taste. Serve. TAKE a LOOK: Enjoying a lazy Sunday morning with poached eggs and sweet bell peppers on our late morning menu. My husband just returned from visiting family in the southwest and the colors of our breakfast remind him of the sunsets in the national parks he hiked throughout. And I have to agree with him that anything this colorful has to be good for you! |
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