Roasted Kale

I love roasted kale. Kale "chips" are as good as potato chips but you can eat them feeling more virtuous. They are a great fall/winter side dish. We've had them lots of ways...

Once we made roasted kale as part of this salad (the recipe is here, from Saveur). I would never have thought to serve it as part of a larger dish, but I really enjoyed the contrast of the crispy roasted kale with the fresh salad greens (I used arugula), and a lemony-cheesy dressing drizzled over the whole. Just imagine how pretty it would have been if I had also had the pomegranate seeds the recipe called for. 

We've served roasted kale at Thanksgiving, to round out a simple mid-afternoon appetizer of some of our favorite cheeses, dried cherries, olives, sweet tomato jam, and baguette slices. It was great as part of this type of spread. And again, a nice contrast with the other stuff.

 

We have eaten roasted kale with chicken.

 

And we almost always have it on the side of sandwiches for dinner (especially Monte Cristos or Reubens). 

The internet has no shortage of kale chip recipes, and probably everybody knows how to make them, but I had to include my feelings on the dish here because, besides that it is my favorite way to eat kale, I've found many recipes out there are more complicated than they need to be. For example, the Saveur salad recipe at the top called for citric acid and a lot of oil to make them-- not necessary. Also not necessary to fuss with laying them out individually on a pan. There are no special ingredients, though I am sure you could play around with extra spices or seasonings if you wanted. Just a few drizzles back and forth of oil, a couple 2- to 3-finger pinches of salt, and pepper if you want it.

While you roast it with oil and salt like any other vegetable, or any other roasted veg, I generally do 400 or 425 degrees, but lately I've been turning the oven down to 375 for kale and I think that's better. 400 works, and it goes very quickly, but you have to catch it at that perfect stage before it's too browned. 375 slows it down just a bit but seems a safer bet. 

Whenever we have kale and don't feel like this soup and this salad and this torte, or just eating it as a raw salad green, we roast it. It's great when you have a lot of kale to use, because it shrinks down so much when it's cooked, and I at least can not eat just a few. 

It we have a little bit of roasted kale left at the end of dinner, it gets packed up to go in one of our lunches the next day. I put it in the fridge for the night, and maybe I don't need to. But it doesn't de-crisp after one night in the fridge and is as much of a salty treat in my lunch the next day. 

Here are some photos of the process (when I was still getting kale out of my garden in the fall, I cut it straight into the salad spinner outside):

Roasted Kale, or Kale Chips

1 bunch kale

olive oil

sea salt

Remove ribs from the kale, then chop it into roughly 2-inch pieces. 

Wash the chopped kale and spin well so it isn't wet. 

Put in large roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil back and forth several times. Sprinkle with salt as you would other roasted vegetables (I do a couple 2- to 3-finger pinches of sea salt all over). It's okay if it is really full because it will cook down a lot. 

Roast at 375. Gently toss after 5 or 10 minutes and then check it often thereafter. Roast until edges are starting to brown and it is almost all crispy. Enjoy! 

Winter Fun

Some of what we've been up to the last few months...

 We had Bloody Marys at Christmas

 and cosmos with cranberry simple syrup made with Vermont cranberries.

My sister outdid herself again by making a cement mixer cake for our nephew's birthday. Willem is already requesting a whole farm for his next cake.

 

Willem, his first time out on skates. He pretty much just runs across the ice on them.

 The guys seasoning and sampling the arugula.

Gordie and Willem have tried out several new pancake recipes, like this crispy, puffy one, from a pancake cookbook my father-in-law gave us for Christmas.

 It's been pretty cold around here!

But, even when it's 5 degrees, sometimes the urge to shovel calls, before you've even had time to take off your backpack.

With some time off around the holidays, I finally tried out several recipes from Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, such as this sfinciuni (double-crust meat and cheese pizza).

I went to a soup swap-- such a fun idea!-- and came home with this great stash for the freezer (plus some homemade marinara sauce, not pictured).

 We satisfied a craving for burgers and fries.

I made yummy scalloped potatoes.

 Lake Morey might just be the coolest spot to go ice skating.

Some of us are not too big to be thrown in the air.

 Willem signed his own Valentine's Day cards! Just look at that signature.

Cheese Fondue

A friend gave me a Cuisinart electric fondue pot and every time I get it out I am struck by how easy it is to use and how much fun it is to build a meal around it. It came with a recipe booklet that includes lots of fondue variations, including chocolatey dessert ones. I've never branched out beyond the two cheese fondue recipes here from the book because they are so good. I alternate between them because I'm not sure which I prefer. 

When I made the classic cheese fondue one Christmas Eve, we couldn't locate the fondue forks, but we've decided since then that that we prefer to not use them anyway. What works really well is to set the table with plates and forks and with a little cup or dish on each plate. We leave a plastic serving spoon on a spoon rest next to the fondue pot. Everyone can scoop out a dollop of fondue at a time into their cup, and when they use it up get seconds as needed. You'll need several additional scoops of fondue throughout the meal. But this way, the little bit of fondue in your dish stays warm as you eat it, and you can double dip as much as you want, and if you drop some of your food into your dish it doesn't matter. Most accompaniments work best as finger foods and you can feel free to use your fingers this way. In my experience, it's the only way to serve fondue. Also logistically, plan to have an extension cord ready to keep the pot plugged in at the table and warm while you eat. 

I think fondue is fun to make for/with company, because it's easy, the spread feels abundant, and it's festive. Have all your accompaniments cut up or blanched or whatever they require and ready on plates or platters (we do a separate big bowl for the bread cubes), then when dinner is just a few minutes away, start the fondue. Obviously, apples and bread cubes are delicious in cheese sauce, but I think you should know how good blanched broccoli and gherkins and boiled little potatoes are too. The variety is what makes it so much fun, for adults and kids both. (Oh, and in these pictures I made the hard-cider fondue, and we thought that paired very nicely with sparkling hard cider.)

Our cute little niece

If you have a little bit of leftover fondue, it microwaves great the next day; you just need to eat it quickly after reheating or it stiffens up again. Our leftover boiled/blanched vegetables (beans, broccoli, and potatoes) from last weekend's fondue night got crisped up midweek in a pan with some oil, then chopped coarsely, and stirred into some very fine scrambled eggs for dinner.   

Cheese Fondue, Two Versions:

both from the recipe booklet that comes with my Cuisinart Electric Fondue Pot

Classic Cheese Fondue  

(6 - 8 servings)
1 lb. Gruyere cheese, grated

3/4 lb. Emmenthal cheese, grated

6 t cornstarch

1 1/2 t dry mustard

1 clove garlic, peeled, cut in half

2 1/4 C dry white wine

2 1/2 T Kirschwasser

Place grated cheese in a large bowl and toss to combine. Add cornstarch and dry mustard and toss to coat completely. Set aside. 

Rub the bottom and lower half of the sides of the fondue pot with cut sides of the garlic clove. Add wine to the pot. Turn temperature to setting 5 and bring wine to a strong simmer (bubbling, but not boiling strongly). While stirring constantly with wooden spoon or nonstick whisk, gradually whisk in grated cheeses, sprinkling in a handful at a time. Don't add more cheese until each handful is melted and smooth. Mixture will slowly thicken. 

When all cheese has been added, stir in the Kirschwasser and serve. Reduce temperature to setting 3 to serve.

Cheddar, Onion, Apple, and Hard Cider Fondue

(8 servings-- we had maybe 3/4 cup of fondue leftover after serving it to five adults and two kids who ate just a tiny amount each)
1 1/2 lbs. shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese

2 1/2 T cornstarch

1/2 t dry mustard

1 T unsalted butter

1 oz. chopped shallot (or onion)

1/2 C finely diced tart apple

2 to 2 1/2 C hard cider

Place shredded cheese in a large bowl and sprinkle with cornstarch and dry mustard; toss to coat. Set aside. 

Heat butter in fondue pot using setting 3 1/2. Cook shallot and apple in butter until tender and golden, about 3 - 4 minutes. Add 2 cups of hard cider and bring to a boil. 

Reduce the heat to setting 3, and with cider simmering, gradually add shredded cheese a handful at a time, while whisking with a plastic or coated whisk. If mixture seems too thick, whisk up to a 1/2 C more cider in as needed (I've only used the 2 cups). To serve, keep the temperature set at setting 3.

Accompaniments for Either Fondue:

• cubes of rustic bread
• blanched broccoli or green beans (or other blanched vegetables...cauliflower, snap peas...)
• sliced summer sausage and/or pepperoni
• apple slices/wedges
• gherkins
• boiled and slightly cooled fingerling or little red potatoes

Brown-Butter Tortellini with Spinach, Ham, and Red Pepper

Willem has been pretty adorable at helping me come up with ideas of what to make for dinner lately. Sometimes his ideas aren't actually real things: "Macaroni and cheese sandwiches?!" Um, no. Sometimes they don't make a lot of sense, but he's trying. "Maybe some rooster meat?" (We eat chicken, so why not rooster?) But several times lately he has hit the nail on the head with something that is right up my alley for a weeknight: "Um...egg burritos!" (I fried up some onion and diced potatoes, serving his on the side of course, and added some grated cheese and salsa, some chopped leftover cilantro since we had it.) "Ham and cheese sandwiches!" (I grilled them and added apple and mustard, and another week made them as Monte Cristos.) So just the other week when he requested "tor-tuh-weenie!!" when we were having this dinner-brainstorming conversation, this recipe popped right to mind.

I first had it about seven years ago at a Pampered Chef party (there is no shortage of such parties in teacher crowds, it turns out). It is as simple as it gets, just chop and toss. But it is good and I feel like it's worth posting if only so I have a place to go to next time we make it where I don't have to skim through the product placement in bold, capital letters sprinkled throughout the directions in the cookbook.

The brown butter really is scrumptious and adds depth. It's a great technique to keep in mind for other uses and is just a matter of a few minutes more patience after the butter is melted. It's a perfect coating for the salty cubes of ham, the just-slightly-crunchy red pepper, and cheesy pasta.    

Naturally, Willem carefully picks every leaf of spinach off of his as he goes, but they are whole leaves (easy to pick off) so he's cool with that, and I figure, maybe he's getting some residual nutrients from it being tossed with spinach. Until he learns how to say the /l/ sound, I love that he "WUVS this dinner!" and the look of pride on his face when I responded, "You know why we're having this dinner? Because you thought of it."

Brown-Butter Tortellini with Spinach, Ham, and Red Pepper

from Pampered Chef 29 Minutes to Dinner

 

20 oz. cheese-filled frozen tortellini

6 oz. baby spinach

8 oz. cooked ham steak, diced

1 red bell pepper, finely diced

1/4 C butter

coarsely ground black pepper

Bring water to boil and cook tortellini. Place spinach in large colander. Drain tortellini over spinach to quickly wilt it.

Put butter in large 12" skillet over medium heat 5 - 7 minutes or until it is a deep brown color, occasionally swirling skillet. Immediately add pepper. Reduce heat to low. Add ham, tortellini, and spinach. Gently toss to coat. Season with black pepper.