Parsnip gnocchi

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parsnip gnocchi

Have you ever had a brilliant idea for something? It comes to you all in a flash – the most wonderful invention, which you’re sure nobody could have ever thought of ever. Like that time I invented these little colorful plastic blocks that fit together so that you can build something and then take it apart and build something else. What?!? Legos?!? D’oh!

Anyway, the other night, in the middle of the night, I was having trouble sleeping. So I tried to distract myself from worries by thinking about what I could make the next day to go with my drunken puttanesca sofrito. Something sweet and bright to go with all of that intense flavor. Of course I thought of parsnips! But what to do with them? Croquettes? Nah, just did that. Pies? Someday, but not just now. Then it came to me! Gnocchi! Nobody would ever have thought of making parsnip gnocchi, right? Well, it turns out other people have thought of it. But I still invented them! Others may have done so too, and hooray for them.

They turned out very good, as it happens. I baked them instead of boiling them, because I like the idea of gnocchi, but they can be stodgy and slimy (I’m sorry, gnocchi, but it’s true). They turned out light, crisp, flavorful and perfect with my drunken sofrito puttanesca. Although they’d also go well with romesco, or a simple tomato sauce, or pesto, or chermoula…

Here’s Parsnip Snips by Michael Hurley, a regular on the 60s Greenwhich Village folk scene, and friend of the Unholy Modal Rounders.

These would also work with pureed butternut squash, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, carrots, etc, although you might want to alter the herbies.
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Quince!

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membrillo

I have to admit to being somewhat quince-obsessed. I’m fascinated by any fruit that requires a bit of attention before it’s palatable. (I have a black currant bush and a quince bush in my garden, but I haven’t really had fruit from either yet.) It’s such a contrast to the standard American attitude toward fruit, which is that it should be sweet the instant you pick it, and then it should be individually packed in corn syrup and plastic.

So, quince. They’re so odd-looking but pretty, and they have such an intoxicating fragrance when they’re ripe. Plus, they’re elusive. It’s quite a quest to find quince fruit where I live, although you see quince bushes with their crazy bright-pink flowers everywhere in the springtime. A few years ago I pestered the produce people at my local shoprite every time I went. Eventually they got a big batch of quinces. I hope somebody else was glad to see them there!

So yesterday, when my friend Kate gave me a bag containing 5 quinces, it made my day! They were past the first blush of youth, and looked a little grey and furry, but they smelled ridiculously good!

I poached some in port wine with a large apple, and I made a sort of compote to go on my almond cake.

port-poached quince compote

And with the rest I made membrillo, a Spanish quince paste that I’ve tried to make several times over the years with varying results. Well, it worked this time! I haven’t tasted it yet, but I almost don’t care how it tastes! Because it’s so damned pretty. I bought a vanilla bean towards the end of the summer, and I’ve been saving it the way I save really beautiful blank books that are too nice to actually write in. Well…membrillo was worth it! I’ll try to find some manchego cheese to go with it, which is how it’s meant to be eaten!
Here’s Quince, by Sonny Stitt
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Port wine tomato sauce w. olives and mushrooms

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This sauce is incredibly easy, and it turned out very very delicious and quite beautiful, with its rich dark red broth. It’s a little like sofrito, because I cooked it for quite a while, so that it would be intensely flavored. And it’s a little like puttanesca, because it has olives and capers in it. And the port wine gives it a deep sweet acidity. It’s a drunken sofrito puttanesca!!

We had it with the roasted butternut squash and greens pie, and the combination was uncannily good – a little sweet, a little tart, a little richly acidic. My boys ate it with gemelli pasta – also a good choice!

port wine-tomato sauce

Here’s bluesman Bill Samuels singing about Port Wine.
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Almond sherry cake

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Almond cake with port-poached quince

This is a simple cake that goes well with other things – like fruit compotes and whipped cream. It’s nice in the morning with a slathering of blueberry jam and a cup of coffee. It’s nice after dinner with a square of bittersweet chocolate and a glass of wine. It makes a nice base for a trifle, what with the sherry and all. We had it last night with a port-poached quince compote. And tonight I think it will be a blackberry, apple cassis compote. And chantilly cream, of course! Know what that is? Whipped cream with vanilla essence, that’s what!

almond sherry cake

Here’s Cake Walking Babies From Home by Sidney Bechet 1925 (and Louis Armstrong!)
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Greens & roasted butternut squash in a hazelnut crust

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Greens & butternut squash in a hazelnut crust

It’s a big handsome pie! This is another good option for a vegetarian holiday meal. It’s pretty enough and satisfying enough. I love the combination of butternut squash, goat’s cheese and hazelnut. Something about the nuttiness, tartness and sweetness just blends perfectly together. The crust is crispy and delicious, with ground hazelnuts and white & black pepper. Inside we find layers of butternut squash roasted with sage and rosemary, alternated with layers of fresh ricotta mixed with greens, artichoke hearts, capers, and goat cheese. It sounds complicated, but it’s not hard to make. I love this particular shape of pie. I think I might have invented it! I think it looks nice, but it’s completely easy and forgiving and fun to make.

This is delicious served with romesco sauce or a simple tomato sauce.

Here’s Squash Dance, from the Anthology of Central and South American Indian Music
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Isaac crackers

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hazelnut crackers

Well, you may have noticed that I make many many dinners that involve savory pastries. Funnily enough, I have 2 boys. One boy always likes the filling and one boy always likes the crust. I’ve taken to making some extra crust, rolling it out, putting it on a greased tray, adding some black pepper and coarse salt, and baking until it’s toasty and crispy. My little one gobbles them up! I may have mentioned that in my philosophy of savory pastry crusts, the crust is so tasty by itself that you could make it into crackers. So that’s what I’ve been doing! I recommend it to anybody, whether you have finicky children or not. The crackers are so good! These are white pepper hazelnut crackers. A preview of coming attractions!

Here’s one of Isaac’s favorite songs…Clint Eastwood by the Gorillaz

Romesco sauce

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romesco sauce

Everybody loves romesco sauce! (Well, everybody except my 6-year-old son, but he claims to have eaten earthworms, so his taste is suspect. Shocking, I know! We’re vegetarian!) When people first taste romesco sauce, their faces instantly light up, and they have to eat some more and they say, “What is this? It’s delicious!” I’ve seen it happen many times!

Romesco sauce is a combination of roasted red peppers, roasted tomatoes, hazlenuts, almonds, bread, and lots of paprika. In an ideal world, you’d roast the peppers over an open fire, and roast the tomatoes for hours in your oven. In a slightly less ideal world, you’d roast the peppers on the flame of your gas burner. Sigh. I don’t have a gas stove, so I broil my peppers, and they turn out fine. And this time of year, I cheat and use roasted tomatoes from a can. (Hunts fire-roasted diced, as it happens). You could also use peppers from a jar. This sauce will still taste good!

It’s a very versatile sauce. Good with roasted vegetables, good as a dip for chips or crackers, good on sliced baguette, good as a pizza sauce, a pasta sauce, a sauce for savory pies (particularly those with lots of greens) or croquettes.

Here’s Art Pepper’s Red Pepper Blues.
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Malcolm’s supreme sweet Coconut chocolate chip cookies

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*OR* FURTHER ADVENTURES IN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE VERSIONS.
My son Malcolm (9) was home from school today with a sore throat and a headache. He didn’t feel too bad, and we had such a nice day together! He’s so much fun to be with. He’s had these cookies in his head for a while, and today we finally had time to make them. He wanted to make sugar cookies with coconut and dark chocolate chips. He made all final decisions on what went into the batter. They’re delicious!

Here’s Bill Withers’ lovely Lovely Day, because I had such a nice day with my Malcolm.
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Broccoli & chickpea flour croquettes

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broccoli & chickpea flour croquettes I always buy broccoli, but I never do anything interesting with it. In the end I usually just steam it and serve it as a side. Well, last night, confronted with a large bunch of broccoli, I felt determined to do something DIFFERENT! And this is what I came up with. I thought of the classic Roman combination of broccoli, red pepper flakes and garlic, and I thought…let’s put that in a croquette. Croquettes can be tricky to make – they can turn out pasty and stodgy in the middle, but I find that adding beer and baking soda really helps. And these turned out crispy and light as can be. (I’ve been cooking with beer a lot lately, haven’t I? It’s so fun to pour it in and watch everything foam up. And it really does make batters light and sweet.) I made these quite large, so they’re almost like steaks, and we ate them with oven roasted french fries and simple tomato sauce.

Here’s Sage Francis’ Broccoli Break.
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Fennel in a sherry & green peppercorn broth

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Fennel in a sherry green peppercorn sauce

Sweet fennel in a spicy, smoky, buttery broth. Garnished with toasted slivered almonds and gorgonzola. Delicious, but what is it? Whatever you want it to be! We had it over basmati rice. It would be good with couscous or orzo, or any other kind of pasta you like. If you add white beans or chickpeas it could become quite a hearty stew. If you cook until the fennel is very soft and the liquid quite reduced, you’ll have a delicious compote that would make a nice vegetable side dish. I was in the mood for something light and brothy (post thanksgiving search for clarity!). So I had mine by itself, with several large handfuls of baby arugula tossed on top and stirred in to wilt very slightly. And some toasted ciabatta bread. I think there’s something so pleasurable about combining ingredients, giving some thought to the flavors of the vegetables or beans, and choosing herbs and spices that match. And then tasting a spoonful of the broth, and finding it wonderful! Such a feeling of achievement! Such anticipation of the meal about to be eaten!

Here’s JJ Barnes singing about Sweet Sherry. I used dry for this, but we don’t need to tell him that.
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