Tick Tick Tick Tick… Counting down to Christmas and Year End…..
Time has accelerated, don’t you think? It always does, this time of year. There’s an energy, positively frenetic, that builds on itself, days spinning out ad delirium as we dart and dash about wrapping up loose ends, wrapping up presents,

wrapping up brie.

What, No Brie Wrapping, you say? And, why not?

It’s so very festive, and much more fun than trying to fit shiny paper in tidy corners around a big box, and tape without tearing, and not misplace the scissors under the mounds of wadded gift wrap, tissue paper, bows, ribbons, and the odd pieces of plastic holly that surround you on the floor. Promise.

Step away from all the trappings of gift wrapping. Consider stashing that book/scarf/bracelet/salad bowl/teddy bear into a shiny bag and mosey on into the kitchen.

Simple elements are involved: a round of brie, a package of puff pastry, some chutney. Any chutney will do, really.
My Of-The-Moment one is Apricot-Cranberry.

Oh, and a sharp knife, and a little confidence in your creativity. You can do this. Free-form works. Abstract works. Childlike wonder works.

(In the days when we were both impoverished hippie artists doing bits of catering-for-cash , my friend Teresa, now a food stylist, and I, now a recovered caterer, decided that bad fine art often made respectable food art. There’s a world of possibilities…)

Meanwhile, here’s a presentation that everyone will tear into—oh melty cheese and chutney—you’ll find yourself surrounded by love and gratitude. And no rumpled gift wrap.

Promise.

Cut the brie across the center

Spread a generous layer of chutney onto the brie

The big brie burger…..

Cutting the corners at an angle will give you pieces to wrap around the middle. The main idea is to secure the brie in the pastry, giving yourself a nice canvas for your design. I made a wreath, but you could make a sunburst, snowflakes, trees, ornaments, leaves, anything you fancy. Work with pastry that is cold; it cuts better. As it warms, it stretches more readily, and can be twisted, or rolled into balls. You can move the pastry in and out of the refrigerator as you work. It is very forgiving.

Piercing the contours of all your shapes will add dimension while keeping the brie from exploding (!)

Chutney-stuffed Brie in Puff Pastry
1 Box Puff Pastry
cracked black pepper
your favorite chutney (recipe below)
1 round of Brie

parchment
cookie/baking sheet pan

Allow puff pastry to thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
Split brie in half and spread one side with chutney. Close up like a sandwich. Place, centered, onto a sheet of puff pastry and sprinkle with pepper. Cut a square of puff pastry and place on top.
Cut the corners of the bottom piece at a diagonal, and wrap around the sides of the brie. Seal edges by gently pinching the dough together. If it won’t stick, moist with a little water.
Flip the brie over so that the bottom is now the top.
Decorate, by cutting or carving shapes with a paring knife and place on the brie.
When your design is set, gently pierce around the shapes with the tip of your knife. This enhances the design AND prevents the brie from popping and oozing when it bakes and puffs up.

You can wrap and decorate your brie ahead of time–a day or so before serving (I have even frozen them at this point.) Cover in plastic wrap.

Ready to bake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bake in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes, until pastry is puffed up and golden brown.

Remove and cool slightly. You can dust the top of the pastry with a little paprika or chives. Place on serving tray, decorate with fresh fruits. Enjoy with wine.

Apricot-Cranberry Chutney

2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons peeled fresh ginger, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil (or vegetable oil)
1 cup coarsely chopped dried apricots
½ cup dried cranberries
1 cup water
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
¼ cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil and sauté the garlic and ginger together, stirring over moderate heat for about two minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Turn the heat to low and allow the mixture to cook for another 15-20 minutes as the dried fruits absorb the liquid and thicken. Stir occasionally. Allow to cool to room temperature. Makes 1 ½ cups.

Do you have a favorite apple?

With all the tempting varieties showing up at our farmer’s market this week, I would be hard pressed to give an answer. And, some apples are better suited for baking, others for simple out-of-hand eating. Pairing apple types–say, your sweet Jonah Gold with a tart Honeycrisp in a salad or green Granny Smith with an Arkansas Black layered in a Tarte Tatin–adds surprising complexity to a dish. Maybe it’s better to have Favorites, with the notion that the next best ones have yet to be sampled…

Last week I was in Manchester, Tennessee, talking to the ladies of the garden club about Food. That’s broad, I know. And, I can hold forth on any of the myriad aspects: growing and preserving, cooking techniques and recipes, health concerns and education, community…It’s one of our common denominators; a conversation about food can lead anywhere!

We discussed hunger and food security issues, and the importance of supporting our local food producers when and where we can. Being ladies who have long been cultivating beautiful living things, they well understood what it means to eat seasonally.

Maybe that’s when the topic of apples came up. There’s a wonderful orchard not too far from them in Pikeville, Tennessee. (That’s about 140 miles southeast of Nashville, as the crow flies.) Up on Walden Ridge, the Oren Wooden Apple Farm grows 18 varieties, with the Pink Lady Apples–crisp, sweet beauties that are remarkably versatile–being the most prized.

Serendipity! This led to a quick recipe demonstration I had already planned to give, one that would benefit from being prepared with the prized Pink Lady.

This delicious appetizer requires nothing more than the right ingredients, plus a knife and bowl. I used a Gala and a Jonah Gold. Try the recipe with your favorite crisp “eating” apples and a fruity extra-virgin olive oil. Toasted almonds or walnuts work equally well in the recipe–you make the choice. Mild goat cheese creams and coats the apples as you toss the ingredients. Bright green onion, salt and pepper balance the sweetness, give it edge.

In under fifteen minutes, you’ll have a fall appetizer,
ready to enjoy with a glass of Riesling.

Belgian endive leaves provide totally edible support. And, the floral mandala makes a knock-out presentation. Perfect for my garden club friends.

Update! An email from Manchester just alerted me to the coming Pink Lady harvest at Wooden’s. Fantastic! A box of these lovelies could be coming my way soon.

Belgian Endive stuffed with Honeycrisp Apples, Goat Cheese, and Walnuts
4 firm heads of Belgian Endive
2 Apples, (try Honeycrisp, Gala, Pink Lady)washed, cored, diced into small pieces
4 oz. plain Chèvre log, crumbled
3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Orange Zest
1 Tablespoon fresh Orange Juice
2 Green Onions, tops included, finely sliced
½ cup Walnuts or Almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
¼ cup dried cranberries
¼ teaspoon Sea Salt
A few grindings of Black Pepper
Balsamic Vinegar for drizzling

Rinse and dry endives, trim the bottom (root end) to separate leaves. Set aside.
In a bowl, toss diced apples and crumbled goat cheese with extra virgin olive oil and orange juice until lightly coated. Add green onions, nuts, dried cranberries, salt and black pepper. Stir gently until all the ingredients are evenly incorporated in the mixture. The goat cheese will cream slightly and coat the apples. Place a small spoonful at the base of the endive leaf—enough for one bite—and lay the leaf on a plate. Continue, placing each leaf in a circular pattern on the plate. Then, drizzle a small amount of balsamic vinegar onto each mound of apple-goat cheese-nut salad. Serve. Makes about 48 leaves.

I wanted to share this ensemble recipe with you, made recently for another of our community pot luck dinners, because its elements lend themselves to so many tasty variations.

Here we’ve got smoked pork loin, peach chutney, sauteed arugula layered on one of the South’s best culinary contributions: the corncake. I made these “pick-up” size, so that you can enjoy bitter, sweet, smoky, and savory pretty much in two bites. This particular combination was based on ingredients I had on hand. It’s got a nice season-transition feel. And, color!

But, using the corncake as the base, you should feel free to improvise. Sauteed kale, chard, or collards would work equally well. Try ham or smoked turkey for the meat.

And, the beauty of chutneys is that it’s really hard to make a bad one, provided you have good ingredients used in a good ratio. The chutney recipe below is a guideline, ready for substitutions. With pears and apples coming onto the seasonal market, I’m sure I’ll be making chutney with those, paired with cranberries. Different chili peppers and sweet peppers are welcome additions. Have fun with it.

And, if nothing else, enjoy this corncake recipe. Make ‘em BIG for dinner. They are delicious, too, with bits of corn, chilis, or cheese mixed in….

Happy Fall to all!

Baby Corncakes
1 ½ cups Cornmeal (can be yellow or white corn meal)
1 cup All Purpose Flour (make sure it is All Purpose, NOT Self-Rising)
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
½ teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 ½ sticks (12 tablespoons) melted Butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups lowfat milk

skillet

In a mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients (the first 5 ingredients) and whisk them together.
In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, butter, and milk.
Add to the bowl of dry ingredients.
Stir until well blended and smooth, but do not overbeat.
Heat skillet and ladle out batter–about 1 Tablespoon size per corncake–and cook as you would pancakes–flipping after the edges brown.

Makes about 4 dozen baby corncakes.

Add-ins: kernel corn, or minced jalapeno peppers, or green onions, or shredded cheddar cheese folded into the batter before baking!

White Peach-Blueberry Chutney
3 fresh white peaches
1 fresh Serrano chili pepper
2 T. grated fresh ginger root
3 T. brown sugar
1 T. cider vinegar
1/3 cup blueberries

Place sliced peaches, peppers into a saucepan and slowly cook these down together for about 15-20 minutes on low heat, breaking up the peaches as you stir. Stir in ginger root, brown sugar, cider vinegar and blueberries. Continue to cook until the mixture has a coarse but glazed appearance.

Cooks Notes:

The white peaches were a novelty–a pleasant surprise at our farmers market. Use whatever good peaches are available.

The arugula was especially pungent–mature—and I sauteed it in a little olive oil, with minced garlic and onion, and a little salt. I didn’t add any red pepper flakes, which I often do with cooked greens, as the arugula was already peppery.

About this time last summer, when everyone was inundated with zucchinis (zounds! zillions!) and seeking something new to do with them, I found this curiously appealing recipe on the ‘net. The blogger (Alas, I have no clue whom to credit!) posted a compelling account, attesting to the veritable crabbiness of these faux cakes. I saved the recipe, but did not get around to trying it until New Years Eve. That’s when Bill and I host our Community Lobster Pot Dinner–which is a whole other story.

Anyway–I wanted to serve Bill, our avowed vegetarian, something “seafoody” while the rest of us were tearing into our lobster tails, dousing sweet chunks in cayenne lemon butter. It seemed like the perfect opportunity for the zucchini faux crabcake.

The cakes were simple to make. I augmented the recipe slightly with the addition of green onion, red bell pepper, and hot red pepper flakes and whipped up a little remoulade to accompany.

When it came time to serve that course, an odd thing happened at the dinner table. The guests, with their delectable tails set before them, looked with longing at Bill’s plate of cakes.

“Those look fabulous. Can I have a bite?”
“Wow. These are great.” “I want one.” “Do you mind? Are there extras?”
And so on.

What happened was this: each person had a case of Faux Crab Cake envy.

Now, as cook, I was preoccupied with all the aspects of the meal and did not really sample the zucchini cakes–not enough to confirm their greatness. But, I decided that once the droves of zucchinis descended in August, I would make the faux crabcakes again.

And, here we are.

Verdict: These are very, very good. But, Better than Real Crabcakes? Well, perhaps not—but they were way-superior to many “real crabcakes” that I’ve had the disappointment to dine on in many places, and way more affordable.

Zucchini Faux-Crab Cakes
2 cups coarsely grated Zucchini
Salt
1 cup Bread Crumbs (I used a baguette)
1 Egg
2 Green Onions, thinly sliced–use entire scallion
¼ cup small diced Sweet Red Bell Pepper
1 ½ teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
1 Tablespoon Mayonnaise (or plain yogurt)
Juice of ½ Lemon
a pinch or 2 Red Pepper flakes

vegetable oil, for frying with a smidge of butter

Place grated zucchini in a colander; sprinkle lightly with salt, allow to stand for 30 minutes,draining. Squeeze to remove additional liquid – zucchini should be fairly dry. Place zucchini, bread crumbs, with all the other ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
Form into 8 patties the size of crab cakes.
Heat a small amount of oil and butter in a skillet, and cook patties on both sides, browning well. Drain on paper towel.

Citrus Remoulade
1 clove Garlic
1 Egg, room temperature
½ t. Dijon Mustard
½ t. Lemon zest
½ t. Orange zest
1 t. Lemon juice
1 t. Orange juice
½ t. Salt
1 cup Olive Oil

Place all the ingredients EXCEPT for the olive oil into a food processor fitted with the swivel blade.
Process for about a minute to break down the garlic into the other ingredients. Then, slowly pour the olive oil into the mix while processing. The mixture will become thick, like mayonnaise (which is what is basically is.)

Maggie and I faced a tough decision.

Should we eat our tomato sandwich in the sweet Dixie style–a thick-sliced, lightly salted Brandywine nestled in a slather of Duke’s Mayo* on white bread?

Or should we dream of Italy, and prepare our bread in the manner of Chianti country–bruschetta rubbed with garlic, adorned with tomatoes like jewels, glistening with fruity olive oil, topped with a frill of genovese basil?

Hmmmmmmm. Or-

Or what if we married the best of both?
What if we took that mayo, and whisked in a mince of garlic, basil, and a thimble of that Riserva olive oil……

that could be very very good, now couldn’t it?

Cheater Basil Aioli
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt or Kosher Salt
1T. your fave fruity Olive Oil
1 heaping Tablespoon Fresh Basil leaves, super-finely sliced “chiffonade”
a few grindings of black pepper
1/4 cup Duke’s or Hellman’s Mayo

In a small bowl, infuse olive oil with minced garlic, salt, pepper, and basil. Stir well, to macerate basil and garlic with the salt. Whisk in the mayo. That’s it.

* I have always been a proponent of Hellman’s Mayonnaise—and I won’t forsake it, but on good recommendation I sampled Duke’s, and am a convert. It has as the right flavor and texture, but contains No Sugar.

Like a sunburst, aren’t they!

There’s something especially marvelous about eating flowers–at once primal–bovine, really–and decadent. It’s no wonder we humans added these to our roster of good things to eat. Emerging from beneath huge verdant leaves, the brilliant yellow-orange blooms of zucchini, yellow squash, pumpkin plants drink up the light and look positively delectable.

I have had limited experience with them–ephemeral squash blossoms carry an aggressive price. Hence, the decadence…But recently a friend who acts as a market liaison between farmers and chefs had an unsold container of blossoms that wouldn’t be viable the next day. Would I like to have them?

Who could refuse such a gift?

I had to act quickly, which meant using ingredients already on hand. Fillings made with ricotta or chevre would be my preference, but having neither, I opted for the plain cream cheese in my fridge. With some modest enhancements— acidy-sweet sungold cherry tomatoes and peppery lemon basil—it got that nice tang you’d expect from better cheeses.

Let me say also that I normally resist battered-and-fried. But a tempura-like batter, or the beer-based one that I used, adds this wonderful crunchy overlay to the blossom. The subtle squashy flavors inherent to the flower come through, and the filling bursts with creamy goodness. For an every-once-in-a-while treat, I’ll indulge all the way.

Stuffed Squash Blossoms

The Filling
1 lb. Cream Cheese, softened, cut into small slabs
3 T. chopped Lemon Basil
1 T. chopped Garlic chives
6 Sun Gold or cherry tomatoes
Salt
Black Pepper

Pastry bag with tip

Place cream cheese, cherry tomatoes, and herbs into food processor outfitted with the swivel blade. Pulse the mixture until all the ingredients are chopped and blended throughout. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Gently remove the pistil from each blossom.
Fill pastry bag and pipe filling into the flowers. Refrigerate until ready to batter and fry.

Stuffs 16-20 blossoms

The Batter
½ cup Flour
2 T. Cornstarch
½ t. Baking Powder
¼ t. Baking Soda
¼ t. Salt
1 Egg
½ cup Club Soda or Beer

Canola Oil

Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl. Beat in egg and club soda or beer.

Heat oil (about ½ “ deep) in large skillet. One by one, dip blossoms into batter; allow excess to drip back into bowl, and place into sizzling oil. Fry until golden brown—about three minutes—and flip over. Repeat. Remove crispy fried blossom and place onto a paper towel to drain.

Best when served immediately.

The blossom stems make perfect handles…

A pleasing combo of crunch and cream

I confess. This recovering caterer fell off the No Catering wagon.

Singlehandedly, I cooked a dinner for 80 this weekend. I know; what was I thinking?

But it was the kind of food that I love to make: Lasagna Bianca, layered with roasted vegetables, cheeses, and a rich, sundried-tomato-laced bechamel; hand-picked garden lettuces with sugar snaps, goat cheese, dried cherries and toasted almonds; blanched chilled asparagus drenched in a true green goddess dressing…

And, it was for good reason: a rehearsal dinner for a friend’s son and bride-to-be.

I had fun. The event was a success, the food well-loved, and I still got the chops.

The down side is that catering gets in the way of food blogging: When I’m in the midst of cranking out a big “blog-worthy” meal, I cannot stop to stage and photograph the beautiful dishes.
Or have a bite.

And, the day following such a culinary marathon, my kitchen and I are more than a little ravaged.
Basically, I’m. Cooked. Out.

So, what’s all that got to do with this posting’s lead photo?

Well, it’s to let you know that on the spring days when you feel “cooked-out,” and don’t want to go out, We’ve Got Options. There are simple, lively tastes you can make in minutes, without cooking a thing—as long as you don’t call putting bread in the toaster Cooking.

Tastes that are fresh, yet soothing. Comfort with a bite. Call them tartines or bruschettas or fancy open-faced sandwiches, when made with fresh-from-the-garden ingredients and served with a glass of sparkling water or chilled white, they will delight and restore. I made two styles for Bill and myself that are so easy, they really aren’t recipes, just combinations of good things.

The first one is my take on a French/Southwest Missouri favorite with the radish. I include Southwest Missouri, because that’s where Bill grew up, and he recalls radish-butter-salt sandwiches, made by his mom, with abiding fondness. Unlike the French model–No baguettes in Nevada, MO–his salted white radishes were placed between two buttered slices of American white bread.

I opt for the French manner: open faced, crusty, but with a couple of deviations. I toast the bread, like ciabatta, slap on some unsalted butter, top with sliced radish, a few curls of green onions, then a sprinkle of coarse sea salt. Both early spring crops, radishes and spring onions pair rather nicely.

Now, the important part: Wait. Just a moment or two. You’ll see beads of water form as the salt “sweats” the radishes. This brings out the radishness, making for a juicier crunch.

Thanks to my friend Marilyn, who grew these radishes in her suburban farmette.

A Perfect Radish-Scallion-Butter Toast
Slice of a favorite Sturdy, Crusty Bread, wheat or white
Unsalted Butter ( not too soft, since it’s going on toast!)
Radishes (try the French Breakfast variety–long, scarlet with white base)
Scallions
Coarse Sea Salt

These are all the ingredients required. No quantities, no measurements, for none are really needed: Maybe there’s the equivalent of one radish and a quarter of a scallion on a toast.
———————————————————————————————-

My second treat uses ripe local strawberries: I must indulge in them while they are here!
Again, I toast the bread, and slather it with soft goat cheese. Then I stagger sliced strawberries and arugula leaves across the top. That little sour arugula twang is so good with the berry-sweet.

Be judicious with the balsamic vinegar–just droplets over the berries; a little balsamic goes a long way. With a few grindings of black pepper, this tartine is ready to enjoy.

A Peppery Strawberry-Arugula-Chevre Tartine
Slice of a Favorite Crusty White Bread, like Ciabatta
Soft Chevre
Ripe Strawberries
Arugula
Balsamic Vinegar
Cracked Black Pepper

Starring Strawberries from John Drury, Chevre from Bonnie Blue Farm, Arugula from the Nancy&Bill Belmont Farmette!

As for that No Catering Wagon, I’m ready to clamber back on…
And, surely, I will make the Lasagna Bianca for us
at some point anon,
and the Green Goddess–
I promise!

Rosemary roasted Baby New Potatoes stuffed with Sour Cream and Chives

I once had a catering client whose party manifesto maintained that all hors d’oeuvres should be no larger than the size of a quarter.

Now, for the most part, I adhere to her doctrine. An appetizer or canapé should be simple and manageable, the sort of thing that you can pick up with one hand and pop into your mouth with aplomb while standing, beverage in the other hand. Never missing a beat in a conversation.

I’ve had my share of odd inelegant moments around the cocktail buffet table with drippy dips, exploding chili poppers, bruschettas that crumble after the first bite, tomato bits tumbling to the floor. I’ve been caught—an entire jumbo stuffed mushroom stuffed in my mouth—-with party chit-chat queries: “So how do you know Mr. Fill-in-the-Blank?”

But that quarter size is pretty dang petite—I think that you can safely increase to a fifty-cent-piece.

I’m offering you three simple hors dóeuvres—small round bites that include a vegetable, a fruit/nut/cheese, and a chocolate. Pretty and tasty, these will delight your guests and not make a mess–at least not while they are being eaten. Wrapping the gorgonzola cheese mixture around each grape can get a little sticky.

Unless you’re like Jennifer, one of my former employees. She was pale, petite, bony thin, with tiny hands that were perpetually cool. We called her “Bird Arms.” When the rest of us were sweltering in the catering kitchen, our Bird Arms would sit, huddled in a wooly sweater, meticulously wrapping gorgonzola grapes or rolling chocolate truffles with nary a trace on the palms of her hands.

Rosemary roasted Baby New Potatoes stuffed with Sour Cream and Chives
6 lbs. Baby New Potatoes–no larger than a golf ball–smaller is better!
Olive Oil
several sprigs of Fresh Rosemary
Sea Salt
Black Pepper
16 oz. Sour Cream
1 bundle of Fresh Chives
pastry bag fitted with a star tip

Clean and dry the potatoes and lay them out onto a baking sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil, dust with salt, black pepper, and chopped rosemary. Shake the pan and turn the potatoes so that they are completely coated with the herb infused oil. (This can be done the day before roasting.)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place pan of potatoes on the middle oven shelf and roast for about
18-20 minutes. About halfway through the roasting, rotate the pan and give it a shake.
Turn off oven and let the potatoes sit in the oven for 10 minutes before removing.

When the potatoes are warm, but not too hot to handle, you can begin the process of cutting, hollowing and stuffing. I slice the golf ball sized potatoes through the center to create two small halves; I hollow an opening at the top of potatoes that are smaller. Arrange all the halves and hollowed wholes on a plate or platter. Fill the pastry bag with sour cream and pipe plump little stars onto each. Snip fresh chives and sprinkle on top of each. Garnish the tray with additional rosemary, chives, or other greenery. Serve at room temperature.

Cook’s Notes:
The potatoes actually benefit from sitting in the rosemary-olive oil-sea salt up to 24 hours before roasting.

It is not as difficult these days to locate baby new potatoes. Years ago, you might find me in a grocery store sorting through mounds of spuds like a mad woman, counting them out into sacks. Now you can find them sold separately in 2 lb. bags. I recently saw a bounty of them for sale at our farmers market, marked as “creamers.”

Gorgonzola Grapes: get your fruit, cheese, and nut in one bite!

Gorgonzola Grapes
1 lb. gorgonzola cheese
1 lb. cream cheese, softened
1 lb. toasted walnuts, finely chopped
1 large bunch of seedless grapes, picked, rinsed, dried

Cream the two softened cheeses together in a bowl. Chill slightly. Place the finely chopped toasted walnuts into a separate bowl. One by one, coat each grape with the cheese mixture by hand and drop into the bowl of nuts. Roll gently until covered and place on a baking sheetpan lined with parchment or waxed paper. Chill well.

Arrange mounded on a plate and garnish with fresh grapes and ivy.

Makes about 100.

The hint of brandy and strawberry in these Bittersweet Chocolate-Berry Truffles makes them especially compelling.

Bittersweet Chocolate-Berry Truffles
1 cup heavy Cream
4 Tablespoons Butter
8 oz.Semi-sweet Chocolate, chopped
8 oz.Bittersweet Chocolate, chopped
2 teaspoons Vanilla
1 teaspoon Brandy
1 Tablespoon Strawberry Preserves

for coating the truffles:
1 cup toasted chopped Pecans
1/2 cup Cocoa

In a heavy duty saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer. Add the chocolates and stir until melted throughout. Turn down heat. Stir in butter, vanilla, brandy, and strawberry preserves. Stir until all ingredients are well mixed and the chocolate is thick, smooth, and shiny. Pour into a bowl and let cool. Refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours.

To form the truffles:
Place finely chopped pecans in a flat bowl. Put cocoa into another bowl.
Remove truffle mixture from the refrigerator. Using a melon baller, scoop out rounds of truffles and drop into either bowl of pecans or cocoa. Shake the bowl to dust the exterior of the truffle, then roll gently, quickly by hand into a firm round ball. Chill well. Makes about 36 truffles.

Cook’s Notes
Try a variety of chocolates and fruit or liqueur accents: raspberry preserves, cointreau, chambord.
I had the good fortune to include some 85% bittersweet Italian chocolate. All dark chocolates are on the table! Recently, a Dark Chocolate Dovebar Easter Bunny made its truffle transformation….

My friend Muna is well-known as a couturiere, but few are aware that she is as talented in the kitchen as she is in the sewing room. That same creative force that finds an exquisite fabric and fashions it into a standout ball gown finds its way into her dolmas (Turkish for “stuffed thing”.)

I first sampled those delectables when I helped serve at a party in her home a couple of years ago.

Her stuffed grape leaves were delicate wraps encasing a lemony herbed rice, but it was her stuffed onions, caramel-sweet, bursting with that same intense filling that kept me greedily circling back to the buffet. I couldn’t help myself. I rationalized this rapacious behavior as a cook’s curiousity–hmm…what’s in this dish–but it was more than that. They were addictively delicious.

After the sixth or seventh loop around the dolmas platter, clearly I was not curious–just hoggish—and had to stop. I pulled Muna aside, and pleaded,
“I must know how to make these.”

Muna was breezy, “Sure, I’ll teach you. I love to share my recipes.”

At last, I learned from the Dolmas Maestra. I recently helped her give a cooking class in a friend’s home. (And, it’s no surprise, there are other specialties in her repertoire worth sharing–more to come!) It’s always exciting to learn about new ingredients, new combinations of flavors, new cooking techniques. Muna is generous that way, so now to spread the fruits of that generosity for you to enjoy.

Stuffed Grape Leaves and Onions (Dolmas)
2 cups Basmati Rice—rinsed 2-3 times
3 stalks Celery, finely chopped
5 medium Onions: cut top and root end off each, slice lengthwise almost halfway to the heart of the onion and parboil until the onion can be easily pulled apart into “stuffable” pieces. Of the 5, take 1 whole and the hearts of the remaining 4, and chop finely.
1 large Tomato, finely chopped
2 big bunches fresh Italian Parsley, finely chopped
5 cloves Garlic, minced
Juice from 4 large Lemons (almost 1 cup)
1 T. dry Mint
1 T. Dillweed
1 ½ T. Tamarind Paste
1 small can Tomato Paste
Salt
Black Pepper
½ cup Olive Oil
Jar of Grape Leaves—rinse and dry the leaves, then de-stem

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add finely chopped garlic, onions, celery, tomatoes, parsley and sauté for a few minutes. Stir in rinsed rice, lemon juice, mint, dillweed, salt, pepper, tamarind and tomato pastes. Continue stirring and cooking until all the ingredients are well combined and the rice is well coated. Mixture is partially cooked.
Stuff the onions first.
Cut each grape leaf in half—down the center. Place a spoonful of rice mixture into the middle of each piece and roll up neatly—the leaves will be tight, but open on each end.
Layer in a Dutch oven or deep skillet (first onions, then grape leaves)and put a plate on top to press down on the rolled up pieces.
Add a little water.
Cook for the first 10 minutes on high, then simmer for one hour.
Cool slightly, and serve. Makes 25 stuffed onion pieces and 50 stuffed grape leaves.

SPECIAL TIPS:

When assembling the ingredients, you’ll notice one uncommon element– Tamarind Paste–which this curious cook could never have discerned and what indeed makes this dish extraordinary. Its particular tart/sweet pulp is also found in chutneys and more commonly known sauces like Worcestershire and Pickapeppa. I bought it at an international market, K&S, here in Nashville.

Dried mint leaves and fresh lemon juice are also key.

Muna rinses the basmati rice–at least twice–to remove any excess starch. The benefits are two-fold: Rinsed rice is more receptive to the flavors of accompanying ingredients and will steam up in less liquid.

Rather than wrapping the filling in the center of each leaf–the traditional method– Muna splits each leaf up the spine and rolls the filling up, cigar-fashion. “It makes a big difference.” she says, “the leaves cook more tender and the rice mix has more flavor. And, don’t worry, the filling won’t fall out.”

Using a lightly oiled Dutch oven, layer the bottom with the stuffed onions first, which buffer the grapeleaves from searing onto the bottom of the pot and infuse them with their sweetness.
Only a small amount of water is needed. Muna weighs the top with a dinner plate. “The plate on top is my mother’s trick. She also taught me that it is best to cook it on high heat for the first ten minutes. That high heat sears the onions. Then reduce it to low and just leave it alone for almost an hour.”

Cheesecake, that indulgent combo of cream cheese, eggs, and what-you-fancy, is a crowd-pleaser in all its guises. Everyone is familiar with the myriad sweet versions: New York original, chocolate, chocolate chip, strawberry, mocha…and no doubt, has a favorite.

But the cake’s savory sides are not as known.

I’ve had guests ask me, “This looks really good. What is it?”
and cock their heads with uncertainty when I say “It’s a Savory Cheesecake.”
When I explain that it’s got cream cheese, feta, artichoke hearts, green onions, fresh dillweed and oregano; just spread it on a cracker, Eyes Light Up.

This has all the right Big Party elements: rich Greek-inspired flavors and show-stopper looks, easy to make at a modest cost. One cake goes a long way—up to 50 guest’s worth of slathers on crackers—not to mention the yummy puff pastry crust.

Savory Cheesecake
2 lbs. softened cream cheese
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 cup (or more) chopped artichoke hearts
3 minced garlic cloves
5 finely chopped scallions
2 Tablespoons fresh dillweed (2 t., if using dry)
2 Tablespoons fresh oregano (2 t., if using dry)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
4 eggs
pinch red pepper flakes
½ cup sundried tomatoes, chopped
1 10”x15”puff pastry sheet (you can use smaller sheets and piece together–the pastry
pieces easily.)
9” springform pan

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Line the bottom and sides of the springform pan with puff pastry.
In a mixing bowl, cream together the feta and cream cheeses.
Beat in the artichoke hearts, scallions, and minced garlic. Add herbs, salt and pepper.
Beat in eggs, one at a time. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl, mixing well.
Pour into pastry-lined springform pan and bake for 50 minutes. Allow to cool, then unmold.
Garnish with sundried tomatoes and fresh oregano or dill.
Serve at room temperature with crackers or crostini.

Caterer’s Tips: This can be made several days in advance and refrigerated. I have had success freezing it, ungarnished. For a holiday look, I used English ivy and clusters of nandina berries clipped from my backyard to garnish the platter.