Month: August 2018

I’ve become fairly obsessed with cheese & charcuterie boards, and I’ve come up with a formula that I’m going to apply to all the ones I make from now on:

Cheeses (one of each category):

• Soft: Camembert, Brie de Meaux, Vacherin Mont-d’Or
• Semi-Soft: Havarti, Munster
• Firm: Emmental, Gruyere, Jarlsberg, Edam
• Blue: Gorgonzola, Stilton, Roquefort
• Stronger: Aged Cheddar, smoked Gouda, Epoisse

Meats:

• Sopressata, chorizo or other dried salami-style dry-cured sausage
• Jamón serrano, lomo or prosciutto
• Uncured ham, guanciale or porchetta
• Roast beef or bresaola
• Paté, terrine or rillettes

Fruit & Vegetables (preferably in season):

• Fresh berries (strawberries,raspberries,blackberries)
• Dried fruit (cranberries, cherries, raisins)
• Mandarin oranges
• Grapes
• Sliced apple or pear
• Tomatoes
• Herb-sauteed mushrooms

Pickles & Preserves:

• Pickled gerkhins
• Pickled pepperoncini
• Grilled artichoke hearts
• Marinated olices (Manzanilla olives with oil, rosemary, red pepper flakes, salt & pepper)
• Marinated feta (cubed feta, oilve oil, italian herbs, chili flakes, cracked pepper)
• Strawberry, basil & black pepper Cabernet preserves (recipe below)

Bread & crackers:

• Grilled baguette toast
• Pita or other flatbread
• Crostini, crackerbreads, breadsticks
• Assorted crackers

Other:

• Cabernet balsamic reduction (recipe below)
• Fresh butter
• Honey

EDIT: great tip that I found. A lot of deli/cheese counters have odds-ends bins, where small bits at the end of a large joint of meat or block of cheese, or things close to the sell-by date are put often at very reduced price. It can be a way to gets lots of variety for a deal!

Cabernet Balsamic Reduction

1 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup Cabernet Sauvignon
2 tbsp honey, optional

Combine ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook until balsamic thickens and the mixture reduces by about half, about 10-12 minutes. Stirring occasionally. Be sure to keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn or boil over. The balsamic will thicken as it cools; store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Strawberry, basil & black pepper Cabernet Preserves

4 cups strawberries, halved*
1.25 cups brown sugar
1/3 cup grated apple
2 tbsp minced basil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup Cabernet Sauvignon
3/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper**

*You can quarter, dice, or even puree the strawberries for a smoother texture.
**This lends a nice peppery kick to the preserves. You definitely want to use freshly cracked black pepper! If you’re not a fan of black pepper use 1/4 tsp or omit entirely.

Combine strawberries and sugar in a bowl and allow to sit a few hours or overnight. This will macerate the berries and help release their juices. Combine strawberry sugar mixture along with the remaining ingredients in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. Simmer over medium low heat, stirring frequently, for about 35-40 minutes, until thickened to spoon test. Carefully spoon hot preserves into a mason jar and allow to cool to room temp before refrigerating for up to a week.

Pan fry the sausage in olive oil. Slice lengthwise.

Cook the bacon. Once bacon is cooked, pat to remove excess grease.

While the bacon is cooking, prep your veg:
– wash & dice the tomatoes
– wash & slice the mushrooms
– wash the spinach leaves
– prepare the leeks (throw out dark green part, slice light green part, wash thoroughly)

Wilt spinach in the bacon grease. Keep aside.

Add olive oil. Sautée the leeks and mushrooms. Add the tomatoes.

Hollow out the bread-bowls, leaving a hole in the top about the size of a fried egg. Brush the insides with melted butter.

Once everything is cooked, layer the bacon, sausage, and veggies into the bread bowls. Sprinkle grated cheddar cheese. Crack a fresh egg on top. Season with salt and fresh cracked pepper.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350F/175C for 15 minutes (runny yolks) to 20 minutes (set yolks). Whites should be set.

Serve with really sharp knives.

520 g all-purpose flour
10 g kosher salt
1 packet instant yeast
500 ml warm tap water
5 g butter for greasing pan
60 ml olive oil divided
rosemary for seasoning
flaky sea salt

Prepare the dough:

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, and yeast. Stir well. Add the warm water. Using a sturdy wooden spoon, mix until all of the flour is incorporated. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours.

Lightly butter two 9-inch cake pans. Line pans with parchment paper. Pour one tablespoon of olive oil into the center of each pan. Using oiled hands, divide dough in half with a large spoon or rubber spatula and place one piece of dough in each pan, turning to coat with oil. Tuck edges of dough underneath to form a rough ball. Cover each pan tightly with plastic wrap and allow the dough balls to rest for 2 hours depending. The dough should cover most of the pan.

Bake:

Preheat oven to 215C with a rack positioned in the center of the oven.

Drizzle another tablespoon of oil over each round of dough. With oiled fingers, using both hands, press straight down and create deep dimples that go all the way through the dough (in other words, you’ll actually be making deep holes.) If necessary, gently stretch the dough as you dimple to allow the dough to fill the pan.

Sprinkle tops with rosemary and flaky sea salt.

Transfer the pans to the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 200C. Bake for 22 to 28 minutes, until the tops are golden and the undersides are crisp. Remove pans from the oven. With a metal spatula remove bread rounds from the pans and transfer to a cooling rack.

Serve warm or allow to cool completely then store in a zippered bag.

1.25cup /310ml warm water (40oC)
10g active dried yeast (1 packet)
1 tbsp / 15g sugar
1 tbsp / 15g kosher salt
3.75cup / 450g all-purpose flour
0.75cup / 180g Greek-style yogurt
30ml extra virgin olive oil
0.25cup / 5g chopped parsley

Combine the yeast, sugar, and water into a medium-large bowl and stir well. Allow to sit in a warm place for 5-10 minutes to activate the yeast. The mixture will be foamy and bubbly when activated. Whisk in the Greek yogurt olive oil and salt.

Add flour and parley and stir with a wooden spoon or sturdy spatula and until the dough comes together. Turn dough out onto a well-floured counter and turn to coat. Knead for 3-4 minutes or until dough is no longer sticky and springs back when lightly pressed. Sprinkle more flour onto the counter if the dough is sticky during kneading.

Divide dough into 10 equal pieces, sprinkle lightly with flour, then cover with a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rest for 15 minutes.

Preheat a medium saucepan to a medium-low heat. While pan is heating, roll one of the dough portions into an approximately 7-inch circle. Brush the top surface lightly with extra virgin olive oil. When the pan is hot, pick up the first circle with your hand and place in pan, oiled side down. Lightly brush the top surface with oil. Allow to the flatbread to cook for about 1 to 1. 5 minutes, until top surface is covered with bubbles and underside is golden around the edges and in spots.

Flip to opposite side and cook for another 60-90 seconds until a few small golden spots appear. Don’t overcook on the second side. Repeat rolling, oiling and cooking with remaining portions of dough.

Sprinkle flatbreads with a bit more chopped parsley when finished, if desired. Stack flatbreads in a clean kitchen towel after cooking to steam a bit and retain softness.

When cool, store in a ziplock bag. Reheat in a pan without oil for a minute or two on each side OR wrap flatbreads in paper toweling and heat in the microwave on low power until warm.

Notes:

You can make these flatbreads thicker or thinner by rolling the dough rounds bigger or smaller.

Since every stove is different, you might have to experiment a little bit with the first flatbread. You want the heat high enough that bubbles appear on the top surface and the underside is getting a few golden spots after about 45 seconds to 1 minute. If you’re not seeing the bubbles, increase the heat. If the underside is getting brown too fast, decrease the heat a bit.

Brush the dough rounds lightly with olive oil. You want to cover the surface but you don’t want greasy flatbread.

The amount of kosher salt sounds like a lot, but it’s divided between 10 large flatbreads. If you use regular iodized salt instead of kosher salt, definitely use less (0.5 tbsp / 7.5g)

300g cauliflower florets
300g dried macaroni (or any other tubular pasta)
600ml milk
200g mature Cheddar cheese, grated
100g mild cheese (havarti, gouda), grated
60g butter, plus a few extra knobs
4 tbsp plain flour
2 tsp mustard powder
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Sea salt, to taste
3 tbsp fresh white breadcrumbs
1 tbsp thyme leaves

Bring a large pan of well-salted water to the boil. Add the cauliflower and cook for 4–5 minutes until tender. Remove with a slotted spoon and chill in a bowl of ice-cold water to prevent it from cooking any further. Drain well.

Tip the macaroni into the boiling salted water and cook according to packet instructions. Drain, refresh under cold, running water and drain again. Mix the macaroni, cauliflower and a few knobs of butter together in a large bowl.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Heat the 60g butter in a pan, and stir in the flour and mustard powder to make a roux. Gradually add the milk, beating continuously with a balloon whisk until the mixture is smooth. Slowly bring to the boil over a low heat, whisking frequently, until the mixture thickens. Season well with cayenne pepper and sea salt to taste.

Mix the cheeses together and stir half into the white sauce. Mix well until the cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth again. Add the macaroni and cauliflower to the sauce and mix well to coat. Spread the mixture into a large, wide gratin dish.

Combine the remaining cheeses with the breadcrumbs and thyme leaves. Sprinkle over the top of the macaroni and cauliflower mixture. Bake for about 15–20 minutes until the topping is golden and crisp. Serve immediately.