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Herbed Beets With Feta

Posted in Recipes on April 17th, 2011

Roasted beets with herbs and feta cheese make a wonderful vegetable side dish for many meals. Try the recipe sometime when you encounter fresh beets at the market.

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Herbed Beets With Feta
Author: 
Recipe type: Sidedish
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4 - 6
 
This is a very elegant, and elegantly simple to craft, warm vegetable side dish to serve. The combination of herbs, beets, and feta cheese make a rich and complex palate of flavors.
Ingredients
  • 6 beets (approx 1.5 lb)
  • 1½ tsp chopped fresh thyme
  • 1½ tsp chopped fresh chives
  • 3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 oz feta cheese, crumbled
  • Ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. In a small bowl mix together the thyme, chives, and olive oil, reserve
  3. Peel beets under running water and wrap them individually in foil
  4. Roast beets in oven until tender when pierced with a fork, approx. 1 hour
  5. Remove beets from oven, unwrap, and quarter them
  6. Place beets in serving bowl and drizzle them with herb and oil mixture
  7. Add crumbled feta cheese and pepper
Notes
Beets come in a variety of colors, all of which have very similar flavors. Try mixing different colors for a more interesting presentation. The beets can be roasted the night before and stored (in separate containers by color) if desired and reheated before adding herbed oil and feta cheese.

I particularly like this served with roasted lamb or medallions of beef tenderloin, but it pairs wonderfully with a variety of main dishes.

Related Reading:

Giada's Italy: My Recipes for La Dolce Vita
Hot for Food Vegan Comfort Classics: 101 Recipes to Feed Your Face
Cook It in Cast Iron: Kitchen-Tested Recipes for the One Pan That Does It All (Cook's Country)
The Big Book of Sides: More than 450 Recipes for the Best Vegetables, Grains, Salads, Breads, Sauces, and More
Side Dishes: Delicious Recipes for Italian Favorites

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Powhatan Fritatta

Posted in Recipes on January 16th, 2011

Few things are more delicious and decadent for breakfast or brunch than the combination of crab and eggs.

While I’ve called this recipe for a crab and corn fritatta a Powhatan Fritatta in homage to the ancient Native American tribe of the Chesapeake Bay region, they would not have had a dish similar to this. It does, however, showcase some of their favorite ingredients: crab and corn.

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Powhatan Fritatta
Author: 
Recipe type: Main
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4 -6
 
Powhatan Fritatta is rich and decadent, with a nice mix of sweetness from the crab and corn and piquancy from the Old Bay Seasoning - definitely the makings of a luscious weekend breakfast or brunch.
Ingredients
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon butter
  • 8 oz crab meat
  • ½ cup corn kernels
  • 4 eggs
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • ¼ cup milk
  • ½ cup shredded mild, white cheese (Monterey Jack, Havarti, Queso Fresco, or Fontina)
  • ¾ teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F
  2. SautĂ© the onion in butter the onion and garlic until the onion is just clear. Add the crab meat, corn kernels and ⅓ (1/4 teaspoon) of the Old Bay Seasoning. Stir gently until combined and let cook for an additional 2 minutes.
  3. In a bowl whisk together the 4 eggs, 2 eggs, milk, and cream. Stir in the cheese, ¼ teaspoon of Old Bay Seasoning, and crab mixture.
  4. Pour all into a lightly greased pie pan. Top with remaining ¼ teaspoon of Old Bay Seasoning and freshly ground pepper and salt to taste.
  5. Bake until a knife inserted into the center of the frittata comes out clean, approximately 30 minutes.
Notes
Blue crab is the most "traditional" crab to use in this recipe but dungeness, king, or snow crab will work equally well. Use what you have available. You need the equivalent of 4 large eggs for this dish, but can easily replace any number of them with the appropriate amount of egg whites. You need ½ cup of dairy for this dish, but can adjust the fat content and richness of the dish by adjusting the proportions of milk and heavy cream. It can even be made with solely a ½ cup of skim milk. For an interesting variation replace the normal corn kernels with roasted whole kernel corn. It will lend a pleasant smokiness to the dish. For this I use Trader Joe's Roasted Corn rather than roasting my own.

Minchin quier! Wingutsee tuttascuc.
(Eat! The crab is good.)

Related Reading:

Bubby's Brunch Cookbook: Recipes and Menus from New York's Favorite Comfort Food Restaurant
Rising Tides (The Chesapeake Bay Saga, Book 2)
The Weekday Lunches & Breakfasts Cookbook: Easy & Delicious Home-Cooked Meals for Busy Families
Sea Swept (Chesapeake Bay, Book 1)
Chesapeake Bay Nature of the Estuary: A Field Guide

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Curried Pumpkin Soup

Posted in Recipes on October 30th, 2009

While I’ve called this recipe Curried Pumpkin Soup, it is really a winter squash soup. Because this soup is not sweet just about any winter squash (acorn, butternut, kobacha, Hubbard) can be used instead of pumpkin.

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Curried Pumpkin Soup
Author: 
Recipe type: Soup
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4 - 6
 
The rich flavor combinations in this creamy soup are complex and subtle, yet the soup is neither difficult to make nor overly filling. It is a wonderful meal on any cooler and/or rainier day or evening.
Ingredients
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1½ teaspoons fresh ginger, grated
  • 1 teaspoon dried, smoked chiles (chipotle, cobán, and/or ancho), chopped
  • 5 cups pumpkin, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 5 cups chicken broth
  • ½ teaspoon Jamaican curry powder
  • ¾ cup heavy cream
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Sauté the onion in butter in a wide 6-quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened (3 - 5 minutes). Add the minced garlic and grated ginger allow this to cook for 1 minute longer.
  2. Add the dried, smoked chiles, pumpkin, and chicken broth. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until pumpkin is completely tender (30 minutes).
  3. When the pumpkin is tender, add the Jamaican curry powder and heavy cream. Use a hand / stick blender to puree the soup until smooth, or transfer to a blender and blend in batches. Add salt, pepper, and additional curry powder to taste.
  4. Turn heat down to low and allow the soup to slowly come back up to heat ( 3 - 5 minutes).
Notes
For a more Caribbean flavor, substitute coconut milk for the heavy cream. This will also sweeten the soup somewhat, so you may want to adjust the levels of chiles, salt, and pepper. For a higher protein dish with a decidedly coastal flair, add some firm white fish (cod, haddock, pollack, or snapper) that has been sautéed, baked, or broiled to the soup after it has been puréed. Simply cut the fish into bite-sized pieces and fold them into the soup. Allow them to heat through and serve. For a more ancient and Native American variation, add roasted corn to soup at service. Toss 2 - 3 cups of corn kernels (fresh or frozen) with olive oil and place them in a baking dish. Season with black pepper. Broil, stirring often, until the corn begins to brown. Keep an eye on them! They burn quickly and easily. Sprinkle or mound the roasted corn onto each bowl of soup just before serving it up.

This rich and creamy soup also pairs well with Fresh Corn Salad, especially in warmer months or areas.

Serve in deep bowls with a side of cornbread, fry bread, or Johnny cakes and enjoy the autumn or winter!

Related Reading:

Tear Soup: A Recipe for Healing After Loss
At My Table: A Celebration of Home Cooking
Giada's Italy: My Recipes for La Dolce Vita
Soup: A Recipe to Create a Culture of Greatness
Soup

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