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An Easy Cocktail Party or Super Bowl Snack – Baked Manouri Cheese with Herbs

January 30, 2020

Piece of baked Manouri cheese with herbs
Porcelain plate by Liz Quackenbush

We are well into the short days and long nights of winter. No, don’t pull the sheets over your head and hibernate. Now is the best time to invite people over – for drinks or soup or just to watch a movie – to share these wintry evenings. Plus, with the Super Bowl coming up, you’ll need hors d’oeuvres or snacks on hand. Besides a freezer full of little triangles of spanakopita and samosas, cheeses make an easy and well-liked party platter. This week, I offer you a different spin on the traditional baked Brie or Camembert (an old standby for a winter cocktail party snack) – baked Manouri cheese with herbs.

Manouri is a soft cheese made from the drained whey left over when making feta in Greece, Macedonia and Thessaly. Primarily from sheep or goat milk, it has some cream added, which makes it softer, creamier and less salty than feta with just a mild tang. You can crumble it in salad or spread it on a cracker. But my favorite way to serve Manouri is topped with olive oil and herbs and baked, since it gets a cheesecake-like consistency when heated.

I was introduced to Manouri at Mani Marketplace, our local grocery run by two Greek brothers (I’ve written about them before). One of the owners recommended I try it and I loved it just simply spread on seeded crackers. When I went back to get more, the young man who stocks the cheese shelves told me how to bake it with oil and herbs. And the cashier suggested making it with honey and nuts, which could be delicious, too. I had never heard of Manouri cheese before, but apparently it is fairly popular. Find it in New York at Murray’s Cheese, Zabar’s and the Bedford Cheese Shop, as well as at Mani. You can even buy it online.

Slice of Manouri cheese rolled in dry herbs before baking

This is one of the simplest hors d’oeuvres I know and a little different (and less rich) from the more commonly baked Brie. I used a blend of oregano, paprika and thyme but za’atar, Herbes de Provence, chopped rosemary, dill or even a chutney could be delicious. You could bake olives and roasted peppers alongside the cheese and serve them together. Remove the Manouri from your baking sheet with a spatula and plate it on a handmade ceramic dish. Then you have not only a tasty but beautiful snack to serve your guests.

BAKED MANOURI CHEESE

This is almost too simple to be a recipe!

Slice of Manouri cheese (mine was a little more than an inch tall)
Flavorful olive oil
Dried herbs (I used oregano and thyme)

Roll your slice of Manouri in dry herbs so the whole edge is coated.

Place the herbed slice on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Drizzle with olive oil (about 1 TB).

Sprinkle the top with more herbs.

Bake at 350F degrees for 6-8 minutes.

Remove to serving plate with a flat spatula.

Serve with crackers, crudités or apple/pear slices.

A Quick Festive Cocktail Snack: Laurie Colwin’s/Rosalea Murphy’s Rosemary Walnut Recipe And A Smoky Pecan Version

December 5, 2019

Spiced and herbed pecans
Slip-cast Porcelain dish by Hiroe Hanazono

Although it feels like it started at Halloween this year, we are now officially in the holiday season. That means you may be hosting more guests than usual. We tend to have more friends over for dinner and more parties during the cold weather. Not only are more people around during the cooler months but our apartment is too hot in summer to even consider hosting a soirée. I like to put out a cheese board, crudités and dips and serve a warm appetizer or two if not an entire buffet when having a party. But when friends drop by or we invite people spontaneously, nuts alongside cheese and olives are my fallback. This recipe is 15 minutes start to finish. Just melt the butter in oil, add the seasoning, toss with the nuts and bake.

Nuts are nutritional powerhouses that show up on many “what to eat daily” lists. A handful, that is, not a bowl, because although nutrient rich, nuts are also calorie dense so you can’t eat them like carrot sticks or popcorn. Sorry. Fortunately they are so tasty, a handful is quite satisfying. And if you think they are delicious all by themselves, the recipe I am going to share with you makes them absolutely scrumptious and perfect for a holiday table or with cocktails.

Bagged pecans are widely available and often very reasonable

This recipe originated in The Pink Adobe Cookbook by Rosalea Murphy but was made popular when Laurie Colwin published it in her Gourmet Magazine column. It is quite simple – just walnuts, butter, rosemary, cayenne and salt but easily adapted to suit individual tastes. I prefer pecans or cashews (although I think walnuts are actually more nutritious) and using chipotle chili powder over cayenne for its smoky flavor. Because they are a bit “hot”, you actually won’t go through a whole bowl yourself. I tried using olive oil in place of the butter, and you can, but it just wasn’t as delicious. My solution was to use a tablespoon of each. If you like spicier nuts, you could easily add more cayenne or add black pepper. If you hate rosemary, use thyme alone or skip the herbs and use curry powder. And if you like sweet, add a spoonful of sugar, honey or maple syrup to the melted butter and spices. Try these with your own spin and tell us which you prefer. (A word of warning – don’t just turn off the oven and leave the nuts in it – they will continue to darken or, worse, burn).

A few nuts may be the perfect accompaniment to a cocktail or beer, providing a little nutritional snack to balance out the alcohol you are downing. They are a great party food since they can sit out for hours without refrigeration and the rosemary in this recipe makes the nuts taste holiday special. Unlike many spiced nut recipes, including my all-time favorite with curry and chutney, these have no added sugar. Below is the original recipe and the one I adapted and prefer. I like to serve them with a spoon or in a bottle so people don’t dip their hands in and touch the nuts others will put in their mouths. At the Old Church Pottery Sale (which is coming up this weekend-as it does every year after Thanksgiving in Demarest, NJ), the caterers put out nuts in small individual glasses to avoid such hand dipping. However you serve them, these nuts are delicious and stay fresh in a covered container for a week or two. And if you need a homemade holiday or host gift, a bag or mason jar full of spiced nuts could be perfect.

Rosemary Walnuts
Slip-cast Porcelain Dish by Hiroe Hanazono

PINK ADOBE/LAURIE COLWIN ROSEMARY WALNUTS

2 cups shelled raw walnuts
2 1/2 TBs butter
2 tsps crumbled dried rosemary
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

Melt the butter and add the seasoning.

Mix in the nuts.

Spread on a parchment paper covered pan and bake 11-12 minutes, stirring occasionally until browned.

Cool and serve or store in a covered container.

MY SMOKY PECAN VERSION

2 cups shelled raw pecans
1 TB butter plus 1 TB olive or avocado oil
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp crumbled dried rosemary
1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder or 1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2-1 tsp kosher salt (I use Diamond Crystal because it is less salty than Morton’s)

Preheat toaster oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Melt butter in a saucepan and add the seasoning.

Add in the nuts and stir to coat well.

Pour onto a parchment paper lined toaster oven pan.

Bake for 11 minutes, turning once.

Cool and serve or store in a glass jar for up to 2 weeks.

Spiced and herbed pecans
Porcelain dish by Hiroe Hanazono

Thanksgiving Sides Can Be Both Easy And Delicious: Brussels Sprouts With Chestnuts

November 19, 2019

Brussels sprouts with chestnuts
Stoneware bowl by Melissa Weiss

With Thanksgiving just over a week away, we really need to finalize what to serve or bring for the feast. One of my favorites, and one of the easiest holiday side dishes (aside from a simple baked sweet potato or steamed green beans) is Brussels sprouts with roasted chestnuts. It is so easy it really isn’t even a recipe. You won’t need instructions after you’ve made it one time. The most labor-intensive part of the process is roasting the chestnuts and that job can be done a day or two ahead.

Fresh chestnuts are widely available from now through the end of the year. To prepare your washed chestnuts for roasting, score an x through the dark outer shell on the rounded side of the nut. There are special knives just for this task but a short, sharp paring knife works fine. Place the scored nuts on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes in a 350, until your cut x has curled back to expose some inner flesh. After removing from the oven (I actually did ours in the toaster oven since we still have no gas), wrap the hot chestnuts in a dish towel and crunch them with your hands a bit to loosen the skins. Let them steam like that for about 5 minutes and then peel – a somewhat time-consuming job but one that can be done while watching TV or talking on the phone. You can use the chestnuts immediately or store them in a glass jar in the fridge a few days until ready to use. And if all of this seems like too much work, jarred and bagged roasted and peeled chestnuts are easily purchased.

Brussels sprouts still on the stalk
from Amantai Farm

Fresh Brussels sprouts at our local farmers market from J & A Farm

Similarly, it isn’t hard to clean, steam or roast Brussels sprouts (but frozen are delicious, too). Just trim off the tough bottoms, halve if large, place in a steamer insert in a pot with a lid and add an inch or so of water. Steam 5-6 minutes or until just pierce-able with a fork or knife. Please, please, please be careful not to overcook! Drain and add a generous knob of butter (or earth balance or whatever you use instead of butter), the semi- chopped chestnuts and a generous sprinkle of plain salt, an herb salt like Herbamare or a flavored salt – perhaps truffle?

Brussels sprouts with roasted chestnuts, butter, salt and pepper

I hated Brussels sprouts as a kid, perhaps because they were always served over cooked or because the smell of overcooked cruciferous vegetables is so disgusting. But when I started cooking them for myself and adding butter and salt, I learned to enjoy eating them. The sweet, creamy flavor of the chestnuts is a perfect balance to the vegetal Brussels sprout flavor. This bright green dish, along with a salad and cranberries, will enliven a Thanksgiving table full of predominantly brown, white or pumpkin colored foods. And if it is too much effort to make or get chestnuts, (although I think you’ll find it is worth the time), just cheat and toss in a handful of toasted pumpkin seeds and currants and you’ll have made an otherwise plain vegetable seem quite festive.

Striped bowl by Melissa Weiss
made from wild clay she digs in Arkansas

Making Your Own Kimchi – It Is Easier Than You Might Think

October 1, 2019

Homemade kimchi
Porcelain cloud plate by Julia Galloway

I didn’t grow up eating Kimchi. I had never even heard of it before I was in grad school and tried some at the new Korean restaurant that had just replaced a local coffee shop. From the smell, I was afraid it would be too strong for my taste and was surprised at how much I liked it. But it wasn’t until the last few years that I began eating kimchi with any regularity after it started appearing in our neighborhood markets. Kimchi, spicy pickled Napa cabbage, is eaten daily in many Korean homes and is becoming more popular in contemporary American cooking. Kimchi in fried rice, added to tacos or quesadillas, blended into deviled eggs or layered on a sandwich are just a few of the ways it is used. Kimchi, like yogurt, has gut-friendly probiotics as well as vitamins, minerals and fiber, the kind of food we need more of in our diets. One day last year, when I had run out of our preferred brand and wanted to top a salmon burger with some (our favorite use), it occurred to me that I should try making it myself.

The biggest task in making kimchi at home is gathering the ingredients. The gochugaru, the coarse Korean red pepper flakes, not that obscure anymore, is found in Asian markets or places where globally sourced spices are sold. (In New York, I found it at Kalustyan, Sahadi’s and H Mart and all have online ordering). Napa cabbage, daikon and fresh ginger are widely available these days. Garlic, scallions and carrots round out the ingredient list. Some traditional recipes call for fish sauce, rice flour, fermented baby shrimp, plum paste and sugar, all of which would probably add complexity to the finished product but I wanted a gluten-free, sugar-free, vegan version so I left out all the extras.

Scallions, ginger and garlic
ready to add to the napa. daikon and carrots

When it comes to pickling of any sort, I refer to Sandor Katz, the guru of all things fermented. My recipe is based on the sugar free kimchi recipe in his book Wild Fermentation. In another book, Basic Fermentation, he offers a version of the same recipe using chili paste instead of flakes (so you have an option if you can’t find gochugaru). Another good source is Marta Vongerichten’s The Kimchi Chronicles which is a little more traditional but explains and illustrates every aspect of the process in detail. The steps to making kimchi are pretty simple and straightforward, perhaps the most important being keeping everything submerged to ferment, like making sauerkraut, so as not to grow mold. Just remember to wear disposable gloves if you want to avoid staining your hands from the pepper paste and use, of course, clean glass jars.

Brine weighting down freshly made kimchi
to keep out air while fermenting

EASY KIMCHI

1 large head Napa cabbage (+/-2lbs), cored and cut into 1-1 1/2“ wide strips
1 medium daikon- peeled and cut into coins or small sticks (julienne)
3 carrots; scrubbed or peeled and cut in strips(julienne)(some people prefer thin slices or grated)
1 bunch scallions, washed and cut in1-2” pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-1 1/2” knob of fresh ginger, peeled and minced or sliced thinly
3 TBs gochugaru
4 TBs salt dissolved in
4-8 cups water- as needed to cover vegetables

Combine the cabbage, daikon and carrots in a large non-reactive bowl (like glass or stainless steel)

Pour the salted water over vegetables and soak for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally

Drain vegetables and reserve the brine.

Wearing disposable gloves to protect your hands, mix together the garlic, ginger and gochugaru

Add the scallions to the drained vegetables, add the seasoned gochugaru paste and rub it into the vegetables.

Pack the coated mixture into clean glass jars and pack down well to release some brine to cover vegetables. If there isn’t enough liquid, add just enough of the reserved brine to cover them. You can keep the vegetables submerged with a plate and jar filled with water, a freezer bag filled with the leftover brine or some other pickling weights.

Cover with a dish towel and let the jars sit for a day or two to start the fermentation. Like sauerkraut, you can decide when you think it is “cooked”. Remove the weights and store covered in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

Current work by Julia Galloway is on view at Clay Art Center in Portchester, NY

Kimchi atop a salmon burger
Porcelain cloud plate by Julia Galloway

A Healthy Birthday Celebration and a (Kale)Variation of a Greek Salad

August 15, 2019

Kale Greek Salad
Porcelain Bowl by Nick Moen at The Bright Angle

My mother had a big birthday this summer and it needed celebrating. We had done both small and large parties in the past and no one, including my mother, was up for that again. A short but special trip seemed like a good solution. I rented a car, picked her up in Connecticut and we drove north to Kripalu, an educational yoga center and retreat in the Berkshires.

View of the Stockbridge bowl and Berkshires over the Kripalu lawn

Kripalu is located in a former monastery and the rooms are nothing to write home about, but you don’t go to Kripalu for the rooms. You go for the classes, the treatments, the pervasive zen feeling of the place. While we were there, Mom took an introductory yoga class, a fairly wild yoga dance session, attended several informative and relevant lectures, had three different kinds of massage and walked the beautiful grounds which overlook the rolling green hills and the placid waters of the Berkshire Bowl. But I am certain that her favorite part of our time there was spent at the 3 times daily healthy meal buffets!

My mother was an early adapter of healthy eating. In the 70’s, she started attending Nathan Pritikin’s longevity programs and we all learned about brown rice, legumes and eating less meat and cheese. So while some people would flinch at the healthy, primarily vegetable, grain and bean offerings at Kripalu, Mom was thrilled. She wanted to taste every dish and some days I think she succeeded. I must admit part of what is so relaxing about the Kripalu buffet is that you don’t have to ever think about what you are going to eat but know there will always be something fresh and tasty. It takes a big piece of stress out of vacationing.

One of the best tasting cold dishes I remember from this trip was a greek salad. Fortunately, a version of this recipe with kale was published in the new The Kripalu Kitchen: Nourishing Food for Body and Soul by the current chef, Jeremy Rock Smith. It is especially useful now if you are craving a greek salad but feeling a little squeamish about using Romaine lettuce with all the bacterial scares. I tried arugula when we were out of kale and liked it, too, but the kale offers a more satisfying chew . If you do make it with kale (lacinato or dinosaur only, please), be sure to massage it with the dressing to help break down the vegetal fibers and to make it both more digestible and palatable. Other additions that could work in this salad are avocado, nuts or seeds, artichoke hearts, sliced celery, shredded carrots, chopped parsley or even leftover pasta. I didn’t have fresh oregano so I used dried and it was fine. And I don’t like to add raw onions to a salad so I marinated them in a tablespoon of wine vinegar which I think improved the whole dish. And you could serve all of the additions (other than the kale) in separate dishes for people to add in as they please so that everyone gets the salad they want.

The new Kripalu cookbook is full of tasty vegan, vegetarian and flexitarian recipes such as Kitchari (a soothing Ayurvedic rice and bean dish), roasted harissa cauliflower, polenta with mushroom sauce, pan-roasted pollock with chimichurri, pea, leek and potato cakes and the Kripalu house dressing with tahini and tamari. I look forward to trying many but for now, while we still have no oven, I will be making my adaptation of their greek salad over and over this summer and remember our lovely days in the Berkshires. Happy Birthday, Mom and I hope you are out walking soon!

Kripalu Kale Greek Salad, adapted from The Kripalu Kitchen

2 TBs fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Pinch each kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 TBs chopped fresh oregano or 1 tsp dried
6-8 loosely packed cups thinly cut strips (chiffonade) lacinato kale (1 generous bunch, stripped away from center rib)
1 cup sliced or diced cucumber (about 2 Persian or Kirby)
1 cup halved cherry or grape tomatoes
1/2 cup bite sized slices of red bell pepper
1/4 cup very thinly sliced red onion, marinated in 1TBs red wine vinegar
4-6 ozs feta cheese
8-10 kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
1/4 cup raw pine nuts or walnuts (optional)

Whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano

Add the kale, coat completely and use your hands to massage the dressing into the kale.

Just before serving, add all the other ingredients and toss.

Serves 4-6

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