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Seafood Mac au Gratin

Recently, at a local restaurant, I ordered the lobster mac and cheese special. It was good but not great - more like macaroni and cheese with 'essence of lobster.' I kept thinking this dish had real potential, but let's face it, lobster is expensive. And too much lobster would be overkill. So I decided to turn it into a full-fledged party by adding several layers of seafood to the already popular classic. While I am using lobster, lump crab and bay scallops, feel free to personalize this recipe by using any combination of fish or seafood of your choice.

Ingredients:

1 pound mini macaroni pasta

7 tablespoons butter, unsalted, divided

4 cups milk

½ medium onions, stud with 1 clove

4 cloves garlic

1 bay leaf

3 sprigs thyme leaves

1 teaspoon dry mustard

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or hot sauce

pinch nutmeg

salt, to taste

white pepper, to taste

2 cups gruyere cheese, grated

2 cups sharp cheddar, grated

1 cup fontina cheese, grated

1 cup parmesan, divided

½ pound lobster meat, raw and cut into pieces

½ pound lump crabmeat

½ pound bay scallops, raw

¼ cup breadcrumbs

Preparation:

Cook macaroni in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente, about 5 minutes. Drain and toss with 2 tablespoons of the butter.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Put milk into a saucepan and add the clove studded onion, garlic, bay leaf, thyme and mustard. Warm over medium low heat until the milk starts to steam, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let the flavors infuse while you make the roux.

In a large pot over medium heat add 4 tablespoons butter and add the flour. Cook, stirring, for about 3 to 4 minutes. Do not let brown. Strain the milk and whisk into the roux to avoid lumps. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and season with salt, white pepper, nutmeg and cayenne pepper. Add 1 cup of the gruyere cheese, 1 cup sharp, 1/2 cup fontina and 1/2 cup parmesan. Stir until cheeses are melted. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Coat a 13x9x2 baking dish with the remaining tablespoon of butter. Put the macaroni into the baking dish. Mix the seafood and evenly distribute over the pasta. Cover with the cheese mixture. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup gruyere, 1 cup sharp, 1/2 cup fontina and 1/2 cup parmesan cheeses and breadcrumbs on top.

Baked until golden brown, about 45 minutes.

French Onion Soup

It's that time of year, again, when our cravings for comfort food take over. With record low temperatures just about everywhere throughout the country, it's natural that one of the objects of those cravings is soup. French onion soup is one of the most popular soups ordered in restaurants, yet it is one of most simple to prepare. This classic French dish consists of sweet caramelized onions and beef stock, topped with toasted French bread and melted Gruyere cheese. The contrast of the sweet onions with the sharp cheese gives this soup its complexity and the stock provides the rich flavor. Even the most challenged cook among us will look like a rock star with this one. And you won't break the bank making it!

French Onion Soup

Ingredients:

4 ounces clarified butter or canola oil

1-1/2 pounds vidalia onions, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 ounces white wine

1 tablespoon thyme leaves, fresh

2 bay leaves

1 quart beef stock

1-1/2 quart chicken stock

french bread, sliced and , toasted

Gruyere cheese, grated

Parmesan cheese, grated

Preparation:

Heat butter or oil in a medium stockpot. Saute onions until caramelized (about 30 minutes). Add garlic and cook additional 10 minutes. Add wine and simmer until alcohol evaporates. Add thyme, bay leaves and stock. Simmer for one hour. Remove bay leaves.

Pour soup into individual soup crocks/bowls and top with toasted bread slices and cheese. Brown under broiler until cheese is melted.

Happy New Year!

Long ago I gave up trying to stay awake until midnight on New Years Eve. What I look forward to is New Years morning – and that means waffles for breakfast! Personally, I can’t think of anything better. Throw in lots of bacon, fresh cut fruit, a pot of Earl Grey tea, and all is well with my world. What better way to usher in the New Year? Time to start a new tradition, I say.

Waffles

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoons sugar
3 eggs
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
1-1/2 cups buttermilk
2 cups strawberries
½ cups pecans
whipped cream (preferably fresh)

Preparation:
Preheat waffle iron. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk all dry ingredients together. In another bowl combine butter, eggs and buttermilk. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until combined. Do not over mix. Let rest for 15 minutes. Following manufacturers recommendation, ladle the batter onto the waffle iron. Close lid and cook until brown on both sides.

Serve hot with whipped cream and strawberries and pecans. Makes 6 (8 inch) waffles.

Aumônière Tatin

When we were in Nice last month, my husband and I stumbled upon the most wonderful little eatery, Brasserie des Chauffeurs, that just happened to be open on Mondays. In case you didn’t know, most restaurants in France are closed on Mondays; and finding a place to have a good meal is almost impossible. We ate there several times during our visit because the food was so delicious. But what really got my attention were the desserts they served. One in particular was an apple tart in a purse-like crepe, called Aumônière Tatin. It was too beautiful to eat – but that didn’t stop my husband. Back home I attempted to recreate it. I was surprised that it is so easy to make, yet so elegant in it’s presentation.

Ingredients

Crepes:

4 eggs

1 cup water

1 cup milk

2 cups all purpose flour

6 tablespoons butter

butter for cooking crepes

Apple Filling:

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup sugar

3 tablespoons calvados, or apple cider

1 lemon zested

7 apples

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, or nutmeg; or cardamom

Caramel Sauce:

3 cups sugar

1 cup water

Preparation

Crepes:
Beat the eggs, water, and milk in a bowl. Beat in the flour, then the butter, until the mixture is smooth. (Or place the eggs, water, milk, and flour in a blender and mix until smooth. Add the melted butter.) Refrigerate the batter until you're ready to make the crepes. Makes 14 10” crepes.

Apple filling:
Combine the butter and sugar in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the cider. Peel, core and dice the apples. Cook until the sauce has thickened but the apples still hold their shape. Add cinnamon or nutmeg and set aside.

Caramel sauce:
Combine the sugar and water in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Dissolve the sugar, then heat on high and cook until the mixture begins to turn golden. Remove from heat and beat in the cream with a wire whisk.

To assemble:
Warm up the apple filling and caramel sauce.

Heat a crepe pan and add a tablespoon of butter. Swirl the butter around the pan, then pour off excess. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of batter to the pan, swirling it around to coat the pan evenly. A 10" Lodge Cast Iron Round Griddle is perfect for this application! As soon as the edges of the crepe turn brown, flip it to brown the other side, about 1 minute (if the crepes seem too thick, stir a little more milk into the batter).Remove the crepe, fill with the apple mixture, roll it and top with the caramel sauce.

Tourte de Blette (Swiss Chard Pie)

In the "old town" of Nice is a cooking school that specializes in the art of Niçois cooking. Rosa Jackson runs Les Petits Farcis (meaning small stuffed things, as in appetizers) out of her beautifully renovated 17th century apartment. A Cordon Bleu-trained cook, Rosa is a cookbook author, contributor to several international food publications, an editor of Fodor's Guide to Provence and the Cote d'Azur, and runs the custom-designed itinerary service www.edible-paris.com. Here Rosa shares a recipes from her cooking school curriculum.

Blette (Swiss chard) probably wins the prize as the most popular Niçois vegetable, because it can be grown year-round in the area’s arid climate. In local bakeries you’ll come across two types of tourte de blettes, the savory one and a sweet version made with raisins, pine nuts and a little rum and topped with icing sugar. If the puff pastry used here is too rich for you, you can use the pissaladière dough instead, dividing into two and rolling it very thin. I usually don’t bother to make my own puff pastry, but I am careful to choose a brand made entirely with butter and free of additives.

Tourte de Blettes
(Contributed by Rosa Jackson)

Ingredients:
1 lb Swiss chard leaves
4 oz short-grain rice, such as arborio
1 onion
4 oz bacon
1 tbsp olive oil
3 eggs
2 oz Parmesan cheese
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
2 sheets ready-made puff pastry

Preparation:
Bring a medium pot of water to the boil and cook the rice for about 20 mins. Drain and set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to the boil, add a small handful of coarse salt and blanch the chard leaves for about 5 mins. Rinse the leaves in cold water, squeeze dry and chop finely.

Chop the onion finely and cut the bacon into small dice. In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil and sauté the onion and bacon over medium heat until the bacon starts to brown lightly. Add the chard and sauté for about 5 mins. Transfer this mixture to a large bowl and add 2 of the eggs, the grated Parmesan, salt and pepper.

Place the pastry on a large baking sheet and spread out the filling to within 1/2 inch of the edges. Top with the second sheet of pastry and press the edges together. Beat the remaining egg and brush the pastry with the egg. Bake for 35 to 40 mins at 400 F.

Variation: Another popular tart in Nice is filled with zucchini (courgettes). Just replace the chard with finely diced zucchini and proceed exactly the same way. Alternatively, make the same recipe using finely diced pumpkin or squash instead of zucchini. Serves 6

Notes From Nice...

I have been in Nice (France) for a week. Saturday I spent the day visiting the Cours Saleya and Liberation farmers markets, with local chef and food writer Rosa Jackson as my guide. Nice, a city that has inspired an entire culture, food and language, is undoubtedly the foodies paradise.

Originally a Greek colony, Nice was under Italian rule until 1860, when through majority vote, it became part of France. There is no mistaking the Italian influence, from its' architecture and language to the ingredients and preparation of its' food. And if street food is any indication of the soul of a city, then that, too, is a unique experience here in this city by the Meditteranean Sea. From socca (chickpea pancake) to pissaladiere (carmelized onion tart) to tourte de blettes (swiss chard, bacon and rice pie), you can't help being intriqued by the simplicity, yet incredible taste of theses foods.

While walking through the markets one gets a clearer sense of the ingredients that are so uniquely Nicois and ever-present in the cuisine - olives and olive oils, eggplant, mushrooms, all things citrus, herbs. salts, spices, confitures (homemade jams), regional fruits and vegetables, etc, etc etc. I was like a child in a candy store - I wanted to buy some of everything. Believe it or not, of all the exciting sights, smells and tastes, my "aha moment" was the discovery of blue potatoes (I don't know how this one got past me). Can't you just imagine some blue mashed potatoes with your upcoming Thanksgiving dinner? No, I have not gone off the edge' but after my tour, I'm close! Suffice it to say that come spring, I will be looking for a lot of new exotic veggies to plant in my garden.

So, enjoy the photos; and look forward to several Nicois recipes over the next few weeks.


















Fountain guarding the entrance to the "Old City of Nice"













Chef Rosa Jackson












Local variety of pumpkin












Nicois oranges, lemons and clementimes












Designation for "organic agriculture"











Heirloom tomatoes












Homemade confitures (jams)













Mountain mushrooms












Cannolis and local pastries












Candy made with quince fruit and nuts












Dates, dates and more dates












Quince - a pear-like fruit












Tomatoes - a much larger "roma" variety












Various olive oils












Nicois olives












Vanilla beans












Flavored sugars












Herbs












Salts












Spices