I daydream a lot about cooking during the week, especially when I’m on the train. Its rhythmic click-clack, the morning fog, and a warm cup of coffee are just the right combination for daydreaming about things I want to cook. During the week not so many of those dreams become reality, but during the weekend I break out of my daydreams and actually head into the kitchen.

Last week Elizabeth David’s book Italian Cooking kept me company on my train rides to and from work. Ms. David is one of my favorite food writers of all time. Eloquent, elegant, humble, and humorous are all words I would use to describe her writings. Her recipes are less like instructions and more like suggestions. I’ve made quite a few things from her various cookbooks over the years, and I find they turn out best not when you follow her words and ingredient lists exactly, but rather when you use it as a starting point and utilize your own knowledge and creativity to complete the dish.

Her Polpettone recipe (Italian meatloaf stuffed with hard boiled eggs and cheese) is no different. I have an odd love of loaves of meat, and typically turn to Paul Prudhomme’s cajun meatloaf whenever the craving strikes. Moist, spicy, and with a wonderful texture, I am not sure it can be improved upon (except by using rolled oats rather than breadcrumbs — a personal preference that results in a more tender meatloaf). So, when I decided to make Ms. David’s Italian meatloaf, I fused her suggestions with Prudhomme’s technique, and added spices and other ingredients as I saw fit. The result? Fantastic! Don’t get me wrong, I am not abandoning my beloved cajun meatloaf, but this Italian version is different enough that I can definitely make space for both in my repertoire.

Polpettone: Italian Stuffed Meatloaf
Inspired by Elizabeth David

olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 t. salt
1 t. black pepper
1/2 t. white pepper
1 t. dried sage
1 t. dried marjoram
1 t. dried oregano
1/4 c. catsup
1/2 c. milk
1/3 c. chopped parsley

4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 c. rolled oats
2/3 c. bread crumbs or stuffing mix
1 1/2 lbs ground beef (15% fat or higher is best)
1/2 lb ground pork

2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
2 oz. ham, minced
3 oz. grated provolone

Preheat oven to 350.

Prepare vegetable mixture:
Heat about 2 T. olive oil in a large saute pan.  Add onions and saute until softened.  Add the carrot, saute for another minute, then add the garlic and red bell pepper.  Saute the mixture until vegetables are softened, about 3 minutes longer.  Add salt, black pepper, white pepper, sage, marjoram, and oregano, mix well, and saute another minute or two.  Add catsup and milk, mix well, and cook for about 3-4 minutes until mixture starts sticking to the pan.  Remove from heat, fold in the chopped parsley, and set aside to cool.

Prepare meat mixture:
Mix the raw eggs, oats, bread crumbs, beef, and pork in a large bowl.  Using your hands, mix until everything is well amalgamated.  Add the cooled vegetable mixture, and combine well with your hands.  Divide the mixture into two roughly equal parts.

Shape the loaf:
In a 9×13 glass pan shape half the meat mixture into a flat loaf about 6 inches wide, 12 inches long, and about an inch high.  Sprinkle the hard boiled eggs, ham, and provolone evenly over the meatloaf, leaving about a 1/2 -1 inch border at the sides.  Now working with the other half of the meat mixture, take small handfuls, flatten it between your hands, and place atop egg mixture, creating ‘patches’  of meat to enclose the filling.  Take care to enclose the sides with meat mixture so no eggs or cheese will leak out.  Once you’ve used up all the meat mixture, smooth with your hands to make a compact, neat loaf.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, then raise heat to 425 and continue to bake until meatloaf is done, about 35 minutes longer.  Allow to stand for 10 minutes after removing from oven.  Slice into 1-2 inch pieces, and enjoy!  Serve on its own or with some spicy tomato sauce alongside.

Crustless Quiche with Tomatoes, Zucchini, and Salami
Adapted from Tartine

~1/3 c. sun-dried tomatoes (dry packed)
~1/3 -1/2 c. salami, chopped
1/2 of a zucchini, cut into small uniform pieces

5 large eggs
3 T. flour
1 c. creme fraiche
1 c. whole milk
1 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper
1 T. fresh parsley, chopped

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9 inch pie plate.

Heat 1-2 c. water until boiling.  Place the sun-dried tomatoes in a medium bowl and pour the boiling water over them.  Re-hydrate the tomatoes for 15 minutes, then drain and finely chop.  Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat a small frying pan over medium heat.  Lightly saute the salami until some fat is rendered and the edges start to crisp.  Press the salami to one side of the pan so some of the fat drains off.  Remove the salami from the pan and set aside, but leave the fat.  Reheat the pan, then saute the zucchini pieces in the rendered fat (if there isn’t much fat, add a little bit of butter or olive oil).  Saute the zucchini for about 5-7 minutes until the edges start to turn brown.  Add the zucchini to the salami and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk one egg and the 3 T. of flour until smooth.  Add the remaining four eggs, and whisk until smooth.

In a large bowl, whisk the creme fraiche until smooth.  Add the milk and whisk again.  Add the egg mixture, then the salt, pepper, parsley, sun-dried tomatoes, salami, and zucchini.  Mix well.  Pour into the prepared pie plate, and place in the middle of the oven.  Bake for 10 minutes, then turn the heat down to 325 and bake for an additional 35-40 minutes, until the center of the quiche is slightly firm to the touch.  Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes before slicing.  Enjoy!

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I had a quiche epiphany the first time I tasted the quiche from Tartine Bakery in San Francisco.  The texture was amazing — light, fluffy, and almost custard-like.  It was a far cry from the dense, slightly dry, slightly rubbery texture that my mind conjured when I heard the word quiche.

Though I sadly live thousands of miles from oh-so-delicious Tartine Bakery nowadays, the Tartine cookbook has a recipe for basic quiche that is just as good as the quiche they sell in the shop.  The key ingredients for the fluffy texture are copious amounts of creme fraiche and whole milk, along with a little bit of flour.

If you’re appalled that the recipe calls for 1 cup of creme fraiche AND 1 cup of whole milk, then, well, that’s unfortunate because you’ll be missing out on perhaps the most amazingly textured quiche in existence.  I fall pretty squarely into the camp that ‘fat doesn’t make you fat, sugar and excess carbohydates do’, so you’ll get no apology from me for the fat content of this quiche.

As for filling, let your taste and imagination be your guide.  The past few quiches I have made have used sun-dried tomatoes and brianza salami that I picked up on a recent trip to Lake Como, Italy.  Chopped cooked asparagus or spinach would also be delicious, along with numerous other vegetable and herb combinations.  I have heard that at Tartine they even make a nettle quiche during the spring!

And though this quiche is crustless, I am quite sure that it would be delicious with a crust as well.  If you decide to go that route, use your favorite crust recipe, and fully bake it before adding the filling.  Then, bake the quiche as directed above.

I’ve been in the routine of making a quiche on sunday, which I then eat for breakfast during the week.  When I get up, I place a slice in a low oven to reheat it, and by the time I am out of the shower and dressed, the quiche is thoroughly heated and ready to be eaten.  Delicious and filling!

Homemade Turkey Stock

1 turkey carcass, plus any skin
8 large garlic cloves
4 stalks of celery, broken into 3-4 inch pieces
10 – 20 sprigs parsley
1 onion, cut into quarters or eighths
2 – 3 carrots, cut into 3-4 inch chunks (optional)
cold water

Remove as much meat as you can from the turkey carcass and set aside for another use.  Break up the carcass and pack snugly into a large stock pot (10 qts is an ideal size, though make do with what you have — I used one 5 qt pot and one 2 1/2 qt pot).  Peel the garlic cloves and add to the pot along with the celery, parsley, onion, and carrots if using.   Pour cold, clean water over the mixture to just cover the solids.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a tremulous simmer and cook for no fewer than 4 hours.  Skim white foam and gunk off the top of the stock as it appears.  If liquid level drops below the solids, bring a kettle of water to a boil, then add more water.

Strain mixture into a large bowl, discarding the solids.  Stock will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator, or up to 3 months in the freezer.  Enjoy!

Serving suggestion:  Ladle homemade stock over cooked brown rice and bits of leftover turkey, along with some dried sage.  Heat gently and serve warm.

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Somehow I ended up with a large turkey carcass in my refrigerator at the close of yesterday evening.  Funny, since Thanksgiving was not at my house, and I was not in charge of cooking the turkey.  No, Steven and I spent the day at my sister’s place in San Francisco along with my brother in law and his whole family who had flown in from as far away as Hong Kong.  There were twelve of us in all, though two are under three feet tall and prefer juice boxes and toy cars to fine wine and kitchen gadgets.

My sister and I don’t always see eye to eye on food, especially when it comes to vegetable selections.  She always suggests asparagus, and for 11 months of the year, I tell her it is out of season.  She then tells me that it’s asparagus season in South America or somewhere of the sort.  I protest some more.  Then she usually wins.  Actually, I’d say she always wins :).  In fact, it has sort of become the running joke in the family, and the words ‘asparagus’, ‘high horse’, and ’soapbox’ are playfully thrown in my direction.

But anyhow, at the end of the evening after helping with cleanup, Alisha informed me that I was to take the turkey carcass home (along with about 10 pounds of other various leftovers – I’m not exaggerating — 2 1/2 qts of stuffing, 1/2 qt of mashed potatoes, 1/2 quart gravy, 1/2 pint of cranberry sauce, leftover cocktail shrimp, home cured gravlax, a dozen dinner rolls, and at least a pound of sliced turkey breast).  OK, it was more like, “this all is going to get thrown away if you don’t take it home with you”.  I couldn’t in good conscience let all of that delicious and lovingly prepared food go to waste, so I packed up a super-sized dogie bag and headed home with plans for turkey stock and all other sorts of leftover creations.

Making stock is not an exact science, it just takes a while.  If you’re not in a hurry, it’s a great way to spend a lazy weekend morning, and by following a few basic procedures, you will inevitably end up with homemade stock that is far more delicious and much more fresh tasting than anything you buy at the store.  Some stock tips are:

- break the bones into smallish pieces and pack snugly into pot; you will use less liquid and hence have less stock, but it will be more flavorful
- use good quality vegetables in the stock; they needn’t be perfect, but if it’s on it way to slimy, don’t use it as you will taste the rank flavors in the stock
- don’t add any salt until the end of the cooking time, and only add it if necessary.
- skim the stock often, at least every 10 minutes or so at the start of cooking, then less frequently later on
- resist the urge to stir the stock — the end product will be more clear the less the stock is disturbed

Happy stock making!

I’m not sure this qualifies as a recipe, but it was such a lovely combination that I wanted to share!  This salad is beautifully and unabashedly green, and definitely sings of summer.  What’s not to like?

I love to use mint in my kitchen — tisanes, cocktails, cookies, grain salads, pastas — even with its assertive flavor, mint is incredibly versatile.  Also, it’s such a hearty plant (i.e. it’s hard to kill it even if you try), that if you’ve ever planted it in the ground anywhere near your garden, chances are you have a steady supply!

Though I use mint quite a lot in my cooking, it wasn’t until reading through The Herbfarm Cookbook that it occurred to me to use mint in a lettuce-based salad.  Its (for lack of a better word) minty taste is wonderful when juxtaposed with cool cucumber and tangy parsley.  And the soft butter lettuce provides a wonderful base for this piquant mixture.

I imagine that other herbs could work nicely in the salad too — tarragon, chervil, and cilantro come to mind, though probably not all at once (or maybe!? get crazy!)

Mint and Parsley Salad with Persian Cucumbers

1 medium head butter/bibb lettuce, torn into bite size pieces
1 large handful italian flat leaf parsley, leaves only
1 large handful mint, leaves only
2 small persian cucumbers, thinly sliced

salad dressing of your choice (I used a tangy vidalia onion peppercorn dressing)

Combine the lettuce, parsley, mint, and cucumbers in a bowl. Toss with desired dressing. Enjoy!

Chard stems!? In a recipe?! Grimace. What?! Huh?!

Chard stems were something that always went straight from the cutting board to the garbage can until I came across this preparation method in Alice Water’s ‘Chez Panisse Vegetables’. Nearly all chard recipes I’ve seen call for chard with the ‘tough center rib removed and discarded’. Not having a compost bin, I’ve always felt a little wasteful just chucking these stems. But, really, they simply don’t work with most chard preparations — especially those that call for a quick flash in the pan (my favorites) — the texture of the stem is too heavy for the delicate greens.

Since I had never seen any recipes calling for the use of the stems, I had just assumed they were fairly inedible. So, when I saw this preparation method, I knew I had to try it. I didn’t really know what to expect, but when I pulled the steaming, golden brown dish out of the oven, I experienced two distinct feelings — 1) a sense of economical accomplishment for using something that until then I had always thrown out, and 2) a sense of enchantment because the dish smelled SERIOUSLY delicious. Cheers to Alice Waters for publishing cookbooks with simple yet mouthwatering recipes. This recipe has only seven ingredients, but the whole is exponentially greater than the sum of its parts.

Also, this recipe is notable for the reason that it is the first recipe on Modern Beet that calls for any sort of meat. I mention this because finding a good source of high-quality, ethically produced meat is incredibly important, and sometimes difficult to do. If you follow websites like Ethicurean.com (or any major news site as of late), you’ve probably heard of the inhumane treatment of cows at the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing plant in Chino, CA, and the ensuing recall of 143 MILLION pounds of beef (which is almost HALF of the meat recalled since 1994!)(another side note — in my opinion, the recall is a largely symbolic measure and is actually quite wasteful). Anyhow, it’s evident that the conventional meat production system is inherently broken and encourages unsustainable practices, animal cruelty, and abuse of the land. For these reasons, I abstain from conventionally raised meat. However, it IS possible to find ethically produced meat, and I think that this is a case where voting with your food dollars can make a difference. By supporting ranchers and producers with sustainable and ethical practices, we ensure that there will be a supply of ethically raised meat, and at the same time we send a message to large grocery corporations that this is how we want our meat to be produced. In fact, Safeway has recently taken steps to ensure better animal welfare in its food purchasing decisions – small steps, but it’s a start.

Anyhow, this bacon in particular was made by Dittmer’s Wursthaus in Mountain View, CA, my local butcher. If you’re looking for ethical meat, try your local farmer’s market or natural foods store, butcher, Whole Foods, websites like LocalHarvest.org, or if you’re feeling really adventurous, you can even make your own!

Chard Stem Gratin
Serves 2

- Center ribs cut from 1 bunch swiss chard, cut into 1/2 – 1 inch chunks
- 3 strips all-natural / organic / homemade bacon cut into 1/2 inch strips *
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 small handful parsley, chopped
- 1 tomato, seeded and chopped (note: during the winter and spring months when tomatoes are not in season, I find that using high quality canned tomatoes is a tastier and more economical option that using conventionally raised supermarket tomatoes)
- 1.5 T heavy cream or leftover Bechamel sauce (substitute milk with a little melted butter if you don’t have cream on hand)
- a generous grating of gruyere or parmesan cheese (any hard salty cheese would work here)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil, add chard, and blanch for 6-7 minutes. Drain, and place in a small baking dish.

Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add bacon and cook until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and add to baking dish. Remove all but about 1/2 – 1T of the rendered fat. Add garlic and saute for about a minute. Add to baking dish. Mix parsley and tomato into baking dish, drizzle with cream, and top with grated cheese. Bake for approximately 13-15 minutes, until cream is bubbly and cheese is starting to brown. Enjoy!

* Please see final paragraph of post for a discussion of ethical meat sourcing