Crab Corn Chowder

I was able to spend an glorious afternoon in my kitchen cooking for the first time in a very long time. Since we didn’t get nice, hot summer weather until very late in the season this year, I wanted to celebrate by making a summery dish. And, naturally, I thought of corn. I have a recipe for crab corn chowder which is good but definitely has room for improvements, so I decided to take it on. One of the improvements that I made was to simmer the milk with the de-kerneled cobs; this imbues the milk with a warm corn flavor that adds depth the soup. This recipe makes a huge batch of thick, creamy soup.

I also made homemade ricotta oregano knot rolls from Bread Machine: How to Prepare and Bake the Perfect Loaf to accompany the soup. These were so terrific (and I had extra ricotta left over) that the next day I made more, this time using 1 tbsp. of caraway seeds instead of the dried oregano. Delicious!

Crab Corn Chowder (serves 6 to 8)

• 4 ears corn
• 4 cups skim milk
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 2 all-purpose potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp. Old Bay seasoning
• 3 tbsp. flour
• 2 cups fish stock or broth
• 16 oz. crab meat

1. Cut the kernels from the corn and reserve the cobs. Put the cobs and the milk into a large pot and bring to almost a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Discard the cobs.
2. Heat the oil in a soup pot over moderate heat. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and corn and sauté until soft, about 10 minutes.
3. Add the potatoes, bay leaf, salt, pepper, and Old Bay seasoning. Cook, stirring, about 2 minutes.
4. Sprinkle in the flour. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
5. Stir in the broth and milk and combine. Bring soup up to a bubble and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes. Add crab meat and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Rhubarb Ice Cream

When people think of rhubarb, they tend to think of its extreme tartness. Which is why they either eat it with lots of sugar or make a baked dish with other, sweeter fruit such as strawberries. But when you cook rhubarb down with a little water and sugar, it develops an extremely delicate flavor that is absolutely delicious. Adding a little cream rounds out that flavor. It’s a natural for ice cream. Chopping up a stalk of raw rhubarb into tiny little pieces and mixing it in adds a refreshing tartness that’s not overpowering (this step is, however, optional). The rhubarb season is short and my favorite way to savor it is with rhubarb ice cream.

Rhubarb Ice Cream

• 4 large stalks rhubarb
• 1 cup water
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2/3 cup light cream

1. Slice 3 stalks of rhubarb and place in a medium saucepan with the water and ¼ cup of the sugar. Cook, covered, over low heat for 20 minutes or until very tender.
2. Drain liquid fro the rhubarb and set aside.
3. In a blender, blend rhubarb to a smooth pureé.
4. In a small saucepan, combine the reserved liquid with ½ cup sugar and cook over low heat until sugar is dissolved.
5. When the rhubarb syrup is cool, mix in the rhubarb pureé add the cream, and mix to combine. Chop the remaining rhubarb stalk into very small pieces and add to the mixture.
6. Pour into the ice-cream maker and let mix according to directions.

The Perfect Salad - With Pomegranate Vinaigrette

It’s interesting to watch people construct salads at a salad bar; everyone creates something different. For me, if salad is just a small after-dinner course (I much prefer it after, not before, my meal), then a little lettuce and dressing – maybe some tomato and/or cucumber – is plenty. But sometimes I like to turn a salad into an entire meal. In that case, my perfect salad consists of mixed greens, red bell pepper, olives, tuna, feta cheese, and croutons (ideally homemade). Often all it needs is a little oil (olive) and vinegar (balsamic). But sometimes I like to make a vinaigrette to add to the complexity of the flavors. One of my favorites is pomegranate vinaigrette. The pomegranate juice and honey add the right tart sweetness that complements the saltiness of the olives and feta.

Pomegranate Vinaigrette (about 1 cup)

• 1 clove garlic, pressed
• 1 tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp. honey
• ¼ cup pomegranate juice
• 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
• ¾ cup olive oil

1. Combine the garlic, salt, pepper, and honey in a bowl. Mix in the pomegranate juice and vinegar. Whisk the oil in a slow stream to form an emulsion.

Chilled Cucumber Soup

Sometimes it’s hard to eat healthy when you travel. I got home after a two week vacation absolutely craving green vegetables. And, since I got an immersion blender for my birthday (thanks, Mom & Dad!), I definitely wanted to try it out. So I made chilled cucumber soup – which is as refreshing and delicious as it is easy to make – and lots of salad.

Chilled Cucumber Soup (serves 6)

• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 lbs. cucumber, peeled and seeds scraped out
• 5 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup light cream
• 3 tbsp. fresh dill

1. Put the onion, cucumber, and chicken stock in a soup pot. Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, about 30 minutes.
2. Purée the vegetables and stock. Add the cream and the dill and gently heat on low. Chill.

Potato Snacks that I Miss

Who doesn’t love potato chips? My current favorites are reduced fat Cape Cod potato chips. But there are some tasty potato snacks that just aren’t available in this country and I do miss them.

When you go to the potato chip aisle in an American grocery store, a common flavor you’ll see across most brands is barbecue. In Europe, a common flavor is paprika. Even the Pringles in Europe are available in paprika! I tend not to eat a lot of flavored potato chips but I do love the paprika ones. I sometimes sprinkle a little paprika over potatoes drizzled with olive oil and roast them in the oven. That’s delicious but it doesn’t quite capture the flavor of the paprika potato chips.

Another European favorite of mine is Cipsters (pronounced “chipsters”). I remember having them when I was very young (in England, perhaps?). I never forgot the taste of them and I never saw them anywhere. Until a trip to Italy about five years ago. I bought them wondering if they would live up to my memory. And amazingly enough, they did (probably because they are loaded with fat and sodium).

I do miss these tasty potato snacks, but it’s probably not such a bad thing that I don’t have them available to me all the time.

Sausage and Sage Lasagna

I was looking for a way to create a new lasagna that focuses on sausage and sage, two flavors that I love together. I needed something to keep the filling from getting too dry but I didn’t want to make it too saucy either. I decided to add two chopped fresh tomatoes and that worked perfectly. I also didn’t want to use a traditional béchamel sauce; a milk-based sauce just didn’t appeal to me here. So I made a velouté, which is just like a béchamel except it uses stock (in this case, chicken stock) instead of milk. I was very happy with the results and this new lasagna has been added to my growing lasagna repertoire.

Sausage and Sage Lasagna (one 9” x 13” lasagna)

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 10-12 sage leaves, chopped
• 1 ½ lbs. sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 3 tbsp. butter
• 3 tbsp. flour
• 1 ¼ cups chicken stock
• ¾ lb. mozzarella cheese
• Lasagna noodles

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add half the sage and the sausage and sauté until the sausage begins to brown. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sausage is cooked and the tomatoes have release their juices.
2. To make the sauce, melt 3 tbsp. of butter in a small saucepan. Add the rest of the sage and stir until it flavors the butter, about 1 minute. Add the flour and whisk together. Cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock and whisk to ensure no lumps form. Heat the sauce, whisking occasionally, until it thickens.
3. Spread 1/3 of the sausage mixture into a 9” x 13” baking dish. Cover with uncooked lasagna. Pour 1/3 of the sauce on the noodles. Place 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese on the lasagna.
4. Repeat the process two more times.
5. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake, uncovered, for another 10-15 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Shiitake-Pancetta-Spinach Quiche

My mother makes a fabulous shiitake mushroom quiche. Although mine are never as good as hers, I did make a variation adding pancetta and spinach to the shiitake mushrooms. I got lazy and used a store-bought pie crust but there is so much flavor in the filling that it doesn’t really matter. It looks like a heavy dish with so much cream but it’s very filling and a small slice is very satisfying.


Shiitake-Pancetta-Spinach Quiche (makes one 9” quiche)

• Pie crust
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 4 oz. pancetta, chopped
• 4 oz. shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• 9 oz. baby spinach
• 2 eggs plus 2 egg yolks
• 1 ½ cups light cream
• 1 cup grated Gruyère cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Roll the pie crust until it is 12” across. Put the pastry it in a quiche or pie pan. Press some foil into the middle so it won’t puff. Bake for 10 minutes.
2. Heat the olive oil. Add the pancetta and sauté until it begins to crisp, 2-3 minutes. Add the shiitake mushrooms and sauté until golden, about 4-5 minutes. Add the spinach and cook, stirring often, until wilted. Remove from heat.
3. Preheat the oven to 375°. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and cream together. Stir in the cheese. Scatter the mushrooms, pancetta, and spinach over the bottom of the pastry. Ladle the egg mixture on top. Bake until nicely browned, about 30 minutes.