Fig and Walnut Biscotti

For our annual Cookie Exchange, I chose to make Fig and Walnut Biscotti.  They are super easy, aside from that you have to bake them twice, and addicting.  The flavor combination packs a big punch with orange zest, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.  They have a pleasant crunch level with figgy soft spots.  I made a quadruple batch (based on the linked recipe - technically it was double the original recipe) and I had to make a second batch before Christmas, because I ate them all!  I can see this becoming one of those recipes that I always make and become somewhat "known for."

Pasta with Cauliflower, Walnuts and Feta

 
I got two large heads of cauliflower from my final CSA pickup, but I didn't want to make another cauliflower soup.  I searched my favorite blogs and found a recipe for Pasta with Cauliflower, Walnuts, and Feta.  I've finally got my pasta stash under control, so I don't feel so obligated to use up the many cheap varieties and save the fancier ones.  This recipe called for a strong flavor from the pasta, so I reached for a spelt rotini, which stood up quite well to the cauliflower and feta.  The walnuts added a nutty crunch - I only wish there were more of them.  The salty feta went perfectly with the sauteed onions and cauliflower.  I was happy that the cauliflower had both flavor and crunch thanks to the sauteeing rather than boiling.  This was a nice change of pace for all that soup (don't worry, I still love soup) and it reheated nicely for a weekday lunch.

This was easy enough for a weeknight, though there is a bit of work breaking down the cauliflower and slicing the onion - that could be done in advance.  One recommendation I would make is to ignore the white wine vinegar in the ingredients - go with all lemon juice.  The white wine vinegar soaked in quickly and left almost a chemical-y taste, at least compared to the lemon juice.  I can certainly see this appearing on my table again in the near future.

UPDATE (11/26/2010): Here's a picture of this dish the second time I made it (earlier this week).  I used a small-batch artisanal local whole wheat pasta and purple cauliflower and skipped the vinegar in favor of more lemon juice.  Delicious.

Roasted Eggplant Soup

The quantity of CSA produce can get very overwhelming sometimes.  Things sit in my fridge, and I feel guilty every time I open it.  I'm never sure if I'll be able to use ALL of it.  That being said, cooking can extend the life of things, and roasting can concentrate the flavor of veggies past their prime.  I had three fat eggplants sitting in my fridge when this recipe for Roasted Eggplant Soup was posted.  It seemed very simple: just roast eggplant, tomatoes and onion together, then transfer it to a large pot and turn it into a soup.

This was a successful endeavor.  I was honestly a bit skeptical about eggplant soup, but I was also sick of the Moroccan couscous thing, and they were good enough eggplants that it would be wrong to dispose of them.  The recipe notes made me even more skeptical: the soup was described as not "exactly right" and "has a lot of potential" particularly in reference to the spices.  This scared me, because I am not confident in adding spices to things without any direction.  (How am I to know how much is too much?)

Fortunately, the results were pleasantly surprising.  I thought it was a very nice soup and I was not disappointed with the flavors.  Ken described it this way: "it tastes like if you put eggplant parm in the blender."  (My mom thought that sounded gross, and I agree, but I think it tastes more like if you put eggplant parm with not really any cheese and definitely no bread crumbs in the blender.)

I ate this topped with feta and croutons (made from day-old olive oil and rosemary bread).  Ken used shaved Parmesan.  Both were good.  I can't say I'd make this again, but it's a good use for eggplant and tomatoes that are on the way out.  As the original recipe notes suggest, I might try to leave it a bit chunkier if I do make it again - but the immersion blender is just so fun to play with...

Mushroom Bourguignon

It makes me so happy to hear that my friends are obsessed with food like me!  I find that one food blog we often have in common is Smitten Kitchen.  My friend Hilary mentioned to me how great the Mushroom Bourguignon recipe was, and when I looked it up, my mouth started watering pretty much instantly.  It looked amazing.  With the weather getting colder, it's time for some comfort food!

Fortunately, it was exactly what I thought it would be.  I did have to boil the crap out of it at the end to get it to thicken enough - and I think I threw in a little extra flour too - but in the end, it was just unbelievably delicious.  I used local mushrooms from the Rutgers Gardens market, which were on the pricey side, plus they took forever to clean and slice, so I may go the route of convenience packaging next time.  I used frozen pearl onions (as recommended) to make that part easier as well - they worked out perfectly fine.  I thought they tasted good!

We ate these over egg noodles - haven't had those in years! - and again, it was amazing.  It actually tastes exactly how the picture looks.  It's also filed under "freezer friendly" on the Smitten Kitchen website, so that just makes it all the more attractive to me!  I will definitely be making this again, and hopefully saving some for later too.