Category Archives: Easily Multiplies to Feed a Crowd

Savory Bread Pudding with Peppers, Mushrooms, Chard, and Feta

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I love savory bread puddings for so many reasons.  This one is packed full of vegetables and has all four food groups in one baking dish (you know how I love a casserole).  You can make it ahead of time and have it cooling on your stovetop when your brunch guests arrive.  The texture contrast between the crisp browned top and the savory custard within is lovely.  And it’s a thrifty way to use up bread that’s past its prime.  Actually, let’s just call that bread that’s in its bread pudding prime.

This is not a terribly pudding-y bread pudding.  It’s hearty fare, not a delicately quivering cream custard (those make good bread puddings too, but you’ll need a different recipe for that).  As always, you can vary the ingredients here, but I think the essential thing is to make sure that the eggs and vegetables are well-seasoned with salt and pepper and/or herbs, since a plain bread adds more texture than flavor to the finished dish.  (Or you can use your leftover beer bread, as I did, or another strongly-flavored bread, in which case it adds a flavor of its own.) Continue reading Savory Bread Pudding (click for recipe)

Vegetarian Taco Salad

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I hear that some people get tired of leftovers.  I am not really one of those people.  To me, leftovers equal free time because the cooking is already done!  Nevertheless, your pots of Black Beans with Cilantro and Lime and Quinoa with Corn, Green Onions, and Feta are probably starting to dwindle, now that you made those Black Bean Tacos and snuck a scoop of the beans for your Huevos Rancheros.  This week’s leftovers have their last hurrah in this taco salad, which could be dinner on a busy night or could just as easily travel to work for lunch.

Of course, you can make make this salad with any cooked or canned beans and grains you have on hand.  Or substitute a good handful of broken tortilla chips for the quinoa–I won’t tell. Continue reading Vegetarian Taco Salad (click for recipe)

Vegetarian Black Bean Tacos

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This might have been my favorite meal growing up. We inventively called it “Tortillas, Cheese, and Beans.”  If the tortilla was a big flour tortilla, we rolled it up and you might have recognized the dish as a “burrito.”  If the tortillas were smaller corn tortillas, we folded them into what are commonly known as “tacos.”  But we called any variation “Tortillas, Cheese, and Beans.”  And in this era of Korean-Hawaiian-Fusion-Tacos, perhaps that clarity is helpful.  Call it what you will, if you have some seasoned black beans around, this meal can be on the table in a few minutes.  And if you don’t, a can of refried beans will take you back to my childhood.

Continue reading Vegetarian Black Bean Tacos (click for recipe)

Quinoa with Corn, Green Onions, and Feta

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Quinoa has a great flavor and all kinds of nutritional benefits, sure, but that’s not why I love to cook with it. I love it because it cooks so quickly.  Bring it to a boil, simmer 15 minutes, let it steam off the heat for a few more, and it’s ready to go to the table.

Here the quinoa is dressed up a bit with a quick saute of scallions and corn that is ready to add to the pot by the time the quinoa’s 15-minute simmer is over, even if you start with whole ears of corn.  Which you should definitely do in summertime.  We often make this dish to serve as a warm or cold salad alongside a grilled summer dinner of fish and vegetables, but at this time of year using frozen sweet corn brings a bit of sunshine to the table.  Pair this quinoa with Black Beans with Cilantro and Lime for a delicious meal, perhaps topped with a bit of salsa, sour cream, and a sprinkle of chopped cilantro.  And once you taste this dish, you’ll probably find yourself making it often to serve as a side in place of bread or rice. Continue reading Quinoa with Corn, Green Onions, and Feta (click for recipe)

Oatmeal Cracker with Black Pepper, Parmesan, and Rosemary

Savory Oatmeal Cookies with Rosemary, Black Pepper, and Parmesan

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Continuing the cheese-and-cracker-in-one theme of this week’s happy hour menus, I baked a batch of savory oatmeal “cookies” with rosemary, black pepper, and Parmesan cheese.  It sounded a little zany when I first read the recipe on The Kitchn, but I was on a tear with the homemade crackers and jumped right in.  (A much later search on the internet turned up all manner of variations on the theme of cookies and crackers combining oats, Parmesan and savory herbs–who knew?)Oatmeal Cracker with Black Pepper, Parmesan, and Rosemary

These are not really cookies and not really crackers.  They’re a little sweet and a lot savory.  Cookers?  Crackies?  No matter.  They wouldn’t be out of place in a cocktail party spread or on a cheese board, but they’d also make a great ending to a meal by themselves alongside a glass of port.  Or, you know, just leave a jar of them on the counter.  They’ll be gone before you know it.

Savory Oatmeal Cookies with Rosemary, Black Pepper, and Parmesan: Sprinkle 1/4 c. hot water over 1 c. rolled oats in a large mixing bowl.  In a smaller bowl, whisk one egg with 1/3 c. olive oil and 1/4 c. light brown sugar.  Pour this mixture over the oats and stir to combine.  In a third bowl (I know, sorry!), mix 1 c. flour with 1/4 tsp. baking soda, 2 tsp. chopped rosemary, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper, then stir in 1 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  Gradually stir the flour mixture into the oat mixture until well combined.  Roll into 1″ balls, flatten each to 1/4″ thick, and place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.  They can be close together because they don’t grow much.  Sprinkle a pinch of salt (flaky sea salt if you have it) on top of each cookie.  Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes, until the edges are crisp and golden brown, then move to a rack to cool.

Pictured on the left: Savory Oatmeal Cookies.  On the right: Parmesan and Black Pepper Crackers.  Just add Rye Crackers with Apricot Chevre Spread, a bowl of salty nuts, and the house cocktail.

White Bean and Spinach Soup

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I’d say that in the past few months, I’ve been quite successful in my quest to stop feeding my family scrambled eggs for dinner all the time.  But I’m still not much of a planner.  Which means that the dinner hour is often neigh by the time I roll into the kitchen, wondering how our evening meal is going to materialize.

At times like these, it helps to have a well-stocked pantry.  And freezer.  This is one of those recipes that you can spend all afternoon making–or it can take 30 minutes if you keep the right ingredients in stock.  In this case, the right ingredients are an onion, a leafy green vegetable, a good vegetable broth, and some well-seasoned home-cooked white beans.  (Of course you can substitute canned beans, but you must first brown an onion, then toss in a handful of chopped garlic and sage for a few minutes, then add the beans and cover with water or vegetable broth and simmer to let the flavors blend.)

Do you cook your own beans?  Make your own broth?  I do, because I find the homemade versions of these things so much better and SO much cheaper than anything I can buy.  This might seem inconsistent with my professed inability to plan ahead, but I just do it every once in a while when I will be home on a Sunday afternoon: put a huge pot of beans on the stove or make eight quarts of stock.  It helps that I have a large freezer to store these things in.  What do you people do in Manhattan?  Anyway, I will start sharing recipes for some of the pantry basics that make it easier for me to get a good meal on the table quickly.  Another day.Today, White Bean and Spinach Soup: Grab a quart of good vegetable broth and a few cups of well-seasoned white beans from your freezer.  Warm the beans in a soup pot with a cup or so of broth while you saute an onion over high heat in a separate pan.  Once the onion is nearly golden and nearly caramelized, use a slotted spoon to scoop about half your beans into a blender and puree them with the onion and another cup of broth.  Add the puree to your soup pot and stir in a big bunch of chopped spinach (chard, kale, or other greens would also be great).  Simmer until the greens are tender, then thin the soup to your desired consistency with additional broth and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve under a shower of Parmesan shavings or a drizzle of olive oil, with crusty rolls on the side.  (The one pictured is a mini whole wheat soda bread, recipe to come after a little more experimentation.)  And what’s that gorgeous salad, you ask?  Radicchio? Endive? Apples? Blue cheese?  Oh, yes.  Hop on over to the lovely blog Salt On the Table for the full recipe.

Vegetarian Enchilada Bake with Black Beans and Tofu

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The part of me that enjoys nourishing others is mightily satisfied when I make a casserole.  I know it seems stodgy, but making a heavy pan of food meant to feed a crowd is an act of love.  Maybe that’s why casseroles were so popular in the ’70s–wasn’t love in vogue back then?

We’ll call them love enchiladas, then.  Although there are lots of other good things in here, too: sweet vegetables, a good boost of protein in the black beans, tofu, and cheese, a kick of chile and spice.  But, as usual, there are no hard and fast rules.  Use what you have.

And a love note to vegans or those in a rush: the black bean/tofu/veggie mix also makes a killer taco filling.  Vegetarian Enchilada Bake with Black Beans and Tofu: To make your enchilada filling, saute a diced onion and a diced red pepper over medium-high heat until the onion begins to brown.  Add a diced zucchini, a few cloves of chopped garlic, and some corn.  Add a few pinches of salt, a tsp. dried oregano, and a couple tsp. each of cumin and chile powder.  Stir in a few cups of black beans (with their liquid if you cooked them; drained if they’re canned) and a block of diced tofu.  (If you plan in advance, you can freeze then thaw and crumble the tofu; it gives it a nice texture.)  Add some water if necessary to keep the mixture from sticking, simmer for a few minutes to blend the flavors, then taste for salt and mix in a handful of chopped cilantro at the end.  You want the mixture fairly saucy so your casserole won’t dry out while baking.  Pour a splash of enchilada sauce into a 9×13 pan (I used a prepared one this time, but if you have time it’s always worth making your own from dried chiles).  Layer your ingredients on top of the sauce as follows: corn tortillas to cover the bottom of the pan in a single layer, 1/2 of the veggie mixture, a drizzle of enchilada sauce, a sprinkling of melting cheese, a crumble of feta cheese.  The next layer is corn tortillas, 1/2 the veggie mixture, more corn tortillas, then the rest of your enchilada sauce.  Bake covered at 350 until the enchiladas are hot and bubbling (20-30 minutes if your veggie mixture started out hot), then uncover, sprinkle the top with more of both kinds of cheese, and continue baking until the cheese melts.  You can always turn on the broiler to get the top nice and brown.  Serve with brown rice, a green salad, and lots of good toppings: chopped cilantro, sliced avocado, salsa, sour cream, and some of that amazing cilantro pesto you keep in your freezer.

 

A Child’s Sugar Cookie

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Valentines Day didn’t go exactly as planned this year.  So we put off making our usual heart-shaped cookies until everyone was well enough to be allowed back into the kitchen.  It’s never the wrong day to celebrate with pink heart cookies, I say.

I love this recipe for two reasons.  First, the dough is extremely easy to work with.  Kids can roll it, cut it, move the cookies, re-roll the scraps, and start again.  It isn’t fussy at all.  Second, the recipe came to me from my mom’s good friend, who got it from her “Mumsy” decades ago, and you know those recipes are always the best.  The recipe came labeled: “A Child’s Cookie: stands up to rough handling by kids.”  And indeed it does.

Sugar Cookies: Cream 1/2 c. butter with 1 c. sugar.  Stir in 2 beaten eggs and 1 tsp. vanilla.  Add 2 1/2 c. flour mixed with 2 tsp. baking powder and mix well.  Chill dough in refrigerator for 1 hour or up to several days.  Roll out to 1/8-1/4″ thick, using a little more flour if the dough is sticky (thicker cookies will be softer, thinner will be crisper).  Cut out shapes and bake at 350 on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Baking time will vary according to thickness, but start checking them after 6 minutes and remove from oven before they start to brown.  Cool on a wire rack.  We decorated ours with colored sugar and sprinkles before baking, but of course you can frost these and decorate them once they’re baked.   Or leave them plain–you can never go wrong turning plain thin cookies into Nutella Sandwich Cookies.

Whole Wheat Apple Muffins

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Today was baking day.  Bread, cookies, granola, muffins, maybe a cake.  I had the best of intentions.  Butter softening on the counter.  Oats and nuts down from the shelves.  Sugar, honey.  All the ingredients.  And then, as it sometimes does, the day got away from me.  So that was fun too.

But I did make these muffins.  They use 100% whole wheat flour but somehow aren’t heavy.  They’re moist and a little sweet, and you can make them sweeter with a pecan streusel topping.  We always go that route when we have them as a breakfast treat.  Or you can make the muffins plain, as I do when I make them for my kids’ lunchboxes, usually in a mini muffin tin.  Kids dig little things.  And it’s cute to watch the baby enthusiastically eat a whole–if tiny–muffin.

Whole Wheat Apple Muffins require three bowls if you’re making the streusel topping, which I highly recommend.  Make the topping first: mash together or pulse in a food processor 1/2 c brown sugar, 2 tsp. flour, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 3 Tb. butter, and 2/3 c. chopped pecans.  Pop the topping into the freezer while you’re preparing the batter (and if you have leftover topping, you can keep it in the freezer for next time).   Mix wet ingredients in one bowl: 2 beaten eggs, 1 1/3 c. buttermilk, 1/3 c. canola oil, 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla.  Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl: 2 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour, 2 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. baking soda, 2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/2 c. (or up to 3/4 c.) brown sugar.  Using a rubber spatula, fold wet and dry ingredients together with 1 c. peeled and finely diced apple.  Don’t stir too much, just until it’s all combined.  Scoop into buttered or lined muffin tins, filling nearly to the top, then pat streusel on top if you are using it.  Bake at 375 in the upper 1/3 of the oven for about 10 mins for mini muffins or 20-25 mins for the larger size.

This recipe is from my all-time favorite cookbook, Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.  My copy is falling apart, pages are abandoning the binding, it’s oil-stained and thickened by pages that have soaked up sauces, dressings, soup splatters, and my notes in the margins.  What do your favorite cookbooks look like?  And what are they?

Vegetarian Split Pea Soup

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I like to have a pot of soup around.  It can be simmering on the stove or left over in the fridge or even packed away in the freezer–I just like to know it’s there.  I eat a lot of soup.  It’s a quick lunch, an easy dinner, and you can always double the recipe to feed even more of the people you love.  (But let’s be clear: I almost always double the recipe whether company’s coming or not.  See above.)

I make lentil and bean soups often but, strangely, I don’t think I had ever made split pea soup before this week.  You know why? Because the recipes always call for an “optional” ham hock.  Whatever that is.  And I can never believe that recipes calling for “optional” meat are going to be any good if you leave the meat out.   I automatically skip over any recipe that calls for bacon and then implies that the vegetarian version will be just as good if you simply omit the bacon.  The bacon is the FLAVOR in that recipe, and a good vegetarian recipe builds flavors in a different way, through spices and cooking technique.

But when I made that Smoky Cauliflower Frittata recently and J said it tasted meaty, I had the obviously-delayed epiphany that the flavors that bacon and ham hocks add are smoke and salt.  I was ready to make split pea soup.  I went right to the source for my recipe: Pea Soup Andersen’s Facebook page.  This recipe is vegetarian in the original, but just to be on the safe side–in case those ham hock recipes are on to something–I replaced the cayenne with hot smoked paprika anyway.

This just the kind of recipe I like: simple, flavorful, hearty. I doubled the recipe, of course, but I supposed you don’t HAVE to.  (A double recipe made a truly huge pot of soup.  The original recipe says it makes 8 bowls, which is a regular-big pot of soup.) 

To make a regular-big (not truly huge) pot of Vegetarian Split Pea Soup, dice a large onion, a large carrot and a celery stalk and saute in olive oil until the vegetables soften and the onion is translucent.  Add 1/4 tsp. dried thyme and 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika and stir, then add 2 c. sorted and rinsed green split peas, 8 c. water, a bay leaf and 1 1/2 tsp. salt.  Maintain a peppy boil for 20 mins, then reduce heat and simmer until the split peas are very soft, probably about an hour in all, stirring occasionally.  Season with salt and pepper.  I originally planned to puree the soup, but once I cooked the peas down to mush I loved that texture too.   It tastes great both ways, but I think the pureed version looks a little more elegant.

If you want to get fancy, you could top the soup with another sprinkle of smoked paprika or some homemade croutons.  Or serve it with a nice easy bread or homemade rye crackers.  Or just keep it in the fridge to reheat (thinned with a little water) for lunch this week.