The Very Versatile Roasted Tomato

Always on the hunt for an easy to make ingredient, I discovered roasted tomatoes a few years ago. With several left over after a dinner party, I decided a little experimentation was in order. I discovered that roasted tomatoes served up countless uses and, because they freeze well, they can be pulled out at the last minute and added to soups, stews, and sauces.



Incredibly versatile, roasted tomatoes work as a side dish as well as the basis for sauces. Cold, they can be tossed with cucumbers and onions for a salad. Peeled and chopped, they add body and flavor to stews, soups, and pastas.



Ripe and over ripe tomatoes work best. If you shop at farmers' markets, keep an eye out for discounted tomatoes. This week at the Santa Monica Farmers' Market, tomatoes were selling for $2.50 - $3.50/pound, but the over ripe ones were priced at 60 cents/pound.



When they're roasting, tomatoes give off a clear liquid. The flavor is pure essence of tomato. The liquid can be used separately to flavor a simple pasta or as a final basting on a grilled meat. The wonderful chef, cookbook writer, and founder of Fra'Mani, Paul Bertolli was famous for hanging tomatoes in cheese cloth and capturing the clear tomato water that he called "the blood of the fruit."



Roasted Tomatoes



Yield: 4 servings

Time: 90 minutes



Ingredients



3 pounds ripe tomatoes (washed, stems removed)

Olive oil

Sea salt and pepper



Method



Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the whole tomatoes on a Silpat sheet or a piece of aluminum foil on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and season with sea salt and pepper. Roast for 90 minutes. When the tomatoes are removed from the pan, be certain to spatula off all the seasoned olive oil and tomato water. That liquid is full of flavor. Spoon it over the tomatoes.



The tomatoes can be served as a side dish with other vegetables, pasta, and grilled meats.



Roasted Tomato Sauce



Yield: 1 quart

Time: 5 minutes



Ingredients



3 pounds roasted tomatoes



Method



Put the roasted tomatoes through a food mill. Discard the skins and seeds.



Roasted Tomato Pasta Sauce



Yield: 2 cups sauce

Time: 30 minutes



Ingredients



1 quart roasted tomato sauce

1/4 pound brown mushrooms (washed, dried, sliced thin)

1 medium yellow onion (washed, peeled, finely chopped)

5 cloves garlic (peeled, finely chopped)

1 cup Italian parsley leaves (washed, finely chopped)

1 tablespoon oregano (optional)

1 tablespoon tamari (optional)

Sea salt and pepper



Method

Sauté the onions and garlic until lightly browned, add the parsley and mushrooms and continuing cooking until lightly browned. Add the tomato sauce. Reduce the heat and simmer until the volume is reduced by half. Taste and adjust seasoning with sea salt, pepper, oregano, or tamari.

The sauce can be kept in the refrigerator up to a week or frozen for a month or more.

Easier than Pie

Got any utility Mac's that you have to use up? Probably not, but I did :) Recipes abound on the internet for homemade applesauce, but I'll let you in on a little secret... you don't need to add any sugar! Crazy, I know! Save it for those pumpkin cupcakes or cookies :)

This is my mom's way of doing things, and I love it so much I couldn't mess with it. Nice and easy, too. She always used to cook up a BIG batch and freeze some to enjoy the rest of the year. We'd get excited there was some defrosting for dinner :)


Homemade Applesauce
Mom's tried and true recipe

apples
cinnamon

See, I told you it was simple! You can do this with as little or as many apples as you have and your cooking vessels permit. Peel and slice the apples (you could even keep the skins if they look better than mine did!). Here's where the options come in... microwave, crockpot, stove, heck, you could even do this in the oven.

Mom always went for the microwave: Add apple slices to a glass baking dish, then sprinkle with cinnamon (adjust it to your tastes, folks). Cook 5 min on high, stir, then 5min intervals on medium, stirring in between, to avoid boilovers. If you have a smaller amount of apples, you could probably do 2 min intervals. Stop when it looks like applesauce, I like mine chunky, but if you want, cook it longer!

What I did this time was to use the good ol' crockpot: Add apple slices to the crock, sprinkle with cinnamon (I guess you could use other spices and fruit, but for this, I wanted it just like mom made!!). Turn on the crockpot, and cook until desired consistency! I turned it on high while I was doing other things and it went pretty quickly.

How easy is that? No sugar added, and so freakin good you'll have to hold yourself back from finishing it all in one go. No? Just me? Good for you! It'll last longer :)

Bites from other blogs

I've made a bunch of unaltered recipes from fellow bloggies, so I thought I'd share the goods.

I made Super Soft Pumpkin Cookies (complete w/PB Choc Chips) for work, but somehow they all got eaten before i managed to remember a picture! Well received for my first treat :)


With the other half of my jicama, I made Grilled Corn, Mango & Jicama Salad. Anything with avocado and mango wins in my book, the constrast of the crunchy jicama made for an awesome salad! ps- i used frozen roasted corn and mango, just defrosted them before tossing the salad.



Another new ingredient for me this week (i might need a break-- it takes alot of work to use new ingredients!!), Maple-Grilled Tempeh. I used the marinade on the tofu posted the other night. I paired the tempeh with some roasted sweet potato, spinach sauteed with garlic, and goat cheese. It was quite tasty, and I'm glad I tried it! (I used a 3-grain tempeh)



Back in my cranberry sauce, I mentioned I used some maple sugar discovered at the farmers market. Maple sugar is what's left after all the water is boiled off of maple syrup. I bought it in a block that I could grate to get more bang for the buck, but here's what the package looked like. It can be used 1:1 for regular sugar in recipes to impart a slight maple flavor (w/o worrying about throwing off the dry-wet balance with maple syrup).


I bring this up, as I thought it would be an excellent pairing in the Apple Cinnamon Muffins I was planning on making. Delish!!!



I'm off to Philly for the weekend to try and finish up some experiments for a paper I'm trying to publish, so we'll have to wait and see what culinary non-adventures happen next week!

Pears, Pears, Pears

Anybody get that? (motley crue. not sure why songs always pop into my head when coming up with titles. we'll just go with it!) This week's BSI (Pears) was chosen by Erica over at Itzy's Kitchen. While I've made some things recently with pears (Sausage w/Lentils and Sauteed Pears and Fall Harvest Butter), I picked up another one at the store last night to make something different. I also incorporated another first for me...

Jicama!!!

I can't say for certain whether I had ever tried this, but knew I wanted to :) I have no idea whether it's "in season", or if it even grows around here, but... for the sake of experimentation and my health, I picked it up. Jicama, or yam bean (bean, really???), is the edible root of a poisonous plant!

With this in hand, I decided to spend my night cutting away while I watched the Phils... until it was way past my bedtime and then they decided to CALL THE GAME. ~sigh~ I enjoyed it for dinner tonight, so the flavors had some time to meld which was nice. Great slaw, so crunchy, full of fall flavors (but i still miss summer!). Look at those colors!!!


Jicama Fall Slaw
slaw by Shannon, dressing from Pinch My Salt

1/2 jicama, peeled and cut into matchsticks (i have no idea how much it weighed... sorry folks)
1 honeycrisp apple, cut into matchsticks
1 bartlett pear, cut into matchsticks (any pear would work, this one was just the cheapest!)
1 large carrot, grated
1/4 red cabbage, thinly sliced (i think mine was ~1/2 lb)
pomegranate arils, for garnish

Honey Vinaigrette
(I doubt I used the amount of olive oil called for, but I whisked until it came together)

Since I was preparing this the night before, I put the cut jicama, apple and pear into water spiked with lemon juice for a bit until everything else was ready to roll. Then I just mixed it all together (except arils) and let it sit in the fridge until dinnertime tonight, adding the arils just before serving!

ps- my hands were all sorts of colored after all this cutting... maybe you want to use gloves?

Somebody wanted a closeup...


What's the other addition to my plate? Another trial for me--tofu! I've done the silken tofu in various desserts, but this is the first time I've used the firm tofu, pressed, marinated, and baked! Came out pretty good (the marinade was from something else I'll post about later), but even with more slaw this did not fill me up... although I wasn't hungry, I was just left feeling like something was missing. I often feel like this when I don't include meat, even when I have alternate forms of protein (tofu, legumes...). I think it's all in my head. I'll have to work on that, since I'm thinking it'd save me some of my heard-earned-too-quickly-disappearing $$.

Pumpkin Surprise Cupcakes

This week's BSI chosen by Gina was cranberries! I thought about making the Cranberry Chicken my mom makes, but that didn't happen, so I had to put my thinking cap on. I wanted a departure from muffins, so I decided on cupcakes--Pumpkin Cupcakes w/Cranberry Cheesecake Filling!!

The pumpkin muffins came from have cake, will travel, I halved the recipe to make 6.

For the filling... I mixed homemade cranberry sauce (see below) with smart balance light cream cheese in a 2:1 ratio. I had no idea how much to make, and how much would fit in my cupcakes, so I had extra of both mixtures. It's ok though, because they were both so yummy I can't wait to use it to top off yogurt or stir in oatmeal or top waffles or put on a turkey sandwich or... ok i'll get to the recipe :)

Cranberry Sauce
Yield: 1c

6oz (1/2 bag) fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2c maple sugar (I found this at a farmers market, and we already know i'm a sucker so I couldn't help trying it out! You could sub equal amts regular sugar, or cut back a little and throw in some maple syrup)
1T dried cherries, chopped
1T crystallized ginger, chopped
1oz orange juice (you could just use some zest instead if you have it)
3oz water
some cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom in my just sprinkle some in there fashion

Combine in a medium pot and cook until berries have burst and alot of the liquid has been absorbed. Maybe ~10min?


Back to the cupcakes... I prepared the cupcake mix, and when the cranberry sauce was done added some to cream cheese (1/4c sauce +2T cream cheese would probably be fine for 6 cupcakes if you didn't want any extra). Into the cupcake liners (sprayed with nonstick) went some of the batter, followed by a little spoonfull of the cranberry cheesecake mix, topped off with more batter. Bake in a preheated oven at 350deg for 18-20 min, or until top springs back when lightly touched. Let cool on a wire rack for as long as you can take it before digging in.


How'd they turn out?? Turns out I could've added more filling, but my taste buds are jumping up and down right now!!! I was full from dinner but couldn't help but eat the one that was sacrificed for the photo... Mmmmm :) Thanks for the challenge Fitnessista!!

Fall Harvest Butter

MMmmm, my apartment smells divine right now :) The culprit? This spread I've had cooking all day! I had already tried Pumpkin Apple Butter, but figured why not incorporate all the goodness I've got in my kitchen right now! Enter: apple, pear, butternut squash (the pumpkin came from a can)


Fall Harvest Butter
Recipe by Shannon

1 can pumpkin puree
1 apple, peeled and chopped (normally I would've left the skin on, but it looked like an old man... so it wasn't going in!)
1 pear, chopped
bulb end of a butternut squash
1c unsweetened apple juice
1/4c agave nectar
heaping 1T honey
cinnamon stick (or ground cinn)
cardamom, ground ginger, freshly grated nutmeg (I think I used ~1/4t of each)

Cut the bulb end of a butternut squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Place on dish and microwave for 5min. Once cooled, scoop out the flesh and roughly chop. Put all ingredients in a slow cooker, and cook until desired consistency. Don't forget to remove the cinnamon stick before digging in!!

I wanted mine a bit chunky, so I kept the apple and pear roughly chopped. For a smoother spread, you could grate the apple, pear, and butternut squash. The spices could also be adjusted for your own tastes, as could the sweetener (I almost used maple syrup instead of the honey). I cooked mine on low for 4.5hrs, then another 1.5hrs on high. Another fantastic addition... dried cranberries!!! I didn't think of this until after, but I might have to incorporate it when I top off an english muffin :)

I couldn't resist making it part of my dinner on top of some yogurt...


Have a great night everyone!!

An Anniversary Dinner at New York's Bar Bao

In New York for a brief visit, my wife and I wanted to celebrate our 19th wedding anniversary with a special dinner. After a beautiful day walking around the city, we decided to find a restaurant near where we were staying at 70th and Amsterdam. For our anniversary dinner, we wanted a restaurant where we could talk and hold hands. And we wanted a meal prepared by a chef who cared about making interesting food, but we didn't want to spend a fortune.

The New York Times said a new restaurant was opening nearby that sounded interesting, so we called. On the phone the maitre d' described the menu at Bar Bao , 100 West 82nd Street (between Columbus and Amsterdam, 212/501-0776) as a "modern take on Vietnamese food." The restaurant was opening that night and luckily a table was available.

When we arrived we were greeted warmly. That friendliness continued throughout the evening. Our waiter, Matt, accommodating both Michelle's desire to be meat free and my own unrestricted eating, suggested the Vermicelli Noodles and he would bring the pork belly on the side. Rounding out the meal, we decided on the Vegetable Summer Rolls, Sizzling Cuttlefish, Bean Curd Glazed Black Cod, and Asian Eggplant.

At the beginning of the meal, we were served complimentary glasses of a sparkling Rose to help us celebrate our anniversary and accompany the Summer Rolls. Coming from Los Angeles, I developed my love of Vietnamese food eating in Little Saigon where I have my favorites (Ha Noi and Dong Khanh). The Summer Rolls at Bar Bao were clearly better than any I'd eaten before. Even the rice paper was delicious.

The cuttlefish was grilled perfectly, the meat tender with the right amount of heat from the Salsa Verde. The eggplant with scallions had subtle layers of flavors. The vermicelli, dressed in the sweet-heat of a chili sauce, provided a balance to the cuttlefish and eggplant. And I had the added bonus of the pork belly slices, which were the best I have ever eaten.

The signature quality to the cooking at Bar Bao is the way sweet, grilled, heat, and savory flavors combine so harmoniously in each dish. The proportions of one to the other change from dish to dish, but they are always there, informing each bite. These are dishes that are about balance and surprise all at the same time.

The Bean Curd Glazed Black Cod proved the point. The fish was cooked perfectly, moist and flaky, its flavors complimented by a gingery tasting grated preserved lemon on top and the sweet-heat of the curried red pepper below.

For dessert we were offered an off-the-menu special: Kabocha-Squash Flan. The layers of flavor and texture were extraordinary. Amazingly the flan had an icy cold center, while its creaminess was contrasted by the gingko beans, lotus seeds, and candied Chinese dates. And floating like a cloud above it all was a coconut emulsion.

This is just what I expect from a good New York restaurant: using the freshest ingredients and letting a talented chef perfect and innovate a regional cuisine he or she is passionate about. Michael Bao Huynh, Bar Bao's chef, has elevated Vietnamese cooking to a new high while still preserving the flavors and techniques that are unique to Vietnam. Main Street Restaurant Partners (MSRP), the owners of Bar Bao have continued the winning Asian-Fusion formula that worked so well at Rain.

At the end of the meal, our only regret was that we were leaving town in a few days and we might not have time to visit the restaurant again.