What we did with CSA boxes #8 & #9

Here's just an overview of some of the things we did with the last two boxes. A lot just gets prepared simply by steaming or eaten fresh.


1.box 8 2. box 9 3. dark chocolate & zucchini cupcakes 4. creamed leeks & yukina savoy 5. pound cake with raspberry coulis & chocolate sauce 6. watermelon salad" 7. chicken with cucumber & dill 8. simple stir-fry 9. my grandmother's refrigerator pickles 10. creamed chipollini onions & radish greens 11. corn fritters 12. zucchini gratin 13. tamales with sweet corn & cheese filling 14. southwestern cobb salad 15. watermelon basil granita 16. beef, beer & blue cheese pot pie

Looks like box #10 coming today is a good one!

Korean Short Ribs

Isn't it amazing how a recipe gets around the internet? I found this recipe for Korean Short Ribs on Dinners for a Year & Beyond, she found it on A Year of Crockpotting, who had gotten it from City Mama. It's also interesting to watch how it changes. City Mama made it as a stew with beef chuck then on Crockpotting it became beef or pork ribs. The other thing I noticed is everyone uses a different amount of jalapenos. Maybe its just me, but I love seeing how a recipe like this develops from person to person.

Anyway on to the ribs. We loved then! After six hours of cooking slowly in the crock pot they were so tender the meat was almost melting & look at that beautiful rich shiny color. The salty/sweet sauce couldn't be any easier since its just soy sauce, brown sugar & jalapenos. We actually think the sauce might be better a little less sweet so next time I'm going to try cutting the sugar down by at least 1/4 cup. I only used 3 jalapenos in the recipe because that's what I had left in the garden, next time I'm bumped that up to at least 6 a little more spiciness would have been a great against the sweet.

Korean Short Ribs
(I've included the changes I would make next time in this recipe)

5 - 8 beef short ribs
olive oil
1 c soy sauce
3/4 - 1 c brown sugar
3 - 10 jalapenos (how spicy do you like things?)

Drizzle the ribs with a little olive oil. Heat a large skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat. Sear the ribs on all side.

Place the ribs in the crock pot. Mix the sugar & soy sauce together & pour over the ribs. Add the whole jalapenos. Let cook on low for 6 hours.

This was great served with some rice & the sauce from the pot poured over both the ribs & the rice. Matt wants to try it next time as a stew using a cheaper cut of beef, we figure this type of cooking will make any piece wonderfully tender.

Other Asian inspired dishes
Grilled Asian Steak Salad
Sweet & Spicy Cherry Glazed Game Hens
Grilled Asian Pork Tenderloin

Pappa al Pomodoro

This was a recipe Matt saw in the current Sur La Table catalog. I think it pretty funny that he chose two recipes this week from catalogs.

Its a super simple preparation, just cook down some canned tomato sauce with onions, garlic & basil, add some toasted bread chunks & let them soak up the juices. This is called a Tomato Bread Soup but really the resulting texture isn't very soup-like, its more like a bread stew. The flavor was wonderfully rustic & satisfying. I think using good tomatoes is key here to get the best flavor, we used Muir Glen organic crushed tomatoes with basil. The bread gets very soft but still retains some of its texture especially at the crusts. Matt has not been feeling well & this warm, comforting dish really hit the spot.

You can buy bread to make this recipe but I just cooked up a 3/4 pound loaf of the master bread recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking. We figured the homemade loaf cost us pennies compared to what the stores charge for their artisan loaves.

Pappa al Pomodoro
(from Sur La Table)

2 T olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
28-oz can crushed tomatoes
1/2 c water
1 c basil, chiffonade
crushed red pepper to taste
3/4 lb rustic Italian bread
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a large soup pot heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion & garlic & cook until soft & translucent, about 10-12 minutes. Add the tomatoes, water, basil & red pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring from time to time.

While the tomatoes are cooking cut the bread into 1/2-inch cubes & place them on a baking sheet. Toast them in the oven for about 15 minutes until they are dry & turning brown.

Add the bread cubes to the tomatoes. Simmer until the tomatoes have absorbed the liquid about 40 minutes. Season with salt & pepper. Drizzle a little olive oil on top to serve.

Serves 4 as a side dish or 3 main servings.

I've sized the recipe down from the original by half & added more garlic.

Time for some fall soups!
Creamy Chicken Wild Rice (probably the most popular recipe we've published)
Hearty Baked Potato Soup
Cheddar Cheese & Beer Soup

Beef, Beer & Blue Cheese Pot Pie

Matt mentioned to me last week that there was a recipe for beef & stout pie in the William-Sonoma catalog that sounded good. I took a look at it & decided I could make a version of it using what I had around the kitchen. Basically, I made a beef stew using ground beef instead of cubes of beef. I bumped up the amount of vegetables in comparison to the original recipe & added some beets. The meat & vegetables are stewed in beer instead of stock giving the gravy a nice rich flavor. The thing that really makes this dish special though is the crust which is a basic pastry dough with blue cheese folded into it before topping the stew.

This was the perfect dish for a cool fall night. Matt loved it & said of all the versions of beef stew I've ever made this was his favorite. His only complaint was he wanted more of the crust. I have to say in the past when I've made pot pie I've used a pre-made Pillsbury pie crust (pastry intimidates me) but this time I decided to just go for it. Matt said it was much better than the store bought version, especially the flakiness. Next time I'll cut any excess pastry into strips, bake them with the pot pies & serve them on the side.

Beef, Beer & Blue Cheese Pot Pie

Filling

(Look at those lovely fall colors. This is before it simmers for 3 hours & thickens.)

2 T olive oil
4 oz cremini mushrooms, quartered
2 small onions, peeled & quartered
3/4 - 1 lb ground beef
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T tomato paste
1 bottle beer (a heavier beer will add more flavor than a light beer, we used Fort Collins Brewery Retro Red which was very hoppy & malty)
8 oz carrots, peeled & cut into chunks
2 medium red potatoes, cut into cubes
1 large beet, peeled & cut into cubes (optional, I just happened to have some on hand)
1/2 T fresh thyme, chopped

Heat 1 T of olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms & onions. Season with salt & pepper & cook until soft about 10 minutes. Remove from the pot & set aside.
Add the remaining 1 T of olive oil to the pot & heat. Add the ground beef & cook until throughly browned. Remove from pot & set aside.
Add garlic & tomato paste to the pot & stir for about 30 seconds. Add the bottle of beer & scrape up as much of the brown bits on the bottom of the pot as you can. Return the beef, mushrooms, onions to the pot. Add all remaining vegetables & thyme. Bring to a boil.
Cover & reduce heat. Allow to simmer for 3 hours stirring from time to time.

Blue Cheese Pastry
(from William-Sonoma, though they specify using Stilton)

1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1 t salt
1/2 T sugar
8 T unsalted butter, cold & cut into 1/2-inch slices
1/4 - 1/2 c cold water
2 oz blue cheese

Combine the flour, salt & sugar in a food processor, pulse to blend. Add the butter & pulse until the mixture is a course meal. Add 1/2 cup of the water & pulse a few times. The dough should now come together when you squeeze it but not be sticky. If it is too crumbly still add more water 1 T at a time, pulsing inbetween additions, until it comes together. Turn the dough out on to a floured surface & form into a disc. Cover in plastic wrap & chill for 1 hour.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator & put on a floured surface such a silicone mat or cutting board. Lightly flour the top of the dough. Roll the dough out to an 8-inch square. Crumble the blue cheese over half of the square.

Fold the other half of the dough over the half with the cheese. Roll the dough back out to a square or shape need to cut your pastry tops. Use a sharp knife to cut the pastry to be about 1/2-inch bigger all around than the dish you will be making your pie in.

Return the dough right on the surface you rolled it on to the refrigerator for a few minutes to stiffen up (if you make the mistake I did & remove the dough at this point it will stretch out & loss the shape you cut).

Assembly
(We had enough filling & dough to make three single serving pot pies)

1 egg

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Ladle the beef filling into 1 1/2 c ramekins (or just use one large one). Wet the edge of the ramekins. Lay the pastry dough over the top of the ramekins crimping to the edges to seal.

Beat the egg with a little water & brush over the pastry dough. Use a knife to make a few slits in the dough. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes or until the pastry is dark golden brown.

Peach & Blue Cheese Pizza

The fun of making pizza at home is you can really experiment with the different toppings. Oh, did we score a winner with this one, not your typical pizza but one we would have again & again.

This pizza combination plays the sweetness of peaches & caramelized onions against the salty, sharpness of blue cheese. A base of Fontina adds a wonderful creaminess. I would say it is an adult taste, unless you have kids with sophisticated palates who enjoy blue cheese. It was perfect for dinner but I think it would make a lovely appetizer at a party cut into small pieces, especially with some good wine. I can also see other fruits working wonderfully on this such as pears or figs.

Peach & Blue Cheese Pizza

pizza dough for 1 pizza (we use this recipe)
2 small or 1 large onion, sliced thin
2 ripe peaches
olive oil
1 - 1 1/2 c fontina cheese, grated
1/4 c blue cheese, grated (add more or less depending on how much you like blue cheese)

Preheat oven to 450 F. Grease a baking sheet.
Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onions & allow them to cook slowly until they are golden brown & quite tender, stirring from time to time.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the peaches & allow them to boil for 1 - 2 minutes. Remove the peaches & use the tip of a sharp knife to remove their peels. Slice the peaches into 1/4 - 1/2 inch slices.
Spread the pizza dough out on the baking sheet to your desired thickness. Brush a little olive oil over it. Sprinkle a layer of fontina & then a layer of caramelized onions on the dough. Arrange the peach slices in rows on top of the cheese & onions. Sprinkle the blue cheese all over the top.

Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until the cheese is all melted & the crust is golden brown. Allow to sit a few minutes before slicing.

Other ideas for pizza night
Homemade Pizza Dough
Fresh Cherry Tomato Sauce
Asparagus & Prosciutto Pizza