Carduni

Had Thanksgiving with my side of the family for the first time in ages (excluding 2007 when Ilan and I stayed longer and Scott went back to Dallas). Love cooking with my family. I think just about everything we made was tweaked or created in collaboration, except the Turkey. I made the spice rubbed roast turkey from Cooks Illustrated along with their Turkey Gravy, which I divided and added some dark chocolate to one part to make a savory chocolate gravy. (Those who have seen Chocolat know my inspiration and have probably read about my quest to make the perfect chocolate gravy. It was pretty good, but not perfect.)

Other items on the menu included my mom's sherry glazed yams, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole from scratch, corn bread stuffing with pecans, dried apricots, and sage, stuffed artichokes, lovely salad with persimmons and goat cheese, carduni, home made cranberry sauce and persimmon chutney. We had a lot of food!

My mom taught my sister and I how to make Carduni this year. As with most ethnic foods, they were developed out of poverty and invention. A Cardoon is part of the artichoke plant. It looks like really tough celery and is a little bigger. Noni used to make it every holiday and since he is passed my mom makes it each holiday. Surprisingly the boys ate it up! Here's the recipe:

2-3 Stalks of Cardoons, depending on size and how much you have to discard (available, but not always in stock at whole foods and ethnic markets. You may have to call around and hunt)
Eggs
Milk
Italian Breadcrumbs (Progresso)
Grated Parmesan or Parmesan and Romano Blend
Olive oil

Trim the Carduni:
Cut ends off carduni stalks and trim points off the sides. Run a knife down the back of the carduni to remove the ribs. Cut into 4-5 inch pieces.

Cook the Carduni:
Place carduni in a pressure cooker or pot of boiling water. If using a pressure cooker, seal and bring up to boiling then turn off and allow the pot to cool (touchable) before removing the lid. If using a regular pot boil for an hour or so until cardoons are tender. Cool completely (or overnight)
Bread the Carduni:Beat eggs and a little milk in a bowl or pie plate. In a separate bowl combing 3 parts breadcrumbs to 1 part cheese. Pick up a cardoon and flatten it a little (breaking it's back). Dip it in the egg mixture then coat in bread crumbs. (Tip: use two different utensils - one for the egg mixture and one for the breadcrumbs) Place the breaded carduni in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Cover layer with wax paper and press down to press in the breadcrumbs. Repeat layers until you are finished and refrigerate.

Frying the Carduni:
Heat Olive oil in a large pan. Fry carduni on both sides until browned and coating is crispy. Serve hot.

Breakfast Quesadillas

I was kvetching on facebook the other day about how I was looking for some recipes to sneak veggies in for the boys and found some ridiculous junk food labeled "healthy." I am not super strict about junk food, but let's call it what it is. If anything has marshmallow in it or peanut butter chips it's probably not healthy. Anyway, from it I received lots of great suggestions for kids food including a website called Weelicious, where I found a recipe for Breakfast Quesadillas. I tucked the recipe away in my "Misc Recipes" document (that is about 50 pages of recipes that I'd like to try, cut and pasted into one document) thinking it might be fun to try sometime. Aitan won't eat eggs in an form - scrambled, hard boiled, over easy - they go in, they go out. Whereas they are Ilan's go to food.

So, Scott is out of town and Saturday night Steph and Stephanie came over for a sleepover. We made plans to find the Kogi truck and get cupcakes and lots of girl time. Trouble is the kogi truck, or so we thought, wouldn't be close by until 7:30. The boys both took naps, so I figured it would be okay to keep them up a little late. I needed to feed them, though, and didn't have a lot of stuff in the fridge. So, Breakfast Quesadilla for dinner. They both liked them, so I fantasized about how I could make them a better meal for the boys. I had already planned to make Spinach and Basil Pesto this week and I added whole wheat tortillas to my shopping list.

So, this is my adaptation. The boys love it. Success.
Breakfast Quesadilla

1 Egg
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Garlic Powder
Cheese (your choice)
2 Whole Wheat Tortillas
Spinach and Basil Pesto

Place an omelet pan over medium heat and spray with cooking spray or oil. Whisk egg and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Pour the egg into the pan and tilt pan to spread egg in an even layer. When egg is almost solidified sprinkle with cheese and top with a tortilla. Spread a layer of pesto on the remaining tortilla.

When the egg is cooked use a spatula to loosen it and invert it onto a plate (so the egg is on top) and slide back into the pan, tortilla side down. Sprinkle the egg with cheese and place the tortilla on top. When cheese on the bottom half is melted flip the quesadilla until the rest of the cheese melts.

Cut and serve.

A Spot of Tea

It's T week at the Nassau Factory and so I thought we'd have a little Tea Party to celebrate. And what is a tea party without tea sandwiches? Easy and fun for a special lunch with my boys.

Cucumber Tea Sandwiches
White Bread (I used Trader Joe's Buttermilk Bread)
Cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
Salted Butter, slightly softened
21 Seasoning Salute (TJ's) or Spike
Salt to taste

Butter both pieces of bread (this creates a waterproof barrier so the bread doesn't get soggy) and sprinkle with the seasoning salute and a touch of salt. Place the cucumber slices in a single layer on the seasoned bread and top with the second piece of bread. Cut crusts off and slice each sandwich into 4 rectangle pieces.

Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwiches
White Bread (I used Trader Joe's Buttermilk Bread)
Cream Cheese, softened
Smoked Salmon/Lox (4 oz made two whole sandwiches - 8 tea - with a little salmon left over)
Dill (dried or fresh)

Spread Cream Cheese in a thin layer over both slices of bread. Place a single layer of salmon over one piece of bread and sprinkle dill on top. Place the second piece of bread on top and cut crusts off. Slice each sandwich into 4 rectangle pieces.

I also made peanut butter and jelly tea sandwiches for the less refined palates at the table.