Gratin Italian sausage and kale

I love teasing people about kale. It's the new kid on the block and folks are still discovering it and getting that shiny new convert look when you tell them it's survival food (ie. people eat it when there's nothing left to eat). The truth is that 1) I like kale just fine and 2) it is not new food. It's been around for a long, long time because it's so hardy and reliable. Cook it right, and it's a sweet treat. But it does have a very strong flavor and not everyone is a fan, so if you want to serve kale to a finnicky table, match it with equally strong flavors. This dish is a cheesy saucy gooey warming dish with a lovely crunchy topping.

Some olive oil

1 lb fresh mild or hot Italian sausage, casings removed and crumbled

⅓ cup dry white wine

2 bunches (about 1 pound) kale, stemmed and torn into large pieces

½ cup (4oz/114gr) + 3 Tbsps (1.5oz/42gr) butter, melted

⅓ cup flour

2 cups milk

8oz fresh goat cheese or feta

3oz freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

1 cup fresh bread crumbs

1 Tbsp minced fresh herbs (such as a combination of parsley, oregano and basil)

1. Heat the oven to 350°F degrees.
2. In a large stainless steel sauté pan, heat the oil and cook the sausage, breaking it up. Cook until browned (usually when the moisture has evaporated). Remove any excess fat.
3. Add the wine scraping up the fond. Continue to cook until the wine reduces and is mostly evaporated, 1 to 2 minutes. 
4. Decrease the heat and stir in the kale, one handful at a time. Mix in the kale and cook until it begins to wilt and turn a bright green. Don't worry about overcooking the kale; it is impossible, unless you burn it! Remove from heat and set the pan aside.
5. Meanwhile, dump the bread crumbs in a medium sized bowl.
6. Melt all the butter in a saucepan. When melted, put 3 Tbsps of it into the breadcrumb bowl.
7. Into the remaining butter, whisk in the flour; continue wisking until starting to brown. Add the milk, whisking constantly, until it thickens into a sauce.
8. Add the crumbled goat cheese to the roux and continue to whisk until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth.
9. Pour the sauce into the sausage and kale and let sit 5 minutes to allow any more fond to lift. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon to scrape up the fond and mix the sauce evenly in the sausage and kale.
10. Spoon the mixture into a shallow, 2 quart gratin dish.
11. To the breadcrumb and butter, add parmesan and minced fresh herbs. Mix thoroughly, then evenly distribute over the kale and sausage to form the topping.
12. Bake the gratin until the topping is golden-brown and the filling is bubbly, about 30 minutes (briefly broil at this point if not browned enough).
13. Cool slightly before serving with crusty bread if eating as a main dish.

Eggs in Marinade Oil

As many hardboiled eggs as will fit in your jar, covered with the marinade (at least 6)
2 cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup tomato paste
1 cup finely chopped parsley
½ to 1 head of garlic, peeled and minced
5 anchovies, minced 

1. Boil the eggs to the hard-boiled stage (see Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs). Allow the to cool completely, ideally immersed in water in the refrigerator, overnight.
2. Peel the shells from the eggs.
3. In a large jar with a lid, place the peeled eggs. 
4. In a bowl, beat the tomato paste and oil together, then stir in the garlic and anchovies, and finally the parsley. Pour this concoction over the eggs.
5. Screw on the lid and refrigerate overnight.
6. Eat the eggs with the oil, preferably with some crusty bread. It's best to let the concoction come up to room temperature if the oil has congealed in the refrigerator, and to let the aroma blossom as it should when you serve it. Excellent with crusty bread, recommended with cheeses and fresh fruit.

Crème Caramel Flan

Making this dessert is a mindfulness exercise. When making the caramel, paying close attention to the process is a must or the danger of burning it is very real. I by far prefer to use the dry method of making caramel over the wet method - adding water just seems to make it harder to get a good caramel.

This can be made in a cake pan or pie plate, or it can be made in 6 ramekins.

Note that the more egg yolk to egg white there is, the more creamy and tender the custard will be, and the more it will be difficult to serve in pretty slices. For the high yolk custards, I recommend using the individual ramekins.

Caramel

½ cup (3.8oz/110g) sugar

Custard

2 cup whole milk

2 tsps vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean

6 eggs (or 4 eggs and 1 yolk, OR 2 eggs and 3 yolks)

½ cup (3.8oz/110g) sugar

pinch nutmeg (optional)

1. Fill a dish or roasting pan (larger than what you have the creme caramel in) and fill with just enough water that it will be about a half inch below the creme caramel dish. Put this in the oven and pre-heat the oven to 325°F.
2. In a small stainless steel (for the light colour) saucepan, pour in the sugar. Shake the pan to evenly distribute the sugar - it shouldn't be too thick to allow for the sugar to heat evenly.
3. Without any stirring (!) heat the sugar over low to medium heat until it starts to melt. This will begin at the edges - because this is where it starts to melt it also means this is where caramelization starts. 
4. Be patient! DON'T turn up the heat - sugar can burn very quickly.
5. Once the sugar starts to melt around the edges, use a rubber spatula to bring the melted sugar into the middle of the pan.
6. Gently stir, just enough make sure all the sugar is dissolving.
7. Once everything has dissolved, continue to slowly cook, watching constantly and closely ('cause it can burn quickly), until you get the colour you want - light caramel colour = sweeter; dark caramel colour is more complex with bitter notes. 
8. Immediately pour the hot caramel into the cake tin or pie plate or in the individual ramekins and swirl to coat the bottom evenly. Set aside.
9. Pour the milk into the same saucepan, so that it dissolves and absorbs the remaining caramel on the bottom and sides for extra flavour. (If using the whole bean, split the vanilla bean, scrape the seeds into the milk, and add the pod.)
10. Heat the milk just to the boiling point, turn off the heat, add the vanilla, cover, and set aside to infuse for at least 10 minutes. 
11. Meanwhile beat the eggs with the sugar. Add the nutmeg, if using. Once the milk has infused, whisk it into the egg mixture.
12. Strain the custard over the hardened caramel and set the pan in a larger dish or roasting pan which has been heating in the oven. (655/6=109g)
13. Bake until set, 45 minutes to an hour (20-30 minutes for individual serving dishes).
14. Remove the flan from the oven and from the water bath. Run a knife around the outside edge to loosen the it. Cool completely – even chill, if you like. To serve, flip the flan onto a plate, pour over any caramel remaining in the pan. Serve in wedges if in a cake tin or pie plate.

Jacques (apple spooncakes)

According to Elizabeth David, these are from the Perigord region of France. It's amazing how the texture improves if the batter is left to hydrolyze overnight. They are small, custardy delicious little pancakes.

1 cup flour (4¼oz/120g)

½ cup of milk

½ cup water

1 Tbsp oil

a pinch salt

1 tsp sugar + more for sprinkling

2 eggs

2 or 3 small apples (5oz/approx 300g) preferably old and wrinkled, grated. If skin is tough, remove it.

Optional: rum or brandy

the juice from ½ lemon

Butter

NOTE: This recipe should be started several hours before making, preferably left overnight. 

1. Mix together the flour, milk, water, oil, salt, sugar, and eggs; stir the batter very well, then let it rest for several hours to overnight.
2. Grate the apples and mix in the lemon juice (and/or booze). TIP: if it's a fresh apple, take fists-full of the grated flesh and squeeze out as much juice as possible. Lightly desiccated this way the apple will more easily soak up the lemon or booze, and won't make the pancakes soggy.
3. Coat a thick bottomed pan with a pat of butter and heat up until the butter just starts to froth. Turn the heat down to medium low for a slow fry.
4. Using a wooden mixing spoon, drop a spoonful of batter onto the hot pan, making room for more; you should be able to cook at least four little spooncakes at-a-time in the pan. They are done when both sides are nicely browned.
5. Put more butter in the pan for every new batch of spooncakes.
6. Serve immediately. Tasty with maple syrup and/or apple butter and yogurt.

Galettes de Memère (Ginger Molasses Cookies)

Every day after school I would cross the single road that ran through my home village from the school yard to my grandmother's house - an apartment built on the top floor of an old house owned by a second cousin. She would always have a snack (une collation) for me, usually a glass of milk and some cookies. Most often, these were the cookies she made. As is common with so many grandmothers of my generation, her recipe was "a smidgeon of this" and "mix in the usual way" kind of instructions. It took me a while to figure out how to make them, and now I make them regularly, usually for special occasions.

1 cup (260g) Blackstrap molasses or Black Treacle

1 cup (200g) brown sugar
1 cup (8oz/225gr) lard or butter

3¾ cup flour (450g)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp salt
½ cup boiling water

1. In a mixer bowl, whip together the molasses, brown sugar and butter until it turns pale.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the baking soda, the dry ginger, salt and flour.
3. When the butter mixture starts to go pale, slow the speed to the slowest! It suddenly and unexpectedly splashes everywhere as soon as you add the the boiling water if the beaters are going too fast. 
4. Mix thoroughly, then slowly add the dry mixture until combined.
5. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
6. Roll into balls (1 oz each), set on cookie sheets and flatten slightly.
7. Cook in 350°F oven for 10 to 12 minutes.

Slow Cooked Pork Steaks with Herbes de Provence

This can be a 8 - 24 hour recipe. Made for the slow cooker, it's also marinated in a brine. While brining can be overlooked, it's recommended to get a really flavorful meat. 

Serves 2 to 4 (2 with leftovers, 4 with a hearty side dish)

TIME: 30 minutes to prep, 6 to 7hrs to cook.

4 cups salt water (4 cups water, 3 Tbsps table salt)

¼ cup salt 

2-3lbs fresh pork steak 

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 tsps Herbes de Provence

½ tsp pepper or to taste

Cooking fat (olive oil, or lard, etc)

1 popcorn kernel

2 cups meat broth

1 tsp salt

1 small onion, chopped

3 large potatoes, quartered

2 large carrots, in chunks

OPTIONAL : 1 handful of fresh green beans

1. To make a brine, dilute the salt in the water. Marinade the ham steak in the brine - the size of the dish should allow the water to cover the meat. 
2. Sprinkle the chopped garlic on top. Let that sit from 1 hour to overnight.
3. Strain the meat and set the chopped garlic aside for later. 
4. Pat the meat dry and rub the herbs and pepper all over.  
5. Heat the fat in a stainless or cast iron pan and fry the garlic in the pan until it turns golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
6. Add the popcorn kernel to the hot oil and when the kernel pops, remove it - this means the oil is hot enough to sear the meat.
7. Sear the meat on all sides until browned. Remove from the pan.
8. Add the meat broth and the salt and scrape up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.
9. Put the meat in the crock pot along with the onion, potatoes, carrots, salt and, if using, green beans. (If using the green beans add last and on top of everything, away from the liquid, so they don't overcook.)
10. Pour over this the garlicky broth. 
11. Cook on High temp for 4 to 5 hours, taste and adjust the seasoning, then cook on Low temp for 2 hours or until the onion is cooked.  
12. There will be more sauce than you need, but you can save it to make gravy for something else, or use it as a base for soups (such as split pea soup).

Beef Barley Stew / Soup

I have a special place in my heart for warming stews. I just love then unctuous, hot, earthy flavors that come from braising grains and vegetables and meat in a rich broth. And I love the chewy/custardy texture of barley. While this is an excellent slow-cooker recipe, it is also perfect for cooking in a far corner of the woodstove over an afternoon.

1½ to 2 lbs beef chuck (sirloin tip, top sirloin, etc) or round beef roast, in ¼" cubes (cut when half-thawed to make it easier)

⅔ tsp tsp salt

¼ tsp ground pepper

1 Tbsp oil

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

6 to 8 oz mushrooms, thin slice

⅔ cup red wine

1 tsp fresh thyme or 2 to 3 sprigs 

1 bay leaf

2 tsps  Dijon mustard

2 to 6 cups beef stock

⅔ cup pearl barley

2 medium carrots, peeled and diced

¼ cup flat leaf parsley chopped

1. Melt/heat the oil in a large pan and when hot, add the meat and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sear the meat until it is browned on all sides. Put in the slow cooker.
2. Add oil to the pan if necessary and cook the onion until it is soft. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and cook until browning. Dump into the slow cooker.
3. Add the wine to the hot pan a reduce by half or more.
4. Add 2 cups of the broth to the pan and add to the slow cooker, along with the rest of the broth.
5. Add the carrot, the thyme and bay leaf, the mustard and of course the barley.
6. Cook on high for about 6 hours or until beef is perfectly tender.
7. Before serving, stir in the parsley.