taetopia

Rob’s Bistro
75 Main Street
Madison, NJ
973-377-0067
http://robsbistro.com/

Rob’s Bistro opened in December of 2009. The restaurant is the brainchild of Chef Rob Ubhaus, chef and owner of the excellent Resto, which I wrote about in October. Chef Ubhaus seems to have a knack for knowing what Madison needs and filling the gap, or perhaps he is simply in the right place at the right time. Either way, Rob’s Bistro is a new concept for the area (if one disregards The Show Bistro that lived a very short life in Chatham a few years back), providing the neighborhood with a very fine traditional French bistro.

Decor and Ambiance:

Rob’s Bistro is in the space formerly occupied by the satisfactory but rather blah Terre Mare, and directly next door to Resto, the similar signage reflecting the relationship of the two restaurants. Chef Ubhaus has removed the imposing stucco frontage, replacing it with full glass windows. The interior is inviting in warm earth-tones, featuring wood tables and chairs, with unfussy table settings with stemless glassware.

On the walls are oil landscapes in pastel pallettes by the same artist whose paintings are featured in Resto; an artist I’m not over the moon about to begin with. They’re not distracting, just rather boring, especially having seen the same numerous times in the sister restaurant. I would have preferred photographs of French bistro life perhaps, or paintings by a different artist. This is truly a minor distraction however. When the menu arrives, pretty much all else is forgotten.

Our Menu (from various lunches and dinner):

Appetizers:
– Soupe à l’oignon gratinée
– Soupe du jour (cauliflower)
– Cheese & charcuterie platter
– Chèvre & caramelized onion tart

Entrees/Sides:
– Seared chicken breast salade – frisée, lardons, fines herbs, dijon vinaigrette
– Rob’s Bistro burger – bacon, caramelized onions, Les Freres cheese
– Croque monsieur
– Jambon & gruyère crêpe
– House roasted turkey and brie crêpe – granny smith apples
– Coucroute garnie – pork, bacon, and sauerkraut
– Entrecôte – rosemary potato gratin
– Buttered noodles

Desserts:
– Crème brûlée
– Chocolate mousse

Visit their website for the full menu.

Pictured left to right: soupe à l’oignon gratinée; chèvre and caramelized onion tart; coucroute garnie; entrecôte; crème brûlée.

Degustation:

Rob’s Bistro serves the best French onion soup I’ve had in a long time. Possibly ever. The broth itself is well-seasoned, meaty and a touch herbaceous, with a beautifully rich texture. The cheese is melted, not darkly browned, so that it is easier to eat than when one comes up with a clump of cheese that was broiled into one solid mass, as I’ve found is typical of most restaurants. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, it’s just that this way you are able to enjoy separate bites of warm, soft cheese, and maintain a bit of decorum.

The cheese and charcuterie platter presented a very nice variety when we had it – three cheeses and a couple of dried sausage, with the typical garnish of country mustard and cornichons. I imagine the cheese and meats will change depending on what is available and at the chef’s discretion. I would have preferred that the toast that came with it be a bit thicker or the cheese softer. Spreading cheese on the thin pieces of toasted baguette was impossible, but that did not stop us from devouring every morsel.

The chèvre and carmelized onion tart is distinctly different than other cheese and onion tart I’ve tasted. The firm pastry crust is a sturdy container for sweet, thinly sliced, caramelized onions, which are then topped with a cool and incredibly creamy goat cheese. It comes atop a salad of chopped frisée, which is a nice peppery foil for the sweetness of the onions and cheese.

The highlights of the entrees we sampled go to the Bistro burger, a deliciously moist and distinctly home-made style hamburger; the fresh house-roasted turkey crêpe with caramelized onions and granny smith apple, which is perfectly sweet and savory; and the entrecôte, a beautifully tender, juicy cut of beef.

While the entrecôte and the pork of the choucroute were nicely seared, I found them a bit under-salted. However, this is personal preference. I tend to season meat with reckless abandon.

Even more delicious than the noted entrees were two of the sides. The rosemary potato gratin, which was served with the entrecôte, is hands down the best gratin I have ever been served. It is well scented with rosemary, with a creamy, tooth-giving texture enveloped by a parchment-crisp crust. The buttered noodles were plain buttered egg noodles, but so well seasoned with parsley and pepper that it could have been an entree (which, as it turns out, is indeed often served to children as a main course). Both sides may be ordered on their own from the sides selections of the dinner menu.

I will need to make a few more trips to get to some more of the desserts, as I tend to be a glutton for the savory stuff, but I highly recommend the crème brûlée. There’s just the right amount of custard, while the sugar is delightfully thin and breaks with a satisfying crack. I overheard that the tarte tatin is made-to-order, and is definitely on my wish list.

Service:

The host, while a perfectly nice gentlemen, seems a bit lost in his role. It’s as if he can do only one thing at a time, and is not entirely sure what that one thing should be. He is genuinely concerned that the customers are enjoying their experience, but that’s pretty much where his involvement ends. I have seen him bus a table or two on occasion (there is no busser, only the servers and the host), but not nearly lend his hand to the dining room as he could have, which I find mildly frustrating to observe.

The servers however, we have met four, are great (although one of them, as well as the host, make the cringe-inducing error of calling me and my guest “guys”). They are willing to take time to discuss the menu and customer preferences. There is one woman, Lisa, whose service impresses me greatly. During service she is always there, but never hovering, and seems to know what you need almost before you need it. In my opinion, servers like that are worth their weight in gold, and I hope she has a long and successful career with Chef Ubhaus.

End:

Rob’s Bistro gives a high-end impression in a comfortable atmosphere. It is not inexpensive, as dinner entrees hover in the $20 range, but the experience and food are worth it, and the fact that it’s a BYO makes it that much less expensive than it could be. Lunch prices are quite reasonable.

The downside is that there is no lunch service on Saturday, though beginning in a few weeks there will be a Sunday brunch. Reservations for dinner are strongly recommended, as my guest and I watched the place fill up on a Wednesday night to capacity. Children are welcome, but the crowd tends to lean toward the older set.

Rob’s Bistro is sure to become our personal choice for casual dining in Madison. It’s an absolute delight.

When I was a child and young teen, among my favorite dishes were my mother’s beef stew and Yankee pot roast. My mother is a fantastic cook all around, and in those days, as a single mother working long hours, with both of us hating the chill of winter, braises took care of three essentials: Less time in the kitchen, plenty of leftovers to eat for the week, and the warming of our bones. I’m not certain she made braises for that purpose consciously, it’s just common sense. About braises, these essentials hold true.

Then there were the hours upon torturous hours that my mother would leave the roast braising all day, and with the air permeated with the aroma of beef, wine and bay, I’d be salivating for what seemed like forever. Worse, there was no eating it the same night, as it would be better the next day. Oh, the agony of waiting!

So it is hardly surprising that I should fall in love with “All About Braising,” by Molly Stevens. In my opinion, the finest book on braising I’ve encountered. From the why and wherefore to technique; from what cuts of meat to clear, concise recipes that work. If you are as much of a fan of braised dishes as I am, this is the book for you.

In addition to beef recipes, there are several for vegetables, seafood, pork, lamb, and chicken. The hearty chicken and herb dumplings are fabulous comfort food, and the pork pot roast with apricots, cardamom and ginger is a feast for the senses. I’ve probably cooked more from this book in the couple of months I’ve owned it than any other new book in the same period of time.

As the dreadful cold appears to have settled in for the foreseeable future, I highly recommend this mouth-watering pot roast to treat the symptoms of winter. By adding the root vegetables late in the braising process, they retain their flavor, enhanced by the herbs and braising liquid, and become rather meaty themselves. I served it along buttery mashed potatoes. What’s that you ask? Why yes, there are potatoes in the pot roast as well. One can never have too many potatoes.

This recipe has instructions to broil the roast in order to brown it. I skipped this and browned the roast directly in the braising pan on the stove. I felt the flavor of the fond (the brown bits left behind in the pan from browning meat) would enhance the flavor of the pot roast, as I was using store bought stock, which always needs a little help in the flavor department.

Yankee Pot Roast Redux
by Molly Stevens
from All About Braising: The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking
© W. W. Norton & Company, 2004

Serves 6 | Braising Time: About 3 Hours

– One 3.5 to 4-pound boneless beef chuck roast
– Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
– 1 bay leaf
– 1 medium yellow onion (about 6 ounces), peeled
– 3 whole cloves
– 1/4 cup hard cider or dry white wine
– 1 cup beef, veal, or chicken stock
– 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried
– 1/2 pound small white or red potatoes, peeled and, if larger than 1 1/2 inches, cut into halves or quarters
– 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch lengths
– Fleur de sel or coarse sea salt for serving (optional)

1. Tying the meat: Tie the roast with kitchen string so that it is snug and neat (see instructions in the book, page 258). Season all over with salt and plenty of pepper and place in a shallow baking pan (2- to 3-quart).

2. Browning the meat: Heat the broiler to high. Slide the roast under the broiler so that the surface is about 6 inches away from the element. Broil until the fat begins to sizzle and the surface begins to caramelize but not char, about 5 minutes. Turn with tongs and broil on the other side (or sides, depending on the shape of the roast) for another 5 minutes (each). Remove the roast from the broiler, and heat the oven to 300 degrees. (Alternatively, you can brown the roast in the braising pan according to the instructions on [cookbook] page 254.)

With tongs, transfer the seared roast to a Dutch oven or other heavy lidded braising pan (4-quart capacity). Tack the bay leaf to the onion using the cloves and tuck it into the pot alongside the beef.

3. The braising liquid: Pour off any excess fat from the pan you used to brown the beef and set over medium-high heat. Add the cider or wine and bring to a boil, scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon to dissolve any precious bits of caramelized beef juices that have stuck there. Continue to boil until the liquid is reduced by half, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the stock and let it come to a boil. Pour the boiling liquid over the beef and sprinkle with the thyme.

4. The braise: Cover the roast with parchment paper, pressing down so that the paper almost touches the meat and the edges extend about an inch over the sides of the pot. Then set the lid in place and slide the pot into the lower third of the oven to braise. Check to see that the liquid isn’t simmering too fiercely after the first 10 to 15 minutes. If it is, lower the oven temperature 10 or 15 degrees. After 45 minutes, turn the roast with tongs. Continue braising at a gentle simmer for another 45 minutes.

Turn the roast again, and add the turnips, potatoes, and carrots to the pot, spooning some of the braising liquid over the meat before returning the parchment paper and lid. Continue braising until the meat is fork-tender and the vegetables are easily pierced with the tip of a knife, another 1 1/2 hours or so (for a total of about 3 hours).

5. The finish: Transfer the roast to a carving board or serving platter. With a slotted spoon, remove the vegetables and arrange them around the meat (discard the clove-studded onion). Cover loosely with foil to keep warm. Set the Dutch oven over medium heat, and skim the surface fat from the braising liquid as it comes to a simmer. Evaluate the braising liquid: if it appears too thin or watery, boil the liquid to reduce the volume and thicken up slightly, about 10 minutes. It should be the consistency of a slightly thickened vinaigrette.

6. Serving: Cut the strings from the roast and slice into 1/2 inch thick slices. Serve slices of the pot roast alongside a mix of vegetables, with the braising liquid ladled on top. Pass the fleur de sel or coarse sea salt at the table, if desired.

I know that there are people who can whip up a batch of biscuits with butter or lard in a few moments flat. I am not one of them. I have “hot hands,” which means that the moment a stick of butter knows that it is going to be touched by me, my hands burst into blames which then instantly melts the butter. It’s like having an undesired superhero power, and which, needless to say, makes an awful mess. So when I saw this recipe for Cream Biscuits on Smitten Kitchen (a fantastic blog – if you’re not following it, you should), I thought I’d give them a whirl. She assures her readers that they are spectacularly easy, and you know what? They are!

Adapted from “James Beard’s American Cookery,” these biscuits take practically no time to put together. There are no sticky hands or oily countertops. I omitted the sugar, and I’m not sure I would ever add it. The recipe yielded 10 biscuits when I made them. Serve them warm from the oven, with butter of course. They are more substantial than butter biscuits, which makes them perfect to serve with eggs and bacon. You are simply not going to believe how easy these are to make. You’ll be a hero when you make these for your Sunday brunch.

A side note on the bacon: We tried Tommy Moloney’s Back Bacon with our brunch and it was delicious! It’s a bit like a thinly sliced pork loin with beautiful trimmings of fat. We got it at our local supermarket, so it should be relatively easy to find. If you can’t find it and would like to try it, simply use the link to order online.

Cream Biscuits
Adapted from James Beard’s American Cookery, and as blogged on SmittenKitchen.com

– 3 tablespoons melted butter
– 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the surface
– 1 tablespoon baking powder
– 1/2 teaspoon salt
– 1 tablespoon sugar (optional)
– 1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt butter in a small pot or microwave dish, and set aside. Sift two cups flour, the baking powder, salt and (if using) sugar into a large bowl. Fold in 1 1/4 cups cream. If the dough is not soft or easily handled, fold in the remaining 1/4 cup cream, little by little.

Turn dough onto a floured surface, mound it into a ball and, using your hands, press it to a thickness of about 3/4 inch. Cut into rounds, 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Gather dough scraps and continue to make rounds. Dip the top of each round in melted butter and arrange on the baking sheet. Bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately, or freeze for future use. [Biscuits can be baked straight from the freezer, and additional few minutes baking time will be needed, usually around 3 to 5.]

I wrote about the delicious mangalitsa pig from Mosefund Farm in an earlier writeup of elements restaurant in Princeton, NJ, where we first enjoyed the flavorful tender meat. Here’s a short video about the pigs, which tells a bit of their history and how they are raised at Mosefund farm:

Wooly Pigs from Rosenblum TV on Vimeo.

Over the years I have surrounded myself with wonderful cookbooks. Cookbooks that for some reason I never cook from. I love to own them and read them, but I never seem to get around to actually using them as often as I should. I usually get an idea in my head, assemble the ingredients at the market, and throw it all together at home with, I am happy to say, better-than-passable results. I think it has something to do with my natural desire for immediate gratification, combined with my irrational fear of recipes that begin with the words “Day One.”

I now have it in my head that a great project would be to make a few recipes from the books I own each week. I’ll finally get some mileage out of my purchases, and see which books stand up to the test. Not sure how this will turn out or how long I can keep up with it, but we’ll give it the good old college try.

This week’s recipe comes from Martha Rose Shulman’s “Mediterranean Harvest: Vegetarian Recipes from the World’s Healthiest Cuisine.” Never was there a sorrier title for a book filled with truly luscious recipes. But trust me, you couldn’t get farther away from “100 Recipes for Steamed Broccoli with Garlic” for healthy recipes than this book. Its recipes include “Baked Semolina Gnocchi with Butter and Parmesan,” “Honey-Orange Biscotti,” and “Zucchini, Potato, and Artichoke Moussaka.” It is one one of the cookbooks I took the pleasure to read straight through, like a novel, as the recipes were so enticing.

This filling of this squash and leek pie has a very creamy texture, which contrasted quite nicely with the crispness of the phyllo. Although it is savory, a definite sweetness comes through from the squash and mint.

A note on the recipe: The author doesn’t say exactly how you’re supposed to get the crackly phyllo dough into the edges of the tart pan. Just squish ’em in. It’ll work out just fine. Also, a spray bottle of olive oil works wonders in place of a brush. There’s much less of a chance you’ll break your dough.

While this tart makes for a great vegetarian entree, my husband mentioned to me that it might be good for breakfast. I had the leftovers for breakfast two days in a row. My husband is a very smart man.

Winter Squash and Leek Pie
by Martha Rose Shulman
from Mediterranean Harvest: Vegetarian Recipes from the World’s Healthiest Cuisine
© Rodale, 2007

– 2 1/2 pounds winter squash (1 large or 2 smaller butternut squash), seeds and membranes scraped away, cut into large pieces (see Note)
– 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
– 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
– 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
– 4 ounces feta, crumbled (about 1 cup)
– 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
– 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus additional for brushing
– 3 large leeks (about 1 1/2 pounds), white and light green parts only, washed well and chopped
– 2 large garlic cloves, minced or put through a press
– 3 large eggs, beaten
– Salt and freshly ground pepper
– 12 sheets phyllo dough

Note: If using butternut, cut in half crosswise, just above the bulbous bottom part, then cut these halves into lengthwise quarters and scrape away the seeds and membranes.

1. Steam the squash over boiling water for 15 to 20 minutes, until tender. Drain and cool in a colander for another 15 minutes (butternut squash will not be watery). Peel and place in a bowl. Mash with a fork, large wooden spoon, potato masher, or pestle. Stir in the herbs, nutmeg, and cheeses.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy nonstick frying pan over medium heat and add the leeks. Cook, stirring, until tender and just beginning to color, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to cook for another minute, until fragrant. Add the leek mixture to the squash. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the beaten eggs for brushing the tart. Mix the remaining eggs into the squash. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Heat the oven to 375 F. Brush a 10- or 12-inch tart pan with olive oil and layer in 7 sheets of phyllo dough, placing them not quite evenly on top of each other so that the edges overlap the sides of the pan all the way around and brushing each sheet with olive oil before adding the next. Scrape in the filling, fold the dough edges in, and brush with olive oil. Layer 5 more sheets of dough over the top, brushing each sheet with olive oil. Stuff the edges into the side of the pan. Brush the top with reserved egg. Pierce the top of the pie in several places with a sharp knife. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Advance Preparation: The squash can be cooked and mashed 3 or 4 days ahead and kept in the refrigerator in a covered bowl. The filling will keep for 2 or 3 days in the refrigerator.

Leftovers: The tart keeps for a few days, but you must keep recrisping the phyllo. This is easily done, either in a low oven (250F to 300F) for 10 to 20 minutes, or in a hot oven that has just been turned off for 5 or 10 minutes. (I used a microwave for reheating. Was it crispy? No. But it still tasted wonderful. -Taetopia)

My boss has a tradition of buying or making the employees in her department whatever kind of cake they want for their birthday. She’s pretty awesome that way. So the first year I worked for her, I asked her what her favorite cake was, and she replied, “German Chocolate Cake.”

The first thing I see in my mind when someone says “German Chocolate Cake” is the green box of Baker’s German’s Chocolate, as seen on the shelf in the baking aisle of every supermarket in the United States. In fact, I’m not entirely sure what else people use German’s Chocolate for. I can’t imagine eating it on its own as it’s rather chalky. But sure enough, that image popped up in my head, and off I went to bake my boss’ birthday cake.

I have made this cake for four of her birthdays. The first two years I made the cake, I used the recipe from The Joy of Cooking. This might make people scratch their heads. Why on earth, one would wonder, would I use a recipe from a book when the recipe for Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate Cake is clearly on the chocolate’s wrapper? The answer is…I have no idea. I think somewhere in the back of my mind I had this theory that The Joy of Cooking would have improved the recipe. (This is a ridiculous theory considering wrapper recipes are pretty much tried and true.) Besides, that recipe had sour cream in it. Everything that has sour cream in it is better, isn’t it?

Oh, not so.

My edition of The Joy of Cooking took a walk two years ago, which is odd because it’s a pretty tough thing to lose considering its binding and size. It even has a ribbon to hold your page (a feature I think all cookbooks should have – two ribbons would be even better). So, in desperation, I turned to The Fannie Farmer Cookbook.

This now might make people seriously wonder about my sanity. Why, one would ask, would you use a recipe from a book, again, when the recipe for Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate Cake is Right. There. On. The. Wrapper? The answer is…I have no idea. But let me tell you, when we ate that cake it was so light, so delicately flavored, and so fulfilling, that I was actually glad to have lost The Joy of Cooking. I vowed that the Fanny Farmer recipe would be the only recipe I’d use for German’s Sweet Chocolate Cake from that time forward!

The joke is on me.

In preparing to write this, I went to Kraft’s website, wanting to relay the story about how what people call “German Chocolate Cake” is in actuality “German’s Sweet Chocolate Cake,” because the woman who submitted the recipe in the 1950’s to a newspaper used General Food’s (later, Kraft’s) Baker’s German’s chocolate brand. This cake has nothing to do with Germany. But you can read all about that here at Wikipedia, now that I’m thoroughly ashamed and this has turned into a different post altogether.

The joke’s-on-me part is that I just discovered that the recipe from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook is the same recipe as Kraft’s Original Baker’s German Sweet Chocolate Cake on Kraft’s site. Why Fannie Farmer doesn’t mention this, I don’t know, but there you have it. I’ve been laughing at myself the last 15 minutes.

The Fannie Farmer Cookbook (13th edition) incorrectly titles the recipe “German Sweet Chocolate Cake,” and leaves out a very important step: beating the egg whites to stiff peaks!

So here, with instructions adapted from both Fannie Farmer and Kraft Foods, Inc., is the recipe for the very delicious German’s Sweet Chocolate Cake. I’d say it’s a grownup style of cake. The chocolate is very subtle, much like the cocoa flavor in Red Velvet Cake. It’s not overly chocolate-forward, and it’s very balanced with the flavor of the classic coconut-pecan frosting, which I’ve given the Fannie Farmer version of here. This is perfect with a cup of coffee.

Ingredients (makes 16 servings):
– 4 ounces (one package) Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate
– 1/2 cup boiling water
– 1 cup butter
– 2 cups sugar
– 4 eggs, separated
– 1 teaspoon vanilla
– 2 1/4 cups cake flour
– 1 teaspoon baking soda
– 1/2 teaspoon salt
– 1 cup buttermilk
– 1 recipe Coconut-Pecan Frosting (recipe follows)

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Cover the bottoms of three 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper, and spray the pans with baking spray (alternatively, grease the sides of the pans with butter). Set aside.

2. Break the chocolate into pieces in a glass bowl. Pour 1/2 cup boiling water over the chocolate and stir to melt all the chocolate until smooth. Set aside to cool.

3. In a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, or in a bowl using a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy and light in color. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in the vanilla, then the chocolate.

4. In a large bowl, mix the flour with the baking soda and salt.

5. To the chocolate mixture, add the flour mixture and the buttermilk, alternating between the two, beating after each addition until smooth. Set aside.

6. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form, then fold the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Combine until just mixed – not too much or else the eggs will deflate. You should have a fairly airy batter.

7. Pour the batter into the three separate pans equally. Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out with only a couple of crumbs. Cool in the pans for five to ten minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool.

8. When cool, frost only the tops (not the sides) of each layer with Coconut-Pecan Frosting. Enjoy!

Frosting Ingredients (frosts two layers and the top of one 9-inch round German’s Chocolate Cake, recipe above):
– 1 cup evaporated milk
– 1 cup sugar
– 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
– 1/2 cup butter
– 1 teaspoon vanilla
– 1 1/3 cups Baker’s Angel Flake Coconut
– 1 cup chopped pecans

1. In a saucepan, mix the evaporated milk, sugar, egg yolks, butter, and vanilla, stirring over medium heat until thickened, anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes.

2. Remove milk mixture and immediately stir in the coconut and pecans. Cool until thick enough to spread, stirring occasionally. Frost tops of cake layers only.

I am forever on the lookout for quick and easy recipes that can be made on a weeknight after work when I want something relatively healthy and inexpensive. One of my favorite resources for these recipes is Eating Well.

This recipe was inspired by Eating Well’s recipe for Peanut-Ginger Noodles. I’ve bumped up some of the aromatics, and changed the vegetables to my taste. I can’t imagine a vegetable that wouldn’t be good here. I shied away from using whole wheat pasta and went with a high-fiber pasta instead. There are some instances where I didn’t want the nutty flavor of whole wheat pasta to clash with whatever sauce I’m making.

This dish is very filling. Its got great textures – the crunchiness of the vegetables, the chew of the pasta, the creaminess of the sauce – and great flavors – the heat from the ginger, and the comfort-foodiness of peanut butter. This recipe makes enough for dinner with plenty leftover for the next day.

– 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
– 2 tablespoons soy sauce
– 3 teaspoons minced garlic
– 2 teaspoons Asian chile-garlic sauce
– 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
– 8 ounces high-fiber spaghetti
– Two cups julienne (thinly sliced) combination of carrot, red pepper, and snow peas
– 2 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions, green/dark green parts

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta.

2. Mix together the peanut butter, soy sauce, garlic, chile-garlic sauce, and ginger in a large bowl. Set aside while you make the pasta.

3. Salt the boiling water if desired and cook the pasta until it is just slightly underdone, then add the vegetables to the water. Cook a minute or two more until the pasta is done, and drain the pasta and vegetables in a colander, rinse with cold water to stop the cooking, and continue to drain well.

4. Add the pasta and vegetables to the bowl with the sauce, add the scallions, and toss thoroughly. Note that it will look like you have too much sauce to start with, but have no fear! Place the bowl in the refrigerator for about an hour, tossing the noodles every 20 minutes or so. The sauce will become thick and cling to the pasta. Serve cool, or it may be warmed in the microwave a few seconds if you prefer.

A couple of weeks ago I began hearing whispers about a certain cake that was so very moist and flavorful, and once you’ve heard from more than three people on three completely separate occasions that there is something you MUST try, well then, you must try it.

David Leite is one of my favorite essayists on food. He has a new book out, “The New Portuguese Table: Exciting Flavors from Europe’s Western Coast,” which is receiving a lot of very good press. I also think he’s a natural on TV. I am not as familiar with his recipes, nor am I with Portuguese cuisine, but after trying this cake, I’m sold on both and am looking forward to trying more.

This is the perfect tea cake. Or dinner cake. Or breakfast cake. Or alone-in-the-closet-with-a-fork-cake. It is wonderfully moist, sweet but not too sweet, with a mouth-watering aroma of orange from both the juice and zest. David says on his site that it took 13 variations to get it right. Oh, did he get it right!

Pay attention to a few important notes: The first is to use a light-colored bundt pan. Mine is not exactly dark, but not light colored, and the outside of the cake was definitely a darker brown than I would have liked if I were to present it whole. This did not ruin the flavor, and could have been masked by a dusting of confectioner’s sugar, but just a word of caution. Second, the batter will have a much MUCH thinner consistency than one is used to for cake. Third, David says to let the cake rest a day or two. We had some the day after it was made, and then the day after that. I can report that the cake on day 2 was even more delicious than day 1. I urge you to visit David’s website to watch a video of how it is made (you can get a sense how thin the consistency of the batter is), and get the recipe from the source.

Portuguese Orange-Olive Oil Cake
by David Leite
from The New Portuguese Table: Exciting Flavors from Europe’s Western Coast

Make sure to use a light-colored Bundt pan. A dark one will turn out a cake that sticks and is unpleasantly brown. Since this cake only gets better with age, don’t even think about taking a bite until the day after you make it, or even the day after that.

– Nonstick baking spray with flour
– 4 to 5 large naval oranges
– 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
– 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
– 1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
– 5 large eggs
– 3 cups granulated sugar
– 1 1/2 cups mild extra-virgin olive oil
– Confectioners’ sugar, for sprinkling

Method

1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven, remove any racks above, and crank up the heat to 350°F (175°C). Coat a 12-cup Bundt or tube pan with baking spray and set aside.

2. Finely grate the zest of 3 of the oranges, then squeeze 4 of them. You should have 1 1/2 cups of juice; if not, squeeze the 5th orange. Set aside.

3. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and set aside.

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a handheld mixer in a large bowl, beat the eggs on medium-high speed until well-combined, about 1 minute. Slowly pour in the granulated sugar and continue beating until thick and pale yellow, about 3 minutes. On low speed, alternate adding the flour mixture and oil, starting and ending with the flour, and beat until just a few wisps of flour remain. Pour in the orange juice and zest and whirl for a few seconds to bring the batter together.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a cake tester comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it, about 1 1/4 hours. If the top is browning too much as the cake bakes, cover lightly with foil. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes.

6. Turn the cake out onto the rack and cool completely, then place it in a covered cake stand and let it sit overnight. Just before serving, dust with powdered sugar.

Jersey City’s Journal Square is a pretty beat up neighborhood. There’s barely a hint of the metropolitan city it used to be, except for the two majestic, well-preserved movie houses, one of which serves as a meeting hall for Jehovah’s Witnesses. It is a major transportation hub, with both a PATH station that runs to Newark and New York, as well as a large bus terminal, and there is a community college. It is a busy neighborhood, but not a particularly nice one. The massive improvements made downtown since 9/11 have yet to stretch to this part of the city.

I work between a salad bar, otherwise known as the “salmonella bar” due to its questionable temperatures for food safety, and a typical coffee shop with OK food. Other dining choices in the immediate area include Popeye’s, McDonald’s, White Castle, Blimpie, Subway, a few pizza places, a hot dog stand (with good hot dogs!), and, for the real fine dining experience, a Quiznos.

So on Wednesdays in the summer and fall, when Farmers’ Market is just across the street, it’s like a breath of fresh air. Not that it’s a great Farmers’ Market, it’s pretty bare-bones, only six vendors or so. But just to see all the colors of fresh produce under the tents is a sight for sore eyes.

Unlike most market days when I wander around buying what looks good and winging it, yesterday I went with one clear purchase in mind: butternut squash. I become very pumpkin-minded during the autumn, and I’ve been craving some squash soup. I think people are a little intimidated by winter squash, which is a shame. They are one of the easiest fruits to work with, very versatile, and can go to either the sweet or savory side of the culinary spectrum depending how they’re prepared.

There is pretty much nothing easier than this soup. There are five main ingredients: Butter, onion, butternut squash, stock, and nutmeg. The rest are optional, and you could mix it up by using a different winter squash, such as acorn or pumpkin, or adding an apple when simmering the squash. One could also spice things up with cayenne (red pepper) or chipotle, paprika, or curry powder. This soup is ready in less than 30 minutes!

Ingredients (makes approximately four servings):
– 2 tbsp butter
– 1 onion, large dice
– 2 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1.5″ pieces.
– 1 2″ piece of fresh ginger, peeled and cut in a large dice (optional)
– 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
– 1/4 tsp nutmeg
– Lemon juice to taste (optional)
– Salt and pepper to taste
– 2 tbsp heavy cream (optional)
– Sour cream (optional)
– Chives (optional)

1. Melt the butter in a large pot, add the onion and sauté until the onions are soft.

2. Add the squash to the pot, sauté for a few moments, add the stock, ginger (if using), salt and pepper. Simmer the squash on a high simmer until soft, approximately 15 to 20 minutes.

3. Purée the soup with either a hand blender, or transfer the soup to a blender in batches, purée until smooth, and return the blended soup to the pot.

4. Bring the soup back to the heat and add your nutmeg, and a good squeeze or two of lemon juice (if using). Taste for salt and pepper, and season if needed. Once the soup is hot, remove from the heat, stir in heavy cream (if using).

5. Spoon the soup into bowls, and garnish with a dollop of sour cream and chopped chives if desired.

I’ve been on a mission lately to eat more home-cooked food, trying to overcome a takeout-and-TV dinners habit that is clearly not doing me any good. (I think I’m showing my age here. I’m sure they call TV dinners something else now…frozen entrees?) Anyway, Monday night is “watching House on the couch” night, and I wanted something quick, warm, and relatively healthy. The following fit the bill.

Ingredients:
– 1.5 pints Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half (or quarters if they’re large sprouts)
– 5 slices bacon, cut into lardons
– Extra virgin olive oil
– 1 large onion, diced
– Lemon juice to taste
– Salt and pepper to taste

I had a big batch of Brussels sprouts lingering in the vegetable drawer of my refrigerator from a farmers’ market visit about a week and a half earlier. They weren’t looking so good:

I cut the bottoms off and peeled away the brown bits. Voila, beautiful Brussels sprouts!

I cooked the Brussels sprouts in a big pot of boiling water for four minutes and drained them, rinsing them in cold water to stop the cooking and keep their bright green color.

I cut five strips of bacon into lardons (crosswise strips), and rendered them in a large sauté pan so that they were cooked, but not yet crisp, and removed them from the pan with a slotted spoon. OK, full disclosure, I would have used three strips of bacon, except there were five left in the package. If I left two behind I’d have to use them for something else, for which there might not have been enough. There certainly would not be enough for all the members of my household if I cooked only two strips of bacon for breakfast. I mean, really, what do you do with just two pieces of bacon? So I used all five.

I drained most of the bacon fat, leaving just enough in the pan to sauté the diced onions. Once the onions were soft and translucent, I added the Brussels sprouts and cooked them with the onions until the Brussels sprouts were getting toasty on the outside. I added the bacon back to the pan, gave everything a good squeeze of lemon juice, a sprinkle of salt, and quite a bit of black pepper.

Voila! Brussels sprouts with bacon and onions (terrible photo, but you get the idea):

The onions were super-sweet and the Brussels sprouts tender. Smoky bacon, acid from the lemon, and some heat from the pepper rounded things out. Now that’s a TV dinner.