Restaurant-Style Vegetables

Recipe: Restaurant-Style Vegetables
Page: 246
Date Cooked: July 29, 2012

This recipe is literally a combination of ten different vegetables. Each blanched separately and then combined. I do want to make a quick note: I couldn't find yellow wax beans and substituted green beans in its place.

Ingredients: Radishes, green beans, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, zucchini, yellow squash, small Yukon gold potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, unsalted butter, salt, pepper, cherry tomatoes, basil (not shown), and rosemary (not shown)

I began by prepping the vegetables. I trimmed the radishes and quartered them. I topped and tailed the green beans. I stemmed, seeded, and cut the peppers into bite-sized squares. I quartered and cut the zucchini and yellow squash.

Prepping all the vegetables

I brought a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. I added the potatoes and cooked for about 15 minutes. I then added the radishes to the pot and cooked until both the potatoes and radishes were tender. I then drained the pot.

Cooking the potatoes and radishes

I brought another saucepan of salted water to a boil and blanched the green beans, cauliflower, and broccoli.

(1) Blanching green beans (2) Blanching broccoli and cauliflower

I melted butter in a pan, added the peppers and squash, added salt and pepper, and cooked for a few minutes.

Cooking squash and peppers

I added in all the blanched vegetables and cooked for a few minutes longer. Finally, I added in the tomatoes and chopped rosemary and basil. The veggies were ready to serve.

Restaurant-Style Vegetables

I love the picture of the all vegetables and it did look quite beautiful on the plate. However, I found this recipe to be a bit dull. It felt like a filler recipe. There just wasn't much to it. And unfortunately, that's all I have to say.

Enjoy!

Apricot-Mango Crisp

Recipe: Apricot-Mango Crisp
Page: 260
Date Cooked: July 7, 2012

Mangoes are one of my favorite fruits. So seeing this recipe in the cookbook had me pretty pumped. There is no doubt that I enjoy desserts. But I really tend to gravitate towards fruit-based desserts. Perhaps, I can trick myself into thinking it's healthy or something. Not sure if this recipe falls into the healthy category, but I will pretend it does!

Ingredients: Walnuts, almonds, all-purpose flour, sugar, salt, grated nutmeg, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, mangoes, apricots, butter, and vanilla ice cream (not shown)

I finely chopped the nuts and placed them into a bowl. I added the flour, sugar, salt, and spices and mixed it together.

Left: Chopped nuts
Right: Flour-nut mixture

I then peeled, pitted and cubed the mangoes and the apricots. The fruit was combined in a bowl, mixed together with a tablespoon of the flour mixture, and I let it sit for a few minutes.

(1) Cubed mango (2) Cubed apricots (3) Fruit in some of the flour mixture

I cut the cold butter into cubes. I used my fingers to work the butter into the flour mixture until it formed pea size amounts.

Butter cubes in flour mixture

I transferred the fruit to a buttered baking dish and then covered the fruit with the butter-flour mixture.

Left: Layer of fruit
Right: Butter-flour mixture on top of fruit layer

I baked the crisp until the apricots were tender and the top was browned. I served it hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Apricot-Mango Crisp

The best way to describe the Apricot-Mango crisp is "homey." The flavors were warm and familiar and the fruit combination was just right. JW mentions that this dessert can be made with almost any fruit combination (except for citrus) and I can see exactly why. It was incredibly simple and speaks to the seasonality of the fruit with just the right amount of additional sweetness from the "crisp" component. I will be keeping this quick dessert recipe handy.

Enjoy!

Vidalia Onion and Sweet Corn Soup

Recipe: Vidalia Onion and Sweet Corn Soup
Page: 59
Date Cooked: July 5, 2012

It seems that the last few JW recipes I have gravitated towards involve onions and corn. This recipe is no exception. But hey, it's summertime and both items are in season - so why not?

Ingredients: Vidalia onions, unsalted butter, olive oil, salt, pepper, white corn, chicken broth, parsley, tarragon, heavy cream, and serrano chile

I sliced the onions. I also heated the butter and olive oil in a pan. I added the onions to the pan, seasoned with salt and pepper, and cooked until the onions became soft.

(1) Sliced onions (2) Olive oil and butter in pan (3) Onions in pan with salt and pepper

While the onions cooked, I sliced the kernels off the corn. I added the corn to the soft onions and allowed it all to cook through. I then added chicken broth to the onion-corn mixture, brought it all to a boil, and then let it simmer for about half an hour.

Left: Onion and corn mixture
Right: After adding broth

Finally, I stirred in the parsley tarragon, heavy cream, minced serrano chile, and seasoned with salt and pepper.

Added heavy cream, herbs, and salt and pepper to soup

The soup was then ready for consumption.

Vidalia Onion and Sweet Corn Soup

The simplicity of this cannot be stressed enough. There wasn't much to it, but the flavor was bold and light all at the same time. The sweetness of the onion and corn definitely came through. But the addition of the herbs and serrano chile balanced it all out. Both the heavy cream and the serrano chile were listed as optional ingredients. In my opinion the heavy cream truly is optional. I tasted the soup prior to adding the heavy cream and it was quite delicious. However, I think the serrano chile was a bit necessary. Without it, there would be no spice. Overall, it was simple and really good.

Crab Cakes with Red Cabbage Slaw

Recipe: Crab Cakes with Red Cabbage Slaw
Page: 236
Date Cooked: June 11, 2012

So I actually happen to be living in Maryland for the summer and heck what better place to get crab than from the Chesapeake Bay area. So with Maryland crab in tow, I decided to venture on to this recipe...

Ingredients: Lemon, peanut oil, olive oil, egg yolks, jalapeno chile, lump crabmeat, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, onion, corn, red cabbage, parsley, and butter

I began by getting the mayonnaise together. Like I said, I'm living in Maryland this summer and am not in my usual kitchen. Which also means, no hand blender (which I had been using to make mayo). So I was a little worried about putting it together. I juiced the lemon and whisked it together with the egg yolks. I poured the peanut oil and olive oil into a measuring cup. While whisking, I slowly poured in the oil and continued to do so until the mayo became stiff. To my pleasant surprise, the mayo came together really well and I even got an upper body work out.

Mayo making

I cut, stemmed, and seeded the jalapeno pepper. Half of the chile was cut into a small dice and the other half into julienne strips. Also, I picked over the crabmeat for any shells and cartilage.

Left: Julienned jalapeno
Right: Diced jalapeno

I combined the bread crumbs, the diced chile, half the mayo, and the crabmeat. I seasoned the mixture with salt and pepper as well. I then formed the mixture into 6 crab cakes.

Forming the crab cakes

In a shallow bowl, I whisked egg yolks with some water and spread bread crumbs onto a plate. I dipped the crab cakes in the egg yolk mixture and then coated them in the bread crumbs. I placed all the crab cakes on a lined tray and put them in the fridge to firm up.

Pre-cooked crab cakes

In the meantime, I thinly sliced the onion and cut the kernels off the corn cobs. I julienned the red cabbage and juiced the lemon.

(1) Sliced onion (2) Corn kernels (3) Julienned red cabbage

I mixed the cabbage, chopped parsley, julienned pepper, and some mayonnaise in a bowl. I then added lemon juice, salt, pepper, and olive oil. The mixture was tossed well and set aside. I sauteed the onion and corn together until tender and added them to the cabbage slaw.

Putting the cabbage slaw together

Finally, I heated some butter and olive oil in a pan and fried the crab cakes.

Frying crab cakes

I placed the slaw on plates, topped it with the crab cakes, and served it all with some of the remaining mayonnaise.

Crab Cakes with Red Cabbage Slaw

Another perfect summer dish. I really liked the slaw. The crunch of the cabbage was a nice textural contrast to all the other components. And I believe I've said this recently, but corn in the summer is always so good. The crab cakes were also incredibly light, considering they were fried. Perfect texture, great flavor, and I'm partial to the spice so I enjoyed the jalapeno in the crab cakes. Overall, I would make it again.

Enjoy!

Broiled Eggplant

Recipe: Broiled Eggplant
Page: 255
Date Cooked: June 4, 2012

I really like eggplant. However, it isn't often that I cook it alone. It usually is a component of a dish and never just the side. This eggplant dish is super simple and actually makes for a great side.

Ingredients: Eggplant, olive oil, salt, pepper, and grated Parmesan cheese

I cut the stem ends of the eggplant and sliced it in half lengthwise. I coated the eggplant with olive oil, salt, and pepper. I then placed the eggplant cut side down on a baking sheet and put in the oven to broil. Once the outside turned golden, I flipped the eggplant and cooked until they puffed.

Broiling the eggplants

Once the eggplant was done, I sprinkled it with olive oil, pepper, and grated Parmesan cheese. It was then ready to serve.

Broiled Eggplant

See...super easy! I think the key to this recipe is to pick a great eggplant. A simple veggie side with no fuss and a yummy result.

Enjoy!

Linguine with Soft-Shell Crabs

Recipe: Linguine with Soft-Shell Crabs
Page: 129
Date Cooked: June 2, 2012

If you weren't sure whether or not summer was here, the presence of soft-shell crabs in the grocery store and on every seasonal menu should be your cue. Moreover, the addition of corn, tomatoes, and basil in this recipe really lends itself to the season. This recipe is the last soft-shell crab recipe and the last pasta recipe I had left in this cookbook.

Ingredients: Soft-shell crabs, red onions, corn, tomatoes, unsalted butter, olive oil, pepper, salt, dried linguine, and basil

I put a pot of salted water to boil, for the pasta. I sliced the onions, diced the tomatoes, and cut the kernels off the corncobs.

(1) Sliced onions (2) Diced tomatoes (3) Corn kernels

In a large skillet, I heated butter and olive oil. I added the onions until they softened and then added the corn and tomatoes. Once the veggies heated through, I seasoned them with salt and pepper. Also, I cooked the linguine (by the way, I used spinach linguine) according to package directions and chopped the basil.

Left: Beginning to cook onion-corn-tomato mixture
Right: Chopped basil

In another pan, I heated up olive oil. I pat the crabs dry, placed them in the pan (shell side down), and covered the pan. Once the crabs achieved a golden color, I flipped them, covered the pan, and let them cook for a few minutes longer.

Cooking soft-shell crabs

I drained the pasta and added it to the skillet with the onion-corn-tomato mixture. I tossed the pasta with basil and seasoned with salt and pepper. I put the pasta on the plates and served it alongside the soft-shell crabs.

Linguine with Soft-Shell Crabs

This dish was light and delicious. It was really the perfect hot summer night meal. I think this dish speaks to the seasonality of the ingredients - summer corn, tomatoes, and soft-shell crabs. I loved the way it tasted and of course love the colors on the plate. Little fuss with a great reward.

Enjoy!

Mushroom and Tomato Ragout

Recipe: Mushroom and Tomato Ragout
Page: 32
Date Cooked: May 27, 2012

I wasn't sure what to expect in this recipe. I've always thought of a ragout as a main entree and that it involved meat. But according to Jonathan Waxman's cookbook - this ragout is labelled a starter and is vegetarian.

Cremini mushrooms, shallots, beefsteak tomatoes, country bread, garlic, olive oil, poblano chile, asparagus, unsalted butter, Madeira wine, rosemary, chives, parsley, salt and pepper

I cleaned the mushrooms and quartered them; minced the shallots, and cut the tomatoes into chunks.

(1) Cremini mushrooms (2) Shallots (3) Tomatoes

I toasted the bread until golden brown, rubbed a garlic clove half on the slices, and drizzled each piece with olive oil. I also roasted the poblano chile in the broiler until blackened and blistered all over. The chile steamed in a bowl covered in plastic wrap for a few minutes. Finally, I peeled the chile by hand, stemmed, seeded, and diced it.

Left: Blacked and blistered poblano
Right: Diced poblano

In the meantime, I brought a pot of water to a boil, trimmed the asparagus, and cooked the asparagus for a few minutes. I drained the asparagus, let it cool, and then diced it.

Left: Trimming asparagus
Right: Diced asparagus

I melted butter in a large pot, added the mushrooms, and cooked the mushrooms til tender. I then added the shallots and chile, cooking until softened. I added the Madeira, scrapping any brown bits from the bottom of the pot, and brought the mixture to a simmer. Finally, in went the asparagus, tomatoes, rosemary, chives, parsley, and some more butter. The ragout cooked until the butter melted and the vegetables heated through. 

Cooking the ragout

Finally, I topped each toast with the mushroom and tomato ragout...

Mushroom and Tomato Ragout

This dish felt like a play on a bruschetta. It definitely looks like bruschetta. But it didn't taste quite like bruschetta. The mushroom and tomato ragout had a lot more flavors and textures going on. I enjoyed the dish. The flavors were simple and delicious. Also, the recipe didn't involve much. I would keep this in my back pocket as a future vegetarian appetizer. 

Enjoy!