Potato, Crab, and Leek Gratin

The Somerville winter farmers market is now up and running at the Armory, and I went down this weekend to check it out. The selection is terrific, and, as I had arrived without a plan, wandered around and bought whatever looked good--in this case some crab, potatoes, leeks, and smoked Gouda. Ordinarily, this kind of aimless shopping is not such a good idea, but in this case I think my after-the fact winging it produced pretty good results. I had this as an entree tonight, but I think it would go especially well as a side at one of this season's numerous potlucks.

Potato, Crab, and Leek Gratin
~2 pounds cooked skin-on red or purple potatoes, sliced medium-thin
8 oz cooked crab meat
6 leeks, coarsely chopped.
1 medium yellow onion
1.5 cups red cabbage
 3 cloves garlic, minced
~2 tablespoons lime juice. 
 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated, or powdered ginger to taste

2.5 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
2 cups smoked Gouda, shredded.
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Pinch ground nutmeg and/or paprika
Pinch Mexican-style chili powder

Dash curry powder
Red wine vinegar
Rosemary (opt)

Old bay seasoning, to taste
or
Small dash of each of as many of the following as you have on hand:
Onion powder, garlic powder, mustard powder, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, allspice, chili powder.

Panko bread crumbs, toasted.
Fresh-ground black pepper
Salt

1. Toss potatoes in olive oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary.
2. Saute red cabbage until soft, season with salt, pepper and a splash of  red wine vinegar.  Set aside
3. Saute onions, garlic, and leeks until all are soft, onions are translucent, and  some leeks are slightly blackened. Reduce heat to medium-low and add crab meat. Stir to combine, season with old bay (or analogue), curry powder, ginger, and lime juice, and cook for 2-3 minutes to let flavors meld.
4. Preheat oven to 350. In a glass or enamel baking dish, cover the bottom of the pan with a layer of the potatoes, then half of the cabbage, then a layer of the crab mixture. Repeat until dish is full. Be sure to pack layers loosely, so that sauce can penetrate.
5. Melt butter in small saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk in flour a little at a time to make a roux. Let cook 1 minute until very slightly brown. Slowly add milk, whisking constantly. Allow to come to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and gradually stir in cheese, then add mustard, nutmeg, paprika, and chili powder. If it becomes too thick, add more milk.
6. Pour sauce into dish, and spread with spatula until even. Top with panko.
7. Cover pan with aluminum foil and cook for 15 minutes.  Uncover and either cook for 10-15 more minutes or place under broiler for 2-4 minutes or until browned. Serve immediately.

The gratin in progress.

e-mail us: you can send your comments, recipes, or a personal message to Anne and Colin at: everything-tasty@annedesigns.com

Tasty on a Budget: Fun with Pasta (Beet Greens Carbonara, Penne with Parmesan Sauce)

Alright, let's be honest. I may have talked last post about my desire to get away from pasta sometimes--and not without good reason--but all a week without it did is sharpen my desire to have it again. And in any event, the cause of  Pasta Monotony lies not so much with pasta, but with that red menace, jarred tomato sauce. It can be a lifesaver of course--it's a quick easy way to make 50 cents worth of pasta and 50 cents worth of vegetables and/or meat taste pretty good, and so long as the other stuff you toss in is tasty enough and you don't do it too often, there's no reason for it not be a pantry staple. But I've found, at least for myself, that if I try to eat pasta and red sauce too often,  especially for multiple days in a row the flavor quickly becomes oppressively same-y and dull.  (Homemade red sauce is, of course, an entirely different and far more wondrous beast, but it's anything but quick and easy). Pesto, especially when it's homemade, is significantly less prone to this, but I've even got sick of it too sometimes. But these are by no means the only two things you can do with a pot of pasta, and there are multiple other fun approaches that you can take that can produce seriously exciting dinners with no less speed and hardly any more expense.

Tasty on a Budget: Cooking Ahead. (Warm Roasted Beet, Potato, and Fennel Salad)

Hello all,

So, I've got a big post on my experiences so far cooking for myself regularly (and on a small budget) coming, but I wanted to post this recipe before I forgot it, especially since I just polished it off and, after eating it for three and a half consecutive meals, the only thing I wish is that there were more of it.

As I think I mentioned in one of my posts from South Africa last summer, I can't really cook a one-person, one-meal sized portion of most things. My brain doesn't work that way, and the proportions come out funny. Additionally, I think the reality is that while I do quite like cooking, I don't have the energy to do it daily after getting home from work.

Comfort Food

There are many nights, certainly, when you want sophistication and complexity, to cook or to eat. Many of the dishes we have made  and restaurants we have reviewed for this blog are aimed precisely at satisfying this impulse--the layering of diverse yet complimentary flavors, the excitement of an unexpected fusion, and the satisfaction of taking a risk and succeeding. These nights are not all nights, however. On some nights, it is getting late, and dark, and the sunshine of the prior weeks has given way to pounding rain and wind that rips thick branches from the trees, and you find yourself alone, and uncertain, and missing someone. Tonight has been that sort of night for me. If I'd had the means of making them, it would have been the kind of night for a grilled cheese sandwich (perhaps according to Anne's excellent ideas for them), some tomato soup, and a Star Trek marathon. Instead, I decided to wander down through the rain to Hops and Vines.

The Williamstown area has several good places to indulge such an urge in fact. In a coming post I'll review two more of them: the Purple Pub, which opened a couple of years ago (replacing an earlier but unrelated place of the same name that burned down)  at the end of Spring Street, the main commercial strip on campus, and The Forge, a local institution about 25 minutes drive away that offers terrific wings and a truly massive selection of interesting beers. Hops and Vines is of particular interest, however, in that it actually aims to satisfy both of the impulses I specified above at once. It inherited a space (from Mezze, which has migrated about 15 minutes drive away, sadly just out of walking distance) with two dining rooms separated by a passageway, and has built this division into its core identity.  On one side is Vines, a brasserie and wine bar, offering dishes such as beet risotto with goat cheese ($16, or $10 for a small portion), Italian eggplant with white bean puree and house-made dolmades ($16), and pan seared diver scallops with fennel, coriander, and orange ($24), as a wide variety of wine and signature cocktails like the Berkshire Apple Rye, composed of Bullet Rye, elderflower liqueur, lemon juice, apple cider, and sparkling wine ($8).

Many of these are items I look forward to trying, but on this night I steered straight for the Hops side, a bar with low, sturdy wood tables, two flat screen tv's, and a popcorn machine. The bar side's menu only has four items (though anything from the Vines side menu can be ordered): wings in three varieties ($10), poutine, sliders (with onions, bacon, and cheddar) and fries, and my choice for the evening, Belgian ale macaroni and cheese with a pretzel crust (all $9). It also boasts a fairly large section of craft beers on draught, including several that I very much enjoy: several IPA's including Dogfish Head's classic, well balanced 60 Minute, Sam Adam's crisp Latitude 48, and an intense, intriguing Black IPA  by Otter Creek, as well as a Belgian Abbey-style ale by NY brewery Ommegange, a classic English bitter called Old Speckled Hen, and a coffee porter by the local Berkshire Brewing Company (all between  $5.50 and $7). In an attempt to watch my spending, however, I decided to try the house lager (a very affordable $3.25). When it arrived, I was pleased to discover a crisp, smooth beer with a well-rounded, lightly woody flavor and hints of a honey-like sweetness. The macaroni and cheese similarly did not disappoint; the pasta was al dente, the sauce hot and flavorful, with a mustardy background  and plenty of contribution from the Belgian ale (though a bit on the thin side), while the well-browned crust packed plenty of aged cheese flavor and made surprisingly good use of the substitution of hard pretzel pieces for the standard breadcrumbs. I ate, drank, munched popcorn and watched the Red Sox rack up a few runs (somewhat uncharacteristically for this season), and when I departed, things did not seem nearly so grey as before.


e-mail us: you can send your comments, recipes, or a personal message to Anne and Colin at: everything-tasty@annedesigns.com