parmesan oil

It’s November, the start of the holiday season, oh my. Are you ready or does the thought give you a panicky feeling as it does me?

The beginning of each month is also time for the monthly series “In My Kitchen” hosted by Celia of the blog Fig Jam and Lime Cordial. Of all the virtual blogging clubs on the internet, I think this collection of posts is one of the most fascinating. The bloggers come from around the world; and the posts reflect both the seasons and the individual style of the writer. As winter starts in the Northern Hemisphere, summer is starting in the Southern. I drool over photos of tomatoes posted by Australian bloggers in February and pin the recipes for use in six months. l’ve learned a lot from the dedicated bakers, cooks, and gardeners in this group. Come join us by clicking here, we’d love to hear what is happening in your kitchen.

Now on to my own kitchen. In my kitchen I have sunflowers. They are a colorful reminder that it is still fall, winter hasn’t started quite yet. Because of the drought here in California I don’t have a garden this year, but the farmer’s market is still full of flowers.

Sunflowers

In my kitchen I have a new cookbook, Lucky Peach 101 Easy Asian Recipes. I was drawn to this book by a recipe I found online for “Odd Flavor Sauce” (although the combination of flavors didn’t seem odd to me at all).

I renamed it “Yum Sauce” and have used it with several dishes over the last week.

Yum Sauce

: Rice bowl with a fried egg and Yum sauce

: Jook with Yum Sauce

: Baby Lobster Tail with Yum Sauce

It added a big punch of umami to a simple rice bowl with roast vegetables, a comforting bowl of Jook or Congee, and some baby lobster tails I found at Costco. What a treat! I brushed them with Yum sauce, wrapped them aluminum foil, and baked them at 450 degrees F. for 22 minutes. Delicious!

In my kitchen I have Mandarin oranges.

Mandarins

I made a batch of Mandarin Orange Aigre-Doux with them. The oranges are canned with red wine, vinegar, sugar and black peppercorns. The result is a sweet and sour combination popular in France and Italy.

Mandarin Aigre-Doux

I will use them to make a sauce for the duck confit I purchased on my recent Costco trip. Isn’t that place amazing! For the sauce you drain the oranges and reduce the liquid until syrupy. Then blend the sauce and oranges together to make a wonderful red wine/orange sauce. It will be lovely with the duck.

Duck Confit

In my kitchen I have Parmesan oil.

Parmesan Olive Oil

It was a post on IMK from several months back that gave me the idea. I couldn’t find the original post so please speak up if you read this, I’d like to give you credit. Covering your leftover rinds with olive oil for several months infuses the oil with the most heavenly flavor and aroma. I use it as a finishing oil or on a salad of spicy greens.

In my kitchen I have sunchokes, also known as Jerusalem artichokes. They are a member of the sunflower family and, if allowed to bloom, produce tall (some over 6 feet) branching plants with small sunflower like blooms. The chokes or tubers grow along the roots like potatoes. Sunchokes taste like a cross between an artichoke and a water chestnut. When cooked they have a firm skin and a meltingly fluffy inside like a russet potato. Unfortunately they can cause gastric distress in some people and are sometimes nicknamed “farti-chokes”. Enough said! They are tough plants and have survived in my garden with almost no water this summer. I’ve roasted them, pickled them (they lose their uncomfortable side effects), and made them into soup.

Sunchokes

In my kitchen I have samples.

Kitchen, bath and flooring

We are starting to gather ideas for a remodel of our cabin on the Northern California coast, our retirement escape. These are a few of the samples for the bathroom, kitchen cabinets, and flooring throughout.

What do you think of blue kitchen cabinets? My thought is to have the upper cabinets in a different color, maybe a light grey. I want butcher block for some surfaces (it’s not a very big kitchen) but have been advised against it around the sink (much to my disappointment). I’d love to hear your thoughts.

? kitchen cabinets ?

And lastly in my kitchen I have dogs, always underfoot hoping for a treat or something tasty dropped on the floor.

Do I smell bacon?

Will sit for bacon!

What? Am I late to the party? BACON!!!

What’s new in your kitchen this month?

Sometimes the best things happen by accident. I’m talking about the inspiration that hit when a bag of frozen artichoke hearts fell out of the freezer, that kind of “ah-ha” moment. You laugh, but cooking to me is an art. It’s one that is unselfish and fleeting (unless it is captured on the pages of a blog), it’s designed to bring pleasure to others but is gone in a few hours. And so, like a good painting, I don’t really have a recipe. This recipe was completely spontaneous; I made it up as I went along. If you always cook from a recipe, try it sometime. It is very freeing. Pasta is one of those dishes that will lend itself to this kind of spontaneity because it is a blank canvas. Of course there are many wonderful classical dishes, but then those last minute “clean out the fridge or freezer” dishes can also be delicious.

So, frozen artichokes in hand, I went searching for what else might be lurking about needing to be added to my work of art. The fridge had half a head of cauliflower, a red pepper, and some Parmigiano Reggiano, the counter a jar of Parmesan oil, and in the cupboard I found half used packages of penne and fusilli. I always have onions and garlic available. Ready to go.

Pasta with Cauliflower, Artichoke Hearts, and Parmesan Oil

1 package frozen artichoke hearts, defrosted and drained well on paper towels
1/2 large head of cauliflower, broken into florets
1 red pepper, chopped
4 tablespoons of olive oil – divided
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
About 3/4 pound of pasta of your choice. I had 1/3 box of penne and 1/3 box of fusilli left in the cupboard.
Parmesan oil, or good olive oil for finishing
Parmesan Olive Oil
Freshly grated Parmesan for serving.

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil over high heat for your pasta, start this first since the rest will cook fairly quickly.
When boiling, add your pasta. If they have different cooking times, stagger adding them so they finish at the same time. Turn down the heat if it looks like it will boil over (the starch in the pasta sometimes does that). Cook to al dente. Reserve 1 cup of cooking water before draining, do not rinse.
Meanwhile, warm 2 tablespoons of the olive oil on medium high heat in a very large skillet.
Add the chopped onions and cook until softened and beginning to turn golden, about 10 minutes. Turn down the heat if it is browning too quickly.
Turn the heat down to medium (if you haven’t done this already) and add the garlic, sauté for about a minute, then add the red pepper. When the pepper begins to soften, turn the contents of the skillet into a large heatproof bowl.
Sauteed onions and garlic
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet on medium high heat. When shimmering, add the cauliflower. Cook for about 5 minutes or until beginning to caramelize. Add the red pepper and continue to cook for a few minutes until they soften. Turn the cauliflower and red pepper into the bowl with the onions.
Sauteed cauliflower and red pepper
Add the artichoke hearts to the skillet. Move the artichoke hearts down against the bottom of the skillet so they begin to brown. You may need to add a touch more oil at this point. Cook for anther minute or so.
Sautéed artichoke hearts
Add the onions, garlic, cauliflower, and red pepper back to the skillet. Stir.
Add the pasta. Toss again and slowly add some of the reserved cooking water to moisten the mix. You don’t want it swimming but don’t want it to be dry. The starch in the cooking water will help bind things together.
Turn into a warm serving bowl.
Pasta with Cauliflower. Artichoke Hearts and Parmesan
When serving, drizzle with Parmesan oil or good quality olive oil and shred some fresh parmesan on top of each.
Pasta with Parmesan Olive Oil