Spanish White Beans with Spinach

You know what, I get why posts like these don't draw as much...notice. I mean, it seems no one has ever gotten famous hawking beans. If you want to be popular, you should probably be using lots of butter, lots of sugar, chocolate wouldn't be out of place either. But, see, thing is. I don't bake all that much. I do things like make beans. Then I do things like eat them all myself because beans aren't a big draw in the real world, either.

But these beans are so flippin' good, that it feels like I'm being a little dishonest not trying to get R to eat any of them. Oh, I only made beans today, you wouldn't be interested. They're just beans. (They're not). You know, beans that are good for you. Health food, really. You wouldn't be interested. Heh.

But I bet you, my presumed reader, will be interested. The original recipe calls for sun dried tomatoes in oil, drained. But I didn't find those, so I used dry-packed sun dried tomatoes, somehow managing to stumble on The Best sun dried tomatoes Ever (the brand is Joseph Zavier Fine Foods, found at Gourmet Garage, but I couldn't find a website for you).

So anyway. Beans.

Spanish White Beans with Spinach

From Gourmet, November 2009

1 large onion, chopped

1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped

6 tablespoons olive oil, divided

4 garlic cloves, passed through a press

1/2 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika (pimenton dulce)

2 19-oz cans cannelini beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup water

2 10-oz bags spinach (or failing that, try Boston Lettuce, which is what I did)

Warm 1/4 cup of the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion and sun dried tomatoes seasoned with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Stir occasionally, of course, and cook until the onion is browned about 6-8 minutes. Add the garlic and paprika and continue cooking for another minute.

Stir in the beans, water, spinach and a bit more salt to taste. Cover the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the spinach is wilted, about 5 minutes.

Season with pepper and drizzle with a bit more olive oil if you'd like.

Blackberry Pecan Crisp:Recipe

When I was growing up I knew all the best places to pick blackberries within walking distance of my house. Wild blackberries are relatives of the rose, and like rose bushes, blackberry bushes or brambles have thorns making the prize difficult to reach. But so worth the effort. I had a basic formula that I kept to back then--one berry for me, one for the bucket, another one for me, another one for the bucket. Somehow eating them while picking them, they tasted even better than when eaten at home. Of course it also lead to purple stained tongue and fingers as evidence of my consumption.

When asked what my favorite fruit is, I usually say raspberries or peaches but in truth, I probably love blackberries most of all. Because they are in season for such a short time and are usually terribly expensive, they seem like rare jewels and I tend to forget about them. Until they're in season again. Such an intense fruit and so delicate too, they are best used immediately. If stored gently preferably in a single layer, they can be kept in the fridge for a couple of days or frozen. In addition to being delicious, blackberries are a good source of vitamins A and C and also provide vitamin E and minerals such as magnesium, phosphorus, selenium and zinc.

I like blackberries mixed with other fruit, they combine well with all other berries or with peaches. Last week my friend Alton brought me several containers of blackberries from his cabin in the woods. In asking around for a great blackberry recipe I was given one that originally came from Nanci Main of The Ark Restaurant in Washington State. I modified her recipe greatly and this is the result.

Blackberry Pecan Crisp
Serves 4

3 cups fresh blackberries
1 Tablespoon flour
1 1/2 teaspoon butter in bits

1/4 cup old fashioned oatmeal
3 Tablespoons flour
pinch salt
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons white sugar
3 Tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Gently toss blackberries in flour. Put in shallow pyrex baking dish. Dot with butter. Combine all dry ingredients and pecans in a mixing bowl. Add melted butter and vanilla all at once. Spread crumbly topping over the fruit and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crispy and brown on top. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!

My Top 10 Blogs...

The folks at Blogs.com very kindly invited me to be a guest author and come up with a Top 10 list. My pick? You'll just have to visit to find out!

For those of you visiting for the first time, welcome! Check out some of my recipes, restaurant reviews or whatever strikes your fancy. I recently returned from a long stay in Hawaii and so hopefully you can live vicariously through my posts too...

Restaurant le 26

Our wedding anniversary falls between Christmas and New Year's and out here in our little corner of France that means that most of our favorite local restaurants are closed for the holidays.
Every year we waver back and forth between wanting to try something new and possibly being disappointed, or going back to an old standby that isn't very exciting but is rapport qualité-prix.*

After last year's foam and pop-rock filled lunch fiasco at an old favorite, we were feeling rather jaded. The lunch was delicious but sadly the chef has gone to the dark side (i.e. molecular gastronomy) and I don't enjoy eating in a science lab.
Though I must commend them on their gorgeous cheese cart.

In the end we decided to be adventurous and try something new.
After searching online a bit I stumbled across a little place in Narbonne called Restaurant le 26. The diner's reviews were all positive and we liked the look of the menu so I called them up and made a reservation for our 10th anniversary lunch.




And what a lunch it was!

The €19,90 Menu d'Affaires offered Oeuf Brouillé au Truffes as a starter, Brochette de St Jacques et Crevettes sur son Risotto as a main course and either a cheese plate or Mousse aux Framboises for dessert. One could also order two of the three courses for a reasonable €14,50.

I almost went for one of the higher priced menus that offered both cheese and dessert, but the eggs and truffles sounded too good to pass up.

It was the right choice.



The eggs had a fluffy, creamy texture and the flavor was delicate and slightly earthy from the little nuggets of truffle that were studded throughout the dish. The light drizzle of red wine reduction gave a hint of tanginess that perfectly complimented the eggs.

The kitchen had run out of risotto by the time we ordered (we reserved rather late - only two hours before lunch) so they offered crushed potatoes instead. They were purple! I loved it!
The scallops and shrimp were expertly grilled and remained succulent and tender, and the sauce tasted like a lobster reduction and was so delicious that I wanted to pick up the plate and lick off every last drop.
But I restrained myself.

The entire dish was perfection.


Half a little Pélardon des Corbières and a wedge of Tomme de Brebis


Of course I opted for cheese over dessert and the duo they brought out were superbly ripe specimens from my favorite Fromagerie in les Halles.

Husband ordered the Raspberry Mousse. It arrived with a crunchy, caramelized florentine that contrasted perfectly with the airy, sweet mousse.



The owners, Frédéric and Sandrine Nalais, hail from Normandy where M. Nalais worked as Gilles Tournadre's sous chef for several years. The couple moved south about ten years ago and opened le 26 two and a half years ago.
The menu is comprised of fresh, seasonal ingredients and offers a sophisticated breath of fresh air to the dining scene in Narbonne. The ambiance is intimate, warm and welcoming and the restaurant is incredibly good value.

Restaurant le 26 est un vrai bijou!



Restaurant Le 26
8, boulevard du Docteur LACROIX
11 100 NARBONNE
04 68 41 46 69
website: http://www.restaurantle26.fr/topic/index.html


*value for money

La Fête du Fromage - Tomme de Savoie and Morbier

Tomme de Savoie and Morbier are the two mild, AOC awarded cheeses from the mountainous regions of eastern France that we tasted this week.



There is a saying that there are as many tommes in Savoie as there are mountains and valleys.

The word tomme is a generic term for a round, rustic cheese that is produced in the mountains. As follows, Tomme de Savoie is a round, unpasteurized or pasteurized cow's milk cheese that is produced in the Savoie département in the French Alps.

The salty, nutty flavor was pleasant enough and I enjoyed the smooth, creamy texture. I would call this a "friendly" cheese, meaning that it would please almost anyone with its mild, agreeable flavor. Tomme de Savoie is often lower in fat than most other cheeses, between 20-40% fat, making it a good choice for those who watch their fat intake.

Nothing special here, however, an all around, very nice cheese.

Any white wine from Savoie would be a perfect match to this affable tomme.



Morbier is a reasonably smelly, yet surprisingly mild cow's milk cheese from the Franche-Comté region. This is an easy cheese to recognize due its sticky rind, bulging sides and the dark vein running through its center . That vein used to be soot that the farmers sprinkled over the fresh curd to keep insects away, now it is a vegetable ash that is perfectly edible, though adds no flavor.

Morbier has a nice, buttery, sweet flavor and a supple, silky texture. Again, a friendly, mellow cheese. It is a delicious accompaniment to smoked ham and melts easily, making it perfect for tartines (an open faced, toasted sandwich). I even found a recipe for Morbiflette, a Morbier version of Tartiflette!

Pour a glass of Vin Jaune du Jura or a white such as Chardonnay to enjoy with this cheese.


The photos are a bit blah, sorry about that!

Cravings

It's four freaking o'clock in the morning. My codeine cough syrup wore off, I woke up and I'm hungry.

This is what I'm craving. A fried shrimp po' boy.

Looks pretty good, huh? Too bad I can't go out and order one!

French Cornmeal Cookies

We all know about the French macaron and Proust's by now clichéd madeline.  But these little cookies don't even approach the macron's fussiness, or the madeline's smooth refinement.  They have that wonderful, almost grainy texture from the cornmeal, while the lemon zest brightens their buttery flavor.  

In Bruce Healy's fantastic The French Cookie Book, they're described as a rare cookie, hailing from the Bresse region of southern Burgundy.  Traditionally shaped like tiny ears of corn, I didn't have the necessary pastry tip, and used a cookie press to shape the dough into little flowers, perfect for spring.  The recipe doesn't make a ton.  Just enough for an afternoon treat for a couple of people with no will power on a sunny, if too-cold, afternoon.  Enjoy.

Cornmeal Cookies

3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

2 large egg yolks

Grated zest of 1 medium lemon

1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons all purpose flour

7 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon yellow cornmeal

Oven preheated to 475F

In a small stainless steel bowl, beat the butter with a wooden spoon, placing it over low heat if necessary, until it's smooth, creamy and lightened in color.  Sift the sugar over the butter and continue to beat.  Next, beat in one yolk, still with the wooden spoon, then the next yolk, this time beating it with a wire whisk.  Whisk in the lemon zest.  Sift the flour and cornmeal into the batter, and using the wooden spoon, mix them in.

Scoop the batter into a cookie press or just spoon it in small balls onto a baking sheet prepared with a layer of parchment paper.  Bake, 1 sheet at a time, for about 5 minutes.  The bottoms should be browned, but the tops still a light, buttery yellow.  Cool on a wire rack and enjoy.