Swiss Chard and Sweet Pea Manicotti

I had a beautiful bunch of red and yellow Swiss chard from my CSA share. Always looking to try something new, this manicotti recipe looked good enough to try. As I’ve said before, I quickly take note of long lists of ingredients in recipes, but since it was a dreary, rainy Sunday, I had plenty of time to get this dish together.

When I pulled the baking dish out of the oven, the manicotti was perfectly browned and bubbling with a wonderful aroma that filled the house. This recipe was so delicious—well worth the effort (and the mess it made of my kitchen)! The filling was a silky, cheesy veggie puree, and the Fontina Fonduta sauce was sublime. Buon appetito!

Source: Swiss Chard and Sweet Pea Manicotti, Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients
Butter, for greasing the pan
12 manicotti or cannelloni pasta shells

Filling:
1 head (about 12 ounces) red or white Swiss chard
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
¾ cup frozen petite peas, thawed
1 cup shredded mozzarella (4 ounces)
¾ cup grated Parmesan (2 ounces)
¼ cup chopped fresh basil leaves
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Fontina Fonduta Sauce:
¾ cup whole milk
½ cup heavy whipping cream
3 cups (6 ounces) Fontina cheese, grated
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
1 ½ cups (6 ounces) mozzarella, shredded

Special Equipment: a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip (recommended: Ateco #7)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish liberally with butter.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 6 to 8 minutes. Drain the pasta and rinse with cold water. Set aside.

For the Filling:

Using kitchen scissors or a knife, remove the leaves from the stems of the chard. Discard the stems. Chop the leaves into 1-inch pieces. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute longer. Add the chard and cook, stirring constantly, until wilted, about 2 minutes. Allow the mixture to cool slightly. Place the ricotta cheese, peas, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, basil, salt, and pepper in the bowl of a food processor. Add the cooled chard mixture and blend until smooth. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pastry bag and fill each manicotti shell with the filling. Place the stuffed manicotti in the prepared baking dish.

For the Fontina Fonduta Sauce:
In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring milk and cream to a simmer, over medium heat. Reduce heat to low. Add the Fontina cheese and cook, stirring constantly, until the cheese is melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and basil.

Pour the sauce over the stuffed manicotti and sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the top is golden. Cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Chipotle Smashed Sweet Potatoes

This side dish was a different take on mashed sweet potatoes. The flavor is an interesting and complex mix of the creamy sweetness of the sweet potatoes and the smoky spiciness of the chipotle pepper. Tasty!

Source: Chipotle Smashed Sweet Potatoes, Alton Brown

Ingredients
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 whole canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, chopped
1 teaspoon adobo sauce from can of peppers
½ teaspoon salt

Directions
Put cubed potatoes into steamer basket and place steamer into a large pot of simmering water that is no closer than 2 inches from the bottom of basket. Allow to steam for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. Add butter to potatoes and mash with potato masher. Add peppers, sauce, and salt and continue mashing to combine. Serve immediately.

Blue Cheese Soufflé

For my first soufflé ever, I’m diving in with the latest Barefoot Bloggers selection by Summer of Sexy Apartment. I’ve always found even the thought of making a soufflé pretty intimidating, but having made this recipe, it wasn’t as hard as I had imagined it to be. Any Barefoot Contessa fan knows how Ina loves her Roquefort blue cheese, and this recipe packs a lot of rich flavor. The lovely aroma of cheese emanated from my oven as it baked. And, despite the Contessa’s instructions not to peek, I could not help myself—I was so worried that my soufflé would not rise properly or might deflate, but surprisingly it came out perfectly tall and beautifully browned. Success!!

Source: Blue Cheese Soufflé, Barefoot in Paris

Ingredients
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing the dish
¼ cup finely grated Parmesan, plus extra for sprinkling
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup scalded milk
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Pinch cayenne pepper
Pinch nutmeg
4 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
3 ounces good Roquefort cheese, chopped
5 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature
⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Butter the inside of an 8-cup soufflé dish (7 ½ inches in diameter and 3 ¼ inches deep) and sprinkle evenly with Parmesan.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. With a wooden spoon, stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Off the heat, whisk in the hot milk, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, the cayenne, and nutmeg. Cook over low heat, whisking constantly, for 1 minute, until smooth and thick.

Off the heat, while still hot, whisk in the egg yolks, one at a time. Stir in the Roquefort and the ¼ cup of Parmesan and transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Put the egg whites, cream of tartar, and a pinch of salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on low speed for 1 minute, on medium speed for 1 minute, then finally on high speed until they form firm, glossy peaks.

Whisk ¼ of the egg whites into the cheese sauce to lighten and then fold in the rest. Pour into the soufflé dish, then smooth the top. Draw a large circle on top with the spatula to help the soufflé rise evenly, and place in the middle of the oven. Turn the temperature down to 375 degrees F. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes (don't peek!) until puffed and brown. Serve immediately.

Winter Squash and Sage Ravioli

We received some beautiful butternut squash and acorn squash in our CSA bag, and I wanted to do something special with them. This recipe offers an easier and faster way to make ravioli by using eggroll wrappers instead of more traditional pasta. I really liked the outcome, though, because it’s thinner and lighter than pasta. The sage-flavored squash puree is a great way to showcase these lovely sweet and savory fall flavors.

Source: Winter Squash and Sage Ravioli, Stonewall Kitchen Harvest

Ingredients
16-ounce package 6-inch-square eggroll wrappers (20 eggroll wrappers)
1 ½ cups Italian-Style Winter Squash Puree (recipe follows)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons crème fraîche
⅛ teaspoon salt, or to taste
Whole sage leaves, for garnish

Directions
Place an eggroll wrapper on a clean surface. Using a small, dull kitchen knife, score the dough into 4 equal squares. (The idea is not to cut through the dough, but simply create lines that mark off 4 separate boxes.) Place 1 tablespoon of the squash puree in the center of each of the 4 squares.

Fill a small bowl with water and, using your finger, moisten the outer edge of the wrapper and the scoring lines. Place a second sheet of the dough on top. Using your fingers, pinch the dough together along the outside of the eggroll wrappers to seal them. Then pinch or press down the dough along the outline of each of the 4 boxes and in between them. (This seals together and creates 4 ravioli.) If there appear air pockets in the dough, use your fingers to seal a small circle around the filling so air will not get in. Use a pizza cutter or a knife to cut each of the 4 ravioli out of the dough. Repeat. (Don’t make the ravioli more than 1 hour before cooking, or they will dry out.) Place on paper towels, without stacking them.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt the butter. Add the sage and a generous grinding of pepper and cook over low heat for 1 minute.

Boil the ravioli, without crowding the pot, for 4 minutes, stirring to make sure they don’t stick. Carefully drain the ravioli and place on a large serving latter in one layer. (The ravioli are delicate and will stick to one another.) Pour the sage butter over the pasta and place a dollop of the crème fraîche on top. Sprinkle with the salt, season with pepper, and place the sage leaves in the middle as a garnish.

Italian-Style Winter Squash Puree
2 pounds winter squash, such as acorn, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons crème fraîche, heavy cream, or plain low-fat yogurt
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage, or 1 teaspoon dried
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Cut the squash in half and place flesh-side down on a baking sheet or pan. Roast for 30-40 minutes, until the peel gives slightly to the touch and the flesh is tender. Scoop the flesh from the peel into a bowl. Mash the squash with a potato masher. Stir in the butter and crème fraîche, and then add the cheese, sage, salt, and pepper.

Kale Gratin with Pancetta

I was excited to see kale in our CSA bag. Last time we got kale, I made Rachael Ray’s Portuguese Chouriço and Kale Soup, which was delicious. But I wanted to do something different this time, and I found another Rachael Ray recipe to try. Once the kale cooks down, it loses much of its volume. This recipe makes a small but scrumptious side dish. The caramelized pancetta and grated cheese round out the flavor of this dish.

Source: Kale Gratin with Pancetta, Rachael Ray

Ingredients
1 ¼ to 1 ⅓ pounds kale, stems stripped and chopped, about 6 cups
Salt
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
¼ pound pancetta, chopped into ½-inch pieces
1 cup cream
2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
⅛ teaspoon grated nutmeg, eyeball it
Black pepper
½ cup breadcrumbs
½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano

Directions
Preheat the broiler but place the oven rack on the second shelf down from the heat source.
Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a deep skillet or pot, add the kale and salt and cook 5 to 6 minutes; drain and dry the greens.

Return the skillet to the stove over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil and pancetta. Crisp the pancetta and add the cream and garlic. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper then reduce 7 to 8 minutes to about ½ to ⅔ cup. Add cooked greens to cream and stir to coat evenly. Transfer to shallow casserole.

Toss with breadcrumbs with the remaining 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil. Season the crumbs with salt and pepper and combine with cheese. Place the casserole on the second shelf under broiler and brown breadcrumbs and cheese for 5 minutes.

Sautéed Hakurei Turnips and Choi Sum

When I received these new farm fresh vegetables in this week’s CSA bag, I was eager to try them. Sweet flavored hakurei turnips can be enjoyed raw or cooked. Choi sum, related to bok choy and also called Chinese sprouting broccoli, has stems that are tender and succulent with a mild flavor. I wanted to prepare these veggies in a simple side dish recipe to highlight the flavors. I served these alongside a mild flaky white fish for a healthy dinner.

Adapted from: Speedy Sautéed Hakurei Turnips and Greens, Deborah Geering

Ingredients
1 bunch hakurei turnips with greens
1 bunch choi sum

½ tablespoon olive oil

½ tablespoon butter

Salt and pepper to taste

¼ cup white wine

Directions
Rinse the turnips, greens, and choi sum well. Cut the greens from the turnips and chop into 2-inch pieces. Trim any straggly roots from the turnips and discard. Cut the turnips into quarters or eighths, depending on size. Cut the choi sum into 2-inch pieces.

In a sauté pan with a lid, heat the olive oil and butter. Add the turnips, sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper, and sauté until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Remove the turnips from the pan. Add the greens and choi sum to the pan, along with any moisture still clinging to the leaves. Cover the pan and allow the greens to cook, stirring once or twice, until just tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the white wine and cook until almost all the liquid is gone. Return the turnips to the pan; cook 1 to 2 minutes to heat through. Serve immediately.

Beer-Simmered Grilled Brats

These beer-simmered brats are perfect for the tailgate and can be entirely prepared on the grill pretty quickly. We used an aluminum grill pan to poach the sausages in the beer mix and transferred directly to the grill rack to finish cooking. The brats were so tasty!

Source: Beer-Simmered Grilled Sausages, How to Grill

Ingredients
3 pounds uncooked bratwurst or sweet or hot Italian sausages
1 onion, thinly sliced
3 cups beer
1 cup water
About 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Mustard, for serving

Directions
Prick each sausage a half-dozen times with a needle, toothpick, or fork. Arrange the onion slices on the bottom of a sauté pan just large enough to hold all the sausages. Place the sausages on top and add beer and water to cover. Place the pan over medium heat and gradually bring the liquid to a simmer, not a rapid boil. Poach the sausages until half-cooked, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer the sausages to a rack on a baking sheet to drain or drain in a colander.

Set up the grill for direct grilling and preheat to medium-high.

When ready to cook, brush and oil the grill grate. Lightly brush the sausages on all sides with oil and place on the hot grate. Grill until the casings are crisp and nicely browned and the sausages are cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes per side. You may want to rotate the sausages 90 degrees after 2 minutes on each side to create an attractive crosshatch of grill marks. Should flare-ups arise, move the sausages to a different section of the grill. Use a slender metal skewer to test for doneness. Insert it into the center of one of the sausages: It should come out hot to the touch.

Transfer the sausages to plates or a platter and let rest for 3 minutes. Serve with plenty of mustard.