Campanelle with Lamb Ragù

This meal was quite tasty, and not especially hard to make. It's technically supposed to be Pappardelle with Lamb Ragù, but we couldn't find Pappardelle, so we used Campanelle. It looked like a fun shape.

4 SERVINGS

• PREP: 50 minutes
• TOTAL: 50 minutes

Recipe by the Bon Appetit Test Kitchen

May 2010

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 pounds round-bone lamb shoulder chops, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (*Lamb is expesnive...we used about 1/3 of this. It would be better with more lamb.)
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 3 cups chopped leeks (about 3 medium; white and pale green parts only)
• 1 1/2 cups dry red wine
• 2 cups low-salt chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 8-ounce package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
• 2 cups frozen peas with pearl onions, thawed
• 1 8.8- to 9-ounce package pappardelle or other wide egg noodles
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

Preparation

• Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle lamb with salt, pepper, and flour. Add lamb to skillet and sauté until browned, about 5 minutes. Add leeks; sauté until soft, about 3 minutes. Add wine and boil until slightly thickened, scraping up browned bits, about 3 minutes. Add broth and oregano; bring to boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer uncovered until lamb is tender, stirring often, about 20 minutes. Add artichokes and peas with onions. Simmer until heated through, about 4 minutes. (*We raised the heat and boiled it some more to reduce it. We ended up adding a little more flour to thicken the sauce, although it might have been OK without that step.)
  
• Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender. Drain.
• Place pasta in large bowl. Spoon ragù over and sprinkle with parsley.

Another delightful little hint. We purchased some imported butter (Celles sur Belles), which is traditional churn butter with little sea salt crystals. My aunt had some of the butter on her bread melt into the ragù and discovered it was quite tasty. Indeed, a little pat of butter kicked the taste up a nice little notch.

Crepe Off, Part I

Welcome to the Crepe Off, fine readers & contributors! First up on our list this weekend are Julia's entree crepes. More specifically, Gateau de Crepes a la Florentine. (I don't know how to do accents and whatnot, so just imagine that they're there.)


If you don't have counter space right next to your stove, then I recommend the TV tray fix. By the last crepe, I had a nice little system going on. The crepes themselves are quite tasty all rolled up by themselves.

Ingredients
1 cup cold water
1 cup cold milk
4 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
4 Tb melted butter
A rubber scraper (don't you love that she includes equipment in the ingredient list?)
An iron skillet or crepe pan with 6-7-inch bottom diameter
cooking oil or bacon fat

Directions
1. Put the liquids, eggs, & salt into the blender jar. Add the flour, then the butter. Cover and blend at top speed for 1 minute. If bits of flour adhere to sides of jar, dislodge with a rubber scraper and blend for 2 to 3 seconds more. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. [I did mine the night before.]

2. Rub the skillet with the bacon fat or brush it lightly with oil. Set over moderately high heat until the pan is just beginning to smoke.

3. Immediately remove from heat and, holding handle of pan in your right hand [presumably she means your dominant hand -- what a right-handist], pour with your left hand a scant 1/4 cup of batter into the middle of the pan. Quickly tilt the pan in all directions to run the batter all over the bottom of the pan in a thin film. This whole operation takes but 2 or 3 seconds.

4. Return the pan to heat for 60 to 80 seconds. Then jerk and toss pan sharply back and forth and up and down to loosen the crepe. [I don't find that part necessary. I just lift and flip with my hands.] Lift its edges with a spatula & if the under side is a nice light brown, the crepe is ready for turning.


You can't really tell from this picture, but I wanted to show all the pots and pans that are required to cook out of this cookbook. No one-pot cooking for Julia!

Sauce Mornay (bechamel with cheese)
5 Tb flour
4 Tb butter

Cook the flour and butter slowly together in the saucepan for 2 minutes without coloring.

2 3/4 boiling milk (I just realized I accidentally used 2 1/4 cups, and it didn't make a difference)
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Big pinch of nutmeg

Off heat, beat in the boiling milk and seasonings. Boil, stirring, for one minute.

1/4 cup whipping cream
1 cup coarsley grated Swiss cheese (I used less than a cup of goat cheese)

Reduce to simmer and stir in teh cream by tablespoons. Sauce should be thick enough to coat the spoon fairly heavily. Remove from heat and correct seasoning. Stir in all but two tablespoons of the cheese. Film top of sauce with milk to prevent a skin from forming.

Spinach filling
1 Tb minced shallots or green onions (I used green onions)
2 Tb butter
1 1/2 cups blanched, chopped spinach (I used baby spinach, so no chopping)
1/4 tsp salt

Cook the shallots or onions in butter for a moment in an enameled saucepan. Add spinach and salt, and stir over moderately high heat for 2 to 3 minutes to evaporate moisture. Stir in 1/2 to 2/3 cup of the cheese sauce. Cover and simmer slowly for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Correct seasoning and set aside.

Cheese & mushroom filling
1 cup cottage cheese or 8 oz cream cheese (I used cream cheese)
Salt & pepper
1 egg

Mash the cheese in a mixing bowl with the seasonings. Beat in 1/3 to 1/2 cup of cheese, and the egg.

1/4 pound minced mushrooms (I used 8 oz of baby bellas)
1 Tb minced shallots or green onions
1 Tb butter
1/2 Tb oil

Saute the mushrooms and shallots in butter and oil for 5 to 6 minutes in a skillet. Stir them into the cheese mixture, and correct seasoning.

Forming the mound
A round baking dish about 9 inches in diameter and 1.5 inches deep (I used an 8 inch square)
3 Tb grated cheese
1/2 Tb butter

Butter the baking dish, and center a crepe in the bottom. Spread it with a layer of cheese and mushroom filling. Press a crepe on top and spread it with a layer of spinach filling. Continue with alternating layers of crepes and filling, ending with a crepe. Pour the remaining cheese sauce over the top and sides of the mound. Sprinkle with the 3 tablespoons of cheese and dot with 3 or 4 pea-sized bits of butter.

Bake 25-30 minutes in upper-third of 350-degree oven to heat thoroughly and brown the top lightly. (Mine never browned, but it still tasted good!) To serve, cut into pie-shaped wedges.



Voila! The end product was delightfully delectable. Every part of it was artery-clogging deliciousness. I am highly incredulous that other crepes will be able to compete in this crepe off. We shall see.

Knock Off Panera Broccoli-cheddar Soup

I made this broccoli cheddar soup last week, and it was amazing. It is a fun soup to make because everything happens in stages, so you don't feel too rushed while cooking.

Unfortunately, I can't take credit for the soup because I took it from the Food Network Magazine Jan/Feb 2010 issue, and they are trying to imitate Panera's version. So if you don't mind being totally unoriginal, you must try it. It was so good. Sorry there is no pic... I had already eaten it before I thought I should take a picture of its deliciousness.

Melissa
PS... I love having a new way to not do work!!!

Ingredients
6 T unsalted butter
1 small onion, chopped (I used white)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 c half-and-half
3 c low-sodium chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1/4 t freshly grated nutmeg (I used ground netmeg that wasn't so fresh)
1/4 t Kosher Salt (I used regular salt)
1/4 t freshly ground pepper
4 c broccoli florets (about 1 head)
1 large carrot, diced
2 1/2 c (about 8 oz) grated sharp white and cheese, plus more for garnish (I of course added at least a 1/2 c of cheese)
** at Panera it is served in a sourdough bread boule, I lightly toasted some sour dough bread and served it as bread/croutons on top of the soup**

1. Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium heat (because I am the only roomie without a Dutch oven, I had to go with the pot)
2. Add onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes
3. Whisk in the flour and cook until golden, 3 - 4 minutes
4. Gradually whisk in the half-and-half until smooth
5. Add the chicken broth, bay leaves, and nutmeg
6. Season with salt and pepper
7. Bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, until thickened, about 20 minutes.
8. Add the broccoli and carrot to the broth mixture and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes.
9. Discard the bay leaves.
10. Puree the soup in batches in a blender, or use an immersion blender, until smooth. (Wahoo for my lovely immersion blender). There will still be flecks of broccoli and carrots.
11. Add the cheese to the soup and whisk over medium heat until melted.
12. Add up to 3/4 c water if the soup is too thick
13. Garnish with cheese (and sourdough bread if you want it to be extra good)