Adapted from the Oct., 2012 Bon Appétit

In the days leading up to last week’s big event, otherwise known as Hurricane Sandy, my big concern was the sort of food I’d need on hand once the storm blew in. Unsure whether the power would stay on, I doubled my money (or rather my outlay of it), filling the fridge with things like milk, cheese, eggs, and chicken parts, and the cupboards (and windowsills) with crackers, peanut butter, potato chips, and tuna. Of course, I also made certain we had extra batteries on hand, gas in the tank, and a wad of cash socked away, but the real focus of my attention was, per usual, my belly—and as the clock ticked down to Sandy’s landfall I made multiple trips to the corner deli to make sure food wouldn’t be an issue. The irony is that once the wind started screaming and the power clicked off, so too did my appetite; I guess I’m just not that interested in eating if I can’t also enjoy the TV!

I’m making light of things, of course, because even for those of us who got off relatively easy (in our 5th floor East Village apartment we had no power for five days—an inconvenience for sure, but not really a hardship given what others have endured) living through the aftermath was an eye-opening experience. Even now, a full eleven days later, one is keenly aware of the suffering people in areas like Staten Island and the Rockaways are living through. (If you’d like to help check out The American Red Cross, New York Cares, Food not Bombs, and Staten Island Recovers.) All of which makes my initial impulse to fill the freezer with multiple flavors of Ben and Jerry’s seem, well, a little clueless, particularly given that it all had to be thrown out the next day anyway.

In any case, had I made all the things I was intending to before the lights went out, they would have included the pistachio pesto I bring to you here—the various ingredients for which were among the first to be ferried to my kitchen in anticipation of Sandy’s arrival. The pesto is one I’d already made a couple of times (I pulled the recipe from the October issue of Bon Appétit) and it’s just the sort of thing you want on hand when the wind is howling and the lights go out . . . or so I imagined. Okay, so I was wrong there, but the minute the power returned, so did thoughts of this pesto. It has that effect.

The truth is I’d been on something of a quest for a good nut pesto recipe for several months when I stumbled across this one, having sampled a walnut variety (mounded atop freshly made crostini) at one of my favorite New York City haunts, Buvette, last spring. Months later I was still thinking about it—a sure sign it was something I needed to master myself. I suppose one of the reasons had to do with the surprising texture. Unlike the standard variety (which is made with pine nuts—a seed and not, in fact, a nut—as well as lots of basil), a nut-based pesto naturally produces something hardier and richer, not to mention more spreadable, but still with all of the signature pesto-ness, courtesy of the cheese, the garlic, and the olive oil. As such it’s the ideal accompaniment for one of cooking’s simplest, and most compulsively eatable creations: the crostini. That, anyway, was what I intended to do with the recipe when I came across it, though the recipe’s creator (Nate Hamilton, of the Madison, WI restaurant, Harvest) proposes it as a topping for pasta (also a winner), or as a spread for sandwiches (less appealing to me, particularly when compared to the pleasures of those crostini).

The thing about pesto is that even at its most demanding it’s a breeze to assemble, with all of the heavy lifting (if you can even call it that) coming in the form of plucking several cups worth of basil leaves from their stems. The version I bring to you here, however, does not even require that step, with the dish’s all-important earthiness delivered by a substantially smaller quantity of fresh mint leaves. That should come as no surprise, as the full-bodied pistachio needs less in the way of enhancement than the comparatively delicate pine-nut does, though it also points to the fact that this is more of a brown pesto experience than a green one, so think earthy versus herbal. In any case, all that remains in the way of actual work is the chopping of one medium tomato (for an important acidic component to round out the nuttiness of the pistachios), the grating of a ½ cup of Parmesan cheese, and that’s it—unless, of course, you purchased your nuts unshelled, in which case you can add ten minutes of shelling to your list of tasks.

All of the above ingredients are then whirred alongside a few cloves of garlic (fight the impulse to increase the quantity here; two is plenty), a pinch of red pepper flakes, a small amount of ground black pepper, and a couple tablespoons of olive oil (you may want to add a bit more later) in a food processor for thirty seconds or until it forms a coarse purée, and presto: pesto. If the resulting mixture is intended as a pasta topping, it may need the addition of some of the liquid the pasta was cooked in to loosen things up slightly (add by tablespoon increments so as to not overdo it). And if it’s planned for crostini just transfer to a bowl and serve—though as mentioned above, a splash or two more olive oil may be in order if the mixture seems a little dry.

Of course, even the most successful topping can only be expected to deliver so much—going the full distance calls for a first-rate companion. That’s where those crostini I mentioned earlier come in. Luckily, whipping up a batch requires nothing more than the carving of a baguette (into 1/4-inch slices), slathering both sides of each slice with olive oil, sprinkling with some coarse salt and pepper, then toasting in a 350 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes. It’s that simple, which in a way is a mixed blessing since it’s a little like being given the secret to home-made potato chips and discovering that there’s nothing to it—the best snack food ever, right out of your own kitchen, and in minutes! In any case, should you manage some restraint and find you have a quantity of these crunchy, salty bread slices left over, they’ll keep in a resealable plastic bag for up to several days (and will also work well crumbled into salads; croutons anyone?). Chances are, though, once you put these out alongside a bowl of that pesto any fantasy of leftovers will quickly be replaced by the reality of empty dishes. In other words, it’s just the thing to have on hand as we move into the holiday season.

Ingredients for the pesto:
—1½ cups unsalted, shelled roasted natural pistachios
—1 cup chopped tomato (TRG note: about 1 medium sized tomato)
—2 garlic cloves
—A handful of fresh mint leaves (TRG note: about a ½ cup, heaping)
—A handful of grated Parmesan cheese (TRG note: about a ½ cup, heaping)
—A pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
—A pinch of freshly ground black pepper
—2 tbs olive oil (more as needed)
—Kosher salt to taste
—Crostini for serving (see TRG’s ingredients and directions, below)

Note: If you’re serving a large crowd, there’s more than enough pesto to accompany two baguette’s worth of crostini—if so, double the crostini ingredients below. Or chill the remainder and toss with freshly cooked pasta (about 1 cup of pesto to 1 lb of pasta).

Ingredients for TRG’s basic crostini:
—1 baguette, sliced ¼-inch thick
—3/4 cup olive oil
—Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions for the pesto:
—Pulse the pistachios, chopped tomato, garlic, mint, cheese, red pepper flakes and pepper in a food processor until a coarse purée forms.
—Transfer to a bowl; stir in 2 tbs olive oil (or more, as needed) to form a thick, chunky sauce. Season with kosher salt and pepper.
—Serve alongside freshly made crostini, or toss 1 cup of pesto with 1 lb of freshly cooked pasta, adding pasta cooking liquid by the tablespoon until the sauce is glossy.

Note: Remaining pesto can be chilled for up to several days. Bring to room temperature and mix well before using.

Directions for TRG’s basic crostini:
—Preheat oven to 350˚. Arrange baguette slices on two large rimmed baking sheets; brush both sides generously with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.
—Bake until golden, about 15 to 20 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through.
—Top and serve immediately.

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From Canal House Cooking, vol. no. 6

It’s still hard to believe that Spring is here already. And by “Spring” I don’t just mean the official, calendar-defined season, but rather the one marked by the appearance of small green buds on just about everything — even that sad little shrub I pass on my way to work each morning that I figured was surely destined for the trash heap. Here in NYC there’s new life everywhere (leaves! flowers! weeds!). The sun is out when I leave the office at the end of the day, and people are sneezing and complaining about their allergies. That’s the Spring I’m talking about, and in keeping with the winter-that-wasn’t that only just ended, it seems to have arrived earlier than usual.

I was reminded of just how much earlier this past Sunday, when our friends Anthony and Sarah (Podge, to those who know and love her) invited us for Easter lunch at their place in East Hampton — a meal we were able to enjoy outside, with the waves of Gardner’s Bay lapping at the shore beside us. That alone would have been enough to make the afternoon memorable, and I haven’t even mentioned Podge’s cooking! These are new friends, but it didn’t take me long to figure out that when Podge offers to cook you a meal, or a snack, or just about anything, you say “YES!” because she’s a natural in the kitchen. And by “natural” I mean she’s the kind of cook who’s so confident and intuitive where her skills are concerned that she doesn’t have to crack a cookbook to whip up something special. Instead, she goes to the market, sees what looks good, multiplies it by what she’s in the mood for, and presto: a meal you’re destined to still be thinking about many days after.

So here it is almost a week later, and I’m still thinking about Sunday’s meal — and not just how it tasted, but also the wonderful smell it produced, specifically one of roasting pork which wafted our way as we walked through the door. I don’t quite know how to describe that smell other than to say that it was intoxicating in the way that only the scent of sizzling fat mingled with herbs and other seasonings can be intoxicating. (Easier would be to describe the reaction it produced in our gang of five guys, as each of us was briefly transformed into a chest-beating Neanderthal, ready to fight each other for our share of the kill.) I am happy to report that we all managed to return our tongues to the interior of our mouths, and to conduct ourselves (more or less) like gentlemen. It was, after all, a meal that called for savoring . . . not to mention a knife and fork.

All of which is a (very) long way of saying that the early arrival of Spring has put me in mind of the sorts of sociable foods one is drawn to when the weather gets warm — things ideally suited for a picnic, or a drink with friends. Things like this pimiento cheese spread, which I stumbled upon recently while thumbing (and, yes, once again salivating) through vol. 6 of Canal House Cooking. As has already been well documented on these pages, I have a particular weakness for anything in the butter family, so the book’s section devoted to crackers and cheese naturally drew my attention. So, too, did the words “Southern classic,” which is how the authors, Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton, describe this little snack, and which immediately brought to mind memories of my grandmother’s kitchen in Virginia.

Like most everything I’ve cooked from Canal House, the recipe is fuss-free, with a logical focus on end results versus a complicated set of instructions designed to impress. (Both authors are working moms, and while they clearly know and love food, they also understand the need for getting things done with a minimum of drama). For the home chef, that translates to recipes that are short and sweet, ingredients that are easy to source, and a final product that delivers the maximum payoff with a minimum of sweat. I think of it as very sophisticated home cooking.

So in the case of this recipe, all of the ingredients can be found at your local grocery, and probably already reside in your refrigerator or pantry. Assembly, too, is just as user friendly. There’s a little grating (the Cheddar cheese, the yellow onion), a bit of chopping (the drained pimientos), and a small amount of mixing (the previous three ingredients, along with the cream cheese, the mayonnaise, and the various seasonings). To ensure that this last step is as easy as promised, though, be sure to let the cream cheese soften a bit before mixing — or prepare for a concentrated bicep workout. In any case, once blended, transfer the mixture to a small croc or ramekin and allow to chill for at least an hour.

As written, the recipe has a pleasant bite, with the chopped pimiento, the onion, and the cayenne pepper nicely rounding out the sharpness of the Cheddar and offering the perfect counterpoint to the combined flavors of the cream cheese and the mayo. Still, if you want a little extra kick (as I did) consider adding a teaspoon of prepared horseradish to the various ingredients listed below — for me it proved just the thing in the company of all that creamy richness. Either way serve the spread at room temperature, alongside old-school buttery crackers, such as a Ritz or Club Cracker, and accompanied by a glass of whatever you like, and you’ll have the makings for a perfect spring evening.

One final note about quantities: as written, the recipe makes 2 cups of cheese — which, based on my experience, is enough for 12 large appetites. On the day the photos shown here were taken, I was cooking for an army and doubled the recipe. For the record, I ended up with enough for two armies.

Ingredients:
—8 oz extra sharp cheddar, finely grated
—One 4 oz jar pimientos, drained and chopped
—1 tsp grated yellow onion
—1/2 cup mayonnaise
—1/3 cup cream cheese
—1/2 tsp salt
—1/4 tsp pepper
—Pinch of ground cayenne
—Club Crackers (or some such), for serving

Directions:
—Put the cheddar, pimientos, onions, mayonnaise, cream cheese, salt, pepper and cayenne in a medium bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until it is well blended and the cheddar becomes creamy. Refrigerate for about 1 hour before serving. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Makes 2 cups

The post 04/12/12 • EASY CHEESE SPREAD appeared first on THE RECIPE GRINDER.

With Thanksgiving still in the rearview mirror and the double header of Christmas/New Year’s looming on the horizon, food has been on my mind a lot lately. Actually, since food is pretty much always on my mind, perhaps I should say that it’s been on my mind more urgently lately. “Urgently” both because this is the time of year when I feel compelled to turn out somewhat more elaborate meals for somewhat larger numbers than usual, and also because I want to be certain to share with you the kinds of cooking suggestions that feel both seasonally appropriate and genuinely useful (I mean, does anyone really need another roast beef recipe at this point?).

Having said all that, I now feel obliged to confess that rather than turning out the usual multi-platter extravaganza for Thanksgiving this year, we decided to skip town — for a responsibility-free week in the decidedly un-home-for-the-holidays setting of St. Barts. So instead of brining an eighteen-pound bird in a bucket of salt water, I brined myself in the turquoise waters of Saline beach. Bliss… Though truthfully I kind of missed the ritual of two days of beat-the-clock cooking with my mom, just as I did the resulting meal — my favorite of the year. No complaints from me about eating dry, restaurant-produced turkey with my toes buried in the sand, but the French just don’t get Thanksgiving. Case in point: the cranberry sauce/gravy mixture that was served with our meal. Cool, I thought, some hot young chef’s been crushing our holiday playbook! And then I took a taste. Uh, no — some hot young chef simply made a mistake.

Anyway, even if I haven’t cooked that much in the last few weeks, the things I’d like to be eating (and that I’d like to be serving) are very much front and center in my cerebral cortex at the moment. I count this artichoke and Parmesan cheese dip high up on that list. Actually, “dip” here is a bit of a misnomer, since it’s really more of a spread — a compulsively eatable, can’t-stop-until-it’s-completely-gone spread. It’s also one of those dishes where it’s best not to give the actual ingredients much thought, since, with the exception of a good deal of Parmesan cheese, there’s nothing particularly impressive on the list, and even a few things that may make you wonder whether perhaps it might all be one great big mistake. (Two cups of mayonnaise? Really?) Yes, really — and really good, too.

The recipe comes from A Taste of Tradition: Favorite Recipes from the Petock Family, which is not a title you’ll find on Amazon. Rather, it’s a collection of family recipes that was put together by a distant relative in Norfolk, Virginia, who passed it on to my grandmother, who in turn bequeathed it to my mom. Now with all due respect to my many relatives in Norfolk, theirs is not a town known for its exceptional food tradition. (Though it is home to Doumar’s, which can rightfully lay claim to one of the best minced pork sandwiches in the country). Nor is there anything particularly southern about the recipe, with the possible exception of all that mayonnaise. In fact, the dish is one my mom was first introduced to through a French catering company in Philadelphia — a recipe she repeatedly tried, and failed, to replicate after they left town. Enter this slim volume of family recipes, which unaccountably, and serendipitously, included the very one she’d been searching for.

The first thing you need to know about the dish (other than its aforementioned addictive quality) is that it’s ridiculously easy to prepare — like ten-minutes-of-prep-and-a-half-hour-in-the-oven easy. A little chopping (the artichokes), a little grating (the cheese), a little measuring and mixing, and presto: ready for baking. In fact, the most challenging aspect of the entire process may well be resisting the siren-like call of the salty, cheesy fragrance emanating from your oven, which starts long before the requisite cooking time is up. Don’t give in to temptation, though — you’ll want to make sure the top is all golden brown and pizza-like before diving in.

The other thing you need to know is that the cheese is the dominant flavor here, so even if mayonnaise makes your skin crawl (I live on the stuff but many I know can’t abide it), and even if you think canned artichoke hearts have no redeeming qualities, you won’t be disappointed here. For starters the mayonnaise functions more as textural component than a flavoring one. This means that it takes on a kind of molten, cheesy deliciousness thanks to the Parmesan, all of which is brightened, and deepened, by the addition of the garlic powder, and the Worcestershire and Tobasco sauces. Just be sure to use a good quality Parmesan, and to grate it on the large openings of your grater (go too fine and you’ll forfeit the desired creaminess).

As for the artichoke hearts, these give the spread some all-important heft, while also imbuing the mixture with just the right acidic kick — critical in the company of all that cheese and mayo. And while you should obviously use the best canned-variety you can find, thanks to the various other ingredients present, even the blandest of artichokes is magically transformed into something bright and flavorful here. Who knew that the secret to achieving true artichoke flavor lay in the simple addition of Parmesan cheese and Worcestershire sauce?

Served on lightly toasted baguette slices along with a glass of something chilled and there can be no mistaking it — the holidays have arrived.

Ingredients:
—2 cans artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
—2 cups Hellman’s mayonnaise
—1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (note: cheese should be grated using the large holes on your grater as too fine a grate will not deliver the desired creamy texture)
—1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
—1 tsp garlic powder
—2 dashes Tabasco sauce
—1 French baguette for serving

Special equipment:
—1 oven-safe mini-loaf pan suitable for serving, roughly 6”L x 4”W x 3”H

Directions:
—Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Gently combine ingredients in a large bowl, then pour into a bake and serve dish. Place on a cookie sheet (to catch any drips) and bake on middle rack of oven until golden brown and bubbling, about 30 to 35 minutes.
—Serve with lightly toasted baguette slices.

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