Thayer in the Kitchen

I found this recipe that I had saved and decided I should post it before it was never located again.  This is definitely Christmas in July.  I made this dish for a New Year's Eve party last winter. It is delicious and very festive!! 1/2 wheel of Brie (about 4" diameter), at room temperature 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed 1/3 cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Slice off the top of the Brie and discard.  Roll out the pastry to a 12 inch square and cut two 6" rounds from it.  Put one of the rounds on a rimmed baking sheet, sprinkle with half of the dried cherries and thyme.  Press gently so they stick.  Set the Brie, rind side down on top of the pastry, sprinkle with the rest of the cherries and thyme.  Cover with the other circle of pastry.  Crimp the edges together to seal the cheese.  Brush the top of the pastry with ...

I made this cake to take to a Books for Cooks meeting.  We were discussing a book on olive oil that I hadn't read, but we were also going to share olive oil tastings and cold summer soups all using olive oil.  I found out that you don't need to use a super expensive olive oil in this cake because with all the other flavors you can't taste the flavor of the olive oil.  However, it is a delicious cake.  The women attending the book club all liked it and Arthur loved it and said it had to go on "the blog."  I grated the zucchini with the grating disk on my food processor.  It takes quite a bit of zucchini to make this cake, which in the height of summer is a good thing. 1 cup (135g) almonds, pecans, or walnuts, toasted 2 cups (280g) flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 3 large eggs, at room temperature 1 3/4 (350g) cups ...

This recipe was adapted from recipe I found on the Trader Joe's website.  It was an entry for a contest on using quinoa.  I think the recipe author was one of the winners.  I like the recipe for a few reasons.  It's high in protein because of the ingredients like quinoa, cottage cheese, eggs, etc.  It provides another good use for zucchini which we all like to have at this time of the year.  And yet another couple of reasons, the patties are easy to make and tasty to eat. 2 cups cooked quinoa * 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella (I actually used Tuscan Dream from Edelweiss Creamery, a local artisan cheesemaker) 1 cup cottage cheese (low fat is fine) 1 cup packed shredded zucchini 3 eggs, beaten 3 tablespoons whole wheat flour 2 green onions, chopped 1 cup Panko bread crumbs (preferably whole wheat) 1 teaspoon cumin 2-3 cloves of chopped garlic Salt & pepper to taste Olive oil for frying the patties Combine all the ingredients except th...

A few weeks ago I tried a recipe for rhubarb pancakes.  I will not be posting this recipe.  I guess rhubarb needs sugar to bring out its flavor.  The pancakes with chopped raw rhubarb didn't have any rhubarb flavor so why bother.  However, these pancakes topped with rhubarb compote made for a very pleasant breakfast.  Although rhubarb season has now passed, it will come again and I'll be ready for it with this yummy breakfast recipe.  Cornmeal Buttermilk Pancakes •3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour •3/4 cup yellow cornmeal •2 tablespoons sugar •1/2 teaspoon baking powder •1/2 teaspoon baking soda •1/2 teaspoon salt •1 1/4 cups buttermilk •2 large eggs •3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, cooled Combine first 6 ingredients into large bowl. Whisk buttermilk, eggs and melted butter in medium bowl to blend. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and whisk until blended. Preheat oven to 300°F. Cook the pancakes on a griddle or...

This soup is not really a summer soup. However I don't want to lose the recipe because its a yummy soup which uses basic ingredients so I'm posting it now.  Be sure to use a very good, preferably local cheddar cheese since this is what really gives this soup its flavor. 1/4 pound sliced bacon, cut crosswise into thin strips 1 large onion, chopped 3 pounds baking potatoes (about 6), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (if the potatoes are organic and the skins are in good shape, there is no need to peel the potatoes) 4 cups chicken broth 1 teaspoon salt 6 ounces cheddar, grated (about 1-1/2 cups) 1/4 cup chopped chives or scallion tops In a large saucepan, cook the bacon over moderate heat until crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat or, if you don't have 2 tablespoons, add enough cooking oil to make up the amount. Reduce the heat to moderately low. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasi...

I'm always on the lookout on how to use my CSA vegetables.  I saw this recipe on EatingWell.  I would make the pancakes again but I would pay more attention to the directions.  The recipe said to bake the pancakes in the oven for 15 minutes.  I didn't do that and the pancakes were a bit on the crunchy side.  However, they would be worth making again because the flavor is good.  I even used a black radish that was lurking in my vegetable draw.  We got a couple of the radishes in an early CSA box.  I was hoping they would just disappear.  These pancakes were a great place to use one of them.  You would never know it was in the pancakes.  1-2 large eggs, lightly beaten 1/4 cup whole-wheat flour 3 tablespoons chopped scallions 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill, or 1 teaspoon dried (I didn't have any fresh dill but would recommend using it if you have it available--the dry didn't have much flavor) 1 tables...

Yes, I'm posting another pancake recipe.  We love pancakes especially with fruit and nuts.  This recipe has both. 2 cups unbleached white flour 2 tablespoons vanilla sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 cups buttermilk 1/4 cup plain yogurt 2 eggs 3 tablespoons melted butter 1 1/2 cups chopped strawberries 1/2 cup toasted coarsely chopped pecans Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Combine liquid ingredients in a separate bowl and then add to the dry. Do not over mix. A few lumps are OK.  Add strawberries and nuts and blend in carefully.  Pour 1/4 cup of mixture on a hot griddle.  Turn when you see bubbles forming on top.  They can be served with vanilla yogurt or plain yogurt with a bit of vanilla sugar sprinkled on top.  Butter and syrup are also good toppings. Adapted from Simply Scratch

This might sound like a strange combination of flavors to be found in a chicken salad, but get brave and try it.  Delicious!  My version underwent a number of revisions from the original.  The original recipe called for grilled chicken breasts which would be very tasty, but I had just roasted my giant chicken and was looking for ways to use the leftovers.  I also didn't have any fresh corn and substituted some frozen.  I just thawed it out.   3-4 cups of cubed leftover chicken 3 stalks celery, finely diced 2 ears fresh corn if available otherwise use 1 cup of thawed frozen corn (no need to cook) 1/4 cup of finely diced red onion 1-2 cups fresh blueberries (frozen are not a good substitute) 3 tablespoons fresh dill, minced 6 tablespoons mayonnaise 6 tablespoons sour cream 1/4 cup 1/2 and 1/2 lemon juice to taste 1 teaspoon sugar Salt & pepper 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese Salad greens or torn lettuce as a bed for the salad Remove the corn...

I belonged to a meat CSA for 3 months.  We decided not to continue because we don't eat very much meat during the months when we are getting all our CSA vegetables.  What we received was excellent and we may do it again at a later time when the pick up location is more convenient and we need more meat. One of the items we received was a very large roasting chicken.  I think having leftover chicken is great because you can do so many things with it.  I always brine chicken that has actually walked around. This way you can be sure of getting a very tender juicy chicken with an excellent flavor.  Use a simple brining recipe.  This is one and would be plenty for a 6-8 # whole chicken.  For each gallon of cold water used in the brine, add the following: 3/4 cup coarse kosher salt 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1 cup boiling water 1 gallon cold water 1 tablespoon black pepper Dissolve the salt & sugar in the boiling water and let cool.  Ad...

If you belong to a CSA farm in Wisconsin, you can plan on getting garlic scapes in your spring boxes.  On a post in July 2010, I showed pictures and gave an explanation of garlic scapes.  You can either check it out or do a Google search if you're wondering what kind of very strange vegetable has come your way.  If you have been a CSA member before, you probably know all about them.  I think I got this recipe from Vermont Valley Community Farm, a very fine farm that we have belonged to.  This is one more excellent dish where you can serve vegetables for breakfast.  Frequently we only think of vegetables for lunch or dinner.  When you belong to a CSA farm and are receiving bountiful amounts of fresh produce, it's a good idea to have some veggies for breakfast/brunch as well. 3 tablespoons olive oil 10 eggs 2  cups finely chopped raw spinach (1/2 LB) 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1 tablespoon chopped parsley o...

This new recipe was a favorite of my husband's that he wanted me to post so that it wouldn't be lost--never to be located again.  This recipe was adapted from Martha Stewart's website.  There are a number of other very tasty sounding rhubarb recipes there that you might want to check out. Rhubarb Recipes 1/2 cup dried cherries 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 1 teaspoon olive oil 1/2 cup finely chopped onion 8 to 10 ounces rhubarb, ends trimmed, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces (2 cups) 3 tablespoons sugar Pinch of ground nutmeg Coarse salt and black pepper 4 pork loin chops, (each 1/2 inch thick and 6 to 8 ounces) Combine cherries with vinegar and 1/4 cup hot water; let stand 10 minutes to soften.  In a small...

This soup reminds me of Greek chicken soup with its lemony flavor.  I wanted a recipe to use some of the baby spring turnips from my CSA share, plus the carrots that came in our last box. You could substitute your own leftover chicken if you have any available. Lemon Chicken Soup 2 tablespoons olive oil 10 scallions (green onions) chopped, white & green parts separated 6 cups chicken broth 1 cup white rice (I used arborio since this was the only white rice I had) 8 oz. carrots, cut into chunks 8 oz. baby turnips, cut into quarters or chunks if the turnip is large 4 large eggs 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (more if you want additional tartness) 3-4 cups rotisserie chicken, skin removed and chopped chopped parsley if desired Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large pot.  Add the white parts of the green onions.  Cook until softened.  Add the chicken broth, rice, carrots, turnips and salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, then reduce hea...