Potato, Green Cabbage, and Leek Soup with Lemon Crème Fraîche

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, divided
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 cups diced green cabbage (1/2-inch dice; from about 1/2 medium head)
• 3 cups chopped leeks (white and pale green parts only; 3 to 4 large)
• 3 large garlic cloves, pressed
• 3 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1 1/4 pounds)
• 1 2 x 2-inch piece Parmesan cheese rind (optional)
• 1 Turkish bay leaf
• 6 cups (or more) low-salt chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives (for garnish)

Directions

Whisk crème fraîche, lemon juice, and lemon peel in small bowl to blend. Cover and chill.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add cabbage; sprinkle lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper and sauté until cabbage is almost tender but not brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer 1 cup cabbage to small bowl and reserve for garnish.

Add 1 tablespoon butter to pot with cabbage; add leeks and garlic. Sauté over medium heat until leeks soften slightly, about 3 minutes. Stir in potatoes, Parmesan rind, if desired, and bay leaf. Add 6 cups broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer until all vegetables are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Discard Parmesan rind, if using, and bay leaf. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Return puree to pot. Simmer until heated through, adding more broth by 1/4 cupfuls to thin soup to desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls. Top each serving with some of reserved sautéed cabbage. Drizzle crème fraîche mixture over soup; sprinkle with chives and serve.

Chopped Miso Salad

from 101 Cookbooks

I used Westbrae Natural Organic Mellow Brown Rice Miso for the dressing. If you like the flavor of sesame oil - go ahead and add it to your dressing in fact you can go ahead and add it "to taste" - although sometimes I like to go a bit more neutral and skip rhe sesame oil altogether. I also had two small heads of little gem lettuce so I threw them in here as well. You can use any kind of extra-firm tofu you like here - this salad works well with baked tofu or plain. Tofu cooked in a skillet for a few minutes to take on some color is great - I cheated a bit and used Soy Deli baked tofu (savory) for the salad pictured up above.

1 1/2 cups shallots, skinned and thinly sliced
splash of extra-virgin olive oil
pinch of salt

2 tablespoons miso
1/2 teaspoon powdered mustard (or a bit of whatever mustard you have around)
2 tablespoons brown sugar (or honey or agave)
1/4 cup (brown) rice vinegar
1/3 cup mild flavored extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon pure toasted sesame oil (optional)

1/2 of a medium-large cabbage
1 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/2 medium red onion, sliced
3/4 cup chives, minced
8 ounces extra-firm tofu (see headnotes), room temperature

Stir together the shallots, splash of olive oil and big pinch of salt In a large skillet over medium heat. Stir every few minutes, you want the shallots to slowly brown over about 15 minutes. Let them get dark, dark brown (but not burn). if needed turn down the heat. Remove them from the skillet and onto a paper towel to cool in a single layer. they should crisp up a bit.

Make the dressing by whisking the miso, mustard, and brown sugar together. Now whisk in the rice vinegar and keep whisking until it's smooth. Gradually whisk in the olive oil, and then the sesame oil. Two pinches of fine grain salt. Taste and make any adjustments if needed.

Cut the cabbage into two quarters and cut out the core. Using a knife shred each quarter into whisper thin slices. The key here is bite-sized and thin. If any pieces look like they might be awkwardly long, cut those in half.

Gently toss the cabbage, shallots, almonds, red onion, chives and tofu in a large mixing/salad bowl. Add a generous drizzle of the miso dressing and toss again - until the dressing is evenly distributed. Add more a bit at a time if needed, until the salad is dressed to your liking.

Serves 3 - 4 as a main dish, 6 - 8 as a side.

Creamy Cabbage & Potato Gratin

From Cook with What You Have

Katherine's notes: 

You could add lots of chopped parsley or oregano or basil or chives to the dish as you're assembling it, before baking. You could use other vegetables. I imagine diced winter squash instead of the potatoes would be fabulous and very pretty. Sausage, bacon or any kind of leftover meat would be good. You can vary the cheeses, omit entirely, and so on and so forth!

Ingredients

For Bechamel:

• 4 Tablespoons butter
• 4 Tablespoons flour
• generous 2 cups of whole milk (2% can work in a pinch)
• salt
• pepper
• bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
• 1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
• pinch of ground nutmeg or cloves
• fresh minced thyme, parsley, chives, etc. (optional)

For the gratin:

• 3-5 potatoes (depending on size) and cut into thumb-sized chunks
• 1/2 medium to large green cabbage (or a whole small one), cored and cut into 1-inch pieces
• Handful or two of small pasta (optional)
• Salt
• Bread crumbs (optional)
• Grated cheese (sharp cheddar, Gruyère, Emmentaler, . . .)

Directions

Bechamel:

Melt butter in a medium-sized saucepan over med/low heat. When melted, whisk in flour. Continue cooking the roux for 2 -3 min, whisking frequently. Meanwhile heat milk until it's scalding. Whisk hot milk into roux and add several pinches of salt, grind in some pepper, add chili flakes (or omit if you'd like), add mustard and a bay leaf and a grating or two of nutmeg. Stir well and cook over med/low heat for about 10 minutes until thickened and bubbling.  Add some grated cheese (sharp cheddar, Gruyère, Emmentaler, etc. ) and fresh, chopped herbs if you'd like at this point.

Gratin: 

Put potatoes in a large pot with lots of water and two teaspoons of kosher salt. Bring to a boil. If you are using some kind of pasta you'll want to add it to the potatoes just a few minutes after the water comes to a boil so the pasta can cook for 8 or so minutes (depending on the type you choose this will vary. The pasta can be quite all dente when you drain everything though since it will keep cooking in the oven.) When the potatoes (and pasta, if using) are almost tender add the cabbage to the pot. Cover and cook for another few minutes until the cabbage is tender. Drain.

Spread the vegetables in a large baking dish. Pour the béchamel over the top and mix in a bit. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and extra cheese (if you'd like) and bake  at 400 until bubbly and crisp on top (I broil it at the end for a few minutes).

Potato, Green Cabbage, and Leek Soup with Lemon Crème Fraîche

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, divided
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 cups diced green cabbage (1/2-inch dice; from about 1/2 medium head)
• 3 cups chopped leeks (white and pale green parts only; 3 to 4 large)
• 3 large garlic cloves, pressed
• 3 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1 1/4 pounds)
• 1 2 x 2-inch piece Parmesan cheese rind (optional)
• 1 Turkish bay leaf
• 6 cups (or more) low-salt chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives (for garnish)

Directions

Whisk crème fraîche, lemon juice, and lemon peel in small bowl to blend. Cover and chill.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add cabbage; sprinkle lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper and sauté until cabbage is almost tender but not brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer 1 cup cabbage to small bowl and reserve for garnish.

Add 1 tablespoon butter to pot with cabbage; add leeks and garlic. Sauté over medium heat until leeks soften slightly, about 3 minutes. Stir in potatoes, Parmesan rind, if desired, and bay leaf. Add 6 cups broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer until all vegetables are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Discard Parmesan rind, if using, and bay leaf. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Return puree to pot. Simmer until heated through, adding more broth by 1/4 cupfuls to thin soup to desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls. Top each serving with some of reserved sautéed cabbage. Drizzle crème fraîche mixture over soup; sprinkle with chives and serve.

Skirt Steak Salad with Arugula and Blue Cheese

from Smitten Kitchen

I attempted an interesting-sounding retro salad dressing from this recipe and found it… inedible. I then made it a second time with no lime juice, a little bit of lime zest, half the balsamic vinegar and half the sugar and we found it… passable. (Well, I found it passable, my husband liked it.) If you’d like to make Catalina-ish dressing, that’s how I’d suggest going about it. However, to my taste, next time I will make this with a sharp mustard vinaigrette with a dash of Worcestershire sauce, a little steakhouse touch I love in salads like this, recipe below.

Serves 4

• 1 pound skirt steak, trimmed of excess fat if necessary, halved crosswise, at room temperature
• 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pint (2 cups) cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup (about 4 ounces) crumbled blue cheese
• 1/2 pound baby arugula
• Vinaigrette (below)
• 3 tablespoons minced chives, 2 thinly sliced scallions or 3 tablespoons finely chopped red onion, for garnish

Pat steak dry and season on both sides 1/2 teaspoon salt and many grinds of black pepper.

In a cast-iron skillet: Heat skillet on medium-high to high and add olive oil. When oil begins to shimmer, place steak in skillet and do not move it for 5 minutes. Turn it once, and cook for another 3 minutes for medium-rare. You may need to cook your steak halves separately, depending on the size of your pan.

On a grill: Prepare grill for direct-heat cooking over hot charcoal or high heat for gas. Oil grill rack, then grill steak, covered only if using a gas grill, turning once, 4 to 6 minutes total for medium-rare.

Transfer steak to a cutting board and let rest, loosely covered with foil, for five minutes. Arrange arugula on a large platter. Thinly slice steak on the diagonal, across the grain. Arrange over arugula, then toss halved cherry tomatoes and blue cheese over platter. Add vinaigrette to taste, then sprinkle with chives, scallions or red onion. Serve with additional vinaigrette on the side.

Steakhouse Mustard Vinaigrette

• 1 tablespoon coarse Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 1/3 cup olive oil

Whisk ingredients. Season with salt and pepper and adjust ingredients to taste (usually more Dijon and vinegar for me).