If you are like me, you have bookmarked and torn-out recipes you must make. Some of these recipes insist on perfectly seasonal ingredients—ripe tomatoes and pears, the roots of winter, fresh berries. And, if you're like me you don't use enough Spanish onions. As I often comb through a stash of recipes (which I've tried without success to keep to three notebooks), I find I've missed the season. Again. From The Olives Table, I have for a minimum of 8 years running missed the window of opportunity (late summer and early fall) for Carl's Pagoda-Inspired Tomato Soup. But, this fact is good luck for the coffee cake, pork loin with pear and cranberry pan sauces, chocolate crunchies, and any iteration of fudge or cinnamon. Heather brought me this bottle from DC. I often walk by, unscrew the lid, and inhale.
Carl's Pagoda-Inspired Tomato Soup
Makes about 8 cups
1 T olive oil
2 Spanish onions, roughly chopped
8 to 10 medium beefsteak tomatoes, roughly chopped
3 T chopped peeled fresh ginger
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/3 C soy sauce
1 T fish sauce
2 T toasted sesame oil
1/2 t to 1 t chopped Scotch bonnet, jalapeño, or Thai chile pepper
1/4 C white sugar
1/4 C chopped scallion greens, for garnish
1/4 C chopped fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish
Place a large skillet over medium-high flame and when it is hot, add the oil. Add the onions, tomatoes, ginger, and garlic, stirring well after each addition, and cook until the onions and garlic are lightly browned, about 7 minutes. Add soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, chile, and sugar, stirring well after each addition, and cook until slightly reduced, about 15 minutes. Transfer the soup to a food processor fitted with a steel blade and process until smooth. Strain and discard the seeds and pulp. Reheat if necessary. Garnish each serving with scallions and cilantro.
Chocolate Crunchies
Dorie Greenspan
Makes 24
1/2 C toasted walnuts or pecans
1/2 C soft raisins
1 C corn flakes
1 C semisweet chocolate chips or 6 ounces finely chopped semi- or bittersweet chocolate
Fleur de sel, optional
Finely chop the nuts and toss them into a bowl along with the raisins and corn flakes. Gently melt the chocolate chips or chopped chocolate in the top of a double boiler or in a microwave oven on low power. Pour the chocolate into the bowl and stir until all of the ingredients are evenly coated. Drop mounds of the candy mixture into paper petit-four cups or onto a sheet of wax paper. (She uses a 2-teaspoon cookie scoop to do this, but you can divide the candy by heaping teaspoonfuls.) Chill for at least 1 hour before serving.
Carl's Pagoda-Inspired Tomato Soup
Makes about 8 cups
1 T olive oil
2 Spanish onions, roughly chopped
8 to 10 medium beefsteak tomatoes, roughly chopped
3 T chopped peeled fresh ginger
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/3 C soy sauce
1 T fish sauce
2 T toasted sesame oil
1/2 t to 1 t chopped Scotch bonnet, jalapeño, or Thai chile pepper
1/4 C white sugar
1/4 C chopped scallion greens, for garnish
1/4 C chopped fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish
Place a large skillet over medium-high flame and when it is hot, add the oil. Add the onions, tomatoes, ginger, and garlic, stirring well after each addition, and cook until the onions and garlic are lightly browned, about 7 minutes. Add soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, chile, and sugar, stirring well after each addition, and cook until slightly reduced, about 15 minutes. Transfer the soup to a food processor fitted with a steel blade and process until smooth. Strain and discard the seeds and pulp. Reheat if necessary. Garnish each serving with scallions and cilantro.
Chocolate Crunchies
Dorie Greenspan
Makes 24
1/2 C toasted walnuts or pecans
1/2 C soft raisins
1 C corn flakes
1 C semisweet chocolate chips or 6 ounces finely chopped semi- or bittersweet chocolate
Fleur de sel, optional
Finely chop the nuts and toss them into a bowl along with the raisins and corn flakes. Gently melt the chocolate chips or chopped chocolate in the top of a double boiler or in a microwave oven on low power. Pour the chocolate into the bowl and stir until all of the ingredients are evenly coated. Drop mounds of the candy mixture into paper petit-four cups or onto a sheet of wax paper. (She uses a 2-teaspoon cookie scoop to do this, but you can divide the candy by heaping teaspoonfuls.) Chill for at least 1 hour before serving.
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