Gougeres Means "Being Neighborly"

As we roll along in the no-moneymoon, I've learned that even when you're not feeling your shiniest, you can still share what you do have. What we have is the rental of a kind relative's apartment...with a terrace. Don't hate us. Blame the apartment fairy* and a market that no one wants to sell in.

And here is what you need of an evening for some fine terrace sitting: hearty nibbles. Dainty is all well and good when there's dinner on the stove or a roast in the oven. But for an extended terrace sit with friends, watching the sun go down and turn the landmark building to the east a lovely shade of orange, I try to make 2-3 heavier items and the like to go with the inevitable bottle of wine.

No matter how charming and elegant that may seem, I'm still me -- trying to stick to a budget, inserting veggies wherever possible to be "healthy" and making use of the ingredients I have on hand. The good news is that even some fancier nibbles are pretty thrifty. So here's what we shared with a lovely neighbor the other night:

Gougeres (aka cheesy poofs)

I used this Alain Ducasse recipe and would definitely add a little more cheese next time. Bonus, these were frozen from a previous entertaining venture and quickly reheated at 350F for 25 minutes. Perfect.

Potato & Leek Croquettes

4 small - medium red potatoes

1 large leek

3 Tablespoons olive oil, plus some more for frying

1 egg

Black pepper, lots of it, Salt, too

People make croquettes with leftover mashed potatoes, but since I loathe mashed potatoes, I have to start from scratch. That's where the microwave comes in to play. Wash and prick the potatoes with a fork, lay them on a paper towel in the micro and nuke 'em for about 5 minutes until they are very soft and the skin looks wrinkly. Set aside until cool enough to handle and then peel off the skin and cut them into 1-inch cubes

Meanwhile, in a medium-sized saute pan heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil. Wash and slice the leek (I always put them into a bowl of cold water to let the grit fall to the bottom of the bowl -- this really works!) and then saute until very soft. Turn off the heat and turn your attention back to those potatoes.

Start mashing the potato cubes. Then add in the leeks and all their cooking oil. Mash some more. Add lots of black pepper and salt (you have to season this a lot.) When the mixture is well mashed add in the egg. If the mixture looks like it isn't holding together you can add another Tablespoon of olive oil. I did, but it would depend on the potatoes I think. You could also add a little flour to boost the binding. I didn't.

In the same saute pan where you fried the leeks, heat some olive oil until hot but not smoking. Make little patties with the potato mixture and slide into the oil. Fry until browned on one side then flip to finish cooking. Keep warm in the oven until ready to serve.

Roast Pepper Nibbles

1-2 red, yellow or orange peppers, roasted

1 Tablespoon capers

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar

Black pepper and salt

1 onion bagel

Sometimes I find big bargains and recently I lucked into an assortment of sweet peppers on their last legs. Not ok for a grocery shelf or a salad, but totally fine as roasted (and skinned) peppers. These had been adding some zest to our dining last week, so I had them on hand. Here's how to make them from scratch: Turn oven up to 420F. Wash peppers and remove any soft spots. Place on a baking sheet and roast until the skin turns brown-black in patches and looks wrinkly, about 30 minutes. While still piping hot, use an oven mitt or tongs to place them in a brown paper bag. I *never* have brown paper bags, but I do have parchment, so I make a packet with that and it works fine. This is to steam the skins so they are easier to pull off. I let them sit until they are pretty much cooled. Not worth a burned finger tip!

With the skins off, you can put these in to the fridge with some olive oil and they keep nicely for about a week. To make nibble topping, take about 1-2 peppers and chop finely then mix with olive oil, rice wine vinegar and salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, make a little delivery system for it: bagel chips. I hate to pay for those expensive mini toasts, even though they are delicious! So I've come up with this solution. I slice an onion bagel cross-wise and continue slicing to produce coin-sized rounds. You can get about 20-25 thin slices from one bagel, and the weird triangles you are left with are a nice treat for the cook--eat them before you drink that wine and you prevent tipsy hostess syndrome. Bake at 350F for 5-8 minutes on a baking sheet. No oil needed and they are perfectly tasty and crispy. And better than baguette, these are truly bite-sized nibbles.

The only ingredients purchased for this fun evening: Gruyere, wine and one bagel.

*Don't believe in the apartment fairy? Ever visited a rent-controlled classic six on Central Park West? Apartment fairy. It happens but once in a lifetime, so put keys under your pillow and see what happens.

Zucchini Pancakes Times Two

Zucchini may just be the tofu of the veggie world.

And if you join a CSA your zucchini cup will surely runneth over. Put it on the grill, make some muffins and, in this case, make some tender little pancakes. Try something new, because you'll have a big batch every week with which to experiment. I ended up making zucchini pancakes...twice.

Since we've also been entertaining frequently to share the lovely cool nights on our terrace, it seemed like a zucchini-focused nibble was inevitable. I had been eyeing zucchini pancakes for a while: a finger food that is filling, mostly nutritious, and can be made slightly ahead of time and kept warm in the oven. And it turns out they were a hit.

Ina's Barefoot Contessa Zucchini Pancakes seemed to best match my goal to use as much zucchini and as little flour as possible. Plus I trust her recipes implicitly. Since these were for company, I wanted to dress them up a little, so the lemon zest and thyme are my own addition since both flavors go so well with zucchini. This dish is adapted from Ina Garten's recipe:

Zucchini Pancakes with Lemon and Thyme

2 medium zucchinis, grated

1/2 spring onion or 1 medium onion, grated

2 eggs, lightly beaten

6 Tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

10 sprigs fresh thyme

Zest of one lemon

Vegetable oil

Grate the zucchini and the onion and squeeze out extra moisture in a towel (I used a paper towel and it worked just fine.) Place in a large bowl and mix in flour, baking powder, salt, lemon zest, and fresh thyme leaves pulled from the stem. Lightly beat two eggs and mix into zucchini mixture.

Heat enough vegetable oil to cover a large saute pan over medium high heat. You'll know it is hot enough when a little batter drop sizzles. Drop in small spoonfuls (about 1 1/2 Tablespoons) of batter and cook on both side until golden brown and the pancakes hold together. Keep warm in an oven up to 30 minutes.

This makes a two-bite sized pancake that can be topped with sour cream or mascarpone, too.

And then...I thought maybe there was a way to make these even healthier...

A zucchini favorite is Couscous Royale. I make this Moroccan dish with zucchini, carrots and butternut squash, cooking it in chicken broth with a touch of spice and a lot of ground pepper.

I had carrots and, of course, zucchini, so that was the inspiration for these Zucchini Pancakes.

Moroccan Zucchini and Carrot Pancakes

1 medium zucchini, shredded

3 small carrots, shredded

1 spring onion, shredded

1 egg

4-5 Tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4-1/2 teaspoon cumin

Salt and ground pepper

Olive oil

Shred vegetables and drain slightly on paper towel. Add in egg, flour, baking powder, cumin and salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil in saute pan over medium high heat. Drop in 2 Tablespoons of batter for each pancake, about 4 will fit in the pan. Brown on both sides, about 3 minutes each side and make sure the oil doesn't get too hot (just turn it back if it starts to smoke.)

These were moist, a little sweet and with a nice subtle spiciness. A great accompaniment for:

Moroccan Chicken Rub: Rub chicken paillard (thin cut) with 1 t. cumin + 1 t. cinnamon + 1/4 t. ground coriander + 1/4 t. ground cloves + salt/pepper. Grill.

Tally:

Zucchini introduces veggie goodness to the cocktail hour

Inexpensive ingredients become something a little fancier

Using up the CSA supply makes us healthier and ready for more

Portuguese Kale and Homemade Chorizo Soup

I'm not a shrinking violet when it comes to ground meat and its saucy cousin, sausage. I love me a link or two, and I kind of like the idea that I'm not only getting value and lots of flavor, but also helping to cut down on "waste" when I eat it.

But boy was I surprised when I read the label on my authentic chorizo's packaging. Lymph nodes. Yep, I was grossed out. I'm willing to pitch on waste, but even I have my limits.

So I got to thinking, what is sausage other than ground meat + spices? I have LOTS of spices, and I love using them. And yes, there are mystery parts in prepared ground meats, too, so maybe the effort was fruitless. But it didn't stop me from trying. I found a recipe here. This site's a bit bare bones, but the first recipe called out to me with it's title: quick and easy. Perfect.

Mixing some ground pork with a handful of spices and garlic, then letting it combine in the fridge for several hours couldn't have been easier. Since I didn't have casings, I turned the mixture out from a bread pan and sliced it into squares. It fried up beautifully and I served it as a little nibble for drinks with a Date Onion Confit (chopped rehydrated dates and their soaking water combined with sauteed onions to caramelize + a splash of brandy. Reduce.)

But pork isn't exactly healthy. So what about ground chicken?

Worked like a charm!

Portuguese Kale and Chorizo Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/3 lb. homemade (chicken) chorizo

1 small onion, diced

1/2 lb. kale, bite size pieces, blanched (and in my case, also frozen)

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

3 cups chicken stock

1 cup water

Heat olive oil in a deep sauce pan or dutch oven. Cut up chorizo into 1-inch cubes and saute until browned and cook through.

Remove chorizo and set aside. Add onions and kale into the same pot, then vinegar. I think you could add the kale without blanching it first and just cook it longer. I found that blanching it helped the "bite" of it quite a bit.

Add stock and water to cover kale mixture. Simmer and season with salt and pepper, heavily. Add the chorizo back into the pot and cook for 10-15 minutes.

Tally:

Great way to incorporate a leafy green into a meal

Homemade chorizo may not look as pretty, but at least I know what's in it

On hand spices, especially smoked paprika, make ground chicken a spicy delight

Fish Tail(ends) at Twilight

I feel sorry for leftovers. They get such a bad name.

I prefer to view them as a reason to party. What better way to use smidgens of ingredients than to turn them into nibbles for cocktails? In fact, maybe they should be called invite-overs, because that's exactly what we did last night when a dear friend came over to celebrate the beginning of a new week and watch the sunset from our terrace.

We still had 3-4 small pieces of the poached salt cod from our Baked Cod Cakes. Just enough to turn out some Brandade, a French cod-potato spread:

No, these aren't blue--that's the lovely outdoor light at 7pm last night. I love that it is still light out so late in the evening! Summer is so close I can taste it.

Brandade Toasts

1 cup poached salt cod

1 medium potato

4-5 garlic cloves

1/4 cup olive oil

Ground black pepper

1 baguette

Shred salt cod into small pieces and set aside.

Meanwhile, boil potato until very well done. While the potato is cooking, place 4 cloves of the garlic and olive oil in a heavy saucepan and over low heat cook until the garlic cloves soften (but are not brown.)

Peel the potato and while still warm mash it together with the garlic. Add 2 1/2 Tablespoons warm olive oil a tablespoon at a time.

Add the cod and combine well. If not garlicky enough, grate in half a clove of garlic raw. I did this because I love garlic. Keeps the vampires away. Refrigerate if using later (can be made ahead.)

Cut a baguette into thin slices. Spread brandade on each slice to cover fully. Sprinkle with remaining olive oil and broil on low for 3 -4 minutes. (These burn easily, so you'll want to watch them.) They will be golden on top. Serve warm.

We also enjoyed crudite with Herb Yogurt Cheese Dip (so easy!!) and some very fruitful Pear White Sangria. I'll put those recipes up soon.

Tally:

Not totally FRD-friendly nibbles (white bread, potato): Bad.

Omega-3 rich fish and olive oil provide healthy fats: Good!

Leftovers find their purpose and only one $2 purchase

Great excuse to invite a friend over