I blame Elizabeth Minchilli, I do. Now, some of you might know who she is – yee of good taste! – a woman who wears many hats well but is principally a truly fine author and blogger. While she has written six design-oriented books (including two with her husband, the Italian architect Domenico Minchilli, for those hoping to restore their own little bijou under the Tuscan sun), her blog focuses largely on the food and drinks that occupy her daily life in Rome and Umbria. And can I get a little “Hallelujah” about that? For, along with Deb Perelman at Smitten Kitchen, she gives me ideas that I actually use and not just dream about wistfully.
But back to the blaming. Now, Elizabeth is a fellow redhead so technically finger-pointing of any kind is breaking some sort of cardinal Sisterhood of the Redheadedness rule but I can’t help it. You see, a while ago she mentioned the wacky idea of roasting cabbage. Now, it’s true, I have been on a severe roasting binge as of late after much smacking the forehead of the “Really? It is that easy?” variety. But come on, cabbage? Eww. Who likes cabbage? It’s stinky. But as my favorite veggie guys were selling ones bigger than my head for only one Euro, I thought, “Why not?”
Oh my goodness, it is maddeningly delicious. Truly. So much so that I made up a small test batch, ate it while it was still warm, made another that I threw into vegetable bouillon for one of the richest without being rich soups that I have had in many a moon and yet still had to have it for lunch again today. You see, something that appears to be as innocent and vitamin packed as what you see in the first photo transforms in about fifteen minutes into buttery smoke on a plate…also known as…vegetable bacon. It’s official, I am obsessed.
I imagine some of you might be thinking, either politely or grudgingly, “Heather, you just wrote a food post. Can you get back to Provencey please? Don’t you understand that Christmas is only two weeks away and that every second is precious?” And I will and I do but I would have felt terrible if I had let another day pass without sharing this discovery. So feel free to use at will, cabbage is flexible and it will also be happy if you do a fusiony thing with soba noodles, a little celery, sprinkled cayenne, soy sauce and sushi vinegar. Or whatever. Just trust me, give the roasting a go, get creative and let me know what you think.
So that was two-thirds of the title which leads me to…the middle part. Uh oh. “The bad.” You see that photo of cheese. Guilty as charged. Just as the immortal Becky Sharp proclaims in Vanity Fair, “I’m no angel.”
But Elizabeth has also led me to reconsider my expat whining that comes forth on many an occasion: “I miss waaaffles…I miss stuuffing…I miss…” You get my drift. Somehow it truly never occurs to me to just try and make an approximation. I know that it won’t really be the same, just as my hilarious friend NK admits at Bread is Pain, so I hesitate. While I won’t even try my dearly loved Grits & Bits waffles…stuffing seemed like a doer and when my Sister sent me a photo of a family classic, “Grandma Roxie’s casserole” I knew that action needed to be taken. Of course, it turns out that I could easily buy everything needed to make one very fine batch of classic herb stuffing.
I was going to share this recipe with you to be used for Thanksgiving leftovers but wisely assumed it was not needed. However, you might be looking for something of the “just put it all together and get it done” factor right about now, one that has been slightly transformed from its 70s origins:
Make your homemade version of Stove Top, butter a casserole, line it with the stuffing.
Cover the stuffing with shredded chicken or turkey breast.
Sauté coarsely chopped mushrooms in onion or shallots, when done stir in cream with s&p to taste.
Drizzle additional cream or crème fraiche.
Cover with a mountain of shredded emmenthal cheese.
Bake until the cheese browns.
Drool while it cools then serve.
Although she was related, I can’t say that Grandma Roxie was my Grandma but I thank her for this casserole…and for not putting crushed potato chips on top of it.
Speaking of food appreciation, I have one more idea to share with you that I loved, this time from Stéphane at My French Heaven. It is, as he claims, “A challenge for the real foodies out there” and involves a taste test of a single food item to awaken the senses and to return to really appreciating its essence.
From his blog…
“The rules:
- You may only use one produce + salt + butter or olive oil or lemon
- If not scolding hot, you will eat with your fingers! We want the most symbiotic, raw experience possible!
- The main ingredient has to be in season or available year round (like eggs)
- No garlic, vinegar or ginger or anything that could overpower the taste of the main ingredient
- You’ll have to eat this alone or with other foodies. No kids allowed! When I say kids, I mean anyone who could distract you from the experience. Husband, best friends or wives can be considered kids in this scenario :0)
- Eat with your eyes closed if possible!!! This will really help you be more aware of all your senses
- If at all possible, eat something you fished yourself, grew in your garden or picked in the woods (be careful with berries and mushrooms!). This will bring this experience to a whole other level…”
But there really is more to it than that so please take a look (not to mention discover his lovely photography):http://myfrenchheaven.com/2013/12/10/a-challenge-for-the-real-foodies-out-there/#comments. I tried it with a piece of unadorned ripe avocado and the results were surprising. Plus, technically, since the cabbage was only roasted with olive oil and coarse salt, that counts and we all know how I feel about the cabbage.
Admittedly, I have had a case of the Mean Reds – as Holly Golightly would say – as of late, in my case, one of the Holiday Blues! So this post is my equivalent of comfort food. I am doing my best to shake myself out of it, including listening to happy music (alas, “I’ll be home for Christmas” only induces prolonged sniffling). This is what I had on repeat while writing this post:
With my Best from Arles,
Keep Calm and Carry On,
Heather
I am still reeling from the idea of vegetable bacon!
LOOKS UTTERLY DIVINE!!
I get ELIZABETH's posts somehow I missed that………….THANK YOU!
P.S. (2) I know this is getting l-o-n-g, but?…..my comments were a bit misleading. I should emphasize that you can "slow cook" brassicas (which is exactly what's done to long-simmered collard greens or a garbure, which is basically a cabbage&bean soup). You just don't (unless my mother taught you how to cook) turn the stuff on high and go watch a movie while it boils and roils away for two hours.
—–david terry
P.S. Blanching is just fine, of course…..even if it involves boiling water. Boiling the f***k out of a poor, little cabbage is not. This is one way, at least (and presumably you'll recall the movie which I'm referencing), in which cabbages and bunny-rabbits are quite similar.
Advisedly yours as ever,
Uncle David
Oh, Loree…..you should come to visit us here; we happily have cabbage (in various forms….sauteed, as part of a garbure, and/or my favorite Provencal recipe for stuffed cabbage) at least three our four times per week.
Your instincts (and nose) are right, of course; practically no one (except, perhaps, for folks who are sentimental about the smell of their immigrant grandparents' urban-tenement apartment?) can abide the smell of over-boiled cabbage.
Facts to know:
1. cabbages, like everything else in this world, get older, and, contrary to what the grocery stores might tell you, they do NOT have an infinite shelf-life. Julia Child (and many others) would tell you that a good cabbage is "squeaky". Don't bother buying and cooking the thing if it's not.
2. Boiled cabbage is, indeed, awful. Sautee it, steam it, roast it, pretend it's a bean bag and just sit on it….but never boil it. As with all members of the Brassica genus (cauliflower, brocolli, brussel sprouts, Kale, mustard, rutabagas, collards, turnips, etcetera), Cabbage doesn't fare well with extended cooking. The longer you cook brassicas, the stronger and more unpleasant they and everything else becomes. Even 2 minutes matters; Increasing the cooking time of cabbage from 5 to 7 minutes DOUBLES the amount of Hydrogen Sulfide gas (the rotten egg smell everyone objects to) produced by the cabbage. As with any chemical reaction, there is, indeed & inevitably, a tipping point at which the bomb, rather than you, becomes the one in charge. A shorter cooking doesn't allow for the production of the Sulfur compounds (they result from extended heating).
I know…not exactly the sort of response you might expect from a man who paints for a living and took four graduate degrees in literature. Still, recall that Marcella Hazan's actual education comprised a Ph.D. in Biology……and Shirley Corriher (she's quite well-known for her cookbooks) has a doctorate in, I believe, BioChemistry. Cooking seems to bring worlds together, after all.
In any case, try Heather's recipe. It sounds good.
Best Wishes for a Happy, cabbage-filled future,
David Terry
http://www.davidterryart.com
I'm so sorry to hear that you have the holiday blues, Heather, though I know that feeling well. You will, however, have made my husband very happy with this post. He loves smelly cabbage and will be thrilled to know that there's a way of cooking it that won't turn off his red-haired wife (moi of course!) I will report in once we've tried this.
On another note, we just got a big box of pomegranates from Costco, which I mentioned to Karsten in Morocco. He said he was sad because pomegranate season is just about over in Morocco. While they were in season, he said he was eating about one a day. Imagine living with pomegranate trees in your back yard! One of his friends had a pomegranate tree in his walled in garden. When I was there last spring those lovelies were just red blossoms.
Anyway, I am sure that cabbages will be easy to find around here any time of year.
Okay, I did this exact cabbage tonight, in a wok, with olive oil, salt and pepper. And then I saw your post! Wowee. Don't worry, you are not alone in your sadness at this time of year. We are here without any of the children or other family at Christmas…but we make the best of our day by starting with Champagne! I highly recommend it. And Skyoe, or Facetime. Saves my life. <3
You had me at vegetable bacon! You know that with a vegetarian to feed, I'm always looking for a little kitchen magic (AKA things that taste like meat but aren't). I wonder what it would taste like with a little bacon salt sprinkled on prior to roasting? Do you have bacon salt in Provence, I wonder? XOXO
First things first: Grandma Roxie was indeed your grandma – your great grandma!! Ohhh…unless – are you thinking that she was Grandpa Kenny's 2nd wife? Ah, fiddlesticks – she made some great casserole, that you recreated beautifully, so let's just be grateful! And the "single food" experience totally sounds like a taste meditation – I think I did one of those in my advanced meditation class – soooooo awesome! An avocado sounds like the perfect choice for this exercise! Please try not to have the doldrums; know we are missing you and that a little package is making its way to you as we "speak"! I'll send extra love, though, if it helps! Thank you for yet another mouthwatering post!
Cabbage that tastes like bacon? Maybe I will be brave enough to try it. I cannot abide boiled cabbage. it just stinks. But if roasting it makes it taste like bacon, well, that's something else.