Makes 16 cups.
Make frosting in 2 batches: For first batch, beat 6 packages cream cheese in a standing electric mixer until smooth and add 3 sticks butter and 1 box confectioners sugar. Beat on low speed until sugar is incorporated, then beat on medium speed 1 minute. Repeat with remaining ingredients and combine batches.
Cooks’ note:• Frosting may be made 3 days ahead and chilled, covered. You can ice cake with chilled frosting.
Cabrales is Spain’s famous blue cheese. Its creamy texture and assertive flavor make this dish irresistible. And there’s no fear of falling here: These soufflés can be made two hours ahead and rewarmed before serving.
Makes 6.
INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter six 3/4-cup soufflé dishes or custard cups. Dust with flour; shake out excess. Place dishes in roasting pan. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/4 cup flour; whisk 1 minute. Gradually add milk and whisk until mixture is thick and smooth, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add cheese and whisk until melted and smooth. Whisk in egg yolks, pepper, and kosher salt. Cool soufflé base 15 minutes.
Using electric mixer, beat egg whites in medium bowl until stiff but not dry. Fold whites into soufflé base in 2 additions (mixture will be runny). Divide soufflé among prepared dishes. Pour enough hot water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of dishes. Bake until soufflés are slightly puffed and golden on top, about 35 minutes (soufflés may not rise above rim of dishes). (Can be prepared 2 hours ahead. Remove soufflés from water bath; let stand at room temperature. Place soufflé dishes on baking sheet and rewarm in 350°F oven 10 minutes.)
Divide Endive and Asian Pear Salad among 6 plates. Place 1 soufflé dish alongside salad on each plate and serve.
While in Costa Rica, Boston chef Steve Johnson was inspired to make fish cakes from leftover red snapper and boiled yuca. The combination takes clever advantage of the vegetable’s starchy character, which binds the cakes together while allowing the flavor of the snapper to come through cleanly. We prefer to use frozen yuca, which has a better consistency and is easier to prepare.
Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 2 hr
Makes 6 servings.
INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS Make cakes:
Simmer yuca in boiling salted water until fork-tender, 30 to 35 minutes. Drain yuca and transfer to a large bowl, then cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
While yuca is cooling, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté onion with cumin and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, stirring occasionally, until beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle salt and remaining 1/4 teaspoon cayenne over fish and add to onion in skillet, then sauté, turning fish over once, until just cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer fish with onion to a plate and cool to room temperature.
Remove thin, fibrous core from yuca if necessary, then coarsely mash yuca with a wooden spoon. Flake fish and add to yuca along with onion and herbs, tossing to combine (mixture will be coarse). Form into 12 (2 1/2-inch) cakes (1 inch thick) and transfer to a wax-paper-lined tray. Cover cakes with plastic wrap and chill 30 minutes.
Make mojo while cakes chill:
Cook garlic in oil in a small skillet over low heat, stirring, until just softened, about 3 minutes. Transfer garlic with oil to a small bowl and stir in remaining mojo ingredients. Chill mojo, covered, until serving.
Sauté cakes:
Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil over moderately high heat in a 12-inch heavy skillet (preferably nonstick) until hot but not smoking, then sauté half of cakes, turning over once, until browned and heated through, about 8 minutes total. Sauté remaining cakes in remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil. Serve with mojo and lime wedges.
Cooks’ notes:
• Formed cakes (not sautéed) and mojo can be chilled up to 1 day.
• Formed cakes (not sautéed) can be frozen, wrapped well, 2 weeks. Thaw in refrigerator before cooking.
*Available at Latino markets and some supermarkets.
Makes 4 cups.
Stir together all ingredients until sugar is dissolved.
Cooks’ note:• You can make syrup up to 1 week ahead and chill it in an airtight container.
Mary deMuth of Rowlett, Texas, writes: “Because my husband is in a graduate program, we’ve been able to meet people from all over the world. It has been a great experience for our three children — and a chance for me to add to my recipe collection. We frequently have other students over for dinner, so I’m always learning new dishes.
Next year our family will be moving to southern France, and we’re very excited about the food we’ll have there. We hope to make many new friends who will share their Provençal specialties. “
This side dish is a perfect contribution to any potluck picnic. Toss in a can of drained tuna for a more substantial salad.
Makes 12 servings.
INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS Whisk olive oil, tomato paste, vinegar, and garlic in small bowl to blend. Season dressing with salt and pepper.
Combine tomatoes, fennel, basil, onions, olives, and capers in large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Let tomato mixture stand at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours, tossing occasionally.
Cook penne in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain pasta; rinse with cold water and drain again. Transfer pasta to large bowl. Pour dressing over and toss to coat. Add tomato mixture and toss to blend.
Serves 50.
Make dressing:
Drain yogurt in a large sieve lined with double thickness of cheesecloth, chilled, at least 8 hours. Stir drained yogurt with garlic, mint, and salt to taste.
Make salad:Preheat oven to 425°F.
Wrap beets in foil and roast in middle of oven 1 1/4 hours, or until tender when pierced with a knife. Cool beets. Peel beets and jícamas and cut into 1/4-inch dice. Toss with sugar, zest, orange juice, vinegar, oil, fennel, and salt to taste.
Stir lemon juice into a large bowl of cold water. Cut ends from endives and separate into leaves. Soak in lemon water 10 minutes to keep endive from discoloring. Drain and spin dry.
Spread some dressing on each leaf and spoon beet salad over it.
Cooks’ notes:
• You can make dressing 2 days ahead and chill it, covered.• Beets may be roasted, and beetsand jícama diced, 1 day ahead. Butkeep separate, chilled, in sealable plastic bags.
To clean leeks, trim off 3 inches of the green and then slice them in half lengthwise. Run under cold water to remove sand, then continue with the recipe.
Makes 10 to 12 servings.
INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS 1. Lay 6 pepper halves, cut-side down, on a baking sheet; broil until well charred, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plastic bag; seal for 10 minutes. Slip off and discard the skins. Coarsely chop the roasted peppers, then set aside.
2. Melt the butter in a soup pot. Add the onions, leeks, salt, and pepper; sauté over low heat about 10 to 15 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
3. Coarsely chop the remaining 6 pepper halves; add to the pot with the potatoes, reserved roasted peppers and 5 cups broth. Simmer, uncovered, until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Cool to room temperature.
4. Puree in a food processor, adding a bit more broth if it’s too thick. Refrigerate to chill. Serve in tiny cups, garnished with the chives.
Carne Adovada
At Maria’s New Mexican Kitchen, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, this stew is used to fill enchiladas and burritos, but it also makes a very satisfying meal served alone or over rice.
Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr
Makes 6 main-course servings.
INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 375°F.
Roast pork in a 2 1/2- to 3-quart shallow baking dish, uncovered, in middle of oven, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes.
While pork is roasting, soak chiles in a bowl in just enough boiling-hot water to cover until softened, about 20 minutes. Drain chiles, discarding soaking water and stems.
Purée chiles, garlic cloves, garlic powder, 3 cups water, and salt in a blender until smooth. Stir sauce into pork and bake, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until pork is tender, about 45 minutes.
Cooks’ note:
• Carne adovada can be made 2 days ahead and cooled, uncovered, then chilled, covered.
Terms like large and jumbo can vary among fishmongers. In this recipe we used what are known universally as “U 16/20s” (16 to 20 of them make a pound). We asked
our fishmonger to shell and devein the shrimp for us. It cost a little more but saved lots of time.
The dried Aleppo chile flakes we call for in this recipe are from the Aleppo province of northern Syria. Their earthy, robust flavor—with more richness than heat—is famous throughout the Middle East.
Serves 50.
Remove zest from lemons with a vegetable peeler and remove any white pith from zest strips with a sharp knife. Squeeze 1 1/2 cups lemon juice. Finely grind coriander seeds in an electric coffee/spice grinder. Whisk togetherzest, juice, coriander, vinegar, oil, water, sugar, chile flakes, and 6 tablespoons kosher salt in a large bowl until sugar and salt are dissolved.
Bring an 8-qt. pot of water to a boil with pickling spices and remaining 2 tablespoons salt and cook shrimp, 2 lb. at a time, 1 1/2 minutes, or until just cooked through. Return water to a boil between batches. Transfer cooked shrimpwith a slotted spoon to a colander to drain and add warm shrimp to marinade, tossing to coat.
Cool shrimp slightly and divide among about 8 large sealable plastic bags with marinade. Stack bags in a large roasting pan, keeping shrimp in single layers. Marinate, chilled, turning bags occasionally, at least 8 hours.
Drain shrimp before serving.
Cooks’ note:• You can marinate the shrimp up to 3 days.
To make 6 servings:
Follow the directions above using the following ingredient amounts:
1 large lemon
1 1/2 teaspoons coriander seeds
3 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dried Aleppo or New Mexican chile flakes or 1 tablespoon dried hot red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon plus 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons pickling spices
1 lb. large (U 16/20) shrimp, shelled and deveined
Briefly cooking the spices brings out their oils and enhances the flavor. Before pureeing the soup, be sure the carrots are tender. Once the orange juice has been added, reheat the soup over very low heat.
Makes 8 servings.
INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS
1. Melt the butter with the oil in a large saucepan over low heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until wilted, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with ginger and mace; cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
2. Add the carrots, broth, and orange zest. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly.
3. Puree in batches in a food processor. Return to the pot; stir in orange juice, salt, and pepper. Heat over low heat. Garnish with chives.
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