Cavatappi and Chard

This has been a pasta week. We started it off with pumpkin ravioli in a caramelized shallot and butter sauce, followed by this fabulous dish, and ended with the eggplant pasta mentioned earlier. All three dishes were so completely different that the repetition of pasta was inconsequential. Swiss Chard is in season and I love it in this dish. I am including a link to the original recipe but this is how I make this dish. Don't be put off by the raisins - they make this dish. A few words of advice: I use about half stems and half leaves. I'll post another recipe that will use up the remaining leaves. Six cups of stems is just way too much, and I like the color contrast that the leaves provide. You can use any kind of Swiss Chard - rainbow, green, or red, but do realize that if you use the rainbow or red you will end up with a pink sauce. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I've found that the green chard just looks better. The recipe calls for golden raisins, but they are not naturally golden. Use what you feel comfortable with, but I did find a golden raisin called Himalayan Monukka raisins which are delicious but contain seeds. I ended up halving and seeding all of the raisins. This dish tastes fantastic.


1/4 c pine nuts (I don't toast pine nuts, you can, I just don't want to go to the effort for this dish)
2 Tbs olive oil
3 large shallots, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs apple cider vinegar
1 tsp ground cumin
6 c swiss chard stems and leaves cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 can evaporated milk, not reduced fat
1/2 c golden raisins
16 oz cavatappi pasta (or any pasta with ridges that will hold the sauce)
***the last time I made this dish I was out of broth and hard cheese, so I omitted both and simply increased the evaporated milk. You can use cream as well, but I always have evaporated milk on hand.


Heat oil in a large skilled over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until golden brown, about 5minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Remove from heat and add the vinegar and cumin. Let vinegar evaporate 20 seconds, then return skillet to heat. Add 1/3 c water and bring to a simmer. Stir in chard stems and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer for 12 minutes or until tender. Stir in chard leaves, milk, and raisins and simmer 10 more minutes. Cook pasta according to directions, drain, and add to chard mixture. Transfer to a serving bowl and top with pine nuts. Enjoy!

Challah

Oh Kathy, I do not understand why it has taken me so long to post this recipe. I found a great bread book at the library several months ago titled Secrets of Jewish Baker. I've only tried this challah recipe, but it is good enough to convince me that I cannot live without this book. Challah makes the best toast, and the best french toast. The only tricky part is the braiding, but it is forgiving and you can braid and unbraid several times until you get it right. I prefer to not use seeds on the top, but I am sure it would be lovely either way. Make this bread and prepare to become addicted. Toasting it is the key!

Wow.

You must make this pasta dish because it will blow your mind. It is an excellent introduction to eggplant. My only changes include using crushed tomatoes (28 oz can) and peeling the eggplant. Make sure you use only fresh eggplant - one that is firm, heavy for its size, shiny, and wrinkle free. Trust me, make this dish. You will be amazed.

Chelsea's Birthday Cake

Our friend Chelsea turned the big 22 last month and I had the pleasure of making her birthday cake. My Dad & I watched Julia Child make this cake on PBS over 10 years ago and I was thrilled to finally have a reason to make it. Chelsea's husband Jordan asked that we use huckleberries instead of raspberries, and it was delicious. It is a labor intensive recipe, but worth the effort.