Piedmontese Peppers

The price of peppers at Sprouts lately has been great. Bell peppers of all colors have been far less than you generally pay for them elsewhere. On one visit I even found red bell peppers for the low price of three for $1.

So, what do you do with colorful beauties? Mince them into a confetti that you can toss in salads or fritattas. Or soften them in a touch of oil or butter and then use them as a garnish on seafood or chicken.

I also discovered this savory recipe in “At Elizabeth David’s Table: Classic Recipes and Timeless Kitchen Wisdom” (Ecco, $37.50). Piedmontese Peppers can be either a side dish or an appetizer, and you can make them in the quantity you wish. You can also play around with the fillings and modify them to your tastes.

The recipe calls for anchovies; but if you wanted to make this strictly vegetarian, use capers instead. You could add a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese on top or incorporate some tiny bits of prosciutto or salami. Or you could up the heat with a slight bit of minced serrano pepper.

The main point is to have a good balance of acid from the tomatoes, the sweet crunch of the peppers, the saltiness of the anchovy (and the umami feeling that capers don’t provide), the burn of the garlic and the freshness of the parsley on top.

For those who don’t know her, Elizabeth David is considered by many to have been one of the best food writers in the business. As Ruth Reichl writes in the introduction to this handsome book, “To Elizabeth David cooking was an affirmation of everything good about being alive.” One bite of Piedmontese Peppers should convince you of that.

Piedmontese Peppers

Bell peppers
Garlic cloves, sliced thin
Tomato, cut into chunks
Anchovy fillets
Butter
Extra-virgin olive oil
Salt, to taste
Flat leaf parsley, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut your peppers in half lengthwise. Take out all the seeds and wash the peppers. (You can leave the stems on if you choose.) If the peppers are large, cut each in half again. Into each piece, put 2 or 3 slices of garlic, 2 small sections of tomato, about half a fillet of anchovy cut into pieces, a small nut of butter, up to 1 teaspoon olive oil and a very little salt, to taste. Arrange these peppers on a flat baking dish and bake for about 30 minutes. They are not to be completely cooked; they should in fact be al dente, the stuffing inside deliciously oily and garlicky.

Serve them cold, each garnished with a little parsley.

Allow 1/2 or 1 pepper per person.

From “At Elizabeth David’s Table” by Elizabeth David

Pork Chops with Sauerkraut

Who doesn’t love a good casserole? Layers of noodles or potatoes alternating with meat and a creamy soup holding the two together, all under a thick, gooey, crusty layer of cheese on top. I can remember my mom making them all bubbly and hot under that protective layer of Cheddar.

Texas is famous for King Ranch Casserole, with corn tortillas mixed with chicken, Ro-Tel, onion and soup blended together as well as plenty of enchilada-based casseroles with cheese melting everything into a unified whole.

The average homemaker loves the ease of assembling a casserole, and you’ll still find more than a few dotting church potlucks and parties.

But there are some who refuse to leave well enough alone, meaning casseroles are constantly getting transformed by those who refuse to use a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup because of the added sodium and other questionable ingredients. They prefer to make their own from scratch.

That’s the basis of two new cookbooks, “The Casserole Queens Cookbook” (Clarkson Potter, $17.99) by two Austinites, Crystal Cook and Sandy Pollock, and “Not Your Mother’s Casseroles” (The Harvard Common Press, $16.95) by Faith Durand.

Both give casseroles a bit of a facelift, offering such one-dish wonders as Turkey Enchiladas with Spinach and Cheese, Tender Turkey with Sausage and Mushrooms, and Lobster Boy Casserole. You can make your own soups, noodles or what you need for these recipes or you can used already-prepared versions.

The breakfast casseroles, including Whole-Grain Almond-Apricot Bread Pudding and Bacon and Lentils with Egg, sound particularly good, especially for a holiday meal or a brunch.

And both sets of authors offer tips on preparing, keeping the pantry stocked and doing things ahead of time.

“Some casseroles can be prepared and then frozen before baking,” Durand writes. “The more moisture a casserole has, the better it will freeze. The rule of thumb says to avoid freezing potatoes, rice and pasta, although I have frozen and then baked some pasta dishes (especially lasagna) with particular success. Other things to avoid freezing are milk, tofu and all-vegetable dishes. The best casseroles to freeze are stews and meat dishes, as well as some fruit desserts. To bake, thaw an unbaked casserole in the refrigerator overnight, let it come to room temperature, then bake as directed in the oven.”

Layer sauerkraut, bacon, tomatoes and more with pork chops in this casserole.

Trouble is, casseroles are not diabetic friendly. All those noodles, potatoes, bread crumbs, flour-thickened sauces, corn and rice are all worse than sugar to my system, so I have to avoid them or get creative. That’s why I won’t be using either book as extensively as I would like. (World’s Greatest Chicken Pot Pie, which Cook and Pollock made on an episode of “Throwdown with Bobby Flay,” sounds incredible and I may just have to give in to temptation.)

But I did find the following recipe in “The Casserole Queens Cookbook,” which I modified by using apples instead of potatoes. And for the first time, I made my own sauerkraut, which was easier than I thought — and incredibly delicious.

Pork Chops with Sauerkraut

Cooking spray
10 slices bacon
2 (14-ounce) cans sauerkraut or homemade (recipe follows)
6 (1/2-inch thick) pork chops
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 russet potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
2 medium onions, sliced
1 (14 3/4-ounce) can stewed tomatoes

Bake this casserole so the various layers of flavor blend together.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-by-13-inch casserole dish with cooking spray.

Line the bottom of the casserole dish with bacon. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper, then lay them on top. Later the potato and onion slices over the pork, then scatter the tomatoes over the top. Bake the casserole for 2 hours or until the potatoes are tender.

Makes 6 servings.

From “The Casserole Queens Cookbook” by Crystal Cook and Sandy Pollock

Sauerkraut

1 head cabbage, shredded
4 to 6 teaspoons pickling salt (non-iodized)

Pack the cabbage into 4-6 sterilized quart jars. Add 1 teaspoon of pickling salt to each jar and cover with water. Place the lid and bands on the jars and close as tightly as you can by hand. you might want to place your jars on a baking sheet or in a shallow dish, because during the fermenting process the lids will loosen and juice will run down the sides of the jars. this is why you don’t seal them completely airtight as you do when you are canning. Store in a dry dark place to ferment for 3 weeks. If you do not have a basement, use a pantry or cover them with a towel.

Makes 4-6 quarts.

From “The Casserole Queens Cookbook” by Crystal Cook and Sandy Pollock

Kohlrabi means "cabbage turnip" and its flavor is a mild version of both.

Kohlrabi is in season, and it’s plentiful at farmers markets these days. If you haven’t tried one before, just peel it, cut it up and take a bite.

“People always ask me what to do with kohlrabi,” says Yotam Ottolenghi in the new cookbook, “Plenty: Vibrant Vegetable Recipes from London’s Ottolenghi.” (Chornicle Books, $35). “It seems too healthful, too weird, too German! In actual fact, this is a wonderful vegetable. When mixed with root vegetables you can use it in gratins, you can shallow-fry it in olive oil and serve with garlic and chives, and you can add it to an Asian stir-fry. But in this salad, I think I have found the absolute best use for a kohlrabi. It is wonderfully fresh-tasting, with a good lemony kick and some sharp sweetness. … Serve the salad alongside rich main courses.”

You might find both green and purple kohlrabi at the market. The color doesn’t matter, because it’s just the peeling.

Cabbage and Kohlrabi Salad

1 medium or 1/2 large kohlrabi
1/2 white cabbage
Large bunch of dill, roughly chopped (6 heaped tablespoons)
1 cup dried whole sour cherries
Grated zest of 1 lemon
6 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
2 cups alfalfa sprouts

Peel the kohlrabi and cut into thick matchsticks that are about 1/4 inch wide and 2 inches long. Cut the cabbage into 1/4-inch-thick strips.

Put all the ingredients, apart from the alfalfa sprouts, in a large mixing bowl. Use your hands to massage everything together for about a minute so the flavors mix and the lemon can soften the cabbage and cherries. Let the salad sit for about 10 minutes.

Add most of the alfalfa sprouts and mix well again with your hands. Taste and adjust the seasoning; you need a fair amount of salt to counteract the lemon.

Use your hands again to lift the salad out of the mixing bowl and into a serving bowl, leaving most of the juices behind. Garnish with the remaining sprouts and serve at once.

Makes 4 servings.

From “Plenty: Vibrant Vegetable Recipes from London’s Ottolenghi” by Yotam Ottolenghi

The best way to get kids to learn to eat properly is to set a good example.

That’s the point registered dietitians Joanne Saab and Daina Kalnins make in the second edition of “Better Food for Kids: Your Essential Guide to Nutrition for All Children from Age 2 to 10″ (Robert Rose, $24.95).

To bolster their argument, the authors, who are associated with the Hospital for Sick Children, offer 10 basic recommendations that apply not just to kids, but to adults as well. Here are four examples:

• “Whenever possible, serve your children homemade rather than prepared or convenience foods. …
• “Limit your child’s intake of juice. For quenching thirst, water should be the main beverage of choice.
• “Don’t rely on vitamin supplements as a substitute for a healthy, balanced diet.
• “Enjoy an active lifestyle together as a family. Exercise, along with healthy foods, can help decrease the incidence of obesity in children — and adults!”

But feeding a 4-year-old is not the same as feeding an 8-year-old, and the authors go into the needs of children in three age groups (2-4, 4-6 and 6-10). Other topics include vegetarian diets, childhood obesity and food allergies.

This won’t be easy for a lot of parents who are strapped for time, but the effort is worth it, especially if you want healthy children and you want to maintain your own health. So, Saab and Kalnins offer tips on how to incorporate more homemade meals into your routine and better snacks for your kids — fruit, celery, carrots and cauliflower instead of cookies, snack cakes and chips. They also stress the importance of including your kids in the process, especially if it’s to farmers markets or the farm for pick-your-own fruits. That way, they learn more about nutrition and understand that food comes from some place other than the supermarket.

The great benefit from this is that the more meals you make from scratch, the easier the whole process of cooking becomes. Soon, you’ll be able to get rid of many, if not all, of the processed foods from your diet.

There are plenty of recipes in the book to get you started. In case you think these are all boring dishes only a nutritionist or dietitian would eat, just remember: There are plenty of options for those with a sweet tooth, including recipes for Chocolate Chip Pizza Cookie and Raspberry Granola Bars. There are also plenty of breakfast choices, such as the easy Eggs Baked in Cheese (below), so you send your children to school with a solid start on the day.

“The recipes in ‘Better Food for Kids’ are actually not just for kids, but are intended to be enjoyed by the entire family,” they write. “We have made every effort to ensure that most of the recipes are quick and easy to prepare.

Eggs Baked in Cheese

Eggs Baked in Cheese

2/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
4 eggs
1/2 cup whole milk or light (5 percent) cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of paprika
Finely chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sprinkle cheese over bottom of greased 8-inch baking pan.Break eggs over cheese.

Eggs cracked on top of cheese.

In a bowl, whisk together milk, salt and pepper. Pour over eggs. Sprinkle lightly with paprika.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until eggs are just set. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired.

Nutritional analysis per serving: 158 calories, 11 g protein, 2 g carbohydrate, 12 g fat, 0 fiber, 194 mg calcium, 1 mg iron, 336 mg sodium.

Makes 4 servings.

From “Better Food for Kids: Second Edition,” by Joanne Saab and Daina Kalnins

Here’s a treat that mixes Korean, Mexican and gluten-free into one tasty treat.

“If you live on the West Coast, you’ve probably noticed the explosion of Korean taco trucks, one Asian fusion trend I’m happy to enjoy,” writes Laura B. Russell in her new cookbook, “The Gluten-Free Asian Kitchen” (Celestial Arts, $22.99). “Sweet or spicy Korean meats wrapped in warm corn tortillas, topped with a touch of something crisp makes a brilliant combination and darned fine snack! Look for very small (5-inch diameter) corn tortillas, larger ones will mask the flavor the chicken. Don’t skip the lime wedges for serving; a little squeeze of lime juice adds acidity and mixes with the kimchi to form a sauce.”

If you live in San Antonio and have tried the Korean food from the Seoul Grill truck, you know exactly what she means.

Korean-Style Chicken Tacos

4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
3 tablespoons mirin
3 tablespoons Korean chili powder or substitute 2 1/2 teaspoons paprika mixed with 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Small corn tortillas (about 5 inches diameter), for serving
1/2 English cucumber, cut into matchsticks
1 cup bean sprouts
1/2 cup chopped kimchi
Lime wedges, for serving

In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, ginger, mirin, chili powder, sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil and black pepper. put the chicken in a glass baking dish or a gallon-size resealable bag and add the marinade. Marinate the chicken for up to 1 hour at room temperature, or refrigerate for up to 24 hours. More time equals more flavor.

Preheat the grill to medium. (Keep the heat medium or the sugar in the marinade will burn.) Oil the grill racks. Remove the chicken from the marinade, wiping off any excess. Grill the chicken until cooked through, about 8 minutes per side. remove the chicken from the grill and cut it into bite-size pieces.

Wrap the tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave until hot, about 40 seconds. Alternatively, wrap them in aluminum foil and heat them in a 350-degree oven. For an entrée, spoon about 1/4 cup of the chicken onto each tortilla. Top the chiekn with some cucumber strips, bean sprouts and kimchi. Squeeze a little lime juice over the top. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 entrée servings or 6 appetizer servings.

From “The Gluten-Free Asian Kitchen” by Laura B. Russell

You can used canned white beans in this recipe, but dried taste better.

Everyone likes an easy appetizer during the holidays. This White Bean Bruschetta can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for a day or two until needed. Bring to room temperature before topping the toast rounds.

“If you really want to make this dish in no time, pop open a can,” James Peterson writes in his new cookbook, “Kitchen Simple” (Ten Speed Press, $30). “Otherwise you can cook dried beans, which means this is no longer a quick dish. But if you have the time (about 2 hours), there’s really very little work involved and the beans will have a nicer flavor and texture.

“Dried beans are usually soaked overnight, but this isn’t necessary; it just cuts the cooking time by about 30 minutes. When cooking beans, don’t add the salt at the beginning as this can make them touch. on the other hand, if you add it at the very end, it won’t get absorbed into the beans. So a good compromise is to add it halfway through the cooking. you can serve the beans hot, as a simple salad, or as suggested here, atop little toasts.”

White Bean Bruschetta

1 cup dried beans, such as navy, cannellini, borlotti or other white bean
Water
2 cloves garlic, peeled but left whole
10 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 bunch parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Pepper
12 slices baguette, cut on an angle

Put the beans in a pot with enough water to cover by about 3 inches. Add the garlic. Tie together the thyme, bay leaf and parsley with a loose string and submerge the bundle in the beans. Simmer until a test bean is soft to the tooth, about an hour or two. Thirty minutes into the cooking, add the salt and add water as necessary if the beans begin to dry out. The goal is to have all the water evaporate at the instant the beans are done.

Transfer the beans to a mixing bowl and mix in the oil. Season to taste with pepper and let cool. Add more salt if necessary. Toast the bread on both sides under the broiler. Spoon the beans onto the toasts and serve.

Makes 12 hors d’oeuvres.

From “Kitchen Simple” by James Peterson

Asian pear adds to this Water Kimchi.

Have you ever wanted to make your own the Korean condiment kimchi at home but didn’t want to dig a hold in the ground in order to let it ferment properly?

The Korean-born Marja Vongerichten has a whole cookbook of ideas called “The Kimchi Chronicles” (Rodale, $32.50) that is just right for you. The volume is a companion to her PBS series.

In the following example, there is no heat. As the author, who is married to celebrity chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, writes, “There are so many different kinds of kimchi, even one known as ‘bachelor kimchi” that uses small radishes with their green tops still attached, said to resemble to ponytails once typical of Korean bachelors. One of my favorite types is dongchimi, also known as water kimchi, a clean-tasting, refreshing kimchi made without any red pepper.”

Water Kimchi

1 head napa cabbage, cut lengthwise into 1-inch-wide strips
1/3 large white radish (moo or daikon), sliced into thin 1-inch-wide, 2-inch long rectangles (about 1 1/3 cups)
6 tablespoons coarse salt, divided use
1 Korean pear or Asian pear, peeled and sliced into thin half-moons
6 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
6 scallions, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons sugar

Combine the cabbage and radish with 2 tablespoons of the salt in a large bowl and toss to coat. Let the mixture stand for 20 minutes. Add the pear, garlic and scallions, and stir to combine. Pack the vegetables into 4 glass quart jars or a gallon plastic container. Meanwhile, dissolve the sugar and the remaining 4 tablespoons salt in 8 cups cold water and pour over the kimchi. Cover the kimchi and let set at room temperature for 2 to 4 days depending on how fermented you like it. After this initial fermentation, store in the tightly covered kimchi for up to a month in the refrigerator where it will continue to ferment and improve in flavor.

Makes 4 quarts.

From “The Kimchi Chronicles” by Marja Vongerichten

At several of the farmers markets in the area, you can find beautiful mushrooms that would be perfect with a nice juicy steak. Here’s a classic French way to prepare those beauties. The recipe comes from Richard Grausman’s new “French Classics Made Easy” (Workman Publishing, $16.95).

Champignons à la Crème, as they are also known, also make “an excellent first course served simply on a piece of toast (or) puff pastry,” Grausman writes.

Mushrooms in Cream Sauce

1 tablespoon butter
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 pound white or cremini mushrooms, washed, dried and sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 to 2 teaaspoons dry sherry or Madeira, to taste (optional)
Toast, for serving

In a medium-size saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the shallot and sauté for about 2 minutes without browning.

Add the mushrooms, sprinkle with the salt and pepper, and cover tightly with a lid. Reduce the heat to medium-low and steam the msuhrooms slowly in their own moisture for about 10 minutes.

Remove the mushrooms with a skimmer or slotted spoon and set aside. Reduce the cooking liquid over high heat until only 3 tablespoons remain, about 3 minutes.

Add the cream and boil, uncovered until the sauce thickens slightly. Return the mushrooms to the sauce. (The mushrooms can be made in advance up to this point. Cover the surface with plstic wrap and refrigerate.)

To serve: First bring to a boil, then taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Add the sherry or Madeira (if using) and spoon over warm toast.

Makes 6 servings.

From “French Classics Made Easy” by Richard Grausman

With the temperatures dropping even slightly, it’s time to think of slow-cooker meals cooking all day while you tend to other things. This sensational recipe comes from Kitchen Diva Angela Shelf Medearis of Austin, who includes it in her “The Kitchen Diva Cooks” (Lake Isle Press, $16.95).

The kick comes from chorizo, which, she says, “adds a fantastic flavor to the tomato sauce that blankets this chicken while it cooks.”

It also uses less-expensive thigh meat, which is the most flavorful part of the chicken.

Portuguese-Style Slow-Cooker Chicken

1/2 pound chorizo sausage, chopped
2 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 to 3 1/2 pounds chicken thighs, wings and drumsticks
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 (3-pound) jar prepared red pasta sauce
1 (14-ounce) can whole tomatoes, chopped
1 (14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (4-ounce) can sliced black olives, drained

Combine chorizo, onions, garlic, chicken, oreganoc, pepper, pasta sauce and tomatoes in a 4-quart slow-cooker; mix well. Cover and cook on low for 7 to 9 hours, until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Stir in artichoke hearts and olives and cook on low for 10 to 15 minutes longer. Serve over hot cooked rice or couscous.

Note: Alternately, you can bake this chicken in a 350-degree oven for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours. Add the olives and artichokes during thhe last 15 minutes of cooking time.

Makes 6 servings.

From “The Kitchen Diva Cooks!” by Angela Shelf Medearis

Use this dressing recipe on lettuce, tomatoes, asparagus or more.

In Eva Longoria’s cookbook, “Eva’s Kitchen” (Clarkson Potter, $29.99), the actress offers up a San Antonio favorite, this dressing from Grey Moss Inn, 19010 Scenic Loop Road.

“I am lucky to live near the Grey Moss Inn, one of the most beautiful restaurants in San Antonio, which also has the most amazing wine list in the area,” she wrote, probably before her life took a few turns that we won’t go into a food site. “I love to eat there whenever I can, and this dressing is one of the reasons. After tasting it the first time, I once again found myself in a restaurant kitchen asking for the recipe. The chef graciously agreed. Try it with tender romaine hearts or spoon over asparagus, tomatoes or steamed green beans.

Grey Moss Inn White French Dressing

1 large white onion, peeled and quartered
6 small garlic cloves
1/4 cup[ mayonnaise
Juice from 2 limes (about 1/4 cup juice)
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

In the work bowl of a food processor, place the onion and garlic. Process until puréed, scraping down the sides of the work bowl once or twice. Transfer to a medium mixing bowl and add the mayonnaise, lime juice, vinegar, salt and pepper. Whisk together until thoroughly blended.

Use at once or store in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Makes about 1 3/4 cups.

From “Eva’s Kitchen” by Eva Longoria with Marah Stets