Characteristic: stale bread

A bunch of leftover-sliced baguette, a bit of ricotta and a bowl of quince turned into this magic yesterday. This is a cook-with-what-you-have Ofenschlupfer, a German variation of bread pudding that I grew up eating in the fall made with apples. But quince! Quince, with all its tart, fragrant, wonder takes this to another level.   I tossed this together without referencing any Ofenschlupfer recipes but the basic combination of egg, milk, sugar, spices, bread, and fruit is pretty forgiving. But do be on the look-out for quince!  ... Read more »

In the spring farmers markets and CSA shares in the Pacific Northwest feature lots of alliums like green or new garlic, garlic scapes, spring onions, and leeks. You can mix and match the garlic and onion and ratios thereof based on what you have. It's very forgiving. The combination of these alliums, gently cooked with some thyme and/or sage and then layered with stale bread, broth and a bit of cheese is amazing. You can add a few handfuls of leafy greens if you have them. This is very similar to this kale panade and this chard and onion panade. ... Read more »

This is the most delicious, beautiful fall dish. It takes almost 2 hours to bake so maybe a weekend dinner treat or a Thanksgiving centerpiece for those not eating turkey. But it’s so easy and so adaptable that you should add it to your regular repertoire. It’s wonderful with cooked rice instead of bread, additions of cooked spinach or chard, cooked sausage . . . ... Read more »

In late summer I often roast and process peppers of various kinds together with a few tomatillos into a flavorful sauce. I thinned out this sauce to make a dressing for this template of a salad. Feel free to use a typical vinaigrette instead and feel free to change up the beans, vegetables, to suit your needs. You could by all means add bacon too!... Read more »

This is a typical lunch for me. I bake whole grain sourdough breads weekly and often toast a slice to dice and toss with whatever vegetables and herbs I have on hand. I like sandwiches but you can be even more creative and cook-with-what-you-have like by tossing them with other bits and pieces. Use this as a template for what you have/like and scale up or down as needed.   Variations Collard raab, blanched and chopped, or 2 cups arugula or other lettuce can easily take place of the kale, in this recipe. Great herbs to include in this salad are parsley, cilantro, dill, basil, and/or mint. Sunflower, pumpkin, or toasted amaranth seeds and/or any chopped and toasted nut, such as walnuts, pine nuts, or almonds. ... Read more »

You can assemble this in minutes as there's no cooking ingredients separately. It takes about 30 minutes to bake, can be assembled in the morning, then popped in the oven when you walk in the door in the evening. It depends on fresh herbs for its fragrance and flavor. This is a great way to use up old bread.... Read more »

My (German) childhood in a salad bowl, if you will: apples, cabbage, bread, cheese, caraway! It's a fabulous combination. Substitute any cabbage you have for the red cabbage. It will still be delicious just not as bright!... Read more »

–adapted from smittenkitchen.com   You can vary the quantities and ratios here with no problem. More tomatoes will make it a little moister and might take a little longer to cook and more bread will make it denser and more crisp. I use less cheese than the original and love it that way. You can vary the herbs and increase the quantity if you’d like. ... Read more »

I made this sauce, which is not unlike others I make (salsa verde etc.), based on a one-line suggestion on a Facebook thread by my friend Charlene Murdock of Nana Cardoon. It's as variable as you need it to be. .. use whatever herbs and oils and vinegars you have. I particularly like this combination but continue to vary it depending on what I have. Use it with fish or meat, roasted vegetables, over grains or eggs or any way you see fit. ... Read more »

  I was inspired by the famous Zuni Café roast chicken to create a riff on the bread salad served with the chicken. So if you feel like roasting a chicken this would be a lovely accompaniment. My ratio of bread to greens is the opposite of the Zuni one but feel free to invert it.  ... Read more »

[caption id="attachment_13993" align="aligncenter" width="660"] I happened to use Green Zebra tomatoes for the above version, not unripe tomatoes, but just a varietal that is green when ripe.[/caption] This quick salad is what I make all summer long when tomatoes (and cucumbers and leafy herbs) are at their peak.  This is not panzanella, at least not in the typical Tuscan sense, though it may look a bit like it. This is panzanella, the wonderful, soggy, yes soggy, Tuscan dish I enjoyed day after day in Italy and also make frequently in late summer.   This is a wonderful template for most any late summer produce and is very open to substitutions.  ... Read more »

This is the classic Tuscan bread salad made at the height of tomato season. Tuscan bread goes stale very quickly so there are lots of recipes to use it up in flavorful ways. The success of the dish depends on using really flavorful, ripe tomatoes and a good olive oil. And you can use fresher bread if you don’t have stale—see directions below.   Panzanella in the United States often employs toasted chunks of bread more like croutons, tossed with tomatoes, etc. Give this version a try. The texture is completely different and so delicious.... Read more »

There are so many versions of this incredibly flavorful sauce. It’s delicious with many things and often served with roasted potatoes or with fish. The best version I've ever had was at Navarre restaurant in Portland. The chef and proprietor John Taboada kindly wrote out his version on the back of a menu. I have adapted this recipe a bit over the years. This sauce is quite forgiving. The important thing is that it has a good bite from vinegar, the texture from the grilled bread and the sweetness of the slowly fried garlic and ground almonds. Many combinations of peppers will work. The sauce will be thinner if you use a fresh tomato and you can thin it out with a little more olive oil if you want a saucier consistency.... Read more »

This is wonderful winter comfort food made with the simplest of ingredients. It’s also a good way to use up stale bread, but fresh can be used as well. Just make sure it’s a hearty rustic loaf with a good crumb and crust. Here is a slightly fancier version made with Chard.  ... Read more »

  I enjoyed collards prepared like this in Louisville, Kentucky and came home and recreated them to the best of my ability.   ... Read more »

--Inspired by the Zuni Café Cookbook by Judy Rodgers   I love panades: stale bread and stewed onions slowly baked with stock and other vegetables and this winter squash version and this one with kale are also fantastic. This one takes quite a while to bake so might be a better weekend dish or prep it in the morning and put in the oven the minute you get home. You can use a combination of shallots and leeks rather than onions if that's what you have and you can use other greens--dinosaur kale is particularly good as well.   Serves 4 as a main course or 8 as a side dish... Read more »

--inspired by Chef Cathy Whims (Nostrana) who I believe was inspired by cookbook author Anne Bianchi   This is one of my favorite dishes and favorite uses for (basil) pesto--it's comfort food at its best with the simplest of ingredients. There's something about the toasted, garlicky bread melting into the warm beans and pesto . . . and "bastard soup" is so named because it uses black beans, which are called fascistini in Italy in honor of what some Italians call "that black shirted bastard who brought Italy to the brink of destruction during WWII." On the positive side, it is very easy to prepare. All you need are brothy black beans, stale bread, pesto and some good olive oil.    *If you have previously cooked black beans with their broth use those and cook them down a little to thicken the bean broth.  ... Read more »

When I get a bunch of beets I often roast the whole batch and then have the pleasure of having roasted beets on hand to use, however, I want.   I also have a habit of toasting a slice of good, crusty bread and tearing it into bits and adding it warm to salads--often just for me, for lunch, but it's such an easy trick to add a little heft to salads. It also changes the texture and temperature just enough to make it interesting.... Read more »