Cast Iron Skillet Big Flavors (7 page)
Read Cast Iron Skillet Big Flavors Online
Authors: Sharon Kramis
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Bake on the middle rack until golden and firm to the touch, 35 to 40 minutes. Shortly before the strata is done baking, prepare the topping. Heat the butter and olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chanterelles and sauté for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Remove the strata from the oven and top with the cooked chanterelles. Serve warm.
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ cup minced shallots
½ pound chanterelle mushrooms, cleaned and coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
6 cups firm-textured white bread, cut in ¾-inch-thick cubes
2 cups grated Gruyère cheese
1 small sweet onion, quartered and thinly sliced
2½ cups half-and-half
6 large eggs
1 teaspoon kosher salt
TOPPING
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ pound chanterelle mushrooms, cleaned and coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
This recipe has been in our family for many years; it’s a Saturday morning favorite. Serve with well-browned little pork sausages.
MAKES 6 SERVINGS
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Preheat the oven to 425°F.
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Melt the butter in a 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the apples, sugar, and cinnamon and cook, stirring several times, until apples are soft, 6 to 8 minutes. Meanwhile, put the eggs, flour, and milk in a blender and mix on medium speed just until blended, 5 to 10 seconds. Pour the batter over the apples in the skillet. Place the skillet in the oven and bake until the top puffs up and is lightly brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve dusted with powdered sugar and topped with whipped cream.
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 large Fuji apples, peeled, cored, quartered, and cut crosswise into ¾-inch pieces
¾ cup sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 extra-large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
Powdered sugar, for topping
Whipped cream, for topping
Shrimp with Smoky Tomato Pernod Sauce on Crostini
Grilled Chicken Skewers with Spicy Peanut Sauce
Roasted Poblano and Crab Hush Puppies with Green Goddess Dipping Sauce
Scallion Pancakes with Lemon Crème Fraîche Sauce, Salmon, and Sweet and Spicy Cucumbers
Albacore Tuna Cakes with Lemon Parsley Sauce
Mushroom Duxelles and Goat Cheese Crostini
SMALL BITES OR APPETIZERS ARE AN INVITING WAY TO WELCOME
friends. The Ginger Crab Cakes are full of crab, and the lemongrass is a pleasant surprise. They brown so nicely in the skillet. The Shrimp with Smoky Tomato Pernod Sauce are served on crostini, which helps to soak up all the flavors in the sauce. During the cold winter months, we use our cast iron grill pan indoors to cook appetizers such as the Grilled Chicken Skewers with Spicy Peanut Sauce. Serve the Imperial Stout Clams right from the skillet, which makes a fun presentation and keeps the clams hot. Sliders or mini-burgers are on many happy hour menus these days. Our Meatloaf Sliders on Brioche are moist and flavorful and easy to make ahead of time.
The Roasted Poblano and Crab Hush Puppies are made in a cast iron ebelskiver pan, which produces perfectly round, golden balls filled with fresh crab. A delicious way to start your evening!Whether you’re hosting a Cinco de Mayo or Super Bowl Sunday party, it’s always nice to present something festive in the skillet. In the summertime, try serving a skillet full of roasted artichokes alongside a fresh crab feed. It’s fun to have people over for hearty hors d’oeuvres and drinks; these small bites will add to the casual, relaxed, and easy atmosphere.
shrimp with smoky tomato pernod sauce on crostini
We love to use different spices from around the world, like Urfa biber (Urfa pepper). This moist pepper flake from Turkey is smoky and earthy, with hints of tobacco, and absolutely amazing with shrimp. The Pernod is also a favorite of ours to add to mussels and shrimp. If you pull the tails off, you can serve them over pasta. Yum!
MAKES 25 TO 30 CROSTINI
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To prepare the crostini, set the oven to broil. Combine the garlic and olive oil. Place the baguette slices in a single layer on two baking sheets. With a pastry brush, brush the top of each slice with about 1 teaspoon of the olive oil–garlic mixture. Place under the broiler and watch carefully until the tops start to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and, using tongs, flip over the slices. Brush the other sides with the olive oil–garlic mixture and broil until light brown, another 3 to 5 minutes. Turn off oven and set crostini aside.
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To prepare the shrimp, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a 10- to 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and cook for 5 minutes, turn down the heat, and cook for 2 minutes more. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the pureed tomatoes and Urfa biber, then stir and cook over medium-low heat for 6 to 8 minutes, until the sauce starts to thicken slightly. Drain off any excess liquid, then add the shrimp and spread out in the pan. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring gently to cook the shrimp evenly. Stir in the Pernod, cream, salt, and pepper and cook until the shrimp are pink and cooked through, about 3 minutes more. Remove from the heat, swirl in the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and lemon juice. Garnish with parsley and serve with the crostini.
CROSTINI
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup olive oil
1 French baguette, cut at an angle into ½-inch-thick slices
SHRIMP
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup Muir Glen diced fire-roasted tomatoes, drained and pureed