Recipe magic.  I love things like this.  I  ran across this recipe in a number of old-school community cookbooks.  Enough times that I finally had to try it, to see if it could really work. I shouldn’t have doubted the vaunted cooks of the community recipe collection.  It works, and it is genius.  Now, it is not quite the same as a delicate French soufflé, one that involves whipping egg whites and gentle folding, but those come with the added risk of the dreaded collapse.  But this is light, and if there is an easier, more impressive recipe I have yet to find it.

Let me say one thing.  Don’t question the recipe. I did, and it was a waste of time.  This works. I don’t know why buttering the bread slices And the blender will be full, but it works.  This soufflé is an amazing accompaniment to roasted meats.  It’s good on its own, or with a good tomato sauce.  It makes a great side dish or a lovely luncheon dish with a light green salad.  Whip this up for a weekend brunch, and your diners will be blown away by your skill in the kitchen.

Blender Cheese Soufflé

10 slices hearty white sandwich bread

¼ cup butter (1/2 stick), softened

8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese

2 cups milk

4 eggs

½ teaspoon ground dry mustard

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Dash of Worcestershire sauce

Generous pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Butter a 2 quart ceramic casserole dish.

Remove the crusts from the bread, then butter each slice.  Cut the buttered bread into chunks and set aside. Cut 4 ounces of the cheese into small cubes, and grate the other half on a box grater and set aside.

Place milk and eggs in the carafe of a blender. Stuff the bread and the cheese cubes into the blender.  The blender is going to be full, so stuff everything in there.  Run the blender a few times to get things going.  You’ll need to push the ingredients down into the blender.  Add the seasonings and blend again until the batter is completely smooth.

Pour the batter into the prepared casserole dish.  Sprinkle the remaining grated cheese over the batter and stir to combine with the batter.

Bake the soufflé for 45 – 50 minutes until it is puffed in the center and golden and no longer wobbles.  If it starts to brown too much, loosely cover with foil while baking.

Serve immediately. The soufflé will deflate a little as it cools.

Serves 6 – 8

I have a shopping problem.  Fortunately, it’s not for shoes or designer handbags, it’s at the farmers market.  I am so enamored of all the beautiful fresh produce and artisan made foods that my eyes are often bigger than my shopping bag.  I try to go with a plan and a list, but I just get so enticed by all the wonderful things.  The fire-engine red tomatoes in every size and shape.  Electric purple and snowy white eggplants.  Rainbow collections of knobbly peppers. Pink and red and soft and fuzzy peaches.  Plums with an inner glow.  Sunshine yellow squash.   And when I see the speckled green zucchini nestled up next to their crookneck cousins, a few inevitably make it home with me.

I have a large repertoire of squash preparations, but my zucchini menu is limited. I haven’t mastered the right zucchini bread recipe.  I love them on the grill, if I have the grill going.  I’ve done a beautiful shaved salad dressed with a light vinaigrette, but found it prettier than it tasted.  So this is my solution for an abundance of summer zucchini.  A simple casserole that highlights the flavor of zucchini, beautifully set off by fresh oregano and salty parmesan. It’s rich with eggs, so it’s sort of a soufflé.  But it’s bit denser, and a lot less trouble to make.  I served this recently to some almost- teenagers, and I’ve got to tell you I was a little surprised, but they cleaned their plates.

Zucchini Sort of Soufflé

3 medium zucchini

1 medium onion

2 Tablespoons butter

1 Tablespoon olive oil

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh oregano

¼ cup milk

4 eggs

¾ cup dry breadcrumbs (purchased work best)

¾ cup grated parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 2 quart baking dish.

Cut the ends off the zucchini and cut into large pieces.  With the grating disk on a food processor or the medium holes on a box grater, grate the zucchini.  You should have roughly 6 cups.  Toss the grated zucchini with 1 teaspoon kosher salt in a colander and leave to drain for at least 10 minutes.

While you’ve got the grater out, grate the onion.  If you prefer, you can dice it finely.  Heat the butter and olive oil in a skillet and cook the onion until it is soft and translucent but not brown.  In the last few minutes of cooking, toss in 1 Tablespoon of chopped oregano and stir to combine.  Remove from the heat.

Place the zucchini on a clean tea towel, roll it up, and squeeze out the moisture.  Place the zucchini in a large bowl, add the onion and stir. Measure the milk into a jug, then crack in the eggs and beat together. Add to the zucchini mixture and stir to combine.  Add the bread crumbs and the remaining chopped oregano, a few grinds of black pepper and a sprinkling of kosher salt and stir to combine.

Scrape the mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the top with parmesan.  Bake until puffed and golden, another 10 – 15 minutes.

Serves 6- 8

I’ll be honest, I don’t actually know the history of Cinco de Mayo, I just know it’s a perfect excuse for a slap-up Mexican meal, and that is always a good thing.  And there is something so friendly and communal about a Mexican feast.  It’s a great way to gather friends and family, its interactive eating that everyone can enjoy. So for your own celebration, serve up some Smoky Beef Tacos or Green Chicken Chilaquiles, along with a side of Charro Beans.  Start your party off with some Green Chile Cheese Puffs.  And of course, don’t forget the Fresh Citrus Margaritas!

I have found some gorgeous red kidney beans at my local Latin/Asian/Caribbean/Middle Eastern supermarket from Guatemala called Frijol Pilay, but look for any dark burgundy, plump beans. Epazote is a popular dried herb in Mexican cooking, and I have been told that not only does it improve the flavors of beans, it aids in their digestion – and some of the impolite side affects. You’ll find it in the herb and spice section of Latin markets, but I pick it up at Penzey’s.  Mexican oregano has a more distinct flavor than standard (usually Turkish) oregano and is worth having around if you cook a lot of Latin dishes. My favorite restautant charro beans come with diced pieces of jalapeno floating in the broth, but I prefer a halved, cleaned pepper in to flavor the cooking liquid, instead of biting into pieces.  Do what you like, and add another pepper if you like it spicy.

Mexican chorizo is a soft, well-seasoned sausage (Spanish chorizo is hard and dry).  I buy freshly prepared at the Latin market, but it is readily available at many grocery stores.  It can range from mild to spicy, and if it’s labeled, choose mild so you can monitor your own flavor level.

Charro Beans

3 cups dried red kidney beans

1 small onion, diced

1 teaspoon epazote (optional)

1 teaspoon Mexican oregano

1 jalapeno pepper, stem, seeds and ribs removed

5 cloves garlic

Handful cilantro (stems and leaves)

1 pound fresh Mexican chorizo, casings removed if necessary

6 strips bacon, cut into small pieces

Sort through the beans and pick out any that are shriveled or imperfect.  Soak the dried beans in 6 cups of water, uncovered, overnight. The next day, drain the beans, rinse well and place in the crock of a large slow-cooker.  Add 6 cups of water, the diced onion, epazote, oregano, jalapeno pepper and garlic cloves and stir well.  Cover the crock and turn the pot to high, 6 hour setting.

When the beans are halfway cooked (3 hours), sauté the chorizo until brown, breaking it up into small pieces.  Remove to a heavy layer of paper towels on a plate to drain using a slotted spoon.  Drain off the oil, then sauté the bacon pieces until crispy.  Remove the bacon to paper towels to drain.  Pat the chorizo to remove as much grease as possible.  With a good chorizo, it will be bright red, so try not to stain your clothes.  Add the chorizo and bacon to the beans in the slow cooker, stir, replace the cover and continue cooking until the beans are tender.

If you don’t have a slow cooker, you can cook the soaked beans in a large Dutch oven over low-heat for 2 – 3 hours until tender.  Check the beans occasionally and stir to prevent scorching on the bottom, adding water as needed.

Serves 8- 10

What’s in a name? I have been pondering how to share this recipe for some time now.  It’s a classic I’ve enjoyed my whole life that I’ve always known as carrot pudding.  But I worried that might be a bit misleading. You see, I want people to be intrigued, and to try this recipe, because it is so worth it.  Carrot casserole sounds so boring. I considered calling it a soufflé, but that is a bit grand for this humble dish. So I stuck with pudding.  This is not creamy, cold pudding like the chocolate dessert of childhood.  It’s from a class of Southern traditional dishes, a simple, baked, comforting, homey dish.  I have a repertoire of these puddings.  Corn pudding and chicken pudding and tomato pudding, all savory and all delicious.

But this dish walks the fine line between savory and sweet.  It is usually served as a side dish for a rich meat like pork chops or loin, but I have often had it served as a light luncheon dish for bridal or baby showers.  It is a feature in many of the local community cookbooks around here, and was a regular feature of a certain local caterer for many years.  I have jumped off from those recipes, jazzing things up with a fresh grating of orange zest to add brightness and fresh ginger for zing.  Most recipes I’ve read simply call for “mashed carrots,” and many cooks just boil the carrots and mash them.  But I like to roast them in a little butter to really bring out the carrot flavor and natural sweetness, and I finish in the food processor to speed things up.

Carrot Pudding

2 pounds carrots, peeled (2 yield 2 cups, mashed)

2 Tablespoons plus ½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Grated zest of one medium orange

1 Tablespoon grated fresh ginger

1 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 eggs

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup milk

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon cloves

Pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a 2-quart baking dish.

Cut the carrot into equally sized chunks, and toss with the 2 Tablespoons melted butter on a large rimmed baking tray.  You just want the carrots slightly lubricated, not greasy or swimming in butter.  Roast the carrots for 30 – 40 minutes, until they are soft, but do not let them brown.

Dump the carrots into the bowl of a food processor and process until you have a rough puree.  You may need to start with half the carrots, then add the rest. You want to end up with 2 heaping cups of puree. Leave the puree to cool.

Grate the orange zest and ginger into the carrot puree and blend.  Add the remaining ½ cup melted butter and the rest of the ingredients, and process until smooth and creamy.  Scrape the mixture into the prepared baking dish.

Bake the carrot pudding until firm in the middle and slightly browned around the edges, about 30 – 40 minutes. Serve immediately.  Leftovers can be reheated in the microwave.

Serves 6 – 8

I honed my squash cooking techniques years ago when I first started planning events for a living.  I had two wonderful clients planning a big, beautiful outdoor wedding for their daughter on their sprawling, picturesque property.  The father of the bride had an elaborate garden, raised, tiered beds all surrounded by a critter-proof cage.  Every time I came out to meet with my clients, the FOB sent me home with huge sacks of squash and zucchini from his garden.  I am not much of a gardener, but I do understand that well-tended squashes can produce like gangbusters in our climate and those who grow them are often looking for excuses to get rid of the bounty.  I’ll admit, at the time I found all this a bit of a burden.  I am not talking about one or two little squash.  I am talking about large paper grocery sacks overflowing with large zucchini and several varieties of yellow squash.  He was so sweet, and this was a big event to me, that I felt obligated to make use all that produce (I passed as much as I could off on my own family).  Basically, I am too polite to accept the gift, then not cook with it.  I took them a few loaves of zucchini bread, but by the look on the Mother of the Bride’s face, I could tell she’d her fill of that as well.  So that summer, between weddings and parties, it was all squash, all the time.

My favorite way to eat yellow squash has always been in a good, old-fashioned creamy casserole.  This is one of those dishes that people prefer “their way.”  You know, “I make my squash casserole with…” But here is my version.  I’ve added lots of fresh thyme, which grows beautifully in my small garden, mild Monterrey jack cheese and tangy sour cream.  The buttery cracker topping is an oldy but a goody.

Summer Squash Casserole

2 pounds yellow summer crookneck squash

1 sweet yellow onion, preferably Vidalia

2 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons olive oil

8 ounces Monterrey jack cheese, grated

3 eggs

1 cup (8-ounce container) sour cream

1 bunch fresh thyme leaves

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

45 buttery round crackers, like Ritz, to make 2 cups crumbs

2 Tablespoons butter, melted

Wash and dry the squash and slice into rounds about ¼ inch thick.  You can use a mandoline, or the slicing disk on a food processor (then you can switch disks to grate the cheese).  Place the squash slices in a large sauté pan and add ¾ cup salted water.  Cook the squash, covered, over medium-high heat until the squash is just tender, about 5 minutes.  Drain the squash in the colander, shaking gently several times to remove as much water as possible.

Dice the onion.  Wipe out the sauté pan, then melt the butter with olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onions and cook slowly until soft and translucent, stirring frequently.  You want the onions to be glassy and soft, but not browned.  Transfer the drained squash to a large bowl and add the cooked onion, stirring gently to combine.  Leave to cool.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.   Spray a 2 quart baking dish with nonstick spray.

Strip the thyme leaves from the stems and finely chop.  In a small bowl, beat the eggs, add the sour cream and thyme leaves and stir until smooth.  Season with salt and a liberal amount of pepper. 

Drain any accumulated liquid from the squash and onions in the bowl and gently stir in ½ of the grated cheese.  Stir in the sour cream mixture to coat the squash.  Taste to see if you need anymore salt.  Scrape the squash into the prepared baking dish and smooth the top.  Sprinkle the remaining cheese evenly over the squash.

Place the crackers in a ziptop bag and crush very fine using a rolling pin or the heel of your hand.  Mix the crumbs, chopped parsley and melted butter in a small bowl and stir to combine.  Sprinkle the crumbs over the squash and spread out to evenly cover.

Cover the casserole loosely with foil and bake for 30 minutes, until it is golden brown, puffed and bubbling at the edges. Remove the foil in the last 10 minutes of baking to brown the crumbs. Serve immediately.

The unbaked casserole will keep covered in the fridge for up to a day.

Serves 6 – 8

Spring is about to be bustin’ out all over, but the bounty of fresh seasonal vegetables isn’t quite here yet.  So give this underrated root vegetable a try, in a recipe proving once again that everything is better with bacon.  And this dish couldn’t be easier.

Bacon Glazed Parsnips

6 parsnips

6 strips of bacon

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Peel the parsnips and cut them in half lengthwise.  Place one layer of parsnip halves in a baking dish, around 8 x 8 inches.  Snip three strips of bacon into small pieces with scissors and sprinkle over the parsnips.  Layer over the remaining parsnip halves and sprinkle over the rest of the bacon pieces.  Pour hot water over the parsnips to just barely cover and place the dish in the oven.  Cook for three hours until the water has been absorbed by the parsnips and they are lightly glazed, and the bacon is crispy. 

Serves 6

Now that the countdown to Thanksgiving has begun, I surveyed some friends about their favorite Thanksgiving dishes.  Most answers were sweets – rich and decadent ones at that, like coconut cake and pumpkin squares.  No one answered turkey.  My personal favorite is corn pudding.  It may seem like an unnecessary addition to an already laden Thanksgiving table, but I just have to have it.  And I think my family appreciates it as well.  It is the one dish from which there are no leftovers, though I generally sneak the last little serving that everyone leaves in the dish to be polite and wrap it up to be eaten privately when the guests are gone.

Now, I love corn in all its many forms.  Fresh on the cob grilled or boiled, scraped from the cob creamed or fried.  I like it in corn bread and as a salsa.  I like fresh, frozen and I am happy to use canned.  My favorite iteration though is far and away corn pudding.  Baked and puffed up, served warm from the oven.  I have made every recipe for corn pudding I have ever seen, ones that involved shucking and scraping dozens of ears of corn and ones that use a bag of frozen kernels.  And believe me, the recipe below is the best one of all of them.  It probably started its life on the back of a box, and I probably picked it out of some community cookbook.  I have changed it up with a few flavor additions, but the basic recipe creates a light, fluffy, creamy dish – everything a perfect corn pudding should be.  My favorite flavor add-ins are the cheddar cheese and chives, and these beautifully compliment the rest of my Thanksgiving spread, but I have made it many ways – with pepper jack and green chiles, sharp cheddar and diced pimentos, fontina and sage.  I have called it corn soufflé on occasion, but I really think of it as good old-fashioned corn pudding.

Classic Corn Pudding with Cheddar and Chives

I make this on Thanksgiving Day to serve fresh from the oven, since it is so easy to whip up.

2 eggs

1 (16-ounce) can creamed corn

1 (16-ounce can) whole kernel corn, drained

½ cup (1stick) butter, melted

1 cup (8-ounces) sour cream

1 (8 ½ ounce) package corn muffin mix (I prefer Jiffy)

1 ½ cups grated mild cheddar cheese

¼ cup finely chopped fresh chives

Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9 by 13 inch baking dish.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, then add both corns, butter and sour cream and mix thoroughly.  Fold in the corn muffin mix, cheese and chopped chives.  Add a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper and mix completely.

Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top.  Bake for 30 – 35 minutes until puffed and golden and firm in the center.

Serve immediately,

Serves 8 – 10