Bell Pepper

Here’s a simple Japanese way with cooked rice that Hiroko Shimbo showed me when I asked her one day what she would do with leftover rice. It’s called sushi salad because it’s made with sushi rice. As Hiroko points out so persuasively in her book The Sushi Experience, it’s the rice that makes it sushi, not all the various garnishes or tasty bits that are wrapped—or, in this case, tossed—in the seasoned rice. This is one of those dishes that are subject to variations depending on the season, but it’s hard to improve on the following intoxicatingly delicious summer version.

Recently this hard-to-pronounce French dish became a household word in America overnight, when the delightful movie Ratatouille swept the country and won our hearts. Not many Americans would begin to know how to make a ratatouille, but that such a dish had the power to evoke an overwhelming taste memory was something we could relate to. I fell in love with ratatouille when I was a jeune fille living in Paris, and I have been partial to it ever since. There is a classic way to make it—cooking each of the ingredients separately, then putting them all together—but that is time-consuming, and I’m not really sure that it produces such a superior dish. I feel that rules are made to be bent in cooking, and that there’s no harm in simplifying and putting your own imprint on a dish. So here is my version, subject to variations according to the season. I always make triple the amount I’m going to eat immediately, because I put it to so many good uses.

Anyone who has a garden knows about the pressure to eat up the zucchini you’ve planted. You hate to see it go to waste. But the advantage to growing your own is that you can harvest the zucchini while they are still very young and have a more intense flavor (and you can use the male blossoms, too). So here’s one more delicious way of appreciating this prolific vegetable. You can leave out the prosciutto and peppers if you like, but they do add considerable zest.

Eggplant is a particularly good receptacle for leftovers, such as cooked rice or grains and the remains of a roast. When I’m using eggplant, I usually roast it in the morning, or the night before I’m going to stuff it. Then it takes only about 40 minutes to be ready to enjoy. This stuffed eggplant is good hot, warm, or at room temperature, so you can to take it on a picnic, or to the park for lunch.

The difference between a frittata and an omelet, as I see it, is that the frittata cooks very slowly and will be somewhat more firm, so that it can suspend a number of different garnishes nicely arrayed in a pattern, with their flavors complementing one another. I always slip my frittata under the broiler at the end, so that the cheese scattered on top browns. This is another dish that welcomes improvisation.

I recently saw something labeled “Snapper Lake Victoria (Kenya) Farm Raised,” and it looked glistening and fresh through its plastic wrap. Because the slice, just under a pound, was rather plump and not firm-fleshed and fatty, I felt it would take well to braising with some vegetables. I happened to have about half of a small fennel in the vegetable bin, and some roasted red peppers (from a jar, another good standby item, or put away your own [see page 242]), so I decided to make a bed of those aromatics and, when they were cooked semi-soft, to tuck the fish in and let everything finish cooking together. It was particularly delicious with leftover cooked potatoes browned in duck fat.

This is a very flexible stir-fry, so have fun with what you want to mix and match. The important thing is to get everything prepped ahead of time and lined up on a tray near the stove. Have your sauce ingredients mixed in a little bowl, and be sure to have your cooked rice ready.

People often asked me, as I was writing this book, What should I do with chicken breasts? I think they want to cook chicken breasts because they are lean (therefore supposedly good for you) and quick to prepare, but there’s that persistent problem that there are inevitably two to a package, too much for a single meal. Frankly, I see that not as a problem but as an asset, because, again, you have something to play with for a second round. Here is a basic recipe for cooking the chicken so that it is flavorful and not dried out; it can be varied in as many ways as there are vegetables in season. I confess that I prefer dark chicken meat over light; if you feel the same way, just substitute two leg-thigh pieces for the breast meat, and cook about 5 minutes longer.

Ever had a Denver omelet? If not, you are missing out on a real treat. A Denver omelet (sometimes also referred to as a western omelet) is a tasty egg concoction typically prepared with Cheddar cheese, diced ham, onions, green bell peppers, and sometimes scattered hash browns. Its origins remain as scattered as the hash browns, but our best guess is that it probably originated one morning out on the range, cooked up by some hungry cowboys trying to fill their bellies. Inspired by their tasty creation, this recipe is the Queens’ Casserole version of the popular dish. Pile your diced ham, green bell peppers, onions, cheese, and hash browns a mile high and watch it bake to a beautiful golden brown. We added a kick of cayenne pepper to spice it up a bit.

In the words of Crystal’s dad, Jody, “Some times you just want breakfast for dinner.” We couldn’t agree more. This egg masterpiece is not only great for breakfast but also ideal for a savory dinner any night of the week. Aside from the taste, the beautiful thing about stratas is how filling they are. At the heart of any great strata you will find a dense, rustic bread (we use focaccia) layered with an egg mixture and cheese. In this particular recipe we add leeks and red bell peppers for a touch of sweetness and color, but the real standout is the smoky flavor provided by the Gouda cheese. Hence, the strata’s name. Enjoy!

There is an old Louisiana legend that says that when the original Acadians fled Nova Scotia to head to Louisiana, the local lobsters followed them. During the long swim the lobsters lost a lot of weight and most of their length. By the time they reached the bayou swamps to reunite with the early Cajuns, they had turned into crawfish! Crawfish, mudbugs, or crawdads—whatever you decide to call them, they’re delicious. With Texas being so close to bayou country, we can’t help but love these cute crustaceans. Though resembling tiny lobsters, only the extremely tasty tail is edible. When they are cooked with spicy Cajun flavors, you have yourself a mighty fine treat. Just remember that Louisiana crawfish are seasonal. A consistent supply can’t be counted on except between early March and mid-June, with the height of the season mid-March to mid-May. If crawfish are not available, peeled and deveined shrimp serve as a good substitute.

Tomato or cream sauce? Who says you have to choose? This casserole combines marinara and Alfredo sauces to create a lovely pink sauce. The cream balances the acidity of the tomatoes, while sophisticated ingredients such as prosciutto and capers add an inviting gourmet touch to the meal. This recipe is perfect for Valentine’s Day, first dates, or anniversaries. Not only will there be a pleasing blush to your meal, but perhaps to your sweetie, too!

Crystal’s “Mamaw” Cook served these delicious stuffed peppers with a delectable buttered bread-crumb topping. These bad boys are sauce-free, and preferred that way so that the taste of the pepper comes through. But neither Crystal nor Mamaw Cook will take offense if you want to add a little sauce. (See opposite for a tomato sauce that’s a great match for this dish.)

For me, peppers are the gift that keeps on giving. Whenever I eat a roasted pepper it seems to stay with me forever. My sister, who’s a dietician, told me it’s because they have so little acid in them. Knowing this, I came up with a way to do two cool things—eat peppers without having them stick around all day and make a yummy peperonata—simply by adding a bit of sherry vinegar (a.k.a. acid) to the mix. The vinegar adds a lovely brightness to this dish, and the pimentón (smoked paprika) gives it a rich smokiness—both of which are unbelievably good with the creaminess of the goat cheese. Of course, you don’t have to serve this with goat cheese the way I do; you can make a batch of peperonata just to have in the fridge to throw on a sandwich—like a condiment—or to pull out and serve on bread when someone comes over for a drink. This is one of my personal super-secret flavor weapons!

So you went and invited everyone over for brunch one fateful Sunday morning. Sunday! The day you ordinarily sleep until eleven, don’t bother to wash your hair or change out of your pajamas, and end up watching TV upside down on the couch with newspapers and gossip mags strewn all over the floor. Tsk-tsk—it doesn’t sound to me like you’re quite ready for that hostess habit you picked up somewhere along the way. And yet here we are! Thank God there is this brunch-ready recipe you can prep the night before without even the most obnoxious of your foodie friends being any the wiser. Just get your dough and vegetables all set up and let them chill in the refrigerator overnight. Come morning, simply follow the quick baking instructions. If sweet potatoes sound too mushy for you, swap them out for 3/4 cup sautéed mushrooms.

Junior Pepper lived down the road near my great-aunt Carrye, who was a widow. (Almost all the older ladies out that way are widows, it seems.) Junior Pep, as he is known to all, makes the rounds checking on his lady friends a couple of times a week and calling their relatives if anything seems amiss. He has always been a ladies’ man. Junior Pep raised cattle and when I think of pepper steak he always comes to mind.

I was a boy-crazy preteen when I went on a trip to visit my friend’s grandmother Beauxma in Saint Martinville, Louisiana, in the sugarcane-growing region of the state. I was so taken by the story of the Evangeline Oak. In 1907, St. Martinville author Felix Voorhies wrote Acadian Reminiscences: With the True Story of Evangeline, inspired by tales told to him by his grandmother. The account of Emmeline Labiche and Louis Arceneaux is said to be about the real people behind Longfellow’s tragically romantic poem “Evangeline,” about a woman looking for her lost love, Gabriel. In 1929, Hollywood came to town and filmed the movie Evangeline, starring Dolores Del Rio in the title role. After the filming, a statue of Evangeline (looking a lot like Dolores Del Rio) was erected on the spot marking the alleged burial place of Emmeline Labiche. As a whole, Southerners have never let the truth stand in the way of a good story; and now the stories of Emmeline and Louis and Evangeline and Gabriel have fused into one story told time and again beneath the spreading branches of the Evangeline Oak. In fact, Louisianans have taken the story so to heart that the Evangeline variety of sweet potato is fast becoming one of the state’s most popular sweet potatoes.

Sweet bell peppers are stuffed with a very tasty beef filling and topped with queso fresco and pico de gallo, forming the green, white, red pattern that I love so much! This is a tasty and quick-to-make weeknight meal, which is also pretty enough to serve to company.