Natch Croquettes

My friend, Lol, and I were discussing children and food the other day before dinner. He asked if I had ever heard of the croquettes prepared to lure “the Natch”. I must have looked clueless for he walked over to my iMac and searched for “the Natch”. Here’s a quote he found in the Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook, by Georgeanne Brennan:

"A beast called the Natch, who lives in Kartoom, has always stayed in his cave, refusing to come out. But Gerald McGrew, who plans to catch unusual creatures for his zoo, decides to lure him out with pickled, peanut-sprinkled chicken croquettes."

I’m not Gerald McGrew so my croquettes are not pickled and do not feature chicken. I’m betting, however, that if the Natch were vegetarian, he’d be lured out to sample these simple yet tasty croquettes. As you fry them, be sure to leave a couple of inches of space around each one. This will help prevent them from falling apart as they cook.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons milk

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon green onion (chopped)

2 egg yolks (beaten)

3 tablespoons whole wheat flour

4 cups mashed potatoes

1 egg (beaten)

1 cup panko bread crumbs

Extra virgin olive oil (enough to fill fry pan to 1/2-inch)

Directions:

Add milk, salt, pepper, green onion, egg yolks and flour to mashed potatoes. Chill and then shape using an ice cream scoop. Dip in the beaten egg, then roll through bread crumbs making sure they are totally covered.

Fry in small batches until brown on all sides. Remove to paper towels to drain. Serve warm as a side dish or as an appetizer with my Ojai Green Sauce.

Ojai Pepper Jelly Appetizers for St. Patrick's Day

This easy-to-make recipe is elegant and tasty. It takes advantage of the spiciness of Suze McClellan’s fresh pepper jelly and the creaminess of Brie cheese. These spicy, buttery delights are an excellent appetizer for your next St. Patrick’s Day celebration or dinner party.

Ingredients:

2 sheets puff pastry

8 ounces Brie cheese

½ cup Ojai Pepper Jelly (your choice of flavors)

1 egg (beaten)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Thaw pastry. Cut the puff pastry into thirds along the creases.  Cut each panel into four pieces.  One sheet of puff pastry will yield 12 rectangles.  Cut each rectangle in half.  You’ll have 24 little rectangles that will create 12 little rectangle pockets.

Combine beaten egg with a splash of milk or tepid water.  Brush 12 of the small rectangles with egg wash. Place a small slice of brie (rind and all) on top of the egg wash. Top with about 1/2 teaspoon of Suze’s pepper jelly. Take another square of puff pastry and press between your fingers to make the rectangle slightly bigger. Place puff pastry on top of the cheese and jelly. Use a fork to press the edges together. The egg wash will act as a glue.  Make sure to seal the edges well by crimping with the fork.

Place prepared brie bites on baking sheet.  Brush lightly with egg wash. Bake for 14 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving. Then call Suze and thank her for making this incredible culinary delight.

Fresh Pico de Gallo

Pico de Gallo [PEE-koh day GI-yoh] means “roosters beak” in Spanish. Tradition says that this dish was so named because it was once eaten with the thumb and finger, an action that resembles a rooster's pecking beak. I like to eat it with tortilla chips. You might use it as a fresh salsa with breakfast burritos, tacos, omelets potato or tofu frittatas.

Ingredients:

5 - 6 medium tomatoes (diced)

1 medium white onion (diced)

¼ cup fresh cilantro (chopped fine)

2 jalapeno chiles (seeded and chopped fine)

1 garlic clove (minced)

Juice of 1 lime

Salt to taste

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, stir and enjoy. Use finger and thumb if necessary although tortilla chips are better!

Mushroom-Brie Appetizer

According to the website kitchenproject.com, “Puff pastry is a light, flaky pastry made by repeatedly layering pastry dough and butter or another solid fat, called laminating, to form a thin dough that puffs in the oven.”

Puff pastry was invented about 1645 by a French pastry cook's apprentice named Claudius Gele. At the end of his apprenticeship, Claudius wanted to bake a delicious loaf of bread for his sick father, who was prescribed a diet consisting only of water, flour and butter. Claudius prepared a dough, packing the butter into it, kneading the dough out on the table, folding it, and repeating the procedure ten times, after which he molded the dough into a loaf. Before you can say voilà, puff pastry was born!

I like to wrap a round of double or triple cream Brie cheese in puff pastry and serve it as an appetizer for friends and family. My savory appetizer recipe, below, pairs well with red or white wine. I’m guessing that Claudius would have served it with a French Beaujolais. 

Ingredients: 

1 small Walla Walla sweet onion (minced) 

½ pound mushrooms (chopped fine) 

2 tablespoons unsalted butter 

1 tablespoon dry Sherry 

½ teaspoon nutmeg 

¼ teaspoon salt 

1 sheet defrosted puff pastry rolled out to12-inches square 

1 round of Brie cheese (about 5 inches in diameter) 

1 large egg (mixed with ½ teaspoon of water for wash) 

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Mince enough onion to measure 1/2 cup and finely chop the mushrooms. Cook onion in butter over medium heat until softened. Add mushrooms, Sherry, nutmeg and salt to taste and sauté over medium-high heat until most of the liquid evaporates. Set aside to cool. 

Cut Brie round in half (horizontally) so you have a bottom half and a top half. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the sheet of pastry to approximately 12-inches square. Center bottom half of Brie, cut side up, in the middle of defrosted pastry and spread mushroom mixture on top of Brie. Cover mushroom mixture with remaining half of Brie, cut side down. 

Without stretching pastry, wrap it snugly up over the round of Brie. Turn over so that the sealed side is on the bottom and place on baking sheet. Brush top of pastry with egg wash. With back of a sharp small knife gently score side of pastry with vertical marks, being careful not to cut through dough. Chill Brie, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Brie may be loosely covered and chilled for up to one day ahead of time. 

Bake Brie in middle of oven until pastry is puffed and golden, about 20 - 25 minutes. Let stand in pan or transfer to a rack to cool for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with crackers, crostini or fresh ¼-inch slices of your favorite sour dough French bread.