Sunny's Kitchen (12 page)

i
love spinach and artichoke dip served with toasty bread for dipping. I started stuffing baguettes a couple of years ago when I found a good local bakery with crusty and uniformly rounded baguettes. This is perfect for a party, road trip, or day in the park because it’s easy to prep the day before and is tasty at any temperature. I either bake, then chill it overnight to serve at room temperature the next day, or save baking for the day I need it and serve the slices warm.
MAKES 16 TO 20 1-INCH SLICES

1
Toast the walnuts.
Heat a dry sauté pan over medium heat. Toss the walnuts in the hot pan until fragrant and a test bite is soft, warm, and a bit chewy. Transfer the walnuts to a large bowl (large enough to hold the filling) to cool. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2
Sauté the vegetables.
In the same pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat. When the oil begins to swirl a bit, add the artichokes, spinach, chili powder, and nutmeg. Using tongs, toss until the spinach is wilted, about 5 minutes. Add to the bowl with the walnuts and allow to cool.

3
Prepare the baguettes.
With a serrated knife, cut about 2 inches off one end of each baguette and reserve. Use the knife to hollow out the inside of each baguette, leaving just ⅛ inch of bread as a shell. Be careful to not puncture the outside of the bread from the inside while hollowing each baguette. Save the bread for bread crumbs.

4
Combine the filling.
Add the feta and Parmesan cheese to the large bowl. Stir to combine. Give a taste (cook’s treat); everything should be salty enough courtesy of the cheese.

5
Stuff and bake the baguettes.
Use a spoon to stuff each baguette with the filling, then use the handle of a wooden spoon or something similar to pack the stuffing in tight. When done with each, invert the untrimmed, tapered end of each baguette into the open end to seal in the filling. Tightly wrap each baguette in aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and raise the temperature to 400°F. Open the aluminum foil and brush both baguettes with the remaining oil. Return to the oven uncovered and cook until golden, 5 to 8 more minutes.

6
Rest, slice, and serve.
Allow the baguettes to cool until just warm. Using a serrated knife, cut 1-inch slices along the length of each baguette. If transporting the baguettes to a party, keep the slices in the form of a baguette and wrap them back up in the same aluminum foil. These are also great cold or at room temperature. Feel free to slice, cool completely, then rewrap and refrigerate.

 

Note:
If using a regulation-sized baguette instead of demi baguettes, cut it in half or in thirds to make it easy to hollow out. Leave the ends intact and, in the absence of trimmed ends to plug the fillings, just tightly wrap each baguette section. Also, whether using demi or standard baguettes, pick out ones that are more rounded than flat, so they’re easier to stuff.

t
his is simplicity and flavor combined. Plus it’s real easy on the eyes. I make this mostly for dinner guests, because it’s so easy it almost shouldn’t be a recipe. It comes together very quickly as well, so I love having it as an option for last-minute planning. Here I serve it with bread slices; you could also scoop a few tomatoes and a bit of cheese to mash into rice or potatoes, or just pile everything on top of a juicy steak.
SERVES 4 TO 6

1
Assemble the dish.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. In an ovenproof dish, distribute dollops of goat cheese. Keeping the vines and tomatoes intact, place them over the goat cheese, pushing them down into the cheese to make them level. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the garlic powder, basil, a nice pinch of salt, and a few grinds of black pepper.

2
Roast and serve.
Place the dish in the oven and roast until the tomato skins begin to blister, 30 to 35 minutes. Scoop out a bit of oil, cheese, and tomato and spread on bread slices. Enjoy!

i
was introduced to big, hot bowls of spicy noodle soup during my year in Korea. Each restaurant had its own blend of ingredients, and many would have a huge pot of soup cooking out front on the sidewalk. So you could stroll along all of the storefronts to see what was cooking, then go inside to eat whatever looked good to you—way more inviting than a printed menu in the window. Now, in my Brooklyn ’hood, just six blocks away is a Vietnamese place that makes the best pho, their version of spicy noodle soup. Being a short walk from my soup pharmacist is quite a dream. I’ve adapted this soup to make at home. After all, cold weather sometimes means staying in and playing video games all day, right? And don’t underestimate the lime wedge on the side; it cuts the oil and the heat. This is a dish that’s spicy with no apologies.
SERVES 4 TO 6

1
Cook the seasoning base.
In a large pot over medium heat, combine the oil, onions, fennel, cardamom, red pepper flakes, ginger, a nice pinch of salt, and few grinds of black pepper. Cook until the onions are tender and fragrant, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another 5 minutes, being careful to not brown the garlic. Add the sriracha and cook, stirring, until it turns a deep reddish brown, about 5 minutes more.

2
Add the broth and noodles.
Add the broth to the seasoning base and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. In a separate large pot, prepare the noodles as directed on the package. Strain in a colander and rinse under cold water until the water runs clear. Shake off the excess water and add them to the simmering soup pot; simmer to reheat the noodles, about 2 minutes.