Layered omelet with ham and cheese

Summer stretches ahead with its picnics, beach days, weekend guests, and impromptu suppers. Often that means looking for ways to feed friends and family without much fuss. This colorful layered omelet can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated overnight. It leaves the kitchen cool and the cook unflustered. Begin by making three thin egg and scallion omelets, then layer them with a dill-flecked mayonnaise and ham, cheddar cheese, and slices of crunchy cukes. After you get the hang of it, you can experiment with thinly sliced tomatoes and fresh basil leaves, use turkey instead of ham, or replace the mayonnaise with sour cream and chives. At the table, cut the round into wedges and pass the icy drinks.

Ingredients: Serves 6

1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
4 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 scallion (white and green parts separated), each finely chopped
1 tablespoon canola oil
10 slices cheddar cheese
1/2 English cucumber, cut into 30 thin slices
8 slices honey baked ham, cut in half

Directions:

1. Have on hand a serving dish with a 9-inch flat surface.

2. In a small bowl mix the mayonnaise, mustard, and dill; set aside.

3. In another bowl, beat the eggs, salt, and white part of the scallions.

4. Heat a 9-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the oil and heat for 30 seconds. With a paper towel, wipe most of the oil from the pan. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Using a 1/3-cup measure, pour the egg mixture into the skillet, swirling it around so it covers the bottom of the pan. Let it sit for 1 minute or until it sets. Carefully slip a spatula under the omelet and flip it over. Let it cook for another 30 seconds. Turn it out onto the counter.

5. Repeat the omelet layer 2 more times, turning them out in a stack.

6. Using a small offset spatula, spread about 1 tablespoon of the mayonnaise dressing onto 1 layer of the omelet. Set it on the dish. Lay 5 or 6 pieces of cheese on top of the omelet to cover the entire surface. Add half the cucumber slices to cover the cheese completely. Then add half the ham.

7. Spread another omelet round with 1 tablespoon of the mayonnaise. Set it, mayonnaise down, on the ham. Add the remaining cheese, cucumbers, and ham.

8. Spread the omelet round with the remaining mayonnaise. Set it, mayonnaise down, on the ham. Lay a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the top layer. Cover the entire dish with foil and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or for up to overnight. Sprinkle the green scallion on top. Cut into wedges.

Debra Samuels

Baby bok choy

Serves 4

Baby bok choy, steamed with slivers of fresh garlic and plenty of ginger, is ready in about 10 minutes and produces a flavorful dish of mini green bundles. The small greens are often used in Chinese dishes as a bed for tofu or scallops, but this mild member of the cabbage family can stand on its own cute little stalks. Bok choy (in Cantonese it's pronounced pak-choi) is sometimes called white cabbage or Chinese chard. Each bunch consists of white stalks with green leaves at the top; they're entirely edible. Larger bok choy are sliced for stir-fries; the babies, each between 4 and 6 inches long, are more tender and can be served whole or halved. Both have a celery-like crunch with a mild cabbage flavor. Very young baby bok choy can even be eaten raw.


8 bunches baby bok choy
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 slices fresh ginger, cut into thin matchsticks
2 cloves garlic, cut into thin matchsticks
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup water, and more if necessary
1 tablespoon soy sauce

Directions:

1. Halve the bok choy lengthwise.

2. In a wok or medium skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat for 30 seconds. Add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry for 20 seconds. Add the bok choy and salt. Stir-fry for 1 minute.

3. Add the water, bring it to a boil, and cover with a lid. Let the vegetables steam for 2 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to cook for 1 minute or until the water evaporates.

4. Add the soy sauce and cook for 30 seconds more. Sprinkle with pepper.

Caponata

Makes about 2 cups

Caponata is the sweet, sour, and salty Sicilian eggplant appetizer that looks like a relish and often comes as one of the tastes in an antipasti course. The dish begins with sauteed eggplant cubes, which lend their deep purple color to the mixture, and is cooked briefly with chopped green olives, cherry tomatoes, and golden raisins. The tangy spread also contains vinegar, sugar, raisins, and pine nuts, a combination that reflects the influence of Arab cuisine on the Sicilian table. The classic version we have adapted here from "Treasures of Sicilian Cuisine," by Paolo Salerno et al., calls for deep-frying the eggplant, but we give it a saute in olive oil, which lends a nice caramelized taste. Celery and capers make the caponata chunky, and the final effect is jewel-like. Spoon it on slices of crusty bread or over fillets of fish before roasting.


5 tablespoons olive oil
1 large eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 celery ribs, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup green olives with pimento (preferably Sicilian), chopped
1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 tablespoon capers
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1/4 cup golden raisins
5 tablespoons red- or white-wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the eggplant and cook, stirring often, for 8 minutes or until it is softened but not mushy. Transfer to a bowl.

2. In the same skillet, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When it is hot, cook the celery and onion for 3 minutes.

3. Add the olives, cherry tomatoes, capers, pine nuts, and raisins. Mix well and cook for 2 minutes.

4. Add the vinegar and sugar. Let the mixture come to a boil. Return the eggplant to the pan and add salt and pepper. Turn down the heat and simmer for 3 minutes until the eggplant is cooked through.

5. Transfer to a bowl and leave to cool to room temperature.

Debra Samuels

Spaghetti lasagna

If there was ever a universal crowd pleaser, it's lasagna. This dish is a variation on the layers of wide noodles and tomato sauce that usually go into the dish. Here spaghetti, tomato sauce, and mozzarella cheese are stacked in a dish, then baked until the top turns golden. Cut big squares and serve with a salad and crusty bread. Bring it to football-watching get-togethers, serve it to a table of teens, or take it to a rented winter vacation house for nourishment after skiing. It can be transported, reheated, and frozen, all without harm.

Serves 8

Olive oil (for the dish)
2 teaspoons salt, and more to taste
1 pound spaghetti
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 cans (28 ounces) whole imported tomatoes, crushed in a bowl
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
1 pound shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup grated Parmesan (for sprinkling)

Directions:

1. Set the oven at 350 degrees. Have on hand a deep 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Oil the dish.

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes or until the noodles are not quite tender. Strain into a colander and transfer to a bowl. With a scissors, snip the spaghetti in several places. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Toss well and set aside.

3. In a large saucepan, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil. Add the onion and garlic, and cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, red pepper, oregano, brown sugar, a generous pinch of salt, and black pepper. Bring the sauce to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes or until the mixture thickens. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper, if you like.

4. Ladle enough tomato sauce in the bottom of the baking dish to make a thin layer. With tongs, add a layer of spaghetti, using one-third of the mixture, tucking spaghetti into the corners of the dish. Cover with sauce, one-third of the mozzarella, then continue layering, ending with Parmesan on top.

5. Set the dish on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes or until sauce is bubbling at the edges and the top is browned.

A warming bowl

Split Pea Soup
Isestrasse Market Hamburg, Germany
Split pea soup is just what you need when the chill goes right through your coat. In the port city of Hamburg last month, it was sunny but cold as I walked through the Isestrasse market in the center of town. German markets in winter boast stands brimming with every variety of cabbage and potato imaginable. There are mobile bakeries, butchers, fishmongers, sausage sellers, and among them, all kinds of eateries. These hearty folks aren't fair-weather vendors, I decided, so I wandered around until I found lunch. I wanted what two bundled up ladies were eating: big bowlfuls of steaming split pea soup laden with plenty of slices of knockwurst in the thick porridge. I approached the counter and used my sparse knowledge of Yiddish to ask for a bowl. That produced lots of laughing from the beefy proprietor, but no soup. I wanted soup and I was sure he would sell me some, if only he understood what I was after. I knew I shouldn't point, but point I did - at the women and their lunch. Success. I took my bowl and settled in beside them, standing in the bracing cold coming off the Baltic Sea, with my bowl set in front of me on a high bistro table. I sipped spoonfuls of the thick, nourishing mixture. The green puree, with its hammy stock and smoked wurst, also had nuggets of sweet carrots. A piece of crusty bread helped soak up every last bit.

Split pea soup
Serves 6

The flavor of this soup improves on standing, but it thickens. To make a day or two in advance, stir water, about 1/4 cup at a time, into the soup before reheating.

3 tablespoons canola oil
1 pound frankfurters or knockwurst, cut into 2-inch slices
1 smoked ham hock ( 1/2 pound) 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 pound dried split peas 6 cups water, or more if necessary
3 large carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
Salt, to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the frankfurter or wurst slices and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove the meat from the pan; set it aside.

2. Add the ham hock and cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes more, to brown the hock on all sides. Remove it from the pan.

3. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes. Add the split peas, and stir to coat them with the oil. Return the ham hock to the pan.

4. Pour in the water and bring to a boil. Cover the pan and cook the mixture for 10 minutes on medium heat. Remove the lid and use a spoon to skim the foam from the surface of the soup.

5. Reduce the heat to low and add the carrots. Place the cover slightly askew on the pot and simmer for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally to keep the soup from burning on the bottom as it thickens.
6. Remove the lid and add the frankfurter slices. Simmer for 15 minutes more, stirring occasionally, or until the split peas have dissolved into a smooth thick puree.

7. Remove the ham hock and set the meat aside. When it is cool enough to handle, trim the fat from the bone. Cut the meat into strips. Add them to the soup with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and ladle the soup into bowls.

Crudite Platter with Spicy Miso Dip

If you're hosting or contributing to a party and looking for an appetizer, a crudite platter is always welcome. For years, Americans had a mundane approach to this French tradition by dipping veggie sticks such as carrots and celery into ordinary mayonnaise-based sauces. Raw broccoli and asparagus spears joined the usual suspects, and bowls of Russian dressing were displaced by more complex flavors such as blue cheese or mango salsa. The look changed too. It went from toothpicked vegetables and cheese cubes affixed to heads of cauliflower - and resembling alien spacecraft - to elegant displays on silver platters or earthenware pottery. But still the veggies remained a little ordinary.
This combination offers a variety of taste: bitter radicchio, buttery endive, licorice-laced fennel, crunchy red or green cabbages, and peppery radishes make a colorful display of vegetables with character. The vegetables are cut into wedges, each with a piece of core intact, which helps them hold their natural shape and provides an easy pick-up spot.
For the dipping sauce, combine aka miso, the dark reddish-brown salty bean paste, with sriracha, the fiery Southeast Asian chili sauce. These are softened by honey and apple juice. Sesame oil gives the dip a toasty taste with a velvety finish. You haven't done any heavy lifting, and your dish may be the hit of the party. --DEBRA SAMUELS

Ingredients: Serves 8

VEGETABLES

1 small head radicchio
2 small Belgian endives
1 small red or green cabbage
1 small bulb fresh fennel, stalks and hard layer removed
1 bunch radishes, green stems intact

Directions:

1. Halve the radicchio lengthwise without removing the core. Then cut thin wedges, slicing through the core and leaving it intact. Rinse under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Transfer the wedges to a serving platter. Do the same with the endives, cabbage, and fennel.

2. Wipe the radishes with a wet paper towel. Cut all but 1 inch of the green stems. Slice the radishes in half lengthwise so each piece has some stem. Quarter large radishes. Transfer to the platter.


DIP

1/2 cup dark aka miso (or regular tawny-color miso)
1/4 cup apple juice
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon sriracha hot sauce, or to taste

Directions:

1. In a bowl, whisk together the miso, apple juice, honey, sesame oil, and hot sauce.

2. Transfer to a small bowl and serve with the vegetables. Adapted from Taekyung Chung

Stashing cooked rice

Watching squirrels gathering and stashing nuts for the winter reminds me of Japanese and Korean friends filling their rice cookers to maximum capacity to make small packets of cooked rice for the freezer. When it's time to eat, they microwave the rice until it's steaming hot.

Recently, a Korean guest did just that. She made a mixture of short-grain white and brown rice, and after it was cooked, added black beans (at home she would have used black soy beans). With a salad and soup it is a perfect light meal with little effort.

Short grain rices work best because they are sticky and hold together when packed. The cooking methods are completely different than the long grain varieties. Cook the grains separately because brown takes twice the water and twice the time of white.

When the rice is done, stir both together, add canned black beans, and freeze the mixture in plastic wrap sprinkled with a little salt. Many Asian cooks don't add salt to the cooking water because it detracts from the delicacy of the rice. The little packets will be welcome on a busy day as a nutritious side dish for supper or a quick lunch at the office. When it's time to forage, just open the freezer door.