Sonia's Seven

Most good friends have had at least two of these dishes. If not, you need to come over more often!

I would like to start cooking classes in June 2013. If you would like to learn how to make any of these dishes, combine a total of 4-6 people and send me a message on Facebook (Sonia Kassambara). Bon appétit!

Seven of my all-time favorites

1-Spring Salad Greens with Strawberries, Herbs, Goat Cheese and Strawberry Vinaigrette
Beverage: Pinot Noir Rosé
I first made this dish in summer 2000. There was a farmer’s market nearby, and I used frisée and other greens, chopped herbs, the first strawberries of the season and my favorite: soft goat cheese. The dressing came together since I love agrodolce, and strawberry and balsamic vinegar is a classic example. Then I added herbs, black peppercorns, Dijon mustard, honey and olive oil. Perfection!! It is one of my favorite ways to celebrate late spring. Pinot noir rosé has a great strawberry aroma and complements the tangy goat cheese.

2-Coconut Cous Cous with Aromatic Vegetable Sauce and Thai Chicken on Skewers
Beverage: Ginger Punch
I first served this at a gathering when I was in graduate school in the spring of 2001. Instead of the Thai chicken skewers I make now, I made jerk chicken skewers. This is dedicated to my Aunt Vicki, who makes amazing coconut rice with cabbage and meatballs. I took the cooking technique of the West African jollof rice/coconut rice of making a stew and cooking the grains but applied it to cous cous, which cooks much faster. And just like jollof rice, I use a sauce or stew, but mine uses coconut milk and Indian-spiced vegetables with separate meat. That way I can make a vegan dish in case I have friends who don’t eat meat. The chicken skewers use my technique of pulsing meat, herbs and spices together in the food processor. I was dismayed to learn about the higher risks of bacterial contamination of ground meats. Now I do it myself and can infuse more flavors. The coconut and spice of the skewers work with the coconut-based stew and cous cous, all from different cultures. Ginger punch features pineapple juice and complements all of these foods.



3-Leg of Lamb with Apricot-Rosemary Relish
Beverage: Sangria
I started making this for Easter 2004 and sometimes make it for Thanksgiving when my mom requests it. The acid, herbal and sweet notes cut through the fatty lamb flavor. Many people who try it say they didn’t like lamb until they tried it this way. This recipe started out as a Betty Crocker recipe in a Bridal Edition cookbook we received as a wedding gift. Sangria is a classic beverage that I love serving at gatherings. The best part is it lets me enjoy myself instead of opening multiple bottles of wine!

4-Frog’s-legs Chicken (poulet à la grenouille) with Sautéed Potatoes and Green Salad
Beverage: Grapefruit Mimosa
I had tasted garlic and fresh parsley often in France and tried frog’s legs in Mali, so when I saw Jacques Pepin’s method six or seven years ago, I immediately tried it. It has been a favorite, and now I cook the potatoes in a similar way. My nieces and nephews love it, too. These fresh, simple flavors would make a nice early lunch, and a grapefruit mimosa would take me right back to both Paris and Bamako with citron and pamplemousse pressés.

5-Peanut Chicken with Black-Eyed Peas and Akara (black-eyed pea fritters) and Fried Plantains
Beverage: Red Sorrel Punch
Peanut chicken can be a stew served over rice or as a marinade for roasted or grilled chicken. Either way, it is a taste that screams, “WEST AFRICA!!” The tastes are pungent and spicy yet comforting to me. Black-eyed peas are made differently in Sierra Leone and neighboring countries, with bell peppers, onions and palm oil. Palm oil is an acquired taste, but just a touch of this oil takes it from the Deep South to a large pot over a wood fire. Red sorrel punch, also called bissap and dabilenni, is made in homes and sold on the streets in West African countries. It’s sharp and fruity like cranberry juice and sweetened. In the U.S., it’s the featured ingredient in Red Zinger.

6-Turkey Breast with Sage Butter, Cranberry Gravy and Cranberry Relish; Butternut Squash-Pecan Lasagna
Beverage: Beaujolais Nouveau
The turkey breast with sage butter is a Bon Appétit recipe that I use whenever I make Thanksgiving turkey for a few people. I first made it for fellow graduate school students away from home. The brined poultry, browned butter and sage make it a rich, flavorful alternative to dry turkeys that many people accept. Cranberry gravy brightens everything and relish, which I make with citrus, doesn’t have the gelatinous taste of the canned jelly. Butternut squash lasagna tastes like ravioli but is a lot less work. Beaujolais Nouveau comes out at the perfect time, right around Thanksgiving, and its young, fruity flavor reminds me of Thanksgiving almost 20 years ago when my friends and I studied abroad in France and had an amazing Thanksgiving dinner together at a restaurant.

7- Banana-Infused Bread Pudding and Banana-Nutella Ice Cream
Beverage: Earl Grey Iced Tea
When living in Mali I brought back Kahlua from my visit to the U.S. I was so excited to have this treat and wanted to feature it, not just drink it in cocktails. There was a bakery that made excellent whole wheat artisan bread. And we were in the throes of banana season, so this bread pudding put all of those tastes together. I have always loved Nutella and crepes, so the ice cream is an unctuous homage to those flavors. The floral citrus notes of Earl Grey iced tea might be sacrilege to some, but it mirrors the sunny essence of the other flavors, the floral notes of banana, vanilla and coffee, yet it’s refreshing where this dessert is rich.

Spring is here, but a lot of good produce is not!

With wildly varying temperatures in the D.C. area and produce tiptoeing in, sometimes it's hard to figure out what to make. These days I make foods that are wintry with spring foods or springy with wintry foods. With the corn-okra-tomato-squash-basil season a little ways ahead, I'm more Bretonne than Provençale.


Risotto with Petite Peas and Cremini Mushrooms
Tastes great with Lemon Chicken

1 onion, chopped
1 tsp. butter
8 oz. cremini mushrooms aka Baby Bella, sliced
12 oz Arborio rice
4+ cups warm stock (add 1 cup at a time)
Juice of 1 lemon or 4 oz. white wine, optional--add with rest of liquid
white pepper (or black if that's all you have)
thyme
nutmeg
1/2 cup frozen petit pois/petite peas--or use regular peas

1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup Parmigiano or Romano cheese, grated
salt to taste at the end

Cook onion in butter in a heavy saucepan. Add mushrooms and cook until liquid goes away. Lightly toss rice in butter/mushrooms for 1 minute. Add stock, one cup at a time, stirring every two minutes. Keep rice between low and medium heat. Add liquid whenever you can still stir rice without it sticking but only a couple spoons' worth of liquid remain. Add herbs and spices to taste, except salt and parsley. This process usually takes just over 20 minutes. Rice should taste done and be soft but not sticky. There should be about 3 teaspoons of thick liquid in the saucepan.

Next, turn off stove. Add peas and parsley, then stir. Add cream and cheese, then stir. Last, add salt to taste. Serve hot.


Quiche -made with spinach, bacon and caramelized onions
Great with cream of asparagus soup, spinach salad and arugula. Trader Joe's frozen pie pastry is really good!


Croissant Bread Pudding, served with Strawberry, Rhubarb and Lemon Compote (and vanilla ice cream!)

Croissant Bread Pudding
9 croissants, cut into 2-inch wedges--used kitchen scissors
1/3 cup sugar
3 eggs (used 3 egg whites)
3 cups 2%, low-fat or skim milk
dash salt
2 teaspoons real vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon imitation

Grease 9x13 glass pan. Add croissant wedges, then toss with sugar. Bake 10 minutes at 375 degrees while assembling other ingredients. In a medium bowl, beat eggs, then add milk, salt and extract. Remove croissants from oven, then slowly pour milk, patting down croissants as they absorb the milk mixture. Bake covered at 375 for 40 minutes.

Strawberry, Rhubarb and Lemon Compote
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
12 strawberries
2 very long or 4 short stalks rhubarb
1 organic lemon

Heat sugar and water in a heavy saucepan (at least 2 quarts). Meanwhile, use a blender or food processor to coarsely liquefy strawberries, rhubarb and lemon. It should have the consistency of chunky ketchup. Scrape fruit mixture into sugar water. Cook on medium high about15 minutes, making sure it doesn't bubble over. Stir every five minutes.

Molten Chocolate Cakes
I made this at work. Quick to make & bake, especially since I put this in 12 cupcake portions instead of 6 cakes. I had lunch while this was in the toaster oven, then had some for dessert. Even enough time to clean all the dishes. Great use of a lunch hour!



Photo: Lisa Hubbard