Cooking Club: Bagels Monday, April 30, 2007

Cooking Club- Session 5 consisted of bagels, laughter, drinks, sunshine and euchre.

Nancy hosted this month and settled on making bagels. She opted to try two types, one tried and true recipe and one new one. The tried and true came closest to turning out a typical bagel, the second method was more of non-bagel. More like some sort of sweet bread in my opinion.

Yumi made a vegetable terrine, Kate made a salsa with beans, corn and cilantro (which I couldn't eat since cilantro tastes like soap), Val made a delicious salad with asparagus and I made a chocolate lime cheesecake.

The cheesecake turned out well, except by the time we got around to it it had been out of the fridge for 4 hours. Much longer than it should have been, so it was a bit soft in the middle. Next time I would immediately put it into the fridge, but time escaped from us and I totally forgot about it.

I will post the recipe for the tried and true bagels once I get it from Nancy, for now here is the vegetable terrine:

Roasted Vegatable and Goat Cheese Terrine:
Yumi

1/2 cup olive oil, plus extra for oiling pans
1 (1-pound) globe eggplant, stem and bottom ends trimmed, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices
1 pound zucchini, stem and bottom ends trimmed, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices
1 1/2 pounds yellow squash, stem and bottom ends trimmed, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
10 ounces soft, mild goat cheese (herbed)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large red bell peppers (about 1 pound), roasted, cored, seeds and skins removed, cut into 3 or 4 large pieces
16 ounces fresh spinach, washed, stems removed, then blanched, squeezed dry, and coarsely chopped
2 large yellow bell peppers (about 1 pound), roasted, cored, seeds and skins removed, cut into 3 or 4 large pieces

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Line 2 large baking sheets with aluminum foil and lightly grease with olive oil. Arrange some of the eggplant, zucchini, and yellow squash slices in a single layer on the sheets, slightly overlapping them. Brush with olive oil and lightly season with salt and pepper. Bake until soft and just golden around the edges, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to a plate to cool. Repeat with the remaining vegetable slices.

In a large bowl, combine the goat cheese with the basil, parsley, and extra-virgin olive oil. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper and mix well.

In a 6-cup terrine (12 by 3 by 3 inches), arrange the eggplant slices crosswise over the bottom and up the sides, overlapping the slices to completely cover the terrine. The ends of the slices should overhang the sides of the terrine. Top the eggplant with thin layers of red bell pepper, zucchini, yellow squash, spinach, and yellow bell pepper.

Crumble a layer of the goat cheese mixture on top of the yellow bell pepper, and repeat the layering with the remaining vegetable slices. Bring the overhanging eggplant slices up over the terrine. Wrap the terrine loosely in plastic wrap. Top with an equal-size terrine or a piece of cardboard wrapped in aluminum foil. Place a brick or heavy pot on top of the terrine and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or for up to 24 hours.

Remove the terrine from the refrigerator. Remove the weight and unwrap. Slice with a very sharp knife.