il piatto blu

Sugar-jojoba lip exfolliant

2012-01-31T21:28:00.004-05:00

I know this isn't a recipe like I usually do, but hey, it's what I've been up to lately and I'm into it so I think I should share!

Lip exfolliant! It's winter, you are dry and sad and your lipstick looks crusty because your lips are weathered! Mix a couple teaspoons of sugar with a few drops of jojoba oil until it forms a gritty paste. Rub it on your lips enthusiastically and rinse off gently.

The jojoba oil will moisturize like whoa and the sugar will take off dead skin. You look great.

Clementine panna cotta

2012-01-31T16:52:00.008-05:00

Guess what? The most delicious dessert in the world is also the super easiest thing to make! How often does that happen?

Phil's boss was coming for dinner (doesn't that sound retro for some reason?) and I was going full-on Italian for the main course so I thought panna cotta sounded really good. It's yet another example of cultural culinary cross-pollination--it's basically vanilla pudding...or flan..or crème brûlée, sans the brûlée. I made my version with zest and juice from clementines because I love winter citrus right now. At the end I drizzled a little honey that had been melted together with orange liqueur right over the top for extra flavor. Start by sprinkling one packet of unflavored gelatin over 3 tablespoons water. Let it stand while you take care of everything else--it should absorb for 5-10 minutes.

Now heat up 1/3 cup of sugar with 3 cups heavy cream. Yes, that sounds insane, just typing it down here. Three cups of cream! You must be out of your damn mind. Substitute in a cup half-and-half to help make up the 3 cups, if it makes you feel better. I'm pretty sure that's what I did.

Heat it up quite hot, almost to a boil, until the sugar has all dissolved. Zest in your clementine and squeeze in some juice too. If, let's say, you wanted to make it cardamom flavored instead, or maybe vanilla-ginger or something, this is where you'd add those flavors. I just stuck with the citrus but it's a really great blank canvas.Remove it from heat and pour over the gelatin mixture.
Stir it all up until completely dissolved...you can see here how it is already getting thickened.
Now! You have probably ordered panna cotta at a restaurant and it came out all cute and molded onto a plate and topped with berries or something. That's a lovely way to do it and if you want to go the molded custard route, go ahead and grease up some ramekins so they will unmold properly after the panna cotta has set. But! If you are lazy and/or afraid of unmolding something and having it break right before the boss comes to dinner, go ahead and pour it into cute cups instead and skip the unmolding part.
Here's my cute cups. My bestie Jocelyn and I accidentally stole them from a roommate when we were very young and lived in a huge dirty old house with a bajillion other people.
I feel kind of bad about it now but it was a really long time ago.
I think it would be weird to track him down on Facebook and return them at this point, right?
I had a bunch leftover so the rest went into espresso cups and came to work with me the next day. Teeny espresso cups are perfect for panna cotta! So cute.
They chill for at least 2 hours. Mine went overnight--this really is the perfect make-ahead dessert!
And for a drizzle on top--I heated up 2 tablespoon honey with 1 tablespoon orange liqueur...
And just spooned it over the top in a puddle.
A little twist of clementine peel on the very top et voila! You are done with dessert.

Bacon brittle

2011-11-01T20:19:00.008-04:00

This is crispy, salty, sweet and ultra-easy! It's also an excellent way to get more bacon into your daily diet. I think it would make a great holiday treat to hand out--it's also amazing without the bacon so don't let that deter you...though bacon is so rarely a deterrent.Fry up a couple pieces of bacon and set aside. I used 4 slices of fairly thick cut fancy local bacon so you may need more of thinner bacon. Meanwhile melt together 1/2 cup brown sugar with 2 sticks of butter. After the butter melts down, bring it to a boil and let it simmer for about 2 minutes. By now you should have some crispy bacon...ready to be crumbled/chopped up.
And you'll need a heaping cup of nuts...I chopped up a bunch of pecans but you can also use sliced almonds. Pecans go really well with bacon though.
Now get a sheet of parchment paper and lay it over a rimmed baking sheet. Find your graham crackers and lay them out in a more-or-less single layer to cover the whole pan.
And sprinkle over your pecans...then make an even covering of bacon over the nuts.
Now pour your butter-sugar mixture over the top of that! Like a toffee. This can be hard to do evenly so just keep drizzling until you think you hit every nook and cranny.
Then you bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minuites, let it cool for about an hour--then break it up into squares! If you didn't use any bacon (and maybe even if you did) a sprinkle of sea salt over the top gives it that addictive sweet-salty crunch. Make them today!

Arugula-pepper frittata

2011-10-07T10:00:00.003-04:00

I had tons of arugula and noticed on Information Is Beautiful's taste buds graphic that it would be good with peppers...so this simple and luscious frittata was the answer! It's good warm or at room temperature and makes a perfect cocktail hour snack as well as dinner. I used 1 big poblano pepper plus two small jalapenos, but you can use any combination of long green peppers with good flavor that you like--maybe anaheim or something. Start by preheating your oven to 350.
Cut the peppers into super thin strips.

And saute them in a little olive oil in a big pan over medium high heat until they are getting soft.

Add in 1/4 cup thinly sliced sweet onion and continue to saute until all are very soft--probably about 6 minutesGet about 6 cups arugula...it will seem like a ton but it cooks down into zero, trust.Chop it up and add it into the pan with the peppers and saute until wilty.That will take pretty much no time at all--the arugula cooks very quickly.Meanwhile, combine 5 eggs with salt, pepper and 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese.Beat them all together pretty well...

And add in all your veggies. You can add a couple of dabs of goat cheese in if you want as well--I thought that was pretty tasty.Meanwhile, heat up a heaping tablespoon of butter in a 10" pan that can go in the oven. After the butter is hot, pour in your vegetable-egg mixture, don't stir it all all, and let it cook undisturbed for 10 minutes.

It will get a bit more solid.

After 10 minutes on the stovetop, transfer it to the 350 degree oven for 5 more minutes.

After you pull it out, let it sit for 1 or two minutes, then flip the pan over on a cutting board to pop the fritatta out. Mine got kind of browned because I made it in cast iron, but I think it was awesome that way.Cut it all into wedges and add a sprinkle of kosher salt over the top.

Like I said--it's great at room temperature too so a perfect ahead of time appetizer, if you cut it into cute strips or something. Or just a couple big slices for a healthy dinner.

Data visualization for your taste buds...

2011-10-06T10:45:00.005-04:00

This is from informationisbeautiful.net and it was just too good not to share. Go here to see (and use!) this visually elegant way to help you play "what's in the pantry?"

Calvados and ginger

2011-10-03T21:16:00.002-04:00

We have been feeling fall around here...time to put away the Campari and uncork the Calvados! This is the drink de casa at the moment so I thought I'd share--combine a few healthy slugs of Calvados with a good ginger beer and a lime twist, over ice. Like a Dark and Stormy but with a sweet apple-y flavor from the Calvados. Delicioso.

Green tomato sauté

2011-10-03T21:06:00.004-04:00

This time of year there are plenty of green tomatoes hanging around. It's the end of the season--if you're my mother, you've probably got bushels of them in your garden that never got a chance to ripen up before the fall set in. I have been loving their tangy flavor in a simple sauté (maybe actually even more of a quick stewing, since there ends up being so much moisture?). It tastes like it could be eggplant but it is sweet-and-sour in the best possible way. This can use up a ton of them and I love it served over buttery orzo. I used 4 pretty big sized green tomatoes. It made enough for a side dish for 4 people with a bit left over. You'll also want about 1/2 of a Vidalia onion--both the onion and the green tomatoes came from a farm stand while on a trip to Savannah and Tybee Island a week or so ago...still seemed like summer just then!
Slice up half the Vidalia into thin thin thin half moons. To sauté the vegetables you can use any number of cooking fats...once I cooked them in the brown fond left over from roasting a chicken and it was practically transcendent. This time I made them in a healthy tablespoon of bacon fat. You can also easily sauté them in a combination of 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil.
Turn them around frequently...about 5 minutes or so over medium heat until they are nicely soft and lightly colored but not crispy-brown. You want to get them cooked before you add any tomatoes since the acid will keep the onions from cooking properly any further.
And cut up all your gorgeous greenies! I like thin wedges best for this recipe.
Turn up the heat slightly, and stuff them all into your pan. This is sort of stupid looking--probably you can use fewer tomatoes, cook in batches, or use a bigger pan. But I am dumb. They do cook down though, sort of like spinach?
I just sort of mooshed them around. This is why it was more like stewing and less like a sauté.
I stirred them around semi-frequently, allowing them to develop some nice browned bits and probably cooked them for about 10 minutes or so until they fell apart in the right way. Add 1 teaspoon each fresh ground black pepper, salt, and sugar.
Meanwhile, chop up about 3-4 whole, peeled canned tomatoes. You can also use red fresh tomatoes, but I didn't find any in the markets at this point. They make a nice sweet contrast to the tangy green ones. Add them and all their juice into the green tomatoes and continue to sauté for another 3 minutes or so.
They should be completely falling apart and looking sort of chutney-like. I also added in 4 sliced sweet pickled peppadew peppers right before the tomatoes finished up.
Taste for salt and serve hot or at room temperature. Goodbye to summer--but if it ends like this, I'm cool with it.

Watermelon and feta steaks

2011-08-21T15:22:00.009-04:00

This is in imitation of a watermelon steaks appetizer from Abbatoir that I had a few weeks ago. It's a really pretty, really simple first course that hits sweet, salty, tangy and spicy all at the same time. At Abbatoir they use watermelon rind pickles but I didn't have any so I just made a quick pickle with thin slices of vidalia onion marinated for a few hours in 1/4 cup cider vinegar, a little olive oil, plus two teaspoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt.You'll need a sweet, in-season watermelon...You'll only need enough to cut 4 long bricks. Save the rest for snacking on all week long.I cut these by slicing two thick wedges and trimming them down into 2 pieces each.Gather about a quarter cup each of mint and basil leaves...Mince them all up together and set aside. They'll go on top.I wanted a mild, not-too-sharp feta--the cheese gal at Whole Foods thought this would do the trick. Cut it into slabs to fit on top of your watermelon.And you'll need some heat! I don't know what kind of peppers these were but they were aromatic, fruity and quite hot.De-seed them unless you're really a masochist. I touched my eyes after this accidentally by the way...regrets, I've had a few.And slice them into thin strips.Assembly is easy! Slab of feta over the watermelon...
Then vidalia pickle tucked in and around the melon, plus peppers and basil/mint mixture right on top. I sprinkled with a little crushed black pepper as well, right before serving.

Fruit and nut crackers

2011-07-22T10:22:00.003-04:00

There's a new place in the neighborhood called Wrecking Bar Brew Pub and not only do they have the freshest, tastiest beer in town, but they also have these delicious little crackers. They're packed full of different seeds, nuts and fruit and they are great with cheese. I was slightly tipsy there one evening and was begging our server to just bring me a huge pile of them to wallow in ("All I want...are some more of these crackers. Can just get, like, a basket of these? But they're so gooooood!" And so on). She gracefully/wisely demurred and so I went home and figured out how to make them myself. This recipe is flexible--feel free to change it up with different combos of fruits and nuts! It uses a technique similar to making biscotti--first you bake the cracker batter together in a loaf, then once it is cool you slice into thin sections and bake once more until crisped.You need a total of 1 1/2 cups of seeds/nuts and 1 cup of dried fruit. In this batch I used a combination of hazelnuts, almonds, pecans and sunflower seeds for the nuts...And golden raisins and dates for the fruit. Dried cranberries would be excellent in here! Or dried apricots. So would pumpkin seeds.I liked the nutty, full flavor of the crackers at Wrecking Bar, so I figured I'd try to duplicate with a combination of whole grains along with regular white flour. You will need 2 cups of flour total and I think at least 1 cup should be regular white flour, to keep the loaf from being too dense. My combination was the following: 1 cup white + 1/2 cup rye flour + 1/4 cup wheat bran + 1/4 cup flax seed meal. The rye was a great touch although Phil thought it tasted a little like a bagel (not a bad thing if you like bagels). But you can do 1:1 with white and whole wheat, or even just all white if you feel like it.Mix the flours up very well along with 2 teaspoons baking soda and 1 teaspoon salt.Make a well in the center and add in 1/2 cup of sweetener. I used 1/4 cup each of brown sugar and honey.Measure out 2 cups of yogurt. You can also use buttermilk.And add it in!It will be a very thick batter so get ready to wrestle.And add in all your fruits and nuts! Mix it up as well you can but don't overbeat it.Actually, I don't think you can overbeat it. It's like concrete.Grease a couple of loaf pans well with olive oil, or a cooking spray. If you only have one loaf pan and really have no idea where the other one went go ahead and use your weird vintage Fire King dishes. At one point I kind of kitsch collected this stuff. These are the only two pieces I have left, now that the loaf pan has walked off.Fill 'em up. They will rise a little bit so leave some room.They bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. After they've cooled for a few minutes in their pans, turn them out to a wire rack to finish cooling off.Very nicely browned. Put the loaves into your freezer for about 15 minutes. This will make them firm and easy to slice for the next step of cracker-making. You'll need a sharp knife! I sliced mine into very thin wafer-like slices. I only used the big loaf and it made an epic quantity of these crackers. I froze the two other little ones to slice up and bake at a later point.So many crackers...Lay them in a single layer on an ungreased baking sheet... And let them crisp up for 10 minutes in a 300 degree oven. Flip them over and let crisp on the other side for another 10 minutes. Some of the thinner ones may get a bit over-toasty but that's OK. Take them out and let cool.They're so flavorful! And possibly even nutritious?Wonderful with brie or farmer's cheese and some fresh figs. Enjoy!

Jet fuel cold-brewed coffee

2011-07-19T20:30:00.004-04:00

Is it hot by you? Because it is en fuego down here in Georgia. I started craving icy cold coffee in the morning and decided it was time to make a huge batch. The best thing about this recipe is that is makes a TON of coffee that lasts for at least one month in the fridge. Cold-brewing results in very low-acid coffee; the lack of exposure to heat is what keeps the acidity from developing. This method also keeps the natural caffeine from breaking down, resulting in the nickname "jet fuel." Don't drink it at night if you are caffeine-sensitive, is what I'm saying! But it will jump start you in the morning for sure. So let's review--easy to make a ton of it that keeps on hand for a long time, icy delicious in the summertime, and wakes you the eff UP. What's not to love?You basically just soak 1 pound of ground coffee in 8 quarts of water for 8 hours. I just gave you the recipe. That is literally all there is to it. OK, maybe something about type of coffee...honestly, I'm not sure it matters too much. The first time I used a medium roast Breakfast Blend, ground for drip coffee makers. It was from Your DeKalb Farmers Market and it worked great. This most recent time, I used a Trader Joes brand--it wasn't as strong but it's still delicious.You'll need a really big container (or two fairly large ones and just divide it up between them). I poured 8 quarts of water over the pound of grounds at about 10:30 in the morning...and then just went about my day until 6:30 pm that night. It won't look very different after 8 hours of soaking. Maybe the grounds are a bit more swollen.Then here's the only hard part. You need to pour it through 2 layers of cheesecloth that are over a fine-wire mesh strainer into a clean container, in order to get all the grounds out.It might be a little messy so strain it over the sink, if you can.And it leaves a lot of coffee grounds behind! Just throw them out and keep pouring through until it is all strained out.I keep mine in a big iced tea dispenser in the fridge. It may end up discoloring the plastic though, so perhaps I should try to find a glass one to store it in.To sweeten it I use simple syrup since it dissolves in cold liquid--just combine equal parts water and sugar, boil until all the sugar is dissolved, cool and use. It keeps indefinitely in the fridge so I always have some on hand. I think you could make a great cocktail with this and some Kahlua and cream. And what about a Thai iced coffee? Stir in some cardamom and top it gently with a couple tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk. And a plain old iced coffee with vanilla soy milk is pretty awesome too. Enjoy these hot summer days!

Pan-fried chicken on the 4th of July

2011-07-05T21:40:00.010-04:00

The Fourth of July is probably my family's favorite holiday. Growing up we really threw ourselves into the fireworks, the parades, and the food--and to this day I have to make sure we celebrate the holiday properly. This year we spent the day at the pool and then had friends over to eat fried chicken and biscuits, watermelon and corn on the cob...totally classic. It absolutely poured rain though, so the fireworks were kind of a bust. But we had this delicious pan-fried chicken to make up for it--the recipe comes from The Gift of Southern Cooking, by Scott Peacock and Edna Lewis. Scott Peacock used to be the chef at Watershed Restaurant here in town which is justifiably legendary for their fabulous fried chicken served every Tuesday evening. Making it at home takes a little effort and planning ahead but it's totally worth it, especially for the best holiday of the year.Start with a 3 pound chicken (these days I only buy from Springer Mountain Farms) cut up into 8 serving pieces. Make enough brine to cover the pieces--for this amount, 2 quarts of water mixed with 1/2 cup kosher salt will be enough.That's why this recipe takes so long--it's all the time needed for brining. Let it sit 8-12 hours in the fridge (basically put it together before you go to bed the night before and you'll be fine). The salty brine really needs the time to get in there to make the chicken unbelievably juicy and tender. Bright and early the next morning (or 8-12 hours before dinnertime, whichever comes first), drain the chicken from the brine...Fail to plan ahead adequately and make a run to Kroger for buttermilk (but it's OK because that means you can get some doughnuts for breakfast!).Pour one quart of buttermilk over the drained chicken pieces.And let it all soak in the fridge for another 8-12 hours. Again, as with the salty brine you made earlier, the buttermilk just needs some time to get in there to tenderize and add its unmistakable flavor. You should go to the pool in the meanwhile. After enough time has elapsed, you can go ahead and drain the buttermilk off 'cause you are ready to fry!Well, almost ready. There's a lot of preparation involved in making proper fried chicken, in case you hadn't noticed. You need to get your fat right. At Watershed they use a combo of 1 stick butter and 1 pound lard but I don't really have any lard, generally speaking. So I used 1 stick of butter together with all of my saved up bacon fat.Melt the fat and the butter together and cook over low heat for 30 minutes, skimming off any milk fat solids from the butter that rise to the surface. When you are ready to start frying, heat it up over medium-high until it is sizzling. The original recipe calls for the frying fat to be at 350 degrees, in case you have a thermometer handy.Mix together 1 cup flour, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 1 teaspoon salt and freshly ground black pepper. Dredge your chicken pieces one by one in this mixture, tapping off any excess. And set aside on a plate. OK, you have your chicken all ready to go and your fat is all prepared--now it is time to fry. For real this time!Fry the chicken on each side until it is a gorgeous golden-brown, 8-10 minutes per side. You do not want to crowd the pieces in--give them lots of room and be sure to cook in batches if needed! I needed to do mine in 2 batches and I do have a very large pan, so adjust as needed for your size of kitchen equipment. I also ended up turning on two burners to keep an even heat--this will only work if you have a large pan and a stovetop that permits a pan to fit over at least 2 burners at once.When both sides are lovely and browned, remove and drain the pieces on a wire rack over some newspaper to catch all the drips.I thought I'd need to, but in the end didn't end up keeping it warm in the oven or anything like that between batches. It stayed crispier that way and was perfectly flavorful simply warm or at room temperature. Serve with honey and fresh biscuits. Phil makes great biscuits--he cuts in the butter by hand and uses yogurt to mix them together. I should get him to do a guest post sometime :)Enjoy your chicken--every last piece! It makes a perfect new Fourth of July tradition.

Beet and green garlic stacks

2011-06-20T22:00:00.010-04:00

These look like candy but they're perfect for a savory first course! And, ok, maybe they taste a little like candy too since the beets and green garlic are roasted to sweetness and topped with a tangy lemon-honey drizzle.I used 4 smallish beets, no bigger than my punching fist. And for a comparison, my punching fist is smaller than a spaniel's head, just so it's all perfectly clear.Prick the beets lightly all over with a fork and let them roast at 400 for about 30 - 45 minutes. It will depend on size, but since you now know to look for beets smaller than a small dog's head, I think it will be fine.While they are roasting, peel the outermost layer from 3 bulbs of green garlic and trim the ends.After beets have a roasting head start of about 20 minutes, go ahead and add in the whole bulbs of green garlic plus 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2-3 tablespoons white wine (or stock or water) and some salt and pepper. Pop them back into the oven to finish out their time.Meanwhile you can make the sauce to drizzle over top. Half a lemon, 1 tablespoon each of honey and olive oil, plus just a pinch of grated fresh ginger--maybe a teaspoon or less. You can omit this if you don't have fresh ginger root on hand--it's totally not worth it to run out and buy specially for such a tiny amount. I keep mine in the freezer so I always have some handy, by the way. Just chop it up into 1" chunks and freeze the pieces in a ziploc.This honey is still the best I've ever had--we got it from the farmer's market up in Blue Ridge last year... that has my vote for our most enjoyable mini vacation of all time.Mix up the honey, lemon juice, olive oil and ginger in a little dish with a teeny bit of salt and pepper.
Your beets are roasted and soft!Let them cool slightly so you don't burn your paws, then peel them--the skins should slide right off. Slice into thin rounds.Stack the rounds and top with a roasted green garlic bulb...And drizzle with the honey-lemon sauce.Pretty and dramatic! I like it.

Swordfish on leeks

2011-06-12T19:09:00.007-04:00

Leeks look like hairy, skinny onions. In the allium world they are the scrawny teenage boy who just learned to grow a mustache, which is totally off-putting. But they turn tender and sweet when they are braised on the stovetop and they make a nice nest for meaty swordfish steaks.
Peel off the toughest outer layer and split your leeks in half longwise. You can trim the ends if you like, but I left them on because I think they look neat--just don't eat them.Leeks are always a bit sandy. Wash them well by swishing them in a bowl of cold water and letting all the dirt settle out while you do other things.Swordfish was on sale at Whole Foods! It's delicious but we barely ever eat it because of the over-fishing issues and the cost. But I figured if it was on sale they probably had a lot of it and who wants any waste of such a top fish?Salt, pepper, and marinate very lightly for 30 minutes with a tablespoon of olive oil and the juice from 1/2 lemon, plus a few slices cut from the squeezed out half.Melt about 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat and add in your (drained and dried) leeks.They'll start to get a little bit soft after 5 minutes or so; add in 1/4 cup chicken stock and a drizzle of white wine. Let them cook for another 10 minutes.Meanwhile, zest a small lemon (or do doubleduty and take the zest from the half lemon you used earlier, if it's big enough).Add the zest to the leeks along with another 1/4 cup chicken stock and 1/4 cup or so more white wine. Cover and turn the heat up to medium-high for 7 minutes, then check on them.They should be dry and looking like this with some yummy browned bits.Flip them around and add in a bit more wine (just pour it out from the glass you're drinking out of anyway) and a splash more chicken stock to deglaze the fond. Add also the lightest sprinkle of sugar, plus salt and pepper. Let it cook down for 5 minutes.Meanwhile, that's practically all the time you need to finish your swordfish steaks! Get your broiler cranked up and put in your swordfish steaks with some olive oil in the pan. Let them cook for 3 minutes per side then remove from heat.The leeks cooked off all their liquid and are lying there exhausted.Pile them into a bed on some couscous...And hello there! Swordfish on top.Enjoy! Have another glass of wine. You've earned it.

Roasted broccolini with green garlic

2011-06-12T18:53:00.005-04:00

Broccolini and fresh green garlic were just both in season here in Georgia so I roasted them together. I actually don't usually love broccolini--I always think it tastes too bitter. But roasted using the revelatory broccoli method it mellows out a lot. And the green garlic is so tender that it becomes soft in no time at all.Chop up the broccolini into manageable chunks--I think these were in 2" pieces. Peel the green garlic...And chop into quarters, depending on how big they are.Scatter amongst the broccolini pieces...And drizzle with about 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus salt and pepper. Toss it together so everything gets evenly coated before roasting.Let it go for 20-25 minutes at 400. Check in often though--here it is after about 10 minutes.When you pull it out it won't look pretty--the broccolini leaves are browned and crisp.But they taste perfect. Shave a lot of fresh Parmesan over the top plus a squeeze of lemon juice.I like how they look on the plate in a big tangle--especially good with steak.

Of corndogs and final exams

2011-05-03T09:00:00.001-04:00

I haven't been cooking lately, so apologies for my temporary absence. Just like last year, I am in the thick of final exams and eating like a child. But I'm coming up on a relaxed summer and looking forward to posting lots of great new stuff to cook...

Balsamic vinegar-cocoa nib glazed oven ribs

2011-04-19T20:43:00.010-04:00

This was some good stuff, my friends. I encourage you to make these ribs along with my preceding recipe for goat cheese/vidalia onion laced grits. Maybe for Easter dinner this coming weekend? I based these ribs somewhat on this recent recipe from the New York Times, but it departs in a couple key places, as you'll see. I used 2 pounds of ribs here; this serves 2 people happily. If you're having company, double the amounts called for in the rib sauce. For the ribs themselves, you should increase to at least 5 pounds for 4 people. For the grits, you can just straight double the amount called for in the recipe. Anyway!Get you some baby back ribs and lay them out on a long sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil...Salt and pepper them on both sides, then drizzle on 2 tablespoons olive oil.If you made the grits before, you should have some baby vidalia onion greens left over. Slice them in half, long ways, and lay out over the ribs, along with 4 cloves of garlic, slivered. If you don't have the green spring onion tops, you can use small bunches of chive instead.Now let's pack 'em up right. Fold the long end of the foil over the ribs...And crimp the edges down to form a packet. A packet of ribs! Put in a big pan and roast at 350 for 30 minutes, then turn the heat down to 250. They will cook for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours, so you've got some time on your hands now.Here's how to make the sauce: measure 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, put in a pot and bring it to a boil, allowing it to reduce slightly for a minute or so over high heat.Stir in 3 tablespoons dijon mustard and 1 cup white wine until smooth, then add in 1/4 cup ketchup and a couple dashes tabasco. Let it all come to a simmer. Now! You need some cocoa nibs. I bought these on impulse a while back at the DeKalb Farmers Market. They weren't expensive so I didn't worry that I had no idea what to do with them.They are the crunchy hulls of the cocoa bean. I nibbled on one raw--they're not bitter, as you might expect from unsweetened cocoa.I seriously can't believe the flavor though--it adds something deep and smokey to the sauce! I ended up putting them in granola this week too--the texture is awesome. I can see a lot of potential uses for them so get ready to see them again in the next month or so.I used about 1/4 cup for the sauce and smashed them with a rolling pin to break them down a bit.Add the cocoa nibs into the sauce along with 1/2 cup brown sugar. Here's where you can use up the rest of that baby vidalia onion.Dice the white bulb from 1 small baby vidalia. If you don't have no baby vidalia onions, just substitute with 2 big shallots, diced. Add it to the sauce and bring it all to boil, then turn down to simmer for 30 min, stirring occasionally.When the ribs are done they should be soft and pulling off the bone. Get them out of the oven and unwrap.Lay them out on a baking sheet and let them cool for just a couple minutes.After the 30 minutes of cooking, your sauce should be reduced and pretty thick. Baste the ribs on all sides with the sauce. You can broil them for a few minutes, or I like better to turn the oven up to 475, let them cook in there for 5 minutes, then re-baste them and cook for a few minutes more so the sauce really gets all into everything.They're so good. It's a deep flavored sauce and the meat is so tender. All you need now is a scoop of goat cheese grits...And the ribs on top. Total heaven. Enjoy!

Goat cheese grits with baby vidalia onions

2011-04-19T20:32:00.012-04:00

These really were made to go with the recipe that follows for balsamic-cocoa glazed oven ribs--they are a match made in heaven! Start your grits in a mixture of 1 1/2 cups water, 1/2 cup milk, and 1/2 cup white wine. Combine in a pot with 2 tablespoons butter. And bring it to a boil.You need some grits! Not the instant kind--get real, slow-cooking grits.You need 1/2 cup. Doesn't look like much, does it? But it will end up as enough for a side for 2-3 people. Amazing.Slowly whisk the grits into the boiling water-milk-wine mixture.It will seem pretty liquidy even after incorporating it all in. But that's OK.Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened. It will take about 30-40 minutes, but doesn't require psychotic attention so you can concentrate on doing other things. Voila. Pretty much done here.Meanwhile, you can get the seasonings together. I had a bunch of baby vidalia onions--they started showing up in markets not long ago down here in Georgia. I love their flavor; they aren't so sharp like scallions. If you can't find baby vidalias specifically, you can use spring onion. It has three parts--the white bulb, the long middle white part, and the green tops.Cut apart all three, and slice the middle white part into thin rings.Set aside the sliced white rings and reserve about 2 tablespoons of the green ends for the grits as well (you can use the bulb and the rest of the greens up when you make the ribs).And get some goat cheese!You need about 2 ounces (that's half of the small cylinder package above).Your grits are done, so turn them down to low and stir in the goat cheese until it all melts in...And add in the white thin rings of the onion, plus salt and pepper to taste.And finish them up with a sprinkly of the greens on top. Creamy and delicious. Lonely though--they really want some ribs on top...Ahhhh. There we go.It's amazing you know--but this is really just the same thing as a classic polenta with a slow-cooked meat ragu on top. Southern American or Southern Italian--really, what's the difference? :)

Spring green vegetable soup

2011-04-04T22:46:00.015-04:00

Here's a spring green vegetable soup for you--creamy, full-flavored and perfect for an April evening. It's fast to put together, and you won't believe how many vegetables I managed to fit in here. Check it out: broccoli, spinach, carrots, potatoes, onion and garlic! First, I just want to note--the amounts are very flexible! If you have a little less broccoli or a little more spinach or one fewer carrot, do not worry about it. It all gets blended up together and will taste great no matter what. Start by prepping all your vegetables. Chop 3 small heads of broccoli, including the stems (peel them first)...And roughly chop 1 small onion (or, because I actually had really big onions, use 1/2 of a large onion). Depending on how much you love it--smash and peel 3 to 6 cloves of garlic. Peel and chop 2 medium carrots into small chunks. And about 2 cups total of peeled, chopped Yukon Gold potatoes. Combine 1 tablespoon each butter and olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat.And add in all those gorgeous vegetables. Saute together in the butter and olive oil for about 5 minutes. Add in 3 cups of water and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. The baking soda addition is taken from Cook's Illustrated--apparently it works to break down the broccoli and brings up the vegetal flavor. Bring it all to a simmer, cover and cook for 25 - 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Since we have a few minutes to spare, you can make some croutons for the soup! At least that's what I did anyway. I had a bunch of ends of bread in the freezer and I had let them get a bit stale. Cut them into cubes... And toss them in a big bowl with olive oil (at least 2-3 tablespoons) and salt and pepper.Add some fresh parmesan cheese... And spread out on a baking sheet. Let them bake at 300 until crispy, stirring them around occasionally. It will probably take about 10-15 minutes but keep an eye on them because they can burn easily.After 25-30 minutes of cooking, all your veggies should be quite soft. Add 2 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock for a completely vegetarian version) and bring it up to a simmer again. Remember your big pile of spinach?Chop it up--should be more or less 2 cups worth. Add to the pot and let it wilt for about a minute or so into the hot soup. And now get your beloved immersion blender (seriously, from a totally non-gadgety person,this is the best gadget ever)and puree it all up together!This is optional but I added in 1/2 cup shredded cheese--this time it was a combination of jack and gouda.Puree again after adding in the cheese...And it really looks pretty, doesn't it? Taste and add salt and pepper, then serve with a handful of the croutons and a spoonful of Greek yogurt.

Greens and bacon mac & cheese

2011-03-28T11:00:00.004-04:00

I'm really not even going to try to convince you all that this is a healthy mac and cheese. Yes, it has tons of dark leafy greens baked in there...but it's also all bacony and cheesey. My mom bought them at the farmers market here and then forgot to bring them back home with her to Wisconsin. So there they were in my fridge, staring at me--an enormous pile of greens. It was a healthy mix--some chards, some turnip greens, kale, plus some who knows what. After trimming and cutting into chiffonade, it looks slightly more manageable.I then cut about 1/2 pound of bacon into 1" chunks and cooked until browned. And removed to a plate to add back in later. Turn the heat to medium in the big bacony pot, and add in all the greens...Saute them until they soften up. They'll wilt right away,but if you have some heartier greens in there (like the kale) it will take about 3-5 minutes of cooking for them to get soft enough. If you have just chard they'll be done a bit faster since that's a less tough green. Once your greens are cooked, scoop them into a wire colander and kind of press them with a spoon to get them to drain out some liquid. The idea it to get them as dry as possible so you don't add soggy vegetables to your nice creamy mac and cheese. Set the greens aside and rinse out your pot.Melt 1/2 stick of butter (4 tablespoons) over medium-low heat and add in 1/2 minced onion to saute until the onion is soft--about 3-5 minutes. Measure out 3 tablespoons flour...And sprinkle it into your butter-onion mixture.Get a whisk and move it around--it will turn into a paste. You're making a light roux for the thickening base of your cheese sauce.Heat up (but don't boil!) 1 1/2 cups of milk...Turn down the heat to as low as possible and gradually add the milk to your roux, whisking it in a bit at a time. It will get really thick but by the time you add all the milk, it should be not at all pasty. Whisk until smooth and add in salt and pepper.Get 1/2 cup of dry white wine...And whisk it into the sauce. It should be the perfect consistency at this point.Now here's the cheesy part! I had a bunch of of cheese odds-n-ends hanging out in my fridge--orphan cheeses, if you will. This is a great way to use up lots of little bits in one big melty goo. I had some gouda, some Amadeus cheese (I don't know much of anything about it, it's from Austria and tastes yummy and is presumably named after Mozart), and some pepper jack, although I don't think I ended up needing to use that last one. Shred it all up--you need about 1 1/2 cups total.And whisk it in! Shred it up. Whisk it in. Lock it down. And add a couple dashes of hot sauce. While the cheese sauce is cooking, boil about 3/4 pound (so, almost, but not all of 1 package) of macaroni. Drain it, and add in to the finished sauce. After you've incorporated the macaroni, add in your patiently waiting greens...And the even more patiently waiting bacon... And transfer the whole shebang to a baking dish.I topped mine with a handful of bread crumbs and a bit more shredded cheese--optional, but it does add a nice crunch. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes--if you want to you can broil it at the very end for just a few seconds to get a nice crisp top.And yes, it is very very good. Please enjoy!

Bolognese di due madri

2011-03-23T11:00:00.003-04:00

This sauce has two mommies.We spent a recent weekend in the company of our parents and it was a really lovely time. My mom wanted to make a bolognese sauce for dinner with Phil's mom, and who can say no to that? The two of them puttered around the kitchen--Phil's mom taking notes and my mom scooting around doing everything at top speed, as usual. I got stuck prepping ingredients/doing dishes, and tried to grab a few pictures along the way. This sauce uses a combination of 1/2 pound baby back pork ribs and 1 pound ground sirloin. My mom was really pleased with the way the meats turned out together for the sauce--it isn't too heavy but does develop a nice, deep flavor from the bones. Start by seasoning the ribs with salt and pepper...Then brown them in a tablespoon of olive oil, along with a handful of chopped onion (you'll need about 1/2 a chopped onion, in total, by the way--you'll be adding some to the ground beef as it browns as well).She browns the two meats in separate pans. I cut corners here and do it all together--don't be like me. Be like my mom. (But it makes extra dishes.)Over in a big sauce pot, she crumbles in the ground sirloin, and browns it with a tablespoon or so of olive oil and the rest of the chopped onion.We are a short people.When the meats are browned, add about 1/4 cup of red wine to each pan to loosen up all the good fond.And make sure to do the pork ribs too. Here they are, sizzling in the wine she just poured in. They will get loose and a little bit saucy right away.Now you can just pour everything from the rib pan into the big pot along with the rest of the meat and take it from there. Now you add a 28-oz can of tomatoes to the pan--but use whole tomatoes and puree them smooth before adding to the sauce. I just stuck my immersion blender right into the open can and whizzed them smooth. You can also use a regular blender or just squish them up with your hands in a bowl. Any way you do it, just get your whole tomatoes in smooth form, then pour them in.And then add about 1/4 can's worth of water as well.The most important is to taste as you go along. You add just a little salt at a time as you go along.And add in 2 bay leaves.And grind in pepper, as needed. Taste, taste, taste.Here's where things get a little Sicilian. Jocelyn gave me this lovely little container, made of cinnamon bark...Turns out it holds cinnamon sticks perfectly. Makes sense, right? You add 1/2 of one cinnamon stick to the sauce, along with 1 teaspoon sugar. And let simmer all together for one hour.Cover it to keep from over-reducing as it simmers.And taste. Taste, taste, taste.My mom brought her own pasta with her, packed in her carry-on. That's commitment, right there. Any nice big pasta will do fine here though--this isn't a sauce for thin noodles. Boil in plenty of salted water until al dente.Your sauce should be looking and smelling wonderful right about now, with the pork ribs just falling off the bone. Our next-door-neighbors said they could smell it all the way down the block.Allora, è finito. Enjoy this fabulous sauce with some fresh grated parmesan at the table.And, lest you think only moms rock the kitchen, here's evidence that my father is no slouch either: he made us some fresh baked bread in time for dinnerHe uses the no-knead dough recipe that I have made here before...but his turns out better, of course.

(many thanks to Emily, for thinking of the idea for this post and reminding me to take pictures of the moms cooking!)

St. Patrick's Day 2011

2011-03-21T22:50:00.004-04:00

One major difference for this year's St. Patrick's Day: Rick moved out of town so I had to make the Irish soda bread myself. But besides that, all the regulars showed up...4 heads of cabbage.Many potatoes...And assorted roots. Not the stars of the show but they build good flavor.Here's where those 12 pounds of beef went! Borrowed the world's largest pot from the Blivmore family so I could cook it all together at once. Covered the corned beef in water and let simmer for about 3 1/2 hours, until tender. Then added in the vegetables to cook for the last hour or so.
The soda bread wasn't too hard to make, thanks to Rick's careful instruction. I'll add the recipe here later as an update if he says I can share it.And the stand mixer helps too...just mix it and knead it all in one place, which helps when you're making 4 separate batches. I had no idea how often I would be using this! An excellent gift from my parents who know better about these things. It basically looks like a brain.You just plop it right on the baking sheet in its free-form brain shape.And it is beautiful. I made two loaves with raisins and two without.

Dark and stormy pork chops

2011-03-11T10:00:00.000-05:00

These were made on a dark and stormy night! And, yes, inspired by delicious Dark & Stormy cocktails, except these chops were marinated with bourbon instead of Gosling's rum. Get two thick-cut boneless pork chops and cover in 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger, plus a pinch of red pepper flakes and 1 minced clove of garlic... This isn't the first time we've seen this ginger beer around here, is it? Looks familiar to me! Cover the pork chops with about 1/2 cup of the ginger beer, a couple good shots of dark spiced rum or bourbon, plus the juice from half a lime and 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Let marinate for at least 1 hour, refrigerated, but a few hours would be even better. Meanwhile, mince you up 2 shallots. Remove your chops and reserve the marinade. Heat a tablespoon olive oil over medium high heat and add in the pork chops, getting each side browned well. It will probably take about 3-4 minutes per side. Remove those lovely beasts to a plate once they're nice and browned. They don't need to be cooked all the way through, so don't worry about that yet.Enter the shallots! Dump them in your pan over medium heat and sauté briefly (maybe 3 minutes) until soft. You shouldn't need to add any more fat, but if it seems dry you can kick in a little butter or olive oil.Lovely. Once the shallots are soft, turn up the heat to medium high and add in the marinade. The ginger beer will sizzle and foam up in an entertaining manner. Let it cook until somewhat reduced, maybe 2 minutes.Now you must pick whichever side of your pork chops is the prettiest. Set it best side up in the reduced marinade-shallots mixture and turn the heat to medium-low so they can cook all the way through. The USDA says pork should check in at an internal temperature of 160 before serving. I just use my instant read thermometer because it's hard to be sure with the thick cut kind of chops whether they are done through. Yes. Looks good. You can serve with a wedge of lime for the real cocktail experience.

Squash stuffed with field peas and snaps

2011-03-02T18:14:00.008-05:00

Super simple and super yummy combination! I used (of course) kabocha squash, but you can scoop out and stuff any kind of winter squash that you like. Field peas and snaps are found in your freezer section or in cans (if you live in the south they are, anyway). I like the frozen kind. Bring a pot of heavily salted water to a boil and add 2 cups frozen field peas and snaps. They take about 15 minutes to cook through. Meanwhile, halve the squash and scoop out the guts. Roast the squash halves at 400, turned over in a baking dish with 1/2 cup of water until soft, which takes about 45 minutes. (Or microwave them. I know some of you have microwaves.) Those field peas and snaps should be done in 15 - 20 minutes. Drain and set aside. Sauté one small, chopped onion over medium heat along with some bacon. Oh, this bacon was so good. So. Good. It's made at the DeKalb Farmer's Market and they always run out, so stock up if you see it there. I used what was about the equivalent of 1/4 package of bacon, cut up into 1" pieces, so you don't need very much. Let it cook along with the onions until the bacon is getting crispy and the onions are soft and golden. When the bacon and onions are ready, add in the drained field peas and snaps and turn down the heat to medium-low. Add at least 3 dashes of Tabasco...more if you like! Continue to sauté all together for 1 minute or so then remove from heat. By now you have some squash halves that are cooked through and ready to be stuffed. Add in a couple scoops of the field peas mixture... And make sure to top with a scoop of the bacon pieces. Return the stuffed squash to the oven for another 5 minutes--the bacon will get a bit more crispy and the flavors will have a chance to meld together. So yummy. Enjoy every last bite.

The corning of the beef

2011-03-01T18:45:00.005-05:00

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Twelve pounds of brisket have a date with my fridge for the next 3 weeks or so.First, I take a moment to weigh the spaniel against the meat...I think we'll keep her on for another year. Here's the curing rub. Two cups of coarse kosher salt, 4 tablespoons each ground allspice, paprika and dried thyme... Plus 4 tablespoons cracked black peppercorns and about 8 or so bay leaves, crumbled. Mix it all up together very well.Now you channel your rage! Get a fork and stab stab stab each side of the brisket many times. Visualize that yahoo who cut you off in traffic or the office creepster or whatever helps.Make sure you do both sides.Then you cover each side with a healthy handful of the spice/salt mixture and rub it in really well.Et voila. Gross hands = good corned beef.Pack it all up into heavy ziploc bags (I needed 3 2-gallon bags for my 12 pounds of brisket), stack them on a baking sheet in your fridge, and turn them every day so they each get a chance to be weighed down over the next few weeks. We'll check back in and see how this year's batch turned out after St. Patrick's Day!

(Thanks to Rick for taking a bunch of pictures! You are the wind beneath my wings.)

Braising a mystery cut of beef

2011-02-24T10:00:00.001-05:00

I went looking for beef short ribs at the Riverview Farms meat stand but I was told it wasn't going to be exactly short ribs. In fact, what he said was "Oh, there'll be ribs in there all right. Just don't expect them to be short."Inside was...mystery cut! I shall call them beef long ribs. But you can braise anything and it will come out tender and delicious, so I just treated them like short ribs.Sauteed 1 chopped onion in olive oil and butter over medium heat until soft.Turned the heat up to medium high, cleared a space in the center of the soft onion, and nestled the beef cuts in there to brown--it took about 3-5 minutes per side.Meanwhile I peeled up a ton of garlic. My mom gave me a huge sackful of whole heads of garlic so I'm using it in everything. This is about 1 head--peel each clove but leave them whole.After the beef was nicely browned on each side, I poured in about 3/4 a bottle of dry red wine into the dutch oven, covered and popped it in the oven at 300 degrees.For 4 hours.After about 2 1/2 hours had passed, I added in all the garlic cloves.After the full 4 hours had elapsed, I pulled it out and stirred in a tablespoon of dijon mustard.Everything was just falling apart into saucy bits... and the house smelled so good.Delicious over angel hair egg pasta--the kind that you buy in nests and it just unspools in boiling water. Together with this braise, it reminds you of stroganoff, but different.

Citrus takes Manhattan

2011-02-22T12:00:00.002-05:00

Classic Manhattan, but sweet and citrusy. Bourbon, sweet vermouth...Blood orange bitters. I lik the packaging on this bottle. And a cute lil' clementine. A blood orange would be even better, for a total theme, but I had a ton of these little suckers in my fridge already. So clementine it is.Slice off a twist...Pop it in a highball with as many maraschino cherries as your drink recipient requests.Get a cocktail shaker and measure in 2 ounces bourbon.Plus a half an ounce of vermouth.And just a dash of bitters.
Halve your clementine and juice it into the shaker.
Add lots of ice...And shake it for your dog!They love it. Pour out into your highball glass, over the cherries and clementine peel.An old fashioned drink...I have also been known to add a little grenadine for ruby color and even more sweetness.

Ginger maple float

2011-02-20T18:38:00.007-05:00

One night we were seriously craving an ice cream special of some kind but didn't have a ton of classic soda fountain stuff around the house. Ginger beer left over from some Dark and Stormys, a teeny bit of vanilla ice cream plus a couple other pantry staples...voila. This float is not super sweet and that's a good thing. First step--find a nice, spicy ginger beer. This one was good. We also made it with a Caribbean brand that kicked ass but I can't remember the name, boo. You need a little less than 1 bottle for each float.Oh Trader Maple Joes. I'm almost out of you. But it's OK because for this recipe we only need a little drizzle of maple syrup per float.You also need 2 pieces of crystallized ginger per float. Cut a little slit in one of the pieces.And mince the other piece up into teeny little sprinkles for on top.One small scoop vanilla ice cream in your pint glass. By the way, Phil felt this was not sufficient ice cream. It is the perfect amount for me though, so I think it varies widely by float-consumer.Pour over ginger beer...And a drizzle of maple syrup, then fill all the way up so it's all foamy. Drizzle a little more maple syrup on top for decoration and extra sweetness.Pop the slice of ginger with the slit over the edge of the glass and sprinkle on the chopped pieces.Lookin' good.It's super creamy and just the right amount of spicy-sweet.

Spiced kabocha squash with apples

2011-01-17T10:35:00.010-05:00

Kabocha squashes are amazing. They're low moisture so they're perfect for making gnocchi. They also play nicely with other fruits and vegetables--like right here in this spiced bake. Kabocha squash is a lot like pumpkin as far as density goes. Get a cleaver and whack yours open.Scoop out the seeds, peel and cube it as best you can. I'm not showing any pictures of that process because it was hard to do and a total bloodbath for the squash halves. Here's the fairly attractive aftermath though--nice little chunks of kabocha squash.Toss with salt, pepper, 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1/4 cup chicken stock. Set it to bake at 400 for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.Here's what it looks like afterwards--the cubes should be soft but not too mushy.Meanwhile, get 1/4 cup of golden raisins...
And some apples. I had 3 quite small ones that had large cores, so I suspect after peeling and trimming that they might be the equivalent of one very large apple.
See? This is all that came from those 3 apples--it's about 1 cup peeled apple cubes.
Add them to the squash mixture along with the raisins, 1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon fresh crumbled rosemary, 1 teaspoon vindaloo powder, 1 teaspoon chile powder, 1/4 cup more chicken stock and a tablespoon brown sugar.
Return it to the oven to bake for another 10 - 15 minutes, stirring after 5 minutes. The apples should be soft and everything should be bubbling nicely.
Perfect alongside pork or anything that could use a chutney-like side dish.

Dead simple sucessful winter cheese plate

2011-01-15T19:28:00.005-05:00

Sometimes it's just the little tiny things. This is a very runny, super fat Brie served with dried pear slices and salted cashews. They were really yummy all stacked together on slightly sweet/salty wheat cracker rounds. It would actually make a really pretty canapé if you did them ahead of time and it was delicious with prosecco.

Goat cheese rounds with honeyed beets

2011-01-14T10:30:00.007-05:00

This is a fantastic first course! Beets and goat cheese are classic together and this adds a bit of sweetness to their partnership. Done this way, it looks a little more dressed up for company than just sliced beets with the goat cheese crumbled over the top (which is what I normally do). Start by peeling 2 small beets and cutting into chunks or cubes of roughly the same size. Toss in a baking dish with 1 tablespoon crumbled fresh rosemary, salt, pepper, 1 tablespoon olive oil and just a sprinkle of brown sugar. Roast at 400 until soft, shaking the pan occasionally as they cook.They should pretty much turn into beet raisins. Some will be chewier and some will be softer. I like the contrast in textures. Drizzle the roasted beets lightly with 1 - 2 teaspoons honey.While the beets are roasting, get 1 tablespoon parsley and 2 tablespoons pecans...Mince them up. They don't stand a chance!Now put 1 tablespoon fine bread crumbs in a small mixing bowl...And add your parsley and pecans. Mix it all up well.I got out my mortar and smashed everything together to make the mixture more cohesive. If you did a better job mincing than I did in the previous step then you may not need to do this.Goat cheese! Slice two 1/2" rounds off a chilled log of goat cheese. I shaped them into patties with my hands and let them chill in the fridge until it was time to finish them for dinner. The idea is to keep them cold so they don't heat up too fast and lose their shape when you put them in the oven.Pat the rounds into your pecan-bread crumbs mixture. Get them well-coated on all sides.By the way, you probably noticed at this point that there's only enough here for a first course for two people. This is because we are snowed in and as a result the party is very exclusive. Just double or triple amounts for your much less sad dinner party. Anyway, put the rounds on some tin foil and place them in the oven along with the beets to heat up. I had them in at 400 for maybe 10 minutes or so. You just want them to get warm all through and for the nuts in the topping to get a little toasty.When they are all heated through, gently remove them to a plate--be careful because they're warm and easily fall apart!Now you need a little bit of honey...this is a huge jar of wildflower honey from our trip to Blue Ridge this summer. Feels like a million years ago that we were walking around on a hot summer day!Drizzle about a tablespoon or so over each warmed goat cheese round...And top with the beets. Perfect. Enjoy!

French blue lentil soup

2011-01-12T10:26:00.007-05:00

It's cold and wintery and the entire city is snowed in! Let's make soup!I love blue potatoes. I love their nutty flavor and ancient pedigree--they're from the Andean highlands of Peru and look like potatoes must have looked like seven thousand years ago. You just need one big one--peel it and cut open to see a beautiful tie-dye inside.Chop into little chunks roughly the same size and set aside.You need one small onion, diced.And about 1/2 cup of diced celery.And bacon! Truthfully, this soup could use more but this was all I had in the house--about 1/4 pound. Chop it up into little pieces and fry until crispy in a big pot.Remove the delicious nibbles and set aside, hiding them from yourself, if necessary.
Add the onion and celery to the bacony pot over medium heat and saute until softened, about 5-7 minutes.
Add 1 teaspoon cumin and 1/2 teaspoon chile powder to bloom in the fat.
Then 1 tablespoon tomato paste, sauteed briefly.
Rinse about 1 1/2 cups of french green lentils (aka lentilles du Puy). You can use regular lentils if you want but I like these because they hold their shape even after they're cooked. They're especially delicious with our blue potato.
Add to the pot and saute for a minute or two...
Then add in your blue potato along with 2 whole cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed.
Add 6 cups of chicken stock and a bay leaf or two, and bring to a low boil, then turn down to simmer for about 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, stir 1/2 cup of greek yogurt until very smooth.
Take a peek at your soup--you might want to skim off some of the bacon fat.
When it is all done it will smell divine. Taste it and add salt as needed and drizzle in 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar. I actually also tossed in a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce for more dimension but that might not be to everyone's taste. I think it would also be good with a tablespoon of miso stirred in there.
Top with spoonfuls of the greek yogurt and a handful of crisp bacon.

Devils on horseback

2010-12-21T21:13:00.005-05:00

These are fantastic. We had them in Key West last spring and I've been thinking they'd make a great holiday party appetizer ever since. They're simple as can be--dates stuffed with a bit of roasted garlic, then wrapped in salty/sweet brown sugar-rubbed speck. It's a good idea to roast your garlic ahead of time so you're not faced with the task right before assembling these little guys. I just roasted two heads, wrapped in tinfoil with a little bit of olive oil at 400 for an hour and 15 minutes. They should be very soft when done and easy to pop out of their peels. Then I stuck them in the fridge until I was ready to make them for a party.You'll need some salty pig as well. You could use bacon or prosciutto, but I used speck and was very pleased with the results. I guess proscuitto would be second-best if you don't have any speck in your markets.And some dates!When I was a kid my mom used to make me stuff dates with almonds for appetizers at parties. The process was pretty much exactly like this is going to be for you: slice each date open, stuff with goodness. Repeat. Pop out a soft roasted garlic clove...And tuck it in the date that you've sliced open.Now for the true decadence, where I part ways from my more abstemious mother. Pour some brown sugar into a little dish...And get a thin strip of your speck (or prosciutto or bacon). Rub it well with the brown sugar...Then wrap around your garlic-stuffed date. Adorable! Secure the cute lil bundle with a toothpick and arrange on a rack over a baking sheet. Pop them in a preheated oven at 425 for maybe about 15 minutes. Take a peek at them after about 10 minutes though--you don't want these little darlings to burn up.I served them with some manchego cheese on the side. They're heavenly little devils and should for sure be invited to your New Year's Eve party. Enjoy!

Sweet potato and clementine biscuits

2010-12-17T15:16:00.011-05:00

Here's some cute little biscuits--their natural sweetness is brought out by a bit of clementine zest. They'd be great alongside cold-weather soups, but I'm thinking they're particularly perfect for Christmas morning breakfast. You can make these sweeter by dusting the tops with cinnamon and sugar, or keep them on the savory side (they'd be great with slices of country ham).Get 3 cups of flour plus 1/2 cup cornmeal... Dump them together in a big bowl along with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Don't forget the chief! Add 3 teaspoons baking powder, mix well and set aside. This is the only annoying, do-ahead part of the whole thing, I promise. Bake one large sweet potato until very soft and mushy.
Scoop it out into a mixing bowl and mash it with 2 tablespoons honey plus the zest and a little bit of juice from one clementine. Now you'll need one stick of butter. One whole stick! Slice it into little pieces--you want the butter cold, straight out of the fridge, rather than at room temperature, by the way. And cut the butter, bit by bit, into the flour mixture. I do this by hand--just rub the flour with the butter pieces until it goes all flaky, like this. When you're done, your flour mixture should look granular and piecey. Here's my analogy--it's like putting in hair product. After you've incorporated all your butter, add in the sweet potato mixture. It will likely need a bit of help mixing, so measure out 3/4 cup of milk...And, very gently, blend it in along with the sweet potato. Do not over-mix--you just want to use the milk to barely bind everything together, rather than mixing it into a cohesive mass. Turn out your dough onto a floured surface and knead carefully just until it holds together, then pat it into a large square. Cut the square into squares... And those squares into more squares! I trimmed off the edges to make them more even looking, then re-rolled the scraps to cut a few more biscuits. Lay them out on parchment paper... There's actually quite a few here because I ended up cutting the last set of squares in half again. They were a bit too small though, in retrospect. Put them in a preheated, 400 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes. They puff up a bit and get a lovely golden brown color. I brushed the tops with a mixture of brown butter and honey. They'd also be nice with a dusting of cinnamon and sugar.Now, who would like some biscuits? Of course. Taste testers welcome!

Festive favorites

2010-12-08T11:17:00.013-05:00

It's the most wonderful time of the year...when end-of-semester duties and Christmas run head on into each other. I just have to accept that for a few years law school finals will coincide with the time when I most want to be in the kitchen, making delicious holiday things. For now, I decided it might be cool to put up some links to a few past favorites that I think are particularly suited to holiday time entertaining.

Fried Chickpeas with Rosemary. These are addictive little snacks that are perfect to set out in a bowl at a cocktail party. I think they're probably one of the most popular things I've ever made. Just crisp up your chickpeas in olive oil and toss with salt and chopped rosemary. Divine.

Black-eyed Pea Hummus with Sweet Potato Chips. So you used up all your chickpeas on the first appetizer recipe? Never fear, this is a delicious way to change up your standard hummus routine. And the sweet potato chips are amazing, but if you know a good brand that can stand up to dipping you could always buy them and save yourself some time that would best be used watching Rudolph.

Arancini. Here my mother teaches us all how to make a Sicilian classic: stuffed, fried rice balls. I always thought of them as a snack but lately I have seen them pop up as starters in restaurants--they look quite chic served in little paper cones and would be a cute thing for a party.

Tortilla Soup. It's red! It's green! It should be in your family photo Christmas card this year, it looks so perfect for the season. A great way to start off a small holiday dinner party, or eat the whole batch yourself because it is spicy, tangy and addictive.

Red Cabbage with Prosciutto and Pine Nuts. This is a really pretty side dish that hits all the right sweet-savory-salty-sour notes at once. Who knew cabbage could clean up so well? Great for alongside a pork loin or another big holiday centerpiece.

Sweet Potato and Roasted Beet Confetti. With a name like "confetti" how can it be anything but fun? I do think this might be the most lovely looking side dish (or maybe it's a salad?) I've ever made. The beet and sweet potato have totally different textures and types of sweetness, but the crumbles of goat cheese give a nice tangy balance and they all go together like best friends.

Potluck Pineapple-Cheese. OK, this one might not be such a classy dame like the other recipes here, but she sure is fun to hang out with. I can eat this whole pan all by myself and I am not ashamed of that fact. I have brought this to every single holiday work potluck ever since I became a grownup and it is a hit every single time.

Simplified Life Roasted Chicken. You're having a "come and see the tree" party with the neighbors or a couple good friends are coming by to have dinner and drink Baileys by the fire. Here's my favorite roasted chicken that means you won't have to do a single thing once you have it in the oven besides pour yourself another glass of wine. You gotta get away from the complicated life!

Sugared Cranberries. They shimmer like little jewels in a bowl--not too sweet and just right to pass around after dinner. Or they'd be so pretty with the cheese plate for appetizers. And super easy too! There's only three ingredients, I think. You're welcome.

Eggnog Martini. Definitely a greatest hit. Shake up a few and go walk around the neighborhood to look at everyone's lights.

And this is just a start--I've got some cool new ideas that will be up soon and just right for 2010 holiday fun.

Clementine-olive fish: pesce alla dicembre

2010-12-01T12:34:00.009-05:00

Here is a lovely, light fish dish to kick off the month of heavy eating around the holidays. The relish is quick and so festive looking--it uses those pretty tiny clementines that are ubiquitous in the market right about now. Add the unexpected tang of green olives with some creamy pistachio or almond and get ready for a warm winter night.This is the correct amount to make a topping to serve 2--use 2 clementines (or just one big orange) and double the olives, etc of you have more people for dinner. And you should because this is tasty! You'll want roughly the same proportions of everything, but don't stress too much about the exact measurements. Get about 2 tablespoons of pistachio or almonds (slivered or sliced is best) and chop them roughly. Pistachio definitely is the better of the two to use by the way. I just happened to make this using almonds recently, but of the two, I recommend pistachio.Zest the clementine...And cut in half then into small chunks, being sure to remove any white membrane.Add the clementine pieces, all the zest, plus two tablespoons chopped green olive (do not use the kind that are stuffed with pimentos! just plain green olives are best) and one chopped, small garlic clove to your mortar to smash it up. Is it just me or has this tool featured a lot lately? I think it's because I had it packed up ever since we moved and throughout the kitchen renovation--almost a whole year! I'm just happy to be able to be able to use it again, maybe? Also it's in a really convenient place n the new kitchen so maybe I can just get at it easier now. Who knows. Anyway, you can just stir/mash it all together in a bowl if you like instead.Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and go find two nice pieces of firm, skinless, thick-cut fish. I used cod, but halibut or any other thick white fish will work beautifully. These one were actually just a little bit too thin--you can get ones that are 1 inch thick or so and this will work better. Dry them well and season on both sides with salt and pepper. Sprinkle just one side evenly with a very light dusting of sugar. This sounds odd, but it's Cook's Illustrated's method of getting a nice browned sear without overcooking your fish and I've found it works like a champ. Use just a wee bit--only 1/8 teaspoon per fillet.Heat a tablespoon olive oil in a nonstick skillet over high heat until very hot and put in your fish, sugar side down for just one minute or so.Flip them over carefully to the other side, remove from heat and pop them into the hot oven for just about 8 minutes to finish cooking.Meanwhile, stir in a tablespoon of olive oil into your relish plus a pinch of cayenne pepper.Go get your fish out! You don't want them to overcook. These, like I said, were too thin of fillets, so they buckled somewhat, but if you use nice thick ones, they should look really pretty.Set them on a plate...And top with a tablespoon or so of the sweet, tangy relish.The co-stars here are lemon potatoes and some shredded brussel sprouts, by the way.So pretty! I think you'll really like this one--enjoy!

Hot and sweet brussel sprouts

2010-11-22T20:14:00.010-05:00

Here's what I would make for everyone on Thanksgiving this year, if I was going to be cooking at home instead of hanging out in New Jersey. These are highly untraditional brussel sprouts--hot and sweet, just like the name says. And they are so so good...the peppers bring a fruity heat that loves the warm maple nuttiness on the sprouts, plus a crispy shallot topping. They might freak Grandma out a little, but they're perfect if you need something to spice up a stale holiday routine. Here's what you'll need for the pepper mixture: two chilies (I used a habanero and something that looked like a jalapeno but was smaller), 2 big shallots and 2 cloves garlic. De-seed and mince the peppers. You can leave some seeds in if you are super hardcore. I like heat but I thought using just the pepper flesh packed enough for me. And a cautionary note: do not go poking at your eyeballs after you handle the peppers! You will mildly pepper spray yourself and it will hurt. I do this pretty much every single time I de-seed peppers, by the way. Slice half of one shallot into thin rings and set aside. You can buy a whole extra shallot just for the topping if you want--it is really yummy and you might want more of it. Mince the rest of the shallots and all the garlic too and put the peppers, shallot (not including the reserved slices) and garlic all in a mortar to pound into a paste. You can use the food processor for this too, it would work really well. Or just mash it all together in a bowl. Find your reserved thin slices of shallot...And fry them in a little bit of olive oil or butter until they crisp up. This will only take about 1 minute, tops, so get the oil pretty hot, dump in the slices, stir them around a couple times and then as soon as they start going brown, just fish them out.And drain on paper towels. They'll get all crispy and yummy. Yes, you should definitely make more than this, so slice up a whole shallot. I don't know what I was thinking. Meanwhile! You have 1 pound of brussel sprouts, trimmed and halved. Just waiting there for you. Melt 2 tablespoons of bacon fat over medium high heat (or use a mixture of olive oil and butter, if you prefer). Put your sprouts in, cut side down, and sprinkle them with a teaspoon of sugar, and a pinch of salt. Let them get good and browned, and stir occasionally--this will take about 5 minutes. They should be crisped on the outside but still not done all the way through. You're going to cook them some more in a minute, so it's OK. Pull them off the pan and set them aside for now. Here's the paste of peppers-shallots-garlic that we made earlier. It actually makes way more than you'll need, so put the rest in a little jar and save for later (I actually added some vinegar to my leftovers to see if I could make a spicy sauce. I'll report back). Scoop out 1-2 tablespoons of the pepper mixture and fry over medium heat in the same hot pan that the brussel sprouts were just in. I say "1-2 tablespoons" because only you can know how spicy hot you like your side dishes to be. I like it hot, so I go more towards the 2 tablespoons, personally. Add your sprouts back in plus a little less than 1/2 cup chicken stock.
And drizzle at least 1 tablespoon maple syrup into the pan as well. Bring it all to a boil, then turn down the heat a bit so the liquid simmers into a thick glaze and the brussel sprouts finish cooking through. This will take about 3-5 minutes. Spoon the sprouts out into a pretty bowl and top them with the crispy shallots. Wonderful. Happy thanksgiving, wherever you may be!

Garlic knots

2010-11-17T19:08:00.009-05:00

Little pieces of heaven. If you have a bunch of holiday potlucks coming up, or need to bring something snazzy to Thanksgiving, this is for you. Garlic knots (my version is based on a Gourmet recipe from a couple years ago) are simple and pretty and seem to really tap into that fundamental human need for buttery, garlicky bread hot from the oven. You can either use prepared pizza dough (Trader Joe's sells it in the refrigerated section) or just make a quick batch, because it's pretty easy. Note: I only used half a batch for this below, because it was just for Phil and myself. It made 10 knots and only needed one baking sheet. Presumably you will get 20 knots and need 2 sheets when you make a full batch. Math! Flour your countertop and flatten out your dough. If it seems too pliable to stretch and hold its shape, go ahead and let it rest for 5 minutes or so and then return to stretching it out. After it's somewhat flattened, go ahead and roll it out to get it more or less even. Slice into even strips--I guess you could make them more narrow than I did here and thus get more knots per batch, but I think they'd be harder to work with. Once all your dough is sliced into strips, tie them into little knots. Super cute!!( There are a lot of pictures of these little guys because I just find them so charming) Set them on an oiled baking sheet and let them go for 20 minutes in a 425 degree oven. While they're baking, get 3 cloves of garlic (peeled and smashed somewhat) and pound them with a teaspoon of salt. Don't worry if you don't have a mortar & pestle--you can use the flat side of a knife on a cutting board to mash the salt and garlic and that will work fine. Or a bowl and a heavy spoon. Smash it all into a paste. Now, in a very large bowl, combine 2 tablespoons butter with the garlic-salt paste and a tablespoon of olive oil. Now, to be perfectly honest, I did not actually measure the olive oil. I just eyeballed it. But I think it was at least 1 tablespoon. Set the bowl on your hot stove while the knots are baking and the butter will melt, not that it matters too much. OK, your knots are done! Now, this is the only part where you have to move quickly, because you'll want to toss them with their seasonings while they are still very hot from the oven. Dump your knots into the big bowl with the garlic-butter-olive oil, and stir them around firmly, yet gently. You don't want to break them but you do want them to get well-covered with all this goodness. See? Deliciously browned, buttery and garlicky. Two more things you need to add while they're still perfectly hot, then you can eat them. First--toss them in a couple tablespoons of minced parsley...Plus a few tablespoons of fresh grated parmesan cheese--again, I eyeballed this a bit, so not sure the exact amount. But you really can't screw it up, so no worries. And we're done! So irresistibly good. They're wonderful hot but fine at room temperature too. Don't feel bad if you want them at every meal--trust me, it makes sense.

Couscous

2010-11-14T21:55:00.010-05:00

Jake Tilson's A Tale of 12 Kitchens is one of my absolute favorites. I know I've mentioned it before, but it's just really fun to read. This dinner was based on something of his: a simple vegetable stew over fluffy, buttery couscous served with grilled meat. Perfect for cold weather nights. My spices were a little different than what Mr. Tilson uses--I didn't have any saffron and was too lazy to go procure it, but you should use about 10 threads, soaked in water, if you want to do it up right. Above is my spice dump: 1 stick cinnamon, 4 cloves of garlic, smashed, 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, 1 teaspoon cloves, 2 tiny pieces of fresh ginger, peeled and smashed. Cut up 3 small zucchini, 3 small potatoes and 3 small carrots into more or less equal sizes. Also tie a bundle of parsley (so you can easily fish it out later). Not pictured: a similar looking bunch of cilantro, tied up in the same way. Chop two small onions and saute in olive oil over medium heat until they're soft. Add in 2 healthy teaspoons cumin to the hot oil because it brings out the flavor so well. Add in your spice dump and the carrots, saute for another 3 minutes or so. Then add 1 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken stock, plus about the same amount of tomato puree. And your parsley sprig! And, um, the cilantro too. Hopefully you won't forget it, like some people. Add one can of drained and rinsed chickpeas and the rest of your cut up veggies. Cover with water and allow to simmer for about 30-40 minutes. While that's happening, you can prepare your couscous. This is a traditional method that results in ultra-fluffy couscous and is really easy to do. Get 2 cups of couscous and place in a large bowl with a couple pinches of salt. Jake Tilson adds saffron threads here as well, but I think we've covered my negligence in that department already. Pour over boiling water until it just covers the couscous--little grains should barely break the surface. Let it sit for 20 minutes and don't stir it or touch it or talk to it or anything.
After 20 minutes, it will have absorbed all the water and it looks like a solid mass. One big couscous. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a big pan over medium-low heat... And use a fork to gently scrape the couscous, layer by layer, off into the butter pan. Separate the couscous and get it heated through by gently stirring it around with a flat spoon of some kind. It's completely meditative.Couscous is served with grilled meats of some kind--lamb, fish or sausages, usually. We had flank steak, but I think sausages sound pretty good for this too. Heap up your fluffy, warmed couscous in a big pile on a dish and encircle it with golden raisins--they add a lovely sweetness to each bite. I tossed them around first in the grill pan, after I'd removed the steak to get them warm and plumped up. Phil called it "instant chutney."
Your vegetable stew should be saucy and deliciously aromatic by now...
Serve the stew atop a pile of couscous, with yummy grilled tidbits on the side. And a nice bottle of red wine doesn't hurt either--especially if it's one that you thought had already been drunk and then, mysteriously, there it is somehow in your cabinet. Surprise!

Roasted broccoli

2010-11-11T15:37:00.008-05:00

You all are going to think I have lost my dang mind, but I am here to tell you that roasted broccoli will change your life, shift your world view, blow your mind, etc. And I wouldn't sell this so hard if I didn't think it were true--I mean, come on, it's broccoli. No one will trust you ever again if you tell them a broccoli recipe is unbelievably amazing and then it just tastes like broccoli. But in this case--it's true. Something happens under high heat and your broccoli goes all crispy, yet tender and so deep-flavored--it sounds odd, but it really tastes almost meaty. Completely addictive. OK, I'll back off the hard sell now, I just want you to try it for yourself. You'll see!Get about 4-5 tablespoons of olive oil...Salt and pepper liberally, plus you can add a few red pepper flakes if you want. Add in several heads of (very well dried) chopped broccoli. I used probably 3 small heads, cut up into florets. If you leave some larger and some smaller, you'll have a nice texture contrast once it is all roasted up because the little ones will be super-crispy and the larger ones will stay more distinct in shape. Toss the broccoli around really well so they get completely coated in olive oil and seasonings. The first time I made this, I just drizzled the broccoli with olive oil right on the roasting pan and that worked fine--but doing it this way ensures good coverage on every last little floret. Look at them. So unaware of what their future holds. Such greatness before them. Like a senior class yearbook picture. Set them to roast in the oven at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, but be ready to check in on them in ten minutes. While they're roasting, chop up some garlic. At least 2 cloves, more if you're saucy. This is how I do when I'm being sloppy: hulk smash...
And you barely end up chopping at all.
Here they are, after about 10 minutes. Stir them around and add in the chopped garlic at this point--if you put it in at the start, I find it burns up too much in the hot oven. And burned garlic isn't all that great tasting. These broccoli deserve better. OK, right about now you're saying "what have I done?? Why did I listen to that weird broccoli evangelist?" And it's true--they look burnt and sad. But then you take a nibble on one...and that's when the choir of angels begins to sing. Variations are possible...it would be especially good to grate a little parmesan over the top right before serving. Or just a squeeze of lemon juice to brighten everything up. Or to go with a meal with Asian flavors, you can replace the salt with tamari and then sprinkle with sesame seeds to serve. These definitely taste best hot out of the oven though, so whatever you do, do it fast. You will not need to worry about leftovers.

Sweet and sour eggplant with sausage

2010-10-27T19:06:00.007-04:00

This is one of those things that I make so often that it's kind of automatic--I had to really stop and think about what quantities actually go into it. It's really not eggplant season anymore so you might end up filing this one away for next summer when there's tons of eggplant that needs using up. And since eggplant season overlaps so nicely with pepper season, feel free to add a chopped red bell pepper and a few hot peppers to the sauté as well. Start with a nice medium sized eggplant and a medium onion. Chop them! Let them know who's boss. And sausage! This is, as it usually is in my house, Georgia Boy smoked hot sausage. You can leave it out if you're vegetarian and you'll have a perfectly delicious vegetable sauté on your hands. But I love Georgia Boy sausage. Love. It. I use two links--it's about 1 cup, sliced. This is also my preferred sausage for low country boil and the like. I think the phrase "preferred sausage" is funny.Start the sausage in a big pan...you probably won't be needing any olive oil or anything because it is surely fatty enough as it is.
Add your onion and sauté over medium heat with the sausage for 3 minutes or so, until it is beginning to soften. If you're not using sausage, you will need a tablespoon or so of olive oil heating up in the pan to keep everything slick. And in go your eggplant chunks! The savvy among you will note that I do not salt and drain my eggplant ahead of time. This is because I am lazy and I have omitted that step from my life and never looked back. Don't tell my mom.
Let the eggplant and onion cook up for about 4 minutes over medium heat, stirring often. You want the onion to be golden-colored and tender but not crisping out. The eggplant should shrink in size and be getting pretty soft. Now add in 1 1/2 cups tomato something. I used tomato puree this time because that's what I had on hand. Tomato sauce would be just fine too. I most often use whole, peeled tomatoes and sort of break them up with a spoon in the pan as I stir. But this time it was tomato puree. The amount isn't too important--you can add as much as 2 cups or so and just let it cook down if you want.
Turn down the heat to medium-low and stir occasionally. Let it bubble away happily for about 8 - 10 minutes, then add in 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 teaspoon capers and a splash of worcestershire sauce. You can add about 1/4 cup or more of red wine as well, if you have it handy. It probably won't need any salt but you should taste to be sure. At this point it smells so good that if you don't guard vigilantly, somebody probably will sneak in there and grab a bite. I also usually add 1 can of drained, well-rinsed red kidney beans at this point. Let them cook in the sauce for about 5 minutes, then turn off the heat. I add in several healthy shakes of tabasco at the very end, but that's just because we like it hot. It adds more tang too, so you might need to adjust the balance of sweet with a bit more sugar.
This is great over orzo, cous cous or any small pasta. Fast and easy! Make it tonight.
By the way--I accidentally deleted all my comments while I was housekeeping and trying to get rid of spam. I feel like a chump because there were some really nice ones in there! Not intentional--just clumsiness :(

Gnocchi di zucca with fried sage leaves

2010-10-24T12:41:00.013-04:00

This is an all-time classic! My mom makes these gnocchi all the time and taught us how some years ago. This is a really easy fresh pasta that is much easier to work with than the classic potato gnocchi which can get starchy and gummy pretty easily and cause all kinds of tears and heartache. Squash gnocchi will never break your heart! Finish them off with fried sage and butter and you're in for fall. After a few years of making these, I have settled on kabocha squash as the best kind of sweet winter squash for this recipe. Don't let that dissuade you though, if you happen to have a nice butternut or acorn squash hanging around! But if you're going out to get one specially, look for the round, green kabocha. Also known as Japanese pumpkin! They are super sweet, low-moisture and just about perfect. Slice it in half and scoop out the seeds. Roast it at 400 until soft or microwave it if that's how you usually do. Scoop out the soft, yellow good stuff into your food mill.If you happen to have a food mill, anyway. I do. I got it from my mother. You just crank the handle until whatever you are milling comes out smooth, getting out any extra fibers and seeds that might be in there. It's particularly great for potatoes and squashes because it doesn't over-compress the natural starches, which can turn everything gummy. If you don't have one, don't worry about it. Just pick out any stray seeds and kind of mush it all up until smooth with a fork instead. Add one egg, salt, pepper, and about 1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese to your squash and mix it all up together.Now you need to add flour. This is where it gets unique and personal. If your squash was on the bigger side (or if you used one of the more watery types), you'll be needing more flour. If you had a little bitty squash, maybe you don't need so much. I add 1/2 cup at a time, mix to incorporate, then add another 1/2 cup and so on. I used about 2 cups total this time in particular.It should all come together into a lumpy ball of dough with a pretty, pale orangey-yellow color. I'd like to paint a wall in that color actually. It's very cheerful/soothing. Now I'm going to show you how I made these gnocchi for most of my adult life. It's definitely the most tedious part of the process--and if your dough is sticky, you might find it better to let it rest in the fridge for an hour or so first so that it is easier to work with. We'll call this Method One. First get a coating of flour on your counter top...
Pinch off a piece of dough and roll a snake, like this is play-doh time and you're riding high in kindergarten.
Lay out your snake... And slice into one inch pieces. Tine each piece with your fork.And voila! One gnocchi. OK, now for Method Two. Bring your big pot of salted water to a boil...Pinch off a tiny piece of the dough, about the size of the tip of your thumb.And drop it in the boiling water. Voila. One gnocchi.Guess which method I'm utilizing more frequently these days? For a special occasion dinner, I will certainly roll-and-slice via Method One because they do look nicer that way...but of course, they taste the same. Now, no matter what method you use, they'll need to boil but it doesn't take long (maybe 5 minutes, tops?) so let's hurry up and fry our sage leaves for on top.Get some olive oil and butter (about 1 1/2 tablespoons of each) going over high heat.Toss in your sage leaves and spread them out so they can crisp up. Yes. Gorgeous. They sort of absorb the butter/oil and become velvety but crunchy. Does that make sense? Anyway--they delicious. Shut off the heat and go check on your gnocchi. When they're done, they float up to the surface. Like I said, takes about 5 minutes at most.Drain the gnocchi and dump them into your butter-sage pan to roll around a bit. Then put them all out on a big platter, turning over a couple of the pretty sage leaves for on top. Shave a few thin slices of parmesean cheese over the top as well. This is an amazing fall meal! Make it for your friends and enjoy.

Happy birthday!!

2010-10-23T18:59:00.006-04:00

Il Piatto Blu is 4 years old today! For a birthday present, we built a brand new kitchen.It's not quite done yet...still needs floors and a backsplash. But neither of those things are technically essential for cooking so I'm ready to get back into it! Here's where all the new magic will happen:Can't wait. Happy birthday!

Pina coladas en fuego

2010-09-19T20:06:00.004-04:00

The kitchen is still under renovation. It's driving us to drink. We made some yummy pina coladas because all it needs is a blender (afterward it can so easily be washed in the bathtub!). Basic city--for each drink it's just 3 parts pineapple juice to one part each white rum and coconut cream, plus lots of ice to blend. We tried it with a few twists--for example used fresh pineapple chunks instead of juice. It's a lot less sweet that way, which is a good or bad thing, depending on what you're looking for in a ridiculous fruity cocktail.And here's the firestarter--2 healthy pinches of ancho chile powder per drink. You could also make a rim for the glasses by mixing sugar and a little of the chile powder and that would be super fancy and yummy. But I have no kitchen, so I didn't do anything cool that would create extra dirty dishes. But the thought behind the en fuego part of these pina coladas was how delicious spiced dried mango and pineapple are--I thought it would translate nicely to a frozen drink and kind of chill out the sweetness a little bit.
Yeah, the blender is on the floor. In the bedroom. No kitchen.
But you know what? We can still enjoy a fruity cocktail. So it's not that bad. Sprinkle a little more chile powder on the top before serving.

Still waiting for my kitchen...

2010-08-29T19:09:00.005-04:00

Not having a kitchen while renovation goes on is extremely tough! We spent a weekend away from our demolished house in a beautiful little cabin in Blue Ridge, Georgia...it was just the right place to escape demolition dust and get a chance to cook. No new recipes, just a little weekend fun. We went into Blue Ridge and got peach-jalapeno-pecan jelly to eat with a yummy, buttery Bergenost cheese from Buck's meat and cheese shop. The view was also delicious. The first night we didn't realize how long it would take to drive up the mountain to find our cabin...going about 5 mph around twisty turns makes for a long 10 miles. Gorgeous as it was, after that there was just no way we wanted to turn around and drive back down to the cute little town for dinner, like we had planned. Fortunately we had brought really great sourdough bread and some butter and so we just holed up and made grilled pimento cheese sandwiches. But they ended up being the best grilled pimento cheese sandwiches of all time. Maybe the fact that we were starving had something to do with it. We brought plenty of vinho verde and a bottle of rum from friends, so we were set for that night at least.Some beautiful little potatoes from the remarkably inexpensive Blue Ridge farmers market (with just olive oil, salt and a handful of rosemary I stole from a pot on the main street) went right on the grill...With a perfect ribeye steak and some peppers. I'm so bummed that I'm missing this harvest time of year! Late summer-early fall produce is my favorite. I'll make up for lost kitchen time next year.

Two renovations

2010-08-13T19:59:00.014-04:00

You might have noticed that it looks a little bit different around here! The blog has undergone a few changes. And that's not the only thing...the real il piatto kitchen is also in the middle of a renovation. This is what things look like right now:Basically there's a gaping hole where everything used to be in my kitchen. Get ready to see more than a few grilling recipes around here, is what I'm trying to say. I know it's all going to be worth it when the project is done and I have a gorgeous new place to cook...but for now it's pretty hard to see the future through all the dust. In the meantime, I got a nifty new camera so maybe pretty soon the pictures here will be looking better too. Here's my favorite recipe right now: 1.) get your phone 2.) call Cameli's Pizza. It's completely foolproof, works every time.

Hot pink bollywood beet sauce

2010-07-29T19:21:00.004-04:00

Here's how to make a quick and tasty beet-yogurt sauce to complement the preceeding red lentil & sweet potato stew. First ask your guy to go get you some chives from the garden. Do not be surprised when he comes back holding just a few sad, teeny pieces. Just send him back for more. Mince one tablespoon each: sweet onion, chives and parsley.Get one teeny tiny beet. See? It really is wee. If you don't have a tiny beet just use part of a regulation-sized one. Peel said tiny beet and shred it into 1/2 cup of plain yogurt. Mix in the chives, parsley and sweet onion. Add salt and pepper to taste plus the juice from half a lemon.
Mix well, watch it go all hot pink, and set aside until it's time to eat. This sauce is great for many things actually--anywhere you need a tangy lift and a hot pink pop of color.

Red lentil and sweet potato stew

2010-07-29T19:10:00.012-04:00

This is bright orange! And if you make it along with my recipe for hot pink beet sauce it will look like you're having one of Aishwarya Rai's backing dancers for dinner...and if that's not fun I don't know what is.Dice up one small onion (or half of a large one). Peel one small sweet potato and cut into small bite-sized pieces.While you are cutting things up, dice 2 pieces of thick-cut canadian bacon. Now. This is: a.) optional entirely because this is delicious without any meat in it at all; b.) even better if you use 1/4 pound of chopped real bacon instead of canadian; c.) also would be awesome with sausage. Or d.) all of the above! Wait. Scratch d.), I think it's impossible. The moral of the story is I used canadian bacon because I had a bit left over that needed using up, but this will be improved if you replace it with an equal amount of a different pork product, so keep that in mind.Also mince up 1 clove of garlic and measure out 1 cup red lentils.Heat up 1 tablespoon of the fat of your choice (I used bacon fat but butter/olive oil are perfectly fine) and saute the onions over medium heat until they are softened but not at all browned (about 4-5 minutes.)Add in your chunks of canadian bacon. Note: if you are using real bacon or sausage, don't use any extra fat in the first step, but just saute the meat together with the onions--it will render plenty of fat to work with so we don't need to add more. Canadian bacon is just kind of dry and lame so it needs an extra boost.Continue to saute for another few minutes, then add in your sweet potato chunks and minced garlic. Let them cook for 3 minutes, then clear a space in the center, add a drizzle of olive oil (again, only needed if you aren't using bacon or sausage!) and add 1 teapsoon each cumin and chile powder to bloom in the hot oil. This step really brings out the flavor in the spices, rather than just dumping them in. You can also add in a pinch of red pepper flakes at this point.Now in go your lentils! Getting pretty orange in there...Tomato paste! I like the kind that comes in tubes because it stores well in the fridge for when you only need a little bit at a time. Like now. We only need 1 tablespoon for this recipe.Make a space again in the center of the pot and saute the tablespoon of tomato paste quickly, just to get rid of the tinny taste that it has (or is that just me?).It is a lovely reddish orange color, isn't it?Now add 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock (or water or veggie stock are fine as well) and 1/2 cup white wine.This should be all the liquid the lentils need to get soft. Turn heat to low and cover the pot partway to cook for about 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. I then ended up shutting off the heat and covering the pot entirely for the lentils to steam and absorb the hot liquid. They'll finish cooking if you just leave it for another 10 minutes with the lid on and heat off.The lentils should be soft and everything kind of in a stew of deliciousness. Taste to see if it needs any salt, then add a few splashes of Tabasco to perk it up. Serve with wedges of lemon to squeeze over the top.This is great by itself but the hot pink bollywood beet sauce really takes it to another level. It makes a nice, tangy complement to the sweet and spicy stew. And it looks fabulous!

4 for 4

2010-07-23T09:58:00.008-04:00

Everything is really expensive, have you ever noticed that? Going out for dinner is expensive, even when you're intentionally trying to be cheap and don't get drinks or whatever (which is why I'd rather just go out rarely but well, personally). Eating at home is way way less expensive, but if you like to cook, you can easily rack up some pricey ingredients. And convenience products (like my beloved corn dogs!) seem cheap but when you do the math you realize how much that one little frozen package cost compared to a full meal made from whole ingredients. And this is where 4 for 4 comes in. During dinner for the last couple of evenings, I've been amusing myself trying to figure out how much our meal for two cost. And I realized that we could often keep it to around $4 or less. Phil said we should make ourselves a challenge: to get at least 4 dinners a week to come in around $4.

Here's a couple examples. On Wednesday we got a rotisserie chicken from the DeKalb Farmer's Market, because they're free-range and delicious. If it's too hot and I can't roast one myself, I'm completely happy with one of theirs. That was $6.99, so we had half of it on Wednesday making it $3.50 for the chicken. Then we each had an ear of corn ($1 for 4 ears), for another 50 cents, plus green beans which came to about 45 cents (everything was from the DeKalb Market and all regionally grown which may help with the lower prices). So dinner for the two of us was a little less than $4.50. Last night: the rest of the chicken ($3.50); 2 ears of corn plus a green chile and some butter beans to make succotash (0.50 + 0.15 + 0.25 = 0.90); half a baguette (0.50). Total was $4.90. Huh. Could have done better, that's closer to $5!

This all sounds a little bit tedious but it's actually kind of fun. At very least it helps with perspective: you realize that you may want that frozen pizza because it seems cheap and easy (I harbor a secret love for frozen pizza, did you know that?) but it actually costs around $7 or $8...which is double what you would spend on a meal that was entirely homemade, not to mention far more healthy and well-balanced. It's interesting. Or you could buy a container of chicken stock but then you're adding almost $3 to your meal right there, where you could just have made stock more or less for free from leftover chicken bones and a few veggies(which is what I'll do with the rotisserie leftover from this week). But this isn't supposed to be about beating yourself up over a couple extra cents ("I could have saved 0.15 if only I'd left the chile out of my succotash!") or getting out the calculator instead of enjoying your dinner. It's just another way to consider consumption...and maybe save a few bucks every month. Wish us luck!