Downslice

Figs

2010-08-06T18:57:00.001-07:00

There are a few benefits to living in a tropical climate. They include, but are not limited to:

Slip-and-Slide seasons extends most of the calendar year. Consult the perma-browned gauntlet of grass in my parents' back yard for reference. See also: pool floating.
Salt-free highways and tire-free chains.
Room in your coat closet for more useful items likebeach chairs and extra sunscreen.
Your wardrobe can comprise two to three tank tops, successfully laundered, for months on end.
Money well spent on cute sandals and pedicures.
Figs. Giant, juicy, battle-the-bees for that hanging fruit, droopy on the branch, taste the warmth of summer in your mouth figs.

So the mom and I went fig-pickin' yesterday, since I'm visiting Louisiana at the moment. Look at her go, isn't she the cutest? And by "cute" I mean "relentless."

If I had to choose, I really would not elect to land in 102º heat on a Wednesday afternoon, immediately melt, compose myself, and slink from the airplane to the terminal. I would not necessarily pick wet armpits over 'Sure' ones or a beading upper lip or a mid-morning, mid-afternoon, and mid-evening costume change just to stay dry. But at dawn, before the sun has begun its daily scorch, I will hop in the car with my mom, fight snakes and beetles and honeybees, and haul home a couple of baskets of fresh figs.

Do you like my shirt? It was my dad's. Approximately 30 years ago. It's held together by safety pins. Word to the wise: do NOT try to pick figs in short sleeves. I highly doubt Adam and Eve were slapping these leaves to their privates. Unless it was for their adhesive properties.

So take some home. Caramelize a few.

Then make your birthday cake out of it. Thanks to Miss Suzanne for hand modeling!

Moving...

2010-07-27T12:09:00.000-07:00

...is totally the worst.

There is no reason any stable, well-meaning individual should be forced to take into stock every single thing she owns, organize it all, pack it into cardboard categories, and physically carry it somewhere. This week I have suffered--sometimes successfully, sometimes maniacally--the minutia of moving. Where do I put safety pins? How many pairs of underwear do I need? Why do I have two sets of salad tongs, both missing the fork half? Will anyone take two oversized, mismatched spoons?

Look at my kitchen. Do you like my clever packing system? K stands for kitchen. Good, we're up to speed.

Look at my refrigerator. Wha-- why yes! I cleaned it myself, thank you. Then it became the refrigerator of a bachelor: Coors Light and mustard. Who lives here?

Point is, no cooking for a while. This is what we're currently eating. Hershey's Special Dark and some dates I found in the back of my cabinets. Sad. Oh, and some Halloween napkins that I think were actually supposed to be tissues. Whatever. It wipes my face.

Well, at any rate, goodbye, Cambridge. You've been good to me. I'll miss you dearly.

Hello, Virginia.

Crepe Update: Spelt-Carrot Crepes

2010-07-18T16:49:00.001-07:00

You remember when we did crepes way back when? It was kind of nonstop there for a while. Binge crepe-ing.

Then we took a year-long break, just to be safe, and today I have returned to the crepe party. Welcome.

Picked up a sweet book called 'Vegetarian Planet' at Lorem Ipsum and it does that thing that I always want cookbooks to do, but so often they don't: It has new, interesting, unique recipes at every turn. It's 564 pages long and I read the whole thing in one sitting.

Enter a recipe for carrot crepes (I know! Carrots in your crepe batter? Why haven't we been sneaking stuff into these puppies all along?). Carrot Crepes Florentine, to be exact, with a simple filling of spinach sauteed with onions and garlic. I used some greens I had in the freezer, and you're welcome to use whatever you want, but the real star was the crepes. So that's all we're going to worry about here. See here for crepe and filling tips.

So, since I was feeling a little granola today, I swapped the all purpose flour called for in the recipe for some spelt flour I had on hand. Worked like a charm. Feel free to just use white flour if that's what you have on hand.

Carrot Crepes

Makes 4 large crepes (enough for 1, or 2 if eating light); ready in 45ish minutes

2 medium carrots

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

1/2 tsp honey

1/2 cup (scant) spelt flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

First, cook your carrots. Peel and cut them into 1/2 inch segments. Either place them in a pot of water on the stove and simmer 20 minutes, or place them in a microwave-safe bowl with 1/2 cup water, cover in plastic, and cook 8 minutes. When they are tender, drain and run them under cold water. Transfer to a food processor.
For the batter, whisk together milk, egg, and honey in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, and nutmeg, if using. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the wet mixture, whisking until smooth. Scoop out about 1/2 cup of batter and add to carrots in processor. Buzz until smooth. Whisk back into remaining batter.
Let batter rest 15 minutes.
Now, heat a large (9- or 10-inch) NONSTICK skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl with 1 tsp oil or coat with spray oil. Whisk batter before using; it should be the consistency of thin pancake batter. If it is too thick, add a TBSP or 2 of water. Scoop about 1/4 cup of batter into the hot pan. Pick up by the handle and swirl so that it is thinly and evenly distributed across the bottom of the pan. Cook 1 minute. Flip, cook 15 seconds more. Remove to a plate and repeat until batter is gone. You can stack them on top of each other--no harm done.
Fill with your choice of delicacies. But enjoy the nice orangey hue while you eat.

M.Y.O.S.R. -- Make Your Own Spring Rolls!

2010-07-14T16:51:00.000-07:00

File this one under "Because You Can." Also, under "Easy to Consume with One Broken Arm," "Fits In Pocket," and "Freshalicious."

One pack of rice papers (dehydrated) from my Asian market costs approximately nothing (actually, you can see the price tag in the photo) and, if the Vietnamese were into things like expiration dates, you might see a date well into the next century stamped right next to "Machine Made!" on the lid. To the left of the shamrock. Naturally.

Actually, spring rolls are a fantastic alternative to the sandwich, which is sooooo yesterday's post (literally). You can stuff them with anything that's finely shredded and moisture free, and they'll last a couple days in the fridge if you can't shovel all six at once. Be sure not to skip the fresh basil leaves here, as they are imperative to the springy taste.

Also, don't get discouraged if your rolling skills take some practice. My first few attempts at spring rolls were loose, chaotic messes. It takes a little finesse to pull as tightly as possible without tearing the paper. You'll probably never get as good as the folks at the take-out restaurant, but you'll love them because they're yours.

Vegetable Spring Rolls with Baked Tempeh and Peanut Dipping Sauce

makes 6 rolls, takes 45 minutes with tempeh, about 15 without

For the Tempeh:

1 8-oz container tempeh

1/2 cup water

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh ginger, or about 1 tsp dried

1 clove garlic, minced

pinch red pepper flakes

1 tsp toasted Asian sesame oil

1 tsp sesame seed

For the Spring Rolls:

8-inch round rice papers

1 cup (scant) shredded cabbage, very dry

1 large carrot, peeled and grated

2 scallions, thinly sliced

12 fresh basil leaves

Peanut Dipping Sauce (recipe follows)

For the tempeh: Slice your slab into 10 logs. Mix water, soy, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes together and pour into a small saucepan over medium high heat. Lay tempeh logs in a single layer over the bottom.Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook 15 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450º. Brush a shallow baking dish with the sesame oil. When all the marinade is absorbed, transfer tempeh slabs into baking dish and sprinkle with half of sesame seeds. Turn and sprinkle with other half. Bake 15 minutes, turn, and bake 15 minutes more. Let cool.
For the rolls: In a large bowl, toss together cabbage, carrot, and scallions.

Make yourself a nice workspace with all your ingredients laid out, a clean dish towel in the middle, and a pie plate or large bowl filled with warm water. Start by submerging your rice paper into the water until pliable, about 10 seconds. Transfer to kitchen towel and blot dry. Plop about 1/3 cup cabbage mixture on the bottom 1/3 of the rice paper round. Top with 1 1/2 tempeh logs and 2 fresh basil leaves.Lift the bottom edge over the filling and fold the two sides in toward the center. Roll as tightly as possible without tearing the paper. Set on a plate, seam side down. You go, girl (or whoever).

Peanut Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup natural peanut butter

1 clove garlic

1 Tbsp lime juice

1 Tbsp soy sauce

pinch cayenne, or a dash of hot sauce

water (3-4 Tbsp)

Combine all ingredients except water in food processor and spin until smooth. Add water until a desirable dipping consistency is reached.

Pork Meatball Banh Mi

2010-07-08T14:33:00.000-07:00

Banh mi is just about the sexiest sandwich around right now. New Yorkers are absolutely besotted with it, if the New York Times is to be believed, and as a result, the rest of us must hear about it all. the. time. I've never sampled the real deal myself, but it seems to be an ode to the pig that is resounding in little cult waves across the country.

Fine. Take some French colonial influences--like baguettes, mayonnaise, and pate--to Southeast Asia and slap them together with local tastes like burn-your-face-off peppers, cilantro, and pickled stuff. Add 13 different layers of pork and you're sitting on a gold mine of foodie-hipster street food.

While I'm not going to run out and do extensive research, sampling, and blogging about the 10 best banh mi spots in Boston (which probably don't exist anyway...) I am willing to try the approximation in and old Bon Appetit I was flipping through the other day. One particular article was all about fancying up the meatball. I like meat. In ball-shapes. I also like fancy sometimes. Why not try the Pork Meatball Banh Mi?

Well I'm happy to report that it was go-ood. Really, meatballs in general are a good idea. But meatballs with zesty Asian spicing swimming in hot sriracha mayonnaise and showered in pickled vegetables? That's quite a sandwich.

Pork Meatball Banh Mi

serves 2; ready in about an hour

Hot chili mayo

1/3 cup mayonnaise

2 green onions, finely chopped

1 tsp hot chili sauce; I used sriracha (the rooster)

Meatballs

1/3 lb ground pork

2 Tbsp finely chopped basil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 green onion, finely chopped

1 tsp fish sauce

1 tsp hot chili sauce

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp each salt and pepper

The Rest

1 cup grated carrots

1 cup grated daikon radish

2 Tbsp rice vinegar

2 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sesame oil

2 small baguettes*, or one large baguette cut into 6-inch lengths

fresh cilantro

Make the mayo: stir all ingredients together and season with salt, if desired. Store covered in the fridge.
Make the veg: stir together carrots, radish, vinegar, sugar, and salt. Let stand at room temperature, tossing occasionally, while you are preparing meat.
Make the balls: gently mix all the meatball ingredients together and form into balls. Use about one Tablespoon amount and form 1-inch balls. You should get about 8. In a small skillet heat the sesame oil over medium heat. Saute all the balls at once, turning often, until browned through. Mine took 12 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Make the sandwich: Slice baguettes in half and pull out excess middle bread, leaving the shell 1/2-inch thick. Spread mayo, then layer plenty of fresh cilantro sprigs, then meatballs. Squeeze out pickled vegetables and sprinkle over. Top with remaining baguette half.

*About the baguette: I brought home a firm, bready baguette from work to use for this sandwich. Not the best choice. The real Vietnamese baguette usually used for banh mi has a combination of wheat and rice flour, giving it a nice, thin crackly crust and a soft interior. When you're looking for bread, the softer the better in this case.

2 Great Butter-Free Cakes

2010-07-07T18:04:00.001-07:00

Before you get all excited, thinking that the term "Butter-Free" in the title suggests there's something healthy on this page, just stop it. Stop it right there.

There are such cakes. They rely on an extravagance of egg whites and patience. They are low in fat, impossibly airy, and perfect sprinkled with some fresh berries on a hot summer day. In fact, given the relentless heat in our un-air conditioned apartment, that kind of cake would probably have hit the spot.

No, these cakes have plenty of fat, but in liquid form. This gives them two advantages: (1) they're just a tad easier to throw together--no creaming or streaming here*; and (2) they are perfect refrigerator cakes. Meaning, if you want a delicious pudding, mousse, whipped cream, custard or other fancy layer in your cake creation, you will have to store it in the fridge. Meaning, you want it to be texturally perfect when it is eaten cold. Meaning, you want a cake with little-to-no butter, which hardens up when chilled.

Enter Mr. Chocolate and Ms. Vanilla. Each of the following recipes will make one 8- or 9-inch cake. Chocolate made its debut as the sis's delicious 30th birthday cake. Vanilla, as this year's Fourth of July flag cake.

*P.S. if you are still using boxed cake mixes because "they're just so convenient," try these recipes. They're just as easy and chemical-free!

One-Bowl Chocolate Cake

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

Preheat oven to 350º. Grease and line your cake pan with parchment paper cut to fit (this is important!).
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, soda, powder, and salt. Add buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Beat 2 minutes. Add egg and beat 2 more minutes. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, until tester inserted near center comes out clean.

Easy Vanilla Cake

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350º. Grease and line your cake pan with parchment paper cut to fit (this is important!).
Beat eggs and sugar with electric mixer until slightly thickened, about a minute. Add flour, buttermilk, oil, powder, and vanilla. Beat for one more minute, until well incorporated. Pour into the pan. Bake 25-30 minutes, until tester inserted in center comes out clean.

Beet Hummus

2010-07-03T02:42:00.000-07:00

Are you seeing this? Are we looking at the same bowl of jewels? Can you look at this picture and not want to jump in and swim around? Maybe in a boat made of pita chips?

Because beets are good for me, because I also happen to like them, and because food is just more fun when it's technicolor, I try to buy them whenever I'm at the market. David has yet to fully jump on the bandwagon, and I don't really blame him. My beet repertoire is limited (I mostly just stick with some version of this guy), and their earthy-sweetness can definitely be an acquired taste. Especially if all you've ever had is slippery mush-balls from a can.

But I'm working on changing that. Recently, while dining at the delicious Sofra cafe in Cambridge, a rubicund little tub shouted at me from their display fridge. "Beet Hummus!" it said. "Beet Hummus?" I thought back. At it.

And then I tried it. And David couldn't stop eating it. "It's like dessert!" he says--for a dippin' dinner which also happened to include hummus and baba ghanoush. (Hey, once you've got the processor out, you might as well make it work.) Weird how beets tow the line between sweet and savory, right? Here's a perfect way to find out for yourself:

Beet Hummus

Makes about a cup, adapted from Simply Recipes

2 large beets (or the equivalent in small beets) roasted*

1 Tbsp sesame tahini paste

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 clove garlic, roughly chopped

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt (plus more to taste)

1/2 cup cooked chickpeas OPTIONAL

*To roast beets, wrap them in foil and bake for 45 minutes at 375º. Beets are done when a small paring knife slipped into the beet meets almost no resistance. Let cool, unwrap, and peel off skins--they should slip right off. Use the foil wrapper to get some traction. Also, small beets roast faster than large beets, duh, so if you're in a hurry, buy 4 smaller beets instead and shave 15 minutes off the cooking time.

To make hummus: combine in food processor. Buzz. Add salt and lemon juice to taste. I did not use chickpeas, but some of the recipes I consulted had them. I think it tasted just delicious without, but you can use them to up the density of the finished product, if you like.

Special Digestive Note: Beets influence the, well, the hue of your bodily out-products. Be forewarned. And unafraid.

We Did Something Fun!

2010-06-30T09:34:00.000-07:00

On a rare day off from work, we decided to get jiggy with our Zip Car membership and get out of Boston for a day. Had to be close in order to make an early return (ahem, bed time). Had to be pretty, because what's the point if it's not. Had to be historical because have you met my husband?

So we went to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, with a couple stops along the way. Like lunch in Rye. Here's David's meal, with a face:

Here's my meal, no face:

Totally cool with it:

Here's the boat lunch came in on:

Me and the moose on my left shoulder.

Baking with Tempeh!

2010-06-29T18:42:00.000-07:00

Whokay. It's time you discovered tempeh. Or rediscovered it. Or at least stopped racing by that enigmatic "meat substitute" area near the dairy case at the grocery store. There's some reasonable stuff there. Also, there's some scary stuff there.

Tempeh: not scary. Misunderstood, maybe. Mushy, perhaps. Tasteless, only if prepared carelessly. Don't worry, I have pushed through "careless" into "unfortunate" and flat through "failure" to bring you what I now believe to be the easiest, most foolproof way to eat more tempeh.

But why would you want to do that? Well, maybe you have recently decided to eat WAY less meat. Maybe you decided that, I don't know, the factory farm system is kind of broken and you'd rather not contribute your hard-earned dollars to a fockacta plan that's bad for farmers, animals, the planet, and all Americans in general. Maybe you only buy meat from small farms now, directly from the farmers, and maybe it's so expensive that you can really only afford to eat it 2 or 3 times a week. Maybe you have desperately been trying to replace that missing protein in your diet with something other than eggs. Eggs eggs eggs three times a day. No? Just me?

Well, then maybe you decided you loved your healthy colon or your low cholesterol or your stable blood sugar levels. Maybe you needed that extra soy to soothe your menopausal symptoms (OOOH! I went there!) or became intent on lowering your risk of prostate cancer (That's right! You too, guys!). Maybe you just really like Indonesian food.

Whatever the reason, I am here to bring you three charming recipes for tempeh that actually tastes. What you must do is very simple: bake it in a marinade. Submerge it in a tasty sauce and cook. Mix, pour, bake. Super easy. Slice the chunks over salad, make a TLT sandwich, or eat it with a fork on top of polenta (a.k.a. grits). Will you miss the meat? Yes. But you'll live longer. That's a promise. And the earth will give you a hug. Or if not the earth, then a happy cow. Ok, probably not him either. Just give yourself a hug for me.

Baked Tempeh: 3 ways

1) Barbecue Tempeh

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup olive oil

2 Tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp Tabasco, hot chili powder, or other heat source

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp paprika

1 8-oz block of tempeh, cut into desired shapes for eating

Mix together all marinade ingredients. Set tempeh in a baking dish just big enough to fit all the pieces in a single layer, lying flat. Pour marinade over, cover with foil, and bake in a 350º oven for 20 minutes. Take out, flip pieces, re-cover and bake 15 minutes more. Remove foil, pour excess marinade out*, and bake 10 more minutes to crisp up a little bit. Serve hot or cold.

*Alternately, pour marinade into a small pot and reduce on the stovetop while tempeh finishes the bake. Serve as extra sauce.

2) Balsamic Marinated Tempeh

3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

3 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp water

1 tsp pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 8-oz block tempeh

Same directions as above. Scroll up, lazy.

3) Maple-Bacon Tempeh (no joke)

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup water

2 Tbsp maple syrup

1/4 tsp liquid smoke

Same song, third verse.

Lentil Cucumber Salad with Yogurt Tahini Dressing

2010-06-27T17:26:00.001-07:00

Well, well, well, look who's back. (I am.)

At least for now. I have returned to the world of daytime work -- for the most part -- and have begun to sneak back into the practice of creative cookery. More and more there are new things that I want to remember, plus a fancy new camera to use for picturing (no new pics yet, though...)!

Let's resume with an easy-squeezy summer salad, the kind you stir together, stuff in the fridge, and eat for a couple of days. Or not. Maybe you just want to make enough for one sitting. That's cool too.

Basically this "recipe" can be a ratio, something like this:

1 part lentil

1 part celery

1 part edamame

2 parts cucumber

I really like the crunch of the cuke, so it gets a featuring roll. Plus, it keeps the salad fresh-tasting after a few days in the fridge. Toss it in some yogurt, and you're Downslicing again! YES! Doesn't it feel good!?!!?

Lentil Cucumber Salad with Yogurt Tahini Dressing

serves 1-2; ready in 10 minutes or less, depending on your chopping abilities

1/2 cup cooked lentils (I like French, but you can go with green too), rinsed in cold water

1/2 cup diced celery

1/2 cup frozen edamame, thawed or speed-cooked in the microwave

1 cup diced cucumber*

Salt

This business is pretty self explanatory, but just for the sake of idiot-proofing it, let's just mention a few things, shall we?

Cook the lentils just like you would pasta. Boil them in a heap of salted water, taste after about 20 minutes to see if they're edible. Try not to take them too far past Al Dente, into Mush-tastic.
Chop the celery as small as you can, close to the size of the lentils, so you get a nice, even bite.
Buy an English seedless cucumber (yes, the shrink wrapped kind). If you can't find them, or would rather buy local, get a regular cuke, but peel and seed it. This means taking a spoon to the middle of your halved cucumber and scooping out all those watery seeds.
Toss everything in a bowl with a hefty pinch of salt before dressing. It will really boost your flava.

For the Dressing

1/4 cup GREEK YOGURT

1 Tbsp tahini

1 Tbsp lemon juice

salt to taste

The Greek yogurt thing is really important here because your veggies, once cut, are going to release a lot of juice and dilute the dressing. I know it's more expensive, but it tastes better, and you need its thick deliciousness in this case. Just buy a little onesy. It's like a buck.
Mix all ingredients together, adding salt as you see fit. Toss with diced veg and store in the fridge.

Cornmeal Ricotta Cake

2010-03-07T16:54:00.000-08:00

One day last fall, my sister-in-law--in a conversation she probably doesn't even remember--mentioned in passing a favorite treat from her local bakery. It's only taken me like four months to finally get this thing out of my head, where it has been rattling in the ensuing time, and into my belly, where it is now sitting comfortably. As with so many other foods that I am just now discovering at the ripe old age of 27, I am left wondering: why haven't I been eating this cake all my life? It's like an Italian miracle.

What makes this thing so good? Crunchy cornmeal. Sweet and slightly tangy ricotta. It's like your favorite cornbread made little dessert babies with a cheesecake. LORD this is yummy. But it also loses freshness fast. Make it on the day you plan to serve--ahem, scarf--it, wrap leftovers tightly and store at room temperature.

As you can see, we served it with hand-whipped cream (that's right--hand whipped, thank you David) and a little bit of jam we heated in the micro.

Cornmeal Ricotta Cake

Serves 4 easily; ready just over an hour; based on this recipe from the LA Times, which includes orange zest and fresh cranberries--yum!--but not what I was going for...

2/3 cup flour

1/3 cup stone-ground cornmeal (aka polenta)

1 tsp baking powder

1 egg

2 Tbsp maple syrup

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 tsp vanilla

5 Tbsp butter, soft

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup ricotta cheese

Preheat oven to 350º. In one bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, and powder. In another, whisk together egg, syrup, oil, and vanilla. Set aside.
With electric mixer, beat butter with sugar and salt until thoroughly combined. Add half of flour mixture and beat again, just until mixed. Now, switch to a spatula because you DON'T want to overmix. Gently stir in ricotta and rest of flour mixture. Again, DON'T over mix here. Just until combined.
Pour into greased 4-inch square or 5-inch round pan. Spread to cover. Bake 35-40 minutes, until tester inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool at least 20 minutes.

Meyer Lemon Bars

2010-03-01T17:26:00.000-08:00

Man, oh man, have you tasted this delicious cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange? It's just a hair short of bitter but strangely sweet at the same time. Kind of earthy. Kind of funky. Kind of unexpected.

Nice twist on regular ole lemon bars if you ask me.

Meyer Lemon Bars

makes enough for 2-3; takes a couple hours (including cooling)

Crust:

2 Tbsp butter, soft

1 Tbsp powdered sugar

1/4 cup flour

pinch salt

Preheat oven to 350º. Beat butter and powdered sugar with electric mixer until incorporated. Add flour and salt and mix well. Press into bottom of well greased pan, 4-inch square or equivalent. Prick with a fork several times and bake 18 -20 minutes, until lightly browned.

Filling:

1 egg

1/3 cup sugar

2 Tbsp Meyer lemon juice

1/2 Tbsp Meyer lemon zest

1/2 Tbsp flour

Beat egg and sugar well, until incorporated and smooth. Mix in juice and zest, then flour last. Pour into warm shell and return to oven. Bake another 15-18 minutes, until set. Cool completely, top with powdered sugar and serve.

Single Serving Creme Brulee

2010-03-01T16:37:00.000-08:00

This one goes out to my mom, the woman who first brought creme brulee into my life, who first introduced me to the idea of a "favorite dessert", who still talks about that one creme brulee she had at the hand of Wolfgang sometime in the late 80s.

And yet, I'm really torn about sharing this recipe with you, and here's why: the custard itself is kind of amazing. The original recipe comes from Larousse--how could it not be? But the execution ... eh, a little tricky. In fact, I've been through two batches and have yet to really master it. At least I get to eat the end result, however mangled.

The trouble, you see, is that crispy brulee topping. You need the right kind of sugar. You need some flames. In fact, you need enough heat to cook and crystallize that sugar without turning your custard--that custard you spent all day waiting on--into a weepy mess. There seem to be two ways of achieving spoon-cracking perfection, either with a torch (the preferred method) or under your broiler.

If my experience is any indication, those of you with an electric oven better go ahead and order that a torch--or just order creme brulee every time you go to a restaurant--because I couldn't get it done at home. Those of you with a gas oven or a torch, you're in better luck, though you still have to be pretty aggressive about getting your ramekins right up against the flame. Don't be shy. And electric oven owners, feel free to prove me wrong.

Creme Brulee

This will make enough to fill a 4-inch round ramekin, which was just the right amount for David and I to share; if you're feeling especially dessert-hungry, it should be enough for you. Takes 5 hours or overnight to wait for chilling. Only about 5 minutes of active time.

2 egg yolks

1/4 cup powdered sugar

3/4 cup half and half, light cream, or a equal parts milk and heavy cream

1 vanilla bean, scraped - OR- 1 tsp vanilla extract

raw or turbinado sugar for topping (big crystals: not granulated)

Preheat oven to 350º. Put a kettle or saucepan on to boil with several cups of water.
In a medium bowl, whisk together yolks and powdered sugar. Gradually add milk, then whisk in vanilla. Pour into a ramekin or ramekins of your choice.
Now, for the bain marie (water bath), which is essential. It's an extra step, but it keeps the temperature of the custard steady and ensures even cooking without curdling or cracking. Set your ramekin inside a larger pan with high sides. When your water starts to boil, pour it into the pan, taking care to avoid the creme, until it comes about halfway up the sides of the ramekin. Using potholders, slide carefully into to the preheated oven. Bake 45-55 minutes, checking often, until sides are firm but middle is still giggly.
Remove from bain marie and set out on a rack to cool. Once you can handle it, transfer it to the fridge overnight or--if you are impatient like me--into the freezer for a couple of hours. It should be firm and cold.
When you are ready to get your brulee on, fire up the torch or preheat your broiler. Sprinkle a thin layer of sugar over the whole surface of the custard. Torch or broil NO MORE than 1-2 inches from heat source for just a couple of minutes--until brown, crackling, and deliciously crisp. Tap tap away with your little spoon and enjoy.

Grilled Cheese ... With Short Ribs (Naturally)

2010-02-25T16:36:00.000-08:00

Dear Bon Appetit Magazine,

Kudos to you for your cover recipe last month, the one that travelled with me to and from Virginia, peeking out of my purse and making my tummy rumble on the plane; the one that constantly glared at me from the kitchen table for the following weeks; the one that immediately seized David by the stomach, prompting him to ask--almost daily--"When are we going to have that sandwich?"

You sent me to the store. You brought me home with ribs. You made me wait while the meat slow roasted. You forced me into the seemingly unnecessary step of quick pickling (quickling?) onions. But then, oh then, you gave me one of the best sandwiches of my life. I forgive you for the trouble and promise to repent in all depth and sincerity every time I eat this grilled cheese. Which will be often. Often.

Love,

Abby

P.S. Here's an idea: You could probably buy any type of beef that makes good stew meat, slow roast it with just some salt, pepper, a couple slices of onion, and some water, break it up and serve that on the sandwich--am I right?

Grilled Cheese and Short Rib Sandwich

serves 2; takes several hours for the roasting of the meat; about 20 minutes once it's done.

The Beef:

1 1/2 ish lbs. beef short ribs

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

1/2 small onion, chopped

1/4 cup dry red wine

2 Tbsp water or broth

1 garlic clove, smashed

1 bay leaf

Pinch fresh or dried thyme

Season ribs liberally with salt and pepper. Melt a pad of butter or some olive oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add ribs and sear on all sides until brown, about 8 minutes total. Remove ribs to a rimmed plate and add vegetables to pot, sauteing until they start to brown, about 5 minutes. Add wine, water/broth, garlic, bay leaf, and thyme. Bring to boil, then reduce heat, return ribs to pot, cover and simmer 1 hour. After an hour, flip the ribs and cook an hour more. Remove cover and cook 30 more minutes.
Turn off heat and allow ribs to cool. When you can handle them, pull them out and pick all the meat off, discarding the fat and bones, and breaking into bite size pieces. Spoon fat off of sauce left in pot and return meat chunks to it.

The onions:

1/2 small red onion, sliced thin

1/2 Tbsp butter

1 tsp sugar

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

In a small skillet over medium high heat, melt the butter and saute the onions, adding a little salt. Cook until tender, 6ish minutes. Add vinegar and salt, stirring until vinegar is absorbed. Keep handy.

The rest:

Bread

Monterey Jack cheese, sliced

Arugula or mesclun greens

More butter

Heat up your griddle, skillet, or whatever. Butter outsides of bread and layer as follows: 1. Bread; 2. Meat mixture; 3. Cheese; 4. Onions; 5. Greens; 6. Bread.
Cook over medium heat until bread is crispy and cheese is melted.

Stuffing Stuff

2010-02-21T17:02:00.000-08:00

This post is meant to be instructional. It is carefully and lovingly designed to empower you in your own kitchen. Mostly this means that I don't use recipes when scrapping this kind of thing together, and thus cannot pass any on. But it also means that this is a really tasty, slightly elegant, delightfully contained way to feed yourself (in addition to others if necessary) out of what would otherwise seem like a bunch of disparate fridge items.

So, by way of example, let me tell you about two things we had for dinner this past week. Exhibit A: Eggplant stuffed with tomatoes, mushrooms and quinoa. And Exhibit B: Sweet potatoes stuffed with cauliflower-green beans-collards-and-quinoa (apparently no picture of this one).

Here's the strategy:

1. Get something with a skin, something that will hold its shape. Think squash, potatoes, eggplant, peppers, etc. Hollow it out. Some things are easier to scoop when they're raw, like eggplant. Some things are easier when they've been cooked a little, like potatoes. Sprinkle with oil, salt and pepper and throw it in the oven to soften up while you prepare the filling.

2. Scrabble together some filling ingredients that you will go ahead and cook, then stir together. You want everything to be cooked before it goes into the mix. I ALWAYS use the following and you must too:

Mixture of vegetables, cut into bite-size pieces and precooked (boiled, roasted, sauteed, microwaved--however you want), including whatever you scooped out of your containment vessel and always, always onions and garlic
Grain or bread crumbs to absorb some of the moisture; rice, barley, quinoa, any whole grains precooked, fresh or dried crumbs
Cheese: it's rich, it's creamy, it's delicious
Nuts: especially if you toast them first, they add a bit of umami
1 egg, beaten: it holds the whole thing together

So what you will do is prepare all your bits: cook the vegetables, the grain, toast the nuts. Then, in a big bowl, toss it all together with some cheese, salt, pepper, and whatever other seasonings you think might be delicious. Taste and season accordingly. Stir in a beaten egg and scoop into your hollowed-out shells. Bake in a 375º oven for 20-30 minutes, until cooked through and bubbly.

The key is proportions. I happen to live in a glorious grocery town where the abundant produce shelves let me buy as much or as little of anything as I want. Only need 3 mushrooms? There's a bin of them. Handful of green beans? Just one leek? When you're putting together your filling, consider what would be reasonable for 1 or 2 people to eat. I'll include some approximate measures below just to give you an idea.

Stuffed Eggplant: 1 medium eggplant, split and hollowed; eggplant meat, 1/4 lb. sliced mushrooms, 1/2 onion, 2 cloves garlic--all sauteed together; 1 tomato diced, 1/4-ish cup grated parmesan; 1 cup cooked quinoa. Stirred together with an egg.

Stuffed Sweet Potatoes: 1 large sweet potato, microwaved 5 minutes, split, and scooped out; 1/4 head cauliflower florets, handful green beans, 4 collard leaves--all blanched; 1/2 onion and 2 cloves garlic sauteed; potato meat, 1/4-ish cup ricotta; toasted chopped pistachios; 1 cup cooked quinoa. Stirred together with an egg.

Jambalaya

2010-02-17T05:53:00.000-08:00

You didn't think I was going to let Fat Tuesday pass without celebrating, did you? In lieu of stripping off my top and shouting for beads from passers by (it was snowing, after all), I thought maybe a Louisiana specialty for dinner would suffice.

Last week, when planning a themed dinner for the Saints Superbowl Extravaganza, a friend asked me, "What exactly is Jambalaya?" Well, it's kind of a dump-pot of meat, seafood, vegetables, spices, and rice, often a leftover meal scrapped together from what's in the cupboard (or, at least, what would have been in Louisiana cupboards).

The story is that jambalaya is a kind of bastardized Spanish paella, developed out of indigenous resources when the Spanish first set their boots on the swampy Gulf soil. Rice, which grew in abundance along the Mississippi, was about the only familiar ingredient. So those Creoles added what they had: oysters, shrimp and crawfish. The Cajuns came along with andouille sausage and ham. Competing stories suggest that the name 'jambalaya' comes from the Spanish word for ham, jambon, and the West African word for rice, yaya.

Competing traditions also dictate whether or not your jambalaya uses tomatoes (Creole, yes, Cajun, uh-uh). What is entirely necessary, though, is the "holy trinity" of both Creole and Cajun cooking: onions, celery, and bell peppers. Any and every recipe starts with these three ingredients. They are a must.

So here's a weeknight version, ready in about an hour. It calls for long grain rice, which cooks up fluffy and stays separate, but MAKE SURE you get a parboiled kind (Uncle Ben's, Zatarain's, etc.) to cook in time. Alternately, you'll have to precook your rice for about 30 minutes before adding it in--not a problem, but one more pot to wash, you know.

Weeknight Jambalaya

serves 2; ready in about an hour; see note above about rice choices

1/2 Tbsp butter

1 link andouille sausage, halved and sliced

1 large celery stalk, diced

1/2 small onion, diced

1/2 small green bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup tomatoes + juice from can of diced tomatoes -OR- 1 diced tomato + 1/2 cup tomato sauce

1/3 cup long grain enriched rice (see above)

3/4 cup chicken stock**

1 tsp Tony's**

1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup diced chicken (cooked or raw, whatever)

1 cup raw shrimp, peeled and shelled**

3 green onions, sliced

2 Tbsp fresh chopped parsley

Preheat your oven to 350º. Have everything chopped, lined up and ready to go. You're going to add things in stages, so you want it all prepped like they do on cooking shows. Except the shrimp--you won't need it for a while, so keep it (peeled) in the fridge.
Now, melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add andouille pieces and saute until they start to brown, about 2 minutes. Add HALF of the trinity (diced celery, bell pepper, and onion) and saute another 3 minutes, until vegetables are soft. Add tomatoes and juice, stirring another minute. Add rice and stir constantly for 2 minutes.
Dump in the following: stock, rest of trinity, Tony's, Worcestershire, minced garlic, and chicken pieces. Stir to combine. Cover tightly and throw it in the oven for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, carefully remove from oven and check status of your rice. If it's looking good, add shrimp, parsley and green onions. Cook, uncovered, for 12 more minutes, until shrimp is done and most of broth is absorbed. Enjoy with a big piece of crusty French bread.

**Some notes:

Because the stock is so much of your flavor, you want the essence of all the components in it. When you peel your shrimp, throw some of the shells in a pot and pour the stock in with it. Heat it up and let it simmer for a few minutes while you're preparing the other stuff to infuse the stock with shrimpiness.
Not everyone has access to the riches of Tony Chachere's creole spice mix. If you must make your own, try Emeril's recipe.
And, not to be Debbie Downer, but promise me you will not buy shrimp farmed in Thailand, frozen, and shipped over here. You don't need much, so spring for the more expensive stuff: wild American caught. We're in the tiny window of Maine shrimp season up here, so we're lucky, but there are so, so very many reasons to buy domestically. Not least of which is to keep those Gulf shrimpers in business. Please.

Beet + Avocado + Goat Cheese Sandwich

2010-02-13T14:04:00.000-08:00

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT be deterred by the title of this post, or the ingredients contained in this sandwich--which may seem to you like the rejects of the produce department. Not so! They play together like the members of Mylie Cyrus's backup band: rich and sweet.

This sandwich is the new business. And if you are David, this sandwich may also include a piece of crispy bacon. Oh. My. Delicious. Promise me you'll try it, even if (YOU THINK) you don't like beets.

The Beginning of the New Sandwich Era will require the following...

1 large red beet

2 slices of bread

goat cheese

an avocado

lettuce greens

(optional slice of bacon)

First, roast your beet: preheat your oven to 375º. Wrap the beet in foil and toss it in the oven. Beet is done when you can slip a paring knife into the parcel and meet no resistance. When cool enough to handle, peel the beet (skin will slip right off) and slice into 1/2-inch rounds. Toss the beet with a little salt and a tablespoon of cider vinegar.
Slap some goat cheese on both slices of bread. Top with a layer of beet, avocado slices, and greens. If you want, slip a crisp slice of bacon in there.

Meringue Cookies

2010-02-11T04:47:00.000-08:00

Since we are so close, I will tell you that I spent most of Tuesday throwing up. It started mid-jog, thus allowing me to puke all over Cambridge and Boston, and lasted all day and night, thus allowing me to question the meaning of life, the perils of the human body, the coldness of the bathroom floor, and how many times one's entire digestive tract can seize and expel before one simply gives up and dies right there on the spot.

But then Wednesday came, and there were crackers and ginger ale. Limited nausea. A good book. Suddenly it was 4:00 in the afternoon and I hadn't ralphed all day. I didn't even feel like ralphing. In fact, I felt more like making something delicate that my stomach wouldn't repel and that would restore some of my energy--since even rolling over on the couch left me breathless. Plus, there had to be dessert.

Not really knowing the best thing to eat after, ahem, performing a self-cleanse, I followed my dad's advice and decided to "Call it out," as he put it. If I was still sick, there was only one way to find out. I tested the waters with a cup of coffee. No problem. Dessert should be fiiiiiiiine.

But maybe a simple dessert, with limited butter. Maybe one with no butter at all! Yes! And one that only requires me to stand up for about five minutes! Yes! This is it!

Meringue Cookies

makes 7-8 cookies; takes 3 hours total, but only about 5 minutes active time

1 large egg white (preferably room temperature)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

(*optional, 1/2 tsp cornstarch, see note below)

First, preheat oven to 200º.

Now, Step 1: With electric mixer, beat egg white and vanilla on medium-low speed until frothy. Like so:

Step 1: Add cream of tartar, increase speed, and beat until soft peaks form. Like so:

Step 3: Add sugar (and cornstarch, if using) in 3 additions, beating well after each time. Let the mixture go until whites are very stiff and glossy. Like so:

Step 4: Quickly spoon meringue mixture into a ziplock back and snip one corner off. Pipe into whatever shapes you like--I happen to like wide, flat meringues. Alternately, just get a spoon and slop them onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 1 1/2 hours, then turn off the oven and leave the oven door slightly ajar. Allow the meringues to cool completely in the oven (could take 45 minutes or so), so they fully dry out. If you try to cool them too fast, they'll likely crack. Store in an airtight container for a couple days.

*About the cornstarch: some people say cornstarch helps the meringues keep their shape. This is probably true. If you're going for beauty, maybe go with the cornstarch. I didn't feel like fishing out my box and was pretty sure neither David nor I were going to care what these babies looked like, so I skipped it.

the CHOCOLATIEST cookies in existence

2010-02-07T15:04:00.000-08:00

These are brownies masquerading in cookie form. They are ri-di-cu-lous (slow, emphatic syllables necessary), but be forewarned: the batter is a little strange. It comes together pretty runny, then must sit for 20 minutes -- during which time its microscopic magical chocolate bits unite into a fudgy mass. It continues to harden as it sits, so go ahead and dole out all the cookies at one time. You can keep the pre-formed cookies in the fridge if you don't want to bake them all, but don't wait to scoop; you'll end up with a rock of dough (which I may or may not have hacked at with a sharp knife, then eaten without baking).

Super Fudge Cookies

adapted from Cook's Illustrated; makes about 10 cookies; takes about 45 minutes

1/2 cup flour

2 Tbsp cocoa

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 Tbsp butter, softened

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp white sugar

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup pecan pieces (optional)

First, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Then, in a small bowl, melt the chocolate in the microwave, working in 20 second increments until you can stir it smooth. (Alternately, melt over very low heat on the stovetop.) In a third bowl, whisk the egg and vanilla together.
In a medium bowl (yes, a fourth one, sorry), beat butter with sugars until well incorporated and smooth, 30 seconds. Add egg mixture and mix for another 30 seconds. Now the melted chocolate, another 30 seconds. Stir in dry ingredients as well as chips and pecans until incorporated; batter will be thin. Cover with plastic wrap and walk away for 20 minutes.
Return to discover your dough has undergone a mysterious yet wonderful transformation. Preheat your oven to 350º and scoop out about 2 Tbsp pieces of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. When oven is ready, bake 11-12 minutes. Cookie should seem under done, but it will continue to cook as it cools. Don't overbake! You want this baby to be gooey!

Lamb Stew for Two

2010-02-03T17:01:00.000-08:00

So every time I open my freezer lately, this one frozen slab of lamb meat keeps sliding out of and threatening to land on my big toe. I'd been saving (read: forgetting about) this remnant of the bygone summer glory days of farmer's markets for just the right meal. It's not every day you eat lamb, right? Maybe it's been jumping out at me for a reason.

Enter the propitious loan of a certain cookbook with a mighty tasty-looking lamb stew contained therein. A lamb stew that called for three specific vegetables which were, at that moment, decaying in my fridge.

I must confess that, for someone who really prizes the power of simple foods, I was a bit skeptical about the lack of seasoning in the recipe. I mean, it calls for water for goodness sake. Egads, was I wrong. Apparently lamb is so delicious that it needs very little help--don't substitute. You only need a little!

Lamb Stew for Two

ready in 1 1/2 hours; adapted from Olives and Oranges, by Sara Jenkins and Mindy Fox

1/2 -2/3 lb. boneless lamb shoulder, trimmed of fat and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 large carrot, halved and sliced

2 medium turnips, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 small celery root, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 small leek, sliced into 3/4-inch rounds and rinsed well

1 large garlic clove, minced

1/2 tsp anchovy paste (optional)

1 1/2 cup water

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 Tbsp chopped parsley

olive oil aplenty

Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Season lamb cubes generously with salt and pepper and place in a single layer in the pot. Don't touch them for 6 minutes. Flip and cook 6 minutes more. Scoop out (leaving any fat behind) and store in a dish conveniently placed next to your burner.
Throw the carrot, celery root, and leek into the hot oil and add a healthy pinch of salt (and more oil, if needed). Saute, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Remove to conveniently placed storage dish.
Last, brown the leeks and garlic in whatever's left in the pan, adding more oil as needed. After about 3 minutes, toss meat, vegetables, and any accumulated juices back into the pan. Add anchovy paste (if using), water, and vinegar. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 40 minutes. Remove lid and simmer 20 minutes more, until spoon tender. Stir in parsley and serve hot!

Chermoula

2010-02-03T16:14:00.000-08:00

Let me tell you about chermoula. Chermoula is a Moroccan herb-spice-and-oil mixture rich with garlic, cumin, and fresh coriander. It's used mostly on fish--as both a marinade and a sauce--but can be used to enhance the general deliciousness of so many other dishes. Claudia Roden says that "every town, every family has its own special combination," so it ends up being both handy and adaptable. Seriously, google it. You'll get a lot of variations.

And so we made it last night. Everything seems a little different today. The sun, a little brighter. My husband, a little sweeter. My bike ride to work, a little less freezing. My tastebuds, well, they just want chermoula all the time. On everything.

Ok, maybe I exaggerate, but boy is this stuff good. I can think of so many meats and vegetables that this crazy good condiment would only enhance. Mix up a batch and try it. (You'll need a processor for this one.) Tell me what you use it on.

Pan-Cooked Fish with Chermoula

makes as many filets as you buy; extra sauce will keep in the fridge for a week or so; recipe from Roden's New Book of Middle Eastern Food

1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro

1/2 cup roughly chopped parsley

3 large garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp coriander

healthy pinch of chili powder

healthy pinch of salt

scant 1/4 cup lemon juice or wine vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

1-2 white fish fillets; check the Monterey Bay Seafood Watch guide for good choices in your area

Throw all ingredients (excepting the fish) in a food processor and blend till smooth. I must confess I did not actually measure the oil, so add more as needed to achieve a thick, but still fluid, consistency.
Use half the mixture to marinate the fish for 30 minutes. Reserve the rest for pouring over cooked fillets.
When ready to cook, film a skillet with olive oil and heat over medium-high. Place fish in hot skillet and don't touch it for 6-7 minutes. No fidgeting, no stirring. Carefully flip and cook 2-4 minutes on the other side, until fish is flaky. The general rule is about 10 minutes per inch of thickness, so adjust cooking time accordingly. Serve hot, drowned in more chermoula.

Look what we did!

2010-01-30T10:26:00.000-08:00

If you have ever come to our house for dinner, you have probably been forced to make your own pasta. Work for your dinner, that's our policy. Plus, we think it's fun; ergo, we also think you should think it's fun. Doesn't this lady look like she's having serious fun? Maybe? Maybe we should rethink our social activities? Recently we had a visit from a beloved college pal, who we traipsed around Boston in the nose-numbing weather--including a stroll across the frozen swan pond and a detour through the tiny, specialty groceries of the North End--only to conscript her into pasta duty at the end of the day. We made a very, very simple filling of blanched kale mixed with absurdly fresh ricotta (absolutely no substitute here), salt and nutmeg, and popped out a couple dozen capelli. Italian for "tiny hats" (a.k.a. tortellini). Despite my ill-timed snapshot of her serious folding focus, she was a great sport about it.

We didn't really do a Downslice here, but if you wanted to try, you can use this or this recipe for fresh egg pasta, roll it out but don't cut it into noodles. Instead, use a round cookie cutter to make circles, then plop down about a teaspoon of filling. You can use anything: from cooked squash to just cheese to sauteed mushrooms to whatever you feel like. Try this: 1/2 cup blanched greens (spinach, kale, collards, mustards, etc.) plus 1/2 cup fresh ricotta plus 1 tsp salt plus 1/4 tsp nutmeg. Yum.

Now, fold the circle in half and, wetting the edges with water if you like, press the edges of the semicircle together very firmly. Bring the pointed edges together and pinch hard. Repeat endlessly.

Voila! Serve tossed in tomato sauce or just some butter and cheese.

Root Vegetable Gratin

2010-01-27T10:48:00.000-08:00

I know I've bored you elsewhere with the secrets of a good gratin, so you're spared the lesson this week--linguistic or otherwise. What you get instead (!!) is a delicious baked dish with the earthy flavors of winter. Plus it's pretty, no?

Ok, start with a couple of roots. Peel and julienne them. [Hold up--what? This just means cut them in tiny matchsticks: slice as thin as your trembling knife hand will allow you one way, then stack the slender slices atop one another, and slice cross ways, again, as thin as humanly possible. See exhibit A:]

Saute an onion. Throw it all in a cream sauce you made yourself. Then stir and bake. Really, that easy. You can follow the sauce recipe here, for a cheesy version, or you can go with the straight sauce below. Your call.

Root Vegetable Gratin

serves 2-3, but leftovers are quite good

the veggies:

1 small potato (red, yukon gold, etc. NOT a baking potato), julienned

1 small carrot, julienned

1 medium-sized turnip, julienned

1/2 small onion, sliced thin and lightly sauteed in olive oil

[optional, some blanched, chopped greens of your choice, 1/2 cup or so]

the sauce:

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup broth [or just a full cup milk, if you like]

1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 Tbsp flour

1/2 small onion, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

salt and pepper

the rest:

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs, tossed in olive oil or melted butter

First, julienne the potato, carrot, and turnip. Because the Internet is omniscient, you can consult it on how precisely to do this. But don't feel like you need to chop as fast as this guy. Toss them in a big bowl with the sauteed onions, greens (if using) and a healthy dose of salt and pepper.
Next, make your cream sauce. Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add diced onion and saute with a pinch of salt until translucent, 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Sprinkle flour over top and stir that around, cooking the flour, for about 2 minutes. Add the milk in 3 additions, whisking really well after each time to get at any clumps of flour. Remove from heat as soon as it boils from the third addition and gets nice and thick. Season with plenty of salt and pepper and pour over vegetables. Stir.
Grease a nice gratin-friendly dish, pour the mixture in and flatten with the back of your spatula. Sprinkle with bread crumbs you've tossed in olive oil or melted butter and mixed with parmesan cheese. [Oh, and if you want to, that slice of bacon you fried and crumbled.] Bake for 35-40 minutes at 375º.

Corollary: Banana Pudding

2010-01-27T10:26:00.000-08:00

Just in case you can't get enough pudding, here's an easy recipe for the banana variety, and actually, just plain vanilla--if you omit the bananas and vanilla wafers at the end. But why in the world would you do that?

Banana Pudding

serves two; ready in 4 hours or the next day

1 1/4 cups milk

1/3 cup sugar

2 egg yolks

2 Tbsp cornstarch

pinch salt

1 Tbsp butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 large banana

about 10 vanilla wafers

In a small saucepan, heat the milk and sugar over medium, whisking occasionally until scalded but not boiling--you just start to see tiny bubbles around the rim of the pan.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and cornstarch. When the milk is ready, pour a very little bit at a time into the yolks and whisk whisk whisk until incorporated. When all of the milk is added, return mixture to the pot and heat until almost boiling, using a spatula to stir. Constantly. It will get thick, trust me.
Meanwhile, in another bowl, slice your banana and break up the nilla wafers into big chunks. Pour thickened pudding over bananas and wafers, and stir to get them mixed throughout.
Let cool on the counter to room temp, then cover and place in the fridge. Chill for a couple of hours, preferably overnight to let the flavors meld.

Chocolate Orange Pudding

2010-01-24T15:53:00.000-08:00

I'm not entirely sure why, but David looooooves pudding. Or mousse. Or custard. Or panna cotta. Or anything that is cold and smooth and you can slurp from a spoon. He loves pudding the way normal people love chocolate chip cookies or slices of cake. When I say, "I made pudding," there is a spark in his eye that is only ever repeated upon the purchase of a long-desired book or the kickoff of a long-anticipated football game.

"Really!?" True elation. Why don't I make it all the time? It's this easy to make him happy?

In fact, this very evening, as he spooned his dessert, he effused--and I quote--"This is one of the perfect desserts in the world, don't you think?" He didn't even know I was planning on making fun of him later on the blog! He just says that stuff naturally!

Well, anyway, here's a great little chocolate pudding recipe, perfect for two. I happen to really like dark chocolate and orange together, but if you're not an orange person, you can just omit the zest and the juice. Easy.

Chocolate Orange Pudding

serves 2; ready in 2 hours (including chill time)

1 1/2 oz dark chocolate

1 1/4 cup milk (any fat content will do)

1 Tbsp orange zest

1/3 cup sugar

2 egg yolks

2 Tbsp cornstarch or flour

1 Tbsp cocoa

1 Tbsp butter

1 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp orange juice (or better yet, orange liquor of some kind)

First, chop the chocolate and place it in a small microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 20 second intervals until you can stir it smooth. (Alternately, melt over very low heat on the stovetop.) Set aside.
In a small sauce pan, combine milk, zest, and sugar over medium heat, until scalded (that is, you just start to see tiny bubbles around the rim of the pan). Try not to boil. In another bowl, whisk together eggs, cornstarch, and cocoa. Mixture will be crumbly.
When milk is ready, add it in very small increments to the yolk-cocoa mixture, whisking well in between each addition. When all the milk is incorporated, return to pan and heat again, over medium, stirring constantly, until thick--about 2 minutes. Scrape pudding into a bowl to stop cooking. Add melted chocolate, butter, vanilla, and orange juice and whisk until well mixed.
To speed up the cooling process, place that bowl inside a larger bowl that you have filled with ice and a little water. Stir constantly for a few minutes until the pudding becomes cool. If you like, you can strain the pudding through a fine mesh sieve to get rid of the orange zest and achieve a really smooth result.
Divide between two serving dishes of your choice, cover in plastic, and cool for at least an hour.

Roast an Onion

2010-01-24T15:24:00.000-08:00

So sometimes when you roast something meaty, you toss in a few other vegetables with it: carrots, potatoes, maybe some onions. Nothing tastes quite like an earthy veg that has been slow braised in delicious meat juices.

Well, this is not that. BUT, it's a way to get a tender, delicious onion without having to roast a whole chicken. Also, it's idiot proof. If you have a small oven dish, a piece of foil, and a little patience, you've got a couple of roasted onions.

Let me warn you, a roasted onion does not a meal make. It is delicious but not terribly filling, so make it a side dish: pair it with a big salad or some other veggies. It also holds in the fridge and reheats well. And do not, I repeat, DO NOT try to eat this thing without salt. A sprinkle of salt opens up worlds of flavor; no salt = kinda lame. Also, try it with the vinaigrette I suggest at the end. Impress your friends. Or yourself.

Easy Roasted Onion

ready in 45 min; serves 1 per however many onions you roast

Grab an onion or two. Set it/them (peel and all) in an oven-safe dish. Add enough water to reach 1/2-inch depth. Cover in foil and set in a 350º oven. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake 10 minutes more.

Meanwhile, whisk together the following:

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp spicy or dijon mustard

2 Tbsp olive oil

sprinkle of salt and pepper

Now, place the onion on a plate and carefully cut off one end of the onion paper. Now, cut the whole thing down the middle, and open it out. Top with salt, drizzle with balsamic vinegar, and serve. P.S. Don't eat the onion skin.

Barley Risotto Update

2010-01-20T17:24:00.000-08:00

Now look what I went and did. Made a barley risotto, as we previously discussed, but put mushrooms in with the barley and garlic, finely chopped Swiss chard with the first dose of broth, then snap peas with the parmesan at the end. Yum.

Orange-Glazed Tempe

2010-01-17T13:54:00.000-08:00

This is a big week for you, yeah? Trying new things. Eating some lentils. Considering a soy product that would have previously skeeved you out but suddenly seems delicious.

Tempe is like tofu, in that it is a kind of cake or block made from soy, and it tastes like ... well ... almost nothing. Similarly, the beauty of both tofu and tempe is that they easily take on the flavors you introduce to them. Their textures, though, are quite different; tempe is thin and dense, and though traditionally made from exclusively soy beans, can successfully be adapted with mixed grains and seeds. My grocery store sells tempe in different varieties: ones with added flax seed, barley, buckwheat, bulgur and brown rice, even vegetables.

I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that reducing the amount of meat you eat is almost never a bad idea. (If you DO need me to tell you, just say the word and I will simultaneously bore, offend, infuriate, and worry you with statistics both medical and ecological.) I have to be honest and say that I am a tempe novice, but so far I've liked the results. I must also be honest and say that this recipe was lifted (though adapted to fit my cabinet contents) from 101 Cookbooks, so think about going there--or many, many other places--for more tempe knowledge. In the meantime, this is a pretty quick weeknight fix.

You can serve it with rice or another grain, but since it's kind of made of grains, you could also go with a bed of wilted cabbage, tossed in an easy dressing. I'll include that here too.

Orange-Glazed Tempe

serves 2, but leftovers are great

1 package tempe

2 Tbsp oil

1 cup orange juice

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tsp honey

1 tsp dry ginger

1 clove garlic, minced

dash hot sauce of your choice

1/2 head green or red cabbage

1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 Tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp honey

Start by cutting the tempe into bite-size pieces. As you can see, we went with triangles. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and add tempe. Saute until nice and brown, about 4 minutes, then flip. Cook another 3-4 minutes.
Mix together remaining sauce ingredients (soy sauce through hot sauce) in a small bowl. Add to pan with tempe and reduce heat to medium. Boil until sauce is reduced and thick, 6-8 minutes.
Meanwhile, slice cabbage thin and steam however you see fit: either in a pot on the stove with a little bit of water, or in a bowl with a little bit of water, covered in plastic, and microwaved for several minutes. Mix together vinegar, oil, soy, and honey, and toss. Serve warm.

Lentil Salad with Roasted Root Vegetables

2010-01-15T11:22:00.000-08:00

You know, people's opinions on lentils really run the gamut. Some people hate them. Some people really hate them. Some only dislike them. Some throw up a little when they think about them. Others are narcotized with boredom.

Wherever you fall on this scale, have I got a recipe for you! First, let's talk a little about the lentil, shall we?

What is it? Well, Harold says that the lentil is probably the oldest cultivated legume, that is, the family of plants that have seed-bearing pods (more or less, think beans and peas). Its Latin origin is the word lens, presumably for its shape, like two contact lenses back-to-back. Alan helpfully adds that the seeds themselves "come in various sizes, from tiny to small," thank you, and a variety of colors. They can basically be grouped into two categories: those which are large and light colored (greenish and yellowish), and the others which are much smaller and either brown, pink, or grey.

Also, lentils have the highest protein content of all its competitors, excluding soy beans, at more than 30% of your RDA per serving. I'm not sure why lentils have earned such a bad rap: they have a really mild flavor and readily absorb the essence of whatever you join them with. Wait, maybe it's all that fiber. Maybe you've all eaten lentils and embarrassed yourself after dinner. Well, even if you have, you've been simultaneously fighting high cholesterol and heart disease, regulating your digestive tract, stabilizing your blood sugar levels, and pumping iron (into your bloodstream, which is good). So give the lentil another chance, will you? Try this.

Boil some lentils until they're soft, but not mushy (about 15-20 minutes). Meanwhile, dice up some root vegetables--sweeter ones like beets and carrots--and roast them in the oven. Make a quick vinaigrette and toss it all together. Even add some cheese if you want. It's great warm or cold, so keep it in the fridge and fork it for the next few days.

Lentil Salad with Roasted Root Vegetables

can serve 2-3, but also makes a great lunch-for-work or snack-when-you're-bored-at-home for one; ready in 45 minutes

1 medium carrot

1 very small (or 1/2 medium) celery root

2 medium golden beets, (with greens optional)

1/2 cup green lentils

4 scallions

3 Tbsp red wine vinegar

2 Tbsp walnut, grape seed, or olive oil

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp honey

salt and pepper

Optional: 2 Tbsp grated parmesan or crumbled feta

First, preheat your oven to 375º and dice up the carrot, celery root (peeled) and beets (peeled) into 1/2-inch dice. Toss with oil, salt and pepper and throw in the oven until they're pretty soft, 25-35 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a small pot of water to boil. Dump in the lentils and cook for 17-20 minutes, until the lentils are chewable but still have a little bite. (If you go to far, you'll have mush instead of salad.) Lift out with a strainer, leaving the hot water in the pot. Stem and chop up the beet greens and drop them in the boiling water for about 5 minutes, until softened. Drain.
In a large bowl, combine vinegar, oil, mustard, honey, salt and pepper to taste. Whisk vigorously until well combined. Then stir in lentils, roasted vegetables, greens, scallions, and cheese (if using). Season with salt and pepper. Yum!

Chocolate Mice

2010-01-12T16:26:00.000-08:00

Stopped by Burdick's today in Harvard Square for a completely unnecessary and totally drool-inducing tour of their chocolates case. They are known for these tiny, adorable, my-insides-are-imploding-from-the-cuteness chocolate mice, which taste almost as fantastic as they look. One of each, please!

The good news, New Yorkers, is that you can now share my mouse habit at your very own Burdick's location, recently opened in the Flatiron district. Please go there, if not for the mice, then for the hot chocolate--a.k.a. liquid GOLD--which is unparalleled (in provincial little Cambridge, anyway).

Meatballs 101

2010-01-10T14:13:00.000-08:00

This is nothing new for you. You have been stretching your meat dollars for years now, right? By adding seasonings for taste, onions for moisture, bread for cohesion, and an egg to hold it all together? It's like meatloaf in ball form! (Except also delicious.) Betty Draper would be proud. Or at least, the mentally stable domestic equivalent of Betty in real 1960s America.

All you need is a half pound of ground meat-of-your-choice, and a couple pantry staples to make an Italian feast. Serve them over pasta, inside a hoagie bun, or atop a warm salad. They need very little else to round them out.

Standard Italian Meatballs

serves 2-3, depending on how many 'balls you like

1/2 lb ground meat (beef, pork, turkey, etc. Skip chicken: it's too lean)

1 slice bread, torn into small pieces

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp chopped parsley

2 Tbsp finely minced onion

1 garlic clove, grated, pressed or minced

1 tsp spicy mustard

1 medium egg

healthy dose of salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients in a big bowl. (To increase tenderness, consider soaking your slice of bread in 1-2 Tbsp water or milk for 10 minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients. Totally optional.) Mix lightly with your hands until all ingredients are incorporated. Don't overdo it. Form into balls: I like ping-pong size.
Film a large skillet with olive oil and bring to medium-high heat. Cook, turning often until meat is cooked through. This will vary depending on your meat, but will probably take at least 18-20 minutes. I like to leave them undisturbed for 6-8 minutes at a time to develop a nice crunchy sear. Toss them around frequently in the last few minutes of cooking to ensure even doneness. Sacrifice one ball by slicing in half to check for doneness.
You're done now.

Texas Sheet Cake

2010-01-07T14:19:00.000-08:00

Ah, Texas sheet cake: chocolatey buttermilk cake, fudgy pecan icing. Where does your name come from?

Some say it's because your dense, delicious slices are so rich, one only needs a small sliver to feel satisfied (hence, the ability to feed a Texas-sized crowd on a single cake). Maybe your fudgy explosiveness could only come from such a sizable state. Maybe that super-chocolatey flavor is as big as Texas.

Either way, this cake is ri-i-ich, almost brownie like, its accompanying icing quite sweet and studded with pecans. Buttermilk gives it a softness and a slight tang, the perfect foil to such a chocolate overload.

Texas Sheet Cake

serves up to 4; ready in 45 minutes; c/o BH&G

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 tsp baking soda

pinch salt

4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) butter

1 1/2 Tbsp cocoa powder

1/4 cup water

1/2 beaten egg -or- 2 Tbsp egg substitute

2 Tbsp buttermilk

1/2 tsp vanilla

Chocolate-Buttermilk Frosting (recipe follows)

Grease a 5x5-inch (or equivalent) pan. Preheat oven to 350º. Stir together flour, sugar, soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside.
In a microwave-safe bowl, melt butter, cocoa powder, and water together, until you can stir it smooth. Use 30 second intervals, taking it out and checking it each time.
Pour chocolate mixture into flour mixture and beat with an electric mixer until thoroughly combined (this can be done by hand, with some effort). Add eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla, beating for an additional minute. Batter will be thin. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake 30ish minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Top with warm Chocolate-Buttermilk Frosting and allow both to cool.

Chocolate-Buttermilk Frosting

2 Tbsp butter

1 1/2 Tbsp cocoa powder

1 1/2 Tbsp buttermilk

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup chopped, toasted (optional) pecans

Throw butter, cocoa and buttermilk into a bowl and microwave on high until butter is melted and you can stir them all smooth (use 20 second intervals). Add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth (you might need a mixer for this one). Stir in pecans.

Boeuf Bourguignon (But not ala Julia, sorry)

2009-12-27T04:59:00.000-08:00

Well, here I am again after a sometime hiatus. Following Thanksgiving, I was so exhausted of the kitchen that I was sure I'd never want to see it again (surprisingly, not true). Then, what followed the holiday was what I will call intense, Olympics-style physical conditioning. I worked all night (literally), slept occasionally, forgot to eat, got sick, and basically nursed a case of general-exhaustion-slash-what-day-is-it for four weeks while I learned to take over the night baking shift at work. All by my lonesome. On a deadline.

But there were moments of greatness over the last few weeks, particularly the day when my birthday present from my husband arrived. Yes, about 4 months late. But it was worth it.

Look at that beauty! Sturdy cast iron construction; hard-wearing, non-reactive, bright-scarlet enamel finish; superior heat retention and distribution; fired at 850º in Northern France by craftsmen who have handed the trade down generation by generation--and weighing in at approximately 300 pounds. How can your dinner not come out perfect?

David inSISted that our first meal out of the French Creuset be one of two French things: Chicken-in-a-pot (a favorite around our house) or Boeuf Bourguignon. Daunted by the seventeen steps in Julia Child's surely authentic but somewhat overwhelming (given my aforementioned schedule) recipe, I remembered and article from the NYT Dining section some weeks back, right about the time J&J hit the theaters. The article was about Ginette Mathiot's "I Know How to Cook," touted as France's "Joy of Cooking," and in the words of the author, "an authoritative cookbook for French housewives first published in 1932." Her recipe for boeuf bourguignon, while still thoroughly French, had a mere five steps. FIVE! (You can do this, Care.)

So that's what we did, in the big French pot, and it was DIVINE. The amount we did was enough for 3-4 people, but you're going to want to make this whole thing, because as delicious as it was on the first night, it was RI-diciulous on the second. Make it. Save it. Eat it. Thank me later.

Boeuf Bourguignon

adapted from a mix of Julia and Ginette, takes about 4 hours; serves 3-4

1 Tbsp oil

3 oz shallots (about 2 small, or 1 medium onion)

3 1/2 oz thick-cut bacon (3-4 slices), diced

1 1/2 lbs stew beef, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Scant 1/4 cup flour

1 1/4 cup any type of stock

1 1/4 cup red wine

1 bouquet garni (1 bay leaf, 3 sprigs fresh thyme and 3 sprigs parsley, tied together)

Black pepper

1/2 lb. pearl onions, peeled and halved (optional)

1 large carrot, peeled and sliced (optional)

3 1/2 oz mushrooms, diced

salt

In a large, heavy pot (preferably a bright red 7.5-quart Le Creuset French Oven, but other pots will work too, I guess) heat oil over medium heat, then toss in onions and bacon pieces. Cook until brown. Scoop out with a slotted spoon and set aside. Leave fat in pan.
Carefully pat your beef cubes dry all over. Add them to the hot pot and brown on all sides, working in two batches if you need, to avoid over crowding. This will take 8ish minutes.
Sprinkle in flour; stir to coat and cook the flour 2-3 minutes, until browned. Add stock, scraping bottom of the pan at the same time to get all that good crusty stuff off the bottom. Now, toss in bacon, onions, wine, bouquet garni, onions (if using) and season with plenty of pepper.
Simmer gently for 2 hours.
After 2 hours, stir in carrot (if using) and mushrooms, cooking 30 minutes more. Season to taste with salt and serve with hot, crusty bread and (if you wish--it is traditional) boiled potatoes tossed in butter and parsley.

As I mentioned, this keeps BEAUTIFULLY, so just pop any extras into the fridge and reheat as you desire.

Thelma's Chicken Salad

2009-11-19T08:30:00.000-08:00

Truthfully, I have always been a little bothered by recipe titles that contain an arbitrary name. What's the point? I'm sure "Sally" or "Ruth" meant something to the original recipe holders, but as recipes get passed down the line, the name becomes minorly annoying. Like a last-ditch effort at homey verisimilitude; an effort to convince someone, somewhere, that this recipe was developed in a warm, cozy kitchen by a lady with a frilly apron and a lot of love.

Well, turns out, I am now guilty of the practice and I finally understand why. For me, it's a way of distinguishing a specific preparation from all others. Especially with a dish as multifarious as chicken salad, which has as many different combinations as cooks who make it, you need a little signal to remind you just which chicken salad recipe this is.

And just which recipe is it? It's the one I grew up on--simple, quick, made of (mostly) pantry staples, and ready in a flash. Rest assured, there was most certainly a Thelma in this story, who made--among other delicacies--this precise chicken salad.

Thelma's Chicken Salad

serves 1-2; ready in 15 minutes if you have leftover chicken already cooked, closer to 30 if you're gonna cook it yourself

1 chicken breast (bone-in or boneless, doesn't matter)

1 hard-boiled egg (instructions below)

1 stalk celery, diced

1 scallion, sliced, or 1 Tbsp-ish of finely diced onion (Thelma says this is optional)

1/4 cup mayonnaise*

1 Tbsp sweet pickle relish

salt and pepper

Bring a medium pot of water to boil and drop your chicken breast in. Cutting it in half will speed up your cooking time. I find bone-in split breast a little cheaper at the store, so go with that if you wish. As a bonus, drop in the ends of your celery, a quarter of an onion, and whatever other veg clippings you have; by the time your chicken is cooked, you'll have a couple cups of broth to use for another occasion. Boil for 15-20 minutes, until you can cut open the meat and see no pink. Remove from water and run under cool water. As soon as you can handle it comfortably, shred the meat and toss in a bowl.
Meanwhile, in a smaller pot, cover one egg with water and bring the water to a boil. Once it boils, turn off the heat, cover the pot, and cook for 10 minutes exactly. Drain and drop in a little bowl of ice water. Peel and dice egg, and add to chicken bowl.
Now, add celery, relish, and mayo and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. David had his on a nice sandwich (with some homemade potato chips); I had mine in a scoop over a bed of greens. Tasty either way.

*So maybe you, like me, are not a huge fan of mayonnaise. I don't know, something about of the taste of it, the coating inside my mouth, I can't really handle it as a dressing for salads like this one. I happen to really like a product called "Nayonnaise" put out by Nasoya (the tofu people), which is a soy-based spread. I can switch it out with mayo on most occasions and never notice the difference. You can also try thickened yogurt or sour cream, though the flavor will be a bit more assertive.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cookies

2009-11-14T16:29:00.001-08:00

What a surprise! I have made dessert! And it combines peanut butter with chocolate! I swear I make other things sometimes. Sometimes.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cookies

makes 6 cookies; takes about 30 minutes with optional chill time; 15 without

1/4 cup flour

2 Tbsp cocoa powder

1/8 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

pinch salt

2 Tbsp butter, melted

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg yolk

1/2 tsp vanilla

3 Tbsp peanut butter (preferably crunchy; if not, add chopped peanuts)

1/4 cup chocolate chips

Coarse salt (optional)

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, soda, powder and salt. Set aside.
Stir melted butter with sugar until sugar is nice and wet. Add yolk and vanilla, mix well, then add peanut butter. Mix until smooth. Stir in flour mixture, then chocolate chips (and optional chopped peanuts). Form into 6 balls, place them on a plate and press down to flatten slightly. Sprinkle tops with a little bit of coarse salt. Stash in the freezer for 15 minutes. (Or go ahead and bake if you must, you impatient fool.)
Preheat oven to 350º. Bake for 10 minutes and remove to cool slightly before enjoying.

What's up with the salt? Well, I'll tell you. Do you know why you love chocolate chip cookies so much? It's because the dough is nice and salty while the chips are nice and sweet. Your mouth really loves the play of those two tastes together. So up the ante a little by sprinkling coarse sea or kosher salt on top of your cookies right before baking. If you're skeptical, just sprinkle one or two and do a taste test with the non-salted ones. Betcha you'll be doing it a lot more from now on.

Not a Recipe, More Like a TRIUMPH

2009-11-14T15:53:00.000-08:00

Have you seen this movie, 'Big Night', starring a diminutive Stanley Tucci, his "brother" Tony Shaloub, and a silent, as-yet undiscovered Marc Anthony? It's a total charmer about twobrothers who own a struggling Italian restaurant and must cook the meal of their lives for a special gust one particular evening. If you ask me, the star of the show ... well, is Marc Anthony. He mostly just walks from one end of the room to the other in all his (line-less) scenes. But, the food in this movie is as much of a character as any of the gesticulating Italians. Hence, why it became the centerpiece of a dinner-and-a-movie night I recently hosted for some friends.

One of the dishes they serve in the film is called timpano, after the timpani, because it's baked in a giant bowl and inverted after cooking--resulting in a drum-like appearance. It is aridiculous extravaganza of

pasta, meats, cheeses and (inexplicably) hard-boiled eggs, all stuffed into some dough and baked until slice-able. Why not make this for dinner, I thought? Why not indeed. The assembly goes something like this:

Pasta dough
Pasta tossed in tomato sauce
Salami & Provolone chunks
Hard boiled eggs
Meatballs
Parmesan cheese
Repeat
Wrap and close

Well, I did it. I pretty much followed the strategy outlined here, though decreased in size just a touch. It served 6 people generously, and we still have half of it in our fridge. Lunch and dinner for the next week, I think.

I'm posting it here just because it's kind of fun, and I want to remember that I did it. Also, to encourage you to have your own dinner-and-a-movie nights, potlucks even, where you eat a meal inspired by a movie (even a movie that's not explicitly about a meal) with lots of friends. Mangia!

Barley "Risotto"

2009-11-10T16:21:00.000-08:00

Whole grain police, here, checking in to tell you that you can bump up your nutritional profile by swapping pearled barley for arborio rice in your next risotto recipe. Great news!

Wait, what's that? You don't make risotto on a regular basis? You don't feel like standing over the stove, numbing your dominant arm by repetitive stirring for a solid hour? You think it's too much trouble for an average weekday night? You think it's too fancy?

Ok, fair enough. This Italian specialty has earned its reputation as a high maintenance dish because, in order to create its signature creamy consistency, you have to add liquid to the cooking rice just a little bit at a time and lock yourself in a perma-stir so the grains don't stick to the bottom. The timing allows the super saturated rice (or in this case, barley) to release its starch into the water (or in this case, broth) for a velvety result. If you're willing to commit 30 minutes to the stove, I think it's worth it.

One of the lovely things about risotto is that it can take on the flavor of whatever you put into it. Want mushroom risotto? Use mushroom broth and drop some chopped fungi into the pot while you're stirring. Want a green risotto? Use rich vegetable broth and toss in some chard and parsley. It's actually pretty forgiving. [NOTE: I used grated beets in this version, hence the jewel-tone of our dinner.]

The basic ratio is thus: 1 part grain to 3+ parts broth. You always want white wine (about 1/4 part, if we're using that ratio) and Parmesan cheese; shallots or onions definitely help. Whatever add-ins you want to use, just add them to the mixture at an appropriate stage in the cooking process. For example, if you're using squash, add it early because it takes a while to cook. If you're using green peas, add them at the end, because they cook in a flash. This picture was taken early on in the process; I had just dumped in some beets and kale with the first dousing of broth. See instructions below.

Basic Barley Risotto

serves 1-2; takes about 40 minutes

2 cups broth of your choice

1 Tbsp butter

1/4 cup chopped onion or shallots

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup pearled barley

1/4 cup white wine

1/4 parmesan cheese, grated

S&P

Start by putting your broth in a small pot on the stovetop and warm it up. This may seem fussy, but it's necessary. If you're constantly stirring cold broth into your risotto, you will be there all night.
Next, in another, medium pot over medium heat, melt the butter and cook the shallots/onions with a little salt until translucent, 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic and barley and stir to coat; cook 1 more minute. Dump in the white wine and simmer until completely absorbed. Now add 1/2 cup of the broth, cover and let boil until absorbed, about 10 minutes (check occasionally). This is a good time to add long-cooking vegetables like roots, tubers, heartier greens (kale, chard, mustard, collard), dried mushrooms, to name a few.
Now, remove the lid and start adding broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until completely absorbed. Then do it again. When you have 1/2 cup left, add quick cooking vegetables like peas, corn, lighter greens (like spinach), fresh mushrooms, fresh herbs etc. Stop cooking while you still have some creaminess. Off heat, stir in parmesan and season with salt a pepper. Serve sprinkled with more cheese and fresh herbs.

Poached Pears

2009-11-07T09:23:00.000-08:00

Never one to skip dessert, I have been eyeing a stack of decaying pears on my shelf, wondering just what concoction they might make their way into. Fruit has many delicious applications, but sometimes when you add fruits to cakes or other fluffy creations, their natural sweetness gets lost. Pears, especially, have a kind of grainy texture that makes them less flexible sometimes than their genetic relative, the apple. This limits my choices.

So how could I eat the pear in a dessert-like fashion, while still preserving its pear-ness as much as possible? And capitalizing on its strengths without calling attention to its challenges? By poaching it of course! In red wine of course! Which would make it sweet and melty and rich and pear-y all at the same time (of course)!

This "recipe" is something of a conglomeration from many pears-poached-in-red-wine recipes I have read over the years. It is absurdly easy to do and has pretty elegant results. It can be done way ahead of time, as allowing the poached pears to hang out in their juices for a few days only renders them more delicious when the time comes to enjoy them.

Poached pears love their red wine sauce. They also love caramel, dark chocolate, and vanilla ice cream. Combine at your leisure.

Pears Poached in Red Wine

serves 1-2 -- or however many pears you buy (increasing wine-and-sugar accordingly); takes 1 hr or up to 2 days

2 pears, peeled, halved and cored (carefully)

2 cups red wine

3/4 cup sugar

1 vanilla bean, split (optional)

ice cream, for serving

In a medium saucepan, combine wine, sugar, and vanilla bean over medium heat. You want to choose your pan based on how your pears will fit. The pears should be submerged (almost submerged is fine too) in the liquid. Bring liquid to a boil and drop in your pears. Reduce to a simmer and cook pears until soft, about 40 minutes. Spoon liquid over any exposed parts and flip halfway through if necessary.
When done, remove pears from sauce and increase heat slightly. Boil until wine sauce has reduced to a syrupy consistency. If you like, store the pears in their liquid in an airtight container in your fridge for up to 3 days before serving. Flavors will intensify.
Serve warm or at room temperature with red wine sauce, vanilla ice cream, and a really intense brownie if you have one. Suh-weet!

Cream Biscuits

2009-11-07T09:05:00.000-08:00

5 ingredients. 4 biscuits. 3 minutes. 2 hands. 1 easy bleeping recipe.

You don't have to be fussy with the temperature of your butter. You don't have to worry about over handing your dough. You don't need a rolling pin. You don't need any patience at all.

All you need is a handful of ingredients and a biscuit cutter. You also need to be comfortable with adding more or less cream than the exact amount given, because taking into account the humidity of the day, the type of flour you've bought, and how you measured it, you may need a (slightly) different cuppage. Also, this recipe is seriously adaptable. Add cheese, herbs, whatever you're craving.

The good people of America's Test Kitche n are GENIUSES, I tell you. Why don't you subscribe to CooksIllustrated.com (or better yet, the magazine) yet? They never let you down. Seriously.

Cream Biscuits

adapted from ATK; makes 4-5 biscuits; ready in 20 minutes or less

1 cup flour

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 425º. Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt (and any add-ins) in a medium bowl. Add 1/2 cup of the heavy cream and stir, adding more until you achieve a cohesive dough.
Turn out onto a lightly-floured countertop and knead until smooth, about 30 seconds. Press into a circle (about 6-inches in diameter) and cut out with a biscuit cutter (or other sharp-sided utensil). You can recombine, press, and cut out more biscuits if your dough allows, but try not to do this too many times.
Throw in the oven and bake until tops and bottoms are golden brown, 12-15 minutes. Serve warm.

Wednesdays With Abby: Warm Cabbage and Quinoa with Walnut Pesto

2009-11-04T17:05:00.001-08:00

Well, it's Wednesday again and you know what that means: no roommate to cook for. I need a one-serving meal with minimal dishes and a similar amount of effort.

If my record reveals anything, it's that grain salads are my go-to meal these days. I can't help it, especially with quinoa. It cooks in less than 10 minutes and it's a complete protein! Plus the box calls it an "ancient grain." Doesn't that make my dinner sound epic?

Meanwhile, there's withering lettuce and parsley in my fridge--sad remnants of my CSA and farmer's market glory days, now over. Somewhere in my memory, I remembered a pesto made of these very ingredients. (Google helped a little.) I decided to bulk up the nutritional content of my pesto by bringing walnut oil and walnuts to the party, simultaneously adding depth to the mixture and flood my system with Omega-3s and antioxidants. No small feat for an average Wednesday evening.

So if you don't go for the whole cabbage/quinoa thing, at least make the pesto. It's pretty good tossed with pasta or salads, spread on sandwiches, and whatever else one does with normal pesto.

Warm Cabbage and Quinoa Salad with Walnut Pesto

serves 1; takes about 30 minutes; totally stolen (and bastardized) from various sources

For the pesto:

1 small head (or 1/2 large head) romaine lettuce

1/3 cup chopped parsley

1 clove garlic

3-4 Tbsp walnut oil (olive oil will sub fine)

1/4 cup walnut halves

splash lemon juice

salt and pepper

For the salad:

1 cup finely sliced or chopped cabbage

1 rib celery, thinly sliced

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1/2 cup cooked quinoa

1 Tbsp thin sliced red onions or scallions

feta, goat, or other cheese

Place lettuce, parsley and garlic in food processor and pulse until broken down. Add oil a little at a time until it reaches a thin consistency (you may not need it all). Now add splash of lemon juice, salt, pepper, and walnuts. Process until smooth and uniform, about 30 seconds. Season to taste and/or add oil to reach desired consistency. Store extra, covered, in the refrigerator.
First, put your quinoa on to cook. Second, film a small skillet with olive oil and set over medium heat. When pan is hot, toss in cabbage and celery, and season with salt and pepper. Toss just 1 minute or so, until cabbage is warm but still crisp. Add vinegar and stir to coat, cooking another 30 seconds.
Drain cooked quinoa and toss in a bowl. Add cabbage, onions, cheese, and 2 good spoonfuls of pesto. Toss and eat.

Not-So-Crispy Cereal Treats

2009-11-04T15:42:00.000-08:00

It was just one of those days.

Rainy and cold and (it is Boston, after all) windy. My body had decided to cease functioning altogether, presumably in protest to my withholding sleep. Learning new skills on the overnight shift at work is great. Trying to defy all circadian logic and get myself to sleep during Boston's sparse daylight hours is not. There are few things more frustrating than being impossibly cranky and exhausted but unable to sleep. Just ask my husband.

Then there was the fact that I had neglected my book club book and was about to enter into our first ever meeting without even completing our first assignment. Nice. Oh, did I mention the dentist? How many crowns did you say? How many kilos of Valrhona could that amount of money buy? How many trips to Italy? How many Vespas?

To top it all off, when I arrived home at the end of a long day--soggy and pooped and seriously debating whether or not I need a full jaw of teeth--I was startled to pass a mirror and find Rod Blagojevich looking back at me. Thank you, humidity, for inflating my untrimmed bangs to disgraced gubernatorial proportions.

All I wanted, all I wanted was some junk food. Something innocent and delicious and completely frivolous. Like Rice Krispy treats. Ghost-shaped marshmallows in the cupboard? Check. Puffed rice cereal? Eh, sort of. I learned the hard way, people, that Kashi 7 Grain Puffed Cereal does NOT a crispy treat make. It's soggy and chewy and every bite is a disappointment. Just goes to show you: you can make healthy food taste good, but you can't make good junk food taste healthy.

Nevertheless, I wanted to record the proportions for a successful downsized batch of Krispie treats, should I ever find myself in possession of the elf-graced blue box sometime soon. Maybe you've got some now.

Marshmallow Cereal Treats

2 cups cereal

1 cup mini marshmallows

1 Tbsp butter

Melt mallow and butter. Stir in cereal. Wait.

Omelette Roll

2009-11-01T16:57:00.000-08:00

The concept of an omelette roll first crossed my palette at a ladies brunch, the potluck type held by church groups and junior leagues South-wide, where each contributing member is secretly desperate for their contribution to be the star of the show. Great care is taken to make it appear both lovely and effortless. One arrives fully prepared to share (or theatrically withhold) her recipe. Chatter surrounds the dish. Plates clutched expectantly. Ladies making audible noises of delight while eating. Dismay expressed when it is gone. Wistful desires for a second helping. Eagerness for it to be recreated in the future.

The omelette roll--brought forth at just such a Bible study gathering some years ago--had this precise effect. It is essentially a great mess of eggs and cream, beaten and baked to firmness, then wound up like a jelly roll cake and sliced just as pleasantly. The whole idea is perfect for a bake-and-take occasion, because it is a pretty low-maintenance dish that serves a crowd: no eggs to order; no messy skillet; no gummy casserole.

And the beauty of it is, you can fill it with just about anything you like. Sometimes on the weekends, I want a breakfast to sit down to, to eat slowly with a fork. I need to break out of my regular rut of scrambled whites on a piece of toast, swallowed almost without chewing as I race out the door to work at 4:45. I want to slow down and have a real adult morning.

This is the perfect little dish. It can serve 1 or 2, can be breakfast lunch or dinner, and can be stuffed with whatever manner of items you have in your fridge--anything you would throw in an omelette or frittata on the stovetop.

Omelette Roll

serves 1-2; takes about 20-25 minutes

1 oz cream cheese, soft

3 Tbsp milk

1/2 Tbsp flour

3 eggs

salt & pepper

1-2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 cup shredded cheese (of your choice)

toppings to sprinkle (for me, this time, it was chopped tomatoes and scallions)

Preheat oven to 375º. Line a small rectangular baking sheet (I used 6x9, which worked well, but would be the upper end of size you want) with parchment or foil and spray or grease well.
Whisk together cream cheese, milk, and flour until smooth. Add eggs and beat well, then pour into prepared pan. Bake for about 15 minutes, until eggs are puffed and set (jiggle the pan--you don't want the eggs to shake). Keep oven on.
Remove from oven and pull paper/foil out of the pan. Working quickly, spread with mustard, sprinkle most of cheese and add toppings. Roll from one short side, ending with seam down, and reposition so roll is in center of paper/foil. Top with remaining cheese and return to oven for another 3-5 minutes, until cheese is melty.

Bonus Post: 2 Meals for 1 (Person)!

2009-10-28T16:01:00.000-07:00

On Wednesdays, David has class-meetings-meetings-class-officehours-tutoring-moreclass from about 9:00 in the morning till about 9:00 at night. Which means Abby is feeding herself and only herself all day. I tried preparing foods and sending them with that boy for lunch and dinner, but God bless him, he just can't manage to keep up with it all day, much less remember to eat it at a reasonable time. If he didn't leave it in a library somewhere, he came home with it at 9pm and proceeded to eat it then. Missing the point.

Thus, I have given up on trying to feed him while he's out and instead am just focusing on ME. Sigh. It feels good.

Since many of you probably have occasions (perhaps most occasions) in which you are just cooking for one, I thought I'd throw some shots of my lunch and dinner on the Downslizzle to give you some ideas. Both are salads, though maybe not in the way you're thinking. No lettuce involved. They're grain salads, built around precooked whole grains that I had in my fridge. If you cook a big pot of grains at once, they'll feed you for days.

Lunch: Fiesta Chickpea Salad

(because anything with salsa is a fiesta)

1 cup cooked chickpeas (any bean will do, even canned)

1/2 cup cooked grain (pearled barley here, but also spelt, kamut, wheat berries, quinoa, wild rice blend, etc. etc.)

1 small carrot, sliced thin

2 radishes, sliced thin (halved, if they're big)

thin, thin slices of red onion

2ish Tbsp grated cheddar cheese

salsa to toss it all in -- maybe about 1/4 cup? i didn't measure....

So with precooked chickpeas and grains, this is a 5 minute meal. With canned chickpeas and uncooked grains, it will take about 30 minutes to boil and drain the grains (just do it like you would pasta, and taste to see if they're chewable). Toss it all together and you've got a fiesta lunch!

Dinner: Beet Bowl

1 large or 2 medium beets

1/2 cup cooked grains (same as above; I used wild rice)

1 Tbsp chopped parsley

1-2 Tbsp finely diced red onions or thin-sliced scallions

2-3 Tbsp goat cheese, crumbled (beets loooove goat cheese)

apple cider vinegar

salt and pepper

First, you must roast the beet(s). Preheat your oven to 375º, rinse your beet and wrap it in foil. Roast in the oven 25-40 minutes, depending on how large your vegetable is. Check for doneness by sticking a sharp knife into the foil-wrapped beet. You want very little resistance--if it's done, you can stick right through. Immediately remove and unwrap the beet so it can cool a bit and you can handle it.
Meanwhile, cook your grains if need be. For grains like barley, spelt, rice, kamut, and wheat berries, I just cook like I would pasta--bring a pot with plenty of water to boil and let them roll around for at least 30 minutes. Then I taste and see if it's still too chewy or can be drained. Quinoa takes MUCH less time, like 10-15 minutes.
Once your beet(s) is/are cool enough to handle, the outer skin should slip right off. If you have kitchen gloves, now is the time to wear them. Beets will stain like nobody's business. Skin the beet then grate it over the large holes of a box grater. Toss with 2-3 tsp apple cider vinegar and plenty of salt and pepper.
Add remaining ingredients to bowl and toss. If your bowl is too savory for your taste, add a little vinegar. If it's too sweet, beef up the S+P.

Buttermilk Cinnamon Rolls: 2 Ways

2009-10-26T06:23:00.000-07:00

Cinnamon Rolls and I have a complicated relationship.

There was once a time when I believed their origins to be exclusively bound up with a puffy white spokes-thing emblazoned on a blue can, a blue can that you had to press (in great fear and anxiety) with the back of a spoon to get to pop open. Oh, the delicious Sunday mornings that can and I shared together.

Then I learned cinnamon rolls could be got in other ways, namely at restaurant drive-thrus before the clock struck a bitter 10:30 a.m. Equally sweet. Equally tooth-decaying. Equally delicious.

About 5 years ago, Southern Living told me you could buy a bag of frozen biscuits, thaw them out, pat them together, cover them in cinnamon sugar, and achieve a "homemade" result (long before Sandra Lee earned television time to teach me similar stultifying tricks). I felt empowered. I felt confused. Is this what cinnamon rolls are supposed to be?

Then somewhere along the line, I stumbled into scratch baking, which meant I had no one but a recipe writer to help me achieve can- or drive-thru-transcendence. It was then that I discovered the true essence of the cinnamon roll: the soft, bready roll, the gooey brown sugar center, the cream cheese blessing to be showered over top.

This was also about the time that I discovered 27-year-olds cannot get away with eating the things 17-year-olds do. And though I often crave (and I mean reeeally crave) the gooey goodness of a cinnamon roll first thing on a lazy weekend morning, I just can't bring myself to eat that for breakfast anymore. But dessert? That's another story.

So cinnamon rolls it is! Four of them, to be exact, adapted from ... well ... from an unidentified recipe that has been in my cookbook for several years now. Because the pumpkin train keeps rolling these days, I also did an alternate version of these rolls using the orangey goodness. Both are divine.

Part 1: Plain Buttermilk Cinnamon Rolls

makes 4 rolls; can be ready in about 30 minutes

Filling:

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp white sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

pinch salt

dash nutmeg

1/2 Tbsp melted butter

Dough:

1 1/4 cup flour

1 Tbsp sugar

1/8 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup buttermilk

3 Tbsp melted butter

Icing:

1 Tbsp cream cheese, softened

1 Tbsp buttermilk

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 425º. Combine filling ingredients in a small bowl and stir together until mixture resembles wet sand. Set aside.
For dough, whisk together dry ingredients in medium bowl. Add buttermilk and butter, and stir until you get a shaggy dough. Turn out onto a well-floured surface and knead a time or two. Pat into a 6 x 9 inch rectangle, then sprinkle all of filling evenly over top. Roll from one 6-inch side to the other, pinching dough shut when rolling is complete. Cut into 4 rolls.
Transfer rolls, pinwheel side up, to a small, greased pan (a 5 x 5 size was perfect for me), and smush them down just a little, until they touch. (NOTE: If you have a choice between a pan that is too small and one that is too big, air on the large side. You want these rolls to spread out, not up.) Bake in preheated oven for 20-23 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine icing ingredients, whisking until smooth. Spoon over top and serve warm!

Part 2: Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls (alterations marked in bold)

Filling:
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp white sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch salt
dash nutmeg
1/2 Tbsp melted butter
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Dough:
1 1/4 cup flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
dash nutmeg
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup buttermilk
3 Tbsp melted butter

Icing:
1 Tbsp cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp buttermilk
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Follow instructions for Buttermilk Cinnamon rolls, whisking spices into dry ingredients for dough and adding pumpkin with the buttermilk and butter (you could even decrease the butter if you wanted, since the pumpkin will provide plenty of moisture). Everything else is the same.

Eggplant Caviar Pizza

2009-10-25T18:04:00.000-07:00

I believe we have already talked about eggplant caviar on these pages, briefly, but I think it deserves a little more attention. I have no idea where this sassy condiment came from, but if you are friends with eggplant, then it can work its way into your menu in lots of ways: as a dip, as a spread for sandwiches, as a base for pizza, as a sauce for pasta (with a little added pasta water), or even as a flavor booster for everything from stuffed vegetables to soups to sauces. Just keep it in your fridge and dump a spoonful (or seven) into whatever you've got going.

What you're gonna do is roast some roughly chopped vegetables, then puree them all together. You'll end up with a smooth, paste-like substance that you can stash in the fridge for any future needs. Luckily, when we wanted last-minute pizza for lunch recently, I remembered this pizza-like crust we had made before and the caviar hanging out on my refrigerator shelf. Lunch in 15 minutes. Brilliant.

Eggplant Caviar Pizza

serves 1-2; takes 40 minutes, including roasting of vegetables--much less if your caviar is already made

For the caviar:

1 medium eggplant, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

1 red pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 medium red onion, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

2 cloves garlic, minced

olive oil, salt, and pepper

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1 Tbsp chopped parsley (opt.)

Preheat oven to 425º. Toss vegetables with garlic and plenty of S&P in 1-2 Tbsp of olive oil, enough to coat. Spread on a sheet pan and roast for 20-25 minutes, until the eggplant is soft.
Toss roasted veggies into a food processor. Add tomato paste and parsley; process until smooth. Thin with olive oil as needed if it seems too thick. It should be the consistency of a creamy dip.

For pizza:

1 recipe quick pizza crust

1/3-1/2 cup eggplant caviar

1/2 cup mozzarella (grated or fresh, sliced)

1/4 cup parmesan, grated

2 Tbsp chopped onion

1 Tbsp fresh parsley

Prepare stove and crust according to instructions here. Once you have cooked crust on first side and flipped, spread with eggplant caviar, sprinkle with cheese and toppings, and cover with a lid or foil to finish cooking.

Pumpkin Brownies

2009-10-22T11:49:00.000-07:00

It's PUMPKIN TIME! Finally! All these fresh vegetables, bountiful crops, and dizzying varieties during the summer--at last, we can settle down on one thing. And eat it all winter long.

Fall has several meanings for me: 1. Pumpkins, 2. Apples, 3. Cranberries, 4. Halloween Candy. And seasons changing and all that other crap too, of course, but mostly I really look forward to the foods that go with autumn. They're crisp and spicy-sweet and warm and mushy. (Think baked apples and soft roasted winter squashes and pie galore.) They also have come to mean infiltrating all otherwise normal dishes somehow with pumpkin. Enter Libby.

I saw her on the shelf and couldn't walk by. Look at that beast! Think of how many Downsliced creations she could make! Cookies, muffins, brownies, pie, pastas, soups, sauces....my head almost exploded right there on the carpeted floor (not kidding) of my local Foodmaster. 100% Calabaza Pura. I made her mine and took her home.

As usual, I wanted chocolate, but I also wanted pumpkin. Most of the recipes Google gave me had dreadful terms like "healthy" and "low calorie" in the title. Worse, they were actually promoted using phrases like, "Can't even taste the pumpkin!" or "Your kids won't know its there!" What blasphemy is this? A pumpkin brownie with no traceable elements of pumpkininity? What has our world come to?

My pointer finger went spasmodic; I think I actually made it to page three of Google's search results before Food and Wine magazine saved me. A delicious chocolate brownie with an intentionally discernible pumpkin swirl marbled throughout. Phew. The living room ceased to spin around me. I calmly clicked 'Print.' The world was as it should be.

Pumpkin Brownies

adapted from Food & Wine,* serves 4ish; takes about 40 minutes

For the Pumpkin batter

2 tsp butter, room temp

2 Tbsp cream cheese, room temp

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg yolk

2 Tbsp pumpkin

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp each cinnamon and ginger

1 Tbsp flour

For the Brownie

1 1/2 oz chocolate

2 Tbsp butter

1 egg

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla

pinch salt

1/3 cup flour

(1/4 cup walnuts, optional)

Preheat oven to 350º. Whisk together cream cheese and butter in a small bowl until creamy and uniform. Add sugar and whisk to incorporate. Add yolk, pumpkin, vanilla and spices then whisk again until smooth. Stir in flour. Set aside
Now, melt chocolate and butter together in microwave or gently over the stove. Set aside to cool slightly. In a medium bowl, beat egg, sugar, vanilla and salt until your arm gives out, or until the egg is frothy and the sugar is almost dissolved, whichever comes first (feel free to use electric beaters for this). Gradually add melted chocolate mixture, whisking all the while so it doesn't cook your eggs. Once chocolate is in, fold in flour and nuts (if using).
Take a well-greased 4-5 inch square pan and pour the brownie batter in. Slop heaping spoonfulls of pumpkin batter all over the top, then swirl with a knife (not too much! you still want separate entities). Bake 20-28 minutes, depending on your gooeyness preference. Tastes really good cold.

*Special note: I actually made two versions of this brownie; the first, I felt, did not have all the pumpkin-packed power I was craving. On the second round I actually doubled the amount of pumpkin swirl it called for and found it perfect.

Fishy Tacos

2009-10-22T04:39:00.000-07:00

When I proposed fish tacos to David as a meal, he turned up his nose as if I had just suggested peanut butter and salami sandwiches or pasta with chocolate sauce. Why put fish on a taco when ground meat is just so good? Why break up a perfectly good duo with something that usually stinks up the house for a day or two afterward?

Because its fast. Because it's healthy. Because it's simple. Because people in coastal Mexico have been eating it forever. Because a taco topped with cabbage and a little sour cream doesn't weigh you down the way a meat-bean-and-cheese extravaganza does. And because its fast, did I mention that. Fish cooks in no time flat. A little chopping, a little grating, and you've got dinner in about ten.

Fish Tacos

serves two, takes less than 15 minutes

1 white fish fillet (we used haddock), cut into 5 or six strips

1 egg (or just the white), beaten

1/4 cup cornmeal

2 Tbsp flour, plus a little extra

1 tsp each of salt and cumin

pinch of black pepper

lime zest (if you have it)

1/2 cup red cabbage, sliced thin

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp honey

1 Tbsp cilantro

4-5 corn tortillas

sour cream

monterey jack cheese

radishes

limes

Set a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and throw in 1-2 tsp oil. Meanwhile, mix the cornmeal, 2 T flour, salt, cumin, pepper, and zest (if using) in a shallow bowl. Dust your fix pieces with extra flour, dip them in beaten egg, then roll them in the cornmeal breading mixture. Lay them in the skillet (they should all fit) and cook 4 minutes; then flip, and cook 3 minutes more, until flaky. You can sacrifice one by breaking it open in the middle and making sure its opaque. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate.
In a bowl, mix cider vinegar with honey, cilantro, and a pinch of S&P. Stir in cabbage.
Warm the tortillas either in a bit of oil over the stove or in a wet paper towel in the microwave. Build tacos with a piece or two of fish, a sprinkle of cheese, a spoonfull of cabbage, a dollop of sour cream, and a squirt of lime. Serve with sliced radishes tossed in salt and more cilantro. We also had some corn relish, but you could go with rice and/or beans to round out the meal.

My Favorite Chocolate Cake

2009-10-14T18:23:00.000-07:00

Everyone needs a good, solid, foolproof, go-to chocolate cake. This is mine. It is impossibly moist, good at room temperature or in the fridge, and stands up to many types of icing. Plus: one bowl, no mixer. TADOW!

The full recipe, from the charming Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes, can be found at the equally charming blog Smitten Kitchen. It should be used indiscriminately for as many occasions as you find for a full-sized cake. [This is the famous 27th Birthday Cake, for those of you who partook.]

But maybe you don't need the temptation of a triple-layer cake on your kitchen counter. Maybe you just want a slice or two. Shouldn't you be able to have that?

I say yes.

So when I am in need of a classic chocolate-layer-cake-with-chocolate-icing fix, this is what I do. You can either bake it in two 5-inch cake pans and make layers that way (what I did), or do a single layer in a 8- or 9-inch cake pan and just chop it in half and layer those (what I have done before). That way, at least, you only end up with half a cake.

My Favorite Chocolate Cake

makes 1 5-in cake or 1/2 full-size cake; takes about an hour

1/2 cup flour

2/3 cup sugar

3 Tbsp cocoa

1/2 tsp soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup sour cream

1/3 cup water

1/2 Tbsp white vinegar

1/4 tsp vanilla

1/2 beaten egg

Preheat oven to 350º. Line your cake pan(s) with parchment. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, soda, and salt. Make a well in the middle an add oil and sour cream. Mix to combine--it will be very thick. Gradually add the water, then the vinegar and vanilla. Whisk to incorporate. Lastly, whisk in the egg.
Divide between two prepared pans or scrape into one. Bake 25-30 minutes, until sides pull away from edges and cake springs back when lightly pressed with your finger (in the middle). Cool on a rack and then transfer to the fridge. Because this cake is so deliciously moist, it is easier to work with when cold.

Go-To Chocolate Icing

will ice small cake; low fat to boot!

2 Tbsp butter

1/2 oz semisweet chocolate

pinch salt

1/3 cup cocoa

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/3 cup milk (skim is fine)

Melt butter and chocolate in a small bowl in a microwave or small saucepan over low heat. In a large bowl whisk together salt, cocoa, and powdered sugar. Pour warm chocolate mixture into sugar mixture and mix with a spatula to moisten.
Now, get out your beaters and mix on low speed to continue moistening. Add milk in several additions, beating well after every one. Feel free to tweak a little as needed: more p.sugar if your icing doesn't feel like it will hold its shape; more milk if its too thick.

Last Minute Potato Soup

2009-10-14T17:12:00.000-07:00

Because, in true form, Boston has skipped fall and jumped headlong into winter. And because sometimes you forget to put on gloves when you go to run errands on your bike. And because occasionally when you get cold, the only way to get un-cold is from the inside out.

Despite the general truth that soup always tastes better on days 2, 3, 4, and on, a good soup really does not have to take that long. (Although the perk is, whatever leftovers you find yourself with will only improve over the next week or so--and this recipe will definitely have leftovers.) As soon as the blood started flowing in my fingers again, it only took about 30 minutes to have a delicious (organic!) bowl of warmth to slurp up. Pre-prepared, even store bought, broth makes this happen in no time flat.

About the potatoes: you need 1 1/2 - 2 lbs of potatoes, doesn't really matter what kind. You may notice that my soup is a lovely shade of brown--that would be because I left the potato skins on, lots of good fiber and vitamins in there. BUT, if your taters are conventionally grown, there's also potentially lots of good chemical residues in there, so peel first, please. And try not to drop your processor blade in the soup like I did. Oops.

Last Minute Potato Soup

makes plenty to keep as leftovers--which you should do; ready in about half an hour

1 leek, washed and diced

1 stalk celery, diced

4 cloves garlic (that is not a typo), minced

1 1/2 - 2 lbs. potato, (scrubbed if organic, peeled if not) cut into 1/2-inch cubes

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 tsp dried thyme

1 cup milk (or just 1 additional cup broth or water)

salt and pepper

2 Tbsp white wine or white wine vinegar

Tony's!

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, saute leek and celery in about a tablespoon of olive oil. Cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook one minute more. Add 4 cups broth, potatoes, and thyme; bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and let cook about 20 minutes, until potatoes are super tender.
Using an immersion blender, food processor or food mill, blend until only a few chunks remain (unless you like a super smooth soup, then process all the way. Don't drop your blade in the soup, like I did.). Return to the pot and add additional 1 cup of liquid. Season with lots and lots of salt and pepper and pour in wine or vinegar. I like my potato soup verrrry thick, so feel free to add more liquid if you like a thinner variety.
Serve with a dollop of sour cream, freshly chopped parsley and sliced scallions.

Apple Jacks

2009-10-10T06:02:00.001-07:00

Apple flapjacks, of course. Back in the days (last week) when I was feeling all homestead-y, I had a show down at the farmer's market with a certain 10-lb. bag of apples. Apparently it prevailed because that bag has been plopped in one of the chairs at my kitchen table, just high enough to peek over the surface and taunt me with its perishability.

Thankfully apples are hearty and, I recently learned, in a plastic bag with a few slits cut in it, will last for weeks in the back of your refrigerator. Hopefully the pioneer spirit will return to me soon and I will engage in some apple saucing or butter-ing, but until then, don't be surprised if those little beauties start showing up with great frequency around these parts.

Here's a perfect apple pancake for a crisp fall morning. Maybe you know or maybe you don't, some secrets to making pancakes: (1) Do not over beat the batter. You want to mix the wet ingredients together as well as the dry, then combine the two just until the dry stuff is moistened. Small pockets of flour are a-ok. This is one of the secrets to fluffiness. (2) Let the batter rest 10 or so minutes. Ever wonder why the first batch of 'cakes is always a throw away and the last ones are perfect? Partly it's you figuring out how hot your pan is, but its also the batter itself. If you give it 10-15 minutes to rest, you'll get more of the perfect kind and less of the give-that-one-to-dad-he'll-eat-anything kind.

Apple Pancakes

serves 2; takes about 20 minutes, including rest

1 egg

3/4 cup buttermilk (or just plain milk is ok)

2/3 cup white flour

1/3 cup whole wheat flour (or just 1 c white)

1 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 large apple, cored, quartered and grated (leave the skin on--more fiber!)

Whisk egg and buttermilk in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, combine flours, sugar, soda, and cinnamon. Pour dry into wet and using a spatula, mix the two until flours are distributed but NOT fully incorporated--lots of white streaks. Add the apple and continue to stir until evenly distributed. Don't overdo it! Let batter sit 10-15 minutes
With 5 min to go in your wait time, set your preferred pancaking-pan over medium heat and allow to heat up gently.
When your pan is ready, scoop out batter in about 1/4 cup amounts. Use a spatula to flatten into thin circles. Because of the apples, these won't cook as easily or quickly as regular pancakes, so you don't want them to be too thick. Wait for bubbles to appear on surface and flip. You've made pancakes before, you can take it from here.
Serve with real maple syrup or, if you're me, peanut butter!

Puppy Chow!

2009-10-09T18:04:00.000-07:00

Um, excuse me, are you there? Hello?

It's your childhood here, just checking in to remind you sometimes to eat the ridiculous and indulgent foodstuffs of your youth--foods that were just off limits, maybe only for special occasions, foods that you made in celebration, foods that take you back to a kitchen you remember with pangs of nostalgic fondness--when the only thing that mattered was not calories or ingredients or prices, but when these delicious things would be ready already.

For me, it's Puppy Chow (a.k.a. Chex Muddie Buddies). Where either of these names originated, I cannot say. But I can confirm with certainty that this recipe has been printed on the back of the Chex box since time eternal, and continues so today. And it is exactly the same, which is why we love it, right? Right.

Actually, why I love it are the accompanying memories of my friend Marlee and me disappearing into the pantry or rifling the fridge contents, intent on including an outrageous and undetectable "Secret Ingredient" to every batch we made, and we made quite a few. Never would we divulge our selections to our unsuspecting munchers, but oh how we giggled to ourselves at the thought of what they--ok we--were all eating. Apparently the litmus test was whether or not Mar and I would consume the batch we had produced. If we didn't eat it, no one else would. (We always ate it.)

Here's how to make just enough for one (though, lamentably, Chex cereal comes in only one box size: Y2K-ready -- just eat the rest for breakfast over the next few years):

Puppy Chow

1 cup rice Chex

2 Tbsp chocolate chips

1 Tbsp peanut butter

1/2 Tbsp butter

1/2 tsp vanilla

copious amounts of powdered sugar (ok, like 1/2 cup)

Melt chocolate, peanut butter and butter in a microwave safe bowl, being careful not to burn (go in 20-second increments). Stir in vanilla, then Chex, making sure all is well coated. Turn out into a paper or plastic bag and add powdered sugar. Toss to coat.

For 2 people or for leftovers, use the following proportions: 2 cups chex, 1/4 cup chocolate chips, 2 Tbsp peanut butter, 1 Tbsp butter, 1/2 tsp vanilla, and plenty of P.S.

Blueberry Cheesecake

2009-10-08T18:32:00.001-07:00

Oh. My. Heavens.

Did you ever see that Friends where Rachel and Chandler discover a mail-order cheesecake in their building and accidentally eat it all and then order another and drop it on the ground and end up forking it straight off the floor because it is just that good? Did you, like me, pass the rest of the episode in a haze because you were distractedly wondering how amazing that cheesecake tasted? I mean, how unbelievable must a cake be to achieve eat-off-a-NYC-floor (however fictional) deliciousness?

Well say hello to your answer. This mini cheesecake is worth throwing your friends and family to the ground should they stand between you and it. Toss a few elbows. Wield your fork. It's pillowy soft and disappears on your tongue, except for that impossible richness that makes it cream cheese's best effort to date.

It requires a mini springform pan, which is not really part of everyone's kitchen arsenal, so if presentation is not essential to your enjoyment, you could just make it in a cake pan (with very tall sides), and dig it out one piece at a time. The blueberry topping was my addition, and could be replaced with many other fruits (just follow the same proportions) or maybe even some chocolate. Because this cheesecake is almost as tall as Rachel and Chandler's apartment building, I have a hunch that this downsized recipe could be halved to make an equally satisfying cake at a reduced height (just be sure to shorten the baking time).

Mini Blueberry Cheesecake

c/o Epicurious; makes one 6-in cake; active time about 15 minutes, plus baking and cooling

For Crust:

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

4 Tbsp melted butter

2 Tbsp sugar

For Filling:

16 oz cream cheese; room temp (do NOT try to go low fat here)

3/4 cup sugar

2 Tbsp flour

2 eggs

8 oz sour cream

2 Tbsp milk

2 tsp vanilla

For Topping:

2 cups blueberries

2-3 Tbsp sugar

Preheat oven to 375º. Wrap outside of 6-in springform pan with foil. Mix crust ingredients together in a processor or by hand and press into bottom and 2-inches up sides of prepared pan. Bake about 8 minutes, then take out and set aside to cool. Maintain oven temp.
Meanwhile, beat cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth and sugar is dissolved. Add flour and blend, then egg and blend, then sour cream-milk-vanilla and blend. Pour into crust. Place springform into a larger pan and add water to said pan--enough to come 1 inch up sides. Bake until center is just set, edges begin to puff and turn a golden brown, about 50 minutes. Turn off oven and let cake sit undisturbed for another hour. Transfer springform to fridge and chill overnight. (I know it's hard, but believe me, it will be so much better if you wait it out.)
For topping, add berries and sugar to a saucepan over medium heat. Berries will warm and the sugar will cause berries to create juices. Stir periodically until thickened. Spread over top of cake and let dribble down the sides a little. People like that.

Butternut Squash and Chickpea Salad

2009-10-03T16:14:00.000-07:00

If the number of butternut squash(es? what's the plural on that one) sitting on my counter is any indication, the season of winter vegetables is upon us. At least, its upon us here in balmy Boston, where it hovers above freezing for the majority of the year. But I'm not even tired of blueberries yet! Or pears! Or zucchini (really)!

At any rate, those farmers keep shoving squash at me, so I have no choice but to eat it. Somehow, in the intervening months since I have last feasted on this particular squash, I forgot how naturally sweet it is. Which means it lends itself perfectly to that cuisine of my favor: Middle Eastern. The combination of sweet, hot, salty and tangy is a favorite of those Bedouins, and found its way into my kitchen tonight thanks to Orangette.

I loved my salad but it may have been a bit heavy on the dressing. Follow her lead and add the dressing to your tossed ingredients a little at time, to taste.

Butternut and Chickpea Salad with Tahini

serves 2, or 1 with leftovers; takes about 40 minutes, with canned beans

1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1 cup cooked chickpeas (canned, drained, will do OK)

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

1 Tbsp chopped cilantro

dressing:

1 small clove garlic, grated

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp tahini, well stirred

up to 1 Tbsp olive oil

water, to thin, as desired

Toss squash chunks with garlic, allspice, and a healthy douse of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt. Roast in a 425º oven for about 20 minutes, or until soft.
Meanwhile, prepare the dressing by whisking together garlic, lemon juice, and tahini. If it is too bitter or acerbic, add olive oil. If it is too thick for your liking, add water.
When squash is done, toss in a bowl with chickpeas, onion and cilantro. Add 2 Tbsp or so of dressing, toss, and taste. Add more as desired.

Beer Cheese Bread

2009-10-02T12:10:00.000-07:00

This one comes from a recipe I have long loved from Cook's Country. Who doesn't love beer, and also cheese, and also bread? This yeasty, gooey, crunchy miracle muffin is perfect alongside any bowl of soup.

The recipe calls for gruyere--which I have done and loved--but I only had extra sharp cheddar--which turned out quite fine. A piece of bacon crumbled into the batter probably wouldn't have hurt either.

Be sure to choose a mild beer, like Bud, for this recipe. If you get much more assertive than that, your bread may turn out bitter.

Beer Cheese Muffins

makes 3-4 muffins, depending on size; start-to-finish about 30 minutes

2 oz. gruyere or extra sharp cheddar cheese; 4 oz grated (about 1/4 cup) and 4 oz cubed (about 1-inch cube, cut into 16 smaller pieces)

1/2 cup white flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 Tbsp honey

1 tsp baking powder

healthy pinch each of salt and cracked black pepper

1/2 cup light-bodied beer

1 Tbsp melted butter

Preheat oven to 375º. Mix cheese, flours, honey, baking powder and spices in a bowl. Add beer and stir to combine. Divide between 3-4 well greased baking cups (don't use muffin papers like I did, big mistake) and drizzle melted butter over top of each. Bake 15-18 minutes, or until tester comes out clean.

Veggie Night: Sweet Potato & Kale Sandwich

2009-09-30T16:36:00.000-07:00

Contrary to popular opinion and prevalent menu impositions, a sandwich does not have to have meat in order to be a satisfying, fist-fitting meal. I'm learning from my work that as long as you're working with quality ingredients, you have a really good shot at getting a delicious finished product. Good bread is a big first step; starting with fresh produce is another.

Often, though, you need a little foresight to make certain items--like potatoes, say--edible. This is where the stack-o-cold-cuts wins out: efficiency. But try experimenting with sticking new things between two slices of bread and see what you come out with. May just be your new favorite.

Sweet Potato & Kale Sandwich

serves two; takes about 30 minutes

4 slices good sandwich bread; we used sourdough

1 small sweet potato

1 small bunch kale

1 small onion (or 1/2 medium), sliced thick

1 small pear (or 1/2 medium), sliced thin

goat cheese, room temperature

Dijon mustard

Bacon mayonnaise (optional)

Start by roasting your sweet potato. Preheat oven to 400º. Peel potato and, depending on the size, cut it into planks (long ways) or medallions (cross-wise) about 1/2 inch thick--whatever you think will fit better on your bread. Spray foil-lined baking sheet with baking spray or brush with oil. Lay potato pieces out and spray or brush tops; sprinkle with salt. Roast 15-20 minutes, or until you poke it and it just feels soft. Don't cook it all the way to mush.
Meanwhile, heat a skillet with a bit of oil and saute your onions with a little salt until translucent, 3-5 minutes. Wash and stem the kale and slice it into very thin strips. Toss in skillet, add salt and pepper, and reduce heat. Stir until kale is cooked through, 6-8 minutes. Add more water (or some lemon juice) if the skillet gets dry. Lift cooked kale out of skillet and drain in a sieve or colander over sink.
Lastly, pull out a healthy chunk of goat cheese (about 2 Tbsp?) and mix with a little milk or cream until it's spreadable.
To assemble: spread mustard on one piece of bread and mayo (optional) on the other. Follow with goat cheese on one piece, then sweet potatoes, then kale/onion mixture, then slices of pear to cover. Top with other slice of bread and do some jaw stretches before attacking.

2 Words: Bacon Mayonnaise

2009-09-28T17:13:00.000-07:00

Where do I get the nerve to do these things? Really.

I don't know if you have ever made mayonnaise, wondered what's in mayonnaise or just consumed mayonnaise, but I am here to potentially ruin your lunch.

Mayonnaise = fat + fat (+ lemon juice). More specifically, mayonnaise is the suspension (a.k.a. emulsification) of one type of fat (oil) into a solid with the use of another type of complex fat (egg yolks). Turn that jar of Helman's around and tell me I'm wrong. It's a bicep-cramping process if you do it by hand,

but the introduction of an electric mixer suddenly makes light work of a gourmet treat. To get the yolks, lemon juice, and oil to combine without separating, you have to add the oil at the speed of an IV drip, whisking all the while. What you end up with is a fluffy, white-ish substance--technically a sauce if we're going to be French about it--for slathering on your ham sandwiches and drowning your chicken salad. I'm sure it has other uses too.

But just imagine--imagine if that already tasty sandwich grease suddenly tasted of smoked pork belly. Imagine your BLT becoming BLT-squared. Imagine those crab cakes bound with a deeply flavored mayo instead of the plain stuff. Imagine your broccoli/potato/chicken/whatever salads with a thin coating of bacon essence. Maybe even a warm spinach dip oozing with bacony goodness?

Well, now you can have it. As long as you have 1/2 cup of bacon grease hanging around your house somewhere. Luckily I have a roommate who really--and I mean really--likes bacon. This man will smoke up the house for three meals a day if it means there's a crispy slab of breakfast meat waiting for him when the air clears. Not wanting to burn a hole in our trash can or clog up our drain, he took to pouring the grease in an old empty can, which we kept in the freezer.

Time out: David and I just had a brief and mystifying conversation during which neither of us could recall why we put the bacon grease in the freezer. We just did.

Time in: So there I am with a tin can-full of bacon fat in my freezer when I read this, which is an excerpt from this, which, for all I can tell, is a must-read. Just a short week later, I was armed with a hand-mixer and a cup full of fat. Check out the results for yourself:

Bacon Fat Mayonnaise

(I kept 'fat' in the title just so you wouldn't forget; makes about 1 cup of mayo; takes 5 minutes once everything is cool)

2 egg yolks

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

1/2 cup rendered bacon fat

healthy pinch of each, salt and pepper

You want everything to be refrigerator cold for this, so stash it all--including your mixing bowl and beaters--in the fridge until it reaches that stage.
Start with yolks, mustard, and 1/2 tsp lemon juice. Blend together on high speed until well mixed, about 1 minute. Add bacon fat all at once (no need to do this gradually if everything is cold), and beat until thick and combined, about 30 seconds more.
Stir in remaining tsp lemon juice and seasoning. Store in the refrigerator--good for almost a week.

M. Y. O. P. C. (Make Your Own Potato Chips)

2009-09-23T15:24:00.000-07:00

Craving the salty crunch of potato chips but don't want a fingertip trail across your shirt mid-workday? Well, here I come with your solution: potato chips that aren't fried. That you made yourself. From a potato you bought from a local farmer or grew in your back yard (OK, that last one was mostly wishful thinking). Turns out you can toss lots of thinly sliced produce into the microwave and come out with "chips" on the other end. (Yet another way to use all your zucchini and squash!)

There are only three important items you'll need, aside from the potato of course: 1) a microwave, 2) a big knife, and 3) the patience, ability, or some sort of gadget to cut exceedingly thin slices of raw spud. It is doable. Just go slow and don't slice a fingertip.

Here's the way it works:

Scrub and dry your potato real good. Take your large, sharp knife and cut the thinnest slices you possibly can. It may help to take a thin slice off the long side of your tater, giving you a flat surface to rest on -- for stability purposes.
Spray a microwave-safe plate with a little Pam and lay the slices out then sprinkle with salt. May take a couple of batches; I did one small potato and it took two. Nuke plate for 3 minutes, then take out (with a hotpad!) and flip potato slices. Cook for 3 more minutes, adding on a minute at a time if potatoes need longer. Let cool a bit, then crunch on.

So I haven't tried but I have heard tell that this practice does, indeed, work on other vegetables. If I were to try it, I'd be sure to scrape out any seeds if a veggie has them, like zucchini or squash. Otherwise, I don't see why any root vegetable (carrots, parsnips, turnips, rutabegas, beets, etc.) couldn't undergo a similar transformation. Also, if you are concerned about my donut-shaped chips, pictured here, it's because I had a little fungus problem in the middle of my potato. Nothing to worry about; just scraped it out and went along my merry way.

Cracker Jacks!

2009-09-22T18:50:00.001-07:00

This one falls under the category of "Because You Can." Make your own caramel corn, that is. Couldn't be simpler.

The inspiration was a spread in last month's Gourmet inexplicably populated by early-20-something hipsters who, we are supposed to believe, created an elaborate meal with this as one of several dessert options. I have only recently begun to notice the odd casting choices Gourmet makes when shooting its full-menu articles. The diners are all impossibly beautiful--unwrinkled, unharried, undaunted by the eleventeen steps it takes to make that peppercorn crusted pork roast and vermouth pan sauce. How can they afford these ingredients? Are they old enough to purchase the suggested wine pairings? Did mom and dad have to drop them off at this ambiguous woodland location for a dinner party? What really kills me is that none of these individuals looks like he or she has ever enjoyed a full meal, unless you count tic-tacs between modeling shoots.

Well anyway, whoever is testing the recipes at the Gourmet headquarters had a nice thought with these Pecan Praline Popcorn treats. Basically, you just cook some sugar, add a bit of butter and stir in your popcorn, then let it cool. You can spread it out and then enjoy it like cracker jacks or press it into a pan, as the recipe says, and later cut them into bits. Coming from Louisiana, I am skeptical of the term "praline" in the title of this recipe; it doesn't come through. But hey, making your own caramel corn is pretty fun. Use whatever nut you like.

Caramel Corn for Two

2 cups popped popcorn*

scant 1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp butter, cut into pieces

1/4 cup chopped nuts

1/8 tsp cider vinegar

healthy pinch of salt

Pour sugar in the bottom of a heavy pot and melt over medium heat, stirring with a fork at first to make sure it's evenly distributed. When sugar starts to melt, stop stirring and cook, swirling the pot occasionally by the handle to ensure overall meltiness. Allow sugar to reach a deep, golden caramel color, then turn heat way down to low.
Drop in butter, nuts, vinegar and salt and stir. When butter is almost melted, toss in popcorn and stir to coat. Spread out and let cool on an oiled sheet pan or press into an oiled baking dish and let cool. Yum!

*Do you know this trick about air popping popcorn? Just buy your kernels in the bag (not the microwave-ready stuff) and keep a stash of those brown paper lunch-size bags. Pour about 1/4 cup into the bottom of a bag, fold top over twice (thinly) and put in the microwave for about 3 minutes, listening for kernels to stop popping. Voila! Sprinkle with salt or whatever. Great way to save dollars on your popcorn habit.

Oh my. I was just searching Gourmet.com to find the Pecan Praline Popcorn recipe I followed and found, instead, this recipe for Maple Pecan Popcorn. Sure wish I'd made that instead. You make it. And tell me how it is.

How to Smoke an Eggplant (No, not like that)

2009-09-22T18:05:00.000-07:00

So, some of us are not fortunate enough to have anything resembling outdoor space we can call our own, and thus the adorable tiny Weber we bought to grill the pants off all our food sits neglected in our basement storage unit. Hey, at least we have a basement storage unit.

And a gas stove. Enter the new technique I have been applying to many-a-market-vegetable these days in effort to achieve something akin to smoky flavor in our food. It also helps me suppress the urge to punch a stranger in the face every time I smell someone else's delicious, char-grilled dinner wafting in through my open windows.

Basically, what you can do is set anything with a protective outer coating (like the skin of eggplants and peppers, say) straight onto the burner over a medium-low flame. Too high and you get instant burn with raw insides; too low and you'll be smoking that thing all freaking day. Set it right on the burner grate and keep a pair of tongs handy. You'll want to stand nearby but you don't have to watch it like a hawk. After several minutes, you have to turn the thing to make sure other parts of the 'plant get cooked. Keep turning and smoking until most sides of the eggplant look well charred and the flesh is smooshy when you poke it.

Now, toss the whole thing in a big bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let sit for about 15 minutes. This will continue to cook the insides. To get the goods, split the eggplant and scoop out the flesh with a fork or spoon. Not all the way cooked? Not a problem. Throw the meat in a microwave-safe bowl and zap till it's done; you've already got the flavor you want.

Eh, now what, right? Who eat smoked eggplant? Well, it's got a very distinct flavor, and one that may not be for everyone. In fact, if my dad is even still reading this post I'll be very impressed. He's probably already stopped to vomit at least 4 times. If you are interested in ingesting smoked eggplant, you may consider some Middle Eastern stylings, like baba ghanoush which is based around this very ingredient. I'll include some ideas to get you started.

Baba Ghanoush

1 large or 2 small eggplants; smoked and flesh scraped out

1 Tbsp tahini

1 large clove garlic, grated

2-3 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp chopped parsley

1/2 tsp cumin

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all together in a food processor or just aggressively with a fork. Best at room temp. Serve with flatbread, pita chips, or bagel chips that you made from the leftovers that Bagel Man at the farmers market continues to heap upon you, despite your protests that you only have a household of two and cannot, in fact, eat two dozen bagels in a week.

Yogurt-Eggplant Dip

1 large or two small eggplants, smoked and flesh scraped out

1/2 cup yogurt

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 clove garlic, grated

salt and pepper to taste

Mix and eat.

Eggplant Caviar (sort of)

1 large or two small eggplants, smoked and flesh scraped out

2 red peppers; smoked as above, tossed in a paper bag for 5 minutes, then skin slipped off

1 medium red onion, cut into rings and sauteed or microwaved until soft

2 cloves garlic, grated

3 Tbsp tomato paste (or more, to taste)

2-3 Tbsp olive oil

Use a food processor for this one to achieve a finely ground, uniform texture. Season with salt to taste.

Notes From a Hospital Bed...

2009-09-20T17:07:00.000-07:00

...is the new funniest-slash-saddest-slash-funny-again thing on the interweb. Go here and see if you can guess what this guy is eating. Just try. Make bets with your roommates. Phone a friend. I have never seen so many hopelessly unidentifiable plates of "food" in my life. I also can't decide whether to laugh with this guy or feel really terrible for him. I've decided to go with a little of both.