Category Archives: Start it up

Slacker Chile Crisp

I love Genevieve Ko. To be clear, I don’t know her, but when a stranger changes your life in a good way what’s not to love?

First, some background and context for this new crush. I am a huge fan of chile crisp, the reigning condiment of the year in our household. While I love the version that I first discovered, and shared here, it is a total pain in the arse to make. It involves lots of labor and time, at least one special ingredient you might not have on hand (star anise) and requires way too much focus with sharp knives. Furthermore, having undertaken the labor of love that is small-batch chile crisp production, it was always a gamble to give it to someone; if I later found out they didn’t love it, I kind of wanted to cry.

But then, I discovered Genevieve Ko’s version of chile crisp, or rather it discovered me, tenaciously popping up in my searches before the OG version. I hesitated to try it because it looked too easy to be good. Other than the Sichuan peppercorns (a bag of which will cost 2.99 and last you exactly forever) it involves no special ingredients. More importantly, it involves no chopping. And yet, it still has all the key elements of chile crisp: it’s crunchy, savory, spicy, salty and a just a tiny bit sweet.

This chile crisp is a slightly different animal than the classic—especially with the added twist of sesame seeds– but I think I like it even better. It’s hard to say because the ease of preparation makes me want to like it better. For sure it is on a different planet than Lao Gan Ma, the supposed King Daddy of commercially produced chili crisp. Sadly, I trusted the googleverse and bought a huge vat, which is still taking up space in the fridge. Trader Joe’s chile crisp is similar in texture but can’t hold a candle in taste. 

Make yourself up a batch, or better yet a double batch, because you’ll want this on eggs, pizza, sandwiches, quesadillas, fresh bread, etc. You may find yourself creating chile crisp “fry sauce” by stirring it into ketchup and mayo, and then stumble upon Ms. Ko’s chile crisp fettucine which will make you realize a double batch really doesn’t last all that long.

As with any recipe from the NYT, people have a LOT to say in the comments, and there are plenty of suggestions for how to tweak this to your tastes.

I hope you enjoy this chile crisp as much as my people do!

Slacker Chile Crisp

From Genevieve Ko via the New York Times

Ingredients

Yield: About 1¼ cups

  • ½ cup vegetable oil (or a bit more…there’s not a lot to spare here)
  • ¼ cup dried minced onion
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 1½teaspoons kosher salt (Diamond Crystal)
  • ⅓ cup finely crushed dried small red chiles or red-pepper flakes
  • 3 tablespoons sesame seeds
  • 1 teaspoon coarsely ground Sichuan peppercorns (optional…but Edie says not optional)

Method

Combine the oil, onion, ½ teaspoon sugar and ½ teaspoon salt in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion becomes evenly golden brown (careful not to overcook), 3 to 5 minutes.

Add the chiles, sesame seeds and Sichuan peppercorns, if using, and sizzle, stirring, for 1 minute, then stir in the remaining ½ teaspoon sugar and 1 teaspoon salt. Use immediately or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Spoon over everything. I mean everything. Maybe not chocolate cake but then again…

 

Hot Chicks: Let’s get the party started!

Got your attention right? If so, we’re halfway there to you having an excellent, healthy go to appetizer to add to your arsenal of fall food and tailgate all-stars (looking at you, Funitella Bruschetta). Furthermore, we have surmounted the hurdle that has, until now, prevented this deliciousness from breaching the confines of the Vegan recipe domain.

Elsewhere on the Internet, this recipe (technically chickpea panisse) is known as “chickpea fries.” As one who deeply resents food impostering, I get why calling these fries is a turnoff. Those two words do not belong together. So, rather than calling this creation fries, think of it as a snackified polenta—comfort food goodness that you can pick up and eat with your hands. It’s sounding better already.

The magic here, however, is not cornmeal. It’s chickpea flour, or besan, which is now one of my kitchen staples. In case you missed it, there is actually a cookbook out called, “Chickpea Flour Does It All.” (Christmas is coming people). This I learned from “Hey Nutrition Lady” who is a big fan of it, and featured this recipe on her site as proof.

The process here is very easy to do and to remember once you’ve done it. Bring a pot ofwater to a boil, and gradually whisk in the chickpea flour (using a 2:1 ratio of water to flour). Once the mixture is thickened, add some olive oil, fresh chopped herbs, salt and pepper. Pour that into a baking dish and let it chill in the fridge. Later (even days later), you can cut your slab into whatever shapes you like and call them whatever you like: “Fries” “Burgers” “Sliders” etc…or ditch the air quotes and just call them hot chicks. Spray or brush them with olive oil, bake ‘em up, give a shake of salt and you’re good to go.

Creamy on the inside, crispy and salty on the outside and eminently dippable…what’s not to love? I have served these many times now, to a variety of company, ranging from full Vegan to righteously carnivorous, and everyone in between. All have come back for more. Leftovers also make an excellent component of the next day’s lunch. 

For a full expose on the bennies of chickpea flour and very thorough coverage of chickpea panisse, check out the full post here.

In the meantime get on out there for a bag of besan and you’ll never be stumped for an appetizer again.

Ingredients

  • 6 cups water
  • 3 cups chickpea flour
  • 1 teaspoon each salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 tablespoon parsley finely minced
  • 2 tablespoon oregano finely minced (rosemary and/or thyme are excellent as well)

Method:

Make the Chicks

  1. Generously butter or oil a 9 x 11 baking sheet and set aside.
  2. In a large pot, bring the water to the boil over medium-high heat.
  3. Once the water is boiling, reduce the heat to medium and whisk in the chickpea flour a little bit at a time.
  4. Continue whisking for about 10 minutes, until the mixture is thick and smooth (I find that a few lumps are unavoidable, but you won’t notice them later).
  5. Stir in the olive oil, herbs, and a bit of salt and pepper to taste.
  6. Pour the chickpea mixture into the greased baking sheet and spread out into an even layer. Once it has cooled slightly, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or overnight (slackers, this can be a few days as well).

Bake the Chicks

  1. Pre-heat your oven to 400°F / 200°C (this is a good place for your convection fan, if you’ve got one).
  2. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat. Slice the firm batter into sticks for chickpea fries, or rounds for burgers, etc.
  3. Line them up on the baking sheet, and brush or spray with a bit of olive oil.
  4. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn to the other side, brush again, and replace in the oven to bake for another 10 minutes. They should be slightly golden and crispy on the outside.
  5. Remove from the oven, salt generously, and serve with dip* of choice (think anything that goes with burgers and fries, or perhaps some liquid gold) and a glass of whatever makes you happy.

*Extra credit for serving Hot Chicks with this homemade version of “Bitchin’ Sauce”  Vegan dip Nirvana that makes a fine accompaniment to Hot Chicks. We’ll make it here later, I promise. And my spicy friends, let’s not forget to invite chile crisp to this party!)

 

Return to Fiesta Salsa Verde

The thing about getting through this pandemic with any sort of grace, is having hope. For me, that hope has now come down to Cinco de Mayo and the prospect of a great excuse to drink margs and eat an irresponsible amount of avocados. Maybe I misplaced the irresponsible in this sentence, but regardless, this is an occasion worthy of preparation.  Let’s venture back to last Cinco de Mayo, which was on a Saturday and coincided with what was supposed to be Derby Day. Instead, it became a a sad early milepost to all the celebrations we would lose.

But this Cinco de Mayo will be different. It marks us clawing back at a social life.

Granted, it’s on a Wednesday which is kind of fitting, because long ago my inner circle determined Wednesday is the new Friday.

So let’s spend the rest of our month planning for it shall we?

First up, salsa verde. This is a super easy recipe that involves roasting tomatillos, onions and jalapenos then pulverizing them with a mass of cilantro (Nothing to see here, Sister B). The original recipe calls for olive oil, which tastes great but gives it a weird texture if you refrigerate it. I say bag the oil, but the recipe Gods say you’ve got the option.

I never ventured into tomatillos before, because the husks seem intimidating. They seem to say, “These are for other, more skilled people.” But it turns out, tomatillos are for this person! They’re tangy and kind of citrusy, so they’re even good raw, but amazeballs when roasted and salsified.

I came across this recipe after making an awesome and awesomely easy crock pot recipe of salsa verde chicken, that basically involved chicken and a jar of salsa verde. My friend loved it and wanted to make it for his mom who is on a low sodium diet, so we looked at the label on the jar and…no bueno!

Making salsa verde was the pro move here, and luckily it is totally easy. Easy seems like a great place to start for our Cinco de Mayo prep, so get yourself some tomatillos and let’s get this party started!

Fiesta Salsa Verde

Ingredients:

12 oz. tomatillos, husked, washed, and halved
1 small white onion, quartered
2 jalapeños, seeded and sliced in half
2 tbsp.vegetable oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 c. cilantro leaves and tender stems (chopped up if your blender is not top notch)
1-3 tbsp. lime juice (depending on taste)
1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil (totally optional)

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 450°. Toss tomatillos, white onion, and jalapeños with vegetable oil on a sheet tray, and season with salt and pepper. 
  2. Roast until softened and charred in spots, about 20 minutes. Let cool.
  3. Transfer roasted vegetables, cilantro, and lime juice to a blender and blend while streaming in olive oil, until mostly smooth. Season with salt and pepper. 
  4. Serve with tortilla chips.

Serve with chips alongside quick easy cheap salsa or…. bake up a batch of baked salsa verde chicken (thinking it would work with tofu as well) or… press the big fat easy button and use it to smother chicken in a crockpot.

Next up…a review of our Bring It Fiesta basics. And yes, we’re starting with Hero Slaw!

Coolest Cucumber Soup

Labor Day be damned summer is NOT over yet. Well, not totally. Sadly, I was skunked at two corn suppliers yesterday, so that ship is quickly sailing. But cukes and zukes are still going strong. I’ve got a pretty epic zucchini creation coming soon (I was so busy marveling at it that I forgot to take a picture), but while we’re waiting, here’s a cool way to use up some of the many cucumbers you may be experiencing.

I discovered while searching for a soup that involved zero cooking or warming of any kind, and could all be made in the blender. Slackers delight!

This one goes out to you Californians and westerners who are feeling the heat, and the smoke, and the earthquakes. As a bonus, it involves an avocado. The original recipe calls for the avocado on the soup, but this is not my first soup rodeo. Adding the avocado to the blender adds heft and creaminess without actual cream.

I hope this soup helps you soak up every last bit of summer, and frees up some space in your fridge.

Coolest Cucumber Soup

 Adapted from The New York Times

Ingredients

  • 1 pound cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthwise and seeded
  • 2 cups buttermilk (or use 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt plus 1/4 cup water) *
  • 1 large garlic clove, peeled and smashed
  • 2 anchovy fillets (optional) **
  • 2 small whole scallions, trimmed
  • ½ jalapeño, seeded and chopped
  • ½ cup packed mixed fresh herbs (like mint, parsley, dill, tarragon, basil and cilantro)
  • ½ teaspoon sherry or white wine vinegar, more to taste ***
  • ¾ teaspoon kosher sea salt, plus more to taste (omit if using miso, then add if needed)
  • ½ avocado ****

All The Options

  • 4 slices toast of choice
  • ½ avocado, pitted, peeled and thinly sliced
  • ½ lemon
  • 2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
  • Extra-virgin olive oil, for serving
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 ear of corn, shucked, kernels sliced off
  • Fresh dill, for serving
  • Fried shallots or onions (if you’ve got ’em, why not?)

* Vegans, you have your milks. Use them here, soured with vinegar or lemon juice
**I used 2 tsp miso paste instead, for saltiness and funk, or what one might call “umami,”
*** I used 1 Tbsp lime juice (half a lime)
**** I threw the avocado intended as a topping right into the blender. Save the other half for toast…or throw it in as well. Did anyone ever complain about too much avocado? Ok, except for my husband?

Method

  1. In the bowl of a blender or food processor, combine cucumber, buttermilk, garlic, anchovy, scallions, jalapeño, fresh herbs, sherry vinegar and salt. Blend until smooth and adjust seasoning as needed.
  2. Smash avocado slices on the toasted bread. Sprinkle with crumbled feta, squeeze the juice of the lemon half over the top and finish each with a drizzle of olive oil and some pepper. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
  3. Distribute soup between 4 bowls and garnish with raw corn kernels and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve avocado toast on the side.

 

 

 

Corn Star: A One Ingredient Summer Fantasy

We’re hanging on to summer here, even if it was the weirdest summer ever, with the haziest boundary on either end. We’re not sure when it started but it is definitely ending. I know this because it is corn season.

Cooking inspiration has been lacking in this household, thanks to the general laziness that goes along with hot days. For a recipe to get me back in the game and try something new it has to be really good or really weird. When it is both…Hallefreakinlujah!

First, some context on why this recipe is so perfect right now. I mentioned corn season, and my people take it very seriously. More nights than not, we’re having fresh corn. Our compost pile, with its layers of corn husks and watermelon rinds, pretty much tells the story. That means we have plenty of opportunity for corn experimentation.

This recipe came via Sister A, purveyor of all things Vegan, who knows I appreciate weirdness. It is a little bit of food magic and alchemy that turns corn first into milk and then into butter. Basically, you’re cutting corn off the cob, pulverizing it, straining it,  then cooking the resulting “corn milk” for just a few minutes until it thickens up into creamy deliciousness.

The result is a summer fantasy—the essence of fresh corn in a luscious spread. It does not taste like butter, but it looks like it, spreads like silk and is simply delish.  It has the added bonus of being Vegan, which you can either use as a selling point or keep to yourself. 

Slacker note: Now that I’m on to it, I’ve read versions of this recipe using canned corn, and that don’t even call for straining the corn. I will likely try that come November when fresh corn is a distant memory. But for now, I’m sticking with this version, which is a bit labor intensive but sublime.

If corn on the cob is your jive, there’s no shame in that. But if you’re looking for other ways to enjoy the bounty of the season, I highly suggest giving this a whirl. It pairs well with zucchini “butter,” another brilliant recipe that will use up the August veggie filling your fridge.  

Sweet Corn Butter

From Whitney Wright via Food52

Ingredients

  • 8 ears fresh sweet corn (or less), shucked
  • Salt and butter, to taste (optional)

Method

  1. Cut off kernels: Use a chef’s knife to cut the kernels from each ear. 8 ears of corn will yield 4 to 5 cups of kernels (I got way more). If you’re a go-getter, you can also scrape the back of your knife along the cob to get the juice.
  2. Blend: Put the kernels in a blender or food processor and buzz them up like crazy—let the blender run on the highest speed for about 2 minutes. Once the kernels are blended into a smooth puree, pass the puree through a strainer with a rubber spatula. Ta-da! Corn juice.
  3. Whisk and cook: Here’s where the magic happens. Pour the juice into a medium saucepan. Heat the juice over medium heat, whisking constantly. Continue whisking until the mixture begins to thicken and the frothy bubbles begin to disappear, about 4 minutes. When the mixture is thick and bubbling, whisk and cook for about 30 seconds more. Remove from the heat.
  4. Season (optional): Taste it—and look for sweet, smooth, earthy, and buttery. If you want, add a few pinches of salt and pats of butter (defeats the purpose of this exercise I’m thinking, but do what you must). The corn butter will keep for about 3 to 5 days in the fridge.

How do you use it? The original author, a fancy pants chef, suggests these ways, to which I added:

  • Slather onto cornbread, a muffin, toast or fresh bread instead of butter
  • Use it on sandwiches instead of mayonnaise
  • Put it in quesadillas or omelets
  • Fold it into sautéed spinach with onions, and finish with just a touch of cream for killer creamed spinach
  • Dribble it onto a hot dog for a DIY corn dog
  • Stir it into risotto and finish with Parmesan
  • Blend it with vanilla ice cream for a crazy delicious milkshake
  • Top tacos or fajitas with it. Or…pizza anyone???
  • Mix it with shredded cheese, a little sour cream, and a jar of drained jalapeños, bake and serve as a LIFE ALTERING (and so not Vegan) dip for tortilla chips
  • Layer it on zucchini or tomato anything

Pure buttahhhh

 

New Year’s Resolution Vegetables with Pomegranate Cha-Cha

Hey! You there by the last swig of eggnog. This is your year. It’s your year to be the one who brings vegetables to the party with your head held high, and your hand held up for a high five. This recipe is your first mission. 

It comes to us from Here and Now’s resident chef Kathy Gunst.  I first made it for this past Thanksgiving. Since then, it’s made a lot of appearances, thanks in large part to the pomegranate de-seeding savvy that can be yours in one quick video tutorial.

As Kathy notes this is a mix and match dish. There is no magic formula, so clean out the veggie drawer, grab the rogue pomegranate that is still hanging in the fruit bowl looking for a purpose, and prepare to impress. The main things to remember here are:

  • Roast vs steam the vegetables. As in, give them their space, and…
  • Group them by type so you can remove veggies that roast quicker and let the others get their due.

Other than that, this recipe is pretty loose, though I’d say Brussels sprouts, some kind of winter squash and red onion are kind of key. This recipe makes tons of dressing, so go ahead and overdo the vegetables if that’s your thing, or just be psyched to have extra pomegranate vinaigrette in your arsenal.

And as if this healthy, beautiful, tasty dish needed another bonus, the veggies can be roasted earlier in the day and the vinaigrette can be made a day ahead of time. Assemble it all just before serving, hot or at room temperature.

Roasted Vegetables with Pomegranate Cha-Cha

Ingredients

  • 8 new potatoes, scrubbed and left whole (if large, cut in half or into quarters)
  • 1 medium sweet potato, scrubbed, and cut into 1/2-inch thick pieces
  • 1 small Acorn or Carousel winter squash, peeled, cut in half, deribbed, deseeded and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1/2 to 1 pound Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed and outer leaves removed, left whole
  • 1 large sweet red pepper, cut into 3/4-inch wide strips
  • 1 whole garlic, 1/4-inch sliced off top and left whole
  • 1 medium red onion, peeled and cut in quarters
  • 1 sweet white Vidalia onion, peeled and cut into quarters
  • 1 cup baby turnips, ends trimmed and left whole (if turnips are bigger than a golf ball, cut in half or into quarters)
  • 8 ounces carrots — about 8 small carrots or 3 to 4 larger ones — peeled, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch long pieces
  • About 1/4 cup olive oil
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

The Pomegranate Vinaigrette

  • 1 cup pomegranate seeds and 1/3 cup of pomegranate juice (from 2 fresh pomegranates, or use 1 cups preseeded pomegranate seeds plus 1/3 cup bottled pomegranate juice)
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 3/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/3 cup balsamic or white or red wine vinegar

Instructions

  1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Prepare all the vegetables as described above. Place the vegetables a row at a time (keeping all the carrots together, all the onions together in row, etc.) on a large sheet pan or two pans or a shallow roasting pan. You don’t want to use a pan with high sides or it will steam the vegetables rather than let them roast and turn golden brown. Drizzle the olive oil on top and season liberally with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes.
  3. Remove from oven and drizzle vinegar on Brussels sprouts. Flip vegetables over and then return the pan(s) to oven for 20 minutes. Check to see if vegetables are done by piercing with a small sharp knife. Remove any vegetables that are tender and continue cooking the others until softened, about 5 to 10 minutes. The vegetables can be roasted a day ahead of time; cover and refrigerate.
  4. Make the vinaigrette: In a small bowl or Mason jar, mix half the pomegranate seeds and juice (if using), salt, pepper, oil and vinegar. Taste for seasoning. The dressing can be made a day or two ahead of time.
  5. If you made the vegetables a day ahead of time, remove from the refrigerator. After you remove the turkey from the oven, place the vegetables in a 300-degree oven for about 10 minutes or until warmed through.
  6. Arrange the vegetables on a serving platter and drizzle with a few tablespoons of the vinaigrette and the remaining 1/2 cup of pomegranate seeds. Serve remaining vinaigrette on the side.

Just Peachy Caprese Salad

I figured it was over…summer, patio nights, ice cream stands—the whole thing. But when I walked in the store earlier this week I saw them—peaches. In fact, we officially have a few more days of summer. So, hold your apples and squash. We’ll get to those soon enough. For now, we have, well, not really recipes, but inspiration for how to fully exploit the last of the summer produce. I’m looking at you, peaches. And corn, you’re next.

Wayyy earlier this summer a very stylish friend introduced me to the most gorgeous take on a caprese salad, substituting ripe peaches, nectarines and plums for tomatoes. Brilliant! It was so good and so perfect (so long ago) I figured I’d missed the peach train. But she was wily that friend, and must have had some inside track on perfect pre season peaches. Flash forward to a few weeks later in California, when another friend brought massive, juicy white peaches to the party. Still later back in the northeast another friend gave me a bag of the most insanely sweet pluots. I vowed, a: to keep these friends close, and b: to buy peaches, plums and related stone fruits like it was my job until they were gone.

If they weren’t ripe I shoved them into a paper bag and waited until they were. If they were ripe they were lucky to get home before getting cut up immediately. I made peach salsa, a simple concoction of peaches and all the usual salsa suspects: jalapeno, lime, red onion, cilantro. That morphed easily into a peach bruschetta by spooning it atop toasts spread with mascarpone cheese. I even made a sugarless, no oil or fat added super virtuous peach tart which was delicious but was also the least photogenic thing on the planet. I urge you to try it, and focus on its inner beauty. Then, there was the brilliant blogger who suggested freezing leftover white wine (what’s that anyway?) and blending it up with fresh peaches for an instant Happy Hour Slurpee.

So there we have it—a few ways to enjoy your peaches and stone fruits, even though they are perfect as is. If you need an actual recipe, here is one from Real Life Delicious (which never disappoints). If you’re good with freelancing it, here is a loose guide for making Peach Caprese Salad. If you are so moved to add a sprinkling of fresh corn, you might start a trend.

Just Peachy Caprese Salad

Ingredients:

  • Greens of choice
  • Ripe peaches, nectarines, plums or pluots in any combo
  • Fresh Burrata or Mozzarella or a bit of both
  • Avocado (optional, but kind of not optional for Vegans)
  • Pesto or torn basil leaves
  • Olive oil
  • Balsamic glaze or good balsamic vinegar (extra credit to mix the vinegar with some maple syrup if you don’t have the glaze)
  • Salt and pepper

Method:

Arrange greens in a layer on a platter.

Top with fruit slices.

Cover with slices or shreds of cheese, and/or slices of avocado.

Drizzle with pesto or scatter basil leaves on top.

Drizzle with just enough olive oil so all your ingredients feel a little love.

Drizzle (because you are so good at it now) with balsamic glaze, balsamic vinegar or balsamic/maple concoction.

Give the whole shebang a shake of salt and pepper.

Bringing it:

This is a total make on site thing. Bust out the fresh produce and get your friends to help, or let them drink their peach slurpees and watch you create the masterpiece. It’s all good.

 

Chile Crisp, Condiment of the Year

And now, in time for your Labor Day entertaining, I present the third of three condiments, and by far the best. I discovered this recipe way back in early summer, nestled in the margin of “The Simple Issue”  of Bon Appetit. Within a week the page was permanently folded back, stained and a little greasy, and since then my fridge has never NOT had a jar of chile crisp in residence.

The catch on this spicy, sassy, savory creation is that it takes some effort to make. You can cut yourself some slack by buying pre-peeled garlic cloves. Even with those, you’re still going to have to do a lot of thin slicing. Soooo, dig deep! It’s the last weekend of summer, people. Get yourself a sharp knife and a good playlist and get going. There’s still time to make yourself the MVP by bringing this to the party, or spicing up your own patio fare.

But first, a couple of things: I’ve now made this several times , and each time I’ve overdone it on the volume of shallots. Only once did they really crisp up—which was tremendous and worth cranking up the heat a bit and then babysitting the pot until they were evenly brown. That said, it was pretty tremendous all the other times too. Just make sure you brown the shallots and garlic without burning them. I now use a bigger pot than seems necessary, which allows the shallots to really relax in their hot oil bath.

It’s worth going to the original Bon Appetit recipe and reading the comments. I think “off the hook” is the best reader description. We’ve put it on burgers, quesadillas, sandwiches, pizza, baked sweet potatoes and eggs; into salads and on bruschetta and burratta and toast. It’s so going to get stirred into soups this fall. I may draw the line at using it as an ice cream topper, but…no promises.

Finally, there is apparently an excellent version of this at Trader Joe’s called chile onion crunch. Add that to the pain of not having a TJ’s near me. For now, I chop.

PS This one goes out to Sister B, who hates bread and butter pickles and cilantro (see quick, easy, cheap salsa), but hung in there for this. Three’s the charm, baby.

Chile Crisp

Ingredients

  • 4 small shallots, thinly sliced (I end up with 1 1/2 cups or so, which is probably wayyyy too much, but I’m greedy and my shallots are apparently jumbo)
  • 2 heads of garlic (HEADS, not cloves), separated into cloves, sliced. (Google says that’s about 24 cloves)
  • 1½ cups vegetable oil
  • 2 3″ cinnamon sticks
  • 6 star anise pods
  • 1 2″ piece ginger, peeled, very finely chopped
  • ¼ cup crushed red pepper flakes
  • 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
  • 2 tsp. sugar

Method:

  • Bring shallots, garlic, oil, cinnamon, and star anise to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, reducing heat as needed to maintain a gentle simmer and swirling pot occasionally, until garlic and shallots are browned and crisp, 20–25 minutes.

    Shallots prepping for the spa

    (Take your time—you want to drive all the moisture out before they brown.)

  • Mix ginger, red pepper, soy sauce, and sugar in a medium bowl. Strain shallot mixture through a fine-mesh sieve set over ginger mixture. Let garlic and shallot cool in sieve (this will allow them to crisp further) before stirring back into chile oil. This is the time to take out the cinnamon and star anise too.
  • Do Ahead: Crisp can be made 1 month ahead. Cover and chill.

Bringing It:

Divide the goods into one big jar or smaller jars that you can fit a spoon into. Put the lids on tight and prepare to make a lot of friends. If you pour off a bunch of the oil you can then use it to make a sassy version of aquafaba mayo.

A shortcut worth every penny

Quick, Easy, Cheap Salsa

I know, it’s summer and we should be all about fresh tomatoes (and corn of course). That said, when it comes to salsa, you can really never have enough. So, when there is a quick, easy and cheap way to make a boatload of salsa yourself, bring on the can opener. (For further proof of canned tomato greatness, see Funitella Bruschetta.)

No need to belabor the intro here. I love a chunky fresh salsa with all kinds or weirdness in it: beans, corn, mango, etc. I also love a straight up tomato salsa with fresh jalapeno, lime and cilantro. This is that salsa, AKA Pioneer Woman’s Restaurant Salsa (she even gives you a video in case pushing buttons is a challenge). It makes a TON, so get a few jars ready, fire up your food processor and be ready for the weekend.

Coming up next: The third of three must-have condiments. Get a playlist and a sharp knife and prepare for some chopping. I promise it’s worth it!

Quick, Easy, Cheap Salsa

Ingredients

Two 10-ounce cans diced tomatoes and green chiles, such as Rotel
One 28-ounce can whole tomatoes with juice 
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves (or more to taste)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 whole jalapeno, quartered and sliced thin, with seeds and membrane (2 is perfectly reasonable)
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 whole lime, juiced

Method

This is a very large batch. you’re totally safe with a 12-cup food processor, or you can process the ingredients in batches and then mix everything together in a large mixing bowl.

  • Combine the cilantro, onions, garlic and jalapeno in a blender or food processor and pulse a few times to get them in the same zone size wise, not too pulverized. (If you do this step you can be a little lazier with your chopping). Add the diced tomatoes, whole tomatoes, cumin, salt, sugar and lime juice.
  • Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you’d like. I do about 10 to 15 pulses. Test seasonings with a tortilla chip and adjust as needed. 
  • Refrigerate the salsa for at least an hour before serving.

Bringing it:

Divide the batch into as many jars as you like and you are ready to take your show on the road. This is NOT shelf stable, so keep it in the fridge.

 

Bread and Butter Pickles, the easy way

Got an update for you: It’s blueberry season. So why are you looking at pickles? Let me ‘splain. To be sure, every day that passes without me getting out to the amazingly awesome Super Acres to pick blueberries, reminds me summer is ticking by too fast. But, sadly, that ticking isn’t enough to get me out there…yet. Those of you who are more industrious can get busy with your blueberries by making Blueberry Dutch Bunny ,  overnight blueberry muffins or blueberry mint lemonade .

For the rest of you, here is a tasty consolation prize. I’m about to hit you with three straight posts on condiments. Sure, summer is all about grilling, and picnics, but both beg for condiments. Great condiments can elevate anything on a bun or a bed of greens. This summer (while not at the blueberry patch), I’ve been making three excellent condiments that now have permanent residence in my fridge.

First off, bread and butter pickles, for a lot of good reasons:

  1. They’re just so darned unsophisticatedly delicious.
  2. They add that little streak of brilliance to egg salad, tuna salad, sandwiches, burgers, the end of your fork, etc.
  3. For guilty pleasures, they are pretty low-consequence. Yes they’ve got sugar, but unless you are drinking the brine it can’t be THAT much, right?
  4. Pickles, even when not made by the super responsible canning process, keep fresh in the fridge for a long while.
  5. And finally, pickles because in fact you CAN have too many cucumbers.

I discovered this after a chance evening encounter with a neighbor who kindly gave me an armful of cukes. I’m always grateful for fresh produce, but cucumbers straight up can be a tough sell in my house. They are not easily disguised, either by grating into a burger or a stir fry, and they don’t freeze well, unless your end game is to weaponize them.

If you end up with a stash of cucumbers, or if you are a pickle lover with no patience for the canning process, these babies are for you. Just a few ingredients and zero talent required. All you need is a little time for them to hang out in the fridge. Basically you can go from evening neighbor garden encounter to proud pickle producer by the time you settle in to Netflix, or bed, or whatever makes you happy.

Just add…anything really. Get your pic-nic on!

Bread and Butter Pickles, the Easy Way

From Brown Eyed Baker

Prep 15 minutes; Cook 5 minutes
Resting 2 hours 40 minutes; Total 3 hours

Makes 4 cups of pickles

Ingredients

  • 5½ cups about 1½ pounds thinly sliced (about ¼-inch) pickling cucumbers
  • 1½ tablespoons kosher salt
  • 1 cup thinly sliced sweet onion
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup white vinegar
  • ½ cup apple cider vinegar
  • ¼ cup light brown sugar
  • 1½ teaspoons mustard seeds
  • ½ teaspoon celery seeds
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric

Directions

  1. Combine cucumbers and salt in a large, shallow bowl; cover and chill 1½ hours. Move cucumbers into a colander and rinse thoroughly under cold water. Drain well, and return cucumbers to bowl. Add onion to the bowl and toss with the cucumbers.
  2. Combine the granulated sugar, white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, mustard seeds, celery seeds and ground turmeric in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
  3. Pour the hot vinegar mixture over cucumber mixture; let stand at room temperature 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate 24 hours. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 1 month.

Recipe Notes

As made here these are not shelf stable. Store them in the fridge. If you’re looking for proper canning instruction, get back on your google and good luck—I’ll be cheering you on!

 

Summer Strawberry Chopped Salad

Welcome to the steamy hot heart of summer! I was feeling like a slacker for being a solid month late in posting this strawberry salad. As with all the rhubarb recipes I meant to post, I thought I’d missed my window. BUT it seems fate and Mother Nature have conspired to make the timing downright perfect. Strawberry season is three weeks late here, thanks to all that June rain (that I missed in CA…#notsorry).

This recipe comes from the fabulous Bevin Wallace’s Real Life Delicious blog and is based on a salad at Vail’s Chophouse. If you can get away with a DIY version of anything in Vail you’re usually $100 ahead of a game, even when it comes to salad. Considering the other revelation that this year is serving up a bumper crop of strawberries, I’d highly encourage you to try this salad. The dressing alone is worth having on hand, and the whole shebang is a great addition to any gathering.

The only slightly labor intensive thing here are the candied pecans. You could of course use some fancy packaged pecans, or simply sub toasted pecans but, c’mon, live a little. It’s salad and it’s summer and as the strawberries will tell you, it’s been a gloomy spring. Time to celebrate!

Nothing says summahhhh like fresh strawberries

Summer Strawberry Chopped Salad

Ingredients

  • 1/2 lb. pecan pieces (you won’t need a half pound of pecans for the salad, but nobody every complained about having too many candied pecans on hand)
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 head butter lettuce
  • 1 pint strawberries, hulled and cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 avocado, cubed
  • 4 oz. crumbled goat cheese

For the dressing

  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 2 tbs. dijon Mustard
  • 1/4 cup champagne vinegar
  • 2 tbs. fresh lemon juice (juice of 1/2 lemon)
  • 2 tbs. honey
  • Salt & pepper
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Method:

Make the candied pecans: Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Mix sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Whisk egg white and 1 tbs. water together in a separate bowl until frothy. Toss pecans into the egg white mixture. Mix sugar mixture into pecan mixture until pecans are evenly coated. Spread coated pecans onto a baking sheet. Bake, stirring every 5 minutes, until pecans are evenly browned, about 25 mins. Allow to cool. In the meantime…

Make the dressing: Whisk together the garlic, mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt & pepper in a bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until the dressing is emulsified.

Make the salad: Tear the lettuce and place in a large (larger than you think you need) bowl. Add the strawberries, avocado, goat cheese, and about 4 oz. of the pecans. Drizzle on the dressing and toss gently.

Want more reason to get fresh berries? Check out these strawberry all stars.

 

Roasted Squash, Kale and Cranberry Salad

To borrow a sentiment from Teen Angst, “what the world needs now is another kale salad like I need a hole in my head” And yet, here you have it. This came out of the Cooking Light archives—an actual print version that was hanging around my cluttered pantry of angst. It was the answer to my prayers when my garden of tomatoes died back enough to reveal a whole lot of kabocha (buttercup) and delicata squash. I’ve made this with both types of squash and it was fantastic. I suspect it’d be grand with butternut as well.

To make this meal-worthy salad you’re basically massaging up a bed of kale with a touch of olive oil. Now don’t be coy—we’re no strangers to massaging kale. Roasted squash goes on top of that, followed by thinly sliced red onion for sass and plumped up dried cranberries for a little sweet and same fall color.

It took all my will NOT add nuts to this bed of goodness, but I resisted and did not miss them a bit. Neither did my nut-weary family.

  • Bonus: This can be made ahead and hang out until dinner is served.
  • Double Bonus: It travels like a champ and is easily assembled on site.
  • Triple bonus: The leftovers are excellent, because we all know dressed kale can survive the apocalypse.

I hate to sounds bossy, but please make this now, so if you like it as much as I do you can sign up to bring it to Thanksgiving. I know…we’re not even at Halloween. But what can I say? Squash turns my crank. And now, on to pomegranates. Oh…yeah…baby! Happy Fall

Roasted Squash, Kale and Cranberry Salad

From Cooking Light

Ingredients

  • 1/2 large unpeeled green or orange kabocha squash (about 5 lb.), cut into 12 (1/2-in.-thick) wedges (or delicata squash, seeded and cut in 1/2″ rounds)
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • 2 teaspoons coarsely ground coriander seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
  • 6 tablespoons dried cranberries (or dried cherries to be tart and fancy)
  • 6 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
  • 1/2 small red onion, thinly vertically sliced
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 (7 1/2-oz.) bunch lacinato kale, stemmed and cut into 3/4-in.-wide strips (curly kale works fine too)

Method:

Preheat oven to 375°F

Combine squash, 1 tablespoon olive oil, coriander seeds, pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl, tossing gently with hands to coat. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Cover with foil. Bake at 375°F for 10 minutes. Remove foil; bake 15 more minutes or until pumpkin is tender and browned, turning once.

While pumpkin roasts, combine cranberries, vinegar, brown sugar, mustard seeds, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Bring to a simmer; remove from heat. Steep 15 minutes or until almost all of the liquid is absorbed.

Place onion in a bowl of ice-cold water; let stand 10 minutes. Drain

Toss lemon juice, kale, remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, and remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt in a large bowl, massaging kale with hands to soften. Transfer kale to a large serving platter; top with pumpkin and onion. Sprinkle with cranberries.

Bringing it:  Roast the squash, prep onions and cranberries and massage the kale in the privacy of your own home. Bring them all separately and assemble on a platter when you get to your destination. It can hang out until you’re ready to eat.

Tomato Overload

Guess what didn’t take Labor Day off? The tomatoes in your garden. It’s hard to keep up with the crop, though I’m trying my darndest, and probably headed for whatever toxic event occurs from too many tomatoes. I swear those suckers ripen by the hour. It’s all good though, except that there’s this one doctor out there on the interwebs who gets really bad on tomatoes. I just have to ignore his advice for the next couple of weeks. Same with the corn haters. Now is NOT the time.

Rather than reinvent the wheel, let’s just revisit some of our all-time tomato season favorites. Purists of course will go no further than the white bread and mayo tomato sandwich. Solid. But it uses exactly one tomato. Not helpful. When you’re looking for mass consumption of the bounty, I suggest a batch or two of sweet and spicy tomato jam. For the easiest dinner on the planet, totally appropriate for hands off entertaining, go for Best of Summer Simmer Chicken. If your job is to bring a side, embrace the heat with Summer Perfection Watermelon Tomato Feta Salad, or just go straight for Most Popular with THE Panzanella.

If those don’t use up your tomato backlog, here is an easy way to give your tomatoes (and the taste of summer) a little more staying power.

If nothing else you should go to Smitten Kitchen just to look at the picture of the pre-roasting tomato rainbow. Impressive. Mine do not look like that. BUT I assure you they taste darned good, and they are perfect to throw on a pizza, spoon on bruschetta, toss into a salad, smoosh on bread, mix in pasta, etc. You get the picture.

Slow roasted tomatoes, just hanging with the fresh crowd.

Slow Roasted Tomatoes

From Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

  • Cherry, grape or small Roma tomatoes
  • Whole gloves of garlic, unpeeled
  • Olive oil
  • Herbs such as thyme or rosemary (optional)

Method

Preheat oven to 225°F. Halve each cherry or grape tomato crosswise, or Roma tomato lengthwise and arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet along with the cloves of garlic. Drizzle with olive oil, just enough to make the tomatoes glisten. Sprinkle herbs on, if you are using them, and salt and pepper, though go easily on these because the finished product will be so flavorful you’ll need very little to help it along.

Bake the tomatoes in the oven for about 3 hours. You want the tomatoes to be shriveled and dry, but with a little juice left inside–this could take more or less time depending on the size of your tomatoes. When they are done, you can remove the cloves of garlic and save them for another use. They’re a delish side bennie.

Use the tomatoes right away or let them cool, cover them with some extra olive oil and keep them in the fridge for the best summer condiment, ever.

The Aperol Spritz: Ciao Bella!

In case we missed the memo last week, summer has arrived, in all its sweaty glory. This does not bring out my A-Game, because I’m more St. Bernard than Whippet, more Clydesdale than Thoroughbred, more Thelma than Daphne. 

I also tend to gain weight in the summer, which—with all that necessarily exposed flesh—is just…plain…awesome. I’m ok with it, really, but that doesn’t make it any easier to bear the peak heat and humidity of an eastern summer.

So what do we do? We get out of the kitchen and onto the patio. And we help each other by sharing our favorite patio fare. Stay tuned this week for some simple easy classics to have on hand that will help you stay cool in every way.   

Today’s feature: The Aperol Spritz. These first caught my eye on a recent trip to Europe, where every sidewalk café featured what appeared to be glasses of orange wine, complete with little floating orange slices. For a moment, I thought Europe was a few years late on the orange wine trend 2015, the one that never breached the NH border.  But then I remembered where I was: European sidewalk cafes don’t do trends. They do classics.

Rigorous research enlightened me to the Aperol Spritz. Aperol is an Italian aperitif (that’s fancy talk for dry not sweet) made of oranges, roots, herbs and—let’s be honest here—some serious food coloring.

All you need for a classic, refreshing, “I’m- for-sure-as-cool-as-any-of-you” summer drink is to fill a glass with ice and layer in three parts prosecco, two parts Aperol and one part seltzer…in that order.  Toss in your little slice of orange and…Salute! Cin cin! Oooh baby!

For a no heat dinner, enjoy your spritz California style like Sister A and Cousin D did with this fine feast. Fully- loaded watermelon poke bowls? Alfresco dining? Avocados, pickled ginger, chopped peanuts? Check, check, check, check, check!

Bring It Summer All Stars

Summer is here my friends. Just in time, the good people of the webhosting universe have fixed my site so subscribers will actually get posts. What a great idea? Thank you Bring It loyals for your patience. And now, on to the weekend!

Before you head out for the Memorial Day shop with the rest of humanity, I picked out some all star classics that will help you slay this weekend. With a little prep you can head into summer looking like the master entertainer you are at heart.

First and foremost…

Bring on The Slaw:
If you have never made Hero Slaw, just trust me on this. It will make you famous. Go ahead and claim it as your own if it helps. Prep it, bag it, put it in the fridge and you can take on any invite that comes your way. Or just enjoy it yourself for a few days. If nothing else, make up the dressing to have on hand and turn kale into something the family might actually eat.

Have Some Balls:
Buffalo chicken meatballs are back on my regular rotation (thank you Neely for reminding me!) until I master the perfect veggie balls. Stay tuned for that. Until then, make up a lot of these (ahead if needed) and know they will disappear fast.

Brush up on Your Bruschetta Fixin’s:
You will never be sorry to have a Funitella bruschetta stashed in the fridge. With the miracle that is petite diced canned tomatoes it take all of about 5 minutes. If you want to get more ideas, take a gander at bruschetta deconstructed, and the consider toppings like pickled fig, creamy cheese and crunchy nut crostini, strawberries and goat cheese, and Sicilian caponata.

Get Your Guac On:
You’ve got to have it, and it hardly requires a recipe. BUT if you want to go the extra distance this crazy one with apples and tequila is my new fave. Mango jicama guacamole is another solid contender. Both add crunch and assert that this is not your first guac fiesta.

Think (of drinking) Ahead:
You know you’re a pro when…You’ve got your Frosé and Sandy’s daquiris in the freezer, and fixins for some fancy lemonades. You bridge into genius status when you also have watermelon juice at the ready to whip up watermelonade, spicy watermelon margaritas and watermelon sangria.

Watermelon Sangria. Summer in a glass.

Watermelon Up:
While we’re on the topic of watermelon, cut up some watermelon and prep it for watermelon poke bowls and you are set for fresh weekend lunches for Vegans and non Vegans alike. If you double up on the feta you get for Funitella Bruschetta, and make summer perfection watermelon feta salad, I promise you won’t be sorry.

Sweet Endings:
Oh where do we begin on these? Well, summery Lemon Beach Pie, a whole mess of Rubble or Loosey Brucey Rhubarb crisp are a good place to start. As Bruce would say, nobody ever complained about to many good recipe ideas.

New recipes next time, but of now let’s go with what we know and get this summer party started.

Must…eat…more…pie. Sweet, salty, sweet, salty, and oh yeah—creamy, crunchy, cool and tart.

Double Down Derby Day Guacamole

Some days we have difficult choices. Saturday will be one such day. Do you wear a fine hat and celebrate the first Saturday in May according to Kentucky tradition, or do you scarf down some tacos and join the Cinco de Mayo party?

Or, do you do the sensible thing and celebrate both? Well duh! I do not normally do this, but I am posting two untried recipes. Whyyyyyy? Because it’s important! Because it’s Kentucky Derby Day and Cinco de Mayo AND its almost summer. That means it’s high time to get your guac on.

I am a wing it kind of guac maker. As a Californian that is my birthright. That said, you can always improve. These two new takes on guac are both from Mexican food jefe Roberto Santibañez by way of Food52.  The first is unique in approach but features totally classic ingredients. It hits all the must haves and nothing more: lime, cilantro, jalapeño, onion are all pulverized FIRST then added to avocados. As Santibañez says, “There is a very important textural thing to guacamole — we never really mush up the avocado.” I knew I liked this guy. I really felt the love though when I read about his second creation, which is totally wacky. It involves a splash of tequila (he had me there), apples (hello New England) and pecans (a nod to the America south and more weirdness). My awesome neighbor just came back from Georgia bearing two bags of pecans that she harvested and shelled herself. Fate. Kismet. Weird guacamole.

Anyway, here are the recipes. I will be making and testing them both on Saturday, celebrating both occasions of course.  If you do the same please tell me what you think and we can discuss. Whatever you choose to celebrate, have a fantabulous weekend!

P.S. Post time is 6:12. For the worst odds and the best name I’m taking Patrona Margarita, with 50-1.

Numero Uno:

Roberto Santibañez Classic Guacamole

Adapted slightly from Truly Mexican (Wiley, 2011)

Makes: about 1 3/4 cups

  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped white onion
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh serrano or jalapeno chile, including seeds, or more to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or 1/4 teaspoon fine salt (or to taste)
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, divided
  • 1 large or 2 small ripe Mexican Hass avocados, halved and pitted
  • A squeeze of lime, if desired
  1. Mash the onion, chile, salt (the coarseness of kosher salt helps you make the paste), and half of the cilantro to a paste in a molcajete or other mortar. You can also mince and mash the ingredients together on a cutting board with a large knife or a fork, and then transfer the paste to a bowl.
  2. Score the flesh in the avocado halves in a crosshatch pattern (not through the skin) with a knife and then scoop it with a spoon into the mortar or bowl. Toss well (it should be like salad properly dressed in vinaigrette), then add the rest of the cilantro and mash very coarsely with a pestle or a fork. Season to taste with lime juice (if you’d like) and additional chile and salt.

  3. Guac Uno, as made beautiful on Food52

Numero Dos:

Roberto Santibañez’ Guacamole with Tequila & Apples

Author Notes: Roberto says:” The apple needs to be sweet and crunchy (not Granny Smith-tart) and diced not too fine, to contrast just vocally enough with the guac’s salty heat and richness. The pecans should be tossed in butter after toasting, not before, so you get fresh, unbrowned butter flavor, too. Adapted slightly from Truly Mexican (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011).

Makes: 2 cups
For the apples & pecans

  • 1 large crisp, sweet apple, such as Gala or Macintosh, peeled, cored, and finely diced
  • 1 tablespoon silver (blanco) tequila
  • 1 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 1/4 cup pecan halves, sliced crosswise or coarsely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon butter
  • 1/8 teaspoon fine salt, or 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (or to taste)

For the guacamole

  • 1 fresh serrano or jalapeño chile, stemmed
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped white onion
  • 1 teaspoon coarse salt, or 1/2 teaspoon fine salt (or to taste)
  • 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro, divided
  • 1 large or 2 small ripe Mexican Hass avocados, halved and pitted
  1. Toss the apple with the tequila and lime juice in a bowl and let the mixture stand for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
  2. Heat the oven or toaster oven to 350° F. Spread the pecans on a small baking pan and bake until golden and fragrant, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the butter to the pan and toss to melt the butter and coat the pecans. Sprinkle with salt, tossing to coat.
  3. Heat a comal, griddle, or heavy skillet over medium-low heat and roast the chile, turning it over with tongs once or twice, until tender, blistered all over, and blackened in spots, 10 to 15 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, remove the skin from the chile (you might have to use a paring knife).
  4. Mash the chile, onion, salt (the coarseness of the kosher salt will help you make the paste), and 2 tablespoons of the cilantro to a paste in a molcajete or other mortar. You can also mince and mash the ingredients together on a cutting board with a large knife, and then transfer the paste to a bowl.
  5. Score the flesh in the avocado halves in a crosshatch pattern (not through the skin) with a knife and then scoop it with the spoon into the mortar or bowl. Toss well, mashing the avocado coarsely with a pestle or fork, taking care to keep the avocado chunky.
  6. Gently stir in the apple mixture and most of the pecans just until it holds together. Garnish with the remaining pecans and cilantro. Serve right away with tortilla chips.

 

 

Sabering champagne

Holiday Favorites: Stay Sane, Go Nuts, Be Happy!

Fluff up your marmots and break out all things sparkly, the holidays are here. This is the season for many things: fake fur, sequins, fizzy drinks, warm everything. This is not the season for experimentation. We’re keeping our heads above water here, which means sticking with what we know. tried and true meals that make us happy, and treats to give that make others happy.

Maple oat breakfast bread

With that in mind, in my own kitchen I’m revisiting whole lot of Bring It tried and trues. That means soups like Thai Coconut Corn Soup, or Sugar and Spice Squash Soup. And yep, that means a crock pot full of Chicken Taco Chili that feeds a crowd with about 6 minutes of prep. All of the above, of course, beg for People’s Choice Cornbread or No Knead Challah or a honkin’ slice of Maple Oat Breakfast Bread to dunk in there. That is, UNLESS dirt bread is your thing…you know who you are, you little hemp seed eating chia pets. I’m with you there.

You might be needing some holiday entertaining staples like pomegranate everything (along with a genius pomegranate wrangling technique). What’s winter without fondue, and the easiest in the world Guinness Fondue at that? And what’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” without snacks? I highly recommend a batch of Nootch Popcorn or a bowl of Hail Mary Coconut.

As far as gifting and hostess offerings, you will never go wrong with crackle and its intriguing, slightly sophisticated dark cousin, pretzel and beer Crackle 2.0. And cookies? Yeah we’ve got those, basics like my faves—champion chip cookies—as well as totally slacker kiss my crust cookies, made from refrigerated pie crust and whatever chocolates you have around. If you need to scare up a snowstorm, or a reason to start a sweet family tradition make up a snow ghost pie.

Snow Ghost pie ad

And lest this be a pure re-hash of deliciousness we have an actual new recipe. I realize this blog has a somewhat extensive nut treatment, including honey thyme walnuts, spicy rosemary maple walnuts and an entire holiday nut anthology. But it turns out you really do need one more way to make roasted almonds. These are very similar to ginger glazed almonds (see anthology above), but without the ginger and with a coating of sesame seeds. You can choose a mix of sweeteners for your preferred flavor dimension (honey and sesame were pretty much born for each other), but for the best texture and glaze use at least some brown sugar.  

We’re talking nuts here, not rocket science, so be bold and mess around with flavorings, spices, herbs, types of nuts etc. Above all, enjoy the madness of the season and, like James says, remember “Shower the people you love with love.”

Sesame Almonds

Makes 3 1/2 cups almonds

Ingredients:

  • 3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar (or sub out up to 2 tablespoons with honey or maple syrup)
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil (or your healthy oil of choice)
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
  • 1 pound raw almonds (a scant 3 ½ cups)
  • 2 tablespoons (or more) white sesame seeds

Method:

Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet and 2 wire cooling racks with parchment paper and set aside.

Pour the almonds into a mixing bowl. (If you keep your nuts in the freezer, warm them up in the oven for a few minutes first). In the microwave or on the stovetop stir together the brown sugar/honey/syrup, oil, salt, paprika, and vinegar over low heat. Pour mixture over the almonds and toss until the almonds are thoroughly coated. Transfer the almonds to the prepared baking sheet and spread into an even layer.

Bake, stirring every 5 minutes, until the almonds are brown and fragrant, 12 to 15 minutes total. They should be a rich brown color and just start to smell toasted as you open the oven door.

Sprinkle the sesame seeds over the hot almonds and stir to evenly distribute the seeds. This is where I go a little overboard, and try to get as many sesame seeds as possible to coat the almonds. Divide the nuts between the 2 prepared cooling racks and use a spatula to spread the nuts out so they do not touch. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Break apart any nut clusters that are stuck together if needed.

Bringing It:

Pour these babies into a treat bag, jar, tin or a cardboard takeout container lined with festive tissue paper, and store them in the fridge until you are ready to give them or devour them.

 

Bringing It With Heart: Peacemaking Pepitas

Bringing on the love, and healthy debate.

You can’t please all the people all the time. This is true when it comes to food, and especially when it comes to what people consider “healthy” food. For various reasons, I’ve been flirting lately with both Vegan and Whole 30 ways of eating.

For those of you oblivious to food trends, Vegans avoid all food that comes from something with a face—meat, fish and all dairy, including eggs. The most vigilant Vegans also avoid honey, to protest the enslavement of bees. Whole 30 basically lines up with the Paleos, who embrace “high quality” protein, and especially animal protein. They make the sign of the cross to all grains, beans, processed foods and soy, which means tofu, tempeh, seitan and the like. Paleos blame life’s ills on inflammation, which come from the body trying to deal with sugar, a whole lot of which comes from grains. Vegans embrace grains and beans because without all that Verboten animal protein they get darned hungry.

Vegans are among the most creative eaters, making cheese from nuts, milk from hemp and mayo from chickpeas. The paleos get crafty points too, making pancakes without flour, oatmeal without oats and pizza crust from cauliflower. Martha points for all! Vegans get smug when the topics of obesity and high cholesterol come up; Paleos get smug when the Vegans look wan and tired; and the topic of bacon will polarize a mixed crowd faster than you can say Trump. All of this explains the popularity of the Mediterranean diet, which cuts right down the middle. Mediterranean eaters sit back and watch the show, enjoying a little bit of everything. They snack on olives, guiltlessly savor their dark chocolate and red wine and think, “Ah, yes. Life is moderately good!”

We had a recent health scare in our house, which prompted a close look at nutrition. People showed up bearing delicious, heart-healthy meals, as well as plenty of dark chocolate. It reminded me of how much I love our community and inspired me to tweak Bring It towards the healthier end of the spectrum. Like many of our friends, we lead pretty healthy lives, but there’s always room for improvement.

As discussed above, “healthy” means different things to different people; but, we’ve all got to try to get along in this world, especially at the table, and especially while we striving towards our own healthy, realistic, sustainable way of eating. Most of us just want good, healthy food that won’t break the bank, or take all day and an advance culinary degree to prepare. Fortunately, there are a few things on which all zealots agree, and I like to picture them as overlapping areas of a Venn diagram. The overlapping area of foods to avoid or seriously limit includes sugar, processed foods and, sadly, cheese. The overlapping area of acceptable foods includes greens, colorful veggies and roots, nuts, avocados, fruit (more or less) and coconut in its many forms. So we’ve got a starting point for common ground.

Of course, there will be many things that are beyond the universal overlap of all “healthy” diets. There are also times when you just have to go off the reservation. I’ll point you to those recipes with gusto, even if I’m not making them myself for a while. Case in point are these bronzies that a friend brought over recently. They totally raise the dessert bar, and WILL make you MVG (Most Valuable Guest).

For today, we’re keeping it simple and healthy: Pepitas roasted with sweet/salty coconut aminos. Coconut aminos are soy- and wheat-free, and while they are still a form of sodium, it’s less than straight up salt (a Tablespoon of coconut aminos has 300 mg sodium, the same as in 1/8 tsp salt). Even better, the Paleos turn a blind eye to the main ingredient, coconut sap, which sure sounds like a form of sugar to me. Shhhh! Let’s just enjoy this.

These pepitas are great sprinkled on salad, soup (like this one!) or roasted vegetables or as a snack any time of day.

Peacemaking Pepitas

Tweak the amounts up and down, but for best results don’t crowd your baking sheet. 1½ cups of nuts at a time per sheet is about the max.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup raw pepitas
  • 1 Tbsp coconut aminos (or more if you’re feeling it)
  • ½ -1 tsp chili powder (optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Pour pepitas on the parchment lined sheet, drizzle with aminos and stir them around to coat. Sprinkle with chili powder if using.

Bake for 10 minutes. Stir and check them for doneness. Return to over for 5 more minutes.

Let cool on baking sheet. Store in an airtight container (they get soggy otherwise).

Bringing it:

Warp ’em up! These make an excellent hostess gift or contribution to any feast.

Drunken Fig Jam: Where fresh figs go to party

Fig Jamming New England style, with cheddar of course

How did I make it through life this far without ever canning? Why did I start now? Two fine questions. My two fine answers are fresh figs and fresh corn. They’re only around for a bit and they are so darned good.

Let’s start with figs. This recipe come from Treas, out in Cali, head chef at Granite Chief Command Central. Her recipe, which she shared with me after two years of my passive yet unremitting coersion, says that fig season is only in August. This handy guide to all things fig, gives us a larger window. According to google, there is a short season in early summer and then a longer season in late summer/fall. Either way, fresh figs are not around forever, and once you buy them you’ve got to use them fast. We should have a few more weeks at least, and cognac is always in season, so we’re good there. 

A little heads up to you non-canners out there. You need a big pot, you need to know that when you fill it too full with water and then put your jars in, your stove may have a hazardous overflow situation. You can only use canning lids once, which is why that whole mysterious section of parts in the grocery store exists. I guess that’s about it. I was going to get into racks for the bottom of your pot, but this recipe doesn’t call for one, so let’s run with the “ignorance is bliss” theory.

Another small cautionary note: When you are heading out to book group for three hours it’s best to turn the burner under your boiling fig jam OFF.  Next up? Corn relish to give Stonewall Kitchen a run for their money…and a new stockpot.

Fancying up a fall salad

Drunken Fig Jam

Recipe and action shots from Treas Manning
Makes 6 1/2 pint jars

Ingredients

• 2 lemons
• 4 pounds ripe fresh figs (preferably black), stemmed,
cut into 1/2-inch pieces (use food scale for accuracy)
• 4 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup brandy or Cognac
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

Method:

Using a vegetable peeler, slice peel from lemons (try to avoid as much as the white part as possible) in long strips. Cut peel into matchstick-size strips. Combine lemon peel, figs, sugar, brandy, and 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt in heavy large deep saucepan; let stand at room temperature 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Bring fig mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium; continue to boil until jam thickens (30 to 35 minutes), and is reduced to 6 cups, stirring frequently and occasionally use a hand blender to puree the mixture. It’s fine if there are small bits of lemon peel and fig, but I do like the bits to be minimal. Remove from heat.

Ladle mixture into 6 hot clean 1/2-pint glass canning jars, leaving 1/4-inch space at top of jars. Remove any air bubbles. Wipe jar threads and rims with clean damp cloth. Cover with hot lids; apply screw bands. Process jars in pot of boiling water 10 minutes. Cool jars completely. Store in cool dark place up to 1 year.

Notes: At high altitude over 5500 feet, process the jars for 15 minutes.

Drunken Fig Jam is yummy:

  • on a toasted baguette with a slice of melted Irish Cheddar, and a walnut on top.
  • on crusty bread with fresh burratta or mozzarella
  • on a grilled bone in pork chop, or on slices of pork tenderloin
  • on whole wheat toast topped with a strip of bacon for breakfast.
  • with cheese, sliced pears and walnuts on a groovy pizza

Bringing It and Giving It:

Makes a darned nice Christmas gift, especially canned in a Ball and Mason squatty wide mouth jar

 

 

Okey Poke: Watermelon Poke Bowls

All the Fixin’s for a Poke Feast

At about this time, in the height of summer, we might as well throw up our hands and say, “It’s all about watermelon!” Seriously, between watermelon rosemary lemonade, watermelon salad, watermelon gazpacho and the soon-to-be shared watermelon jalapeño margaritas, I am hard pressed to get really excited about any other ingredient. But, like mama said, you must eat your veggies. And your protein. And your condiments (summer is condiment season after all).

This brings me to the poke bowl (say po-kay unless you want to horrify foodies and make Californians smirk). Poke originated as a thing in Hawaii, where fisherman needed a tasty way to use the trimmed scraps of freshly caught tuna. Bonus points for being able to serve it all out of a cooler. They did this by marinating it, putting it over sticky rice and then dressing it up with whatever condiments felt right. Intrigued by the sheer magnitude of food combining possibilities in one dish, I set out in search of my perfect poke match. I’m a huge fan of fresh raw tuna, as long as it is procured, prepared and paid for by someone else. When I saw watermelon poke taking over the Internet, I knew I’d met my destiny.

Watermelon poke, where watermelon stands in for tuna, is often made with raw watermelon which is quickly marinated. It is fine but bears little resemblance in taste or texture to tuna, and the perkiness drains right out of the watermelon after serving time. This version, adapted from Bon Appetit—in which the watermelon is marinated, cooked, then chilled until ready to be used—produces watermelon that is strangely similar in taste, texture and appearance to tuna. This not only gives you an easy, storable for days, cheap alternative to tuna, but it also makes the Vegans (not to mention the tuna) happy. Ba-da-bing! We have a winner!

As with any new type of food, the process can seem daunting at first. I promise, however, that it is low skill and effort/ high return. Here is what you’re doing:

  • Dicing the watermelon, and putting it in a simple marinade, ideally overnight.
  • Cooking that entire mixture down for 30 minutes then chilling it. At this point, or after the next step, it can chill in the fridge for up to a few days.
  • Tossing the cooked, cooled watermelon with sliced sweet and green onions, sesame seeds and soy sauce. Chill until needed (see above)
  • Cooking up a batch of sushi rice with some honey and vinegar. This can be served hot or made ahead and served cold.
  • Assembling your universe of your favorite fresh toppings, sauces and condiments.

Poke bowls are built around the upside of prep. Set up your basic elements and you can throw them together anytime, anywhere. They use what you have, what you love and what is fresh and available. They are the perfect cultural marriage of all your favorite things and a fully customizable feast.

With so many topping choices it is hard to decide what actual recipes to include here in your watermelon poke primer. For me, and for my very satisfied (and patient) extended family, the key components are the watermelon, the sushi rice and a few key condiments. The toppings are where you make this your own, and change it up based on mood, dietary constraints, availability, etc. My must haves among these are: pickled ginger for zing, avocado for creaminess, toasted peanuts or sesame seeds for crunch; scallions, chives or some such representative from the onion family to keep your taste buds honest.  

Sauces? Homemade are awesome, but sometimes enough is enough. Store bought faves can be as good or better.

And now, for the main event. Make a batch of the watermelon poke and store it in the fridge for poke bowls as needed. Bring it chilled, along with your cooked rice and an array of condiments to make a poke bowl bar for a party or picnic. This right here, my friends, will rocket you straight to the Bring It All Star Zone.

Watermelon Poke Bowl with a creamy sesame sriracha sauce.

Watermelon Poke Bowls

Mostly from justthefood.com 

  • Watermelon Poke (recipe below)
  • Sweet sushi rice (recipe below)
  • Diced cubed fresh vegetables
  • Savory sauces, crunchy toppings and condiments

The Watermelon Poke

Don’t fear cooking the watermelon. It will not disintegrate, but will assume the look and texture of raw tuna. Trust the process that will transform your watermelon from sweet to savory and into a weirdly awesome, Vegan-friendly science project.

For the marinated watermelon

Ingredients:

  • ¼ cup rice vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons Tamari or soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 2 pounds cubed red seedless watermelon (about 6 cups), cut it into small cubes no larger than ½-inch. The consistent, smallish dice is key.

Method:

Mix together marinade in a shallow dish with a lid, or a re-sealable plastic bag.
Add watermelon and refrigerate for at least one hour, but it’s even better if you can do it overnight. Transfer marinated watermelon to a pan with a lid.
Cook covered on medium high heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove the lid and continue cooking for about 10 minutes more, or until deep red and translucent and most of the liquid has been absorbed. If you have a really juicy watermelon, you can drain off any excess liquid.
 Chill until ready to serve.

For the Poke

  • 1 recipe marinated watermelon
  • 1 cup julienne cut Maui Onions
  • 1 cup chopped green onion
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce

Add all ingredients to a bowl and toss to coat. Keep chilled until ready to serve.

The Sweet Sticky Rice

This sweet rice makes a perfect base to serve under your Poke. Use an Ice Cream Scoop for perfectly shaped balls of rice.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups short grain arborio or sushi rice, rinsed
  • 3 1/2 cups water
  • 2 tablespoons honey or agave
  • 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Method:

Mix all ingredients together in the bowl of your rice cooker and follow the directions on your rice cooker. If you do not have a rice cooker, bring salt and water to a boil in a pot with a tight fitting lid. Stir in remaining ingredients. Return to a low simmer, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until water has been absorbed. 

The Condiments

Here’s a list of options to get you started:

  • Pickled ginger
  • Cubed avocado
  • Cubed mango
  • Cubed cucumber
  • Thinly sliced radishes
  • Thinly sliced scallions
  • Chopped chives
  • Fried shallots
  • Dry roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
  • Toasted sesame seeds
  • sprouts and/or seeds
  • Cilantro or mint
  • Ponzu or shoyu sauce
  • Furikake (now that you’ve got it from your popcorn adventure)

Assembling the Poke Bowls

Mound a scoop of rice in a bowl (not on an plate—that’s just the way it’s got to be).

Top with a scoop of watermelon poke. Top it off with your favorite condiments, then add a drizzle of your favorite sauce(s). You know what to do!

 

Summer Perfection Watermelon Tomato Feta Salad

I had a feeling that Memorial Day weekend would deliver. It did in the form of this watermelon salad. Quite simply, you need this in your summer life. I’ve seen watermelon feta salads aplenty but for some reason have never made them. Perhaps too many failed attempts at grilling watermelon “steaks” killed my ambition to bridge the sweet/salty gap with watermelon.

But thanks to Jenny—who not only brought this salad to a party, but also preemptively tracked me down to deliver the recipe because she heard from so many people that I wanted it—here it is! Thank you to Jenny for saving me so much anxiety and sticky kitchen experimentation.

Looking through the notes on the original recipe there are all kinds of variations. While I applaud the will to experiment, for me, if it ain’t broke…After all, it’s only early June. We have all summer to try it with lime juice instead of vinegar, to saute the sliced almonds in a little butter first, or maybe to add some jalapenos or spice. But then again, maybe not. It may be as close to perfection as I can bear.

This recipe does make a ton, so adjust amounts accordingly if that concerns you. A platter of this salad atop arugula looks pretty darned impressive. Made as directed, the watermelon chunks, are big, which seems a little odd. But that also makes it a knife and fork salad, which is somehow more satisfying.

Summer Perfection Watermelon Tomato Feta Salad

From Epicurious

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 8 cups 1 1/4-inch chunks seedless watermelon (about 6 pounds)
  • 3 pounds ripe tomatoes (preferably heirloom) in assorted colors, cored, cut into 1 1/4-inch chunks (about 6 cups)
  • 1 teaspoon (or more) fleur de sel or coarse kosher salt
  • 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons chopped assorted fresh herbs (such as dill, basil, and mint)
  • 6 cups fresh arugula leaves or small watercress sprigs
  • 1 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 5 ounces)
  • 1/2 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted

Method

    1. Combine melon and tomatoes in large bowl. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon fleur de sel and toss to blend; let stand 15 minutes. Add 4 tablespoons oil, vinegar, and herbs to melon mixture. Season to taste with pepper and more salt, if desired.
    2. Toss arugula in medium bowl with remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Divide arugula among plates. Top with melon salad; sprinkle with feta cheese and toasted almonds and serve.

Bringing It:

Keep the watermelon cold as long as possible before serving, and cut up the watermelon and tomatoes as close to serving time as you can. If you need to cut them up at home, hold off on tossing them with the salt until 15 minutes before serving. This looks beautiful on a platter atop the arugula, or in a big bowl with the arugula tossed right in.

 

Get Your Picnic On: Lemony Shrimp and Bulgur Salad

Driver Ed Lesson of the Day:Taking your shrimp show on the road.

Driver’s Ed is taking me down. This is my second round of Driver’s Ed, the five weeks of captivity that will eventually lead to liberty. This time it is in St Johnsbury—again nowhere near where I live—so it involves lots of scheduling and shuttling of hungry kids. It can also involve a boatload of cash if you’re not careful. Whether it’s Driver’s Ed or spring sports turning your car into a food truck, this is the time to get your picnic on.

One week in and I have already overworked my chicken rotation (oven fried chicken totally goes the distance).There is a tomato hater on board so the Panzanella of the Gods is out. I’m also not yet ready to surrender to the quick fix of pasta and meatballs, so I turned to a super easy, substantial and delish salad.

This salad is a brilliant go-to for potlucks and picnics. It stars bulgur, which is sort of my new best friend. The beauty of bulgur is that it requires no cooking AND it’s cheap cheap cheap. Bulgur just needs to soak for a bit and it’s ready to use, making is a nice alternative to overnight oats…but that’s another meal and another conversation. We’re sticking with the picnic message here.

What else makes this salad so great? It’s quick and easy to prep and pack, requires zero to minimal stove time and few ingredients, can be eaten at any temp and does leftovers like a boss. The spinach holds its own on Day 2, so even if you are an avowed leftover salad hater (helloooo entire rest of my family), this might entice you to change your ways.

The recipe calls for cooked shrimp. I usually start with raw, defrosted shrimp, and cook them in a pan with some olive oil and/or butter, and a squeeze of lemon or a splash of vinegar. Do shrimp how you do shrimp. It’s all good.

Grab that bag of shrimp from the freezer, soak some bulgur and make this salad. Then you’ll have all the time in the world to worry about having another driver in the house.

Lemon Bulgur Salad with Shrimp

This came from Food and Wine, but, as you can see in my notes nimbly veers to many variations. If you forget to get radishes you can go with any crisp, thinly sliced vegetable. No pine nuts? Use what you’ve got. Here, I used pecans.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups coarse bulgur
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 3 tablespoons chopped dill
  • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 pound large cooked shrimp, shelled
  • 3 cups baby spinach
  • 4 radishes (or another crisp veggie), thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons pine nuts (or nuts/seeds of choice)
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Method:

  1. In a bowl, cover the bulgur with warm tap water. Let stand until the grains are tender, about 2 hours. Drain the bulgur well. (If needed, speed up the process with hot water.)
  1. In a large bowl, whisk the lemon zest with the lemon juice and chopped dill. Whisk in the olive oil. Add the bulgur, shrimp, baby spinach, sliced radishes and pine nuts and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Bringing It

The salad can be refrigerated for up to 1 day. Add the spinach, radishes and pine nuts just before serving. (It can also totally be eaten in the parking lot of a Driver’s Ed class, or wherever you can find free parking and wifi. )

 

rosemary walnuts

Spicy Rosemary Maple Nuts

It’s here people. Crunch time. This is your week to bake or cook your way out of small gift madness.  Let’s review some options: We have, of course, the standby Crackle, and the more grown up Guinness and dark chocolate version. We have easy as pie (crust) cookies and jars of salted caramel cholliesauce or honey thyme walnuts. And speaking of nuts…we now also have an updated riff on sweet and savory roasted nuts.

Sadly, I have no kill switch when it comes to sweet and spicy roasted nuts. Until now the men in my house have allowed me to make them, give them and sample (hoard) them with no interference. This year, however, when I made these for Thanksgiving they disappeared before they were cool enough to hide. Either the locals’ tastes have evolved or this recipe is just that good.  It calls for fresh rosemary, maple syrup and cayenne—standard issue stuff amongst us nut fans. What takes them over the edge is the amount of rosemary (lots) added both before and after baking. Oh, and flaky sea salt. No secrets here.

They’re sweet but not too sweet, and have enough heat to get your attention but not in a scary way. Best of all, there are no egg whites or other fussy things involved. Yes, those are angels singing. You’ve got to get fresh rosemary—I’m not letting you off the hook there—but you can use a mix of whatever raw nuts strike your fancy. Pictured is the full walnut monty, but a mix with pecans, almonds and/or cashews is divine. Love the one you’re with, baby.

Make a lot so you don’t have to be stingy with your family. It’s so close to Christmas and all.

Spicy Rosemary Maple Nuts

From Kitchen Konfidence

Ingredients

  • 1 pound unsalted mixed nuts (cashews, walnuts and almonds are delish)
  • 1 tablespoon melted butter
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary, divided
  • 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 2 teaspoons flaky sea salt or kosher salt, plus more to taste

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, toss mixed nuts with melted butter and maple syrup. Add 2 tablespoons chopped rosemary, dark brown sugar, cayenne pepper and 2 teaspoons flaky sea salt, mixing until the nuts are well coated . Spread nuts out onto a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake until glazed and golden (about 18 – 20 minutes), stirring twice during the cooking process.*
  2. As soon as the nuts come out of the oven, season with an additional 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary, and flaky sea salt to taste (I added an additional 3/4 teaspoon). Serve warm immediately or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Notes

  • Set the timer and If your oven runs hot, be sure to check the nuts a bit early. Nuts can turn on you and go from golden to bitter if you ignore them.

Up next: What if you find out Santa is gluten free….and you only have access to a mini mart? Got ya covered.

nuts-n-stuff

 

 

Of Empty Nests and Butternut Squash

 

You might be an empty nester if:

  • You no longer park near the cart collection stands at the grocery store.
  • You buy milk in half gallons, then quarts, and still wonder if it’s gone bad.
  • You put everything you can imagine needing into your cart and it still costs less than $50.
  • Your ice cream has freezer burn.
  • You actually pay attention to special diets, and try to accommodate them.

This last point is what today’s post is about. Well, that and butternut squash, my food champion of fall. (Let’s remember squash on toast, sugar and spice soup and Halloween Soup and on and on in the butternut/kabocha hall of fame.) The empty nest is suddenly available for visitors, which is awesome, and they bring with them special diets. At one point recently three guests joked that one was gluten free, one was sugar free and one was calorie free. Guest Number 4 was Vegan. This all worked because a: They all had a sense of humor and adventure, and b: I had time to care (see above).

In my quest as a Vegan sympathizer I’ve tried a lot of things recently. I’ve tried to make both cheese and pizza crust out of cauliflower. No and no. I’ve made Reuben sandwiches out of seitan, a thousand times NO. I’ve also found some reasonably good stuff like grain-free carrot bread, and mayonnaise made with chickpeas. And, with much inspiration from Minimalist Baker and other sites, I’ve made some unbelievable stuff, like butternut squash pizza, the key ingredients of which I share below.

It’s been a fun experiment, and I like being able to find things that can broaden my own food horizons and make people on special diets happy. That said, life is about finding the right balance. When I asked my husband if he was game to try black bean sweet potato burgers for dinner, he merely went to the freezer, removed a steak and thunked it on the counter. Know your audience, people, and enjoy whoever is in your nest.

Butternut Squash Sauce

From the Minimalist Baker, with amounts adjusted

butt-pizza2

Also makes a mean pizzadilla, on a corn tortilla procured by the Vegan for the gluten-free girl.

Ingredients

For every cup of cubed butternut squash you will need:

  • 2 tsp olive oil ( 1 tsp oil for roasting and another tsp for adding to the sauce)
  • 1 garlic clove, whole, skin removed
  • 1 tsp maple syrup
  • a pinch of salt and pepper.

Keep in mind 1 Tbsp is 3 tsp. Sooooo, math whiz that I am, for 3 cups squash you will need 1 Tbsp of oil for roasting, and another Tbsp oil to add to the sauce, and 1 Tbsp maple syrup. A baking sheet easily holds 4 cups, so amp up ingredients if you’ve got the squash.

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and position a rack in the middle of the oven.

Add cubed butternut squash and peeled garlic cloves to a baking sheet and drizzle with half total olive oil and a pinch each salt and pepper. Toss to combine.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until all squash is fork tender.

Transfer squash and garlic to a blender or food processor with remaining olive oil and maple syrup. Purée until creamy and smooth, adding more olive oil or a touch of water if it’s too thick. The consistency should be creamy and spreadable (not pourable). Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Use sauce as you would pizza sauce, topping it with your desired cheese and toppings and baking the pizza at 425. Make a great Pizzadilla as well, as evidenced on the fine corn tortilla pictured above.

fall-food

Old fall favorites and some new ones

Vegan Parmesan Cheese

Also from Minimalist Baker

This is surprisingly good. As with any imposters, better to think of it as its own thing. (I’m looking at you, black bean “brownies”). It’s sort of a weird craving now. Like I needed another.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup (90 g) raw cashews (try raw slivered almonds or brazil nuts too)
  • 3 Tbsp (9 g) nutritional yeast
  • 3/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Method

Add all ingredients to a food processor and mix/pulse until a fine meal is achieved. Store in the refrigerator to keep fresh. Lasts for several weeks.

But that’s not all! Some bonus fall accessories:

Tahini Miso Sauce

If you don’t have miso in your fridge, do yourself a favor and get some. Merely figuring out how to use it up you will take you on a flavor adventure. Toss this sauce with pretty much anything roasted, but especially cauliflower, brussels sprouts, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, etc, etc.

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp. tahini
  • 1 Tbsp. white miso
  • 2 tsp. red wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp maple syrup
  • optional: grated fresh ginger, pinch of red pepper flakes, splash of Tamari. Do experiment here!

Whisk or stir all ingredients, adding enough water, a spoonful at a time, to make a smooth sauce.

Fried Sage Leaves

Put them on anything for fall goodness

Ingredients:

  • Olive oil
  • Fresh sage leaves, twice as much as you think you want
  • Coarse salt

Method:

Heat oil in a pan. Fry sage leaves 6 or so at a time until crisp. Remove to a paper towel with slotted spoon and sprinkle with salt. Repeat until you have enough to actually share with others.

sage-coffee

Fried sage next to the very best Vitamin C!

 

 

California Dreamin’: Pickled Grapes and other Weird Things

Well hello fall! I’m not sure how we got from frosé season to apple season so fast, but here we are. Have we all fit an unreasonable amount of fresh corn and tomatoes into our diets these past few weeks? And rescued every last watermelon from the cardboard bins? If so, good job. If not, there’s still time…but barely!

I’m just back from a long trip to Cali, and it of course involved lots of weird food. Why even go to California if you’re not going to dive all in? My weird food fest got rolling at Jack London Square in Oakland, first at a vegetarian restaurant with a mushroom pecan pate that still haunts me in the best way, and then at an event called Eat Real. Very groovy indeed. Super tart, super strong Red Branch hard cherry cider kicked it off. Fabulous street eats ensued, including sesame peanut zucchini salad with furikake…Damn! So good and so fun to say. The miso sesame muffin from Berkeley’s own Sam’s Patisserie wrapped it all up with an oddly addictive bow.

From there I went south, for pink pepperberry gin and tonics in Santa Monica, Tuna poke and tamales in Pasadena, and then—because you’ve got to be on your A game of weirdness in Topanga—rosemary-brined grapes and basil pickled cantaloupe.

Today, I’m bringing you the grapes, because they are stupid easy and crazy good. Plus, they are red and green and would be a perfect offering for any holiday feast. Make them now, try them in a week or so, and if you like them you’ll have plenty of time to go into production. So, let’s not be sad as we let summer and linen and the quest for perfect toenail color drift away. There are apples to be eaten, pies to be baked and ciders of all potencies to be quaffed.

This comes straight from the Wall St. Journal food section, which is awesome. Read the article for other pickled fruit recipes, including cantaloupe. And if there’s a deal on grapes just make a ton. As the article instructs, their flavors improve after about a week, and they’ll keep in the fridge for months… unless I come over.

Pickled Grapes

Adapted from “The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern” by Ted and Matt Lee

Active time: 15 minutes Total time: 45 minutes Makes: 1 pint

  • 2 cups seedless red and/or green grapes (about 10 ounces)
  • ¾ cup distilled white or white wine vinegar
  • ¾ cup water
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 small cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
  • Leaves from 1 (2-inch) sprig rosemary
  • ⅛ teaspoon dried red chili flakes
  1. Pack grapes into a glass jar or airtight plastic container. Pour vinegar and water into a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add salt, sugar, garlic, rosemary and chili flakes. Bring to a simmer and cook 1 minute.
  2. Remove pan from heat and pour brine over grapes to fill container. Strain remaining brine into a measuring cup (you should have a little less than ½ cup left over) and reserve for making butter lettuce salad with pickled grapes, toasted pecans and soft goat cheese (recipe below). Transfer any garlic, rosemary and chili flakes remaining in strainer to container with grapes.
  3. Cover container tightly, shake to distribute seasonings, uncover and let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Cover again, and transfer container to refrigerator to chill further, about 15 minutes more.

 

 

Frosé and Frosecco: Summer’s Coolest Celebs

 

You say frosé, I say "Be right over!"

You say frosé, I say “Be right over!”

It’s been called the summer of Frosé, the “it” drink of summer, even the “God of summer.” Suffice to say, Frosé is a thing. At first I resisted jumping on the Frosé bicyclette. We are, after all, no stranger to the slushy drink rodeo. Plus, I learned the hard way that there is significant recovery involved after an entire summer quenching one’s thirst with things like watermelon sangria. All that said, I also have obligations to the Bring It devoted, so at my cousin D’s urging I took the plunge into trying, tweaking and bringing Frosé. While I was at it, I decided to try the same method with the beverage mascot of brunch, Prosecco, subbing peaches for strawberries to get the Bellini effect.

I’m happy to say the experiment was a grand success and I can bring you not one but two fun, fabulous, delicious summer drinks that can be made and transported in large quantities with little effort. Cue the late summer victory dance here.

The premise is simple: frozen rosé or prosecco, emboldened with fresh fruit-infused syrup then sweetness-balanced with fresh lemon juice. Some versions add more complicated mixers or liqueurs and even fresh herbs. I’m all for experimentation, but there’s not a thing wrong (and a whole lot right) with the basic version.

I started with this one in Bon Appetit, added a splash of vodka to keep it loose, and then slackerized it by eliminating pretty much every step beyond dumping it in the container. This is because summer entertaining at the beach, the lake or even the patio is ideally a “no host” experience. As in no host needed to get yourself a damn drink.

This is very easily scaled up, based on the size of your container. My two vintage yard sale gallon-plus Tupperware beverage containers hold 5 bottles of wine so I used 4 bottles in each to make room for the other ingredients and freezing expansion. When finished they pop right into a cooler, doing double duty as ice packs, and are ready for action at your destination.

Use the leftover fruit in smoothies, over yogurt and ice cream, or stirred with cubed watermelon and fresh mint into a batch of limeade for the world’s easiest aqua fresca. Kids and your wiser, sober friends, will worship you for this.

Here, my pretties, is your date for hot the summer nights ahead:

Frosé and Frosecco

Servings: Makes 4–6

Ingredients:

  • 1 750 ml bottle hearty, bold rosé (such as a Pinot Noir or Merlot rosé) or Prosecco
  • ¼ cup vodka (optional but helps keep it a little looser and sassier)
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 8 ounces strawberries, hulled, quartered (or peaches, raspberries, based on flavor and color preference)
  • 2½ ounces fresh lemon juice

Note: Here are at Bring It central, we’re pretty much done after Step 2. There is no blender involved. The cooled syrup goes right into the semi frozen Rosé or Prosecco and into the freezer. Extra points if you stir it and scrape it with a big spoon every few hours while it is freezing.

Preparation

  • Pour rosé into a 13×9″ pan (or, a transportable Tupperware/beverage container of choice) and freeze until almost solid (it won’t completely solidify due to the alcohol), at least 6 hours. Allow longer if working with multiple bottles.
  • Meanwhile, bring sugar and ½ cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan; cook, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Add strawberries, remove from heat, and let sit 30 minutes to infuse syrup with strawberry flavor. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl (do not press on solids); cover and chill until cold, about 30 minutes. (Reserve still-delicious berries for another use.)
  • Scrape rosé into a blender. Add lemon juice, 3½ ounces strawberry syrup, and 1 cup crushed ice and purée until smooth. Transfer blender jar to freezer and freeze until frosé is thickened (aim for milkshake consistency), 25–35 minutes.
  • Blend again until frosé is slushy. Divide among glasses.

Bringing It:

Transport the entire container in a cooler, using it to cool your other offerings.  At your destination, pull out the container, stir or scrape frosé/frosecco to a uniform consistency and pour into glasses. You might need a spoon at first, but a hot summer day will soon take care of that!

 

Watermelon 911

We’ve all been there. It’s the height of summer and you get a watermelon every time you go by the big bin of them in the store because it just seems like the right thing to do. You can get ambitious and whirl it into watermelon gazpacho or mix up some watermelon sangria or just cut it in cubes for snacks. Inevitably you reach the point where a watermelon hangs around a tad too long so you give it precious fridge space. And then by some crazy plot twist you end up with another watermelon. You’ve got yourself a watermelon emergency. What do you do?

Well you start drinking of course. And you drink watermelon juice. In the name of research I watched nearly all of a six minute video on making watermelon juice until I realized it was just an excuse for people to watch a hot yoga instructor with expressive hands talk breathily about her “watermelon secret.” I felt so violated. There is no secret here—just throw watermelon chunks in a blender and press the button. I should have used my time to watch this video, inspired by a facebook find from Sister B:

 

 

In honor of Sister A, I wanted to put my watermelon juice to good use by making a big batch of cocktails, but the week was young. Soooo, with inspiration from Sandy’s freezer dacquiris I froze the whole batch in my brilliant rectangular Tupperware pitcher. Now, my fridge has been freed, I’m still stone sober, and I’m ready for a weekend expedition without needing to find ice packs for the cooler. Boom!

A few details, as ever. This drink, inspired by Food52’s  Boozy Watermelon Lemonade, relies on rosemary simple syrup for sweetness. It’s well worth your time to make up batches of simple syrup, with various flavorings (mint, rosemary, citrus, peppercorns, etc, etc) and have them on hand to fancy up everything from iced tea and plain old seltzer to your firewater of choice. Inspired by my favorite Aveda shampoo, I added some mint to my rosemary syrup as it steeped because, why not?

This is an excellent non-alcoholic drink as well, but don’t freeze it without the booze or you’ll have one huge ice cube. I made this drink with gin because it has that little edge to it. But feel free to use vodka or whatever feels right to you. And finally, this recipe is easily scaled up or down, so if you’re on a date just change cups to ounces.

Now let’s get mixing. The weekend’s a comin’ and you need to free up that fridge for bacon and burrata!

Watermelon Rosemary Lemonade

Serves lots

Ingredients:

  • 5 cups watermelon juice *
  • I ½ cups rosemary simple syrup **
  • 1 ½ cup lemon juice, lime juice or any combo of the two, fresh squeezed (or use that frozen minute maid juice I won’t tell!)
  • 1 ½ cups seltzer
  • 3 cups gin

 Method:

Combine first four ingredients and stir well. Pour the mixture into a large pitcher. Add gin if using. Stir to combine. Serve over ice in jars garnished with a rosemary sprig or fresh mint or both. If freezing this for later, do not add seltzer and allow to freeze at least 8 hours and up to a day. Remove from freezer and stir/scrape it into Slurpee form. As it thaws it will get easier to pour. If there are leftovers just refreeze them. 

*To make Watermelon Juice (no thanks to Yoga woman)

Chunk up a watermelon and puree it in a blender in batches. Pour juice through strainer (if desired, and definitely if freezing) and into a wide bowl. Save yourself sticky anguish and do this over the sink. Transfer to a pourable container if not using it right away.

** To make Rosemary Simple Syrup (thanks to the Kitch’n)

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 4 fresh rosemary sprigs

Method:

Stir together first 3 ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, and boil 1 minute or until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat, and let stand 30 minutes. Pour liquid through a wire-mesh strainer into a cruet or airtight container, discarding rosemary sprigs. Cover and chill 4 hours. Garnish, if desired. Syrup may be stored in refrigerator up to 1 month.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Beet Caviar—for the No Roe Gourmet

 

beet-caviar

Meaty, beety, sorta sweety. Keep some of this in your fridge to fancy up any toast or cracker.

Yes, summer should be about melons and berries and fruity deliciousness. But let’s have a moment with beets, shall we? They are hearty but also virtuous, sneakily sweet without being considered dessert. Put them with a few other secret ingredients (like dates, walnuts, and a dollop of creme fraiche) and they are downright decadent. Speaking of secret ingredients, a note here on the booze: When using bourbon I went a little overboard once and it was overpowering. Stick with the 2 Tbsp. And if you’re not into booze, try using some good apple cider instead.

Roast a load of beets, however you like to do them, and keep them in the fridge for this, or easy deconstructed salads, or beet hummus or pretty smoothies. And hang in there—fruity summer goodness is coming at you soon…I promise!

Beet Caviar

Lifted from 101 Cookbooks and adapted from The Eastern and Central European Kitchen: Contemporary and Classic recipes by Silvena Rowe (2007).

Prep time: 5 min – Cook time: 60 min

If you have bourbon or vodka on hand, you can use one of those in place of the cognac.

Ingredients:

  • 4 medium beets, washed and trimmed
  • 5 plump dates, pitted and chopped
  • 2 tablespoons cognac (bourbon, or vodka)
  • 4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice, plus more to taste
  • 1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts
  • 3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
  • 3 tablespoons creme fraiche, plain yogurt, or sour cream
  • lots of freshly chopped chives

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400F with a rack in the center. Puncture the beets with a fork a few times, and roast for an hour, or until the beets are completely tender when you test by cutting into the center with a knife.

In the meantime, gently heat the cognac in a small saucepan. Place the dates in a glass bowl, and, when just hot, pour the alcohol over the dates. Jostle around a bit, and soak for at least 10 minutes.

When the beets are cooked and cool enough to peel, remove the skins and chop into cubes. Place in a food processor with the dates, cognac, and garlic. Puree until the texture is to your liking – I left a bit of texture here, but you can go smoother if you prefer.

Transfer to a serving bowl before adding the lemon juice, walnuts, and salt. Taste, and adjust the seasoning if needed. Serve swirled with the creme fraiche* (or on a creamy little mattress of it), and finished with chives.

Serves 6.

*buy creme fraiche, or make your own by one of these two methods, depending on what you have on hand:

Whisk together equal parts heavy cream and sour cream. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let stand in the kitchen or other reasonably warm spot overnight, or until thickened. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. The tart flavor will continue to develop as the creme fraiche sits in the refrigerator.

or…Mix one cup of room temperature heavy or whipping cream with two tablespoons of butter milk in a glass jar and cover. Let it stand at room temperature for 8 to 24 hours, or until it thickens. Stir well and refrigerate for up to two weeks.

Love, and a Side of Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

a few of the best friends in the world. Way better looking than meatballs in the sun.

A few of the best friends in the world. Way better looking than meatballs.

This is about meatballs, but it’s not really about meatballs. It’s about friends and family and communities and about the times that remind you how much you love all of the above. Those times are called parties.

I’m on spring break, which is why we’ve sort of lost touch (It’s not you, it’s me.) The anchor of the trip was the party (see happy purple people above) to honor my awesome mama. The whole process of throwing a party in your hometown—especially when you have no definitive vision or time or really any business thinking you can pull it off—is confirmation that Dorothy and her sparkly red shoes really had it right. There’s no place like home.

Friends appeared at just the right time to help me shop, delivered fondue pots, brought drinks and favorite dishes, ship-shaped the house, helped prep, cook, clean and tend each other throughout, took pictures and showed up with their rally caps on. They asked “how can I help?” and when I hesitated they just jumped in and did. The timeliness of the help was downright freaky, as when I was lamenting that I’d failed to order a cake and the phone rang: “Could I prepare a signature dessert to honor your mom?” I’m talking crazy good.

Like I said, this isn’t much about meatballs. BUT for this occasion I needed something easy I could make ahead and then pop in the oven, something that would not require any utensil beyond a toothpick, and something that was worthy of the best friends and family a girl could ever have. These mighty meatballs (poached from Epicurious) delivered in all areas. As a bonus, the leftovers were good the next day, cold and reheated.

Make these and have a party to remind yourself of all the good stuff and good people in your life.

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
  • 1/3 cup Frank’s Red Hot Sauce or any other favorite hot sauce
  • 1 pound ground chicken, preferably thigh meat (turkey works too)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 celery stalk, minced
  • 3/4 cup bread crumbs
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Some kind of Blue cheese dip or dressing

Method:

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Drizzle the vegetable oil into a 9×13-inch baking dish and use your hand to evenly coat the entire surface. Set aside.

Combine the butter and hot sauce in a small saucepan, and cook over low heat, whisking until the butter is melted and fully incorporated. Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool for 10 minutes.

Combine the hot sauce mixture, ground chicken, egg, celery, bread crumbs, and salt in a large mixing bowl and mix by hand until thoroughly incorporated.

Roll the mixture into round, 3/4 -inch balls, making sure to pack the meat firmly. Place the balls in the prepared baking dish, being careful to line them up snugly and in even rows vertically and horizontally to form a grid. The meatballs should be touching one another.

Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are firm and cooked through. A meat thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball should read 165°F.

Allow the meatballs to cool for 5 minutes in the baking dish before serving.

Serve with blue cheese dip for the real buffalo experience

See? I told you. But don’t judge. Just make them. Trust me on this.

See? I told you meatballs aren’t as pretty as friends. But as with friends, don’t judge. Just make them, love them  and be happy.

Party Time Hummus

 

Don't bring that hummus. Bring THIS hummus.

Don’t bring that hummus. Bring THIS hummus.

It’s getting to be party season. And what’s a party without that token tub of hummus with the perfect swirl on top? Yes, it’s healthy, it’s appreciated, it gives you something to do with those mini carrots. But it’s, yawn, hummus. Wake up and smell the chickpeas! You can bring something healthy and easy that also has seasonal flair and cha-cha. Bust out the roasted beet or pumpkin hummus for a totally different vibe—hot pink, vibrant orange and totally delish.

The beauty of making these together is that you roast the garlic in olive oil and then use both in both recipes. No need to measure. Just roast a whole load of garlic because when is it ever a bad thing to have roasted garlic and garlic flavored oil on hand in the fridge? Yeah. Rhymes with never. You’ve got your base for awesome salad dressings, crazy good roasted vegetables, a drizzle for soup, dipping oil for bread, etc etc etc.

Now, I happened to have roasted squash and roasted beets begging to be used up so I was going to make up a batch of each of these. But somehow my pantry only coughed up one can of chickpeas. Stranger still is that I had six cans of sliced beets. How does that happen? Rest assured a recipe for canned beets is on the horizon. Given the situation I made a half batch of each hummus which is not a bad tactic. Note (with joy) that the pumpkin/squash hummus does not involve tahini, which is handy if you ran out of your stash or if having another expensive tub of nut butter is going to put you over the edge. You can use canned pumpkin if that’s what you’ve got, and as soon as I get more chickpeas I’m going to try using canned beets as well. Stay tuned!

The final thing you need to know before embarking on this food processor adventure is that hummus is not an exact science. Get the basic ingredients and then tweak as desired. I always put in extra lemon and (when nobody’s looking) salt. We’re making this stuff from scratch fergawdssake, so just think about how much crap we are NOT putting in there. A scootch more kosher salt isn’t going to hurt.

Pumpkin Rosemary Hummus

Adapted from Pinch of Yum

If you use kabocha squash it will be a little sweeter and a little thicker so you may need to add some warm water at the end to achieve your ideal texture.

Ingredients

1-2 cloves roasted garlic (see #1)
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp water
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2/3 cup pumpkin puree (or hint hint, kabocha/butternut squash puree)
1 Tbsp maple syrup or honey
squeeze or more of fresh lemon (optional)
1/2 tsp finely minced fresh rosemary (more to taste)
salt to taste

Method

  1. To roast the garlic, simmer the peeled cloves in a small saucepan with olive oil for 15-20 minutes over low/medium heat. See note above and make more if you can.
  2. Puree all ingredients except rosemary in a blender or food processor until smooth. Add more oil or water as needed. Stir in the rosemary at the very end.
  3. Serve with warm naan, apple slices, crackers, carrots, wheat toast, roasted vegetables, pita bread, and/or anything.

Roasted Beet Hummus

From Minimalist Baker

Ingredients

1 small roasted beet
1 15 oz. can (1 3/4 cup) cooked chickpeas, mostly drained
zest of one large lemon
juice of half a large lemon
healthy pinch salt and black pepper
2 large cloves roasted garlic, minced or mashed (see garlic step in previous recipe)
2 heaping Tbsp tahini
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Method

  1. Roast Beets (see below)
  2. Once your beet is cooled and peeled, quarter it and place it in your food processor. Blend until only small bits remain.
  3. Add remaining ingredients except for olive oil and blend until smooth.
  4. Drizzle in olive oil as the hummus is mixing.
  5. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding more salt, lemon juice or olive oil if needed. If it’s too thick, add a bit of warm water.
  6. Will keep in the fridge for up to a week.

Roasting beets: Preheat oven to 375°F, remove the stem and most of the root from your beets, and scrub and wash them underwater until clean. Drizzle on a bit of canola oil, wrap tightly, and roast for one hour or until a knife inserted falls out without resistance. They should be tender. Cool to room temperature.

Tomato Jam, co-starring sugar and spice

spicy tomato jam

Tomato jam and all the fixin’s for an alfresco summer feast. As ever, bacon helps.

Oh yeah. We’re jamming on tomatoes because it’s the ingredient of the month. It’s a little early for many of you New England gardeners, but pretty soon we’ll be in full tomato overload, so I’m getting you prepped. Tomato cheddar pie, featuring big honkin’ full-sized red bombers will be coming at you soon. But let’s ease into tomato season, and give it some sass while we’re at it, with this sweet and spicy number.

 Let me first say that there’s nothing quite as perfect as a fresh tomato from the garden, so it feels a little sacrilegious to futz with fresh tomatoes in high summer. BUT, sometimes we go overboard, and just have too much of a good thing. When that happens, make this jam.

It adds some zing to a BLT (along with crunchy iceberg or romaine, not shmancy wispy greens) or any caprese type appetizer with basil and fresh mozzarella or my new best friend, burrata (thank you Jeanie!). Use it with a creamy base in bruschetta deconstructed, as an element of lunch deconstructed, put it in quesadillas, on pizza, over a poached egg or my favorite way, on a lusty piece of That’s Life Bread spread with avocado. It’s sort of like grown up ketchup, and you can dial the sweet and spice up or down as you see fit.

Ok, here we go.

 Ingredients

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 pounds cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
3 Tbsp packed dark brown sugar
3 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
1 small shallot, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp red pepper flakes (or some finely diced jalapeno for extra cha-cha)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add tomatoes, brown sugar, garlic, shallot, vinegar, Worcestershire, red pepper flakes or jalapenos, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and cook, stirring until tomatoes are softened and lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Transfer to bowl and let cool to room temperature.

Bring It!

Bring this in your mason jar of choice, is a brilliant addition to any picnic, and an excellent contribution to any summer gathering, peace offering or gift basket.

Strawberry Mania

Summer's strawberry bounty

Summer’s strawberry bounty in its many forms.

Strawberry season is getting off to a slow start in our corner of the world, but now the big grocery stores are full of them and with a little sunshine the farmers markets will soon be exploding with the good stuff. Of course, you’re not going to go wrong by simply washing them and letting everyone inhale them by the pint, but let’s go over just a few easy, yummy ways to use them.

Ready? Here we go…

First, a word on hulling strawberries. The frugal among us get torqued at wasting half a strawberry because SOME PEOPLE grab the stem, take one big bite and leave the rest for the compost bin. So we the frugal rush to hull all the strawberries and thereby enable maximum use of the fruit. The best way to do this of course is with a strawberry huller, and if you have one you are my culinary niche tool hero. If you don’t, here are two solutions to maximize each berry:

First, the most basic and humble vegetable peeler has a built in “potato-eye remover” at the end, which can just as well take on strawberry stems. You will quickly discover that you can’t manhandle a strawberry like a potato, but get as close as you can to the stem, plunge the tip of the peeler right in and dig out the stem. It takes about three strawberries to master this.

If that still sounds too much labor go ahead and chop off the tops, then use them to make your own shmancy strawberry water that will make you the envy of any yoga class:

Strawberry Water

After rinsing your strawberries, slice off their tops and dump them into a large jar. Fill it with water, let it sit for an hour or so and… Voila! Strawberry infused water. Drink deeply. Feel beautiful. Namaste

Worlds Easiest Strawberry Dessert

Ingredients:

  • Strawberries
  • Sour cream
  • Brown sugar

Method:

Grab a strawberry. Dip it first in sour cream, then in brown sugar. Eat. Repeat.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote:

This comes from the Bitten Word with inspiration from farmer Carrie at their CSA It is certified easy, very quick, kid pleasing, totally portable AND a great way to use up the rhubarb that might be taking over your garden. The guys at BW advise us not to get hung up on the amounts listed in this recipe. Depending on the amount of rhubarb and strawberries you have, the method is easily adapted. 

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups rhubarb, sliced into half-inch pieces
  • 1 cup strawberries, capped and halved (if using larger strawberries, you can quarter them)
  • 1/4 cup sugar

Method:

Place rhubarb in a saucepan. Sprinkle with sugar. Cook over medium heat until rhubarb begins to soften and fall apart (20 minutes). In the last 5 minutes of cooking, toss in the strawberries. Add a little lemon zest at this point for extra credit.

Remove from heat and let cool. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Serve over good vanilla ice cream or yogurt, top with whipped cream or just put it on a spoon.

 Some Savory and Sweet Goodness

Balsamic vinegar and strawberries are a classic Italian-inspired combination. They can be served as a dessert, like in Ina Garten’s recipe below, in a salad with goat cheese and peppery greens (pepper is key to the strawberry/balsamic alchemy) like arugula or as an appetizer like on the bruschetta further down. I’ve even seen them on a pizza with bacon, but we’re not going there today.

 Balsamic Strawberries à la Ina Garten

 As with the compote, no need to be too particular on quantities. Just aim to get the proportions close:

Ingredients:

  • 4 pints (8 cups) fresh strawberries, sliced thick
  • 5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 pints vanilla ice cream, for serving
  • Freshly grated lemon zest, for serving

Method:

Thirty minutes to an hour before serving, combine the strawberries, balsamic vinegar, sugar, and pepper in a bowl. Set aside at room temperature.

Place a serving of the strawberries in a bowl with a scoop of ice cream or dollop of whipped cream on top and dust lightly with lemon zest.

Strawberry Goat Cheese Bruschetta

These are gooooood, kid approved and somewhat impressive to guests. Substitute whipped cream cheese if you’re not a goat cheese fan, but do try the goat cheese on your picky eaters. You might be surprised. This recipe makes 12 big slices which can easily be cut in half for easier eating. Remember the napkins!

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 12 slices Italian bread
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 pound strawberries, washed and diced
  • 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, plus more for serving
  • 1 cup goat cheese, room temperature
  • salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

 Method:

  1. Heat vinegar in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Simmer until reduced by about half, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
  2. Prepare a grill for high heat. Place bread slices on a foil-lined baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. (alternatively, assemble bread in a baking sheet, brush slices with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and bake at 350 until toasted to your liking.)
  3. Combine strawberries and thyme in a small bowl and set aside. (If your strawberries aren’t farm fresh and super sweet sprinkle them with a little sugar when nobody is looking.)
  4. Grill bread on the preheated grill until browned, about 3 minutes per side.
  5. Spread goat cheese on toasted bread. Add black pepper, salt, and reduced vinegar to the strawberry mixture. Spoon over the goat cheese topped bruschetta. Garnish with additional thyme.

These are easy to bring if you pre-bake/toast the bread. Simply bring goat cheese, strawberry/balsamic mixture and bread in separate containers and assemble on site.

Now let’s hope the sun shines on those strawberry fields so the berry fest can begin!

 

 

 

Mango Jicama Guacamole

Mango jicama guacamole

Let the Sunset fantasy begin.

We’re past Memorial Day, so you can all bust out the linen togs and start working on your guacamole recipes. You know how it rolls from here on out: Casual parties start to happen. You want to bring something that you know will be appreciated and eaten, that is homemade but not terribly taxing and that can probably be pulled off without a recipe. As long as you can lay your hands on ripe avocados you simply can’t go wrong with a good guacamole.

And you can go really right with this guacamole, because it has jicama AND mangoes, both of which (along with avocados) make me fantasize that I am actually in a Sunset magazine photo shoot. You’ve got crisp, sweet and creamy mixed in with spicy, tangy and juicy. And then you add cilantro, which makes everyone but my sister happy. And since it’s almost her birthday we can all just go ahead and substitute fresh mint for the cilantro if we want. Because it’s guacamole…and the first rule of guacamole is to improvise at will! No adobo? No problemo! Just sprinkle in some chile powder. It’ll all work out, even without a drop of tequila.

To show bicoastal reverence of a good guacamole, this recipe comes from Meracadito Cantina in Manhattan via Food and Wine, and with many thanks to our friendly local Hannaford’s where jicama is a totally reasonable $1.99/lb and where they double your refund if it turns out to be no bueno (see note below).

Ingredients

3 Hass avocados, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 medium plum tomato, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/2 small onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
3/4 cup finely diced ripe mango
1/2 cup finely diced peeled jicama
3 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro
1 medium chipotle in adobo, minced (1 tablespoon)
1 small jalapeño, seeded and minced
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt
Tortilla chips, for serving

Method

In a large bowl, gently stir the avocados with the tomato, onion, mango, jicama, cilantro, chipotle, jalapeño and lemon juice until well mixed but still slightly chunky. Season with salt and serve with tortilla chips. Olé!

Note: Whereas in California the jicama roots make a quick jaunt from Mexico, they travel much further to get to our stores in New England. You most often find them heavily waxed…Brazilian super model before the SI swimsuit shoot waxed. We’re talking a thick coat that can prevent you from seeing the jicama’s true self.  Look for jicama with no soft spots and no oozing juices (never an excellent sign of health on anything). It should be firm, crisp and mild tasting when peeled. You won’t need it all for this recipe so slice up the rest, add some lime juice and store it in the fridge for snacks… or the next party. 

Ollie’s Trip Salsa

Ollies trip salsa

La Salsa. Prepared and photographed by the chef. #nofilter, #yeah…right!

Happy Ocho de Mayo! I know, I know. You thought I forgot about the annual excuse for midday margaritas. Not on your life! I merely saved it for a day more conducive to celebrating. God knows there are enough margarita recipes floating around so I’m giving you a healthier gift. In fact, I’m not even the one giving it—my son Oliver is.

Two summers ago we sent the lad into the wilderness in a canoe for three weeks, and he came back knowing how to make his own salsa. Better yet, he knew how to make it by a campfire armed with nothing but a cutting board, a can opener and a knife. And the very best part was that he came back loving his homemade salsa. This from a kid, who, though good with roasted vegetables and the occasional carrot, had never previously eaten a raw tomato or pepper. “That was pretty much the beginning of my salsa eating career,” he reflects.

I love this recipe because it is easy and infinitely tweakable for individual tastes. Some of us would add more onion and perhaps jalapeno, or maybe some additional seasonings. Others might get crazy and add mango or even jicama. But this is a great place to start, will be appreciated at any gathering, might just get your kids eating veggies and, if you keep your pantry somewhat stocked, will set you free from store bought salsa forever.

 Ingredients

1 red (or any color) pepper, finely chopped
I large clove garlic, minced
2 cans diced tomatoes (preferable petite diced), lightly drained
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 cup (+/-) Niblets corn (it’s gotta be Niblets I’m told), drained
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp fresh lime juice
2/3 cup cilantro, finely chopped

Method

Mix it all in a bowl. Enjoy it on chips, in burritos or by the spoonful, at home or by the closest campfire.

Note: Chop the vegetables as fine as your patience allows. Our early versions were decidedly large format, but a finer texture gives your awesome salsa more versatility.

 

Balsamic Black Beans

Balsamic black beans

Fiesta- It’s always the right thing to do. And frijoles Italiano are the right thing to bring.

Let’s be honest. It is never too early to prepare for Cinco de Mayo. If you haven’t perfected your margs, your guac, your mango salsa, your chicken enchiladas there’s still some time. But you’ve got to get on it! I’m going to take on the black bean situation for you and solve it the easy way.

Buy yourself a can of Pastene black beans (playing it incognito in the Italian section), turn the can around, and make the recipe that’s always been right there. It’s easy, fresh and the balsamic gives it a zing that makes these beans more abondanza than just plain bueno. Ok, I have no idea if abondanza is even a word, but they used it in an Olive Garden commercial so I’m going with it.

These beans are great as a dip for chips or sturdy veggies, as a filling for quesadillas, as a component of lunch deconstructed, as a topping for huevos or as something to put on your spoon as you stand in front of the fridge craving protein. By the way if you see limes on sale, go long! I hear they are in short supply in Mexico and you’ll be needing lots of those tangy babies in the weeks ahead.

 Ingredients

1 15.5 oz. can black beans
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion
1Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 jar (7 oz. size) roasted red peppers, diced
1/4 cup (or more) chopped celery
salt and pepper to taste
dash of oregano
splash of maple syrup (optional, unless you are in New England, then mandatory)

Method

Saute onion and celery in olive oil until clear. Add roasted peppers and cook for a very short time. Add beans (with liquid), vinegar and seasonings. Simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Pastene black beans

Not so secret Pastene family recipe

Pastene black beans

Black Beauties

 

Love and Lagunitas

Love and Lagunitas

How do we feel about Lagunitas? Here’s a clue!

In honor of Valentine’s Day and the Olympics, we want to give a gold medal shout out to a really cool sport and the really cool company that helps keep them flying. The sport is ski jumping. This year ski jumping is especially exciting because for the first time ever (a mere 90 years after the men started), women ski jumpers are allowed to compete in the Olympics.

In Europe top ski jumpers have rock star status. In this country ski jumpers are rarely featured between Olympics. The sport struggles to find funding for the training needed to fly, oh, a football field plus, nearly straight downhill. That’s where Lagunitas, a groovy craft beer company from Northern California, comes in. As sponsor of the US Ski Jumping Team Lagunitas has become more like family than funder. Since they are in Sochi, cheering on the team, we figure we can do our part by cheering from home, while drinking Lagunitas of course. Today happens to be a snow day here, and a Friday, and Valentine’s Day, and the day the men take to the “large” (read crazy) hill, so it seems like a good time to start.

Let’s be real. Valentine’s Day can be amateur night, sort of like New Years Eve, with a lot of undeliverable hype and expectation. What we need are options that maximize togetherness and minimize contrived, awkward and complicated situations.

Here’s a low investment/high return plan. Grab a six pack of the good stuff (might we suggest Lagunitas, which happens to be extra strength) and anything that looks good for dipping. This can be pretzels, apples, dried fruit, veggies, nuts, crackers, bread, cookies—really anything that you like at the store or have on hand. At home, open one of the beers. Make a super easy beer and cheese sauce. While that is warming up make an even easier chocolate dipping sauce.

At your final destination, or when your guest arrives, assemble the remaining five beers into Olympic ring formation. Get psyched. Arrange dips and dippers in easy reach. Turn on TV. Get cozy on the couch and let the Games—whatever they may be—begin.

Lagunitas IPA Olympic Rings

Take a cold one for the team!

I Love You More Than Beer (and cheese) Sauce

From the “The Beeroness” (Don’t you just love her sight unseen?)

Ingredients

2 Tbsp butter, softened (or melted
2 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 cup beer (use Lagunitas IPA for highest score from judges)
2 cup shredded Cheddar and/or Gouda, do not use pre shredded
1 cup whole milk
Salt and pepper, paprika optional (and tasty).

Method

Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor. Process on high until very well blended, about 5-8 minutes. Transfer contents to a saucepan over medium high heat. Whisk rapidly and continuously until thickened, about 5 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.

Lagunitas cheese dip

Go ahead and get cheesy. It’s all good.

Dip it Good Chocolate Sauce

From Joy the Baker

Ingredients

1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks (ore more)
scant 1 cup heavy cream
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp espresso powder (optional)

Method

Place chocolate chunks, pinch of salt, and espresso powder (if using) in a medium bowl.  In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil.  Pour the heavy cream over the chocolate pieces.  Let rest for 1 minute before whisking.  Whisk until chocolate is completely melted.  They say to serve it warm but it’s good at any temp. This sauce is pretty thin, so it also pours easily over fruit and ice cream.

Chocolate dip

Chocolate dip fantasia. Of course, cookies and ice cream work too.

Note: The potential for extra points abounds here. You can make your own Easiest French Bread Ever to bring to the party, add a round of Snowchis to the mix, or whip up some Cholliesauce for more dipping pleasure. And of course, nobody’s going to object to that box of chocolates that was Plan A!

Bruschetta Deconstructed

toasted-toastsWe’re taking liberties and calling every iteration of tasty stuff delivered on small pieces of toast “bruschetta.” This is of course not a purist approach. Some of my all-time favorites in that family of apps are called “crostini” which is technically grilled bread. And many of the best bruschetta or crostini fixins are just as good on flatbread, pizza crust, tortillas, pita chips, baked mochi or really any other carb vehicle. They’re also good on planks of taro or sweet potatoes or even rolled up in a leaf of romaine for our paleo friends.

But because we don’t want to leave anyone hanging on how to make bruschetta, crostini or whatever you want to call it we are simply offering up a good basic method for making appetizer-worthy toasts, and an illuminating crostini blurb in Bon Appetit to help you avoid common mistakes that threaten to RUIN EVERYTHING, if you are so inclined to have toasts ruin anything in your life.

Ingredients

Take a loaf of Easiest French Bread Ever, or a store bought baguette-like loaf that is not too airy inside. You want to have a solid surface for toppings. Slice thin (1/2″ thick or less), but again remember this bread has a job to do, so it has to have some heft. Arrange as many slices as you can on a baking sheet by fitting them together with Tetrus-like space management. Brush lightly with olive oil and sprinkle some kosher salt over all.

Bake in a 350-400 degree oven until just beginning to brown. Oven temp is not critical, which allows you to bake these up while you are baking other things. Cooking time will vary according to temperature, but at 350 degrees start looking at the toasts after 15 minutes. Cool and use immediately or pack away for later.

Method

Its nice to have pre-made hors d’oeuvres, but sometimes its also nice to allow guest to create their own combinations…especially when you are short on time. If you go the DIY route just present a few pre-made masterpieces as a guide and offer each component with the proper implement.

First Layer: Here you are creating a base of flavor and also a barrier between the toast and toppings that are often steeped in juice or vinegar or something that could turn toast to mush on contact. A spreadable consistency for your base material makes your job easier and allows for build-your-own-options. Fancy, creamy, goat, blue and brie-like cheeses are great, as is plain old cream cheese mixed with herbs, spices, dried fruit or whatever sounds good to you. Whipped lemony feta à la Ina Garten is a good place to start as well.

Second Layer: This is the really good stuff. Pickled figs, tomatoes and fresh herbs, caponata, marinated fruit, citrusy/herb-infused anything. Insert purr sound here. There are so many possibilities, including the ever-popular and oh-so-easy Funitella Bruschetta.

Third Layer: This is all about crunch. Toasted nuts or seeds, a pinch of something salty, fried, candied or otherwise decadent (turn away Sue…pssst–crumbled bacon!) Pull out whatever favorite topper is in your pantry arsenal. Steal an idea from the “pickled fig crostini” and keep a small stash of your favorite toasted nuts, chopped fine then lubed up with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. That’s a worthy topper for pretty much anything, unless you hate nuts, in which case you might want to avoid anything I bring.

Bring it!

Pack the toasts in a good ziploc bag, and bring all other mixtures in their own separate sealed travel containers, or covered serving bowls. Make sure the crispy/crunchy stuff is isolated to maintain its mojo. And don’t forget the serving tray, spreaders, spoons and knives if needed.