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Gluten Free

Beverly Hills Potatoes with Pesto Butter

Beverly Hills Potatoes 10

I’m cooking on The Today show on Wednesday.

I wish I was cool enough to have a witty lead in and build up to the exciting news, but I’m just going to digitally blurt it out:

I’m cooking on The Today Show, in New York, on Wednesday. I’ll be battling it out with two other cooks in The Joyful Cook-off for supreme Healthy One Pot Meal domination, although the big prize is merely bragging rights. With a free trip to New York, and the opportunity to cook on The Today show, I feel like I’ve already won.

Beverly Hills Potatoes_

 

Back to these potatoes, that will forever be known as Beverly Hills potatoes. I went to Bazaar in Beverly Hills with a friend for her birthday a few months ago. The food was beautiful, intricate and far beyond my culinary abilities. Then there were these lovely and delicious miniature potatoes that had been salt roasted, served on tooth picks with a side of pesto butter. It’s a good thing I choose to fall in love with the one thing I could actually duplicate at home, although there were these fantastic Japanese Taco’s I’ll need to stop thinking about because I’ll never be able to figure out how to make those.

Beverly Hills Potatoes 3

 

The hardest thing about this dish is finding these miniature potatoes, although I have seen them in several markets. They are far smaller that the baby red potatoes that you might think of, closer to the size of large grapes. I’ve seen them called "teeny tiny potatoes" and "miniature potatoes," either way, they are really small.

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Now I’m hooked. I’ve served them as a side dish, and also put toothpicks in the and served them as an appetizer.

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And this is what happens when I try to photograph anything while tater is awake. She was laying down the potatoes with toothpicks in them saying, "Potatoes are tired boys."

Beverly Hills Potatoes 6

 

She’s the best.

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Beverly Hills Potatoes with Pesto Butter

Ingredients

  • 1.5 lbs miniature potatoes
  • 1 to 2 cups kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup pesto
  • 2 tbs melted butter

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400.
  2. Wash the potatoes well, prick each one with a fork.
  3. Place potatoes in a loaf pan. Pour salt over potatoes until most of the potatoes are covered.
  4. Roast for 25-35 minutes or until fork tender. Break up the salt crust with a fork, pour into a large bowl or pot, remove the potatoes (insert one tooth pick into each potato if serving as an appetizer).
  5. To make the pesto butter, combine the pesto and melted butter. Serve alongside the potatoes.

Beverly Hills Potatoes 4

 

 

Greekamole: Greek Guacamole

Greekamole: Greek Guacamole

Did I ever tell you about the time I was on a boat halfway between Italy and Greece and had my first Greek salad? I was just out of college, completely broke, and had nearly smuggled myself on board an overnight cruise ship. Although I was supposed to stay on the lower deck, I wandered up to the dinning room, looking for whatever I could afford on my tiny daily food budget. I found these small Greek salads that had all those great flavors found in a Greek salad but with no lettuce. And when you have cucumbers, Kalamata olives, Feta cheese and a lemon vinaigrette, you have no need for any lettuce.

Greekamole: Greek Guacamole

I spent the rest of the night playing "Italian Poker" on the top deck with a father and son from Naples who spoke no English (I, consequently, speak no Italian). Somehow, we managed to communicate, and for hours we played the poker I was familiar with but only used cards ranked 7 and above. They continued to order me those Greek salads, as well as cup after cup of the strongest espresso I have ever had.

I don’t remember parting ways with those two, although I’ll never forget them, but I do remember stumbling off the boat in the wee hours of the morning, in Cofu Greece, rattled by the Espresso Shakes and being handed a shot of Ouzo as I got into port.

Since then I can’t get enough of that magical combination of ingredients. Since you all already know my deep love of the avocado  it was only a matter of time before I made a greek version of guacamole. This was so good I ate the entire bowl for lunch, and then made it again over the weekend.

Greekamole: Greek Guacamole

Greekamole

Ingredients

  • 2 large avocado
  • ¼ cup Greek yogurt
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp pepper
  • ½ tsp chili powder
  • ½ cup cucumber, peeled and chopped
  • ½ cup red onion, chopped
  • 2 large Roma tomatoes, chopped
  • ¼ cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
  • ½ cup feta cheese

Instructions

  1. Add the meat of the avocados, greek yogurt, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and chili powder, mash until well combined.
  2. Stir in the cucumbers, red onion, tomatoes, kalamata olives and feta cheese. Garnish with additional feta cheese if desired.

Sriracha Caramel Corn

 

Sriracha-Caramel-Corn

Sriracha Caramel Corn.

For real.

And it’s everything that you want it to be. It’s so good, in fact, that I made it twice in one day. The second batch was under the guise of recipe testing and getting the heat level right, but really it was because this recipe was designated for the Leftovers Club and the first batch yielded no leftovers. Making it a very disappointing submission, thus another batch was in order. I couldn’t exactly ship Chung-Ah an empty box, so I made a second batch. And ate half of that, too.

It’s that good.

The first batch I used 2 teaspoons Sriracha, and while the heat level was deliciously high, so was that fermented garlic flavor we have all come to know and love in the savory dishes that use the Cock Sauce. On the second batch I lowered the amount to 1/2 teaspoon and added a pinch of cayenne for a kick of heat without the garlicly aftertaste that we don’t really need on our desert plates. This was perfect, the heat was there on the back-end but not overpowering, and the garlic was so subtle, it was hardly noticeable. If you want to Sriracha the hell out of it, be my guest, but I wouldn’t add more than 1 teaspoon.

If you want leftovers, or plan on sharing, make a double batch. Or maybe a triple.

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If you love Sriracha as much as I do, immediately go buy The Sriracha Cookbook and The Veggie Lovers Sriracha Cookbook.

Sriracha Caramel Corn

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup corn kernels (7 cups popped)
  • 1 brown paper lunch bag
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 4 tbs unsalted butter
  • ¼ cup light corn syrup
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ½ to 1 tsp sriracha
  • pinch cayenne

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 250.
  2. Place the corn kernels in a brown paper bag. Fold the top over. Place in the microwave (long side down), microwave on high for 4 minutes. When the popping starts to slow to about one pop per one second, remove from microwave. Measure out 7 cups of popcorn (if there is less than 7 cups, pop additional kernels in the same manner, if there are more than 7 cups, reserve the remaining popped corn for another use)
  3. Spray a large baking pan with butter flavored cooking spray.
  4. Add the corn kernels to the baking sheet in an even layer, place in the oven until the caramel sauce is ready.
  5. Add the brown sugar, butter, light corn syrup and salt to a saucepan over high heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, stop stirring. Allow to boil for 5 minutes, without stirring, or until a dark amber color is reached. Remove from heat, immediately stir in the sriracha and cayenne (use ½ tsp sriracha for a lower heat level and 1 tsp for a higher heat level).
  6. Spray a silicon spatula with cooking spray (except the handle).
  7. Gently pour the caramel sauce over the corn, stirring to coat.
  8. Bake for 20 minutes at 250, stir, and bake for an additional 20 minutes.
  9. Remove from oven and spread evenly onto a sheet of wax paper. Allow to cool, break apart, store in an air-tight container.

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Passover Dessert: Toasted Coconut Pavlova with Cocoa Pudding and Caramel Sauce

Coconut Pavlova with Cocoa Pudding and Caramel Sauce parve_

Do you ever watch Chopped on the Food Network? It’s a food competition that involves a "mystery basket" of food.  The contestants are required to use every item in the basket to come up with the best dish they can. I love Chopped, and always try to think up a dish I would make, if I was in that position with those Mystery Items (think of a dish with: gummy bears, avocados and dried beans!). Culinary challenges to me, are like Scrabble to other people. I love trying to figure out what I can come up with.

When Tori asked me to contribute to her Passover Potluck, it felt a bit like Chopped in reverse, an entire basket of things you can’t use. I was excited for the challenge, and to be back again this year on Tori’s Passover Potluck (to be honest, I was hoping she would ask), but it took me a while, and a few texts to Tori, to get all the Passover Cooking rules down. You can’t use flour, or most grains, no corn, rice or peanuts. You also can’t mix meat and dairy, so if you have meat at dinner, you can’t eat dairy for dessert. I wanted to come up with a dairy free dessert so that anyone could eat it during Passover, I love an inclusive meal. I also wanted it to be great, something that didn’t feel like it would have been better with flour or milk, but something that was great without feeling like it had been created with limitations.

I love Pavlovas, so elegant and pretty, but really simple to make. It also tastes like a gigantic Girl Scout Samoa cookie. It’s gluten free, dairy free and I hope you love it as much as I do.

Get the recipe on Tori’s Site, The Shiksa In The Kitchen!

Happy Passover!

 

Click for the recipe:

Parve Passover Dessert: Toasted Coconut Pavlova with Cocoa Pudding and Caramel Sauce

Coconut Pavlova with Cocoa Pudding and Caramel Sauce parve 2

Skillet Roasted Potatoes with Mushrooms, Caramelized Onions and Parmesan

 

Skillet Roasted Potatoes with Caramelized Onions Parmesan and rosemary_

I fell in love with side dishes during the three years I spent as a vegetarian. When you don’t eat meat, you tend to go into any holiday celebration or dinner party knowing that your meal will be made up of side dishes and you just hope to end up with more than a garden salad and a dinner roll.

Even though I now eat meat, I want hearty side dishes that can be meals all on their own. I still eat vegetarian food regularly (of the 13 recipes I’ve posted this year 11 have been vegetarian and 7 of those have been vegan) and I want the side dishes I serve to be as important and well crafted as the main dish. Vegetables tend to be the star of the side dish, and being a veggie devotee for three years gave me profound respect for what produce can bring to the table. If you’ve never been a vegetarian, and want to challenge yourself in the kitchen, try to go a month without meat. Even if it’s temporary, it’ll grown you as a cook.

This is a recipe that I already have plans to make again. It has an elegant comfort food vibe to it. The edges get a bit crispy, but the middle has a creamy mashed potato feel. Meat eater or not, this can be a meal or a side dish. I really hope you love it as much as I do.

 

Skillet Roasted Potatoes with Caramelized Onions Parmesan and rosemary 2

Skillet Roasted Potatoes with Mushrooms, Caramelized Onions and Parmesan

Ingredients

For the onions:

  • 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 tbs butter
  • 1 tbs olive oil

For the Potatoes:

  • 1 lb red potatoes
  • 1 tbs unsalted butter
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • ½ tsp rosemary, minced
  • ¼ cup parmesan

For the Mushrooms:

  • 8 ounces mushrooms
  • 1 tbs olive oil

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 450.
  2. In a large skillet, melt 1 tbs butter and 1 tbs olive oil. Add the onions and cook over low to medium heat until caramelized and a deep amber color, about 30 minutes. Do not turn the heat too high or the onions will burn.
  3. Slice the potatoes into thin 1/8 inch slices. Melt the butter with the olive oil in a 9-inch cast iron skillet. Swirl the pan to distribute evenly, and pour off into a small bowl.
  4. Cover the skillet with a layer of the potato slices, overlapping them. Brush the potatoes with half of the remaining butter mixture, sprinkle with half of the rosemary, and then with salt and pepper. Layer the remaining potatoes in a second even layer, brush with remaining butter sprinkle with remaining rosemary, then with salt and pepper.
  5. Heat the skillet over moderately high heat until it begins to sizzle, transfer the skillet to the middle of a 450° oven, and bake for 25 minutes, or until golden and the potatoes are tender.
  6. Place the mushrooms on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, toss to coat. Roast mushrooms at 450 until dark and soft, about 10 minutes.
  7. Top potatoes with caramelized onions, mushrooms and Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.Skillet Roasted Potatoes with Caramelized Onions Parmesan and rosemary TS

Perfect Skillet Roasted Potatoes


Perfect Skillet Roasted Potatoes_

Have you ever had one of those "What Would You Want Your Last Meal To Be?" conversations?

I have. Partially because I’m a touch more morbid than most, and partially because I think about food nearly constantly. Also, between food writers, food bloggers and chefs, I hang out with quite a few food people and that tends to dictate the sway of conversation.

Julia Child ate French onion soup as her last meal. James Dean had apple pie and a glass of milk at a road side dinner. JFK ate a pretty typical breakfast of eggs, toast and coffee. John Lennon had a corned beef sandwich. Ernest Hemingway had a steak and potatoes.

(*have I totally creeped you out with death talk on my potatoes post?)

Really, what that conversation comes down to is what food could you not bear never eating again. For most people, that’s comfort food, or meals that remind them of childhood. To be honest with you, I can’t really decide on an answer to the super-morbid Last Meal question. But, I can tell you I would want potatoes to be a part of the meal.

I’ve been making these potatoes for a while. Really simple, easy and always turn out great, without much effort. They also just so happen to be vegan and gluten free, how great is that?

Last meal or not, I’ll be having these again soon.

Perfect Skillet Roasted Potatoes 3

Perfect Skillet Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients

  • 1.5 lb baby red potatoes, cut into quarters
  • 3 tbs olive oil
  • 1 tsp sea salt, or kosher salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375.
  2. Add olive oil to cast iron skillet over medium high heat until hot but not smoking.
  3. Add the potatoes, one of the cut sides down.
  4. Cook until browned, about 3 minutes.
  5. Push each piece of potato over, toggling it onto its un-browned cut side.
  6. Cook for one minute, transfer skillet to the oven and cook for 15 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.

 

Perfect Skillet Roasted Potatoes 2

Mirin Caramelized Brussels Sprouts

I’ve reached a goal of sorts, and I wanted to tell you about it. When I started this blog in 2011, it was as a direct response of having to put my 4 month old in the arms of stranger, turn around, and drive to an office.

Tater 6 months I love my job, and I love my babysitter, she has become a part of the family. But at the time, I didn’t know her, she was just the woman who had babysat my friends daughters. If you’ve never had to leave your baby,  it might not sound that terrible, but at the time it felt like a part of my heart was being torn out.

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Every morning when I left her I cried, and my babysitter understood. She has four grown boys of her own, and started watching babies as a way to stay home with them, "I’d worry about you if this didn’t bother you. It’s OK, everyone cries when they leave their babies," She had told me. Somehow, that made me feel better.

I decided to try and find a way to work part time, in order to stay home with her more and maybe, when I decided to have Baby #2, I would be able to stay home longer. For some reason, a blog was my brilliant idea. It wasn’t until after I had fallen in love with blogging that I discovered that the average blogger only makes $40 a month. Although I am lucky enough to make much more than that off my ad revenue, it isn’t enough to quit my job. Even though the income isn’t what I hope, my complete love and utter obsession with food writing, blogging and recipe develop makes up for that. But I needed other ways to make money. Little by little, small job by small job, I’ve been able to nickel and dime my way to part time.

I’m part time!

I only have to go to an office 3 days a week. It really is amazing. One of the ways I’ve been able to do this is freelance writing. I wrote an article last year for Honest Cooking that I was so proud of, I just have to tell you about it. More than 100 food writers and bloggers pitched for only 10 slots in the new Honest Cooking iPad magazine and I was given one of those spots. I was so grateful, but once I got the green light, I froze. Could I do it? Could I really write something I was proud of, that could stand up to the work of real life food writers? Writing this article I was able to prove to myself that I am able to do this. It was a turning point for me, proof that I really can do this. I can move forward in this world I so badly want to be part of. And next time, maybe I wont have to put my infant in the arms of a stranger.

The article I pitched was on a non-profit that I’m a bit starry eyed over. Homeboy industries helps Los Angeles gang members get out of gangs by turning them into chefs and bakers. It’s an incredible organization and for so many people, the only way out of gang life. It is the most successful gang rehabilitation program in the world.

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I spent three days interviewing ex-con, ex-gang members, visiting "urban gardens" spread across East Los Angeles, farmers markets and Homeboy Cafes. I left so inspired, by the people, their stories and the fight they fight daily to pull themselves out of the gangs they were often born into and give themselves and their children a good life.

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So, please, if you have an iPad, please download the app and read my article. It’s a free app full of great food related articles and inspiring stories.

honest cooking

I also have some Brussels sprouts for you! I love these vegetables, but so far, my husband isn’t a fan. I’ve tried so many methods, braising, bacon fan, roasting and yet he remains unimpressed. Until I poured some Mirin  into a cast iron skillet. It gets a bit sweet and caramelized, giving a new life to there little green guys.

He loved these, more than even the bacon fat version. I hope you do too.

Mirin Brussels Sprouts

Mirin Caramelized Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients

  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 3 cups Brussels sprouts, quartered
  • 1/3 cup mirin
  • ½ tsp red chili flakes
  • ¼ tsp Kosher or sea salt

Instructions

  1. Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, add Brussels sprouts and cook until Brussels sprouts start to brown. Add Mirin and cook, stirring occasionally, until mirin has reduced and thickened and the sprouts are fork tender. Sprinkle with chili flakes and salt, stir to combine.

 

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Creamy Vegan Broccoli Avocado Soup & Five Foodie New Years Resolutions

Creamy Vegan Broccoli Soup

Five New Year Food Resolutions to Make

 

Let’s stop vowing to cut things out of our lives at then beginning of each year, and start promising ourselves we’ll add some great things in.

Can’t we all just agree that those “I’m going to lose weight/stop eating sugar/give up carbs/cut out coffee” resolutions are just going to leave us feeling hungry, guilty and eventually shameful when they go enormously ignored about the second week in January?

Maybe you have a bigger capacity for restraint than I do, or a higher guilt threshold, but I gave up those types of personal promises years ago. Although I do still love a good resolution and tend to make them year round.

How about we agree to ADD things to our lives instead of taking away? There is something about making a decision to add something great to our world that just reminds us what an amazing life we have ahead of us. And adding greatness has a way of pushing out some of those not as great things.

Let’s give it a try.

Here are my favorite food resolutions, all about adding more amazingness, not about taking things away.

 

1.Start a food tradition: Maybe a once a month Sunday Supper with your family, or a quarterly Food Friends Pot Luck, or even just New Recipe Wednesday where you try a new dish. Food traditions are memories that you’ll be glad you made.

2. Read more food lit. Chefs have written most of the best books I’ve read over the past year. There is something about knowing the back story of food, and those who have created it, that give you a deeper connection to the food world.  Plus, food people tend to read food books, it’s an instant conversation starter when you meet a food writer or a chef. My recommendations: Yes Chef, Marcus Samuelson;  Blood, Bones & Butter, Gabrielle Hamilton; Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table,  Ruth Reichl, Kitchen Confidential, Anthony Bourdain.

3. Join a CSA or other Organic Produce Delivery Program. Before my recent move, I got a box of organic produce delivered to my doorstep every Wednesday from Love Delivery. Mostly local, in season and very fresh fruits and vegetables. This also gets you to eat more good stuff, because it’s there. And you hate to waste it.  Supporting local farmers and eating healthier, it’s a total win. There are several in most cities and states, consult Google for ones in your area.

4. Try New Foods. This is for the picky eaters. Pick one new food a month and cook it, and eat it. Or, order that one thing on the menu that you would never normally eat. After a year you’ll have 12 foods that you never otherwise would have tried. And I’m going to bet you a batch of cookies that you will be surprised at how much you like at least one of those new foods.

5. Master A Recipe or Technique. Maybe you’ve always wanted to learn to make a soufflé, or homemade pasta. What better resolution to make than the acquisition of culinary knowledge you can someday pass down to future generations? Just go into assuming that the first time may not be a huge success, and by that I mean don’t plan an entire dinner party around skills you haven’t acquired just to end up in tears when your husband has to have pizza delivered. It will probably go fine, and you will probably post the results on Facebook (yay!), but take it slow and know that to master a technique takes a lot of practice, each time you try it you’ll learn something new.

 

One of my resolutions is to explore vegan cooking more, even though I have no plans to give up meat or dairy. There really isn’t any arguing with the fact that produce is the best thing you can put in your body. The more I focus on the beautiful flavors of fruits and vegetables, without using meat and dairy as a crutch, the better my cooking becomes over all.

Here is a vegan soup, inspired by this Bon Appetite recipe. Without garnishes, it’s about 170 calories a serving.

Here is a How To Roast Red Peppers post by Kitchen Treaty. If you are going to use them right away, you can skip the oil and the jar.

Creamy Vegan Broccoli Soup2

Creamy Vegan Broccoli Avocado Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 1 shallot, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 cups low sodium vegetable stock
  • 1 large red potato, peeled and chopped
  • 6 cups chopped broccoli florets
  • ½ to 2 cups water
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp onion powder
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • pinch chili powder
  • 1 tbs fresh lemon juice
  • 1 lage avocado, diced
  • 1 red pepper, roasted, cut into strips

Instructions

  1. In a stock pot or Dutch oven heat the oil. Add the shallots and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and stir. Add the vegetable stock and potatoes, cooking until the potatoes are almost soft, about 10 minutes. Add the broccoli and cook until the broccoli and potatoes are both tender, about 5-8 minutes. Using an emersion blender, puree until smooth. Add water, if desired, to thin to desired consistency. Add spices and lemon juice.
  2. Garnish with avocados and red peppers prior to serving.

If you want to know how I made the garnishes "float" on top of the soup for the picture, check this out.

Creamy Vegan Broccoli Soup3

How To: Make Goat Cheese & A Food Photo Tip

 

Let’s skip right to the photography tip, shall we? I’m pretty excited about it.

See this dish of homemade goat cheese, it’s a little less than full:

Homemade Goat Cheese

The best "filler" for a partially filled bowl is a potato. For several reasons.

First, they’re cheap and you probably already have them.

Homemade Goat Cheese3

Second, they can be cut any shape you need. And re-cut if necessary. They also lift out of the bowl cleanly (unlike a paper towel I’ve seen recommended).

Third, they don’t float if you need to use them in a bowl of soup.

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Just place your potato at the bottom of the bowl, fill and you are ready to shoot.

Homemade Goat Cheese5

See, it looks full. You’d never guess it was chocked full of Idaho’s finest.

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This is also a GREAT way to make sure that the soup garnishes "float" on top of the soup bowl. I tried an upside down ramekin for the below shot, but it kept floating, and it was too tall, and since I (obviously) wasn’t able to cut it to shape, I had to overfill the bowl.

Which I later spilled when I went to move it from photo land, to eating land.

Butternut Bisque pomegranate Goat Cheese

 But the idea was good. And the next time I went to shoot some soup, I decided to use a potato cut to shape, and fancied myself a genius. Look how the good stuff just "magically" floats on top. Patiently waiting for it’s photo to be taken.

Chicken-Enchilada-Soup4P

 

So. You might not have a complete obsession with photographing food. You might just be here for the recipe. I guess we can talk about that, It turns out making your own goat cheese is really easy, and really good.

SO easy, in fact, that you should try it, it’s almost fail safe.

If you’ve made ricotta (you totally should), you pretty much have already made the cow version of goat cheese, the process is the same.

Homemade Goat Cheese7

Hey, look how full that bowl is.

How To: Make Goat Cheese

Ingredients

  • 1 qt goat milk (do not use ultra-pasteurized, it won’t work)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 lemon, juiced, about 3 tbs
  • Yield: About 1 cup

Instructions

  1. In a pot over medium high heat, add the goat milk and salt. Bring to a low simmer, stirring occasionally, and allow to cook until temperature reaches 180, about 8 minutes. Turn off heat, add lemon juice and stir once to redistribute lemon juice. Let sit for 5 minutes or until curds form.
  2. Line a colander with two layers of cheese cloth. Pour goat milk into the collandar. Allow to drain for 15 to 30 minutes. The longer your cheese drains, the firmer it will be.

 

Pomegranate And Bourbon Braise Oxtails with Smokey Cheddar Grits & What Sandy Hook Elementary Taught Me

 

As a mom, this tragedy has left a deep wound on my soul. I see my own baby in the faces of all of the victims. Not an hour has gone by in the past few days that I haven’t had those lost lives on my mind.

Playing blocks with my daughter brought me to tears at how lucky I was to get to share such a tiny moment, when so many moms weren’t able to do that. My two year old asking for a kiss, playing in the sand with her dad, asking about the Christmas presents wrapped up for her under the tree, all made me feel like the luckiest mom in the world: my baby is safe, healthy, happy, alive!

In the midst of such horror, I have learned so much from those amazing souls, I wanted to share with you what I’ve learned over the past few days:

  1. Wear your fancy dress on an ordinary day. Six-year-oldCharlotte Bacon was very excited about her new Christmas dress and boots, and kept asking to wear them. On Friday, the day she died, her mother gave in, letting her wear her special dress and boots to school. In honor of Charlotte, use your fancy plates, and those expensive candles you don’t want to burn, put on your shoes that you think are too pretty to wear, because everyday that you are alive and with the ones you love is a special occasion.
  2. Carry your crayons with you. That’s what Emilie, age 6, always did, says her father, Robbie Parker. She drew the world as she saw it: beautiful. In the midst of such a horrific tragedy we need to remember the good in the world, take out our crayons and draw the world as a child sees it. Take time to appreciate the beauty around us, take photos with your phone, stop to enjoy the little things, see beauty in small things, let yourself be wowed by it.
  3. Loving people means putting them first in every way. No one will ever embody this more than Victoria Soto. She is the teacher who hid her students in closets, staying in the open to make sure, beyond all doubt, that the shooter wouldn’t hurt her kids. She gave her life in exchange for the safety of her students, and my guess is that she would do it again without hesitation. I hope and pray that any of the teachers whom my daughter will have in her life are like Victoria, and someday may I be half as selfless as she was.
  4. Say I love you, a lot. In words, in actions, in notes, in everyway you can. After the tragic loss of Jessica, her parents came home to find a note she had left in a journal they hadn’t seen before, it just said, “I love you so much, mama.” I grew up hearing the story of the day my Dad died, and the fact that it was one of the few mornings my moms forgot to say “I love you,” before they headed their spate ways. I heard versions of this same story so many more times from the families of 9-11 victims, and the morning Jaycee Dugard was kidnaped, was a morning her mom was running late and forgot tell her daughter she loved her. We all have those crazy mornings, when we know there is a traffic jam in our future, when our kids flush our make-up down the toilet or spill juice on the couch, those mornings when we say thoughtless things like, “you are driving me crazy!” What happened in Sandy Hook reminds me to hold tight to patience, always say, “I love you,” before leaving my family. I can control so little in this world but I can have control over this tiny thing: I can always tell my daughter, “I love you,” before we part ways. I hope that even when I am 80-years-old, on my way home from dinner at my daughter house, I will think of little Jessica and never forget to say, “I love you.”
  5. Slow Down, Add Memories. Take a day off work, blow off an appointment, just slow down. Even if it would be a financial strain for you to take a half-day off work twice a month,  or even just a long lunch, to have a one-on-one date with one of your kids, you will not regret it. No one gets to the end of their life and thinks, “I should have spent less time with my kids.” Think of it as life insurance, giving your kids a few more memories that they wouldn’t otherwise have once one of you is no longer here.

Because of what happened Friday, I needed to take a long day, stay at home and cook Sunday Supper that took hours. For me, this is healing. The active time on this dish is small, but the long cooking time ensures that you will need to be home, hanging out with your family. And there is something about putting slow food on the table to makes me feel like I am loving my family in a special way.

Pomegranate And Bourbon Braise Oxtails with Smokey Cheddar Grits

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs oxtails, (4-6)
  • salt & pepper
  • 3 tbs flour (use masa for gluten free)
  • 3 tbs olive oil
  • 1 cup pomegranate juice
  • ¼ cup bourbon
  • 3 cups beef broth
  • 1 carrot, chopped
  • 2 celery stalks, chopped
  • 1 white onion, chopped
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1 cup corn grits
  • ½ cup cream
  • ½ cup whole milk
  • 1 cup smoked cheddar
  • ¼ tsp smoked paprika
  • salt and pepper

Yield: 4 servings

Instructions

  1. Sprinkle oxtails on all sides with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with flour, rubbing to coat. In a large pot or Dutch oven heat the olive oil until hot but not smoking.
  2. Sear the oxtails on all sides until browned, about 3 minutes per side.
  3. Add the pomegranate juice, bourbon, broth, carrots, celery and onions, reduce heat to maintain a gently simmer. Place lid at an angle to vent. Cook until very tender, about 3 ½ hours, turning oxtails about every 30 minutes.
  4. To make the grits, add the milk and broth to a large pot, bring to a gently simmer, slowly whisk in the grits. Allow to simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 15-20 minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk and cream.
  5. About ¼ a cup at a time, slowly add the cheddar, whisking until melted between each addition. Add the smoked paprika, salt and pepper to taste.
  6. Serve oxtails over grits.

 

Chilean Salmon with Avocado Cream Sauce

I’ve always wanted to go to Chile. Since I started traveling, I’ve had a deep love for Spanish speaking countries, I want to visit them all. Although, other than language, they seem to have little in common. Other than maybe a shared love of food and family.

I spent some time in Spain, missing my flight home for an extra day in Madrid.

I took my husband with my to Costa Rica, and I didn’t want to leave. I just kept begging to head further south, even telling him I’d allow as much Van Halen signing as he wanted once we hit Panama (PAAAAAna-ma-ah!). But he wanted his own bed and some clean clothes. Weirdo.

And Chile has been there, long and lean, just sitting there on my list. I want to go and visit this place, so gorgeous, and with it’s incredible food.

I was invited to a dinner party event put on by Foods From Chile a few weeks ago. It wasn’t a flight south along the Pacific, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be part of an event that took place in five cities across the US. The food was amazing. Salmon, Avocado Soup, Endive Salad, and Blueberry Crisp, cooked up by the lovely Chef Cheryl.

Maybe I’m not going to get on a plane and head south just yet, but I can eat some Chilean salmon, with some Chilean avocado cream sauce, and of course, the Chilean wine. And dream about the day I actually get my passport stamped in Santiago.

Chilean Salmon with Avocado Cream Sauce

Ingredients

For The Salmon

  • 4, 3oz salmon fillets
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 to 2 tsp salt
  • 1 to 2 tsp pepper
  • 3 tbs olive oil

For The Avocado Cream Sauce

  • 1 large avocado (about 2/3 cup)
  • 2 tbs lemon juice
  • 1 tbs chopped shallots
  • 1/3 cup coconut water
  • pinch cayenne
  • pinch chili powder
  • pinch smoked paprika
  • ¼ tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp white wine vinegar
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 1 tbs chopped chives

Instructions

  1. Place salmon fillets on a plate, squeeze lemon juice over salmon and allow to sit for five to ten minutes. Sprinkle filets with salt and pepper just prior to cooking.
  2. In a good quality heavy sauce pan, heat the olive oil over high heat until hot but not smoking, swirling the olive oil to evenly distribute.
  3. Add the salmon and allow to cook until golden brown before carefully flipping, about 4 minutes. Cook on the other side until cooked through.
  4. In a food processor add the sauce ingredients and puree until smooth.
  5. Add salmon to plates, top with sauce.

 

 

Oven Steamed Salmon with Blueberry Balsamic Reduction

Every once in a while this happens. I made a recipe I love, and then it sort of slips away and never gets posted. This is one of those recipes. I can’t even remember why it didn’t get posted, maybe because I don’t really like the photos (sorry my ego got in the way of sharing a great dish with you .)

But I DO remember really loving it. Not just because it had a ton of flavor, and was really delicious, but because it’s low calories, naturally dairy and gluten-free AND it is packed with an insane amount of antioxidants, heart healthy foods, and that good stuff we need to shove into our bodies after the collective gluttony we all gleefully participated in over the past few days.

It’s like detox, but really, really delicious.

To be honest, the only reason I remember that it was buried in the recesses of my Dropbox, is an email I got from a PR person at the Blueberry Councill about a recipe contest. And although I have been drawn to a recipe contest or two in my day, I really don’t have the time for that right now. SO, it seemed to be fate that I had one. A really fabulous, healthy and delicious blueberry recipe all ready to go. So thank you, Blueberry Council, for the fabulous berries and the timely reminder.

 

Oven Steamed Salmon with Blueberry Balsamic Reduction

Ingredients

For the Salmon:

  • 4, 3 oz Salmon Filets, skinless
  • 2-3 cups low sodium vegetable broth

For the Sauce:

  • 1 medium shallot, minced (about 1 tbs)
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 cup fresh blueberries
  • ¾ cup balsamic vinegar
  • ½ tsp black pepper

For the Salad:

  • 1 ½ cups cooked quinoa
  • 1 cup chopped arugula
  • ½ cup shelled Edamame beans
  • ½ cup dry roasted almond slivers
  • ½ tsp sea salt

(Makes 4 servings)

Instructions

  1. Place a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet , place the salmon fillets on the rack. Pour the vegetable broth in the bottom of the baking sheet, making sure that the broth does not submerge the wire rack. You want at least 1/2 inch between the liquid and the top of the wire rack.
  2. Cover the baking sheet with aluminum foil, making sure to tent the foil over the salmon so that the foil does not touch the fish at all. Secure tightly, in order to trap the steam inside the foil.
  3. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the salmon flakes easily with a fork.
  4. In a pan over medium high heat, add the oil and allow to get hot but not smoking. Add the shallots and sauté until opaque. Add the blueberries and balsamic, reducing heat to maintain a low simmer. Cook until reduce until about half, and thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the black pepper.
  5. Combine all of the salad ingredients in a bowl and toss to combine. Divide the salad among four plates. Top the salad with a salmon fillet and top each salmon fillet with the blueberry balsamic reduction.

How To: Make Candied Bacon

Before we get started on the essential skill of making your very own batch of candied bacon, I need to pause to tell you some amazing news:

I signed a cookbook deal last week.

And so begins the frantic, not enough time, spending to much money on groceries, stress, lack of sleep that has nothing to do with my toddler, phase of my life. The book is focused on cooking with craft beer, the subject of my other blog, The Beeroness, from which the book truly sprang.

Even with all the warnings from those who have gone before me, all the friends I have who have written cookbooks, novels, non-fiction research books, I am thrilled. Even though I realize that writing a book is light years more work and far less money than anyone ever thinks, I’ll never stop being grateful for being given this opportunity.

Now all I have to do is write it.

So for now, lets make some candied bacon.

First, what do you DO with candied bacon? The better questions is, what wouldn’t you do with candied bacon?

For starters, here are some fabulous ideas:

Candied bacon topped brownies (just sprinkle on top of your favorite brownies before baking)

Candied bacon & Vanilla ice cream

Candied bacon sprinkled on maple doughnuts

Candied bacon mixed into your favorite pancake batter

Candied bacon waffles

Candied bacon on salad (for real)

Candied bacon chocolate chip cookies

Candied Bacon sprinkled on a chocolate tart

It’s endless.

 

Ingredients:

12 strips of bacon

1/4 to 1/2 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350.

Sprinkle one side of the strips of bacon with brown sugar.

Press it into the bacon well.

Place the bacon, sugar side down, on a wire rack on top of a baking sheet. You are going to want to cover the baking sheet with a Silpat or aluminum foil, the drippings will burn and be difficult to clean.

Top the other side of the bacon (the side facing up) with more brown sugar and press into the bacon.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Using a pair of tongs, turn each slice and continue to bake until a dark brown and cooked through.

Bacon will not crisp in the oven. Bacon will not get crispy until it cools and the sugar has hardened.

Allow bacon to cool, chop and use in all sorts of amazing ways.

 

Brown Butter Sage Hummus & And The Web’s Top Ten Hummus Recipes

There seems to be something so paltry and vapid about trying to talk about hummus when half of the United States is bracing for an epic natural disaster.

Because it seems to be only in those times when the brushes with disaster get top billing in our lives that we take the time to be thankful, today seems to be the prefect hour. Take a moment to relax the expectations you had for today, step back and be grateful and thankful for what you do have. And send thoughts, prayers and love to those on the East Coast who could possibly lose today what you forgot to be be thankful for yesterday.

Brown Butter Sage Hummus

Ingredients

  • 4 tbs butter
  • 3 sage leaves, minced
  • 3 tbs tahini
  • 1 clove garlic, smashed
  • 15 oz Chickpeas
  • 3 tbs olive oil (plus additional as needed)

Instructions

  1. Add the butter to a pot over medium heat. Stir continuously until it has turned an amber brown color and has a nutty aroma. Remove from heat. Add the sage and stir.
  2. In a food processor, add the remaining ingredients along with the browned butter.
  3. Process until smooth. Add additional olive oil for a smoother texture.

White Bean & Garlic Hummus – Bran Appetit

Truffle Roasted Tomato Hummus – Bake Your Day

 

beet Hummus – Heather Christo

 

Zucchini Paleo Hummus – Amazing Paleo

Edamame Hummus  – Oh My Veggies

Jalapeno IPA Hummus – The Beeroness

Pumpkin Hummus – Domestic Fits

Bacon Hummus – Just A Taste

 

Chipotle Hummus – Domestic Fits

 

 

Pad Thai Soup

Love veggie meals? Try my Vegan Mushroom Quinoa Beer Chili! or Beer Battered Avocado Tacos

 

Living in LA during "fall" makes you feel like a bit of crazy person.

I’ll pull on my tall boots and a chunky sweaters that I am rightfully entitled to wear in late October, later realizing that the weather will creep up into the 80’s by mid day. And I’m the crazy lady at Starbucks ordering a pumpkin latte, wearing vintage Frye boots, jeans and a thick wool sweater while I could be wearing a jersey knit sundress like the normal, non-crazy, girl behind me in line.

And still, I persist. I even go home and make soup. Sweating the entire time I eat it. In my sweater, with the air conditioner running.

I spent three years as a vegetarian. The best thing I ever did when it comes to cooking, it opened up a world of produce to me and reminded me of all the foods I would often overlook just because they didn’t contain meat. To this day there are still things I prefer in a vegetarian or vegan form.

When it comes to thai cooking, fish and oyster sauce are frequently called for. Here is an article about how to make those, DIY style in your own kitchen using non-meat products.

There is also a company that sell vegetarian fish sauce, vegetarian oyster sauce, and Golden Mountain Season Sauce is a great alternative when those are called for.

And for Gluten Free, I hear this Kikkomon GF Soy Sauce is great.

Pad Thai Soup

Ingredients

  • 3 tbs oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 egg (omit for vegan)
  • 3 oz extra firm tofu, diced (or cubed chicken)
  • 4 cups broth (veggie or chicken)
  • 4 oz rice noodles (also called pad thai noodles)
  • 3 tbs soy sauce
  • 1/4 tsp sriracha
  • 1 tbs fish sauce (For vegan, use adaptation listed in above post)
  • 1/4 cup roasted peanuts, crushed
  • 1/4 cup green onions
  • 1 tsp crushed red peppers

Instructions

  1. In a large pot or dutch oven, heat the oil. Add the garlic and stir. Add the egg and cook until softly scrabbled. Add the tofu (or chicken), cook until lightly fried about 3 minutes.
  2. Add the broth, then add the noodles, soy, sriracha, fish sauce, and peanuts. Cook until noodles have softened, about 5 minutes.
  3. Serve topped with peanuts, green onions and red chili flakes.

 

How To: Make Corn Tortillas From Scratch

Homemade corn tortillas are one of the perfect food trifectas: easy, cheap & delicious.

SO much better than anything you have ever found at on a store shelf, takes about 5 minutes, and only a few cents each.

This needs to be added to your "To Make" list. Right now.

Check out the step by step guest post I did for Andrew of Eating Rules, and sign up for the pledge if you get a chance!

 

Get the recipe here!

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Cups

 

 

 

I’ve got a bone to pick with Reeses. First, they make the only store bought candy that I can’t stop eating. The only Halloween treat I’m actually tempted to eat in bulk.

But my real issue is with their so called Peanut Butter Cup Pumpkins.

On first glance this Halloween treat seems like it contains, or at least tastes like, pumpkin. Which lures me into breaking my self imposed ban on store bought candy only to be left with the realization that the only thing Pumpkin about it, is the shape.

So I give to you the exact opposite. An Unprocessed, homemade treat that is not shaped like a pumpkin but contains real life, home roasted pumpkin.

If you want to make it a touch easier, you can combine canned pumpkin pie filling with peanut butter until it tastes right to you, but I like to roast my pumpkins myself. I just love real life produce that much, I pledge my allegiance to the framer and not the factory.

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Cups

Ingredients

  • 2 cups dark chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
  • 2 tbs honey
  • 1/4 cup peanut butter
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg

(you will also need mini muffin tins and mini muffin papers)

Instructions

  1. In a microwave safe bowl, add the chocolate. Microwave on high for 20 seconds, stir and repeat until melted. Line a mini muffin tin with mini muffin papers. Add about 1 1/2 tsp of melted chocolate to each paper. Using the back of a spoon, gently "paint" the chocolate up the sides of the papers, making sure to leave enough on the bottom for a sturdy base.
  2. Place muffin tin in the refrigerator, chill until set, about ten minutes.
  3. Place the remaining ingredients in a bowl and stir until well combined. (Taste filling, add more honey for a sweeter filling.)
  4. Once the chocolate has set, add a small amount to the middle of the cups, making sure to avoid the top edges.
  5. Remelt chocolate if necessary.
  6. Top the muffin papers with melted chocolate, tap the muffin tin lightly on the counter to evenly distribute chocolate. Make sure the pumpkin filling is completely covered.
  7. Chill until set, about 10 minutes.

Makes about 2 dozen.

 

Skinny Baked Potato Soup 210 Calories

 

Raise your hand if you ate way to much this weekend.

I finally found pie pumpkins in my city wide search and participated in hours of pumpkin glutton. Those posts will be up later, but I needed a bit of a pumpkin detox before jumping back in for more. I have no plans to stop my fall pumpkin worship, but I needed a break.

I am also preparing for October Unprocessed. Have you taken the challenge? I signed up. Andrew of Eating Rules has asked if we could all go just one month without eating processed foods. I did it last year and found that it was both easier and more challenging that I had thought. What is processed food? That’s quite the debate, but it gets you thinking. It was, more than anything, a great reminder to read every single label on every single package I buy. Why am I buying a jam with ingredients I don’t recognize when I can just buy the one with only two: Strawberries, sugar.

Why don’t I just buy my bread from the baker down the street, with his 4 ingredients rather than the  package from across the country with 17 ingredients?

More produce, less cans, no Doritos. You can do it.

There is no fixed answer to the question, "What is unprocessed?" but the simple answer is: do you have (or could you have) all of those ingredients in your kitchen and could a person reasonably make it themselves.

For instance, I have lots of friends who are home brewers and they make beer themselves. So that makes beer OK to have, it passes the Kitchen Test. If you could reasonably assume you COULD make it, it’s OK.

However, I have no idea how to pronounce half of the ingredients in Oreos, I don’t have those in my kitchen, I could not make that product, with those exact ingredients, so sorry, no Oreos for me. For more in depth answer to the questions, you can read this.

The best thing about this challenge, is that it gets us thinking. About what we eat, who we "vote for" with the dollars we spend, and what we are training our bodies to crave.

And if you can’t go a month with eating just real whole food, then why not? Why is that hard for you?

I encourage you sign up, even if you know you can’t be perfect. Can you do Unprocessed Wednesday Night Dinners? Sign up and give it a try. It will get you thinking about what you’re eating, and what you are feeding your family.

This soup recipe could even be debated (although it is not yet October). While some ingredients easily pass the kitchen test, it reminds you to read the labels on the brands of sour cream and cheese you buy. Some will only have three or four easily recognized ingredients while some brands will have several more. It’s just about being mindful of what you buy.

Skinny Baked Potato Soup 210 Calories

Ingredients

  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1 leek, chopped (only white and light green part)
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 cups fat free chicken broth
  • 4 cups cauliflower, chopped
  • 1 large russet potato, peeled and chopped
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/4 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 cup milk

Garnishes:

  • 1/2 cup light sour cream
  • 1/4 cup shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese, 1 large tomato, chopped
  • 1/2 cup green onion or chives, chopped

(Makes 4 servings)

Instructions

  1. In a pot over medium high heat, add the leeks and onions, cook until softened, stirring frequently. Add garlic and stir. Add the chicken broth, potatoes, and cauliflower and allow to boil until vegetables are softened, about 15 minutes.
  2. Remove from heat. Using an immersion blender or a food processor, puree until smooth. Stir in the spices and milk, return to heat and allow to simmer until thickened to desired consistency (the longer you simmer, the thicker the soup will become).
  3. Divide among 4 bowls, top each one with 2 tbs sour cream and stir. Top with remaining garnishes and serve.