Blueberry & Lavender "Lumples"

Two years ago, right before Richard and my wedding, I met the most lovely woman named Kathy, who just so happened to be from Virginia. Since my soon to be husband was also from the south, we became fast friends due to her constant insisting that since I was NOT from the south, she  had to teach me how to bake just like a proper southern lady. You see, Kathy is seriously one of the best bakers I have ever met. Not just someone who can follow a recipe and actually remember to include all of the ingredients, a skill that I sadly lack... but she could whip up a perfect pie, decadent brownies, and impressive desserts. You name it, she could bake it!

I immediately started joining Kathy in her home on Saturday mornings for my weekly lady lessons, as we liked to call them. I learned how to properly make pimento cheese, bagels, pies, and my very favorite treat to date, "Lumples." Well, that's what she called them. A sort of scone, muffin, pastry lump-of-a-thing which is stuffed with fresh blueberries and smells of heavenly lavender. Like me, they are slightly hard on the outside, flaky and delicate on the inside, and just slightly, perfectly sweet. And I mustn't forget the glaze. Ah, the glaze. They are drizzled with a light meyer lemon glaze that adds the slightest taste of sour. And there you have it. A lumple. The kind you'd never want to have removed. I love them.

Blueberry & Lavender "Lumples"

Ingredients:
Makes about 8 Lumples

2 cups unbleached King Arthur all purpose flour (Kathy said King Arthur is the ONLY flour to use.)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3 teaspoons baking powder

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon dried lavender buds

1 egg 

3/4 cup whole milk

7 tablespoons chilled, unsalted butter

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, sift flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together. 

Cut the chilled butter into small pieces and blend together with your fingers until the mixture resembles course corn meal.

Mix in the dried lavender buds. You can find these in the spice aisle at Whole Foods and other nice grocery stores. 

Add the egg and the milk and mix quickly with a fork until just combined. Do not over mix or the lumples will become dense. 

Drop large spoonfuls of the dough onto the prepared cookie sheets, about two inches apart. The dough can be kind of messy. Then, once the lumples are formed, add several blueberries to each lumple by lightly pushing them into the lumple so that they will stay in place while baking. You don't want to mix the blueberries into the mixture before forming the lumples because the berries will get mushy and mix into the dough. 

Bake 15-20 minutes until just slightly golden. 

Meyer lemon glaze:

2/3 cup confectioner's sugar (sifted well)

6 tablespoons of butter at room temperature

Juice of 1 Meyer lemon

Mix well until smooth. If the glaze is too thick to drizzle, add another tablespoon of softened butter.

Drizzle with the Meyer Lemon Glaze onto the lumples immediately after removing them from the oven. The heat will make the glaze melt perfectly over the lumple. 

Enjoy!

Summertime Peach Cobbler

GAHHH, why isn't EVERYTHING made out of peaches?! It's the peak of summer and I cannot think of a single food that I love more.

I love peaches.

SO SO MUCH!

They're a real peach.  I guess that's where that saying comes from.

You can grill them, you can put them in salad, you can make my very favorite desserts out of them.  You can bob for them. You can eat them with a man named Bob. They'd even brighten up some corn on the cob. (Sorry, I momentarily channeled Dr. Seuss there. I'm on a peach sugar high). Anyway, there is really nothing that a peach can't make better. Even RK, who claims that he has always disliked peaches, now loves them. They are perfect. We are in love. WE are a real peach.

I am also in love with this cobbler recipe. It is SO simple. Nothing fancy. It just focuses on the flavor of the peaches and the simplicity of a perfect pastry topping. Just use very ripe, fresh peaches and you will have the perfect summertime dessert! Rich's grandmother's china is optional, but encouraged.

Ingredients:

For the peaches
8 fresh peaches, peeled, and sliced into thin wedges
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

For the pastry
1 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoon chilled butter cut into small cubes
1/4 cup boiling water

For the topping
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Flaky sea salt (optional)

Method:
In a large mixing bowl, combine peeled and sliced peaches, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Toss everything together until the peaches are coated evenly. Pour into a greased baking dish and bake in an oven preheated to 425 degrees for about 10 minutes.

While the peaches are baking, in another large bowl, combine flour, remaining sugars, baking poser, and salt. Using your fingers or a pastry blender, cut in the chilled butter and blend until the mixture resembles course meal. Stir in the boiling water until just combined.

Remove the peached from the oven and top with spoonfuls of the pastry topping. Sprinkle the entire cobbler with the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Bake until the topping is golden and the peaches are bubbling, about 40 minutes.

Remove the cobbler from the oven and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. This is totally optional, but I did it and it was delicious.

Serve warm with vanilla bean ice cream!

Post Detox Green Chicken Soup

Why yes, it does say "post detox" in the title. Which means yes, I actually did a cleanse. I know... I am as surprised as anyone!!! I had very little faith in myself going into this whole thing, but I actually made it through and I feel absolutely amazing! I started out doing a three day cleanse though Pressed Juices and loved it so much that I actually added two days and did a five day cleanse! I was definitely hungry at first, especially being around food non stop. Cooking and cleansing is tough to say the least, but it was totally worth it. 

This soup is perfect for coming off of a cleanse! Orrrr just because soup is delicious. It's super healthy, packed with immunity boosting greens and lean chicken breast. I made a huge batch of it so that it would be ready when I was done my cleanse and so that I would have extras to freeze for the next time I wake up with a sniffle in my nose.

POST-DETOX CHICKEN SOUP
Recipe from Chalkboardmag.com

Ingredients:

For the soup:

½ bunch kale (washed, stem removed and leaves shredded)
½ bunch swiss chard (washed and shred leaves only. Keep stems)
1/2 leek (mostly white part, washed very well and sliced into strips)
2 cups green cabbage (shredded)
2 stalks of celery (washed and slivered)
6 cups fortified chicken stock (regular chicken stock, reduced to ½ its volume)
couple minced cloves of garlic
salt and pepper to taste

To simmer the chicken:
2 chicken breast (bone-in for more flavor)
2 carrots (peeled and cut into thick slices)
2 stalk celery (washed and cut into big slices)
Swiss Chard (sliced stems)
½ cup leek (washed and sliced)
½ cup Spanish onion (cut into chunks)
cold water- to cover chicken and veg


Method:

For the Chicken:

Add all the ingredients in stockpot and cover with cold water. Start on high until it comes to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and let the chicken cook for 25 minutes.

Remove chicken from pot and chill until cool enough to handle with hands. Pull chicken into shreds. I saved the stock for the soup... I just reduced it by half so that it was much more flavorful.

For the Soup:

Place all the shredded greens and garlic into a separate pot. Cover with fortified chicken stock and cook at medium high heat, until it begins to boil (you won’t see it very well, as the greens will cover the broth). The greens will soon cook down and diminish in size. Let soup simmer slowly for 10 more minutes. Stir in shredded chicken breast and cook for 1 or 2 more minutes. Adjust seasoning. I like to keep it low in salt after co ming out of detox.

Olive Oil Cake with Vanilla Gelato and Balsamic Reduction

I'm not going to lie... I have been skeptical for a while on this one. I don't question many italian dishes. In fact, I don't really question anything Italian! My favorite foods, favorite wines, and my favorite men are all italian, which are pretty much the most important things in a girl's life.  Butttt, olive oil? In a cake? Meh.

Then I remembered a stop that Richard and I made while we were traveling through Modena, Italy. We were lucky enough to take a private tour of Villa San Donnino, where we learned about the process of making "Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale." At the end of our tour, we enjoyed a tasting of several different vinegars aged 6, 12, and 25 years. Needless to say, they were absolutely to die for. For our last tasting, we were served the 12 year balsamic drizzled on top of vanilla gelato. (Now you see where I am going with this....)

I have always loved balsamic vinegar, but having it on top of vanilla gelato it is a whole different ball game. This quickly became one of my favorite desserts, so while I was totally knocking this whole olive oil cake thing, I realized the following:

1. Gelato + Balsamic vinegar= delicious.
2. Olive oil + Balsamic vinegar= delicious.

Therefore..... yep. It's all happening.

This cake is not too sweet and perfectly tender. The olive oil contains natural emulsifiers, which improves the cakes moisture and texture. It is absolutely delicious on it's own, or amazing topped with fresh fruit, ice cream, or whipped cream. It can really be the perfect base for just about any topping! My only tip is to be patient, when I say to mix for 10 minutes, mix for the full 10 minutes. You will end up with a deliciously dense and extremely moist cake!

Torta all' Olio di Oliva

Ingredients:

8 tablespoon unsalted butter (1 stick) at room temperature

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or you can use only all purpose flour)

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil

1 cup 2% milk

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

To serve: 

Vanilla gelato 

Balsamic reduction

Method:

Grease an 8 inch cake pan and preheat your oven to 300 degrees with a rack placed in the middle. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter and sugar and whisk until light and fluffy,  about 10 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until just combined. With the mixer running on medium speed, add the olive oil in a steady stream and then continue mixing for another 10 minutes. 

Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Add one third of the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix to incorporate the ingredients. Then, add one third of the milk, followed by another third of the flour mixture. Mixing until just combined each time. Repeat this pattern until all ingredients are combined and then mix on medium speed for another 10 minutes. 

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for about 40 minutes or until the top is browned and the edges of the cake are starting to pull away from the sides of the pan. Transfer to a cooing rack and let cool. 

To serve, dust the cake with confectioner's sugar and cut into slices. I topped the cake with vanilla gelato and a balsamic reduction (or a balsamic glaze which can be purchased at most grocery stores if you do not want to make it your self.) This cake is also amazing with fresh fruit and whipped cream!

(Read more about our trip to Modena HERE.)

Funfetti Birthday Cake Ice Cream

I'm not really a birthday cake person. I know, I have lost my mind. Here's the thing... to me, the best part of birthday cake is the ice cream that goes on top. So, obviously the best and most logical thing to do is mush them both together (frosting, sprinkles, and all!) and make, well, for lack of a cooler thing to say.... a party... in your mouth! I am so serious. This is so good. 

Ingredients:

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp salt

2 cups funfetti cake, baked according to boxes instructions and broken into small pieces (not crumbs)

3/4 cup vanilla frosting (I used pink because it is pretty!)

1/2 cup rainbow sprinkles

Method:

In a mixing bowl, combine 2 cups cream, salt and vanilla. Set aside. 

In a small saucepan, combine sugar and 1 cup milk. Stir constantly over medium heat until sugar has dissolved. Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge for 2-3 hours until cooled. Once the mixture has chilled, follow the instructions of your ice cream maker to make the base ice cream. With 5 minutes left of churning, add in your sprinkles.

Meanwhile, put your icing into a pastry bag with any sized tip you like. Once your ice cream is done, gently stir in your chunks of cake. Spoon one layer of ice cream into your container. Then, add one layer of frosting from your pastry bag. You'll be doing 3 layers total so make sure you only use about a third of your frosting. Repeat with a layer of ice cream. And a layer of frosting. Add your last layer of ice cream and top with your last layer of icing.

Freeze for 2 hours (more for firmer ice cream) and enjoy!

Töltött Káposzta- Hungarian Stuffed Cabbage

In so many many ways, I am a carbon copy of my mother. I ended up with so many of her traits, mannerisms, and special quirks (umm... like my love for pretty things... furry four legged things... and men just like my father.) But, one thing that I got from my dad was my passion for cooking.

Just like his mother (my grandmother), my father is not just a cook, but a phenomenal chef. I mean, when my Dad had the day off work, we knew dinner would be something special that night. (Except that time he made spinach soup... which is something we will never let him live down). My Hungarian grandmother, Ama, as we like call her, is probably the best chef that I have ever met in my life. And, since she taught my dad everything she knew... my dad was able to teach it to me. Now, it probably would have been better if I had been eager to learn how to cook when I was a bratty teenager before moving to LA, but no. I chose to learn over many panicked phone calls after moving to Los Angeles and having no idea how to feed myself!

When I was fresh to LA and missing my family, I would always cook Paprikash (now one of Rich's favorites too... I will post the recipe one day, I promise). For me, hungarian food has always had a way of making me feel right at home. Now that I'm married and not so lonely, I almost always cook something Hungarian when Rich and I are craving comfort food, just like my dad... and my Ama. So... when Richard and I both woke up with nasty colds this morning (UGH!) and could use a little comforting, that is exactly what I decided to do....

Töltött Káposzta, or Hungarian stuffed cabbage, is actually not something that my dad made often, but the great thing about Hungarian food is that the flavors are always the same. It's what Anthony Bourdain refers to as peasant food, and as you can imagine, back in the day peasants only had access to very limited ingredients, usually of the root vegetable variety. The cabbage (a staple of Hungarian cuisine) is stuffed with beef, paprika, onions, caraway seeds (you'll see, keep reading)...  So, since I was itching to try something new, this seemed like just the dish... something new with a little taste of home to treat the adventure in my spirit and the sniffle in my nose.

Now, don't be intimidated... there are a lot of ingredients, and a lot of steps, but if you have the time, this dish is actually much easier than it seems... and HOLY DELICIOUS!

Töltött Káposzta

Ingredients:
For the cabbage leaves-
1 head of cabbage
3 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 cup apple cider vinegar

For the meat filling- 
1/2 onion, diced
1 pound ground beef (preferably grass fed)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large egg
1 tsp caraway seeds
3/4 cup rice
Salt and cracked pepper to taste

For the sauce- 
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
10 ounces tomato paste
16 ounces sauerkraut, drained (available at most grocery stores, I found it at Whole Foods)
2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika
1/2 tablespoon caraway seeds
2 cups water
Salt and cracked pepper to taste

To garnish-
Sour cream or greek yogurt (I always use greek yogurt!)

Method:
For the cabbage leaves-
Cut the core out of the cabbage. Put the head of cabbage, bay leaves, spices, and vinegar in a large stock pot and cover with cold water. Heat the ingredients on high and bring to a boil. Cook for 20- 30 minutes until the cabbage leaves have softened. Drain and let cool.

For the meat filling and stuffing the cabbage-
In a large bowl, combine meat, onion, egg, garlic, spices, and rice. Mix with your hands until just combined. Do not over mix.

Lay a single cabbage leave on your cutting board or work space. Remove any leftover hard stem that wasn't already removed when you cut out the core. Put a spoonful of meat filling the the center of the leaf. Fold the bottom (stem side) of the leaf up, each side in, and then roll the cabbage leaf up toward the unfolded part (have I lost you, yet?) You will then tuck the open end of the leaf into the roll. It should be pretty secured and look like a little envelope, or an innie belly button.

Continue to make the rolls until you are out of cabbage leaves, placing them in a baking dish as you go. Once finished, refrigerate the rolls while you prepare the sauce.

For the sauce:
Drain and rinse the sauerkraut. You do not want it to taste sour. Squeeze out the water and set aside.

In a large sauce pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the onion and bell peppers until translucent. Add spices and garlic and cook until fragrant.

Add the tomato paste and water. Bring the mixture to a simmer. If it is too think, add a little more water. Once the sauce is simmering, add the sauerkraut and cook for 20-30 minutes, letting the flavors deepen.

To assemble-
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

In a large baking dish, pour half of the sauerkraut sauce. Layer the cabbage rolls with the seam facing down/ towards you. You want to place them in fairly tight rows so that they will not loosen up while they are baking.

Pour the remaining sauce over the cabbage rolls, cover tightly with foil, and bake at 425 for 1 1/2 hours until the meat is cooked through and the rice is tender.

Serve topped with sour cream or greek yogurt!

Dark Chocolate Spelt Brownies

We are just over two weeks into 2014 and I must say, I am doing some really impressive things this year. Things like going to bed a little bit earlier, eating a little bit healthier, and drinking a little less... Like almost 1/2 a glass less, per day! Also, in an effort to find my long lost abs, I've started doing Pilates... ok, I'm only two classes in, but how many have you done this year!? And, get this, I have even started washing my face before bed. Maybe it was kind of gross that I didn't already do that, but that's beside the point. My point, my as ever, long winded point, is about making good decisions. But, here's what you have keep in mind: Good decisions are actually bad decisions if they are not as much fun as the bad decisions. Which mean if good decisions can become bad decisions they are actually good decisions because... Oh my God I've gone cross-eyed. This is why I can never watch "Back To The Future."

Now, lets put today's lesson into food terms, which are the best terms.

Bad decision: 
Coming home from Pilates and eating a brownie.

Look, I am all for indulging, but that brownie just negated my entire workout that was hard enough to drag myself to in the first place.

"Good" decision: 
Coming home from Pilates and eating some stupid boring greek yogurt or protein bar thing that leaves my mouth tasting like monohydrogonatedmadeupfoodstuff and still craving that damn brownie.

Best decision:
Coming home from Pilates and indulging in a brownie that actually tastes as good as the real thing, but has just a hint of nutrition. Not a healthy brownie, but a browny with a hint of health, a whisper of well-being. I am not talking about some disgusting, cardboard resembling, makes you want to puke brownie. I am talking about a brownie that actually tastes as good as the real thing, made with real ingredients, with real names and that has some whole grain goodness!

Yes I said whole grains! More specifically: spelt.

Now, you may remember spelt because that's how your "special" friend in elementary said and spelled "spelled." Or, hopefully, you remember it from the best ever peanut butter cookies that you can find the recipe for HERE. Spelt is a relative of wheat, so, while it is low glycemic, it is not gluten free (which unless you're celiac, doesn't matter. Sorry, hip actresses.). Spelt is, however,  packed with nutrients that regular old white flour is stripped of when it is bleached and processed (like manganese and fiber). And, if you've ever eaten Cheerios, you will know that whole grains are good for your heart. Duh!

Thankfully, switching spelt for regular white flour is not like switching it out for whole wheat flour. That would be a BIG mistake. Whole wheat flour tastes a little bit like burnt chalk, while spelt flour has a toasted, nutty flavor... kind of like walnuts!

Ok, sales pitch complete. Go buy some spelt flour (I always buy this one) and get baking! And for the record... I'm not saying to eat a brownie every day after your work-out, because, let's be honest, those LuluLemon pants will not make your ass look good for very long. And while these brownies are high fiber, they do still have butter and sugar in them... I am not some hot ginger wizard. But, I do believe that everything in moderation is a-ok and, eating cardboard is just going to leave you with a raging sweet tooth anyways!

Dark Chocolate Spelt Brownies

Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate, chopped (about 6 ounces)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 large, organic eggs
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup spelt flour

Method:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a heatproof bowl, combine chocolate and butter and whisk over a saucepan of simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and whisk in sugars. Whisk in eggs one at a time, until combined. Mix in cocoa, salt, vanilla, and then the spelt flour.

Pour batter into a greased 8x8 baking dish and bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle. Let cool completely before cutting and enjoying... and I mean REALLY enjoying.

Makes about 16 brownies.

White Wine Braised Chicken with Olives and Preserved Lemons

Tuesday, January 14th, 2014....

Another lovely winter day with a brisk high of 84!!! Are you kidding me, Los Angeles?!?! It's like Jimmy Fallon said, the only two seasons we have in Los Angeles are Pilot and Awards.

Some of my favorite things about "Awards Season (aka Winter)" are comforting soups, slow cooked braises, and cozy comfort food. Nothing warms you up on an 80 degree day like beef stew. Ha. Right about now I am getting in bikini shape, thinking maybe we should fire up the grill for some burgers!

This weather is stupid. I love living in southern CA, and I LOVE that we never have to shovel snow (well, that Rich never has to) or bundle up in 14 layers (3-4 is nice though, JCrew agrees with me)...  But, we are getting close to mid July temperatures while the rest of the country is dealing with the "arctic vortex/frozen tundra/other thing Al Roker made up" nonsense.

So... what to do, what to do...

Make a braise... I just don't want to feel left out, ya know? The sun may be shining outside, but my house can be filled with the delicious aromas of roasting chicken and winter scented Yankee Candles. With just a few tweaks, you can make a perfect, lightened up version of this quintessential Awards Season dinner.

Here's the plan: Ditch the rich, heavy tasting red wine for white wine. Bonus: now you can drink that bottle of Brunello you were going to cook with. And since awards season will soon give way to "Bikini Season" (which is the season Rich gives me "awards" for...) leave out the bacon and veggies and add olives and preserved lemons and voila... you've got a lighter, bikini friendly, take on a classic coq au vin.

White Wine Braised Chicken with Olives and Preserved Lemons

Ingredients:
2 sprigs thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves)

1 bay leaf

Small handful of parsley leaves, chopped, plus a few stems

6 skin-on chicken legs

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil

10 cloves of garlic, peeled

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons flour

3 cups white wine

2 cups chicken stock or broth

16 green, briny olives

2 small preserved lemons, cut into ⅛-inch thick rounds (**recipe below)

**Whole Foods usually has preserved lemons in the olive bar section, but if they let you down (like they did me yesterday...) you can use this recipe in a pinch.  Slice two lemons into 1/8 inch rounds. Place in a glass baking dish. Sprinkle with salt, cover with water, and bake at 250 degrees for three hours. 

Method:

Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Heat a dutch oven (or large braising dish) and add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When hot, brown the chicken, skin-side down for about 4 minutes until brown and crispy. Turn and brown the other side. Set the chicken aside and add the garlic cloves to the pan and sauté until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the garlic to a bowl and set aside.

Make a roux. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter and the flour to the pan and whisk over low heat until golden brown, about 1 minute. Add the wine and bring it to a boil, scraping the pan with a wooden spoon to pull up the brown bits. Continue to cook until the wine is reduced by 1/3. Add the stock, browned garlic cloves, bay leaf, olives and thyme sprigs to the pan. Tuck the chicken, skin-side up, into the sauce. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, for 45 minutes or so. You cannot rally over cook this dish... which is the best part of a braise!

Preheat the oven t o 425 degrees. Place the chicken legs on a large baking sheet along with the preserved lemon slices. Remove the garlic, olives, and herbs from the sauce and set them aside. Then, bring the sauce to a boil and reduce it until it is a nice consistency and coats the back of a spoon. Whisk in the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and season to taste with salt and fresh cracked pepper.

While the sauce is reducing (it took about 25 minutes for me), put the chicken and lemons in the oven to brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer the garlic, olives, and browned chicken back into the reduced sauce. Place the preserved lemon slices on the chicken and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

I served this over oven roasted potatoes and it was perfect.

If you don't receive Tasting Table emails, you should. 

This, and many other delicious recipes, can be found on TastingTable.com!

Guinness Beer Braised Beef Brisket (it's a mouthful!)

Happy Monday. According to British researchers the first Monday of the year is statistically the MOST depressing day of the year. But not for me. For me, it's a day of triumph. Over mind, matter and meat.

You know those days when you are quietly keeping to yourself in your miserable post-wine-induced-couch-coma, just watching a little food porn, while waiting for delivery pizza? Don't lie. We both know that you do. Anyways. Food porn. You know what it is. I know what it is. And, a few days ago, while I was minding my own business in the lovely aforementioned scenario, I got really, really food horny. Which, according to Rich, looks very similar to the "real thing" and is very confusing for him. And yup, I went there. 

We were watching some wonderfully over-produced show where a semi-overweight man was stuffing his face with tender, fatty BBQ (it is much "food-sexier" than it sounds...) when I got the overwhelming desire to cook the biggest piece of meat that my butcher could cut for me. I'd pick it up early in the morning and spend the next 36 hours with it. You know, one of those day dates that turns into dinner and "stuff."  So, our butcher got a visit from his favorite ginger and I headed home with a nice, big piece of meat. (Note: Rich said this is the one of the only times he's okay with me "talking about spending so much time with another piece of meat." He's dirty. So are you. Get your mind out of the gutter)

I think that brisket might be the most underrated cut of meat... EVER. It is pretty much perfect in every way if you can give it the kind of love and attention it demands. You have to warm it up nice and slow...to temperature! Jeez, now I'm being dirty. Oh well, this recipe deserves my unrequited lust. Brisket needs to be cooked low and slow and pretty much wooed into the juicy, tender perfection it's capable of. And since it's winter and the smoker is off for now, I decided the best woman to guide me through the process was one of my personal favorites, Suzanne Goin. So, I broke out my Sunday Suppers at Luque's cookbook and found a superb recipe that I followed pretty much to the 'T.' I paired the brisket with beluga lentils and sautéed broccolini with garlic and shallots and everything turned out absolutely perfectly. Plus, the best part of my day today was eating last night's leftovers for lunch. Absolutely DELICIOUS!

*Note that you need to marinate the brisket with the dry rub at least 24 hours before cooking. You can also cook the brisket 24 hours in advance for a dinner party. It can be served hot or chilled. Ok, that's all of the notes... now to the good stuff...

Ingredients:
1 beef brisket, about 5-6 pounds with a 1/2 inch fat cap. Do not have your butcher remove the fat cap, it is essential for moist and flavorful cooking. 
2 tablespoons dried thyme leaves
2 bay leaves, crumbled
10 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
3 chilies de arbol, crumbled with your hands (do NOT touch your face after... ouchie...)
2 tablespoons cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons coarse salt
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into thirds
2 stalks of celery, cut into thirds
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
3 cups Guinness Beer
4 cups beef stock

Method:
Combine the thyme leaves, garlic, bay leaves, chilies de arbol, and cracked pepper and rub the spice mixture onto all sides of the brisket. Place the brisket in a shallow baking dish, cover, and refrigerate over night. 

Take the brisket out of the refrigerator 1 hour prior to cooking it to bring it to room temperature. 30 minutes before, season the meat with salt. 

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. 

Heat the olive oil over high heat in the largest sauté pan you have. Scrape the garlic and chiles off the brisket and reserve them. When the oil is shimmering, add the brisket and sear well on both sides—you may have to do one end of the brisket at a time, depending upon the diameter of your pan. It will take about 8 minutes per side, a bit more if you’re searing only a portion of the meat at one time. Once the meat is well browned, transfer to a large roasting pan or dutch oven, big enough to accommodate the entire piece of meat.

Add the vegetables to the sauté pan over medium high heat and cook 8 to 10 minutes, until they’re nicely caramelized. Stir often with a spoon to scrape up the bits on the bottom of the pan. 

Add the reserved garlic and chiles and cook another minute or two more. Turn down the heat and add the vinegar and the beer to the pan. Bring to a strong simmer and reduce the liquid by one-quarter. Add the stock and bring the mixture to a boil, scraping the bottom of the pan again to loosen any crusty bits on the bottom. 

Add the vegetables to the pan with the brisket, tucking them around the meat, and then carefully pour the hot stock mixture over the meat. Cover the pan tightly with foil—use two layers if it doesn’t have a lid, or one layer if your pan has a lid. 

Braise in the oven for 5 to 6 hours. The meat will be done when a fork slides into it easily.

When the meat is done, remove from the oven.  Let it cool in its juices for 30 minutes, then remove the whole brisket from the sauce to a baking sheet. Allow it to cool completely, and cover and refrigerate if you’re not serving right away.

Strain the braising juices into a saucepan, pressing down on the vegetables to extract all their liquid. Chill the liquid, and when cold, remove the top layer of fat.

Preheat the oven to 400F. Slice the cold brisket against the grain, and put back into a large roasting pan. Heat the braising sauce (you may want to allow it to reduce a bit to thicken—that’s up to you) and pour a bit over the meat enough to just cover the bottom of the pan and moisten the meat thoroughly. Put the roasting pan in the oven and cook about 20 minutes until the meat begins to get crispy on top. Serve with horseradish creme fraiche (recipe below.)

Horseradish Creme Fraiche
1 cup creme fraiche (or sour cream, but creme fraiche is preferred)
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
Coarse salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Mix ingredients together. Serve over brisket. Even if you are not a fan of horseradish, this is quite possibly the most delicious sauce ever. 

Serve. Enjoy. Brag. Eat leftovers. 

Roasted Delicata Squash Stuffed with Wheat Berries, Mushrooms, Kale, and Goat Cheese.

Yesterday morning I was given the most magical glimpse into what a happy person I will be once fall is finally here. I know, I know, technically fall IS here, but tell that to the Native American Summer we're currently experiencing. And with the weather expected to hit 93 degrees tomorrow, Al Roker can take that weather report and shove it where the sun don't shine. Ok, I know that was kind of rude, but mother nature is a rude, 93 degree hearted bitch and what goes around comes around. And since I can't find her, I'm going to punish Al Roker for it. (Sorry, Al. She must be a real crappy boss.)

Anyways, yesterday morning was all foggy and there was a chill in the air. It made my heart happy. It made me want to bake and watch Home Alone and be all around joyful and pleasant. Unfortunately, Richard was at the gym because "joyful and pleasant" usually doesn't happen for me before 11am. Or my first glass of wine, whichever comes first. And some days you'd be surprised which comes first. So,  it really was such a good morning... until it was 85 degrees and then, well, it wasn't.  I love summer, but  enough is enough! I wanna cook some pumpkin shit, ya know?

So, I did. Nothing holds this ginger back.

We got some delicata squash in our CSA this week. What on earth do I do with these? I thought to myself... I mean, besides adding them to our transitional gourd display (it's almost time for pumpkins. goodbye gourds I've never heard of!). So initially I thought These are much too pretty to eat. But, you are what you eat, right? And pretty is a nice thing to be, so I decided to cook them. Now,  I know what that which saw in Hansel and Grëtl! Delicious, pretty youth. (Author's Note: Please do not eat children.)

Anywhoo, I think this is a good time to transition into the recipe...

Roasted Delicata Squash Stuffed with Wheat Berries, 

Mushrooms, Kale, and Goat Cheese. 

Ingredients:
1 delicata squash, cut in half with the guts scraped out
1 cup wheat berries, cooked according to package directions
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/2 onion, chopped
1 small clove of garlic, minced
1 cup kale
1/4 cup pecans, toasted
2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
Goat cheese
Kosher salt and pepper

Method:
Cook the wheat berries according to package instructions, which most likely say something like "Bring a pot of water to a boil and simmer the wheat berries, covered, for about an hour until tender." Something like that... Once cooked, drain and set aside.

Cut the delicata squash in half. Scrape out the guts, drizzle with 1 tbsp of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Turn it upside down on a cast iron pan and roast the squash at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes until tender. Mine started to caramelize on the edges and it was delicious.

While the squash is roasting, prepare the stuffing.

Sauté mushrooms and onion for about 7 minutes until golden and the liquid has evaporated from the mushrooms. Add the garlic and kale and sauté for another 2 minutes until wilted and fragrant. Remove from heat and stir in the pecans, cooked wheat berries, and chopped parsley.

Once the squashes are roasted to perfection, fill them with the wheat berry mixture and crumble some goat cheese on top. Then place back in the oven for 10-12 minutes until the cheese gets a little bit melty and delicious.

Enjoy!

Carolina Style BBQ Pulled Chicken

Oh, hi.
Remember me?
Ya... I have a blog.

You may remember me from the past few posts about my daily juicing "habit," buttttt, well.... I caught a cold and now the last thing that I want to drink is juice, so we are going to take a short break from that whole idea. I'm certainly not the best at committing to these grande plans that I come up with, but I am really good at my marriage and that is a huge commitment, so that's gotta give me some points, right? It kind of evens out? Look, I juiced some really good juices... and now I am ready to move on. Maybe I will come back to it, maybe I won't. I am on the no plan juice plan and were gonna play that plan by ear.

On a more positive, solid food note.... I catered a party a couple of weekends ago and pretended that I was a southern belle again. You know, the whole she-bang. Biscuits, pimento cheese, slaw, mac n cheese.... I did it up real southern and real delicious.

I really just love southern food. SO much. It's comforting, it's satisfying, and it's gosh darn delicious. (Ya, I said "gosh darn." It was cute, right?) You should give it a try... Southern food that is. It will make you happy and it will make you full which are the very best things to be.

a little southern birthday catering by yours truly. 

Ingredients:
5 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs (they don't have to be boneless and skinless, but it makes everything easier because you don't have to pick out the skin and bones. That all sounds very barbaric, but it is true.)
2 onions, quartered
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons liquid smoke
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Special equipment:
Slow cooker

carolina style BBQ pulled chicken

Method:
Place onions in slow cooker.
Blend brown sugar, paprika, salt and pepper; rub over chicken things.
Place chicken in a slow cooker and drizzle the liquid smoke over it. If you haven't used liquid smoke before, you are in for a treat. It is awesome.
Combine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and garlic, stir to mix well and then pour into slow cooker.
Cook the chicken on low for about 8 hours until it is falling apart and your house smells like heaven.
Remove meat and onions, discard onions and shred meat. Add juices from slow cooker to the shredded chicken so that it is super moist. I know that word is gross to many of you, but it is the only appropriate word. I am sorry.
Now, here's the really great thing... this chicken is freaking delicious by itself, or you can pile it on a bun, top it with some slaw, and eat it as the most delicious pulled chicken sandwich ever.

Enjoy!

Clamshell Mushroom Toasts with Goat Cheese & Fresh Thyme

Richard and I are creatures of habit.  Especially in the morning. We wake up at 7am. We walk the dogs. Rich makes a french press of coffee and turns on the Today Show while I make open faced breakfast sandwiches. Then we eat, drink our coffee and watch the news in perfect sync. (Unless we are hungover or have that rare "Vicky Christina Barcelona" morning of either passion or pugnacity. Though we still squeeze in the coffee and Today Show.)

But, this morning, I shook our world up a bit. You see, we got our CSA delivered as we do every Thursday, but this week, along with the end of summer/ beginning of fall produce, we were given a little package of very cute (and kind of weird) mushrooms. I swear they were alien fingers wearing turtle shells as thimbles, but apparently they are called clamshell mushrooms.

What the hell do you do with clamshell mushrooms? Other than laugh at and photograph them?

Nobody knows! So, as with most things that I don't know what to do with, I put them on toast.

Breakfast sandwich OUT... Cute mushroom toasts IN. (Routine broken. Mind blown.)

good day, sunshine.

Ingredients:
Clamshell mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/4 sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper
A few springs of fresh thyme
2 slices of whole grain bread
Goat cheese

Method:
Heat olive oil in a small pan over medium heat. Sauté sliced mushrooms and onion until caramelized, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, toast the slices of bread and then spread goat cheese on them while they are still warm so that the cheese gets nice and melty. Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper, and pile them on top of the toasts. Sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves.

Have a lovely Thursday!

Dry Rubbed, Slow Roasted, SERIOUS Chicken Legs

With two husbands in my life (one gay, one straight, both wonderful & Italian), I consider myself a very lucky lady. I mean some, less fortunate, girls can't even get themselves one boyfriend, let alone two husbands! That sounded a bit bratty. And a lot Mormon. It's not. But I definitely put in the legwork keep my men happy (I didn't mean it like that. Besides I don't have the legs required for the kind of legwork Marco would like, so get your mind out of that sexy, six legged gutter!) Where was I? Oh right, they say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Hopefully for us girls, that stomach is burried underneath some nice abs, not just more stomach, but that's besides the point. (Although, I could definitely get lost in that day dream for a minute...ok...) Anyways. Stomach. Food. Date Night.

Yes, that's where I was. Date night. I have date night with my hubby's tonight. Both of them. It's always one of my favorite nights of the week. Sometimes we have a surprise guest (I do have to approve of all of Marco's conquests, er- dates, after all) but tonight it's just the three of us, which is my favorite way to do it (bad reader, no gutter). My very favorite threesome (okay, I guess I'm asking for it now. Even this parenthetical is dirty. You really can't say threesome without it sounding dirty.) Haha.... wow, this is gonna be one of THOSE blogs I think. You're welcome.

Subject change.

When I stopped eating meat (6 months ago!) I promised the boys that I would still cook it for them as if nothing had changed, so that's the plan for tonight. I was perusing Smitten Kitchen for a new idea on how to prepare the 35 pounds of green beans that we got in our CSA box this week, when I came across a chicken recipe that made me start to drool a little. I mean, a lot. So, I decided that while I might think green beans and wheat berries make a lovely date night dinner, maybe my husbands would prefer some melt in your mouth meat (Marco!). So I decided to make this dry rubbed, slow roasted chicken. I know- they are crazy lucky. I also dance (twirl) like a boss.

 this chicken is delicious.

Ingredients:

Brine
4 cups water
1/3 cup Kosher salt
1/3 cup white or brown sugar
1/3 cup white vinegar

Dry Rub
6 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
4 tablespoons smoked paprika
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons Kosher salt
Up to 1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper

Chicken
5 pounds chicken legs. That's a lot of freaking chicken. Clearly, if you are not feeding an army, cut this recipe in half!

Sauce
A generous squeeze of honey
1 teaspoon cider vinegar

Method:
Brine the chicken: In a large plastic container, mix water, salt, sugar and vinegar. Add chicken parts and cover with a lid or plastic wrap in the fridge, for at least 1 hour and up to 6. I did it for 3 hours.

Make the rub: Mix the ingredients and mix them well. Like, so well. (I need to get a life.)


Prepare chicken: Heat oven to 300 degrees. Remove chicken parts from brine and pat dry. Place pieces of chicken on two very large pieces of foil, large enough to fold over chicken and form packets. Pat chicken pieces generously on all sides with rub; do not be shy about using more than seems… seemly. Turn the chicken pieces so their meatier sides are down, and tightly fold the foil around them to make two large packets.

 

these legs look like they are hugging.....

Place two cooling racks (which will act as baking racks) on two baking sheets (one on each). Place a chicken packet on each and place one sheet on an upper oven rack and one on a lower. I ruined my baking sheets in a small oven fire back on July 4th (ugh) so I just put the foil packet directly on the baking rack and put foil below it. My house didn't burn down, so I guess my way works, too. Bake chicken for 1 hour, then rotate baking sheets. Bake for another 30 to 60 minutes, until the internal temperature of the thickest part of each chicken reads 155 degrees. (Chicken is done at 160. This leaves you a little heat window for the next step, without leading to overcooking. If you’d like to skip this, just cook the chicken in foil until it reaches 160.)

 

this is the ugliest photo I have ever taken.

Finish the chicken: Heat broiler. Carefully open each packet of chicken and pour accumulated juices into a saucepan. Arrange chicken pieces on open foil packets and run each tray under the broiler until lightly crisped at edges and cooked through. Place on serving platter.

Make a sauce from the juices: Boil your accumulated juices in the saucepan over high heat for anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes, until it makes a syrupy sauce that coats a spoon. I like to add a squeeze of honey for flavor while it reduces. Once syrupy, add 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar. Serve with chicken.

I am serving this with gazpacho (because I am obsessed) and a green bean and wheat berry salad that you are gonna read all about tomorrow. Enjoy!

Summer Gazpacho & Summertime Lovin' Photo Blog

I was just looking through my phone trying to find some pictures from our garden this year. That way I could brag about how cute the Mr. and I are and how we (he) has such a green thumb and we pick our tomatoes while holding hands and blah blah blah. Then it hit me. "Sarah Keith...." I thought to myself because I always think to myself using my full married name.... "Sarah Keith.... why don't you just go outside and take some pictures of your garden for your blog?! Then you can show all four of your readers your beautiful and healthy plants and pretend that you made this recipe from them and them only... " 

But here's the thing. All of that super cute B.S. up above.... is exactly that. B.S. Our garden has been less than productive this year to say the very least. We had one amazing harvest mid June, but, unfortunately, our plants just couldn't hang this summer and all of the veggies that I used to make gazpacho from today are from Whole Foods. WHEW!!! It feels really good to get that off my chest. After all, honesty is the most important part of the blogger/blogee relationship. And honestly, sometimes my green thumb is well, just not. Even Rich's green thumbs (both of his are green... that's how good he is at plant stuff) couldn't keep up with the summer whirlwind that I have been this year. Who needs to water plants when you can pour another glass of rose down your beautiful wife's throat? (Yes, Gingers prefer rose, it's the ginger of wines.) What was I saying again? Oh right. I'm a distraction. Poor plants.

On a more positive note, it is almost time to rip up all of our terribly disappointing excuses for plants and replace them with fall crops! Sweet potatoes, beets, carrots, brussels sprouts... you name it, it's getting planted and will be very well documented (dead or alive) for your viewing pleasure. I have the cutest gardening gloves (and freckles), so an excess of photos will be necessary. Which brings me back to where I started in this crazy, rambling mess of a blog post. 

Photos. I love them and thought this would be the perfect time to share some gems that have been lost in the summertime shuffle. 

 

Holy Instagram addict  What am I going to swoon over when summer is over?! Gah- love it. But alas, the days are unfortunately starting to get shorter and tomatoes starting to get a little less juicy and I am going to squeeze every ounce of summer in until I break out the Christmas decorations. (We decorate for Christmas the day after Halloween.)

Wow, this has seriously been the most rambl-y blog of all time. My brain may still be mush from the weekend. Ok. "Sarah Keith... get it together." It's time for a recipe. It's a summery one, so this blog kind of makes sense. (Richard Keith is going to edit this and quite possibly murder me.)

So, today I made Gazpacho. Gazpacho is one of my absolute favorite summer foods! It's healthy, delicious and super refreshing! And the longer you keep it in the fridge, the better it gets! So make a big batch and eat it for days!!! (If it can last that long.... I seriously ate it for dinner last night and breakfast AND lunch today.) 

This gazpacho is all that I ever want to eat again. 

Ingredients:
1 hothouse cucumber, seeded and chopped (not peeled)
2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded and finely chopped (you can also use yellow or orange peppers for some more color)
6 plum tomatoes, chopped (if not plum, make sure to seed)
1 red onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
5 cups of tomato juice (more or less depending on how soupy you prefer your gazpacho!)
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 tsp tabasco sauce (do NOT omit this one, I promise it does NOT make it spicy; though if you like spice, add more!)
1/4 cup good olive oil
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

For garnish:
chopped basil 
chopped parsley
(optional.... but fresh herbs make everything 300% better!)

Method:
Sharpen your knives and get choppin! I like to chop everything really small (or make Rich chop everything really small while I sit at the kitchen table eating a popsicle. I am soooo good at being bossy.)If your veggies aren't chopped small enough it ends up looking more like salsa than soup and it's a pain to eat. So, listen to me like Rich does, I know what's up.

After your veggies are chopped, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, tabasco, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop and the more insanely delicious it becomes! 

Before serving, I add some chopped basil or parsley to brighten up the flavors even more!