Of course one of the best things about shopping at a Stonewall Kitchen location is getting to sample all of the deliciousness before you buy. I adore so many of the products.

Kathy picked up Pulled Pork Simmering Sauce and I decided on Seedless Red Raspberry Jam. This jam tastes and smells just like fresh picked summer raspberries, minus the thorn bush scrapes. It has the texture and uncooked flavor of a freezer jam and is superb on toast or stirred into plain yogurt. I am almost ashamed to say that my jar is two-thirds gone and I haven't shared any of it. Honestly, I hid it behind all of the other jams.

If you ever had the opportunity to try Fresh Samantha's Raspberry Dream (it only lives on in cyberspace), this product is its long lost jam cousin. Interestingly enough, this jam uses seedless raspberry puree as one of its base ingredients. I wonder if it is the same raspberry puree we used at Fresh Samantha to make Raspberry Dream?

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We have been having some behind the scenes technical woes so please bear with us if there are any duplicate posts. Everything should be fine as we move forward.

Thanks for your understanding

Now onto today's post:

Simply put, I am smitten with Smitten Ice Cream in San Francisco. Be ready to welcome the new trend in the ice cream shop – nitrogen processed ice cream while you wait. Or as they say at Smitten, New, Old Fashioned Ice Cream.

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The ice cream is exceptionally creamy and the flavors are perfect. I loved everything about my experience. They team behind this concept thought it all out very well. The branding is really nice and they offer loads of information around their space -which is a used empty shipping container.

Each day new flavors are offered along with unique toppings like pear caramel.  Housemade waffle cones that resembled pizzelle, are available too. While we were waiting to order we noticed these whimsical magnets that they use to call out the ingredients.

Once you order you can stand by this sign and learn all about liquid nitrogen:

As I learned at the Harold McGee Lecture Series at the French Culinary Institute a few years ago, one can make ice cream with liquid nitrogen in kitchen aid mixer but you still need access to the nitrogen. At Smitten they have pipes of liquid nitrogen that  adminster the nitrogen automatically and  efficiently directly into the mixer. This allows them to make it to order a few batches at a time which  takes about 1 minute for it to process – well worth the wait. The results are dreamy, creamy and full of flavor.

With the advent of commercial, custom and home machines being made available, this flavorista predicts the era of nitrogen ice cream about to begin. Case in point, Smitten is not the only place you can try this delightful frozen concotion. For you mid-western readers there is icream in Chicago and on the east coast, Nitro -which looks like it has grand plans for expansion.

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After an unseasonably warm winter so far, the cold temperatures have finally settled in, now we would like some snow please. (Seriously, my snowboarding and skiiing children need some snow!) Cold temperatures call for hot, hearty stews.

Lollie was gracious enough to jokingly pose for this kale coming out of your ears pose. Believe it or not, my neighbors still have garden kale available. I am competing with a flock of seven wild trukey who like to nibble on my neighbor's kale but I was able to get enough to make this satisifying stew.

And when you add kale to potatoes and sausage, finicky, non-kale eaters (aka Marco) don't notice.

Sausage, Potato and Kale Stew
Serves 6

Did you know that kale is even more delicious after the first frost? The cooler temperatures of fall tenderize the kale leaves so it’s time to move from kale salad to kale stew. This hearty stew is a meal by itself but feel free to gild the lily with a loaf of crusty bread and nice bottle of red wine.

2 Tbsp. butter
12 oz. white mushrooms, quartered
1 lb. sweet or hot sausage, meat pushed out of the links or cut into thin slices
1 onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp. sweet or smoked paprika
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 (15.5 oz) can cannellini beans, not drained
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups finely chopped kale
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Add the butter to a heavy pot over medium heat. When melted, add the mushrooms. Cook and stir until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to a bowl. Set aside.

Add sausage to the pot; cook and stir until sausage is almost cooked through. Add the onion, carrot, garlic, salt, celery seed, paprika and black pepper. Cook and stir until onion is fragrant and meat is completely cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Add the bay leaf, beans, potatoes and broth to the pot along with the cooked mushrooms. Bring to a simmer and stir in the kale. Cover and cook until potatoes, carrots and kale are tender, about 20 minutes.

If desired, garnish each bowl with a generous Tbsp. of Parmesan. If there are any leftovers, this stew freezes and reheats nicely.

Cook’s Note: While I love mushrooms, I understand that not everyone shares my affection. If you prefer, omit the mushrooms and simply begin the recipe with step 2.

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For the first time in many moons, I watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in its entirety while sipping bellinis and nibbling on warm croissants compliments of the frozen foods section of Trader Joe's.

I always buy my croissants at Standard Baking Company but my knee, the weather and icy roads were working against me so I asked Marco to pick up something yummy at Trader Joe's for Thanksgiving breakfast. My hunting and foraging husband came through in spades.

These little dandies thaw and rise overnight at room temperature. After 20 minutes in the oven you've got buttery, flaky yumminess. Just add some cafe au lait (or a bellini) for a complete treat, definitely not everyday fare but certainly perfect for a holiday morning.

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A recent trip to Boston provided me with the opportunity to try a gin new to US markets. Full disclosure: I am very fond of gin and happen to think it is marvelous mixed with tonic or swirled with vermouth in a classic martini.

No.3 Gin has a great story to back up its superb flavor. With over 300 years of gin making experience, Berry Bros. & Rudd know a thing or two about gin. Made from a proprietary recipe of three fruits and three spices, No.3 Gin is a traditional London Dry Gin.

The fruits are Italian juniper, Spanish orange peel and grapefruit peel. The spices are angelica root, Moroccan coriander seed and cardamom. Gin is so fantasticly flavorful, a vodka martini simply cannot compare a well made gin martini.

If you happen to have a gin drinker on your holiday list, I promise that No.3 Gin will surely delight.

3 Martini Lunch with No.3 Gin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCigspeKAcc

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The good news is that it is easy enough to make at home; save your restaurant bucks for the Christmas shopping budget

Roasting squash and sweet potatoes take little effort and it can be done ahead of time to save time on soup day. I prefer roasting to steaming or boiling because it concentrates and deepens the flavor of the vegetables.

Oven-Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Serves 6

This vegetarian soup pairs savory winter squash and sweet apples to create a creamy soup that is sure to please everyone at the table. This fall classic is perfect on its own or served alongside a grilled cheese sandwich.

1 medium butternut squash
1 sweet potato, about 1 lb.
2 Tbsp. butter or olive oil
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 large apple, peeled and chopped
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. paprika
pinch of cayenne
5 cups vegetable broth, divided
2 Tbsp. honey, agave or brown sugar
2 Tbsp. molasses
2 tsp. cider vinegar or 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 cup heavy cream (optional)
finely chopped fresh cilantro or fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut squash in half lengthwise with a strong knife and a strong arm. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon and discard. Prick the sweet potato with a fork. Place the sweet potato and squash, skin side up, onto a baking sheet.

Roast for 1 hour or until very tender, depending on the size of the squash, it make take 15-20 minutes more. When cool enough to touch, scoop cooked squash out of the skin and transfer to a food processor.

Slice the sweet potato lengthwise and scoop the sweet potato away from the skin. Add it to the food processor with 1 cup of broth and puree until very smooth. This step can be done one day ahead and puree can be refrigerated until needed to prepare the soup.

While the squash roasts, you can prepare the soup base. Add the butter to large pot over medium heat. When melted, add the next 11 ingredients to the pot (onion through cayenne).

Cook and stir until onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add 1 cup of broth to the vegetables and stir well. Cover and simmer until carrots and celery are tender, about 10 minutes.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the vegetables to a food processor. Add 1 cup of broth to the processor and puree until smooth. Add it back to the pot along with the pureed squash and whisk until smooth. Alternatively, process the soup with a hand held blender.

Stir in the remaining 3 cups of broth, honey, molasses and cider vinegar. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to low, stir in the cream, if using, and cook for 10 minutes uncovered. Garnish each bowl with a sprinkling of cilantro or parsley.

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This potato recipe is a perfect example.

This week was a particularly good week for finding new things that everyone in my family will eat and ask for again. The first being this recipe for slow roasted potatoes from The Slow Roasted Italian via food gawker.

The genius in the recipe is two fold. First, the potatoes are par-cooked in the microwave  for 4 to 5 minutes before tossing them in the secret ingredient: cornstarch. There are only 6 Tbsp. of olive oil in the whole recipe and the end result is crispy delicousness.

This recipe does not disapoint. I made only a few changes. First, I omitted the fresh garlic/oil step as I find that fresh garlic gets burnt in the oven at high temperatures and then has a bitter after taste.

Dehydrated Garlic works really well. I do not recommend garlic POWDER as a substitute. In case you have'nt noticed by now, I NEVER recommend garlic powder. I really do not like garlic powder. Regular granulated garlic will work just fine. Second, I added some paprika and thyme. Next I am going to try this same technique with sweet potatoes! Stay tuned…

Garlicky Oven Baked Potato Fries

Adapted from The Slow Roasted Italian

1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, cut into fairly consistent thin wedges
1 tsp. freeze dried scallions
1 1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 1/2 tsp freshly grated black pepper
1/2 to full tsp. granulated garlic
(depending on how garlicky you like them. I like it at 3/4 tsp.)
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. paprika 
6 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup. cornstarch
1/8 cup freshly grated parmesan
(optional, added at the end of cooking)

Cut the potatoes and place them into a large bowl suitable for a microwave. Cover with plastic wrap and place the bowl in the microwave and cook on high heat for 4 to 5 minutes. The potatoes should look slightly translucent. Preheat your oven to 440 degrees. Convection works really well on this recipe.

Remove the plastic warp and scatter the potatoes onto a cookie sheet. Sprinkle the aromatics and drizzle the oil over the potatoes. Use a sifter to sprinkle the cornstarch over the potatoes, toss to coat and then add remaining cornstarch. Spread the seasoned potatoes out evenly over the cookie sheet.

Place in the overn and cook for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. You can add the parmesan during the last bit of cooking, toss to coat and the cook for about 2 minutes.

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Labaneh, not to be confused with keffir cheese or Greek sour cream is a wonderful "cheese" made from strained yogurt that has many iterations from the Eastern Mediterranean. In most households the plain strained yogurt is simply served with some dried mint and unfiltered olive oil as a dip for pita bread. Some add Z'hatar spice too. Sammy's takes it a few delectable steps further.

A quick web search found me scratching my head as there seemed to be quite few interpretations of what constitutes labaneh.  One of my favorite blogs, The Nourished Kitchen had thorough information as to how to make labaneh and then suggestions as to how to enjoy it in addition to  all the health benefits you get from eating it. Wikipedia provided decent background information on strained yogurt.

Recently I found Lebni from Greek Gods  which they sell as Kefir Cheese. Then I found a torn out page from Saveur magazine from a few years back featuring Lebni in their 100 issue.

I was driven to my tower of cookbooks. Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid, intrepid Canadian travelers and chroniclers of international traditional foods as well as the amazing Eastern Mediterranean expert, Claudia Roden and historical food writer Anne Mendelson, offered what I needed in terms of background and recipes.

Flatbread and Flavors, a favorite book by Alford and DuGuid, and Anne Mendelson's Milk Through the Ages have the best recipes for making yogurt cheese balls that you store in olive oil. If you don't have either book and don't feel like purchasing yet another cookbook – their technique is the same as the one on the Nourished Kitchen site listed above. Claudia Roden in Arabesque calls it "cheese and yogurt dip" and includes adding feta to the yogurt -like Yummy's, but no walnuts.

Here is my version of Yummy's labaneh. I guarantee that you will enjoy this tangy, salty, herbaceous "yogurt cheese". I served it with some homemade pita crisps (Labaneh is pictured in the center) and even placed some in some nastursum flowers.

The other nibbles are fresh figs with caramelized walnuts and Pt. Reyes blue cheese, dates with parmesean cheese and Marcona Almonds and "fried" chick peas (recipe posting soon). To me the closest thing I can relate this "cheese" recipe to is French Boursin. I could see leftovers being used in Kimberly's Grilled Portabella Mushroom Sandwich on Meatless Mondays.

Barr's Lebaneh

1/4 cup toasted walnuts
1/4 feta cheese
1/4 cup Greek Gods Lebani (Keffir Cheese)
1 clove garlic
EVVO, a nice fruity variety
1 Tbsp. each Chives, mint, parsley -chopped fine

You can make this by hand which makes for a wonderful consistency, but I prefer to use my food processor. The recipe also easily doubles for a crowd.

Place the walnuts into the food processor and pulse until they are fine and crumbly. Remove about 1 Tbsp.

Add the feta and Greek God's keffir cheese and the clove of garlic. Turn machine on and puree with the machine running add about 1/8 cup olive oil.

Remove from the food processor and place into a bowl. Stir in the finely chopped herbs. Drizzle on some more olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with the remaining walnuts and serve.

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The combination of apricots and basil was a surprise for me and one that I never have considered. The dried apricots (and I recommend using the sulphured kind) give this dressing a beautiful color when blended with the basil.

Seneca adapted it from About.com. After reading the original recipe, I think her adaptation is really superior and easier to make year round when fresh apricots are not available. This is the perfect time of year to make this dressing as the basil is plentiful and inexpensive.

Seneca's Basil and Dried Apricot Salad Dressing
Enough for a large salad for 2.

It is best to make and use this dressing on the same day because it will lose its vibrant color if it sits too long.

4 dried apricots, sulphured apricots are preferable as you will have a nicer color
1 to 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar, to taste (slightly sweet or more acidic)
1 tsp. raw blue agave
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
2 Tbsp. grapseed oil or mild olive oil
     (nut oil like walnut or almond would be good too)
Salt and Pepper, to taste (see pantry note about flake salt below)

Rehydrate the apricots in hot water. Drain away all of the water except for 1 Tbsp.

Put the apricots and the reserved water in a blender along with the cider vinegar, and agave. Process into a thick puree. Add the chopped basil and blend again. Now whisk in the oil.

Arrange your salad: Arugula, mache, spinach and baby greens are all excellent choices. In one version, I added toasted walnuts and the Early Girl tomatoes that are so abundant in Boulder Farmer's Markets. This dressing also works well on raw kale salad.

Flavorista Bonus Material
Some of My Pantry Staples:

Maldon's Smoked Sea Salt Flakes are an excellent choice for salads. Sprinkle it over the salad just before serving, rather than mixing it ito the dressing, for the best flavor and effect.

The entire  Wholesome Sweeteners line is noteworthy but I especially like this organic agave.

Spectrum's Organic unfiltered apple cider vinegar is my preferred cider vinegar. I've tasted quite a few brands, and this one is by far the best as it doesn't have a harsh bite.

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We paid homage to the unique property (that used to be surrounded by wheat fields but is now McMansion land) with a lunch and egg hunt under the enormous cottonwood trees my father in-law planted back in the 60's.

The main entree was a wonderful Morroccan-inspired cold grilled chicken dish with roasted red peppers and caramelized onions. We served it alongside Kimberly's carrot salad, a green bean salad with walnuts and a fresh garden salad. Kimberly's corn salad would also be delcious with this dish. Perfect for an Indian summer al fresco feast.

Morrocan Chicken with Roasted Red Pepper and Caramlized Onions
Serve 15 to 20 depending on how many side dishes you have.

5 Lbs. onions, sliced thinly and caramelized
3 large red bell peppers, roasted on a grill, peeled and sliced

Marinade for the chicken:
12 lbs Chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
Zest and Juice from 2 oranges and 2 lemons
1/4 cup prepared Harissa (or to your taste)
2 Tbsp. granulated garlic
2 Tbsp. freshly ground coriander seeds
1 Tbsp. freshly toasted and ground cumin seeds
salt and pepper
1/2 cup honey or agave

Place all ingredients together in a zip lock bag and add the chicken. Close the bag and massage the marinade into the chicken. Refrigerate over night. 1 hour before you grill the chicken, remove the bag from the refrigerator and place the contents onto a large platter. Cover lightly and allow to come to room temperature. Grilling, roasting or searing  any meat a room temperature is always best.

Light or heat your grill. Once it's piping hot, either spread out the coals or lower the heat to medium. Grill the chicken until done then place onto another clean platter. I grilled my peppers while I did the chicken. Make sure save all the juices which will be on the bottom of the platter once the chicken is cool enough to handle.

For the Garnish:

2 preserved lemons, diced (They sell these now in the olive bar at Whole Foods and they are really good.)
freshly chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper

To Serve: Place the onions on the bottom of a large platter. Once the chicken is cool, slice thinly on the diagonal and arrange right on top of the onions. Now slice the roasted and peeled bell peppers into long slivers and ring it around the chicken. Sprinkle the garnish on top. Just before serving, pour the reserved chicken juices over the top. If you like you can toss all of this together but I prefer the presentation of the layers of food.

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