Migrant Kitchen

Celebratory Pizza Sauce

2012-08-08T12:53:00.000-05:00

Pizza is weirdly important to me. I know, I know, you like pizza, too. But this is my blog, so save it for the comments. So let’s get back to me:

For starters, I appreciate things that are shaped like other things.

Every year for as long as I remember, I’ve eaten Larosa’s pizza with my mom, brother and twin on my (fine, our) birthday. It’s a whole thing. There are candles involved that drip all over the middle of the pizza, and I blow mine out five minutes before Annie gets to blow out hers. On our birth minutes. Which I know is weird, but it’s weird to me that you, as a non-twin, probably don’t even know when your birth minute is. I bet your mother remembers that minute; have you even called her today? You should thank her for what she went through in that minute.

But this year, for the first time in twenty-six years, my birth minute (1:44 p.m., by the way) passed unannounced. It was my first ever mom-less, twin-less, Larosa-less birthday. But it was not a pizza-less birthday. We filled the house with friends and filled the table with ooey, gooey, fresh-from-the-oven pizzas. It's a good way to turn 26.

Pizza nights make for ideal dinners with friends. You can either make the dough yourself or pick it up for a few bucks at places like Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. Everybody loves rolling out pizza dough, and you can be topping one pie while another is in the oven. You should also have wine on hand, especially if I'm invited.

And while tomatoes are fresh and flavorful at the markets, now is the perfect time to make your own sauce. It gets messy for a minute (you have to peel a few tomatoes), but it’s a cinch to bring together and totally, 100% worth a few hand washings. Your kitchen will smell amazing, your guests (or family, or just your damn self) will be impressed, and your pizza will taste like summer. And if you add about a teaspoon of extra sugar, it will taste like my birthday.

Pizza Sauce

Confession: I had to make this an extra time to get the measurements written down. The first time around, I just started with tomatoes and added things until it tasted like pizza. This recipe is delicious, but if you’re feeling adventurous, I wholeheartedly support your own pizza-inventing adventures. Just be sure to let me know how it goes!

6 medium tomatoes, peeled* and roughly chopped

4-6 cloves roasted garlic**

4 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

salt and pepper, to taste

In a large stockpot, cook tomatoes over medium-low heat until they start to break down, about 10 minutes. Add next 5 ingredients and puree with immersion blender (alternatively, you can use a conventional blender or mash with a potato masher for a slightly chunkier sauce that will still be delicious).

Mixture will be quite liquid-y at this point. Continue to simmer over medium-low heat until it reduces into pizza sauce, about 20-30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste (note: since there is no salt in any of the ingredients, don't be afraid to salt liberally).

* To peel tomatoes: Bring a few inches of water to a low boil. Using the tip of a sharp knife, cut a shallow X in the bottom of each tomato's skin. Drop tomatoes in the boiling water for about 30 seconds, making sure that they are fully submerged (if the water isn't deep enough, just slowly roll them around). Remove from water and the skin should peel away easily.

** To roast garlic: Set oven to 350. Slice the top off of a head of garlic until most cloves are just exposed. Drizzle with olive oil, making sure that head is well-coated, and wrap in aluminum foil. Roast in oven until cloves are very soft, about 30-40 minutes. When it's cool enough to handle, you should be able to easily squeeze cloves from their skin.

You can use roasted garlic in just about everything, so you might as well throw a few extra heads in there. I have a tendency to just eat any extra cloves plain, but they also keep well in the fridge.

Green Monsters

2012-05-24T15:47:00.000-05:00

As much as I love cookouts and playing outside, I don’t handle heat especially well. In elementary school, I had a tendency to throw up on the back of people’s heads under the stage lights during chorus concerts. I only had to mow the lawn once as a child, because Dad found me lying pathetically in the shade of a tree, valiantly trying to muster the strength to go on. And I've recently discovered that I’m willing to abandon entire relationships to temporarily escape NOLA’s intense heat. Under pressure, air conditioning means more to me than love or friendship. I’m not proud of that, but it’s my personal truth.

I’ve developed coping mechanisms since moving South, some of which have the neighbors questioning my sanity. I’ve been known to freshen up in sprinklers on private property, for example. My eating habits also change. Fresh fruits and crisp, crunchy veggies rule the day. I’m still a sucker for a sandwich or a big bowl of cereal, but what I really want all day long is green monsters!

No, I’m not eating the tiny lizards that live on my porch (and sometimes die in my house. Sorry, lizards!). I mean smoothies! Creamy, light, refreshing smoothies. A big handful of spinach turns the whole situation an exciting green and adds a wollop of nutrition without changing the flavor. I can't think of a better way to start the day. Or finish the day. Or, y'know, be part of the day. The boy thinks I have a smoothie problem, but how can something so full of goodness ever be a problem?

My basic smoothie is super simple, just four ingredients including the ice. Slightly sweet and very mild, it's perfect for an exhaustingly hot day. But if you want a bigger/ more flavorful/ more substantial smoothie, it’s simple: Just add more stuff!

Don't knock ANY of this until you've tried it!

Lots more stuff if you want, but I suggest only one or two extras at a time. So below, you have my crazy easy basic recipe, followed by a list of my favorite additions. But don't let me hold you back, follow the blender in your heart!

Green Monster

I know what you're thinking, because I thought it once, too. But a smoothie's not a big commitment, so why not try it?

1 very ripe banana

Splash of milk (I use almond milk, which is slightly sweetened)

6 ice cubes

A BIG handful of spinach

Blend and enjoy!

Optional Additions

Almond or peanut butter

Apple

Blueberries

Carrot (they're very sweet; just trust me on this one!)

Cinnamon

Coconut (shredded OR milk)

Fresh mint

Honey (especially if your banana isn't very ripe)

Orange slices or juice
Big scoop of Ovaltine

Protein powder (this will thicken your smoothie like crazy)

Any mild lettuce (in place of spinach)

Vanilla

Summery, Minted Fruit Salad

2011-06-25T00:11:00.004-05:00

There are a lot of things that I love about summer. For example: watermelon stomachaches, of which I have had a least half a dozen since I've been back in Cincinnati. Any day that I have the opportunity to eat enough watermelon to cause me physical pain is a good day.

Also: not wearing pants. I don't have anything against pants, specifically (except when I have watermelon gut and they don't fit). But it's pretty fantastic to go from running shorts to skirts and back again, over and over again. From June through August, the only purpose my jeans serve is to be tried on occasionally so I can make sure that they'll still fit come cooler weather.

But summer has an ugly side, too. Namely: bug bites. After a day of adventuring in the woods, the boy and I stopped to compare the damage. I had at least 17 bug bites. His final count? Zero. Not fair.

Luckily, I have a loving mother who consulted the Interwebs for the latest and greatest bug bite home remedies. They included (and I'm not embarrassed to admit that I tried most of them, desperate times and all): a dab of toothpaste, rubbing alcohol, egg membrane, the inside of a banana peel, and (I'm not joking) circling the bites with a ballpoint pen. Shockingly, even the ballpoint pen failed to work (to be fair, that was listed as a mosquito bite remedy, and mine are almost certainly chigger bites. That was probably the problem.).

Fortunately, I have wonderfully colorful and delicious summer produce to console me in the rough times. I am 100% supportive of just chopping up whatever looks good and serving it plain for fruit salad, but this guy is for when you have just a few extra minutes (or need something just a tad more fancy). It's the absolute best of summer flavors: whatever fruit strikes your fancy, fresh mint, crisp white wine, and a touch of sweet agave. Light and bursting with the bright flavors of the season, it's perfect for any summer occasion, or for no occasion at all.

Minted Fruit Salad

I have a list of suggested fruits included, but let's be honest, you know how to make a fruit salad. I would say your best bet is to use whatever is in season and looks best at the store (or whatever's cheapest, I don't judge!).

1/3 cup white wine
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped finely
2-4 tablespoons agave nectar
juice and zest of 1 lime

1 pineapple
1 pint strawberries (if tart, chop and sprinkle with sugar; let sit for 10 minutes before adding to salad)
3 or 4 kiwis
3 bananas
2 oranges

With a mortar and pestle (or a fork and a bowl, I've done it both ways), muddle the mint with a splash of the wine. Mix in the rest of the wine, the agave, and the lime juice and zest. Peel and chop fruit, and toss fruit with the sauce. Enjoy!

Makes about 8-10 servings.

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Chocolate Meringues

2011-06-13T22:30:00.002-05:00

There have been an unsettling number of dessert recipes coming out of my kitchen these past couple months, I know. But sometimes the sweeter things in life are unavoidable, and these latest little guys are the least likely to send you out shopping for bigger pants. With only six ingredients, they're also unlikely to send you to the grocery.

I've done meringues twice in the past week; they're that dead simple and delicious. Light and airy in a way that crunches and then immediately melts in your mouth, I'm convinced they're the perfect summer dessert. The first meringue adventure came in the form of a cupcake topping. Moist vanilla cupcakes topped with a light lemony fluff, it was delightful. But the second time around I did chocolate. I love fruity, summery desserts as much as the next guy, but chocolate will always have a special place in my heart, so that's the recipe you're getting today.

My new most favorite thing about being an adult?
No one can make you scrape the beater before you lick it.

Just a couple things to know about meringues:
1. They're super simple. As in, about ten minutes of prep followed by a couple completely unsupervised hours in the oven.
2. I've heard that they'll keep for a few days under the right circumstances, but I have yet to experience it myself. It probably has to do with the Cincinnati humidity, but mine were totally soft and sad the second day. Still delicious, though.
3. You'll be separating egg whites for these guys. You may want to involve multiple bowls in the process, because if you get just the teeniest bit of yolk mixed in, you're going to be starting over.

Chocolate Meringues

Adapted slightly from All Recipes

These got rave reviews at girls' night several hours after I made them, but it should also be noted that the very most magical moment for these specific meringues is the very minute they first come out of the oven. They're not at all too hot to eat (since the oven is relatively cool), but there are pockets of barely-gooey chocolate chips in the middle. Amazing.

3 large egg whites

2/3 cup sugar (I used a bit less)

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Beat egg whites with cream of tartar and vanilla until soft peaks form. Continue to beat as you slowly add in sugar, and beat until meringue turns glossy and holds stiff peaks (you should be able to scoop a spoonful and turn the spoon upside down without any of it dripping off).

Fold in cocoa powder and chocolate chips. To shape the meringues, I like to put the mixture into a gallon-sized ziplock bag, cut one of the corners off and pipe them onto the prepared baking sheet in little drops. You could also just drop it on in small spoonfuls (if you go that route, I would spray the spoon with Pam, as the mixture will be very sticky).

Put meringues in preheated oven and immediately turn the heat off. Leave them in without opening the oven for at least two hours, up to overnight.

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Orange-Scented Creme Brulee

2011-05-31T13:53:00.002-05:00

The problem with blogging about things made for dinner parties is that there is limited time for taking lovely photos. I realized halfway through dessert that I had zero pictures of my finished creme brulee. So let me tell you about it: it was delightful, delicately flavored with both orange and vanilla. The custard was dense and perfectly smooth. The sugar layer didn't quite crackle and harden under my broiler (my rack was definitely too far down), but it melted enough for a satisfying crack through the top layer. And the whole thing was actually quite simple. Best of all, you can make it the night before and just stick it in the fridge until you're ready to pop it under the broiler for the crispy top sugar layer.

Orange-Scented Creme Brulee

Cobbled together from a bunch a recipes, including Alton Brown's

Short on ramekins and with a longish guest list, I made one big brulee in a 9x9 glass baking dish, and two small ones for the boys.

Baked but not topped

10 egg yolks
4 cups heavy cream
zest of one large orange
juice of 1/2 of said orange
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 325.

Heat cream, vanilla and orange zest and juice in a large saucepan, and remove from heat as soon as it comes to a boil.

Meanwhile, beat yolks with sugar until thoroughly mixed and the yolks lighten in color a bit. Add the cream about a half cup at a time, stirring constantly. Pour mixture into large glass baking dish or individual ramekins. Place dish(es) in a deep baking or roasting pan, and fill the outside dish with enough hot water to come about halfway of the sides of the ramekins/ baking dish.

Carefully move to the oven and bake until the custard is set, but the middle is still quite wobbly. You should be able to lay a finger on it, but it should shake like undercooked jello. Remove from oven and chill until cold, at least three hours for a large dish. Can be stored at this point for up to three days.

Remove from fridge for 5-30 minutes before sprinkling about 1/4 cup sugar evenly over the top (a sifter helps with even coverage). Either broil until the sugar melts and crisps (watching very carefully, sugar burns in a flash. This should take about 3 minutes, if your rack is close enough to the top of the oven), or use a kitchen torch.

You can serve creme brulee warm or cold. For warm, let sit for about 5 minutes before serving. If you prefer it cold (like me!), put back in fridge for about 30 minutes, up to two hours. Much longer than that, and you'll start to lose some of the crunch of the top layer.

Serves about 10.

Chocolate Drenched Coconut Macaroons

2011-05-29T23:58:00.005-05:00

....this is embarassing. I've been completely MIA for over a month, but I can explain! First came the hectic last couple weeks of the semester, followed by a hellish finals week. That awful week also kicked off three weeks of low-carb sadness, because I had to lose 3 pounds for a jiu jitsu tournament (actually, there were few enough women that they didn't bother weighing us in. I. Was. Not. Happy.). Turns out, not being allowed to eat fruit, pasta, bread, rice, or any kind of sweetener that's not made of chemicals dampens my love of cooking. I texted my sister about four hours into the diet to tell her that I was starving, probably to death.

But I'll make it up to you, I swear. I'll make it up to you with drippy dark chocolate, smothering coconut macaroons that manage to be both gooey and crispy in the same bite. I'm pretty sure I've given myself diabetes in one fell swoop this weekend. And the abs that appeared around day 19 of low carb misery? Gone. Totally worth it, by the way. You'll see.

Teeny chocolate chip and coconut sandwiches
are delightful, but not very resilient.

That's a month's worth of delicious right there, but there's more. The macaroons call for five egg whites. And the boy doesn't like coconut, but he didn't want to run the risk of there not being enough to go around just in case he likes coconut when it's in a macaroon. So, he decided that we (I) should make a double batch. And while I can talk myself into throwing away two or three egg yolks, ten is just too many to waste. I was clearly morally obligated to make creme brulee as well. I'll get that recipe up for you later this week (trust me, you want it), because the macaroons deserve their own time to shine.

Everything should be bathed in chocolate.

I used to not like coconut, but I'm pretty sure I was just confused for the first decade and a half of my life. Maybe I wasn't ready for true happiness yet, but I've come a long way. And of course, a good drenching in dark chocolate makes anything better. These guys come out sticky-sweet, in some delicious limbo between cookie and candy. Your hands will get messy, and if you bake like I do, you're in for a (again, totally worth it) tummy ache before the oven even enters into the equation. But messes aside, this is a pretty simple recipe that keeps beautifully and is more impressive than difficult. And it turns out, by the way, that the boy does like coconut when it's tucked inside a macaroon, so there you have it.

Chocolate-Covered Coconut Macaroons

From Molly Wizenberg's A Homemade Life
(Adapted just slightly)

I added a quarter cup of coconut milk to the ganache, but only because I had it. I don't think it made enough of a difference to buy a can, so I'm leaving it out of the recipe.

7 cups sweetened shredded coconut

1 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar

10 large egg whites

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 bag bittersweet chocolate chips (11.5 ounces, but I had extra)

1 cup heavy cream

Stir together coconut, egg whites and 1 cup sugar in large, heavy saucepan and cook over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes.Stir frequently. Mixture will turn creamy at first, then slowly begin to dry out. Remove from heat when it is still very sticky (not dry), but no longer creamy (Molly points out that individual coconut flakes will become visible, and that was helpful to me).

Stir in vanilla and transfer to a large casserole dish or baking sheet to cool, smoothing it out fairly thin. Cool in fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 300 and line baking sheets (I used two and had about 5 macaroons worth left) with parchment paper. Do not use waxed paper, or your life will be a disaster. If you don't have parchment paper, just butter the pan and be prepared to scrub it later.

Form mixture into small, firmly packed balls using your hands or a one-tablespoon measuring spoon and place on baking sheet. They won't spread out like cookies, so feel free to place them very closely together. The mixture will be very sticky, so rinse your hands and scoop frequently to ease the process.

Bake until lightly golden all over, about 45- 55 minutes (the original recipe says 30, but mine took much longer). Cool completely. Macaroons can be stored at this point in the fridge for several days or in the freezer for months.

When macaroons are fully cooled, place a cooling rack over a parchment-lined baking sheet and heat the cream in a saucepan over medium heat until steaming but not boiling, stirring or swirling occasionally to prevent scalding. Pour over chocolate in a mixing bowl. Let sit for 1 minute, add remaining sugar and stir until smooth.

Dunk macaroons one or two at a time in the chocolate ganache, covering completely. Remove with a fork and shake some of the chocolate off before placing on rack. When all are coated, refrigerate until fully cooled and no longer sticky (this took about 3 hours for mine). Store in the fridge and enjoy!

Macaroons will keep for several days in the fridge or a couple months in the freezer.

Makes about 45 macaroons.

Pistachio Pudding

2011-04-24T21:34:00.001-05:00

Happy Easter! In addition to such lovely things as teeny girls in poofy dresses and a perfect excuse NOT to work on finals, Easter means something very important to me this year in particular: I get to eat sugar again! Mom (er, excuse me, the Easter Bunny) tortured me with a giant box of candy that arrived several days early, but I officially made it through. I celebrated at midnight with a decidedly disappointing Tootsie Roll: it turns out my no-processed-sugar dessert concoctions are more delicious than many sugar-laden treats. However, I did very much enjoy a stolen bite of the boy's cereal this morning. Off-brand Smacks, mmmmmm.

So, Lenten resolutions more or less fulfilled (I didn't have any official lapses, but I also didn't ask as many questions as I could have), today seems like the perfect time for a sweet treat. I actually had some trouble choosing a recipe. I wanted to make this or this, but I realized that neither of them call for any processed sugar! I'll for sure try those another day and let you know how it goes, but they just weren't right for today. Turns out, today is a pudding kind of day. Which is not a bad day, at all.

Normally, I post a day or two after making something, but not today. I wanted to get something up for Easter, but I also am well aware that I don't have the self-control to not taste while I'm cooking (also, I'm pretty sure that's how almost everyone gets kicked off of Chopped. Is that show still on?). I clearly couldn't make pudding a single minute before Lent was officially over. So this time around, we get to enjoy delicious things together! Well, kind of. In that I get to enjoy it, and you get to imagine enjoying it. Almost the same.

On the bright side, you also only have to imagine what a pain it is to pry open an entire cup of pistachios at a time.

This pistachio pudding turns out a lovely, Eater-appropriate pastel-ish green. My initial reaction upon seeing the recipe (which calls for only white sugar) was to tweak some maple syrup or agave into it, but that seemed out of the spirit of winning at Lent (that may not be the official term...). So I give you the recipe in all it's deliciously American, processed-sugar glory. The pistachio flavor is definitely present, but pretty mild. Think vanilla pudding with a twist. Five scraped-clean dishes suggest that it's a damn tasty Easter dessert. A dollop of homemade whipped cream certainly wouldn't be out of place here, but my swimsuits suggested that I keep things reasonable for now. But next time...

Ready for the fridge.
Also, possibly protected from mind readers.

Pistachio Pudding

From Joy the Baker

The original says that this makes 6 servings, but I would call it 4. I did, however, leave my pistachios kind of chunky (and then strain most of them out). Thought you should know.

1 cup salted pistachios

2/3 cup white sugar, separated

1/4 cup water

2 cups milk (probably not skim. I used 2%)

2 egg yolks

2 tablespoons corn starch

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons butter

Run pistachios through food processor until barely chunky. Add 1/3 cup sugar and water, process until fairly smooth.

Heat pistachio paste and milk in a saucepan over medium heat until steaming, whisking occasionally. Meanwhile, mix together egg yolks, corn starch and remaining 1/3 cup sugar. Mixture will be very thick, but whisk with a fork until well-combined.

Slowly whisk 1 cup of steaming milk mixture into the yolk mixture. Add back into the saucepan with the milk and pistachios. Whisking constantly, bring to a low boil over medium heat. Make sure to occasionally scrape the edges of the saucepan to prevent burning. Boil for about one minute, or until thickened.

Add butter and vanilla, mixing until butter has melted. At this point, you can choose to run the pudding through a fine sieve. This serves two purposes: 1) it gets our any bits of egg that may have scrambled and 2) it gets out the chunks of pistachio. I strained mine this time, but probably won't next time. I didn't have any scrambled egg bits (and you shouldn't either, if you stir constantly), and I suspect I wouldn't mind a nuttier pudding. But if you want a smoother pudding, go ahead and strain.

Spoon into ramekins and cover with plastic wrap (make sure the wrap touches the surface of the pudding of you want to avoid a skin from forming). Refrigerate for at least four hours, and enjoy!

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Strawberries and (coconut) Cream

2011-04-05T00:14:00.001-05:00

I gave up processed sugar for Lent. The thing is, I kind of forgot about Lent for the first week. By the time I remembered, it seemed like I had to either go big or just continue ignoring it. Of course, as soon as I decided to give up processed sugar, I made the mistake of trying to eat something. You know what has processed sugar in it? Everything.

I thought I knew what I was getting into. I knew I'd have to read labels on things like bread and ketchup. Turns out I shouldn't have bothered. You just can't find things like bread or ketchup at the grocery store without loads of sugar or corn syrup. I've had to decide to be flexible (ie, not crazy) on a few things. For example, I will not buy a fifth jar of peanut butter just because the four I already have all have sugar (shut up- two of them are flavored). I just eat the one with sugar listed nearest the end.

I also will not ask a restaurant if things like croutons or pizza sauce contain sugars, for two reasons: one, I've worked in restaurants, and I don't want to be that guy. And two, I already know the answer: This is America, so yes they do. I also went ahead and finished my box of All Bran, the only sweetened perishable item I couldn't talk Erik into eating for me. I don't feel bad about it; All Bran is hardly a splurge.

The thing is, though, I really like sweet things. Plus, it's Girl Scout cookie season, which seems like a cruel joke at this point. But I'm both resourceful and committed enough to dessert to work through this potential disaster.

Behold my new favorite discovery. It's almost as easy as scooping out some ice cream (maybe easier, depending on how cold you keep your freezer) and just as delicious. And that's coming from a girl who takes her ice cream very seriously. Sweet, creamy and delicious, it's a fresher take on strawberries and cream (it's also a great way to salvage bland strawberries). I've had it almost every single night for the past two weeks, and I've yet to feel deprived when it comes to dessert time (which, by the way, is shortly after dinner, every single night). I think this discovery has single-handedly saved my Lenten promise.

My favorite thing about this picture? I blog in the morning, so this became second breakfast.

Strawberries and (coconut) Cream

Popping the whole thing in the fridge for a bit before eating lets the flavors mingle and makes the whole situation even more delectable. And if you eat it just right, you have a couple spoonfuls of strawberry-flavored coconut milk left at the end that is to die for.

A handful of strawberries, sliced

About 1/2 cup lite coconut milk (enough to cover strawberries)

Agave syrup, to taste

Mix everything together in a small bowl or ramekin. Stick in the fridge for as long as you can resist, and enjoy!

Homemade Mayonnaise

2011-03-12T21:04:00.002-06:00

No one ever accused mayonnaise of being photogenic.

The twin visited over Mardi Gras, which was a fantastic opportunity for lots of delicious things, and we will get to those things in just a moment. Twizits also open the floodgates to a barrage of twin-related questions. This leads me to believe that maybe the rest of the world needs a quick primer on twindom, so let's go over a few of the most common questions and answers:

What's the one, big difference between us? Mostly that we're two different people. Some other smaller things, too. Variation on this question: Which one is the smart/ sporty/ pretty one? It's important to note that you cannot possibly hope to assign these labels yourself without insulting someone. A very good friend once told us that I was the smart one, and Annie was the pretty one. She meant it as a compliment, I think, but you can see how it went awry.

A similarity: Neither of us is a sandwich.

Another biggie: What's it like being a twin? For me, totally normal. Just like not being a twin is your normal. If I had to guess at the difference, I suspect that non-twins are all just a little bit lonely all the time without realizing it. And that you never had to try to divide your friends into two separate birthday parties.

Something great about having a twin? Especially one who doesn't share your love affair with vegetables and All Bran? Visits are a great excuse to make and eat mayonnaise (like that segue?). It had to be homemade; I don't keep it in the house (I try to pretend like I don't like it). The recipe came straight from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, and it's killer. Did you know that mayo only has four ingredients? And only takes five minutes to whisk into being? And if you make it at home, it's made of ingredients rather than chemicals and preservatives!

Act like you don't have these in your kitchen.

The danger of making mayonnaise for a house guest, of course, is that you're stuck with a tupperware full of it after they're gone. Last time, I used it for the homemade ranch recipe on the next page, but it's been a deliciously sandwich-filled week this time around!

Mayonnaise
From Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

The only changes I made were adding a bit more mustard and mixing the whole lot with an equal amount of pesto the next day. I recommend both.

1 egg yolk

3 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 cup oil (I used canola, use olive for a Mediterranean flavor)

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar or lemon juice

salt and pepper, to taste

In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolk and mustard. Continue whisking as you add oil, a tiny bit at a time. Once an emulsion forms (a thick, creamy mixture. Think the consistency of hollandaise sauce), you can add the oil a bit faster.

Once all oil has been added, stir in vinegar, salt and pepper. Enjoy!

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Orange-Balsamic Glazed Beets

2011-03-02T10:07:00.003-06:00

I know, not everyone is the beet fanatic that I am. Maybe it's the purple fingers (and counter, and cabinet...), maybe it's the earthy sweetness (um, maybe dirt apples isn't actually such a bad description), but I adore them. And I'm confident that someone, somewhere will be just as excited as I am at the prospect of a bowlful of tender, sticky-sweet orange-balsamic glazed beets. Probably.

I didn't mean to buy them at the farmer's market this weekend, really. But were cheap and gigantic, and how can you possibly say no to this guy:

Monster beet!
Okay, maybe I do have a problem...

Anyway, I got home with my bunch of awesomely gigantor beets, and lo and behold, Simply Recipes had a brand-shiny new balsamic-glazed beets recipe up. I think Jesus wanted me to have purple pee this week (um, okay, I guess I definitely have a problem).

This really isn't that recipe, but it's not too far off. They're cousins, maybe. I wanted more orange flavor and less roasting involved (it was 85 degrees here on Monday! That is just not roasting weather, and I refuse to turn on the air conditioner in February. Refuse.). I know roasting is the more popular method for beets, but I think steaming is so much simpler. It's quicker, the cleanup is easier, and it's easier to do a quick stab to check for doneness. Most importantly, they're super tasty that way.

Tossed with the orange-balsamic glaze, they're fantastic. You end up with a sweet, fruity bowl of beets that I could happily sit down to with nothing else to accompany it. They're also delicious tossed into a salad with baby greens, asparagus, tangy goat cheese, and either a balsamic vinaigrette or pesto (which I have a freezer full of, since I can't bring myself to toss out the beet greens).

Word of caution, though: simmering balsamic vinegar is a pungent activity. I didn't think it was too bad, but my boys have gone on the record saying things like, "The feet are done," and more eloquently, "I didn't want to say anything, but it smells like butt in here." Totally worth it, but maybe save this recipe for an open-windows kind of day.

So delicious, but so stinky.

Orange-Balsamic Glazed Beets

One bunch beets, quartered

Juice of 1 orange

About half an orange worth of zest

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon white sugar

Steam beets in steam basket over simmering water until tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. When cool enough to handle, peel beets (the peels should slip off pretty easily, but sometimes I scrape with a spoon to help the process along).

While beets steam, simmer other ingredients in a skillet over medium heat until reduced to about half (the mixture will thicken to the point where, if you drag a spatula through it, it will take a couple seconds to fill back in).

Toss beets with the glaze and refrigerate until cool. Enjoy alone or in a salad.

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Carrot Cake Cupcakes

2011-02-27T22:45:00.003-06:00

My life should always have a sea of cupcakes in the background.

I know this may be difficult for some of you to hear, but here goes: it's officially springtime in New Orleans. I know, I know, it's February. I think it's weird, too. I'm still half afraid to say it out loud, for fear of scaring it off. But celebrations of spring and all the wonderful things that come with it- sunshine, shirtless boys, nighttime runs, and playing outside- are in order. So, in lieu of the hearty soups you may still need up north, this week I'm cooking picnic fare.

When deciding what to bring to our potluck picnic, I took stock of what was already in the kitchen. Earlier this week, I had been on my way out the door when I realized that Erik's bananas were about to go bad and desperately needed to be cut up and frozen rightthisveryminute to avert banana disaster (side note: no, we do not share bananas. He has a very strict banana-eating schedule for the week, and I get cranky when I run out of fruit unexpectedly.). With a tupperware full of frozen bananas, I remembered Heidi Swanson's carrot cake recipe.

Sweetened with nothing but ripe bananas and dates, and topped with a thick smear of maple-syrup spiked cream cheese, it's a dense, almost rustic loaf cake that's almost as fitting for breakfast as for dessert. It's delicious and substantial as written, I've made it several times. For cupcakes, though, just a few tweaks were in order.

I assumed (correctly) that there would be other desserts at the picnic, and I didn't want to be remembered as the one who brought cupcakes that tasted healthy. So I added just a couple tablespoons of dark brown sugar to the batter (I also probably didn't have quite enough banana left in my tupperware. Frozen banana slices are my absolute favorite summery treat.).

While the simple frosting in the original is perfect for slices of cake, cupcakes call for something a little lighter. Instead of straight cream cheese, I added in some whipped cream for a more cupcake-friendly airiness. Just enough to fluff it up without losing the tang of cream cheese (similar to this frosting but a little less fluffy). A touch a vanilla and additional sweetness made for a perfect afternoon treat. The verdict? Excited exclamations of, "It's like cheesecake whipped cream!" Try it, you'll be excited, too.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Maple Frosting

Adapted from 101 cookbooks

I've made this successfully with all-purpose flour, or a 1:1 mix of all-purpose and regular whole wheat flour. Makes about 18 cupcakes (mine made 20, but a few were pretty shrimpy).

Also, unfrosted, these guys make a mean (and fairly healthful) muffin. That's a breakfast I'd look forward to!

Cupcakes
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 stick butter, melted (if unsalted, also add 1/2 teaspoon salt)
1/2 cup dried dates, chopped finely into a paste (think the consistency and stickiness of a Clif Bar)
3 very ripe bananas
3 medium carrots, grated
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 eggs, beaten
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar (light would be fine)

Preheat oven to 350. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

Sautee bananas with about half the butter, the brown sugar, and the vanilla until bananas are very soft and sugar is completely melted (this step is especially important if you're using frozen or less-ripe bananas)

In a large mixing bowl, sift together first three ingredients (and salt, if using).

Mix the dates the rest of the melted butter, using a fork to combine and break up the dates.

In a separate mixing bowl, stir together carrots and banana mixture. Mix in the date-butter mixture, yogurt, and eggs. Add the flour mixture and beat on low until just combined. Fold in walnuts.

Spoon batter into cupcake liners, filling about 2/3 of the way with batter. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until toothpick (or dry piece of spaghetti) inserted comes out clean and dry.

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 package cream cheese, room temperature (or as close as your patience allows)
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream (1 cup)
4 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat cream cheese with maple syrup until light and fluffy. Set aside.

In chilled metal bowl, beat very cold whipping cream until it holds stiff peaks, adding sugar and vanilla near the end of the process. Fold cream cheese into whipped cream.

Top fully cooled cupcakes, and enjoy!

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N'awlins Red Beans and Rice

2011-02-15T20:36:00.003-06:00

The brussel sprouts were a bust. They were lovely and fragrant and beautifully browned, but also generally not delicious. Could have been the preparation, or maybe I just don't like brussel sprouts. It's hard to say at this point, but you will not be getting that recipe, and Erik won't have to try yet another weird vegetable just because it's Valentine's Day and he loves me.

Not the way to say "I love you"

A much better Valentine's offering: red beans and rice. Now, I know what you're thinking. Um, beans? On the most-hyped date night of the year? But after six (six!) years with the boy, I have yet to acquire any evidence that he has any kind of bodily functions at all, so your problem is not my problem. Plus, I conferred with my mom, and she decided that red beans are, well, red, and thus V-Day appropriate. Suck it, haters.

Since we don't do a big V-Day production (as my beautiful cousin Tricia says, "I don't believe in Valentine's Day, just love, every day."), my gift to E-Dawg was mostly-vegetarian me skipping the vegetarian makeover of his favorite southern dish (one of the major issues in our relationship is vegetarian chili, which he is staunchly against). My version included meat from not one but two animals. The first: pig, duh. The second? Gator.

In the South, you can only cook a gator that you personally killed.
What? You don't know.

Well, kind of. I cooked the gator sausage and tossed it in the mix. A few minutes later, I tasted it and picked it all out one piece at a time. Turns out, gator sausage is not delicious. I left the sausage in the final recipe. Mine turned out fantastic without it, though, so consider it optional.

You have to plan ahead a little for this recipe (soaking the beans overnight and cooking for about three hours), but it's almost completely hands-off. And totally worth it.

Red Beans and Rice

Adapted from Emeril

One last note: Even though there's no added salt in this recipe, mine came out quite salty due to the combo of stock, ham, and Old Bay Seasoning. I'd use either low-sodium stock or a 1:1 stock to water mix.

1 lb red kidney beans, soaked overnight

1 onion, diced small

2 ribs celery, diced small

1 small green bell pepper, diced small

2 cloves garlic, diced

oil or butter, for sauteeing

1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning

1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

5 cups low-sodium chicken stock or water

1 lb sausage (andouille, kielbasa, or other smoked sausage)

2 ham hocks

Cooked brown or white rice (I used brown, white is traditional)

In large soup pot, sautee onion, green pepper, celery, and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes. Add beans, Old Bay, pepper, sausage and ham. Cover with stock or water and bring to a boil.

Lower heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 2 hours, adding more water if mixture dries out (it should be soupy but not too runny). Pull ham hocks out. When cool enough to handle, cut the non-fatty meat off, dice, and add back to pot. Mash about half of the beans with a fork on the side of the pot, and continue to cook for another hour (again, adding water when necessary). When done, beans should very soft and creamy.

Serve over rice (I just mixed the rice right in. It makes for easier refrigerating.) Enjoy!

Spiced Carrot and Walnut Loaf

2011-02-07T23:10:00.003-06:00

Not brussel sprouts.

This is not the recipe you were going to get this week. You were supposed to get brussel sprouts. Which you may get next week, depending on how they turn out tomorrow (I've never had them before, so it's kind of a crapshoot). But this week, instead, you get this dense, spiced carrot and walnut loaf. It's rich and slightly sweet, really just a couple steps away from cake, but you can totally feel justified eating it for breakfast. You are welcome.

Also, please no one warn my boyfriend that I'm making brussel sprouts. I would like for him to come home from work tomorrow.

Anyway. I was settling in to do homework when I stumbled across this recipe that would use the carrots and buttermilk that have been threatening to go bad in my fridge, as well as the walnuts I've been ignoring ever since I used 1/8 of the container for pesto two weeks ago. For the sake of not wasting food, homework obviously had to wait.

Roughing up the nuts.

I then proceeded to dirty about ninety dishes, because I decided about halfway through that I wanted basically everything to be completely different. Why would you use plain old white sugar instead of dark brown? And two cups is too much entirely for something I plan on eating for breakfast, so I actually measured as I removed some from the bowl. A mashed, ripe banana brings some sweetness back and adds a touch more nutrition and general deliciousness.

A small sample of the kitchen carnage.

There are a couple other teeny tweaks that make it healthier and tastier, and things turned out delightful. It's not quite dessert (although if you slathered on some cream cheese that you'd whipped with maple syrup, it easily could be), but it's a great midnight snack and a helluva breakfast. Nicely spiced and perfectly moist, it's great smeared with butter and perfect for those cold, gloomy, do-I-really-have-to-get-out-of-bed mornings I hear you guys are having up north. And for the record, in my opinion, you do not. Feel free to quote me to your boss.

Spiced Carrot and Walnut Loaf

Adapted from Serious Eats

Makes 2 loaves

1 pound carrots, sliced
1 cup walnuts
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 very ripe banana, mashed*
2 teaspoons baking soda
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup canola oil or melted butter
2 teaspoons nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350. Butter two 9x5 loaf pans and set aside.

Cook carrots until very tender, either in a steam basket or covered in simmering water, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, toast walnuts in dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant. Remove both from heat and let cool slightly.

Mash carrots with a potato masher OR run through the food processor until mostly smoot h(small chunks are fine). Chop walnuts to your liking (mine, for example, were teeny tiny because the boy thinks he doesn't like nuts in things.)

In a large mixing bowl, beat together eggs, sugar, banana, vanilla, and honey. When fully incorporated, beat in oil and buttermilk.In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

Stir carrots into egg mixture, and beat in flour mixture on low speed until just incorporated. Stir in walnuts.

Pour batter into prepared pans and smooth tops. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until the loaves pull slightly away from sides of pans and a toothpick comes out clean. In case of toothpick shortage, the Interwebs suggested a piece of uncooked spaghetti, and it worked just fine. Enjoy!

*My banana was barely ripe at all. I just sliced it and sauteed it with the honey (including 1 additional tablespoon) until nice and mushy.

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Chocolate Mousse with Orange-Zested Whipped Cream

2011-01-31T19:09:00.004-06:00

Great Reasons to Make Chocolate Mousse:
- You're going to a potluck, and it seems schleppy to get something from the grocery store.
- You have slightly embarrassing memories of asking for samples of mousse at the deli counter as a child (that make you wonder where your mother was. Maybe pretending you weren't her child?).
- You were given a KitchenAid stand mixer for Christmas that you haven't used nearly enough yet.
- You've gotta break that New Year's resolution sometime. Why not now?

But let's be honest, who really needs a reason for chocolate mousse? The fantastic inspiration for this absolutely drool-worthy recipe comes from The Essential New York Times Cookbook, which (along with Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian) is my current obsession. A giant tome of over 1400 recipes, the collection was painstakingly tested and arranged by Amanda Hessler, who drew from 150 years of recipes published in, you guessed it, The New York Times. I feel like there's a big emphasis on what's new and inventive in the culinary world, and it's refreshing to see the recipes from the nineteenth century that my grandmother's mother may have read. There's not a picture to be found, but Hessler's notes about each recipe are lovely and helpful. Also helpful: the book is popular enough that your local library surely has a copy.

The chocolate mousse recipe is not so old, only from 1977, but it is hands-down the best I've had. Hessler warns that you'll likely "dirt[y] eighty-seven bowls in the process." I tend to clean up as I go (a habit my dad will happily explain comes from him, not Mom), so I didn't get a final count, but I didn't think it was so bad. And while there are several different steps involved, there's nothing really tricky about it. It took less than an hour altogether. Don't be scared away, it's definitely worth a little bit of work.

Not too sweet, it hits just the right note of decadently rich but airily light. This is a chocolate-lover's dessert, for sure. I swapped out the liquor in the original recipe for orange juice and zest and added orange zest to the whipped cream, as well, and it brought just a touch of brightness to the situation. On quick note: Very little liquid is added to the melted chocolate, so it will seize up a bit if you don't work quickly. Don't worry about that, I tweaked the recipe to make that happen on purpose. The slightly hardened chocolate can still be easily beaten into the whipped cream and egg whites, and you'll have delightfully teeny pieces of melt-in-your-mouth intense chocolate. The thought of those tiny chocolate bombs had me in the kitchen with a spoon an embarrassing number of times this weekend. If you don't want them, just add a couple tablespoons of water to the egg yolks. But also be aware that we cannot possibly be friends.

Chocolate Mousse with Orange-Zested Whipped Cream

Mousse adapted from The New York Times Essential Cookbook.
Whipped cream from my brain.

Learn from my missteps: Gigantic clear bowls photograph strangely.

You could theoretically serve the mousse by itself or with just the canned stuff. Don't. The orange-zested whipped cream is quite possibly the most delicious thing I've ever tasted. Enjoy!

Chocolate Mousse
1/2 pound bittersweet chocolate (chips, or cut into small pieces)
2 cups heavy cream
6 large eggs, separated
zest and juice of a small orange
5 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Melt chocolate in double-boiler set over low heat, or in a small saucepan set over a pan of simmering water.

Meanwhile, put eggs yolks in saucepan and set over very low heat. Whisk constantly until the consistency thickens, about 2 minutes. Add orange juice and zest and continue to beat constantly until it thickens to the consistency of a hollandaise, about 3-5 minutes.

Stir chocolate into yolk mixture and transfer to a mixing bowl.

Beat very cold cream with 2 tablespoons sugar in a chilled metal bowl until it holds stiff peaks.Fold about half of the cream into chocolate mixture as best you can (remember, it's ok if the chocolate has seized a little), and transfer it back to the metal bowl. Beat on medium low just until fully combined, and move back to the mixing bowl.

Beat egg whites in a separate bowl until fluffy. Add remaining 3 tablespoons sugar and continue to beat until it holds stiff peaks. Fold into mousse. Transfer to individual ramekins or small bowls if desired, and serve with whipped cream.

Whipped Cream
1 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon orange zest

Beat cream in chilled metal bowl. As soft peaks form, add vanilla and sugar and continue to beat until it holds slightly stiffer peaks. Add orange zest and beat for just a few seconds more, until incorporated. Enjoy!

Serves 10. Or me, 10 times.

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30-Second Herbed Ricotta Spread

2011-01-29T00:21:00.004-06:00

I'm not kidding about the thirty seconds, this spread comes together in a flash. It's so easy that I didn't even think about posting it until I'd been enjoying it almost every day for a couple weeks. At that point, it seemed wrong not to share! Forgot you were responsible for bringing an app until, oh, right when you need to be out the door? No problem, this is literally as simple as shaking some herbs over ricotta and transferring to a pretty dish. Pick up crackers on the way, and you're good to go.

This is simple enough that I tend to make it in single batches of just a couple tablespoons either right when I'm hungry or as I pack my lunch. Savory and flavorful but not too heavy, this spread tastes like more than thirty seconds worth of effort! It seems appropriate for this to be a short post. Plus, with only half a minute worth of commitment, how much convincing do you guys really need?

Herbed Ricotta Spread

If you have more than thirty seconds, this would be great with some chopped up spinach, roasted garlic, or caramelized onion.

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Mix all ingredients together, spread on crackers or toast, and enjoy!

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Pink Pesto Pasta with Beets, Asparagus, and Goat Cheese

2011-01-24T00:12:00.006-06:00

You should know that I have a minor addiction to beets (or, as the boyfriend and the twin prefer to call them, dirt apples). As in, I can happily sit down to a bowl of completely unseasoned steamed or roasted beets. So, when an ironically bespectacled hipster at the farmer's market told me about a pasta she'd made with beet green pesto and garlic chevre, how could I possibly deprive you all (ahem, me) of this delightfully pink dish?

Beet greens are decidedly under appreciated. Even knowing how easy they are to use, I have a tendency to toss them out. They're a little like kale, but with a nicer flavor. I wouldn't recommend eating them raw, but they can be sauteed or tossed into any soup you'd normally use spinach or cabbage in. But here's what can be the problem: they turn everything they touch deep purple. I made my usual vegetable soup with beet greens instead of spinach once. It was as delicious as ever, but I couldn't convince the boy to eat purple soup!

Flip those suckers around. The other end is due for some damn glory.

Not a problem with this pasta. Instead of deep purple, the pasta is more of a green-flecked fuchsia after being tossed with the pesto. Add in tangy goat cheese and throw in some steamed asparagus and beets (the normal part of the beets, that is), and I am in heaven.

I made a double batch of the pesto to use up all the greens. The other half (more like two-thirds, really) is sitting pretty in my freezer, and I'm looking forward to smearing some on a sandwich in the future. I just used a basic pesto recipe from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Anything Vegetarian (a fantastic book. You'll be seeing more from this in the near future) and subbed out the basil and pine nuts.

If you don't like beets and refuse to buy them, ~~great, more for me~~ feel free to use pretty much any green for the pesto, from the traditional basil to cilantro, spinach, or arugula. That said, Erik (y'know, "dirt apples" Erik) really liked this before I tossed it with the chunks of beets. So, if you can get your hands on beet greens without the beets attached, 1) go for it and 2) tell me how you did it, I bet it'll be a good story.

Pink Pesto Pasta With Beets, Asparagus and Goat Cheese

Adapted from How to Make Everything Vegetarian and some hipster at the market.

The internet, always to be trusted, has informed me that using olive oil in pesto will result in a bitter, generally no bueno flavor. I used canola, but feel free to give it a try with olive or whatever you have on hand.

For the pesto:
2 cups beet greens, roughly chopped
1/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
1-2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup canola or other neutral oil
salt and pepper, to taste

To assemble pasta:
small bunch beets
bunch asparagus (how much is really in those grocery store bundles? A pound?)
1/2 pound whole grain spaghetti or fettucini
1/3 cup goat cheese

Pesto:
In a dry skillet, toast walnuts over medium-low heat until lightly toasted and fragrant, about five minutes, shaking pan occasionally for even cooking.

Meanwhile, sautee garlic and greens in olive oil over medium heat just until greens are slightly softened, about two-three minutes is all you need.

Add all pesto ingredients to food processor, and process until you have pesto. (Alternatively, if your food processor is broken, feel free to use your immersion blender, but don't stick your fingers in until the blades have completely stopped moving. Rookie mistake.)

At this point, you can just pop the pesto in the fridge or freezer until ready to use. For pasta:

To steam the beets and asparagus: wash off any big clods of dirt off the beets and cut into halves or quarters. Using steam basket, cook to desired tenderness (I like mine still pretty firm). Meanwhile, cut asparagus into inch-length pieces and add in about the last five minutes of steaming, when beets are almost done. Cook until barely tender. Remove from heat. When beets are cool enough to handle, slip the skins off (may require some rubbing and will certainly cause purple fingers), and cut into bite-sized pieces.

Cook pasta in water or stock (I almost always use stock just for a bit of extra flavor) according to directions. Drain and reserve about a cup of the cooking liquid.

Toss pasta with goat cheese and 1/3 cup pesto. Add reserved pasta water as needed to get the right consistency. I added about 3 tablespoons immediately, and close to another half cup before putting the rest in the fridge. Be aware that it dries out some within the first 20 minutes or so.

Toss with asparagus and beets, and season with salt and pepper if necessary. Some fresh parmesan would be great, but I actually forgot and didn't miss it at all. Enjoy!

Makes 4 servings.

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Creamy Pineapple Rice

2011-01-08T18:11:00.004-06:00

Oh man, some holiday detox is definitely in order in my life, how about yours? I loved being home with the fam for a few weeks, but it's nice not to be surrounded by hundreds of cookies every day. And also sad. Christmas cookies cause conflicting emotions. You feel obligated to eat them (You don't want to insult Jesus, right? Or Santa?), but they cause tummy aches if you eat them for meals as well as snacks and dessert. Moral of the story: holidays are dangerous. Wonderful and magical and totally worth some of my clothes not fitting for a couple weeks, but dangerous nonetheless.

Let me tell you briefly how much the people that I love love me back before diving into a deliciously rich-yet-not-terrible-for-us recipe: For Christmas, the padres gave me a KitchenAid (!!!) and a coffee grinder, among other wonderful things. The boy gave me two knives, each of which cost more than the entire set we had before (also, they're made with the same folding technique used on samurai swords. That's how you know a boy bought them), among other fun kitchen things. And the twin, in a blinding example of twin-weirdness, somehow picked the same theme for my gifts that I chose for hers: mustaches.

Twins are not to be trusted. Too weird.

It was a wildly successful Christmas. So successful that the blog was shamelessly ignored (sorry) and the sugar high is still wearing off. My first week back in Nawlins has been marked almost entirely by either plain fruits and vegetables or experiments that still need tweaking, but we did enjoy one of my old standbys last night. Super easy to throw together, pineapple rice is a nice way to dress up any number of easy weeknight dinners: chicken breast or pork chops, grilled tofu or steamed asparagus. Best made with regular brown rice (although you can use quick-cooking in a pinch), it's hearty and savory, but the pineapple lends a sweetness that goes beautifully with the creamy, slightly sticky texture imparted by the last-minute addition of a couple pats of butter.

A quick couple notes about fresh pineapple: Whole pineapple doesn't ripen after being harvested, so leaving it out to ripen (like, say, bananas) is a no-go. A ripe pineapple will have a yellow base that smells slightly sweet. To cut it, hack off the top and bottom using a long knife (samurai manufacturing optional, but highly recommended). Stand it upright, and cut the skin off of the pineapple in strips from top to bottom, following the curved shape of the fruit and cutting just behind the brown "eyes." After skin is removed, just slice the fruit off of the non-tasty core. Or just buy precut pineapple, but that's no kind of adventure at all.

Creamy Pineapple Rice

You can use canned pineapple in place of fresh in a pinch, but I would scale back a little and not be tempted to use any juice from the can, to avoid a dish that's too cloyingly sweet.

1 cup brown rice
2 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup fresh pineapple, chopped into small pieces
1 1/2 tablespoons butter

Bring stock to a boil. Add rice and garlic and reduce heat. Simmer uncovered for 45-50 minutes, or until done. In the last 10-15 minutes of cooking, add pineapple.

Remove from heat and add butter, fluffing with a fork until melted.

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Cream Cheese Cookies

2010-12-25T00:51:00.003-06:00

How much cooking have you guys done this week? And does anyone else feel like, no matter how many parties you go to and baskets you give away, the ridiculous amount of dangerously delicious things in the house keeps multiplying? Some kind of Christmas miracle.

My cooking adventures have run the gamut this week from the consistent annual successes to... well, garlicky, stinky disasters. My favorite "no-duh" lesson of the week: don't mess with a recipe the very first time you make something you've never tried before. I made a pate for my sister. Now, I personally have never had pate, but it seemed like something that should probably have bacon and garlic. Rather than a delicious spread, it turned into the kind of thing that you only took the lid off of in order to weaponize it. That's strong stuff.

Bacon. Garlic. I still don't understand how this went wrong.

The baking portion of the week was as wildly successful as usual, except that I had to do way more of it than normal. For example, this is how I usually bake cookies with the fam:

Notice the pasta. This is my job, and I much prefer it that way.

It's not that I don't like to bake. Cakes are the kind of adventure I can get behind, and I make a mean loaf of beer bread. Cookies, however, are another story. Too much sticky scooping, and I never seem to have enough pans for optimum efficiency.

BUT, Mom and the twin abandoned me with bowls and bowls of dough and smudged, torn pages of recipes this year, so the baking fell to me. The recipe that is obviously the most tattered and worn is for cream cheese cookies, and for good reason. We like to play around with new recipes now and then, but these are an annual must-have.

For me, Christmas tastes like cream cheese cookies. These guys are so iconic of Sawyer-family Christmas that I struggled with the decision to share them. But a Betty Crocker recipe doesn't easily qualify as a secret family recipe, so I decided not to be crazy, instead.

Must be the goodness of the season getting to me.

If you can't make it to my parents' house for a taste in the next few days, try these out first chance you get. I imagine everyone is done with their Christmas baking for the year, but these guys are so simple, they're perfect for any cookie occasion (and let's be honest: someone else has the chocolate chips covered). Yellow cake mix cuts out the need to measure almost anything. Crusty outer peaks give way to a chewy, soft center. They somehow just taste yellow. These bright, cheerful cookies go a long way toward helping me get through these twenty-degree December days. Stay warm, and Merry Christmas!

Cream Cheese Cookies

I've broken a hand mixer on a double batch of these before. Just be aware.

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 package cream cheese

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 package yellow cake mix

Beat butter and cream cheese on low until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add cake mix roughly 1/3 of package at a time, mixing thoroughly between each batch. If doing a double batch, you may need to mix the last bit by hand to get all the mix beaten in completely.

Cover with plastic wrap and chill in fridge for at least one hour, up to two days. When ready to bake, heat oven to 375. Space small spoonfuls of dough about an inch apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 7-10 minutes, until the cookie peaks turn a light golden brown. Cool before transferring from cookie sheet.

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Manjar

2010-12-22T12:22:00.001-06:00

In a continuation of the "things to give away in jars for Christmas" theme, I give you manjar:

Ah, manjar. AKA dulce de leche or, if that's still to Spanish for you, really thick, extra amazing caramel.
Super popular in Chile, a good friend once made a list of 101 things to do with manjar. To give you an idea of our life-altering (and waist-altering) obsession: in Chile, manjar is mostly sold in bags, and in all our classy-gringo glory, we have been known to pass the bag around for unsanitary suckling. Y'know, like grown-ups do. I won't recreate the entire list here; but here are a few thoughts to help with your initiation:

- Warm it up and drizzle it over vanilla ice cream
- Slather it on some crackers or nilla wafers
- Eat it off a spoon
- Eat it off a buddy
- Whip it into a latte or just some steamed milk
- Spread it on crepes for dessert
- Alternatively, on pancakes for a decadent breakfast

Now that I'm sure you're intrigued, I"ll let you in on my favorite secret of manjar: there's only one ingredient.

Walmart brand optional.

It's so simple it seems silly to type it out as a recipe, but here goes:

Manjar

Recipe from: my buddy Earl

1-4 cans sweetened condensed milk

Put cans in a deep pot and cover with water. Bring to a simmer. Simmer for two hours, making sure the cans stay fully covered with water the entire time. Remove from heat and leave cans in the water as it cools. Let cans cool completely before opening.

Creamy Tomato and Roasted Garlic Soup

2010-12-08T23:11:00.003-06:00

We haven't exactly been getting winter weather down here in New Orleans yet, but the cool evenings coupled with our home's charming lack of insulation has me longing for anything hot and slurpable (hey, if Sarah Palin can make up the word of the year, I can describe my cravings however I damn well please!). I've been sipping on broth, tea, cinnamon-spiked hot chocolate, and when I'm cold but not really wanting anything, plain old hot water. Weird, I know, but I can't quite justify a mug of hot cocoa every time I get thirsty.

The boys actually discovered this soup, after Erik scoffed at an online list of the best winter soups (or something like that). He doesn't generally consider soup to be food, since it's mostly water, but he did end up with a list of four or five off the list that I could make for dinner. Aw, thanks babe.

But, he hit the mark on this one. The garlic flavor is very present, but not sharp or overwhelming, since we roasted it beforehand. Fresh roasted tomatoes lend just a touch of sweetness to the pot, and I added a bit of milk and well-cooked potato to the original recipe for creaminess. I also replaced half the veggie stock with a tomato/chicken stock I found in the Hispanic section at the grocery for added tomato-y goodness (I highly recommend checking out the international aisle at the grocery store. You'll find some neat treasures, and a lot of things you already buy are cheaper in that aisle for some reason). And of course, a generous sprinkling of freshly grated parmesan never hurts.

Creamy Tomato and Roasted Garlic Soup

Adapted from: www.1001recipe.com

Erik's response to a bite straight from the pot: "It's garlicky. It would be good with bread."

So, there you have it. Enjoy!

2-3 tomatoes

1 head garlic

3 tablespoons olive oil (divided)

1 onion, chopped

2 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1/4 cup milk

1 well-cooked yukon potato, peeled (I just popped it in the microwave) and chopped

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp dried savory

salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400. Cut tomatoes in half and cut the top off the head of garlic, exposing most of the cloves. Put in a baking dish cut-sides up. Drizzle with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake for about 45 minutes, until tomatoes are slightly shriveled and very soft and garlic is very soft and cloves are easily squeezed out of the skin (check after about 30 minutes and remove tomatoes if they're done). Peel the tomatoes and squeeze out the softened garlic.

Meanwhile, sautee onion in the remaining oil until softened, about 5 minutes. Add stock and bring to a boil. Add the rest of the ingredients (including tomatoes and garlic) and lower heat. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Puree with either an immersion blender or in batches in a regular blender. Adjust seasonings to taste, and serve with crusty bread and grated parmesan.

Serves 4.

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Meyer Lemon Curd

2010-11-24T01:25:00.010-06:00

'Tis the season for holiday parties! Don't worry, this is not a Christmas recipe. I do not believe in starting any kind of official Christmas preparation until the day after Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving much too much to steal any of its attention (as you might imagine, Christmas ads that now begin in AUGUST drive me a little insane).

However, Thanksgiving marks the beginning of a month-long whirlwind of activity for most of us, much of which involves (if we're popular enough) kind invitations into our friends' homes. No one likes to be the lump who shows up empty-handed, and I've heard rumors of hosts who prefer not to receive a bottle of wine from every guest. I'm still not sure I believe them, but it's best to be prepared.

Seriously, though, it's always nice to bring something you made yourself, and a jar of this lemon curd is perfect for a pseudo-last-minute hostess gift. It's thoughtful and delicious, and it doesn't take up much space (let's be honest, who has spare room in the fridge between Thanksgiving and New Year?). And what better way to thank your hard-working host, who has probably spent the last few days scrubbing, cooking, and promptly re-scrubbing, than a hassle-free breakfast treat the morning after the shindig? And if you don't tell them it took less than 15 minutes, I won't either. Unless I forgot to bring something, in which case all bets are off.

Pictured: not a good hostess gift.
Even for someone who "doesn't want" wine.

Since I'm hosting Thanksgiving myself, I actually don't have to part with my jar. I just happened to come home from the farmer's market last weekend with a bag of plump, sweet-smelling Meyer lemons that were begging to be turned into something lovely and delicious. The kitchen smelled divine as soon as I cut into the first one, and the final product is pretty fantastic. Pale yellow and not too sweet, it's a buttery, rich spread that I can't wait to slather on a biscuit for breakfast tomorrow (although so far, I have very much enjoyed eating it straight from the jar with a spoon). Somewhere between a creamy jelly and a tart custard, I plan on enjoying it both for dessert and breakfast. This hostess gift pulls double-duty. And of course, you can't really go wrong throwing in a nice cabernet for good measure.

Meyer Lemon Curd

From Gourmet, December 1999

What's the difference between Meyer lemons and regular? Meyer lemons are wonderfully fragrant and much sweeter, almost like a cross between a lemon and an orange.
This is fantastic on biscuits or toast, and I bet it would be great swirled into Greek yogurt. Any other thoughts for simple pairings?

1/2 cup Meyer* lemon juice (2 large lemons did the trick for me)

2 teaspoons Meyer lemon zest**
2 large eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1 stick butter, roughly cubed

Whisk together zest, juice, sugar, and eggs in a metal bowl. Add butter. Set bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not quite touch the surface of the water). Cook, whisking, until mixture thickens and is a light yellow color, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to a clean bowl. Place a layer of wax paper or plastic wrap directly on top to prevent a skin from forming as curd cools.

Refrigerate for up to two weeks.

*Meyer lemons not in season? Use regular lemons and increase the sugar to 3/4 cup.

**Be careful only to use zest from the yellow, outermost layer of peel. The white pith is bitter and not delicious.

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Crispy, Exciting Spaghetti Squash

2010-11-15T23:12:00.007-06:00

I have two memories of spaghetti squash:

1) When we were kids, we had it for dinner on the deck one summer. As a longtime spaghetti lover, I was skeptical. Really guys? Some weird vegetable instead of pasta? Sounds a lot like the time Dad tried to trick me into eating anchovies. It was delicious, though. Crispy, a little crunchy, and a lot exciting.

2) My sophomore year at Ohio State, in my first kitchen that wasn't Mom's, I tried to recreate the magic. It was the first year that I made any real attempts at cooking, and I was confident that it would be fantastic. The internet told me to microwave it. I don't remember what seasonings were involved, but I do remember that it was mushy, bland, and disappointing.

Not the most glamorous vegetable, is it?

Fast forward to the present. I'm reaching for a butternut squash, and I lock eyes with a box of spaghetti squash. I decide that I'm up to the challenge. A few things have changed since I was nineteen. For one, it's been years since I could say, "I'm a teenager, I'm invincible" (Do you guys feel old sometimes?). But more importantly, I've done a few more things in the kitchen, and I no longer consider pasta with boiled broccoli and jarred sauce to be my signature dish (that's embarrassing to remember). I do still get much of my cooking advice from the internet, but I know to read the comments for helpful tips such as, "This is gross. Don't eat it."

I had to fake confidence when I got home, because the boy is around the food-maturity level of my skeptical childhood self (Vegetables? Weird. Will you make me regular spaghetti?). "It'll be great," I told him. "Crispy and crunchy and exciting. You'll love it." He didn't look confident leaving the kitchen, but to be fair, I do sometimes trick him like my dad used to trick me (mostly I add vegetables in unexpected places. I had to stop adding them underneath cheese layers; he said it was much too sneaky).

The verdict? Savory and flavorful, just a touch crispy. Even the boy was pleased. The texture is perfect, and the parmesan and garlic somehow magic a lone vegetable into something rich and satisfying. It's delightful on its own, but I like to serve it with spaghetti sauce cooked with onion, sauteed just long enough to mellow the flavor but with a little crunch and bite left in it. I've been enjoying big bowls of this with a big hunk of bread for dinner periodically for the past couple weeks, and I figured right before Thanksgiving is the perfect time to pass it on.

Crispy, Exciting Spaghetti Squash

Need an easy side for Thanksgiving? This is it. Enjoy!

1 medium spaghetti squash
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste
olive oil, for brushing

Preheat oven to 400. Cut squash in half and scoop out seeds and pulp. Brush cut sides with oil and sprinkle with salt. Place cut-sides down on a baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes.

With a fork, scrape out the insides of the squash in strands (don't try to do big hunks at a time. You want spaghetti-like strands, not clumps). Toss with cheese and seasonings, and serve with tomato sauce and extra parmesan cheese.

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Birthday Cake with Chocolate-Cinnamon Whipped Frosting

2010-11-06T17:02:00.007-05:00

How do you tell that you're looking at a grown-up cake? The recipe specifically requests that the bourbon you choose be at least 80 proof.

That's a cake'll put hair on your chest.

It was Erik's birthday yesterday, and a long-standing tradition in our relationship is that I make him a birthday cake and also ruin it in some comically ridiculous way. Some examples: Forgetting to add the egg (delicious, but crumbly and impossible to frost), buttercream frosting so thick that it literally held the cake shape after you ate the cake out from under it (that cake was also delicious, though), and a layer cake held together with chopsticks (again, delicious but ugly).

Traditions aside, I managed to avoid disasters this time around. The cake was pretty tasty, rich and dense, although I think it needed more chocolate to balance out the kick of bourbon. It was easy to make and perfectly moist, so I would definitely make it again, just tweaking the flavor profile a bit. The flavors really mellow after a couple days. I made it a day early, but it takes two for everything to come together. The only changes I made were halving the recipe (12 servings seems a bit much for two people) and adding a few dashes of cinnamon, so I'm just going to send you to the original recipe, in case you're interested:
Gourmet 1999 Chocolate Mud Cake.

So the cake was a little disappointing on the birthday, but delicious the day after. It's a two-day kind of cake. The frosting, though, was beyond amazing right from the get-go. Around 5 o'clock on Friday, I was trying to figure out why I was so damn hungry, and I realized that I had accidentally had nothing but frosting for lunch. I also had a little stomachache, which made a lot more sense after this realization.

Light and fluffy, this frosting is almost as easy to make as plain whipped cream, although it does dirty one more bowl. Erik loves homemade whipped cream enough that he's been known to tell strangers about it, but frosting a cake with whipped cream seems like a soggy, puddly mess waiting to happen . I'm pretty sure I can't make Erik clean up my messes on his birthday, so that was out. Folding in a package of whipped cream cheese solved the dilemma: The frosting is airy and delightful, but it's sturdy enough to stick to the cake. Also, it sat out on the counter for a couple hours without melting. I'm aware that that's not sanitary, but I have to go to class even on birthdays.

For normal whipped cream situations, I usually prefer a barely-sweet vanilla version, sometimes with just a hint of spices. But for a chocolate booze cake, some more flavor seemed in order. After checking in on the birthday boy's flavor preference, we ended up with a vanilla-cinnamon-chocolate frosting. It. Is. Phenomenal. It also made about three times as much as I needed, and it is taking every ounce of restraint that I have to not go at it with a spoon. Fortunately for my waistline, my graduate stipend won't allow me to buy all new jeans, so it's been safe in the fridge so far.

You know I licked these, though.

Light and Fluffy Cinnamon-Chocolate Whipped Frosting

Whew, that's a mouthful.

I know 5T seems like a lot of sugar, but this recipe makes enough frosting for at least three smallish cakes (or several unhealthy lunches), so bear that in mind.

1 pint heavy whipping cream

1 package cream cheese

5 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Pop a metal mixing bowl in the freezer. In a different bowl, beat the cream cheese with about half of the seasonings* (ie, everything but the whipping cream) until light and airy.

Retrieve bowl from freezer, and beat the whipping cream with the remaining seasonings* until it holds stiff peaks. Fold cream cheese into whipped cream, and beat very briefly on lowest speed until totally combined. Taste, and adjust flavors as needed (you should be able to mix in any additional needed powder/ sugar/ vanilla with just a spatula).

*This in no way needs to be exact. The idea is just to make sure that the cocoa, cinnamon, sugar, and vanilla are spread evenly throughout after folding the two mixtures together, and to make it a little easier to taste and adjust seasoning as you go.

but so awesome.

Unrelated

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Herblicious Pizza Dough

2010-10-29T15:57:00.004-05:00

Who doesn't love pizza night? A couple years ago, we discovered that it's way more fun- not to mention cheap and healthful- to make pizzas at home than to order in. It started out more as an assembly than actual cooking: we bought fresh dough and toppings at Trader Joe's, and could have dinner on the table in 15 minutes. Brilliant. Pizza night quickly became my favorite night.

But. Trader Joe's broke my heart when they discontinued the Whole-Wheat Garlic Herb crust last year, and we've been making due with sad substitutes ever since. How could I go back to just plain crust after being spoiled for so long?

Turns out, pizza dough really takes very little active prep time to pull together, and zero ingredients that aren't normally already in my kitchen. You do have to plan ahead to give it time to rise, but it really only takes about 15 minutes of actual attention. Also, it helps to have a boy on hand to clean up the kitchen afterwards.

I'm a huge proponent of the I-cook-you-clean rule.

Cleanup aside, though, this recipe's a cinch. Not counting seasoning (which you can adjust based on what's in your kitchen right this very minute), you're looking at four ingredients.

This, plus flour and water

Side not: The purple in that herb dish is actually basil. According to the man at the farmer's market, most people use it just as a garnish. And it is lovely: deep, dark purple with green-tipped leaves. However, I live with boys. So at my house, food is usually being consumed before the plate has a chance to touch a single surface. Not a lot of time for garnishing, so I cook with my purple basil.

Combined with a liberal dose of dill, a dash of garlic, and some freshly snipped rosemary, and you end up with a rich, savory crust that doesn't need a a ton of toppings. I don't know if you're like me, but my tendency is to go a little nuts with the veggies on top. I'm talking roasted garlic, artichoke hearts, back olives, mushrooms and spinach kind of nuts. I'm trying to learn to be more restrained. Keeping the toppings in check leaves you with a pizza that just more pizza-y somehow.

I think this crust works best pretty thin, so the recipe below can make two big pizzas, easily enough for three hungry people with leftovers for lunch. We don't have a pizza stone or pan in the new casa yet, so we've rolled this amount out to completely cover two cookie sheets before. This time around, my pizza (the cute round one) was a little to think and doughy for my taste, but the boys' was pretty perfect.

Herblicious Pizza Dough
adapted from Smitten Kitchen:
http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/01/pizza-and-the-limits-of-diy/

We like our crust thin and crispy. A problem we had for a long time making pizza at home is that the center of the crust while not necessarily soggy, was always a little too doughy. Our solution for perfectly crispy pizza dough: cook the dough first. I really do cook the dough completely, and then pop it back in the oven after saucing and topping just long enough to get the cheese bubbly. If you're using a pre-heated pizza stone, your dough will be cooking as soon as it hits the stone, so this step probably isn't necessary.

And feel free to adjust the ratio of whole-wheat flour. I wouldn't add any more, but scale back if you want a lighter, less substantial crust. Or, y'know, if you run out.

2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/3 cup warm water
1 tablespoon dill
5-6 leaves fresh basil, chopped (purple optional)
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped
2 teaspoons garlic powder

Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl (at this point, I would taste to check the seasoning. It's easiest to add more at this point than any other). Add water and olive oil, and mix into more or less of a ball. Dump it onto a lightly floured surface (you can try to minimize mess by doing this on waxed paper, but I find that it rarely works out).

Form ingredients into a ball, and knead for just a minute or two. Grease the inside of the bowl (with butter, oil, or Pam), and plop the dough ball back in there. Cover in plastic wrap, and let sit for about two hours until it has doubled in size.*

Knead gently for about a minute, pressing all the air out of the dough ball (it will shrink back down on you, that's normal). Put it back in the bowl and re-cover for the second rise, about 20 minutes. If you're using a pizza stone, put it in the oven during this rise

Preheat oven to 400 (if not using a stone. If you are using a stone, follow those directions from here on out) and roll out the pizza dough on a pan that's either been buttered or dusted lightly with cornmeal. Bake with no sauce or toppings until crust is just a bit crispy on the bottom, about 8 minutes in my oven. Add sauce, toppings, and cheese, and bake for another 3-4 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and you can't resist the smell for another minute.

* There's actually a fair amount of flexibility in this. My kitchen is pretty cool, so it takes about twice that long to rise in a corner out of the sun (perfect to go to class and come back for dinner). I usually don't plan ahead very far, so I like to pop the bowl in the oven set to warm, and that only takes about 45 minutes. Alternatively, I've heard that you can leave it in the fridge overnight for a slow rise, but I have no personal experience with that.

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Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes

2010-10-21T22:52:00.010-05:00

Ah, bright and sunny southern California. Erik and I spent the weekend visiting the fam in San Diego, which was... well, it was gloomy and grey all weekend. SO, the apple-picking fell through, but there was plenty of beer and delicious food to make up for it. Most of it fried and cheesy, just how vacation food should be.

The good thing about dreary, drizzly weekends is that they give you a foolproof excuse for a lazy Sunday morning brunch (essential after a long Saturday night). The snuggly-sweater weather and my cousin's adorable kitchen were the perfect opportunity to try out a quintessential fall breakfast recipe I've been sitting on (not literally): pumpkin pancakes.

No adventures this time around, though, as canned pumpkin is much more readily available in San Diego than in Leesiana. This recipe is quick and easy, ideal for feeding a hungry (hungover) crowd.

Screw you, real pumpkins.

Nope, no adventures, just a hearty, perfectly sweet breakfast, best eaten with friends and family
(Mostly because pancakes don't keep well, so I didn't feel the urge to hide them for later. Other things I prefer to cook alone, so I can ration it out and stash some just for me! See last week's recipe for an example).

Made with whole-wheat flour, these guys are like a normal pancake's outgoing older brother: less light and fluffy, more substantial and bursting with flavor. They're not too heavy, though, and the autumn spices still let the pumpkin shine through. I'm a firm believer that you can tell how delicious something will be by how close everyone stays to the kitchen, and my crowd was parked right in front of the stove. Apparently no one was disappointed, because these things disappeared almost as quickly as they could be flipped from the pan to the plates.

These are sweet and flavorful enough on their own that I was mostly full from batter and stolen pieces before I finished cooking, but don't let the picture fool you into thinking we ate them with just a pat of butter. That's just not why God invented pancakes. A drizzle of maple syrup took them from a reasonably healthy breakfast to a ridiculously decadent brunch. And that, as far as I'm concerned, is Sunday morning heaven.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes

adapted from allrecipes.com

A couple quick notes: Be sure to check that you have plain canned pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling. If you DO have pie filling, congrats on making your job even easier! Skip the spices and sugar.

Also, I know the vinegar seems weird. Trust me, it works out.

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1.5 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons white vinegar

In a large mixing bowl, stir together wet ingredients (milk, pumpkin, egg, vanilla, oil, and vinegar). In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, spices, salt). Add dry ingredients to wet, and stir until just combined.

Heat a lightly buttered pan or griddle over medium-high heat. Ladle about 1/4 cup of pancake mixture onto pan. Brown on both sides (you won't see much of the bubbling that tells you a normal pancake is ready to flip, so just lift the edge with your spatula to check).

Serve immediately, or keep warm in a 200 degree oven. Re-butter the pan after every two or three pancakes to prevent sticking.

Makes about 16 pancakes.

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