Barbecue Tempeh Pizza

Wikipedia says "California style" pizza was invented in 1980. The year it arrived to my Midwestern experience: unclear, but definitely after I became a vegetarian at the (I was a precocious child) age of 11ish. So barbecue chicken pizza did not feature in my youthful meated days.

And I've never tried a barbecue anything pizza because, from what I've seen, they usually come with at least shrimp, if not the iconic chicken. And I have to say, I never really got what the big deal was. I like barbecue sauce. A lot. But I just didn't see what made a pizza with barbecue sauce so special. And then, I bought this smoked mozzarella. And its strong smoky flavor didn't seem to go with anything. Mike suggested a barbecue pizza. So, I made this.

And I want to eat this everyday now.

This recipe makes two crusts.

1 1/8 cups warm water
1 packet active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

4 ounces tempeh, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup smoked mozzarella, chopped or grated
your favorite barbecue sauce

With your pizza stone inside, preheat your oven to its hottest, non-broil setting.

Mix the yeast, sugar, and water. Set aside. Put the flour and salt into a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. With the processor running, add the olive oil, then the water-yeast solution (once the yeast is dissolved). Continue with the machine running until a ball begins to form. If the dough is too wet, add flour a tablespoon at a time until it produces the desired consistency. Remove the dough and form it into a ball, then dump it into a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, non-drafty place for an hour or so.

Roll out half the dough and brush it with your favorite barbecue sauce. Top with mozzarella and the tempeh strips. Bake for about 10 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is golden brown.

Guest Post: Kabocha & Pear Soup with Pear & Blue Cheese Toast Points

A most special guest post for you today! My affianced pals, Lindsay and Conor, teamed up to bring you this heavy-on-the-delicious, light-on-the-heavy guest post meal. I met Lindsay in grad school, and even in those lean times, Lindsay always had the classiest parties, with the classiest cheese trays and homemade appetizers. Let's hope some of that classy will rub off on us!


Kabocha & Pear Soup with Pear & Blue Cheese Toast Points

Recently, my fiancée and I have been trying to eat more healthy foods (in an effort to look our best for the wedding); for her, this has principally taken the form of following Weight Watchers guidelines. (I play along for the most part, then scarf blue-box mac and cheese when she’s not looking.) The only problem with eating Weight Watchers recipes, somewhat obviously, is flavor: fat tastes really good. So we’re always on the lookout for new, healthy recipes that promise big flavor, or that can at least be mildly modified without adding lots of unhealthy ingredients.

Today’s trial worked pretty well: it’s theoretically a butternut squash soup, but we had a kabocha on hand, so I used that instead. I also doubled the recommended amount of spices and used salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste. The result was good (but probably could have used more squash flavor); next time I’ll use a bigger squash.

One other tip: when you’re making the blue cheese toasts, put some extra blue cheese on the pan by itself to make some delicious, crispy tuilles. This happened to us by accident, and it may have been the most delicious thing about the dish.

Ingredients:
(serves 4-6 as an appetizer or, with a spicy green salad, 2-4 as an entrée)
2 Anjou pears, peeled, halved, and cored
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp cardamom, ground
1 tsp coriander, ground (obviously, freshly ground is better for spices)
1 two-pound kabocha squash, peeled, halved, seeded, and cut into roughly ½-inch chunks
2 ½ cups vegetable broth (homemade is best; Kitchen Basics makes good stocks and broths if you can’t be bothered, as I couldn’t tonight)
1 Tbsp (or more, to taste) lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
4 slices pumpernickel bread, crusts removed and slices cut in half
2 (or so) Tbsp blue cheese, crumbled (or enough to sprinkle over the bread slices)

Directions:
1. Reserve one pear half for toasts; coarsely chop remaining pear-and-a-half.

2. Sweat onions in a pot with cardamom, coriander, salt, and pepper. If using boxed broth, use less salt than you think you’ll need; you can adjust the seasoning in the finished soup later. For maximum low fattitude, sweat onions in cooking spray; for maximum flavor, use butter or olive oil (butter would be better in this recipe).

3. Once onions are soft and spices are aromatic (5 minutes or so, but trust your nose and eyes more than your clock), add squash, chopped pear, and broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until squash and pears are tender (20 minutes or so, but again, use your senses).

4. While the squash is simmering, toast bread slices for 10 minutes or so in a 350-degree oven, until they’re dry and, well, toasty. Turn once, halfway through the cooking time.

5. Puree soup. If using a countertop blender (an immersion blender would be a lot easier), blend in batches and with the round plug in the blender’s top removed (or you will end up with hot soup all over everything). For a more refined texture, strain soup through a fine-mesh strainer (you’ll have to push it through).

6. Return soup to pot. Season with lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste. Keep warm but be careful to stir every so often so you don’t scorch the soup.

7. Cut the remaining half pear into thin slices (enough to cover the toasts). Place slices on toasts, and top with blue cheese. Return to oven until cheese has melted a bit. Not all blue cheese melts that well. Tuilles will be crispy and delicious in 5 minutes or so. You could try broiling, as well; I didn’t want to burn the cheese for the photo, so I didn’t.

8. Serve soup with 2 toasts portions, an arugula salad, and an Alsatian Riesling or Gewurtztraminer.

Recipe adapted from Weight Watchers Healthy Cooking Basics (New York, 2009).

Red Chard with Quinoa and Spicy Tofu

The other week, my friend Ange said she only wanted to eat kale and quinoa. The other, other week, Ange and I ate tofu with a spicy sauce at the delicious, feels-like-home-ish Dragonlady Lounge.

This week, I combined the two previously othered dishes. I had already expected them to go together nicely, but helped ensure this bind by repeating many of the ingredients from the tofu sauce in the quinoa dish.

The result was perfect. A vegan version of the starch+greens+protein I've been fawning over all Winter. If you've never tried quinoa, I urge you to. It's nutty, with a crispy-ish, springy texture. It's hearty and healthy, though light to the taste. It's beautiful.

Tofu
1 shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes, or to taste
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon grapeseed (or other neutral) oil, plus more for frying the tofu
2 teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
about 6 ounces tofu, cut into four thin pads

Chard-Quinoa
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
2 shallots, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 bunch red chard, tough stems cut away and leaves chopped
3/4 cup quinoa
a little salt or soy sauce
1 1/2 cups low sodium vegetable broth

For the tofu
Whisk together all ingredients except the tofu in a small bowl. In a few tablespoons of oil heated over medium-high, fry the tofu. When the tofu has browned to your satisfaction, set it aside on some paper towels to drain.

For the chard-quinoa
In a large pot over a medium-low flame, heat the oil. Toss in the shallots, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine and cook for 30 seconds or so. Stir in the chard. Continue cooking and stirring for a couple minutes.

Move the chard to one side of your pot and add the quinoa to the empty space. Sprinkle with a little salt or a few drops of soy sauce. Stir and cook for a few minutes, then add the vegetable broth and stir everything back together. Bring the broth to a boil, then turn the heat down to low and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes. At this point, test the quinoa. It should be a bit hard in the middle, but not dry and crunchy. If it's still crunchy, add a bit more broth and continue cooking for another few minutes.

Spoon the finished chard-quinoa mixture into the bottom of a wide bowl. Place a tofu slice on top, then pour some sauce over all.

Serves 4.

McMisrepresentation

I posted this on Facebook last week, but I thought it deserved a follow up here. NPR's blog Tell Me More, asks some of the same questions I was asking last week about McDonald's Olympics marketing. It's worth a read because, unlike my post, it has actual information about what Olympians do eat (though this information comes from the Biggest Loser, which is perhaps even more fraught than the Eat Like an Olympian commercials. BTW, did I ever tell you about the brilliant paper a student of mine once wrote about the Biggest Loser, Foucault, and the Panopticon? Seriously made me reconsider the consequences of my actions one sick day when a marathon was running on some deeply-cable channel...)

Soft Boiled Eggs with Roasted Potatoes

Do you ever eat soft boiled eggs? I first ate them at my grandmother-in-law's Wisconsin home, where I was also introduced to the particular, delightfully dainty hardware of egg cup and tiny egg spoon.

Soft boiled eggs are rustic and elegant, easy to prepare. Perfect for a leisurely weekend meal.

eggs
water

To make the soft boiled eggs, bring a pot of water to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. With a slotted spoon, carefully drop the egg/s into the water and cook for 3-6 minutes. I found 6 minutes worked well for eggs cold from the refrigerator. If your eggs are room temperature, or if you like your yolks especially runny, 3-5 minutes should do.

When you're ready to eat. Cut the top of the egg off (I'm not so good at this). Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and eat directly from the shell with the smallest spoon you've got.

The (vegan) potatoes in this picture were another easy fix. They take a little time, but barely any work.

1 russet potato
grapeseed or olive oil
salt+pepper

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. Chop the potato into 1/3 inch cubes. Spread these pieces in a single layer in the bottom of a roasting pan. Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat.

Roast for 20-30 minutes, tossing once or twice, until crispy.

Celery Root Gnocchi with Crimini Mushroms

This dish tastes like the earth. So I'll go ahead and extend the metaphor: this dish is grounding.

This week, I unfortunately let the stress of late Winter invade my emotional life. But this, this is grounding. I spent the day yesterday thinking about capital, which may seem strange for a non-profit job (though let me tell you it's far from it). But I came home and took the potatoes, celery root, and mushrooms out of their dark homes, and turned them into this. I am thankful for that process, and for this.

1 pound potato, peeled and quartered
1 pound celery root, peeled and quartered
salt, pepper
about 1 cup flour
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
2 shallots, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh chopped sage
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
3 cups crimini mushrooms, quartered
Parmesan cheese, grated (optional)

Boil the potato and celery root until tender. With a fork, finely mash both in a large mixing bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste, and about 1/2 cup of the flour. Stir to combine.

Turn the mixture out onto a floured work surface. Knead, adding more flour as necessary, until the mixture begins to hold its shape. Don't overwork it. Cut the dough into six pieces. Roll each piece out into a long log, about 1 inch thick (if a log won't form, you may need to add more flour). Cut the logs into 3/4 inch-long pieces. Roll each of these pieces down the tines of a fork,* and set aside.

Put a large pot of water on to boil.

Over low heat, melt the butter in a separate large pot. Add the shallots and herbs and cook until the shallots become tender. Stir in the mushrooms. Add a bit of salt and cook until the mushrooms release some of their moisture.

Meanwhile, boil the gnocchi in batches. They are done after about a minute of floating on the surface. Spoon, and carefully stir, the gnocchi into the cooked mushroom mixture (with the heat off). Add another tablespoon butter or oil, and/or a little bit of the gnocchi cooking water if the mixture is dry.

Once all the gnocchi are cooked and combined with the mushrooms, season to taste and serve with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Serves 4-5.

* If the tines-rolling isn't intuitive to you (it wasn't to me), the NY Times offers a more detailed explanation:

"Take a dinner fork with long, slim tines, rounded if possible," she writes. "Working over a counter, hold the fork more or less parallel to the counter, with the concave side facing you. With the index finger of your other hand, hold one of the cut pieces against the inside curve of the fork, just below the tips of the prongs. At the same time that you are pressing the piece against the prongs, flip it away from the tips and in the direction of the handle. The motion of the finger is flipping, not dragging. As the piece rolls away from the prongs, let it drop to the counter. If you are doing it correctly, it will have ridges on one side formed by the tines and a depression on the other formed by your fingertip."

Guest Post: Soft Pretzles

One of my favorite ladies, Lynn, is here with today's Aunt-Annie-antagonizing guest post. I've known Lynn since college and one of the first things I admired about her was her appreciation for the hallmarks of an aging Midwest. Lynn grew up not far from where I grew up in Michigan, so when she first took me to Knights for afternoon cocktails, it was like coming home. Lynn even has a copy of the Kalamazoo cookbook that I had been sure only existed in my mother's kitchen.

I can't wait to try these pretzels. Preferably, sometime soon over laughs with the lovely Lynn.


Until recently, I thought baking bread was something best left to the professionals. Dough and the products made from it were mysterious. How could ingredients as basic as flour and water, once combined and baked, become an item as unique in taste and texture as bread? The answer is yeast, an item as mysterious to me as its delicious derivatives.

So, how did I start baking bread when it had always seemed so daunting? Well, I was lucky enough to have received a beautiful food processor for Christmas last year and, wanting to reap every benefit this machine had to offer, I watched the instructional DVD. A major portion of this DVD was devoted to the appliance's bread blade. Although I had never before considered using the food processor for such a purpose, it had come with a small book of recipes and, if there is one thing that I have learned about cooking, it is that anything is possible if one just follows the instructions. So, I went for it. I bought some bread flour and some yeast, I followed the recipe to the letter, and I ended up with a beautiful loaf of challah.

After that first success, I felt unstoppable. The ingredients were cheap and simple, the process appealed to my penchant for recipes that take a whole afternoon, and, frankly, the ooh's and aah's that these first products elicited were a real ego boost*. Why should I ever buy a loaf of bread again? Why should I ever order a pizza again? And, goddamnit, why should I keep bank rolling Aunt Annie and Old Man Snyder of Hanover?

So, after consulting a few recipes on the internet, I rolled up my sleeves and made some pretzels.


*Hint: Any bread will look amazing if you use an egg wash.


Soft Pretzels

Ingredients:

• 1 package active dry yeast
  
• 1½ cups warm water (about 110° F)
  
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  
• 1½ teaspoons salt
  
• 2½ cups all purpose flour
  
• 1½ cups bread flour
  
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  
• 8 cups water
  
• ½ cup baking soda
  
• 1 egg yolk
  
• 1 tablespoons water
  
• 2 tablespoons rock salt or cinnamon sugar
  

Instructions:

1. Combine yeast, warm water, and brown sugar. Let this mixture sit for about 5 minutes until it begins to foam.


2. Combine both types of flour, salt, and butter in the bowl of a food processor using the bread blade. If you do not have a food processor with a bread blade, no problem, just combine it in a large bowl.


3. Slowly mix the yeast mixture into the flour mixture. This will become very thick and hard to stir; don't worry, that's what kneading is for.


4. Once the ingredients have formed a ball-like shape, let the food processor knead the dough for an additional 45 seconds. If hand kneading, roll onto lightly floured surface and knead by folding in the side closest to you, pressing it into the rest of the dough with the heel of your hands, then giving it a quarter turn. Do this for 8 minutes.


5. Pour 1 tablespoon of the oil into a large plastic bag or a large bowl and coat all sides. Put the dough into the bowl and seal or cover. Let rise about one hour in a warm place.


6. Remove the dough from the bag and divide into about 8 - 10 pieces; I find that a serrated blade works best.


7. Lightly oil a work surface and roll each piece of dough into a rope of about 18 inches. Form the rope into a pretzel shape.


8. Combine the 8 cups water and baking soda and bring to a boil.


9. One at a time, submerge each pretzel into the boiling water for 20 seconds. Lay on a lightly oiled baking sheet.


10. Combine the egg yolk and 1 tablespoon water. Brush this egg wash over the pretzels.


11. Sprinkle with salt or cinnamon sugar.


12. Bake in a 450° oven for 12 to 14 minutes. They will be done when they look perfect. You'll know when this happens.


13. Let them cool just a little bit. They are best right away. For consumption after the first day, be sure to reheat them, preferably in the oven.

Adapted from:

Alton Brown, 'Good Eats' on the Food Network
Thatsmyhome.com

Sweet Plantains

Sweet as in ripe, not sweet as in made-sweet.

This is the easiest most delicious sweet-savory thing you'll ever make.

2 ripe plantains
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
salt

Remove the plantains from their skins. Slice crosswise into pieces.

In a medium pan over a low flame, heat the oil. Add the plantains. Leave them alone to brown for 3-5 minutes or so. Flip. Repeat.

Sprinkle with salt and serve, for example, alongside (or in) a burrito with black beans, rice, and all your favorite taco fixings.

Serves 2 as a side.

Wear Glitter like an Olympian Wears Glitter

Over the past several days, I've repeatedly seen a McDonald's commercial whose slogan is something like "Eat where the Olympians eat." I can't find a clip of it online (probably for the best), but the campaign essentially claims that if you eat at McDonald's you will be experiencing something akin to competing on the world stage against humanity's most outstanding athletes.

And you know, it's not really like that.

After reading Mark Bittman's column likening soda marketing to the tobacco campaigns of old, I can't help but read these McDonald's commercials (not to mention all the Coca-Cola advertising, etc) as deeply sinister.

Not that Olympians never eat junk food. I'm sure they do. But that experience shares only sponsorship with the Olympic games. Going sledding, shooting rifles, and wearing skin-colored mesh glitter-suits share much, much more. Just saying.

Savoy Cabbage and Great Northern Bean Soup

This Winter, I'm working on subtlety. I'm interested in making basic, straightforward food that is comforting without all the richness. I want to get to know vegetables and understand how they taste.

For these reasons, I love this soup. It's a quick soup, so the component vegetables contribute to the overall dish, but still hold onto their unique flavors. Cooking everything first in butter over lowish heat helps bring out each vegetable's sweetness. A simple black pepper finish adds a little spark.

I served this with toast, which is really all I would eat, if left to my own devices. This whole dish reminded me of a New Year's Day I spent in London eating buttered vegetables and toast with friends. Basic, straightforward comfort.

2-3 tablespoons butter (or olive oil, for a vegan version)
3 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
salt
leaves from a few sprigs of thyme
1/2 head savoy cabbage, cored and cut in half lengthwise, then sliced thinly crosswise
black pepper
3 or 4 cups low sodium vegetable broth
1 (14 ounce) can Great Northern beans

In a wide-bottom soup pot over medium-low heat, melt about 1 tb butter. Add the carrots, celery, and onion. Sprinkle all with a little salt (not enough to season; just enough to help pull the juices from the veggies). Cook until vegetables begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Add the rest of the butter, then the thyme leaves, cabbage, and a few cranks freshly ground pepper. Stir to combine. Cook for 5-10 more minutes, until the cabbage begins to wilt. Add the vegetable broth, bring to a boil, then simmer for about 10 minutes, until the carrots are tender. Stir in the beans and continue cooking until warmed through. Season with more salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper.

Serves 4-6.

Garlic Kale Mashed Potatoes

Just a warm winter dish.

2 russet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into small cubes
olive oil
1 bunch black kale, rough stems cut away and chopped
3 cloves garlic
milk
salt
pepper
Parmesan cheese

In a medium pot, cover the potatoes with water then set them to boil.

Meanwhile, saute the garlic in the olive oil for 30 seconds or so. Add the kale and continue cooking until it wilts and softens, but retains some bite.

Add the cooked potatoes to the kale. Mash. Stir in milk to your desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Top with Parmesan cheese.

Serves 2-3.

Chocolate Basil Cupcakes with Toasted Almond Buttercream Frosting

Pals. Get ready. The delightful Kot is back with the second installment of her herbal baked goods series. This one complete with adulthood-signifying kitchen gadgets.


Over the past year or so--since I've started exploring the potential of the kitchen, especially in the realm of delicious and interesting baked goods--I've learned (from experience, mind you) that the following items do not substitute for a food processor:

* A Kitchenaid mixer--neither the whisk nor the knead attachment
* A fork
* Two forks
* A hammer

I've I wanted to try a basil-chocolate cake recipe for a while now (something about how basil borders on an almost licorice-like flavor made it seem like a good complement to a velvety chocolate cake). I knew I'd need a food processor (not a hammer) to do it--I kept reading over and over that the way to go is to finely chop basil with granulated sugar using a food processor. I wasn't so sure I was ready to commit to an actual food processor, though. It seems like something that adults get when they're comfortable and settled in a place, and I'm not ready to admit that I'm an adult who's never leaving San Francisco (even though it's true).

But, because I kind of promised Becky that I would blog about using fresh herbs in baked goods, and because I told her about the basil chocolate cupcake idea and she got excited, I felt like I had no choice. I had pretty much backed myself into a corner, and probably on purpose so I would actually do it. And I did: I broke down and bought a cute, 3-cup, royal blue food processor this weekend. I immediately fell in love.

To really take the food processor thing to the next level, I came up with a frosting recipe that would use it, too. (I might as well call these "food processor cupcakes.") But if you're not a nut fan, a simple vanilla buttercream would pair nicely with the cake as well (and wouldn't require additional food processor time).

Chocolate basil cupcakes with toasted almond buttercream frosting

(Note: I accidentally bought jumbo baking cups at Safeway, so I ended up making 17 gigantic cupcakes instead of two-dozen or so normal-sized cupcakes. That also explains why they turned out kind of ugly and misshapen. In a non-jumbo world, this recipe would probably make 24-36 cupcakes.)

Cupcakes

This recipe is adapted from epicurious.com. It rivals my all-time favorite chocolate stout layer cake recipe from the same place--it fact, I might go so far as to say it's better.

2 c unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c unsweetened baking cocoa
1/3 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c boiling water
2 c sugar
1 c fresh basil leaves
3 large eggs
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 c whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with (NOT JUMBO! Please!!) baking cups.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium-sized bowl. In a smaller bowl, add cocoa and chocolate chips. Pour the 1 c boiling water over the cocoa/chocolate chip mixture and whisk until smooth.

In a food processor, chop 1 c of sugar and the fresh basil until the sugar turns an even bright green color.

In a mixer, beat the 1 c basil/sugar mixture, the remaining 1 c sugar, and eggs until light and fluffy. Add butter to the mixture and beat until blended. Beat in the cocoa mixture. Add whipping cream and vanilla; beat to blend. Mix in dry ingredients on low until just blended.

Fill muffin tins until about 2/3 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes (I think--the jumbo cupcakes took 30 minutes...), or until a toothpick inserted into the cupcakes comes out clean.

Frosting

This is a simple, straightforward adaptation of the quick buttercream frosting recipe on the Food Network website.

2 c raw almonds
3 c confectioners' sugar
1 c butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 tbsp whipping cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread almonds out on a baking sheet and toast for 5-10 minutes, or until the almonds brown. Let almonds cool for 2 minutes, then grind in food processor with 1 c of confectioners' sugar until fine.

Using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, mix, on low speed, almond/sugar mixture, the remaining 2 c of confectioners' sugar, and butter until well-blended. Increase speed to to medium and beat for 3 minutes.

Add vanilla and whipping cream and continue to beat for another 1 minute more. Add more cream as necessary to achieve a spreadable consistency.

Buffalo Tempeh Wrap

Here's another Handlebar hack. I used tempeh in place of seitan and this ranch dressing is clearly not vegan (though there are lots of vegan ranch dressing recipes out there).

The flavor profile of this wrap was very similar to the sandwich upwards of four people per party order whenever we go to the Handlebar. Is this freedom or betrayal? It feels a little like both. Deliciously both.

Ranch
3/4 cup well-shaken low-fat buttermilk
2 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise
2 tablespoons nonfat sour cream
leaves from one bunch of celery
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
1 teaspoon dry dill
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
several good cracks of black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend.

Buffalo Sauce
4 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons hot sauce
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon grapeseed or olive oil
1 teaspoon Spanish paprika

In a wide bottom pot over low heat, whisk all the ingredients together.

Wrap
1 (8 ounce) package Tempeh, cut crosswise into 10-12 strips
grapeseed or olive oil
2 large tortillas
romaine lettuce, chopped
tomato, chopped
shaved red onion

Heat a couple tablespoons of oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tempeh and cook until browned on all sides. Toss the tempeh in the Buffalo sauce to coat.

Lay a tortilla out on a clean counter. Spread with ranch dressing. Add the tempeh, lettuce, tomato, and shaved red onion. Wrap, eat.

Flowers, in the Rocks

If you've still not eaten your first flower, Indiana Public Media has a suggestion for you. Thanks to my colleague, Megan, for bringing this to my attention.

There's something at once elegant and creepy about these frozen flowers. They remind me of this woman who, down the road from my childhood home, ran a flower preservation business out of her small red house called "Flowers Forever." I grew up on a dead-end country road that curved along a river valley. There was no through-traffic; not exactly an ideal place for a business.

I can only assume Flowers Forever was the kind of place you would seek out. There are times in life when suspended-animated flowers are just what you're after.

Swiss Chard over Croutons with Egg

Ever since I made this, I've been hooked on starch+greens+egg. Simple, cheap, warm. Comfort.

Croutons
1 day-old baguette, chopped into small cubes
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
leaves from a few sprigs of thyme
1 tablespoon fresh chopped chives
salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Place the bread crumbs in a large mixing bowl. Heat the olive oil, stir in the garlic, and turn off the heat. Add the herbs to the garlic oil, then pour it over the bread crumbs and toss.

Spread the bread crumbs out in a single layer in a baking pan. Sprinkle with salt and bake for 15 minutes or until crispy.

(This will make more croutons than you'll need for this dish. Save some for later!)

Chard
olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 large shallots, chopped
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 bunch Swiss Chard, tough stems cut away and chopped
salt
1/2 cup low sodium vegetable broth
2 eggs

In a wide pan over medium heat, saute the garlic and shallots until they begin to soften. Stir in the paprika and red pepper flakes and cook for a minute more. Add the chard, sprinkle with a little salt and stir until it begins wilting. Add the vegetable broth and cook for about 10 minutes until the broth has cooked down and the chard is tender.

Serve over croutons, topped with a fried egg.

Serves two.

Buttermilk Cake with Meyer Lemon Blueberry Compote

On Wednesday, we had dinner at a friend's apartment. An apartment which also happens to be our old apartment. The experience of reentering a once-lived-in home was strange, but as the dinner got rolling I essentially forgot I was in my old dining room. Our friends made chana masala; it was just perfect. We brought dessert.

Fans of the M;4M facebook page may remember that only a couple hours prior to the dinner, I was polling them for recipe suggestions. The dessert needed to travel, and to be assembled in one hour or less with only ingredients I had on hand. I got so many wonderful suggestions, but was inspired by a suggestion Joe made for something berry-y. In my freezer are the remains of 10 pounds of Michigan blueberries I purchased off Blue Star highway last July. Berry-y!

I also had one meyer lemon and some aging buttermilk. So I set out to make a buttermilk cake with blueberry compote. It was done in one hour, transported in parts, and enjoyed by all, including our friends' fluffy cat.

Cake adapted from this recipe.

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
zest of one meyer lemon

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Grease a 10 by 2-inch round cake pan.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With an electric mixer in a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. With the mixer speed on low, beat in the buttermilk and flour mixture in alternating shifts, beginning with the buttermilk. Fold in the lemon zest.

Spoon batter into cake pan. Drop pan once or twice on the counter to distribute the batter. Bake until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes.

While the cake bakes, prepare the blueberry compote.

2 cups blueberries (frozen are fine, no need to thaw)
1/8 cup sugar (or to taste)
1/2 cup water
juice of one meyer lemon

Reserve 1/2 cup of the blueberries. Combine remaining 1 1/2 cups of the blueberries with the water and sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook until the berries break down, 3-5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and reserved berries.

Serve cake with blueberry compote and a dollop of whipped cream.

Guest Post: Jenny's Mom's Cucumber Sandwiches

I am so happy that Jenny has agreed to share her [mom's] delicious cucumber sandwiches. Since I first saw them some two years ago to the tune of Phil Spector's A Christmas Gift for You, I've been baffled-transfixed by them. I could not, for the life of me, figure out how the bread got that shape. At one point Ali, Jenny's girlfriend and one of my dearest, oldest friends, explained to me that a mold gave the bread its shape. But still I did not understand. I imagined shoving a loaf of white bread into a narrow mold.

It wasn't until maybe two months ago that I finally understood the bread was baked inside (!) the mold. This, friends, was quite a realization. I think I need to order a bread mold like now.


Usually, when one learns how to make my mom’s super popular cucumber sandwiches, they make a slightly grossed out face. Suspicious partygoers give my appetizers sideways glances and ignore them for a while. Then, before you know it, someone has a few beers and takes a bite—suddenly the laughing stock of the snack table is the first to go.

I’m not the savviest gal in the kitchen, so easy snacks work well for me. This is about as easy as it gets.

Jenny’s Mom’s Cucumber Sandwiches
Makes 18-22 mini cucumber sandwiches

2 cucumbers, peeled and sliced about a quarter-inch thick
1 packet of Italian dressing mix—the little pouch of powder. My mom and I swear by Good Seasons Italian Salad Dressing and Recipe Mix. Don’t get zesty!
1/2 cup of mayonnaise (stop judging!)
1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese (non fat is not as delicious, obviously)
Dill—Also, my mom and I swear by McCormick’s “It’s a Dilly” Delish. Salt-free is fine.
2 tubes of Pillsbury Crusty French Loaf
2 bread tubes

The big thing that helps in making these glorious little sandwiches is a Pampered Chef Bread Tube. If you can’t get your hands on a Pampered Chef tube, you can find knockoffs that will do. Just Google “bread tubes.”




Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Grease the bread tube very lightly with cooking spray and take each of your Pillsbury loafs out of their package. Put an entire loaf in each tube and make sure to fasten both ends of the tubes with the handy caps they come with.

Place tubes on a cookie sheet and bake for one hour. Let stand for 30 minutes or so when they finish.

Meanwhile, combine the mayo, cream cheese and Italian seasoning in a bowl. Use a hand mixer until everything is blended nicely, but still a bit thick. Throw it in the fridge for 40 minutes or until your bread is done and cool.

When the bread is cool, cut it into half-inch slices.

Top each baby bread slice with the cream cheese mixture, a cucumber slice and sprinkle with dill.

Eat, enjoy and make sure you have breath mints handy.

Potato Leek Gratin

In the past, I've had trouble with runny gratins. So this time, I tried making a béchamel sauce with the milk and flour, rather than pouring/sprinkling it over the assembled dish. This helped enormously. The texture and end result were exactly what I've always wished my gratins would be.

2 large leeks (white and light green parts only)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
salt, pepper
3 russet potatoes, sliced very thinly
1 carrot, cut into tiny cubes
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Slice the leeks lengthwise, then crosswise into thin half moons. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, then add the leeks and thyme and cook until the leeks soften, about 10 minutes. Push the leeks off to the side and whisk the flour into the butter. Cook for a minute or so then add the milk, whisking until the sauce thickens. Stir the leeks in, season with salt and pepper, and remove from heat.

Spoon a little sauce in the bottom of a medium baking dish. Then add a layer of potatoes and some of the carrots. Layer more sauce, more potatoes and carrots until all is finished off. Cover the top with the cheese and bake, covered, for about 30 minutes, then uncovered for another 25 or so minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the cheese is golden brown.

Downward Facing [Hot]dog?

Another Tuesday, another New York Times trend piece. I saw this article last week, but was reminded of it when I realized I was the post-yoga chef for two friends Saturday night.