SWEET POTATO & PECAN MUFFINS

I swear I put this up before, but now its missing, so here it is again.


½ lb. (about two small) sweet potatoes
1 cup flour
¾ cup “white” whole wheat flour
¼ cup almond meal (this and above flour at TJ’s)
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda (if you use regular milk instead of buttermilk, delete this)
½ teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon allspice
½ cup butter
4 Tablespoons brown sugar
4 Tablespoons sugar
¼ cup plain yogurt (greek style is nice)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
¾ cup chopped raw pecans

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Prick potatoes with a fork and place on foil-lined cookie sheet. Roast for 1 hour or until tender. Remove, cool, scoop out flesh and mash with fork. (If your kids are really picky about texture, its worth breaking out the food processor and pureéing them.) Set aside. Or do this the night before and save.

Lower oven temperature to 350. Grease muffin tins (12 – 16).

Measure dry ingredients into medium bowl and whisk together well.

Cream butter and sugars. Add egg and beat until fluffy. Add yogurt, vanilla and cooled sweet potato and beat well. Stir in milk. Gradually stir in dry ingredients, then pecans.

Scoop into muffin tins, 2/3 full. Bake 25 – 35 minutes until tester comes out clean.

SPICED BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

If you just have regular cider, double the ground spices.

1 small butternut squash, about 1.25 lbs.
olive oil
2 – 3 leeks, chopped fine
1 large tart apple, like Pink Lady, peeled and chopped
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon cardamom
½ teaspoon nutmeg
about 1 cup Trader Joe’s Spiced Apple Cider
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 bay leaf

sour cream, fried sage leaves, or toasted walnuts for garnish

Halve squash, scoop out seeds and strings, spray or brush with olive oil, and roast in a foil lined pan at 400 F for 40 – 55 minutes, until tender.

Heat 2 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat in a heavy large saucepan, add leeks and sauté for 5 – 10 minutes, until soft. Add apple and sauté a few minutes more. Scoop squash flesh out of skin and add to pot, then stir in spices and sauté for a couple more minutes. Add liquids and bay leaf, bring to a boil, and then simmer briskly, covered, until apple is quite soft, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully puree with an immersion blender. Serve, topped with garnish of choice.

LASAGNA WITH SPINACH, MUSHROOMS AND SAUSAGE

This is adapted from a Bon Appetit recipe Made this for a friend who’d just had a baby and she raved. The great thing about this is that you don’t have to boil the lasagna noodles. The second time I made it we used homemade fresh noodles, which just melted in the mouth. It does take over 2 hours start to finish if you’re making the sauce, so this is definitely a weekend project.

olive oil
1 lb. uncooked Italian sausage (sweet or spicy, pork/chicken or turkey)
1 – 3 Tablespoons butter
2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms
about ¼ cup white wine
6 – 8 oz. baby spinach, roughly chopped
2 eggs, beaten
15 oz. ricotta cheese
½ teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon pepper
9 uncooked lasagna noodles
about 8 cups TOMATO SAUCE
1 – 2 cups grated Parmesan
1 heaping cup grated mozzarella
1 heaping cup grated fontina

Heat about a tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Remove casings from sausage, then cut into small chunks and brown. Remove sausage from the pan and reserve. Add butter, and then mushrooms, and sauté. Once the mushrooms have browned, add wine and sauté until the liquid is almost gone. Add spinach in handfuls, stirring in until it wilts. Once all the spinach is cooked, remove from heat and reserve.

Preheat the oven to 375. Beat together eggs, ricotta, basil, oregano and pepper. Spoon a cup of the tomato sauce into a 13 x 9 inch glass baking dish. Place 3 noodles (cover the area of the dish) over the sauce. Spread another cup of sauce over the noodles, and sprinkle half the sausage and then half the spinach/mushroom mixture over that. Spoon over half of ricotta mixture, then about 1/3 of the cheeses. Place 3 more noodles, then layer sauce, sausage, spinach/mushroom, ricotta and cheeses again. Place last layer of noodles, then another cup of sauce and the last of the cheese. Cover with foil and bake 30 – 40 minutes, until noodles are tender and sauce bubbly, then uncover and bake 15 – 20 minutes longer. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

ARUGULA SALAD WITH ORANGES AND CARAMELIZED FENNEL

From Bon Appetit January 2010, the Gourmet replacement. This is just the best combo of flavors. Amazing. Keep an eye on the roasting fennel; we overbrowned ours a bit (still good, though). We used a grapefruit knife to make the orange peeling and pithing easier.

2 large fresh fennel bulbs, trimmed, each cut vertically into 12 wedges with some core attached
6 fresh thyme sprigs
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/4 cup Sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
4 oranges, all peel and white pith cut away, halved vertically, thinly sliced crosswise
10 oz. baby arugula

Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine fennel wedges, thyme, and 4 tablespoons oil in large bowl; toss to coat. Arrange fennel, cut side down, on large rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until fennel is tender and brown, turning once, about 40 minutes. Discard thyme sprigs. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.
Whisk vinegar, mustard, and 2 tablespoons oil in large bowl. Season dressing with salt and pepper. Add fennel, orange slices, and arugula. Toss to coat. Transfer salad to large shallow bowl.

LEMON BREAD

Heavily adapted from a recipe on Epicurious. For all you neighbors who give me lemons…

3 – 4 lemons, zested and then juiced
1 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
¼ cup vanilla yogurt

1/3 cup confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease one loaf or four mini loaf pans
Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Add lemon zest, ¼ cup juice and yogurt. Mix in dry ingredients. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake until tester inserted into center of bread comes out clean, about 1 hour for one loaf, 30 minutes for mini loaves.
Meanwhile, whisk together remaining juice, about ½ cup and confectioners sugar to make glaze.
Transfer lemon bread to rack. Poke holes in the crust with a skewer. Gradually spoon lemon glaze over hot bread, adding more as glaze is absorbed. Cool lemon bread completely in pan on rack. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Turn bread out onto rack. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature.)

BROCCOLINI WITH CRISPY LEMON CRUMBS

From the January 2010 Food and Wine, which we’re trying out.
This was a fun variation on my somewhat boring childhood favorite -- steamed broccoli with lemon butter. I only used a shake of the crushed red pepper, but more would be good if you’re spice tolerant.

2 slices of bread, torn
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
up to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Salt
2 bunches Broccolini (8 ounces each), ends trimmed
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small shallot, very finely chopped
Lemon wedges, for serving

In a food processor, pulse the white bread until large crumbs form. In a large skillet, melt the butter. Add the bread crumbs and cook them over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until golden. (This took about 8 minutes for me.) Remove from the heat. Stir in the crushed red pepper and lemon zest and season with salt. Transfer the crumbs to a plate to cool. Wipe out the skillet.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the broccolini and cook until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain well, shaking off the excess water; pat dry.
In the large skillet, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the shallot and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Add the Broccolini, season lightly with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the Broccolini is lightly browned in spots, about 4 minutes. Transfer the Broccolini to a serving platter and sprinkle the lemony bread crumbs on top. Serve right away with lemon wedges.

SPINACH MUSHROOM PIE

Adapted from “Italian Regional Cooking” by Ada Boni.

double whole wheat buttermilk pie crust dough, rolled out into 10” rounds

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 oz. pancetta
3 – 4 shallots, minced
1 – 3 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz. baby spinach, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms
Herbes de Provence
¼ cup white wine
¾ cup grated fontina cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1 ½ cups finely grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

Heat oil in a large sauté pan on medium heat. Add pancetta and cook until golden brown. Add shallots, lower heat a bit and cook until softened. Add garlic and cook one minute. Add spinach in handfuls, stirring until wilted and adding more. Add a few shakes of salt along the way. Once all the spinach is wilted, remove from heat.

At the same time, in a medium sauté pan, heat butter over medium high heat. Once melted, add mushrooms, stirring to coat. Cook until they begin to brown, then add several shakes of Herbes de Provence and wine. Turn heat up a bit and sauté, stirring occasionally, until all liquids are gone. Remove from heat.

Line a shallow pie plate with one round of pie crust dough. Layer fontina cheese, then mushrooms, then spinach mixture. Mix together eggs and parmesan and pour on top. Cover with the remaining dough, crimp edges. Brush with egg or cream glaze.

Bake at 425 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Serve immediately.

BITTER GREENS SALAD WITH MINT & POMEGRANATE SEEDS

This is from “Local Flavors” and was heavily adapted for our FCA feast to allow for individual preferences (we don’t like frisee) and local/seasonal availability. Very yummy and just the right bright balance to a meal of warm comfy food. Once the seeds and nuts were prepped ahead, this was really easy to literally toss together at the last minute.

1 lb. ish bitter baby salad greens (we had watercress and a bunch of other crazy heirloom stuff)
1/3 cups fresh mint leaves, torn into small pieces
3 scallions or small spring onions, white and light parts thinly sliced
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and pepper
1/3 cup toasted salted nuts (we used pepitas from the Venice FM)
seeds of one small pomegranate


Toss together greens, mint and onions in a salad bowl. Just before serving, toss with oil, vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle nuts and seeds over top and serve.

CHARD BUNDLES WITH LEMON RICE & SAGE BUTTER

This is from “A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen”. I have to say that, though simple and subtle, this was my favorite of the FCA dishes. The rice had just the right amount of lemon in it. A bit fussy, but like my other “bundle” recipe (WILD MUSHROOM BUNDLES), worth the effort.

8 large chard leaves (at least – we had extra and then made different sized bundles)
1 cup Arborio rice
½ cup grated parmesan
1 large egg yolk
½ teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoon lemon juice
4 tablespoons (perhaps more) butter
16 (or more if you like) pretty sage leaves

Bring salted water to boil in a large pot. Trim the large stems from the chard (either completely if they are very large, or just the back sides if not too large – remember you’re looking for bundle wrappings). Add chard leaves to boiling water and cook briefly until tender, removing carefully with a slotted spoon to dry flat on tea towels. Blot dry and cool completely.

Add the rice to the same pot once the chard’s out and cook, stirring occasionally until rice is tender, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk the cheese, egg yolk, lemon zest and juice in a small bowl.

When the rice is tender, drain and return it to the pot. Stir in the egg mixture, coating the rice evenly. Add a tablespoon of butter, cover the pot and set aside for a minute. Then stir to distribute the melted butter and add salt to taste. Cool a bit.

Place about 1/3 cup of the rice mixture in the center of each chard leaf (adjusting obviously according to leaf size), folding up to make a neat bundle. (You can do all this ahead of time and then hold bundles until just before this last bit.)

Heat 3ish tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add sage and crisp lightly, then remove sage to paper towels. Add the chard bundles to the butter in the skillet, seam side down and brown gently on both sides. Transfer to a serving platter and sprinkle with sage leaves before serving.

PANCETTA & LEEK-STUFFED PORK CHOPS

This is from “Simply Organic”. Again, I am not the grill master (or even an apprentice) so I can only report from afar. I believe James followed this recipe, and he actually cooked them two ways – one, recommended by Candy the butcher – wrap chop in foil and cook 10 minutes on each side, then remove foil and brown 5 minutes each side. James did as the recipe suggests, 14 minutes a side approximately, but because he did his smoky magic, his way was way better, I think.

2 oz. pancetta, chopped
2 large leeks, white and light green parts, sliced thin
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
salt and pepper
4 thick pork chops (bone-in or –less)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger

Prepare a hot charcoal fire.

Cook pancetta over medium heat until browned. Add the leeks and cook until very soft. Add garlic, sage, sprinkles of salt and pepper and cook another minute.

Cut a slit in the side of each chop, creating a pocket. Fill each with ¼ of the filling.

In a small bowl, combine oil, ginger and more salt and pepper to taste. Brush this mixture on the chops.

Grill about 14 minutes a side, until juices run clear and a meat thermometer inserted in the center reads 145 degrees F.

SWEET POTATO, RED ONION & FONTINA TART

This came from a magazine I’d been disappointed the whole year I’ve received it, “Eating Well”. But this tart was so beautiful and appealing and we followed the recipe pretty exactly and it came out perfectly. It helped to have a detail-oriented nine-year old girl to arrange the vegetables, as well as a committee to decide exactly where they should go. I learned with this recipe that my V-slicer was NOT made to cut raw sweet potatoes. Bent prongs. This was a great part of our meal (and excellent left over for lunch) but I would also make it as a vegetarian meal itself, with a salad on the side.

¾ cup walnut pieces
1 ¼ cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
2 - 3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme and/or rosemary
salt and pepper
½ cup olive oil, plus more
7 tablespoons ice water

1 ½ lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled, sliced into ¼ inch thick rounds
1 ½ cups thinly sliced red onion (1 large)
1 cup fontina cheese, shredded
1 large egg white, beaten with a bit of water

Pulse the walnuts in a food processor until finely ground. Add the flours, 2 tablespoons of herbs, and about ¾ teaspoon each of salt and pepper and pulse until combined. Add ½ cup olive oil and water and process until it begins to form a ball – dough will seem wetter than most pastry doughs. Remove from processor and form into a ball, then pat into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.

Toss together sweet potatoes, 1 tablespoon oil, some salt and pepper on a baking sheet. Toss onions on a smaller baking sheet with another drizzle of oil. Roast for 10 minutes at 425 degrees. Remove to cool and reduce oven to 375.

Place dough disk on a floured work surface or silicone mat, with parchment paper on top. Roll out to a 15-inch circle, adding flour to prevent sticking if necessary. Flip over and transfer to a baking sheet, with the parchment paper on the bottom. Leaving a 2 inch border, sprinkle the cheese evenly over the crust. Arrange the sweet potatoes and onions in a bull’s eye pattern, with larger potato circles on the outer ring, then a ring of onions, and an inner ring of smaller potatoes.

Fold the outer rim of the crust up and over, pleating. The filling will not be completely covered. Brush the crust with the egg wash. Drizzle vegetables with a bit more oil and sprinkle with the remaining herbs.

Bake until lightly browned on the edges, and vegetables can be easily pierece with a fork (recipe said 50 minutes, but ours was done in 30). Cool 10 minutes before serving.

PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE PIE WITH CORNMEAL CRUST

I’m pretty sure I found this on Epicurious, but it’s been awhile. I made this for Thanksgiving years ago and it is my favorite pumpkin pie ever. I make it pretty close to the original – just sub in some ww flour and roast my own pumpkin. This year, we used little sugar pumpkins the girls had markered faces on for Halloween. It felt a bit cannibalistic, but I just shaved off their “faces” and then roasted as usual.
This pie was, thankfully, a great one for teaching egg separation. It took Morgan 3 tries to get a yolk separated successfully, but we were able to use the broken ones for the filling! Save the extra whites for future use as a wash on your tart crust, or for an egg white omelet.

Crust
3 tablespoons (or more) ice water
1 large egg yolk
2/3 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup yellow cornmeal (I used blue)
1tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 stick chilled unsalted butter (put in freezer for 10 minutes), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Filling
6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
½ cup sugar
½ cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 cup PUMPKIN PUREE (or canned pumpkin), cooled (can be made ahead)
¾ cup half and half
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon grated lemon peel
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon salt

Whisk 3 tablespoons ice water and egg yolk in a small bowl to blend. Mix flours, yellow cornmeal, sugar and salt in a food processor. Add chilled butter. Process only until mixture resembles coarse meal. Drizzle egg yolk mixture over it. Pulse until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball. Flatten dough into disk; wrap disk in plastic and refrigerate 30 minutes. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.)

Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 350°F. Roll out the dough between 2 sheets of waxed paper to a 12-inch round. Remove the top sheet of waxed paper. Invert dough, paper side up, into 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Remove waxed paper from dough. Crimp dough edges decoratively.

Using an electric mixer, beat 6 ounces cream cheese in large bowl until fluffy. Add sugars and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and egg yolk.. Add remaining ingredients and beat until well blended. Pour filling into prepared crust.
Bake pie until filling is slightly puffed and just set in center, about 55 minutes. Transfer pie to rack and cool completely. Cover pie and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Keep pie refrigerated.) Serve pie cold, with HOMEMADE WHIPPED CREAM if feeling decadent.

BLACK BEAN & BACON SOUP

I adapted this from a Gourmet recipe – simplified by using canned beans instead of fresh. I also halved the bacon and stock and added some vegetables. James and Morgan really loved it. I thought it was a nice alternative black bean soup. Very rice with the bacon, and less sludgey than black bean soup where you don’t drain the beans.

4 bacon slices, chopped
1 small onion, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 sticks of celery, diced
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled
1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
1 teaspoon cumin
pinch or two chili powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes, with juice
1 quart chicken stock
2 cans black beans, drained
pepper and salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Cook bacon in a heavy pot over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes. Pour off rendered fat in excess of about 2 tablespoons. Lower heat to medium. Add onion, bell pepper, carrots, celery, oregano, bay leaf, thyme, cumin and chili powder and sauté, stirring frequently, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté one more minute.
Add tomatoes, beans, chicken broth, and salt and pepper (to taste) and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until beans are heated through. Discard bay leaf and stir in cilantro.
Suggested accompaniments: chopped avocado, sour cream, more cilantro. CORN BREAD on the side.

PASTA WITH SAUSAGE AND KALE

This is adapted from an Epicurious recipe, but I was also trying to mimic a dish that is on the menu at Pitfire Pizza in LA that Morgan loves. Morgan loved it, Audrey picked out the sausage. Be sure to use reduced sodium chicken broth, or it gets too salty. Textures are great – kale comes out so silky.

olive oil
2 small sweet onions, sliced
1 lb. sweet or spicy uncooked Italian sausage (chicken or other)
2 cloves garlic, minced
big bunch kale, well washed, stems removed
½ lb. pasta of choice (original recipe called for fettucine, I used brown rice spirals)
1 cup chicken stock
½ cup grated Pecorino Romano

Heat oil in a large heavy skillet. Cook onions over medium heat until translucent, 8 – 10 minutes. Remove sausage from casings and add to pan, breaking apart with wooden spoon. Raise heat a bit and brown, cooking another 8 – 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute.

Meanwhile, heat water in a large pot. Add kale, cook for about 5 minutes. Scoop out with a large sieve, drain, and chop roughly as soon as it is cooled enough to handle. Bring water back to boil and cook pasta according to directions. Drain when done.

Meanwhile, add kale to sausage pan. Saute for a few minutes to mix ingredients, then add stock and cook until it reduces by half.

Add cooked pasta and cheese and toss to combine. Serve with more cheese on top.

HEARTY LENTIL SOUP WITH SMOKED SAUSAGE

This is from the Foodie Farm Girl website. I added celery to it, and a bay leaf. Also used uncooked sausage and some of my frozen vegetable stock where she used just water, but mostly the same. I think the cumin and paprika give it a unique flavor. Nice for a rainy late winter/early spring meal. Audrey wouldn’t touch this, but Morgan said it was “fine”.

1 to 2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 lb. sausage
1 large onion, diced
3 medium carrots, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
4 to 6 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups water and/or stock
1 cup lentils, rinsed
1 28-ounce can diced or crushed tomatoes with juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 Tablespoon paprika
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
¼ - 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley


Heat 1 Tablespoon of the olive oil in a large soup pot. If the sausage is cooked, slice into bite-sized pieces. If raw, remove the casing. Add the sausage to the pot and cook over medium heat until nicely browned, breaking it up as it cooks if it was raw. Remove from pot and set aside on paper towels to drain any fat off.

Saute the onion, celery and carrots in the pot, adding extra olive oil if necessary to prevent sticking. Cook 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring so that the vegetables are coated with the caramelized bits left in the pot from cooking the sausage. Add the garlic and cook 1 to 2 more minutes.

Add the water/stock, lentils, and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, with the lid cracked, adding sausage, cumin, paprika, salt, and red pepper flakes if desired. Simmer for about 50 minutes, until lentils and vegetables are al dente. Stir in parsley and serve

BEETS WITH BLOOD ORANGE SALAD

We have beets all year round in LA, but I think the Blood Orange season is closing and I've been wanting to try this for awhile. It was delicious and I nice change of pace from my standby for beets, ROASTED BEET SALAD. This is adapted from a recipe in “Chez Panisse Vegetables” by Alice Waters. Hers calls for endive, but we had lots of lettuce in the garden so I just used that. I also halved the recipe.

1 lb. beets, greens removed
¼ cup walnut pieces
1 blood orange
Zest of ½ orange
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/8 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
small head of lettuce (or endive)

Preheat oven to 400 and roast beets inside foil packages, until tender. (40 – 75 minutes depending on how big they are.) While oven is on, toast the walnuts on a baking sheet for about 5 minutes. When beets are done, allow to cool slightly, then rub off skins with a paper towel, cut off end and slice, setting aside.

Trim off the top and bottom of the orange and then pare off the rest of the peel, removing all the pith. Slice into ¼ inch rounds.

Make a vinaigrette by mixing together the zest, juice and vinegar and then whisking in the oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Toss beets gently with the vinaigrette, then arrange them on plates with orange slices on top of lettuce leaves. Drizzle with remaining vinaigrette and sprinkle with walnuts.

SPINACH AND CHEESE STRATA

This is one of those classic old recipes which I got from Gourmet. The original called for frozen spinach but I have always used fresh. I brought this for our Teacher Appreciation Brunch today where it was much appreciated. This is a foolproof recipe and there are never any leftovers.

3 – 4 shallots or 2 spring onions, chopped fine
1 big bag baby spinach (10 – 12 oz.) , roughly chopped
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
8 cups cubed (1 inch) French or Italian bread (1/2 lb) (I used whole wheat)
6 oz coarsely grated Gruyère (2 cups)
2 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1 cup)
2 3/4 cups milk
9 large eggs
2 heaping tablespoons Dijon mustard

Cook shallots/onion in butter in a large heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and nutmeg and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add spinach in handfuls; as it wilts, add more, until all of it is wilted, then remove from heat.

Spread one third of bread cubes in a buttered 3-quart gratin dish or 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish and top evenly with one third of spinach mixture. Sprinkle with one third of each cheese. Repeat layering twice (ending with cheeses).

Whisk together milk, eggs, mustard, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl and pour evenly over strata. Chill strata, covered with plastic wrap, at least 8 hours (for bread to absorb custard).

Preheat oven to 350°F. Let strata stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

Bake strata, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed, golden brown, and cooked through, 45 to 55 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. It is fine to serve at room temperature.

DEEP DISH APPLE PIE

This is from “Barefoot Contessa Family Style” for the most part.

4 lbs. apples, peeled, cored, sliced (she called for Granny Smiths, but they have a very short season in CA – in the fall – and there are so many other tart varieties, like Pink Lady’s to chose from)
zest of one lemon
zest of one orange
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
(Throw the remainder into your Limeade!)
½ cup sugar (I went a little light on this)
¼ cup white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice
WHOLE WHEAT PIE CRUST
Egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water for egg wash

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine apple in a bowl (soon after slicing!) with zests, juices, sugar, flour, salt, and spices.

Roll out half the pie dough and drape over pie pan, with extra extending over rim. Fill pie with apple mixture. Top with second crust and crimp together. Have your child make lovely designs with the extra crust to put on top. Brush whole crust with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar and cut a few slits in top crust.

Bake pie on a foil covered or very old sheet pan for 60 – 75 minutes, until crust is browner than it started and apple juices are bubbling. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, of course. If you don’t have ice cream on hand, invite over some friends who do and share!

CHOCOLATE CHIP BAR COOKIES WITH PECANS

This is a pretty adaptable recipe and a reasonable treat. Making bars is so much easier than cookies. My girls hate dried fruit for some reason, but other kids like it so it’s a good addition if you can swing it. Some may go for the fruit but not the nuts. And the almond meal really adds richness as well as protein. You also might try subbing “white” whole wheat flour for all the flour.

2 cups brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup almond meal
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 12-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips
1 generous cup coarsely chopped pecans (or walnuts)
1 cup dried fruit of choice (cherries, golden raisins, cranberries)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan.

Using an electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl to blend. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then vanilla.

Whisk together flours, almond meal, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Gradually beat into butter mixture. Mix in chocolate chips, nuts and fruit. Spread batter in prepared pan.

Bake until top is golden and tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs still attached, about 35 - 40 minutes. Cool in pan on rack; cut into bars.

SIMPLE VEG & GOAT CHEESE PASTA

This is something I made up a few years ago and it is a solid staple for Morgan and I, though Audrey is very resistant. James thinks it is a bit boring. I added mushrooms this time around, but often do it with just spinach or other greens, and anything else that’s around and seems good. Go with a LARGE bunch of greens – they shrink a lot. I used the green garlic that I had left and omitted the onions this time. When cooking this kind of dish, I also use the eyeball and handful measuring system that I read about once in a yoga magazine – using your hands and eyes to measure, you are more connected to the food than if you are carefully using measuring spoons and cups.

large bunch of greens: Spinach or Chard is safest for kids
1 shallot or small onion, minced
1 – 5 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil
salt and pepper

2 handfuls mushrooms, sliced (optional)
bit of butter
2 splashes white wine

pasta to serve your family – shape of choice

zest of one lemon, plus a few squeezes of juice
chunk of soft goat cheese
palmful of chopped parsley (if you have it)
handful of grated parmesan

Heat a couple of small puddles of olive oil in a large sauté pan. Add shallots/onions and cook until softened. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about a minute. Add greens in handfuls, with a bit of salt, wilting. Continue until all of the greens are wilted. Remove to a cutting board, chop, and reserve.

Begin to heat a large pot of salted water at this point. Add the pasta once it boils and cook according to directions. When it is ready, reserve some of the cooking liquid and then drain.

If using mushrooms, add some butter to the same pan and heat. Add mushrooms and brown them. Then add a couple of splashes of wine (perhaps pouring some for yourself to enjoy at this point), raise the heat a bit, and cook until the wine reduces almost completely, stirring occasionally.

Once mushrooms are done, lower heat. Return the greens to the sauté pan. Add cooked pasta, a few splashes of cooking water and goat cheese in forkfuls. Stir until cheese is well distributed. Stir in parmesan. Remove from heat and add parsley and zest. Finish with a splash of lemon juice and serve with parmesan.