A dear friend, Valerie Peterson, has published her second book and just in time for the holidays. Her first book extolled the virtues of cookies and gave detailed directions on the care and baking of the most imaginative cookies I've ever seen.
Now she has turned her sights on holiday drinks. She has written a funny, nostalgic handbook of holiday drinks called Peterson's Holiday Helper. Each drink has specific instructions with photographs that recall a more settled time.
I recommend her book to anyone who wants to discover a new favorite drink or as a stocking-stuffer gift for the holidays. Peterson's Holiday Helper is a keeper.
When I made this recipe for the first time at the end of squash season, I was beyond excited about. I remember telling my lab-mate about it, and couldn't wait to see them again this fall. Hailing from Gourmet, this is a different take on the sweet squash-- Roasted Acorn Squash with Chile Vinaigrette (why do I always want to spell it 'ia'?? maybe it's the i before e rule...). I think I built it up too much in my head, b/c this time it was good, just didn't knock my socks off. I did like the sweet-spicy thang it's got goin on ;-) Definately a good way to mix things up a bit!
ps- please excuse the tupperware, this batch went in to work for lunch!
I had so much fun on my run today, running through the leaves :) Left me feeling like a kid and got me excited for a game of tag! Megan (Megan's Munchies) wanted to learn a little more about me, so here it is.
what to do...
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.
Ok, here we go...
1. Well, you all may have guessed (given my screen name of ttfn300), but I have a thing for tigger. It all started in high school on a sports team... I have more tigger parafanalia and movies than I should without kids!
2. I used to be a bowler. I can't remember when I started, but I competed through high school (yes, we had a varsity team!). Never got that perfect game (I had the first 10, then choked), but made it to states and made many many great friends along the way.
3. Here's one for Erin: I didn't start cooking until grad school. I don't know if it was all the new cuisines I was exposed to, or what, but I love it!
4. Other things I used to do and wish I still did: art (mostly drawing and painting) and playing the piano (especially after hearing mi--but i couldn't hold a candle to her beautiful playing! my mom will find this especially funny as I HATED practicing as a kid).
5. My favorite color is purple, but only the deep shades :) I also like red... and orange...
6. I CANNOT wait to get a dog. I'd get two though, so they could keep each other company! So keep those pet pictures coming people!!!
Now you're it! Erica (Itzy's Kitchen) Bridget (Yogurt & Berries) Gena (Gena Cooks) Maggie (Say Yes to Salad) Zesty (Zesty Cooks) Jess (See Jess Run)
And since Megan is the pumpkin queen, I leave you with some yummy pumpkin walnut muffins!!
Whew! With being out of town last weekend and copious amounts of free food at work, I was so excited to spend the better part of this afternoon in my kitchen!! This weeks BSI, chosen by Meghann, was eggplant! I've already featured an eggplant recipe on here, and wanted to come up with something a bit different. Perusing through Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, it hit me--eggplant gnocchi! Instead of pairing eggplant with pasta, make it into the pasta!
I'm a novice when it comes to dough making, so I followed the instructions pretty closely... all i can say is I tried my best and made a mess of my kitchen counter :) Since it came from the book, i'm not going to infringe on any copyright... let's just say it did contain equal amounts of potato and eggplant! Here's some of the steps I managed to take in between hand washings :)
mashing, mixing...
hmm, can you call what i did "rolling"??
Could've sworn I had pasta sauce, but when I went to find it, I could not :( Oh well, guess I'll have to get on that! These actually came out pretty good, you could taste both the eggplant and potato, and I don't think they were too heavy at all. ~phew~ Have a great rest of the weekend everyone!!!
Buying beets at a farmers' market has the added advantage that not only are the beets fresh but so are the greens. I'm always amazed when I hear people ask to have the tops taken off and discarded. Beets are delicious and so are the greens. Sauteed with garlic and onions, they can be eaten as a side dish, added to pasta, put into soup, or used on sandwiches.
Sauteed Beet Greens
Yield: 1 cup Time: 60 minutes
When you buy beets, look for a bunch with the freshest looking leaves. At home, cut off the damaged or discolored ones and discard.
Ingredients
1 bunch beet greens 1 medium yellow onion (washed, peeled, and thinly sliced) 4 garlic cloves (peeled, finely chopped) 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil Sea salt and pepper
Method
Carefully wash the greens in water to remove all the grit. Cut off the stems and finely chop. In a large frying pan, sauté the onions and garlic in olive oil seasoned with sea salt and pepper until lightly browned. Add the stems and toss together with the onions. Drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil. Cook over a medium-low flame, stirring frequently to avoid burning for about 10 minutes. Roughly chop the beet greens and add to the frying pan. Drizzle another tablespoon of olive oil over the greens and toss well with the cooked stems and onions. Because the greens need to cook slowly to bring out their sweetness, this is a preparation best done when you have other reasons to be in the kitchen. Cook for another 30-45 minutes until the greens have wilted and caramelized. Stir frequently. Taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt and pepper.
Variations
Brown 1 piece of finely chopped bacon with the onions and garlic or 1 Italian sausage finely chopped.
With the onions and garlic sauté 1/2 cup thinly sliced brown mushrooms.
Uses
Toss together with pasta and other sauteed vegetables seasoned with olive oil and grated cheese, or with sauteed Italian sausage rounds.
Add to chicken soup.
As a topping on an open faced sandwich with avocado or fresh tomatoes or cheese or crisp bacon.
Always on the hunt for an easy to make ingredient, I discovered roasted tomatoes a few years ago. With several left over after a dinner party, I decided a little experimentation was in order. I discovered that roasted tomatoes served up countless uses and, because they freeze well, they can be pulled out at the last minute and added to soups, stews, and sauces.
Incredibly versatile, roasted tomatoes work as a side dish as well as the basis for sauces. Cold, they can be tossed with cucumbers and onions for a salad. Peeled and chopped, they add body and flavor to stews, soups, and pastas.
Ripe and over ripe tomatoes work best. If you shop at farmers' markets, keep an eye out for discounted tomatoes. This week at the Santa Monica Farmers' Market, tomatoes were selling for $2.50 - $3.50/pound, but the over ripe ones were priced at 60 cents/pound.
When they're roasting, tomatoes give off a clear liquid. The flavor is pure essence of tomato. The liquid can be used separately to flavor a simple pasta or as a final basting on a grilled meat. The wonderful chef, cookbook writer, and founder of Fra'Mani, Paul Bertolli was famous for hanging tomatoes in cheese cloth and capturing the clear tomato water that he called "the blood of the fruit."
Roasted Tomatoes
Yield: 4 servings
Time: 90 minutes
Ingredients
3 pounds ripe tomatoes (washed, stems removed)
Olive oil
Sea salt and pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the whole tomatoes on a Silpat sheet or a piece of aluminum foil on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and season with sea salt and pepper. Roast for 90 minutes. When the tomatoes are removed from the pan, be certain to spatula off all the seasoned olive oil and tomato water. That liquid is full of flavor. Spoon it over the tomatoes.
The tomatoes can be served as a side dish with other vegetables, pasta, and grilled meats.
Roasted Tomato Sauce
Yield: 1 quart
Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients
3 pounds roasted tomatoes
Method
Put the roasted tomatoes through a food mill. Discard the skins and seeds.
Roasted Tomato Pasta Sauce
Yield: 2 cups sauce
Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
1 quart roasted tomato sauce
1/4 pound brown mushrooms (washed, dried, sliced thin)
1 medium yellow onion (washed, peeled, finely chopped)
5 cloves garlic (peeled, finely chopped)
1 cup Italian parsley leaves (washed, finely chopped)
1 tablespoon oregano (optional)
1 tablespoon tamari (optional)
Sea salt and pepper
Method
Sauté the onions and garlic until lightly browned, add the parsley and mushrooms and continuing cooking until lightly browned. Add the tomato sauce. Reduce the heat and simmer until the volume is reduced by half. Taste and adjust seasoning with sea salt, pepper, oregano, or tamari.
The sauce can be kept in the refrigerator up to a week or frozen for a month or more.
Got any utility Mac's that you have to use up? Probably not, but I did :) Recipes abound on the internet for homemade applesauce, but I'll let you in on a little secret... you don't need to add any sugar! Crazy, I know! Save it for those pumpkin cupcakes or cookies :)
This is my mom's way of doing things, and I love it so much I couldn't mess with it. Nice and easy, too. She always used to cook up a BIG batch and freeze some to enjoy the rest of the year. We'd get excited there was some defrosting for dinner :)
Homemade Applesauce Mom's tried and true recipe
apples cinnamon
See, I told you it was simple! You can do this with as little or as many apples as you have and your cooking vessels permit. Peel and slice the apples (you could even keep the skins if they look better than mine did!). Here's where the options come in... microwave, crockpot, stove, heck, you could even do this in the oven.
Mom always went for the microwave: Add apple slices to a glass baking dish, then sprinkle with cinnamon (adjust it to your tastes, folks). Cook 5 min on high, stir, then 5min intervals on medium, stirring in between, to avoid boilovers. If you have a smaller amount of apples, you could probably do 2 min intervals. Stop when it looks like applesauce, I like mine chunky, but if you want, cook it longer!
What I did this time was to use the good ol' crockpot: Add apple slices to the crock, sprinkle with cinnamon (I guess you could use other spices and fruit, but for this, I wanted it just like mom made!!). Turn on the crockpot, and cook until desired consistency! I turned it on high while I was doing other things and it went pretty quickly.
How easy is that? No sugar added, and so freakin good you'll have to hold yourself back from finishing it all in one go. No? Just me? Good for you! It'll last longer :)
. Her first book extolled the virtues of cookies and gave detailed directions on the care and baking of the most imaginative cookies I've ever seen.
