Sometimes I steal...

Clearly, I don't conjure up everything I cook from the aether. No, sometimes I scan other blogs and make exactly what I see there... minus the measurements... and usually plus more garlic. I think that this is a perfectly reasonable approach to life.

Recently I have had two that have gone over so well that I'm going to post them here for you. What can I say, I was a blob of uselessness for the holidays and haven't cooked nearly enough lately. Soon, I promise!

First we have a spinach soup by Pioneer Woman. I pureed the whole thing, mostly to demolish the onions in an effort to sneak them past my roommate should she want to try some (she came home too late, oh well, more for me!) and completely failed to measure anything, as per usual, but I followed the gist pretty well. It  was one of those soups that satisfies you to the core: warm, thick, does not strictly require tooth involvement and has enough spinach that you can pretend it's healthy. Perfect. You can find it here.

Option 2 for today is the other end of the spectrum: chocolate chip cookies. I actually made the dough for these when I was making cookies for my christmas cookie decorating party and just threw it in the freezer. Last night I had a dinner party to attend and nothing to bring, so I made a baker's dozen (yes, there is still cookie dough in my house)and took them over. They were still warm when I got there and quickly demolished amidst a chorus of "mmmmmmmm"s. In the interest of full disclosure, I did not love the taste of the dough when I first mixed it up: too molasses-y, but after a few days in the freezer, it was much improved and obviously the finished product went over well, thus the recommendation. Oh, you want the link? Here you go.

So yes, that's all I've got for you today, but I promise to have something more original next time!

Savory Snacks: Fancy Carbs (Soft Pretzels!)

If you aren't a carb person, I really just don't know what to do with you. Seriously. It's not that I don't want to understand it's that I quite simply can't. I love veggies and sometimes I get pretty strong meat cravings, but in my heart of hearts, I'm all about bread. For example, when I was in law school I managed to procure a free mini-loaf bread maker (thank you, LexisNexis) and for the next several days, I was in rapture. I made honey-oatmeal bread, tomato-basil bread, garlic bread (many times), and pretty much anything else you can think of (aside from sourdough, as I did not have a starter lying around). It was heaven.

One problem: I would eat the entire mini-loaf in a sitting. I would take it out of the bread maker, steam still rising from it, and inhale it with balsamic vinegar. Invariably I would get halfway through and think to myself "I should stop now and save the other half, but I'm still hungry." Then I would get three quarters of the way through and think "Soooooooooo full, but the last quarter isn't enough to save." The result of this dance being me in the fetal position on the couch for an hour alternating between "oh god so full" and "but it was so goooooooooood."

You didn't need to know that. I'm sorry, but here are bread-like items for your digestive delight! Does that make up for it? I hope so.

Savory Snacks: Meaty Delights

Cookie parties are fantastic, they really are, but you simply must have some form of salt-laden snacky goodness to combat the sugar high.

In an unrelated note, children are not the only people who respond amusingly to sugar.

Back to salt. I'm a huge proponent of having at least one or two warm snacks. This requires a little bit more attention to timing, in that you should be pulling things out of the oven maybe 10 minutes after people start arriving or you should be cooking as the night goes on, depending on your personal style, the location/visibility of your kitchen, and the likelihood that you will forget about something and set your house on fire. Please do not set your house on fire.

I opted for foods that can be assembled at any time during the day and then thrown in the oven right before people arrive, with a bonus of making the house smell pretty fantastic: (1) Andouille sausage wrapped in puff pastry dough and (2) Bacon-wrapped dated stuffed with goat cheese. Men will eat these, women will eat these, even children will gobble them down (though they may make a face when first presented with a date).

Christmas Cookie Party!

I get an inexplicable level of satisfaction from entertaining. It's just so enjoyable to me to have a bunch of people in the house, eating good food (preferably that I made) and making that contented-sounding conversational buzz. So, before I move, I wanted to put together a little holiday shindig with Dawn (roommate). We opted for a Sunday afternoon Christmas cookie decorating party, and it went really well. People were great sports, probably aided by the mulled wine, and, I have to say, there was some real creative talent in the room (not mine, I assure you).

Over the next few days I'll post several entries covering the savory appetizers that I put together to combat the overwhelming sugar intake that goes with cookie decorating, but I thought it made sense to start with the cookies themselves.

You do not want to know how much flour and sugar my house has gone through in the last 48 hours. You really, really don't.

Ok, Step 1: Make the sugar cookies (recipe below). I made a vanilla-almond cookie because I do like a wee bit more flavor than just sugar and flour. Also! Make the cookies a day in advance if you can. When you refrigerate the dough overnight, it becomes much more flavorful and much less ode du flour.

Beef Stew -or- Things to Feed a Cranky Girl

Do you ever have those days where you just know that the next day is going to be a little rough? You feel a cold coming on, you know you have to do something you've been dreading, the anniversary of something is coming up, etc. I had one of those days, and I decided that the best way to combat it was with comfort food, namely: a thick beef stew.

Truth be told, I've never made a proper beef stew before. Weird, right? I tend to make soups and the like with ground turkey, but that just cannot match the richness of quality stew meat. I say "quality" because you really don't want the stringy, tough, fat-covered "stew meat" at the store, it's worth it to upgrade to a slightly better cut. To aid me in this journey, I turned to Pioneer Woman, not only does she know her kitchen, she also makes generally awesome points. She has a really basic beef stew that looked like an excellent place to start. I happened to have some shredded carrot and a few other things lying around the house, and instead of noodles I was in the mood for rice cooked in, jambalaya style, so I had to thin the base out a little. It was delicious and, yes, it did make my less-than-ideal day slightly brighter.

In other news: It is impossible to take a pretty picture of a hearty stew. Impossible! I swear that the many many things that I will post over the next couple of months that happen to be stew-like are so much tastier than they look. Sigh.

Anyway.

Creamy Corn Chowder

I understand that the food-related zeitgeist these days can be boiled down to “bacon makes everything better.” Now, I’m pretty sure there’s a line, and I’m even more sure that said line is definitely on the near side of bacon vodka (sorry, Jacob), but there is one thing that bacon consistently improves: chowder.

Much as with cheese, I grew up in a bacon-free household. Oh sure, we had turkey bacon, but unless I was at my grandparents’ house inhaling 2-4 ethereal BLTs at a time, I never had the real thing. I had the lowest cholesterol on earth… or at least I would have if I didn’t drink milk by the gallon… but I never learned how to properly cook using bacon. This all changed when I started taking cooking classes: bacon happens.

One of the classes focused on stocks/soups/stews/pretty much anything that is primarily composed of broth. Before this class, I thought that putting bacon in chowders was a uniquely southern habit, and maybe it is, but the class was in Boston and they still did it, so I ‘m going to assume that it’s fairly widely accepted these days. That day, we made a fennel corn chowder that, if I loved fennel, would have been perfect. As I do not really favor licorice-y flavors, however, I then went home and messed around with the recipe to correct the potato-corn balance (there was way too much potato) and substitute a big pile of sweet onion for the fennel. Delicious!

I’ve made it for a bunch of people and it rarely has leftovers. In fact, it may be my most commonly requested recipe. I’m going to be nice, even, and give you both the “good” way and the shortcuts. So, here it is and, in case I have somehow been unclear, do not omit the bacon!

4 Layer Spice Cake with Citrus Filling

I. Love. Cake. Over the years, as I have aged (woe is me, hear the cracking of my bones), my sweet tooth has waned considerably. If I crave something, it's invariably savory. From time to time, however, I am presented with the option of cake, and those are good times. I am a grown woman and I still want the icing-drenched corner piece of store-bought birthday cake.

I love cake so much that I have rules for it: I'm not allowed to bake it in my home, only other people's (fortunately, my parents do, in fact, have a kitchen), I may not ever buy one, and above all, I can never be trusted to cut my own piece. [Edit: My friend Josh had this to say about my rules "That looks awesome. Your rules for cake, though, frankly suck. First rule of cake: there are no rules. omnomnom"]

You can imagine how I felt when this little gem showed up in my mailbox:



Obviously. I made the cake.

The only thing I would change is the icing. I think that a light cream cheese icing would cut down on the intense sweetness of this cake, which would make it pretty much perfect.

White Bean Risotto with Chard and Fried Okra

I said that I like it when people send me recipes and I meant it! My best friend's mother, ridiculously skilled in the kitchen herself, sent a link my way, so naturally I had to try my hand at it. I then proceeded to change it. Why? Because I just can't help myself. I thought that it might be a wee bit bland prepared exactly as it was (some of the reviews back me up on this), and I am too lazy to measure so anything I do is a bit of a hack job anyway. Oh, and the store was out of butter beans.

So, what did I do to it? I replaced butter beans with northern white beans, a less flavorful bean, but I knew that it would work just fine. Then I added prosciutto to the mix, used a bit more onion and probably some extra wine, and likely a bit more parm than the recipe called for. What didn't I change? I prepared the okra exactly as directed (except a lot more of it), and it turned out marvelously. I also handled the chard as recommended.

This means I now know an easy and delicious way to fry okra. Such things cannot end well.

Pumpkin Chili & Parmesan Biscuits

I love it when people send me recipes to try. Love it! Just the other day, Jenna sent me a Whole Foods recipe for a decidedly fall dish: pumpkin chili. Before you recoil and run away, let me assure you that it's not weird. I did find the original recipe a tiny bit bland, even with my lack of shyness around salt, so I baked up some parmesan biscuits to crumble into the bowl (WF suggests topping it with sour cream, which would probably also do the trick).

Delicious and Nutritious.

In other news, I have acquired a sufficient level of employment here in DC to allow me to look for an apartment. Exciting! I'm looking at a place this afternoon and hope to have my real life up and running early in the new year. When that happens, there will be the dinner party to end all dinner parties. Well that's an exaggeration, but I will definitely have people over and feed them. I'm slowly but surely getting back into some form of reality instead of my own, personal bubble of stopped time.

It's about time.

Butternut Squash Non-ravioli

I must have spent two days bragging about making butternut squash ravioli from scratch. Two. Days. First I was going to roll the dough myself, then I was going to shortcut it with wonton wrappers... then I was tired and they were out of wonton wrappers at the store, so I just made the filling and put it in giant pasta shells. Yes, I am ashamed of myself, but it was still worth eating.

In other news, I keep my trap shut unless I've already made something these days, so I do learn.

Now, if I were making actual ravioli, I would make some sort of sauce to top it. Despite the hack job on the pasta, I did put together a tasty sauce that consists primarily of wine and butter, so you know it's good.

Pinto Beans and Parmesan Polenta

Oftentimes, when I am cooking, I am aware that it's just for myself. This means that I take part in the time-honored tradition of making a big batch of something and then eating it for days... and days. Now, if I love the food, I am not going to complain about this. This is a food I love. I will eat it ecstatically the night I cook it, happily the next day, and awkwardly straight from the fridge, standing at the counter.

Mind you, this is not the sort of meal you cook quickly after work - it requires planning. First of all, you have to soak the beans overnight. That's right, you get dried beans and you soak them. You can do this. Do not, regardless of what the bag tells you, convince yourself that boiling the water and then letting them sit for an hour actually cuts it. It does not. You will realize this at some point mid-bite, and you will be sad, so just take my word for it. Secondly, it requires the patience of a saint. You have to let it sit on the stove for at least an hour and a half at an extremely low heat to really get the flavor right. Patience is a virtue (not, interestingly enough, "avert you," as I so firmly believed as a child... and possibly teenager... moving right along).

The payoff of this patience is a really flavorful vegetarian dish that is even good for you.

Fresh Bread Sans Fuss

There is something very satisfying about walking down the hall in my apartment building and thinking "Mmmmmmmm, that smells amazing. Oh wait! That's my apartment!" Delightful.

Oh, and there's no kneading. While I sometimes occupy the role of that annoying girl prattling on about how long, complicated cooking at the end of the day actually relaxes me and gee, what's wrong with a mountain of chopping, I do understand that sometimes it's nice to have something that does not require upper body strength.

This particular new(ish) bread making method seems to have taken the internet by storm and you can find variations on it pretty much everywhere. I happened to want to make something with rosemary and garlic, but you can substitute just about any herbs or cheese or fruit. Go crazy. Yes, baking is a precise pursuit, generally, but sometimes you are allowed to just throw some raisins in there and hope for the best. This is one of those times.

Apple Tart (in 5 ingredients)

Do you have a knife and an oven? Yes? Well then you can make this. In fact, if it weren't for all of the chopping with sharp objects and potential dismemberment issues, I would say you could make it blindfolded.

I adore fall, everything about it really. I love the way the air smells and how great that first breath in the chill feels. The trees are vibrant and beautiful, and even their fallen leaves (pain though they may be to rake) make a lovely sound scattering across the pavement. And while fall does not always go *well* in my life, I still find it comforting and peaceful.

Oh, and I look great in fall colors... but that's neither here nor there.

All of this is a roundabout way of saying that fall food is fantastic. I can go a little overboard with the butternut squash, apples, and pumpkin. The pumpkin shortage last year devastated me; I was that weird girl in the Trader Joe's asking every three days if they had any pumpkin yet and then buying a bomb-shelter-sized stash when they finally did. I could write an ode to Thanksgiving food (especially stuffing) and who doesn't love mulled wine or a tangy cider?

Let us begin our journey into my fall repertoire with a simple dessert: an apple tart that requires no thought and, if you're brave, no measuring.

(M)ole!

Yes, I am aware that the above photo is a rather sub-par. Unfortunately it's the best I have at this particular juncture for a recipe that, while you may not realize it yet, you really want.

First of all, if you do not like spicy chocolate, you are dead to me. Just turn around and walk away now.

When I was in Charlottesville, I frequented a restaurant with face-sized margaritas and surprisingly good Mexican food. I mean, come on, it's in the middle of Virginia, what are the odds? Anyway, I invariably ordered the enchiladas drowning in mole sauce and ate every bite on the plate. Much to my chagrin, the plate was several times larger than my stomach, so the remainder of the evening was spent curled up in the fetal position contemplating an early death. Worth it.

Upon moving away, however, I decided that it was time to learn how to make my very own mole sauce with the hoped-for side effect that I would be able to moderate my consumption thereof. This has... sort of... worked. On the one hand, I do not eat enough in an single sitting to philosophise on the merits of lying face down on the kitchen floor to counter the internal stomach pressure. On the other hand, this just means that I eat it for dinner one night, and lunch and dinner the next or until someone in the house has polished it off.

We'll say it's a wash.

Sweet Potato & Pecan Upside-Down Cake

I adore sweet potatoes. I do not know at what point in my life I developed my uncommonly strong attachment to them, but good lord they are delightful. You can fry them, bake them, put them in a souffle or biscuits... and you can make a cake with them. Before I went to Atlanta for Dad's birthday, I was perusing the September issue of Southern Living for ideas and I happened upon a title that not only had "sweet potato" in it (for me), but also "pecan" (a great love of my father's). Clearly it was going to end up on the menu.

I was a little hesitant because there was no picture included with the recipe, but I have since discovered why: no picture can do this cake justice. Sure, it looks ordinary and maybe reminds you a little too much of that sweet potato souffle you had last Thanksgiving, but let me assure you that it is far from plain. This cake is uncommonly moist and the semi-candied pecan topping will melt any heart.

My Dad called me the other day just to remind me how tasty it is. It will, in all likelihood, become a staple of the holiday season at my parents' house. It's that good.

Because this is baking, not cooking, I have not changed the original recipe at all. As per usual, I'm sure that I was a little dicey with some of my measurements when I made it, but not terribly so, so there shouldn't be any substantial difference. Might I suggest, however, that you consider adding some amaretto or other similar liqueur (just a tablespoon or so) to vary the flavor a bit? You can replace some of the vanilla with it or just add it on top. I'm sure it will work out just fine. It would also probably go well in the topping, but it is so fantastic already that I hesitate to mess with it.