Baked Tofu

I first came across this tofu technique last year when I was preparing the entirely vegetarian menu for my friend Anna’s baby shower.  I decided to revisit it after Anna and I meandered into a conversation about why the ensuing baby had no interest in eating tofu.  "Well, would you?" We reasoned.  His tofu lacked flavor and, though this was characteristic of most of his food at the time, texture.

Tofu serves best as a conduit for liquid flavor.  A marinade or a sauce is almost always essential for really enjoying tofu in a dish.  But, I contend that even with the flavor box checked, checking the texture box remains key to really rounding out the experience.  One method (and a delicious one at that) is to dust the tofu with cornstarch and either deep or pan fry it.  But many of us don’t want to eat fried food everyday, so it’s nice to have another option.

That option is this baked tofu preparation.  Pressing out most of the water from a brick of firm tofu before marinading it allows for better absorption of the marinade, not to mention a chewier texture in the end after it is sliced thin and baked in a hot oven.

The process is straightforward and requires minimal hands-on time.  First, unwrap a block of firm tofu and place it on a dinner plate.  Place another dinner plate on top of the tofu and something heavy (I like to use the lid from my cast iron dutch oven) on top of the that.  Walk away for about an hour.

Upon returning, there will be a pool of liquid surrounding the tofu on the bottom plate.  Dump this liquid.  Place the tofu on a cutting board and slice thinly.  The more thinly it is sliced, the more chewy the final texture of the tofu will be.  I like to aim for about 1/8” slices if possible.  Place the sliced tofu in a small bowl or dish.

Prepare a marinade, enough to cover the tofu in the dish (To save time, this can also be done while the tofu is being pressed).  I’ve tried several, including a ginger and black garlic version, and a blood orange version (pictured).  A basic option includes soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, and brown sugar.  Adjust the proportions to taste.  I like to include a little bit of sugar or agave in the marinade because it caramelizes nicely in the oven and adds another layer of texture and flavor to the tofu, but it’s certainly not critical to the preparation.  Pour the marinade over the tofu, making sure that both sides of each slice are in contact with the marinade.  Walk away for about 30 minutes.

Upon returning, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly grease a baking sheet and place the individual slices of the tofu on the sheet.  Bake the tofu for about 20 minutes, or until it looks dry and the edges start to brown a bit.

Eat the tofu!  It is excellent with lots of fresh, crisp vegetables and herbs, wrapped in a spring roll or on a soft sandwich roll.  The chewiest, crispest pieces are even great on their own.  Experiment a little.  And enjoy tofu with texture.

Spaghetti Squash with Jalapeno Cream

Spaghetti squash is lovely because it keeps like a winter squash, but has the light texture of a more summery variety.  In the warm months, I like to keep it light, roasting the squash without letting it caramelize (a little water in the bottom of the baking sheet does the trick), then sauteing the cooked strands with garlic and some grated parmesan cheese.  But in the cooler months, a richer preparation is in order, like this Spaghetti Squash with Jalapeno Cream recipe from Sunset.  It is essentially a macaroni and cheese preparation, where a quick and light “bechamel” (milk thickened with flour and butter) is infused with fresh jalapeno for a little kick.

Don’t microwave the squash - it’s nice to roast it in the oven and let a little caramelization of the edges happen for some extra flavor.  Also, cutting the squash through its “equator” instead of longways produces longer, more spaghetti-like strands.  Finally, I use good quality dried jalapeno powder instead of fresh jalapenos in a pinch, and I don’t skimp on the cheese!

You can find Sunset’s recipe for Spaghetti Squash with Jalapeno Cream here.

Orecchiette with Veal, Capers, and White Wine

For the past six months, my schedule has been ever-changing, far from “traditional", and particularly demanding of my energy.  I’ll admit it - I’ve struggled to adjust.  One particularly difficult aspect of my ever-evolving life: I’m rarely home to cook dinner.  It’s a tough reality for a girl who has spent the better part of the past two years devoting her life (4:30 AM wake-up calls and all) to the study of creating beautiful cuisine.  And an even tougher one for those of us who have grown accustomed to a scratch meal after work (I’ll include both Kevin and myself in that category).  My solution to the problem is not earth shattering, but it is worth sharing with friends: spend one day per week’s downtime creating a sturdy salad or slaw, a reheat-able protein, pizza, or pasta, and a big pot of soup.  Eat in various combinations, and freeze some of the soup for later.  I also make sure I have a couple of  options for breakfast available (frittata, whole wheat pancakes, muesli) and a snack or two, but that’s a topic for another time.

This Orecchiette with Veal, Capers, and White Wine from Grace Parisi and Food & Wine fits into my plan perfectly for two reasons.  First, it keeps and reheats beautifully, not to mention that it portions out flexibly.  Secondly, most of the ingredients are pantry staples - just pick up some fresh herbs and you’re ready to go.  I like to keep some ground meat in the freezer for moments that call for recipes like this, especially since I like to buy responsible meat when I see it.  I prefer Strauss brand veal out of Wisconsin because I have been to their farms, and their harvesting and processing facilities to witness their practices first hand.  There are responsible sources of veal out there, but you do have to search them out - If you can’t find one, this dish works with pork as well.

You can find the recipe for Grace Parisi’s Orecchiette with Veal, Capers, and White Wine here.

Wine pairing: Bisson 2010 Pigato Colline Del Genovesato.  This crisp white from the Italian coastal region of Liguria echoes the brininess of the capers and marries with the fresh herbs of this dish as it cuts through the richness of the veal.  It is light, dry, and crisp - perfect for using in the dish and for drinking with it.  If you can’t find the Bisson Pigato, another crisp Italian white, such as a Gavi, Arneis, Verdicchio, another Vermentino, or even a Pinot Grigio will work just fine.

What I’m Drinking: Gramona Cava “Gran Cuvee” 2008

It’s only fitting that my final post of the year involve bubbles, especially since I’ve been crazy for sparkling for the better part of the past month.  And, of course, there’s nothing better for celebrating the New Year, even if it’s the only celebrating that you do.  A single flute of sparkling wine?  Sounds like the perfect New Year’s Eve to me.  Well, maybe more like two...

There are actually several good budget-friendly options, so it took a minute to narrow it down, but I finally settled on this Cava from Gramona as the way to go.  Kevin and I drank it on Christmas night this year, and it was the perfect thing.  I often like Cava in general as a sparkling option because of its tendency to be relatively inexpensive even despite being made via the traditional method.  This Gramona Cava goes a bit further because it also has a little bit of age on it, which adds some toasty, creamy, nutty notes that are perfect for the holidays and rich winter fare.

Hailing from Penedes Spain, the Gramona is made with two of the traditional Cava grapes, Macabeo and Xarel.lo, but also with the traditional Champagne grape Chardonnay, which is an interesting twist.  I love its golden straw color and streams of smallish bubbles in the glass, but am even more enthralled with the nose of this wine - all baked yellow apples, caramel and butterscotch, topped with a sprinkling of toasted almonds.

The palate does not disappoint - the caramel, baked apple, and almond are all there.  They are joined by some brighter notes, however, including lemon zest, lemon custard, and even some herbaceous apple skin.  I enjoyed this with cauliflower crudite, but think that it would be dynamite with some rich, caramelized roasted root vegetables, or even a cauliflower gratin topped with some breadcrumbs and a little parsley.  In the end, though, the good news about sparkling wine is that it pairs well with just about everything.

Happy New Year!

Chestnut and Celery Root Soup

Thanksgiving was at my house this year, and I took it on as an exciting opportunity to integrate some new and interesting dishes into the holiday routine.  Tangy and refreshing pomegranate seeds were stirred into the cranberry sauce.  Instead of stuffing or dressing, we had butternut squash and kale bread pudding.  And to start?  Soup and salad of course.  But not just any soup and salad.  Brussels sprouts and red cabbage, pine nuts and dried cranberries were dressed in a chile and honey mustard vinaigrette to play the salad role.  For the soup?  I revived this chestnut and celery root soup recipe from a couple of years ago...and then wondered why I hadn’t been making it the whole time.  Not only did our Thanksgiving guests love it, with its creamy texture, earthy depth, and just a touch of chestnut sweetness, but it was a breeze to put together, and even could be done the day before.  It will surely be making an appearance again over the holidays, and probably once more in January or February, when its hearty warmth will be most welcome in the dead of winter.

Use a sharp Y-shaped peeler to peel the celery root without going mad.  And season liberally, but don’t sweat the heavy cream if you’d rather not add the extra fat - I think it’s perfectly delicious without it.

You can find the recipe for Chestnut and Celery Root Soup here.

What I’m Drinking: Bonny Doon Vin Gris de Cigare

About a month and a half ago, I had the good fortune of being invited to attend an afternoon wine tasting with Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon Vineyard. He was delightful, and it was fascinating to meet him and to hear his (often unique) ideas about grape growing, winemaking, and everything in between. We tasted many, many delicious wines, but, surprisingly (or maybe not), the 2011 Vin Gris de Cigare was the wine that resonated with me most. Randall Grahm spoke of it as a rosé that was made to be a rosé (as opposed to a rosé that is a byproduct of making red wine). Minimal skin contact is permitted, resulting in a paler color, retained acidity, and more elegance. While the strawberry and raspberry aromas and flavors still popped, a slight minerality and lightness was notable. It instantly transported me 11 months back in time to a balcony in Aix-en-Provence, where Kevin and I quaffed a similar rosé while we enjoyed an impromptu picnic of charcuterie, cheese, strawberries, olives, and baguette, all procured from the market that morning.

Cheese at the market in Aix-en-Provence

And so began my summer 2012 obsession with Provence-style rosés. I currently have no less than five different varieties in my possession, as has been a running trend for the past month. The best I could do when it comes to purchasing the Vin Gris de Cigare locally right now was the 2010 vintage, which is juicy and lush, with ample acidity and that same mineral vein. It is a gorgeous pale salmon hue with both flavors and aromas of strawberry and raspberry, cherry, peach and apricot, zingy lemon, and just a touch of spice. At 12.8% alcohol, this blend of 71% grenache, 16% roussanne, 11% grenache blanc, and 2% mourvedre has body, but without being overly weighty. And at under $20 a bottle, it is a delicious wine that is also easy on the pocketbook, which is typical of Provence rosés as well. With the 100 degree temps that have been all-to-common in Chicago recently, these wines are the perfect thing.

Other wines that remind me of a sunny balcony in Provence:
2011 Commanderie de la Bargemone (Coteaux d’Aix en Provence)
2011 La Courtade L’Alycastre (Cotes de Provence)
2011 Chateau Margui Perle de Margui (Coteaux Varois en Provence)

Chia Seed Pudding

I always say that you can’t argue with busy.  We are all busy in our own way, and everyone feels the effects of that “busy-ness” everyday.  Unfortunately, the area of our lives that tends to suffer when we are feeling particularly busy is in the kitchen.  After recently returning to the world of the full-time student, I’ve been feeling particularly busy lately.  And as a busy person, I urge you, another busy person, not to overlook the recently trendy chia seed.  In particular, I’d like to endorse this recipe for Chia Seed Pudding from the March issue of Food & Wine.  I overlooked it at first myself, but, at the urging of one of my restaurant co-workers, pulled it up again and tried it.  I’m so glad I did.  It is amazingly quick to make, pleasant to eat garnished or on its own, healthful, vegan (bonus if you’re into that), and easy enough to memorize and thus put together that much faster.

Chia seeds are available at stores like Whole Foods (and yes, if you’re wondering, they are the power behind a Chia Pet) and, according to Bob’s Red Mill, whose chia seeds I purchased, they were a staple food of the Mayans and Aztecs.  They also are reportedly a good source of Omega-3 and fiber.  But what I’m most concerned with is that I can combine them with almond milk, a little agave, and a small amount of lemon zest and (poof) I have pudding.  Despite the instructions in the recipe, I find that I can put all of the ingredients in at once and shake, and everything disperses quite well.  The really important thing about this recipe, though, is the shaking during the first 30-45 minutes.  I have found that if the pudding is agitated at about 15 minute intervals for the first 30-45 minutes, the seeds will not clump together and will thicken the pudding nicely.  After that, the shaking is less critical.

The finished pudding is both crunchy and creamy, with a mild melon-like flavor.  I am looking forward to varying the zest, trying lemon, lime, orange, and perhaps even grapefruit.

You can find the recipe for Grace Parisi’s Chia-Seed Pudding here.

What I’m Drinking: Kunin 2010 Pape Star

While this wine does push the limits of my self-imposed bottle budget, I appreciate the fact that it is consistently delicious from vintage to vintage, always a crowd-pleaser at parties and get-togethers, and topped with a convenient screw cap!  Always a Rhone-style blend, the 2010 vintage consists of 46% Grenache, 27% Mourvedre, and 27% Syrah, and is a brilliant and clear ruby hue in the glass.  At 14.4% abv, there are some faint legs, but the alcohol is not overpowering.

The clean, youthful nose bursts with fruit aromas - cherry, strawberry, and red plum - but also maintains more complex undertones of cola, oak, mineral, and wet earth.  Likewise, juicy, fresh raspberry and black cherry lead on the palate, but are complemented at the finish with black pepper spice and a notable minerality.

This wine is dry and well-balanced, with a healthy acidity and light to medium tannin levels to off-set the fruit and alcohol.  The result is a medium-bodied red with a lengthy finish that drinks well alone, and pairs well with a variety of dishes.  A bottle of this is worth snapping up for a weekend occasion!

Roasted Potatoes with Lavender

Some of the most picturesque moments of our train ride from Aix-en-Provence to Paris this past summer involved whooshing by brilliant swaths of the purple and yellow lavender and sunflower fields that checkered the French countryside.  So, when I happened across a small bag of dried lavender at a local spice shop not long after we returned, I couldn’t resist purchasing it, in a moment of slight wistfulness.  Admittedly, I had no idea what I was going to do with it in the kitchen. Thankfully, serendipity intervened, however, in the form of an article in Saveur about edible lavender, complete with this recipe for Roasted Potatoes with Lavender.  

While I originally discovered this recipe in the summer, I have been holding onto it especially for this time of year, since this is about the time that heavy root vegetable preparations start to feel ubiquitous, and a dried flower is an easy pantry item that will keep.  Simple as this side dish is, the addition of the lavender flowers to the buttery, roasted potatoes creates a light and unexpected flavor that is a welcome departure from the familiar, and a reminder that winter is finite.

You can find the recipe for Roasted Potatoes with Lavender here.  High quality dried lavender flowers can be ordered easily from The Spice House at this link.

Ginger Cookies

Those of us who are feeling a little, ahem, “last-minute”, this holiday season will appreciate this straightforward recipe for ginger cookies.  I requested a copy of the recipe from Kevin’s family a few Christmases ago, after several consecutive seasons of ginger cookie nostalgia had finally sufficiently piqued my interest (my family has its own ginger baked good tradition, but more on that later), and kindly received my very own handwritten copy.  There are a few things that I like about these cookies, including their soft and chewy texture, their traditional holiday spice flavor, their sugar-encrusted sparkle, and, especially this year, their relatively no-fuss preparation.  I use my stand mixer, but a hand mixer would work too - just incorporate the dry ingredients by hand.  The recipe that follows makes about two and a half dozen cookies.


Ginger Cookies


2/3 c.  granulated sugar, plus more for coating the outside of the cookies
6 T  butter, softened
1/4 c.  molasses
1 large egg
2 c.  all-purpose flour
2 tsp.  baking soda
1 tsp.  ground ginger
1 tsp.  cinnamon
1/2 tsp.  ground mace


Use a mixer to cream the butter and sugar (with the paddle attachment if you are using a stand mixer) on medium speed until well-blended.


Add the molasses and the egg and continue mixing until they are fully incorporated.


Combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and mace (I like to do this on a piece of parchment paper, which I can then pick up from both sides and use to funnel the mixture into the bowl slowly).  Gradually stir the flour mixture into the sugar mixture using a very low “stir" setting on the mixer, or by hand.


Divide the dough in half, wrap each half in plastic wrap, and place them in the freezer for 30 minutes to an hour.


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Roll the dough into 1” balls, covering each one with granulated sugar before placing it on a cookie sheet that has been treated with non-stick cooking spray.


Bake the cookies until they have flattened out and are lightly browned on the bottom, about 12 to 14 minutes.


Remove the cookies from the cookie sheets immediately.  Cool on wire racks.

What I’m Drinking: Domaine du Penlois Beaujolais Blanc Chardonnay du Chatelard 2009

Here is the wine that I am absolutely obsessed with right now.  Which is funny, because I am not usually a fan of Chardonnay (This fact may be obvious based on the glaring absence of Chardonnay from the blog thus far).  Generally, I find the oaked versions to be too oaky and the unoaked versions to be, frankly...boring.  But all of that changes now, because I just really love this Beaujolais Blanc.

First of all, it is a Beaujolais Blanc - not your everyday occurrence.  Secondly, it practically screams summer.  The color is a pale sunshine gold, and the nose just bursts with ripe fruit.  Think peach, lychee, lemon, and pineapple, all mixed up with a little touch of honey.  The aromas are of above-average intensity and just on that edge between youthful and something a touch more complex.

Despite the overtly ripe character of the nose, however, this wine is dry and bright, with acid on the higher side of medium and a moderate alcohol level.  The body is robust, but not heavy, resulting in a palate experience that is at once rich and refreshing.  Flavors are slightly less ripe, but equally as intense, as the nose and the taste leads with acid (lemon, gooseberry) and rounds out with the riper richness of lychee, honey, and peach in a thriving finish.

This is a good quality under-$20 wine that is one to snap up if you can find it!  I have been keeping (or not keeping) a bottle on hand every week since the beginning of July.

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Broccoli with Carrot “Cheese” Sauce

I’m not generally a fan of “faux” food.  Recipes that try to approximate a missing ingredient feel misguided to me in intent - why linger on what is not there instead of celebrating what is?  The sentiment seems to come from a place of deprivation instead of from a place of abundance.  And who wants to focus on deprivation?  So let’s just call this Broccoli with Carrot Sauce and leave the “Cheese” out of it!

Coming from a place of abundance certainly applies to my experience in testing this recipe.  I was a little skeptical when I happened to flip on the Rachel Ray show and see The Galloping Gourmet (Graham Kerr), whipping this up.  But I was also drowning in both carrots and broccoli, thanks to our most recent CSA delivery.  And while the original recipe uses cauliflower, I was confident the broccoli would be a suitable stand in.  One little can of evaporated skim milk and I was ready to go.

There are recipes that deliver on their promises, and recipes that don’t.  This recipe, thankfully, delivers.  Despite the lack of fat, the combination of pureed root vegetable, dijon, and spice tastes deceptively rich.  The combination of carrot and cumin is particularly successful.  I was generous with the spices - adding an 1/8 tsp of the cumin and cayenne in place of the “pinch” - and maybe a little liberal with the parmesan.  Other than that, following the recipe pretty much worked out.  Just be careful not to let the evaporated milk reduce too much as the carrots are cooking or the mixture will be a little thick.  I am going to suggest this recipe to my parents, who will love the bold flavors sans fat!

You can find the recipe for Broccoli (Cauliflower) with Carrot (“Cheese”) Sauce here.

Strawberry-Cinnamon Frozen Yogurt

While there were many, many upsides to our recent European extravaganza, one obvious downside was that it happened to take place right smack in the middle of our region’s strawberry season.  Before leaving, our CSA newsletter poured a little more salt in the wound - the best two weeks of strawberries would take place exactly during our vacation.  Since our household can make a couple of quarts of strawberries disappear pretty much like magic, this was a tough blow.

But it turns out that the gods (perhaps we came in contact with some “god of the strawberries” ruins while in Rome?) were smiling on us in a strange way.  While we were gone, our CSA share, which we split with our friends Anna and Nick, accidentally got delivered to the wrong house!  By the time it was determined that it had gone to Anna and Nick’s neighbors, it was too late for the vegetables to be returned in good shape.  Our CSA gained new members in the neighbors, but we were out of a share...until, of course, our CSA could make up for it.

The day after Kevin and I got back from our trip, I got a message from the CSA.  One of the options to make up for the missed share?  Strawberries!  It was perfect.  So last Monday night, 15 quarts of strawberries were delivered to Anna and Nick’s house.  It was great...but using them before they went bad required some strategizing.  Enter the Strawberry-Cinnamon Frozen Yogurt.

Anna actually discovered this recipe from ReadyMade magazine and the book Spice Dreams last summer as a great use for those ice cream makers that we had both received as wedding presents.  While the cinnamon may sound like an unlikely match for the strawberries, it works beautifully, and the unexpectedness of the combination is one of the reasons that I like it so much!  There is quite a bit of zingy lemon in this frozen yogurt as well - enough that I think it should even be included in the name.  The recipe calls for dried lemon zest, but since I was juicing a lemon anyway, I used fresh instead.  One tablespoon of fresh zest is about equivalent to one teaspoon of dried.  I made this recipe for my parents while they were visiting for the July 4th weekend and they absolutely loved it.

You can find the recipe for Strawberry-Cinnamon Frozen Yogurt here.

Excursion: Barolo

Kevin and I just returned from a two week excursion to Italy and France, which included, among many other stops, two days in Barolo, Italy.  Thanks to importer Joe Miretti, we were able to stay at the Hotel Barolo, which is owned by the Brezza family, the family behind that delightful Dolcetto that I wrote about earlier this year.  The Hotel is situated perfectly to overlook the picturesque village of Barolo and the grounds also include a lovely swimming pool (the only one in Barolo, it appears) and the Restaurant Brezza and Brezza tasting room.

Barolo is a small wine village of about 700 inhabitants, surrounded by hills of vineyards - gorgeous and somewhat remote (well, more so than, say, Rome and Venice, where we’d spent the earlier part of our week).  While we mostly relied on trains to take us from place to place during our trip, getting to Barolo required the service of a car.  We arrived in Torino late on a Friday afternoon, secured what seemed to be the only automatic transmission vehicle in all of Italy, and were off in our Mercedes A160.  Despite the merely suggestive nature of maps in Italy, and some precariously winding mountain roads, we managed to make it to the hotel in a little more than an hour, arriving around 5 PM.

What greeted us was a breathtaking view of the hills of the Langhe region, where Barolo is situated within Piedmont, with hill after hill covered in vines and the next two villages visible through the slight haze on hilltops in the distance.  Barolo itself snuggled before us, with its several restaurants, tasting rooms, inns and homes, one castle (now home to the Wine Museum), and a church bell that tolled the hour and every fifteen minutes in between.  Despite it’s very reasonable price, our room was large, with modern amenities and shuttered floor-to-ceiling doors leading out to a lovely balcony.

Though I’ve been told that there are several excellent dining options in Barolo, after dining at the Ristorante Brezza the first night, we just couldn’t resist going back the second night.  The homemade pasta was certainly the highlight, with light and angelic “tajarin” (tagliatelle), topped with meat sauce the first night and olive oil the second, and “agnolotti del plin” (tiny meat-filled ravioli) gracing our plates.  We had Brezza wines with dinner both nights as well, enjoying the deliciously fresh and fruity Langhe Nebbiolo the first night and a more complex Barbera the second.

Though we certainly didn’t have enough time in Barolo overall, we were able to spend Saturday afternoon exploring the Wine Museum, wine shops, and cafes along Barolo’s main street.  The best part of our visit, however, was Friday evening before dinner, when we were lucky enough to taste wine with Enzo Brezza, Brezza’s winemaker.  Our tasting started with a tour of the winery, where we saw the original barrel-vaulted structure, built in the late 1880s when the family first started making wine (Enzo is the fourth generation winemaker in his family).  This room is now used for barrel-aging, and the giant casks dwarfed my 5-foot frame!  After seeing the newer wine cellar, we got down to business tasting wines.

We started with the Dolcetto and Langhe Nebbiolo, which we were happy to have again.  While we tasted, Enzo used his detailed map to show us the vineyards where the grapes for each of the wines had been grown, and we snacked on thin, crunchy breadsticks and some of the best cheese we’d had all trip.  Then it was on to the Barbera bottles, more full and complex wines.  We chatted about Enzo’s winemaking education and the places he has visited around the world to make wine.  We discussed the design of the wine labels, which he has been revising.  Then, on to the even more complex Barolo.  We tasted two more recent vintages before getting to the crown jewel of our tasting - the 2001 Brezza Castellero Barolo.  This was by far one of the best wines I have ever tasted.  I couldn’t resist purchasing a bottle right from the source, even if I had to chance it home in my suitcase!

It was very difficult to leave the Hotel Barolo, and everyone in the Brezza family who had made our stay so memorable.  But on Sunday morning we said goodbye to Enzo’s sister Tiziana and hopped into our A160 to leave...but not before Enzo’s mother Carla gave us a bag of delicious hazelnut cookies to take on our way!

Farro with Early Spring Veg

While we were in Davis, CA last fall, our friends Deb and Kip took us to a fantastic shop owned by their friends in town.  The original mission was related to Bauer pottery (a mini-obsession of mine), but Kevin also managed to find a beautiful cookbook there that turned out to be the perfect marriage of my two favorite things - fresh, seasonal food and excellent wine.  It’s called The Winemaker Cooks and it’s by Christine Hanna, who is a food writer, cooking teacher, and president of Hanna Winery & Vineyards (incidentally, that sounds like just about the perfect job to me...).  Anyway, this has become one of my go-to books in the kitchen and was the starting point for the Farro with Early Spring Veg dish that I made earlier this week.

Farro is a delicious, nutty grain that has become a foodie favorite recently, and for good reason.  It’s easy to make (all you need is some boiling water and a little bit of time) and the flavor is rich and satisfying.  The first step in this dish is cooking the farro, which is accomplished by adding a cup of farro and a tsp of salt to boiling water, covering, and simmering for about 50 minutes, similar to cooking rice.  The farro grains will pop open when ready.  Just drain and set aside until the vegetables are ready.

The original recipe in Christine Hanna’s book is Farro with Sauteed Ramps and Asparagus.  I think that that sounds delicious, but ramps are still a little hit-or-miss in terms of availability this early in Chicago.  So, I called in the next best thing - a bunch of green onions.  And a bunch of asparagus.  And, the most important part - a head and a half of bok choy.  By the way - have I mentioned that this dish is great in the case of CSA overload?

Cut the onions (white part only) into rings.  Roughly chop the asparagus and bok choy on a bias.  Melt a tablespoon of unsalted butter with a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet with a lid. Add the vegetables, a large pinch of salt, and a few turns from a pepper grinder.  Cover the pan and let the vegetables steam until they are tender, but not mushy.  This took 10-15 minutes for me, but it really depends on the pan, the quantity of veg, etc.

Once the veg are ready, add about a half tablespoon of regular butter and the farro to the pan.  Stir to combine and serve drizzled with very good, green olive oil.  So delicious - especially with an appropriately balanced Chardonnay.

What I'm Drinking: Ognissole Primitivo di Manduria 2008

I'm just realizing as I write this that, thinking about my current short list of go-to wines, I guess I have been on a bit of an Italian and Italian-inspired wine kick.  The situation promises only to worsen (improve?) with our scheduled trip to Italy and France in June, which includes a couple of days in (swoon) Barolo.  Stay tuned for more info on that...

In the meantime, I will continue to keep stocking my wine rack with bottles of delicious wine from all over Italy, including this Pugliese red from Feudi di San Gregorio.  The Ognissole Primitivo di Manduria tends to be a crowd-pleaser, a wine that gets great reviews pretty much wherever I take it, and about which I've received the "Where did you get this wine?" text more than once post-gifting.  Given that, it's not surprising that the neighborhood wine shop can't keep it on the shelf - my friends aren't the only ones who find it irresistible!

Primitivo is a close relative of Zinfandel, and Zinfandel fans will be especially happy with this wine.  The style is surprisingly new world - this wine packs a punch in the areas of fruit flavor and % abv - but maintains enough acidity and secondary flavor to stay interesting.  The color is on the border of ruby and garnet, and is on the lighter side of medium in intensity (more pinot noir than cabernet).  Not surprisingly, some slow-moving legs form on the glass with a swirl or two of the wine.

On the nose, this wine is all about fruit.  Red cherry, raspberry, jammy strawberry, dried cranberry, and red currant are all apparent.  Beyond the fruit, there is also a hit of baking spice (cinnamon and clove), a little bit of mineral earth, and a slightly medicinal character.  Alcohol is definitely apparent on the nose as well.

Though the fruit character might suggest otherwise to some, this wine is definitely dry, with good acid, tannins on the lower side, and a healthy dose of alcohol.  It all adds up to a juicy medium-bodied wine with a solid medium finish.  The palate is relatively true to the nose, with lots of red fruit and a slight medicinal quality in the background, but black currant and a hint of savory animal characteristic are also present to keep things interesting.

Overall, this easy-drinking wine hovers around $20 retail, and is a great pick for a Friday night gathering around some thin crust pizzas, fresh out of the brick oven!

Semolina Pancakes

I can't make any promises, but these semolina pancakes just might impress your friends.  Thin, delicate, and lacy, they are more like a semolina crepe than your average buttermilk pancake stack and are absolutely beautiful on the plate.  And of course, they are delicious.  Eaten as a breakfast food (or breakfast for dinner), the sweetness of a little honey or preserves is the perfect contrast to the savory pancake.  Or, you can do what I did for a dinner party last year, and use them as a wrap for a savory filling, such as chopped grilled chicken or portobello, asparagus, and a soft cheese like taleggio.

A few notes:

Because I have a tiny food processor, I halve this recipe when I make it (Note that I do not recommend the tiny food processor as one's sole food processing device, and if it weren't for my already space-starved kitchen situation, I would have eliminated this challenge some time ago with a larger model).  The important point about this is that though some of the quantities are a bit tricky to halve and, depending upon your collection of measuring devices, may require some estimation, I have never had a problem getting good results.  I usually get about 8 medium sized crepes with this method.  Another thing that I have found is that the results are better if the pan is only oiled every third crepe or so.  The first crepe after oiling is sometimes a little more greasy and less evenly shaped, so plan to set those aside if you want perfect results for guests.  Lastly, this recipe does not take much time, but it does take a little bit of planning.  Don't miss the part about the 1 hour rise time between making the batter and cooking the pancakes when you are planning for your dinner!

You can find Paula Wolfert's Food & Wine recipe for Semolina Pancakes here.

What I'm Drinking: Brezza Dolcetto d'Alba San Lorenzo 2009

Drinking this wine right now is just a tiny bit of wishful thinking.  I was pleasantly surprised when I stopped by my local wine shop a couple of weeks ago and found a familiar face - importer Joe Miretti - pouring a few of his Italian gems.  As usual, he had some great stuff with him, including a few reds that might have been a little more appropriate for the wintery weather.  But when I tasted the 2009 Dolcetto d'Alba San Lorenzo, I just couldn't resist taking a bottle home.  And once it was home, I just couldn't resist opening it...even if I might generally think of it as something I would save for the warmer season that we are all already longing for.

This is a delicious wine, and the 2009 is a delicious vintage.   It is a beautiful, clear ruby color with slight touches of purple in the glass.  On the nose, it is definitely fruit-forward, with aromas of predominantly red fruit - cherry, red currant, red raspberry, and strawberry.  It is certainly not an overly simplistic wine, though.  There are mineral undertones and something a bit earthy and ever so slightly woodsy about it that adds depth to the nose.

On the palate, the wine is light bodied and dry, with low tannins and a healthy acidity.  As expected, the flavors are red fruit dominate - strawberry, cherry, and cranberry, with a slightly metallic and stony finish.  The wine has a solid medium length and is not overly simple, but also not too complex.  This is a light, fun, good quality wine that is versatile and also a great value.  Keep it in your cellar for casual dinners with family or friends.

Chicken Stock

So.  I promised that we would get back to talking about stock, and about chicken stock in particular.  But before you give up on the discussion because you don't think that you could possibly ever have the time (or energy, or talent, or whatever) to make your own stock, consider hearing me out.  Here's the big secret about stock - People tend to be really impressed when you tell them that you make your own stock.  Strangely, I tend to be really impressed when my friends tell me that they've started a recipe by making the stock from scratch.  But the thing is, I don't know why!  Making a basic chicken stock is really one of the easiest things you can do.  Yes, you need several hours to ignore a pot on the stove, but other than that, we're talking about 15 minutes at the beginning and maybe 15 minutes at the end.  And if you are roasting whole chickens (which you really should be, let's be honest), you are probably already throwing away the key ingredient!

The greatest thing about making a quick chicken stock is that you can get it going in the equivalent of a coffee-break (I work from home...sometimes I do).  There's not a lot of prep involved in terms of chopping or peeling.  Start by placing the bones and leftover meat from a roast chicken in a large pot.  It's important that if you are using the leftovers from a cooked chicken that there is some meat involved.  If you use only bones, the flavor will not necessarily be there.  Usually I have about 3 pounds of bones and meat leftover for the stock.

To the chicken pieces, add about 4 quarts of water.  Next, add two roughly chopped carrots.  Wash them, but don't peel.  Wash and roughly chop a stalk of celery and throw it into the pot.  Quarter an onion and throw it in (no need to peel).  Toss in a handful of rinsed flat leaf parsley, a couple of small bay leaves, and a teaspoon of salt.  Heat the whole thing until it is almost boiling.  Then, partially cover the pot with a lid and adjust the heat so just a few bubbles come up at a time.  Walk away for at least 2 hours and preferably more like 3.

Strain out the vegetables and taste the stock.  It will probably need a teaspoon or two more of salt.  Don't overdo it, though, because you will want to be able to control the salt when you use the stock for cooking.  Refrigerate the stock for at least several hours.  Skim any fat that may have formed on the surface of the stock, then store.  I usually get about 10 cups of finished stock, which I store in 2 cup containers in the freezer.  Like most cooked foods, it will keep for a few days in the fridge, but must be frozen after that.  And that's all there is to it.

(Recipe adapted from Full-Flavored Chicken Stock by Mark Bittman)

Roast Chicken

It's Jonathan Safran Foer's fault that my freezer is completely, entirely, and totally packed with meat. Which is ironic, because I am pretty darn certain that that is the exact opposite outcome that Foer would be hoping for from readers of his book Eating Animals. But...while I respect Foer's willingness to do an incredible amount of investigation into making an informed decision, and his fortitude in ultimately taking a stand for the resulting decision, I will still be eating meat.  However, what Pollan's books have done to change my thinking about food and the way I eat as a whole, Foer's book did on a more specific level.  Meaning, I think a lot more about the meat that I am eating now and where it comes from.  A lot more.

So, in an effort to severely limit my support of less-than-responsible meat sources, I signed up for a meat CSA.  Which is awesome in the way that I have a more affordable and reliable source of responsible, sustainable meat.  But, I also have meat every week.  Whether I want it or not.  And, as I've mentioned in the blog before, I am trying to not to structure my meals around meat so much.  Thus, the packed freezer.

A few weeks into the season's meat CSA, I realized that I already had several whole chickens stockpiled, and seriously waning freezer space.  And so I began roasting chickens.  I've roasted many, many chickens since then for Kevin and I, and sometimes even to give away to hungry friends.  It is such an easy thing to do, and while it takes a while from beginning to end, the hands-on time is really very minimal.  It also leads to many delicious meals, since after a more basic roast chicken dinner on the first day, the remaining meat can be pulled off the bone and used for soups, sandwiches, tacos or really any preparation that calls for shredded chicken on the second or third day.  In the end, the leftover meat and bones can be made into stock (also very easy, but I will get into that some other time).

Basic Roast Chicken

I like my chicken to be salty, garlicky, and herbaceous - this buttery rub really gets the job done.  Feel free to use whatever fresh herbs you happen to have on hand.

Whole chicken (3-4 lbs)
2 cloves garlic
3 T melted butter
1 T chopped fresh parsley
1/2 T chopped fresh sage
1/2 T fresh thyme leaves
1 1/4 tsp kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
4-5 small citrus (lemons, oranges, clementines, etc.)
Assorted root vegetables
1/2 cup red or white wine (optional) 
Water


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  While the oven is preheating, prepare the chicken, clearing the cavity.  Place the chicken on the rack of a roasting pan.  


Quarter one of the lemons/oranges and thinly slice the rest.  Cut into large chunks enough root vegetables to generally cover the bottom of the roasting pan.  Place the root vegetables and sliced citrus in the bottom of the roasting pan.  Add 1/2 cup of wine (if using) and enough water to cover the bottom of the pan.


In a small dish, combine the melted butter, herbs, salt, and pepper.  Split one of the garlic cloves and rub the cut side on the outside of the chicken, and under the skin where possible.  Rub some of the herb mixture between the skin and meat on both the breast and back of the chicken.  Then rub the rest of the herb mixture over the entire outside of the bird.  Position the chicken breast side down on the rack and place the quartered citrus, garlic cloves, and bay leaves inside the cavity.


Put the roasting pan in the oven.  I roast generally smallish, naturally raised young chickens that take about 40-45 minutes per side.  A larger, grocery store chicken will likely take longer, potentially quite a bit longer.  After 40 minutes, check the chicken.  Add more water to the pan if it is totally dry, and flip the chicken if it is brown on top.  If it is not brown on top, leave it on this side until it is brown, then flip.  Roast on the second side for an equal amount of time, being sure to pay attention to the liquid in the bottom of the pan.  The key is to keep enough liquid there to prevent burning and smoking in the pan, but not too much that it prevents the chicken's skin from browning and crisping appropriately.


After the second side appears to be done, check the bird with a meat thermometer.  The thermometer should read at least 165 degrees when inserted into the thickest part of the thigh.  If it doesn't, of course, just put the chicken back in the oven, being sure to check it frequently for done-ness.

When it is done, enjoy your delicious chicken.  You can decide the fate of the root vegetables and citrus based on their condition when the chicken is done.  I find that they are sometimes salvageable, but often a bit too black, and always quite imbued with chicken drippings.  If you use a sweet citrus (think meyer lemons, clementines, etc.) and cut it thin enough, the wheels will be reduced to a caramelized round tender enough to eat, peel and all.