running with tweezers

my salad days

When I was in Brooklyn in January, we had a fabulous meal at a restaurant called The Vanderbilt. Plate after plate came out - all meant for sharing, of course - each one more delicious than the next. One of them was this tangle of fresh fennel, pickled fennel, blood oranges, parsley and sharp salty cheese...all tossed in this wonderful vinaigrette. I pretty much monopolized that salad and swooned over every bite. Not so much on the sharing in this case.

I started thinking about that salad today when I was standing in front of the fridge looking for something to make with what was in there. While I didn't have the time to make pickled fennel, I had most of the ingredients to come close to replicating that dish. I added the arugula to make this salad filling as a main dish. The herby parsley mixed with the tart vinaigrette, the perfume-y fennel and the salty olives and cheese is fabulous. It's punctuated by the incredible (and seasonally fleeting so act fast) blood oranges that add a touch of sweetness. If you do have the time to make some pickled fennel, throw it in there - it would be an amazing addition.

Fennel, Blood Orange and Arugula Salad - serves 2 as an entree salad or 4 as a side salad

• 1 bulb fennel, thinly sliced
  
• 2 blood oranges, peeled and cut into supremes
• 1/2 cup good quality pitted green olives
• 3 cups (or large handfuls however you choose to measure) arugula, washed then dried
• 1/4 freshly shaved Parmesan cheese - shaving made with a peeler
  
• 4 tablespoons fresh chopped curly parsley
• 1/4 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
• juice of two large lemons - close to 1/4 of a cup
  
• sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

- For the vinaigrette: Whisk together chopped parsley, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper (to taste) in a bowl and set aside while making the salad

- For the salad: Combine arugula, fennel, Parmesan cheese and olives in large salad bowl. Pour on vinaigrette and toss to thoroughly coat. Gently add blood orange segments and give the mixture one last delicate toss. Serve immediately.

out of necessity, really

Usually when you see a soup recipe on this blog, it's because I need to share something with you. Either that or I'm going through a stressful time. When I'm in doubt or feeling frazzled, I turn to my soups. This recipe is really no exception. We've been really busy around here - burning the candle at both ends. My schedule only gets more hectic for the next few weeks and I have a good bit on my mind. It's been so busy that most of the groceries we've purchased recently are lying dormant in our fridge. I came back from my out of town trip this past weekend determined to salvage whatever I could and not let it all go to waste. 

This simple potato soup gets dressed up a little bit by lots of things starting with the letter P: Parmesan cheese stirred in at the end and a dollop of parsley pesto. I made the pesto out of what was in our fridge: curly parsley, some fennel fronds (still attached to the bulb, mind you) and some almonds I found in the cabinet. It's got great taste and adds a fresh zing to the creamy, slightly salty soup. Some mildly seasoned croutons would be a great addition to this, as well.

Potato Parmesan Soup with Parsley-Fennel Pesto - inspired by this recipe by Donna Hay 

• 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 5 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into even chunks
• 1 medium shallot, diced
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup fresh chopped curly parsley
• 1 cup fresh chopped fennel fronds, tough stems removed
• 1/2 cup fresh (un-toasted) slivered almonds
• 1/2 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
• salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

- For the soup: In a medium stockpot, drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil and heat to medium. When warm, add shallot and sauteé until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for an additional minute. Add potatoes, stock, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and then simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Add milk and bring back to a low boil. Turn off heat and remove bay leaf. Stir in grated parmesan. Using an immersion blender, puree soup to desired texture. If you use a blender rather than an immersion blender, make sure soup is cool before blending it to prevent a kitchen explosion. Taste soup at this point and add S&P to taste - the soup should be plenty salty from the Parmesan cheese. If you don't serve immediately, reheat soup before serving.

- For the pesto: In a food processor, add parsley, fennel and almonds. Pulse until finely ground. While the processor is on, drizzle in 1/2 cup of good extra virgin olive oil. If desired, salt and pepper to taste. Top soup with a dollop of this pesto and swirl it in. Store unused pesto in an airtight storage container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

a year between cakes

I remember sitting at my desk early last year and an instant message window popped up - "! ! !" was all that was contained in that box, followed by a link. We had been friends - and secretly dating each other in our minds without the other knowing it - for some time. I clicked that link and it took me to a recipe on Smitten Kitchen's blog - pear and bittersweet chocolate cake. I wanted to impress him. Show him how well I could cook. Woo him with food. 

So for his birthday, I made the cake. Timidly toting that cake in its pan to his birthday party. He swooned and raved about it - and didn't share a piece with anyone. To this day, he still tells people that I made him this cake last year. He's also still telling people that I made it four times to make sure it was just right (which is true, I can embarassingly attest.)

This year, I made him this cake again. After his birthday - but only slightly - as an early Valentine's Day treat. I only had to make it once...and I made it in a kitchen we share together. While the circumstances around the cake have changed - this one got shared with friends and was instantly devoured - the taste of it hadn't. Dense but still light. The flavor combination of the pear and the chocolate woven together with a slight whiff of nutty browned butter. It's one of the most remarkable cake recipes I've ever made - you won't miss the frosting or frou-frou touches. I'm sharing the recipe here so you don't miss out on sharing it with someone else. 

Al Di La's Torta di Pere - Bittersweet Chocolate and Pear Cake - original recipe found here at Smitten Kitchen 

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs, at room-temperature
• 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 pears, peeled, in a small dice (I used anjou, but would recommend a softer variety, like a bosc or any other of your favorites)
• 3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chunks

- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and dust with breadcrumbs (I cheated and used flour), set aside.

- Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together, set aside.

- Using a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the eggs on high speed until pale and very thick. (In a professional Kitchen Aid, it takes at least five minutes; on a home machine, it will take nine minutes to get sufficient volume)

- While the eggs are whipping, brown the butter. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan (because it will foam a lot) and cook it until the butter browns and smells nutty (about 6 to 8 minutes). It helps to frequently scrape the solids off the bottom of the pan in the last couple minutes to ensure even browning. Remove from the flame but keep in a warm spot.

- Add the sugar to the eggs and whip a few minutes more.

- Just as the egg-sugar mixture is starting to loose volume, turn the mixture down to stir, and add the flour mixture and brown butter. Add one third of the flour mixture, then half of the butter, a third of the flour, the remaining butter, and the rest of flour. Whisk until just barely combined — no more than a minute from when the flour is first added — and then use a spatula to gently fold the batter until the ingredients are combined. It is very important not to over-whisk or fold the batter or it will lose volume.

Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle the pear and chocolate chunks over the top, and bake until the cake is golden brown and springs back to the touch, about 40 to 50 minutes or a tester comes out clean.

simple green

After the gluttony that was the chocolate sheet cake & the weekend that went with it, I needed something green & healthy. Our kitchen cabinets are busting at the seams with half-used containers of every bean and grain imaginable. I'm on a mission to use some of it up, which comes with the added benefit of healthy eating.  

I've had this recipe book-marked for some time. As a huge fan of Tabbouleh (and anything Middle Eastern really), I loved the twist this recipe put on it. It also was a great vehicle to showcase this incredible Chard mix that I've been buying from Crystal Organic Farm - I use their kale a good bit, too. I've never had chard this tender, beautiful and flavorful.  It lends itself to being eaten raw or just slightly cooked. 

This is one of those recipes that you can tweak as you'd like. Less lemon juice, more garlic, more salt. Do be careful when adding the olives that you don't salt yourself out of a delicious salad - the rinsing of the olives is helpful. Tasting along the way - for flavor levels and doneness of the bulgar - is key here. I ate a heaping spoonful of this with some herby grilled shrimp. Beautifully cooked seafood or fish would be a great pairing with the flavors & textures of this salad. 

Swiss Chard and Bulgar Salad  - based on a recipe found here and originally from Fine Cooking

• 2 cups bulgar wheat
• 1 large bunch swiss chard - between 1-2 pounds, tough stems removed & coarsely chopped
• juice of 2 large lemons
• 2 large cloves garlic, finely diced
• 1/2 pound good-quality green olives, rinsed, pitted & chopped
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh curly parsley 
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small pinch dried red pepper flakes
• salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

- Pour the bulgar into a heat safe bowl & add 3 cups of boiling water. Stir & cover. Allow to sit until tender - about 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, start a pot of boiling water. When ready, place your chopped chard into the water for 1-2 minutes. I don't like my chard too cooked but this is a matter of personal preference - I want some toothy texture still. Drain and rinse with cool water to stop cooking. Allow to drain completely. 
- While chard is cooling & draining, combine the lemon juice, garlic in a small bowl & let the mixture sit for at 10-15 minutes.
- When the bulgur is done cooking, fluff it with a fork. Make sure there is no leftover water in the bulgar. Add the grain to the the olive oil mixture.  Also add your chard, chopped parsley, chopped olives, & dried red chili flakes, and the lemon juice mixture. Taste your salad at this point for salt - the olives might make your salad salty enough. Adjust salt and pepper to your taste. You can serve this immediately at room temperature or you can refrigerate it. If you do the later, bring it up slightly in temp before serving so it's not ice cold. 

sweet memories & an equally sweet giveaway!

On a recent weekend away to the mountains of North Georgia - a trip celebrating friends and some birthdays - the weather gave us every reason to stay in, cook and do mostly nothing. Forced relaxation is sometimes necessary, you know? The dusting of snow was picturesque as we went into town to the local gourmet shops for provisions for our weekend. Locally raised steaks, Logan Turnpike cornmeal pancake mix, a mostly-successful gnocchi recipe and some vino. It was all very delicious. However, for me, the star of the show was this cake. Go ahead and say thanks to Krissy for the recipe - I sure did.

I love recipes like this: I've called them the "mom-n-em" recipes. Passed down a generation or two, they sometimes have thorough instructions. More often than not, it's a list of ingredients with some loose guidelines. This cake is possibly the best chocolate cake I've ever had - high praise from someone who really isn't a chocolate eater. It also made the member of the group that doesn't eat cake quietly swoon. There's nothing particularly fancy - it's a chocolate sheet cake. However, it's the crunch between the frosting and the cake that's the kicker - a tiny bit of tooth in between two decadent layers. Imagine bits of Whatchamacalit candy bar crunch wedged between moist cake and creamy frosting. 

This is also the first recipe I've jotted down in what is my new current obsession - the Moleskine Passions Recipe Journal. It's chic, compact and concise. Everything that you expect a Moleskine to be...but food focused. I am giving one of these puppies away to one lucky reader. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post answering the question - "What is your favorite cake?". One winner will be chosen randomly at 12 pm EST on Saturday, February 13th. Please make sure you leave your name & contact info in your comment so I can let you know if you won!

A winner was chosen at noon using Random.org. Congrats to comment #5 - Beth from BakingTherapy! Thanks to all who left comments - I'm having a blast looking through them all and seeing some new recipes. :)

Nana's Chocolate Sheet Cake

For the Cake:

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup water
• 3 Tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp baking soda dissolved in 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp vanilla

Fudge Glaze:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 cups sugar
• dash of salt
• 1/3 cup cocoa
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tbsp. vanilla

Chocolate Buttercream:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2/3 cup cocoa
• 16 oz powdered sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3-5 Tbsp milk

- For The Cake: Combine the sugar, flour and salt; set aside. Over medium heat; bring the butter, water and cocoa to a boil and pour over the flour mixture. With a wooden spoon mix in the eggs, milk and vanilla. Pour into a greased jellyroll pan and bake at 350 for about 40 minutes (or until cake tests done.) Make sure you prepare the glaze during the last few minutes of baking so you can pour the glaze over the cake while it is hot!

- For the glaze, combine all the ingredients except for the vanilla over medium heat and bring to a boil. Count to about 80-100, take it off the heat and stir in the vanilla until thickened. Pour over the hot cake and let set until glossy and hard. Allow the cake to cool COMPLETELY before you frost - this is key. Top with buttercream frosting after it is cool.

- For the Frosting: Cream butter. Mix cocoa and powdered sugar together. Add to creamed butter and add vanilla. Gradually add your milk one tablespoon at a time until frosting is at desired consistency - it may take an extra tablespoon depending on how you like your frosting.

clean and simple

Beautifully tender but textured greens. Crunchy, crisp apples. Nutty, toothsome quinoa. Creamy, tart goat cheese. All enveloped in a tangy, sweet, sharp dressing. It's the stuff of dreams. My dreams, at least. It's the most incredible salad. I know,  I know I say a lot. This time...I mean it. It's the most beautifully balanced mix of textures and flavors I've come across in a really long time.

It's also based on a recipe posted to one of my new favorite food blogs, Green Kitchen Stories. The product of a couple in Sweden - who have another project coming in the way of a new addition to their family - it's such a breath of blog fresh air. Gorgeous, unpretentious photos of recipes that are chock full of lots of good-for-you things. Looking at the photos made me feel good...as did eating their food.

I added a bit of horseradish to my recipe to give a little nose-burning zip to counter-act the dense greens and the crisp apple. Speaking of greens, I used a beautiful mix of kale grown by Crystal Organic Farm here in Atlanta. The greens are just tender enough to be usable for salad without blanching or flashing. The honey adds just the thing to tie everything together. Make sure you add it to your dressing. 

Black Quinoa & Kale Salad - serves 2 as a large salad - based on original recipe found here at Green Kitchen Stories

• 4 handfuls kale mixture or 4 large leaves of kale/borecole, rinsed, drained & tough stems removed 
• 2 small Gala apples, rinsed and chopped
• 1 cup black quinoa, rinsed and picked through
• 2 ounces good quality goat cheese
• 3 tablespoons excellent quality extra virgin olive oil
• juice and zest of one lemon
• 1/4 teaspoon good quality prepared horseradish
• 1 tsp. good quality dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. good quality honey
• sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

To cook the quinoa: Rinse quinoa thoroughly and allow to drain. Place 1 cup dry quinoa and 1 1/2 cup water in a saucepan and cook until cooked but not mushy - this was about 20 minutes for me. I would imagine it depends on the age/freshness of your quinoa. If it absorbs the liquid before it gets tender to your liking, add more liquid and continue cooking. Drain excess water and allow to cool.

For the salad: Remove the tough stems from your kale. I used a lovely kale mix from a local farm-stand. If you're using large kale leaves, make sure the tough ribs are gone. Roughly chop the kale into bite sized pieces. Mix in chopped apples. Set aside.

For the dressing: Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice and zest, horseradish, mustard, and honey. Taste and add salt & pepper as needed. 

To assemble: Toss cooled, cooked quinoa in the dressing. Add dressed quinoa mixture to the kale & apples. Place on individual plates or large serving platter. Crumble goat cheese on top of salad & serve immediately.