Fresh Tart

My Egg Salad, Bacon & Arugula Sandwich (ESBA!) recipe at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

I'm a salty girl, always, but I think my cravings are even more intense in the winter.  Lately I've been plucking little balls of fresh mozzarella cheese from their whey bath, sprinkling them with salt, and popping them in my mouth like cherries.  Good Lord they're good that way - who needs tomatoes and basil?

Sort of my way of saying screw you to winter.

Another way (other than devouring a multi-course feast, below)?  Have a party!  Nothing tastes better with salt than wine and chat with a room full of girls, especially foodie girls who blog:

Food For My Family/Shaina
I Had A Delicious Time/Kelli
I Am Baker/Amanda
The Snyder 5/Molly
A Farm Girl's Dabble/Brenda
Cafe Cyan/Crystal

All made their way through the cold and into my kitchen where we ate, drank, gossiped, and laughed our butts off because Molly Snyder and Amanda Rettke are two of the funniest people on the planet.

Yes, I served them plenty of salt - salami, egg salad, ricotta cheese, roasted tomatoes, bacon-wrapped dates, crostini, almonds, olives, and...bagna cauda.  Have you had it before?  It means "hot bath" in Italian and is a salt-lover's dream come true.  Bagna cauda is really nothing more than anchovies, butter, garlic, and olive oil, warmed together and served with raw vegetables for dipping.

I set out radishes, peppers, carrots, and cauliflower, but it was the cauliflower I hit the hardest, after everyone left, when the bagna cauda had been sitting in a warm fondue pot long enough for the butter solids, garlic, and anchovies to have toasted into an insanely delicious sludge at the bottom of the pot.  It turns out that cauliflower, with its lovely bumps, is a perfect sludge-delivery vehicle.

I might pay later for eating almost an entire head of raw cauliflower dipped in anchovy butter...

...but so far I'm feeling pretty good.

Bagna Cauda
From Bon Apetit, December 1992, via Epicurious.com
Serves 6

From the website: Literally translated as "hot bath," this dipping sauce for vegetables often appears in many Italian homes as part of the Christmas Eve buffet. Although cardoons (an edible thistle related to the artichoke but resembling celery) are traditional, celery makes a fine substitute and any combination of vegetables will do. In Italy, the routine goes like this: Vegetable pieces are dipped into the sauce (a fondue-style fork will help) and then eaten, with a slice of bread held underneath to catch the drippings. Once the bread is soaked with sauce, it's eaten, too. Then everyone starts over. It's fun for a party appetizer no matter where you live.

3/4 c. olive oil
6 Tbsp. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
12 anchovy fillets
6 large garlic cloves, chopped

Assorted fresh, raw vegetables, cut into bite-size pieces
1 1-lb. loaf crusty Italian or French bread, cut into 2-inch pieces

Blend oil, butter, anchovies, and garlic in processor until smooth.  Transfer oil mixture to heavy medium saucepan.  Cook over low heat 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  (Sauce will separate.)  Season with salt and pepper.

Pour sauce into fondue pot or other flameproof casserole to keep warm.  Serve with vegetables and bread.

Even though my (and Fresh Tart's!) birthday was last week, the celebrating goes on.

And on.

Thursday night John & I enjoyed an epic meal, at the kitchen table at Corner Table Restaurant, with Ana Scofield & Rudy Maxa and Debbie & Stu The Wine Genius Williams.

When you reserve the kitchen table, you actually reserve local food advocate, Tour de Farm founder, and chef/proprietor Scott Pampuch, all to yourself.

From a station right next to the table, Chef Scott gets a feel for what everyone likes, then starts riffing course after course of gorgeous food, perfectly paired with wine.  Even our rambunctiously verbal, wine drinking group grew (occasionally) quiet, marveling at the delicious talent it takes to seriously pair food with wine.

Seriously.

Show up early and eat as many courses as you can hold - I believe that Scott said the record is 24.  Hey, by my (admittedly blurry as the night drew to a close) count, we put back a cool 16 courses, not bad.

We covered my four major food groups: pork (warm lardo, coppa, crispy belly), rabbit (poached in butter), eggs (softly scrambled in browned butter), and mushrooms (an ethereal, chicken-of-the-woods wild mushroom broth with pickled and fresh vegetables, I can't stop thinking about it), as well as duck, beef, foie gras, hummus with smoked trout (yes!), chocolate, and a dreamy sweet polenta pudding topped with sweet corn ice cream.

Our conversation covered pig skulls, Larry Flynt, Napa Valley, lap dances, lipstick, cheese rinds, gluttony, scrambled egg technique, Vegas, writing on deadline, surgery vs. butchery...

I laughed so hard that I lost my voice.

Thank goodness for chef-client privilege.

Thank goodness for great friends, lovely restaurants, talented chefs, delicious wine, sublime food, and loving husbands.

Thank goodness for bitterly cold Minnesota winters that make a warm, cozy kitchen seem more perfect than a white-sand beach.

Thank goodness for an utterly unforgettable birthday celebration.

My huge thanks to Corner Table, Chef Scott, and his fantastic staff, as well as Debbie, Stu, Ana, and Rudy, for sharing the evening with us.

Do you have a special celebration approaching?  Are you needing a mid-winter's escape?  Are you hungry?

I have a recommendation for you...

I posted Melissa Clark's Raw Tuscan Kale Salad with Chiles & Pecorino recipe this week at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

Yes, that is fried cheese.

It is every bit as delicious as you'd think it would be - crunchy and melty, a little salty and sweet, pretty much to die for. Thank you Melissa Clark - I asked for her new cookbook for Christmas, In the Kitchen With A Good Appetite, and I've been consistently thrilled since I opened it.

Peppery arugula is a lovely foil for the creamy cheese, as is the citrus dressing, which offers nothing less than a bite of sunshine on a cold, winter's day.  Somehow this salad manages to be at once comforting and yet refreshing, no easy feat.

I used almond flour to make it gluten-free.  You could instead use gluten-free breadcrumbs (and just skip the flour).  Have the greens ready to go so that you can serve the salad as soon as the crispy-molten cheese emerges from the oil.

An oh, tuck the dressing recipe in the back of your mind because you're going to want to eat it on pretty much everything.

Pan-Fried Cheese with Anchovy-Date Salad
From In the Kitchen With A Good Appetite by Melissa Clark
Serves 4-6

1 medium orange
1 large lemon
4 large diced dates (about 1/4 c.)
6 anchovy fillets, minced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1/4 c. plus 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 c. all-purpose flour (I used almond flour)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 c. plain bread crumbs (I skipped these)
8 oz. fresh mozzarella, sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds
Extra-virgin olive oil or safflower oil, for frying (about 3/4 c.)
Bitter leafy greens, such as arugula, watercress, and/or radicchio, for serving

To make the anchovy-date dressing, zest and juice the orange and lemon, reserving 1 Tbsp. of the lemon juice and 2 tsp. of the orange juice.  Place the zest and reserved juice in a medium bowl and stir in the dates, anchovies, and garlic.  Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking until the dressing comes together.

To make the cheese, place the flour on a plate, the egg in a bowl, and the bread crumbs on a separate plate.  Coat each slice of cheese in the flour, dip in the egg, and then coat in the bread crumbs.  (Note: I just dipped the cheese in the egg and then coated with almond flour.)

Heat about 1/2 inch oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Using tongs, dip 1 cheese slice into the oil.  If the oil sizzles slightly, it is ready.  Working with 2-3 cheese slices at a time, fry the cheese until golden brown, 15-20 seconds per side.  Transfer the slices to a plate and dab off the excess oil with a paper towel.  Repeat with the remaining cheese slices.

Serve the fried cheese hot on a bed of greens topped with the anchovy-date dressing.

My polentaaaah recipe at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

I posted this recipe a few weeks ago at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly magazine.  As lovely as lighter fare was sounding then, it is even truer now - right?  No worries, this dish still packs a big flavor punch.

Feeling weighed down by holiday treats?  Yeah.  With several days of delicious indulgence to go, I offer this palate cleanser of a dish with the goal of making it all taste even better.

I like this recipe for the tips on dry-frying the tofu, imparting a nice chewiness and intensifying the quick marinade.  The original recipe calls for asparagus, but I substituted broccoli since my kids prefer it.  You'll be glad to know that this dish comes together quickly enough to satisfy tired, hungry shoppers and to fuel a gift wrapping power session.

Best wishes for a warm and Merry Christmas!

Broccoli Tofu Stir-Fry
Adapted from a recipe by Melissa Ray Davis
Serves 2

1/2 c. soy sauce, divided
4 Tbsp. rice wine or dry sherry, divided
1/2 sweet onion, sliced thin
3 cloves garlic, minced, divided
3 tsp. freshly grated ginger, divided
1 tsp. + 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. Hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
3 Tbsp. water
8 oz. firm tofu, drained
1 head broccoli
3 Tbsp. high heat oil
toasted sesame oil

Hot rice

Since the marinade and sauce use overlapping elements, it's fastest to measure out the ingredients side-by-side: Set out a large bowl and a small sauce pan.  In the large bowl, whisk together 1/4 c. soy sauce, 2 Tbsp. rice wine, sliced onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 tsp. of fresh ginger, and 1 tsp. of brown sugar.  In the small sauce pan, whisk together 1/4 c. soy sauce, 2 Tbsp. rice wine, 1 clove of garlic, 2 tsp. of fresh ginger, 2 Tbsp. brown sugar, Hoisin sauce, balsamic vinegar, and water.

Cut the tofu into 1/2-inch thick triangles.  Gently press between woven cloth to remove excess moisture.  Dry-fry in a large Teflon skillet over medium heat with no oil, pressing with spatula frequently.  Tofu is done when firm and golden on both sides.  Transfer tofu to marinade and set aside for a few minutes.

Set saucepan over medium-high heat.  Bring to a boil and simmer for three minutes.  Remove from heat.  While sauce heats, cut broccoli into small florets.

Heat skillet over medium-high heat.  Add oil and when hot, add broccoli.  Using tongs, remove tofu and pieces of onion (as much as you like) from the marinade and add to the pan.  Stir-fry broccoli and tofu, stirring in spoonfuls of sauce as you go, until broccoli is tender-crisp and broccoli and tofu are lightly coated with sauce (depending on how saucy you like your stir-fry, you might not use all of the sauce).  Serve over hot rice.  Drizzle with sesame oil as garnish.