Most-viewed Fresh Tart recipe in 2011...Pasta Amatriciana from the Muir Glen Vine Dining Tour dinner I attended at Corner Table Restaurant back in February. Chef Scott Pampuch shared his recipe, I made it at home and included it with my post about the event, and kablam.
You all LOVE pasta! And pork! I don't blame you one bit!
Coincidentally (or not!), that was a very special event for me. I met so many new friends, all on the same night, I look back and shake my head at the evil food fun that has spun out of that night. Joy! Dave! Minnesota Food Bloggers! Not kidding.
I didn't realize it then, but 2011 was just starting to simmer. I couldn't possibly have known that it would boil over into the most significant year of my life, short of the year that Nathan was born. (I chat about a few highlights in my recent Twitterview with Joel Carlson for Minnesota Monthly Magazine.) I am in awe of the friends I've met, the relationships that have blossomed, the work that has come my way, the food I've been able to cook/photograph/write about, the opportunities to grow and push and do crazy shit that blow my mind from the moment I open my eyes each morning.
Thank you for reading what I write, cooking my recipes and letting me know (truly, nothing makes me happier, nothing), chatting on Twitter, sharing your pictures and stories on Facebook and your own blogs. We are very lucky here in Minnesota that we've been able to turn our social media connections into real and lasting friendships, good work, delicious food, charitable contributions, and the energy of connecting with people who love what they do.
There's so much more coming! Amazing. Cheers to 2012, much love, Stephanie
It actually hurt me a little bit to bake a pan of popovers for the photo. I don't miss many things since giving up gluten - mostly good beer, honestly - but oh, popovers! Truly the world's most perfect butter delivery vehicle, soft and eggy, steamy and crusty, marvelously ragged with melted-butter-pooling crevices. In college, I would make myself a batch of twelve, eat eight hot out of the pan - with soft butter - then save four to fry the next morning - in melted butter.
I long for those days.
Make a gluten-free batch, you say? I've tried. They're fine but not holy, not like real popovers, so I'm trying to make my peace with remembering how they taste. I was home alone with the batch pictured, so I just smelled them, watched them cool, put them away, and fried them in butter for my son the next morning to eat with maple syrup.
Ouch.
If you're not as maniacal about butter as I am, keep in mind that popovers are phenomenal with roast beef, particularly beefy pan drippings. If you make a lovely roast for the holidays, use a bit of fat from the pan to grease the muffin tin and call them Yorkshire puddings.
Recipe for Popovers at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.
Inspired by a recent David Tanis/New York Times column about the beauty of having a quick, satisfying pasta in your repertoire, I thought I'd share my recipe - if you can even call it that - for the pasta I make for my son at least once a week. Like the Tanis recipe, this dish comes together quickly, with ingredients easy to keep on hand, and delivers fast, filling comfort on a cold, busy day.
Or night! I was so taken by the idea of having a go-to dish to make after a sparkly night out, when it's very possible that you were offered a lowball glass of Cheetos, but not actual real food to absorb the perfect cocktails you sipped for too many hours. (I love you Marvel Bar, but I am ready to eat my hat by the time I get home from a lovely evening in your presence.)
(If you're gluten-free, you can substitute gluten-free pasta. Or, just make yourself a fried egg, with loads of hot sauce, which is what I often do. But that's a different post...)
Recipe for Quick Pasta with Cream & Garlic at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.
Given lusty poached plums and a hint of orange, this cake would be stunning on the Christmas table.
Recipe for Almond & Orange Cake with Poached Plum Compote at Food & Wine Magazine/Andrew Zimmern's Kitchen Adventures.
Studded with chicken, shrimp, bacon, chiles, and tomatoes, this Carribean one-pan (!) stew is spicy heaven on a cold Minnesota night. Make sure to serve with lots of fresh limes.
Recipe for Asopao with Chicken & Shrimp at Food & Wine Magazine/Andrew Zimmern's Kitchen Adventures.
Um, I'm a bit late putting this up, I'm very sorry. This dish is of course is perfect for leftover Thanksgiving turkey...perhaps you froze some? Then you're in luck! A creamy, delicious topping for rice, or filling for a luscious pot pie.
Perhaps you're roasting a turkey for Christmas? I'm trying...
Recipe for Turkey a la King at Food & Wine Magazine/Andrew Zimmern's Kitchen Adventures.
Are you cheering for the Badgers in the Rose Bowl? I will be! Yay Bucky!
Are you cheering for the Packers this weekend? Because no one is cheering for the Vikings anymore? Then make this! Thick and spicy with pork and chiles. Serve with beer and it won't matter who wins. (Spoken like a girl who watches very little football these days...hey.)
Recipe for Game-Day Pork & Black Bean Chili at Food & Wine Magazine/Andrew Zimmern's Kitchen Adventures.
Somehow on my trip to Provence this summer I completely missed socca, or chickpea flour pancakes. I'm a little bit obsessed with them at the moment, hot off the griddle, topped with nothing more than a grind of black pepper. That's how they're served in Provence, as a snack, wrapped in paper, meant to be washed down with ice-cold rosé.
OK!
But they make terrific breakfast/brunch food as well, served as a savory pancake topped with a fried egg and garlicky spinach. Last year I posted a recipe for just one pancake as the perfect base for a fast lunch of leftovers. I declare that a crispy, savory pancake can transform any ho hum leftovers into something sublime.
And then, if you're home late from a holiday party, craving a new twist on grilled cheese, do this: Smear two pancakes with harissa, press haloumi cheese into the middle, and griddle for a few minutes to warm through. Seriously the most perfect after-celebration food ever.
Recipe for Socca (Chickpea Flour Pancakes) with Fried Eggs & Spinach at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.
