Braise a pot of beans one day, eat well for the next several. It's the laziest, most delicious way to fill a week with food that I can imagine.

Day 1 eat a bowlful of beans, on their own or alongside a roast or spooned over rice.

Day 2 fry some beans until crispy and top with sauteed greens and a poached egg.

Day 3 puree some of the cold beans with garlic, fresh lemon juice, and olive oil and eat the spread with chips or smeared generously on grilled bread.

Day 4 puree some of the warm beans with chicken or vegetable stock and eat piping hot as soup, topped with crispy Brussels sprouts and toasted walnuts (fry sliced Brussels in hot olive oil/butter combination).

Your ideas? Share them!

The soup pictured is made with chickpeas, although the foolproof recipe - via Cafe Levain chef Adam Vickerman - is written for white beans. His technique works for whatever beans you like, so experiment away! (Leftover beans freeze beautifully, by the way.)

Original recipe for Braised White Beans at TC Taste/Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

If you love cookbooks, and don't own Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin, add it to your list.  Everything in it is delicious, fresh, approachable.  Some of the recipes are longish, but not terribly complicated, and hey, sometimes greatness takes a little effort.  I'm down with that.

Like this bean gratin.  It's quite simple, really, it just requires a bit of forethought.

The recipe is written for flageolet beans, the traditional cassoulet bean.  If you're organized, and planning ahead, put your hands on flageolets because I've made this gratin with them, and by substituting navy beans, and honestly, the flageolets have it.  Their texture is firmer, their flavor more pronounced.  That said, the gratin is awfully delicious made with navy beans as well.

This gratin is meatless, and could be easily made vegan (use olive oil for the breadcrumbs), but is so loaded with flavor that you'll wonder...hmmm...are you sure there's not a spot of duck fat in there somewhere?  A smidge of lamb?  Baaaaa?  The crusty top is the perfect foil for creamy beans, and the caramelized onions scattered on the bottom are as delightful to discover as your high school crush on Facebook.

Bonus.

I apologize for the rather lame pics - I made this dish for a group of lady food blogger friends, and was chatting and sipping bubbles and not very focused (pun!) on my camera.  In addition to the beans, I made a mess of pork ribs - pork-n-beans! - but the rest of the meal was gorgeously filled out by my guests.

Here's a tip: Invite food bloggers to your next potluck dinner.  Wow the deliciousness.

Kale Salad with Apples, Pecans & Smoked Cheese from Kelli Abrahamian of I Had a Delicious Time.

Homemade baguette from Shaina Olmanson of Food for My Family.

Sweet-and-Salty Honey-Cheese Spread from Brenda Score of A Farm Girl's Dabbles.

I did not photograph (insert head slap, then see above chatting and sipping) the bounty of olives, almonds, and cheeses brought by Kate Selner of Kate In the Kitchen.  I also forgot to snap pics of the Cheesecake in a Jar brought by Amanda Rettke of I Am Baker, gorgeously labeled and filled with creamy-dreamy heaven (check out the pics on her site - swoon).  Amanda also shared her darling new Baby Eddie!  Seriously yum, both the cheesecake and Eddie.

Thanks ladies!

White Bean Gratin
From Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin
Serves 6

7 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 small sprig rosemary
1 chile de arbol, crumbled (substitute a pinch of cayenne)
1/2 c. diced onion, plus 5 c. thinly sliced onions
1/2 c. diced fennel
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp. thyme leaves, divided
1 1/2 c. dried flageolets (or navy beans)
5 Tbsp. butter
2 c. fresh breadcrumbs (I used gluten-free bread)
2 tsp. chopped parsley
Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper

Heat a medium pot over high heat for 2 minutes.  Pour in 4 Tbsp. of the olive oil, and add the rosemary sprig and crumbled chile.  Let them sizzle in the oil a minute.  Add the diced onion, fennel, garlic, 1 Tbsp. thyme, and the bay leaf, sitrring a minute or two, until the onion is wilted.  Add the flageolets, and cook a few more minutes, stirring to coat the beans with the oil.

Cover the beans with water by 3 inches and bring to a boil over high heat.  Turn the heat down to low, and place a paper towel over the beans to keep them under the surface.  Simmer for 30 minutes, then add 3 tsp. of (Kosher) salt to the beans.  Continue cooking on a low simmer about 1 hour, until the beans are tender.  As the beans cook, add water as necessary (but don't add too much - you want these juices to be rich and a little starchy, since they will be an important part of the finished gratin).  Remove the beans from the heat, discard the paper towel, and let them cool in their juices.  Taste for seasoning.

While the beans cook, caramelize the sliced onions.  Heat a large saute pan or Dutch oven over high heat for a minute.  Swirl in the remaining 3 Tbsp. olive oil, and add the sliced onions, 2 tsp.thyme, 1 tsp. salt, and some freshly ground black pepper.  Cook 6 minutes, stirring often.  Turn the heat down to medium, and stir in 1 Tbsp. butter.  Cook 15 minutes, stirring often and scraping with a wooden spoon, until the onions start to caramelize.  Turn the heat down to low, and continue to cook about 10 minutes, stirring often, until the onions are a deep golden brown.  Spread the onions on the bottom of a 9x9-inch (or equivalent) gratin dish.  Spoon the flageolets into the grain dish with a good amount of their cooking juices.  The beans will expand a little as they bake, so fill the gratin dish only three-quarters full (reserve any extra beans for use in another dish).

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Toss the breadcrumbs in a medium bowl with the remaining tsp. of thyme and the chopped parsley.  Melt the remaining 4 Tbsp. butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Cook about 3 minutes, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter browns and smells nutty.  Pour the brown butter over the breadcrumbs, let cool a minute or two, and toss to combine.

Sprinkle the brown butter breadcrumbs over the beans, and bake 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until the gratin is bubbling, nicely browned, and crispy on top.

Gorgeous, hip, fun, smart, and famously delicious - San Francisco is my dream town.  I regret that I was so busy with the BlogHer Food blogging conference I attended that I didn't get to do much sightseeing.  But I did enjoy several fantastic, not-Minnesota meals, and of course incredible California wine.

Here's the overview in case you're heading to Cali any time soon (and if you are, I am deeply jealous)...

Our first night, John and I hit Incanto, in the Noe Valley, on Andrew Zimmern's recommendation.  Chef Chris Cosentino tweets as @offalchris, a nod to the fact that, as their website notes, Incanto "almost always includes one or two dishes featuring 'odd cuts' and offal because serving these parts of the animal honors the whole animal and helps preserve an important, yet increasingly overlooked, part of our culinary heritage."

And also - because the parts are delicious!  Especially in Chef Cosentino's talented, adventurous hands.  John and I enjoyed heavenly crispy pork liver, tender and rich.  The "best bits" chicken risotto with gizzards & crispy skin is the essence of chicken, pure and intense, melting into creamy rice.  It's serious risotto, not to be missed, so leave room for it.  We also fit in slabs of silky-sweet foie gras (so rich, so full, so lucky), washed down with one of the best series of wines I have ever - ever - enjoyed.  Big credit to our our fantastic waiter for an unforgettable meal.  If you're interested in cooking the "odd cuts," and you can handle the visuals, check out Chef Cosentino's blog Offal Good.

Saturday night we headed to Namu, a Korean-fusion spot recommended to us by Andrew, as well as my friend Danielle from Bon Vivant.  Let me back up and say...San Francisco is not a cab town.  But John and I got lucky with a ride to Namu with the coolest, smartest guy - Felix - who gave us his card and told us to give him a call after dinner.

John and I walked into Namu and dug the vibe immediately: relaxed, comfortable, with a fascinating menu.  From the pickled vegetables to fried tofu (dream about, crave, inspired the recipe below) to the grilled okra to the braised beef short ribs - Eat. Here.  And then if you're lucky, call Felix for a ride, because that is the only way you're going to get home.

Sunday we were free!  Conference over, we rented a car and planned a scenic drive.  While John picked up the car, I had brunch with my friend Denise of Chez Us.  I first met Denise last spring at the Penny de los Santos food photography workshop I attended in San Francisco.  It was a blast to see her again and catch up!  She suggested we meet at Cafe de la Presse, a lovely spot for a delicious French brunch.  As fun as it was to be in San Francisco with John, he couldn't really talk shop with me.  After two days of the conference, I was ready to gossip and put it all in perspective.

After brunch, we said good-bye to Denise, and John and I set off to drive most of the famous 49-Mile Scenic Drive.  That's our thing, taking great drives together, and as you might imagine, touring San Francisco is seriously stunning.  We put an iPad to good use - Google maps are knockout on an iPad, especially with the ease of zooming in and out.

We broke away for a drive over the Golden Gate Bridge (see previous post) and a mid-afternoon bite at Fish in Sausalito.  Fish tacos and a catfish po-boy with slaw tasted mighty fine along the water front, in that glorious California sunshine, oh yeah...

And then Sunday night, the biggest treat of all.  It turned out that our friend Maud was going to be in San Francisco visiting her brother Arthur, his wife Heidi, and their daughters Sadie and Sophia.  When we figured out that we were overlapping each other, Arthur and Heidi graciously offered to host John and me for dinner.

Yes!

I've "known" Arthur online (Facebook, Onsugar) for years but never actually met him.  Needless to say, it was a huge treat for John and me to relax with the whole group in Arthur and Heidi's lovely home, especially after several days of eating in restaurants.  Arthur is a total foodie and a great cook - he made a beautiful dinner for us.

Before we arrived, Arthur had already marinated a butterflied leg of lamb with garlic and herbs, ready to grill until crusty and pink.

My pic doesn't do the Lacinato kale salad justice, which is too bad, it was an intense and vibrant green.  To make the salad, Arthur stemmed and chopped the kale into a fine chiffonade.  He whisked together lemon juice, olive oil, and red wine vinegar and tossed it into the kale a couple of hours before we ate, allowing the acid in the dressing to "cook" the kale.  Right before serving, he tossed in crumbed feta cheese and toasted walnuts, and salt and pepper to taste.

He also made a delicious saute of rainbow chard.  He separated the stalks from the leaves, chopping both.  He sauteed the stalk with chopped onion for 30 minutes or until deeply caramelized.  Just before serving he stirred in the leaves, tossing until the leaves wilted.  He finished with a vinaigrette of honey, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and toasted sesame seed oil, as well as a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds.

Needless to say, both dishes were out of this world, a little salty, a little sweet, the perfect sides for the tender lamb.

He also shared a big pot of beans that he makes on Sundays for the week.  I hope we left him some, they were fabulous with rice, exactly what you'd want to take to work for a filling lunch or to warm up for a quick dinner.  Pure comfort.

For dessert, we gouged bites of chocolate off of a hunk of bittersweet Scharffenberger, alongside slices of ripe pear.  A feast!  A colorful, healthy, unforgettable feast!  With great wine, top-notch advice for my blog, and the best possible company, it was just a perfect way to end our trip.

So there it is.  Man, I am still wiped!  And yet still able to make fried tofu for lunch today, in honor of the delicious tofu we had at Namu.

I'll just declare that fried tofu is one of my favorite dishes, I think even Top 10.  There's something about the hot crispy coating around the silky interior and the way it all soaks up the garlicky, salty sauce it's often served with.  As a bonus, it's really easy to prepare - pan-fried vs. deep-fried, with a coating that's just a quick dusting of rice flour.  You could be swooning over it in less than 20 minutes, no problem.

Crispy Fried Tofu
Serves 2-3

1 block firm tofu
rice flour
oil suitable for high heat frying (refined almond, safflower, peanut, etc.)
2 cloves garlic, minced
pinch of red pepper flakes
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
3 Tbsp. mirin
1 Tbsp. water
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. rice wine vinegar
2 scallions, sliced thin

Drain liquid from tofu container, then wrap tofu in paper towels.  Press down on the tofu to remove as much liquid as you can.  Cut tofu into 1-inch cubes.  Dredge cubes in rice flour.

Pour oil 1/2-inch deep in a large skillet.  Heat over medium-high heat.  While oil heats, put garlic, red pepper flakes, soy sauce, mirin, water, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, and scallions in a small sauce pan.  Simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes, then set aside.

When oil is hot, fry cubes until golden brown on one side.  Using tongs, turn and brown on the other side.  Drain on paper towels.  Serve cubes with warm sauce for dipping.

I posted this recipe a few weeks ago at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly magazine.  I've probably said this about too many things to be credible (I'm aware that I lean a bit heavily on the superlative), but this is one of my absolute favorite dishes.  I crave it.  I devour it.  And now you will too, in less than 20 minutes.  Be warned, it's massively addictive...  I use the breakfast sausage I buy from Blue Gentian Farm at the Minneapolis Farmers Market if I don't have chorizo; it works beautifully. (In fact, I could pretty much eat it on everything.)

I've been sauteeing pans of crispy pork with beans and greens for years.  I start with a little bacon, ham, or sausage.  When the pork is nicely browned, I stir in minced garlic, sometimes something spicy, and then the cooked (likely canned navy) beans and saute until they're a bit crisp on the edges.  I finish with a handful of chopped cabbage or chard or spinach, whatever I have in the cooler, tossing things around a bit until the greens wilt.  I might have made it for you.  I always put half away before I dig in, because otherwise I'd eat the whole pan.

Of beans.

Which hurts.

Mark Bittman/New York Times posted this version, Fried Chickpeas with Chorizo & Spinach, earlier in the year and of course it caught my attention.  It's everything I love, with two fabulous additions - a splash of sherry and breadcrumbs to finish, drizzled with olive oil and run under the broiler until golden brown.  Yes.

Fried chickpeas are a revelation, by the way, slightly crunchy outside, creamy inside.  The chorizo adds beautiful color, heat, and the necessary garlic kick.  The breadcrumbs are...sublime.

I warned you.

Fried Chickpeas with Chorizo & Spinach
Mark Bittman for The New York Times
Serves 4

Note: if you can't find stick chorizo, you can substitute spicy, garlicky ground sausage (don't tell Mark).  In that case, brown the sausage first (without oil), breaking into small pieces, then add the beans, and brown as in Step 3 below.  Smoked paprika, added with the beans, adds a lovely flavor and red color.