This pretty recipe is via my friend Zoe Francois, she of Zoe Bakes and Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day. Not only is Zoe one of the coolest, funniest chicks on the planet, she's a total rock star these days, traveling the country with her co-author Jeff Hertzberg, MD, promoting their latest book, Artisan Pizza in 5 Minutes a Day (see the book's insanely delicious pizza party video, which I was lucky enough to be invited to participate in, below) as well as taping an appearance on The Cooking Channel, probably as I write this sentence.
Zoe posted a pavlova recipe on The Cooking Channel site last week, in fact, and I was so smitten with her beautiful photographs - and the promise of a gluten-free dessert! - that right away I asked if we could do a version for here. Zoe graciously agreed and suggested lime curd with white chocolate and tropical fruit. OK! Oh my goodness, tender meringues the color of the snow we don't have, filled with zingy lime pudding...a perfect mid-February treat in my book.
I made them for a post-Super Bowl treat yesterday and made our guests very happy. You could serve them as a Valentine's Day treat and make your true love very happy. Everyone is happy when Zoe's pastries are in the mix!
OK yes, I realize that I'm posting yet another fried egg dish, but this one is just too good to not share. I had actually forgotten about it, which is rather amazing given how many times I've made the dish since Mark Bittman first wrote about it in the New York Times two years ago.
This is a Jean-Georges Vongerichten recipe, simple and elegant and exactly how I like to cook and eat. The fried rice itself has but three ingredients: oil, leeks, and rice. You wouldn't expect just rice and leeks to be so addictive, but they are, particularly when topped with a fried egg, particularly when topped with crispy ginger and garlic. A drizzle of soy sauce and sesame oil to finish makes the whole completely sublime.
If you make an effort to keep leeks around, count this as a perfect quick dinner when you invite someone over and forget to swing by the store to pick up ingredients. I don't often find myself with leftover rice, so I make a fresh batch and cool it on a baking sheet before continuing; works perfectly.
Given that everything is better fried - everything - it will come as no surpirse that root vegetables make utterly dreamy latkes. I like celery root in particular for its slightly sweet flavor.
These latkes are delicious as is, fresh out of the fat with a dab of sour cream, but my favorite way to eat them is topped with a poached egg. I know: Everything is Better Fried and Just Put an Egg On It, two of my favorite food credos, together in the same post? Out of control.
This same technique works nicely with zucchini as well. I particularly like a mix of zucchini and green pepper, in the summer when both are abundant, topped with Greek yogurt and scallions. Or a fresh tomato sauce. Or ooh, with Molly Herrmann's tomato jam! So lovely. We'll have to wait a few more months to play around with all that fun, however.
For now, fry your root vegetables and be very happy.
Happy New Year! Bubbles aren't just for New Year's Eve of course, in fact in my book they're for every day (bit of an obsession), especially when topping a fabulous cocktail. When I had the idea to conjure a cocktail recipe to open 2012, I immediately tweeted my minxstress friend Molly McNeil, she of the sangria recipe I posted in October. We are both big, BIG fans of gin cocktails, especially with bubbles, and she came through in spades with this lovely sparkling tipple.
Molly notes that the cocktail has its roots in WWI, with two theories on the French 75 name. The first holds that French soldiers would drink the concoction before heading into battle, where they used their weapon of choice, the French 75mm field gun. The second, which sounds spot on to me after testing a few rounds of the recipe - kablam! - holds that the combination had such a kick that it felt like being shelled with the powerful French 75mm field gun, also called a "75 Cocktail," or "Soixante Quinze" in French (via Wikipedia).
My husband John preferred a bit of sugar in the mix, so I've made note of that option in the recipe. I liked it both ways, but I prefer cocktails on the drier side. You decide which version you like best. Be prepared to giggle your answer.
Molly incorporated Bittercube Lemontree bitters, noting that "Bitters are the new black." Indeed!
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...)
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.
Two days until Thanksgiving! I'm freaking out a little bit! I do have a turkey, yes. And a loose plan for filling out the rest of the meal, including generous family members bringing a good number of dishes. But if you're sitting at your desk today, sweating a little at the thought of how much there is to do before sitting down on Thursday...I am too.
I suggest not sweating the appetizers, however. To me, Thanksgiving is about the meal, not loading up on heavy snacks, so I'll be offering these nuts, which are massively addictive, and nice to nibble with drinks, but are not appetite-killing.
Last Thanksgiving was my first since giving up gluten, so to keep things easy, I just skipped eating my favorite part of my favorite meal...the dressing. Boo! I really missed it, as much as I dig turkey and mashed potatoes.
Which is very, very much.
This year, particularly since I'm hosting, I decided to play around a bit and see if I could come up with a gluten-free dressing. Even though it's not my family's tradition, I'm a big fan of cornbread dressing, loaded with sausage and fresh sage; given that cornbread can be made gluten-free quite nicely, it seemed a particularly tasty place to start.
The beauty of this dressing - and all dressing - is that you can add in whatever you like. Apples, nuts, wild rice, cheese, mushrooms, oysters, pork in any form, any herb, on and on.
Tender, egg-y challah bread is lovely on the Thanksgiving table. Not only is it pretty, but it harkens back to my mom's yeasty homemade crescent rolls, but for about one-tenth of the effort.
The honey-rosemary butter plays nicely with turkey, squash, and stuffing.
This dish is inspired by a roasted squash dish I had at 112 Eatery a few years back.
If you love butternut squash as much as I do, I suggest planning to have this as an entree, perhaps with a salad. It is not a light dish, although it doesn't have to be heavy if you go easy on the duck fat and blue cheese. Ha! I loved writing that sentence.
Or go for broke and serve it alongside a braised roast for a cold night's hearty fare. It definitely works both ways.
