In A Nutshell

This cornbread did not photograph all that well so I'm making do with a shot of the ingredients. It was a very cakey and moist cornbread. The recipe is right off the Bob's Red Mill bag. 2 1/4 cups unbleached white flour 1 3/4 cups blue cornmeal 1 cup sugar (I may try it with a little less next time) 3/4 t baking powder 3/4 t baking soda 3/4 t salt 1 1/4 cups milk 3/4 cup vegetable oil 3 eggs 1/2 cup buttermilk 1 1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed and drained Preheat oven to 350º. Butter a 13X9X2" baking pan. Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk moist ingredients. Add milk mixture to dry ingredients and whisk just until blended. Gently stir in the corn. Bake for about 40 minutes.

These kebabs are supposed to be grilled but since our grill is buried under about 4 feet of snow, I had to broil them. I served the kebabs with Caroline's Winter Salad which was heavenly! A nice glass of syrah and a piece of naan rounded out a fabulous meal. For the Charmoula : 1 handful of flat-leaf parsley (they say 2 oz. but who's going to weigh herbs???) 1 handful of cilantro (see above comment) 2 garlic cloves, chopped 1 T cumin 1/2 T ground coriander 1 T sweet paprika 1/2 t smoked paprika 1/2 t cayenne 2 T lemon juice 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 t kosher salt Grind the herbs and spices in a small food processor; add the lemon juice, EVOO and salt. Set aside half the charmoula and use half for the marinade. For the marinade portion, add another 1/2 t of salt. 2 to 3 lbs rib eye steaks Cut the steak into 2" cubes and coat with the marinade. Let stand at room temperature for 2 hours or refrigerate for 4 hours.Thread meat onto skewers (metal i

This is adapted from Fine Cooking magazine; it was easy, fast and delicious. 1 lb flank steak, sliced into thin strips 1 13.5 oz. can unsweetened coconut milk (I used lowfat) 2 T red curry or Panang curry paste 2 T natural crunchy peanut butter 5 t fish sauce 4 t brown sugar 1 T Thai dry chile paste (I bought this at Trader Joe's) 1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips 1 onion, thinly sliced 1 cup frozen peas 1/2- 1 cup loosely packed Thai basil, chopped (depending upon how much basil you like) 2 T lime juice Heat 1 T veg oil in a large deep skillet and add the curry paste, chile paste, onion and bell pepper. Saute for a few minutes until fragrant. Add the coconut milk, peanut butter, fish sauce and 1/4 cup water. Bring to a simmer. Add the beef, basil and peas and simmer for about 3 or 4 minutes until beef is just cooked through. Serve over jasmine or basmati rice.

This is a delicious salad that combines winter produce very nicely (plus avocado).  I have found that it works well to prepare the beets, dressing, and nut combo in advance so that you can pull the salad together in a matter of minutes before a meal.  Roasted Beets Wash and trim 3-4 beets and place them in a small baking dish with 1/2 inch of water in the bottom of the dish.  Cover dish well with foil and bake in oven until the largest beet is easily pierced with a fork.  I'd use a 400 oven if cooking the beets alone, but any temperature is fine if you are putting them in an oven with other things.  Allow beets to cool and store in fridge.  You will peel and slice as many as you need when putting the salad together later. Dressing Combine a good quality vinegar that is not balsamic (I love tarragon vinegar as well as white wine vinegar for this) with an equal part of olive oil, a big pinch of kosher salt, and freshly ground pepper.  Shake or whisk until well combined.

I'll start by saying that brownies, in general, don't thrill me.  I'm perfectly happy to have one but I have yet to eat a brownie that really knocked my socks off. The virtue of the Brown Butter Brownie lies in its simplicity, ease of preparation and the use of cocoa (which is a staple in my home) rather than chocolate that needs to be chopped and melted. These satisfied a serious chocolate craving, so while I may not spend my nights dreaming about them, they are a good go-to if you want an easy yet tasty chocolate treat. 10 T unsalted butter 1 1/4 cups sugar 3/4 cup cocoa (ordinary stuff- not Dutch process or any fancy business) 1 t vanilla 2 eggs 1/3 cup plus 1 T unbleached flour (I don't know why this is called for rather than all-purpose flour) 2 t water 1/4 t salt 1 cup chopped walnuts. Line an 8X8 metal baking pan with 2 pieces of foil in both directions, leaving an overhang. Spray with cooking spray. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the

I found this purple and green cauliflower at the grocery store and decided it was too beautiful to pass up. I've never much liked cauliflower but I LOVE it roasted like this. 1 head purple cauliflower 1 head green cauliflower (broccoflower) a handful of garlic cloves 4 T EVOO kosher salt and pepper to taste parmesan cheese (I didn't measure this- probably about 1/4 cup) Preheat oven to 425º; cut cauliflower into florets- cut huge ones into roughly 2" pieces and place in a large bowl. Toss in garlic and EVOO; season with salt and pepper. Roast on a rimmed baking sheet for 35 minutes. Take the cauliflower out of the oven and carefully stir and turn; toss with Parmesan cheese. Return to the oven and roast another 10-15 minutes until nicely caramelized.

This is a tasty winter entrée served with a green salad (with an acidic vinaigrette) and plenty of good bread to soak up the sauce.  I have only made it with a decent quality boxed chicken broth.  I imagine that using a homemade chicken stock would take it up a notch. 6-8 Belgian endives (look for smaller ones with tight leaves -- green, red, or a mix, is great) 3 T olive oil 2 T butter 3-4 oz thinly sliced prosciutto (about 3 or 4 slices), cut into 1 inch strips 3/4 cup chicken broth 1/4 cup heavy cream flaky sea salt & pepper Wash, dry, and lightly trim the root end of the endives. Cut each endive in half lengthwise.  Add olive oil and butter to a large skillet over medium heat. When butter is foamy, place endives in pan with their cut sides down.  You can crowd the pan in an attempt to fit them all in.  Allow endive to cook cut side down until lightly browned and caramelized (4-5 minutes on my stove) and then flip them to lightly brown the rounded sides.  Salt and p

This is adapted from Bon Appetit; I was on a bit of a chili kick (it probably has something to do with all the cold weather and snow we've had) and wanted to try this one out because it looked so hardy and satisfying. I made  blue corn cornbread to go along with it and beer was the beverage of choice. 4 T veg oil, divided 4 lbs boneless beef cubes (I bought very small cubes that were labeled as being for chili- about 1/2" pieces) 2 medium onions, chopped 12 cloves of garlic, chopped 4 T ground ancho chili 2 T ground cumin 1/2 t ground allspice 1/4 t ground cinnamon 1 12-oz. bottle dark beer 1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes in juice (I like the Muir Glen roasted diced tomatoes) 2 t dried oregano 2 t kosher salt 2 T tomato paste 3 T masa (corn flour for tortillas) Heat 1 T oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat and add 1/3 of the beef. Cook until browned and remove with a slotted spoon (about 3 minutes). Repeat 2 more times.  Reduce heat and add the remaining

This is a delicious side dish -- it is really more than a salad as it is served warm and the greens are somewhat wilted.  I also later converted it to a vegetarian entrée by topping it with a fried egg. 7-8 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" pieces 1/4 cup dark brown sugar 6 T unsalted butter pinch of crushed red pepper 2 t sage leaves, thinly sliced 1 T fresh thyme, chopped kosher salt, pepper 6 oz baby arugula 4-6 shallots, diced very small vegetable oil for frying Toss the sweet potato cubes with the brown sugar and set aside. Brown the butter.  Place butter in small saucepan over medium low heat and allow it to cook until it becomes deep brown - but be sure to catch it before it burns (a fine line).  Remove saucepan from the heat and add spices to brown butter (crushed red pepper, sage, and thyme).  Pour butter mixture over the sweetened sweet potatoes and toss to coat well.  Season with 1T kosher salt and plenty of pepper.  Transfer coated sweet po

I am usually not a fan of vegetarian chili- it somehow tastes insubstantial, but I was pleasantly surprised by how delicious, hearty and satisfying this was. It is adapted from Bon Appetit magazine. For the chili : 1 T oil 1/2 red onion, chopped 4 cloves of garlic, minced 3 cans black beans, drained and rinsed 1 T tomato paste 4 cups vegetable stock 1 14.5 oz. can fire-roasted diced tomato 1 chipotle chilis in adobo, minced 2 T chili powder of your choice (I used ordinary McCormick chili powder) 1 T ground coriander 1 t dried oregano 1/4 cup quick-cooking bulgur 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed into approximately 1 1/2" cubes extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling on the sweet potatoes Toppings : pickled jalapenos sour cream grated cheese chopped green onions cilantro Preheat oven to 400º; drizzle the sweet potatoes with EVOO, sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast for about 50 until soft. Set aside. Heat the oil and add the red onion and garlic; saut

This recipe comes from Food and Wine; it's called a Dumpling Pancake because it's supposed to flip out like one big pancake, but as you can see mine didn't quite work out that way. They were especially delicious even so! I was lucky to find some fabulous homemade round dumpling wrappers at our local ethnic grocery market-- if you can find them, use them. The cornstarch slurry stuff was very puzzling and slightly disturbing to me but alas, it all worked out. Dipping Sauce : 1/4 cup soy sauce 1 T white vinegar 1/2 T Korean chile powder 1 T sesame seeds 1 T sugar Dumplings : 16 oz. ground chicken 2 scallions, chopped fine 2 garlic cloves, minced 1/2 cup finely chopped, drained kimchi 1 T minced ginger 1 egg, lightly beaten 2 T soy sauce 1/2 t kosher salt 1 package round wonton wrappers 1 1/2 T cornstarch plus 1 cup water, mixed together to form a slurry canola oil for frying Mix all the ingredients up to the wonton wrappers with a fork. Keeping the won

This is very loosely adapted from Food and Wine Magazine; it is served with crusty bread, but hey.... a little pasta would be good in there as well. I bought the ricotta at Eataly (the Disneyworld of Italian food as my daughter cleverly dubbed it) and I have to admit that it was absolutely fantastic. It was worth every one of the 800 pennies I paid for it... The original recipe calls for lamb but I prefer ground turkey (or beef for that matter); I had to add some breadcrumbs (about 1/2 cup) to the mixture as well since turkey is a little softer and wetter. You can add smushed anchovies to the tomato sauce if you want to along with the garlic. Sauce : 2- 28 oz cans whole Italian tomatoes in their juices (San Marzano are extra-yummy) 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 4 garlic cloves, chopped chopped basil, to taste (I used two of those frozen squares of chopped basil) 1 bay leaf 1/2 t crushed red pepper 1 T chili paste (I found this in the Italian section in a toothpaste tube t