eat make read

Who doesn’t love onion rings? Crispy, golden outside, soft oniony inside… sure you get bad breath, but it’s  totally worth it. I don’t remember much about my grandma june’s cooking, but I do remember her Friday night fish fries, which is the one night I would forgo my picky ban on not eating fish because her’s were so delicious. These onion rings would make an appearance on the dinner table alongside the fish and quickly disappear. Every now and then, I’ll make a batch and just as they did back in the day, they don’t sit on the table for long.

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I am so addicted to this salad. I’ve tried different variations that use apples instead of pears or pecans instead of pistachios and they’re all good… all awesome actually. But my favorite combo is freshly cut pear, some creamy gorgonzola and a few pistachios sprinkled about. Deeelicoius. Plus, it takes all of five minutes, tops. Read more

Candied sweet potatoes are a staple at our Thanksgiving (which, by the way, is only two weeks away!!) table. They’re so tender and sweet and caramelized that it’s hard not to like them. In fact, I was beginning to think you couldn’t get much better than the regular old candied yam until I found this recipe for candied sweet potatoes that uses bourbon. Ummmm, match made in heaven!

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If I had to narrow down my most feared/hated vegetables, brussels sprouts would be pretty high on the list. I think it all goes back to childhood memories of my babysitter microwaving brussels sprouts and filling the house with that distinctive odor; an odor that has always left me feeling a little queezy. Lately I’ve been feeling a little bad about my disdain for those cute little green buttons of a vegetable. They’re popping up on the menus of my favorite restaurants and my friends have been raving about the roasted variety. After flipping through this months issue of Food & Wine (which is awesome by the way), I found this recipe for spicy brussels sprouts with mint created by David Chang and decided it was time to give the little green guys a chance.

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When it comes to sides for the Thanksgiving dinner table, there can never be too many. Of course I always want the staples like sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans, the list could go on, but I also like to add in a few surprises to the mix. That’s where these lovely thyme-roasted apples and onions would come in to play. They’re full of flavor and are the perfect dish for a big old mash up. You know, a little turkey, a little potato, a little onion and apple all in one forkful.

This recipe immediately caught my eye because it uses an apple cider reduction (be still my heart!). The reduction coats the apples and onions and it, along with the thyme, infuse into them both. It actually took a bit longer than I anticipated due to the cider reduction and fairly long roasting time.

When I couldn’t take it any longer I pulled the apples and onions out of the oven and took a nice big whiff. The aroma is intense and awesome. The onions begin to get all nice and caramelized while the thyme brings a lovely savory note to the whole shebang. The thing is this side dish just screams for a partner, so instead of the turkey and potatoes, I spooned it over some couscous and put a little merguez sausage over top. Pretty awesome, if I do say myself and it’s just as good the next day. And that’s the true sign of a good Thanksgiving dish, whether it gets better with time. I’m happy to say this passed the test.

thyme-roasted apples + onions
from November 2009 Bon Appetit
I divided this in half and it worked well. I also only roasted it for about half the suggested time, and it still turned out tasty.

4 cups apple cider
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt plus additional for sprinkling
6 7-to 8-ounce onions, halved through root end, each half cut into 6 wedges
6 teaspoons coarsely chopped fresh thyme, divided
6 Braeburn (or Fuji) apples (about 2 3/4 pounds total), peeled, halved, cored, each half cut into 4 wedges

1
Boil cider in large saucepan until reduced to 2/3 cup, about 28 minutes.
2
Whisk in butter. Season glaze with 1 teaspoon coarse salt.
DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 week ahead. Cover; chill. Rewarm; whisk before using.
3
Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 425°F.
4
Butter 2 large rimmed baking sheets. Toss onions in large bowl with 2 teaspoons thyme and 3 tablespoons glaze. Arrange in single layer on 1 sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast onions on upper oven rack 10 minutes.
5
In the meantime, toss apples in same bowl with 2 teaspoons thyme and 3 tablespoons glaze. Arrange in single layer on second sheet. Sprinkle apples with coarse salt and pepper. Place the apples on the bottom rack and roast both the apples and onions for 20 minutes.
6
Remove both sheets from oven. Drizzle remaining glaze evenly over onions and apples. Reverse position of sheets. Roast 20 minutes longer.
7
Increase oven temperature to 475°F. Roast onions and apples until tender and slightly caramelized, watching closely to prevent burning, about 10 minutes longer.
8
Transfer onions and apples to large bowl. Season with coarse salt and pepper. Sprinkle with remaining 2 teaspoons thyme.

Polenta been tempting me for a while now. I’ll order it in a restaurant and say, “wow, i’ve really got to make this at home”. Then I’ll come home and attempt to make it and disaster will follow. There’s something about that beautiful yellow powder that just does not agree with me. But finally, after several attempts I was finally successful in my quest to make polenta. Not only did it not fall apart and look like a sad lump, but it was pretty dang tasty too.

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I visited the new Standard Grille at the Standard Hotel last week and fell in love. Everything I ate (and drank) was super tasty, but one thing stood out… the haricot verts, or green beans. Green beans seem like such an odd ball thing to stand out, but these were unlike any beans I’ve ever had. They had a creamy, cinnamon-flecked yogurt coat and were sprinkled with crispy little shallots. Totally dreamy, I’m telling you. Of course I immediately set out to make them at home.

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I have a thing with fries. I love those crispy little sticks but it seems so often when I try to make them at home they’re not quite what I’m looking for. I found a cure for my regular fries (if you haven’t tried this recipe, trust me they’re awesomely delicious), but I still haven’t found a great way to make sweet potato fries. Then last week as I was cruising along over at serious eats I saw this super simple recipe for oven fried sweet potatoes that promised to be crispy. It didn’t take much to convince me that it was time to try it out.

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Green beans are one of my favorite vegetables, so whenever I see a new recipe that includes them my interest is piqued. I found this one, a super simple variation with lemon and hazelnuts in this month’s Everyday Food. That little magazine always gets me… some months I think I’m bored with it and just as I’m about to blow it off, they toss in a bunch of recipes that make me drool. If you’re looking for a way to mix things up, give this little number a try.

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Ok, so we had some veggies yesterday, but you were probably thinking you needed something to go with them. Well, have I got the most delicious and crispy garlic bread for you. It works perfectly with the tomato salad to make a delicious lunch or with just about any salad for that matter. Just think: crispy, olive oily toast with a hint of garlic, topped with warm ricotta cheese and bits of fresh basil. Come on, let’s go make some.

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