Month: November 2010

Supper Menu for 4!

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A menu with fall flavors, an entree that comes together in less than 15 minutes and a winning make-ahead dessert–that’s our idea of a perfect dinner.

To start:

Everything about our Fennel and Granny Smith Salad with Blue Cheese says “autumn.” If you have one, use a mandoline to shave the fennel and onion; otherwise a sharp knife will do the job nicely.

Main event:

Lia’s Veal Scaloppini with Shallot-Caper Sauce will impress everyone, yet you can make it in less than 15 minutes and it yields superb flavor.

On the side:

Whip up a batch of Celery Root, Potato and Apple Mash (you’ll have some leftovers, which reheat beautifully for dinner another night), and round out the plate with our colorful Green Beans with Frizzled Shallots.

Sweet finish:

I made a batch of Cheryl’s Mini Dark Chocolate Puddings with Shaved Chocolate the other night to quell a chocolate craving. High-quality dark chocolate and brown sugar lend these puddings intense flavor, so a petite serving really does satisfy.

To drink:

I consulted with my friend, John, who’s studying to be a master sommelier and has a terrific palate for matching food and wine. His top recommendation: a pinot gris from Oregon or Alsace. It has a touch of green fruit and citrus to complement the veal. Open a bottle, which you can use in the pan sauce, then enjoy the rest with the meal!

Win a Free NOURISH Evolution Bag!

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One of the best things you can do as a planet-loving consumer is bring reuseable grocery bags every time you shop.

But it’s so easy to forget them.

Win a free reuseable NOURISH Evolution market bag!

That’s why Lia, Mary Beth and I love our bright-orange NOURISH Evolution bags! Our ripstop nylon tote is made by Flip & Tumble and folds into an inner pouch no bigger than an apple, so it’s easy to stash in your purse. And don’t let its light weight fool you–this durable sack can hold up to 25 pounds so you can lug a lot of goodies home from the farmers’ market. We also love its slip-resistant strap.

We’re giving away one free bag to a lucky NOURISH Evolution member.

But, kids, you have to play to win.

So here’s the deal. Only NOURISH Evolution members are eligible to win, so now’s the time to join if you haven’t already! Then, head on over to the Thursday Giveaway group in our community area and leave a comment to be entered to win (important: be sure you’re signed in to NOURISH Evolution so we can find you).

Lia will announce the winner in next Friday’s Friday Digest!

Good luck!

On Thanksgiving, Thanks for the Culinary Memories

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When Thanksgiving rolls around, I react like many cooks and start digging around for those must-have recipes. In my case, I’m searching for my mom’s kick-ass stuffing recipe.

thanksgiving-culinary-memoriesWhile I imagine other cooks riffling through cute little vintage boxes filled with beloved family recipes neatly handwritten onto 3 x 5 index cards, my own journey is less clearly mapped out. Instead, I find myself pawing through cookbooks in search of random bits of paper like an archeologist hunting for ancient Egyptian papyri.

Our little trove of Thanksgiving family treasures is stuffed inside the pages of Volume 12 of the circa-1966 Woman’s Day Encyclopedia of Cookery (“T” for turkey, duh). That’s where I find a magazine article about turkey, my mom’s handwritten stuffing recipe, and other cobbled-together guideposts to making the annual feast our way. I always chuckle at the the version of the stuffing recipe that was clearly addressed to me. There’s a little note in the margin: “Pepperidge Farm Herb Crumbs,” underlined twice so I wouldn’t–God forbid–buy the bread cubes instead.

Beyond Volume 12, scribbled recipes, newspaper clippings and other “Mad Men”-era ephemera are stashed into the pockets of a red, generic Cooking Clips Recipe File. But these don’t represent a passion for cooking so much as a middle-class woman’s obligation to, dammit, get dinner on the table. Mom was a reluctant cook, more Betty Friedan than Betty Draper, and mid-‘60s domestic ambivalence wafts from the pages with the scent of old newspaper.

Her culinary repertoire was limited, but we liked it, and those pages yield warm memories of the simple dishes we loved: London broil, the Yorkshire pudding we had every Christmas Eve, a wine-marinated flank steak that I’m tempted to make this week. It’s straightforward fare that seems quaint and comforting in this time of precious foodie-ism. Though, in all fairness, flank steak marinated in Burgundy wine was upscale stuff back then.

Given that I write about food for a living, you’d think I’d make an effort to organize this stuff. My sister-in-law Julie did a few years ago, gathering favorite recipes from family and friends, along with the stories that go with them, into a tasteful little Tastebook. It’s a charming, gently irreverent heirloom that she’ll no doubt save for my niece. But I’m not tempted to follow her example.

No, instead I’ll continue to hunt down Mom’s recipes, then tuck them back into their respective books, right where they belong.

Susie’s Breadcrumb Stuffing Recipe

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This is an updated version the stuffing recipe my mom always made for Thanksgiving dinner, only instead of Pepperidge Farm Herb-Seasoned Stuffing mix, I use a blend of whole wheat panko, sea salt, black pepper and fresh sage and thyme. (It would work with regular whole wheat breadcrumbs, too.) This recipe serves 8-10 and doubles easily for a bigger crowd. You can make the stuffing a day or two ahead, spoon it into a baking dish, cover and refrigerate. On Thanksgiving, spoon some pan drippings from turkey over the stuffing and pop it in the oven while the turkey rests.

1 (9-ounce) package whole wheat panko breadcrumbs (such as Ian’s)
1 tablespoon minced fresh sage
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
1 teaspoon sea salt, plus additional to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus additional to taste
1/2 teaspoon onion granules
1/2 teaspoon garlic granules
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup finely chopped onion (1 medium)
1/2 cup shredded carrot (about 1)
1/2 cup finely chopped celery (about 2 stalks)
1/3 cup finely chopped parsley
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1-1/4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup toasted walnuts
1/4 to 1/2 cup pan drippings from turkey

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Combine first 7 ingredients; set aside.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, celery and a pinch of salt and pepper; saute 3 minutes or until tender. Stir in parsley; cook another minute. Remove from heat, and stir in the egg and chicken stock. Stir in panko mixture and walnuts. Transfer mixture to an 8-inch baking dish. Spoon 1/4 to 1/2 cup pan drippings from the turkey over the stuffing. Bake at 425 F for 25 minutes.

Serves 8-10

Another Egg Recall

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Another week, another egg recall. This time, Cal-Maine Foods is voluntarily recalling potentially salmonella-tainted eggs the company purchased last month from Ohio Fresh Eggs. For details on the brands being recalled, visit the Egg Safety Center. The eggs were sold in 8 states: Arkansas, California, Texas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.

And, it seems, all roads for tainted eggs lead to factory farmer Jack DeCoster these days. DeCoster was at the center of last summer’s huge egg recall and, it turns out, he’s also the largest investor in Ohio Fresh Eggs.

For more information about choosing and handling eggs, check out Kurt’s story, “Egg’s Got You Scared? Here’s the Scoop.”

Root Vegetable Roundup

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Last winter, I was at a brand new organic market in Denver, CO, stocking up to cook dinner for my friends. I had a nice local pork roast in my cart when I stumbled on their lovely bulk spices. So I sniffed and scooped and soon had the makings of a Spiced Pork Roast that, in my mind, was already sitting beside a caramely, burnished roasted root vegetable medley. So into the cart went a turnip, a couple of parsnips, a rutabaga and a knobby celery root.

I thought nothing of those humble root vegetables, other than how scrumptious they’d be with the pork, yet when I lifted them onto the checkout belt everyone in line–including the checker–looked at me as if I were holding a baby wallaby.

root-vegetable-roundup“Wow, you’re making some kind of fancy dinner, eh?” the checkout woman said.

I was stumped. “You mean these?” I pointed to my cart. “These are just root vegetables.”

“Well I’ve never seen them before,” she countered, and was seconded (and thirded and fourthed) by others in line. So I gave them a quick run down on root veggies (and a NOURISH Evolution card … hee hee) and they promised to venture beyond potatoes on their next visit to the market.

The irony is, root vegetables are about the most common, hardy vegetable group out there. Yet they are nutritional powerhouses, mighty tasty and refreshingly inexpensive.

So if you were in line behind me in Denver last year, or if you’re just curious about root vegetables, this roundup is for you:

  • Parsnips — Parsnips look like a pale, creamy carrot that’s a bit stouter at the shoulders and more tapered at the tip. They’re earthy-sweet and nearly as starchy as potatoes, and are a great source of vitamins C, K and folate, and the mineral manganese. Choose smaller ones (large parsnips can be quite woody inside), then peel and cube for a roast, mash, puree or fries.
  • Carrots — Carrots are ubiquitous on grocery store shelves, yet in nature they come in a variety of sizes, colors and flavors. All carrots, though, are packed with vitamin A from beta carotene. Carrots excel both raw (they’re delicious grated into a salad), roasted or in soup. The fresher the carrots, the sweeter and juicier they’ll be.
  • Turnips — Turnips may sound frumpy, but, when young, they’re tender and sweet. Look for small ones with firm, pearly white skin and try them in our White Bean and Kale Ragout with Turnips and Sausage. Swap out the kale for the turnip greens for a bit more zip (they’ve got a nose-tingling, mustardy flavor), and a big boost of vitamins A and K to turnip root’s C.
  • Rutabagas — Rutabagas are similar to turnips (they’re actually a cross between cabbage and turnip), but have more of a yellowish hue and a violet rim, whereas turnips are white with a scarlet nape. Rutabagas are more fibrous than turnips and slightly sweeter and, like turnips, are a great source of vitamin C. Choose firm ones no bigger than a softball for roasts and mashes.
  • Beets — Beets are beautiful. They range in hue from the aptly named Bull’s Blood to golden to the candy-striped chiogga and in flavor from earthy to downright sweet. Beets are higher in both fiber and sugar than other root vegetables, and are a decent source of folate, potassium and manganese. Peel beets to use them raw in salads or cubed in a roast. Or boil or roast them skin-on and remove skins after cooking.
  • Sweet Potatoes — Sweet potatoes are sweet and creamy and complex and versatile, and are busting at the seams with vitamin A. I often use them as a stand-in for squash or pumpkin when I’m not up for peeling and seeding. They’re terrific in a roast, as fries, as a puree and even a pie.
  • Celery Root — Celery root, or celeraic, is omnipresent in France, where it shows up in salads and soups nearly everywhere. It’s a big, gnarly ball of a vegetable that’s a bit tough to peel. But once you do you’ll be rewarded with an earthy, almost herbal flavor that comes through whether raw, roasted, pureed or mashed.
  • Radishes — I think we take radishes for granted here in America. They’re like little gems, with a crisp, spicy bite that mellows under heat; I find them a refreshing cool-winter alternative to warm-weather cucumbers. Choose firm radishes with a healthy sheen and no cracks, and slice them into salads or on a sandwich, or venture into new territory and saute them in brown butter with mint.

Baby Cuisine Cookbook

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Here’s a serious feel-good thing to do today: help Shane and Chantal Valentine fund a second printing of their awesome Baby Cuisine Cookbook by pledging a donation here on Kickstarter.

I first found out about Shane and Chantal through their website, Alina’s Cucina, and instantly fell in love with their approach. Shane is a trained chef. His wife is a marketing guru. When they had their first baby, Alina, they were both committed to feeding her food that would help her form healthy eating habits for a lifetime.

When I first met Shane and Chantal face to face a little over a year ago, they were about to bust out a brand new set of twins and were in the midst of evaluating publishing options for their cookbook. They decided to self-publish a small run, and were immediately picked up by Whole Foods in Northern California. Distribution has now expanded into the Northwest and the Valentines are looking to transition to a hardcover (they originally printed in a handy spiral bound format, but found out it didn’t ship super well) and print a second run. And they’re raising money the old-fashioned way to fund it.

But this isn’t just any old baby food book; Shane drew on inspiration from what parents feed their babies around the world. The layout is gorgeous, with adorable kiddo photos, mouthwatering food photography and passport stamps from different countries. Dishes like Turkey Bolognese, Tarragon Carrots and Gyro with Tzatziki are not only healthy choices that will expand your baby’s palate … they’re darn fine meals for the whole family.

Help them fund the printing through Kickstarter and you not only get a very cool cookbook for as little as $25 (which also makes a great gift, by the way); you get to know you’re supporting a couple in a worthy quest of raising a nation of children who love nourishing food.

Watch this video and click through to support if you’re moved … and help spread the word by tweeting, posting on facebook, or even grabbing the cool widget from Kickstarter.

The USDA’s Twisted Message

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While researching an article about veganism for this month’s issue of Natural Health magazine, I interviewed Neal Barnard, M.D. When it comes to vegan matters, all roads eventually lead to Barnard, who’s the founder of the vegan advocacy group, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

I confessed that, no, I’m not a vegan.

“What’s holding you back?” he asked.

My deep love of cheese. I couldn’t–still can’t–imagine a life without Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheddar, goat, Manchego…

“You know, cheese really is addicting,” he countered. “At 70% fat, it’s the nutritional equivalent of Vaseline, and I really think it’s the reason for so many tubby kids these days.”

He also observed that Americans eat an insane amount of cheese–about 30 pounds per per year, per person. “Americans eclipsed the French in cheese consumption some years ago,” Barnard added.

The USDA–the same government agency responsible (jointly with the Department of Health and Human Service) for developing the Dietary Guidelines for Americans–is working with fast-food companies to develop new ways to encourage Americans to eat more cheese, which we all know is contributing to our collective obesity epidemic.

When Barnard says cheese is addictive, he’s not exaggerating. He devotes a chapter to cheese in his book, Breaking the Food Seduction: The Hidden Reasons Behind Food Cravings (St. Martins), explaining how cheese contains concentrated levels of morphine-like opiates that occur naturally in cow’s milk (similar opiates are found in human breast milk, too–they help calm an infant). He also discusses USDA-funded programs to boost cheese consumption, and an article in The New York Times this weekend–“While Warning About Fat, U.S. Pushes Cheese Sales”–details how this government/industry relationship works.

That’s right, the same government agency responsible (jointly with the Department of Health and Human Service) for developing the Dietary Guidelines for Americans is working with fast-food companies to develop new ways to encourage Americans to eat more cheese, which we all know is contributing to our collective obesity epidemic. On the one hand the USDA shakes its finger at us for being too fat, while on the other it works with Domino’s, Pizza Hut, Burger King, Dairy Queen, Subway and other fast-food chains to develop tempting new menu items featuring cheese.

Where’s the moderation in Pizza Hut’s Ultimate Cheese Pizza, which features a pound of cheese per pie and was promoted with funds from the USDA’s Dairy Management marketing entity?

The USDA wants to have it both ways. On the one hand, it maintains that, eaten in moderation, cheese has a place in a healthy diet. We agree with that. A sprinkling of feta on your salad is moderation. But where’s the moderation in, say, Pizza Hut’s Ultimate Cheese Pizza, which features a pound of cheese per pie and was promoted with funds from the USDA’s Dairy Management marketing entity?

We reported recently about the upcoming Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010, which the USDA and HHS are finalizing now. Those guidelines are important, since they influence key programs like standards for school lunches. As the Advisory Committee’s report notes, the amount of saturated fat Americans eat is a key concern, and cheese is the top contributor of saturated fat in the American diet. We’ll be curious to see how prominently cheese is featured in the final version of the the guidelines.

Celery Root, Potato and Apple Mash

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Celery root (celeriac) is a knobby, homely-looking root vegetable with mild celery flavor that pairs deliciously with apple and potato. Cutting the dense-textured celery root into smaller pieces than the potato ensures both finish cooking at the same time. Use any variety of apple for this recipe. I picked up the trick of simply mashing the potatoes and other veggies with a whisk from Jennifer Shaertl’s clever book, Gourmet Meals in Crappy Little Kitchens. Serve with our Spiced Pork Roast, Simplest Roast Chicken or Crispy Duck Breasts with Maple-Bourbon Sauce.

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How “Local” is Your Local Food?

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UPDATE: We first shared this news in September. Now a new story by David Karp for the Los Angeles Times details how Southern California’s largest farmers’ market operator may have protected a vendor known to sell wholesale produce from Mexico as his own. As the whistle-blower in this case notes, farmers’ markets aren’t all “peace, love and hippies.”

I love visiting the local farmers’ market, shopping for peak-season, pesticide-free produce and supporting local growers. And, like many shoppers, I trust that the vendors are the real deal.

Not always. A new NBC-LA investigative report of Los Angeles-area farmers’ markets finds that not all vendors are legit. While most are selling genuine locally grown fare, more than a few are cutting corners. The report reveals “farmers” buying “local” produce from as far away as Mexico at the wholesale warehouse in downtown LA. Lab results also discovered that vendors touting pesticide-free fruits and veggies were, indeed, selling wares that had been sprayed. (Your best bet to ensure farmers’ market food is pesticide-free is to buy from certified-organic vendors.)

Lia has said it before, and we’ll say it again, you have to get to know your farmer. Even better, plan a little day trip to visit the farm. You might be reassured–or surprised–by what you find.