Recipes by Season

Fennel and Granny Smith Salad with Blue Cheese

Posted on February 8, 2010 by Lia Huber — 4 Comments ↓

A mandolin makes easy work of this salad. Use the flat blade to slice the fennel and onion as thinly as possible, and the julienne blade to cut the apples; or slice the apple and then cut lengthwise into long planks. I like to use Point Reyes Blue Cheese, which is a farmstead cheese made locally in Marin County.

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 pound bitter greens, such as escarole, cleaned and torn into bite-sized pieces
2 fennel bulbs, sliced as thinly as possible
1 small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 medium Granny Smith apples, halved, cored and cut into matchsticks (or cut into slices 1/8-inch thick and then cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch planks)
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled

Shake together oil, vinegar, honey, garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper in a tight-sealing jar.

Toss together greens, fennel, onion and apples. Drizzle dressing over top and toss well. Divide mixture among 4 plates. Scatter pine nuts and blue cheese over top.

Serves 4

Roasted Root Veggies

Posted on January 15, 2010 by Lia Huber — 7 Comments ↓

This basic recipe for roasted winter root veggies is one we turn to again and again with different mixtures depending on what’s at the market. I love how, after about 15 minutes, the kitchen is perfumed with a deep, sweet scent that lingers well past dinner. These seasonal winter vegetables are super versatile too. Serve them with anything–or on their own–or fold them into pasta or a frittata. And it’s a perfect recipe to practice your knife skills.

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White Bean and Kale Ragout with Turnips and Sausage

Posted on January 12, 2010 by Lia Huber — 7 Comments ↓

This ragout is meant to be a throw-together-fast-on-a-weeknight kind of meal. If you have sweet potatoes instead of turnips, use them. If you have Swiss chard in the fridge but no kale, sub it instead. You may be surprised by how much flavor you can coax, with the help of a well-stocked pantry, out of the ingredients you have on hand.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 turnips, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 3 cups)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 Italian chicken sausages, cut into 1/2-inch slices
3 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups de-stemmed, chopped kale (about 1 bunch)
1/2 cup chicken or mushroom stock
2 (16-ounce) cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1/4 teaspoon red chile flakes

Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Saute onion and turnips for 8 minutes, or until bronzed. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and add sausage and garlic to pan. Cook for 2 more minutes, then add kale and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until kale is tender.

Serves 4

Manchego and Nutmeg Gougeres

Posted on December 31, 2009 by Lia Huber — 1 Comment ↓

Gougeres (“goo-zhehr”)–little mini cheese-puffs about as light as air–are the classic nibble with Champagne. (Here, we give them a Spanish spin with manchego cheese . . . try them with a glass of cava.)

4 ounces (1 stick) butter, cut into small cubes
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup water
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) grated manchego cheese, divided
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine butter, salt, pepper and water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and remove from heat immediately.

Pour in flour and stir with a mixing spoon (mixture will be stiff) for 3-5 minutes, until the dough becomes smooth and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Stir in eggs one by one, mixing well after each addition, then stir in 1 cup cheese and nutmeg.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Transfer dough to a pastry bag and pipe 2-inch mounds 2 inches apart onto both sheets. Sprinkle remaining cheese over top and bake for 25 minutes, switching pans half way through.

Serve warm or at room temperature, or cool completely and freeze in a freezer-safe zip-top storage bag. (Reheat frozen gougeres in a 375 F oven for 5 minutes.)

Serves 18

Endive Spears with Roquefort Mousse and Walnuts

Posted on December 26, 2009 by Lia Huber — 2 Comments ↓

These little endive spears are crowd pleasers; packed with flavor despite their diminutive appearance. The cheese mixture keeps for up to five days, so you can prep everything ahead of time and then pipe the mousse into the endive leaves just before people come to the door.

6 ounces Roquefort cheese
1/4 cup cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons snipped chives
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
4 heads endive, 96 leaves
24 walnuts, toasted and broken into pieces

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a blender, blend until smooth. Chill for 20 minutes. Transfer Roquefort mixture to a pastry bag and pipe a teaspoon mound onto the end of each endive spear. Top each with a toasted walnut piece.

Serves 24 (4 spears each)

Prime Rib of Beef Au Jus

Posted on December 18, 2009 by Kurt Michael Friese — No Comments ↓

By Kurt Michael Friese

Nothing is more impressive on a holiday table than a roast prime rib of beef. Ask your butcher to prepare a 12-pound prime rib roast, with the fat cap left on and bones left in.

12-pound bone-in prime rib roast
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
coarse salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped carrot
3 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
2 cups beef stock

Preheat your oven to 325.

Rub the ends of the roast with the olive oil, then firmly massage the garlic, salt and pepper into the top (the fat cap) of the roast. Nestle it in a large roasting pan, at least 2 inches deep, and place in the center of the oven. Roast for 2-3 hours, basting with the accumulated fat every half hour. At one hour in, add the chopped vegetables to the pan with the thyme and stir to combine with the drippings.

At about 2 hours, check the internal temperature by sticking an instant read thermometer into the center of the thickest part of the roast (Once a roast reaches 100 the temperature will wise at an accelerated rate, so check every 10 minutes or so. Try to use the same hole each time, as poking it in many places allows more juices to escape).

When the internal temperature has reached 120, remove from the oven. Move the roast to a carving block and cover with foil or an inverted pot and allow to rest for about 30 minutes. This allows the meat to relax, the juices to redistribute, and makes for an even medium rare as the residual heat raises the internal temperature to 125-130.

Strain off and reserve about 2 tablespoons of fat from the pan (for the Yorkshire Pudding) and increase oven temperature to 425. Meanwhile, place the roasting pan with the vegetables over medium heat on the stove and add the beef stock. Bring to a simmer for 10 minutes the strain, reserving the jus. Taste for salt, adjust and serve.

Yorkshire Pudding

2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups flour
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons roast beef fat or lard
3 tablespoons cold water

An hour in advance: Whisk eggs with the salt until frothy. Mix in the flour, whisking constantly. Add the milk in a thin stream and beat until the mixture is smooth. Chill for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 425.

In a 12×9 casserole, heat the beef fat or lard on the stovetop until it sizzles. Beat the batter once more, adding the cold water. Pour into the sizzling fat and bake on the top shelf of the oven for 15 minutes. Rotate the dish, lower the heat to 400, and cook an additional 15 minutes. It should be well risen, crisp, and brown. Serve very hot with Prime Rib of Beef Au Jus.

Serves 12-16

Persimmon & Pomegranate Salad with Pecan-Coated Goat Cheese

Posted on December 9, 2009 by Lia Huber — 1 Comment ↓

This colorful fall salad pairs two fall treasures: the persimmon and the pomegranate. If you have wee ones, put them to work seeding the pomegranate. Fill a deep bowl with water, cut the pomegranate in half, and show them how to keep their hands below water while they work. The seeds will drop to the bottom and the peel will float to the top, and you’ll have a neat and happy helper come mealtime.

1 tablespoon minced shallot
1/4 cup Champagne vinegar
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses or honey
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
12 pecan halves, toasted
4 ounces soft, young goat cheese
6 cups salad greens
1 fuyu persimmon, sliced in half and then into thin wedges
1 pomegranate, seeds removed and reserved

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 350 degrees F.

Shake together shallot, vinegar, olive oil, molasses, salt and pepper in a tight-sealing jar. Set aside.

Place the pecans in a zip-top plastic bag and gently crush with a rolling pin until they’re the texture of coarse sand. Cut the goat cheese into 8 pieces and shape each into a fat disc. Press into the pecans to coat on both sides and place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes.

Toss together greens and persimmons in a salad bowl. Give the dressing one more shake and pour it over the top. Toss to mix and portion out onto 4 salad plates. Top each serving with 2 slices goat cheese rounds and sprinkle evenly with pomegranate seeds.

Serves 4

Ruby-Studded Meringue Buttons

Posted on December 4, 2009 by Lia Huber — No Comments ↓

These little meringue buttons studded with cranberry and cherry “rubies” and slivered almonds are light as air. They make gorgeous gifts, and are great as little nibbles amid the rich fare of the holidays.

8 large egg whites, at room temperature
Sea salt
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
3/4 cup dried cherries and cranberries, finely chopped
1/2 cup blanched and slivered almonds, lightly toasted

Preheat oven to 175 degrees F and arrange racks in top and bottom thirds of the oven. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.

In a clean metal bowl, beat egg whites and a pinch of salt in a stand mixer with a whisk attachment on high speed (or use a handheld mixer fitted with whisk attachments) to just beyond when they hold soft peaks (about a minute). Add sugar gradually, continuing to beat until all the sugar is incorporated and the mixture makes stiff peaks. Add the almond extract and continue beating a bit longer until peaks turn shiny. Total beating time will be about 2-1/2 minutes.

Scoop mixture into a pastry bag (you may have to do this in two batches, depending on the size of your pastry bag) fitted with a mid-sized fluted tip and pipe 1-inch mounds, leaving a finger-width of space in between each. Continue piping until mixture is used up and both sheets are filled.

Carefully sprinkle the fruit and almonds onto the meringues. Bake for 2 hours, swapping the cookie sheets half way through. Turn off the oven and let the meringues cool in the oven for 30 minutes.

Makes 100

Sweet Potato-Kale Bread Pudding

Posted on November 25, 2009 by Alison Ashton — 6 Comments ↓

You can bake these savory little sweet potato bread pudding muffins a few days before Thanksgiving; cool and refrigerate. Reheat them in a low oven while the turkey rests. You also can cook this in a 2-quart baking dish instead of a muffin pan, if you prefer.

1 pound sweet potatoes
2 cups whole milk
4 large egg yolks
2 large eggs
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (8-ounce) day-old multigrain baguette, cubed
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (8-ounce) bunch kale, trimmed and chopped
2 tablespoons water
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, divided
Nonstick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Pierce sweet potatoes with a fork. Place sweet potatoes on a foil-lined baking sheet. Roast 30 minutes or until tender. Let stand until cool enough to handle.

While sweet potatoes roast, bring milk to a boil. Combine egg yolks, whole eggs, salt and pepper in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add half of hot milk to egg mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Whisk in remaining hot milk into egg mixture.

Cut roasted sweet potatoes in half, and scoop flesh into a food processor or blender. Add 1/2 cup milk mixture and process until pureed. Whisk pureed sweet potato mixture into milk mixture in bowl. Stir in cubed bread. Set aside, stirring occasionally.

Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat and add oil. Add onion and another pinch of salt; saute 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in kale and water. Cover and cook 3 minutes or until kale is tender. Stir kale mixture into bread mixture. Stir in 1/2 cup cheese. Divide evenly among 16 (1/2-cup) muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/4 cup cheese. Bake for 15 minutes or until pudding is puffy, set, and lightly browned. Serve warm.

Serves 16

“Sans Pan” Cider Gravy

Posted on November 20, 2009 by Lia Huber — 1 Comment ↓

This is a great gravy recipe to use when you’re grilling a Thanksgiving turkey and don’t have a pan to collect the juices. A quick turkey stock made from the neck and giblets (removed before the turkey roasts) is enhanced by a nutty roux and brightened by a splash of apple cider. As Nicki says, “it’s the perfect autumnal gravy.”

Quick Turkey Stock

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Neck and gizzards (minus liver) from 1 turkey
1 large onion, halved with skin on
2 cloves garlic, skin on
1 large carrot, roughly chopped
2 celery ribs, roughly chopped
8 white peppercorns
5 allspice berries
2 bay leaves
3 thyme sprigs
4 cups water
1 cup low-sodium chicken stock

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Sear turkey neck and gizzards, onion, garlic, carrot and celery for 5 minutes, until browned.

Add spices and pour in water and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour. Strain.

Makes 3 cups

“Sans Pan” Cider Gravy

4 tablespoons butter, cut into 1 tablespoon chunks
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups hot Quick Turkey Stock
1 cup apple cider
2 thyme sprigs
1 tablespoon minced sage
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Melt butter in a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and continue to whisk frequently for 3-5 minutes, until mixture turns deep golden and begins to smell toasted and nutty. Slowly pour in hot turkey stock, whisking constantly (it will hiss and may spatter a bit). Then whisk in cider.

Add thyme and sage, and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5-7 minutes, until mixture mixture has thickened. Stir in apple cider vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

Makes 3 cups