Borscht with Greens

This is not my first borscht post, and it probably won't be my last... but I wanted to share another recipe, because 1) borscht is so good to make this time of year 2) I recently wrote about it for NuRoots and Beyond Bubbie. Happy beet soup making!

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My parents immigrated from the former Soviet Union in the late seventies. While my family quickly adjusted to life in America, and adopted many of the local culinary practices, there were certain dishes that were fixtures growing up: beet salad, stuffed cabbage, piroshki, marinated and pickled vegetables, and borscht. My grandmother’s borscht has been and will always be one of my favorite things to eat.

For two years in my mid twenties, I was lucky enough to live and work on the island of Oahu. There are many things to love about Hawaii: the smell of plumeria that permeated everything, the fresh mangoes that grew everywhere, and always being a few minutes away from the ocean. But the thing I love most about Hawaii are the people. What does Hawaii have to do with borscht?

One weekend while I lived there a local friend and I decided to spend a day cooking our family’s favorite traditional recipes. He built an Imu (Hawaiian underground oven), and made watercress beef soup, a chicken, and a sticky rice dessert. Using the more conventional above-ground stove, I made borscht. These were the dishes our families made for us, and we were eager to share and try our recipes with the other.

My grandmother made borscht on a regular basis. Soup is eaten every night in her home before supper’s main course. I love how she always adds tomato to the soup, and how she painstakingly shreds and then sautées the beets and carrots separately before adding them to the rest of the broth. I love the pleasure she takes in making borscht. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with her recipe, but over the years I’ve changed some steps, and I’ve played around with the ingredients. Sometimes I switch out cabbage for other greens that I already have waiting in the fridge.

That day in Hawaii was the first time I ever made borscht on my own. Before I did anything, I called my grandmother and had her walk me through each and every step. I took copious notes and followed her instructions fastidiously.  

It took all day for the dishes to cook in the Imu, and it took hours for me to make the borscht. When everything was finally ready we set the table outside on the fenced-in porch that was larger than my friend’s entire home. We ate while rain fell, looking out at the still smoking Imu in the yard and the mountains that loomed over the property. Hot bowls of two different kinds of soup kept us warm on that “chilly” Hawaiian evening in February. It remains one of the more memorable meals of my life; food and place equally incredible. And the borscht came out tasting as close to my grandmother’s version as I could aspire to make.

While that first borscht-making foray may have been the most memorable, I continue to make borscht in far less spectacular settings. In fact, I love this soup for its simplicity. Making borscht is an excellent way to clean out the fridge and throw a bunch of unglamorous vegetables into a pot. You can make a lot of borscht in one go, and feed a big crowd with little investment of time or money. This soup is earthy, sweet, acidic, full of flavor. Adding a few key ingredients - fresh dill, lemon juice, garlic - make this soup taste extra good. Make sure to taste as you go along. Depending on your preference add more of this, less of that, a bigger pinch of salt, or an extra squeeze of lemon. All vegetables vary in flavor so this recipe is a guide not the law. There are endless variations to borscht, but so long as you have beets you’re on your way to making a meal that can feed a small tribe.

Borscht

Serves 6-8

1 lb. beets, about 4 medium small beets

1 lb. carrots, about 2 large

1 large yellow onion, chopped fine

3-4 tablespoons of olive oil

2 teaspoons kosher salt

4-6 cloves garlic, minced fine

1 tablespoon tomato paste

½ cup chopped fresh tomatoes or canned plain tomato sauce

¾ lb. yukon gold or Dutch gold potatoes, diced into small bit-sized cubes

10-12 cups water or homemade vegetable broth

1 bay leaf

3 cups chopped kale, chard, cabbage, and/or beet greens

2 tablespoons dill stems, chopped fine

½ cup dill fronds, roughly chopped, plus more for garnish

½ cup parsley leaves removed from stem, chopped

juice of 1 small lemon, or to taste

toppings

sour cream, to taste

freshly chopped dill, to taste

Peel your beets and carrots. If you want to avoid staining your hands use disposable gloves while handling the beets. Using a food processor with the shredding disc attachment, or using the medium-size hole on a box grater, grate your beets and carrots.

Prepare the rest of your ingredients for the soup: chop the onion, mince the garlic, dice the potato, chop the greens, chop the dill stems and fronds, and chop the parsley.

To a large pot on medium heat add the olive oil. Add the shredded beets, carrots, onion and salt to the pot. Sweat the vegetables over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, or until the vegetables are softened. Add the garlic to the pot and cook for 2-3 more minutes, or until the garlic releases its aroma and is no longer raw. Add the tomato paste, and tomato to the pot, and stir until well combined. Tomato is an important ingredient in this soup - it lends a note of acidity and depth to the sweet beets. During tomato season I prefer to use fresh tomatoes, but use whatever you have. My grandmother has even been known to use jarred Marinara sauce (and she is the queen of borscht).

To the pot add the diced potatoes, liquid, and bay leaf. Bring the liquid up to a simmer, then turn down the heat and simmer the borscht for 35-45 minutes allowing the flavors to come together. After 30 minutes, add the chopped greens, and chopped dill stems to the soup. Simmer for 15-20 more minutes, or until the greens and all of the vegetables are completely soft and tender. Turn off the heat, and add the chopped dill fronds, parsley, and lemon juice. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Add more lemon juice if desired.

Serve with sour cream and a sprinkle of fresh chopped dill.

Warm Marinated Olives

It feels like it's officially the beginning of entertaining season. Between now and New Year's, and all of the holidays in between, there always seems to be a lot of getting together and sharing meals with friends.

When hosting parties big or small, I love to follow Ina Garten's entertaining advice. She always advocates serving appetizers or small bites that involve very little time to prepare and very little cooking. She recommends planning and hosting parties in a way in which you can actually enjoy the party without stressing about the food. Within this framework there are still lots of ways that you can satisfy your guests (and impress them - if that's what you're going for :) Ina will serve antipasto platters loaded with great store bough charcuterie and marinated vegetables of different sorts. I've seen her go as simple as serving up shards of good Parmesan cheese. For me, I am always a fan of a cheese plate. I like crudités and dips. I'll even keep it really simple and just do GOOD quality tortilla chips and great salsa. I might spend a little more money on a few very good items, as opposed to buying and making a wide variety of things.

One of my favorite appetizers are warm marinated olives. They take very little work, but still involve a small amount of special preparation and care, which makes them taste like something special.

Start by getting your favorite kind of olives. I like to get them from an olive bar as opposed to canned or jarred, if possible. Then you add them to a skillet with a little olive oil and your favorite flavorings. It doesn't take much - a clove of garlic, zests of lemon, a few chilies, thyme, a pinch of fennel seeds, a little rosemary... there are a lot of possibilities. I make them just before guests arrive and they can be served warm or room temp. The marinade brightens up the olives and takes some of their store-bought dullness away. The oil that's left over is great to dip a crusty baguette into, too.

Warm Marinated Olives

1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 big sprig fresh rosemary
2 large strips of lemon zest (removed with a vegetable peeler, avoiding the bitter white pith)
pinch of chili flakes (optional)
2 cups olives

Over medium-low heat, slowly heat up the rosemary, lemon and chili flakes in a sauté pan. After a few minutes, or once you can start smelling the lemon and rosemary release their oils, add the olives to the pan. Gently toss or stir the olives in the pan, and heat them completely through, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl or serving dish. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Skillet Rosemary Flatbread with Pan-Roasted Grapes, Burrata, and Saba

Grapes are at their peak in fall, and in California they're still abundant at the farmers' markets. From Concord, to Crimson seedless, to Red Globe, and more. 

I love incorporating grapes into my cooking, particularly in savory dishes: adding them to pan-seared and roasted chicken dishes, or braises of sausages in the oven. They are also great quick pickled as a side for cheeses (recipe coming soon). And they're really lovely baked into different kinds of breads.

In the homemade bread category, flatbread is one of the easiest recipes. The rising time is an hour or less, you don't need any fancy machines or gadgetry, and the cook time is under 10 minutes. This flatbread gets topped with skillet pan-roasted grapes, buttery burrata, and rich syrupy saba. 

Burrata is a fresh cheese made of mozzarella and cream; you can find it pretty easily now, and they even carry it at Trader Joe's. It can be a little pricier than mozzarella (which is a perfectly good substitute if you can't find burrata), but it's also richer, creamier and arguably more delicious. For me, it's a special occasion cheese, and one I like to serve when I'm entertaining.

Saba is an Italian syrup made out of cooked down grape must. It's sweet, dark, molasses-y and still has the acidic quality of a very good vinegar. I have been able to find it at Whole Foods and gourmet food stores, but if you can't find it, balsamic reduction (which you can make or by) is a perfectly great substitute. If all else fails, a drizzle of good balsamic vinegar will do, too. Pomegranate molasses could be lovely as well. 

You can also top your flatbread with any other kind of topping you like (tomatoes and basil, pesto and pine nuts, etc.) Or you can serve it plain with a dip. 

I originally developed this recipe for a project about vineyards around the country during harvest season. We were working on dishes that would pair well with wines, and that might be nice for casual entertaining. All of the dishes were made simple enough that they could even be prepared outdoors (over a portable butane burner). This dish felt especially perfect for fall, as an appetizer or afternoon treat with a good glass of wine. Enjoy!

Skillet Rosemary Flatbread with Pan-Roasted Grapes, Burrata, and Saba

Makes 2 large flatbreads

for the flatbread-

1 packet dry yeast

2 tablespoons, plus 1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup warm water (no more than 115°F)

3½ cups bread flour

2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided plus more for the pan

1 egg, beaten

for the topping-

olive oil

2 cups grapes, halved

2 cloves garlic, smashed

1 sprig of rosemary, leaves removed from stem

kosher salt

2 balls of burrata

saba, for drizzling (or you can substitute with balsamic vinegar reduction)

Dissolve 1 packet of yeast, and 1 teaspoon of  sugar in 1 cup of warm water. Let the water and yeast mixture stand for 10 minutes, until bubbly and frothy. Add 3½ cups of bread flour to a large bowl. To the flour add 2 tablespoons sugar,1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 2 teaspoons of chopped fresh rosemary. Combine everything together. 

Make a well in the flour. Into the well add 1 beaten egg, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and the yeast mixture. Combine the dough together with your hands until everything is incorporated. Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough for 5-6 minutes, or until the dough is smooth. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a bowl, place the dough into the bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and let the dough rise for 30-60 minutes, or until the dough has doubled in size.

While the dough is rising, prepare the pan-roasted grapes.

To a large cast iron skillet on medium high heat, add a generous drizzle of olive oil. To the oil add the halved grapes, smashed garlic, fresh rosemary, and a generous pinch of salt. Cook the grapes, stirring occasionally as they cook, until they are browned and softened, about 10 minutes.

Once the dough has risen and doubled in size, punch down the dough a few times. Divide the dough in half. On a floured surface, roll out each half of dough into a thin circle, about ¼-inch thick.

On medium heat, heat the same cast-iron pan. Add a drizzle of olive oil to the bottom of the pan. Once the pan is hot, place the rolled-out dough into the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes per side, or until both sides are golden brown.

Repeat the process with the second half of the dough.

When both flatbreads are browned, top them with the pan-roasted grapes, fresh burrata, and a drizzle of saba. Slice and serve!

Omelets and Toast

I'm on an egg kick. It's springtime and the eggs from the farmer's market are better than ever. Yes, farmer's market eggs are pricier than the ones found in the supermarket, but the difference in flavor is noticeably in favor of the more expensive option.

I'm willing to spend a little more on things that are going to taste amazingly better. The yolks are darker, the eggs turn out creamier, and they just taste better in a way that words don't adequately explain. 

The other splurge for this meal was the bread. Again, I'm willing to shell out more dough (no pun intended) for something that is exceptional. I had been curious about these rustic loaves of bread at the Sunday Hollywood Farmer's Market, but the high price tag kept me away. Also, they don't offer samples (I sort of understand the principal of this, but on the other hand samples really work, and I probably would have been hooked on this bread months sooner if I had tried it). 

Ok, at the risk of sounding super bougie, here's what makes this bread special: Kenter Canyon Farm's makes these loaves from from locally grown heritage wheat berries, they mill the flour themselves, they bake the bread from a sourdough starter, and then they sell it at the local market and at Urban Radish. This bread is worth every penny. I'd argue that it's the best loaf of bread I've tried in Los Angeles. 

Back to the eggs... omelets can be filled with whatever you want (from fried chicken, to leftovers from dinner, to squash). It's best to prepare the filling separate from the eggs. The eggs only take a few minutes to cook, and you don't want to try and cram a bunch of raw cold things into a pocket of hot eggs at the last minute. You can use the same pan for both the omelet and the filling, just transfer the filling to the plate you're going to use for the final dish before you make the eggs.  

I had some spring onions, kale, and feta on hand.  I like the combination of something green and something cheesy. Greens love lemon, and I gave the cooked kale and onion mixture a squeeze of lemon juice before I put them in the omelet. Actually, eggs are also big fans of lemon. I'm pretty sure everything is better with lemon. 

I ate this plate of lovely eggs, hearty greens, creamy feta, perfect avocado and buttered-garlic-rubbed rustic bread and my day just got better from there.

This omelet recipe is as flexible as anything, but it's hard for me to think about serving any omelet without a great piece of toast. Find a good rustic bread with a thick crust and soft center and you're set.

Kale and Feta Omelet, with Garlic Rubbed Toast

Serves 1 

(Multiply for however many you want to serve. Omelets are best made one at a time with 2-3 eggs per omelet)

2 large eggs (or 3 if you want a super hearty omelet)

dash of cream or milk (optional)

1 cup chopped kale

1 spring onion, or 2 green onions, sliced

as much crumbled feta as you like, or goat, cheddar, swiss, brie, etc.

salt and pepper

good olive oil

good butter

good bread for toast

1 raw garlic clove

1 lemon wedge, for squeezing

1/2 avocado, sliced

Prep your ingredients: in a bowl, crack open your eggs and add a dash of cream or milk. Whisk them up and season with salt and pepper. Chop up your onions and kale. Crumble the cheese. Peel a clove of garlic. Slice up some bread. Slice up some avocado. 

In an omelet pan (an 8-inch non-stick or whatever you like to use to make eggs), on medium high heat, sauté the kale and onion in a drizzle of olive oil with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Once the greens and onions are wilted and cooked to your liking, transfer them to a plate. Squeeze a little lemon over the greens. Make sure your crumbled cheese is nearby; it's easier if all of your filling ingredients are in the same place. 

Before you cook the eggs, get your toast going. Toast will take longer than the omelet, and you don't want cold eggs or limp toast. Toast the bread. Rub the toasted slices with a raw clove of garlic, and then butter them.

In the same omelet pan, add a little butter and olive oil.  I would have used ghee (clarified butter), but I ran out. On medium high heat, add the egg mixture. With a spatula, lift up one side, tilt the pan, and let the raw egg seep into the empty space.  Do this in different spots around the pan until your eggs solidify into a single layer.

Once the omelet is still a little wet on top, add the filling, fold it over and slide it onto a plate. The eggs will continue to cook a bit even when you turn off the heat.  

Add the sliced avocado and buttered garlic toast to the plate. Serve and relish each bite.

Baked Eggs with Spring Onion and Spinach

Spring is here and with it comes all the new and tasty, green, yellow, orange and pink things popping up at the market and in my CSA (Farm Fresh To You). I'm still trying to figure out if the CSA system works for me as a single person that loves going to the farmer's market to pick out her own produce. The truth is, some weekends I'm too busy to go the farmer's market. The nice thing about the CSA is that I don't have to think about how I'm going to get quality organic produce into my kitchen. Also, I love getting surprised by seasonal items that I might not have thought to pick out on my own.

For example: spring onions. As much as I like onions, it's never really never occurred to me to seek out spring onions. Usually, I reach for the leeks instead. This bundle was delivered yesterday and I immediately felt inspired by these sweet and delicate onions. 

Baked eggs are such a foodie trick. They couldn't be easier, and they look so pretty baked in their own little white dishes (doesn't anything seem fancier when baked in its own dish?). Most importantly, baked eggs are delicious.

I ate this for lunch with a small salad, and I left the table full and satisfied. This recipe works for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. You can add some cheese or sausage to the baking dish if you want something heartier. A splash of cream could add a nice richness to the dish, if you're so inclined. Tarragon or basil would be nice additions, too.  However you choose to compose your little egg dishes, you'll have a meal on your table in 20 minutes or less.

Baked Eggs with Spring Onion and Spinach

Serves 2 (Can easily be halved, doubled, tripled, or quadrupled)

2 small spring onions, tops and bottoms trimmed, thinly sliced 

1/2 cup spinach, roughly chopped

3 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

1 teaspoon butter

1 teaspoon olive oil

4 eggs

cooking spray

salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray two 6-oz. baking dishes with cooking spray. You can use a ramekin or whatever small baking dish you have (oval, round, square); smaller dishes will simply hold less of the filling, but they'll work perfectly well. Frankly, you can use large muffin tins if you don't have any baking dishes (use one egg instead of 2 per each cup). For the spray, I used coconut oil cooking spray, which adds a mild coconut flavor to the dish.  

Thinly slice your spring onions and roughly chop the spinach and flat leaf parsley.  Set aside and reserve. 

In a pan on medium high heat, melt a teaspoon of butter with a teaspoon of olive oil. You could use just butter or just olive oil; I like the flavor of butter mixed with the lighter quality of oil. Add the spring onions to the pan, and sauté them until they soften and a lovely onion aroma wafts out of the pan, about 2-3 minutes. Add the spinach to the softened onions, and cook it until it just wilts, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat.  

Divide the onion and spinach mixture evenly between the baking dishes.

Add two eggs to each dish. Top the eggs with chopped flat-leaf parsley.

Sprinkle a little more salt over the eggs.

Place the baking dishes on a baking sheet, and put the baking sheet in the oven for 15-18 minutes, or until the eggs have fully set, and the yolks are just slightly soft. Check your eggs after 10 minutes to gage their level of doneness.

Serve with crusty bread, a side salad, and hot sauce. 

Enjoy each flavorful, fresh, buttery, onion-flavored bite!

Sushi in Tokyo

It's hard to quantify how Japan changed my relationship to food, but like any great culinary experience, it most certainly did. I experienced tastes I had never even imagined before. I ate foods I had never heard of, and I ate foods I had heard of many times but had never tasted in their most perfect form.

No food was more surprisingly exquisite than the sushi.

Sushi was the first meal I ate in Japan.  We were up early due to jet lag (16 hour time difference), and soon after 5 AM we set off for Tokyo's famous Tsukiji fish market. 

Among other things, Tsukiji is the place where tuna auctions take place, and every imaginable type of fish is sold. Certainly, tourists visit this place in droves. However, just like Pike Place in Seattle, this is a real functioning market. Just outside the market are countless restaurants and food stalls.  They're all up and running, bustling and steaming, before the sun has even considered rising.

After walking around for a bit, we spotted a place full of locals and were lucky enough to walk in just before a long line formed behind us. The place seated no more than a dozen folks at a sushi counter manned by three chefs. 

These guys weren't messing around. With the first bite of fatty tuna (toro), I realized (despite having lived in Hawaii, despite eating sushi all over the West Coast), I had never had fish this fresh, and therefor had never tasted fish as good as I did in that moment.

mackerel

toro (not meat, although it looks it)

The taste of uni was completely redefined at that sushi counter. Uni had never been as buttery, unctuous, or perfect. I instantly fell in love with Japan over breakfast, and the love affair didn't end for the duration of the trip.

For our last dinner in Tokyo, we went to Sushi Yuu. The recommendation for the restaurant came from a friend living in Tokyo with great taste in food. I knew it would be good, but I had no idea just HOW good it would be.  

The restaurant is inviting and warm, and Chef Shimazaki-San makes you feel welcome and taken care of from the moment you arrive. As an interesting side note, the Chef is married to a Russian woman. His English is quite good, but we were able to speak in Russian as well. I never expected I would be speaking Russian to a Japanese sushi chef, and it was a great joy to do so.

There's no menu, there's no ordering, you sit down and go along for the ride of incredible food. You will be served the highest quality fish, rice, wine, miso, freshly grated wasabi, etc. etc. etc. The sushi is a work of art in its own right, but I was equally blown away by the Chef's pickled baby ginger. I love anything pickled and anything ginger, and I had no idea that pickled ginger could taste as good and delicate as the chef made it taste. The ginger is pickled the same day it is served, and because it is baby ginger, it is tender, soft, not too sweet, and perfectly balanced in flavor and spice. I could eat buckets of the stuff. I would go back to this restaurant just for the ginger, and that's saying a lot, because the Chef served us the best sushi of my life. 

Here are some highlights:

tuna, with the incredible ginger and freshly grated wasabi

fatty tuna

mackerel (special sun-dried preparation)

another part of tuna, seared

veggies

type of herring

uni

toro with onion

homemade plum wine, made by the chef's mother

end of a great meal

Sushi for our first breakfast and our last dinner were the perfect bookends to an incredible trip.  

If you find yourself in Tokyo, let me know. I will send you straight to Sushi Yuu.

Fake Food in Japan

Just got back from Japan (Tokyo, Naoshima, Kobe, and Kyoto). Jet lag is hitting hard. I am preparing multiple posts about the food I ate in Japan. Too many memorable meals to count. I fell in love with the country and its food, but I was also blown away by the fake cuisine!

There's real artistry involved in these plastic wonders. There are fake food displays are outside many Japanese restaurants, regardless of the type of cuisine being served there. Here are just a few examples:

And you can even by your own fake food at a fake food store! 

And if you can't go to Japan, just order online!

More soon...

Roasted Spiced Chickpeas

Appetizers and desserts are the best parts of every meal? Right?

I remember hearing Rayanne's mom saying so on My So Called Life, and it alway stuck (at 1:27 in the clip below).

Let's throw "snacks" into the apps/desserts/best-things-to-eat category.

I'm always attracted to foods that are crunchy, spicy, or smoky.  I also prefer those things to be homemade, and not totally unhealthy.

This is a quick, easy, protein-rich snack.  It's best to eat these guys soon after you make them.  They lose their crunchiness after a few hours.

I like smoky flavors like cumin and smoked paprika, but you can try any spice combo you think you would like.

This recipe makes a small batch, but you could easily double it and adjust the spices accordingly.

Roasted Spiced Chickpeas
Serves 2-3 as a snack

1 15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed, drained and patted dry
2 tablespoons olive oil or grapeseed oil
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1/8 teaspoon chipotle powder (or chili powder could be good, too)
pinch of salt (optional, doesn't really need it as the chickpeas are seasoned in the can)

Preheat the oven to 400°F, with a rack placed in the center of the oven.  Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or foil.

Rinse and drain your chickpeas. Lay them out on a towel, or paper towels, and pat them dry.
In a bowl, add your dried chickpeas, olive oil, and spices.  Toss the chickpeas in the oils and spices so that each one is well coated with the mixture.

Transfer the chickpeas to your lined baking sheet and place in the oven for 25-40 minutes (it depends on the chickpeas and your oven), until they are crunchy and browned.  Keep an eye on these guys, they can go from crunchy to burnt pretty quickly.

Serve and eat!

Seared Mushrooms and Polenta

oyster, maitake, and shitake mushrooms

photo by Mark Hanauer

I have looked through the pages of Plenty more times than I can count. I often flip through the pages when I'm looking for inspiration for a dinner party, client, or for what to do with a farmer's market bounty.  I've always been interested in the mushroom and herb polenta recipe, but it felt like a special occasion dish and I never found the right special occasion to make it.

Last night, I was in the mood to make something special for no occasion.  I suggested a few options to my dinner companions, and they voted for mushrooms and polenta.  I didn't feel like following a recipe, and I also felt like making seared polenta as opposed to the baked polenta in the recipe.  I also didn't have time to make polenta from scratch, bake it in the oven for at least an hour, then cool it, then cut it into rounds or squares, then sear it.  Instead, I bought pre-made polenta (in the tube, found at Whole Foods or most other grocery stores). I cut the polenta into rounds before searing it.  

The recipe recommends Taleggio cheese, but the store had was out.  The guy at the Venice Whole Foods cheese counter was super helpful, and found me a mild sheep's milk cheese that worked really well. A goat's milk Gouda might be nice. You could probably use Mozzarella if you only had that on hand.

If you love mushrooms, this dish is perfect.  The creamy crusted polenta pairs perfectly with the earthy browned mushrooms, fresh herbs, and creamy melted cheese.  This meal feels special, but it is perfect as a mid-week dinner after work.  I served it with a simple salad with a balsamic Dijon vinaigrette, and we all ate coconut ice cream for dessert.  It was a great and happy meal.

Here's the dish, inspired by Ottolenghi...

Seared Mushrooms and Polenta Rounds with Herbs and Melted Cheese

Serves 4-5

About the mushrooms:  I used maitake, shiitake, cremini, and oyster. You could use any mushrooms you like, but I would try to use shiitake and oyster if you can, as they have a more delicate texture than cremini, white button or portobello mushrooms. 

olive oil

5-6 cups mixed mushrooms 

4 garlic cloves, finely minced

1 tablespoon, fresh thyme

1 tablespoon, chopped fresh rosemary

salt and pepper

2 18-oz sleeves/tubes plain polenta, cut into 1/2 inch rounds

butter

4-5 oz Taleggio cheese, cut into thin slices (or use a mild semi-hard Sheep's or Goat's cheese)

1/3 cup shredded parmigiano-reggiano cheese

2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Line a sheet pan or large platter with paper towels. Line a second sheet pan with parchment paper, or tin foil.

Start by cleaning your mushrooms. Remove dirt and grit with a damp towel so as not to saturate the mushrooms with water. Cut up the oyster and maitake mushrooms into 1-inch pieces.  Slice the cremini and the shiitake mushrooms.  Prepare the rest of your ingredients: mince the garlic, remove the thyme from the stem, and chop up the rosemary.  

Add a glug of olive oil to a large pan over medium high heat. In batches, add some of the garlic, mushrooms, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper to the pan.  Be careful not to overcrowd the pan otherwise your mushrooms won't brown.  Leave the mushrooms in the pan to brown, then flip them and brown the other side.  I used two pans at the same time to speed up this process. I cooked the mushrooms in about 5 or 6 batches.  Transfer the browned mushrooms to a sheet pan lined with paper towels. Set aside all of the browned mushrooms.

Pat dry the polenta rounds before you cook them.  In the same pan you used for the mushrooms, add a tablespoon of olive oil and a pat of butter.  Add 5 or 6 rounds of polenta at a time.  Brown the polenta in batches (don't overcrowd the pan), cook them for 3-5 minutes on each side, or until they are nicely browned and crusty.  Transfer the browned polenta to the parchment-lined sheet pan.

Set your oven to broil.

Top the browned rounds of polenta with the seared mushrooms.  Add a thin slice of cheese on top of each polenta round.  Sprinkle everything with the grated parm.  Place the tray under the broiler for about a minute until the cheese melts and starts to bubble (keep an eye on it, the cheese melts quickly!) Serve and garnish with freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley.

Kale, Date & Almond Salad

The other night I ate at Rustic Canyon for the first time.  I'm a big fan of Huckleberry, which is owned by the same folks. My expectations were high and overall the meal was quite lovely. The place was packed and the ambience was lively. The cocktail I had was perfect and the beer and wine selections looked great.  Everything we ate tasted good, but there were two dishes that stood out more than the others.

Service was outstanding for the first half of the meal.  For the second half of the meal, our waitress seemed to forget about us entirely. We were more or less ignored once our first round of drinks had been replenished; this made ordering dessert a little difficult. Service isn't something that matters to everyone, but it does matter to me. I'm particularly sensitive to service when the price tag of the meal is high. Regardless of what I'm paying, if a place has pretty good food and excellent service I'll almost definitely return to that establishment.  If a place has great food and terrible service I'm unlikely to go back.  Maybe it was an off-night because they were so busy (there happened to be celebrities there that night), or maybe that's just how it is. Rustic Canyon was yummy, but I'm not sure I'll go out of my way to return.

Back to the food... the gnocchi with oxtail, strawberry sofrito, pine nut, and fennel pollen was the stand-out dish, and the kale salad was a close second. I really like kale, but it's not something I tend to order at restaurants. On the menu the salad was described as having 'honey' dates, walnut, Parmesan and lemon.  It sounded good and different, and it tasted even better than I imagined. The kale was bright and slightly bitter, the dates were velvety and sweet, the lemon vinaigrette was creamy and vibrant.

I came home wanting to eat it again.  Here is a take on the great salad I had that night.

Kale, Date & Almond Salad with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette
Serves 2-3

4 cups kale (lacinato/tuscan kale would be best, but I used the regular variety), thinly sliced into ribbons
1/4 cup almonds, toasted and chopped (hazelnuts, pecans, or walnuts would also be good)
5 dates, pitted and halved
salt and pepper
juice of one lemon, Meyer if in season
drop of honey
3 tablespoons olive oil, or more depending on taste
crumbled goat cheese (optional)
shaved parmesan (optional)

Add the kale, toasted nuts, and pitted dates to a bowl. Lightly season the salad with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl or jar, add freshly squeezed lemon juice, a drop of honey, and a little more salt and pepper.  Whisk the olive oil into the lemon juice mixture until creamy and emulsified.  Taste your dressing and adjust accordingly.

Toss the salad with the dressing until the leaves are well coated.  Let the salad sit for at least 15 minutes before serving so that the kale properly absorbs the dressing and softens.

Top with crumbled goat cheese, or shaved parmesan if you're in the mood for that.

Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

I admit to having a slight obsession with butternut squash. I love the flavor. I love its versatility. I love the color orange.

On the cooking show I work on we have used butternut squash in a couple healthy mac n' cheese recipes. The first season, one of our chefs made baked butternut squash mac n' cheese.  This season, Chef Vikki made a stove top butternut squash mac n' cheese.  I've seen a number of butternut squash lasagna recipes, and I even read about a squash carbonara.  Having tested, tasted, and loved the recipes for the show, it felt like it was time to take a stab at my own version of some kind of butternut squash pasta sauce.

For almost every squash recipe I make, especially soup, I prefer to roast my squash as opposed to cooking it in a liquid on the stove.  The squash gets caramelized, which adds to the depth of flavor. I find simmered or steamed squash slightly bland.

This recipe shouldn't be followed exactly. You'll need to taste the ingredients and add more of whatever you think it needs or doesn't need.  The basic idea is: roast squash, sweat onions and garlic, add roasted squash to the pan, add fresh thyme salt and pepper, add some water (or stock), add some milk, let it simmer and cook through, boil some pasta while that's happening, puree the sauce, add some cheese, top with fresh herbs, and serve.

Rigatoni with Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce
Serves 4

olive oil
1 medium butternut squash (about 3 lbs.)
1 box rigatoni, or any other kind of pasta you like (i.e. brown rice pasta or quinoa pasta)
1/2 a large white or yellow onion, diced
1 large clove of garlic, minced
3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed
1/2 cup water, or more as needed
1/2 cup milk (any kind), or more as needed
1/2 cup shredded Gruyere (or Swiss, or cheddar,  or mozzarella)
salt and pepper to taste
chopped flat leaf parsley

Preheat your oven to 400°F.

Line a sheet pan with parchment or foil (easier clean-up).  Cut your squash in half, lengthwise.  Scoop out the seeds.  Drizzle olive oil over the squash.  Place flesh side down, and roast in the oven for 35-45 minutes, or until the squashed is cooked through (it should be soft when you pierce it with a fork or knife.  Once the squash is cooked, let it cool slightly.

Bring a large pot of boiling water to a boil.

In a deep sauce pan or pot, over medium high heat, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil.  Add the diced onion to the olive oil and let the onion sweat until soft and translucent, about 7-8 minutes.  Add the minced garlic and thyme leaves to the onion and let it cook for another minute or two.  Scoop the cooked squash out of its skin, and add it to the pan.  Add the water and milk to the squash mixture. Bring the mixture up to a simmer, and then turn down the heat to low.  Let the butternut squash sauce simmer while you prepare your pasta.

Add your pasta to the boiling water, and cook until just al dente the box will indicate the correct amount of time for an al dente noodle, but keep your eye on those guys and make sure they don't get mushy because that's the worst.  Once the pasta is cooked and drained, add it back to the warm pot. This will allow any excess water to evaporate.

Using an immersion blender or a regular blender, food processor, or potato masher, puree your squash mixture until it is smooth and sauce-like.  It doesn't have to be perfect, in fact, just roasting the squash will make it break apart easily when added to the liquid. Turn the heat off.  Add the shredded cheese and stir until it is melted into the sauce. I like to go light on the cheese.  If you want to mimic mac n' cheese, add more of the cheese.  You can also adjust the thickness of the sauce by adding more milk or half and half if you're feeling decadent. This sauce is all about what you like. Season with salt and pepper.  Add the finished sauce to your pasta leftover sauce can be frozen.

Garnish with freshly chopped parsley.  Serve with grated parmesan and red pepper flake.