Tag Archives: Smitten Kitchen

Thanksgiving 2015

28 Nov

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Thanksgiving 2015 was a small and lovely gathering of 3.

I spatchcocked a chicken (no turkey this year), made Smitten Kitchen’s decadent Cauliflower Cheese, roasted some delicata squash and sautéed brussels sprouts. For dessert, we feasted on homemade pumpkin pie from Joy the Baker’s Homemade Decadence cookbook, hand-whisked soft whipped cream and coffee cake.

To entertain ourselves and help us digest between dinner and dessert courses, we played Guitar Hero and watched Nathan for You. A great evening indeed.

Thank you, Thanksgiving, for letting me have the day off to do what I love most, cook delicious food and spend time with my favorite people!
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I made hummus and you should, too

10 Feb

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I made hummus this weekend. Classic chickpea-tahini-lemon-garlic hummus. I even went so far as to soak dried chickpeas the night before and I took the outer skins off the chickpeas before blending. All of those extra little steps lead me to the most sublime, or as Deb Perelman says, ethereally smooth, hummus. Continue reading →

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Thanksgiving 2014

29 Nov

I hope your holiday was delicious and special. My friend Natasha and I co-hosted and cooked most of the food together. Our friends brought extra sides (sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, green bean casserole), desserts (mascarpone tart with berries), and drinks (wine, beers, cider), all of which were amazing!

The menu:

Castelvetrano olives

Kale salad with apples and walnuts

Extra-buttery mashed potatoes

Mashed sweet potatoes

Kale stuffing with dates

Brussels sprouts with bacon

Green bean casserole

Spatchcocked turkey with gravy

Roasted garlic

Cranberry sauce (homemade and jellied)

Dessert:

Upside-down cranberry cake

Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Praline Topping

Peanut Butter Pie

Mascarpone tart with berry sauce

Hand-whipped cream

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Clockwise from left: stuffing a la Samin (and Charlie!), with dates instead of prunes and no sausage; spatchcocked and carved turkey from the Serious Eats recipe and video; cranberry sauce (can be made one week before TG) Continue reading →

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Hooked on The Crispy Egg

20 Oct

Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen recently posted about The Crispy Egg. The idea originally comes from Frank Prisinzano of NYC restaurants Frank, Lil Frankie’s, Supper, and Sauce.

A crispy egg is essentially an egg fried in olive oil in a very hot cast-iron or stainless steel pan. The whites bubble and squirt everywhere and the result is the most amazing egg, with the yolk still loose and the bottom crispy. Toast (well, in my case toast AND potatoes) is the perfect vehicle for soaking up any remaining olive oil from frying.

Deb has important notes (and a video link) in her post that you need to read (and watch) before attempting The Crispy Egg. Now go, learn, and make yourself a crispy egg or two. I’m totally hooked.

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Spaghetti with Cauliflower Pesto

6 Sep

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She’s a beaut, right?

Obviously I could not resist lugging home a head each of orange and purple cauliflower on top of my already heavy farmer’s market haul of melon, tomatoes, summer squash, eggs, and my newest obsession, maple cream!

I am such a sucker for roasted cauliflower. I love how it gets those golden-brown roasted marks, and packs a salty, slightly oily bite. But, it is important to try new things, and there is SO much happening with cauliflower these days.

I thought about making a purple cauliflower soup or a cauliflower gratin, but, desperate to hang on to the summer, I was not yet ready to dive into those cozier, creamier fall foods. After tossing around ideas of the ever-trendy cauliflower rice/couscous, cauliflower pizza crust, and cauliflower pasta sauce, I turned to my trusty food maven, Deb Perelman, who has a recipe in her cookbook for…CAULIFLOWER PESTO.

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Cauliflower pesto is made with raw cauliflower pulsed in a food processor (I took the Italian grandmother way/the hard route and hand-chopped/used my blender) and combined with a separate pulsed mix of brine-y, pesto-y ingredients: capers, garlic, Parmesan, pine nuts, herbs. Continue reading →

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