tasting memories

Trout reminds me of fishing with Scott and Angelica in Montana. Even though I only managed to catch one trout in the many times we went camping and fishing, I always looked forward to enjoying fresh caught fish with my family. After gutting and scaling, we often drizzled a little cornmeal (if we had it) and fried it in a cast iron pot over the fire.

Despite the rain, I walked over to the Chelsea Market yesterday. The fish market had some fresh and beautifully prepared butterflied trout, which reminded me of all those good times by the lake. I had to have some.

I prepared the trout using my own adaptation of a Trout Grenobloise recipe from epicurious. Trout Grenobloise sounds fancy, but it's a simple recipe, traditional to the town of Grenoble in France. The fish is very simply prepared by pan frying it, what makes this recipe special is the lime tarragon sauce. The sauce, drizzled scantily gives the trout a wonderful bite - its the tartness of the lime alongside the sweet tarragon that makes this particular dish great. And better yet, because it's so easy to prepare. I served it with mashed yukon gold potatoes and chives.

Trout with Lime Tarragon Sauce
3 trout, butterflied
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
salt to taste
black pepper to taste
4 tablespoons butter (reserve 2 tablespoons for step 3)
Juice of 1 lime
A splash of white wine (optional)
1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon

1. Place flour in a shallow dish. Season butterflied trout lightly with salt and pepper. Pat both sides of the trout in flour, shaking gently to remove excess flour.

2. Heat a pat of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add trout to skillet, skin-side up. Cook until pale golden, about 3 minutes. Turn and continue cooking, 3 to 4 minutes more.

3. Remove trout to a warmed serving platter. Remove skillet from heat. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter, lime juice, and white wine. Brown the butter, stirring with a wooden spoon to release the brown bits in the bottom of the skillet. Add tarragon and stir for a few seconds until the leaves become bright green. Pour sauce over trout and serve.

Makes 3 to 6 servings.

The first almond macaroons I tried were ones made by a wonderful bakery right off of the BART Rockridge station in Oakland, CA. If memory serves me correctly, it was called Grace Bakery, now a wholesale bread provider (no longer at their original location). At the time, I was a new student at CCAC and these chewy, golden delicacies, topped with thinly sliced almonds became one of my favorite treats. I would purchase a little stash of almond macaroons to take home and my mom and I would eat them all before the day was over.

Chandra Morris, from Bozeman, MT, shared this recipe with me many years ago. It makes a cookie that has a wonderful outer shell with a chewy, light interior and an intense almond aroma. The trick to the nice crust on this cookie is letting them sit out for at least 30 minutes.

Almond Macaroons
1/2 pound almond paste
1 cup granulated sugar
3 egg whites at room temperature
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons cake flour
1/8 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cover cookie sheets with parchment paper. Using your hands or a food processor, soften the almond paste. Gradually blend in the granulated sugar and egg whites. Mix in the confectioners' sugar, flour and salt.

2. Force the dough through a cookie press or drop by teaspoonfuls onto the parchment paper covered cookie sheets. Cover and let stand 30 minutes.

3. Bake 25 minutes, until golden. Lay the paper linings on a damp cloth, let cool, and peel off the macaroons. Cool the cookies completely and store in an airtight container. They will keep fresh for up to 5 days.

Makes 60 small cookies.

My stepmother Carolina was not a very good cook. Her cooking was my first introduction to American food when I was twelve and new in this country. Overcooked broccoli and meatloaf where regularly served. Although I came to love broccoli in my later life (steamed until bright green), I still stay away from meatloaf. One thing she made that I absolutely loved was baked macaroni and cheese. This all-American dish came to signify comfort and home in the otherwise unfriendly and cold suburbian Webster, NY.

After my father passed away, I emailed Carolina and asked her for the recipe as I craved some comfort during those difficult days. Her recipe comes straight from the back of the Mueller's Elbow Macaroni box, but she adds a wonderful breadcrumb crust that I absolutely love.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese
8 ounces elbow macaroni, cooked
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
2 1/2 cups milk
4 tablespoons butter
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium saucepan combine cornstarch, salt, and dry mustard. Stir in milk until smooth. Add 2 tablespoons butter. Stirring constantly, bringing to a boil over medium-high heat and boil 1 minute. Remove from heat.

2. Stir in 1 3/4 cups cheese until melted. Add cooked pasta. Pour into greased 2-quart casserole.

3. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a medium frying pan and stir in the breadcrumbs until fully incorporated. Remove from heat.

4. Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture on the macaroni and top with the remaining cheese. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

Makes 6 servings.

During this time of year, avid gardeners like Dorthy, my mother-in-law, find themselves with an excess of zucchini. Of the many preparations for this summer squash, her zucchini bread is my favorite. It's moist and flavorful with a wonderful crust that speaks of home.

This recipe is very easy to prepare. If you have alot of zucchini, make an extra batch and freeze it. This bread keeps very well in the freezer for up to a month as long as you double-wrap it in plastic wrap. Her original recipe calls for 2 cups of sugar. I have reduced this to 1 1/4 cups, since I always add chocolate chips that add an extra amount of sweet to the bread. Chocolate chips are optional in this recipe, but it's an absolute requirement in our family!

Dorthy's Zucchini Bread
(High Altitude Version - 5000ft)
3 large eggs
1 cup oil
2 cups grated zucchini
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup of chocolate chips (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a large loaf pan. In a large mixing bowl, blend flour, salt, soda, baking powder and cinnamon and set aside.

2. Beat eggs until light and foamy. Add oil, zucchini, sugar and vanilla and beat until fully incorporated. Add the flour mixture, one cup at a time and mix until blended. Fold in optional chocolate chips.

3. Pour batter into greased and floured loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes.

Makes 1 loaf of zucchini bread.

Angelica grew up around the kitchen. As a toddler she would empty all my cupboards of containers, pots and pans to play while I cooked. As a little girl I would pull up a chair and she would stand on it to help me measure, stir and taste when we made cookies. As she got older, she would read recipes and follow along with me as her assistant. Now, as a teenager we gather around the kitchen much too seldom, but once in a while we get together to honor this mother-daughter tradition. Yesterday we took the afternoon to make cookies. It was great. And the cookies were pretty good too!

This triple chocolate cookie recipe from epicurious is originally for ice cream sandwiches, but these delicacies are wonderful with or without ice cream. Using good bittersweet chocolate such as Callebaut gives these cookies a densely chocolaty bite. Not too sweet and super soft and chewy. They are delicate and dense like a fluffy version of a brownie. I could not ask for a better chocolate cookie.

Triple Chocolate Cookies
10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons all purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 ounces (1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips

1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Stir chopped chocolate in top of double boiler set over simmering water until melted and smooth; remove from over water. Cool melted chocolate 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in another medium bowl until crumbly. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue to beat until mixture is light, pale, and creamy, about 5 minutes. Add lukewarm melted chocolate and vanilla and beat just until blended. Fold in dry ingredients, then chocolate chips.

3. Drop chocolate cookie batter by tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Bake cookies, 1 baking sheet at a time, until tops are evenly cracked but cookies are not yet firm to touch, about 10 minutes. Cool cookies completely.

Note: Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to two weeks (if they last that long!)

Makes 36 cookies.

This recipe was inspired by an epicurious recipe: Catfish in Spicy Tomato Sauce. I found this sauce delicious, easy to make and versatile. It would be a wonderful base for vegetables, fish, poultry, or pork. In my opinion, the flavor of the catfish did not go well with this particular sauce, but lighter flavored fish like tilapia and haddock would work well. The original recipe calls for canned tomatoes, but i find the fresh stuff is so much better. Serve it with corn tortillas, tamales or even polenta. Even though this is not a true mole (which is an art form and takes hours to make), the flavors are reminiscent of mole.

Quick Mole
6 tomatoes, blanched, de-seeded, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Rounded 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
3/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1. Heat olive oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, spices, and 3/4 teaspoon salt, stirring, until garlic is golden, about 1 minute. Add chopped fresh tomatoes; coarsely crush tomatoes with fork or potato masher. Add sugar and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 12 minutes.

Makes 2 cups.

If you want to impress, and love steak, this is the dish for you. It is simple, made of simple ingredients and prepared simply - simple, but packed with flavor. Scott delighted us with steak on Friday night. I was so impressed. The steak was wonderfully buttery, paired with a simple and light tomato sauce and served with rustic bread.

The original recipe comes from epicurious: Grilled New York Steaks with San Marzano Sauce. Scott used fresh yellow plum tomatoes instead of the San Marzanos. Grilling becomes an issue here in New York City so Scott pan fried the steaks and toasted the bread in the oven. Even though pan frying is no substitute for grilling, I thought everything about this meal was just perfect.

Grilled New York Steaks with Fresh Tomato Sauce
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus additional for brushing
2 garlic cloves, peeled, crushed
2 pounds ripe plum tomatoes, blanched, peeled, de-seeded and coarsely chopped
6 large fresh basil sprigs plus additional for garnish
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
Coarse kosher salt
3 10- to 11-ounce New York steaks (preferably prime; 1 1/4 inches thick)
3 slices of your favorite rustic bread or ciabatta

1. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté until golden, about 5 minutes. Add chopped fresh tomatoes; coarsely crush tomatoes with potato masher. Add 6 basil sprigs and dried crushed red pepper; bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until mixture is reduced to thick sauce consistency (about 3 cups), stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Season sauce to taste with coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

2. Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Brush steaks and bread slices with olive oil. Sprinkle steaks with coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Grill steaks to desired doneness, about 7 minutes per side for medium-rare. Grill bread slices until golden and grill marks appear, about 2 minutes per side.

3. Spoon some of warm sauce onto 3 plates, then top each with 1 steak. Serve with bread.

Makes 3 servings.

Plate by Roger Baumann. Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

Fall leaves are starting to show and the roadside fruit stands are now all pumpkin. It's officially fall.
I go a little pumpkin/squash crazy this time of year and find as many ways to enjoy these seasonal veggies as I can. Last night we enjoyed some white beans, fresh sausage from Buon Italia and squash. This morning I made some warm pumpkin muffins with the leftover squash.

Okay, so technically they were squash muffins. I use either fresh pumpkin or squash interchangeably. If you use squash, I would recommend a Kabocha because it is flavorful and smooth. Butternut and even acorn squash will do. You can also use canned pumpkin puree, which will do in a pinch, but, why use a can when the fresh stuff is in abundance this time of year?

Pumpkin Muffins
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1 cup fresh pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Oil a 12-cup muffin pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.

2. In a large bowl, whisk the sugar, oil and eggs until combined. Whisk in the pumpkin, buttermilk and vanilla. Fold in the flour mixture until just until combined.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of 1 of the muffins comes out clean.

4. Let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes and remove them from the muffin pan. Enjoy warm or let cool completely.

Makes 12 muffins.

One of our favorite fall escapes is to a little family farm in Cornwall, NY called the Jones Farm. Grandma Phoebe and her family make freshly baked goods daily: wonderful pies, delicious linzer tarts, lemon bread, apple cider doughnuts and more. You will often find Grandma Phoebe by her fudge offering samples. The farm has become a required stop anytime we drive out of the city on a weekend to enjoy the Hudson Valley. Last Sunday we took such trip.

After enjoying some fresh apple cider and picking up some fresh strawberry rhubarb pie (so good that Angelica now wants it for her birthday), some lemon cake and a few other goodies, we headed out to enjoy the rest of the day. Our next stop was a farm offering apple picking and hay rides. I picked up a half bushel of macintosh apples. Yes, half a bushel. So all week, I have been finding ways to use these apples and Grandma Zona's apple butter came to mind. I prepared a batch and canned it as soon as it was ready. Apple butter will keep in a canning jar for a few months.

I was introduced to canning by Scott's family. Scott's parents were both raised in Powell, Wyoming, where farming was their means of livelihood. Powell is a small rural town in a semi-arid desert. Farming this dry land often saturated with minerals that make the land inhospitable to vegetation, was their means of survival. Preserving the food they raised during the short summer months was an important part of surviving through the winter.

Scott's mom Dorthy and Grandma Zona are both avid canners. They can what they raise, like bird egg beans, green beans, beets, potatoes. Also fruits like peaches and cherries end up in mason jars for winter enjoyment. I still remember walking down into Grandma Zona's root cellar, a space carved into the ground, perhaps about 7 feet wide by 7 feet deep, lined with wooden shelves stacked high with cans of fruit and vegetables and home made soap. I have great respect and admiration for this tradition of food preservation.

Grandma Zona's Apple Butter
8 macintosh apples, quartered
1 cup water or apple cider
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1. Make apple sauce: Place quartered apples and water (or cider) in a large heavy saucepan. Cover and bring to a simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat and pour the apples and liquid into a large strainer. Strain the pulp and discard the seeds and skin.

2. Return the apple sauce to the large heavy saucepan. Add sugar and spices. Bring to a slow simmer for 3 hrs or until the apple sauce has reduced to 5 cups (about half in volume). Remove from heat. Can the apple butter and let sit overnight at room temperature. Keep in a cool place for up to 3 months or refrigerate for up to 6 months.

Makes 5 cups.

Unlike the all-day marathon that Thanksgiving dinner usually is, our feast was simple and delightful: Duck with Cranberry Sauce, truffled mashed potatoes, green beans and popovers. Check out Gordon Ramsay's demonstration of the Duck with Gooseberry Sauce. Brilliant approach: simple, passionate, to the point. Yes! Gooseberries are not in season this time of year, so we used cranberries instead.

Duck with Cranberry Sauce
4 duck breasts with skin on
2 tablespoons Szechwan peppercorns
1/2 cup sugar
zest of 1 lemon
2 cups fresh cranberries
1 1/4 cups (about half a bottle) dry red wine
1 1/4 cups brown chicken stock
1-2 tablespoons honey
2 tbsp butter, cut into cubes
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Score the skin of the duck breasts in a criss-cross pattern. Toast the Szechwan peppercorns in a dry pan until fragrant, then tip into a pestle and mortar with a little salt and pepper. Lightly crush the mixture and use to generously coat the duck breasts.

2. Place the duck breasts, skin-side down, on a dry ovenproof pan and cook on the stovetop over very low heat to render down most of the fat. This may take 10-15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fat.

3. Place the sugar in a small saucepan with a cup of water. Gently heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Add the lemon zest and mix through. Increase the heat and boil the liquid for a few minutes until slightly thickened. Tip in the cranberries and gently poach for 1 minute. Leave to cool in the syrup.

4. For the sauce, place the red wine in a pan, season with a little salt and pepper, and boil for 7-8 minutes until reduced by half. Pour in the stock and reduce again by half.

5. Drain off most of the fat from the duck, then turn up the heat fry until the skin is crisp. Add a touch of olive oil, turn them over and cook the flesh side for 1-2 minutes. Place the pan into the hot oven for 8-10 minutes for medium-cooked duck, which should be slightly springy when pressed.

6. Stir the honey into the sauce. Take the pan off the heat and add a few knobs of butter for shine, swirling the liquid to melt the butter. Transfer the cranberries to the sauce to warm through, adding the syrup according to taste. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

7. When ready, rest the duck on a warm plate for a few minutes. Slice the duck breasts thickly on the diagonal and fan out. Spoon over the sauce and serve.

Makes 4 servings.

Our good friends Justin and Sarah took us to The Bistro at the Cliff House in San Francisco a few years back. It was our first day in San Francisco after a long drive from Wyoming. Great company and a wonderful birthday feast in honor of Sarah's father greeted us. Of all the good food The Bistro served, most memorable were the popovers that came piping hot to the table by the basketfuls. This was the first time I tried popovers. The memory of this event solidified around these light pillows of bread and now every time I make them I remember that day with our friends. Cheers to Sarah and Justin for sharing such a great experience!

Popovers are easy to make. This recipe came from Food and Wine.

Popovers
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 tablespoons rendered beef fat (from the roast) or melted butter

1. Preheat the oven to 425°. Put a large 12-cup muffin pan in the oven to heat. In a medium bowl, combine the milk with the flour, eggs, salt and 1 tablespoon of the beef fat. Using an electric mixer, beat until very smooth.

2. Remove the hot muffin pan from the oven and add 1/2 teaspoon of the beef fat to each cup.

3. Return the muffin pan to the oven and heat until the fat is very hot, about 5 minutes. Carefully and quickly pour the popover batter into the muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes; don't open the oven door. Reduce the heat to 350° and bake for about 20 minutes, until the popovers are golden brown and puffed. Serve right away.

Makes 12 popovers.

Essential in every kitchen is a good stock. This recipe is used in Gordon Ramsay's Duck with Gooseberry Sauce. I often make the stock with cooked chicken bones leftover from a roasted chicken and most times I leave out the tomato paste and flour. Any time we have chicken bones, I try to make stock to freeze for later use.

Brown Chicken Stock
2 pounds raw chicken bones
1 chopped carrot
1 chopped onion
2 sliced celery stick
1 sliced leek
2 tablespoons oil
sprig thyme
1 bay leaf
3 peeled garlic cloves
2 tablespoons tomato puree
2 tablespoons white flour

1. Roast the chicken bones at 400° for 20 minutes.

2. Put the carrot, onion, celery and leek in a large pan with the oil and cook over a medium heat until golden. Add the herbs, garlic, tomato puree and flour and stir for a few minutes. Add the roasted chicken bones, cover with plenty of cold water and season lightly. Bring to the boil and skim.

3. Simmer for 1 hour and then pass through a chinois/sieve. Adjust the seasoning.

Makes approximately 4 cups of stock (depending on how much water you use).

The Puerto Rican in me always screams for a traditional meal this time of year. Christmas in Puerto Rico is all about sharing music, drink and great food with friends and family. The traditional meal is a feast of lechón asado (spit-roasted pork), rice with pigeon peas, pasteles wrapped in plantain leaves, arroz con coco and, to drink, lots of rum and coquito.

To welcome the season, I decided to try a family recipe for pernil (roasted pork shoulder). For those of us who don't have the facility to prepare a spit-roasted pig, pernil is a as close as we can get to good roasted pork.

I called my grandfather, Pito, before getting started to ask him about the recipe and the process. This was my first time and I was particularly worried about getting the chicharrón (pork rind) just right. A good pernil is measured by how good the chicharrón is, he explained. Pito walked me through his process, which included thoroughly piercing the skin with a sharp object (like a barbeque fork or metal kebob stick). Before I said goodbye, I told him how excited I was to make a "traditional" pernil. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, he was quick to correct me and say this was his original recipe and not "traditional" pernil.

We enjoyed the roast and had plenty left over for a few rounds of cubanos throughout the week. I must confess my chicharron was not as crispy as I would have liked it to be. I don't think this particular pernil would have passed Pito's standards. He is a perfectionist when it comes to the kitchen. He approaches cooking like a science: exact measurements, process and technique. Pito's un-traditional pernil recipe is wonderful and quirky. I will continue trying until I get it just right!

Pernil
juice of 6 limes, about 1 cup of liquid
8 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 8-pound pork shoulder with skin
3 cups water
6 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 375°. With a sharp object, like a barbeque fork or a metal kebob stick, pierce the entire skin thoroughly (the perforations will allow for a very crispy chicarrón).
2. Grind the garlic in a mortar and pestle. Add lime juice, salt, oregano and cumin and mix well.
3. Use a small steak knife to perforate the skin and meat. The perforations should be about 2 inches deep and about 2" apart. Use your hands to push the garlic mixture into the perforations. Place the pork in a roasting pan and rub the rest of the garlic mixture on the meat, avoiding the skin.
4. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes until the juices have caramelized in the bottom of the pan. Combine the water and vinegar and add to the bottom of the pan (avoid wetting the top side of the skin). Cover with aluminum foil and roast for 1 hour. Occassionally baste the pork with the liquid avoiding the skin.
5. Uncover the roast. Sprinkle the skin with a teaspoon of salt and roast for another 1 1/2 hours. Continue basting the pork every 20 minutes until the skin is crisp and toasted throughout and the thermometer reaches a temperature of 177°F.

Makes 12 servings.

With your pernil, enjoy a little jibarito music:

Plate by Jim Shack. Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

Fresh and easy to make, this cranberry relish recipe has become a favorite compliment to our roasted turkey. I prefer to use fresh cranberries and crystallized ginger. If you pack the relish into heated canning jars, the jars will naturally seal and will keep in the refrigerator for two months. This recipe sure beats canned cranberry sauce.

The original recipe can be found at epicurious here.

Spiced Cranberry and Orange Relish
1 1/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup water
2 small navel oranges
2 cups fresh cranberries (8 oz; thawed if frozen)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger

1. Bring sugar and water to a boil in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat and simmer syrup, without stirring, washing down any sugar crystals on side of pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water, 5 minutes.

2. While syrup simmers, cut oranges, including peel and pith, into 1-inch pieces, discarding any seeds, and combine with cranberries, cinnamon, and cloves in a food processor.

3. Add sugar syrup and pulse until fruit is finely chopped. Transfer relish to a bowl and stir in ginger. Chill, covered, 1 day for flavors to develop.

Makes 8 to 12 servings (about 4 cups).

Drank a bottle of Pinot Noir tonight and proceeded to make coq au vin. I was ispired by Alton Brown's Good Eats episode "Cuckoo about Coq au Vin" last week. It sounded like the perfect meal for these cold winter days here in New York City. I did a little research and found a few more recipes for Coq au Vin. The Guardian article by Nigel Slater "Perfect Coq au Vin" provided much of the inspiration for this recipe. He says "I love a recipe that really works, where you feel there is something unequivocally right about it. Where the cook has remained true to the dish, to its provenance, its history, its soul." I couldn't agree more. This dish speaks of tradition, confort and soul: down to earth and heart warming.

A note about this recipe: I strongly recommend that you follow Alton Brown's advise to refrigerate this dish overnight before serving. The flavor is noticeably better the next day. You can either prepare the whole recipe and simply warm the next day or prepare to step 6, add the chicken to the wine sauce, cover and refrigerate overnight and begin at step 7 by warming the contents, removing the chicken and proceeding to thicken the sauce.

Coq Au Vin
1 stewing chicken, cut into pieces (or approx 6 lbs. of boned chicken pieces)
3/4 cups pancetta or 1/2 cup salt pork
2 medium onions
1 large carrot
2 ribs of celery
2 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons cognac
1 bottle of red wine
4 or 5 small sprigs of thyme
3 bay leaves
1/3 cup butter
24 to 30 pearl onions, peeled
1/2 pound small mushrooms
2 cups chicken stock

1. Cut the pancetta or salt pork into short strips. Cook over medium heat in a large heavy casserole (cast iron or enamelled work best), stirring occassionally until golden. Remove the pancetta from the pan and set aside, leaving behind the fat in the pan.

2. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and place them in the hot fat in the casserole. Brown the chicken on all sides until golden brown. (Note from Mr. Slater: "The skin should be honey coloured rather than brown - it is this colouring of the skin, rather than what wine or herbs you might add later, that is crucial to the flavour of the dish.") Remove the cooked chicken and set aside.

3. While the chicken is colouring in the pan, peel and roughly chop the onions and carrot, and wash and chop the celery. With the chicken out, add the onions and carrot to the pan and cook slowly, stirring from time to time, until the onion is translucent and it has gone some way to dissolving some of the pan stickings. Add the garlic, peeled and thinly sliced, as you go. Return the chicken and pancetta to the pan, stir in the flour and let everything cook for a minute or two before pouring in the cognac, wine and tucking in the herbs. Spoon in ladles of the simmering chicken stock until the entire chicken is covered. Bring to the boil, then, just as it gets there, turn the heat down so that the sauce bubbles gently. Cover partially with a lid.

4. Melt the butter in a medium pan, add the small peeled onions and then the mushrooms, halving or quartering them if they are too big. Let them cook until they are golden, remove from pan and set them aside.

5. Check the chicken after 40 minutes to see how tender it is. It should be soft but not falling from its bones. It will probably take about an hour, depending on the type of chicken you are using. Lift the chicken out and into a bowl.

6. Strain the sauce and remove the vegetables.

7. Return the sauce to the pot and turn the heat up under the sauce and let it bubble enthusiastically until it has reduced a little. As it bubbles down it will become thicker - though not thick - and will become quite glossy.

8. Return the chicken to the pan along with the mushroom and onions. Serve with noodles or boiled potatoes.

Makes 6 servings.

Plate by Roger Baumann. Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

I grew nostalgic for this most common Puerto Rican food when I first moved to Montana. It was then that I began experimenting with different empanadilla pastry recipes. I've tried different versions with canola oil or butter, but I find that shortening works best. Carmen Aboy Valldejuli's recipe in "Juntos en la Cocina" is the one I like best (sorry, i could not find the english translation of this book). It yields a dry but flaky dough. Below is my translation of that recipe. Note: this dough is best used fresh, not frozen.

Empanadilla Pastry
3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
9 tablespoons vegetable shortening
3/4 cups cold water

1. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Cut the vegetable shortening into the flour mixture until it forms coarse grains the size of garbanzos. Work quickly to prevent melting the shortening.

2. Add the cold water slowly while using a fork to blend it into the four mixture. Mix well until there is no loose flour left in the bottom of the bowl.

3. Turn your dough into a work surface dusted with flour. Knead just until the dough is well incorporated, smooth and no longer sticks to your fingers. As you knead, add flour when needed to prevent sticking. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a damp cloth and set aside for 30 minutes.

4. Roll the dough into a twelve inch log and cut into twelve 1 inch pieces.

5. Place one piece in a work surface dusted with flour. Work with a floured rolling pin to create a disk six inches in diameter. Set disk aside and dust with flour. Begin to roll the next disk.

6. Once all twelve disks have been rolled, proceed to fill the empanadillas with filling of choice. See the Baked Beef Empanadilla recipe for instructions on how to prepare the filling and assemble them. Cover the unused disks with a damp cloth until you are ready to use them.

Makes 12 disks.

Scott has been making spectacular sauces since we first met. The first time he cooked dinner for me, he served spaghetti topped with a rustic sauce made of fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers and other fresh veggies. The dinner was served in dishes he handcrafted just for that occasion. We've been together many years now and he still impresses me with his sauces and handcrafted ceramics.

The sauce I share with you today is the latest incarnation of his basic tomato sauce. A few weeks ago he served it. The sauce was so good that I asked him to teach me how to make it. Once you try a sauce like this, you will never want to go back to jar pasta sauce. It's simple, super fresh, delicious and only takes about fifteen minutes to prepare. All you need to have at home are some fresh tomatoes, garlic and fresh basil.

Simple Tomato Sauce
6 plum tomatoes, blanched, de-seeded, peeled and chopped
6 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh thyme (optional)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt to taste

1. Heat a medium iron skillet at medium-low heat until the oil starts to gently ripple. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Do not overcook the garlic or allow it to turn brown.

2. Add the chopped tomatoes, basil and thyme. Stir and cook briefly until the sauce starts to bubble and turn it down to a slow simmer for 5 more minutes. Add salt to taste and remove from heat.

Makes 3 servings.

Photo by Scott Bartolomei Edmonds. Plate by Scott Bartolomei Edmonds.
Ripe banans that become spotted and dark often get neglected in our kitchen. These sweet and fully flavored bananas are the perfect base for banana bread.

There is nothing more comforting than curling up in the couch on a Sunday morning, reading the paper, drinking coffee and enjoying a warm slice of banana bread with just a little bit of butter.

This recipe makes a very moist bread that is sweet, but not too sweet. It's very easy to prepare, but you must bake it for close to an hour, so you need to either plan ahead or be very patient.

Banana Bread
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
3 medium overripe bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Coat a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with oil. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, eggs and oil and whisk until creamy. Add the mashed bananas and vanilla and blend until smooth. Stir in the dry ingredients until well incorporated.

2. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the middle of the oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top is springy and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning it out onto a rack to cool.

Makes 1 loaf.

When I was fourteen years old, my mom flew out to Rochester, NY to visit me. She stayed in a hotel near Marketplace Mall, and I was going to stay with her for the weekend. My dad dropped me off after work that night. I still remember getting out of his 1980-something light blue Honda Civic. It was cold and wet and he was bundled up with his golfer's cap and scarf. His work shoes had those rubber covers to protect them from the wet. He got out of the car with me. As I approached the door to the lobby, I could see my beautiful mother there in her gorgeous handmade woolen coat. My dad froze right before we got to the door and said goodbye to me. I was a little confused at the time, but I said goodbye right back and stepped through the glass doors and into the lobby. I looked back as the doors closed. My dad was still standing there. I kept walking and jumped into my mother's arms.

That night, we had dinner at the restaurant in the hotel and we ordered some cornbread. It was fantastic. My mom and I were so enthusiastic about it that she bought a 'cornbread' skillet along with some cornbread mix. Since then, cornbread always reminds me of that awkward reunion and the tender but short moments spent with my mom that winter back in 1986.

The recipe I give you today is one I have enjoyed over many years. I scratched it into brown paper about twelve years ago. Every once in a while I adjust the recipe by adding things like blueberries or cut down on the sugar and add chipotle for a kick. Mostly, I like it just the way it is, served with a little butter and honey. This recipe makes a light and moist cornbread that is on the sweet side.

Corn Bread
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup unbleached flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
1/2 cup brown sugar (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter over low heat in a 9" cast iron skillet, set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, stir the brown sugar into the buttermilk until any lumps of sugar dissolve. Add the egg and vanilla and lightly stir. Then, stir in the cooled melted butter.

2. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and lightly mix until any lumps of flour disappear. Do not over mix. Pour the batter into the buttered skillet and bake until golden, about 30 minutes.

Makes 1 loaf.

Photo by Scott Bartolomei Edmonds. Bowl by Roger Baumann.

This simple dish can be prepared in under fifteen minutes. I love to serve it with rice and a slice of avocado drizzled with olive oil. It's the kind of meal we make when "there's nothing to eat" in the house. We always keep a few cans of beans and rice around for just such days.

To get the most flavor out of this dish, watch the onions as they cook. Cook them over moderately low heat until they get soft and clear. If they start browning, the pan is too hot. Treat the garlic with the same care and don't allow it to brown. Browning garlic will make garlic bitter. By letting these ingredients develop slowly, you will find meals to be much more flavorful and needing little or no salt to season.

Black Beans with Caramelized Onions
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
3 large cloves garlic, minced
2 cups of cooked black beans (or one can black beans, liquid strained)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
chopped fresh cilantro (for garnish, optional)
salt to taste

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium cast iron skillet over medium-low heat until it begins to ripple. Add the onions and gently cook until the onions become soft and clear, about 5 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and stir to caramelize. Push the onions to one side of the skillet and add the minced garlic to cook for about a minute.

2. Stir in the black beans and cumin and cook over medium heat until the liquid begins to bubble and thicken, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and salt to taste. Garnish with cilantro.

Makes 4 servings.

Photo by Scott Bartolomei Edmonds. Plate by Jim Shack.

Ten years have passed since I first came across a recipe for herb and onion pizzettes in Food and Wine Magazine. Since then, I have been carrying a cut-out of this recipe in a folder where I keep all my favorite recipes. It's a bright pink folder with an old rubber band holding all the papers together. Back when I started the folder, my good friend Marcie had sent me a gift in cardboard tube. On it, she scrolled this quote by Italian fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli:

"A good cook is like a sorceress who dispenses happiness."

A piece of that tube still survives taped to the folder along with some old stickers of pheasants and squirrels that Angelica added. The folder has grown fatter, torn, and stained as time passes, so, slowly, I am working on transferring these recipes to the web.

I have been faithful to this recipe since it was first published back in 1998. This one is a simple, basic pizza dough recipe yielding a light crust to compliment any topping. Kneading by hand is the way to go, but if you are short on time, simply use the dough hook on your standing mixer at medium speed. I often like to substitute some of the flour with whole wheat flour for a nuttier, heartier crust. Also, you can prepare the dough through step 1, cover and refrigerate overnight for the next day.

Photo by Scott Bartolomei Edmonds.

Pictured here are pizzettes topped with white truffle oil, thinly sliced yukon gold potatoes, onion, rosemary, parsley and a slice of white truffle pecorino. We served these last Saturday as an appetizer for dinner with Tausha, my sister in law, who was visiting us during her trip to New York City.

Pizza Dough
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 cup lukewarm water (105° to 115°)
salt
olive oil
1. In a large bowl, combine 1/4 cup of the flour with the yeast and 1/4 cup of the water. Let stand in a warm place until foamy, about 30 minutes. Stir in 2 1/4 cups of the flour, the remaining 3/4 cup of water and 1 teaspoon of salt to form a soft dough. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until silky and elastic, about 5 minutes; add just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
2. Punch down the dough, cover and let rise for 30 minutes longer. Turn the dough out onto the work surface and let the dough rest for 10 minutes before shaping it.
3. Meanwhile, set a pizza stone on a rack in the bottom third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 500°.
4. Roll out or stretch dough into desired shape. Set the dough on a lightly floured pizza peel or baking sheet and top with your favorite toppings. Slide the pizza onto a pizza stone in the oven and bake for about 7 minutes, or until golden and crisp.

Makes 1 large pizza pie.

Source: Dorie Greenspan.

This tart is clean, light, creamy and purely lemon. Dorie Greenspan features it in Baking with Dorie at Serious Eats: "Pierre Herme's Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart". A brilliant dessert.

Lemon Cream Tart
1 cup sugar
Finely grated zest of 3 lemons
4 large eggs
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 4 to 5 lemons)
2 sticks plus 5 tablespoons (21 tablespoons; 10 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into tablespoon-sized pieces
1 fully-baked 9-inch tart shell

Getting ready: Have a thermometer, preferably an instant-read, a strainer and a blender (first choice) or food processor at the ready. Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in a saucepan.

1. Put the sugar and zest in a large metal bowl that can be fitted into the pan of simmering water. Off heat, work the sugar and zest together between your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy and very aromatic. Whisk in the eggs followed by the lemon juice.

2. Fit the bowl into the pan (make certain the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl) and cook, stirring with the whisk as soon as the mixture feels tepid to the touch. You want to cook the cream until it reaches 180°F. As you whisk the cream over heat--and you must whisk constantly to keep the eggs from scrambling--you'll see that the cream will start out light and foamy, then the bubbles will get bigger, and then, as the cream is getting closer to 180°F, it will start to thicken and the whisk will leave tracks. Heads up at this point--the tracks mean the cream is almost ready. Don't stop whisking and don't stop checking the temperature. And have patience--depending on how much heat you're giving the cream, getting to temp can take as long as 10 minutes.

3. As soon as you reach 180°F, pull the cream from the heat and strain it into the container of a blender (or food processor); discard the zest. Let the cream rest at room temperature, stirring occasionally, until it cools to 140°F, about 10 minutes.

4. Turn the blender to high and, with the machine going, add about 5 pieces of butter at a time. Scrape down the sides of the container as needed while you're incorporating the butter. Once the butter is in, keep the machine going--to get the perfect light, airy texture of lemon-cream dreams, you must continue to beat the cream for another 3 minutes. If your machine protests and gets a bit too hot, work in 1-minute intervals, giving the machine a little rest between beats.

5. Pour the cream into a container, press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface to create an airtight seal and chill the cream for at least 4 hours or overnight. When you are ready to construct the tart, just whisk the cream to loosen it and spoon it into the tart shell.

Serving: The tart should be served cold, because it is a particular pleasure to have the cold cream melt in your mouth.

Storing: While you can make the lemon cream ahead (it will keep in the frige for 4 days and in the freezer for up to 2 months), once the tart is constructed, it's best to eat it the day it is made.

Makes 8 servings.

Bowl by Scott Bartolomei Edmonds. Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds

Here's what I've learned about scones so far:

• Work quickly.
• Keep the butter cold.
• The less you touch the dough the better it will be.
• It's much easier to incorporate the butter into the flour with your hands (instead of using a pastry cutter or knifes) but the heat from your hands will melt the butter, so work quickly and freeze the mixture for a few minutes when you are done to keep the butter hard.
• Pour the liquids into the flour mixture, not the other way around.
• Stir the liquid into the flour mixture with a few swift strokes (about 6 - 10 strokes). The mixture will still have dry spots, that is okay.
• Pat the dough gently into a disk, do not overpack.

Raspberry Almond Scones
1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup quick oats
2 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup slivered almonds
handful of fresh raspberries
1 teaspoon turbinado sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 450°. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the whipping cream, egg, almond extract, almonds and raspberries with a few swift strokes until a crumbly dough forms.
2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and gather the dough into a ball. Gently press the dough into a ¾ inch thick disk.
3. Brush the disk with heavy cream and sprinkle the turbinado sugar. Using a knife, cut the disk into 8 wedges.
4. Arrange the wedges ½ inch apart on a baking sheet. Bake in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Makes 8 scones.

Plate by Roger Baumann. Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds

Very little in our wedding was what anyone would expect. We celebrated our wedding on a Thursday, there were hand-painted panels of canvas hanging around the room, rocks and branches decorated each table, and our parents were seated in the table farthest away from the area where the ceremony was to take place. Scott and I ate with each guest by having a few bites of food at each table and moving on to the next. I'm sure our guests were a little puzzled, but it was a perfect day for us.

Then, there was the cake. Our wedding cake was not cake at all, it was made out of cookies: Mexican Wedding Cakes.

On the morning of our wedding day, my father and stepmother, Carolina (who did not know we were serving cookies instead of cake) gave us a beautiful engraved wedding cake knife as a present. When it came time to cut the cake, we walked over to a tall tower of Mexican Wedding Cakes. I reached for the wedding cake knife and tried to lift one of the cakes from the tower. Well, the cookies were essentially glued together with thick wads of royal icing and we had to resort to more aggressive methods of cutting the cake. The cake knife came in handy to saw through the royal icing and pry the cookies away from our impenetrable tower.

Our wedding day was flavored by these walnut buttery mounds of melt in your mouth goodness. I would not change a thing. Mexican Wedding Cakes make me smile. This easy recipe comes from Food and Wine Magazine.

Mexican Wedding Cakes
4 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons pecans, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 cup flour
pinch of salt

1. In a medium bowl, beat the butter, pecans and vanilla until creamy. Slowly add 1/3 cup of the confectioners' sugar, flour and salt and mix well. Shape the dough into a log and wrap in plastic and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour or overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 350° and line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Slice the dough and roll each piece of dough into a 3/4 -inch ball. Arrange about 1 inch apart on the cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, or until lightly golden. Cool for 5 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, gently toss the warm cookies in the remaining confectioners' sugar and set aside to cool completely.

Makes 16 cookies.

Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

Adobo is the secret behind all flavorful Puerto Rican meat dishes. The seasoning is simple, consisting of garlic, oregano, cumin, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. It's deeply rich and great on meats, particularly as a marinade for roasted meats like chicken and pork.

I like my adobo made fresh with a wooden mortar and pestle like my grandmother Mima taught me when I was a child. Add salt to the garlic to prevent the garlic from flying out of the mortar as you pound it into a paste. You can also wrap your free hand around the opening to keep the garlic down. If you don't have a mortar and pestle, you can either chop the ingredients or place them in a food processor or blender to a paste consistency.

Note: Check out Adobo Chicken and Pernil for recipes using adobo.

Adobo
6 - 8 large garlic cloves (about 1/2 a head), peeled
1 teaspoon salt
1 sprig fresh oregano, rinsed and finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
a pinch of ground black pepper (optional)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1. Place peeled garlic cloves and salt in the mortar and pestle. Pound to a smooth paste. Add oregano, black pepper, olive oil and vinegar and stir to incorporate.

Makes 1/4 cup.

Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

Being born Puerto Rican means that I was born with an innate need to supercook meats until they are hard and dry. Us Puerto Ricans love to bite into an almost jerky-like pork chop. So, when you ask us to try a medium steak, a salmon tartare or sushi, we will probably look at you like you've just offered us live insects. Learning to enjoy a steak that is pink in the center, fish that is raw or chicken that is juicy is something I'm still learning about. At first I started trying these things with an almost irrational hesitation and now I am learning how to cook them with great willingness, thanks primarily to having enjoyed so many delightful meals here in the city. I now order my steaks medium or medium-well and about two years ago, I even indulged in raw oysters and have loved them since. Don't get me wrong, I still love pork chops cooked to a dry crisp like my grandma Mima makes them, but I am making an effort to pay more attention to meat preparation.

Last week I made a roasted chicken with an adobo garlic-oregano seasoning that is traditional to my island. The result was a juicy, moist and flavor infused chicken. In Puerto Rico a roasted chicken seasoned with adobo is often called pollochón. Why this funny name? Take a chicken (pollo) prepared like roasted pork (lechón) and you have pollo+chón.

This meal will take some thinking ahead, but overall it's a very low-maintenance dish to prepare. You will simply season the chicken (marinade time optional), place it in a hot oven, and then check for doneness in an hour. There is very little work involved with the exception of carving the chicken. For easy instructions on how to carve a chicken, watch Marc Murphy's How to Carve a Chicken Howcast video. For a more rich and intense flavor, I suggest seasoning the chicken with adobo up to six hours before cooking to allow the flavors to develop. The results are a succulent, juicy and flavorful roasted chicken.

Note: Check out my grandfather Pito's version of adobo in this pernil (roasted pork shoulder) recipe.

Pollochón
1/4 cup fresh Adobo
1 3-pound Whole Chicken, raised right
Salt and Pepper

1. Rinse the chicken and dry it very well with paper towels, inside and out. Using your hands, gently separate the skin from the chicken, while leaving the skin intact. Introduce the adobo (in small handfuls) under the skin, distributing along the breasts thigh and leg to evenly cover the chicken. Do not apply the adobo to the surface of the skin as the garlic will burn loosing its flavor while roasting. Salt and pepper the cavity. Cover the chicken with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to marinade up to 6 hours (marinade time is optional).

2. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Truss the bird by tucking the tip section of the wing under the top section of the wing and tying the legs with string.

3. Generously salt the chicken and season to taste with pepper.

4. Place the chicken in a roasting pan and roast for 50 to 60 minutes until done. When done, remove it from the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes on a cutting board.

5. Remove the twine, cut the chicken and serve.

Makes 4 servings.

Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds. Bowl by Roger Baumann. Plate by Scott Bartolomei Edmonds.

Life is full of small delights. Guacamole is one such delight. I enjoy this simple dish in its most basic incarnation: chunks of avocado decorated with green onions, a dash of salt and drizzled extra virgin olive oil. But today, I'm experimenting with ginger.

When it comes to guacamole, my thought is: the simpler the better. It's all about the plump, ripe avocado, the olive oil and the salt, but, adding a little something like minced ginger can really change your experience.

Recently I learned that the ancient Aztecs named this delightful fruit ahuakatl - testicle - and that they prized it as an aphrodisiac. I hold avocado in high regard, not because of its shape suggestive of that hanging fruit between a man's legs, but because the flavor and texture is so deeply satisfying. Avocado's silky texture and rich flavor heightens the experience of any meal.

This summer dish is a twist on traditional guacamole. Fresh grated ginger gives it a kick and the radish adds a surprisingly clean, crispy element. Serve it with homemade lemony cumin chips that will make mouths water.

Learn more about avocados here.

Gingered Guacamole
1 ripe Hass avocado
1 radish, cut into matchsticks
1 green onion, sliced
1/2 teaspoon of fresh minced ginger
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt, to taste
Lemony Cumin Chips

1. Quarter and peel a ripe avocado. Cut it into 1/4" chunks and place in a bowl. Add the radish, green onion, ginger, olive oil and gently stir. Add salt to taste and serve.

Makes 1 cup.

Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds. Plate by Scott Bartolomei Edmonds.

These tangy chips are a great companion to a frothy beer or an icy margarita. Scott and I have been serving these to guests for years and we've never had a complaint. On the contrary, these chips are usually a big hit. Serve as a simple appetizer with a dip like salsa, guacamole or hummus. They are super easy to make and so much better than a store bought bag of corn chips.

Lemony Cumin Chips
6 fresh corn tortillas
lemon pepper
ground cumin
kosher salt
canola oil for frying

1. Pour about one inch of oil into a heavy frying pan. Heat over medium high heat until the oil is hot (to test if the oil is hot, carefully sprinkle a few drops of water into the oil - the oil will sizzle loudly when ready).

2. Cut the corn tortillas into 1/4" thin strips and fry in small batches until the strips are light and golden. Use a slotted spoon to remove chips from oil. Place the chips on a paper towel to drain any excess oil. Sprinkle liberally with lemon pepper, cumin and kosher salt to taste.

Makes 3 servings.

Today I honor the blender. Essential for making morning time smoothies, good gazpacho, silky hummus or grinding coffee beans for a fresh cup of coffee, the blender is indispensable in any kitchen. If you want to do away with kitchen gadgets, the blender is a fantastic multi-tasker: it can take on a spice grinder, a coffee grinder, even a food processor or mixer. This morning I reached for the blender to make a refreshing summertime smoothie and remembered the origins of my particular blender: the Osterizer Galaxie Pulse Matic 10.

I remember sitting with Papi and Carolina in the living room when Carolina got up and ceremoniously brought over a large unwrapped box and placed it on the floor in front of us. From the box, I could guess that it was a blender that must have been manufactured around the late seventies or early eighties. It was a surprise to see this intact, never scuffed, seal unbroken, dust-free blender box on the floor in front of us. This blender, despite its twenty or more years in existence, had never been used but carefully kept.

This was Spring 2001 and no particular occasion for gift giving. We had driven up to see how Papi was recovering from his liver transplant surgery. We drove up from the city and arrived late at night. He had waited up for us and greeted us at the door. He aged 20 years in a matter of weeks after his surgery. I could see my grandfather Abuelo Paco's features clearly in his aged face: a receding hairline, thin wrinkles on his forehead and kind loving eyes, weary from the enormous battle he had endured.

They explained that the blender was given to them as a wedding present and that they
never had any use for it and wondered if we would like to have it. We pulled it out of the box and it was a chrome plated beauty with a heavy glass jar. We had recently moved to the city and didn't have a blender, so we gratefully accepted.

At the time I did not know this would be the last gift my father would give me. Perhaps because it holds such a place, the Osterizer Galaxie Pulse Matic 10 blender is an object of mystery to me. Every time I use it, I remember my father. I wonder who gave them this wedding present. I wonder when Papi and Carolina got married and who attended. And, what compelled them to care and carry this particular wedding gift for over twenty years without ever opening it or using it?

Today I use my vintage blender to make a light summertime berry smoothie with oats, the smoothie version of my Everyday Breakfast. Cool, refreshing and satisfying. Enjoy one for breakfast or when you need a boost anytime of the day. See my notes about yogurt here. I like my smoothies, thick and icy, but you might prefer yours a little thinner. Simply add more or less liquid as you are blending until you get the right consistency.

Berry Oaty Smoothie
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup soy milk
2 tablespoons rolled oats
1 tablespoon honey
2 cups ice cubes

1. Purée all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Serve.

Makes 2 servings.

Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

Talented ceramicist, friend and home mixologist Sunetra Banerjee shared this New York Times Mark Bittman article with me earlier this week. It's a good introduction to making your own drinks and understanding the basic elements of many mixed drinks:

Sour Element + Sweet Element + Alcohol + Ice/Water

Sunetra has introduced me to many delicious drink recipes and I have great respect for her sensibility. One of my favorite Sunetra drinks is one with gin, muddled raspberries, simple syrup and soda - makes me thirsty just thinking about it.

If you are wanting to experiment with mixed drinks at home, you're going to need simple syrup. It's super easy to make and can store in the refrigerator for up to a month.

Simple Syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup water

1. In a small saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil. Stir and simmer until the sugar is dissolved about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool completely. Transfer to a glass jar and refrigerate until ready for use.

Makes 1 1/2 cups.

Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

Waking up to the smell of fresh baked bran muffins right out of the oven at my grandparents' home jelled my love of baked goods as a young child. My grandfather, Pito, would get up at five in the morning to meditate. He would sometimes follow his ritual by making bran muffins from scratch. The smell would wake me up with a smile and I would walk over to the kitchen where a basket of muffins was waiting for me.

The gesture of making bread from simple, healthy ingredients impresses me even today as a wholesome act of love and care amongst family. These are the things that stay with you as you grow older and I thank my grandfather for sharing them with us.

This bran muffin recipe is wonderfully versatile and easy to make. It makes a moist muffin that is not too sweet. What is great about this recipe is that it makes a rather large batch (24 muffins); you can make the batter ahead of time and it will keep in the refrigerator for up to three days. So you can wake up, scoop the batter into muffin tins and bake for fresh baked muffins every morning.

The recipe was inspired by the Raisin Walnut Bran Muffins served in Bozeman's best coffee bar.

Bran Muffins
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup hot water
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup wheat bran
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups unbleached flour
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
handful of raisins (optional)
handful of toasted walnut (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Coat 24 muffin tins with oil and set aside. Combine the hot water and baking soda in a small bowl and set aside.

2. Whisk oats, bran, wheat flour, unbleached flour, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl to blend. In a separate large bowl, mix oil, brown sugar, buttermilk and eggs lightly. Add the hot water mixture and the flour mixture and stir to incorporate.

3. Divide muffins into 24 muffin tins and bake for 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean. Cool in a rack for five minutes. Serve hot with butter or at room temperature.

Makes 24 muffins.

Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

These are the kind of brownies that are super moist on the inside with a nice crackly crust on top. They are dense, rich and on the sweet side. Be sure to use a good chocolate like Callebaut or Valrhona.

This is Ruth Reichl's brownie recipe from her book, Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table. It's the best brownie recipe I've tried so far.

Artpark Brownies
2/3 cup butter
5 ounces unsweetened, best quality French chocolate
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1 cup sifted flour

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Butter and flour a 9" square baking pan.

2. Melt butter and chocolate in double boiler, over boiling water. When melted, add vanilla and set aside.

3. Beat eggs and salt in mixer. Add sugar and beat at high speed for about 10 minutes, or until the mixture is quite white.

4. Add chocolate and butter mixture and beat at low speed, just until mixed. Add flour and combine quickly, until there are no white streaks.

5. Pour batter into baking pan and put in oven. Immediately turn oven down to 350° and bake for 40 minutes. Note: the normal toothpick test will not work on these brownies, but if you want to try pricking them with a toothpick, it should come out not quite clean. Do not overbake; these brownies should be fudgy.

Makes 12 brownies.

Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

This cream cheese frosting goes wonderfully with banana cake or carrot cake. Unlike many cream cheese frostings, this one is on the lighter side and requires your cake to be kept cool for best results. The original recipe was adapted from RecipeZaar's Best Ever Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. I cut down the sugar in their cream cheese frosting from 3 1/2 cups to 2 1/2 cups. The frosting is still plenty sweet, but more subtle and soft.

Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

1. Cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add confectioners sugar and beat at low speed until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Makes 2 cups frosting.

Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

There are many reasons to celebrate this month. Today is our 8th year anniversary of moving to New York City from small town Bozeman, MT. Our company, Smatter Inc., incorporated three years ago this month. And, next Friday is the one year anniversary of this blog. However, this cake does not celebrate any of these events. This cake celebrates a little girl's first birthday this month.

Banana cake is a wonderful summer cake and makes an ideal birthday cake. If you are planning a party, you can make the cake a day or two ahead of time, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, refrigerate, and then frost it the day of the party. It's great even without frosting. I recommend serving it cooled rather than at room temperature.

The recipe was adapted from RecipeZaar's Best Ever Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. In the original recipe, they recommend you freeze the cake after it comes out of the oven. I find this step unnecessary and the results are still moist and wonderful (not to mention that placing a hot pan in the freezer can be potentially damaging to other items in the freezer). The recipe will yield one large sheet cake or a double layered round cake.

This cake is delicious, so, find a reason to celebrate in August and try it out for yourself.

Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
1 1/2 cups ripe bananas (about 3 bananas), mashed
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 cups cream cheese frosting
chopped walnuts (optional, for garnish)

1. Preheat oven to 275°. Grease and flour two 8" round cake pans (or one 9" x 13" cake pan). In a small bowl, mix mashed banana with the lemon juice and set aside. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream 3/4 cup butter and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla.
3. Beat in the flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, alternately with the buttermilk. Stir in banana mixture.
4. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for one hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let it sit in the pan for about fifteen minutes. Remove the cake from the pan by inverting the pan and cool to room temperature in a cooling rack. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours or up to three days before frosting.
5. Frost the cake and refrigerate for one hour to allow the frosting to harden.

Makes 16 servings.

Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

Scott, Angelica and I went to Puerto Rico to visit family in late August last year. It was a trip fraught with turmoil as my mother's mental illness had become much more pronounced and balancing the needs of my grandparents and my mother was a loosing battle. This was supposed to be our vacation but really, it was an exercise in keeping it together. A running joke was that this vacation was Boot Camp: the Puerto Rico edition.

We spent countless hours in the scorching sun scraping the wrought iron fencing around my grandparents home. Even more hours into the night were spent painting the fence with oil-based enamels. Between these exercises we would go and visit my mom who lived in the fishing town of Santa Isabel about twenty minutes away from Ponce. We met her thug housekeeper, who despite his friendly and humble demeanor seemed like the kind of man that had a dark past. We listened to Mami's theories about the grand conspiracy of the serpent people and how Angelica and I were destined to eradicate them. Despite her handicap and needing a wheelchair to get around, Mami even managed to teach Angelica how to dance flamenco - the great dance of serpent stomping.

This trip was devastating.

There was no way to even make a dent in my family's need. Even though Angelica and Scott were patiently going along with all that this family visit required, I could see that they were being pushed. We rented a car and took an overnight trip to the eastern coast of the island just to take a deep breath. We drove until we found a little hotel beside the beach in the town of Patillas. As we walked beside the road toward the hotel I was delighted to see tamarind pods strewn under our feet, discovering the large trees growing wild by the side of the road overhead. What a happy and simple moment. Finding the tamarind grounded me that day. It reminded me of my roots: that I come from an island of proud but humble people where chaos and pleasure live side by side. It reminded me of childhood, when things were somewhat simpler and the sour and earthy taste of tamarind could shock the senses and provide a temporary reprieve.

I found some fresh tamarind at the Chelsea Market's Manhattan Fruit Exchange this week, and I could not resist bringing some home. Today, I am making some fresh tamarind juice and remembering that day last summer when we sat and stared at the ocean and the horizon line, incredulous, speechless at what was happening around us.

Refresco de Tamarindo (Tamarind Juice)
1 pound fresh tamarind in the pod
4 cups of water
3/4 cup sugar or more, to taste

1. Peel the tamarind and place the flesh (with pits) it in a heavy sauce pan. Add the water and soak for an hour.
2. Use your hands to massage the tamarind and remove as much flesh from the seed as possible.
3. Bring the tamarind mixture to a boil and quickly remove from the heat. Pour through a colander to strain out the seeds and casings.
4. Add sugar to taste and cool the juice down. Enjoy served over ice.

Makes 6 - 8 servings.

Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

Love of bread goes deep in our family. Abuelo Paco, my grandfather, would take daily early morning walks to the Comercio Bakery in Ponce, PR to get a warm loaf of bread, "pan de agua", fresh out of the oven. He would place the fresh, warm loaf in the pit of his arm and hug the bread as he carried it back home. He believed this preserved the heat. At home, Abuela Sara would serve strong cups of instant Taster's Choice coffee with milk that had been scalded and strained. Abuelo Paco would sit at the breakfast table and proceed to remove the soft core of the bread, roll it up into mounds and set them aside on his place mat to be discarded later. He only ate the crust, slathered in butter and dipped in hot coffee. Glistening pools of melted butter would swim around the surface of his coffee cup. There was something so right about this daily breakfast tradition.

Like Abuelo Paco, I walk to bakeries all over the city in search of good bread. I love rustic, brick oven breads with deep dark crusts and chewy insides with air pockets like swiss cheese. When I first learned about the Sullivan Street Bakery (back when the White Lily Tea Room served their semi di sesamo) I took several trips to Sullivan Street just to sample their breads. They make some of the best bread I have tried in the city.

When I read about Jim Lahey's No-Knead method of bread making in this blog and later in an article by Mark Bittman, I was ecstatic and eager to try it out for myself. Jim Lahey teaches his No-Knead method of bread making at the Sullivan Street Bakery and has posted the recipe on his website.

Since early spring I have been experimenting with the recipe. The results are an airy loaf with a well developed flavor and a crusty dark crust, wonderful every time. The trick is using a heavy pot like a cast iron dutch oven or a heavy clay pot with a lid. The heavy pot creates an environment that simulates the steam conditions necessary to make a crusty bread. This recipe is a super easy way to make bread and I encourage everyone to try it. Below you will find Jim Lahey's original recipe.

Note: The dough will become temperamental if you rise it in a kitchen with a temperature above the range suggested of 65-72°F. You will need to adjust the rising time or move your dough to a cooler room. During these hot summer months I have been rising the dough in a kitchen of over 85° and not adjusting the rising time and the dough becomes soupy and hard to handle. Even when this happens, though, the results are decent.

Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

Jim Lahey's No-Knead Bread
3 cups (430g) flour
1 1/2 cups (345g or 12oz) water
1/4 teaspoon (1g) yeast
1 1/4 teaspoon (8g) salt
olive oil (for coating)
extra flour, wheat bran, or cornmeal (for dusting)
Equipment:
Two medium mixing bowls
6 to 8 quart pot with lid (Pyrex glass, Le Creuset cast iron, or ceramic)
Wooden Spoon or spatula (optional)
Plastic wrap
Two or three cotton dish towels (not terrycloth)

1. Mix all of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add water and incorporate by hand or with a wooden spoon or spatula for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Lightly coat the inside of a second medium bowl with olive oil and place the dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest 12 hours at room temperature (approx. 65-72°F).

2. Remove the dough from the bowl and fold once or twice. Let the dough rest 15 minutes in the bowl or on the work surface. next, shape the dough into ball. Generously coat a cotton towel with flour, wheat bran, or cornmeal; place the dough seam side down on the towel and dust with flour. Cover the dough with a cotton towel and let rise 1-2 hours at room temperature, until more than doubled in size.

3. Preheat oven to 450-500°F. Place the pot in the oven at least 30 minutes prior to baking to preheat. Once the dough has more than doubled in volume, remove the pot from the oven and place the dough in the pot seam side up. Cover with the lid and bake 30 minutes Then remove the lid and bake 15-30 minutes uncovered, until the loaf is nicely browned.

Makes 1 round loaf.

Plate by Jim Shack. Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

Crisp air, epic sunlight and shorter days mark the Fall. Time to return to the earth and the warmth of home. Time for crisp fresh apples and juicy pears. Time to plan those visit to the farmers markets for warm apple cider, freshly fried doughnuts and pumpkin picking.

Bartlett pears are now in season and this week we've been working our way through a large bowl full of them. Earlier this week I made an easy pear tart that I will share with you in the coming days. Today I am making spiced pear butter with the rest. The methods I used are very similar to Grandma Zona's Apple Butter recipe. Making pear butter is a great way to preserve ripe leftover pears that you do not want to let go to waste. It's fantastic on bread or yogurt and can be enjoyed throughout the winter months.

Spiced Pear Butter
8 ripe Bartlett pears, quartered
1/4 cup water
4 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup sugar
2 sticks of cinnamon
2 slices of fresh ginger about 1/8" thick
12 whole cloves

1. Make pear sauce: Place quartered pears and water in a large heavy saucepan. Cover and bring to a slow simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat and pour the pear and liquid into a large strainer. Strain the pulp and discard the seeds and skin.

2. Return the pear sauce to the large heavy saucepan. Add sugar and spices. Bring to a slow simmer for 3 hrs or until the pear sauce has reduced to about half in volume. Remove from heat. Can the pear butter and let sit overnight at room temperature. Keep in a cool place for up to 3 months or refrigerate for up to 6 months.

Makes 5 cups.

Plate and bowl by Jim Shack. Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

Making sorullitos de maiz takes me back to childhood, standing around Abuela Sara's clean and ample kitchen with my favorite aunt Titi Sara. Titi would paint my nails, comb my hair, talk and play with me and she taught me how to make sorullitos. These simple Puerto Rican corn fritters made with cooked cornmeal and cheese are still a point of connection to my family that I hold dear. Such simple activities meant so much to me as a growing child.

Titi Sara would cook the dough and then ask me to help roll them into little logs that looked like fingers. She taught me how to take a little mound of hot dough in my hands and to roll it quickly between both hands so that the dough did not burn. We would hover around the kitchen counter rolling a stack of sorullitos and talking. Once the sorullitos where rolled, Abuela Sara would drop them into hot oil to fry. We enjoyed them immediately after frying on a napkin-lined plate with a pink dipping sauce made of ketchup and mayonnaise.

Sorullitos de maiz are a simple but versatile appetizer. The process and ingredients are somewhat similar to those of making polenta. You can add herbs, spices or garlic to the dough. I have also experimented with many different types of cheeses and have found that sharp, dry cheeses like parmesan, romano or manchego are a wonderful substitute to the traditional gouda. Sharp cheddar and edam are good substitutes too. A finer grain of cornmeal works best for this recipe. Avoid using white cornmeal flour or coarse cornmeal as they do not yield the right consistency of dough. This recipe for sorullitos de maiz comes from Carmen Aboy Valldejuli's Cocina Criolla (translated into English as "Puerto Rican Cookery").

You can make the sorullitos up to step 2 ahead of time and freeze the rolled sorullitos. When you are ready to fry them, simply remove them from the freezer and drop the frozen sorullitos into the hot oil.

Sorullitos de Maiz Corn Fritters
2 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup corn meal
1 cup gouda cheese, shredded
canola oil, enough to fill a frying pan to a 1" depth
secret dipping sauce

1. In a medium sauce pan, bring water and salt to a boil. Remove from heat. While vigorously stirring with a wooden spoon, gradually add the cornmeal. Continue stirring until the mixture comes apart from the sides and bottom of the pan. Add the shredded cheese and stir until well incorporated.

2. Roll the sorullitos, by taking a little mound of hot dough in your hands (about 1 tablespoon) and quickly rolling it into a ball. Using both hands roll the ball into a stick about 2 1/2 inches in length. Working quickly, roll the rest of the sorullitos.

3. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat to about 375° F (the oil will be hot enough when a drop of water crackles on contact with the hot oil). Fry the sorullitos until golden, turning as needed. Remove from the oil and drain on a paper towel.

4. Serve the corn fritters hot or at room temperature with the sauce.

Makes approximately 50 sorullitos.

Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

Camping would not be complete without this simple and gooey dessert we so lovingly call s'more. The whole experience of making s'mores is enjoyable: you sit around a campfire and watch the flames kiss and burn the pillowy sweet marshmallows at the end of your stick and when the marshmallow is golden and just about to melt right off the stick you make a marshmallow and chocolate graham cracker sandwich. Yum!

Scott, Angelica and I enjoyed this all-American campfire treat this Fall during our stay at the Green Mountain Club Wheeler Pond Cabin in northeastern Vermont. We needed a little Fall escape and this long weekend trip was just the cure from stressful New York City living.

The rustic cabin faces Wheeler Pond and is surrounded by mountains covered in colorful fall foliage. We packed in our provisions which included an assortment of freshly made marshmallows (vanilla bean, cinnamon, raspberry and rosemary) from Three Tarts , some Hershey chocolate bars and graham crackers. Scott started a fire and found a perfect stick for marshmallow roasting. We all sat around the fire and proceeded to have a s'more feast. It's one of those treats you can't help yourself around. We were giddy, oooohing and aaahing, licking our fingers and giggling like kids.

Three Tarts marshmallows are absolutely delightful in s'mores, as you can see from Angelica's face in the photo, below. Sandra and Kiyomi, pastry chefs at Three Tarts, make the marshmallows fresh daily and use fresh herbs, spices and fruit pulp to create their incredibly intense and wonderful marshmallows.

Our long weekend in Vermont seemed longer thanks to the quiet serenity of the cabin and the abundance of fresh crisp air. As we drove away from the cabin toward Burlington, we tuned the radio to NPR and heard news that the stock market had fallen nearly 800 points in one day. An uncertain reality to come off of our s'more and fresh air high.

Read a little more about our trip here. And learn more about s'mores here.

Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

S'mores
marshmallows
Hershey chocolate bar
graham crackers

1. Arrange two squares of graham cracker on top of a piece of foil (enough to cover the s'more). Place a piece of chocolate on one cracker.
2. Roast the marshmallows by placing one in a skewer and gently rotating it over an open flame (a campfire, grill, stove top flame or even electric range will do just fine).
3. When the marshmallow is golden and soft on the inside, remove it from the flames and place it on the chocolate cracker. Top it with the second cracker and cover the sandwich in foil. Place it over embers or grill (or in the oven if you are using your stove) to melt the chocolate and warm the crackers, watching for it not to burn. Remove, unwrap and serve hot.

Plates by Roger Baumann and Jim Shack. Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

Let me tell you about Puerto Rican dulce de leche. This is not the creamy, spreadable South American dulce de leche that you might be familiar with. This is a sweet and tangy dessert of curdled milk and lime served in a syrup. Whole milk is first curdled by adding lime juice and then slow cooked with sugar and lime rind to create a wonderful confection.

I have to be honest, this dessert is not for everyone. When I make it at home, Scott and Angelica leave the house right away. The acidic scent of cooking soured milk drives them away. But don't be discouraged and try it. It's a wonderful treat and a great use for outdated, soured milk.

Enjoying dulce de leche in Abuela Sara's kitchen was a highlight of my weekend visits. She would serve it in tiny little bowls. Those little bowls of dulce de leche were like little bowls full of her love: sweet and tangy. I have great respect for my grandmother. She calls it like it is and is not afraid of showing you her middle finger if that will get her point across. Despite her frank and direct demeanor, she manages to remain poised and ladylike in her presence. She's strong and at 88 years old still a very vital woman.

This recipe is an adaptation of the original recipe from Carmen Aboy Valldejuli's Juntos en la Cocina. Good Puerto Rican dulce de leche will have large curds. The trick is not to disturb the milk by stirring when curdling and cooking. You can use outdated or soured milk instead of fresh milk called for in this recipe.

Dulce de Leche Puertorriqueño
1 liter of whole milk
2 tablespoons lime or limón verde juice
the zest of one lime removed with a knife
2 cups sugar

1. In a large pot, bring the milk to a boil over high heat. As soon as the milk begins to boil, remove it from the heat and add the lime juice and zest. Gently stir only once with a wooden spoon. Do not mix or stir too much to allow the milk to curdle into large curds.

2. Return the curdled milk to the stove and bring to boil over high heat. As soon as the milk begins to boil distribute the sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, without stirring.

3. Simmer over moderate heat for one hour. Do not stir the mixture while cooking. Occasionally run a wooden spoon along the edges of the pan to dislodge any milk solids. Remove from heat and let cool for 15 minutes. Pour the candy onto a platter or shallow bowl and rest until completely cooled. Refrigerate until serving. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Makes 4 cups or eight servings.

Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

It's pumpkin time! My favorite time of the year. Pumpkin is the perfect fall vegetable. Delicious and versatile it lends itself to many applications in anything from breakfast to dessert.

I love to sneak pumpkin into my dishes whenever I can, especially in the fall. Sunday morning I made a batch of pumpkin scones that I wanted to share with you. They are moist, light, with a touch of spice and sweetness. Serve them with a little butter and dark maple syrup.

When you make these, keep in mind that this particular recipe will yield a very wet dough that will likely stick to your hands. Don't get frustrated, the results are worth the mess! If you are new to making scones, take a look at these scone baking tips.

Also, if you love pumpkin as much as I do, try these pumpkin muffins.

Spiced Pumpkin Scones
2 cups flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground clove
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon turbinado sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 450°. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, pumpkin, egg, vanilla extract, and spices. Stir the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture with a few swift strokes until a loose wet dough forms.
2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and gather the dough into a ball. Gently press the dough into a ¾ inch thick disk.
3. Sprinkle the disk with turbinado sugar and cinnamon. Using a knife, cut the disk into 8 wedges.
4. Arrange the wedges ½ inch apart on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake in the middle rack of the oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Makes 8 scones.

Plate by Scott Bartolomei Edmonds. Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

Personal chef and colleague, Peter, is probably up late tonight making a gorgeous thousand layered crêpe cake. He saw the cake in the latest Dean and Deluca catalog and, despite the fact that he is halfway through his fruit-only detox, he will be making this cake tonight.

I have to thank Peter for inspiring me to make this dish. When I told him I had some leftover buckwheat to experiment with, he suggested I make a stuffed chicken breast. "It's easy!" he said. I was skeptical about how easy it would really be, but his enthusiasm inspired me to try it anyway.

To make the stuffing I started with day-old cooked buckwheat groats (also known as kasha). To that, I added some onions, finely diced carrots, roasted almonds, fresh thyme, fresh Italian parsley and some finely chopped orange rind. Then, I sliced the chicken breasts, stuffed them, and browned them in a skillet. These were finished in the oven in a parchment paper pouch with oranges and wine.

As complicated as stuffed chicken sounds, I have to say it is a moderately easy meal to make. I encourage you to try it. Give yourself about 45 minutes to prepare it. It's also a good idea to cook the buckwheat groats the day before. Fresh cooked buckwheat tends to be on the delicate side and you risk mushy stuffing if using it straight from the pot.

Herbed Buckwheat Stuffed Citrus Chicken
1 1/2 cup cooked buckwheat groats (kasha)
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup onion, diced
1 carrot, finely diced
1/4 cup toasted almonds
2 teaspoons thyme, stems removed plus 4 sprigs
1/2 teaspoon orange rind
1 tablespoon Italian parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons Canola oil
4 chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
1 orange, thinly sliced
1/2 cup white wine
salt and pepper to taste

1. Melt butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat and add onion, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add carrot, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Stir in cooked buckwheat, almond, orange rind and thyme to warm. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 425°F. Place a 15" long sheet of parchment paper in a 9" x 13" roasting pan to create a shallow bowl. Set aside along with a second 15" sheet of parchment paper and some kitchen string.

3. Pat chicken dry and arrange, skinned sides down, on a work surface. Cut a pocket in each breast by slicing the breast horizontally, stopping about 1 inch from opposite end. Open the breast to create a pocket. Pack one quarter of the stuffing into each pocket. Use a toothpick to seal the opening.

4. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat. Brown chicken in 2 batches, about 2 minutes on each side, transferring to the parchment paper in the small roasting pan as browned.

5. Add the wine and arrange orange slices and a thyme sprig on each chicken breast. Place the second sheet of parchment paper over the chicken and fold the long edges of parchment paper together to seal the sides. Gather a short end and tie with kitchen string, repeat with the other end. Make sure that the juices will not seep through the seams in your parchment pouch. Place chicken in the middle of the oven and roast for 15 minutes.

6. Let chicken stand for 5 minutes in the pouch, then carefully open the pouch and remove each breast. Slice and serve.

Makes 4 servings.

Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

These are a favorite holiday cookie in our household, so well liked that, when I make them, Angelica spontaneously gives me a hug. Not that I bake to win people's affection, but getting a spontaneous hug from my teenage daughter is all the encouragement I need to make these cookies.

Chocolate ginger crackles are little mounds of moist chocolate cookie studded with bittersweet chocolate chips and candied ginger pieces and covered in powdered sugar. They are delightfully easy to make. The dough can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for a few days until ready to bake. They can be stored in an airtight container for up to three days.

This recipe first appeared in Food and Wine magazine, October 1997.

Chocolate Ginger Crackles
1 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
2 large eggs
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup minced candied ginger
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

1. In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the granulated sugar with the butter. Mix in the eggs, then add the cocoa and vanilla; beat at medium speed until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the bowl and add the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix the dough for 2 minutes. Stir in the chocolate chips and ginger. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

2. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or foil. Form the dough into 1 inch balls and coat them generously with the confectioner's sugar. Arrange the balls 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until the tops look cracked. Transfer to wire racks to cool.
You can store these in an airtight container for up to three days.

Makes 30 cookies.

Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

A Puerto Rican Christmas is all about families and friends gathering to dance, drink and eat. At the center of all Puerto Rican holiday festivities is coquito. This silky, sweet, coconut milk-based drink spiked with rum and spices is Puerto Rico at it's best.

Coquito is often referred to as the "Puerto Rican eggnog" even though the traditional drink contains no eggs at all. Each family has their own version of coquito. Most versions use some proportion of coconut milk, cream of coconut (Coco Lopez), sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and rum.

If you do an online search for coquito you will find an abundance of recipes that all call for egg yolks. If you are looking for a traditional Puerto Rican recipe, then stay away from these egg yolk recipes.

The recipe I share with you today is my grandfather Pito's recipe. It's the best coquito recipe I've tried. It's Pito's twist on the traditional coquito recipe by adding salt and lime rind and omitting the sweetened condensed milk to cut back on the sweetness.

Coquito is best served as an after dinner drink. Keep it refrigerated in a glass bottle and serve it very cold in small sherry glasses with extra ground nutmeg. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to a month.

For a non-alcoholic coquito, Pito suggests substituting the rum for some tropical fruit juice such as pineapple or guava. Simply holding back on the rum also makes a great non-alcoholic coquito. As a child I remember sticking around the kitchen so I could taste the coquito before they added rum and it is simply delicious.

For another Puerto Rican holiday recipe, check out Pito's pernil roasted pork recipe.

Feliz Navidad to all!

Pito's Coquito
1 can cream of coconut
6 ounces coconut milk
2 12 ounce cans evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon lime (limón) rind
1 pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
2 cinnamon sticks, broken into smaller pieces
2 cups Bacardi rum

1. Mix all ingredients (excluding the rum) in a large bowl. Add rum to taste.

2. Transfer the mixture to a glass bottle and refrigerate for 24 hours to allow the flavors to develop. Serve chilled in small sherry glasses and garnish with fresh ground nutmeg.

Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

If you are planning a Three Kings Day party to mark the end of the holiday season, try this savory appetizer. Chicken escabeche (pollo en escabeche) is delicious, easy to make and can be prepared days ahead of a party.

Escabeche refers to a marinade of fragrant olive oil, vinegar (or citrus), onions, garlic, black peppercorns and bay leaves. It originates from Spain and can be found throughout Latin America. There are many different applications of the escabeche marinade. You can use escabeche to poach fish, seafood or chicken for juicy entrées. Another application is to add the prepared escabeche marinade to cooked starchy vegetables like yuca and green bananas to make a savory side dish like yuca escabeche (yuca en escabeche) or green banana escabeche (guineos verdes en escabeche - a personal favorite). Most escabeche recipes are best served after marinading for a day and served at room temperature.

The recipe I share with you today is for a chicken escabeche appetizer. You will poach chicken breasts in the escabeche marinade, then shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces to serve on crackers. It's a perfect party appetizer as you can prepare it a day or two ahead. Serve the escabeche at room temperature with a simple cracker. My favorite cracker to serve it with is the most humble saltine cracker. It's also great with matzos or cracked wheat crackers. Try it, your guests will love chicken escabeche.

Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

Chicken Escabeche Appetizer (Pollo en Escabeche)
2 boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 large onions, sliced across into thin rounds
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt

1. Heat olive oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until it simmers. Add the chicken, bay leaves, peppercorns and salt. Top with the sliced onions, garlic and white vinegar. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

2. Remove the chicken breasts and cook the escabeche marinade in low heat until the onions are clear (don't allow the onions to caramelize). Use two forks to shred the chicken into bite size pieces and return the shredded chicken to the escabeche marinade.

3. Transfer the chicken escabeche to a glass container and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for 24 hours to allow the flavors to develop. Serve at room temperature with your choice of crackers.

Makes 4 cups of escabeche.

Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

This winter we traveled to Colorado and Wyoming to visit our family. During our visit we were treated to a truly special breakfast with a New York twist: homemade bagels. Our nephew and young chef, Keith, woke up early in the morning and, with his dad's help, prepared us the best homemade bagels we had ever had. We enjoyed an assortment of warm bagels right out of the oven, including asiago cheese, everything, garlic, salt, sesame, poppy seed and chocolate chip. Sharing this breakfast with our talented nephew was one of the highlights of a restful and healing vacation.

Keith uses Emeril Lagasse's Homemade Bagel recipe. The bagels are soft and chewy on the inside and crusty on the outside. Our nine year old nephew impressed us with these fantastic homemade bagels and inspired me to try to make these at home.
According to Keith, they are time consuming, but easy to make.

Emeril's Homemade Bagels
2 cups warm water, about 110 degrees F
2 (1/4-ounce) packets active dry yeast
3 tablespoons granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
5 to 6 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
Optional Toppings:
1/2 cup lightly toasted chopped onions (2 teaspoons each)
2 tablespoons poppy seeds (about 1/2 teaspoon each)
2 tablespoons sesame seeds (about 1/2 teaspoon each)
1 tablespoon kosher salt (about 1/4 teaspoon each)

1. Combine the water, yeast, and 3 tablespoons of the sugar in the bowl of an upright mixer fitted with a dough hook. Stir and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Gradually add 4 cups of the flour and the salt, and mix until the mixture comes together.

2. Add 1 to 1 1/2 cups additional flour 1/2 cup at a time to make a stiff dough, either stirring with the wooden spoon or working with your hands. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and no longer sticky, about 5 minutes, adding just as much flour as needed. (Dough should be heavier and stiffer than regular yeast bread dough.)

3. Grease a large bowl with 1 teaspoon of the oil. Place the dough in the bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until almost doubled, about 1 hour.

4. Remove from the bowl and punch down the dough. Divide into 12 equal pieces, about 2 to 3 ounces each, measuring about 4 inches across. Form each piece of dough into a ball. Roll each ball into a 4 to 6-inch log. Join the ends and place fingers through the hole and roll the ends together. Repeat with the remaining dough. Place on a lightly greased surface, cover with a clean cloth, and let rest until risen but not doubled in a draft-free spot, 20 to 30 minutes.

5. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet with the remaining teaspoon of oil.

6. In a large, heavy pot, bring 12 cups of water and the remaining tablespoon of sugar to a boil. In batches, add the bagels to the water and boil, turning, for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Flip bagels onto the prepared sheet pan. Bake for 5 minutes, turn over and cook for another 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

Makes 12 bagels

Plate by Roger Baumann. Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

These wholesome bars have been a favorite in our home for the past fifteen years. Crispy brown rice treats are a healthier version of the Rice Krispies Treats you might have grown up with. We got rid of the marshmallow and butter and replaced it with toasted almond butter and the gentle sweetness of brown rice syrup. For fun, we've also added some carob chips. These bars are well balanced and lightly sweet, making them a healthy snack any time of the day. What's best is that they are super easy to make.

Crispy Brown Rice Treats
1/2 cup brown rice syrup*
1/2 cup almond butter*
2 cups crispy brown rice*
1 cup carob chips (optional)*
1 teaspoon vanilla
oil for greasing

1. Oil a 9" x 13" pan and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the brown rice syrup, almond butter and vanilla. Add the Rice Crispies and carob chips and fold into the brown rice syrup mixture.

2. Pour the rice crispy mixture into the oiled pan . Rub a little oil in your hands and press down firmly to flatten the mixture. Cut into 1.5" squares and enjoy.

Makes 48 bars

*Visit your local health food store for these ingredients.

The Ghirardelli semi-sweet baking chocolate wrapping that this recipe was printed on is completely crusted with dried batter, chocolate prints and a generous dusting of flour. I've kept it in a folder labeled "cakes" that is stuffed full of great recipes, but nine out of ten times when I want to make a chocolate cake, this is the recipe I reach for. It is the best chocolate cake recipe, period. It's rich yet super moist and light with just the right amount of chocolate and not too sweet. I have made it many times with very stable and delicious results, even at high altitude in Montana.

This chocolate cake is heavenly on its own and needs no frosting. I enjoy it most with a light dusting of confectioner's sugar. If you are making a birthday cake, consider frosting it with a good buttercream frosting. Or, what about filling it with raspberry preserves and frosting it with chocolate ganache for Valentine's day?

The secret to this cake is whipping the egg whites to stiff peaks and folding them into the batter just before baking. The egg whites create air pockets that are going to make this cake light and delicious. This video from epicurious.com has some good tips on beating the egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold the egg whites in two installments is key. Chef John Mitzewich demonstrates proper folding techniques in this video.

The Best Chocolate Cake
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup water
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
4 large eggs at room temperature, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups unsifted flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk or strong cold coffee
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Line three 8" or 9" round cake pans with parchment paper, set aside. Chop the chocolate and place in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Add the water and stir until melted. Set aside until cooled to room temperature. Cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating after each addition. Mix in the melted chocolate and vanilla.

2. Sift flour with soda. Add dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk or coffee to the chocolate mixture. Mix until smooth.

3. Beat egg whites with salt until stiff peaks form. Fold one third of the egg whites into chocolate batter until well incorporated. Fold in the rest of the egg whites until well incorporated.

4. Spread into the prepared round cake pans. Bake at 350° F for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on rack for ten minutes. Remove cake to cool completely.

Makes 3 cakes or one triple layered cake

Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

The simple things made the biggest impression. After my parents divorced, my mom and I lived with my grandparents, Pito and Mima. Their kitchen was at the center of many a childhood experience. As I searched for memories of my mom on this Mother's Day morning, I was reminded of a particularly sweet and fleeting moment.

I walked into Mima's kitchen and Ma had been cooking. I don't remember what she was cooking, but she walked toward me with a little white CorningWare bowl, a spoon and a smile. Her eyes were beaming as she handed me a spoon and offered me a taste. Delicious! A burst of pure happiness that starts at the tongue and then spreads to every part of you. This delightful treat was simply made with leftover raw egg yolks sweetened with sugar, but to me that treat was a pure infusion of my mother's love.

These simple moments are the ones I treasure most. These memories are the ones that remind me most what mother's love feels like: spending a minute or two together, sharing something sweet and discovering something simple and new. For these little moments I am so grateful.

Happy Mother's Day, Ma.

If you find yourself making meringue or have a few leftover egg yolks, try this simple treat.

Sweet Egg Yolks
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon sugar

1. In a small bowl beat the egg yolk and sugar until the mixture becomes light yellow and creamy.

Anagama woodfired plate by Roger Baumann. Photo by Scott Bartolomei Edmonds.

This pumpkin cheesecake has been a family favorite for years. The crust has a gingery gooey bite, the pumpkin cheesecake filling is perfectly balanced and not too sweet and then it's topped with a slightly sweet and tangy sour cream topping. It's the kind of treat that makes you glad you saved a little bit of room for dessert.

If you want to make this cheesecake, I would recommend making it a day in advance as it tastes better over time and you will not want it competing with your turkey and other fixings for oven space the day of the event.

The recipe was originally published by Food & Wine Magazine many years ago in their Thanksgiving dessert feature. Thankfully, I had clipped this recipe as it seems that it is not available at foodandwine.com.

And on a personal note: I am so grateful to our friends who have supported and encouraged me to keep writing during this challenging year. Thank you friends, and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Pumpkin Cheesecake

2 cups gingersnap crumb (from about 1/2 pound cookies)
1/3 cup melted unsalted butter
3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 cups sour cream, at room temperature

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 1/2 or 10 inch springform pan and coat lightly with flour. In a medium bowl, toss the gingersnap crumbs with the melted butter until evenly moistened. Press the crumbs into the bottom and 1 inch up the side of the prepared pan. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until the crust begins to color. Let the crust cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Beat in 3/4 cup of the granulated sugar and the brown sugar, then beat in the eggs in 3 additions until the mixture is thoroughly combined, scraping down the side of the bowl occasionally.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the pumpkin puree and heavy cream with 1 teaspoon of the vanilla and the cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Add to the cream cheese mixture and beat until combined, scraping the bowl a few times.

4. Wrap foil loosely around the bottom and up the side of the springform pan. Pour the cheesecake batter into the prepared pan and set it in a large baking dish or roasting pan. Place in the middle of the oven and pour 1 inch of hot water into the baking dish. Bake the cheesecake for about 70 minutes, or until the edges are firm and the center of the cheesecake is still slightly shaky.

5. In a small bowl, combine the sour cream with the remaining 1/4 cup of granulated sugar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla. Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and pour on the sour cream topping. Gently tap the pan to spread the topping, and continue baking the cheesecake for 10 more minutes.

6. Transfer the cheesecake to a rack and let cool for 1 hour. Remove the foil and the side of the pan and refrigerate the cheesecake for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Makes 16 servings.

The day after Thanksgiving marks the beginning of leftover turkey dishes. From pot pies and turkey sandwiches to turkey soup - by the end of this weekend we will have had our fill of roasted turkey for the year.

This recipe is my offering to this post-Thanksgiving tradition of leftover turkey preparation: turkey empanadillas (empanadillas de pavo). It's a savory Latin dish that gives turkey leftovers a Puerto Rican twist. Turkey empanadillas are half moon pastry pockets that are stuffed with a savory filling of shredded turkey, olives, raisins and cilantro. Unlike their fried cousins traditionally sold in cuchifrito stands around the island, these pastry pockets are baked.

Making the empanadilla pastry from scratch yields the best results, but if you are as tired as I am after days of preparation and cooking for the Thanksgiving feast, then use frozen empanadilla pastry disks from your local grocer.

If you like this empanadilla recipe, you may also like baked beef empanadillas.

Turkey Empanadillas (Empanadillas de Pavo)
2 cups cooked turkey meat, shredded
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 medium onion, diced
1/4 green bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup turkey broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 packet Sazón annatto seasoning
1/4 cup sliced pimento-stuffed green olives
1/4 cup chopped raisins
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
salt to taste
12 empanadilla pastry disks, thawed (pre-made or homemade)
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup oil

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In a medium heavy skillet over medium heat, heat the oil, then add the onion and cook until they begin getting glassy. Add the bell pepper and garlic and cook until fragrant. Do not allow them to brown.

3. Add the cumin and allspice and stir until well incorporated. Add the tomato sauce, broth, annatto seasoning and raisins and bring to a simmer. Add the shredded turkey and continue cooking until all the liquids have been incorporated into the mixture. Turn the heat off and add the olives, cilantro and season to taste. Set aside to cool.

4. Prepare your work surface to assemble the empanadillas by having the following handy: empanadilla pastry disks, baking sheet, fork, bowl of water, and the cooled filling.

5. Place a disk on your work surface and add 2 to 3 tablespoons filling. Moisten edges of disk with water and fold over to form a semicircle. Crimp the edge with a fork, turn over and crimp the edges with a fork again. Set the empanadilla in the cookie sheet and repeat.

6. Brush the empanadillas with oil and bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

Makes 12 empanadillas.

This beautiful little plate was made by Roger Baumann and the white sauce dish was made by Jim Shack. Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

Tostones and a good plate of white rice and pink beans made by my grandma is what I call home. This side dish of twice fried plantains is as ordinary in a Puerto Rican household as french fries are here in the U.S., but I have to say that in my food memory, tostones are a delicacy, especially the way my grandma makes them.

On our last visit to Puerto Rico I asked my grandma, Mima, to teach Angelica and I to make tostones her way. She's shown me how to make them a dozen times and I've watched her and helped her make them them since I was a little girl, but I still can't manage to get them quite right. Mima's tostones are soft on the inside and crusty on the outside with a salty crispy edge that makes them just perfect. Her secret is dipping them in salty water after they have been smashed flat.

Fried green plantains can be served as a side to almost any Latin meal. They are a wonderful side to soak up the savory juices of a flavorful asopao de pollo (Puerto Rican chicken stew). I especially love them served alongside a juicy bistek encebollado (steaks cooked in onions) or pernil (roasted pork). Tostones also make an interesting appetizer served with guacamole or stuffed with savory stewed seafood or ceviche.

A note about plantains: Plantains are a larger, starchier version of the banana and are usually sold by the piece. Grocery stores and most Latin markets will carry green plantains and ripe plantains. For tostones, pick plantains that are green or green with a hint of yellow. I prefer a plantain that is green with a hint of yellow as they will have just a hint of sweetness that is such a nice compliment to the salty exterior. Avoid using yellow plantains for this dish as a ripe plantain contains too much sugar and will burn in the first frying.

Tostones Fried Green Plantains
3 green plantains
2 cups warm water
2 teaspoons salt
canola oil for deep frying

1. Cut each plantain at either end and score them lengthwise three or four times by running your knife from one end of the plantain to the other to make a shallow line, deep enough to cut through the skin. Use your fingers to pry the hard skin from the plantain and peel. In a small bowl mix some warm water with enough salt to make the water salty, set aside.

2. Pour enough canola oil into a deep cast iron pot to make a 1" deep pool. Heat the oil over medium heat until just a few drops of water sprinkled over the oil start crackling.

3. Slice the peeled green plantains on a slight diagonal into six even pieces. Arrange the plantain pieces in the hot oil (the oil should cover the pieces) and fry in batches until the plantain pieces are cooked. The pieces are cooked when they yield softly to a fork inserted into the plantain. Transfer the cooked pieces to a plate covered with paper towels to absorb the excess oil.

4. Now proceed to smash the cooked plantain pieces into 1/4 inch thick wheels. Some people like to use a tostonera for this task, but I find that the flat end of a glass or bowl works just as well to flatten the tostón against your cutting board. As soon as you smash them, place them in salty water for about a half a minute to allow them to soak some of the liquid. Remove them from the salty water and pat them dry with a paper towel and immediately place them in the hot oil to fry. Please be careful as plantains with excess water might splatter.

5. Fry the tostones in batches and remove from the hot oil once crispy and golden yellow. Remove and drain once again in a plate with paper towel. Serve the tostones right away while still piping hot.

Makes 18 tostones.

Plate and bowl by Jim Shack. Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

This simple Puerto Rican dipping sauce is traditionally served with fritters like tostones fried green plantains or sorullitos de maiz corn fritters.

Why do I call it "The Secret Dipping Sauce"? Well, many years ago I was serving tostones and, to Scott's disappointment, I didn't serve it with the sauce. Not knowing the name of the sauce, he asked for "the secret sauce" and the name stuck.

The dipping sauce is so simple that I'm not sure there is an actual name for it. In Puerto Rico we might just call it salsita (sauce). It's a basic sauce of mayonnaise and ketchup, you can vary the proportions to taste. I always like it with a few shakes of Tabasco sauce and garnished with a sprinkling of paprika, but you can play with the basic ingredients and make your own variation.

Secret Dipping Sauce
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons ketchup
Tabasco sauce or 1/4 teaspoon finely minced garlic (optional)

1. Make the sauce by stirring the mayonnaise and ketchup until combined. Add optional Tabasco or minced garlic to taste. Serve cold.

Rustic woodfired spoon by Jim Shack. Plate by Roger Baumann. Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

I want to start this decade by sharing with you a very simple but deliciously comforting recipe from the heart of Puerto Rico: Coconut Rice Pudding (Arroz con Coco). This humble dessert of rice, coconut milk and spices is traditionally made in Puerto Rican households throughout the Christmas season. Big batches of it are made, poured into plates, sprinkled with cinnamon and then shared with neighbors and loved ones.

For such a simple dessert with few ingredients, it is surprising how many variations you will find in Puerto Rico. Every family has their own way of making it. Some families like it sweeter, some like to garnish it with cinnamon while others with cracker crumbs, some like to add fresh grated coconut and some use whole spices while others use ground spices. In my grandparent's home, as Mima gratefully accepted her neighbors' and friends' arroz con coco, the tasting would begin. Pito, always the food critic, would comment on the neighbor's interpretation of the dessert: "too much cinnamon" or "too much sugar" or "this one is too bland, it needs more ginger" or "que rico" when he liked one in particular. Pito developed his own version of arroz con coco. He prefers it with lots of fresh ginger and adds molasses. The recipe I share with you today is my version of Pito's arroz con coco, I love the use of fresh ginger in his recipe, but have omitted the molasses.

A bite of this creamy, spicy desert is like taking a bite of Puerto Rico itself. Its simple, comforting, and surprisingly festive and delicious. I encourage you to try this easy recipe, make it your own and share with your family and friends.

Arroz con Coco (Puerto Rican Coconut Rice Pudding)
1 cup short grain rice
13 1/2 ounces coconut milk
5 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 ounces fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into 1/8" rounds
6 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 ounce fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated

1. In a heavy 4 to 6 quart pan, combine the rice, coconut milk, water, salt, sliced ginger, cinnamon and cloves. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce it to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. After around 20 minutes of simmering, when the mixture is still loose and creamy, begin to remove the sliced ginger, cinnamon and cloves. Continue simmering until the rice is done (about 30 minutes) and the mixture resembles a thin custard.

2. Add the brown sugar, raisins and finely grated fresh ginger and stir to incorporate. Remove the mixture from the heat and pour into two slightly wet dinner plates. Garnish with the reserved cinnamon sticks and allow it to set for two hours. Slice and serve at room temperature.

Makes 8 servings.

Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

Ever since Jacques Torres opened up a little shop at the Chelsea Market I seem to be finding many excuses to go to the Chelsea Market. The other day it was cold so I stopped at the market to warm up. I just happened to enter by the side entrance on 15th Street that gave me direct access to Jacques Torres and I thought "what better way to warm up than a hot chocolate?" So I ordered one, and since I was already there, I said "I might as well take one chocolate chip cookie to go!"

The chocolate chip cookies at Jacques Torres are decadent and chewy with layers of bittersweet chocolate that are held together by a sweet but sparse dough. They beat the almost perfect City Bakery / Birdbath chocolate chip cookies, which have been at the top of my chocolate chip cookie list for many years.

I love a homemade chocolate chip cookie. The recipe in the back of the Nestle Toll House chocolate chip package has been loved by many, including me, and has been my preferred recipe for many years. These are delicious right out of the oven, but this recipe usually falls short after the cookies have cooled down. And after you've tried an exceptional chocolate chip cookie like those served at Jacques Torres, you realize that you've been missing out on a truly great chocolate chip cookie recipe.

So I did some research to find a recipe for a chocolate chip cookie that remains rich, buttery and chewy at room temperature and has lots of really great chocolate. I tested a number of recipes like this one that gets it's inspiration in from the City Bakery's chocolate chip cookie. I studied Alton Brown's show on chocolate chip cookies (part 1 and part 2) and tested his chewy variation. These were good, but I was still not satisfied. So I resorted to one of my favorite sources of great dessert recipes on the web, Dorie Greenspan's blog, and found an entry referencing David Leite's New York Times article with his chocolate chip cookie recipe.

The secrets to this recipe are:

• letting the dough stand for 24 to 36 hours


• sprinkling the cookies with coarse salt


• using bittersweet chocolate disks instead of chips

Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Jacques Torres

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content
Sea salt

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.

Yields 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies.

Plate by Roger Baumann. Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

This month's Food and Wine Magazine features Grace Parisi's vegetarian recipe for Winter Vegetable Chili. This vegetarian chili recipe with healthy parsnips, hearty hominy and smoky and spicy chipotle and chile powder is perfect for a cold winter day. It's an easy-to-make recipe and the results are a hearty but light chili that is comforting and healthy. Serve it in a bowl over some steamed brown rice and curl up in your couch to enjoy this excellent vegetarian chili.

Winter Vegetable Chili
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
2 medium garlic cloves, very finely chopped
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 pound parsnips, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 pound carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon chile powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
Salt
1 14-ounce can peeled Italian tomatoes
1 canned chipotle in adobo, plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup canned hominy, drained
1 cup canned red kidney beans, drained
Brown rice, chopped red onions, cilantro, sour cream and tortilla chips or bread toasts, for serving

1. In a medium, heavy enameled cast-iron casserole or Dutch oven, heat the oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook over high heat, stirring, until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add the bell pepper, parsnips and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned in spots, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chile powder and cumin and season with salt. Cook for 1 minute.

2. In a blender, puree the tomatoes and their juices with the chipotle, adobo sauce and water until very smooth. Add the mixture to the casserole along with the hominy and beans and bring to a boil. Cover partially and simmer the chili over moderate heat until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Season with salt. Serve with rice, red onions, cilantro, sour cream and chips.

Makes 4 servings.

Photo from Nordljus.

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and if you are looking to treat your lover to a romantic candlelit dinner, then consider ending the evening with this sexy dessert. It's a chocolate caramel tart conceived by Claudia Fleming, renowned pastry chef and author of the cookbook "The Last Course".

This exceptional tart starts off with the required Valentine's Day ingredients of chocolate and caramel. But the dessert itself is much more than just putting two good things together, this tart is about thoughtfully prepared elements using the best ingredients to bring about an experience of texture, intense taste sensations and visual appeal. A not-so-sweet chocolate crust is the container to a rich, buttery soft caramel which is then topped with a dark chocolate ganache glaze. The tart is garnished with fleur de sel salt that makes a bite of this dessert sing in your mouth. Just imagine this thick, deeply golden flow of caramel flowing from the dark chocolate ganache glaze as your fork sinks into the tart to take your first bite. This tart is unforgettable.

Thinking about the chocolate caramel tart brings back memories of an evening Scott and I shared last year. For his birthday, I treated Scott to an overnight getaway at the Battery Park Ritz Carlton. Our room had a telescope to view the Statue of Liberty and other landmarks along the Hudson River, this appealed to Scott's voyeuristic tendencies. That night we indulged in room service and a bottle of the most excellent Roederer Estate's L'Ermitage cuvée, which we now call 'naughty champaign'. The pleasurable taste of that sparkling wine is like nothing we had ever enjoyed. Something about tasting something that good certainly makes you feel a little naughty. At the end of the meal, I surprised Scott with the chocolate caramel tart topped with a single lit candle and a sprinkling of salt. It was a delightful highlight to a memorable evening in honor of Scott.

The chocolate caramel tart is definitely a special occasion dessert. Give yourself plenty of time to make it as you will need to make it in phases (pastry first, then caramel, then chocolate glaze). Don't skimp on the ingredients - make sure you use a good quality dark chocolate (Valrhona, Callebaut, Scharffen Berger are all wonderful chocolates). The end result will be well worth the effort and your lover might just thank you in more ways than one ;)

Looking for other Valentine's Day treat ideas? Try this Chocolate-Dipped Florentine Shortbread recipe by Pierre Hermé.

Chocolate Caramel Tarts

Chocolate Tart Dough
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp confectioner's sugar
1 large egg yolk
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder

Caramel Filling
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tsp crème fraiche

Chocolate Ganache Glaze
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 1/2 oz extra-bittersweet chocolate, chopped
Pinch of fine sea salt, such as fleur de sel

1. To prepare the tart dough, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and confectioner's sugar until combined, about 1 minute. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder and beat on low speed until just combined. Scrape the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and form it into a disk. Wrap and chill until firm, about 1 hour, or up to 3 days.

2. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, roll the tart dough to an 18 x 12 - inch rectangle, 3/16 inch thick. Using a 2 1/2 inch round cutter, cut out 24 rounds of dough and press them into mini muffin tins or 2-inch tart pans, trimming away any excess dough; prick the dough all over with a fork. Chill the tart shells for 20 minutes.

3. Line the tart shells with foil and fill with dried beans, rice, or pie weights. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and bake for 5 to 10 minutes longer, or until the pastry looks dry and set. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. (The tart shells can be made 8 hours ahead.)

4. To prepare the filling, place 1/2 cup water in a large saucepan. Add the sugar and corn syrup and cook the mixture over medium-high heat, swirling the pan occasionally, until you have a dark amber caramel, about 10 minutes. Carefully whisk in the butter, cream, and crème fraiche (the mixture will hiss and bubble up, so stand back), whisking until smooth. (The caramel can be made up to 5 days ahead and refrigerated.) Divide the caramel among the tart shells while still warm (or reheat the caramel in the microwave or over low heat until it is pourable) and let sit until the caramel is set, at least 45 minutes.

5. To make the ganache glaze, in a saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. Place the chocolate in a bowl. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes, then whisk until smooth. Pour some of the glaze over each of the tarts while still warm. Let the glaze set at room temperature for at least 2 hours before serving. Sprinkle with salt, if desired, just before serving.

Variation
For a large tart, line a 10-inch tart pan with the pastry dough, then prick, weight, and bake as directed, adding 5 to 10 minutes to the baking time. When the tart shell is cool, spoon in the warm caramel filling. Allow the caramel to set before pouring the warm ganache onto the tart.

Woodfired plate by Roger Baumann. Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

The preparation of many dishes that are close to my heart begin with a simple ritual: chop an onion, chop some pepper, mash two garlic cloves, set a handful of washed cilantro aside, heat a little oil in a heavy cast iron pan, add the onions, add the peppers and the garlic and then lovingly stir and watch over this mix until the onions become glossy and the aroma fills the kitchen. The simple preparation of these ingredients is the base to many Puerto Rican dishes and it is called sofrito.

I learned this ritual in my grandmother's kitchen when I was a young girl. When it was time to cook at Mima's house I would grab hold of the pilón (mortar and pestle) to mash the garlic and help her prepare the sofrito. This ritual became second nature and when it was time for me to start cooking, these were the ingredients that I naturally stocked in my kitchen. Back then, my sofrito consisted of these ingredients: a yellow onion, one half a green bell pepper, two cloves of garlic and a handful of fresh chopped cilantro - these were the ingredients that were available in most grocery stores in Montana. This sofrito would flavor anything from arroz con pollo (chicken and rice) and empanadilla filling to habichuelas guisadas (stewed pink beans).

It has always been my belief that rice and beans is the measure of a Puerto Rican cook and in my family, Mima has always won the 'best beans award'. For over fifteen years, I have been trying to make Mima's beans but was never quite satisfied with the results - my beans were good, but were definitely missing that Mima quality. So, last year when Angelica and I visited my grandparents, I asked Mima to please show us exactly how she made her beans. I took notes.

What I learned was that the secret to Mima's beans is her sofrito. She uses fresh local ingredients which include: yellow onion, pimiento del pais (green cubanelle pepper), ají dulce (small sweet peppers), garlic, culantro (also known in Puerto Rico as recao) and cilantro. The flavors of the local peppers and herbs, especially that of the ají dulces and the culantro really give the sofrito that "grandma's garden" taste that I was missing by using bell peppers.

Although sometimes hard to find, cubanelle peppers, ají dulce and culantro can be found in some latin markets. In New York City you can usually find these ingredients in any grocery store in Spanish Harlem or at the Essex Market in the Lower East Side, which has a great selection of fresh latin ingredients. Now anytime I want to make rice and beans, I make a special trip just to get these ingredients. The flavor payoff of making sofrito with the right ingredients is well worth the effort.

Puerto Rican Ají Dulces. Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

Note: Ají dulces are small colorful peppers that have a strong herbal flavor, they are not spicy. However, they can be easily confused with a very spicy pepper like the habanero because they are similar in size and coloration. Be careful when selecting them or ask your grocer to make sure they are ají dulces. Learn more about the ají dulce here. Learn more about culantro and cubanelle peppers.

Cubanelle peppers in Ponce's Plaza del Mercado market. Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

Traditional Sofrito
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
1 green cubanelle pepper, seeded and finely diced
3 ají dulces, seeded and finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced or mashed with a mortar and pestle
3 culantro leaves, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil

1. Heat the olive oil in a heavy cast iron skillet over medium heat until the oil begins to ripple. Add the onions and stir to cook until they become glossy but still crisp in texture. Add the cubanelle peppers, ají dulces, garlic and cook for a few minutes longer until the ingredients begin to release their aroma and the onion becomes transparent and soft, add the culantro and half the chopped cilantro (see note).

Note: Sofrito is the base to many dishes. This basic preparation will be followed by your main ingredients and finished off with cilantro. In some cases, you will also add annatto to the sofrito. I prefer to add the final half of the fresh cilantro toward the end of the cooking process to brighten the flavor of the dish.

Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

From June to September each year the Bozeman, MT community would gather to support local farmers, craftspeople and bakers like me at the Farmer's Market in Bogert Park. Vincent Van Scone was our small operation that consisted of baked breakfast goods, especially scones, and a weekly auction of Scott's chalkboard reproduction of a Van Gogh painting. We were twenty six then and already dreaming about how to carve out a little place in the world.

During the summers, our home would smell like coffee cake and chalk on Friday nights as Scott would prepare the chalkboard Van Gogh, spreading the big box of chalk all over the floor. The living room and dining room would slowly fill up with coffee cakes as I baked them in batches through the night. In early Saturday mornings, it was the aroma of strong Puerto Rican coffee brewing in large quantities and the gentle buttery smell of scones baked with blueberries, raspberries, peaches or plums that would wake Angelica up.

Scott and I would load up our rickety old wooden picnic table (no, not the ones that fold) onto the roof of our copper Salvation Army Store-bought 1972 Jeep Wagoneer. The crates of still-warm scones, coffee cakes, coffee and other supplies would go in the back. Little Angelica would jump in next to us and Scott would drive us a block to the Bozeman Farmer's Market to set up. After hauling the heavy wooden table to my spot, Scott and Angelica would disappear - Scott to return the car home and Angelica to get her best friend Chloe to play in Bogert Park. Scott often came back with a bunch of fresh wildflowers or sweat pea blossoms for the table, just in time for the Farmer's Market "opening bell". Friends and customers would stop by for their morning fix of baked goods and fresh brewed Puerto Rican coffee and we would catch up on the week's events.

Our weekends these days are very different, but each time I make scones, my heart swells for those great Vincent Van Scone weekends and those sweet pea blossoms on my rickety red picnic table.

If you are new to making scones, you might be interested in these tips.

You might also be interested in my other scone recipes: Raspberry Almond Scones, Spiced Pumpkin Scones.

Mini Chocolate Chip Scones
2 cups flour
2 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons cold butter
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon turbinado sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 450°. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the mini chocolate chips. Stir in the whipping cream, egg and vanilla extract with a few swift strokes until a crumbly dough forms. Don't worry if there are still some dry spots.
2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and gather the dough into a ball. Gently press the dough into a ¾ inch thick disk.
3. Brush the disk with heavy cream and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Cut the disk into 8 even wedges.
4. Arrange the wedges 1 inch apart on a baking sheet. Bake in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm with fresh whipped cream.

Makes 8 scones.

Plate by Roger Baumann. Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

The Easter egg hunt is for children, but deviled eggs are for adults. After the egg hunt is done and the children are playing, scoop up those decorated Easter eggs and have yourself a deviled egg feast.

Deviled eggs are a quick, easy, and delicious appetizer perfect for a dinner party. You can boil the eggs a day before serving, whip up the filling the morning of the party and fill and garnish right before the guests arrive.

The recipe I share with you today is a very basic recipe. I add the wasabi powder to give the filling some punch, but you can get creative with the garnish. What about some fresh chopped chives, dill or even some finely diced applewood smoked bacon? The one garnish I do not compromise on is the smoked paprika. It is an absolute requirement for my deviled eggs. The smoky sweet pepper compliments the creamy spicy filling so well.

Enjoy!

Deviled Eggs with Wasabi and Smoky Paprika
6 boiled eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon wasabi powder
smoked Spanish paprika (pimentón)

1. Cut the boiled eggs in half and carefully remove the egg yolks onto a medium bowl. Add mayonnaise and dijon mustard and mash the ingredients with a fork until the are a light, smooth and creamy paste. Add salt to taste and stir to incorporate.
2. Scoop a heaping teaspoon of filling into each egg cavity. Use a fine wire-mesh sieve to dust each egg with wasabi powder. Garnish with a pinch of smoked paprika.

Makes 6 deviled eggs.

Plate by Roger Baumann. Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

Tangy and sweet, these lemon muffins are a summertime breakfast favorite. Our family's love affair with lemon muffins began at the Daily Coffee Bar in Bozeman, Montana. During our years in college, we went there often and almost always ordered the same thing: lemon muffins and a mocha. We loved their lemon muffins so much that I began making them once we moved to New York City when we felt particularly homesick.

This lemon muffin recipe makes a light, lemony and not particularly sweet muffin. The glaze completes the muffin with sweetness and the tart and fresh elements of real lemon juice. Just thinking about them makes my mouth water.

For light and airy lemon muffins, the trick is to work quickly when mixing the flour into the liquids, mix the ingredients by hand with a wooden spoon and do not over mix. Make sure that the flour is completely incorporated into the liquids, but stop mixing as soon as there are no longer flour lumps in the batter.

Plate by Roger Baumann. Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

Glazed Lemon Muffins
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon extract
1/2 buttermilk
1/3 cup oil

Lemon Glaze
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Oil a 12-cup muffin pan and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.

2. In a large bowl, whisk the buttermilk, oil, lemon juice, lemon extract, sugar and eggs until just combined (do not over beat). Using a wooden spoon, fold in the flour mixture in a few swift strokes to form a smooth batter.

3. Divide the batter into the 12 muffin tins. Bake for 20 minutes or until the muffins are lightly golden around the edges and a wooden pick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

4. While the muffins are baking, prepare the lemon glaze by stirring the sugar into the lemon juice until all the sugar crystals are completely dissolved.

4. Remove the muffins from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove them from the muffin pan and brush them generously with the lemon glaze. Allow them to sit at room temperature to cool completely and soak the lemon glaze.

Makes 12 muffins.

On hot summer days I love a cool, nourishing drink like oatmeal drink served over ice. This simple drink of oats is refreshing and nourishing without the heaviness of a traditional oat smoothie. The gently sweet taste of pure oats promotes a feeling of well-being and balance that I look for after feeling over-strained from the sun and the heat.

Oatmeal drink takes me back to childhood when I often called it "jugo de avena" (litterally "oatmeal juice") or "FrescAvena" for the instant Quaker-branded version of this drink. I remember my grandparents scooping big scoops of instant FrescAvena into full glasses of icy milk. You can still find FrescAvena in Latin Markets, but I find the instant drink to be overly sweet. As an adult, I prefer the home made dairy-free version of oatmeal drink which consists of water, oats, brown sugar and ice. Simple and sweet with that wonderfully subtle taste of good oats.

To make this drink you will need a blender. Oatmeal drink has a very short life - if you let it sit for more than a few minutes, the oats settle and become goopy. Prepare it only when you are ready to drink enjoy it. Best served over lots of ice and topped with a bit of cinnamon.

Oatmeal Drink
2 cups water
1/4 cup rolled oats
1 Tbsp brown sugar or to taste
pure vanilla extract (optional)
cinnamon (optional)
ice

1. Place oats, brown sugar, water, vanilla extract in a blender. Blend for 15 minutes until the mixture becomes frothy. Add three cubes of ice and blend again until ice is dissolved. Serve immediately.

Makes 2 servings.

Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

It was a Friday night in late December and I was coming back from Montreal after an exhausting third week of travel to train for a new job. That day I had no chance to get lunch and rushed to the airport toward the end of the day feeling dizzy from the stress and hunger. At the Montreal airport, I stopped at the first restaurant I saw and ordered a salmon salad and a stiff drink. What the waitress brought was a plate of rotting spinach topped with a cold, pale piece of salmon and rings of red onion that tried their best to hide the mess of dangerous food below. I could only imagine how long ago this salmon was prepared and as I contemplated the risk of food poisoning, I imagined the state of the kitchen and asked myself if the cook would dare to eat the salad he just served me.

I poked at the salad, growing angrier because I was frustrated and hungry and this was my only chance to eat something before the flight home. The waitress came over and as I sent the salad back I asked her if she would eat a salad in this condition and she said "sure, I would just cut through the bad parts".

After a short flight, I got home around ten that evening and was greeted by a hug of savory smells coming from the kitchen. Scott was there preparing an amazingly fresh meal of fiery pink wild sockeye salmon on a bed of crisp, bright and glossy snap peas and peppers. The salmon was topped with a mound of fragrant dill pistou made of coarsely chopped pistachio bound together with a splash of lemon and extra virgin olive oil. I could not stop smiling as I sat to enjoy this dish that stood in such stark contrast to my earlier food experience. Every bite I took filled my heart with deep gratitude and appreciation for the man who cooked it, and as I slowly felt real nourishment breathing back into my body, the food trespasses of that Montreal airport restaurant were slowly forgotten.

I might be biased because of my experience leading up to enjoying this meal, but I have to say that this is a truly inspiring dish. It's simple, crisp, light and packed with flavor. It's a meal that lets each ingredient speak for itself. I would highly recommend it.

There is nothing better than coming home to a thoughtful meal prepared with love by your husband after a long week of work and stress. It's the kind of experience that melts the struggles of the week away and is a humble reminder to be grateful for the simple delightful moments shared with the people you love. Thank you, Scott, for rescuing me that Friday and every day. Happy Valentines Day!

Salmon with Snap Peas, Yellow Peppers, and Dill-Pistachio Pistou
1/3 cup chopped fresh dill
1/3 cup finely chopped green onions (about 2)
1/2 cup shelled natural pistachios or almonds, toasted, finely chopped
1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons pistachio oil or extra-virgin olive oil
2 yellow bell peppers or orange bell peppers, cut into 1/2-inch strips
1 pound sugar snap peas, trimmed, strings removed
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup water
4 6-ounce salmon fillets

1. Mix dill, green onions, pistachios, and 1/4 cup oil in medium bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

2. Heat 1/2 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add peppers and sauté until beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Add snap peas, garlic, and 1/4 cup water; sprinkle with salt. Sauté until vegetables are just tender and water evaporates, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in 1 rounded tablespoon pistou. Transfer vegetables to platter; tent with foil to keep warm. Reserve skillet (do not clean).

3. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in reserved skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper. Place salmon, skin side down, in skillet; cook until skin is crisp, about 3 minutes. Turn salmon and cook until almost opaque in center, about 3 minutes longer. Arrange salmon fillets over vegetables on platter. Spoon some pistou down center of each fillet and serve, passing remaining pistou alongside.

Makes 4 servings.

Bowl by Roger Baumann. Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

I love granola. It's the perfect everyday breakfast and it's even better when you make it at home.

The first few recipes I tried, and the most common recipes out there, are packed with sugar and butter. While I love what sugar and butter can do to a good pastry, I would rather stay away from it in my granola. When I came across Nigella Lawson's granola recipe, I was intrigued as it used applesauce, honey and a tad bit of canola oil as a binder. Using her recipe as a base, I have experimented with a few combinations and like the version I share with you today as a healthy granola that I can feel good about eating on a daily basis.

This particular version uses some spiced cranberry orange relish that I had left-over from Thanksgiving. You can substitute the relish with equal parts of cranberry sauce and orange marmalade. The results are fragrant, slightly tangy and sweet granola. This is a super easy recipe, but do watch it when baking as it's super easy to overcook.

Cranberry Orange Granola
4 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup raw sesame seeds
1/2 cup flax seed
1/2 cup cranberry orange relish
1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 cup wildflower honey
2 Tbsp canola oil
1/4 cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries

1. Preheat oven to 265° F. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

2. Mix dry ingredient in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the cranberry orange relish applesauce, wildflower honey, and canola oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until well incorporated.

3. Distribute the mixture evenly in the two cookie sheets and spread evenly. Bake until the granola is golden and feels dry to the touch, for about two hours. Allow to cool and dry completely before storing it in an airtight container.

Makes 8 cups of granola.

These cold winter months find me craving the hot chocolate of my childhood: a simple, light and sweet hot chocolate with salty melted cheese.

The 6 year old me would light up with excitement, when, every so often grandma Mima would declare that we were going to skip dinner altogether and have 'chocolate caliente' instead.  She would drop pieces of sweetened Chocolate Cortés into a pot of steaming hot milk.  Each cup of hot chocolate would then receive a couple of chunks of Gouda cheese, left to melt at the bottom of the cup.  Mima served her hot chocolate with export soda crackers slathered in salty butter.  This "dinner" was always a very happy and warm occasion for me and the memory always brings a smile to my face.  

Mima's hot chocolate was a traditional Puerto Rican hot chocolate or "chocolate caliente".  It is sweet and light with hints of saltiness from the Gouda cheese and the glistening beads of salty butter floating on top, the result of dunking your buttered crackers.

Love and enthusiasm for hot chocolate runs in the family. Read about Angelica's reaction to the City Bakery's hot chocolate here.

Puerto Rican Hot Chocolate
1 cup whole milk
1 oz  Chocolate Cortés, broken into smaller chunks*
Chunks of Gouda cheese (you can also use cheddar or Edam cheese)

In a small pan, bring the milk to a slow simmer.  When it begins to steam, add the chunks of chocolate Cortés and whisk until dissolve.  Do not boil the milk. 

Pour in a cup and drop a couple of chunks of Gouda cheese.  Serve with crackers and butter. 

*Chocolate Cortés can be found in your local Latin market or the international section of your grocery isle. To learn more about the rich history of this chocolate visit the Chocolate Cortés website.

That Lynne Rosetto Kasper laughed a delightful gut laugh when asked about this dish on her radio show, The Splendid Table, gave away this as a must-try dish. Farinata (also known as socca) is a chickpea and olive oil pancake cooked over an open flame, traditional to Italy and the Meditteranean coast.

For dinner last night, I resolved to try my hand at farinata and discovered that it is as wonderful as Lynne described and very easy to make. Just whisk a simple batter of chickpea flour, water and olive oil until it resembles thin custard and then bake in a very hot, heavy cast iron pan until wonderfully crispy and golden brown. Last night I served the farinata alongside sautéed kale with garlic, onions and sundried tomatoes. Can't wait to make it again!

Farinata is a perfect gluten free alternative to pizza and is also an ideal canvas for herbal and savory tones like fresh rosemary or sage, caramelized onions or kalamata olives.

Farinata
1 cup chickpea
1 1/2 cup warm water
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for coating the pan
1 tsp salt
black pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 550° F and place a 10" cast iron skillet to get very hot. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix chickpea flour, salt, and pepper. Whisk in warm water and olive oil to the consistency of a thin custard.

2. Remove the hot skillet from the oven and coat in approx. 1 Tbsp olive oil. Pour 1/3 of the batter while swirling the pan to spread the batter evenly.

3. Return to the oven and bake for about 12 minutes until firm, golden brown with crisp edges. Use the broiler to brown the top, if needed. Remove the pan from the oven and serve right away.

Makes 3 farinata.