red onion flowers

These are GORGEOUS.

One of those dishes that makes you stop for a moment when you are reviewing your photos.

And taste? Delicious! Just as good as it looks. Super easy to create and quite the show-stopper when you bring it to the table.

recipe found in a special edition of Epicurious magazine.

plate by rae dunn clay

YOU WILL NEED:

6 medium red onions.

6 tablespoons of Olive Oil.

Fresh Rosemary and Thyme stems.

Salt.

Pepper.

TO DO:

oven to 350.

Make 4 cuts through the top of the onion leaving the base intact (as best you can) Creating 8 wedges.

I also left most the skin on. It was easier to remove these little pieces after I sliced the onion.

Place all the sliced onions onto your baking tray.

Pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil into the center of each onion.

Add a few turns of salt and pepper over each onion.

Insert herb sprigs into each onion - careful you don't break the root ends here.

Add extra herb sprigs around the onions.

Into the oven for 30 minutes.

At this point carefully slide the tray out and press open the leaves to create your flowers - again being careful to not snap the root base.

Scoop some of the juices from the baking tray and spoon onto the tops and centers of the onions.

Back into the oven for another 30 minutes or so.

Until the outer petals are dark and crispy (these are the BEST pieces)

Remove.

Sprinkle with a few more turns of salt and pepper.

Serve hot or at room temperature.

TK dinner ~ July 2014

A while back I was told "you live a magic life". I can't remember who said this to me but I didn't really give it much thought beyond my reply of Thank You. Then this past weekend we had the monthly dinner and this photo was taken.

I have named this the Clown Car photo since it looks like "how many people can we cram into that itty bitty kitchen?!" And I love this moment. I can't tell you what was said, or what might have been so funny, but this was one moment during the dinner service where we all decided we needed to stop for two seconds and finish our laughter. Perfect. There have definitely been many moments in my life that I would wholeheartedly title "magic" - the above is one of them.
So, on to what we were all doing in the kitchen to begin with! 
July dinner was a larger group than normal with the usual amount of kitchen incidents and shenanigans.  (always shenanigans - see above photo)
We started the evening with little fig, prosciutto bites - some of these were stuffed with goat cheese and some had a little square of parmesan cheese. Finish with fresh thyme and a drizzle of wildflower honey.

Next were these little pluot crostini bites with ricotta cheese and basil. Nice and easy. Quick and simple.

We then served some fresh fruit before starting entree.

Main course for this meal were lamb chops served on a bed of greens. The greens were sauteed with onions, garlic and bacon. The lamb chops were seasoned with cumin, allspice and a lot of mint. DELICIOUS.

Confession time here - during the Sunday dinner I completely massacred one of the racks of lamb and of course THAT plate was served to the one person who photographed and posted to Facebook ( I cannot apologize enough to Greg for serving him such an ugly dish) The above photo is from the Thank you dinner I served last night to part of my kitchen staff. I guess it's sort of a redemption photo? Believe me, if you saw the original pic you would understand.

Anyway, the lamb chops were finished with pepper, sliced onions and cilantro.

With the lamb we served some roasted fingerling potatoes spiced with paprika.

We also had the most amazing looking red onion flowers.

These were gorgeous! And delicious. And super easy.

Finally dessert.

What can I say here? Have you ever made Piroulines?

I told everyone to enjoy these because they will most likely never see them in my kitchen again. Holy Hell! An entire day dedicated to rolling these little creatures. They were originally being served with chocolate mousse so I opted to not fill them - thought it might be too much richness. But, my stand mixer seems to be having some issues therefore chocolate mousse did not make an appearance. We had brownies instead.

Served the above brownie tart with raspberry coulis, some fresh berries and a semi-sweet chocolate sauce.

I did actually serve the Piroulines alongside the above. And they got rave reviews. And I sincerely hope everyone enjoyed them and knows where they might find them in their local grocery.

I mentioned above I had a little thank you dinner for part of my kitchen staff.

Here are a couple photos from last night. They totally deserved this. This is an awesome group of friends who tolerate me a great deal.

And the carcass.

I really love the carcass photo - it makes me happy to see people loved the meal.

I even made them the official dessert - sans Piroulines.

Whew!

Now on to the next project right?

I know I say this every time - but I will get many of these recipes posted to share with all of you soon.

Tremendous Thank Yous to all the people who have been attending these dinners. It's sort of frightening and hugely humbling all at the same time. The response to these invitations blows my mind every time I send it out. Thank you.
And my absolute FAVORITE part? Standing in the kitchen and listening to all the chatter and tons of laughter floating in from the dining room. That part is magic.

black truffle french fries

There is a photo of this dish floating around the internet. I saw it. Then later could not locate it. So, I kind of made this up as simply as I could. I do happen to have a small container of black truffle oil. And I always have potatoes. Let's give it a go?

I did a little test this past Saturday evening. Served to the family. They completely ignored the roasted chicken and mashed potatoes I had actually made for dinner. Ate all of these fries and several of the Milano cookies!

I guess sometimes we just need to let it go and not freak out about trying to cover all the food groups during a meal, yes?

Let them have French Fries?! OKAY.

This recipe was created for 12 people.

I imagine you may have to adjust the amounts accordingly - or not...

you will need:

8 large Russet potatoes - scrubbed and dried (dry them - or the oil wont stick)

4 tablespoons black truffle oil (maybe more...a lot more...)

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (again...maybe more...)

salt

pepper

fresh Parsley for garnish

2 half sheet baking trays (again...this was for 12 people)

to do:

oven to 425

Wash the potatoes.

Slice into wedges.

Use a paper towel to pat everything dry the best you can then toss all the wedges into a big bowl.

Add the truffle oil and mix very well.

About a tablespoon of sea salt.

Half a tablespoon of pepper.

Mix again.

Lay half of the wedges onto a baking sheet. Try to make sure you have a single layer. If the pan is too crowded your potatoes will 'steam' instead of 'crisp'.

I had to do two trays of potatoes.

Bake at 425 for about 15 minutes.

CAREFULLY turn over as many as you can and rotate your tray.

Back into the oven for another 15 minutes or so - edges and some of the smaller pieces need to be brown and crispy.

As soon as the wedges are out of the oven add the grated Parmesan cheese.

Maybe a little more salt and pepper.

Garnish with the Parsley and serve.

Watch them disappear...

kale and zucchini bread pudding

True confession time. I don't really like bread pudding. I usually find these dishes to be too mushy, too dry, too lacking in flavor, too just plain yuck (did I already mention mushy?) So when I see a recipe in a magazine that uses broccoli and Pancetta I think maybe it is time to give this another go - Pancetta? Yes please! And the family loves broccoli and croutons so how bad could this be? I didn't love it - but liked it well enough to give it one more try with a few alterations. The next time around I used kale - since it is overflowing at the farmer's market right now. I used a grated zucchini to help with the moisture factor - you're not really going to taste the zucchini, but it did make a big difference in the texture of this dish. I used the fresh garlic as well as garlic powder for a little smokiness. Added some red pepper flakes for a little heat. And just a little more Pancetta in the egg mixture because...why not...

Here's the final dish,

and here's how I went about this...

YOU WILL NEED:

3 garlic cloves - minced

6 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

7 cups good white bread - cut into small pieces

1/2 cup parmesan cheese - plus more for topping

1 medium zucchini - grated

1 bunch kale - washed, dried, stems removed (or most of them anyway)

1 sweet white onion

8 to 10 thin slices of Pancetta - set 6 aside for topping

1 or 2 teaspoons of red pepper flakes

2 teaspoons garlic powder.

salt

pepper

a tablespoon or so of olive oil

TO DO:

oven to 350

lay all those pieces of bread on a baking sheet and toast for 10 minutes.

remove and set aside.

prep the kale.

grate the zucchini.

chop the onion.

chop the garlic.

chop up all but 6 pieces of the Pancetta.

heat the oil - then add the garlic and pepper flakes.

cook until fragrant then add the chopped onion.

cook 8 to10 minutes until translucent.

add the kale.

add the garlic powder.

stir well.

cook just until softened.

add the Pancetta - mix all this up.

add salt and pepper and taste - add more if needed.

remove from heat and set aside.

in a large bowl whisk the eggs and milk with 1/2 a teaspoon of salt and a few turns of pepper.

add the parmesan cheese and mix well.

add the bread and stir to coat all the pieces.

add the grated zucchini.

add the kale and onion mixture.

mix all this then pour into a casserole dish.

lay the 6 reserved slices of pancetta on top of the pudding.

sprinkle more parmesan cheese on top.

grate some fresh pepper all over this.

into the oven 40 to 45 minutes.

Now if you are as neurotic as I can be (sometimes)

You will happen to have a cookie cutter that is the exact size of the Pancetta slice and will use that cookie cutter (and a spatula) to get each piece out of the casserole - and it will look like this when you serve it,

I know...I have got to learn to let things go...

...enjoy...

spring salad with Cacio e Pepe dressing

Cacio e Pepe dressing? This is basically cheese and pepper - and in this case a few other ingredients - and it is delicious! This was Food and Wine magazine's salad of the month with fava beans and fresh peas. I didn't have fava beans and only had a bag of frozen peas (gasp!...frozen?...) but I imagine you could use most any spring vegetable you like and it will be great.
This was the salad I served for the March dinner @Tate's. After collecting all the plates from the table husband came back and told me to not bother washing them because they were spotless!

I hope you can try this soon.

I am posting the recipe here as I made it the other night.
The original recipe is in the April issue of Food and Wine.

My daughter said "that's a mess of a salad mom?!"

I guess it does look like that - but it was fantastic!

I used asparagus and the aforementioned bag of frozen peas 

Doesn't everyone always keep bags of frozen peas available? I do! Who has time to shell enough peas for a serving? No thank you!

For this salad I used mixed herb greens and added a lot of arugula.

Also added white kidney beans (rinsed first) and soft boiled eggs. Grated more Parmesan cheese on top and more fresh pepper then served.

YOU WILL NEED:

greens

1 bunch of asparagus - ends trimmed - cut into large chunks

1/2 a bag of frozen peas

avocado

soft boiled eggs - if desired

white kidney beans

buttermilk dressing - recipe follows

salt

pepper

parmesan cheese

dressing:

1 large egg yolk

3 tablespoons buttermilk

1 garlic clove - finely grated

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons parmesan cheese - finely grated

(plus more for garnish)

fresh black pepper

TO DO:

in a food processor, pulse the egg with the buttermilk and garlic until creamy.

with the machine running - slowly drizzle in the olive oil until mixture is fully incorporated.

add the cheese and several turns of fresh pepper.

puree until smooth.

taste for seasoning.

add salt as needed.

That's it. Your dressing is done. This will keep in the refrigerator for several days. But leave it on your counter top for 10 minutes or so before adding to your salad. Makes it easier to pour out.

for the vegetables:

bring a large pot of water to boil.

add salt then gently add the cut asparagus.

cook 2 or 3 minutes.

remove and run under cold water or immerse in an ice bath.

back to the pot of boiling water - gently add the peas.

cook 1 minute.

remove and give cold water treatment.

done.

rinse the beans.

slice the eggs in half.

slice the avocado into thin planks.

lay 4 or 5 slices of avocado on a plate

(do this step first because you really want the avocado to soak up the dressing that inevitably goes straight to the bottom)

add the greens.

add a couple spoonfuls of the vegetables.

sprinkle some of the beans all around.

drizzle dressing all over the top of this mound of greenery.

garnish with the egg, fresh pepper and more parmesan cheese.

serve immediately.

oven roasted cauliflower

This is now my new favorite way to have cauliflower. 

Usually the family wants it dripping in Hollandaise Sauce so I think they were all a little skeptical when I said I was roasting it and there would be NO sauce in sight. As you can imagine this was met with some sour faces but all is now well. Pretty quick. Definitely delicious. Try this.

originally from Bon Appetit - February edition

note: I have made this a few times and used both Parmesan cheese and Pecorino cheese. I actually think I prefer the Pecorino.

YOU WILL NEED:

1 head cauliflower

1 red onion

fresh thyme sprigs

6 peeled garlic cloves - sliced fairly thick

olive oil

salt

pepper

parmesan cheese

TO DO:

Oven to 425

Chop the cauliflower into thick slices or chunks.

Roughly chop the onion.

Slice the garlic.

Toss all that onto a baking sheet.

(btw - after roasting, those big chunks of garlic are like butter. So good.)

Add the olive oil.

Add a little salt and pepper - easy here because the parmesan cheese is pretty salty already.

Just use your hands and make sure everything is covered.

Maybe add another tablespoon of olive oil if you feel it's necessary.

Add 4 or 5 of the thyme sprigs.

Into the oven for 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven - carefully give it a stir.

Grate some fresh parmesan all over the vegetables.

Back into the oven for 20 minutes - or until vegetables are tender.

remove.

Add more Parmesan (always more cheese please)

Add some fresh thyme.

Add some fresh grated pepper.

Taste for salt and add as needed.

Serve immediately.

panzanella

Panzanella?
It's a bread salad.
Usually made with chunks of stale bread and tomatoes and dressed with just olive oil and vinegar. Maybe add some onion and basil - and in this case several other items I found in the kitchen. 
What I ended up with is probably blasphemy to a true Italian (I imagine Joe Bastianich would have my ass for calling this Panzanella) but this salad was wonderful and filling and again - used many of the ingredients from one of my Farmers Market visits.

I added cucumbers and capers and made basil croutons instead of using plain 
bread. Also made an olive oil and lavender honey vinaigrette and used some fresh squeezed lemon juice.


Delicious!


The recipe posted here is how I made this. Make whatever changes suit you.


YOU WILL NEED:


1 loaf French bread - cut into half inch cubes.
2 tablespoons dried basil
olive oil
1 cucumber - cut into chunks.
1 pint red cherry tomatoes.
1 pint small sweet yellow tomatoes.
1 red onion - sliced thin.
1 4 ounce jar capers - rinsed and drained.
fresh basil
fresh mint
1 cup feta cheese
salt
pepper
half a red bell pepper - sliced (this went in because I found it in the refrigerator and figured why not?)
around a half cup of vinaigrette dressing(recipe follows)


Vinaigrette Dressing:


1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup Lavender honey (regular honey works fine)
1 cup of regular olive oil
salt and pepper to taste


TO DO:

oven to 350


Place all the chunks of bread in a large bowl and toss with the dried basil and 1/4 cup of olive oil and salt and pepper.
Spread the pieces out in a single layer onto a large baking sheet. 
You want each piece to toast - not steam - so the single layer is important.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes - until most all the pieces are golden brown.
Set aside and let cool completely.


Make the vinaigrette.
Set aside.

Chop up all other ingredients. I sliced all those tomatoes in half. 
Yes...I've lost my damn mind but they just seem easier to eat sliced in half. 
(I know....I'm sure it's just me)
Make sure you don't forget to rinse those capers!


Assemble your salad a half hour or so before serving - including the dressing - taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed. Let sit at room temperature for a short while so all your flavors come together. Right before serving give it all another good mixing - add the fresh basil and mint - mix again then sprinkle the Feta cheese on top - some fresh ground pepper - enjoy!