The subtitle of this book could easily have been the main title; “Real Food for Everyone” is what I found in the pages of Ann Gentry’s latest cookbook.

I received a complementary review copy from the publisher, Andrews McMeel, a few months ago and I’ll admit the title didn’t entice me to pull my attention from the many tasks at hand to flip through it right then and there. I set it on a bookshelf with good intentions but those good intentions dissolved into out-of-sight-out-of-mind abandonment.

After chatting with a friend (who happens to be vegan) about recipes and cooking, a little bell went off in my head about this book. There it was on the bookshelf where I’d left it, patiently waiting to be cracked open.

I began flipping through the book from page one to see what looked enticing. My initial pass through a new book is always done with a stack of sticky note tabs in hand to flag every recipe of interest. Then I sort through my selections and decide which recipes I’ll make first, which moves the tap from the top of the page to the side. There’s a process for everything.

I flip a page and see a recipe for Umeboshi Rice Balls. Really? My heart raced just a little bit because I have a container of umeboshi (Japanese pickled plums) in my refrigerator, also teetering on the brink of out-of-sight-out-of-mind abandonment. Purchased for a specific recipe, the remaining puckery-tart, pungent, salty little plums have been languishing ever since. Reading on, the recipe included toasted sesame seeds, nori, and sushi rice made from short-grain brown rice and sweet brown rice, rice vinegar and mirin. With the reveal of each ingredient I became more excited as I realized I had all of these items in my kitchen.

Umeboshi, brown sushi rice, and nori - ready to roll

What are the odds? I’d only just discovered sweet brown rice weeks ago. I purchased it simply because it looked cool and I wanted to know what it was like (it’s really good, incidentally). Without turning another page I stood up, headed to the kitchen, got the rice cooking and was eating Umeboshi Rice Rolls within the hour. I proudly discarded the empty umaboshi container chalking up a point for me in the endless game of use-it-up-before-it-goes-bad. Though I lost a point today when I noticed mold on a lemon. Drats.

Umeboshi Rice Balls

Umeboshi sushi was not what I was expecting to find when I flipped this book open. Had I known, it would’t have gone untouched for so long. Ann Gentry explains in the introduction that she’s explored all kinds of plant-based diets over the course of her adult life. Clearly the time she spent eating a macrobiotic diet informs the way she cooks today. Not only through her use of Asian flavor-powerhouse ingredients like umeboshi, rice vinegar, miso, and fresh ginger, but also through her talent for playing ingredients off one another to capture the elusive balance of sweet, salty, bitter, tangy and hot that is so much a part of Asian cuisine.

Curious to see if the other recipes would be as pleasing, I made the Ginger-Apple Smoothie and Blueberry Corn Pancakes the next morning. The Ginger-Apple smoothie called for 1 (6-inch) piece of ginger. That’s a lot of ginger! With my first sip a cartoon image of steam blasting out of my ears flashed through my mind. Behind the heat and bite of the ginger was a nice combination of banana, apple juice, almonds and green tea powder. Next time, I’ll use less ginger. A six inch piece of ginger is somewhat ambiguous. Given that the ginger is grated and the juice squeezed from the pulp, a specific measurement of ginger juice seems like a more accurately replicable quantity, and is what I’ll use next time.

Blueberry Corn Pancakes

Skeptical of vegan bready goods, I was really surprised at how good these pancakes were. Rolled oats, corn meal and buckwheat flour give them great texture and flavor. Not being a vegan, the only reason I have for making these again is that they are good, and I’ll be making them again. Yes, that’s real butter I slathered over my vegan pancakes, which makes the point that these are just good pancakes that happen to be vegan.

Edamame and Spinach Hummus

There’s hummus and then there’s this beautiful bright green Edamame Spinach Hummus. Everything goes in the food processor and in about two minutes a spectacular spread is ready to serve. The recipe suggests serving this on endive spears, but I went the casual chip and dip route and toasted up some whole wheat pita chips. Edamame and spinach not only make the hummus pretty, but also add a sweet fresh flavor. I did back off a bit on the eight cloves of garlic that were called for because I didn’t want to be breathing fire the rest of the day. This is the nice thing about cooking your own food, you get to cater to your own taste.

Jicama-Carrot Slaw

This Jicama-Carrot Slaw is a happy bowl of sunny refreshment. The vibrant colors and juicy crunch of the vegetables gets you halfway there, but it’s the clever balance of sweet maple syrup, tangy apple cider vinegar and tart lime juice that brings it home. I’m not a big fan of raw onion and the one I had was particularly pungent, so I only added half of what was called for. This salad hit home on all levels and is a great example of Ann Gentry’s skill at keeping it simple and letting the ingredients do their thing.

Creamy Herbed Zucchini Soup

Thrilled with everything I’d made so far, I moved on to one of the three soups I had flagged; a lovely and simple zucchini herb soup that took less than an hour to make from start to finish. The smooth creamy texture is in part due to rolled oats of all things.

I nervously flipped through the dessert section a number of times trying to decide if I wanted to risk breaking my recipe winning streak. I’ve had some incredibly lackluster and downright awful vegan desserts in my eating history. I selected the Chocolate Cupcakes figuring if anything was going to be dreadful it would be these. I was encouraged, however, by the fact that there was no applesauce in the recipe, an ingredient I blame for most of the odd texture issues that plague so many low-fat and vegan baked goods. A hefty amount of cocoa powder promised good flavor and no skimping on the oil or sugar gave me even more hope.

Chocolate Cupcakes that happen to be vegan, but that's beside the point because they're good.

These are fantastic rich chocolaty cupcakes that taste like cake should taste. The icing I used is not a vegan recipe from the book. I didn’t want to run out and buy vegan butter, so I improvised and made a simple chocolate glaze. I baked them at 375 degrees F rather than the suggested 350. Partly because I always bake cupcakes at 375, but mostly because I had something already baking in the oven at 375 degrees and I wanted to get double duty out of the oven. The recipe says to bake them for about 32 minutes, which seems like a long time even with a lower oven temperature. I took mine out at 22 minutes and probably could have taken them out a minute or two earlier. My advice anytime you’re cooking anything is to base cooking times on what your food is doing rather than solely on what the recipe states.

The success with these cupcakes is because they were allowed to be a true sweet indulgence. Sugar, fat, cocoa, white flour, it’s all in there with no apologies. Bravo Ann Gentry for steering clear of the “healthy” whole-wheat, fruit-sweetened “cake” trap.

Ingredient highlights are sprinkled throughout the book along with cooking tips.

I look forward to continuing to explore this book and discover new ingredients. I’ll likely never get around to trying the Maple Tempeh Bacon or Tofu Frittata because quite frankly I’d rather have actual bacon and an egg frittata. That’s of little concern though because I’ll be plenty busy with recipes like Adzuki Bean Soup, South American Stew stuffed in a whole kabocha squash, Sesame-Hiziki Croquettes, and Oven-Roasted Sweet Potato Fries, along with revisiting many of the recipes I’ve already made. This is a great book if you’re looking for some new inspiration, but still want to keep things simple. It also never hurts to have a collection of great vegan recipes on hand.

Ann Gentry owns the popular Vegan restaurant, Real Food Daily, in Los Angeles. She is also the executive chef to Vegetarian Times magazine.

With permission from the publisher, I’m happy to be able to share a couple of recipes from Vegan Family Meals. Give them a try, I’d love to know how you like them.

Recipe Links

• Edamame Spinach Hummus
• Jicama-Carrot Slaw

A while back I got an email from a friend of mine who is a glass artist telling me she’s been invited to speak at the Glass Art Society Conference happening in Seattle.  I was thrilled for her and especially happy she’d be coming to Seattle for a visit. She asked if I would I like to help her bake a cake and make tea as part of her presentation. “Yes” is a rather automatic answer for me anytime a question involves cake, be it baking or eating, so I enthusiastically volunteered to help. Though enthusiastic to help, I couldn’t quite get my head around how she was going to work cake and tea into a presentation on glass art.

Sarah Blood giving her Cooking with Neon demo

Her topic was working with neon in mixed media and she wanted to demonstrate how the meaning of a work of art can be transformed by changing the materials used to make it. Her current body of work called Luna Fossils combines neon and cement so she thought she’d illustrate her point by making a similar piece, but out of cake.

Luna Fossils in cement and cake by Sarah Blood

She invited the audience to help themselves to cake by breaking off a piece to eat. This interactive approach allows the participant to determine the shape of the edible temporary art piece as it’s consumed. A great example of how by changing the media to cake the piece is experienced in a completely different way from the cement version. Once the first fist-full of cake was removed, the surprise of glowing neon lurking inside the cake was revealed. Everyone was thrilled! Who thinks to bake neon into a cake? And serve it to people? This is why I love Sarah Blood.

Neon Cake revealed

With a chocolate cake the neon tube hides inside undetected until cake is torn away to reveal the bright glowing band of light. Change the material to white cake and the experience is once again transformed. The glow of the neon emanates from within the cake eliminating the element of surprise, but  generating an equal level fascination and excitement.

Neon Cake by Sarah Blood

Needless to say, her presentation was a smashing success. Anytime you can serve tea and cake when giving a talk you are setting yourself up for success. Light it up with neon and you’re home free!

Interactive art, delicious cake

Being invited to grab a piece of cake with your hands is quite liberating. Who hasn’t battled the urge to do just that when standing in front of a beautiful wedding cake admiring the perfectness of it?

Chocolate Neon Cake

There are obvious risks with baking and eating a cake filled with glass and I think the “Don’t try this at home” warning is applicable. So you’ve been warned, don’t try this at home. I’d imagine it’s unlikely you have a 12” round of neon laying around anyhow.

Neon cake ready to bake in the kiln

Luckily the cake is very tasty on it’s own. It’s a classic pound cake, rich and buttery with just the perfect level of sweetness to make it a special treat, but not so cloyingly sweet that you regret that second piece. It’s the kind of cake that can be enjoyed anytime of day with a nice cup of tea. Though I don’t encourage you to bake a glass tube of neon into your cake, I will encourage you to let your guests tear it apart with their hands. See how that changes the dynamic of your gathering.

You can visit Sarah Blood’s web site to see more of her glass art.

Recipe link

• Sarah Blood’s Neon Cake

This is a Twitter inspired cake. A great big happy birthday to Chris of @BlogWellDone. This cake is for you! Sorry you didn’t get a slice.

Kumquat Fennel Seed Cornmeal Cake with Honey Mascarpone Icing & Almond Fennel Seed Brittle

Every month My Spice Sage and I host a Twitter chat, #SpiceChat. As our chat was wrapping up last month, this little exchange took place.

The next #SpiceChat is April 6 4-5 pm EST, talking fennel seeds. – @TableFare

Sweet, the next is my birthday. – @BlogWellDone

Maybe we should make fennel b-day cakes, not to be confused with funnel cakes. – @TableFare

Or to mess everyone up… fennel funnel cakes   – @BlogWellDone

Fennel birthday cake for everyone! – @KyraTX

Virtual birthday cake seems kind of mean – @TableFare

Virtual cake is never meant to be mean! – @KyraTX

I would be honored by a virtual birthday cake. – @BlogWellDone

Consider it done! – @TableFare

I love making cakes, so I was confident I could come up with something, but when thinking of fennel and cake a rustic loaf cake seemed to make the most sense, but I wanted to create something fancy, something worthy of a birthday celebration.

Kumquat Fennel Seed Cornmeal Cake with Honey Mascarpone Icing & Almond Fennel Seed Brittle

Right out of the gate I was fixated on making a fennel seed brittle as a garnish. Fennel seeds are a spice that can be eaten as whole without being overwhelming. In fact they are commonly eaten after meals as a breath freshener.

Almond Fennel Seed Brittle

I settled on a simple olive oil cornmeal cake and decided a citrus marmalade would be the perfect filling because orange and fennel are just such good flavor pals. I made a kumquat marmalade and stirred in some crushed fennel seed to create a little flavor bridge to the cake.

Kumquat Fennel Maramalade cake filling

It was the icing that perplexed me. A birthday cake needed a real icing rather than a glaze, plus I needed something to act as glue to hold the brittle to the sides of the cake. Buttercream is the obvious default cake covering, but it seemed wrong. I described the cake with a buttercream frosting to a friend and she furrowed her brow and commented that buttercream just didn’t seem right. Now that I knew it wasn’t just me, I continued to ponder and then it hit me. Mascarpone and whipped cream with a little honey and orange zest. Ta-da! With the final pieced of the puzzle in place I raced to the kitchen to start baking.

Kumquat Fennel Seed Cornmeal Cake with Honey Mascarpone Icing & Almond Fennel Seed Brittle

Though there are a number of components to the cake, each one is very straight forward, with the exception of the brittle. It’s not that there is anything difficult about caramelizing sugar if you go slow, and wash down the stray sugar crystals from the pan walls, but the idea of caramel is intimidating to many.   My advice is to practice just this element first if you are concerned about it. The brittle is really tasty as a standalone snack. Once you master this, a whole world of caramels opens up!

The cake itself doesn’t even require a mixer. It’s made the same way muffin or cornbread batter is made; mix the dry stuff in one bowl, the wet stuff in another, and stirring them together. Done.

Kumquat Fennel Seed Cornmeal Cake with Honey Mascarpone Icing & Almond Fennel Seed Brittle

After appropriately celebrating @BlogWellDone’s birthday with 5 minutes of the cake on display in my kitchen, I quickly repurposed the cake for my birthday party.  I’m glad to share an April birthday with you Chris! Your cake was enjoyed by all. The one drawback to virtual birthday parties, is you don’t get a slice of your own cake. Maybe someday someone will figure out how to pass food through a computer screen.

Kumquat Fennel Seed Cornmeal Cake with Honey Mascarpone Icing & Almond Fennel Seed Brittle

Recipe Link:

Kumquat Fennel Seed Cornmeal Cake with Honey Mascarpone Icing and Almond Fennel Seed Brittle

Read about fennel seeds in our Spice Library.

Over the weekend a friend gave me a gift wrapped in an appealingly understated brown paper bag. My curious peek into the bag was met with an intoxicatingly sweet floral scent. A rush of excitment and gratitude hit as I instatly identifide the gorgeous scent.

Meyer lemons

The beautiful blushing orange Meyer lemons were picked from a mutual friend’s very own tree just days before and sent from sunny California to brighten the overcast misty days still so prevelent here. Living in the Northwest the idea of citrus trees in the yard is mind boggeling and somewhat akin to a miricle.

Three Orchards Blend Olive Oil from Dry Creek Olive Co.

Just days before, I received an equally spectacular gift, also born of the fertile lands called California. The coveted souvenir from my parent’s latest trip through the wine country was Three Orchards Blend Olive Oil from Dry Creek Olive Company in Healdsburg.  This is the company’s award-winning signature blend; it’s smooth and buttery with a clean bright flavor and delicate peppery finish. This olive oil will never see heat, but rather every drop savored fresh and raw.

Everytime I passed through the kitchen over the weekend I smiled when greeted with the sunny fragrence of Meyer lemons, and then worried. How will I use my Meyer lemons? Feeling pressure to put them to the absolute best use and not squander a single one I was completly devoid of inspiration.

Sunday evening inspiration hit. Memory of a raw dinasour kale salad from Tom Douglas’ restaurant, Serious Pie, had been lurking around in the back of my mind since tasting it. I’ve also been quite preoccupied with fennel seeds as of late given that they are the topic for the next SpiceChat later this week. While smelling the aroma of the Meyer lemons and staring at the beautiful bottle of olive oil, this salad sort of jumped in the bowl all on its own.

A full spectrum of flavors come together to dance all over the deep forest-green crinkled kale leaves; tangy bright lemon, rich smooth olive oil, earthy parmesan, creamy pine nuts, the pungent bite of crispy garlic chips and delicate grassy hint of licorice from the fennel seeds. Thanks to the hearty constitution of kale this salad holds well for hours, in fact it gets better with time, so make it a head, take it on a picnic, bring it to a pot-luck, and definatley save any leftovers.

Dinosaur Kale Salad with Meyer Lemon Fennel Seed Vinaigrette

A special thanks to my friends Julie and Amani and my parents for inspiring this salad. I’d say birthday month is off to a spectacular start. Yes, birthday month!

Recipe Link: Dinosaur Kale Salad with Meyer Lemon Fennel Seed Vinaigrette

Some days I scratch my head bewildered by Twitter as I wonder just how exactly this “next big thing” is adding value to my life and business. Then a tweet will catch my attention and lead me to an interesting news story, a genuine business connection, or inspire me to plan a dinner party.

Pan Roasted Endive, Apple and Grapes

It was a tweet by Pim about the new look of her website, Chez Pim,  that had me clicking on the link to see what she’d been up to. Her world renowned blog had bloomed into a beautiful website.  I began poking around checking out all the nooks and crannies and was immediately drawn to her Dinner @ 8 feature. It’s a step-by-step guide to cooking an entire meal and having it on the table in 3 hours. She’s done all the work, selected a menu, created a grocery list, and most importantly created a timeline for all the prep and cooking tasks to ensure dinner is on the table @ 8. She invites everyone to step up to the challenge and make the meal in 3 hours, and post the results. How could I resist? There are even prizes!

Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan

The first Dinner @ 8 menu comes from Dorie Greenspan’s beautiful new book, Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours. It’s a terrific coincidence that I’ve had this lovely book sitting on my kitchen counter for a couple of months. I’ve made a few recipes from it so far, but hadn’t really dug into it fully. I like to get to know a new book by having a new cookbook dinner party. Guests are invited with the clear understanding that I am trying recipes from a new book, so there is the possibility that we will end up ordering a pizza. So far I’ve not needed the pizza lifeline, but I have had random dishes flat-out fail on occasion. After making 4 or 5 recipes from a book in one shot, a bond of sorts forms and I’ve noticed I tend to reach for these books most often. Pim’s Dinner @ 8 was my chance to get to know Around My French Table.

Béatrix’s Red Kuri Soup

Pim selected a delectable menu of Red Kuri Squash Soup, Chard Stuffed Pork Roast, Pan Roasted Endive Apples and Grapes, and an Apple Cake for dessert. Dinner @ 8 is billed as a step-by-step guide to getting dinner on the table on-time, and it delivers. She provides a grocery list along with a detailed guide of what exactly what needs to be done at what time. The recipes are posted on her site, so you don’t even need to own the book to participate.

Chard stuffed roast pork with roasted endive, apples and grapes

Having people over and even cooking an entire meal from a new cookbook are both familiar activities. The real monkey wrench in this whole Dinner @ 8 thing was doing it in 3 hours. I have friends who will head to the store at 4:00 in the afternoon to get groceries for a dinner they are hosting that night. This nearly causes my brain to short circuit. I’m a planner, I make lists, notes, timelines, flag pages, and I prep. Grocery shop a few days ahead, prewash the veggies, make any sauces, marinades, doughs, or dressings that can be made a day early. I wasn’t worried about actually executing all the tasks in the allotted time because I’m pretty fast in the kitchen and quite accustom to chopping one thing while at the same time sautéing another. I was just very uncomfortable leaving everything to the last minute. I patiently waited until 3 hours before serving time to even unpack my groceries. Though I did spend the morning checking and double checking Pim’s shopping list and time-line instructions – they were perfect.

…and go! I was really chopping at the bit to get cooking.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP2HtkVs54U

The Apple Cake was up first on the to-do list. It’s as simple as it gets as far as cakes go, only requiring a bit of hand mixing.  The original recipe called for rum which I didn’t use. To compensate for leaving out the flavor punch of rum I increased the vanilla by ½ teaspoon, added 2 tablespoons of orange juice to replace some of the liquid, and tossed in ½ teaspoon of freshly ground coriander seeds, ¼ teaspoon of ginger powder, and ¼ teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg. The flavor was fantastic with the spices remaining very subtle so the apples could steal the show. If you are nervous about baking, this is as non-fussy as a cake can be, so fear not.

Marie-Hélène's Apple Cake

One of the things I appreciate most about Dorie’s books are the stories and tips that go along with each recipe. As I was reading about Béatrix’s Red Kuri Soup I learned that the skin of a Red Kuri squash softens enough during cooking to be completely edible. I love to stuff and bake whole Red Kuri squash and never knew this. Not having to peel the squash instantly bumped the red kuri from “favorite” status to “BFF” status.

I had a slight panic when I went to the store the day of my dinner party. It hadn’t occurred to me that they might not have Red Kuri squash. Panic struck when I scanned the squash bin outside the store and saw it was brimming with all kinds of squash, except Red Kuri. Yes, another squash would have been a fine substitute, but I really wanted to see with my own eyes that the skin, once cooked, was soft enough to eat. I headed inside and from the door I spotted one beautiful Red Kuri squash sitting alone below the produce display. I raced for it like it was the last iPad available on some crazy-low loss-leader Black Friday discount. With my hands on the squash of my desires, a surge of happy relief followed the split second dump of adrenaline that occurred the instant I’d spotted it. I looked around and chuckled at my own private drama; no one else in the store was even interested in squash.

What do you know? That squash skin softened up just like Dorie said it would and I blended it right into the soup; another simple and delicious dish complete. The pork loin prep came together quickly and Pim’s plan was working like a charm.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWAg1hwfkLk

This was the moment I was waiting for. Pan roasted grapes. Pan roasted grapes? I couldn’t even make a guess as to what to expect from this dish and had I not read an interview where Dorie was singing the praises of this dish, and had Pim not selected this dish for the menu, I may never have tried it. All I can say is why have I been eating raw grapes all my life?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQIGZnUzyRg

Dinner @ 8 was a stunning success. I learned I don’t need to spend the entire day in the kitchen when I want to invite friends to dinner. The key lies in keeping it simple, not my strong suit, by creating a menu of dishes that will come together quickly and working out the timeline to be sure the longer cooking items are started first. Pim nailed both of these and I’m looking forward to future Dinner @ 8 menus to get more practice with whipping up last-minute dinner parties. I hope you will check out the next Dinner @ 8 and have your own dinner party next month.  I’ll have a full review of Around My French Table posted soon, but the short version is this is a book worth buying. If you want to give it a test drive visit Chez Pim for all of the recipes featured in this Dinner @ 8 menu.

Have you crunched into a crispy kale chip? So light and crispy they shatter and crumble in your mouth and have a salty earthy flavor that is a completely satisfying snack sensation.

It’s rather astonishing how easy it would be to eat an entire bundle of kale once it’s baked into crispy chips and sprinkled with salt and maybe a touch of spice. I can’t fathom eating that much fresh kale, yet I must ration my kale chips to keep from devouring them in a single sitting.

They are simple to make; a little rub of oil, dusting of salt, spread on a sheet pan and bake for 15 minutes. How can you not give this a try? In addition to the hightly desirable snack qualities of crispy and salty, baked kale has a sweet earthy flavor reminiscent of seaweed, but unlike seaweed it doesn’t get soggy and chewy when eaten. Nutmeg is a great spice with greens, so I added a touch after the chips came out of the oven. Good, but I really liked the batch I made with garam masala; the complexity of a blend of spices is more interesting. The sweet warm flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and cardamom typically found in garam masalas are prefect with kale.

For a great snack duo, bake up some garbanzo beans while you’re at it. Right from a can these little nuggets are as easy to toast up as the kale, though it takes about 60-70 minutes to get them baked to a completely crispy state. Well worth the wait. Sprinkled with a bit of kosher salt and curry powder they too become an addictive little snack, and can pack a punch depending on how spicey your curry powder is. Sort of like corn nuts, only good for you. I have Jaden over at Steamy Kitchen to thank for putting this treat on my radar. I read about them on her blog and got up from my computer and headed right for the can of garbanzos stashed in the pantry. For some really creative flavor treatments check out the list of roasted garbanzo bean recipes the folks over at The Kitchn wrangled from across the web, or just turn to your own spice collection for inspiration.

Both of these will be a hit if you serve them at your next party, or just keep them all for yourself as mid-afternoon nibble that’s packed with protein. I hope you’ll give them a try and let me know what you think.

Now, if you want to swing to the complete opposite end of the snack spectrum, check out this blog I just came across,  www.junkfoodblog.com.

Recipe links

• Crispy Kale Chips with Garam Masala
• Curried Garbanzo Bean Nuts

Sweet
Lenxox Almond Biscotti is what the Tuesdays with Dorie group is cooking up this week. Biscotti are my favorite cookie to eat while enjoying a hot cup of coffee or tea. They are crunchy and satisftying and usually big, making it possible to enjoy the cookie accompaniment with the entire cup of hot beverage. I still remember experiencing great excitement the first time I made biscotti; having sliced the logs of baked dough as directed, there before my eyes were biscotti shaped just like the ones at the fancy coffee shop! It was thrilling.  It is a simple shape to achieve, but I had never thought through how to make a cookie shaped that way. To this day I love the moment of transformation from single log of dough to beautiful bias-cut shaped cookies, all with the simple slice of a knife.

photo by David Peterman

Dorie Greenspan’s recipe in Baking: From My Home to Yours, is good, but I added a few twists to suit my preferences. I like really crispy biscotti so I cut the butter back to 4 Tbsp from 8 which did the trick. I also prefer whole nuts in biscotti for both aesthetics and taste, so I used whole blanched almonds rather than slivered. I buy a magnificent spice blend called Kashmiri Garam Masala, from World Spice and it works so beautifully in baked goods that I tossed in a teaspoon in addition to bumping up the salt by an 1/8 teaspoon. For a shiny finish, I gave the logs a brush with an egg wash before the first baking.

At first glance Kashmiri Garam Masala might seem like a strange choice for baking, after all it has black peppercorn, black cumin, and coriander in it. It is the cardamom, clove, nutmeg and cinnamon along with the fact that all the spices are toasted to a nice warm nutty flavor that maks this blend so delicious in sweet applications. One whiff and you will know what I mean. I have used it to spice up butter cookies, pancakes, madeleines, chocolate ganache, and the list goes on.

I did have an issue with the baking instructions for this recipe. Dorie instructs the first baking to be “15 minutes, or until the logs are lightly golden and springy to the touch.” I found that to be not nearly long enough to sufficiently set the interior of the dough. I ended up baking mine for 30 minutes before pulling them out and slicing them. The first batch I baked about 20 minutes and when I removed the logs from the oven they proceeded to collapse because they were still quite raw in the center. After slicing them, I returned them to the oven for the second baking and they puffed up again, but lost the nice sharp cut edges that say “biscotti” to me. I made these a second time and baked them for 30 minutes, let the logs cool just 10 minutes, enough so I wouldn’t burn myself when slicing the cookies, and then returned them to bake for an additional 20 minutes. I also reduced the oven temperature from 350 degrees F to 300 degrees F for the second baking. The result was much more to my liking. Crispy dry with clean cut edges and not overly browned.

Thank you to Gretchen of Canela & Comino for selecting the biscotti recipe. These are easy to make, and though they require a fair amount of baking time, you can set a timer and wonder off to do other things. Because the dough is not individually portioned into cookies, biscotti are quick to make.

Savory
In addition to being a great sweet treat, biscotti are wonderful in a savory application. I have served these as an hors d’oeuvre nibble at parties, as part of a bread basket at dinner, and as a nice alternative to bread along side soup or salad. I like to make savory biscotti a little less crisp than dessert biscotti, so there is the addition of olive oil and milk. The flavoring can really go in any direction, so play around to suit your needs. I am thinking of working on a sundried tomato and parmesan version next.

photo by David Peterman

Toasting Spices
Toasting spices is not about bringing out flavor; it is about changing the flavor. A toasted spice is like anything toasted, think of toasted verses raw almonds or bread. Sometimes toasted is what you want and other times not, it is the same with spices. Try toasting a spice and taste it compared the untoasted spice and you will immediately understand what a toasted or non-toasted spice will bring to a dish

For small quantities I prefer to toast spices in a dry skillet on the stove top over a medium heat. It is important to shake the pan and keep them moving around so they don’t burn.  The level of toasting depends on how much toasty flavor you desire. Experimentation is the best way to determine preferences for different dishes. Some foods will benefit from a nice dark roast on the spice and other lighter flavored dishes may be best complimented with just a golden hue added to the spice. 

Rosemary Orange Almond Biscotti
2 cups flour
1/2 cup corn meal
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
4 tsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
zest of one orange
2 tsp. whole coriander, toasted then crushed
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 cup whole blanched almonds
Additional egg for egg wash, if desired
Kosher or flake salt for garnishing

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

If eggs are cold, place them in a bowl of warm tap water to take the chill off. The milk can be warmed in the microwave on low for about 15 seconds to take the chill off.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, corn meal, baking powder, salt, pepper, rosemary, orange zest, and coriander. Stir with fingers to combine ingredients and break up any clumps of the orange zest so they are well distributed throughout the mixture. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter then add the olive oil and beat to combine. Add the eggs one at a time giving the mixture time to combine before adding the milk. The butter may appear clumpy, but it will come together once the dry ingredients are added. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients and stop the mixer just before the flour is fully incorperated into the dough. Remove the bowl from the mixer and add the almonds, stirring by hand to incorperate should integrate the flour mixture without risking over mixing.

Divide the dough into two portions on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Using your hands, form each portion of dough into a long log shape. This is a wet, sticky dough that generally behaves without the need for additional flour if just patted and pushed into shape. If making party nibbles, it is best to make the logs rather long and only 2-21/2 inches wide and not to thick, so the biscotti will be bite-sized once cut into pieces. For nice long biscotti, shape the logs 3-31/2 inches wide.  

Wisk an egg with a little bit of water to create an egg wash. Using a pastry brush paint the logs with the egg wash then sprinkle with a light dusting of kosher salt, or preferably a delicate flake salt if you have it. Bake for 30 minutes. The dough should just be taking on a golden brown color and be cooked through enough to hold its structure. Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack for about 10 minutes, or until you can comfortably slice the logs.

Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F.

Using a serrated knife, slice the logs at about a 45 degree angle creating slices about 3/4 to 1 inch thick.  Conduct a quality control study by snacking on the end piece trimmings. Place the biscotti slices back on the baking sheet and return to the oven for about 20 more minutes. The second baking is designed to dry out the biscotti and make them crisp. Transfer to cooling rack and serve at room temperature, or store in an airtight container for about a week.

What better way to welcome fall than to cook a whole pumpkin? I felt so seasonal arriving at a party this weekend offering up a cooked pumpkin filled with tasty stuffing; and what a great presentation for a buffet table.

photo by David Peterman

This is the first filled pumpkin I have ever baked and I learned a few things in the process. I was inspired after reading Doire Greenspan’s post on her filled pumpkin, so off to the farmer’s market I went. I chose a 9 pound Cinderella Pumpkin from the abundant selection. The round squat structure looked well suited for my plans and the lovely orange skin with a yellow blush was cheerful and festive. There is something exciting and fun about hauling a large pumpkin home.

Cinderella pumpkins have a much more solid network of flesh and seeds in the middle compared to the stringy mess that hides inside carving pumpkins. It scoops out just as easily and I did have to remind myself to leave the flesh in place; thin walls are great for carving, not such good eating.

The filling was inspired by what I had in the kitchen, which is why this recipe is so great. You can take the filling in all kinds of directions and not worry too much about following a recipe. Just keep building and tasting until it seems like enough volume to fill the cavity. I used cubes of bread, onion, garlic, apple, hazelnuts, gruyère cheese, sage, allspice, salt, pepper and a bit of cream. The filling was moist, but not wet. I filled the pumpkin and baked it in a pre-heated cast iron dutch oven that I lined with a layer of foil and parchment paper to act as a sling for easy removal after baking.

After 1 1/2 hours in a 350 degree F oven, it wasn’t making enough progress so I boosted the oven temp to 400 and removed the lid to the dutch oven.  Thirty minutes later I was beginning to smell the pumpkin aroma and I peeked under the pumpkin lid. Much to my surprise it was filled with bubbly, watery liquid. My delicious filling was swimming in pumpkin juices. The pumpkin was cooked; I was running out of time before needing to head to a party with the pumpkin, so I thought I would just roll with it. The untested foil and parchment sling was quite effective and I was able to lift the pumpkin out of the dutch oven, but spilled hot pumpkin juice on myself, then as I set the pumpkin on the counter the juices promptly began running out and onto the floor. Well, at least the filling is no longer swimming in liquid so one problem was solved. After giving the filling a stir and a taste, I was pleasantly surprised that the bread cubes were holding together and it tasted pretty darn good. By the time it was served at the party it had set up even more, no doubt due to the additional juices that drained out onto the floor mat of the car during transit, and everyone really liked it. The pumpkin meat was scooped off the walls and mixed in with the filling as people served themselves.

photo by David Peterman

I suspect cinderella pumpkins are just juicy pumpkins and not the best choice for this type of filling. A rice filling could have taken advantage of all the additional liquid. With a dryer style of squash this would be an outstanding dish. Though I seasoned the filling well, it wasn’t quite enough once the pumpkin was mixed in, so next time I will salt and pepper the inside of the pumpkin before adding the filling. With this one experience I am already hooked on cooking in a pumpkin pot and will continue to refine the process. By January everyone I know will be groaning when I show up  with another pumpkin pot.

A Pumpkin Pot

Much like a soup pot, you can base this dish on what you have on hand. Just build enough filling for the volume of your squash or pumpkin. Here is what I used for a 9 pound pumpkin.

4 cups stale bread cubes from a rustic, hearty loaf of bread*
1 medium onion, diced
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium apple, peeled, cored, cubed
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. fresh sage, chopped
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds, crushed
3/4 tsp. allspice, ground
1/2 tsp. salt, more to taste
1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted and rough chopped
3 ounces gruyere cheese, cubed
3/4 cup cream

Cut a lid in the pumpkin by carving around the top. Position the knife blade to create an inward angle so the lid won’t fall right through the hole. Scoop out the seeds and connective matter, but unlike preparing a jack-o-lantern, don’t scrape the meat off the side walls, that part is dinner!

Measure out a piece of foil long enough to lay across the bottom of the dutch oven and come up beyond the height of the side walls by three to four inches on each side. Cut a piece of parchment the same size. Set both aside.

Preheat oven and dutch oven pan (without the foil and parchment liner) to 375 degrees F.

Over medium-low heat, sweat the onions until translucent. Add the apples, garlic, cumin, allspice, salt and sage and sauté another minute or two. Remove from heat and add the bread cubes and hazelnuts and stir to combine. Adjust seasoning as needed. Mix in the cheese cubes and cream.

Sprinkle the inside of the pumpkin with salt and pepper and then stuff the cavity with the filling. Place the lid on the pumpkin. Lay out the piece of pre-measured foil, lay the piece of pre-measured parchment paper on top of the foil, then place the pumpkin in the center on top of the parchment paper. Give the foil/parchment sling a test by grabbing the excess material on either side of the pumpkin and lifting up. If the pumpkin feels stable enough use this sling to lift the pumpkin into the hot dutch oven. If you don’t have confidence that the sling will hold, reinforce it with another layer of foil.

Carefully remove the hot dutch oven from the oven. Lift the pumpkin sling and place it in the hot dutch oven. The pan is hot - be very careful not to touch it! Fold the excess foil and parchment across the top of the pumpkin and place the lid on the dutch oven. Place the pot in the oven to bake for 2-2 1/2 hours. During the last 30 minutes of baking you can remove the dutch oven lid and the pumpkin lid to brown the tip layer of stuffing. Once the pumpkin flesh is tender when pricked with the tip of a knife and the filling is bubbly and hot, it is ready to be removed from the oven.

Ready a serving platter. Carefully lift the cooked, very hot, pumpkin out of the dutch oven using the foil/parchment sling and set it on the serving platter. Using a sturdy spatula lift up one side of the pumpkin and slide the foil and parchment out from underneath then do the same on the other side. To serve, scoop some of the pumpkin meat from the walls up with the filling.

*If you have a fresh loaf of bread, you can “stale” the bread by laying the cubes on a sheet pan and baking them in a 250 degree F oven for 20-30 minutes until they feel dried out. They should develop a dry crust, but not become brown.

A perfect nibble for summer entertaining. The creamy avocado plays so perfectly against the bright tart flavor of grapefruit and rhubarb. Grapes chime in with a sweet note and a toasty crunch from almonds adds a little contrast. The bite-sized salad is brought together with the peppery bite of watercress and the cool crunch of the cucumber round. It looks and tastes like summer!

photo by David Peterman

The cucumber round as a delivery vehicle was a revelation inspired by the pressure of a ticking clock. The first time I made a salad hors d’oeuvre similar to this one, I rolled the salad in long thin strips of cucumber “noodles” and speared each one with a toothpick to keep them closed.  What a slow process that was. As I was madly preparing this salad to take to a friend’s party, I had to accept the fact that I would miss the entire event if I tried to roll the salad in strips of cucumber. I really hate to settle for a less-than option, and was quite pleased when “cucumber rounds” popped into my head. Initially I thought it was a reasonable substitute to the cucumber roll, but I am now of the opinion it is a superior presentation and I will forever save myself the effort of rolling spoon-fulls of salad in cucumber strips. 

The cucumber round allows the beautiful salad ingredients to dazzle your eyes before it even hits your palate. It can also be quickly assembled on-site when taking the canapes to a party, which is always better than trying to transport an assembled tray of hors d’oeuvres.

Deborah Madison, in her book Local Flavors, Cooking and Eating From America’s Farmer’s Markets, has a lovely avocado grapefruit salad with pomegranates and pistachios that is part of the inspiration behind my salad canapes. Additionally, earlier this year I had the good fortune to eat at Charlie Trotter’s new restaurant in Las Vegas, Restaurant Charlie, and enjoyed a wonderful asparagus, rhubarb, and nasturtium salad. The rhubarb was cut into long thin ribbons and pickled. It was delicious and made me realize I had never had rhubarb in a savory application, so I decided I needed to start playing around with rhubarb in applications beyond desserts. My Avocado Grapefruit Salad Canapes are the result of these two experiences. I hope you make them for a party this summer.

Avocado Grapefruit Salad Canapes
2 thin ribs of rhubarb
1 small red onion
2 grapefruit
1 avocado
1 cup seedless red grapes
1 bunch watercress
2 medium to large cucumbers
1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted
3 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
3 Tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar
2 Tbsp. water
1/4 cup orange juice
2 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Slice the red onion and rhubarb very thinly and place in a small bowl with the white wine vinegar, seasoned rice vinegar, and water. Mix the ingredients together, then place in the refrigerator for about an hour to marinate.

Cut the peel and pith off of the grapefruits. Carefully cut between the membrane sections to remove the wedges of grapefruit pulp leaving behind the membrane. Cut the grapefruit sections into small pieces and place in a medium bowl. Peel and cut the avocado into small pieces (about 1/4″-1/3″ cubes) and add them to the bowl with the grapefruit. Slice the grapes into quarters and add them to the bowl along with the toasted almonds.

To make the dressing, place the orange juice in a small bowl and whisk in the olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Wash and dry the watercress and remove any thick stems. Cut the bulk of the stems off, but don’t worry about using some of the stems. Rough chop the leaves and remaining stems by cutting through the watercress just two or three times. The watercress should be in larger pieces than the other ingredients that have been chopped. Add it to the bowl of chopped ingredients.

Slice the cucumbers into rounds thick enough to be stable when picked up, about 1/8″ thick. Set aside for assembly.

Drain the onion and rhubarb then add it to the bowl of chopped ingredients. Add the dressing and toss everything together. Taste salad and add additional salt and pepper if desired.

Place a spoon-full of salad on each cucumber round just before serving.