Welcome to Fall

I am feeling especially wonderful about the change of seasons. Blame it on all the changes that have taken place in my life as of late, but I am loving this fall thus far! Gone are the days of dreading the start of the cold weather and getting back into a routine.

What else am I loving about the returning of fall? Excellent question! 

1. It is now socially acceptable to flavor everything with pumpkin, like I do the rest of the year.

2. I can layer! My favorite piece of clothing is the cardigan (more evidence to prove that I am really a grandma at heart) and I have an extensive collection.

3. I can open up the windows at night and snuggle under the covers.

4. Quick bread is now my breakfast of choice, accompanied by a cup of tea and eaten on the porch (when I have time.)

5. Orchards will be in full bloom and brimming with fresh crispy apples.

6. I can throw fall themed house warming parties, like the one I have planned for next weekend!

7. The holiday season is right around the corner, which I am also incredibly excited for this year.

I could go on and on, but the overarching idea is that I am loving fall this year. What better way to celebrate the coming of fall but with a feast to celebrate?!

Here is what was on the menu:

Roasted Beet and Granny Apple Salad with Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette

Italian Pot Roast served over Creamy Parmesan Polenta

And for dessert, Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Vanilla Buttermilk Sauce

Sound scrumptious right?! Oh, trust me. It was. I am so completely thrilled to have leftovers in my refrigerator right now for later on this week... or later on tonight. The beets on the salad was my absolute favorite element of the meal though. Admittedly, this was the first time I had ever worked with beets personally, but I found some really gorgeous ones at the grocery this week and I couldn't resist. A low and slow roast in the oven with a sprinkling of salt and olive oil and I was in beet heaven.

Roasted Beet and Granny Smith Apple Salad with Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette

assorted salad greens (spinach, frisse, ridiccio, rocket, etc.)

sliced Granny Smith apples

diced roasted beets (recipe to follow)

toasted chopped pecans

crumbled feta cheese

maple balsamic vinaigrette (recipe to follow)

salt and pepper

Dress you salad greens as desired, and season with salt and pepper to taste (yes, this is how you do it.) Arrange the rest of the ingredients on top of your greens and toss lightly.

Roasted Beets

2-4 beets, of assorted colors and varieties

salt

olive oil

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Wash beets and then pat dry with a paper towel. make a pocket for the beets with aluminum foil, leaving a window in the top to season. Pour enough oil into the pocket to come up the side of the beets one third of the way. Sprinkle generously with salt. Close the foil pocket to fully encompass the beets and roast until tender, about one hour, depending on how large your beets are. Remove beets and allow to cool to room temperature. Peel and reserve the roasting oil.

Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette

oil from roasting the beets (about 3/4 of a cup)
maple balsamic vinegar*
salt and pepper

Whisk vinegar into the oil to create a temporary emulsion. Season with salt and pepper to taste and dress greens immediately.
* feel free to substitute maple syrup and balsamic vinegar for the maple flavored balsamic vinegar. Just warm the syrup in the microwave first, to help the emulsion process.

Our 2 Days of Christmas

I hope this blog post finds you and yours happy, healthy, and simply tickled with the satisfaction of having a few days off for the holidays. I know I certainly am; what could be better than sipping a mug of your favorite tea while painting your nails with a new Essie nail polish Santa left in your stocking (called "Damsel in a Dress" - by far the best nail polish brand out there) and looking back at the past few days' pictures and reflecting on the memories made this year? Nothing, nothing is better than that.

To top it all off, my family's health seems to be on the up and up as well! We have all been struck by either the stomach virus or winter cold throughout the past week, and have taken turns fulfilling the duties of Christmas preparation while the others are nursed back to health. After all, the show must go on. Thank goodness I wasn't sick until Christmas Day, meaning that I, along with the irreplaceable help of my sister, was still well enough to prepare all of the Christmas feasts, which includes Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day brunch.

As you go about your day, most likely picking up where you left off last week at the office or in school work, please take a moment to savor the feeling of family togetherness and kinship, and try to sustain that throughout the year.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!

Tarragon honey glazed baby carrots

Parmesan, orange, and toasted walnut salad

 Homemade balsamic orange vinaigrette

My Nannan's (my mom's grandma) pillowy soft sweet rolls. I think I finally managed to get close to her  baked masterpieces.

One of my Dad's favorites: scalloped potatoes, straight out of the Betty Crocker cookbook.

Checking for a perfect 140 degrees medium rare on our beef tenderloin...

...rubbed with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and lots of fresh rosemary.

Our Christmas Eve dinner table, set oh so beautifully by my sister

Conquering the Wish List: #1

For those of you out there who follow my blog regularly, first of all, thank you; I am flattered you have chosen to spend some of your time reading about what I have been up to in the kitchen! But you also may remember a blog from a few posts back about a wish list of sorts that I have been keeping (and for those of you who are behind in their Peach&Kiwi reading, this list can be found here .) This blog is one of many that are to come in the future in an effort to conquer this list. Life is short, the culinary world is gigantic, and I want to taste every bit of it!

I thought it would be fun to use the upcoming holidays to scour the groceries, markets, and hopefully stocking stuffers (if Santa thinks I have been good enough to stuff my stocking with the spices I have asked for) to cross some items off this list and to try some ingredients (and cuisines) that I have never had the pleasure of try before. Call it a Christmas present to myself. First off the list: short ribs.

Over the past Thanksgiving break, not only did my family indulge in our delicious Thanksgiving feast, but they also partook in my venture into "obscure-cuts-of-meat" land. Short ribs are not the craziest cut there is, but they are hardy a mainstay on American dinner tables. Which is a shame, because with the stereotypical beautifully marblized fat paired with a low and slow braising method of cooking, short ribs could quickly become addicting. By putting a nice sear on the outsides in a screaming hot stock pot (heat the olive oil until it just starts to give off wisps of smoke, then stand back when carefully lowering the ribs into the pot) you are developing the sugars on the outside of the meat, searing in the juices from escaping during the braise, and building that crust that we all know, love, and expect from a nice piece of beef.

Lavishing the sunshine - and hoping there is an olive oil decanter in my stocking this Christmas!

Searing the short ribs to caramelize the natural sugars in the meat.

Beautifully developed sear.

Finished short ribs after braising for two hours.

Almost too pretty to eat... almost.

To accompany this meaty, rich, and indulgent main course, I thought I would stay basic and simple. Which for me usually means heading to the produce section of the grocery and picking up whatever looks the freshest. Fresh produce is so hard to beat, and the better quality (and in season) ingredients you use, the less fussing you have to so over them and the more you can simply let the ingredients speak for themselves. This week, kale was looking particularly intriguing. Greens have always been a favorite of my Dad and I have grown to love them too, but with my own twist. I don't fry them with bacon fat or wilt them down with butter, sorry grandma's everywhere. Instead, I just cook them down until crisp tender with some chicken stock, garlic, and red pepper flakes. The heat from the pepper cut through some of the richness of the beef but wasn't over powering, and the crisp greens were able to stand up to the fall-off-the-bone tender short rib and creamy polenta. A perfect accompaniment.

And now to start on the Kale - on  of my Dad's (and now my) favorite dark greens!

Looks like a lot, but this entire pan will cook down to a decent portion for three people.

Think Italian oatmeal when you think of polenta - it is just as simple, heart-warmingly hearty, and versatile. It is a blank slate that you can flavor with any number of ingredients and mix-in, and served as a great vessel for sopping up all the juices from the short ribs (and for pan searing and serving with maple syrup for breakfast the next day!)

Polenta! Made creamy (and distinctly Italian) with olive oil, sage, and a little sprinkling of Parmesan.

My favorite part of my job! Quality control.

You eat with your eyes first... doesn't this make you want to dive right in?!

Final plated short rib, nestled on a bed of Italian polenta, braised kale, and demi glas.

All of this is very fool-proof and I can't wait to hear about some of your all's ventures into uncharted territory. Try using this holiday season to cross something off your "I really want to make that" list. Short ribs, check. And every bit was delicious. And a big thanks to my sister for again taking these breathtaking photographs. 

Soups are the Perfect Re-purposers!

Everyone knows that one of the easiest ways to use up the odds and ends left in your refrigerator after a long week of cooking and creating is to dump it all in big pot and let it simmer until the flavors mellow together and turn into something perfectly acceptable for dinner.

The vegetable soup featured here is a gift from Mommaw from this past weekend's visit. I also acquired a loaf of banana bread and some pumpkin cupcakes on this trip... I'm just a bit spoiled.

Mommaw makes vegetable soup just the way I like it - with EVERY vegetable imaginable in it. This one featured peas, black beans, kidney beans, carrots, celery, onion, cabbage, spinach, tomatoes, corn, and diced flank steak, and then I stirred in some leftover chipotle chili roasted potatoes from last night. I paired all those wonderful vegetables and savory broth with some cornbread and I was a happy camper, especially on this cold, dreary day of rain and wind. Maybe a cup of tea is now in order and I will settle down to finish this business paper.