Vibrant Greens

Here's another dish that could be a healthy addition to your Thanksgiving table. I saw this last week and knew I was going to be making it soon. Not for my Thanksgiving (I'm not cooking!), but for a tasty lunch before I leave. It's kind of a fresher take on that insane green bean casserole with the fried onions and mushroom gunk. I loved everything about this dish. The green beans were crisp and fresh reminding me of how I used to snack on green beans from my mom's garden back in high school. It took me a little longer than the recommended 7-10 to get my leeks to the crispy point. I almost gave up, but I am glad I let them get there. The only change I would make in this is to use less dill. I found 1/3 of a cup to be a bit much. I will probably do 1/4 cup next time. You can find the original recipe here. Are you making anything special for your Thanksgiving?

Garlicky Kale

I had a head of kale that I needed to use before I leave town on Thursday. Kale has recently become my favorite dark green. I really wanted to make kale chips again, but I also thought it would be nice to find another way to use them. This recipe struck me for it's simplicity. Even though I grew up in the Bay Area (among other places), I have never dined at Chez Panisse although Alice Waters is kind of a hero of mine for her philosophies on food. I have to say, this was really easy and so incredibly delicious. I probably use way more garlic than I should have, but I love garlic so I didn't have a problem with it. It's not like I had to worry about kissing anyone with garlic breath (wah wah). I loved the little kick from the red pepper flakes and the tart bite from the vinegar. If you're looking for something a little healthy to have with your Thanksgiving feast, you should definitely try this recipe. You will not be disappointed.


Garlicky Kale
(From the Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook)

1 large head of kale
Extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
Red pepper flakes
Red wine vinegar
Pepper

Remove the stems from the kale and coarsely tear or chop the leaves. Wash and drain well, but do not dry. Heat a large saute pan and add about a tablespoon of olive oil and the kale. Cook over high heat while stirring to rotate the leaves. Season with salt, cover and reduce the heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender. About 4-5 minutes. If the leaves begin to scorch, add a splash of water.

When the leaves are tender, push the kale to one side of the pan and add an extra drizzle of olive oil, the garlic, and a pinch of red pepper flakes to the bare spot. Just as you smell the aroma of the farlic, stir to combine it with the kale. Turn off the heat, add a splash of vinegar. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper as needed. Serve warm or at room temperature.




Adele plug of the week! Miss Thang was on KCRW last week. If you have some time (like half an hour), check out her performance below!

Mint Cream Brownies

I went to a birthday party last night and even though the Evite promised cupcakes, I still wanted to bring something from me. The birthday girl is a former coworker who I think I see more of now that I don't work with her. She also reads my blog so of course I wanted to make a little treat and write about it! Shout out! By the way, am I odd in thinking that a 10PM start time for a party is really late? Maybe it's just my advancing years, but I had to attempt a nap before going out! This is another recipe I spotted on TasteSpotting and knew I had to make soon. After a quick trip to The Grove, I came home and got to work. By the way, I am so glad I went to the mall now and not next weekend. It was already crazy with pre-Christmas shoppers! This was pretty simple to make, but I had to reheat the chocolate mixture because the first time I made it, it was more of a solid mass than a pourable liquid. Also, I used my new 9-inch baking pan, but I think an 8-inch pan would have been better. I barely had enough batter to cover the top, but I think the peppermint creams sticking out of the top add character. Right? These were really good. They were more cakey than I like my brownies to be, but the mint creams added a touch of the chewiness that I like. I got my mint creams at Trader Joes which are normally something I like to pop in the freezer and have whenever I have a chocolate mint craving (like every other day).


Mint Cream Brownies
(From Coconut and Lime)

Dark chocolate peppermint creams
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs


Preheat oven to 350. Spray with baking spray or grease and flour one 9 inch baking pan. In a saucepan, melt the butter, cocoa and chocolate together over low heat. Stir occasionally, and when the chocolate is nearly melted, remove from heat. Whisk until smooth. Set aside.

In a small bowl, stir together flour, salt, baking powder. In a separate bowl, beat together the brown sugar, sugar, eggs and vanilla until frothy. Slowly stream the chocolate mixture into the eggs and mix to combine. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients and mix until the batter is thick and glossy. Pour half into prepared pan. Top with peppermint patties, then top with remaining batter. Bake 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely before slicing and serving.


So, like I mentioned, Tony and I went shopping yesterday. I picked up this kick ass pair of shoes that I am sooo excited about. They are so me, playful, silly, and totally fun. Dontcha think?

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

I should warn you...this post contains some serious food porn. It all started a few weeks ago when I promised my friend Tony some kicked up pumpkin pancakes. This was mostly because I have vats of pumpkin left over from Halloween (bought too much). Tony does lots of little things for me, mostly like being my taste tester for recipes on this site, so I like to reward him once in a while. Last week we settled on the kicked up pancakes...until I saw a post on TasteSpotting that I knew I had to make. I have never made cinnamon rolls mostly because most recipes I see call for the use of my non-existent stand mixer (I'm working on getting one before the new year, but there are no promises). I have been wanting to make cinnamon rolls ever since I recently overcame my fear of yeast. I made only a few modifications, mostly because of what I had on hand. I had to sub honey in for molasses, and I used a little less powdered sugar than called for in the frosting. I must say though, this is one of the best cream cheese frostings I have ever made and this may be my go to from now on. Even though my rolls were clearly not even, this recipe was so easy these were frakking amazing. After I tried one, I immediately texted Tony and said he should start looking for a wedding ring for me...even though in my state we recently (ridiculously) outlawed the right for people like him to get married. ANYway, if you have some pumpkin and the rest of the ingredients, I strongly suggest you back away from your computer and go make these immediately. You will not be sorry.


Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
(Adapted slightly from Fullblown Technicolor)

For the dough:
1 packet of active yeast
1/2 cup of warm water
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp course salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
3 cups all purpose flour

For the filling:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp honey
2 tsp cinnamon


For the frosting:
1/4 cup butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1 or 2 dashes cinnamon
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Mix yeast and warm water in a large bowl and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Add in the rest of the dough ingredients and thoroughly combine. Add a little more flour if it needs a more doughy consistency.

Turn dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes, then allow to rest for 15 minutes.

Mix filling ingredients together in a small bowl until you have a sugar paste.
Roll dough out in a large rectangle to 1/4 inch thick then spread the sugar filling evenly over the dough, roll into a long cylinder and cut into 9 equal pieces. Place slices in a greased 8x8 baking dish and allow to rise for 45 minutes to an hour until doubled in size, then bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Mix together frosting ingredients. When the rolls have cooled slightly, spread with a rubber spatula over the top of the rolls while they're still in the dish.

Big Apple Pancakes

I was going to wait and do this recipe next week, but after a completely stupid day yesterday, I was in the mood for a glass of wine and something sweet. I'm so happy it's Friday, but wish it was the end of the day instead of the beginning. I'm glad I had this recipe to sweeten my night. This was really easy and surprisingly quick! I made a couple of changes to lighten it up. I used half whole wheat flour and nonfat milk. I used an 8-inch pan to make this and besides cutting one wedge out (for presentation purposes), I ate this straight outta the pan. What? It's just me! This didn't puff up as much as I thought it would. Maybe because of my modifications, but it was so yummy. I found the final product a tad too greasy, so next time I will use less butter. However, the top was nice and a little crunch with brown sugar and the apples were cinnamony and not too sweet. Don't you love having breakfast for dinner?


I have some serious baking and cooking planned for the next couple of days, none of it having to do with Thanksgiving so I hope you will be back to see what I have been up to. In the meantime, I just wanted to let you know that my feed issues seem to be fixed so those that were having problems with it before...well, I hope you're not having those problems anymore. Also, I got an award!! A little while ago Debbie at Mocha Me gave me the Kreativ Blogger award. Then, a couple of days ago, Reeni at Cinnamon Spice & Everything nice gave me the Super Scribbler Award. Coincidentally, Reeni's site is where I found this recipe.

I've never been one to follow rules, but there are some for the Super Scribbler, which I will sort of follow:

The Rules:
1. Post the award on your blog
2. Link to me for giving it to you
3. Link the originating post here
4. Pass it on to five deserving people
5. Post these rules for your recipients


Here's who I am giving it to (in no particular order):

Miss Marie
Eating Club Vancouver
Culinary Adventures of a New Wife
Mango & Tomato

Haha!!! I rebelled. I'm only doing four.

And the Kreativ Blogger goes to:

The Food Librarian



Feel free to pass these along however you wish! Have a wonderful Friday and check out this adorable video featuring my favorite artist Adele. I just got tickets to her show in January. So excited to see her perform again.

Big Apple Pancakes
(Adapted from Food Network)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large apple, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4-inch thick
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
Pinch salt
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
Ground cinnamon
1 or 2 lemon wedges

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. In a large ovenproof skillet (preferably with curved sides), melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium heat. Add the apple slices and cook, stirring, until tender, about 10 minutes.

Add 1 tablespoons of the brown sugar and a dash or two of cinnamon and stir to combine. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, sugar, salt, milk, and flour. Pour this batter over the apples in the skillet, transfer to the oven, and bake until puffy, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix a few dashes of cinnamon and remaining 1 tablespoon brown sugar. Cut the remaining tablespoon of butter into pieces. When the pancake puffs, remove from the oven, dot with butter, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, and return to the oven to bake until browned, about 10 minutes more. As the pancake comes out of the oven, squeeze the lemon lightly over the top. Serve in wedges right out of the pan

BB Bonus Recipe: Chive Risotto Cakes

Deb of Kahakai Kitchen won the prize for referring the most people to Barefoot Bloggers last month. That means Deb got to choose the bonus recipe for November. Isn't she lucky? Deb chose Chive Risotto Cakes from the new book Back to Basics. Deb must have been reading my mind. I have a ton of Arborio left over from when we made Butternut Squash Risotto and while I definitely want to try another risotto, this was a really fun way of using some of the rice. This recipe is easily halved and I used non-fat Greek yogurt, not really in an attempt to lighten it up, but more because it's what I had on hand. This past weekend, Raul and I made our weekly trip to the farmers market. We chatted with the salad guys a little longer than normal which could be why I got my chives for FREE! Love those guys! A note about this recipe. Make sure you cool the mixture for at least the recommended two hours. Impatient me was starving and I only gave it an hour to chill. They still turned out great, but it was a bitch to keep these together. The first few fell apart until I got the hang of it. I kept refrigerating the mixture between batches. That said, these little cakes are quite simply amazing. Does anyone know of any Ina recipes that don't work? This was an optional recipe so not all of the other Barefoot Bloggers made it, but to see if they did or not, click here.

Chive Risotto Cakes
(Adapted from Ina Garten)

Makes about 12 cakes

Kosher salt
1/2 cup uncooked Arborio rice
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1 large egg
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
3/4 cup grated Fontina cheese
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Panko
Extra-virgin olive oil

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 3/4 teaspoon salt and the Arborio rice. Cook, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes. Drain the rice in a sieve and run under cold water until cool. Drain well.

Meanwhile, whisk together the yogurt, egg, chives, Fontina, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper in a medium bowl. Add the cooked rice and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight, until firm.

When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

Spread the panko in a shallow dish. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Form balls of the rice mixture using an ice cream scoop or large spoon. Pat the balls into patties 3/4 inch thick. Place 4-6 patties in the panko, turning once to coat. Place the patties in the hot oil and cooking. turning once, for about 3-4 minutes on each side until the risotto cakes are crisp and nicely browned. Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and keep warm in the oven for up to 30 minutes. Continue cooking in batches, adding oil as necessary until all the cakes are fried. Serve hot.

Stove Top Mac and Cheese

The last few weeks, I have been planning out most of the meals I will be consuming and writing about that week. This has been helping me stay more organized at the grocery store and farmers market and keep a better budget. Somehow, yesterday, I realized that for the rest of the week I only have baked goods on that list (making some treats for some friends). While gabbing with Tony all day yesterday...I mean working, I realized I didn't have any dinners or lunches planned. I have had a serious craving for mac and cheese lately. The weather here in SoCal has been more beach weather than fuzzy sweater weather which is usually when I crave such food, but when I came home last night and and there was a mac and cheese showdown on tv, I knew it was a sign that I had to make the cheesy goodness immediately if not sooner. I love a good baked mac and cheese, and even though it has "cooled down" from 91 to 86, turning on the oven did not sound so awesome. I wanted an easy stove top recipe and a little while ago I had bookmarked this recipe. The best part of it was that you can customize this recipe so many ways. I lurrrrve bacon in my mac and cheese and a little bit of onion and garlic flavor doesn't bother me either. If you are a macaroni and cheese purist, don't do these additions. I had some Fontina cheese leftover from the recipe you will see tomorrow so I used that in this recipe and added some extra-sharp cheddar as well. Measurements aren't super important, as long as the total amount of cheese is around four ounces. This was so creamy and good. Totally easy to prepare and would have been fast if I hadn't added the bacon and shallots. I loved this right out of the pot, but if I must confess, I really like mac and cheese out of the refrigerator as well.

Stove Top Mac and Cheese
(Adapted from Wandering Chopsticks)

6 slices bacon
1 shallot, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
Kosher salt
1/2 lb elbow macaroni
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups milk
Fontina cheese, shredded
Extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Cayenne pepper

In a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Set the bacon aside to drain on paper towels and crumble when cooled. Drain most of the fat from the pan and add the shallot and garlic. Cook until translucent and lightly season with salt and pepper. Stir the bacon back in to the onion mixture and set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook to al dente, about 7 minutes. Drain the pasta.

Meanwhile, in a large pot add the butter over medium-low heat. When the butter is half melted, add the flour and stir to combine. When the butter is completely melted, add the milk and cook for 5-10 minutes until the mixture has reached the desired thickness.

Add the cheese and a few dashes of cayenne to the bechamel and stir until it has melted. Add the bacon and shallot mixture to the cheese sauce and stir until combined. Add the drained pasta to the cheese sauce and stir until the pasta is well coated.

Pumpkin Oatmeal

Hooray!! My computer and camera are once again in harmony. Turns out it was my computer that wasn't playing fair. A trip to the Apple store last night and the (totally cute) guy at the Genius Bar fixed my baby. So I am back to my regular posting. It is so nice to not have to drag my camera and cables to work everyday so I can upload pictures. Anyway...I saw this recipe last week and knew it was going to be in my meal plan in the near future. Normally my weekday breakfasts consist of an egg, toast, and a piece of fruit. Kind of boring. I love oatmeal, but don't cook it much because I don't buy milk regularly. This was delicious. I love the pumpkin flavor (and color). I upped the amount of cinnamon because I love cinnamon. Also, I have some vanilla sugar that I made recently so I stirred a little of that in to the oatmeal and topped it with what I had on hand. Hence the pom seeds. If you are pressed for time in the mornings, make the oatmeal the night before and then reheat it before you add the toppings. It's finally starting to cool down in So Cal and the firefighters are gaining control on the wildfires. To find out how you can donate to the relief fund, click here.


Pumpkin Oatmeal
(Adapted from Dinners for a Year and Beyond)

Makes 1 serving

1 cup milk (I used nonfat)
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
Pomegranate seeds
Chopped walnuts
Brown sugar for sprinkling

Bring milk and salt to a boil. Stir in the oats. Cook for 3 minutes. Add the cinnamon, pumpkin, and vanilla sugar and cook an additional 2-8 minutes until the oatmeal reaches desired consistency.

Top oatmeal with pomegranates, walnuts, and a sprinkling of brown sugar.

Jazzed Up Black Bean Dip

Things I did this weekend (in no particular order): watched TV, rallied for equal rights with my friends, painted my finger and toenails a lovely red color, got my hair did, farmers marketed, and did a monster Trader Joes run. You may be wondering where I found time to eat during all of that. The truth is, while I am a huge advocate of eating whole meals and making things from scratch, once in a while, I have to take the easy way out. I found this old can of Trader Joes bean dip in my apartment and figured I had to use it soon (mostly because the sell-by date was unclear). Of course in true to me-self, I had to make some major upgrades and serve it with the good chips. I added some spices and things and this was the perfect food to kick back with on this particular Friday. Is it just me or does it seem like the purpose of every week is to reach the weekend? Well hope you all had a lovely one and that you stick around to see what I will bring you the rest of this week. I have a date with the Genius Bar at the Apple store tonight, so hopefully my computer issues will be resolved too!

If you have been affected by the wildfires raging in Southern California, my thoughts and prayers are with you.


Jazzed Up Black Bean Dip
(By Esi)

2 teaspoons canola oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 green onion, sliced, reserve some for garnish
1/2 can Trader Joes black bean dip
Juice from 2 limes (I used really small, difficult to juice limes, you may find that one lime is fine)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Kosher salt
Tortilla chips for serving

In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and green onions and cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the bean dip and spread all over so that it can heat evenly. Add the lime juice and red pepper flakes and mix until it is well combined.

When the bean dip is heated through, add about a tablespoon cheese and mix until it is all melted. Season with salt. Serve warm, topped with another tablespoon or so of cheese and the remaining green onions.

Chicken with Creamy Polenta and Sauteed Swiss Chard

As I mentioned yesterday, I knew I couldn't just have onions for dinner. A lot of the other Barefoot Bloggers said they would serve their onions with roasted chicken and a few had theirs with salad, but I wanted to do something a little different. I decided to go with a simple sauteed chicken breast. I had some Swiss chard that I needed to use so I found a recipe for sauteed Swiss chard. I wanted a bit more substance to the meal and I have been itching to try Martha's polenta recipe so I thought I would throw that in the mix. This was quite the weeknight dinner, but I got home a little early so I had plenty of time to prepare it...for myself. (wah wah) Anyway, everything came together really well. I do wish I had read the note at the end of the chard recipe that said the chard could be cleaned up to two days in advance. That would have saved me some time since I don't think I cleaned the chard quite as well as I should have. So if you do decide to make this...clean your chard early! I don't know if I will be able to post over the weekend, I will be pretty busy and my computer is still effing up, but I hope you all have a fantastic one and if you are in LA - go to the beach! It's probably the only place that won't be ghastly hot this weekend!





Creamy Polenta
(Adapted from Everyday Food)

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
6 tablespoons yellow cornmeal or polenta (not quick-cooking)
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tablespoon butter

In a large saucepan, bring 2 cups water, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of pepper to a boil over high heat. Whisking constantly, very gradually add the cornmeal in a thin strea, whisking until smooth before adding more.

Reduce the heat to medium-low, simmer, whisking often, until thickened about 10-15 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in cheese and butter until smooth. Serve immediately

Sauteed Swiss Chard with Onions
(Adapted from Epicurious)


1 bunch Swiss chard (about 2 large bunches)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 a medium onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Cut stems and center ribs from chard, discarding any tough portions, then cut stems and ribs crosswise into 2-inch pieces. This can be done up to 2 days in advance and keep the chard in sealed bag lined with dampened paper towels.

Heat oil and butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat until foam subsides, then cook onions and garlic with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper, covered, stirring occasionally, until onions begin to soften, about 8 minutes. Add chard, stirring until wilted, and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl.