Event Highlights: Holiday Dinner with Pley
Mung bean hummus (left) and beet caviar
Malcolm presides over the half-set table
A few shots from my dinner with Pley last Saturday. I fed 24 of their employees at my home - such a fun group!
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(Non) Recipe: How to make shortbread without a recipe
Yours in 20 minutes - spelt and whole wheat shortbread with cumin, lemon zest, and himalayan sea salt
I have the bad habit of alienating non-cooks who compliment my food by exclaiming things like "it's so easy to make! You just make a choux paste, and you'll need some piping bags, but after that blah blah..." at which point they either feel put to shame or their eyes have turned into glacé cherries in disinterest. Social grace, where art thou?
But shortbread! It really is very easy. I mean, really. I swear. If a friend says he's dropping by in 30 minutes, you can blithely say "ok, I'll make some cookies!" and mean it because it's 1) super likely you have all the ingredients and 2) easy to scale up or down (if you just wanted 4 cookies you could do that!) and 3) they only take 20 minutes - total. Here, I've broken it down into a simple ratio that you can memorize and apply to whatever you have on hand:
Ratios:
- 1 part sugar/sweetener
- 2 parts butter - room temperature
- 4 parts flour
- salt to taste (more if butter is unsalted)
- flavorings/spices
By flour, I mean any type of flour! Whole wheat, spelt, pastry - a blend of any of these - all will taste great. There are two exceptions: almond flour, which is a great GF alternative but will only need half as much butter, and bread flour, which will make a tough cookie and should be avoided.
By sugar, I mean any sweetener - white sugar, brown sugar, sucanat, powdered sugar (which make for extra delicate cookies), or even honey will work.
By butter, I mean any fat that's solid at room temperature: salted butter (use less salt), unsalted, lard, duck fat, or coconut oil.
By flavorings, I mean any assortment of the following (which is by no means an exhaustive list): vanilla, almond, or lemon extract, citrus zest, lavender, cinnamon, nutmeg, rosemary, sage, black pepper, chopped nuts - either folded in to the dough with the flour or sprinkled on top of the cookies before baking.
Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 350.
In a big bowl, cream butter, sugar, and any wet add-ins. Really cream them. Cream them like you're a sixth grader who wants their 4th-grade lunch. The more you whip them, the lighter your cookies will be.
In a smaller bowl, combine flour, salt, and any dry add-ins. Slowly incorporate into wet ingredients, stirring only enough to combine. Don't overwork the dough! If you have a flour sifter, you can use it here - it will make your cookie extra tender.
With a gentle touch, gather the dough in the bowl until it's all one mass and set on a floured surface. Roll out to a cylinder as fat as you want your cookies wide.
If the dough's too soft to handle, wrap the cylinder and stick it in the freezer for a few minutes to firm up.
Slice the dough into thin (1/2 in) slices and arrange on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with any additional toppings and bake 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.
Rocket Fuel Breakfast (backpacking recipe)
Bound to get you movin' ...
Oatmeal! It's the gloppiest. When it's bad, it's so bad.
The following is my way to make it not bad, even when it's instant oatmeal and you're out in the middle of nowhere with no fresh fruit or pats of butter to smear it with.
I developed this "recipe" (if you can call it that) to feed our group breakfast on a short backpacking trip last weekend (see: previous post). 22 miles of undulating terrain under the weight of heavy packs calls for some serious sustenance that's (in order of priority) lightweight, instant (just add water), filling, and delicious.
I'm not much of a breakfast person (too lazy - toast is about as far as I go), but when I got home I had some leftovers of this stuff. I ate it every day this week (making more when I ran out) because - seriously - it's like rocket fuel. It's in no way low-calorie, but it's instant, delicious, and will get you through the day (whether you're hiking 10 miles or just have back-to-back meetings until 3pm).
Rocket Fuel Oatmeal
(serves four, or one over four days!)
- 2 cups instant oatmeal
- 1/2c hemp hearts
- 1/4c dehydrated milk powder
- 1/4c coconut butter (if you can't find it, use coconut oil)
- 1/4c dried sour cherries (or other dried fruit)
- 1 scant tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon or ginger (optional)
Optional toppings: brown sugar, cacao nibs, roasted almonds, granola, fresh fruit
Instructions:
Melt your coconut butter or oil in the microwave or on the stovetop until liquid.
If you're backpacking, combine all non-topping ingredients in a ziploc gallon bag and shake. If you're pre-making breakfasts for home, combine ingredients in a bowl and portion into ziplocs (less eco-friendly) or small Tupperware containers.
When you're ready to eat, mix oatmeal and boiling water in about equal parts and let sit for at least 5 minutes. Add toppings and enjoy!
Note: I like my oatmeal unsweetened except for fruit and love the textural contrast of topping it with crunchy granola. Try it.
Relaxing in the hot pools before hitting the trail again
Recipe: The Last of the Gazpachos
Life in San Francisco sure does screw up one's sense of the seasons - so much so that I hosted a Supper Club celebrating the beginning of summer...
...a week after Labor Day.
It's consistently sunny and warm these days (as compared to August, when I had the foggiest and coldest birthday party of my life). In fact, the only way you can really tell what season it is around here is by what's ripe at the farmer's market. Luckily, while fall's deep gems are creeping their way into the rotation, there's still plenty of summer goodies to cook up for a dinner with friends. That's just what I did last week, when I started my dinner with friends with this vegan and nearly-raw soup. While it's quite a long process to put it together, the end result is quite transcendent - it tastes like everything bright and good about summer in San Francisco.
NOTE: This recipe will put some serious miles on your blender. Don't worry too much about a thorough cleaning after each go - I just rinsed it out (it's all being mixed together eventually anyway!)
Golden Gazpacho w. Sriracha Granita & Basil Oil
adapted from Serious Eats by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt
For soup:
- 4 pounds very ripe yellow tomatoes, cored (I used a mix of super flavorful baby tomatoes and larger heirlooms)
- One medium cucumber, peeled & seeded
- 1/2 pound (about 1 medium) red onion, peeled
- 1/2 pound (about 2 medium) yellow or orange bell peppers, cores removed
- 2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 6 ounces (about 3 slices) white sandwich, French, or Italian bread, crusts removed and set aside (no sourdough or otherwise strongly-flavored bread, but GF should work)
- 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar (white or red wine vinegar will work too)
For granita:
- One container (about 10oz) red cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 Tb sugar
- 2 tsp sriracha or other hot sauce (to taste)
- 1 Tb tomato paste (if you don't have any, ketchup is acceptable - this is for color)
For basil oil:
- 2 cups basil
- 1 cup mild olive oil or grapeseed oil
Roughly chop tomatoes, cucumber, onion, and pepper into one-inch chunks. Combine with garlic and salt in a large bowl and toss to coat thoroughly. Let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, start on the granita:
Blend one container of red cherry tomatoes in the blender until reasonably liquidated.
In a pan, combine water, sugar, sriracha, and tomato paste. Bring to a boil and cook until sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Using a fine mesh strainer, pour in the tomatoes. Stir to combine and transfer to a wide bowl or baking dish (a cake pan would work well).
Put granita into the freezer.
Back to the soup:
Drain accumulated veggie juices into a large bowl and add the bread. Transfer the drained vegetables to a rimmed baking sheet and place in freezer until vegetables are frozen, about 40 min.
When the soup veggies are frozen, remove them from the freezer. While you're in there, give the granita a brisk stir with a fork. You'll want to do this every 45 minutes or so from here on out so it doesn't become one big ice block. Allow the veggies to sit at room temperature until mostly thawed, about 30 minutes (another good time to stir the granita!). Transfer vegetables and all their juices from the pan to bowl with soaked bread.
Working in batches as necessary, blend vegetables, juice, and bread at high speed, slowly drizzling olive oil and sherry vinegar into blender as it blends. Strain soup through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Gazpacho can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
By now, the soup is done and your granita is workin' on becoming icy (keep stirring it every so often!). The only part left is the most delicious - basil oil! Using your blender once again, blend the basil & oil until it's pesto-ey. Pour into a small saucepan and let it infuse over very low heat for 30-40 minutes. Using a very fine mesh filter, cheesecloth, or a coffee filter, strain basil out and reserve oil.
If you'd like croutons, crumble the bread crust you reserved earlier and fry over medium heat in basil oil until golden.
To serve, use a fork to loosen flakes of the granita and top each bowl with a spoonful. Add a few elegant squirts of the oil and a pinch of the croutons. Enjoy right away, before the ice melts and summer is over!
<3 Sophie
Recipe: Fig Flatbread
If you're worrying about or how you can appease your dinner party guests while you run around like a headless chicken in the kitchen trying to make sure your pork cutlets are pounded and your cocktails are mixed, figs are the answer.
They're gorgeous without trying, the perfect size for snacking, and harmonize easily with both savory and sweet flavors. The names alone are alluring - Green Kadota, Black Mission, Calimyrna - I mean, come on - they're the sexiest fruit out there! They're at the peak of their season here in California, but the season is short. Go forth and gather all the figs you can NOW, hear me?
Besides buying every type I can find, cutting them open to show their jeweled insides, and pairing them with salty meats and cheeses, I love to use figs on flatbread. I buy pre-made levain for its thin, light, crunchy ease, but you could also make a homemade focaccia or pizza dough if you're feeling industrious or want something more substantial for a main dish.
Fig Flatbread with Chevre & Reduced Balsamic
Preheat your oven to 375°. On two cookie sheets, lay out 4 sheets of levain flatbread. Sprinkle generously with olive oil and sea salt and use a pastry brush or your fingers to spread the oil to all the corners. If you have some on hand, a generous dusting of za'atar is also a nice touch here.
Pop the flatbreads in the oven and bake for 5 minutes, or until they start to crisp. Don't let them get too brown because they'll be going back into the oven.
While the flatbreads are pre-baking, slice 1 pound of figs into half inch slices. When the flatbreads emerge from the oven, arrange the sliced figs on top and crumble about 6 ounces chevre cheese over the figs. Other cheeses would be great here as well - shredded parmesan, manchego, and feta especially. Use what you have on hand, and don't pay too much attention to measurements.
Return the figged-out flatbreads to the oven and bake an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the figs have softened and the levain is lightly browned on the edges.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Slice into bite-sized pieces an scatter with finely sliced basil and a few squirts of balsamic vinegar reduction (found at most grocery stores or easily made by boiling balsamic until it's 1/4 of its original volume).
Allow someone else to open the wine, and enjoy the ease of your guests stuffing their faces until you're ready for the rest of dinner to emerge!
Recipe: Melon Tower Salad (for hot days)
This post originally appeared a few days ago as a guest blog on Kellan's Kitchen. It's the first in a three-part series on savory fruit dishes. Kellan is an amazing private chef in the Bay Area and Tahoe - check out his site!
I'm currently sitting in my parents' kitchen on a cool 95° day in Chico. All I can think about it how nice this salad would taste right now (if I only had the ingredients!) and how guilty I'd feel if I didn't share it with you before summer in San Francisco really gets kicking.
Melon Towers
Serves 8
Confession time: I’m a single lady with a bad fruit shopping habit. This time of year is especially tough - the glut of rosy stone fruit, taut melons, and perfect shiny berries at my local farmer’s market always makes me feel guilty if I don’t take home some of every kind.
As much as I’d like to eat pies and crisps all day and as likely as I am to gorge on watermelon straight over the sink, I needed to find a different route to using summer fruit, lest it be relegated to the compost bin. Savory dishes provide the perfect answer to this very good problem to have - a touch of sweetness can often temper a great savory dish, and a touch of sour or savory can bring out flavors you didn't realize a fruit had.
Melon and feta salads are nothing new, but this recipe elevates them to new heights (pun intended). It’s simple and works very well for a summer dinner party, especially since you’ll need several melons to get the best rainbow effect and eating several melons on your own is tough. If you just have one melon or are looking to keep things simple, feel free to make a deconstructed version with cubed or balled melon.
- 3 chilled melons of varying types & colors, including at least one watermelon (seedless preferable)
- 3 limes
- one small bunch of mint, stems removed
- one small red onion or large shallot
- 1 cup crumbled feta (French is nice)
- high-quality extra virgin olive oil
- finishing salt such as Maldon
Slice the muskmelons (those with a cavity in the middle) in half width-wise and scoop out any seeds. Slice all melons into 1-inch round slices and set aside.
For each salad, stack one slice of each type of melon on your cutting board. Try to find rounds that match up size-wise, and put the watermelon on top so the hole will be covered. With a sharp knife, cut down the sides of the stack to remove the rind. Squeeze a lime over the stack (I make sure to get in between the layers, too) and transfer the stack to a plate.
With a mandolin or very sharp knife, slice the onion into fine slivers and set aside. Cut your mint into ribbons. If your knife is not sharp and is bruising the mint, try tearing it instead.
Top each melon stack with a small amount of finishing salt, a few onion slices, a sprinkle of mint, and some feta crumbles. A drizzle of oil on the plate adds a beautiful finishing touch. Serve chilled with a glass of fruit-forward rosé.
Recipe: Sophie-style tacos (i.e. what I cook for myself)
I live in San Francisco's Mission District - home of a thousand taquerias, pupuserias, and taco trucks. Delicious, no doubt - but the meat always makes me squirm a little and I've yet to be satisfied by any vegetarian option. Far better (and cheaper) are these tacos, which I cook for myself at least once a week. They're the perfect single girl food (and also tend to really impress a date).
Tacos Sophie
Serves 1 single person
Heat a skillet to medium and add a glug of olive oil. Add any vegetable you like - I use hearty greens most often (kale, chard, beet greens) but I've also used onions, zucchini, and broccolini. Cook over medium heat until vegetable are cooked through. Add a dash of salt and pepper.
While veggies are cooking (don't forget to stir them every once in a while), get out a heavy skillet and fry two corn tortillas in a pat of butter over medium-high heat. When one side is lightly crisped, flip the tortillas and sprinkle the crispy side with grated pepper jack cheese (I am a diehard pepper jack fan). Let second side crisp a bit, then flip again to fry the cheese (yes, you heard me right). Don't touch! Let the cheese get crispy for a few minutes. It's done when it easily releases from the pan but there's still some cheese that's melty but not fried.
Top with cooked veggies, warmed black beans, and any/all of the following toppings:
- chopped cilantro
- sour cream
- avocado
- sriracha
- a smear of hummus
- finely chopped cabbage
- radishes (watermelon radish pictured here)
- sauerkraut (my favorite!) or some fermented curtido (Salvadorian kraut). Rainbow Grocery has an awesome version by Wild West ferments (see below - yummy probiotics!)
Recipe: Borage Raita
My mom, who traveled through India and Nepal for two years in the 80s, often cooked curries and mulligatawny as I was growing up. She always served them with raita, a yogurt sauce that cooled and lightened the fiery, rich flavors of the meal.
At the Tuesday morning Ferry Building Farmer's Market this week, I saw something I didn't recognize: a fuzzy green and grey tangle with blue flowers and thick stems. The Heirloom Organics gal told me it was borage - an herb one can use in salads, pestos, teas, and tinctures.
The flavor of borage leaves is very close to cucumber - a fuzzier, less crunchy version. Remembering my mother's raita, which combined grated cucumber with whole plain yogurt, I made this little dip:
In a small food processor or with a stick blender, combine 3/4 cup finely chopped borage leaves and stems (set the flowers aside) with a big glug of olive oil and half a garlic clove. Pulse until leaves resemble a rough pesto, and mix with with one cup of full fat, plain yogurt (Greek works too), 1 Tbs VERY finely chopped red onion or shallot and a pinch of salt -- mix well.
For an added twist, you could add 1/4 cup finely chopped herbs - dill, parsley, cilantro, or any combination of the three would be nice.
Top the dip with a swirl of good olive oil and a sprinkle of the borage flowers. Enjoy with curry or as a dip for bread.
Recipe: Christmas Salad
Merry Christmas, dear strangers. I hope you’re cozy at home with your family or friends, and that your bellies and hearts are full. It’s been a quiet one for me here in Chico with my family — full of walks with the puppies, these caramels, and catching up with hometown friends. My mom made Canadian clam chowder for Christmas Eve dinner - simple, rich, and brothy, with no gucky ucky gloopiness or unnecessary ingredients. Just cream, bacon, clams, corn, and potatoes for the most part. Yum.
This morning, after tearing apart our packages (Santa was good to me this year, check out my new left-handed Japanese knife!) we cooked up brunch - my mom had brought home some tamales a friend from work had made and asked me to make a side salad to complement them. This is what I came up with - enjoy!
Christmas 2013 Salad
To start, take any combination of a bowlful of finely chopped firm greens – I used one head of lacinato kale and a bag of chopped salad mix that contained red & green cabbage and romaine lettuce. You could use any combo you’d like - just don’t use spring greens, spinach, or any other green that lacks fortitude.
Next, peel and slice one jicama into matchsticks. Or cubes. Or hearts. Add it to the greens.
Then, cut away the peel & pith of one large grapefruit (or two small ones) and slice across the sections thinly. Add to bowl along with two avocados, sliced into thin strips.
For the cilantro & yogurt dressing:
This was a bit of an experiment, I’ll admit, so I didn’t measure anything. I’ll give you the estimates of how much I used, but please, feel free to play around. Dressing – salad, really – is super forgiving and doesn’t require any finicky measuring.
- One head of cilantro, washed, stems removed
- 3/4c greek yogurt
- One healthy pour (about ¼ c) of good-quality olive oil (I always recommend Californian olive oils, especially for salads – they are so flavorful!)
- ¼ cup rice vinegar (white wine, apple cider, or plain would work too)
- 1 large garlic clove, pressed or finely chopped
- Salt to taste
- 1 tsp cumin
- pinch of sugar or a drop of honey (optional)
- A few grinds of fresh black pepper
Put all ingredients into a small food processor or blender and whirr to your heart’s content. Pour over greens (start with just half, and add more if needed).
At this point, you could also have fun adding other things – toasted pepitas would work well, as would crumbled cotija cheese or even some black beans for a more substantial salad. I just left this one as-is and it was perfect.
I will be posting a menu & date for next month’s supper soon. In the meantime – be well!
Love, Sophie
Recipe: Spinach, Almond, & Date Salad
I’m in Vancouver this weekend, being hella Canadian with my mom. It’s my first time on the west coast of Canada - a reconnaissance tour of sorts to see if I could imagine myself living & studying business here. I thought I’d post another recipe from last month’s supper while I’m away - it was actually my favorite recipe of the evening; a perfect antidote to fall’s overload of heavy creamed dishes and endless squash.
I should mention: I hate(d) dates. Once, as a teenager, prowling the cupboards for something - anything - to snack on - I came upon a sad plastic container of dates. With nothing else to choose from, I ate one. It was gross - mealy, too sweet & cloying, with a sticky dryness that clung to my throat. For some reason, I ate another. As soon as I put it in my mouth, I felt my body viscerally rebel and spat the half-chewed date onto the floor, a wet brown lump which sat abandoned while I rinsed my mouth over and over. For months, I’d open the cupboard, see the sad dates, and feel a wave of nausea.
I’ve gotten over it, for the most part. I still don’t like them, but they no longer make my palms sweat and my stomach spin. This salad - which rehydrates them and tempers their saccharine toothsomeness with vinegar, fresh spinach, and spice, makes them downright delicious. It’s one of the better salads I’ve ever made, and comes together with basic pantry ingredients.
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For the salad:
Chop 1/2 c dates (Medjool, preferrably) and combine with a very finely sliced small red onion (or two shallots) in a small bowl. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and 2 tbs white wine vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar and no one complained). Let dates sit and get plump for a bit.
Heat a chunk of butter and a swirl of good olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Toss in three pitas that you’ve torn into bite sized carby morsels as well as 1/2 c roughly chopped almonds. Give ‘em a good roasty toast, stirring often. When they’re nice and golden and crispy remove from the heat and stir in a large pinch of hot pepper flakes, a pinch of salt, and 1 tbs sumac. If you don’t have sumac, that’s ok. You can skip it or you can try to approximate its tart flavor and deep color by using some lemon zest, black pepper, and paprika.
Let pita & almonds cool and toss with a big bowl full of baby spinach and the date/onion mixture. You can dress it yourself with a good squeeze of lemon juice and some olive oil or you can provide each guest with a wedge of lemon and pass around the olive oil as I did (always a fan of diner participation).
Enjoy, as I did and surely will in the future.
Love,
Sophie.