December Update!

Hey, everyone. While I’ve been pretty quiet here on the interwebs and did have to cancel my last dinner, there’s been lots going on in the background! I have lots of ideas circulating, I just haven’t had the time to put them together during this *crazy* month of holiday parties, birthday parties (where my Sag’s at? There are so many of you!), work overload, and trying to stay sane and healthy through it all. I promise that with the new year will come new suppers, lots of new strangers (I met so many this weekend! I’m constantly inspired by the people here in the Bay) and new stories to share ‘round the table. Talk soon,

-Sophie

These two ladies post some of the best stuff in the foody tumblrworld. Pretty + hilarious? I’d like to date them. And make this cider. -S

dinnerwasdelicious:

Boozy Pear Cider

We’ve always resented that Apples are the defacto fruit of the harvest season. Don’t get us wrong, apples are… fine. But, I suppose, that’s exactly the problem. Apples aren’t special and are, at best, merely palatable. They’re the Mumford & Sons of produce. Technically, they’re okay. There’s nothing particularly offensive—  or interesting— but after a while, the mediocrity of it all makes you want to punch someone in the cunt.

This year, we’ve had enough. We’re done with Apples for the foreseeable future and have, instead, switched to Pears.

Pears are the far superior F/W2013 pome. They are prettier, for starters, in a very charming, midwestern, no-nonsense way, but are also are complexly textured raw, hold their shape when baked, and poach up like a champion. Pears are one of the few fruits we can eat for dessert without feeling like we’re eating fucking fruit for dessert, and they add an earthy sweetness to savory dishes; all without being boring, mealy, or, worst of all, predictable.

For the still-skeptical we present to you this: Pear Cider with booze and all your favorite, traditional Apple-ish seasonings. It’s less cloying, tastes like pie, and is the perfect idiot-proof-make-it-in-a-batch drink for your next holiday gathering.

Boozy Pear Cider

• 32oz Pear Juice (we like RW Knudson’s Organic Pear, but Trader Joe’s has some good stuff, too)
• 2 Cinnamon Sticks (plus more for a garnish, you fancy fuck)
• 6 whole Cloves
• ½ cup Amaretto
• ½ cup (plus!) good Bourbon
• 2-3 Pears, sliced

Serves 4-6, double (triple?) it up for a group.

Here’s a useful tip for this and all of your other fruits with cores: instead of wasting produce with a corer, simply cut the fruit in half and use a mellon baller (or rounded metal teaspoon) to scoop out just the weird crunchy seed part. Once that’s removed, you can slice freely.

Don’t make this difficult. Dump it all in a big pan, or slow cooker, reserving some Pear slices for garnishing. Heat it up over medium heat until things warm up at the spices start to give off a little perfume. Serve warm in big cozy mugs.

These cranberries will NOT be sidelined as a turkey afterthought, oh no. These babies are goin’ straight into margaritas.

cooking music

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.

supper club sign-up | november 17th, 2013

Like the menu below? Here’s the link to sign up. This month’s meal is $20 - dishes duty spots are all full!

November menu: Fruits & Roots

This month’s menu celebrates the fruits & roots of fall. How many do you count, my dear hungry strangers? -Sophie

Cranberry margaritas w/ homemade cranberry jam & Chinese five-spice (I walked away from a work function with a bottle of Clase Azul - help me kill it!)

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Bread & cheese w/ ginger-kumquat preserves

Carrots & turnips w/ bagna cauda

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Persimmon pomegranate salad w/ mint & lime (my mom’s famous recipe)

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Pork tenderloin medallions cooked w/ apple & sage and served with Asian pear chutney

Beet, potato, and beet greens gratin

Maple roasted squash w/ pepitas gremolata

Cornbread w/ caramelized onions & apples

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Pear & pomegranate pie served a la mode

Recipe: Cardamom & Rose Rice Pudding

Served for dessert October 20th, 2013

I’ve loved chunky pudding since I was a little girl. Tapioca is my favorite - silky, sweet, with textural intrigue - it was always a good week when my mom bought Snack Pack pudding cups for my lunch.

My taste has evolved (matured?), but my love for the little chunkies remains. I often make rice pudding, usually as a way to use up leftover brown rice. I’ll add cinnamon and nutmeg, and maybe some apples, for a treat that’s almost healthful enough for breakfast. When I saw this recipe for a lightly sweet, elegant rice pudding in Ottolenghi’s Jerusalem, I knew exactly what I would make for my first supper club dessert. The rose syrup is what really makes it special - its heady perfume takes it to another level.

This recipe has a few ingredients that are not exactly pantry staples for many of us - many of Mr. O’s recipes do - but rice pudding is like tofu and is infinitely adaptable. Don’t do dairy? Use soy, or better yet (for a richer flavor) coconut milk. Don’t have rose water? Don’t fret! Any fruit syrup would work (lemon would be great) or just dust some cinnamon sugar on top.

A few notes:

1. While I would have loved to warm my milk with crushed cardamom pods and vanilla beans and let it infuse for 12 hours, I partied the night before this dinner and simply didn’t have the time - not to mention the cardamom pods. I skipped the entire first step and simply added vanilla extract and ground cardamom to the milk. You know what? It tasted fine. Probably not as unctuous as Mr. O intented, but we don't all have all day.

2. The luscious, warm, creamy stuff you lick off the spoon when the pudding’s done cooking is NOT the same thing you will pull out of the fridge at dessert time. Rice pudding continues to firm up - a lot - so if you like things soft and, you know, pudding-like, stop cooking at the wet ‘n’ runny stage. If you’re serving fresh outta the pot, cook until thicker. . (Lesson learned the hard way. No one complained, because they’re nice.)

Cardamom & Rose Pudding

Adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi’s Jerusalem: A Cookbook. Serves 8.

In a large, heavy pot, heat 3.5 c whole milk with 1 c cream. If you want the full experience, add 16 cardamom pods (lightly crushed) and 2 vanilla beans, seeds scraped. Bring to almost boiling and remove from heat; let infuse in fridge for 2-12 hours. 

If you’re lazy/short on time/short on whole spices like me, simply add 3 tsp vanilla extract and 2 tsp ground cardamom to the milk. No need to chill/infuse. 

Either way you’ve made the spiced milk, put it back on the heat and add 1 1/3 c short grain white rice. I used “broken” basmati rice. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring constantly (yeah, right), until rice is cooked (about 20min). I had to break up some clumpy clumps and add a little bit more milk to thin it down - it thickened up too much before the rice was done. KEEP PUDDING THIN if you plan to chill and serve in cups later. Don’t do what I did.

Remove from heat. Pick out cardamom and vanilla if you put them in. Stir in 1/4 c sweetened condensed milk, 1/4 c butter (!!!), 2 tbsp honey, and a few pinches of salt. Serve warm or chill for later. 

Toppings:

Pistachios

Rose petals (just for pretty’s sake - I found mine at a witchy woo-woo hippy shop for cheap)

Rose Syrup: 2 tbsp honey + 3 tsp rose water + 2 tsp water

Key ingredients for Sunday’s meal, courtesy of Oaktown Spice Shop

supper club sign-up | october 20th, 2013, 7pm

it’s time! follow this link to sign up for this sunday’s supper.