Full Yet?

Hello, again. I know it's been a while since we've visited. How was your Thanksgiving? Mine was swell. After several very stressful weeks, I felt like I slept like a rock on my parents' hard futon. It was truthfully some of the best sleep I've gotten in a while. The weather was kind of Thanksgiving-y. It rained on Wednesday night and there was a nice after-the-rain cloud cover and chill the following day.

I bought a new vacuum cleaner and some really cute little snowman baggies to give away baked goodies to friends in this holiday season. I also got a gingerbread man cookie cutter and am excited to give it a go.

My Thanksgiving was full of delicious recipes, some of which I will be sharing with you over the course of this week. To kick things off, I'm going to follow up Wednesday's fingerling potato recipe with another, more festive version. This one makes a very dressy holiday side dish that is simple to prepare and gets to the table in roughly 30 minutes. It comes from the New York Times and is adapted from a recipe by Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park and, in turn, adapted by me.

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Dried Figs and Thyme
* serves 4-6 as a side dish

8-10 dried figs of any kind (I used large kalamata)
Brewed black tea (enough to cover the figs)
about 2 pounds of fingerling potatoes
1 head garlic
5 sprigs of fresh thyme (use dried if you have to)
about a 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt and fresh pepper to taste

1. Put figs in a deep bowl and cover with hot tea. Stick in the refrigerator for several hours.
2. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Wash the potatoes and place them in a large bowl. Separate the garlic into cloves, without removing the skin and add to potatoes in the bowl.
3. Drain the figs and add to the bowl. Season with salt and pepper, pour in the olive oil and toss.
4. Cover a roasting pan with the tossed potatoes and bake for about 30-40 minutes (until the potatoes can be pierced with a fork). Feel free to brush with a little extra olive oil if the potatoes get too dry during the baking process.
5. Serve all together and offer with some baguette for spreading the garlic. This dish is great for leftovers, too. Just throw the ingredients into a skillet for several minutes to reheat and develop a slight crust.

Almost Time

Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday. As a kid, I felt a special bond to my most significant American holiday because it was the one tradition my family embraced right off the bat. We'd roast the turkey, I'd make the cranberry sauce and we'd go around the table saying what we were all thankful for. And, of course, we added a little bit of our own Russian traditions into the mix. We didn't eat pumpkin pie or sweet potatoes. We feasted on herring and pickled mushrooms. My mom's famous lobbio. A bevy of sweets.

To my family, Thanksgiving has and always will be a time when we get together with family and friends and feast. Everyone usually dresses up after spending a day in their sweats cooking and cleaning. I can recall one Thanksgiving when my parents persevered in using the extra days off from work to take a vacation. We went to Los Angeles and ate at a restaurant in Santa Monica. The first and last time I will ever spend a Thanksgiving not at home.

This year, I'll be heading down to my mom and dad's house and as usual, I'll be making the cranberry sauce (actually, it's already made). I tested out a new recipe for a cranberry chutney that I'll share. I'll also be bringing dessert (stay tuned for the recipe, pending success). To get the party started, I'll share with you a side dish I made a few days ago that I think would make a great addition to your Thanksgiving--or any other festive day. It's adapted from a recipe by Ina Garten--better known as the Barefoot Contessa--and is aimed at bringing the seasonal flavor of fingerling potatoes front and center.

Fingerling potatoes are small and cook very quickly compared to other potatoes. They've also got an extremely creamy texture that pairs well with roasted meats. Ina's original recipe calls for only the barest of ingredients: potatoes, salt, pepper, oil. I added in some chopped herbs, which I thought gave them a nice bit of flavor, but you can certainly feel free to omit these. Give 'em a try!

Fingerling Potatoes
c/o The Barefoot Contessa, tweaked by moi

1-2 pounds of potatoes, unpeeled
kosher salt to taste
fresh pepper to taste
3 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil
chopped parsley, dill or other fresh herb of your choice

1. Rinse the potatoes and put them into a large pan. Cover with cold water, add about half a tablespoon of salt and bring to a boil.
2. Simmer, uncovered for about 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
3. Drain the potatoes in a colander and cover them with a kitchen towel (thus steaming them for about 5-10 minutes).
4. Cut the potatoes in half, lengthwise and toss in a bowl with olive oil, chopped herbs and some additional salt and pepper to taste.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Carrot and Cardamom Cake with Mascarpone Frosting

A few months ago, while browsing the cookbook section of my favorite bookstore, I came across this book. I picked it up, opened it and stared at the very first thing that came up: carrot and cardamom cake with mascarpone frosting. I was buying the book right then and there. Did I have an occasion for which to make a cake? No. Am I a carrot cake connoisseur? No. What was it that struck me so by this recipe? I'm not sure. I've never cooked with cardamom before, but for some reason the word just struck me.

I added the book to my little cookbook shelf, satisfyingly knowing that one day, I would make this cake. I opened it up on several occasions to make a variety of dishes from it. The book's focus is on seasonal cooking and I appreciated the way it was organized by seasons and ingredients. Alas, a few months passed and still I had no reason to make the cake.

On my usual weekly trip to the market one day, I picked up a bag of cardamom powder. I had the carrot cake in mind, but again, no immediate plans for making anything with cardamom. While cooking other things, I'd sometimes take the baggie out of my pantry, inhale the smell of cardamom (it's quite potent--even through the plastic) and place it back on my spice shelf. Cardamom is a spice often used in Indian cooking, incorporated into sweets. It's earthy, spicy and nutty at the same time.

My new 'latte' bowl from Anthropologie

And, finally. The occasion called. My friends' annual Thanksgiving potluck (a glorious day of BBQ'd and deep fried turkey, tons of sides, cornbread, sweets, holiday drinks and good times). I was making the cake. I bought a container of mascarpone cheese, extra powdered sugar (forgetting I already had some) and 2 large carrots. The cardamom, I already had.

I followed the book's recipe, with a few tweaks. Instead of using sunflower oil, I used canola. I also opted for cardamom powder v. pods (10 pods equal 1.5 teaspoons of ground cardamom). The results? Well, what can I say. The cake was good. Moist and unique (the citrusy addition into the mascarpone certainly added a great contrast to the cake). But, I would have done a few things differently. Most people I talked to emphasized the need for more frosting. I agree. Either double the recipe, or split the batter into two cake pans, essentially making a two layer cake. Spread the extra frosting in between the two layers. If doing this, cut down your bake time. My cake baked for less than an hour and could have probably been out of the oven in 45-50 minutes, but I suppose that depends on your oven.

Will I be making this cake again? Most definitely. Perhaps in cupcake form. Below is my adapted recipe.

Carrot and Cardamom Cake
c/o Seasonal Food

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup plain sugar
1 cup sunflower oil (I used canola)
3 eggs
grated rind of 1 orange
seeds from 10 cardamom pods, crushed (I used 1.5 teaspoons of ground cardamom)
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 1/4 cups of flour
3 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
2 large carrots, peeled and grated
3/4 cups of chopped walnuts

For the Frosting (I'd recommend doubling this)
1 cup of mascarpone cheese (I used 1 full container)
grated rind of 1 orange
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a round cake pan and lightly dust it with flour.
2. Beat together: sugars, oil, eggs in a large bowl.
3. Stir in orange rind, cardamom and ginger.
4. Sift the flour with baking soda and salt (there is a typo in the book and there is no mention of baking powder or salt in the directions). Fold into the mixture.
5. Fold in the grated carrots and walnuts.
6. Pour into cake pan (or two) and bake for about 1 hour (until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean).

Meanwhile, make the frosting by beating together all of the ingredients. Wait until the cake cools (be patient, I was not) to frost.

Exploring, Plus More Sushi (Review)

Some of you may have noticed a new little link in the left hand tab of the page. It's something I've been meaning to do for a while now and finally pulled it together. I'm in the midst of creating a similar page for my reviews as well. My favorite food bloggers all have a handy dandy index of recipes that I browse often for inspiration. I find that it helps when you're not sure what to look for, or are just visiting for the first time and want to get a feel for what each blogger likes to cook. My list is still small, as I've only gotten into heavy blogging a few months ago. But, I hope to grow it and diversify it as I continue to cook more. Hopefully, I'll be adding fun recipes from friends and fellow foodies.

In the meantime, I continue to explore my farther surroundings. As I have a very good friend in Alameda who often makes the effort to cross bridge into my hood, I thought it was time for another East Bay visit. We weren't set on a place to go, but as dinnertime got closer, all seemed to have a craving for sushi, so we went to check out Angel Fish Japanese Restaurant.

The restaurant is housed in a shopping center which is rarity here in San Francisco. But, once inside, it's clear that this restaurant was definitely no Mr.Chow's. At 8 pm, it was packed to the brim, but the four of us were promptly seated. Angel Fish's menu is split between appetizers and hot dishes as well as sushi. I have to say that most of the rolls were pretty standard--nothing too out of the ordinary (though my group ordered a squid and salmon roe roll that was apparently quite good--I was too full at this point). I got my usual salmon nigiri, which would have been perfect, except for the MASSIVE blob of wasabi that was stuck underneath the beautiful piece of fish. I really don't understand why some Japanese restaurants throw wasabi on their nigiri. I feel like it kills the taste and tenderness of the fish. I learned my lesson after the first bite and for my halibut nigiri, white tuna and the other piece of salmon, I careful lifted the fish and took off the extra bit of wasabi before eating.

I definitely thought that the best rolls were the simplest--yellowtail with green onion, salmon and avocado. It was evident that the ingredients were extremely fresh. The hot sake we ordered to go with our meal was also quite good. This is the second sushi place I've been to in Alameda and I have to say that I've come to at least one conclusion: the East Bay has better sushi than the South Bay. Since growing up in San Jose, I've been to many a sushi restaurant, but have never been that impressed, to be honest. Not until I moved to San Francisco, did I discover great sushi. But, I've been pleasantly surprised to find out that there are other places out there that can also offer great fish. Creativity-wise, though, I'm yet to find matches for Koo and Jimisan. Even Ebisu can play (the dragon roll is a can't miss).

I was interested to find Sushi Ran, a sushi restaurant in Sausalito, following me on Twitter and am looking forward to feeding my sushi addiction in more places!

Delicious Delicata

I've had two equally delicious experiences with delicata squash: at a co-op in Vermont, which served it roasted in maple syrup from its Whole Foods-like deli counter and at Nopa, where I had it alongside their famous roast chicken. The Nopa dish (which by the way, you must try) was my most recent and solidified my quest for finding this elusive squash in its more natural state. (I like National Geographic speak when referring to hunting out produce.)

Anyway, what makes this squash so good is that you can eat it with the skin on! At first, this feels highly unnatural, but once you take that first bite and realize that it's soft, slightly crispy and completely melts into the squash , you get past it. Plus, delicata combines the best of all squash worlds--slightly sweet like butternut, nutty like acorn and velvety like pumpkin. Since I tried the maple-roasted squash on my road trip through Vermont this past October, I've been trying to recreate it with all sorts of squash, but never to the satisfaction of the original dish. It either comes out too try, too sweet, too mushy, too hard, too flavorless. What was I doing wrong?

My eyes saw gold this weekend at the Mountain View Farmer's Market, where I spotted these striped little suckers and picked up three (now, I find out they can be kept out at room temperature for several weeks and I wish I'd gotten more). Anyway, I figured that I would give the real thing a shot and voila--success! The secret, I think, is a mixture of olive oil and maple syrup and a high roasting temperature.

I decided to pair the squash with some early grains and pecans for a vegetarian meal (these usually happen sans-Matt) accompanied by a glass of chilled white wine.

Maple Roasted Delicata Squash with Barley and Pecans
* serves 1 for a meal or makes for several side dish servings

1 small delicata squash
1/2 cup of barley
1 tablespoon of chopped flat leaf parsley
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
salt & pepper
handful of pecans (salted or natural)
dash of cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
1. Prepare the squash: cut it lengthwise and then scoop out the seeds/mush inside. Slice into 1 inch wide half moons and line them along a foiled baking sheet.
2. In a ramekin, combine 1 tablespoon of olive oil with 1 tablespoon of maple syrup. Use a silicone brush to spread this mixture over the squash slices. (at the Vermont co-op, the squash was roasted with dried thyme, which you can feel free to add)
3. Place in the oven and roast for about 30 minutes. Feel free to baste occasionally with any remaining mixture.

In the meantime, prepare the barley:
1. Start out with about 1/2 cup of water. Add a bit of salt and a tablespoon of olive oil and bring to a boil. Pour in the barley. Throw in a dash of cinnamon. Stir occasionally and continue to add water whenever it starts to evaporate. This process is similar to making a risotto, except you're not using rice or broth. You'll probably add water (by the 1/3 cupful) 3-4 times before you're satisfied with the texture. Continue to add water and stir if you want the barley to be more fluffy/tender, or take it off once the water is soaked up and it's just slightly al dente. Expect roughly 20 minutes of total cooking time.

* Note adding olive oil to the water really adds flavor to the barley and gives it a softer, more silky taste and texture. The cinnamon is barely detectable, but plays off well with the squash. You can also sprinkle in a dash of nutmeg for earthiness.

Once your barley is done and your squash is fully roasted, toss these together with a splash or two of olive oil, salt and pepper, chopped parsley and a handful of nuts.

I ate this as a meal (with a few slices of Gouda Cheese with Walnuts from Trader Joe's), but you can certainly serve this out as a side to some roasted chicken.

Goodies

These past few days, I've had to double check my calendar to remind myself that it is, in fact, the middle of November. You wouldn't know it by the temperatures outside, or the breezy summer clothes on the streets. I'm pretty sure that ice cream places around here made a killing this weekend. I had a pretty jam-packed couple of days (in a good way).

On Saturday, after taking the Caltrain down to San Jose, we headed over to Big Basin for a mild 4 mile hike among the Redwoods. After spending the evening grilling some chicken kabobs with my grandpa and grabbing some beers at a friend's place, we had to reroute back to San Francisco. As usual, I plotted. Knowing that the Mountain View Farmer's Market takes place every Sunday morning at the very station I catch my train, I suggested we leave a bit earlier and check out the goodies.

Unlike the Ferry Building Market, the MV market is a diamond--and not even in the rough. Booths upon booths line the Caltrain parking lot that specialize in everything under the sun: from Los Gatos honey, piroshki, flowers, fish, bread, French pastries and of course, a myriad of produce. Surprisingly, prices aren't that steep, either. I should have really given myself more than 20 minutes to browse. In the end, we came away with a bagful of delectable goodies: a box of squash blossoms, three delicata squashes, a bag of fingerling potatoes, a few Asian pears, some grapes and a small jar of raspberry honey.

I didn't know what to try first! I'd been wanting to try the delicacy that is a squash blossom for some time now and couldn't forgo the $3 box of gold. So, the squash blossoms went down first. The man who sold us the blossoms recommended two ways of preparation: stuffed with goat cheese and fried or oven roasted. Matt will argue with me about what constitutes something being 'fried.' Maybe it's the health nut in me, but I say that sauteing in LOTS of olive oil can suffice for frying. And so, I won in the kitchen. I didn't really look for many recipes. So we winged it, though The Amateur Gourmet offers a pretty similar take here. We paired the blossoms with seared scallops, so I'll go ahead and include both recipes for you. This makes for a great light dinner, or alternatively, a pretty simple party appetizer.

Stir Fried, Stuffed Squash Blossoms
* Serves 2 for dinner, along with the below scallops

8 squash blossoms, inspected for any bugs, wiped down (with pistons removed*)
fresh goat cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
flour for dredging

1. Once you have successfully cleaned the blossoms, carefully open up the flowers and stuff about a teaspoon of goat cheese into each one.
2. Twist the flower closed.
3. Once finished stuffing, whisk 1 egg in a flat-ish bowl.
4. Sprinkle flour into a separate bowl.
5. Dunk each squash blossom into the egg wash and then dredge in flour. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
6. Pour olive oil into a nonstick pan and wait until it gets really hot. Put all squash blossoms into the pan and reduce the heat slightly.
7. Turn the blossoms occasionally so that they develop a light golden crust.

Seared Brown Butter Scallops
8-10 scallops, fresh or defrosted
2 tablespoons of butter
salt and pepper

1. Heat the butter in a separate nonstick pan. Melt it all the way down.
2. Salt and pepper the scallops.
3. Add them to the pan and cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side. You may flip several times, until the scallop develops a lightly brown crisp, firm feel on the outside, but is still tender inside. The scallops are done once they are white. Be careful flipping, as scallops are very delicate.

*At some point, after stuffing several squash blossoms, I realized they had pistons. And I wondered whether I should eat them. A quick Internet search revealed: break them off carefully and throw them out.

Today, I used the remaining few blossoms I had to make the alternate version of the original recipe. I jazzed it up a bit, too (I like jazz). Here it is:

Roasted Squash Blossoms with Garlic and Herb Goat Cheese
Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees F

1. Same deal as before, except you can add 1 minced garlic clove and a teaspoon of finely chopped parsley along with salt and pepper to the cheese.
2. Mash together and stuff the blossoms.
3. Brush lightly with olive oil and roast for about 10-12 minutes on a foiled baking sheet.

Grammar lesson for me (and maybe you too?): apparently the plural of squash really is 'squashes.' Had no idea. Thought I sounded silly saying 'squashes.' Now I know. The beauty of Wikipedia.

When You've Got a Friend

When you've got a friend that is a vegetarian, you probably fit into one of two categories of people: those who who are open-minded, veggie-loving meat eaters or those who are the give-me-a-break meat eaters. Me--I'm the first kind. No way will I ever be a vegetarian. I love meat and seafood entirely to much. But, my diet probably consists of roughly 70% produce (I will admit, I love fruit more than veggies). As such, I take my herbivorous state quite literally.

One of my best friends from high school has been a vegetarian for almost the entirety of our friendship and a few years ago, we finally found ourselves living in the same city again and planning dinner meet ups. Going to dinner with him is a different kind of excitement for me than going out to dinner with other friends (those both are equally welcomed experiences). While he is often happy to go to establishments that serve meat and fish, I usually use the opportunity to explore veggie-only restaurants that my other meat-eating friends rarely relish.

I had been meaning to take him to Cha-Ya, a vegetarian Japanese restaurant since I first tried it out roughly two years ago. I love Japanese food and rarely imagine a Japanese meal that does not involve fish, but Cha-Ya proved me wrong. The restaurant's extensive menu features a range of appetizers, a-la-carte menu items, veggie sushi, noodle bowls, rice bowls and even vegetarian and vegan desserts. Every time I've been here (this was the third), I've always found myself stumped and indecisive. In the past, I've opted for soba noodle bowls served with shaved nori, buckwheat sushi and the vegan chocolate cake, all of which were delicious. The portions are hearty and huge. For a while, they offered a delicious special appetizer that consisted of some sort of squash dipped in chopped almonds, fried and stacked in a tower with a chunky sweet sauce poured over it.

To my dismay, the tower was gone from the menu, but our options hadn't dwindled. We went for the dumplings and I for a seasoned rice bowl. My friend got the tofu pocket soba noodle bowl. We pondered ordering more food but in the end, decided that we had gotten enough (which definitely proved to be true at the end of the meal).

I think we were both quite pleased with our meals. Sadly, I perhaps, a little more so than he. You see, there is a notion that vegetarians are super into health food. But I kind of don't think that's necessarily always the case. My friend, for one, I could tell regretted not getting something fried. I saw the look in his eyes as he glanced around the surrounding tables, digging into deep fried tofu and tempura sushi rolls. I could tell he missed the crunch. Despite that, I think that our food came out fresh, simple and hearty. I think it's massively impressive to have a vegetarian restaurant offer such inventive dishes in the realm of such a broad menu.

While it's true that I do love my meat, I have to say that it feels good to go out to dinner once in a while and feel like you're eating something really clean from the Earth that is nourishing, nutritious and generally, quite good.

*If you live in the East Bay, you can also check out Cha-Ya in the Gourmet Ghetto section of Berkeley.

Rewards

It's been a long week. Last week (was it last week?), we elected a new president. This week, the country's euphoria seems to have leveled and everyone's facing reality again. I must admit, I've found myself feeling anxious. It's a strange feeling to realize that you're 25 and face the fact that the world has real problems. As much as I love my life and the place that I'm at, I sometimes remind myself that a mere 4 years ago, I was in college, with no real spending power and little more to worry about than studying for exams, writing essays and finding my first job. It's strange how fast time flies. Regardless, despite my tendencies for being a pessimist, I'm going to be optimistic. Proactively optimistic. I believe that ultimately, whatever comes down, will inevitably go up. On that note.

This weekend, I'm going to enjoy the great outdoors, do some hiking, do some BBQ'ing and hopefully catch a yum dinner somewhere and bring you a delicious review. Hope you all have a lovely weekend, wherever you are.

A Pot of Soup to Get You Going

A while ago, I found this great recipe for a hearty veggie soup. While I tend to revisit my favorite recipes often, I have surprisingly only made this soup once--despite its incredibly simple list of ingredients and quick-to-table offer.

Every once in a while, I'll go to the market and see something beautiful. Really vibrant tomatoes. Red pears. Fresh figs. Glorious green kale. This feeling probably translates to what a shoe-a-holic feels at Nordstrom's Semi-Annual Sale. I get my kicks from produce. And unusual jarred preserves from foreign countries. I like spices, too. And fancy dark chocolates. Usually, I throw too much into my basket (which tends to get filled to the brim) and then come home thinking, "Oy, I bought too much." Of course this past weekend was one of those times. I bought a bagful of cluster tomatoes and a bunch of fresh kale with no immediate plans for their use.

The good thing is, these types of shopping experiences often inspire action. And so, I plotted. After flipping through my little handwritten recipe book, I stumbled again upon this soup and remembered liking it very much the first time I made it. I played around with the recipe a bit and jazzed it up with some fresh herbs and spices. I also didn't blend the soup, as recommended in the original recipe, since I always prefer a chunkier, heartier texture. So, without further ado.

White Bean and Kale Soup

1 tbsp. olive oil
6 garlic cloves, chopped finely
1 onion (any kind), chopped
4 cups chopped raw kale (I used a whole bunch--didn't really measure)
4 cups chicken broth (I used free range)
2 (15 ounce) cans of white beans (also known as cannellini)
4 tomatoes, quartered and then halved
2 teaspoons dried Italian herb seasoning (or a mix of thyme, rosemary and oregano)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup chopped parsley & cilantro (mixed)
few dashes of cayenne pepper

1. Heat the olive oil and add garlic and onion; sauteing until soft.
2. Add chopped kale and saute until it just starts to wilt.
3. Add broth, beans (undrained), tomatoes, herbs, seasoning and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

You can serve this soup piping hot, with shaved Parmesan on top. Don't forgot some yummy bread for dipping.

Getting Ready

This Wednesday is the premier of my favorite show on television, Bravo's Top Chef. I like to take credit for introducing my friends to this show and also creating a Thursday morning gossip crew at work to talk about what happened on the previous night's episode. Top Chef airs at 10 pm and I know, it's hard to stay up until 11 pm.

But, if I can convince you to just try. For a few episodes--especially if you've never watched it--I promise you, you'll be hooked. Considering the load of ridiculous shows on TV, Top Chef is the best reality show there is. I mean: food, competition, judges, famous culinary stars (hello, Anthony Bourdain!). Who doesn't love Padma and Tom (he used to have hair!). What can be better? Top Chef is the reason I love Wednesday nights. I can't wait until I can check out Harold's restaurant. Meet Dave ("I ain't your bitch, bitch"). Slap Lisa. It's truly phenomenal.

This Wednesday is the premier and I'm ready. I even whipped up some mashed potatoes for you to get prepared for the first Quickfire Challenge.

Mashed Potatoes with Herbs
*serves 3-4 judges

3 Russet potatoes (unpeeled)
1/4 - 1/2 cup of milk or buttermilk
salt & pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped herbs (parsley, dill, cilantro will all work)
1 tablespoon melted butter

1. Cut potatoes into eights and boil for approximately 20 minutes (until fork will easily insert).
2. Throw the cooked potatoes into a food processor with an attachment. Pour in melted butter, milk or buttermilk and add salt and pepper.
3. Blend until smooth. Transfer potato puree into bowl and stir in herbs, as well as any additional salt and pepper, butter and milk. If on hand, drizzle with a little bit of truffle oil.

I prefer to have the skins on, but feel free to peel the potatoes if you like a smoother texture. You can use any range of potatoes for this recipe--adjust according to size of potatoes.

Your Neighborhood Lavash: Review

If you have never spent any time in the Inner Sunset neighborhood of San Francisco, let me introduce you. Don't worry, I'm not going to sell you too much on my neighborhood. If you can't stand the fog, the cold and the remoteness from parts like the Marina and Nob Hill, feel free to come by on occasion.

The Inner Sunset (in my humble opinion) is a gem. I've been living here for over three years and I am absolutely in love with nearly everything about it. I live around the corner from gorgeous Golden Gate Park. I pick up my fresh-baked bread, pizza by the slice and fresh scones at Arizmendi Bakery.

I hop over to the Cheese Boutique for sliced prosciutto, fresh mozzarella and Manouri cheese. And I get all of my produce from Parks Farmers Market 2. This neighborhood truly embodies what a neighborhood should be. Beyond the great markets, bakeries and shops, the Inner Sunset is a goldmine of fantastic restaurants. I have a range of options for fresh sushi. Awesome Eritrean food. Indian, Thai, Mediterranean, crepes, salad stops, delis...The list goes on.

Last year, my dreams were answered with the opening of Lavash, in a tiny little space on Irving Street. Those who know me, know how obsessed I am with Middle Eastern food and Lavash is my kingdom. Their kabobs (available in a range of meat, fish and vegetarian choices), affordable wines and desserts clearly drew an enthusiastic crowd and soon enough, they swapped places with next-door L'Avenida and took over a much larger space. Since the move, they've expanded their menu significantly to includes stews, a range of appetizers and desserts. In the past, I've loved their chicken kabobs--cooked straight on open coals. My friends generally got the lamb and beef mixed kabobs and raved about those. I've had their chicken with ground walnuts and pomegranate.

Last night, we headed over for an early dinner and left 100% satisfied. I ordered their flank steak brushed with saffron sauce (all skewers come with a side of saffron rice, lavash and a grilled tomato). Matt got the beef stew with eggplant and grapes. We washed it all down with two glasses of Shiraz. I can't speak highly enough of this place. Their rice is amazing--soft, flavorful--almost buttery. The lavash (a Middle Eastern flat bread) is laid underneath the rice and meat and soaks up all of the juices. The sauce from Matt's stew was the perfect compliment to the rice and beef. Large chunks of slow-roasted eggplant were tender and not bitter in the least.

For anyone familiar with Persian cuisine, the waitstaff at Lavash starts your meal off with a plate full of lavash, feta cheese, various herbs and sliced cucumbers and tomatoes. These folks can't do me wrong. And the best thing about their place? It's family-owned, affordable (plates run from $11-$20, with an affordable mixed plate for 2 people at $28) and super warm and cozy. Most importantly, it's a five minute walk from my house and a great option for lunch or dinner on a chilly day.

Another Day, Another Cookie

I know. I'm killing you with the cookies. You'll tell me it's almost Thanksgiving and you don't need another cookie. Then it will be Christmas and you'll maybe be sick of these cookies. But in light of the return of Starbucks red cups, I had to make this cookie.

While I have encountered many a gingersnap recipe in the past, I've found that none have ever completely satisfied me. Either the cookies are too crispy, or they're made with shortening--an ingredient I am not fond of. My ideal gingersnap (and I realize this might not make any sense given the 'snap') is a slightly chewy, slightly crispy cookie with a nice sugary blanket and lots of aromatic spices.

When I came upon Erin's blog, Erin Cooks, I realized that I had found my cookie. Not only that, but the recipe called for enough dough to make 5.5 DOZENS of cookies. The great thing? You can make a small batch at a time, and freeze the rest of the dough for up to two weeks. Do I hear batches of gingersnaps for the next two weekends?

Anyway, Erin was sweet enough to respond to a comment of mine and suggested I not roll the dough into a log, but rather shape it. I did a little experiment. I scooped the dough with a teaspoon, rolled it into a ball and rolled it in sugar. For the first batch. I gently pushed down on the ball and flattened it ever slightly. My second batch was left untouched--small balls of dough. As expected, my second batch of cookies came out slightly fatter and chewier--just what I wanted! Not to disregard the first try, though. Those cookies had a slightly crunchy bottom and an ever-chewy top layer, veiled in a light dusting of sugar.

I was debating whether I'd take a big risk and throw in some cardamom along with the other spices. In the end, I decided to play it safer and sprinkled a bit of nutmeg into the dough. I love the inclusion of white pepper in this recipe. I rarely use this ingredient (not sure how it got into my pantry) and was excited to find a cookie, of all things, that called for it.

Let's face it, folks: these are tough times. And sometimes the best thing to lighten the mood is a cookie. Or two. Or three (and a half--shhhh!)

Pre-Celebration Chard

Most of us have probably taken in more election and campaign coverage over the past year than probably ever before. This election was one of the most watched events in America's history--and also, one of the most powerful. The candidates turned out unprecedented masses to the polls, new media (including Twitter, Facebook and YouTube) played an incredibly powerful role in communicating the importance of this pivotal election to the youth generation and ultimately, Barack Obama prevailed. It's fair to say that since I live in San Francisco, I was rarely exposed to anything other than Obama mania. And last night, we all experienced a unified cultural event that will likely live on in our memories for the rest of our lives. We all have our individual memories of the voting process, the coverage, the results and the speeches. But, as a country, we'll have the collective memory of a previously-unimaginable euphoria over a political figure. America will have its first African-American president. The whole world is watching.

I watched the election results from the comfort of my couch, over some leftovers and tea--and a small pile of work. I prepared, however, with comfort food and let the news fully sink in with another round of it today. Nothing is more comforting than a big bowl of pasta. As long as butter and cheese are involved in some way, I think, you might as well be wrapped in a cashmere blanket. Metaphorically speaking. On Sunday, I put to use a beautiful bunch of red Swiss Chard to make a lovely bowl of pasta. I improvised quite a bit and was pretty sure that there was a huge potential for failure. In the end, though, the chard was flavorful and complemented the pasta perfectly. Here's how it came together.

Swiss Chard Pasta with Pine Nuts and Garlic
* serves 2
4-5 leaves (about a bunch) of Swiss Chard--red or green
6-7 cloves of garlic, skinned & halved
handful of pine nuts
splash of red wine or Port (I used Port)
salt & pepper
generous amount of Parmesan
whole wheat pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
Sprinkling of red chili flakes

1. Chop the chard and separate the leaves from the stems.
2. Meanwhile, start boiling some water for the pasta. Once it starts to boil, add the pasta and cook for about 10-12 minutes (or until al dente).
3. Add olive oil to skillet (on medium heat). Start sauteing garlic halves. Add the chard stems and saute until the garlic starts to feel less firm and stems start to get softer (5 minutes-ish). Throw in the pine nuts.
4. Add chard leaves and saute until they just start to wilt. Splash in some wine/port, sprinkle with salt and pepper and sprinkle with some red chili flakes. Work in the butter and keep sauteing until the ingredients cook fully (about another 5 minutes).
5. Drain the pasta and top with chard. Shave Parmesan on top and serve with extra Parmesan for the table.

From Conception to Fruition: The Birthday Cake

I've never been a fan of German Chocolate Cake--largely, because of the coconut content. It's one of the few things (besides cauliflower) that I simply can't stand. But, my boyfriend Matt claims this cake to be his absolute favorite. In fact, back home in Ohio where he's from, he heads to the Dorothy Lane Market to pick himself up a Killer Brownie (trust, it's the largest, richest brownie you could imagine)--the German Chocolate one, of course.

October 31st, All Hallows Eve, also happens to be his birthday--and this year--a momentous one (30!). Of course, for his party, I knew there had to be cake. I knew I wanted to make the cake. I knew this couldn't be just any cake. So, I decided to take on my biggest cake-making challenge: a 3-tiered German Chocolate Cake. While baking is definitely part of my repertoire, making 3-tiered cakes is certainly not (at least up until this point). Adding to the difficulties, was the fact that I had to make the cake 2 days before the actual party, due to day-of birthday visitors and festivities. I worried. Should I wrap the individual layers in cellophane and leave them out? Should I frost the whole cake and refrigerate it? Should I make the frosting in advance, too? Should I freeze the cake? Is it ok to use salted and roasted pecans in place of the raw version? Why is there no WebMD for baking at 11 o'clock at night, I wondered.

In the end, I ended up baking the three individual chocolate cake rounds, tightly wrapping them in several layers of cellophane, placing them on a plate and then topping each individual cake with another plate.

I pulled the frosting together (an artery-clogging list of ingredients that included a stick of butter, condensed milk, coconut, pecans and vanilla) the morning of the party. Once the frosting had some time to cool, I frosted the individual layers while our new couch was being brought into the apartment. For added effect, I shaved bittersweet chocolate with a vegetable peeler and sprinkled it around the top layer of the cake. I also decorated the top with pecans around the entire edge of the cake.

Leading up to the big baking event, I spent many, many hours, scouring food blogs, Epicurious.com, Foodtv.com, etc. searching for the perfect recipe. I found this, this and this. In the end, I decided to stick to the classic--with a few twists. I deferred to this recipe from Baking Bites baker Nicole Weston.

Rather than using Baker's German Chocolate (the baking chocolate brand I used in my brownie baking days of yore) or semi-sweet chocolate, I used a mix of half semi-sweet chocolate chips and half chopped bittersweet chocolate. I also upped the sugar content just a bit and as earlier noted, used roasted and salted pecans (though I did give them a nice swipe to get a fair amount of the salt off). I also used sweetened shaved coconut.

The night of the party finally arrived. We had the private JJ Russell's Cigar Shop room at Bourbon & Branch. Our fantastic Australian bartender concocted a bevy of specialty drinks that included liquors made by monks, coffee bitters, aged Scottish whiskey and more. The guests mingled in 'old' costumes--including 1920's zoot suits and flapper dresses, as well as my take on old (old lady!), modeled after my ever-stylish grandma, of course. We brought in four trays of sushi, which were thoroughly enjoyed by the guests (and make for great finger party food!). And, finally, the cake arrived. While I didn't indulge in a whole piece due to my dislike of coconut, I did have several bites and swipes of chocolate. The layers were perfect. Moist, flavorful and rich. While I did get a bite of the frosting, I won't sway your opinion of it. Let's just say, though, it was very well received.

The great thing about this culinary experience is--in the end, my worries were unfounded. By letting the cake layers sit for a day or two, it actually help meld the flavors and created a richly decadent cake. I can't make any promises, but I do think that it's fair to say: 3-tiered cake, you do not scare me anymore.