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1 October 12, 2013 Asian and Indian

Book Club: Full of Flavor + Vedge

Full of Flavor

The Book: Full of Flavor: How to Create Like a Chef is a book that was released back in the spring – I’m not sure how I missed it the first time around, since the author, Maria Elia, is one of my favorite chefs. Her first book, The Modern Vegetarian, was one of the first cookbooks I purchased, and it’s still one of my favorites. But I’ll try to keep this post about this book, instead of my mini-chef crush on Maria. Full of Flavor attempts to capture and teach you Maria’s creative recipe development and cooking process, not only the final output. Each of the 18 ingredient-focused chapters opens with a cartoon “mind map” that associates different flavors and textures with the main ingredient of that chapter, and for many of her recipes she offers variations and ideas for making the recipe your own. I love the spirit of the book – open, passionate, sharing – and that she doesn’t take on that braggy tone that some chefs do when talking about their own recipes. Also, I’m a big fan of the flavor profiles that Maria uses in her recipes – they’re creative and exciting and slightly exotic without being too difficult or “out there.” I think it’s telling that she can write a great vegetarian cookbook, and then turn around and write a book where the first 8 chapters are all about meat and fish. As icing on the cake, the design of this book is a fun mix of drawings and photos, and the lovely pictures are straightforward, uncluttered, and richly colored, truly showing off the brilliant recipes.

The Food: The first recipe we made from this book was the Duck, Pineapple, and Coconut Curry. I’ve experimented quite a bit with homemade curry recipes, and it’s really difficult to achieve the depth and balance of flavors that most Thai/Indian/Vietnamese restaurants do. This recipe, which uses a fresh, homemade curry paste made from Thai chilies, lemongrass, ginger, and whole spices, is a really good one. The spiciness of the curry paste, richness of the coconut milk and the duck, and sweet acidity of the pineapple play really well off each other, resulting in a thick and balanced curry that will make you proud of your new-found international cooking skills. Maria offers two shortcuts here – buying pre-cooked Chinese style duck, and using homemade curry paste. I think the pre-cooked duck is a good idea if you’re short on time, but definitely make the curry paste yourself. It’s worth it. Scroll down for the recipe.

Recipe Shortlist: Italian Sausage, Red Wine, Chestnut, and Cabbage Risotto; Moroccan Lentils with Salmon and Avocado Cream; Butternut Squash Falafel; Carrot, Dill, Almond, and Feta Baklava; Green Olive Gnocchi; Bircher Muesli with Grated Apple; Pear Beignets with Rosemary Sugar and Creme Anglaise

Vedge

The Book: Vedge is the new cookbook from the chefs of the vegan Philadelphia restaurant of the same name. Like the restaurant, the book is full of creative and elegant vegan recipes, but the chefs urge you to think of it as “vegetable cooking,” making the recipes about the food, instead of the diet or ethics. There are a range of cuisines and flavors represented, many dishes clearly having been inspired by their travels, and I really like the little themed menus that pop-up throughout the book. Although I’m not a vegetarian or a vegan, I did find it a little bit disappointing that so many of the recipes called for vegan dairy substitutes – vegan mayo, vegan sour cream, vegan butter, etc. I would just make these recipes with the real versions, but there must be other non-dairy ways to add richness to recipes. It’s also worth pointing out that a handful of novel, sophisticated, and intriguing cocktail recipes – like the “Elder Sage” martini and the “Sherry Temple” – are included in the book. I’m guessing that vegans and vegetarians will find this book truly inspiring – and all the rest of us will find ourselves with an exciting new repertoire of healthy vegetable side dishes.

The Food: Trevor and I used this book to cook dinner for his dad and his dad’s wife a few weeks ago. They are both vegetarians, and are moving to a mostly vegan, mostly gluten-free diet as part of a cross-fit challenge as well, so this book was a bit of a blessing in terms of finding recipes that would still be delicious and interesting but would satisfy their dietary requirements. For dinner, we made Salt-Roasted Golden Beets with Dill, Avocado, and Capers (a visual play on cured salmon), and “BLTs,” with the last of our beautiful heirloom tomatoes from the garden, and crispy fried mushrooms in place of the bacon. Both dishes went over really well, and we liked the beets so much that we made them again at home to share here. There’s a ton of flavor and texture in this recipe, and while I suppose it’s possible that I mostly like it because it has mayo, avocado, and capers in it (three very craveable foods in my book), I think that all of the elements go really well together. The bright, contrasting colors also make it a very pretty appetizer. Scroll down for the recipe.

Recipe Shortlist: Saffron Cauliflower Soup with Persillade; Squash Empanadas with Green Romesco; Portobello and Celeria Shepherd’s Pie with Truffle; Parsnip and Chestnut Bisque with Mulled Wine Onion Confit

Duck, Pineapple, and Coconut Curry

Recipe from Full of Flavor. Serves 6.

For the curry paste:

1 TBS whole coriander
1 tsp whole cumin
4 red bird’s eye (Thai) chilies
2 shallots, peeled and finely sliced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 1/4 in. piece of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
2 sticks lemongrass, tough outer leaves removed and interior finely sliced
2 lime leaves, finely chopped
6 cilantro roots, finely chopped, or 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 tsp cardamom pods
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp whole green peppercorns, or freshly ground pepper

Add the coriander and the cumin to a dry frying pan and toast over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant, shaking the pan to prevent them from burning.
Add the toasted seeds and the next 10 ingredients (chilies through green peppercorns) to a food processor and blend into a smooth paste. Set aside.

For the curry:

4 duck breasts (about 2 lbs.), fat lightly scored
sea salt and black pepper to taste
2 cans (14 oz. each) of unsweetened coconut milk
2 whole lime leaves
2 TBS palm sugar or brown sugar
1 lb. 2 oz fresh pineapple, diced
2 TBS fish sauce
leaves from 1/2 bunch cilantro
1 red chili, thinly sliced
handful of Thai basil leaves
1 or 2 limes, cut into quarters

Season the duck with the salt and pepper. Heat a large saute pan (that has a lid) over medium heat and add the duck to the pan, fat side down. Sear on high heat until browned all over. Pour off extra fat and set duck aside.
Scoop the coconut cream off the top of the cans and add to the pan along with the curry paste. Cook for about 2-3 minutes or until fragrant, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Add the rest of the coconut milk plus 1 cup of water, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and add the seared duck. Cover and cook over low heat for about 15 minutes or until the duck is tender. Uncover and add the lime leaves, palm sugar, and pineapple. Simmer for another 10 minutes. Skim the fat from the dish and discard, and finish the curry with the fish sauce and cilantro. Remove the duck breasts from the curry and slice them, then return to the sauce. Serve over rice, with the sliced chilies, basil leaves, and lime quarters.

Salt-Roasted Golden Beets with Dill, Avocado, Capers, and Red Onion

Recipe from Vedge. Serves 4 to 6.

2 c. coarse kosher salt
5 lbs. golden beets (no greens)
2 TBS olive oil
1 TBS sherry vinegar
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 1/2 c. peeled, seeded, chopped cucumber
3/4 c. vegan mayo
1/2 c. loosely packed dill fronds
1 TBS Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and diced
1/4 c. capers, drained
1/4 c. finely diced red onions

Preheat the oven to 300°F. Place the kosher salt in an even, thick layer on a large baking sheet. Arrange the beets in a single layer on the salt. Roast until fork-tender, about 2 hours. The skins will look very dark, almost burnt. Let the beets cool until you can comfortably handle them, then peel the beets. Slice the peeled beets as thinly as you can. Toss the beet slices in a large bowl with the olive oil, sherry vinegar, and 1 tsp of the black pepper. Let marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, and up to 24 hours.
Place the cucumber, mayo, dill, mustard, 1/2 tsp salt, and the remaining 1 tsp of black pepper in a food processor. Pulse into a smooth sauce, then set aside.
Fan the sliced, marinated beets out on a large platter. Garnish with the avocado, capers, and diced red onion, and a spoonful of the cucumber sauce.

Disclaimer: I received review copies of Vedge from The Experiment and Full of Flavor from Kyle Books free of charge, but was not otherwise compensated for writing this review.

0 October 4, 2013 Cookbook

Book Club: Wild Rosemary & Lemon Cake + Le Petit Paris

Wild Rosemary & Lemon Cake

The Book: Wild Rosemary & Lemon Cake is a new Italian cookbook that explores recipes from the Amalfi Coast, that beautiful strip of sparkling blue water and dramatic rocky coastline that brings thousands of people to Southern Italy each year. The authors, Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi, are the owners of several Italian restaurants and a cooking school in England, and have created a beautiful book to document their knowledge of the food of Southern Italy. I love the clean, bright design, the bold typefaces, and the inviting travel photos, not to mention the delicious snaps of pizzas, pastas, and seafood. The book is very cohesive and does a great job capturing the warmth and light of Southern Italy, giving it a strong sense of place – it’s a pleasure to flip through. The recipes are heavy on tomatoes, anchovies, and other seafood, and I was pleased to find several recipes that were completely new to me (I own a lot of Italian cookbooks). I do have to note – one of the recipes we tried never listed an oven temperature, just a baking time. We defaulted to 350°F, and it came out fine, but that’s the kind of omission that could throw a new cook for a serious loop, and disappointing to find in an otherwise great cookbook.

The Food: So far, I’ve made two recipes from Wild Rosemary & Lemon Cake – the day I received it, we made “Enza’s Aubergines,” a roast of anchovy-topped eggplants served with cherry tomato sauce. Having just harvested a bunch of eggplant, tomatoes, and garlic, the recipe caught my eye and we immediately gave it a try. It was a good eggplant recipe, and one I could see myself repeating when we have an abundance of eggplant, but the flavors were nothing revolutionary. For this post, we made Ravello-Style Stuffed Crespelle – olive oil crepes, stuffed with a mix of sausage, ham, and three kinds of cheese, rolled up, stuck in a pan, and baked. It’s like a luxurious take on lasagna, and everything you want Italian comfort food to taste like – meat, cheese, and pasta. We served them plain, but I think they would also be great with a very smooth, classic tomato sauce. Given the ingredient list, it’s no surprise that these were delicious, but I liked that the concept was new to me, and I would definitely make these to impress company. Also, we’ve tried a lot of crepe recipes and this was a great one – the crepes were tender and thin without tearing, and they crisped up nicely. Scroll down for the recipe.

Recipe Shortlist: Anchovy-Pesto Stuffed Peppers; Potato Croquettes with Smoked Cheese; Borlotti Bean and Pasta Soup; Smoked Cheese and Prosecco Risotto; Homemade Fusili; “Rabbit from Ischia”; Lemon Domes filled with Lemon Cream; “Sunset in Amalfi” Sundae

Le Petit Paris: French Finger Food

The Book: Le Petit Paris is a cute little book containing a collection of 40 classic French recipes that have been downsized to finger food treats, perfect for your next cocktail party. I love the book’s small format and the pretty color photos that accompany almost every recipe – and at only $14 on Amazon, I kind of think it would make a fun hostess gift. Since the recipes included really are classics (think fondue, French onion soup, crepes, and madeleines), French cooking aficionados won’t find much new here besides a few interesting twists (like the foie gras burgers), but newer cooks trying to replicate their favorite flavors from a trip to Paris will be thrilled. It would also be the perfect book for putting together a French-themed dinner or cocktail party – most of the recipes seem simple to put together yet highly craveable, making for a high result to effort ratio when you want to entertain a group.

The Food: I had initially planned to make the chocolate eclairs, but I was thrown off by the need to purchase fondant, so I moved to the eclair’s choux pastry cousin – profiteroles. Unfortunately, we struggled a little bit to get this recipe to work – the batter definitely needed a rest in the fridge to firm up before it would pipe correctly, and the chocolate sauce had a tendency to break. We eventually got both parts to look/taste pretty good, and the final product was super yummy, but this made me a little nervous about the rest of the book. Of course, French pastry is challenging in general, so perhaps it was just user error on our part. Scroll down for the recipe.

Recipe Shortlist: Mini Croque Monsieurs; Foie Gras Burgers; Pissaladiere Tartlets; Creme Brulée Teaspoons; Champagne Granita with Strawberries

Recipes

Ravello-Style Stuffed Crepes

Recipe from Wild Rosemary & Lemon Cake by Katie & Giancarlo Caldesi. Serves 6-10.

6 eggs, divided
1 1/2 c. flour
4 TBS olive oil, divided
1 tsp salt
1 3/4 c. whole milk
neutral oil (such as canola or sunflower), for frying
1 medium white onion, finely chopped
14 oz. Italian sausage
1/3 c. white wine
14 oz. ricotta
3 1/2 oz. cooked ham, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 1/2 oz. grated Parmesan (about 3/4 cup)
7 oz. smoked mozzarella, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
black pepper to taste

Make the crepes: whisk together 4 of the eggs and the flour, then gradually whisk in 2 TBS of the olive oil, the salt, and the whole milk. Beat vigorously to make a very smooth batter. Heat a little canola oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, spoon about 1/4 cup of batter into the pan. Swirl the pan to spread the batter evenly around the bottom, cook for about 1 minute, until edges of crepe are beginning to curl and bottom is golden brown, then flip and cook on the other side. Transfer to a plate and continue with the rest of the batter.
Make the filling: heat the remaining 2 TBS olive oil over medium heat in a large non-stick frying pan. Add the chopped onion and cook until soft, about 5-7 minutes. Remove the meat from the sausages by squeezing out of the casing into the pan, chopping up with the back of a wooden spoon. Cook until browned, about 5 minutes, then pour in the wine and let reduce for 2-3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and spread the meat on a large baking sheet or plate to let cool. Once cool, transfer to a bowl and stir in the remaining 2 eggs, the ricotta, cubed ham, grated parmesan, and cubed mozzarella. Season to taste with black pepper.
Assemble and bake: Preheat the oven to 350°F and generously butter a 9×13 baking dish. Spoon about 1/3 cup of filling into each crepe, then roll up and cut in half. Fold the non-cut side of the crepe loosely over the bottom, then place the crepe halves snuggly in the pan with the cut-side facing up. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and crisp on top. Serve warm.

Ice Cream Profiteroles

Recipe from Le Petit Paris by Nathalie Benezet, Hardie Grant 2013. Makes about 20.

For the choux pastry:

1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. butter, cubed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 1/4 c. plain flour
5 eggs, beaten together

Preheat the oven to 375°F and line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.
Place 1/2 cup of water in a large saucepan. Add the milk, butter, salt, and sugar, and heat over low heat until the water just begins to boil and the butter has melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the flour, beating hard with a wooden spoon until a smooth dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Return to medium-low heat and cook, stirring strongly the whole time, until the dough begins to thicken and dry, about 2-3 minutes.
Transfer the dough to a large mixing bowl and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Add the beaten eggs to the dough in four additions, beating well after each addition. Continue stirring until all eggs have been incorporated and the dough is completely smooth.
Spoon the dough into a piping bag with a 1/2 inch nozzle. Pipe 1-inch rounds of dough onto the baking sheets, leaving about an inch in between the rounds. If dough seems to thin, let firm up in the fridge for 30 minutes. Bake the profiteroles for 10-15 minutes, until golden and firm. Remove from the oven and pierce the bottom of each with a wooden skewer. Cool on a wire rack with the holes facing upwards. Once cool, cut the profiteroles in half lengthwise with a serrated knife

For the chocolate sauce and assembly:

5 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
3 TBS butter
2 TBS sugar
1/2 c. heavy cream

Bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil. Place a heatproof bowl over the top of it, and add the chocolate, butter, sugar, and heavy cream to the bowl. Heat until chocolate has melted and sugar has dissolved, stirring frequently. Once melted, remove from heat. If sauce is broken (the butter seems to have separated) whisk vigorously to help it come together.
Place a small spoonful of ice cream inside each profiterole, then drizzle with the warm chocolate sauce. Serve immediately.

Disclaimer: I received a review copy of both these cookbooks from Hardie Grant Books free of charge, but was not otherwise compensated for writing this review.

1 September 29, 2013 Breakfast

Better Breakfast Month and Giveaway // Cinnamon-Almond Waffles with Apple Pie Topping

Giveaway is now closed. Congrats to Rachel Wang on winning!

September is “Better Breakfast Month,” and although it seems that somehow the month is almost over, I think celebrating breakfast is something worth doing. When the California Almond Board asked if I’d like to help them celebrate, I said yes – I love breakfast, and I think it’s important to make time to eat a filling and healthy meal first thing in the morning. So they sent me some almonds and almond butter (and they’ll do the same for one of you, see the giveaway details at the end of this post!), and I whipped up some almondy waffles to keep me full and happy.

Weekend breakfasts are a time when I can find myself over-indulging. I just love breakfast foods – eggs and bacon, fruit smoothies, waffles, french toast, cheesy grits, bagel sandwiches, stuffed crepes, leftover apple pie (does that count as a breakfast food?) – and sometimes it can be tempting to eat a little bit of everything. I decided to make one of my favorite indulgent breakfasts, waffles and maple syrup, a little bit healthier by replacing half of the flour with ground almonds, and swapping out the maple syrup for some lightly sweetened stewed apples (disregard the ice cream in the photo, that didn’t make anyone any healthier… but oh man was it good). The waffles turned out great – airy and slightly almondy with crispy edges. They were a little drier than my usual recipe, but I felt good about the extra protein and fiber I was getting from a meal that is typically an excuse to gorge on empty calories. And the flavor of the cinnamon, almonds, and apples were so autumnal – the perfect thing to eat on your porch on a sunny Saturday morning.

The Almond Board also shared some other ideas for quick and filling breakfasts. Some of them I’d heard before, but some were brand new – and really good – ideas. Some of my favorites?

Satisfy your sweet tooth with a second breakfast “sundae” treat. Swirl a tablespoon of almond butter and a teaspoon of sweetened cocoa into oatmeal; top with fresh fruit and some warm skim milk and you’ll have a breakfast that will surely keep you company till lunch.
Weekday french toast: Beat an egg along with a dash of vanilla and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Dip a slice of 100% whole grain toast bread into the egg mixture and cook on the stovetop in a nonstick pan. Top with sliced almonds, warm berries or sliced banana for an easy way to enjoy a hot, well-rounded breakfast.
Raise a glass to a refreshing way to start the day with this unique, really tasty smoothie: in a blender combine 1/2 cup skim milk, 1/2 cup of plain Greek yogurt, 1/2 baked sweet potato, 1/2 banana, 1 tablespoon of almond butter and 3 ice cubes. Blend together and you’ll be off to a smooth start with the natural sweetness of the banana and sweet potato, both potassium powerhouses!

Giveaway details: The California Almond Board has offered to send one of you a Better Breakfast Starter Kit, with one pound of whole almonds, one pound of sliced almonds, one jar of almond butter, a reusable insulated travel pouch for breakfasts on-the-go, and one $20 Visa gift card to buy anything else that makes your breakfast better. To enter, leave a comment below letting me know what your favorite way to make your breakfast a little bit healthier is. By entering, you are agreeing to the official rules as listed here:

~~No purchase necessary~~
~~Void where prohibited~~
~~One entry per household, and only entries answering the question above will be considered!~~
~~The sponsor of this giveaway is the California Almond Board~~
~~The estimated retail value of the Better Breakfast Starter Kit is $50~~
~~The odds of winning will depend on the number of entries received~~
~~This contest is only open to U.S. Citizens over the age of 18~~
~~The contest will open today, September 29th at posting time, and will close at 11PM EST on Friday, October 4th, 2013~~
One winner will be selected randomly and contacted via email (so please leave an accurate email address!). If I do not hear from the winner within 48 hours, the winner forfeits their prize and an alternate winner will be chosen.
~~I will post the winner here by Friday, October 11th.~~

Disclaimer: California Almond Board sent me a Better Breakfast Starter Kit to create this recipe, and is the host of this giveaway. I was not otherwise compensated.

Cinnamon-Almond Waffles

Serves 4.

1 c. sliced almonds
1 c. AP flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 TBS sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs, separated
1 1/2 c. milk
1 tsp almond extract
1/3 c. vegetable oil
pinch cream of tartar

Place the sliced almonds in a food processor or blender. Pulse for 2-3 seconds at a time until the almonds have a consistency finer than cornmeal (if you blend for too long, the almonds will eventually turn into almond butter, which is way pulsing them is better). Sift the almond flour through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium mixing bowl, placing any almond pieces that are too large to go through the sieve back into the food processor to be re-processed. Continue until you have 3/4 cup of almond flour.
Add the AP flour, baking powder, cinnamon, sugar, and salt to the almond flour, and whisk until evenly combined. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks until pale yellow and thick. Add the milk and the almond extract and whisk to combine. Add the dry ingredients to this batter, and stir until fully mixed, then whisk in the vegetable oil.
In a large, clean bowl, beat the egg yolks until they are frothy, then sprinkle with a pinch of cream of tartar and continue to beat until they form stiff, shiny peaks. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter, stirring as few times as possible to incorporate the egg whites without deflating them. Preheat and prepare your waffle iron, then cook the waffles on it according to manufacturer instructions. Serve hot with apple pie topping (recipe below) and ice cream if you’re feeling indulgent.

Apple Pie Topping

Makes about 2 cups.

2 large apples, such as Honeycrisp, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/3 c. sugar
1 TBS cinnamon
2 TBS water
1/3 c. sliced almonds

Add the apple pieces, sugar, cinnamon, and water to a small saucepan, and place over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the apples have started to soften and the sugar has thickened into a loose caramel. Add the almonds and cook 1 minute longer, then remove from heat and serve over waffles or ice cream.

1 September 26, 2013 Fall

An Easy Fall Dinner // Roast Acorn Squash, Sausage, and Onions

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been loving the fall weather we’ve been having in New England. Every day seems to start with a clear blue sky, air so crisp and fresh you feel like you’re really breathing for the first time in months. I’ve been breaking out the cashmere, scarves, leg warmers, and boots pretty much every day, and indulging in hot cider and donuts at the farmer’s market. And when I come home at night, before falling into bed, where I’ve been actively reveling in just how cozy a pile of comforters and pillows can be, I’ve been craving richer, meatier flavors.

With the falling temperatures, dinner has become something to look forward to, especially with super-easy, satisfying meals like this one-pan roast. It takes all of 5 minutes to throw together and 20 minutes in the oven, and the flavors are perfect – spicy Italian sausage, earthy acorn squash, sweet roasted onion, salty parmesan cheese and a few sweet-sour dried cherries to brighten the whole thing. It has quickly become a favorite for us this month, and I’ve already forwarded the recipe on to my family, so I figured it was one that would be worth sharing with you all, too.

Acorn squash is one of the few squash that did well in our garden this year, so I’ve been on the lookout for good uses for the pile of softball-sized squash we have sitting in the kitchen. I love this recipe, but I don’t know if it’s going to get us through all of our squash. In the past, the most adventurous I’ve gotten with winter squash is smooth bisques and roasted squash cubes tossed with pasta, but I want to move beyond that. So, I’m turning to you. What are your favorite ways to prepare acorn squash? I’d love more ideas.

Sausages with Acorn Squash and Onions

Adapted very slightly from Martha Stewart. Serves 4.

1 large acorn squash, halved, seeds scooped out and discarded, and cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
1 large red onion, peeled and cut into thick wedges
3 TBS olive oil
sea salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. of hot Italian sausage (4 links)
1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese
1 TBS minced fresh sage leaves
1/2 c. dried cherries

Preheat the oven to 475°F. Place the squash slices and the onion wedges on a large baking sheet with sides, drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, then carefully flip and stir with a spatula to evenly coat all the squash. Spread the veggies out into an even layer (a single layer is ideal). Add the sausages to the pan, and roast for 20 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle with the parmesan cheese, sage, and cherries, tossing to coat. Return to oven for 5 minutes, until cheese is melted, then serve immediately.

0 September 24, 2013 Food

IFBC 2013: Eating, Drinking, and Exploring Seattle

I just got home from a whirlwind four days in Seattle, where I ate and drank my way through the city as part of the sixth IFBC. In addition to attending the conference sessions, I had plenty of time to explore the city, hang out with my little brother, and work off some of those calories in long runs on the waterfront. Although I’m by no means an expert on the city, I wanted to share some notes and tips about the food, wine, and activities that I most enjoyed during my four days there.

Eating and Drinking

RN74 – As part of the conference, UrbanSpoon arranged a series of small blogger dinners at some of the best restaurants in Seattle. My group was sent just a few blocks from the hotel to RN74, where we were served an amazing 10 course dinner. Highlights included the muhsroom tempura, dungeness crab spaghetti with lemon and poppy seed, 45-day dry-aged beef with duck fat fries, olive oil cake with lemon curd sherbet, and an Au Bon Climat chardonnay that was one of the best wines I’ve ever tasted.

Lecosho – Wanting to get out of the hotel for a little bit on such a beautiful weekend, I met new blog acquaintances Diana, Garrett, and Rachael (and Diana’s husband and adorable 8-month old baby) for lunch at Lecosho on Friday. It was the perfect lunch spot – right downtown, with delicious soups, salads, and sandwiches. I had a grilled ham and cheese with spicy mustard, and fresh cream of mushroom soup. Very reasonably priced, too.

Beecher’s – Initially curious about the long line of people waiting outside the small storefront, I did a little bit of research on Beecher’s, a handmade cheese store in Pike Place Market, and decided to give this landmark restaurant a try. The super creamy, perfectly cheesy mac’n’cheese is 100% worth the hype. Try it.

Blue C Sushi – I’m not sure it’s on their regular menu, but the baked potato sushi roll with caviar was my favorite small bite from the conference food expo on Friday night. Think nori, stuffed with baked potato, a crumble of bacon, sour cream, and a spoonful of caviar on top. So clever – and so good! Good enough that next time I think I’ll check out their full menu.

Luc – As we waddled out of the UrbanSpoon dinner at RN74, we were handed gift bags with even more goodies, including gift certificates to another charming restaurant, a french place called Luc. Since she was leaving the next day, my dinner buddy Karli was kind enough to give me her card, so Ryan and I headed there for a farewell dinner Sunday night. Since I was still a bit chilled from our damp hike earlier that afternoon, I ordered the hearty white bean cassoulet with duck confit. Um, yum. Ryan also devoured his moules marinieres, and we finished the meal off with the best chocolate pot de creme I’ve ever had – it was so silky and just chocolaty enough. A fabulous ending to my visit.

Cupcake Royale – Cupcake Royale was one of the hosts of the Fresh Bloggers party I went to on Thursday night. I didn’t eat much there since I was pretty full from the previous event, but I’m so glad I tried a granny smith and salted caramel cupcake before I left, because then I was able to immediately consume three more. These are really good cupcakes. And I’m pretty picky about cupcakes.

Chateau Ste Michelle – Touring the Chateau Ste Michelle winery in Woodinville was an optional excursion associated with IFBC, and I’m glad I opted in. It was a gorgeous, warm, sunny afternoon when our tour bus pulled up to the winery, which is about 30 minutes away from downtown Seattle, and we were immediately greeted with chilled glasses of a lovely sparkling rosé. A whilrwind tour of the bottling and fermenting facility followed (all the grapes are grown way out in Eastern Washington, so we didn’t see any of those), before we were ushered into a dining room where John Sarich led us through a quick wine tasting with several super tasty small bites to accompany it. I loved all the food (especially, surprisingly, the cured salmon), and the Eroica Riesling was a remarkable wine. I’d definitely head back out to Woodinville to taste more wines on my next trip.

Exploring

Pike Place Market – Although probably the most famous activity in Seattle (or at least tied with the Space Needle), wandering through Pike Place Market is a must. It’s full of vibrant colors, sounds and smells – fresh produce, beautiful flowers (and so cheap, if I lived in Seattle I’d have flowers all the time), buskers and barbershop quartets, and dozens of restaurants, selling everything from coffee to mac’n’cheese to Russian meat pies. And if you wander all the way down to the end, there’s a lovely little park with great views of the sound where you can sit and enjoy all your market goodies.

Running on the Elliott Bay Trail – One of my favorite ways to explore a new city is by going for a jog, and Seattle is a great place for this. If you’re staying downtown, head down to the waterfront and run North along the docks (Alaskan Way on the map) until you get to Myrtle Edwardrs Park, where the Elliott Bay Bike Trail winds through grassy lawns along the beach. It’s a great, mostly flat run – I managed to fit in 5 miles both Friday and Saturday (taking a lot of photo breaks as I ran).

Cougar Mountain Regional Park – Fitting in a hike with my brother was a must-do on my list, rain or shine. Although it had been sunny all weekend so far, when my brother arrived to pick me up, there was a heavy, blowy rain falling. Still, I suited up in a poncho and we started our walk through the Cougar Mountain park, starting at a trailhead only a few miles from his house (in Bellevue). After about 30 minutes, the rain stopped and the sun started to break through the clouds, leading to gorgeous, sun-streaked mist filling the rainforest. The hike we chose was an easy 4 mile loop with little elevation gain – more of a walk in the woods than a true hike – but it was great to be outside and exploring new terrain.

Since I’m sure I’ll be back to Seattle somewhat frequently to visit my brother, I’ve already started keeping a list of other things I’d like to do there – like ride up in the Space Needle, go on a whale watch, do some more serious hiking, and take a ferry to Victoria. Plus, there’s a lot more great restaurants to try. With the promise of all that, I’m sure I’ll be back soon!

Note: In order to received the discounted active blogger rate at IFBC, all participating bloggers were required to write three posts about their experience at the conference.

0 September 19, 2013 Dessert

IFBC, Cake Journal, Chocolate-Toffee Cookies with Caramel Centers

I’m writing this to you from way up over Canada, en route to Seattle for the 2013 International Food Blogger Conference, better known as IFBC. I’m pretty excited – four days of wining and dining, schmoozing with other bloggers and food professionals, and hopefully learning a ton from the speakers and break-out sessions. Not to mention, I’ll get to explore Seattle and hang out with my baby brother, who just moved here last month. It’s gonna be good.

I’ll be tweeting and instagramming from all the events (take that as an invitation or a warning, whichever you prefer), and when I get back I’ll be sure to write a few posts to share what we learned (and ate) at the conference. In the meantime, I want to direct your attention over to Cake Journal, where I’m sharing these sinful chocolate-toffee cookies with caramel centers. They’re a riff on my favorite double-chocolate cookie, amped up with toffee bits and homemade caramel. They’ll pretty much satisfy any chocolate craving. I may be contributing more original dessert recipes to Cake Journal in the future, so keep your eyes peeled!

Oh, and if any of you will be attending IFBC, shoot me a note! I’d love to say hi. Also, I’ll have some time to explore (and eat!) on my own – any recommendations for Seattle favorites would be welcome. And if you’re not going to be in Seattle, I hope you have a fantastic weekend. Talk to you soon!

Click here for the cookie recipe.

Note: In order to received the discounted active blogger rate at IFBC, all participating bloggers were required to write three posts about their experience at the conference.

2 September 17, 2013 Cookbook

Book Club: True Brews // Blackberry Wine, Homemade Sake, and Watermelon Soda

I’m teasing you a little bit with this headline: you don’t get recipes for all three home brews in this post, only the soda. For the other two, you’re going to have to go out and get a copy of Emma Christensen’s True Brews. And it’s not because I don’t want to share, I do. It’s just that I couldn’t make the daunting process of brewing your own beverages at home seem nearly as clear and easy as Emma does, so I want to leave most of the explaining to the expert. Because that’s exactly what Emma is, and True Brews is a fantastic (and fun) resource for anyone looking to get their hands dirty with fermenting their own soda, kombucha, kefir, cider, beer, mead, sake, or fruit wine. Certainly, you could find much larger tomes dedicated solely to the science behind brewing any one of these beverages, but for someone who just wants an easy introduction or who likes to dabble, True Brews is the perfect starting point.

This review has been a long-time in the making. For three months there have been buckets of brews bubbling away in our new house, turning rice into sake, blackberries into blackberry wine, and homegrown watermelon into fizzy soda. Now that all three recipes are finished, it’s time to have some friends over for a tasting party – that is, before we get started on our next project! (Cranberry mead, if you’re curious). Like most DIY food projects – cheese-making, charcuterie, bread-baking, canning – home-brewing takes time, practice, patience and a small investment in the necessary equipment. I have to say, so far, brewing is a bit more rewarding than the other projects we’ve tried – it’s less labor-intensive and the results are faster and more consistent. Plus, drinking a glass of mead that’s a little too dry is a lot more enjoyable than trying to eat a piece of cheese that didn’t cure properly.

True Brews both clearly covers the basics for all kinds of brewing, and provides a number of appealing recipes to get you started. I’m really impressed by how not-daunting this book makes the whole process. Any questions we’ve had have been explicitly answered, and all three of our recipes worked out, even though Trevor wanted to start with the “advanced” sake recipe, which requires feeding the sake a little specially prepared rice every few days for almost two weeks. I started more simply, with the watermelon-mint soda, which was a snap to make – 24 hours after cutting up the watermelon, I was sipping a super fizzy, refreshing, slightly sweet soda. I can’t wait to make a few more varieties; it’s really the best soda I’ve ever tried. And the blackberry wine was enjoyable too, in a completely different way – it’s sort of thin and has a bit more tang than most wines, but with a pleasant aroma of ripe berries and a uniqueness that makes you want to finish the glass. Not to mention, it’s a gorgeous, gorgeous color, and completely translucent. I’m not really a sake drinker, but the sake is OK too – it’s breadier than sake is supposed to be, but a chilled glass is still good, if not craveable. Because the first three recipes were successful, I’m eager to try more recipes – besides the cranberry mead, I have my eye on the Sweet Spiced Apple Cider, the Jamaican Ginger Beer, and the Apricot Wheat Ale. I feel like my drinking choices just got a whole lot more awesome.

The bottom line: True Brews is an excellent primer on fermenting your own home-brews, both alcoholic (cider, beer, mead, sake, wine) and kid-friendly (soda, kombucha, and kefir). Emma covers the basics clearly and succinctly, making home-brewing accessible, appealing, and fun. The recipes are diverse and turn out impressively, and the enticing photography and clean design make this book the complete package. This may be a little light on new and detailed information for a seasoned brewer, but for someone just starting out, it’s perfect.

Disclaimer: I received a review copy of True Brews from Ten Speed Press, but was not otherwise compensated for writing this review. All opinions are my own, as always.

Watermelon-Mint Soda

Recipe from True Brews. Makes 2 liters.

4 pounds seeded, cubed watermelon (from a 6 pound watermelon)
1/2 c. packed fresh mint leaves
1/2 c. freshly squeezed lime juice (from 4-5 limes)
1 cup water, plus more to fill the bottle
9 TBS white sugar, plus more to taste if needed
pinch of salt
1/8 tsp dry champagne yeast (purchase at your local home-brew store)

To make soda you will need a clean, 2-liter plastic soda bottle, a blender, a fine-mesh strainer, and a funnel. Make sure all of your equipment is clean before you start.
Combine the watermelon, mint, and lime juice in a large bowl and set aside. Place 1 cup of water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, add the sugar and a pinch of salt, and stir to dissolve. Pour the hot syrup over the watermelon, stir briefly to coat all fruit in the syrup, and let stand for 10 minutes.
In batches, blend the watermelon mixture into a smooth puree, then strain the puree through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean bowl, stirring the puree to allow as much juice as possible to run into the bowl without pushing any of the solids through the strainer. If you want a very smooth soda, line your strainer with a piece of cheesecloth.
Pour the juice into the the clean 2-liter soda bottle. Add water to almost fill the bottle, leaving around 1 inch of headspace at the top. Taste, and add a little more sugar or lime juice if desired.
Add the yeast to the bottle. Screw on the cap and shake the bottle to dissolve and distribute the yeast. Let the bottle sit at room temperature out of direct sunlight for 12 to 48 hours – the soda will ferment more quickly in a warmer room. When the bottle feels rock solid, with very little give, the soda is ready. Place it in the fridge overnight or for up to two weeks. Open slowly over a sink to release the pressure (sodas can easily overcarbonate). You can transfer to pretty glass bottles to serve the soda, but always store it in the plastic bottle to prevent explosions.

0 September 14, 2013 Fall

Spicy Fresh Tomato-Basil Soup with Caraway-Cheese Toasts

This soup came about as a result of the confluence of two forces – an end-of-summer head cold, and an overdue fridge clean out. Perhaps it’s just that all of the travel and hubbub of the summer have caught up to me, but my body is telling me that it needs a few days of doing nothing before it begins cooperating with me again. So I’m taking it easy at home (especially since I want to be in fighting form for my trip to IFBC this week! Will I see any of you in Seattle?) and eating comforting, nourishing things. As for the fridge, it’s really not so bad, but we’ve hidden lots of garden produce away in it’s drawers and it’s easy to forget about it – and there’s nothing sadder then seeing something that you’ve grown from seed go to waste. We still have a glut of tomatoes, and since we also had half a container of stock, I decided that soup was the perfect solution to both my problems.

This turned out just right for the situation and the weather – a little spicy to clear my head, smooth and comforting on a sore throat, warming on a cool fall day, but still packed with the fresh taste of summer. I wrote down there that this recipe serves 2 to 3, which it could, but I’m not going to lie to you – I ate the whole pot in one go, bowl after bowl, sitting on my couch and watching chick flicks. It helped a lot. Of course, I added a healthy dose of heavy cream to the pot after pureeing, and the mix of the bright acidic tomatoes and rich cream was too much for me to resist. Since I didn’t bother to peel the tomatoes before throwing them in the pot, the strained puree was quite thin – almost drinkable – but you could thicken it up with a bit of couscous, rice, or some croutons if you wanted. I chose to serve it with a slice of homemade sourdough toasted with grated parmesan and caraway seeds – an open-faced grilled cheese of sorts. It was a perfect comfort meal – I might even make it again tomorrow.

Spicy Fresh Tomato-Basil Soup

Adapted loosely from Stir. Serves 2-3.

2 TBS butter
1/2 medium onion, diced
3/4 tsp red chili flakes
3 cloves garlic, peeled and diced
5 medium tomatoes, cored and quartered
2 cups chicken stock
1/3 c. heavy cream
8-10 leaves fresh basil, chiffonaded
salt

Add butter to a large saucepan and melt over medium heat. Add onions and chili flakes and saute for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and translucent. Add diced garlic to pan and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute longer.
Add the tomatoes and chicken stock to the saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer, and simmer, uncovered, for about 30 minutes, or until the tomatoes have fully broken down. Carefully puree the hot soup in a blender, then strain through a colander or mesh strainer back into the pot to remove the seeds and skins (if you use a colander, you will have a thicker soup with some seeds; a mesh strainer will result in a thin soup with no seeds). Add the heavy cream and basil to the soup, season to taste with salt, and heat over low heat for 1 minute, just to fully warm the soup. Serve hot with Caraway-Cheese Toasts, recipe below.

Caraway-Cheese Toasts

Inspired by Stir. Serves 3.

1 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 TBS butter
3 slices fresh sourdough bread
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

Heat a large frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the caraway seeds to the dry pan and toast until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Add the butter, melt it, and swirl it around the pan. Place the 3 slices of bread in the pan, and toast in the butter until golden brown on both sides, flipping each piece once or twice.
Remove the bread from the pan and set aside. Turn the heat down to low. Sprinkle the cheese directly onto the hot pan in the size and shape of the three pieces of bread. Allow the cheese to melt and crisp for 20-30 seconds, then place the slices of bread on top of the cheese and press down. Wait 20 seconds, then carefully flip the slices of bread over without disturbing the cheese layer (using a fork or your fingers is probably your best bet). Serve hot. (You could also do this more easily in the oven under the broiler, sprinkling the grated cheese on top of each slice of bread and broiling until melted, but I didn’t want to get more than one pan dirty!)

1 September 10, 2013 Food

Green Bean Farfalle with Pesto, Capers, and Almonds

The idea for this pasta came to me after reading a post on Not Without Salt that had absolutely nothing to do with green beans, or pasta, or pesto. The post was about apricot pie, and it’s a beautiful post and a beautiful pie, but the sentence that stuck with me was the one about what preceded the pie – “a picnic dinner with steak sandwiches, horseradish butter, pesto laden green beans with capers and an onion-spiked salad of tomatoes and peaches.” A) I was reading this on a plane, and even though I got to fly business class for the first time and the food was quite good, (and I totally took advantage of every single offer of champagne), that picnic meal made me want to run off that plane and drive immediately to an idyllic country house and picnic in a meadow. B) Pesto-laden green beans with capers? What an amazing idea. We’ve had pounds and pounds of beans come out of the garden, and have tried several yummy recipes (we especially liked this one with romesco sauce), but this one sounded like it could top them all.

This is my first batch of pesto this summer – sadly, our basil plants never really took off this year. I usually make pesto by throwing the five ingredients – pine nuts, parmesan, garlic, olive oil, and basil – into the food processor all at once, blending, then tasting, usually adding more cheese, and blending again. The thing is, I’m never quite happy with the results – it’s inconsistent, and it’s never as good as my mom’s pesto. So this time, I did a little research into “best pesto” recipes, and take a more methodical approach. Two recipe caught my eye – this one, by The Best Remedy for A Cup of Jo, and this classic Marcella Hazan recipe. The two recipes aren’t so different from one another, so I followed the Marcella Hazan recipe and borrowed The Best Remedy’s idea of toasting the pine nuts first. The extra steps – grating the cheese by hand and stirring it in at the end, pre-chopping the garlic, and the little bit of butter added to the final product – made a huge difference. It really was perfect pesto. Tossed with the quickly blanched green beans, a few spoonfuls of capers, lightly toasted almonds, and hot pasta, it was a perfect and light summer lunch. And a really good way to use up some green beans.

Green Bean Farfalle with Pesto, Capers, and Almonds

Pesto recipe adapted from Marcella Hazan. Green Beans inspired by Not Without Salt. Serves 4.

2 cups fresh basil leaves, tightly packed
1/2 c. olive oil
3 TBS pine nuts
2 garlic cloves, peeled
salt
1/2 c. finely grated parmesan cheese
3 TBS butter at room temperature
2 lbs. green beans, ends trimmed, sliced in half on the diagonal
1 lb. farfalle
1/3 c. almonds, roughly chopped
1/3 c. capers

Wash the basil gently, then pat completely dry with a paper towel.
Toast the pine nuts until they are fragrant in a dry skillet over medium heat. Stir frequently to prevent them from burning.
Finely chop the garlic by hand.
Add the basil, olive oil, pine nuts, garlic, and a pinch of salt to a food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy. Stir in the parmesan cheese by hand, then stir in the butter.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the green beans until bright green, then remove with a slotted spoon and set in a large bowl. Add the farfalle to the boiling water and cook according to package directions, then drain.
Lightly toast the chopped almonds in a dry skillet over medium heat until they are golden brown and fragrant. Stir frequently to prevent them from burning.
Toss together the green beans, pesto, farfalle, capers, and almonds, until everything is equally coated. Serve hot.

1 August 31, 2013 Beef

Book Club: Live Fire // Blue-Cheese Stuffed Burgers and Grilled Corn with Red-Pepper Butter

Live Fire is a cookbook that I’ve had sitting somewhat forlornly on my bedside table all summer, begging me to cook from it. It’s a book about grilling, but not just grilling – it’s about cooking with fire in all its forms. As I’ve mentioned, grilling, or any live flame cooking is not my area of expertise, and I even included learning to do it on my summer bucket list for the second year in a row this year, which is precisely why Live Fire was so enticing to me. But between moving (to a house without a grill), ballet camp, and spending most of July and August away from home, I hadn’t had a chance to cook from it at all. So two days before my third trip to Russia (where I am right now), Trevor and I combined our weekly garden trip with a little cookout on my parents’ grill, and I finally got a chance to test out this book.

To be honest, the design and message of this book are a little intense for my taste – it’s a large book, with big blocky text and “aged” paper, trying maybe a little too hard to be not-feminine. And while I think it would be completely awesome to roast an entire lamb on an iron cross or a 20 lb. turkey on a spitjack, I just don’t think that I’m going to pull that off in the tiny, grass-less yard of my new apartment (but if you think you might want to do that, or throw other show-stopping meat-centric events, then this is the book for you). But there are things that I like a lot about this book – Michael’s clear passion for cooking with fire that comes through on every page; how informative it is, especially for a grilling/fire newbie/scaredy-cat like me; and how personal and infused with love and memories the book is.

The book is broken up into seven sections by cooking method – grill, hearth, plancha, fire pit, hot box, rotisserie and embers. Obviously some of these methods are more accessible to home cooks than others, but I like that it pushes the envelope on what’s achievable in your own kitchen or yard (or even fireplace). Many of the recipes in these sections list alternative methods for preparing the same foods in your oven or on your stovetop, which on one hand kind of defeats the point, but on the other hand lets you see how versatile your grill can be (cooking pasta on the grill? Yep!). Some of the recipes are part of big menus, like the harvest dinner, the burger bash, and the backyard camping breakfast, but others stand-alone. High on my list? The Lemon-Garlic Chicken with Kalamata Tapenade Cooked Under a Brick, the Salt-Baked Potatoes with Mascarpone and Prosciutto Bits, the S’Mores with Espresso Marshmallows, and the Grilled Zinfandel Sangria.

And the recipes I’ve already tried? Blue-Cheese Stuffed Burgers with Red Onion Marmalade and Grilled Corn on the Cob with Roasted Red-Pepper Butter. Both were a success – there’s nothing like a big, juicy burger with molten blue cheese oozing out of the middle, at least in my book. But for me, more important than the success of the flavors was the success of the process. I lit the grill, by myself. I prepped the burgers, by myself. I cooked the burgers, by myself, (OK, with Trevor’s supervision), and I didn’t even drop them when I flipped them. These sound like small accomplishments, but I get super nervous around the grill (fire, gas, burns, explosions…), and squeamish about cooking meat via any method other than braising it for hours and hours, so I was pretty proud of myself. And I’m grateful to Live Fire for enticing me to just get out there and do it.

So for those of you in the States this Labor Day weekend, enjoying one more USA-sanctioned grilling holiday this year, consider adding either of these recipes to your menu. And although September is all about getting ready for fall and going back to school, it’s still kind of summer. Summer enough to keep grilling, at least. Don’t stash them away yet!

The bottom line: Live Fire is a book that teaches seven methods of cooking over flames, from grilling to using a plancha to cooking with a rotisserie. Some of the recipes are impractical for the average cook, but it’s an adventurous book with a strong sense of passion for the process of cooking with fire and a healthy dose of fun. I’d recommend it for cooks looking to move beyond the grill when it comes to outdoor cooking (or hoping to throw an over-the-top themed dinner party), but it’s probably not the best choice for someone looking for quick “just throw it on the grill” dinner recipes.

Disclaimer: I received a review copy of Live Fire free of charge from Chronicle Books, but was not otherwise compensated for writing this review. All opinions are genuine and my own.

Blue Cheese-Stuffed Burgers with Zin-Onion Marmalade

Recipe from Live Fire. Serves 6.

2 medium red onions
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme
2 c. zinfandel, or other red wine
3 pounds ground chuck
3/4 c. crumbled blue cheese
coarse sea salt and pepper to season burgers
6 sourdough rolls, cut in half

To make the marmalade: peel the onions, then slice in half end-to-end. Slice into thin half moons. Heat the olive oil in a wide saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions, salt, and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and beginning to caramelize, about 10 minutes. Add the chopped thyme and cook one minute longer, then pour in the wine and cook util the sauce has reduced by about two-thirds, about 5 minutes longer. Remove from the heat and let cool while you prepared the burgers. (Can also be made in advance and refrigerated until ready to serve).
To prepare the grill: Turn a gas grill to high or ignite charcoal. When the grill is hot, clean the rack with a grill brush. Decrease the temperature to medium high.
To make the burgers: Shape the ground beef into 12 thin patties about 4 inches wide and 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Set aside 6 patties as your “top” patties, and 6 patties as the “bottom” patties. Spoon 2 TBS of the blue cheese on top of each of the 6 bottom patties, leaving 1/2 inch around the edge of the patty free of cheese. Lightly cover the bottom patties with the top patties, and gently press the edges together to seal. Season both sides of the burgers with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Grill the burgers for 5-6 minutes per side with the lid of the grill closed. Two minutes before the burgers are done, add the buns, cut side down, to the grill rack to toast. Serve the burgers on the toasted buns with the red onion marmalade.

Grilled Corn on the Cob with Red Pepper Butter

Recipe from Live Fire. Serves 8.

3 medium red bell peppers, roasted and peeled
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp chopped fresh oregano
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp coarse sea salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
8 ears fresh corn, in their husks

Coarsely chop the roasted red peppers and place in a food processor. Heat the olive oil in a small saute pan over medium heat, then add the minced garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant and just barely colored. Remove from the heat and stir in the oregano.
Add the vinegar, sea salt, and pepper to the food processor with the red peppers, and pulse until smooth. Pour in the warm garlic-olive oil, and pulse a few times to blend. Add the softened butter, and process until the mixture is smooth with a consistent color. Refrigerate the red pepper until ready to use. If desired, roll into a log once it’s chilled and wrap in tin-foil.
Prepare the corn: pull out all the corn silk from the ears without removing the husks. To do this, pull the husks down the corn without removing them, then tug the corn silks out and discard. Smooth the husks back over the corn. Soak the corn in cold water (easiest in a bucket), for 15-30 minutes before putting over the fire.
Start your grill and set to medium-high. Place the corn on the grill and grill, turning occasionally, until the husks are brown and slightly charred, about 10-15 minutes. Test one ear to see if it’s done inside. Serve with the red pepper butter.