私のあの日

When it comes to dried fruit, cranberries do not top my list of favorites.  I love raisins, prunes, dried apricots, dried peaches, and dried tart cherries any time of the year, but it’s rare to find a bag of dried cranberries in my pantry most of the time.  However, when Thanksgiving rolls around, I start thinking cranberries and the dried ones inevitably start showing up in my green salads and baked goods and continue to do so through January.  They add a festive pop of color and the flavor pairs beautifully with oranges, one of my favorite things to eat in the winter.  I do use the fresh ones for holiday cranberry sauces and relishes, but I think dried cranberries are wonderful in cookies, muffins, scones, and green salads.

Phil loves the combination of cranberries and white chocolate, so I decided to put them together in a cookie recipe for him.  I had pecans on hand, so I added those as well.  I thought orange zest would be perfect in these, but he asked me to leave it out.  Luckily I didn’t listen to him, because I think the orange zest is what turned these into some of the best cookies I’ve ever made.  The orange flavor isn’t overpowering, but it makes them smell so good and festive that I can’t imagine leaving it out.

Basically, I wouldn’t change a thing about these cookies.  The toasted pecans are perfect, and yes, I do think that the extra step of toasting them first is worth it.  I also think the almond extract is necessary.  Yes, it can sometimes be overpowering, but the small amount used in combination with vanilla extract here is just enough to add a depth of flavor that you’ll notice without being able to pinpoint exactly what it is that’s making you want to shove more and more cookies in your face.  I hope you enjoy them as much as we have!

I'm deep in the middle of a streak where I cook primarily from other people's cookbooks. Every now and then it's a groove I fall into, sometimes lasting a few weeks, other times a month or two. There's something creatively energizing ulthera, and at the same time, relaxing about following a recipe written by another cook or writer I admire. I like to mix it up a bit by alternating between recipes from new volumes (like the one today), and recipes from older titles (the Sopa Verde from last week). It's a practice that tends to shake out the creative cobwebs for me. So, that's where my head was at when I turned to a stack of books the other night. I was asked to bring a soup for a group of friends getting together for a casual, coastal overnight in beautiful west Marin. There were a number of recipes that were contenders, but a spicy chickpea soup from Yotam Ottolenghi's upcoming cookbook, Plenty More, caught my attention. It features a seductive, red harissa broth fragrant with cumin, coriander, and caraway, and enough chickpeas and bulgur to make it work as a main course. An herb-whipped feta is the crowning dollop. We enjoyed it after an invigorating stroll along the coastline just as surfers were catching the last waves before sunset - I popped off a few snapshots along the way joyetech cubis...

That first shot (and the one with the surfers and fishing boat) is looking south toward the Golden Gate - people surf, paddle board, swim, and fish from the shore. The clouds were settling in, and they weren't just coastal fog and mist, we had a few hours of real rain - but none since.

I really like this soup with a finishing squeeze of lemon juice, or a sprinkling or chopped olives. I had it the next day with a poached egg for dinner, with a swirl or arugula pesto (Deborah Madison's Marjoram Sauce would be nice too). Just play around with whatever you have on hand to give a generous pot of soup a few twists for a nice series of meals sigelei 200w.

Fridays have unofficially become guest lunch days around here. It wasn't something planned, Fridays just seem to be the day people swing by with deliveries for the shop, or the day everyone has a bit of extra time. Adele came by last, and Dave from Jacob May before that. I like it. We'll often break out a bit of wine, pull a few things together (along with whatever leftovers from the week are in the refrigerator), chat, throw ideas around, and generally enjoy each other's company. Today's black pepper cauliflower is one of the things that has landed on the table in various guises over the past couple of months. The florets are doused in a warm black pepper and red onion vinaigrette, and tossed with nuts, apples, olives, and a bit of feta. The version with broccoli was also popular (simply swap out the cauliflower for broccoli)...

As far as how one of the spreads comes together, we'll often have a big pot of soup, a couple of salads (like this), and someone typically throws a few eggs in a skillet to poach and top the soup.

We typically have them friday lunches here at the house, but(!) that might change soon. After a long search, we finally found a new home for QUITOKEETO. It's a little rough around the edges, and is going to take some time to clean up - but new floors are en route, paint swatches are being debated, bars are hopefully coming off the windows, and the fluorescent lights will politely be escorted out. I promise more details as this unfolds in the coming weeks. The light in the space is beautiful and soft, the ceilings high. It was a painter's studio for many years, and after spending some time in it, I understand why. More soon

Am I the only one who is completely blown away by how close to Christmas it is?  Where did the time go?  What have I been doing for the past month?  I feel like Anchorman 2 has gotten more attention than the holidays this year, or maybe I just have selective hearing.  Either way, I’m not ready for the 25th elyze.
 
However, I am ready for holiday-themed cocktails, which you may or may not already have realized when I posted Boozy Raspberry Hot Chocolate a few days ago.  Some of my favorite flavors shine this season– flavors like chocolate, mint, cinnamon, cranberry, and pomegranate– so I’ve been trying to think tasty libations that use all of them.  (But not all together.  That might be overkill.)
 
I originally was going to make a dessert-like mint cocktail, but last year’s Peppermint Mocha White Russians seemed to have all of my ideas covered.   I was really aggravated over my inability to come up with something new, minty, and exciting elyze .

Sure, it seems like a summer-time drink, but with all of that fresh mint, it’s actually quite winter-worthy!  Add in some seasonal fruit and we’ve got ourselves a tasty little holiday cocktail.
 
I decided to go with pomegranate as my fruit add-in when I realized I had a ton leftover from Roasted Honey Balsamic Brussels Sprouts and they were going to go bad if I didn’t use them up.  I have to say, I got lucky.  I had no idea how well pomegranate, mint, and lime went together before giving it a go, but man oh man it was perfect.  I didn’t have a chance to serve them any to anyone else (read: I drank them all.  It had been a long day) but I would definitely be happy to serve these to a crowd elyze.

Did anyone else read Sweet Valley Twin series as a kid? My parents bought me some of those books, my older cousin also had some copies and the old school library also kept a few copies. I devoured those books like candies from ages 7 to 10. (I moved on to Harry Potter after that. Big leap, huh?) It just reminds me that in one of the books, Jessica, the popular twin, had to wear prescription glasses, but she was mercilessly teased about them. Determined to look like her pretty little ol' self again, she kept on eating carrots and at some point, she was wondering if she was turning orange. (Peer pressure, don't let it get to you, kids Dr Max.)

See, I have always loved carrots as a kid, but after reading that story coffee machine, I was beginning to wonder if I was turning very orange, afraid I'd start to look like an oompa loompa. I stopped eating carrots, much to my parents' surprise. I remember them sitting me down on afternoon and explaining to me all about vitamins and minerals, and how our bodies need the proper nutrients to function optimally. I started eating carrots again ego one mega.

You can imagine just how much I love incorporating carrots to my dishes and baked goods. Carrot cake was second type of cake I ever baked when I started learning (banana was the first - classic). Of course I had to add carrots to my oatmeal and recreate my beloved carrot cake for breakfast as well. One can never have too many carrots hotel hk, right?