Ricotta, ricotta, ricotta. So versatile, so simple, so delicious when done well, and so awful when done wrong. For most of my life I hated ricotta, thinking it too rubbery and tasteless. That is, until I tried (quote unquote) REAL ricotta. Not the stuff from the grocery store, but the artisan cheese that is traditionally […]
Cheese
Zuni Inspired Ricotta Gnocchi
July 12th, 2010 | by Jen | published in All, Cheese, Delectable Dairy, DIY Food Projects, Weekend Projects
Cardoon Gratin
April 11th, 2010 | by Jen | published in All, Cheese, Veritable Vegetables, Weeknight Recipes
There is only one vendor that sells cardoon at my farmer’s market, and they display the stalks in a gigantic flower vase. Every time I walk past this stand, I think of Tim Burton…
Fresh Buttermilk Cheese with Lemon and Thyme
March 15th, 2010 | by Jen | published in All, Cheese, Delectable Dairy, DIY Food Projects, Fantastic Fruits, Honorable Herbs, Lemon, Thyme
There is no cheese that I enjoy more than high quality, handmade ricotta. For years I poo-poo’d it because all I had ever tasted was the shelf stable, strangely homogeneous, fairly tasteless, mass-produced grocery store variety. And then a few years ago…
Savoy Cabbage Gratin with Saint-Marcellin
November 30th, 2009 | by Jen | published in All, Around the World, Cabbage, Cheese, Delectable Dairy, Veritable Vegetables, Weeknight Recipes
One of the best parts of my recent move has been unpacking the multiple boxes of cookbooks that I sealed up and put into storage before leaving for Germany. At the time I thought I was putting my “second tier” books…
Chicken and Dandelion Green Gratin
November 25th, 2009 | by Jen | published in All, Around the World, Cheese, Dandelion Greens, Veritable Vegetables, Weeknight Recipes
Dandelions’ adaptability makes them one of my favorite cooking greens. They are tasty raw (or perhaps slightly wilted with a warm bacon vinaigrette), lightly sauteed with some hot…
Tomato and Cheese Auflauf
August 19th, 2009 | by Jen | published in All, Around the World, Basil, Cheese, Delectable Dairy, Honorable Herbs, Tomatoes, Veritable Vegetables, Weeknight Recipes
Auflauf, gratin, casserole…? Because I am 1) living in Germany, 2) obsessed with french cookbooks, and 3) decidedly American at heart, I sometimes just don’t know…
Pie Crust with Rendered Bacon Fat (aka Bacon Grease Pie Crust) (aka The Best Pie Crust Ever)
November 4th, 2008 | by Jen | published in All, Cheese, DIY Food Projects, Grand Grains, Meats and Sausages, Most Popular, Tomatoes, Veritable Vegetables
Oh. My. God. This is the best pie crust I have ever tasted! So flaky. So moist. And oh the hint of bacon… In preparing for our move to Germany, I have been going through the cupboards…
Summer Squash and Roasted Tomato Timbales
May 12th, 2008 | by Jen | published in All, Basil, Cheese, Delectable Dairy, Honorable Herbs, Most Popular, Summer Squash & Zucchini, Tomatoes, Veritable Vegetables, Weekend Projects
Last weekend I saw the first tomatoes of the season at the Palo Alto farmer’s market! Greenhouse-raised? perhaps. Unusual variety? not so much. Super delicious after over six months without eating a fresh tomato? absolutely…
Beet Towers with Farmers Cheese and Oranges
May 8th, 2008 | by Jen | published in All, Beets, Cheese, Delectable Dairy, Fantastic Fruits, Orange, Veritable Vegetables, Weeknight Recipes
Ah, beets. My trusty standby — ready to be prepared and enjoyed in the same old ordinary way (roasted, plain), yet always willing to be a player in my latest experimental recipe. It’s hard not to appreciate…
Potato Gratin with Caramelized Fennel and Leek
March 27th, 2008 | by Jen | published in Cheese, Delectable Dairy, Fennel, Honorable Herbs, Leek, Most Popular, Potatoes, Thyme, Veritable Vegetables, Weeknight Recipes
It’s official: Spring is in full swing here in Los Altos Hills, California — the days are getting noticeably longer, the pea plants in my garden are exploding with fresh peas, and the winter greens (collards & kale) have bolted to seed…