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Who would have thought I’d be tracking down a salad at this time of year? Here it is, the holiday season with all of the merry and bright business, and I’m seeking out a salad! I suppose it makes some sense, with all of the fancy meals and sweets that seem to take over at this time of year. A crisp salad might just be the ticket.

But I should note that I’m not talking about just any lettuce and tomato salad. Those are best saved for the appropriate seasons, which usually does not pair the two together in my little summer time. Lettuce is at its prime in the spring when small, delicate leaves are a chore to pick, but so worth it! I know that the baby lettuce salad mixes are available at any grocery store, in any season, but more on that later. And tomatoes, let’s just save those for late July or August. They are better that way. In the meantime, I’ll tell you about the salad.

One chilly evening, I sat down with a friend to share dinner. We’ll often share a few tapas to start and just happened upon a Turkish Salad on the menu. A few ingredients were listed – endive, pomegranate, parsley and hazelnut toffee. Could I really have been hooked after that brief description? Seems so…

The salad was so perfect, a balance of everything I could want in a salad. The greens are seasonally appropriate, for me anyway. Somehow the bitterness of endive and frisée speaks of cold weather. The pale greenish yellow is a color that somehow brightens up a winter day, but at the same time, reminds me that sunlight is not the most plentiful! And crunch, so much crunch! The tart pomegranate, the rich green flavor of the parsley, salty olives and my favorite part, toffee! Yes, I may have wanted to get away from the sweet, but a little sprinkle of toffee in my salad was amazing.

I left the restaurant wanting more. Knowing that I’d be tracking down ingredients and recreating that flavor in the weeks to come. But let’s be honest here, I live in a small town. Finding ingredients for something called Turkish Salad certainly wasn’t going to be so easy.

Belgian endive, sure, I can find that. Frisée? Who shops for frisée on a regular basis? I knew I’d seen it before but what were the chances that anyone would be stocking it when I was looking for it? Well, let’s put it this way, I went to every grocery store in town. Some of them multiple times. I talked to anyone working in the produce section, sometimes having to explain just what it was I was looking for. One guy suggested I buy a couple of bags of salad greens and pick the frisée out! It amused me, but it turns out he couldn’t find any bagged greens that included it! At another store, I had a lengthy discussion about the difference between curly endive and escarole. I am not an expert, but it turns out the produce guy might not have been either! In the end, frisée was substituted for the pale inside leaves of curly endive. I wish you more luck!

And don’t let me forget about the pomegranate molasses. It doesn’t really sound like an exotic ingredient, does it? I think anything with the word molasses in it just sounds warm, dark and cozy. But pomegranate molasses is not something in ready supply around here. Lucky for me, I shared my delicious tale of the salad with a friend traveling to Portland for the weekend. And happily, she was willing to go on a mission and came back with supplies for me.

Olives, pomegranates, flat-leaf parsley, homemade toffee, those were the easy ones. Although if I had a little bigger selection of olives, I’ve likely be a little happier. But I had gathered enough ingredients to take a shot at the salad. But before I did that, I wanted one more taste.

So off I went, out for lunch by myself. OK, I took my camera along because I really wanted to take a picture of how lovely it all looked, stacked up on a little plate. The restaurant was empty and I got a table by the window all to myself. Since it was early, the waiter was happy to help with my interest in the salad, answering questions about what type of olives they used, the vinegar and such.

And good thing I went, because I had forgotten a few little details, like the finely diced shallots that spiked the dressing or the fresh green flavor the liberal dashes of parsley left. And I wouldn’t have gotten to taste the golden beets with house made yogurt, citrus and the finest dusting of coriander. But we can talk about that some other time.

This salad might take a little shopping around to compile all of the ingredients depending on your location, but I think it could be just the thing to cure the winter grey. Fresh, crisp and bright, it might even find its way into a holiday meal and be perfectly at home. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I have.

Happy holidays!

Turkish Salad

Adapted from Saffron Mediterranean Kitchen with special thanks to Island and Chris
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Serves two

1 shallot, finely diced

4 Belgian endive, washed, trimmed and sliced into 1/2 inch pieces

Small bunch frisée or curly endive leaves, washed and chopped

2 tablespoons flat parsley, roughly chopped

1/3 cup chopped green olives, use a mix of moroccan olives, if you can find them

1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

Dressing of olive oil, champagne vinegar and pomegranate molasses, to taste

2 tablespoons toffee, I used homemade almond toffee

Peel and finely dice shallot. Let sit for 15 minutes in cold water. Maybe a little red wine vinegar, if you are feeling generous. Drain and pat dry.

Combine the greens, parsley, olives and pomegranate seeds in a bowl. Toss to combine.

Whisk olive oil, champagne vinegar and pomegranate molasses together in a small bowl. Add shallots to the mixture. Adjust seasonings to taste. This will likely depend on your olives and how salty they are. Dress salad and combine well. Arrange salad onto serving plates.

Sprinkle with about 1 tablespoon of toffee per plate. Serve immediately.

We had a frosty weekend, which is different than a snowy weekend. But it turns out, no less beautiful. Everything was coated in glorious ice crystals. The trees looked white and every surface took on new dimensions with the frost. While I would happily take snow on any winter day, I have to say that the frost gave the perfect winter look without the snow. Some people seem to appreciate that!

There is just a little bit of me that wants to be insistent about my son getting out in the cold. It bothers me just a little that his daycare doesn’t send the kids out in chilly weather. Months of my childhood were spent out in the cold and snow, playing until my pants were soaked through from hours of sledding and my fingers were nub. I’ll admit I wasn’t always happy to be sent outdoors to play, but likely, it did me good! The more temperate weather here won’t make for months of snowy weather, but I want to make sure he gets out to enjoy the crisp chill of winter and the thrill of seeing things in a new way. As it turns out, he is a pretty happy adventurer.

And while I just can’t stay inside all day during the cold frosty weather, there is little that makes me happier than coming back in after a trek. A brisk walk leaves me tingly cold and warm, all at once. Stepping back inside hits me with a wave of cozy warmth and a waft of whatever it is that might be cooking. And what better time of year to settle into a little bit of slow cooking in the kitchen.

One of my favorite things to cook these days has been a pot of beans. Sounds glamourous, doesn’t it! Sometimes the whole process of cooking beans takes a little pre-planning. Don’t get me wrong, they take very little of my time, but there is that bit about thinking about cooking them a day or so in advance. The weekend seems like the best time to do that. So, it pretty common that Saturday afternoon will find me rummaging through my pantry, trying to decide what beans I will cook on Sunday.

I don’t really spend much effort figuring out what I am going to do with the beans. There is always a pot of soup simmering on the weekend, a perfect foil for a few cups of whatever beans I find. But for something a little more substantial, I found the perfect recipe a summer or two ago in Falling Cloudberries, a brilliant cookbook by Tessa Kiros. I was making a meal from various recipes in her book and stumbled upon this recipe for baked lima beans.

I must admit that I have not always looked at beans with much admiration. It might have been one too many pots of pinto beans from my younger years, cooked by the pound in a giant pressure cooker my mother used for industrial cooking projects. She excelled at making the most of any effort she put out in the kitchen. Giant pots of soups and beans filled the pressure cooker any time we were in need of something to plan on for dinner during the week ahead. Pressure cookers still are a bit frightening to me! And while nothing dramatic ever happened with the cooking, the hissing, steaming and sputtering of that pot signaled many a hearty meal to come.

Since then, I’ve learned a thing or two about beans. How they can be meltingly tender without falling apart in the pot. How a little seasoning can go a really long way with beans. And how easy it is to cook something that will serve up for a few warm and delicious meals. I’ve been lucky enough to discover the huge variety of unique and heirloom varieties of dried beans, including some from my local farmers market. I’m also pretty happy to have found these beans locally as well. And as the chill of the winter weather sets in, I’ve been baking up this recipe with a variety of beans and seasonings, all of them delicious.

I’ve diverged a little from the recipe, making it a little simpler and adapted to the ingrediants I have on hand. And the recipe seems pretty forgiving to a little adaptation. I switch out the beans depending on what I have on hand or want to try cooking. And I always play with the seasonings. Parsley, mint and thyme are all delicious, but so is a teaspoon or so of herbes de provence. I suspect you could also take this dish in a new direction with some black beans, jalapenos and cilantro. So many possibilities…
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Baked Lima Beans with Onions, Tomatoes and Parsley

Adapted from Falling Cloudberries, by Tessa Kiros

3 cups dried lima beans or other variety, soaked overnight

1/2 cup olive oil

1 large red onion, finely chopped

2 celery stalks, with leaves, chopped

1 1/2 14 oz. cans peeled and coursly chopped tomatoes

4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or other herbs, use less of dried varieties

Set out the beans to soak overnight. Drain the beans and put them in the saucepan, covering generously with cold water. Bring to a boil. Skim off any scum that rises and turn down to a medium heat. Cook until beans are very tender. Actual cooking time will vary depending on the beans used, so check them as you progress. Add salt to the beans toward the end of cooking time.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Drain the beans, reserving about 1 1/2 cups of the cooking water. Put the beans in a large baking dish or dutch oven. The deeper the dish, the saucier the beans.

Heat about 2 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet. Gently cook the onions and celery until they are softened, stirring so that they don’t stick. Remove from heat and mix in the tomatoes and herbs. Season with salt and pepper. Add this mixture into the beans, stirring in the remaining olive oil and enough of the reserved cooking liquid to keep the beans quite moist. Cover with lid or foil and bake for 45 minutes, then remove the covering and stir the beans. If they are drying out, add a little more water. Return to the oven for another 30 minutes.

The beans should be deliciously tender at this point, golden on top and with a little sauce. Serve them warm, with a little drizzle of olive oil or sprinkle of herbs.

Last time we talked, I was pretty enthusiastic about these meringues. First off, they look amazing on the cover of bon appetit. Magical, really. Light, crisp and pink, they seemed like a dreamy addition to any holiday cookie assortment. I must diverge just a tad and admit that the whole cookie spread was amazing and I want to bake most everything featured. Adam, thank you for making my world more beautiful! But first things first, those meringues…

 When my copy first arrived, I knew it was time to start with the holiday baking. The meringues looked too cute to be passed up. Never mind the fact that I’d never made meringues, didn’t even have all of the needed equipment, and hello, this is the cover photo of a magazine. Note to self, when something appears on the cover of a magazine, beware! Knowing that a recipe made it onto the cover means several things, just one of those being that your expectations going into the project are likely much, much higher than they should be.

But, I’m willing to give it a go. So, I go and I buy the equipment. I was thinking about buying a pastry bag last Christmas when I was wrapped up in the idea of making french macaroons, but I didn’t do it. (As luck would have it, there is also a macaroon recipe in the same article as the meringues, so maybe I’ll be able to put this pastry bag to good use.) Now, with two ideas on how such a tool could be used, I put aside my concerns about adding to my overall kitchen clutter and purchased a pastry bag, along with a couple of simple tips. It is foldable, after all! I check the cupboards for peppermint extract and red food coloring, which is not really a staple at my house. Really, it’s a simple recipe, most everything else is bound to be available in your pantry.

Fast forward to my first attempt, the egg whites are standing up in perfect peaks, my son is delighted with the whirring of the mixer. Then, I add the peppermint extract. Minty, fresh and devastating! I watch my meringue disappear into puddles, a glossy, soupy froth in the bottom of the mixer. My heart is sinking, I know that this, what ever “this” is, is just not right. But I am not baking alone and I’ve come this far and don’t intend to turn back. And despite the utter failure of the meringue, we manage to put something in the oven, knowing full well that nothing magical is going to happen while they bake. The peppermint puddles dry well, but are nothing to speak of.

Looking at them sitting there are on the tray brings me back to that beautiful cover. What did I do wrong? Apparently I shouldn’t be dabbling in meringues. I’m annoyed to have wasted my time and ingrediants on the puddles. Turns out I can be pretty good at beating myself up for things. There is really little need to suggest introspection to me after a mistake.

Coming into round two, I am a little suspicious of that peppermint extract. I think that was a culprit in my first attempt. After a week, I’m willing to give it another chance. I’m at that crucial moment, perfect peaks, spinning round in the mixer. Now it’s time to add the peppermint extract. And I add it, one drop at a time. One, two…siiiinkk…three. We’re done. At three drops, there is no way I am adding another, not matter how short I am of the 1/8th of a teaspoon that’s called for. The mixer keeps on, whirring the meringue around and around. And it’s holding! At this moment, I know that the outcome is going to be much better, even if it’s not cover-worthy.

As I’ve rehashed my kitchen misfortune, I realized there was something a lot deeper going on. Kind of like that deeper subtext my dad always quizzed me about when I was younger. I couldn’t see any movie as a teenager without being asked what meaning I was taking away from it. Just like with those meringues, I realized I’m going to make mistakes. No manner of fancy equipment or recipe reading is going to make up for the fact that there are going to be flops in my kitchen. (Same in real life, outside the kitchen.) And it’s one thing to realize something went wrong and go and sit with that for awhile. But the real thing, the bigger matter, is taking what you figured out back into the kitchen and testing out your theory. Were you right? Or is it just a good idea with no substance? Maybe you’re just plain off track. You are never going to know unless you test it out. That courage to try, especially to try again, might be the biggest part.

So, I warn you, go gentle with the peppermint. It’s hard on the meringue. And while you’re at it, tone down the red a drop or two.

Cook the Cover AKA Peppermint Meringues

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Made about 25 meringues

3 large egg whites, room temperature

1/8 tsp. salt

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup powdered sugar

3 drops peppermint extract

5 drops red food coloring

Preheat your oven to 200.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper, you don’t want to scent your Silpat! Beat egg whites and salt until white and foamy, about 1 minute. Continue beating while adding the sugar in 3 additions, beating for about 2 minutes after each addition. Peaks should be forming, beat another 2 minutes for firm peaks. Add powdered sugar and peppermint extract, all 3 drops of it!

Remove beaters and dot the red food coloring on the meringue. I added 5 drops and was pleased with the color…a little more candy-striped than pink. Spoon meringue into a pastry bag with a 1/2-inch tip. Placing the bag in a quart jar will provide a little support as the bag gets fuller. Pipe 1-inch rounds onto a prepared baking sheet, about 1 inch apart.

Bake meringues until dry, about 2 1/2 hours, then cool completely. Store in an airtight container to retain crisp texture.

I’ve been getting just a tad excited about the holidays. For me, the holidays are not necessarily about Christmas as a single day. Don’t get me wrong, Christmas is a wonderful day and there is not much that tops the stockings exchanged at our house on Christmas morning. For me, it is more about the season. It is a cold and grey time of year around here. The early falling darkness draws me into the kitchen where warmth and goodness seem to radiate. And if that’s not enough, there is a glowing tree just around the corner from the kitchen along with a tidy row of Christmas lights outside the window.

So there you have it, I love the holidays. I can’t help but think the addition of a small child to our household also boosts that feeling a little bit. His boundless enthusiasm for prolonged viewings of the Christmas tree or anticipation for our next cookie baking foray is contagious. It’s nice to have a partner in merriment. We bake cookies at the drop of a hat and we sit in the living room and just gaze at the tree. We started things out with Deb’s delicious gingersnaps, which seemed like the perfect blend of holiday coziness without jumping the gun too much. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

I even went so far as to put together a special Christmas garland for him. It plays off of the idea of an Advent calendar, except it is a little more free form. The little gifts are wrapped and tied together with some red string. I found the idea in the November issue of Martha Stewart and couldn’t help but imagine the delight this would bring as we countdown to the holidays.

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Doughnuts! They are everywhere! Here and here.

Ditto for meringues. These to go with hot cocoa and these for the buche de Noel I’m scheming up.

A trifle of a chocolate sort. Or maybe the peppermint sort.

I can’t get enough of the stollen, so I am making my first batch now.  It’s equally delicious at breakfast or with a little tea later in the day. I think I’ll have a little Russian Earl Grey with mine…

I am a little late coming to an appreciation for pumpkins. For most of my life, the only role pumpkin played in my culinary landscape was as filling for the occasional pie. For one thing, I don’t typically like pie. And pumpkin pie did nothing to change my mind. Which means pumpkin was pretty much a non-event in my kitchen.

Things began to change when I discovered a pumpkin muffin recipe in Gourmet. It was about Thanksgiving and I was looking for recipes to feed the family. The muffins turned out to be a hit and for several years, they have been a part of our Saturday morning routine once autumn rolls around.

This year things started innocently enough out in the garden. I had a wild idea to plant a little pumpkin for my son. In order to conserve space and accomodate for his size, I picked a miniature variety. We spent the summer noting its progress in the back corner of the garden. And when fall arrived, we happily harvested 10 small pumpkins. There is something about a garden that gives me extra motivation to make sure nothing is wasted, so this year, I’ve been looking for new ways to use up our little pumpkin collection. So far we’ve had a couple of successful curries, but it was the most recent stuffed pumpkin that really stole the show.

Some time ago, I tasted the remaining bits of a very delicious roasted pumpkin, stuffed full of goodness, at a work party. The recipe had come from Ruth Reichl and left me thinking about opportunities where I might make it myself. But opportunities to actually serve a 10-pound pumpkin seem to be few and far between in my kitchen. But enter the mini pumpkins from the garden and Dorie’s gentle reminder with another stuffed pumpkin recipe in her splendid cookbook and suddenly, stuffed pumpkin looked like it could be a reality.

While a recipe might seem like a good idea, in my experience, it is all about the size of the pumpkin. Roughly, a pound of pumpkin is going to be enough for one person. And while I haven’t tested it out, I’d be willing to bet that this would work equally well with squash as well. So, here are some ideas to get you started.

To prepare the pumpkin, wash it and carefully cut out the top, much like you would if you were carving a jack o’lantern. Clean out the seeds, saving them for another tasty treat, if you feel inspired.

I stuffed my pumpkin with bits of leftover baguette, small cubes of Gruyere cheese, a shower of snipped chives from the garden, along with a little thyme and freshly ground black pepper. The magic ingredient was likely the cream. Once the filling was prepared and stuffed into the pumpkin, I began to pour it on. Mixed with a little freshly grated nutmeg and salt, the cream softens the baguette and bakes into a savory little fondue of sorts.

There are endless possibilities for other additions. Top of my list would likely be a little bacon. But I wouldn’t be shy about trying different cheeses and herbs, either. Once you’ve chosen your ingredients and filled the pumpkin, pop the pumpkin lid on and slip it into the oven. I cooked my small pumpkin on a baking sheet, covered with a little parchment paper. A bigger pumpkin may require a little more support from a baking dish as it softens. I cooked mine for about 90 minutes in a 350 oven, checking for doneness with a skewer once I got past the one hour mark. A few minutes to rest and cool, and you’ve got a perfect fall dinner.

If that’s not enough to get you excited about pumpkin, here are some other links I’m working up the courage to try:

• Seasonal Whoopie pies.
• Risotto.
• Delicious salad.
• And who would want to forget the pancakes?

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In the meantime, you’ll find me out crunching in the leaves and dreaming about the tasty treats roasting away in the oven…

There’s no doubt about it, Paris has officially stolen my heart. No matter that my French is nothing to be proud of and that my scarf tying techniques still need improvement. I can’t think of a better place to work on both of those deficiencies!

My only complaint about my last visit was that my sister was not with me. That was understandable, since my own plans came together fairly last minute out of sheer need to get away. And while the timing couldn’t have been better on that front, I realized that future trips need to include more planning time so we can spend that time together.

For me, travel is not so much about what I can see. Don’t get me wrong, I am not going to miss an opportunity to stop by the Eiffel Tower. But some of my favorite moments might include regular treks to a nearby market. Especially once you have stopped by enough times to gain a little recognition with a vendor. This time, my regular stops by the produce stand yielded me a fresh piece of fruit with each visit. Fruit, at the cusp of ripeness and perfection, gently wrapped in a paper sack with a little packing for the journey.

And with that daily selection of choice ingredients comes the need for some time in the kitchen. Simplicity is key when you are traveling – no fancy dinners here. Just plain fresh good food, with the automatic additions of a baguette and wine. That time spent standing over the stove, gazing off into the courtyard, makes me feel at home.

Tina and I are always cooking together whenever we get a chance. Paris is no different. We roll up our sleeves, turn on some music and pour a glass of something before setting into the task at hand. Suddenly, the generous basket of chanterelles doesn’t seem to daunting to wash. The salad dressing becomes amazing with two sets of tasters sampling it. Cooking is always better with someone else.

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All of that shopping around is bound to bring inspiration. This time, the Raspail organic market gave me some ideas for a salad. Of course, the Sunday market on Boulevard Raspail is a dream to most food-oriented folks. One after another, vendors line the street with a range of everything organic. I was hungry when I got there and couldn’t help notice the vendor with the little tubs of take away salads. A simple fennel salad caught my attention and I ordered a little to take with me. (Don’t you doubt it, the hot potato galettes at the start of the market had me standing in line straight away, but I am talking about the salad today!)

Shopping done, we wandered over to the Luxembourg Gardens and found seats by the Medici fountain.  The gardens always seem like a perfect spot for a picnic, and my fennel salad made for perfect picnic fare. This simple salad consisted of roughly chopped fennel, dressed with citrus and a more than generous helping of pink peppercorns. I savored the moment, and the salad, tucking away the specifics in my mind for recreation later.

Fast forward a few weeks and I am standing in my kitchen. It’s not overlooking a courtyard. I’ve gathered all of the ingredients, not from an organic street market, but I’ve done my best.

It doesn’t take long – I slice up the fennel, a little thinner than my original salad. A bulb will do, depending on how many people you are serving. A generous squeeze of lemon juice, followed by a drizzle of olive oil and you are just about done. Salt to taste and pepper with as many pink peppercorns as you dare. Initially, I was concerned about overdoing it with the pink peppercorns, but as I learned, they are not the same as our usual black and white peppercorns. Instead, pink peppercorns add a fragrant and distinctly sweet flavor for foods. And, it really shines in this salad.

So here I am, sitting at my table with my dish of fennel salad and tasting Paris. I might as well be sitting right back at the fountain on that beautiful fall day. Really, it’s the simple things that end up meaning the most.

I am all for change, or at least I try to be. While there is no denying I am a creature of some habits, I also relish a change of pace. It’s kind of funny how the seasons sneak up on you like that. One moment you are living off of tomato sandwiches and just-peeled peaches and the next, you are dreaming of a pot of soup. But before I get to that pot of soup, here are a few looks back at summer, a quick goodbye before I move on…

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It was a beautiful season and I’m looking forward to seeing summer once again. But for now, I’ll cozy up in the kitchen and savor the warmth!