the other day I had the whole house to myself so I set out to try something fancy and messy in the kitchen. there was a sack of yams. there was lots of garlic and jalapenos. add baked root vegetable fatigue+ inspiration from paula dean x googling “what is a fritter?” and you might get something like this. spicy winter vegetable fritters.
- arrange chopped winter veggies on a baking sheet. I used yams, one pumpkin, many fresh jalapenos and two buttenut squashii. many onions, garlic cloves. whatever else you want. I seasoned with orange juice and orange zest, fresh cracked pepper, mucho salt, cinnamon and cayenne pepper. bake it.
- remove seeds and scoop flesh out of squashes into a bowl then blend until mostly chunk-free, like the consistency of mashed potatoes. whisk in 2 eggs. add corn, more chili pepper flakes if you like it real spicy like me. cool the mixture in the fridge so it’s easier to form.
- form into casual balls (band name) the size of a golf ball-ish, dredge through corn meal and fry until golden brown. let them dry and cool on a paper towel.
- drizzle = greek yogurt, lemon juice shpritz, finely chopped cucumber and cilantro, salt.
- for my birthday this year a girlfriend dropped by with an arrangement she had made (see above), she nestled hot pink radishes in between ivory peonies and apricot rose buds. so chic and unusual, I thought.
- at the feldman house our go-to table scape for holiday dinners is a scattering of cranberries, figs, herbs and whatever else is in the produce drawer. it’s the prettiest thing to look at while one is shoveling yams and pot roast into one’s watering mouth hole.
- c. is an amazing painter, my favorite piece of hers is the up-close corner of a papaya, it’s flamingo-pink flesh and shiny black seeds. it makes me want to be with her somewhere warm and balmy. drinking rum.
- when my friend sarah got married we all helped assemble her arrangements and center pieces. the idea was ‘purple and green farmers market bounty explosion’. we used cascading purple grapes, artichokes and limes. her bouquet straight up had a CABBAGE in it, you guys (see below). the flowers we used were so pretty too but almost paled in comparison to the fresh produce spilling and tumbling everywhere. totes gorge bounty.
what are you favorite pretty foods to decorate with?
burrata is the most recent addition to my ‘death row dinner’ menu. a plate full drizzled with olive oil and salt and pepper and eaten on rustic toasted bread thats been rubbed with garlic.
burrata is a tender ball of mozzarella filled with mozzarella cream. sooo. it’s essentially soft cheese filled with even softer cheese. I dont. think I need to say anything else now.
autumn, you guys. it gives me such a raging heart-boner. I want the world to be scented with spices, I want to put on my smart tweed jacket and a chunky knit cap, tuck a leather bound diary under my arm and walk down this crazy red and orange road, just like I’m in Twilight or some romantic fake sh*t like that.
also I want to decorate with some gourds, then I want to chop them up and eat them. this recipe was given to me by my friend, culinary-wizard and therapist extraordinaire, Sarah. she was eating it at work one day and I was like ‘whats with those carbs you got there?’. i’ve modified it a little only because I have the long term memory of a fruit bat.
you’ll need. 1 butternut squash. fresh sage. 1 large white onion. a few cloves of garlic. pine nuts. fresh parmesean cheese. pappardelle pasta. salt and pep. butter. cooking sherry. cinnamon. balsamic vin.
cut that squash in half, scoop out the seeds, drizzle it with butter, cinnamon, s & p and bake it until its brown. caramelize your entire onion with lots of butter, slowly adding in splashes of sherry and balsamic vin to reduce. once its caramelized add minced garlic, s & p. scoop out your squash into rough, casual chunks and add to the onion mix in the pan. let it all simmer and blend. toast your pine nuts and toast your sage leaves. boil that pasta, add it to the saucy onion/garlic/squash and toss. top with pine nuts, sage, freshly cracked pepper and butt loads of fresh parm. the resulting dish is sweet, salty and rich.
perfect for bulking up for those frigid winter months to come, like some manner of hibernating bear.
rose surnow’s “foodie’s guide to eating your emotions” really hits the spot. my personal addition would be “Entire Box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese with Hot Dog Coins, or 60-hour work week and still a lifetime of student debt ahead of me.”
it’s fall, yall, and things are good. i’ve found the perfect trenchcoat-made-of-sweatshirt-material, boots make my butt look amazing, and i’m gearing up for such autumnal delights as: bourbon & ginger. butternut squash. local apples. root vegetables. inky wine. dutch ovenry. on and on. and on and on.
right now my jam is this: on nights that i work late, i run into whole foods right before they close and purchase: 1 bottle pinot noir. 2 honeycrisp apples. 1 mini-baguette. 2 small slices of crazy cheese from the crazy cheese section. triple cream, put it all on me.
sometimes i close my eyes and grab a random. other nights, i go for the classics. humboldt fog is the soft cheese messiah, and i don’t care to hear any contradictory feedback from anybody. i’ve also been loving point reyes blue, which really does taste like you’re sitting on the beach in northern california. i’m also really feeling those big round coins of cana de cabra – soft spanish goaty deliciousness. whatever, the point is, you get tiny $4 wedges of super rich tasty cheeses.
then you go home and: pop that vin. tear up bread, slice up the apples super thin, arrange artfully on a plate with cheeses. a dollop of honey will turn any bit of blue cheese into a religious experience. i like to do this sitting in an armchair in the dark by myself. to me it feels kind of dirty and decadent and sexy. yeah, what. watch me eat this fancy fatty s*** at midnight. so go ahead. work on your night cheese.
there are only a few things I miss about san francisco. about 35% of my friends and coworkers. the spca macy’s windows at christmas time. the inside of my apartment. shopping sprees at out of the closet thrift store. and alllllllllllllllllll the amazing asian food, specifically pho 2000 in the tenderloin. about once a week my coworkers and I would eat lunch there, usually to defrost during the arctic summer months, telling disgusting and depressing and hilarious stories about our respective caseloads and then gently weeping into the delicate, gingery broth when we realized our lunch break was over it was time to go back to the clinic.
I miss it and it’s soup season. so I turned on my pho-dar and found this place, Pho King on Fremont. now first of all, hold on. as you might know pho is pronounced ‘fuh’. fuh. king. pho. king. these people know exactly what they’re doing, I find it hilarious and I want to high five the crap out of them.
I had this, what you see above. and I murdered it. it was savory and lemony and pork-y and it warmed the cockles. I recommend you go find your town’s closest noodle pavilion and phu-ck up a bowl. (sorry for cursing.)
so, hey. I’ve been stuck in funemployment limbo and not really cooking much lately, I’ve mostly been eating sandwiches. I say that without the slightest hint of sorrow as I happen to love the shit out of sandwiches (see my post entitled SANDWICHES). but now I feel a surge of culinary juices and I’m ready to reenter the kitchen spatulas blazing. so here’s what happened.
HAND PIES, they’re called. half-moon shaped and filled with meats and creamy items both savory and sweet.
the savory one pictured above I filled with left-over shredded chicken that I sauteed for a long time with a can of tomatoes, 1 yellow onion, tons of garlic, cilantro, mexican-y spices like paprika and turmeric, and a can of corn. you could really do whatever you want, seasoned ground turkey or carnitas would be delish, or veggie sausage if you’re a bird. so then I took some pastry dough and used an upturned bowl to cut it into circles about 6 inches in diameter. then I filled and pressed down the edges with a fork like so.
remember to cut three little vent-slits so it cooks evenly inside. I brushed them with a little butter and baked them for about 30 mins until they turned golden brown. then, because once I have an idea I latch onto it like it’s the last idea I’ll ever have, I made dessert ones. the same process only smaller in size, filled with strawberries, cream cheese and cinnamon and sprinkled with chunky raw sugar crystals. they looked like this!
i never make this; my dad does, and i eat it. i eat it while i sit in the kitchen and watch him cook the rest of dinner. he’s good at spacing food items out… those of us with genetic tummy issues are forced/have the pleasure of making tapas out of every meal. little fresh morsels washed down with delicious drinks over the course of several hours and lots (LOTS) of talking. it is the correct way to eat, everybody.
i wish i could tell you what exactly goes into these, but i feel like you can kind of make it your own. chop up some nice august tomatoes, mix them up with some oil and balsamic, pepper, raw garlic. dad toasts baguette slices, and then rubs raw garlic all over the top of the bread (omg). then there’s a plop of goat cheese, the tomato stuff, and then he runs out to the porch and comes back with garden basil to throw on top. they’re fresh and spicy and taste like summer. enjoy with a nice cocktail, and then meander over to the dinner table at some point.
