Also known as the Sebastian Cake, this four-layer heavyweight was brought into existence for the birthday of a good friend and coworker of mine. All the guys from work were going to be over at the apartment that weekend for a retreat, so clearly cake needed to be involved (fall 2010… I’m still catching up!) I wanted this to be a special surprise and thus cunningly- if I do say so myself- asked Seb his cake preferences, and got to work.

As seems to be traditionally the case with my making layer cakes, the first two layers weren’t thick enough, so I baked an additional one- which rose to the occasion (far more than expected)- resulting in a taller cake than initially intended, but hey, who’s going to complain about having more cake?

This cake follows a roadmap of fudge brownie bottom, followed by moist white-chocolate vanilla cake encased between white chocolate ganache, vanilla buttercream, chocolate ganache, and double-chocolate cake. The whole thing is then encased in a thick layer of hardened dark chocolate ganache, liberally hosed with runny white chocolate ganache, and topped with Callebeaut bittersweet shavings. Yes, it’s a doozy. So, naturally, you’d like a piece, right? :)

Tuxedo Layer Cake

Note: For the ingredients and process for baking each cake layer, as these closely resemble cakes already posted on Fruippe, please use the ingredients listed here and the process described on that recipe’s page, altering as needed to take into account the slightly-modified ingredients list.

Ingredients (Brownie Layer):

• 2 cups semi-sweet or milk chocolate (chips, baker’s chocolate, you pick!)
• 1/2 cup soy butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons organic canola oil
• 3 teaspoons 2x vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs (cage-free!)
• 1 & 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1.5 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup (slightly heaping) AP flour (preferably organic)
• 2-3 tablespoons cold water (based on your texture preference)

Ingredients (Chocolate Cake Layer):

• 2 whole eggs (brown, organic, cage-free)
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup canola oil (make sure it’s fresh!)
• 1 tblspn vanilla extract (feel free to be liberal with this one)
• 1 cup light sour cream
• scant 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips, melted
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 1.5 cups self-rising flour

Ingredients (White Chocolate Cake Layer):

• 1 & 1/3 cups King Arthur organic cake flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup white chocolate chips, melted
• 3/4 tsp sea salt
• 3 large cage-free eggs
• 1 cup plain low-fat Stonyfield organic yogurt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup organic canola oil

Ingredients (Chocolate & White Chocolate Ganaches): For the ganache portion, the below ingredients correspond to the chocolate ganache; repeat and switch out the chocolate chips for white chocolate chips and voila, you have the white chocolate ganache :)

• 1/2 cup (one stick) salted butter (I’m so sorry, I know it’s a lot…)
• 1 bag (usually 12 oz) bittersweet chocolate chips (suggestion: ghirardelli or guittard)
• 4 tblspn skim milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Ingredients (Vanilla Buttercream):

• 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened to room temp (I know, I know, so much butter, I’m sorry!)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• approx. 2 lb confectioner’s sugar

Process:

1. Assemble in the following order:
2. Take out a heavyweight plate or cakestand and begin assembling. First, place the fudge brownie layer on the bottom- then coat with a light layer of ganache followed by a thicker layer of the vanilla buttercream.
3. Now add on the first vanilla cake layer, and top that with a good layer of the vanilla buttercream followed by some of the chocolate ganache.
4. Add on the chocolate cake layer, and top that one with a thick layer of the white chocolate ganache.
5. Now add on the final vanilla cake layer and top that one with some of the buttercream and white chocolate ganache. Use all of the buttercream that’s left- or store the leftovers in the fridge for when you’ll feel guilty at midnight because you should have been working but really just want frosting.
6. Spread on a thick layer of the chcolate ganache so that it coats the entire cake. Let it harden a bit, then drizzle the remaining white chocolate ganache on top and shave the callebeaut (or whatever block chocolate you desire) on before it hardens so it can settle into the ganache a bit.

…you probably were better off not knowing what went into it, but it’s too late now. If you’re looking for a showy cake that can feed an army of young men, then this is the cake for you! It’s a sugary overload and very intense, but… well… it was fun :)

Ever since I got hooked on the no-knead bread recipe that’s been oh-so-popular as of late, I’ve been making a loaf a week for the past 8 or so weeks. It’s a really neat way to get your bread out of the way for the week and I’ve been having a ball making each one look different. Sadly not each has been photographed, but I’ll just be constantly updating this post as the collection grows… behold the rustic loaves of apartment 408.

Variants thus far:

• Whole wheat (proportion 2/3 whole wheat flour to 1/3 bread flour)
• Honey whole wheat (the above plus 3 tblspn honey added)
• Oil ‘n garlic herbs (added 2 tblspn each of oregano, basil, and rosemary + 2 tsp garlic paste + 3 tblspn EVOO)

Margherita is and always will be the best form of pizza. You can try to dissuade me from this fact- because to me it is indeed fact and not opinion- but I shan’t believe you. I had my first margherita in Italy in middle school and I’m never going back to any other kind as far as favouritism goes- it’s delicious :). Basil + tomato + fresh mozzarella di bufula = perfection. Unfortunately, while getting fresh basil only means going out of my way to a different grocery store, getting buffalo mozzarella is near-impossible in the states.

So here’s the closest I can get to it at home: using a gluten-free garlic pizza dough mix that B left for me one night ;) (thanks, B!) and my mother’s never-fail moist chicken cooking technique, this makes a yummy dish. I’m going to cheat a bit and offer the simplified recipe as this is one that’s truly open to who-knows-how-many variants.

Gluten-Free Chicken Margherita Pizza

Ingredients:

• 1/2 package gluten-free pizza crust mix  (B brought by a bag of Namaste Foods’ recipe)
• 1 can (about 5 oz) organic tomato sauce (NOT paste!)
• 1 skinless boneless chicken breast cooked in your desired fashion
• 1 ball fresh mozzarella (needs to be a fresh, squishy ball)
• 5-6 leaves fresh basil, chopped roughly
• 1 large fresh roma tomato

Process:

1. Prepare crust as directed on package.
2. Once you’re ready to assemble ingredients, smooth on a layer of tomato sauce, making sure it’s staying about 1/2 inch away from the edges.
3. Sprinkle on some of the basil into the sauce; reserve most for topping.
4. Place on slices tomato rounds and thick slices of mozzarella.
5. Bake for an additional 10 minutes.
6. Take out and place chicken on top and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes.
7. Remove from heat, sprinkle on additional basil, admire and photograph, then eat.

Ah, you see, I cheated and didn’t really offer much direction at all, but never mind that. This thing is delicious, easy to make on a weeknight, and reminds you of Italy. You really don’t need anything else in life.

I know I’ve made it before and posted, but thought it time to repost, as the first time I posted having made soufflé au fromage it was in the ‘old format’ of fruippe. This is such a happy memory for me- soufflé was always my sister’s favourite of my mother’s baked goods, and when she made soufflé…. my sister’s eyes would light up like none other and there was this amazing sense of anticipation throughout the house. It’s a wonderful memory I’ll always hold onto, and has created such positive associations in my mind for soufflé! So it’ll always be a smiling recipe :).

A few things to note here: For one, this has a STRONG taste of cheese. I brought in a few of the leftovers to work and several of my coworkers wrinkled their noses in distaste. This is not for everyone. Being part-French so as to induce a high cheese-tolerance is suggested. Second- this time around (as opposed to last time) I opted to more closely follow my mother’s method (from what I can remember) than Ms. Child’s.

Soufflé au Fromage

Adapted from Classic Cheese Soufflé by Julia Child

Ingredients:

• 2/3 can grated Parmesan cheese – don’t use Kraft. Kraft’s parmesan is NOT aged enough and won’t give you the intensity of flavour this requires. My mom always used HEB (or your local grocery store). The trick s to compare all the parmesans your store has and pick the one with the darkest-looking grains of cheese- this will be the most aged.
• 1 cup organic skim milk
• 2 1/2 tablespoons salted butter
• 3 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour (preferably King Arthur organic)
• 2/3 tsp ground nutmeg (my mother would always grate hers freshly!)
• 4 large egg yolks (cage-free, brown, organic)
• 5 large egg whites (cage-free, brown, organic)

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F and butter a dozen mini ramekins. Have another 4-6 on hand because you never know quite how much this will make- so butter the first dozen for now and see later how many more you’ll need. My mother always made 16-20 of these at a time.
2. Warm milk in heavy small saucepan over medium-low heat until steaming – be sure to keep a good eye on this as the milk will begin to form a thin coating on the top as it warms, and you want to constantly be breaking that apart, so stir often.
3. While the milk is heating, melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat (you won’t be using a bowl until considerably later in the recipe, so note that most ingredients will be mixed into this pan). Wait until the butter begins to brown slightly and bubble, then  add the flour (all at once) and immediately begin whisking until the mixture begins to foam and loses raw taste, about 3 minutes (do not allow it to brown- this is called the roux). Remove the pan from heat and let stand 1 minute.
4. Pour in the warmed milk and whisk until smooth. Return to heat and cook, whisking constantly until very thick, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the nutmeg.
5. Now add the egg yolks 1 at a time, whisking to blend after each addition – do NOT cheat on this one and add many at once! Really do take this one at a time. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl (you’ll need room for folding in egg whites, so make sure it’s roomy) and let sit while you fluff up the eggies.
6. Using an electric or stand mixer, beat the egg whites until you get stiff peaks (my mother would always throw in a pinch of salt to aid the beating process).
7. Fold a third of the whites into the the soufflé mixture at a time, each time folding over and under to incorporate as much air as possible. While you fold, gradually alternate with sprinkling in the cheese.
8. Transfer batter to greased ramekins and grease additional rammies as necessary – you want them to be about 2/3 full.
9. Place ramekins in oven (the easiest way is to place them all on a large baking sheet) and immediately reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F. 
10. Bake until the soufflés are puffedup (they’ll rise. a lot. think of minions.) and golden brown on top. They shouldn’t really jiggle (so no jello here!) when shaken- so it’ll be about 25 minutes (do not open oven door during first the 20 minutes or they won’t rise properly and you’ll lament).
11. Serve them warm and as quickly as you can after leaving the oven’s comfy warmth so that they’ll still look impressive – they’ll have fallen considerably within the first 5 minutes and when you cool the leftovers in the fridge they’ll condense even further- but the taste will remain delicious, so worry not!

It’s soothing just to think about them :). These are nice as something you can make a bunch of and store the leftovers in the fridge to have throughout the week. You could cut one up into a modern crouton to sprinkle over a spinach salad… or other interesting uses. Naturally a million soufflés exist out there, but the parmesan soufflé is the one that will always remind me of home.

This cake is the image of decadence: four layers of chocolate cake with toblerone pieces melted into the batter, layered in between dark chocolate ganache, encased in a rich chocolate cream cheese buttercream, topped with more chocolate ganache and mini toblerones…. need I say more? :)

A coworker of mine recently celebrated her 30th anniversary of being at our company- a great achievement!- and I knew celebrations needed to be underway. She’s a fantastic lady and helped me on my first project when I began working there, and I wanted to thank her for her kindness and friendship through the means I find easiest- cake.

January was a milestone in that it was my first month of beginning cakes in which I don’t even consult a recipe for proportions or basics – February is a milestone for icings and ganache to join that list. I’m happy to say I’m now able to complete an entire layer cake fully from scratch, lack of recipe included- something that’s made me quite happy. :)

This guy is big and heavy- the four layers will weigh on you, and if you’re looking to exercise your arms, cake weights can definitely do it- but well worth it. It’s really rich and can easily feed a very large group of people (I think 20-25) so it’s ideal for party/birthday size.

Chocolate Toblerone Layer Cake

Ingredients- Cake: You’ll be making this twice, so you’ll need double of all the cake ingredients. Written here is the recipe for ONE cake (which will make 2 layers)

• 2 whole eggs (brown, organic, cage-free)
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup canola oil (make sure it’s fresh!)
• 1 tblspn vanilla extract (feel free to be liberal with this one)
• 1 cup light sour cream
• scant 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 cup toblerone, melted
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 1.5 cups self-rising flour

Ingredients- Ganache:

• 1/2 cup (one stick) salted butter (I’m so sorry, I know it’s a lot…)
• 1 bag (usually 12 oz) bittersweet chocolate chips (suggestion: ghirardelli or guittard)
• 4 tblspn skim milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Ingredients- Frosting:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened to room temp (I know, I know, so much butter, I’m sorry!)
• 2 packages (8 oz each) light cream cheese, softened to room temp
• 1/4 cup of the above chocolate ganache
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• approx. 1 lb confectioner’s sugar

Process:

1. Heat oven to 355 degrees F and get out two large mixing bowls. Grease two 9-inch springform pans.
2. Crack 2 eggs and whisk with 2/3 C sugar in each bowl. Then add in the 1 cup of sour cream to each bowl and whisk until smooth.
3. Add canola oil (still to each bowl!) and whisk again until smooth. Then add vanilla, cocoa powder, salt, and milk, and still whisk until smooth. Now add the melted toblerone and it’ll become a thicker, darker batter. Lastly, whisk in the flour slowly until JUST combined – do not overmix so as to not toughen the cake.
4. Pour the batter into your two greased 9-inch springforms and place both on a large baking sheet. Place baking sheet in oven. The cakes will need to bake for approximately 30-35 minutes. Set your timer for 30 minutes and check with a toothpick after the 30-minute mark. If the toothpick has liquid-y chocolate-y-ness upon it, return to oven and check again in 5 minutes. Repeat process (these can be finnicky) until your toothpick is fully or almost clean.
5. While the cakes are baking, place all ganache ingredients in a small stockpot over medium heat and melt together, stirring the entire time to make sure nothing dries or clumps. Once melted, let it sit on low heat for another 10 minutes – then turn off and leave alone to cool.
6. Remove your finished cakes from the oven and open the springforms. Place on a wire rack (leave the metal bottom for now if it’s sticky- remove if it’ll come off easily) to cool for at least 2 hours.
7. While your cakes cool, you can prepare the buttercream frosting: Place cream cheese in a stand mixer bowl (or large mixing bowl and get out your electric handheld mixer) and mix until smooth. Then add butter and continue mixing until it’s a thick, smooth paste. Add vanilla and 1/4 cup of the chocolate ganache that has now cooled a bit. You’ll get a light-brown goopy mixture. Now, begin pouring in the confectioner’s sugar gradually as it continues to beat until you reach your desigred consistency- it should be stiff enough to where you could pipe shapes but soft enough to where if you press upon it lightly, you’ll make an indention with your finger.
8. Tip: If you’re worried about pieces of cake showing through your frosting, add a bit of vanilla bean paste to the icing. The little spots will camouflage any cake pieces that get unattached from the cake and join the icing party.
9. Once the cakes are cooled, cut each in half to make two fairly even layers (I use a large serrated bread knife to do this).
10. Begin assembly: place one layer cut-side up on a plate. Using a silicone spatula or icing utensil, spread on about 1/4 of the chocolate ganache. Spread ALMOST to the edges but leave a centimeter or so un-ganache-d: when you press on subsequent layers, the frosting will ooze to the sides, so this will create an even layering.
11. Continue alternating adding on layers of cake and frosting on the ganache. Reserve at least 1/4 cup (preferably 1/2 or 2/3 cup) of ganache for the top of the cake.
12. Once all four layers are assembled, let stand 10-15 minutes so the ganache hardens into the cake (this way it won’t disturb your buttercream). Then, using a frosting utensil again (rinsed), spread on your icing. I start by placing most of it in the top center of the cake, then slowly moving it out to the sides, over the sides, and around, so that it’s fairly even.
13. You can then pipe designs around the top and bottom if you like, or just go straight to pouring on the ganache haphazardly. Top with mini toblerones so as to alert your guests of the degree of yummyness to be found inside the cake.
14. Chill overnight so the icing settles – or at least a few hours. Then devour.

Those instructions are long, but that’s just me being wordy – it’s not a difficult cake to make at all, and quite delicious. It’s very rich, so don’t plan on eating too large a piece, but hey, that just encourages sharing :). You can always halve the recipe, make it in a 6-inch mini springform, and make a smaller version of the cake.

This was, I think, my favourite cake I’ve made so far. Imagine, if you will, a rich, gooey cream cheese danish… topped with candied apricots… and a sticky, syrupy coating. Upside-down fruit cakes with syrups seem to be my “it cake” of the moment and I’m experimenting around- so far apricot, pear, and peach have been brought to the table, and any other large stone fruit is liable to be next. This works equally well with canned or fresh ripe fruit, is rather quick to make, and utterly delicious. It’s not overly sweet, and has a richness that you just can’t beat. Best of all, it’s very adaptable- you can add and remove fat as desired- yes, this will affect the texture, but the overall taste should remain about the same.

Apricot Cream Cake

Ingredients- cake:

• 1 & 1/4 cup self-rising flour
• 1 package (8 oz) plain cream cheese
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 3 whole eggs (brown, cage-free, organic)
• 2 tblspn soy butter, melted
• 1 tblspn vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 heaping cup granulated sugar
• 1 can apricot halves in pear juice concentrate (NOT syrup)

Ingredients- syrup:

• 1/3 can Kern’s apricot or apricot-mango or pear nectar (you pick!)
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tblspn raw honey

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 335 degrees F
2. Grease an oval baker and then coat lightly with sugar. Place apricot halves face-down in the pattern of your choice onto the sugared dish and set aside.
3. Cream together the cream cheese and sugar until the cheese is fully softened and a thick paste emerges. Then mix in the sour cream until it, too, is fully incorporated in a tick, heavy cream.
4. Mix the eggs in one at a time , whisking after each addition. Then add in the vanilla, melted butter, and salt.
5. Add about 1/4 cup of the pear juice concentrate from the can and mix into the batter.
6. Add the flour and (now using a wooden or silicone spoon) mix in until just combined. Check the texture- it should be thick and glompy (see photo below) and hold its shape rather well. If it’s too thick, add a bit more pear juice concentrate from the apricot can; if it’s too thin, add more flour. The thicker the texture, the more danish-like the cake will be, so adjust the texture to your liking.
7. Place in oven to bake for approx 30-35 minutes or until golden-brown on top. Try wiggling the pan and if the middle wiggles (or place a skewer in to check done-ness) then put it back in. Don’t worry about slightly overcooking- the syrup will moisten the cake.
8. While the cake is baking, place all syrup ingredients in a medium saucepan and heat to medium- cook it through until a thick syrup emerges, then turn off the heat and let it cool.
9. When the cake is baked, remove from oven and poke multiple holes in it using a skewer/toothpick. Let sit 5 minutes, then pour on the syrup, making sure to coat the sides as well as the top of the cake.
10. It’s yummiest if left out overnight to imbibe in the syrup-y goodness and should be refrigerated starting the next day.

Trust me when I say that this is an absolutely delicious cake, not hard or strenuous to make, and totally worth it. I’ve been doing multiple variations on it (trying out different fruits on top, different quantites of cream cheese and sour cream, caramel and syrup toppings) and it’s amazing every time. :)

Be prepared- there’s a slew of rustic-looking loaves of bread coming ahead on Fruippe. And that’s because they’re SO easy to make- and so delicious. Both the boyfriend and my father were big fans of this bread, to the point where my dad reportedly started tentatively asking mother if she had the necessary tools to recreate it… which is the highest of compliments, to me! I made two loaves of this- one as a gift, one for us to try out. I had an influx of leftover olives from a dinner party the night in early January and was looking for a use of them and had heard of these supposed quick artisan breads and wanted to give it a go. I’ve been making it on a weekly basis with diferent variations ever since and these things are a hit – easy, a true crowd-pleaser, and now the only bread the boyfriend will accept for his lunchtime sandwiches.

Olive Rosemary Rustic Loaf

Adapted from Nourish Network’s Kneadless Olive Rosemary Bread

Ingredients:

• 2 cups unbleached, organic bread flour (and you’ll be needing some extra)
• 1.5 cups organic white whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup coarsely chopped Kalamata olives (Greek)
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped garlic-filled green olives
• 1 cup coarsely chopped Jarlsberg cheese
• 4 sprigs coarsely chopped fresh rosemary
• 16 ounces water (use one of those waterbottles that mark weight)
• 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast (I got a jar and so it’s superfresh)

Process- see photos below for step-by-step look:

1. Place all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl (flours, salt, yeast) as well as the rosemary, olives, and cheese. Mix thoroughly together- then add the water.
2. Mix everything together- it’ll be a thick, sticky, mess that you could never knead even if you wanted to due to its wateryness.
3. Plasticwrap up the bowl and set aside in a warmish place (kitchen countertop). Open up the wrap after 30 minutes and mix it together, then reclose; do so again 30 minutes later and reclose.
4. Leave the bowl to itself for the next 18 hours at a minimum. After 24 hours, stick it in the fridge, but you can keep storing it. If you place it in the fridge, pierce a tiny hole in the wrap so the yeast can breathe.
5. After 18+ hours (you’ll know it’s ready when the mixture is very bubbly- see picture below), dump the dough onto a floured surface and fold it over itself twice so you have a large seam on the bottom and a smooth surface on top. Add flour as needed if the dough is sticking to your hands. Once shaped, take your bowl and place it over the dough, upside down. Let sit 15 minutes.
6. After sitting for a quarter-hour, remove the bowl and wash it out and dry it. Place a small kitchen towl in the bowl and dust it with flour and either polenta or cornmeal (or if you hav neither, don’t worry about it)
7. Place the dough on the towel and fold the towel over it to cover. Place the enter bowl in a kitchen garbage bag and close it with a tie- let sit for an hour.
8. Towards the end of the hour of final rising, heat the oven to 500 degrees. If you want a rustic brown crispy crust, place the dutch oven you’ll use to bake the bread in (5 quarts, or 7) to the oven to heat (including its lid). If you’d rather a non-crunchy crust that isn’t as dark, don’t pre-heat the dutch oven.
9. Take the bread dough out of its garbage bag waiting room and plop into the dutch oven (that you have now taken out of the oven, o’course). You can do one of two things: either plop it into the dutch oven seam side down to have a smooth surface on top and cut a few slits or criss-crosses in its top or plop it seam side up to have that ‘rustic look’.
10. Put the lid on and place the dutch oven in the oven-oven and bake for 30 minutes with the lid on. Then remove the lid and bake lid-less for another 30 minutes. Then remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. The bread will be hard at first- don’t be worried, it’ll soften and crackle for the next few hours as it cools.

And ta da! As far as actual work that you do outside of waiting in between steps, it’s about 5 minutes. Super simple, super delicious… awesome texture, and probably one of the most impressive things you could bring to a friend’s house. Make some for the holidays and wrap some raffia and twine around it for a super-special gift.

I write this as our good friend and neighbor A is visiting and keeping us company :). Spinach pasta – yet another childhood favourite of mine. If I was having a sick day, mum would either make spinach pasta or tuna-potato-salad… mmmh. This pasta is SO much better than any dried pasta or someone else’s fresh pasta, even, because it’s so ridiculously fresh and delicious. Spinach pasta with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a sprinkle of coarse salt, and a bit of freshly-made pesto mixed in may very well be my favourite meal. The best part – you can freeze a ball of dough and then make some months later!

Spinach Fettucine

Adapted From Korean American Mommy’s Homemade Spinach Pasta

Ingredients:

• 8 oz fresh spinach
• 1.5 cups organic  AP flour
• 3 cups organic whole-wheat flour
• 1 tsp coarse salt
• 1 full egg (cage-free, brown, organic)
• 6 egg yolks  (cage-free, brown, organic)
• 3 tbsp EVOO
• filtered water

Process:

1. Place 1 tblspn of the olive oil a large pan to heat, and place in all the spinach. Blanch until bright green and cooked through and squeeze it through a paper towel to remove some moisture; then place into a food proessor bowl.
2. Add the flour and salt and process together until a thick green meal comes together.
3. Add the egg yolks, full egg, and remaining oil through the feed tube. Then add a bit of water, 1 tsp at a time, until the dough comes together into a ball.
4. Divide your dough ball into 8 tiny balls.
5. Flour a countertop and rolling pin and roll one of the 8 balls of dough into as thin a rectangle as possible
6. Flour it a bit more and then run the rectangle through a pasta machine, going as follows for a 6-setting machine: 4-6 times through 6; 4 times through 5; 4 times through 4; 3 times through 3; 3 times through 2; 2 times through 1
7. Then use your pasta attachment for cutting- I use fettucine- and cut your pasta! Then flour a bit more, toss together, and you can either cook immediately or place in an airtight container in the fridge or wrap in plasticwrap and freeze.

Serving suggestion: When boiling fresh pasta, do as follows: set water, 1 tsp coarse salt, and 1 tsp olive oil to boil. Place in fresh pasta and boil the pasta for no more than 5 minutes- usually 2-3. Place in a bowl and toss lightly with oil, sprinkle on parmesan cheese and/or pesto, and a few fresh basil leaves. You’ll be happier in life, guaranteed.

It’s smooth like butter and has a rich warm flavour, but the best part of this recipe may very well be the crunchy baked seeds – the boyfriend was crazy about them. H picked out this recipe for a cold November night and we happily slurped up this smooth, silky, yellow soup.

Acorn Squash Soup

Adapted from Silky Acorn Squash Soup at Once Upon A Plate

Ingredients- makes very large vat of soup:

• 2 small- to medium acorn squashes, cut in half
• 1/4 sweet white onion, diced
• 1 tblspn extra virgin olive oil
• sprinkling of large coarse salt, pepper
• 2 tblspn cream or milk

Process:

1. Cut the squashes in half, scoop out seeds and place in a strainer, and place the squash in a large baking dish cut side up, brush very lightly with olive oil, and bake in 325 degree oven for about an hour or until tender. Remove from oven and let cool.
2. While the squash is baking, rinse the seeds and remove as much of the stringy squash as possible. Move them from the strainer to a paper towel and squeeze out the excess moisture. Transfer to a lightly oiled baking sheet and sprinkle liberally with coarse salt.
3. Don’t turn off the oven just yet! Once you’ve removed the squash, place in the seeds and bake until they get a bit golden, about 10 minutes. Take them out halfway through and shake the pan (without dropping any seeds) to coat with the oil. Let cool once baked.
4. While the squash is a-coolin’, heat a bit of olive oil in a small pan and add the onions and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Cook through completely until the onion is soft and translucent in colour.
5. Scrape the squash innards into a food processor and add the cooked onions and cream. Process until thick and creamy and add additional milk and salt/pepper as needed/desired to get the ideal texture.
6. Top with a few seeds or munch on them separately and enjoy!

It’s so cute and homey looking that it’s an excellent ‘welcome home’ dish or something just to warm you on a cool night. Full of beta carotene and other nutrients, it’s incredibly healthy and can be made with a variety of squash types.

Oh, gosh. These are SO addicting. You wouldn’t think so, but something about these little shortbread-like cookies comes out into a perfect mix of salty and sweet to accost your tastebuds, take them hostage, and bring you to an all new level of Heaven. They’re THAT good. I feel like I don’t have anything else to say here – just make them. And then devour. And lock them in a box with key because you’re going to need to hide your cookies and hide your cranberries because folks are eating all of them out here, and fast :).

Cranberry Coins

Adapted From Martha Stewart’s Cranberry Coins

Ingredients:

• 1 full cup (2 sticks… I know) softened butter (Martha calls for unsalted, I say use salted. it’s going to create an awesome play on the sweetness)
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar (you don’t really need to sift)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups organic AP flour
• 1/2 heaping cup roughly chopped dried cranberries
• tiny pinch of salt (you already have some in the butter)

Process:

1. Beat together the butter, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla (hence the lack of need for sifting) with a wooden spoon until smooth, then add the flour and salt and stir just until combined
2. Stir in the dried cranberries and divide the dough in half.
3. On parchment or wax paper (your choice, I prefer wax myself), shape each portion into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter and 4 inches long (think of it as a very long hot dog, roughly that diameter)
4. Take a piece of tape and close your wax-paper-covered-log shut and chill in the fridge for half an hour (at minimum, can certainly be more)
5.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and slice the dough into 1/4ish-inch thick slices with a sharp knife. Martha suggests rotating the log periodically so you can make sure they stay circular in shape, and place them on a silpat-lined large baking sheet about an inch apart (they won’t expand much)
6. Bake the cookies for 20 or so minutes, rotating the sheet around halfway through (so around the 10-minute mark) and bake until a light golden sheen appears- then move to a wire rack for some minimal cooling before you devour them

H picked this recipe out of her lovely Martha Stewart cookie magazine for the holidays and this was one of our offerings of the 12 Weeks of Cookies – we each picked a cookie recipe each week to make and this one was my favourite from the whole bunch… they were fantastic :). H clearly has great taste- and picked out this one as they’re meant to be easy to ship! They can last in the fridge closed up for over a week but I assure you they won’t last that long :)

These guys are the memory of my childhood, embodied. In the good ol’ days, when we had a neighborhood party or big event to go to, my mother would make gougeres…. dozens of them. Naturally, hers would be perfectly portioned, all the same size, and all utterly delicious. Think of these as a little sharp cheese puff of happiness. They’re mushy and airy and light yet not and fantastic. Yet another perfect thing for a gathering or if you need to bring a contribution to a potluck.

Traditional Gruyere Gougeres

Adapted from Monsieur Alain Ducasse himself!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup organic skim milk
• 1/2 cup water (temp doesn’t matter)
• 1 stick salted butter, roughly chopped, softened
• 1 cup organic AP flour, sifted
• 4 large eggs (cage-free, brown, organic)
• 1 very heaping cup freshly-grated Gruyere cheese
• pinches of pepper, sea salt, and freshly-ground nutmeg

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and silpat-itize a large baking sheet (or add parchment paper or wax paper or your non-stick-agent of choice)
2. Take a medium-sized saucepan and combine the water, milk, butter, and salt to boil
3. Slowly add in the flour (wooden spoons for roux and pate a choux, always!) and stir until smooth and no longer sticking to the sides of the pan (another 3ish minutes)
4. Move the dough into a bowl and let it sit for a minute or two, then beat in the eggs one at a time (the minute of rest is to ensure your eggs won’t curdle)- really, one at a time!!- then mix in the pepper, nutmeg, and cheese. Be liberal with the cheese.
5. Transfer the dough to a ziplock bag, seal it and remove the excess air, and cut a 1/3-inch corner off. Pipe tablespoon sized mounds onto the sheets about 2 inches apart, sprinkle a bit with some additional cheese and large coarse salt if you have it, and then bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden and crispy on top.

When you bite into a warm one, the steam comes out slowly and it compresses and mmmmh. It’s glorious. You’ll have to just trust me and try the recipe out.

Smoked salmon, filo dough, cream cheese, chives, lemon juice, and salt. That’s it - and about 10 minutes- and you have a plate of sophisticated and delicious appetizers. These go perfectly for gatherings of all kinds as they’re easy to do assembly-wise, can be made a few hours ahead (not too much more or the cups won’t be as crispy) and even thsoe who are culinarly-challenged can easily be of help. Even the boyfriend could assemble these.

Smoked Salmon Filo Cup Appetizers

Ingredients:

• 1 package wild (please, do make sure it’s wild) smoked salmon (NOT atlantic) (the redder the better (but not if food colouring made it so))
• 1/2 package (4 oz) cream cheese (reduced fat works fine, plain, softened)
• 2 packages (usually about 12-15 cups in a package) frozen filo dough cups
• the juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 5 or strands of fresh chives
• pinch of salt

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place all filo cups on a large baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes until lightly golden. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes to rest.
2. Place approx. 1 tsp (or just a chunk, really) of cream cheese in the center of each cup.
3. Place a small piece of the salmon over the cream cheese.
4. Cut the chives into inch-long pieces and place 3 or so pieces on each filo cup.
5. Sprinkle lightly with a tiny bit of salt and place two drops or so of lemon on each filo cup (feel free to omit this)

And you’re done! Assembled in mere minutes after baking! And yet for some odd reason, people will be quite impressed by these. Little do they know how simple they are to put together :). Try them out for yourself, they’ll be a hit!