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.

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.

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.

It’s always lonely to be by yourself at home and when my mother left for Paris with my grandmother, that left my father doing just that- being home alone! Remedy: have him over for dinner! (NOT Silence of the Lambs kind of “have you over for dinner”, though…) I figured that my father would perhaps be a bit unsettled by some of my more experimental foods… and his standards are quite exceptionally high, as the gifted chefs in the family are all on his side (minus my mother, of course), so… traditional-ish it was!

I decided to do something very familiar and comforting: confit some tomatoes in the oven, bake some chicken so that it’s juicy and tender, and toss it in some whole wheat pasta shells and housemade pesto, with some shaved parmiggiano on top. What can go wrong there?

It was really quite delicious, and the leftovers were super convenient for bringing in to work the next week. This is a great keep-in-the-fridge-for-a-few-days dish, and a rather simple one as well. The sweetness of the tomato cuts into the nuttiness of the pesto, while the cheese on top adds some hints of earthiness that makes the whole thing come together quite nicely.

Whole Wheat Chicken ‘n Pesto Shells with Tomates Confites

Ingredients:

• 1 lb (1 box) whole wheat pasta shells
• 1 box (usually 8-12 oz) cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 generous cup house-made pesto
• 3-4 medium-sized chicken breasts
• extra-virgin olive oil, kosher salt, freshly-cracked black pepper
• parmiggiano reggiano (or reggianito) to shave

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and place a Silpat or other silicone mat on a baking sheet (large enough to fit all your chicken on)
2. Set a pot of water to boil for pasta; salt generously and drop in 1-2 tsp olive oil into the water
3. Measure out pesto and leave on the counter so it can warm while you prepare the rest of the dish
4. Lightly coat a second baking sheet with olive oil (just brush on a very thin coat)
5. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half (whichever way you like) and arrange (fairly haphazardly, really) on the baking sheet. Salt lightly and sprinkle with herbs or spices if desired (my mother uses Herbes de Provence; I’m a fan of a pinch of paprika/cumin/coriander). Drizzle with more olive oil on top.
6. Clean the chicken breasts and arrange on the baking sheet. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Flip and repeat so that both sides are coated and seasoned.
7. Once the oven is sufficiently hot, place the tomatoes on the bottom rack and the chicken on the top rack (if you have two racks, that is) of the oven
8. Once the water is boiling, place pasta in water and cook as directed; I like mine just a bit al dente (it’s what the Italians do)
9. Bake the chicken for about 10 minutes, then flip the oven using kitchen tongs, a glove, and patience/care. Don’t burn yourself with that oven door open! You can always take the sheet out, flip, and return to the oven if you’re not too lethargic. While you’re at it, rotate the tomato pan.
10. After another 10 minutes, take your tongs and press upon the chicken. If there’s a lot of give, leave it in for another few minutes- you’re looking for the outside to be golden brown and for the inside to have only a bit of give. The squishier it is, the less cooked- and unfortunately, sashimi chicken isn’t a good dish to try :)
11. Once the tomatoes are drying out a bit and are blistering, you can remove them from the oven. The amount of time they spend in there is totally up to you- if you have the time, roasting them at a lower temp (360 or so) for longer yields even better results; this is the ‘quick version’
12. Remove the tomatoes and chicken from the oven and let cook for a moment.
13. Once pasta is cooked, drain (but not excessively, a little water in this is fine) and place in a large mixing bowl. Using kitchen tongs, cut the chicken into large, wide (but fairly thin) strips. Add to bowl. Scrape tomatoes as-is into bowl as well. Scoop in the pesto, and mix. Add salt and pepper to taste, and drizzle in a bit of olive oil. Shave the cheese on top and…. voila!

It’s one of those go-to standbys for me because I don’t need to consult a recipe and it has infinite variations. Sometimes I also confit some bell peppers (red/yellow/orange)… sometimes with herbs, sometimes with spices… carrots work nicely, too, when baked with cheese. You get the idea- pick the brightly-coloured vegetable(s) of your choice! And then dig in :)

So it’s now been nearly a month and a half since I last posted and a) I feel guilty about it, b) I’ve certainly been baking and cooking a ton, so there’s a bunch of catching up to do, and c) I may be a bit lethargic concerning the backlog. That said, I’m going to try my best to go in order and hope to catch up and be up-to-date soon. The boyfriend moving in, our re-organizing the place, and having some busy times at work have made for less posting time, but… here’s to finally documenting some of these.

When I asked the boyfriend what the one thing he’d like me to make for him was, he asked for cream cheese danishes. They’re his favourite pastry, and knew I had threatened to make them once before, so…. worth a shot, right? A quick investigate online yielded the following results: these things tend to be tricky to make when doing so completely from scratch, and quite unhealthy. Most cheat by using crescent rolls for the dough, and I wasn’t going to have any of that! Thus, I decided to make them up completely on the spot. Luckily, they turned out quite yummy! While the dough is on the drier side, the filling is incredibly moist and makes it a fabulous combination. Mmmmh. I’m actually considering making some after having looked at this…

Cream Cheese Danishes

Ingredients (yields 12 medium-sized danishes):

Dough:

• 1/4 cup sour cream (full-fat for best results, I’m afraid)
• 1/2 cup neufchatel cheese (low-fat cream cheese)
• 1/2 cup organic half ‘n half
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tblspn organic soy butter
• 1 tblspn organic vegetable shortening
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 & 1/2 cups organic AP flour
• 1.5 tblspn baking powder

Filling:

• 8 oz. neufchatel cheese (1 package)
• 1/3 + 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp organic AP flour

Glaze:

• 1 tblspn condensed milk
• 1 tblspn organic skim milk
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Process:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly butter a large baking sheet. Sprinkle with 1 tsp organic AP flour and set aside.
2. Place wet dough ingredients (sour cream, neufchatel, 1/2 & 1/2, vanilla, soy butter, shortening, and sugar) in food processor and process for a few seconds until the mixture is smooth.
3. Place the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl and mix together. Add to mixture in the food processor and and pulse in short bursts just until the dough clumps together (be sure not to overprocess- this will toughen the dough).
4. Emtpy the dough onto a flour countertop and knead gently into a ball (kneading process should only take about 20-30 seconds) .
5. With a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a large rectangle (about 1/2 cm thick). Using a pastry cutter, cut the rectangle into long strands, about 1-inch thick.
6. Take two strands at a time and intertwine them into small nest-like shapes. You can make these as thin as you like or use only one strand per nest if you’d like smaller danishes.
7. Place the nests on the baking sheet, about 2 inches at least apart- they will puff and expand!
8. Prepare the filling: place all filling ingredients in food processor and pulse until the mixture is creamy and smooth. Spoon the mixture in to the middle of the nests, about 1 tblspn of filling per nest, or until the hollowed-area is filled but not overflowing (it will run out a bit if it becomes thicker than the crust)
9. Place the baking sheet with the nests into the oven for approx 20-25 minutes, or until the tops are becoming a light golden brown.
10. While the danishes are baking, prepare the glaze: place the glaze ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together. You may need more or less powdered sugar, add this bit by bit until the glaze has some body to it.
11. Place the baked danishes on a wire rack to cool. Place the baking sheet under the wire rack and spoon on the glaze – cover as thoroughly as you like. You can also glaze once, let it dry a bit, and then glaze a second time. The sugar content is up to you! :)

These were realllllllllllly good. They’re relatively simple, are sure to impress (turns out most people don’t make their own danish dough. or fake danish dough, at any rate) – and can be a delicious tea time snack or breakfast-food. Plus, check out that texture. You know you want to bite into it and feel the creamy, gooey goodness of cheese.

H and I share a love for tuna, don’t we, H? We also share a love for salmon (and that’s not to mention chocolate, cheese, knitting, sewing, decorating, sundresses… the list goes on). Consider it mutual-love-item-#76. When the boyfriend and I were on our cruise recently, I went a bit crazy with the tuna salad sandwiches (so good!)- thus imagine my delighted surprise when H suggested we make these delicious Oregon Tuna Melts for this week’s cooking date! How on Earth could I refuse so brilliant a suggestion?

These were monstrous. I mean, if I were a big, strong man who liked large, meaty wiches, then this would have been the one. I was barely able to finish half of this thing. It’s INTENSE. H will probably have me note that she was able to eat hers but she has magical sandwich-eating powers so that’s neither here nor there. The point is, if you have a hungry boyfriend to feed- as is often the case, it seems- this one’s a winner. And it involves fresh, delicious ciabatta. What’s not to enjoy?

What’s really original about this recipe is that there’s mayonnaise spread on the sandwich, but not in the tuna salad- rather, olive oil and balsamic vinegar (two of my favourite things in life) flavour it instead. Original, delicious, and more healthy. Case closed. Make this sandwich.

Oregon Tuna Melts

Adapted from Oregon Tuna Melts from Food & Wine Magazine’s  Simple Acts of Sandwich Genius (Tommy Habetz)

Ingredients (makes 2 large sandwiches):

• 2 6-oz cans albacore tuna (chunk light, in water)
• 1/4 cup finely-diced red onion
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar from modena (don’t get me started on vinegars)
• 1 heaping teaspoon dried basil (recipe called for fresh, we went for dried for a less sharp taste)
• 2 ciabatta rolls, split in half
• Dijon mustard and mayonnaise for spreading
• 4 1/4-inch-thick organic Emmantaler cheese slices (so good!)
• sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper

Process:

1. Heat grill pan/panini press on medium heat.
2. Drain tuna, then mix in small bowl with onion, olive oil, vinegar, dried basil, salt, and pepper.
3. Spread mustard on one half of the ciabatta rolls and mayo on the other. Layer two slices of cheese over the mustard half on each roll. Spread the tuna salad on top of the cheese evenly. Place the mayo’d ciabatta slice over the tuna to close the sandwiches.
4. The recipe suggests you brush some melted butter onto the tops of the sandwiches; I prefer to have a little organic canola oil heating on the grill instead. It’s healthier! Place the sandwiches (ours were so large, we had to go one at a time… my grill pan is not too gargantuan) on the grill and cover with the panini press. Grill over medium heat for 6-8 minutes, until you have some nice grill marks going.
5. Cut in half and serve warm with a cool, refreshing drink! I suggest some home-made lemonade.

Mine was not quite as warm as I dilligently shot pictures prior to eating, but it was quite nice… and I’m not a fan of melting cheese, so I liked it better with the cheese being a bit cool. These are terrific for that day when you need a hearty sandwich that feels decadent but really isn’t too bad! I’m sure you could try many a variant of it as well.

Frittatas are the Italian version of an omelette, and my idea of an omelette- not that I really eat them- is to put all sorts of things inside them. I had a number of egg whites left over from making tart doughs earlier on in the week and decided to pour them all together in this comprehensive frittata. It’s rich and chock-full of good things, but on the lighter side due to it being mostly egg whites- lower in cholesterol and fat! It’s very, very simple, despite having tons of ingredients… so try it! :)

Low-Fat Egg-White Frittata

Ingredients:

• 6 egg whites (large, cage-free, brown, organic eggs)
• 3 whole eggs
• 2/3 cup organic skim milk
• 1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp salt & pepper
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup fresh sweet yellow corn, organic
• 1/4 cup fresh green peas, organic
• 2 tablespoons freshly-grated Reggianito cheese
• 3/4 cup chopped peppered deli turkey
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh spinach, organic
• 1/4 cup finely chopped baby carrots, organic

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Place all frittata ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together briefly until just combined. For a firmer consistency, add a tablespoon or two of organic AP flour.
3. Butter a large, shallow tart dish fairly generously and pour in batter.
4. Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes or until top is golden brown and mixture is set in well; wiggles when shaken lightly.
5. Allow to cool 5-10 minutes; then slice with a smooth knife and eat warm.

I told you it was simple! It’s very quick, very very very simple- did I mention how simple this is?- and hearty. You can make it as a weeklong leftover dish, or comfortably feed it to 5-6 people. Long live Italian practicality.

I realize that may be a bit pompous to say, but honestly, this is a rather foolproof delicious pesto. I’ve been rather fed up with the pestos I’ve found as of late. They’re all ‘too’ something: too oil; too yellow; too spiced; too bland; too thin; and so on. Finding a pesto that’s got the proper taste, consistency, and colour is rather difficult, and I’m hard-pressed to find that combination. Sauces and Love has a wonderful pesto but unfortunately it’s quite pricey for a small quantity.

I recently purchased an adorable basil plant- local and organic- at the grocery store for $3 and was very excited about the prospect of my indoor fresh herbs… but the lack of direct sunlight meant this was an unsuccessful attempt. Oh, no! Dying basil plant! Clearly there was only one thing I could do: emergency pesto. Luckily, it turned out completely and utterly delicious. I know this is a recipe I’ll be following again- and soon- because that first batch is almost gone already :). It’s terrific with some plain fresh capellini and a light drizzle of olive oil. Perfecto!

The Perfect Pesto

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup chopped basil (coarse)
• 1/4 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 cup grated fresh Reggianito cheese
• 1 heaping tablespoon fresh grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
• 1 tsp sea salt, sprinkling of pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sunflower seeds
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup salted cashews, coarsely chopped

Process:

• Place all ingredients in food processor
• Process on low until all elements are combined and a thick paste-like consistency is formed; do not overprocess to where all the cheese and nut bits are gone- keep a bit of coarseness!
• Spread onto some freshly toasted ciabatta or mix into hot pasta with a bit of extra olive oil for a yummy, delicious time

So simple! So good! So sure to be making this one again soon! Actually, I’m tempted to get a ton of basil, some cute jars, and jar some of this as christmas or holiday gifts… nice packaging will make this have the perfect touch. Seriously, make some. It’s so much cheaper than buying t at the store, and likely to be more delicious, as well! Pine nuts are the traditional nut for pesto, but I almost like it better this way :).

Recently, H and I made a delicious Tomato and Goat Cheese Tart, using David Lebovitz’s recipe. It was so good- and so simple to make- that I was determined to make it again and- of course- experiment with it a bit (general rule: make it once more-or-less as described, then start having fun with it).

I wanted to try a whole wheat crust, putting some herbs into it (Kerbey Lane Cafe here in Austin has a tomato tart with an herbed crust that I really enjoy, and thus wanted to try getting something to be similar) and trying a different cheese. My mother had kindly given me a large piece of Reggianito (the Argentine version of Parmigiano Reggiano)… clearly, it was a sign.

This turned out very well, and was just as easy as the first one to make! I took a hint from some comments I read on David’s recipe page and made two major adjustments: 1) using rice at the bottom (I know, it sounds absolutely insane, but hear me out), and 2) drying the tomato slices.

Rice: An issue I had with the tart our first time around was that after removing it from the oven, there was quite a bit of moisture hanging about at the bottom of the crust and it made the bottom crust a bit moist. To remedy this, I sprinkled a bit of jasmine rice along the bottom (see pictures below) to soak in the moisture. The commentors on David’s blog say you can use it for both savoury and sweet tarts. Neat!

Tomato drying: I placed the tomato slices within paper towels and pressed down, to remove some of the moisture (but did not carve out the seeds and seed-holding gel, as H tells me this is where the nutrients live!). The result: dyer tomatoes, without the loss of nutrients.

And thus- here’s adaption number two of this yummy and tasty treat!

Tomato and Reggianito Tart with Whole Wheat Herb Crust

Adapted from David Lebovitz’s French Tomato Tart, which is in turn adapted from A Culinary Journey in Gascony

Ingredients (variation of original):

• 1 cup organic AP flour
• 1/2 heaping cup organic whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• slightly under 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon each of dried basil, thyme, and rosemary
• 8 tablespoons soy butter
• 1 large egg, cage-free
• 3 tablespoons cool water
• 3 tablesppons Dijon mustard (Grey Poupon)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 3 tablespoons jasmine rice
• 1/2 cup chopped basil
• 8 large shavings of reggianito
• 8 large roma tomatoes, ripe (quantity will vary based on tomato size and your tomato preferences)
• Sea salt (large grain) for sprinkling on top

Process:

Visit David! (Recipe at the very bottom). Only changes I made were:

• using a food processor for mixing the dough
• adding the dried herbs to the dough mixture (and using both types of flour)
• no honey this time!
• reggianito cheese in stead of goat cheese

And that’s that! It’s quick, it’s simple, it’s delicious… and with the whole wheat crust and added herbs, better than before in terms of health! Try it out and make your own changes. I’ll probably keep changing this ever time I make it. Hah.

Oh, goodness, this was a yummy one. H and I were searching through potential victims for our weekly cooking date and I had happened upon this one on David Lebovitz (he’s one of my culinary idols, for his post on the boiled tart crust, if nothing else) earlier that week and was in love. (sorry, boyfriend, but no worries, I’m not leaving you for tomato and goat cheese!) Plus, this was a fabulous opportunity to break out three birthday presents- the food processor from the boyfried (!!!), the silpat from H; and the lovely ceramic tart dish from my parents. :) Opportunities to use exciting new gifts? Yes, please!

We followed it really quite precisely according to the recipe, and it was delicious. We had leftover ingredients and thus used the silpat to line the bottom of a sheet pan with the leftover dough made free-galette style, basil-less because the sister tends to not be too crazy about fresh basil and I didn’t want her missing out on the tart. Because, really, no one should miss out on this sort of thing. Mmmmh.

Tomato & Goat Cheese Tart

Following David Lebovitz’s French Tomato Tart, adapted from A Culinary Journey in Gascony

Ingredients (because ours differed slightly):

• 1 1/2 cups organic AP flour
• 9 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, cut into cubes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg, cage-free, brown
• 3 tablespoons cold water
• 1 1/2 cups (210 g) flour
• 1.5-2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (we used Grey Poupon)
• 8 large roma tomatoes, ripe (quantity will vary based on tomato size and your tomato preferences
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• a large amount of fresh basil (we chopped it, came out to probably around 4 tablespoons)
• 8 ounces fresh goat cheese, sliced into rounds about 3/4-inch thick (we used Montchevre)
• 2 tablespoons clover honey for drizzling
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Process:

Visit David! (Recipe at the very bottom- we followed the same process, save for using the food processor to mix the tart dough; adding basil in stead of other herbs (both below and on top of the goat cheese- see pictures below for process); etc.

We glazed both tarts- the galette and the traditional one- with clover honey prior to baking. We also greatly abused the large one with fresh basil, throwing on gobs of it (I adore basil, and definitely got this from my mother. Best herb ever, hands-down) so feel free to switch it up (David used thyme and a few other herbs in its stead). The sister keeps asking for a repeat performance of this one and the boyfriend didn’t get to taste since he wasn’t hanging out with us that night, which means this one is very likely to happen again in the near-future (as in today or tomorrow… which means I’ll be 7 behind for here, I think…. aye.)

In other news, I’ve discovered that there’s a large, bountiful rosemary plant right outside my building, on the corner. I have plans to go down sneakily around midnight, clad fully in black, and secretly snip a sprig or two to use in my next night of culinary inspiration…or to use for making rosemary skewers… just don’t tell anyone, please. Shhhhhhh.

I proved quite fully with this dish that my sister and I sadly realllly can’t handle the slightest bit of spice. We had this conversation at dinner while eating this:

Sister: (fanning self slightly)

Boyfriend: (nomnomnomnom)

Me: Boyfriend, is this not spicy to you?

Boyfriend: Ahm… no? Should it be?

Sister: To me, on a scale of 1 to 10, this is a 7. Hot hot hot hot!

Boyfriend: To me this is… mmh.. maybe a .7, on that same scale.

So as you can see, to the average person (or perhaps to the usual spicily-tolerant Asian boy), this is not that spicy- in which case the title is inaccurate- but as it was spicy to me, I’m keeping the name. So stricken. :) It’s certainly a tasty dish, and quite healthy, at that.

Spicy Tomato & Cheese Whole Grain Penne Bake

Ingredients:

• 5 tiny sweet white onions
• 4 fresh cherry tomatoes
• 3/4 tsp minced garlic
• 2 tblspn soy butter
• 1/2 box whole grain penne
• 3/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/8 tsp each of cayenne pepper, paprika, coriander, cumin, garlic powder
• 1 28-oz can of organic diced tomatoes in juice
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/3 cup shredded mozarella
• 2 chicken breasts, cleaned
• 1/3 cup dry cream sherry
• 1 tsp each of dried oregano, basil
• 1/2 cup grated Reggianito (Argentine Parmesan)
• sea salt & freshly-cracked black pepper

Process:

1. Dice onion fairly finely and place in sautee pan with 1 tblspn soy butter, garlic, and sprinkling of salt and pepper
2. Once it begins to bubble and brown, add in the spices (red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, paprika, coriander, cumin, garlic powder) and continue mixing until red/golden in colour
3. Add in the entire can of diced tomatoes and their juice, and the lemon juice and put on medium low heat; stir occasionaly, allow to bubble and thicken
4. Heat water to boil and cook penne according to your preference or box instructions (I like it a bit al dente, with salt and olive oil to prevent sticking). Rinse lightly, then pour into a greased deep baking dish.
5. Place the cherry tomato slices over the pasta (see picture) along with half of the cheese, and drizzle lightly with olive oil (optional)
6. Pour thickened tomato sauce over the tomato slices and pasta, and smooth out to where it’s evenly laid. Sprinkle on a bit more cheese.
7. Preheat oven to 355 degrees F.
8. Sautee 1 more tblspn of soy butter with a spinkle of salt and pepper until bubbling; then add in the chicken breasts. Sear on both sides until no more ‘pink flesh’ is visible- then add in the sherry and reduce to a caramel-y sauce. Glaze the chicken with this and remove onto a cutting board.
9. Cut the chicken into large cubes, then put back into the sautee pan (hope you didn’t clean it, you want that fond de sauce in there!) and continue to sautee for 2-3 minutes until browned on all sides.
10. Sprinkle the herbs onto the top of the tomato sauce mixture, evenly spread about the dish.
11. Remove the chicken from pan and place evenly on top of tomato sauce/herbs/cheese.
12. Grate the Reggianito on top, sprinkle with a bit more salt and pepper, and place in oven for 20 minutes approximately, until the cheese is melted and golden.
13. Allow to cool slightly, then serve warm (may fall apart- be wary and be ready to catch falling pieces)

If you can handle spice, then up the spiciness by adding more cayenne and red pepper flakes. But if you’re a spice wimp, like me, then you needn’t add more, this is already plenty :).