Brown Sugar Squash & Brussels Sprouts en Papillote (A French Friday's with Dorie Haiku Post: Recipe Edition!)

Is this a recipe:

Throw veggies in some foil

Put into oven.

Just like when roasted

only you have to wrap them

Not as good either

Still they are quite good

And the method is easy

Delicious flavor

[I made a delicious Shaved Asparagus Galette with Mascarpone and Jarlsberg from Greg Henry's "Savory Pies" cookbook!  Use the widget below to enter our cookbook give-away to win a copy of your own.  Jump to the our new contest page for details or just go to the widget below and enter. Subscribing to this blog, "liking" us on Facebook, tweeting about the giveaway, or just plain leave a comment on the post itself all will get you an entry into the contest. But use the widget please!
Contest ends February 11th.]

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Brown Sugar Squash & Brussels Sprouts en Papillote

adapted from Dorie Greenspan's "Around My French Table" 
Recipe Haiku!

World Championship Onion Dip

Though I am not ashamed of it at all and speak about it freely with anyone I find that every so often I will have to make a specific point of coming out to tell people. There is something about me that they don't seem to otherwise pick up on by themselves. There are some circumstances where to not say something just makes things a bit awkward.

I don't like football.

There, I said it.

Whatever 'sports gene' there is that allows for someone to be a football fan did not show up in my genetic code.

I realize that the "nature vs. nurture" debate will roar on but consider this: I have never once had an iota of interest in team sports and yet my sister practically came out of the womb calling audible and arguing with the referee (doctor) that gave me the First Down out of the womb instead of her. Heck, even Sis' childhood bedroom was once decorated with gridiron wallpaper and a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader poster. I, on the other hand, would stay up at night sewing curtains and doing the research necessary to turn my bedroom into an exact replica of a Nancy Lancaster's drawing room at Kelmarsh Hall.

If you start talking football to me you will see my eyes glaze over in just a few seconds as inside my head I desperately work out some strategy or another to end the discussion as soon as possible. Sports conversations longer than 10 seconds could reveal my "T" and while I"m not ashamed of it, I would prefer not to be subject to judgement either.

I actually managed to get all the way through high school before university social pressures would would coerce me into learning enough intricacies of the game, its teams, its customs, its rules to fake enjoyment of it. If I couldn't love the game I would at least pretend to love the game and make everyone happy. Like me now?

At times when I couldn't avoid playing football I would do my best to put on a good show and get through at least a few minutes of it before wiggling my way out. After it was over I would understand with even more clarity that this particular activity just wasn't for me.

The more I faked it the more I was losing myself by being what I thought someone else would want me to be. It felt wrong.

Eventually I learned to accept this truth about myself and see how it made me special. I slowly came out and told people. First those closest to me and then, with their support, a few more. Some would either try to use it against me or tell me that they could no longer be friends with me but in the end my football-loving friends and family realized they didn't care and loved me anyway. Besides, I didn't need anyone that would reject me for this in my life anyway.

Surprisingly, many said they had suspected my secret all along and had always been just fine with it! There were just happy that I felt it was OK to speak openly about it with them. My lack of football enthusiasm rarely comes up any more except, of course, around Super Bowl Sunday when the entire nation goes crazy nuts for football.

Its like Oscar night for straight people isn't it?

Even though its not my thing I still enjoy the excitement the game brings everyone else and it is in this aspect where I find my joy and inner piece with the whole thing. Well that, and the fact that half time entertainment seems to always be chosen to appeal to people like me. (Cher, Diana Ross, Madonna, Beyonce...need I say more?)

And as much as everyone else enjoys watching the game I enjoy cooking for those who are. After Thanksgiving Superbowl Sunday is now the largest single day of food consumption in America. When you consider that most of it is in the form of chips, snacks, and other small foods you have a lot of food shoveling  going on during those several hours.

What I enjoy about the trend is how America is taking snack food standbys and, as The Ina would say, turn up the volume. Chicken wings become Chili Lime Chicken Wings with a wasabi crust, cheeseburgers become Kobi Sliders with a Cabernet Sriracha glaze. Stuff like that. I love that stuff. It means that there is probably someone like me at your party who would rather cook than watch.

This onion dip is just onion dip. No trendy flavor but yes, I was tempted to crumble some bacon into it. Before food blogs and 24 hour cooking channels we used to make it by adding onion soup mix to sour cream. Now we know better.

Whether you love watching the game or you just love those who do, enjoy your Sunday. Be yourself.


World Championship Onion Dip
adapted from a Korey Provencher's Kors d'Oeuvres recipe. 

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 small onions, chopped
• 1/2 shallot, finely chopped
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (use only 1 if your balsamic is extra sweet.)
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• Pinch of celery salt
• Recipe ingredients

Heat oil in heavy-bottom pan or Dutch oven heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, shallot, and thyme. Let cook until onions are very soft and caramel in color, 45 to 60 minutes.

Add vinegar and Worcestershire sauce; let cook until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk together cream cheese, sour cream, and mayonnaise until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add cooled onions and celery salt; stir to combine. Transfer to refrigerator to chill at least 2 hours and up to 2 weeks.

Don't forget to enter for your chance to win Greg Henry's "Savory Pies" cookbook! To enter jump to the contest announcement post here or look for details on our contest page. To enter use the widget to subscribe to this blog, like us on Facebook, tweet the giveaway, or just plain leave a comment on the post. All will get you an entry for the cookbook givaway that ends February 11th.

Shaved Asparagus Galette with Mascarpone and Jarlsberg(and a cookbook giveaway!)

When one becomes an internationally famous food blogger all manner of amazing perks will come your way.

Or so I've been told.

I once picked up a fancy handheld egg beater at a conference once but when you factor in how much money was spent to actually attend the conference you could hardly call the egg beater a "prize".

"Look at this free egg beater! It only cost $1100 dollars!"

And fork still works best for scrambled.

If I were to become cool and popular I could score one of those all-expenses-paid trips (we call them junkets) and get taken to a new and fantastic foodie-type place.Cool bloggers actually get paid to see inspiring new food related thingies and write all favorably-like about them. Kitchen appliance manufacturers, tourist councils, exotic vegetable grower's councils, and more will often spring for the bill and take their chosen fooderatti to their trendy boutique breweries, hip equipment showrooms (replete with celebrity chefs), and even to entire foreign countries to see fun stuff foodie-like things where vodka is made from politically correct raisins or sample the current cheese rocking the cheese-world made from llama breast milk... shit like that.

For now I just dream of such a life.

Some food bloggers somehow manage to get themselves paid for writing an actual cookbook. To many in this biz we call blog getting a cookbook deal is the "holy grail" and something a great many of us should aspire to. And many do whether its admitted to publicly or not.

No publisher has accepted any of my cookbook proposals:

• "Pass the Salt": Snack and Meal Ideas for the High Sodium Dieter"
• "The Cocktailer's Guide to Making Ice Cubes at Home"
• "Late To The Party: Cake Pops, Bacon Jam and Quinoa. A 101 Recipes for Yesterday's Food Trends" 
• "That Is Not Vanilla Bean, That is Dirt: Recipes From My Grandma's Kitchen"

and one I think I would be particularly good at writing:

• "My Favorite Recipes from Other People's Blogs"

So while I wait patiently for a publisher to find their missing cell phone and give me a call me to discuss my writing fee I wanted to tell you about Sis Boom Blog's latest giveaway: a copy Greg Henry's new cookbook "Savory Pies: Delicious Recipes for Seasoned Meats, Vegetables,and Cheeses Baked in Perfectly Flaky Crusts"

You might know Greg from his stewardship over at SippitySup.com where he writes prolifically about the many various recipes he creates. He's quite active in the food blog community so if you are a food blogger then you also probably know him for his generosity as well.Whether lecturing at blog camps or hosting community dinner gatherings Greg has always been there offer help and advice. He was one of the first bloggers I reached out to when I was kicking the can of this thing and, well, look at me now!

Unlike many bloggers whose books are simply extensions of what they have already created online, Greg chose to focus on savory pies offering up nearly 65 different pie recipes and several crust recipes too. Yes, you will find your classics like Chicken Pot Pie and Pissaladiere in here but they act as an effective jumping off point for Greg to show off his signature ability to work just about anything into a tasty, savory pie whether it is appetizer, main course or even a hand pie.

By the last page Greg will have you questioning just what it even means to be a pie and have you you worshiping pie crust as something magic indeed!

Full disclosure: I recipe tested this galette for Greg several months ago when he reached to bloggers out asking for help. I chose this one despite prefering my pies in more orderly presentation factors. ("Galette" is a French word meaning "I can't afford a pie tin". ) I surprised myself by choosing this one but I was sure glad I did. The lunch crowd I served it to decimated it in just minutes and already the basic recipe has been modified to accommodate many different veggies.

If you do win or buy this book be sure to turn to page 10 where Greg thought well enough to mention my name with an acknowledgement! I told you he was a generous guy!

I may not have a cookbook of my own, yet, but I was pretty stoked to see my name in his!

Shaved Asparagus Galette with Mascarpone and Jarlsberg

Long and Slow Apples (& a French Friday's with Dorie Haiku Catch-Up)

Long and SlowApples
Recipe found here.  Other French Friday attempts can be found here.

Two hours to bake

In the tiny little cups

Small,  smashed, elegant.

Dorista revolt!

instructions said do it but

cellophane cooking?

But, it is a hit.

something I will do again.

(I already hav.)

Go With Everything Celery Root Puree

Recipe found here.  Other French Friday attempts found here.

Better than mash-spuds

it DOES go with everything

and keeps several days.

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These dishes were assignments for French Friday's with Dorie, a cooking group working its way through Dorie Greenspan's culinary tome "Around My French Table". Generally we are discouraged from including the recipes in our posts. Wherever there has been significant adaptation by me or where the recipe has already been publicly posted by Ms. Greenspan or her publishers I will either include it here or provide a direct link. Please also feel free to contact me via the link provided on my page if you need any assistance finding French Friday with Dorie Recipes.

Black Manhattan

I have been alternately sipping (slowly) and staring (deeply) into this brooding, black cocktail for over an hour now and I still don't know what I want to say to you about it. .

All there is to making a Black Manhattan is to substitute Averna, a thick, sweet Italian amaro liqueur with great bitter herbal notes for the standard sweet vermouth usually called for in the classic Manhattan. This simple switcheroo changes the drink's smooth character towards a deeper, more complex and darker place. The life metaphor here is unavoidable. If only the cannibalizing of classic cocktails with ingredient modifications would always brings about this much thought and introspection!

I much prefer the current trend of switching up classic cocktails with new ingredients to inventing unusual cocktails and drinks out of whole cloth. The horror that is a Green Donkey Show never made me think this much!

So even though the modified versions are good classics are classics for a reason and I will always return to them -- but tonight's tipple, all dressed up in its black mourning clothes has a particular meaning for me now. And it is also having the desired effect so when this one is finished I will have another.

The last few weeks have been particularly tough ones and despite my natural inclination towards the positive and cheerful, my mood lately has been as dark with sadness as this cocktail is with Averna and bourbon.

In one month we said goodbye to a dear friend as her tenacious fight to hang onto a life that had already decided to reject her finally ended. This was followed shortly thereafter with news that another good friend had voluntarily given his life away. I haven't attended funerals so back-to-back since... that time.

Oh gosh. Lest this post get more maudlin than I intended let me assure you that I find it perfectly acceptable to feel sad.  Its just as much a part of life as laughter and I accept that without question.  So please don't be concerned. Without sadness like this the laughter won't be as joyful and I wouldn't have the warm feeling of gratitude that usually follows.  I have heard it said that it is possible to feel two emotions at once -- one will make the other more acute before it cures it.

So if you don't mind, please don't ask me to 'snap out of it' or 'go outside and exercise'. Those distractions never work.  Whatever you do don't tell me to smile when I don't very much feel like it yet. I'll be just fine.You'll see.  Of course alcohol (if used responsibly) can help too.

Which leads me back to the Black Manhattan.

Actually it leads me back to my second Black Manhattan.  So despite my previous indecision about what to tell you about this drink I have can now say unequivocally that this drink is worth a second go-round. At this rate you might guess that if you make it to the end of my post you will find out if the Black Manhattan will merits a third but let me remind you that by the time anyone chooses a third cocktail for themselves he or she is no longer choosing it for reasons of taste alone and I think I've been very clear on my dual motives for choosing this one here.

So my opinion will no longer matter if I have a third. Warranting a second is still something of an achievement  at any rate.

G'night. (Is it hot in here?)

Black Manhattan

• 2 ounces bourbon, because it is darker and deeper than rye.
• 1 ounce Averna (or another Italian "amaro")
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters or go get crazy and do 1 dash Angostura bitters and 1 dash orange bitters.
• garnish with Luxardo cherries -- or something darker.

Combine first three ingredients in an ice filled cocktail shaker or glass. Shake or mix well to chill and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with cherries.

Draw the drapes, turn off the lights, and enjoy the darkness.

Celery and Parmesan SaladDon't be scared!

"Nothing in the affairs of men is worthy of great anxiety." - Plato

Salads scare me. No, not eating them. Just the expectation of having to prepare one, serve one or otherwise present one to a group. I have no problem standing up in front of a hundred people to give a demonstration on souffle making but ask me to bring a salad to your pot luck and my heart will start racing, my hands begin to get clammy, and I start will start speaking rapidly and without any punctuation while I look for my Xanax stash.

Oh sure its an irrational fear but does that make it any less real to me? Nope. I'll be the first to admit that. to be scared of such things doesn't make much sense. Duh. I said it was irrational. Pay attention. Salad isn't very threatening. It doesn't want to take over the entire meal it just wants to participate and make the meal fun. Even if its not perfect is anyone really going to remember it? When was the last time you were crestfallen because the salad wasn't a knockout? If you can live up to the pressure of bringing a dessert then what is the big f*ckin' deal about a salad?

Perhaps its the indistinct definition of just what a salad that is gets me anxious? Its hard to meet someone's expectations when you don't know what they even mean by 'salad'. Heck, my grandmother used to put a dollop of mayonnaise on just about any old thing and call it 'salad'.

"Eat your grapefruit salad please!"

I just gagged a little while typing and remembering that.What was up with *that* particular salad concept anyway? It must have been a generational thing thing like how young girls today think Justin Beiber is a great vocalist? Perhaps some day future generations will read today's recipes in the Smithsonian Research Library and will question our generations taste for lifting some seeds from a third world country soaked in water into a global salad craze?

When a friend utters "bring a salad" just what are they asking of me? Maybe I'm just jittery about not meeting someone's expectations?  Are they asking for one of those leafy green things dressed in simple oil and vinegar or were they expecting a corn/bean thing mixed with a smattering of chopped vegetables? Marshmallows and Jello?  Hopefully they aren't asking for a "something, something, and shaved fennel" salad as only people who aren't me are any good at that one.

Why is it that everyone else can effortlessly throw down some a something and something with either shaved fennel or citrus slices and create a masterpiece?  Not only that, but each time they do it they et a photo worthy of Savuer Magazine.  When I try it the results give off the feeling that I'm passing off scraps from the bottom of my crisper.

This anxiety is a pathology I'm working to control and conquer in 2013. I don't believe anybody should stand idly by and accept irrational fears, most especially their own.  I'm trying to kick mine by diving in and making more salads.  This one is surprisingly easy and seems to have been well appreciated by those I've served it to recently and it seems to go with just about everything.  

Its probably good with shaved fennel although I just don't feel quite up to that just yet. 

Celery Parmesan Salad

Cheez-it-ish Crackers (& a French Friday's with Dorie Haiku Catch-Up)

Despite the Grand Dorista Powers That Be trying to be kind with their choices of assignments from "Around My French Table" by Dorie Greenspan due to the holiday season, I have been too lazy or just  unable to participate much.  I managed recently to cook up these three dishes as my time allowed and so I can share them with you in this catch up post, haiku style of course.  

(Many thanks to those who subscibed to this blog, followed me on Twitter or Instagram  to qualify for our first subscriber giveaway of Dorie's great book.    The winner announced within a week, say, by next, um, Friday? If you don't win this time around I hope you will stay subscribed -- that is all that is necessary to be entered for our next prize.)

Cheez-it-sh Crackers
Recipe found HERE - Other FFwD posts can be found HERE.

Sublime cheese crackers

Appear to be guileless, but 

clearly addictive

Pimente d'Espelettete

Seemed quite appropriate here

It IS Dorie, natch.

Creamy Cauliflower Soup Sans Cream 
Recipe found HERE - Other FFwD posts can be found HERE.

Topped here with walnuts

Gruyere cheese and chili oil

No one misses cream

My favorite vegetable

Some might have a problem though.

Does it make you fart?

Chicken Apples and Cream á la Normande
Recipe found HERE - Other FFwD posts can be found HERE.

Apples? Calvados?

Those creamy sauces and such

Did not want to like!

Could not help it though

I will eat this sparingly

(Normans must be fat)

These dishes were assignments for French Friday's with Dorie, a cooking group working its way through Dorie Greenspan'sculinary tome "Around My French Table". Generally we are discouraged from including the recipes in our posts. Wherever there has been significant adaptation by me or where the recipe has already been publicly posted by Ms. Greenspan or her publishers I will either include it here or provide a direct link. Please also feel free to contact me via the link provided on my page if you need any assistance finding French Friday with Dorie Recipes.