Amazing Fall Gnocchi

I randomly stumbled upon Liz's Cooking Blog, where she had a divine looking recipe consisting of gnocchi, butternut squash, sage, and pine nuts. I had all these ingredients on hand the other night, plus I had bacon that I needed to use up. I decided to toss that in too. The result was to die for. Really. I want to make this weekly, it was that good.

Ingredients

1 medium butternut squash
4 cloves garlic, minced
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Fresh sage leaves
1 package gnocchi
3/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
Grated Parmesan

The original recipe called for an onion, which I didn't bother with, but I did up the garlic a bit. I probably used fewer pine nuts too.

Directions

Heat the oven to 375°. Cut the butternut squash in half and scoop out the strings and seeds the middle cavity. Flip the squash halves upside down and peel them. Cut the squash into 1-inch cubes. Toss with the garlic, a drizzle of olive oil, and salt and pepper. Mince about half of the fresh sage leaves and also toss with the squash.

Spread the squash mixture in a thin layer on a large baking sheet and roast for about 40 minutes or until the squash is soft.

As the squash finishes roasting, chop the bacon into one inch strips and fry in a deep skillet. Once the bacon starts getting crispy, push it to one side of the pan and toss whole sage leaves into the oil. Fry for about a minute, then turn the heat down to low and mix into the bacon. If there is too much oil in the pan at this point, drain off a couple tablespoons.

Remove the butternut squash from the oven and add to the bacon and sage mixture.

Heat salted pasta water to boiling and cook the gnocchi. Before draining the gnocchi, spoon a couple tablespoons of the water into the bacon and squash mixture and stir it, deglazing the pan.

Drain the gnocchi and set aside.

With the heat still on low, add the gnocchi to the bacon and squash mixture. Mix together and add the pine nuts. Serve with grated parmesan cheese.

Marbelized Lemon Tart with Sage Cornmeal Crust

As you know by now, I'm obsessed with putting herbs in desserts. And who doesn't love lemon tarts? Sage makes it seasonal. Though I'm sure this recipe would be equally good with rosemary or thyme.

The recipe comes from Martha Stewart. It's somewhat involved, so if you want to make it, plan ahead. I'll definitely make it again, but with two changes. First, I would not use coarse ground cornmeal, but something more finely ground. The crust had a nice flavor, but it was too grainy with the larger cornmeal flecks in it. Second, I would add a bit more sage. The flavor was there, but it wasn't very pronounced. Another teaspoon or two would do the trick.

Sage Cornmeal Crust

Makes enough for two 9-inch tarts

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
3/4 cup coarse yellow cornmeal (Don't do it! Use medium or finely ground.)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh sage (more if you'd like a stronger sage taste)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3 large egg yolks
5 tablespoons ice water

Directions

Pulse flour, cornmeal, sugar, sage, salt, and lemon zest in a food processor until combined. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Whisk egg yolks and ice water in a small bowl. With machine running, add to flour mixture through feed tube; process until dough just holds together.

Turn out dough onto a work surface. Divide in half, and shape each portion into a disk. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate 30 minutes (or up to 2 days).

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out 1 disk to a 10-inch round.

Fit into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom; trim edges flush with rim. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (or up to 1 day). Reserve remaining dough for another use (it can be frozen up to 3 months).

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prick bottom of tart shell with a fork. Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let cool.

Lemon Curd

Ingredients

1/4 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1 tablespoon cold water
6 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons

Directions

Sprinkle gelatin over cold water in a small bowl, and let stand until softened, about 5 minutes.

Whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and salt in a large heatproof bowl. Gradually whisk in lemon juice. Place bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, and whisk constantly until mixture has thickened and registers 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Whisk in gelatin mixture.

Remove from heat, and whisk in butter, a few pieces at a time, until smooth. Let cool, stirring occasionally. Prepare an ice-water bath. Place bowl of yolk mixture over bath, and stir until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.

Assembling the Tart

Spread curd into crust; smooth top.

Dollop 3 tablespoons of creme fraiche in small drops on top. Using a wooden skewer or the tip of a knife, swirl creme fraiche into curd to create a marbleized effect. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours (or up to overnight).

Cranberry Sorbet

This sorbet is wonderful, though it didn't taste how I expected. The recipe on Epicurious said it was "Cranberry and Orange Thyme Sorbet." You know how obsessed I am with putting herbs in my desserts, so I was really excited to try this. Unfortunately, it has no thyme flavor whatsoever. I used lemon thyme, which may have been the problem. I'll definitely make it again, but next time I'll either omit the thyme completely, or use a woodier, stronger tasting thyme. It still tastes delicious and would probably be a nice alternative to heavy Thanksgiving desserts.

Ingredients

12 ounces fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups water
Thinly sliced zest of 2 oranges (removed with a zester)
8 to 12 3-inch springs fresh thyme, such as orange balsam, lemon, or English thyme(1/2 ounce)
1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice

I wasn't paying attention to the recipe closely enough and didn't have thin orange zests, but rather just removed the peel in a large chunk. So, my sorbet wasn't really orange-y tasting, but I liked it that way anyway. And, as I said above, I recommend using English thyme if you want the ice cream to pick up the herbal flavor, since the lemon thyme just isn't flavorful enough.

Directions

Bring the cranberries, sugar, water, and orange zest to a boil in a medium (3-quart) saucepan.

Partially cover the pan and boil until most of the cranberries pop, about 5 minutes. Stir in the thyme sprigs, remove from the heat, cover tightly, and steep for 30 minutes.

Pour the fruit mixture into a fine sieve set on top of a deep bowl. Stir and press down on the fruit with the back of a large spoon to extract as much juice and pulp as you can, leaving the skins and thyme behind in the sieve.

Refrigerate the strained mixture until thoroughly chilled. I actually just put the bowl in the fridge with the sieve right over it to let it chill, then pressed again. A fair amount more liquid came out after just letting it sit for a while.

Stir in the orange juice and then pour into an ice cream maker for 30-40 minutes. Freeze for a few more hours and there you have it. Cranberry (and orange and thyme) sorbet.

The Best Guacamole Ever

Last week, our CSA box had tomatoes, cilantro, and serrano peppers in it. So, we made guacamole. Not just any guacamole though. This is the best guacamole you will ever eat. Trust me.

First things first. The equiment. If you really love guacamole, treat yourself to the amazing William Sonoma Molcajete. Your wallet might say "ouch," but your tacos will say "yum yum."

I first witnessed the magic molcajete at Rosa Mexicano's, the semi-posh Mexican chain restaurant that makes the most amazing guacamole ever. A wedding gift registry and a google search for the recipe were all I needed to be able to recreate it at home. If you don't have the molcajete, this would probably work with a regular mortar and pestle.

So, I present to you, the best guacamole ever. Recipe courtesy of people on the internet who ripped off Rosa Mexicano's.

Ingredients

2 Haas avocadoes

3 Tablespoon chopped onion

1 teaspoon chopped, seeded jalapeno chile

1 ½ teaspoon chopped cilantro

2 tablespoon chopped tomato

salt

I used serrano peppers. You can leave in or remove the seeds, depending on how spicy you like it.

Directions

Combine 1 tablespoon of the chopped onions, ½ teaspoon of the chopped jalapeno and ½ teaspoon of the cilantro with ½ teaspoon of salt in the molcajete. Mash these ingredients into a paste. This releases all their oils and juices.

Roughly chop the avocadoes in large chunks and add it to the paste in the molcajete and fold to combine thoroughly.

Add the other ingredients, folding gently, taking care not to mash it too much.

And there you have it. Best guacamole ever.

Party Foods

We had a few friends over last week and I prepared a few quick little munchies for the event. These two dishes were quick and elegant and incredibly tasty. Both come from old issues of Food and Wine.

Cashews with Crispy Sage and Garlic

Ingredients

2 garlic cloves, sliced
Olive oil
12 sage leaves plus 1 tablespoon chopped sage
2 cups raw cashews

Directions

In a medium skillet, fry sliced garlic cloves in olive oil until lightly golden. Add sage leaves and chopped sage to the skillet and cook until crisp; drain on paper towels. Add raw cashews to the skillet and cook, stirring, until golden; drain on paper towels. Toss with the garlic, sage and salt. Let cool, then serve.

The best part about this was the little crispy whole sage leaves. When I do this again, I will definitely be increasing the amount of sage - doubling or tripling it. The sage shrinks up during the frying process and the intense flavor really mellows, so I think you can get away with as much sage as you'd like.

Herbed Creme Fraiche Dip

Ingredients

1 cup crème fraîche
3 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
3 tablespoons snipped chives
2 tablespoons finely chopped tarragon
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt

Directions

In a bowl, whisk the crème fraîche with the parsley, chives and tarragon. Whisk in the lemon juice and season well with salt.

The recipe recommends serving it with radishes and blanched asparagus, though I subbed raw baby carrots for the asparagus. The carrots were fine, though the dip was perfect with the radishes. It's a very cool, creamy dip and it is a perfect compliment to the peppery radishes.

Rose Geranium Cookies

This week's CSA box contained lots of fun fall produce...sweet potatoes, chard, a pumpkin, and something called rose geranium. I assumed it was a flower, but it's actually a very floral smelling herb. Imagine a cross between rose and sage.
I wasn't sure what to do with it, but Google came through. I found a recipe for cookies that looked intriguing. It seems about 15 or 20 different sites print the same recipe, so I have no idea where it originated, so I'll just credit the internets for this one and hope the copyright police don't come after me.

The recipe says it makes 4 dozen, though I made my cookies much too big, so I wound up with only 24. That said, they are spongy and light and remind me more of a scone than a cookie. So, if that appeals to you, I suggest making them big.


Rose Geranium Cookies

Ingredients

1/2 c Butter (room temperature)
1 c Sugar
1 Egg
1/2 c Milk
1 ts Rosewater
2 ts Rose geranium leaves finely chopped
2 1/2 c Flour
1 1/2 ts Baking powder
4 Dozen small rose geranium leaves for garnish

I've never used rosewater before, but for whatever reason, my grocery store had it in the liquor section next to the grenadine. So, if you can't find it, maybe check a liquor store. I think it's common in Middle Eastern cooking, so a specialty store would probably carry it as well.



Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in egg milk and rose water.



Sift together dry ingredients and add them together with the chopped leaves to the creamed mixture stirring until well mixed.



Drop heaping teaspoons onto lightly greased cookie sheet and press a single rose geranium leaf deep into each cookie.

Bake for eight to ten minutes. They didn't look as pretty as I had hoped, but they taste wonderful. Lightly sweet and very floral. And, they make your kitchen smell like roses.

Roasted Tomato Tabbouleh

I found a new use for tomatoes and basil that does not involve pesto, cheese, or pasta. We got more of them in our box last Friday and I was determined to try something different with them this time. I pulled this recipe for roasted tomato tabbouleh out of a Martha Stewart magazine ages ago and it seemed like a good way to put these ingredients to use.

It's a little labor intensive to chop all the herbs and wait for everything to cook and cool down, but it's definitely worth it. The result was a light, fresh salad and the roasted tomatoes definitely make it more interesting than traditional tabbouleh.

Ingredients

1 cup bulgur wheat
1 cup boiling water
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, finely chopped, plus whole leaves for garnish
1 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves, finely chopped, plus whole leaves for garnish
1 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, coarsely chopped, plus whole leaves for garnish
4 plum tomatoes (10 ounces total), cut into wedges
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 scallions, white and pale-green parts only, thinly sliced
Juice of 1 lemon
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

I didn't use roma tomatoes, but instead used a bunch of heirloom cherry tomatoes from my box. I just cut the big ones in half and left the smaller ones whole.

A note on the bulgur: I don't think I've ever seen pre-packaged bulgar except for the kind that come in those prepackaged Near East instant side dishes. If you are having trouble finding it, check out the bulk food aisle at Whole Foods or your nearest hippie grocery store.

Directions

Preheat oven to 425. Place bulgur in a heatproof bowl, add boiling water, and stir. Cover tightly, and refrigerate until liquid has been absorbed, about 1 hour.
Combine chopped herbs. Toss tomatoes with garlic, vinegar, 1 teaspoon oil, and 2 tablespoons chopped herbs on a rimmed baking sheet, and roast until tomatoes begin to soften, about 12 minutes. Let cool.

Add roasted-tomato mixture, remaining chopped herbs, scallions, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and remaining 2 teaspoons oil to bulgur, and gently toss. Garnish with whole herb leaves.