Mr. Foodie says this was the best dish I have ever made. Now I’m pretty sure I have heard this compliment before, but I have to say that this dish was damn fine. We devoured the dish all evening, and then turned around and devoured the leftovers the next day for lunch. But it should come as no surprise that this was wonderful; has Ina Garten ever steered anyone wrong?

You may be tempted to skip the speciality ingredients like the pancetta or the saffron. Don’t. Don’t. Don’t. Both the pancetta and saffron transform the dish from good to spectacular. Spare the pocketbook, spoil your tongue. In the end, these speciality items absolutely make the dish.

 

A note about texture: This picture makes the risotto look really dry. It actually was quite wet. Good risotto should be creamy but still al dente. It should sort of melt onto the plate, but each grain of rice should still be defined. Got that? Wet but not too much. Creamy but not too creamy. It’s not oatmeal. But it’s not sticky rice either. Clear as mud.

Butternut Squash Risotto
Time: Realistically, 1 hour minimum (Ina estimates 40 minutes, but only if you are on speed…)
Serves: 4 to 6

Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash (2 pounds)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 6 cups chicken stock (Ina says use homemade…)
- 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter (but I think you could easily get away with less)
- 2 ounces pancetta, diced
- 1/2 cup minced shallots (2 large)
- 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice (10 ounces)
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 teaspoon saffron threads
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

- Peel the butternut squash, remove the seeds, and cut it into 3/4-inch cubes. You should have about 6 cups. Place the squash on a sheet pan and toss it with the olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, tossing once, until very tender. Set aside.

- Meanwhile, heat the chicken stock in a small covered saucepan. Leave it on low heat to simmer.

- In a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the pancetta and shallots on medium-low heat for 10 minutes, until the shallots are translucent but not browned. Add the rice and stir to coat the grains with butter. Add the wine and cook for 2 minutes. Add 2 full ladles of stock to the rice plus the saffron, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Stir, and simmer until the stock is absorbed, 5 to 10 minutes. Continue to add the stock, 2 ladles at a time, stirring every few minutes. Each time, cook until the mixture seems a little dry, then add more stock. Continue until the rice is cooked through, but still al dente, about 30 minutes total. Off the heat, add the roasted squash cubes and Parmesan. Mix well and serve.

Source: Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten. You can find her recipe here.

CSA Tally: Squash

Burritos, as Americans know and love them, aren’t authentically Mexican. Legend has it that burritos originated in San Francisco in the financial district, of all places, in the 1970s. Brokers needed a quick way to grab Mexican food and eat on the run. To accommodate these titans of industry, Mexican street cart vendors began wrapping traditional Mexican fare, that would normally be served on a plate, in a warm flour tortilla to be eaten on the go. This is the story my Mr. Foodie tells me. He’s Mexican, so I give him the benefit of the doubt. In fact, Mr. Foodie tells me that what Americans consider burritos, Mexicans consider tacos, which are of similar construction but smaller, simpler, and involve corn tortillas.

So what does this all mean? Not much. Mexican?  American? San Franciscan? Who cares! Burritos are muy sabroso in any language or region. And these shrimp burritos are no different. Shrimp burritos are not typical but they were really delicious. Even Senor Foodie approved.

Buen provecho!

 

Shrimp & Black Bean Burritos
Time: 30 minutes, tops (this was a very simple meal)
Yield: 6 to 8 burritos

Ingredients
Burrito
- 6 to 8 tortillas
- 1 lb. shrimp, uncooked
- 1 can black beans
- 1 can sweet corn kernels
- 1/2 tsp. garlic salt
- 1/4 tsp. cumin
- 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
- Juice from 1/2 a lime
- 1/2 Serrano or jalapeno pepper
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1 sweet bell pepper
- Olive oil

Pico de Gallo
- 5 medium tomatoes
- 1/2 red onion (or one whole one if it’s small)
- 1 small bunch of cilantro (about 15 individual sprigs)
- Juice from 1/2 a lime
- 1/4 tsp. crushed garlic or garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp. sea salt
- 1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
- Pinch of cumin
- Pinch of cayenne pepper

Directions
- Combine the thawed shrimp, lime juice, garlic salt, cumin, and cayenne pepper and mix to coat the shrimp thoroughly. Marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes. Drain the cans of black beans and corn and mix in a bowl. Chop the garlic, serrano or jalepeno pepper (removing the veins and seeds will decrease the extreme spicy factor), and sweet bell pepper.

- While marinating the shrimp, combine tomatoes, onion, cilantro,  lime juice, garlic, salt, ground pepper, cumin, and cayenne pepper in a food processor and give 4-6 quick pulses (we want to keep this chunky style).

- When the shrimp are ready, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and add the garlic, hot pepper, and bell pepper. Saute for 2 minutes, or until the ingredients become fragrant. Add the shrimp. Cook for about 2-3 minutes until shrimp become pink. In a separate skillet heat the black beans and corn and heat for 3 minutes, or until the black beans are heated through and somewhat soft. Heat the tortillas over a naked burner (Mexican style), but don’t burn your fingers!

- Fill each tortilla with the beans, shrimp, and pico de gallo mixture and wrap it up. Top the burrito with extra pico de gallo. Garnish with avocado and sour cream. Serve with a light beer (we have been enjoying Eel River Brewery’s organic California Blonde. Can’t find it? See here).

Source: Both the burrito and the pico de gallo recipes are adapted from the frugally delicious Poor Girl Eats Well.

CSA Tally: Onion, bell pepper

I can only imagine that this dish was eaten by the Gods because it is heavenly. I’m serious. This is the dessert of great myths. Mere mortal words won’t do it any justice so I won’t even try to explain (other than to say Mr. Foodie licked his plate clean!). And since this dessert is as delicious as it is easy, I think I will just let you try it on your own. Then you will see what I mean when I say that grilled peaches topped with goat cheese, drizzled with honey, and sprinkled with cinnamon is simply out of this world.

Grilled Peaches with Goat Cheese and Honey
Serves: As many as you want
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients
- Peaches, halved and de-seeded
- Cinnamon
- Honey
- White sugar
- Goat cheese
- Unsalted butter

Directions
- Lightly rub grill pan with unsalted butter and heat.
- Sprinkle peaches with sugar. Grill cut side down for 10 to 15 minutes or until sugar has caramelized.  Remove from grill and scoop goat cheese in the center. Lightly sprinkle with cinnamon and drizzle with honey. Serve immediately.

Source: Adapted from Cara’s Cravings (who found it here).

CSA Tally: Peaches

I think pizza is just about the most perfect meal. You can eat it with your hands. You can storm through all the food groups in one sitting. And your mouth is treated to many different flavors. Could there be anything better? Having eaten almost every type of pizza on the planet (from Italian minimalist, to Chicago deep dish, to delivery, to home made, to thin crust, to take and bake, to greasy, to gourmet) I have to say that I have never tried a pizza quite like this one before.

The crust is standard. But the flavors are not. Each bite contains a burst of lemon which highlight the more subtle nuances of the goat cheese and the squash. It’s a wonderful combination. If there was such a thing as a quintessential summer pizza, this would be it.

Enjoy!

Summer Squash & Lemon Goat Cheese Pizza
Yield: 8 Slices
Time: 2 hours (and that includes 1 hour of rise time)

Ingredients
- 1 batch of pizza dough (I suggest this one; it’s easy and it makes three pies)
- 1 lemon
- 4 ounces goat cheese, at room temperature
- 3 leaves of fresh basil, cut into thin slivers
- 1/2 medium yellow summer squash, sliced as thinly as possible (I suggest using your food processor to get the most uniformly thin slices).
- 1/2 medium green zucchini, sliced as the same as above
- Olive oil for drizzle
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Cornmeal

Directions
- Prepare the pizza dough. 

- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Roll pizza dough into a thin 12-inch circle. Lightly dust cornmeal on the bottom of the dough.

- Stir the goat cheese with the juice from 1/2 of the lemon. Season mixture with salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste, and spread over the dough. Scatter fresh basil slivers over the cheese.

- Arrange squash pieces in concentric circles over the goat cheese, overlapping them slightly. Squeeze the juice of the second half of the lemon on top of the squash, then drizzle with olive oil and finish with more salt and freshly ground black pepper.

- Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the edges of the pizza are golden brown and the zucchini looks roasted. Serve warm and enjoy!

Source: Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

CSA Tally: Summer squash

One of our favorite breakfast places serves piping hot donut holes. For around $4 they will serve a plate of eight, freshly made holes and three dipping sauces. They are such a treat, so much so that when I saw donut holes featured in July’s Food & Wine, I thought I would try my hand at my own.

To be honest, I found the process somewhat tedious. There are lots of steps. It left my kitchen a giant mess. Frying in oil always leaves me nervous. But Mr. Foodie and I worked together and we had fun. And in the end we had our own delicious donut holes with which to enjoy in the luxury of our home (and in our PJs to boot!).

Did I mention the word delicious? These holes were simply great and the strawberry sauce added the perfect amount of sweetness and light. Four dollars for someone else to make fresh donut holes is tempting, but sometimes the journey is worth the time and effort.

 

Donut Holes with Strawberry Dipping Sauce
Time: 3 to 4 hours (some of which is rising time)
Yeild: About 20 holes

Ingredients
Starter
- 3/4 tsp. active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tbs. warm water
- 1/2 cup flour

Dough
- 3/4 tsp. active dry yeast
- 2 tbs. warm milk
- 1 cup plus 2 tbs. flour
- 1 tsp. salt
- 3 large egg yolks
- 2 tbs. unsalted butter, melted
- 3 tbs. granulated sugar

Sauce
- 2 cups strawberries (or any berries, really…I like the strawberry for their sweetness)
- 1 cup sugar

Etc.
- Vegetable oil for frying
- Powdered sugar for rolling the holes (or you could use granulated)
 
Directions
Starter
- In a bowl dissolve the yeast in the water. Mix in the flour. Cover with plastic and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk (about 1 hour).

Dough
- In a stand mixer, using the dough hook, dissolve the yeast in the milk. Add the flour, salt, egg yolks, melted butter, sugar, and the starter.
- Mix until dough forms a ball. If the dough feels too sticky, add more flour by the the tablespoon. Cover and let rise for 1 hour (should double in bulk).

Sauce
- While dough is rising, simmer the sliced strawberries in a saucepan with the sugar over moderate heat. Simmer until sauce thickens, roughly 20 minutes.

Etc.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Flour your work surface (something like a marble or granite slab really comes in handy here; this dough is definitely on the sticky side) and roll the dough out so that it is 1/2 inch thick. Stamp out 1 inch rounds (don’t have a pastry stamp like me? No problem, use a shot glass!); keep re-rolling the dough until you use it all. Transfer rounds to the sheet, cover with a damp cloth and let rest for 15 minutes.
- In a saucepan, heat 1 inch of oil to 325 degree and fry donuts until golden, about 2 minutes. We found it best to keep rolling and moving the donuts in the oil as they fried so that they keep a round shape (and don’t worry if they don’t all turn out perfect, ours certainly didn’t!).
- Drain the rolls on a paper towl, roll in the sugar, serve hot with the strawberry jam. Add a cup of hot coffee and you have a wonderful little breakfast.

Source: Adapted from a recipe by Chef Ginevra Iverson of Eloise, as found in the July 2009 Food and Wine (p. 209). Inspired by Roxy.

In honor of today’s celebrated launch of the new iPhone 3GS*, I give you my favorite iPhone food and food related applications, for your viewing and using pleasure.

- Epicurious: All the fabulous recipes from the website at the palm of your hand, most with pictures. You can search by ingredient or meal. And the best thing is that you can add your chosen recipes to a virtual “grocery list” that can be used while shopping in the store. You can also email recipes or save them to a favorites file (fairly standard feature). But when you are ready to cook, you can turn the phone on its side and the app turns itself into a step-by-step guide. Novel and genius! It’s perhaps the most thoughtful cooking app I have seen. Another aspect I really enjoy is that the app features all the same reviews as they do on their on-line site. Awesome! Cost: Free

- Whole Foods: This one is brand new and can only be used on the upgraded iPhone software (available on the 3G or 3GS). It features the standard favorites list and email capability but it also allows you to narrow your recipe search by dietary restrictions. Gluten free lovers rejoice! In addition, the app allows you to search for your nearest Whole Foods. So next time you are in Fort Collins, CO, you will know that there is WF at 2201 S College Ave. Sounds nice. Buuuut, there are already soooo many apps out there that do map searches, this feature doesn’t really sell me. Good app nonetheless. Cost: Free (when was the last time Whole Paycheck gave you something for free?!)

- Betty Crocker: A pretty basic cooking app with the standard email/favorites capability. However BC features a cool “surprise me” function that brings up a whole host of recipes you never thought you would want to make (like poached raspberry pears). Of course there are also some that you may never want to make (like Sloppy Joe Rotini). But BC actually features a recipe for divinity…a very hard to find recipe these days, so BC gets some mad love from me. These recipes are a little more basic than Epicurious and WF, but this is to be expected. And there is nothing wrong with simple, traditional fare. Sometimes you may want just a basic gingerbread cookie recipe. If so, this is your source. (And no, none of the recipes I saw featured boxed cake mix. Ha!) Cost: Free

- Shopper: I have tried several grocery list apps, but this one is my favorite. I even swapped my old free app for this non-free one. It allows you to organize many different shopping lists by store and aisle. Check off items as you fill your cart and save the list for your next trip. It also allows you to input price (but I’d like to meet the person who is this organized!) and your local tax to keep a running tally of costs. This is cool, but way too much start-up effort for me. If you are a coupon clipper, it even allows you to input coupons. The app developers are constantly updating it with better features. I would like to see the developers re-tool the app so that it overrides your pre-set iPhone turn off time so that when you are walking and shopping, you aren’t also walking, shopping, and sliding on your phone. Otherwise, nicely done shopping app. Cost: .99 cents

- Lose It!: After all that eating, it might be time to count some calories. I think Lose It! is one of the most popular apps in the App store. It’s also my personal favorite app. It sits proudly on my home screen. Counting calories has never been so easy. Many, many, many foods are already pre-programed into the app (including, surprisingly, chilies rellenos!) and so are many exercises (like sailing, lol). You can also monitor your nutrient intake. It’s just a very easy, simple to use app. And I have lost lbs. using it! Cost: Free (it’s one of those apps that I would gladly drop some change on though; it’s that good).

So those are my faves. Do you have any great iPhone food related apps? Please share below if I have missed any stellar apps. With 50,000 applications, it’s often hard to find the gems…but I think these are some of the best.

Hope this helps!

*BTW, I’m totally jealous of those who got the 3GS today. If only we had waited just a few months…oh well. 3Gs are still awesome! And anyone on the fence about the iPhone can get the 3G for $99!!! Wow!

In case you didn’t notice, and in case you need more ways to distract yourself, you can now follow me on Twitter (something I never actually thought I would join, but I digress).  If I’m not much of a draw for you, you should know that you can also follow Giada, Whole Foods, and Epicurious, among other foodie greats!

But if joining Twitter is not your thing (and I hardly blame you) you can see my updates on the bottom right hand side of this page.

Sweet! Or rather…Tweet!

The butternut must be the Giant Tortoise of the vegetable world. It’s like a vegetable that never quits. And we got so, so, so, so many gourds from our CSA this year. Gourds, gourds everywhere! Thankfully they are built to last.  We are down to our last few and so I thought while the weather remains pleasant I would make butternut squash soup.

This soup recipe has been sitting in my favorites file for sometime now, just taunting me. What intrigued me was its simplicity and the interplay between the rich squash, tart apple, and spicy pepper. Verrrrry nice. A perfect combo of flavors. And super, super simple. It’s a big impact, low intensity dish. The best kind…

 

Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
Time: 1 hr. 20 min.
Serves: 4

Ingredients
- 1 large winter squash (about 2 1/2 pounds), such as butternut or kabocha, peeled, seeded, and cut into 2-inch pieces
- 2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 2 apples, such as Granny Smith, peeled, cored, and quartered
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Coarse salt
- Chili powder, for seasoning (but if you use Cayenne pepper like I did, use it sparingly…)
- 4 cups vegetable stock (I used vegetable broth, sue me)
- Garnish: Feta

Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large roasting pan, toss squash, onions, garlic, and apples with oil to coat. Season well with salt and chile powder. Roast, stirring every 10 minutes, until vegetables are fork-tender and lightly browned, about 40 minutes.

- Transfer half the vegetables and 2 cups stock to a food processor; puree until smooth. Repeat with remaining vegetables and broth. Return pureed mixture to pot, thinning soup with stock, if necessary. Season with salt and chili powder; bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Serve immediately with feta cheese.

Source: Adapted from Martha Stewart who adapted it from Dr. Andrew Weil’s book “The Healthy Kitchen” (Knopf, 2005). See here.

CSA Tally: Squash. Onion. Garlic.

Is it breakfast? Is it dessert? Is it a snack? Could it be all three? Sure!

But I say labels, shmabels. This treat is great at any time for any reason. And it is especially good when a warm dish of comfort food is sorely needed. Like after a long day at work. Or a rough work out at the gym (I won’t tell that you ate a dish drenched in butter and sugar if you won’t tell). On that note, do you need to hear anything more than the phrase “drenched in butter and sugar”? Yum!

Cinnamon Butter Gnocchi
Time: 10 min.
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:
-3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks, but I used less…)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 package storebought gnocchi
- Salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar, plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:
- Melt the butter with the cinnamon stick in a heavy medium skillet over medium heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

- Cook the gnocchi in a large pot of boiling salted water until all the gnocchi rise to the surface, about 3 minutes. Discard the cinnamon stick from the butter sauce and reheat the sauce over low heat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cooked gnocchi to the hot cinnamon butter in the skillet. Sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon. Toss to coat and add more sugar, to taste.

- Spoon the gnocchi and butter sauce into shallow bowls and serve immediately.

Source: Giada

When my mother-in-law handed me a 10 pound bag of cherries (all from her exploding cherry tree) I figured it was time to put another notch on my foodie bed post and bake a cherry pie.

From scratch.

Including the crust.

(Ack!)

I have always heard that pie crust is incredibly difficult to make. But I really enjoy challenging myself in the kitchen. My track record with challenging foods has been pretty good thus far (we can ignore all my whipped egg-white, meringue, flour-less cookie fiascoes, thank you very much! And thanks for remembering those….sheesh!).

That said, I consulted no less than two cookbooks, Epicurious, the Youtubes, Facebook, and my pastry chef friend Shannon in order to glean some sort of general consensus on making a successful crust. In the end, the research paid off. My first pie crust, nay, my first cherry pie, turned out, in a word, wonderful.

Pie crust is actually quite simple, as long as you have the right tools. There was no need for me to purchase pre-made Pillsbury (yes, self-doubt can be a powerful emotion). But I am here to tell you, there is no need for you to purchase fake dough either!

And without further ado, I give you cherry pie…

 

Cherry Pie

Time: 55 min. bake time; 1.5 hr. prep time ~ Yield: 8 slices

 Ingredients

 Crust
- 2/3 cup chilled unsalted butter
- 2 cups flour
- 3-8 tbsp ice water (I needed 8 to get the right consistency)
- 1 ¼ teaspoon salt

Filing
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 5 cups whole pitted sour cherries or dark sweet cherries
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (if using sour cherries) or 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (if using dark sweet cherries)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes 

 

Tools: Food processor, rolling pin, 9 inch pie plate, cherry pitter

Directions

Crust: Blend flour, butter, and salt in food processor until butter is just pea size. Add ice water by the tbs., until you get a round ball. Don’t overblend. Divide into two balls (I did a 3/4 and a 1/4 ball because I made a lattice top rather than a full cover). Don’t overwork. Cover in plastic wrap. Chill in fridge for one hour.

Filing: Combine the filling ingredients above, set aside (I kept it in the fridge while waiting for the dough to chill).

Bake and Assemble:

- Pre heat oven to 425.

- Roll out 1 dough disk on floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch glass pie dish. Trim dough overhang to 1/2 inch. Roll out second dough disk on floured surface to 12-inch round. Using large knife or pastry wheel with fluted edge, cut ten 3/4-inch-wide strips from dough round. Transfer filling to dough-lined dish, mounding slightly in center. Dot with butter. Arrange dough strips atop filling, forming lattice; trim dough strip overhang to 1/2 inch. Fold bottom crust up over ends of strips and crimp edges to seal. Brush lattice crust (not edges) with egg wash. Sprinkle lattice with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.

- Place in heated oven on bottom rack. Bake at 425 for 30 min. and then reduce oven and bake for 25 min. at 375. If pie crust begins to brown too quickly, cover with tin foil.

Notes & Tips:

- This recipe is for fresh cherries; frozen cherries will require a different bake time.

- The secret to flaky crust is keeping the dough as cold as possible for as long as possible. To that end, I found it beneficial to keep cold anything touching the dough as well (e.g. the slip pat used for rolling the dough, the pie plate, the pie filling, etc.). You don’t want the the butter in the dough to melt; you want the cold butter to bake into to the dough as it cooks. This creates the heavenly flake.

- The tin foil trick truly works.

- Finally, I highly, highly, highly suggest making this cinnamon and vanilla whipped topping to dollop on your warm pie. I can’t get enough of this stuff…put the extra in your morning java. Mmmm.

Source: There is no one single source here. This was a group effort. To that end I would like to thank the following entities/persons for their help: Joy of Cooking, Fannie Farmer Cookbook, Epicurious, All Recipes, my high school drama teacher, and my pastry chef friend (Facebook is amazing!). Of course, I would also like to thank my mother-in-law for the inspiration!