Saffron Aioli

I made this homemade saffron aioli for the first time last month while helping out a chef friend with prep for a dinner he was cooking.

"Do you know how to make aioli?" he asked. "Can you do one with saffron?"

"I do!" I said, and gathered the ingredients--an egg, two kinds of oil, a bit of mustard, garlic, lemon, and the saffron.

Aioli is basically just a fancy name for homemade mayonnaise with garlic, and can be used in pretty much the same way. Once you learn how to make it (and it's basically just a bunch of stuff in a blender--that easy!), you can then mix it up however you like--add fresh herbs, roast the garlic, sriracha, spices...so much you can do!

Saffron typically needs to be "bloomed" before you can cook with it. All that means is you need to steep it in a liquid of some kind of bring out the flavor and color--almost like a tea. Most saffron recipes--like my Blackberry Saffron Almond Cake and this Saffron Walnut Bundt Cake--have a bit of liquid that can be warmed up, but the aioli doesn't. I tried making it by warming up some of the oil and adding the saffron.

It worked really well, but when I tested it again (while feeling lazy) I skipped that step, and realized it worked the same way anyway so here is the simplified recipe.

One thing you definitely can not skip, is the combination of oils. I know it might be tempting to use all olive oil, but don't. Mayonnaise or aioli made with all olive oil is bitter and not good. (It's gross, actually.) You need the half and half combination of good spicy extra virgin olive oil and then a plain oil like grapeseed, avocado, or any vegetable oil you choose.

This gorgeous saffron aioli is fantastic with roasted or steamed vegetables (especially asparagus or Brussels sprouts!), crispy potatoes (or fries!), eggs, or in a sandwich.

So many great possibilities. 

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Loved this recipe? Here are three other easy sauce recipes you might like:

• Green Chutney (Indian Mint Cilantro Sauce)
• Homemade Creme Fraiche
• Easy Homemade Spicy Ketchup

And let's connect so you can find out the next time I post! Follow me on Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest, become a fan on Facebook, or sign up to receive my once-a-week e-mail updates.

Thanks so much for reading!

Saffron Aioli Recipe
Yields 1 1/4 cups

Ingredients
1 large egg
3 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon dijon mayonnaise
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 large pinch saffron threads (about 1 teaspoon)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup grapeseed, avocado, or other plain oil


Directions
In a blender or food processor, combine egg, garlic cloves, mayonnaise, lemon juice, and saffron threads. Puree for 1 minute until smooth, then scrape down sides.

With the motor running, slowly pour in both oils in one long thin and consistent stream, continuing to blend for 5 minutes, or until smooth and thick.

Taste and adjust seasoning as desired, adding more salt or lemon juice as needed. Transfer to a glass jar or bowl, cover, and chill at least 30 minutes before serving.

Will keep well one week.

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Easy Homemade Spicy Ketchup

I've been making homemade ketchup for several years, but it wasn't until a few days ago that I realized I haven't actually shared any of those recipes here. HUGE oversight on my part, as this is one of the easiest and coolest recipes I know.  Sorry about that, but I'm fixing it now!

No more complicated than making a simple homemade pasta sauce, you really only have to combine some ingredients in a pot, let simmer, and then puree into a flavorful and luscious ketchup that will blow that squeeze-bottle stuff out of the water.

This recipe is for one of my favorite variations--a spicy ketchup with just a tiny bit of smoke from chipotle peppers, and plenty of heat from ground cayenne. A touch of lime juice adds another dimension.

I love this one with baked sweet potato fries, spread on a burger, or with crunchy chicken tenders for dipping. I'm sure it would be awesome about a billion other ways, too.

Seriously, you can't go wrong with this one.

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Homemade Spicy Ketchup
Makes about 3 cups ketchup

Ingredients
1 medium onion, diced
3 large garlic cloves, sliced in half
1 28oz can tomato puree
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (add 2 if you like a lot of spice!)
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
Juice of 1 whole lime
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 teaspoon ground cayenne
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil. Lower heat and let simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and let cool 20 minutes, then puree until very smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.

Transfer to a jar and refrigerate. Will keep 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator. Can also be frozen.

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Cumin Cilantro Yogurt Sauce

This tangy and slightly-spicy yogurt sauce is a regular at my home. I love serving this with fish tacos (another regular around here!), using it as the base dressing for chicken or tuna salad, or even with crudite as an easy dip.

Note that it's important to use Greek-style yogurt for this (full-fat, please!), as it will be too thin with regular plain yogurt.

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And if you ever need any entertaining or cooking advice, please don't hesitate to e-mail me. 

Thanks for reading!     

Cumin Cilantro Yogurt Sauce
Makes 2 cups

Ingredients
2 cups plain Greek-style yogurt (preferably full-fat)
Zest and juice of 1 large lime
1/2 bunch cilantro, ends trimmed
1 small garlic clove
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
Kosher salt and black pepper

Directions
Combine yogurt, lime zest and juice, cilantro, garlic, and cumin in a food processor and puree until smooth. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, and serve chilled.

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Vegan Roasted Tomato Crema

This simple creamy dip or sauce is one I make when cooking for vegan friends. It's wonderful served over tacos or roasted vegetables, as a dip for chips, or even as a spread in wrap sandwiches.

To make this extra creamy, make sure to use silken tofu, which is more delicate and will give the crema a light texture. Note that if you don't eat soy, you can also use coconut yogurt in place of the tofu.

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Love Always Order Dessert? Let's connect! Follow me on Twitter or Pinterest, become a fan on Facebook, or sign up to receive my once-a-week e-mail updates. And if you ever need any entertaining or cooking advice, please don't hesitate to e-mail me. Thanks for reading!       

Vegan Roasted Tomato Crema
Makes about 3 cups

Ingredients
6 roma tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
2 garlic cloves, minced
olive oil
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 pound silken tofu (half a typical package)
1/3 cup full-fat coconut milk
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place tomatoes cut-side up on a baking sheet. Drizzle tomatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with minced garlic, pepper, and salt. Roast 15-20 minutes, or until tender. Remove from oven and let cool.

Combine tomatoes, along with any juices from the pan, silken tofu, coconut milk, and spices in the blender and puree until very smooth. Season with kosher salt and black pepper to taste. Then transfer to a bowl, cover, and chill until serving.

Variations: feel free to add fresh herbs, additional garlic cloves, or other spices to personalize the flavor.

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Pistachio Mint Pesto

If I were forced to rank herbs by order of preference (what kind of a weirdo survey is this!?) mint would probably be second. Cilantro is first, of course, and then mint, which I have been putting in everything lately.

(Seriously...even my coffee, but I'll share more about that another day.)

A few weeks ago, I hosted a Sunday brunch for my parents and in-laws. It was a hot day, and I wanted to keep the meal light, so I served a variety of light Spring-like things: a whole baked herbed salmon, roasted vegetables, whipped feta, an overflowing cheese plate, etc.

Along with the salmon, I made a Pistachio Mint Pesto that ended up being one of the biggest hits of the meal.

If you've never really branched out beyond the classic Italian basil-pine nut pesto, I really urge you to play around. The recipe is so flexible--you just need some kind of herbs (or even a mix!), some kind of nut, some garlic, some oil, and a few seasonings. You can add cheese, too, but I preferred to keep this particular one dairy-free and then serving crumbled feta on the side.

Mint and pistachio are a natural pairing in Middle Eastern dishes, and since that's the feel I was going for, it worked out beautifully. Because I've been rebelliously adding fresh lime to everything despite the cost, I also included it in this recipe, and loved the brightness it added.

A big batch of this will keep well in a sealed container in the fridge for about a week. Eugene and I enjoyed the leftovers along with grilled shrimp and chicken, and on top of scrambled eggs. It's one of those handy little sauces that makes summer eating so incredibly easy and satisfying.

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Pistachio Mint Pesto
This makes a chunky pesto, if you like something creamier, increase the oil and puree until smooth.

Yields: about 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients
2 cups fresh mint leaves, rinsed and patted dry
1 cup roasted salted and shelled pistachios
3 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large fresh lime, juiced
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions
Use a knife to finely chop mint, then place in a small bowl.

Combine pistachios, garlic, salt, and lime juice, and place in food processor. Pulse until coursely chopped. Combine with mint and stir to evenly distribute. Stir in olive oil. Taste and adjust salt, if necessary.

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Green Chutney (Indian Mint & Cilantro Sauce)

I first moved into my apartment about six years ago. I hadn't met Eugene yet, and was living the life of a single girl in Manhattan. Although I cooked pretty regularly (certainly much more than the average single girl in Manhattan), I did also do my fare share of ordering in.

My favorite spot back then was an Indian restaurant that let you do the ordering online through their website. I would often come home exhausted after a long day, pull out my laptop, and order up my favorite dinner of lamb kheema (a ground lamb dish), naan, lamb samosas, and gulab jamun--a sticky sweet dessert that I'm still completely addicted to.

The food would arrive in about half an hour--a pile of steaming styrofoam containers (I know! I know. So bad.) topped off with a little bag filled with condiments--yogurt raita, a sweet chutney, and my favorite--green chutney. I would tear into the bag while sitting on my lumpy purple couch, and inhale the meal as I watched Sex and the City reruns.

The perfect single girl evening.

For a while, I didn't actually know that amazing sauce was called green chutney; I just knew that I loved it in all its spicy tangy green goodness, and wanted them to send more than the usual single tiny plastic container of it. So I got online and googled "spicy green Indian sauce" to find out the name.

And there it was--green chutney. A condiment similar to pesto or chimichurri made by grinding or pureeing fresh herbs (mint and cilantro/coriander) with garlic, coconut, ginger, acid, and chiles.

From then on, all my orders included the phrase "Extra green chutney, please!!"

Unfortunately...they didn't always comply with my request...

So, I learned to make my own. (And now you can, too.)

What to do with green chutney: while there are many variations of this lovely condiment, this is my favorite. A batch of this will keep refrigerated for a week to 10 days, and can be used with grilled meats or vegetables, as a spread in sandwiches, and whisked into yogurt to make a great dip. It's also a wonderful marinade (I love it with shrimp and white fishes like halibut).


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Green Chutney Recipe
Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients
1 large bunch cilantro (also known as coriander), ends trimmed (about 3 cups, loosely packed)
1 small cup fresh loosely packed mint leaves
1/4 cup ground unsweetened coconut (substitute 1 teaspoon honey if you don't like coconut)
6 cloves garlic
1 jalapeno
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions
Combine cilantro, mint, coconut, garlic, jalapeno, lime, cumin, ginger, and salt in a food processor or blender, and puree until smooth. Add water a few tablespoons at a time to loosen the mixture until smooth (you want something similar to pesto in texture). Taste and adjust salt as desired.

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How to Make Homemade Crème fraîche

It should come as no surprise that I like to end my days with something sweet.

And this sweet thing usually goes through phases. Last month it was microwave mug cakes--scant spoonfuls of flour, sugar, and spice whisked with an egg and zapped just long enough to produce a tiny hot, spongy little cake.

The weeks before that, I was into homemade dark chocolate bark studded with bits of cracked espresso beans. (Delicious, but an unwise evening snack as it usually left me up all night thinking up projects.)

Now, with sunny warm days upon us, it's berries.

Strawberries, in particular, washed in cold water and served alongside a bowl of tangy crème fraîche and crunchy, toasty coconut palm sugar. It's the sort of treat that seems and tastes gloriously indulgent, and yet is not something that would be out of place on the breakfast table.

I rediscovered my love for creme friache just a few weeks ago when I attended a reception hosted by the folks at Vermont Creamery. For dessert, they served rich flourless chocolate cakes topped with a cloud of the silky sour cream, and I was blown away by how perfectly it worked to balance out the sweetness of the rich cake.

The flavor, if you've never tried it, is a bit of a cross between mascarpone and sour cream. It's got the cultured tang you might know from yogurt or buttermilk, but there is also a very lovely sweetness like that you get from good heavy cream. And the texture is thick and a bit gooey, like marshmallow fluff.

When my gifted container finished, I bought another and then a third, and then this weekend I was dismayed to find that the container was nearly empty yet again. I wanted to serve it along with dessert at the Mother's Day lunch I was preparing for my mom and mother-in-law, but I didn't have time to buy more.

That's when I remembered a long ago article that mentioned how incredibly easy it is to make creme fraiche at home. I got online and found that it really was easy.

As easy as whisking together good heavy cream and a few tablespoons of buttermilk or yogurt or even just some storebought creme fraiche. I happened to have a small unopened bottle of Ronnybrook cream (the best around here), so I poured it into a bowl and stirred in equal parts Greek yogurt and what was left of my Vermont Creamery container.

I covered the bowl with a piece of the plastic (poking in a few holes to allow air to travel), and left it on top of the stove overnight.

By Sunday morning, the bowl of cream had turned thick and silky. I was so excited that I brought it into the bedroom where Eugene was still sleeping. "Look at this! I made creme fraiche!" I exclaimed.

"That's nice," he mumbled, then rolled over back to sleep.

I left the room hugging my bowl then placed it in the fridge to chill and thicken a bit more. I served my homemade creme fraiche to the moms along with fresh strawberries, blackberries, and coconut palm sugar. They loved it.

The bowl is nearly empty again, and I think I just may have to make another batch.

This is definitely a dangerous skill to have acquired...

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Love Always Order Dessert? Let's connect! Follow me on Twitter or Pinterest, become a fan on Facebook, or sign up to receive my once-a-week e-mail updates. And if you ever need any entertaining or cooking advice, please don't hesitate to e-mail me. Thanks for reading!  

Homemade Creme Fraiche Recipe

Ingredients
2 cups good quality heavy cream (not ultra-pasteurized)
1/3 cup buttermilk, yogurt, or creme fraiche (or a combination of these adding up to 1/3 cup)

Directions
Whisk the heavy cream and buttermilk together in a glass bowl. Cover with plastic wrap that's been poked several times to allow air to pass. (You can also use cheesecloth.)

Leave at warm room temperature for 12 to 24 hours, or until the cream has thickened into the texture of loose whipped cream. Give it another stir, cover tightly with a new piece of plastic wrap, and place in refrigerator for at least 8 hours. It will thicken and set completely. You can now serve this with both sweet and savory dishes, or use for cooking. (Just as you would use sour cream or store-bought creme fraiche).

You can also sweeten or flavor the creme fraiche after it's ready--some good additions are lemon or orange zest, vanilla beans, dried herbs, or sugar. 

Keeps well 1 week to 10 days when stored in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.

  

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Roasted Garlic Mushroom Sauce for Literally Everything (Except Dessert)

If you could poke your head in to the screen from wherever it is that you sit and come out here on the other end, you'd smell the aroma of mushrooms and garlic and toasting butter that is currently wafting around me.

You see, there is a pan of this in my oven right now. There is usually a pan of this in my oven a few times a month. This is one of those recipes that you learn in a few minutes, prep in even less, and then can repeat over and over again, always confident that the results will be perfect, delicious, just as you need them.

Dishes like this are important. They may not win stars or draw applause, but they're important because they're the ones that feed us. The ones that we dig into on late nights and cold evenings and then again the next day at work with one hand on the keyboard and eyes on the computer screen. They're the ones that cost very little, but nourish better than the things from the box or the rustling paper bag.

The idea here is simple--mushrooms are sliced and dropped into a baking pan with some hastily crushed garlic, a few pats of butter, a sprinkle of herbs, and a bit of white wine or chicken broth or the end of a beer.

The details are up to you.

You can use cheap white button mushrooms or you can use fancy gourmet kinds. You don't even really have to slice the mushrooms--sometimes I just halve them, or even toss them in whole if I'm really impatient.

You can use gorgeous sprigs of fresh rosemary or just sprinkle on something from the jar you keep in the back of the cabinet just in case.

The garlic is just smashed with the back of a knife--no need to mince or chop. Just shake off the paper and drop it right in. I add lemon juice and zest, but you can skip it (though it is really lovely). A few generous pinches of kosher salt and a big crack of pepper later, and this all goes into the oven where heat magically turns it into a delicious, fragrant sauce.

Let technology do the work while you sort the mail, make the bed, or simply collapse onto the couch to let the day drift off.

Once it's ready--in about 20 or so minutes, depending how many mushrooms you used--the rest is up to you:

You can toss this with cooked pasta and top with grated cheese.

You can toast up a baguette or split open a soft roll, and pile the sauce on thick for an incredibly satisfying sandwich.

You can quickly pan fry some thin chicken breasts, a piece of tilapia, or a even couple simple burger patties, and serve them with the sauce heaped on top.

You can split a baked potato (baked right alongside the sauce), fill it with the mushrooms and top with a bit of yogurt or sour cream.

You can toss with mixed greens or chopped kale for a delicious salad.

You can stir it into cooked quinoa, couscous, or rice for a wonderful side or vegetarian entree.

You can serve this on baked brie or next to a log of goat cheese.

You can even put those chicken breasts right in with the raw mushrooms and herbs and bake the whole thing together for a complete meal.

Honestly, sometimes I just pull the pan out of the oven and attack it with a fork.

It's dinner. And if it nourishes, it counts.

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Love Always Order Dessert? Let's connect! Follow me on Twitter or Pinterest, become a fan on Facebook, or sign up to receive my once-a-week e-mail updates. And if you ever need any entertaining or cooking advice, please don't hesitate to e-mail me. Thanks for reading! 
 

Roasted Garlic Mushroom Sauce

Ingredients
2 pounds mushrooms (any kind!)
4 large garlic cloves, smashed
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut into 8 pieces
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, ripped into small pieces, or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
Zest and juice from 1 lemon
1/4 cup white wine, light beer, or chicken broth
Kosher salt, black pepper
Minced parsley for serving (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Slice mushrooms and place in baking dish. Scatter garlic, butter, rosemary sprigs, and lemon zest on top. Pour in lemon juice and wine. Season generously with kosher salt and black pepper.

Roast for about 20 minutes, or until mushrooms are dark and tender, and sauce has formed. Taste and adjust seasoning if desired. Sprinkle with parsley and use as desired. 

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Chocolate, Pecan, and Butterscotch Topped Cheesecake for Fox News iMag

As I mentioned last week, I recently taped a few holiday dessert segments for Fox News iMag showing some fun and easy ways to personalized store-bought treats (the segments were done in conjunction with Sara Lee Desserts). The second of these segments has just been posted so I'm sharing it with you today!

Of the three recipes I did that day, this one is my favorite. I took a plain cheesecake and created a delicious chocolate ganache and homemade butterscotch topping--basically a twist on the classic "turtle" dessert. When I initially got the details for this shoot, the recipe idea Sara Lee sent over called for jarred chocolate and caramel sauces, but I was like "Oh no, that's not my thing" and asked if it would be OK to just make the sauces from scratch since they only take a few minutes each to make and taste SO much better than anything you can find at the grocery store. Thankfully, they agreed!

These sauces make a fabulous topping for any type of cake, but can also be used to top ice cream or yogurt, as a dip for fruit, and to fill cookies. Both keep really well in the fridge for a couple weeks (if you can keep your spoon away from the jar long enough!).

Click below to watch the video.




To get the written recipe, visit iMag's Food Page

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Orecchiette alla Norcina (pasta in a sausage, herb, and mushroom cream sauce)

My friend and coworker Aryanna walked into work a few weeks ago declaring that she had just eaten the most incredible pasta dish at an event she attended. It was a creamy sausage pasta and she was drying to figure out how to make it again.

"Alejandra, you have to help me!"

We talked about it a bit and she told me the dish was called "orecchiette all norcina," which led me down a Google path in search of more information.

This creamy comfort dish originated in the Italian village of Norcia, located in the southeastern part of the Umbrian region of Italy. Norcia is legendary for its black truffles, pork, and wild boar products, particularly sausage, and to this day pork products in Italy are referred to as "norcineria."

The sauce reflects these regional flavors with tiny bite-size pieces of sausage and pasta in a rich cream  and mushroom sauce. It's the sort of dish that's perfect for a rainy evening, or even for lunch on one of those days when you need a little something extra to get you through the rest of the day.

I added one major twist to my version--cremini mushrooms. The version my friend told me about didn't have mushrooms, but I had a package in my fridge and knew they would pair nicely with the other ingredients.  As the Umbrian region is also known for its truffles and mushrooms, I didn't think the additional earthy flavors would be out of place.

I chopped them up coarsely and absolutely loved how they seemed to melt right into the dish. I infused the sauce with fresh rosemary and nutmeg,  and added red chili flakes for heat--all of which gave the rich cream sauce a layer of depth that kept me going back for more.

I use orecchiette in this dish because it's the pasta Aryanna had described, and I love the way each of the little bowls (orecchiette actually means "little ears" in Italian) scoop up the sauce for a perfect bite every time. If you prefer, you can of course substitute any kind of pasta you'd like--try it with rigatoni or penne.

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Loved this pasta recipe? Here are three other easy pasta recipes you might like:

• Chimichurri Pasta Salad
• Rigatoni with Chorizo and Spicy Chipotle Cream Sauce
• Creamy Avocado Mint Pasta

And let's connect so you can find out the next time I post! Follow me on Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest, become a fan on Facebook, or sign up to receive my once-a-week e-mail updates.

Thanks so much for reading! 

Orecchiette all Norcina (pasta with sausage, herb, and mushroom cream sauce)

Ingredients
8oz orecchiette pasta (or other small pasta such as rigatoni or penne)
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons olive or grapeseed oil
1/2 pound hot Italian pork sausage (substitute mild or turkey sausage, if you prefer)
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
8oz cremini mushrooms, cleaned and coarsely chopped
2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (skip if you prefer less heat; use more if you'd like a lot of spice)
1 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt and add pasta. Cook until al dente (about 10 minutes). Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water.

While the pasta cooks, remove the sausage from casings and break up into small pieces. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a heavy pan over medium heat and add the sausage. Cook for 2 minutes until lightly browned.

Add the onions and garlic cloves, saute together for 3 minutes until fragrant and soft (you don't want to caramelized the onions). Add the chopped mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes or until cooked down and any liquid has reduced.

Add the cream, rosemary, nutmeg, and red pepper. Let the sauce cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Add the cooked pasta and the cheese and toss to coat evenly. If sauce is too thick, add some of the reserved pasta water. Season with Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste. Serve immediately.

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Red Pepper, Parsley, and Walnut Spread

I recently fell in love with a red pepper dip I tasted at one of my favorite Mediterranean restaurants that tasted like a cross between a traditional Muhammarah and a fresh Mexican salsa.  Honestly--it was fantastic! That place has a little shop in front when you can buy pretty much everything on their menu to take home, so before we left, I bought a small container of the dip for "research purposes."

On the menu, the dip was described as a pepper dip with walnuts and garlic. I knew there was a lot more in there, so I started tasting (aka "researching") and trying to identify all the flavors. I'm letting you know right now that this isn't it. This is a lovely dip that resulted from my various experimentations. It's not the exact one I was hoping to make, but it's so good and so versatile that I had to share it.



Made with roasted red peppers, onions, walnuts, and a few other good things, this spread is wonderful on warm pita or in a sandwich in place of mayo, but it goes even further than that! You can also use it the way you would any pesto--on pasta, tossed with shrimp before grilling or sauteing, even dolloped onto tomato or lentil soup as a garnish!

The spread keeps well in the fridge for about two weeks (just give it a little whisk before using if it starts to separate), and is a quick way to pack lots of flavor into a weeknight lunch or dinner.

I'm still working on cracking the code behind that other magical dip and will be sure to share it with you as soon as I do, but until then, I'm sure you'll love this one.





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Red Pepper, Parsley, and Walnut Spread

Ingredients
3 red bell peppers, whole (see notes in recipe for substitutions)
1 cup shelled and roasted walnuts
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 half onion, peeled
1 teaspoon Kosher salt (plus more if necessary)
1 bunch Italian flat parsley, rinsed and trimmed of the bottom 2 inches of stem
1 tablespoon smoked spanish paprika
olive oil


Directions
Roast the bell peppers by placing directly over the flame on a gas stove, turning with tongs until blackened all over. (You can also use a broiler or grill; or substitute an equivalent of store-bought roasted red peppers) Place blackened peppers in a paper bag or in a bowl covered with plastic wrap, and let steam and cool for 15 minutes.  Use your hands to peel the peppers (leaving just a bit of the charred skin), also removing the seeds and core.

In the base of a food processor or blender, combine the peeled and seeded roasted peppers, the cup of walnuts, the 3 cloves of garlic, the half onion, salt, parsley, and smoked paprika and puree until smooth. Drizzle in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and puree again. Taste and adjust salt as needed.

Serve immediately as a dip, use as a spread in sandwiches, toss with pasta, etc. Will keep in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.

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Spiced Cranberry Orange Sauce

Growing up, cranberry sauce was one of the first things my mother tossed together on Thanksgiving morning, quickly combining a bag of fresh cranberries in a pot with a few cups of water and sugar. The sauce would bubble and pop until it was ready to be poured into the serving dish on our dining table to cool and wait for the other, more complicated, dishes to join it much later the same day.

Once I was tall enough to reach the stove, cranberry sauce duties were delegated my way and I would take much pride in the stirring and careful measurement of water and sugar. When the guests arrived, I’d eagerly offer them a serving of MY cranberry sauce to accompany the rest of the food on their plates. The fresh sauce was always wonderful, simultaneously tart and sweet, with a bit of burst from the whole berries. It was, I assumed, what everyone else was eating along with their Thanksgiving turkey.

It wasn’t until I was in Jr. High School that my parents brought my brother and me along on a volunteer trip to a soup kitchen near Times Square. It was just before Thanksgiving so were were serving turkey and all the fixings to the many homeless men and women who came through the hall that afternoon. My mom and I wore matching oversized Mondrian-patterned sweater and leggings (ahh, the 90s!), and I stuck close to her, simultaneously terrified of and curious about the scruffy-looking men who shouted at us for seconds. In the kitchen, a woman worked quickly with an electric can opener removing the tops of giant tins of jellied purple substance.

“What is that stuff?” I asked my mom as I watched the lady slice it into thick can-shaped circles that she layered onto an aluminum tray, refusing to believe her when she told me it was cranberry sauce. I had a difficult time reconciling the congealed maroon discs with the brilliant bubbly sauce I was so used to eating.

As always seems to happen when you first learn a word or see a color, I soon started to notice the cans everywhere—on television and in the lower shelves of the grocery store. I didn’t quite understand why anyone would eat something so ugly when the real version was so simple and no more expensive. The homeless people may not have had a choice—though they certainly deserved better—but I still don’t really understand why people would pick the illusory convenience of a can over the very real convenience (because it’s so easy!) of a fresh and homemade cranberry sauce.


If you read this blog, then I have no doubt that you agree with me on the fresh vs. canned debate (is it even a debate?), but I'd also love to encourage you to mix up the classic sauce this year.

For the past several years I’ve been experimenting with adding different flavors to my basic sauce recipe, and have recently settled on a new favorite: a lovely spicy-sweet combination of fresh ginger, citrus, and cinnamon that I love so much I admit to eating it by the spoonful while preparing the rest of the meal. And while cleaning up afterward. And while writing this blog post.

Instead of water, I used a combination of apple cider and orange juice, and at the end, I added a quick splash of 20-year strawberry-balsamic vinegar to round out the flavors (you can use your favorite flavored or plain balsamic for this). This sauce particularly complements my smoky Latin-style turkey recipe, but would work just as well with your favorite Thanksgiving dishes.

This sauce is the quickest thing to throw together and can be made well in advance of the big day so you won’t have to worry about freeing up one of the burners. It keeps in the fridge and can be served cold, hot, or room temperature. Leftovers are wonderful with roasted pork tenderloin or even over a simple flourless chocolate cake! I'm actually toying with the idea of tucking a few spoonfuls into a batch of buttery puff pastry, just to see what happens...

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Spiced Cranberry Orange Sauce
Notes of ginger, orange, and cinnamon elevate this Thanksgiving side dish beyond the ordinary.

Ingredients
3 cups apple cider
1 1/4 cup orange juice
1 cup sugar
Peel of one orange, cut into large strips
2 inches of fresh ginger root, peeled and sliced thickly
1 cinnamon stick
1 pound fresh cranberries
1 tablespoon aged balsamic vinegar (a raspberry, fig, or strawberry balsamic vinegar would work particularly well here)


To make:
In a medium saucepan, combine the apple cider, orange juice, and sugar and heat over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Add the orange peel, ginger, and cinnamon stick and let simmer for 10 minutes until reduced by a third.

Add the cranberries and stir. Let simmer over medium low heat for another 15-20 minutes until the berries burst and the sauce thickens slightly.

Remove from heat and stir in the vinegar. Let cool before serving. Can be made up to 3 days ahead and stored in the refrigerator in an air-tight container.

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Sautéed Soft-Shell Crabs in White Wine Lemon Sauce

Have you ever held a raw soft-shell crab in your hand? There is something lovely and delicate about the way it sits there, cool and squooshy on your palm. The claws drape over the sides and the thin papery shell seems to barely cover the soft meat inside.

I ask my fishmonger to clean them for me. Clean really means kill, but we keep it nice and polite as I point out the ones I want so that he can take them to the back. I avert my eyes as he snips off their faces and wraps them in crisp sheets of white parchment. Into the basket they go, along with a couple ripe avocados and an overflowing bunch of arugula. Near the register I grab a crusty sourdough boule. I stop myself from adding a loaf of chocolate pound cake.

At home I rinse them and I pat them dry, resisting the urge to pinch a claw with each hand and spin around the room like Wendy Darling and her little brothers. I wisk buttermilk with salt and pepper and a shake of Old Bay, then drop them into the milk white bath for a long soak.


In the meantime, I wash the arugula and pull the husks off a few stalks of corn. If I lived in a house with a door that opened out to the backyard, I'd grill them with the husks still on. But I live in an apartment and it's 400 degrees in NY and I can't open my kitchen window without climbing onto the counter to reach behind the refrigerator. So I sort-of steam them in a skillet with a half-inch of salted water.

When I decide the crabs are ready, I pull them out of the bowl and give them a quick shake. They dance a little, and I can't resist giving their soft bellies a little squeeze before I dredge them in flour that I've seasoned with salt and pepper and Old Bay (we're keeping this simple). (And don't you love the word dredge?)


I forgot to tell you about the pot! My big, red Dutch oven has been sitting on the stove this whole time, getting nice and hot. I've dropped a couple big pats of butter and it's now bubbling and ready. The crabs go in two at a time with a big sizzle and crackle as they hit the hot butter. I leave them about 4 minutes on each side until they are crisp and golden and the tips of the claws are just a little bit of red poking through. The other two go in next, and then it's time for the sauce.

Into the big, hot pot (minus the crabs, who were already sitting on plate like crispy ladies in waiting) I pour about a cup of white wine. You're supposed to use something good enough to drink, but I use crappy leftover Chardonnay and it won't make a difference. I add the juice of one lemon and use scissors to snip in about 2 inches of those big, giant, farmer's market scallions. And a little bit more butter, of course. Some salt, some pepper, bubble, and reduce.

Each plate gets a little pile of arugula, a healthy drizzle of sauce, and two crabs leaning against each other like a pair of roommates walking home from a bar.

They were better, he says after we eat, than the ones we ate at the restaurant the other night. I admit that I agree.

Sautéed Soft-Shell Crabs in White Wine Lemon Sauce
Ingredients
1 cup whole buttermilk
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
4 soft-shell crabs, cleaned
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons butter + 2 tablespoons butter cut into pieces
1 cup white wine
Juice of 1 whole lemon
2 tablespoons chopped scallions
3 cups of washed and chopped arugula


Directions

1. Wisk together the buttermilk, salt, pepper, and Old bay in a large bowl. Soak the crabs for at least 15 minutes and no more than 1 hour (in the refrigerator).

2. Remove one crab from the buttermilk mixture and shake off excess. Drop into plate of flour and dredge completely. Shake off excess flour and transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining crabs.

3. In a heavy Dutch oven or skillet, heat two tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat until melted and sizzling. Saute the crabs, upside down first, two minutes then turn over and saute for an addtional 3 minutes until crisp and golden brown on each side. Remove to a plate, add the other 2 tablespoons of butter, and repeat with other two crabs.

4. Pour the wine into the pot to deglaze the pan, let simmer until the alcohol burns off, then add the lemon juice, scallions, and remaining butter. Lower the heat to medium and let reduce. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Serve the crabs over the arugula, 2 crabs per person and drizzle generously with the sauce.

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