50% off at Vons in Encinitas!

Discount chef alert! Vons on Santa Fe Drive in Encinitas is closing for a remodel and marked the entire store to 50% off. Everything, seriously! As I type I'm waiting in a 75-person deep line with two carts. If you're planning on getting in on this discount bonanza, you'd better hurry!

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"Middle of summer, it's still chilly at night here" sausage and lentil stew

Something is clearly wrong with the gravitational pull or something here in San Diego. We haven't seen many sunny days while other parts of the country are blindingly sunny and blisteringly hot. Our nights have been on the chilly side, I still have flannel sheets on my bed for pete's sake! To keep us warm and use up some knockwurst we had in the freezer, I made a batch of sausage and lentil stew. The ingredients for this dish are pretty inexpensive. Lentils are cheap when buying in bulk - $.99 lb. to be exact and this week bunches of spinach are on sale at Henry's Market. The recipe also includes staples such as celery, carrots and onions. The recipe is based on Tom Fundaro's Lentil and Garlic Sausage Soup recipe from Food and Wine Magazine, 2005, with a few tweaks from me...



Sausage and lentil stew



1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling





1/2 pound knockwurst, cut into 1/2 cubes



2 to 3 slices of thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/2 cubes



2 large carrots, cut into 1/2-inch dice



3 garlic cloves, minced



1/2 large onion, coarsely chopped



1 medium fennel bulb, cut into 1/2-inch dice



1 bay leaf



1/2 cup dry white wine



1 cup French green lentils (rinsed and picked over)



1 quarts chicken broth



2 cups veggie broth (if you want you can do 6 cups of chicken broth total instead of including a veggie broth)



1 quart water



1 teaspoon chopped rosemary



Salt and freshly ground pepper



1lb. fresh spinach ( I always add extra veggies. If you're not a big fan of that idea, add a little at a time. Remember that spinach wilts and will greatly reduce in size.)



4 ounces Comte cheese (or any nutty but mild, alpine style cheese, shredded. Chef Fundaro suggested Manchego, which would also be great.)



Directions



Heat the 1/4 cup of olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the bacon and cook over moderately low heat until it starts to brown, about 7 minutes. Add the carrots, garlic, onion, fennel and bay leaf and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the wine and boil over moderately high heat until the pan is almost dry, about 5 minutes. Stir in the lentils, broth and water and bring to a boil. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Discard the bay leaf. Add the knockwurst and stir in the chopped spinach and rosemary.

Sausage and lentil stew right after adding the spinach

Turn your broiler on to high heat if the option is available. Ladle stew into oven/broiler safe bowls and top with cheese. Arrange bowls on a cookie sheet and place under the broiler to melt the cheese, about 2 minutes. Serve on plates with toasted baguettes. Even my uber-carnivore husband loved the soup. Enjoy!

World Peace Cookies - all you need is one, okay maybe three or four

I made these cookies for a small BBQ and they were a big hit. That morning I didn't feel like going out to fetch any ingredients so I figured out what I could make based off what I already had. These cookies are super delicious and easy to make. So easy that I might make some dough and keep it in the freezer in case we have unexpected guests or receive impromptu invitations.



World Peace Cookies





Baking: From My Home to Yours, Dorie Greenspan



Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour



1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder



1/2 teaspoon baking soda



1 stick plus 3 tablespoons (11 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature



2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar



1/4 cup sugar



1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel or 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt



1 teaspoon vanilla extract



5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, I used a combo of one Vosges Bacon Bar 41% cacao and two 72% cacao chocolate bars (because that's what I had on hand!)



Makes about 36 cookies.



Directions:

Sift the flour, cocoa and baking soda together.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add both sugars, the salt and vanilla extract and beat for 2 minutes more.

Turn off the mixer. Pour in the flour, drape a kitchen towel over the stand mixer to protect yourself and your kitchen from flying flour and pulse the mixer at low speed about 5 times, a second or two each time. Take a peek — if there is still a lot of flour on the surface of the dough, pulse a couple of times more; if not, remove the towel. Continuing at low speed, mix for about 30 seconds more, just until the flour disappears into the dough — for the best texture, work the dough as little as possible once the flour is added, and don’t be concerned if the dough looks a little crumbly. Toss in the chocolate pieces and mix only to incorporate.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it together and divide it in half. Working with one half at a time, shape the dough into logs that are 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 3 hours. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If you’ve frozen the dough, you needn’t defrost it before baking — just slice the logs into cookies and bake the cookies 1 minute longer.) (P.P.S. I was short on time and threw the dough in the freezer for 90 minutes and then baked it and the cookies still turned out great.)

Preparing for baking: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.



Working with a sharp thin knife, slice the logs into rounds that are 1/2 inch thick. (The rounds are likely to crack as you’re cutting them — don’t worry - just squeeze the bits back onto each cookie.) Arrange the rounds on the baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between them.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12 minutes — they won’t look done and they won't be firm, but that’s just the way they should be. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and let the cookies rest until they are only just warm, at which point you can serve them or let them reach room temperature.

Then eat them up!

Portobello Mushroom Panini

This past week at Henry's Market, a two-pack of portobello mushrooms were on sale for $2.50 each. Not Earth-shattering prices but I thought it would be fun to play around with some good 'shrooms. For whatever reason, all I could think about were portobello paninis. I threw in some other veggies for extra interest and on my husband's, added sliced leftover New York steak. (Why do some men think they need meat at every meal? Oy vey!) The red peppers were $.50 each and the zucchini was pretty darn cheap too, if I remember correctly, $1 per lb. Bags of Spinach were buy one get one free at Vons.



I added a few extra steps to the sandwich making process. It took a while but I thought it was worth it. You can take the short cuts if you would like, I won't judge.



Here's how it all went down in the kitchen:



Sandwich Ingredients:

2 ciabatta rolls, sliced open sandwich style

2 portobello mushrooms, marinaded 

1 zucchini, sliced thin length wise, marinaded

1 handful of fresh spinach

1 red pepper or canned roasted red pepper

1.5 to 2 ounces of soft spreadable cheese per sandwich - I used Fromager D'Affinois for Rees and Cypress Grove Chevre Log for mine

Mayonnaise to taste (optional)



Veggie marinade:

2/3 cup Extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup Balsamic vinegar

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 sprigs fresh thyme

salt and pepper



Extra special equipment:

Panini press - you can also use a heavy pan or even a foil wrapped brick to get a similar effect.



Directions:

Turn on your broiler to high heat if you have the option.



Prepare the marinade first. In a freezer size zip lock bag, combine evoo, balsamic vinegar, minced garlic, thyme and salt and pepper. Seal it up and give it a good shake. Add the portobellos and sliced zucchini, seal it up again and give it another good shake. Let marinate in the fridge for about 30 minutes.



The roasted red peppers are up next. If you have the already roasted peppers, skip this step. If not, arrange your peppers on a baking sheet and slather with evoo and season with some salt and pepper. Place the peppers directly under the broiler and keep an eye on them. This part can go kinda fast. You're looking for the peppers to get a char on the outside. That means they're going to be a little black on the outside. That's a good thing. Rotate the peppers so that all sides get the beautiful char love. Once complete, take them out and place the peppers on a plate or in a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. The steam will help the thick outer skin to separate from the meaty pepper part. See, I wasn't going to make you eat burnt pepper after all. The separation process can take any where from 10 to 15 minutes. Once ready, remove the plastic wrap and peel off the skin. Watch out, the pepper will still probably be quite hot. Remove the top and the seeds and slice the roasted peppers length-wise. Set aside until it's sandwich arranging time.



Start preheating your panini press if necessary. My press needs a good 10 minutes to get properly fired up. I used it to grill my marinaded veggies before making the sandwiches.



With the grill/panini knob turned on and the temperature on medium, I grilled the portobellos and zucchinis until they had nice grill marks on both sides.



Next up, slice your ciabatta rolls or baguette in half. Spread with your creamy cheese of choice (Your cheese will spread better if you let it sit out for a little bit so it can come to room temperature. It also tastes more flavorful that way.) Add your grilled veggies next, then your spinach and roasted red pepper. Spread some mayo on the bread side that is naked and press down. This is important. You want to make sure that your ingredients aren't going to slide off the sandwich once you get it to the panini press. Once you feel good about your sandwich, brush some olive oil on the top and bottom and put it on the press.



For whatever reason I like to hold down my press although I realized this was totally unnecessary. I guess it made me feel like I was full-contact cooking, which is fun. All together, the sandwiches were on the press for about 7 minutes.



Slice the sandwiches in half and enjoy! I served our paninis with potato chips and a salad. Yum, yum, yum!

A little something for lunch

Where I work, there are only refridgerators, nothing else. That means what I bring for lunch must be okay cold or room temperature. Sounds limiting but somehow I find a way. Today, I packed a nice mix of bulgar wheat, sauteed eggplant, pistachios, basil and goat cheese. Everything is really simple and the beauty of it is you can add whatever combo of veggies, herbs or cheese you would like. Be creative!



Henry's Market had decent sized eggplants on sale for $.99 each, I used half of one for dinner last night and while I still had the pan out, I sauteed the other half for today's lunch. Bulgar wheat is a wonderfully nutty grain that I buy in bulk when it's on sale. It's a great staple. Right now at Trader Joe's you can buy a ginormous basil plant for $2.99, it's the gift that keeps giving all summer long. To mean, basil tastes like summer. Mmmm!



1 cup bulgar wheat

1/2 of an eggplant (approx. 1/2 lb.) cubed into 1-inch sections

1 to 2 garlic cloves minced

A splash of olive oil

a handful of pistachios

7 medium sized basil leaves, chiffonaded

2 to 3 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled (I used Cypress Grove's chevre log)



Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a small pot. Add the bulgar wheat and season with salt. Bring to a boil and cook for five minutes. Remove from heat and fluff bulgar with a fork. Let stand, covered for 10 minutes or until bulgar is tender. Let cool. (It doesn't have to be totally cooled, we have things to do!)



Meanwhile, in a sauce pan, saute the eggplant and garlic in a splash of olive oil. You're going to have to eye-ball the eggplant to see if more oil is necessary. If it's looking a little dried out, give it quick splash. Remember you can always add more but you're stuck if you add too much. Season with salt and pepper.



Add the sauteed eggplant, goat cheese, pistachios and basil to the cooked bulgar wheat. Mix it all up so the flavors get to know each other better and check for seasoning. You'll probably need to add salt and pepper to taste.



Pack it up and go!

Birthday Cupcakes - Banana cupcakes with peanut butter frosting topped with candied bacon

Dear Food Network, Cupcake Wars has nothing on me. That's right, I say bring it on, because I'm convinced that my birthday cupcakes would demolish the battle and kill the war.

Most normal people would be stoked on birthday cakes and normally I'm one of those people. For whatever reason this cupcake came to me. Banana cupcakes with peanut butter frosting topped with candied bacon.

I love banana cake so much it was awarded two layers on my wedding cake and it was awesome. Peanut butter is a spread that I can put on almost anything, burgers included. (Thank you Rees for that revelation.) And candied bacon - HELLO! It plays perfectly on the sweet and savory and adds an great crunch. Plus it's just become a fun thing to add bacon to the most random things.

Here's how I did it:



Banana cake:



Peanut butter frosting:



Candied bacon:



8 oz. bacon - (I usually use thick cut applewood smoked bacon from Trader Joe's. There's 12 oz. in the package. I made the entire package and used the leftovers for salad.)

handfuls of brown sugar



Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cover a jelly roll pan (cookie sheet with sides) with parchment paper and arrange sliced bacon so that it touches. Generously cover with brown sugar. Flip bacon and cover the other side. Bake for 22 minutes or until crispy and gooey.



The parchment paper here is key. The bacon will be so oozy-gooey you'll be thankful you'll be able throw the paper away instead of scrub. Make sure you use parchment paper over wax paper because wax paper has a layer of huh, how about that, wax - while parchment paper has a layer of silicone that won't intermingle with your candied bacon goodness.



Let the bacon cool on the pan for about five minutes then remove and place on a wire cooling rack. When cool dice the bacon and set aside until ready to use. (Note, don't put your candied bacon on a paper towel lined plate like you would for bacon straight up. I did that the first time around and was peeling paper towel pieces off the bacon. Not fun.)



Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Lay

Dad's Salsa AKA The Salsa I Judge All Salsas Against

The other day someone told me there are two types of people in the world - pro-cilantro and no cilantro. Apparently, it's an internal thing inside of us that either can't get enough of the green stuff or can't stand it. I'm of the can't-get-enough of it variety. It's one of my favorite flavors of all time.



My Dad is a pretty good cook, the man really knows his way around the kitchen. As a kid, I used to spend the weekend at his house and it seemed almost every weekend we ended up making salsa. It was fun to help and after making it over and over, I got pretty good at it.



This is hands down my favorite salsa recipe of all time. I crave it. It's always one of the first things I make when tomato season comes around. Nothing beats a grilled chicken breast seasoned with only salt and pepper loaded sky-high with Dad's salsa and maybe a side of avocado. (Because avocado is good with everything.)



Here's what you'll need:

P.S. All measurements are approximate, I usually eyeball it and taste until I can't stop tasting.



5-6 tomatoes - I love tomatoes on the vine for this recipe but many other varieties work well

1 bunch of cilantro, stems removed

1 white onion, rough sliced

1 jalapeno - I like mine really spicy, if you don't add a little bit for flavor

3 limes, juiced

Salt, to taste



In a food processor (fp), add the cilantro and onion and crank it on. When finely diced, scrape the goodness into a medium sized bowl. Next, add 4 tomatoes to the fp and crank it on again. Add the diced tomatoes to the bowl. Roughly hand-dice the remaining tomatoes and add them to the bowl. (I like the salsa to be a little chunky, if you don't skip this step and instead add all of the tomatoes to the fp.) Add the jalapeno to the fp and add it to the bowl at your discretion. Since every jalapeno varies a little in potency, add a little bit at a time, tasting as you to to make sure it's not going to freak out your mouth. If you make the salsa too hot it's not easy to turn back. Add the juice of the 3 limes, season with salt and stir.



The salsa is best if the flavors have time to get to know each other. Let sit for 30 minutes up to one day before serving.



Enjoy!