Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Sauté mushrooms with 1/2 teaspoon salt until golden, about 8 minutes. Add vinegar and sauté until evaporated, about 1 minute. Season with salt, then transfer to a plate to cool. Serve at room temperature.
cooks’ note: Mushrooms can be made 4 hours ahead and kept at room temperature.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Brush muffin cups all over with butter. Line bottoms with parchment-paper rounds. Arrange 1-2 small thyme sprigs in center of each round. Drizzle 1/2 teaspoon butter into bottom of each cup.
Add chopped thyme and garlic to remaining butter in saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
Using mandoline, slice potatoes crosswise into very thin rounds (less than 1/16″ thick), placing them in a large bowl as you work. Pour herb butter over and season with salt and pepper; toss to coat well.
Divide potato slices among muffin cups, layering overlapping slices to create a circular pattern. Lightly press center of each to make compact. Drizzle any remaining butter and seasoning from bowl over.
Cover muffin pan tightly with foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake until potatoes can be pierced easily with the tip of a knife, about 35 minutes. Remove foil; invert a rimmed baking sheet over pan. Turn, lightly tapping on counter, releasing potatoes onto sheet. Rearrange any slices that may have fallen out. Using a metal spatula, carefully turn cakes, thyme sprigs facing down. Discard parchment. DO AHEAD:Potatoes can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.
Increase heat to 425°F. Uncover cakes if needed. Bake until bottoms and edges are golden and crispy, 25-30 minutes. Carefully turn cakes, thyme sprigs facing up. probably not necessary to turn them
12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons orange juice
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
Combine cranberries, brown sugar, white sugar, water, orange juice, orange zest, and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until berries start to pop, about 5 minutes. Press berries against side of pan with wooden spoon and continue to cook until berries have broken down and sauce thickens to a jam-like consistency, about 5 minutes more. Remove from heat and let cool for 30 minutes. Adjust consistency with water as needed. Serve immediately or place in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator. Can be served cold or reheated.
1. Melt the butter and olive oil together in a large skillet, over medium heat for about 1 minute. Add the onion and sauté, stirring often, for about 4 minutes, or until the onion begins to soften add the garlic. Raise the heat slightly and add the mushroom caps. Continue cooking, stirring often, for 5 to 6 minutes more.
2. Pour the vegetable stock into a medium saucepan or Dutch oven, preferably nonstick, and warm over medium-low heat.
3. Pour the wine into cup of emersion blender add flour, golden miso, dark miso, nutritional yeast, and mustard. Buzz together to form a paste.
4. Whisk the paste into the warmed, but not hot, vegetable stock. Gently bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Take a ladleful of this liquid and swirl it into the sautéed mushroom mixture, stirring well to scrape up any little flavorful bits from the bottom of the skillet. Add the mushrooms, onions, and liquid to the pot with the stock, scraping the sauté pan clean. Add spices and other ingredients.
5. Reduce the heat to very low and let the sauce simmer very gently, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes. Correct the seasonings with salt (you’ll need little, if any, since miso is salty) and a lot of pepper. Serve hot, ladled over whatever good thing you are serving.
1pound pound small Potatoes (white or red)
1 large sweet potato, (about 640 g), cut in 1/2-inch (1 cm) cubesToss sweet potato with 1 tbsp of the oil; spread on lightly greased rimmed baking sheet. Roast in 400F (200C) oven, turning occasionally, until tender and golden, about 20 minutes.
In bowl, whisk together remaining oil, lime juice, honey, salt and pepper. Stir in sweet potato and spinach.
3 pounds heirloom tomatoes, mixed colors and sizes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ pound Roquefort cheese, divided
1 cup good mayonnaise
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons tarragon wine vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional)
Core the tomatoes and cut the large ones into thick slices; halve or quarter the small ones. Arrange artfully on a platter and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.
For the dressing, place half the Roquefort cheese, the mayonnaise, heavy cream, vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper in the bowl food processor fitted with a steel blade and process until combined but still chunky.
Drizzle the dressing over the tomatoes. Crumble the remaining blue cheese over the tomatoes. Sprinkle with parsley, if using, and serve at room temperature. (Serves 6 to 8)
1.5 cups all purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
.75 tsp table salt
.25 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
.75 cup frozen corn, thawed
.25 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Preheat oven to 400F.
Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl and make a well in the center
In a food processor, process the corn, buttermilk, and brown sugar just until combined, about 5 seconds. Add the eggs and process to combine, another 5 seconds. You should still have corn lumps.
Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and fold it in with a rubber spatula until barely combined. Add the melted butter and continue folding until the dry ingredients are just barely moistened.
Pour the batter into a sprayed or buttered 8×8 glass baking dish, or as I did, a 10-inch cast iron skillet. Bake 25-30 minutes or until it’s a deep golden brown and passes the toothpick test in the center.
Tina’s notes:
The cast iron, being dark metal, cooks faster so start checking at 20 minutes. It gives a marvelous crust on top and all around the sides of the cornbread!
In spite of the sugar, which made me nervous because I prefer savory rather than sweet bread, the results are perfectly balanced, not too sweet at all.
For the Pilaf
1 large English cucumber
2 small, long eggplants, about 5 to 6 inches or 1 slender long eggplant of a larger variety)
Olive oil for grilling
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 cup quinoa
1 cup 2 % milk
1 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoon white miso (we used barley miso, which is darker)
3tablespoons chopped cilantro
Prepare a medium gas or charcoal grill.
Trim ends off cucumber and eggplants. Slice eggplants in half lengthwise. Cut cucumber crosswise into thirds, then cut each piece in half lengthwise. Place vegetables in a baking pan and drizzle cut sides with olive oil, rubbing oil with your fingertip to cover the vegetables. Set aside until grill is hot.
While you are waiting for your grill to heat up, start your quinoa by melting butter in a small saucepan. Add quinoa and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly to toast the grains. After about 5 minutes, quinoa should start to pop and smell nutty (a few grains will turn golden brown). At this point, add milk and water, and whisk in miso. Cover pot and adjust heat to maintain a simmer. Cook for 17 to 20 minutes until grains are tender and liquid has been absorbed. Remove pot from heat.
Grill cucumber and eggplant pieces cut side down until lightly charred and tender, about 5 minutes for cucumber and 7 to 8 for eggplant. Flip and grill skin side down for 2 to 3 minutes more. Cucumber skin will start to wrinkle and eggplant flesh should yield easily when poked with a knife. Transfer to a cutting board and let cool slightly. Slice cucumbers and eggplants crosswise into half moons.
Fluff quinoa and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add sliced cucumber, eggplant, and half of the cilantro. Whisk or shake dressing to re-emulsify and add to taste (note that tamari and miso can both vary widely in saltiness, so dress sparingly at first, then add more as you like). I use about half of the dressing. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, gently fold to combine components of pilaf. Taste and add more dressing if desired. Transfer to a serving platter. Sprinkle with remaining cilantro. Serve warm or at room temperature. Pilaf is also delicious cold, the next day. Enjoy! Serves 4 to 6 as a side
For the Soy Dressing
1/4 cup gluten-free tamari
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Juice from 1/2 an orange (about 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup canola oil
Combine tamari and vinegar in a small saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat. Lower heat to a simmer and cook until mixture is reduced to 1/4 cup, about 6 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in orange juice and canola oil. Transfer to a glass jar with a lid. This will make more dressing than you need for this recipe. Use remaining as a dressing for other grilled vegetables or as a marinade for meat.