Tag Archives: holiday recipe

Sponsored Post: Barley Risotto with Pazazz Apples, Sage, and Leek Butter Sauce

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Caramelized Pazazz apple slices top this hearty, warming barley risotto with a velvety leek butter sauce.
Caramelized Pazazz apple slices top this hearty, warming barley risotto with a velvety leek butter sauce.

Celebrate autumn with a sublime dish that celebrates apple season to the max.

It’s a little sweet, a little savory.

It’s hearty and wholesome, loaded with fiber-rich barley and juicy, fresh Pazazz apples.

But also a bit naughty with a creamy, unctuous leek butter sauce made with a splash of hard apple cider that ties everything together beautifully.

What’s not to love?

“Barley Risotto with Pazazz Apples, Sage, and Leek Butter Sauce” is versatile enough to serve as a meatless first course or entree. Or alongside sausages, ham, roast duck, grilled chicken or Thanksgiving turkey or even leftover turkey the day after.

Crunchy, juicy Pazazz apples.
Crunchy, juicy Pazazz apples.

Good thing it’s prime season now through June for Pazazz apples, a late-season variety that’s related to the Honeycrisp. Grown by a small group of family farmers across North America, these shiny red-skinned apples with yellow-green striations are perfect for snacking out of hand or to feature in all manner of sweet or savory recipes.

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Potato and Mushroom Gratin — With A Japanese Twist

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A potato and mushroom gratin made with miso.
A potato and mushroom gratin made with miso.

At this time of year, a potato gratin is almost de rigueur.

And over the years, I’ve made countless variations on them.

This particular one for “Potato and Mushroom Gratin” caught my eye because it includes a novel ingredient: miso.

The recipe is from “Make It Japanese” (Clarkson Potter), of which I received a review copy.

The cookbook is by Rie McClenny, a culinary content creator and graduate of the French Culinary Institute who created viral food videos for BuzzFeed Tasty. Born in Hiroshima, she now lives in Los Angeles. It was written with Sanae Lemoine, a former cookbook editor for Phaidon and Martha Stewart.

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Wishing Everyone A Ducky New Year

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Make an impression in the new year with this whole, tea-smoked duck.

Make an impression in the new year with this whole, tea-smoked duck.

 

New Year’s Eve automatically means Champagne.

Caviar, perhaps. Lots of hors d’oeuvres. Even Dungeness crab or lobster.

Why not add duck to that glam list?

There is something special and regal about presenting a whole duck, especially one that is smoked with fragrant black tea, coated in five spice, and served alongside souped-up sweet-tangy hoisin sauce.

Little pillowy steamed buns filled with morsels of the moist duck would turn this into festive finger-food. Or carve at the table, and serve alongside steamed rice or garlic noodles.

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Festive Sweet Potato Orange Cups

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Wouldn't these be perfect on your Thanksgiving table?

Wouldn’t these be perfect on your Thanksgiving table?

 

Are you already planning your menu, and checking it twice?

Then, make room on it this Thanksgiving for “Sweet Potato Orange Cups.”

How adorable and special are these hallowed-out orange halves, filled with coconut-scented mashed sweet potatoes and crunchy pecans?

Sure, you can make a big bowl of sweet potato puree and call it a day. But serving the creamy sweet potatoes mounded in individual orange cups like this just makes it all more fun and distinctive.

The recipe is from the new cookbook, “Celebrations: A Year of Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, and Paleo Recipes for Every Occasion” (Ten Speed Press), of which I received a review copy. It’s by Bay Area food writer Danielle Walker, founder of the grain-free blog, againstallgrain.com.

celebrations

The 125 recipes all eschew gluten, dairy and grain. They are arranged by occasion, such as “Game Day Buffet,” “Birthday Party,” and “Christmas Breakfast.”

However, that doesn’t mean you can’t mix and match. For instance, the recipe for “Sweet Potato Orange Cups” is actually listed in the “Easter Brunch” chapter. But I think it’s also ideal for Thanksgiving.

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Splendid Squash

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Imagine setting this dazzling dish down on your holiday table.

Imagine setting this dazzling dish down on your holiday table.

 

Come closer. Closer still. Come on, put those peepers right up to the screen.

Because This Is Squash. From “This Is Camino.”

Of course, that’s not the actual name of this gorgeous dish. But it might very well be because this is the only squash recipe you’ll need this season.

That’s how delicious it is.

The recipe for “Kabocha Squash and Grilled New Onion Salad with Yogurt, Pomegranate, and Almonds” is from the new cookbook, “This Is Camino” (Ten Speed Press), of which I received a review copy.

The 100 recipes draw from the cuisine of Camino, the soulful farm-to-table Oakland restaurant run by Chef Russell Moore, who cooked at Chez Panisse for 21 years, and his co-owner and wife Allison Hopelain.

Much of the cooking at Camino is done on a wood-fired hearth in view of the dining room. The crackling flames kiss dishes such as “Grilled Squid with Tomatoes and Korean Perilla,” “Grilled Chicken Ballotine with Green Lentils and Parsley Root,” and “Grilled Fig Leaf Ice Cream with Grilled Figs.”

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