Man, this has been the year of changes! New job in May. A brand-spankin' new car this month--I get to pick it up this weekend. Woo-hoo, I'm sooooo excited! And now a new home next month. Yep, you heard right...I'm moving! Out of my beloved little cottage in the Grid but not too far away...just in with Mr.S., the kidlets (or should I be calling them teenlets these days?) and Pepper. I guess after 5 years, it's about time we shack up, right? What's funny is the reaction I get when I tell people- half of my friends already thought I lived with Mr.S because I'm there so much and the other half are like, "About time!"

Anyhow, I was over there the other day visiting Mr. S and discussing how in the heck we're going to fit my stuff in his closet (that boy has a LOT of shoes!) when I noticed that my baby Roma tomatoes were finally ready to be picked. Look at how gorgeous they are! They're almost too pretty to eat...almost.




To celebrate these red beauties, I decided to transform my garden bounty into a savory tomato bread pudding. Yum! I threw in a bowlful of ripe baby Romas and sprinkled in a few leftover yellow cherry tomatoes for spots of contrasting color. To give the bread pudding some zing I also used a spicy jalapeno-cheddar focaccia from Raley's (but you can use whatever kind of bread you like). Pretty much any type of hearty, thick bread will work in this recipe.  No wimpy bread, please!



Savory Tomato Bread Pudding (based on a recipe by Giada De Laurentiis)

Ingredients

Filling:

Butter, for greasing the baking dish
8 ounces Jalapeno-Cheddar focaccia, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
3-4 cloves of fresh garlic
12 ounces (about a cup and a half) small, flavorful tomatoes, halved
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
1 (packed) cup fresh, chopped basil leaves
5 oz. Parmesan-Reggiano

Custard:

6 large eggs, room temp
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Put oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat to 375 F.

2. Butter a 9x13x2 glass casserole dish. Spread the bread cubes evenly in the dish. Set aside.

3. In a large skillet, heat up your oil over med-high heat. Add in your onion, cook until slightly translucent. Add in garlic, cook until fragrant. Add in your tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Let it cook for about 2-3 minutes. Tomatoes will soften. Turn off the heat and add in the chopped basil. Stir. Pour the mixture evenly over the bread crumbs.

4. Sprinkle with the Parmesan-Reggiano. Combine well.

5. In a bowl, whisk together your eggs, milk, salt and pepper together. Get the custard really smooth then pour it over the bread mixture. Let it sit for 15 minutes, tossing it frequently. You really want the bread to get saturated with the custard.

6. Place in the oven and cook for about 25-30 mutes. Stick a knife in the center and when it comes out clean, you can take the dish out.

7. Let the bread pudding cool for 5-10 minutes then slice and serve.

Cornelia Walker Bailey's Pear Bread

Ingredients

• 3 cups AP flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 3/4 cup ( 1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 cups peeled and finely grated ripe but firm pears (Seckels, if you can find them)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• Heat the oven to 350° F. Lightly grease and flour two 9″x 5″loaf pans.
• Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Scoop out about 1/4 cup of this mixture and combine it with nuts to coat. Stir the coated nuts back into the flour mixture.
• In a separate bowl, combine butter, eggs, sugar, grated pears, and vanilla. Mix it well then add the this mixture to the flour mixture, stirring just until the flour disappears and the batter is evenly moistened.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until the bread is browned and firm on top. A knife inserted into the center should come out clean.
• Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then, remove from pan and place top side up on a plate or wire rack to cool completely.

Happy (belated) St. Paddy's Day everyone!


I hope you enjoyed the sunny weekend and indulged in some corned beef, tipped back some good Irish whiskey and perhaps found some luck of the Irish. I took advantage of the beautiful weather and hit up the Sunday's farmers' market for fresh spring fruits and veggies and then lounged around on the back patio of one of favorite coffee shops, soaking in some Vitamin D while completely absorbed in my latest read, Nancy Singleton Hachisu's, "Japanese Farm Food." If you haven't checked out this book yet, please do so. Hachisu is a California Bay Area native who moved to Japan, married an Japanese egg farmer and raised a family in a charming 85-year old farmhouse in Kamikawa in the rural Saitama Prefecture. Part cookbook, part memoir, her book is a wonderful example of true farm-to-table cooking and her traditional recipes are simple to follow. The photographs are stunning and the detailed narration makes you feel like you're right there- whether it be in the midst of her garden, scrubbing root vegetables at her kitchen sink or just talking with the quirky fishmonger at the local market. I can't wait to attempt one of her recipes! In the meantime...


Post-caffeination, I strolled back to my car and noticed this cool old wall mural. I must have passed by this building in Curtis Park a million times over the years but never took notice. I'm sure there's more of these charming bits of artwork squirreled away around town, which one's your favorite?


After I got home, I had the urge to open all the windows in the cottage, get some fresh air circulating and bake something...possibly some sweet, moist, spongy banana bread? Yup. Now I've always been loyal to the banana bread recipe I discovered in my well worn copy of "The Joy of Cooking," long ago; but earlier this month, I came across a tiny recipe at the bottom of a page in my issue of Bon Appetit. The recipe was called, "Julia's Best Banana Bread," and originated from a small roadside stand in Kahakuloa, Maui. Intrigued, I decided, "Why the heck not?" and clipped it. Well yesterday I decided to give it a whirl. I'm glad I did, the resulting product was delicious...a loaf of warm perfection. So perfect, in fact, that I'm making more today.





Julia's Best Banana Bread (Bon Appetit, March 2013)

Ingredients

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

1 3/4 cup AP flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 large ripe bananas, mashed

3/4 cup vegetable oil


Instructions


1. Preheat oven to 350°. Coat a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.

2. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk eggs, sugar, bananas, and oil in a large bowl until smooth. Add dry ingredients to banana mixture and stir just until combined. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top.

3. Bake until a knife inserted into the center of bread comes out clean, 60-70 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let bread cool in pan for 15 minutes. Run a knife around inside of pan to release the bread. Turn out onto rack and let cool completely.

Can you believe just Friday, I was running my air conditioning because the cottage was a tad too warm and here it is just a few days later- Monday and I had to turn on the heater to get rid of the morning chill? I'm quite pleased though. Autumn is my favorite time of the year. I love how the air takes on a crisp smell, the leaves turn a rainbow of colors and you get to wear all kinds of cute scarves and boots. On top of it all, the cooler temps open up a whole other world of cooking- cold weather food! Steaming bowls of soup, savory stews and pipin' hot loaves of bread all make their way out of my kitchen. Food that warms your soul (and your tummy)!

Today's rainy day inspired me to make another batch of mini cornbread muffins. I tinkered with an old Martha Stewart recipe and made some for a party recently and they turned out great but I made the mistake of making them ahead of time so by the time guests arrived, settled in and decided to nosh, the muffins had cooled down substantially. It was a bit of a bummer but it also gave me the idea to pair these bite-sized treats with a dish that stays hot. Since it was grey and wet out today I thought it'd be a good opportunity to pull the ol' slow cooker out and make a batch of Southwest Chili. The mini cornbread muffins tasted amazing dipped in the chili sauce and made a great vessel for sopping up the last few bites. I think I may be making these muffins often this season (maybe with a some diced jalapenos thrown in?). You know what? I bet they'd be great with some Crockpot Chorizo and Lentils! What do you think would be a good match?


Mini Cornbread Muffins

makes 3 dozen

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup coarse yellow cornmeal
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons white sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
1 large egg, lightly beaten
¼ cup canola oil


Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Lightly grease your mini-muffin tins. I used Pam spray. (Don't skip this step or your mini muffins will stick to the tin.)

3. In a large bowl, mix together your flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

4. In a small bowl, whisk together your sour cream, egg and oil.

5. Stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until combined.

6. Fill each muffin tin about three-quarters full.

7. Pop in the oven and bake for about 10-11 minutes. Muffins are done cooking when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

8. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Turn out muffins from tin.

9. Serve with softened butter and your favorite dish.

Well, they say absence makes the heart grow fonder. I suppose that's so since I missed Mr.S. like crazy while he was gone for four days with the kidlets up at the cabin; however, the time away gave me some much needed time to catch up with my awesome girl friends. It seems like we're all busy with trips, kidlets, work or dating lately and it's hard to get together like we used to.  So I was excited on Friday night, when eleven fantabulous gal pals came over for some noshing, drinking and chatting.

Feeling adventurous, I wanted to try a new recipe, perhaps a twist on an old favorite? So I decided to go with - spinach dip! We LOVE this stuff at our house. Guaranteed if I make it or someone brings it to one of our fiestas, it'll be gone in the blink of an eye. But the issue was that I wanted something a bit more refined looking...something...well, something that didn't look like slop in a bowl. So, I browsed around online and came across this great recipe for Baked Spinach Dip Bread Bowls...super cute! I was kind of short on time, so didn't have a chance to do a trial run; hence, the first batch I made (on the night of the party) came out a wee bit more cooked on the edges then I would've like. However, I lowered the baking time to 13 minutes and the second batch the next day came out perfect! These little muffin-sized quiches are wonderful and quite addictive- crusty bread, hot spinach dip...your guests will love them!

Baked Spinach Dip Mini Bread Bowls (adapted from Picky Palate)

Instructions

1 can of refrigerated Pillsbury Simply Rustic Loaf or Crusty French Bread

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 cups baby spinach, coarsely chopped

1 clove fresh garlic, minced

3 oz softened cream cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

2 Tablespoons fresh shredded Parmesan cheese

1/8 teaspoon ancho chile pepper

1/8 teaspoon garlic salt

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese


Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Lightly mist (regular-sized) muffin pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.

3. Pop open french bread from can. Place the bread on a cutting board and slice into 1-inch thick pieces. (A sharp knife works best for getting through the dough.)

4. Place each piece in a muffin cup and using your fingers, press it down firmly- covering the bottom and along the side of the muffin cup (it doesn't have to go all the way up).

5. In a pan, heat up your olive oil over medium heat. Saute your spinach until it's wilted, then add your minced garlic. Once the garlic becomes fragrant, turn off the heat.

6. In a large mixing bowl, combine your softened cream cheese, sour cream, cooked spinach and garlic, Parmesan cheese, ancho chili powder, garlic salt, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly so that all ingredients are combined and there are no cream cheese lumps.

7. Spoon about 1.5-2 tablespoons of dip onto the bread bowls. Top with a sprinkle of shredded mozzarella cheese.

8. Bake in oven for 13-17 minutes (start with 13 minutes if your oven tends to like to burn things like the one at Mr.S.'s house does). When the edges start to turn a golden brown color, remove pan from oven and set aside to cool for about 5 minutes.

9. Pop the spinach dip bread bowls out from the muffin pan (I gently slid a knife under them to help nudge them out) and serve while still hot.

6825 Stockton Blvd Ste 200, Sacramento, CA 95823. (916) 428-1188.

Years ago, I got hooked on banh mi at New Paris Bakery on Stockton Blvd. It was cheap, tasty, fresh...and cheap...oh wait, did I already mention that? When New Paris closed, I was devastated. You see, they made the best baguettes in town. Their bread was the perfect amount of crunchy on the outside and was soft as a cloud inside. I gave up banh mi for awhile after they shuttered their doors. Eh, I didn't need all those carbs, right? Eventually though, I began to miss my sandwiches and got talked into going to Huong Lan. Turned out that they serve up a delicious banh mi and the bread there was good (though not great). It satiated my banh mi cravings...that is until recently. Awhile back, I noticed that their sandwiches had got slightly smaller and the bread wasn't quite as tasty (sometimes even stale). So I started looking around and came across Duc Huong across the street. The banh mi there are comparable (fresh veggies and tender meat), the shop is clean and the staff is super nice. There's been a few times that I wished that they could put in a little more meat and slap on a wee bit more mayo...but those thoughts are tossed aside once I bite into the bread. Oh, the bread! The bread is delish and has the most wonderful aroma! It's almost like the bread that I used to get at New Paris Bakery. Light and airy with a delicate glossy, crunchy exterior. Even better news, is that they sell their baguettes as well as these fantastic sandwich rolls. They have sesame and wheat usually up front in the cases but if you order at the counter, they have freshly baked garlic rolls. Buy the garlic rolls! They're quite big (think roughly the size of a mini-Nerf football) and are only 4 for a $1. They're great for making sandwiches at home (which is what I do since I can stuff as much filling as I want in them) or for just noshing on with some soft cheese or pate. If you don't see them on the bread rack right behind the cashier, just ask; they'll bring out some fresh out of the oven ones from the back.



Currently: $1.75 small banh mi, $3.00 full-sized banh mi.
Baguettes $1.00, Rolls 4/$1.
Cash only.

It's been a hectic week, I've been staying the last few nights at Mr.S.'s so I was looking forward to a nice, quiet night in at my cottage. I decided to stream a movie tonight (Romantics Anonymous, a cute French flick- perfect for Valentine's week) and bake a batch of these savory sun-dried tomato and basil cottage cheese muffins. These muffins are vegetarian and use cottage cheese and ground almonds as their base (yummy!). As they cooked they filled the cottage with such delicious aromas that when my neighbor stopped by to deliver some mail that was mistakenly put in her mailbox, she just had to ask what was baking. Her eyes lit up like a Lite-Brite when I offered to send her home with a few fresh out of the oven. ;)  I'll definitely have to make these again (they'd be perfect for a brunch) only next time I'll have to remember to use silicone non-stick baking cups...the muffins were a bit difficult to get out of the paper cups- but delicious nontheless!

Savory Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil Cottage Cheese Muffins (adapted from Vegetarian Supercook by Rose Elliot)

Ingredients

1 cup plain cottage cheese

3/4 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated

1/4 cup AP flour (soy flour or white whole wheat flour can be substituted)

1 cup almonds, very finely ground (flour-like consistency)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (in oil), finely chopped

1/4 cup basil, finely chopped

1/4 cup water

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 teaspoon salt


Instructions

-Preheat oven to 400F degrees. *Line a muffin pan with silcone non-stick baking cups.

-Put the cottage cheese into a bowl with all but 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese, the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, water, and eggs, and season with salt, then mix all together.

-Spoon the mixture into the muffing cups 3/4 full, scatter with the remaining Parmesan, and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until set, risen, and golden brown. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Eek! Where did the week go? One minute I was babysitting my friend's 3 adorable little girls, then next slurping ramen with a girlfriend...then in the blink of an eye, it was mid week and I was attending a party to celebrate a friend's tubal ligation (hey people have baby showers, why not celebrate a woman's choice not to have children? I think it's a GREAT idea) and now whammo! it's already the end of the week. And boy not only did the time fly but it got super cold! It went from sunny Sacramento to chilly and wet. I was at Mr.S.'s and poor Pepper pup was so cold (he is a poodle after all) that he was huddled under the covers and quite frankly, I didn't blame him.


Well, if you're short on time and you want to put something nice and warm in your belly, then these Gruyère-Scallion Mini Popovers will be right up your alley. The recipe is from my Williams-Sonoma "Small Plates" cookbook and was originally called, "Gruyère-Chive Mini Popovers," but I didn't have any chives in the cottage so I subbed in scallions and they tasted mighty delish. You can serve them up as cute hors d'oeuvres or as a side dish to some warm soup. They're the perfect bite-size accompaniment.

Gruyère-Scallion Mini Popovers

Ingredients

Canola oil for greasing pans

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1 Tbs. finely sliced scallions

1 1/4 cups milk, at room temperature

2 eggs, at room temperature

1 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted

3 oz. Gruyère cheese, coarsely grated


Instructions
1.  Preheat an oven to 450°F. Generously oil 24 wells of 1 large or 2 small mini muffin pans.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, pepper, and scallions. In a large measuring pitcher, whisk together the milk, eggs and butter. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and whisk together until just combined (don’t worry if some lumps remain).

3. Fill the prepared muffin cups to within about 1/4 inch of the rims. Place 1 scant tsp. grated cheese in the center of each filled cup. Bake, without opening the oven door, for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and bake until the popovers are brown, crusty and fully puffed, 8 to 10 minutes longer.

4. Transfer the popovers to a platter and serve warm. Makes 24 mini popovers.

Back in my college days, I lived with several interesting characters. Most of which who like myself worked in the restaurant industry to pay their rent and their tuition. At one point, I had a roommate who juggled two or three jobs (it could have even been four) simultaneously, one of which was as a waitress at the local Red Lobster, or as we called it-The Crimson Crustacean. My roommate used to bring home these yummy cheesy biscuits that reeked of delicious garlic that I loved...we used to have a few as we knocked back a few beers after a hard night's work. I was carrying a full load of classes and hostessing 5 nights a week at The Sheepherder's Inn (or maybe I was cocktailing at the Cliffhouse) back then...remember those places? Anyhow, I had kind of forgotten about those biscuits until recently. Kidlet #2 loooooves bread- rolls, biscuits, breadsticks...he's always grabbing for them at the dinner table. So I did some Internet searching and found this recipe on Kayotic Kitchen for Faux Red Lobster Biscuits and decided to give it a go. Mr. S.'s eyes got big when I pulled out the Bisquick...I could tell he was thinking, "What the heck!?!?" but Kidlet #2 was excited. He even offered to help cook. I made a few quick tweaks to the recipe then quickly put him to work measuring ingredients and rolling "snowballs" of dough. The three of us had a pretty merry time in the kitchen. Surprisingly enough, the biscuits came out delish! Mr. S. even suggested that we make them for our next dinner party and both kidlets ate several. I'm pretty sure I saw Kidlet #1 snake one post-dinner as a dessert as well. Heh, whattayaknow.....

Cheddah Biscuits (adapted from Kayotic Kitchen's Faux Red Lobster Biscuits)

Ingredients:

2 cups Bisquick

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp Lawry’s garlic salt

1/2 tsp onion powder

1 1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

2/3 cup whole milk

5 tbsp butter

1 tsp oregano


Instructions

-Preheat oven 400F degrees.

-Mix Bisquick, garlic powder (not garlic salt!), onion powder and grated cheese in a large mixing bowl and stir.

-Pour in milk and mix well. Stir until dough firms up. The dough will look dry and that's ok, it's supposed to you're using Bisquick, but go ahead and add a teaspoon more milk if dough looks extremely dry (as long as it will hold together you're good).

-Take dough and make small "snowballs." Place balls on baking sheet. (I used it a Silpat for this recipe and it really helped the bottoms of the biscuits from overcooking.)  Gently press down on the tops of the biscuits to shape them.

-Should make approx. 12 biscuits.

-Melt 5 tablespoons of butter. Whisk in 1 tsp garlic salt and 1 tsp oregano.

-Brush 50% of mixture onto the tops of the biscuits.

-Bake 10-15 minutes, until golden brown. (Ours took about 10 minutes.)

-Remove from oven and brush the tops with the remaining 50% of the butter mixture. Serve them up while they're still warm.