"You can't just eat good food. You've got to talk about it too. And you've got to talk about it to somebody who understands that kind of food.”  - Kurt Vonnegut, "Jailbird"

I love going out to dine with friends but equally fun in my book is attending a potluck, a dinner at a friend's home or just getting together for a cooking night. I've always felt lucky that I have so many friends that enjoy talking about food and cooking as much as I do. Mr.S. is great about indulging my endless chatter about articles I've read in Saveur or my intent search for a hard to find ingredient; however, nothing beats getting together with my amigos and shooting the breeze about new recipes, techniques and restaurants over a table full of good grub and a few glasses of primo vino.  This month was especially full of fun food-centric activities. I attended a tamale making party at my friend Amanda's where we made Mississippi Delta Hot Tamales. I had never made tamales from scratch before so I found the event fascinating and not quite as daunting of a task as I thought it would be.


I also attended a soup swap at my friend Sarah's (of Undercover Caterer). Yes, I know National Soup Swap Day was back in January but with the erratic weather Sacramento has been having, holding the soup swap this weekend made perfect sense. As a result, I now have a freezer full of some fantastic soups to dive into during the upcoming week of inclement weather (Michelle's pasta fagioli, Sarah's $800 chili, Lacy's hot and sour, Ellen's red lentil-coconut curry and my mushroom barley). Can't wait!


Have you done any fun food-centric parties or activities with your friends? Anything unusual or that you particularly enjoyed? I'd love to hear about it!

Below is a recipe for a goat cheese and apple tart I threw together to take to the soup swap. It's super easy to make and if you want to save even more time you can use a ready-made pie crust (Trader Joe's makes a great one that tastes almost homemade). The best part is that if you're lactose-intolerant this creamy filling won't bother your stomach.



Goat Cheese and Apple Tart

Ingredients

1 pie crust (your favorite recipe or store-bought)
2 Fuji apples, cored then thinly sliced
1.5 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons lavender honey (regular honey works just as well)
1.5 tablespoons cinnamon
8 oz. goat cheese, softened
1/2 cup coconut milk creamer (So Delicious makes a good one and is available at most grocery stores in the Natural Foods section or where the coffee creamers are)
1 large egg
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

2. Press your dough into your tart pan. Cook as directed in your recipe. (Mine requires 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes.) Usually halfway through I check in on the pie crust and if it's puffing up, I give it a couple of stabs with a fork to aerate it.

3. While the crust is baking, you want to prep your apples. The easiest way to do this is to use an apple corer, like this:


Push it down, remove the core and then slice each wedge into thin slices. Place in a bowl, sprinkle with lemon juice. Toss. Set aside.

4. In a large mixing bowl, combine goat cheese, coconut milk creamer, egg, sugar and vanilla. (I used my mixer so that I could get it nice and smooth- you don't want any chunks.)

5. Pour the goat cheese mixture into the crust. Smooth it out in the tart pan so that it's spread evenly. Arrange your apple slices on top of the goat cheese.

6. Sprinkle with cinnamon then drizzle with honey.

7. Place tart back in the oven and bake at 450 degrees for another 15-20 minutes.

8. Remove tart from oven and allow to cool. Serve. Leftovers can be kept in the fridge.

I've been home from my trip for a week now and my suitcase is STILL sprawled on my living room floor and I've been picking things out of it as needed like a vulture picks at a carcass. Ugh! I don't know why, but unpacking feels like such a chore. Not that packing a suitcase is more fun but at least it has the added aspect that you're packing to go somewhere, an impending travel adventure.

On a related note...do you know what your packing style is? I never gave it much thought until I started dating Mr.S. He starts packing for trips a few days before the trip and packs A LOT. Me? I tend to pack light and the night before (or sometimes even the morning of) a trip. Guess who tends to forget things more often? You got it--him. I think my packing style drives him crazy, but what can he do? And yes, he also is the type that has to immediately (and I mean immediately) unpack his luggage the minute we get home. As soon as we hit the door, he's throwing dirty shirts in the laundry, returning the toothbrushes to their upright position in the bathroom mug and the suitcases are emptied and put away before my butt can hit the sofa.


Anyhow, if your significant other is like mine, let him sort out and put away the clothing, toiletries and travel souvenirs; while he's doing that, hit the kitchen and make this barley risotto for the two of you. It tastes amazing and is the perfect comfort food for a cold winter's night. My friend, Michelle, ordered a similar dish at a Midtown restaurant (Tuli's) about a month ago and gave me a taste. Inspired by it's many mingling layers of delicious flavors, I looked around for the recipe and stumbled about this version in Yotam Ottolenghi's book, Jerusalem. Be sure not to skip making the feta with caraway seeds- it really add an amazing dimension of flavor to the dish. I had never used caraway seeds in a dish before and was surprised at how aromatic and tasty they are- kind of a nutty, anise-like taste. The barley risotto itself has a nice chewy texture and a deep tomato flavor. This scrumptious dish works great as a main course or as a side dish and is an easy meal to prepare for vegetarian friends. Although barley risotto is definitely less temperamental to prepare than traditional risotto, remember to still stir often so that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot.


Yotam Ottolenghi's Barley Risotto with Marinated Feta (you can find the original recipe in his book, Jerusalem)
makes 4 servings

Ingredients

1 cup pearl barley
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 stalks celery, diced
2 small shallots, diced
4 cloves of garlic, diced
4 sprigs thyme
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 bay leaf
4 strips of lemon peel
1/4 teaspoon chile flakes
1  14-oz can chopped tomatoes (I used Muir Glen fire-roasted tomatoes)
1 1/4 cups of passata (I used Pomi's strained pureed tomatoes instead)
scant 3 cups vegetable stock
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
10.5 oz  feta, crumbled
1 tablespoon fresh oregano
salt, to taste

Instructions
1. In a mesh strainer, rinse the barley and leave it to drain.

2. In a large pot, melt the butter and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the celery, shallots and garlic. Cook over a low heat for about 5 minutes, until softened. Then add the barley, thyme sprigs, smoked paprika, bay leaf, lemon peel, chile flakes, chopped tomatoes, pureed tomatoes, stock and salt. Stir to combine.

3. Bring the mixture to a nice boil, then reduce the heat and allow the mixture to simmer for about 45 minutes (uncovered). Stir frequently to prevent the barley from sticking to the bottom.

4. While your barley risotto is cooking, toast your caraway seeds in a small, dry pan until they start to impart a toasty, nutty smell. Remove from heat immediately. Place in a bowl (or with a mortar and pestle set) and gently crush the seeds.

5. In a medium sized bowl, combine your toasted caraway seeds, crumbled feta and remaining (4 tablespoons) olive oil. Mix to combine.

6. When the barley is soft and most of the liquid has been absorbed, remove the pot from the heat. Divide your barley portions into bowls and top with marinated feta and a sprinkle of fresh oregano.

It's pear season! And what goes best with pears? Cheese, of course! Awhile back, the nice folks at Rogue Creamery in Oregon sent me a shaker of their new Blue Heaven powder to try. Blue Heaven is a project they have been working on for more than ten years and just recently unveiled for Rogue Creamery's 80th Anniversary. Rogue Creamery is most famous for producing award-winning, gourmet blue cheeses so it should be no surprise that Blue Heaven is a blend of their popular Oregon Blue, Oregonzola, Crater Lake Blue and their special reserve blue cheeses. The cheeses are dried and then mixed with nonfat organic milk powder. Why should you try it? Because it tastes great! Blue Heaven is also convenient, shelf stable and made from certified sustainable raw cow's milk. It can be used in all kinds of delicious dishes- to add some zing to your mashed potatoes, to accent your soups or even as a savory seasoning sprinkled on your popcorn. There's all kinds of creative ways you can use Blue Heaven to transform your dishes. I decided to use my complimentary shaker of Blue Heaven in making a pear tart. I had picked up some fresh, juicy Bartlett pears during my excursion to Courtland this weekend and was just itching to make something with them. I used a basic tart shell recipe and made a filling of sliced pears, Blue Heaven and cream cheese. (I wanted the filling to be a bit creamy, hence the cream cheese.) Since pears tend to get tender when baked, I also tossed in some toasted almond slivers to give the tart some added texture and crunch. The Blue Heaven ended up lending a nice mellow blue cheese taste to the tart filling which I liked. It wasn't overwhelming at all.



The end result? My cottage was filled with intoxicating aromas all yesterday afternoon and the Blue Heaven-Pear Tart got an enthusiastic thumbs up all around from my taste testers and one, "Nom! Nom!" The Kidlet even liked it.

Blue Heaven powder can be ordered online via the company's website. It is also available at Laurent Dubois, one of France's finest cheese shops, and Simon Johnson's specialty food stores in Australia, for you international folks.

Website: Rogue Creamery
Facebook: Rogue Creamery
Phone: (866) 396-4704


Blue Heaven-Pear Tart

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup AP flour
1 package cream cheese, softened
1 large egg
2 fresh Bartlett pears- sliced   (To peel or not to peel- it's your choice.)
3.5 to 4 tablespoons of Rogue Creamery's Blue Heaven powder
2/3 cup + 2 tablespoons almond slivers, toasted
2 tablespoons honey, warmed    (optional)


Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2. In a small pan over medium-high heat, toast your almond slivers. Flip and stir them often. Be sure to keep a close eye on them as they can go from toasted to burnt very quickly.

3. Beat butter and 1/3 cup sugar with mixer until smooth and fluffy. Add flour, continue to mix. Remove dough from mixer bowl and place in a 9-inch quiche pan (a springform pan will also work). I prefer the quiche pan because it gives the tart a more polished look with its crimped edges and the removable bottom makes for easy release and serving. Nordic Ware makes a good one that runs about $11 and comes in a variety of colors.

3. Press the dough onto the bottom of the pan and about 1/2 way up the sides of the pan. Make sure the dough is spread out evenly.

4. Slice your pears and arrange on top of your dough. Sprinkle with 2/3 cups toasted almond slivers.



5. In a mixer bowl, combine the softened cream cheese and 1/3 cup sugar. Make sure the two are completely blended- no lumps. Add your egg and Blue Heaven. Mix well. (If you prefer a more robust blue cheese flavor, you can adjust the intensity by adding more Blue Heaven. At 3.5 tablespoons, my tart had a nice subtle blue cheese taste.)

6. Pour filling over pears. Spread evenly. Top with remaining 2 tablespoons of toasted almond slivers.

7. Bake for 10 minutes. Then reduce to 375 F and bake for additional 20-25 minutes.

8. Allow tart to cool.

9. Slice. Drizzle with warm honey if you wish, before serving.



* I was not compensated for this post other than receiving one complimentary shaker of Blue Heaven powder. All opinions are completely my own and I was under no obligation to write about the product.

I've been dying to make this recipe ever since I read about it in Maria Speck's book, "Ancient Grains for Modern Meals." Her book had some fantastic gluten-free recipes and has a way of making you want to incorporate grains more in your life without any heavy-duty food preaching. The tart sounded wonderful and I'm a huge fan of savory tarts, especially ones that use goat cheese. Did you know that fresh goat cheese has a third of the fat and calories of cream cheese made from cow's milk? It also has half the cholesterol and twice the protein. Plus for those of us who are lactarded, goat cheese is much easier to digest...not to mention, that it tastes delicious.

I pretty much followed Maria Speck's recipe as written but I did opt to throw in some shallots and garlic. (Is there anything I won't throw garlic into?) I also was out of Greek yogurt so I used organic, plain, lowfat yogurt in it's place...it worked fine. I thought the tart came out great, but next time I might go slightly lighter on the rosemary (but that's just my personal preference). If you're looking for something a bit different from your average quiche or frittata to take to a brunch, this would be a good choice.  This recipe would also work well with asparagus.

Artichoke and Goat Cheese Tart with Parmesan-Polenta Crust
(slightly adapted, from Maria Speck's book, "Ancient Grains for Modern Meals")

Crust:
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 1/4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/4 cups polenta
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 large egg, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring the broth and water to a boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the salt. Slowly add the polenta in a thin stream, whisking constantly, and continue whisking for 30 seconds. Decrease the heat to low and cover. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon every few minutes to keep the polenta from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes, stirring a few times. Stir in the cheese, egg and pepper.

2. Grease a 10-inch tart pan or cake pan with olive oil. Have a glass of cold water ready. Spoon the polenta into the pan and press it out, pushing it up the sides. Dip a wooden spoon or your hands in the cold water to help the polenta along. Set aside for 15 minutes and then form an even rim about 3/4 of an inch thick with moist fingers, pressing firmly. Don't worry if the crust looks rustic.

3. Put a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 375 F.

Artichoke filling:

1 cup plain Greek yogurt or organic, plain, lowfat yogurt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup finely chopped scallions
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
2-3 tablespoons chopped shallots
2 cloves, garlic minced
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
12 ounces artichoke hearts, canned or frozen
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1. Sauté the shallots and garlic in a small pan.

2. Whisk the yogurt, eggs, scallions, parsley, rosemary, shallots, garlic salt and pepper together until well-combined. Cut the artichoke hearts into quarters and distribute them evenly over the polenta crust. Sprinkle the goat cheese on top of the artichokes and pour the yogurt filling evenly over the artichokes. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.

3. Bake the tart until the top turns golden brown and the filling is set, about 45 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for at least 20 minutes, though 40 is better. The tart can be prepared up to one day ahead.

Last week, the weather here in Sacramento took a turn and became quite uncharacteristically hot for April. To escape the heat and to have some fun, my friend Amanda and I decided to head out of town for a day trip. Embracing Henry Miller's saying of "One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things," we decided to hit up the small town of Petaluma and learn how some of our favorite cheeses are made at the Cowgirl Creamery. We arrived a little early so we decided to wander about the little industrial area where the creamery is housed. While reading a flyer about the town's annual Butter and Eggs Days in the window of a small café (Aqus Café), we were approached by a friendly Irishman. He turned out to be the proprietor of the stylish coffee house and was kind enough to walk us over to our destination. Glad he did because we might have passed by the creamery completely--walking by on the road, it's easy to miss the inconspicuous sign jutting out high above.


Inside the creamery, we were greeted by Vivien Straus of the Strauss Creamery in Marshall. (Cowgirl Creamery gets a lot of their dairy from the Straus farm.) Vivien was the perfect person to guide our tour- she's sweet, enthusiastic and has a true love for her work. The tour started with a simple demonstration on how cheese in general is made. We then moved onto learning about how the Straus family got involved in the making of cheeses with Cowgirl Creamery, how the various artisanal cheeses are created and packaged and how the Marin Agricultural Land Trust was formed. This was followed by a guided tour of the cheesemaking facility and of course the tasting of an assortment of delicious cheeses (including the Mt. Tam in various points of the aging process). My favorites were the Red Hawk (a pungent triple crème with a washed rind, that is very full-flavored with a slight hint of tang) and the ever popular Mt. Tam (a smooth triple crème with an edible bloomy rind and buttery taste). Can you say cheese nirvana? Yum.







At the conclusion of the tour, we were sent home with a couple of issues of Culture magazine (a publication devoted to cheese) and little Cowgirl Creamery refrigerated lunch bags that included a wrapped round of Mt. Tam, a container of Fromage Blanc (a clean tasting creamed cheese) and a cute little cheese knife.

419 First Street,  Petaluma, CA 94952. (866) 433-7834
www.cowgirlcreamery.com

* Tours are held on Wednesdays at 11:30am and are about a hour long. $30
* Reservations required.
* This facility does not offer retail sales.
* More info can be found here: Cowgirl Creamery Tour

After our tour, we headed over to downtown Petaluma. We decided to have some lunch at Della Fattoria on Petaluma Boulevard. In hindsight, I wish we had chosen somewhere else. Although the décor of the bistro was quite adorable, the food was nothing to write home about and the service downright awful. To make up for our craptacular meal, we decide to walk down the street and check out the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Store. This store is housed in a gorgeous historic building (it was constructed in the 1920's and formerly housed the Sonoma County National Bank) and offers a plethora of heirloom seeds (1200 varieties!), plants, gardening supplies, books and gourmet spices.





If you go downstairs, they have various gardening gifts and a small room devoted to air plants. While the sheer choice of seeds will awe you, make sure to look up and check out the ceiling of the store. The architecture is breathtaking.



* 199 Petaluma Blvd. N, Petaluma, CA 94952. (707) 773-1336. http://rareseeds.com
* Closed Saturdays and major holidays.

All in all, the town of Petaluma is quite charming. The weather was great, there's a lot of fun shops and businesses to explore and it's just a short drive from Sacramento. For those who are interested- the Butter and Eggs Days is coming up on April 27th & 18th. You can find out more info here: Petaluma's Butter and Eggs Days 2013

It's funny- when I was in high school and throughout my twenties, most of my friends were guys. I'd say a good 90%. I found males to be less drama, more logical than emotional and much more fun to hang out with than female friends. I despised the cattiness and sense of competition that seemed to go with female friendships. Guys just seemed more up front. But since hitting my thirties, I've found myself gravitating towards being friends with more and more females. I still have many guy buddies but now some of my closest friends are women and I look forward to our "Girls' Nights." The vibe is different now- it's more relaxed, less drama and there's a strong sense of community. I know I can call any one of my girlfriends if I'm in crisis mode and need someone to talk to, need a lift to the hospital or I just would like a hand with my project-of-the-month. I'm not sure if as women we evolve as we get older to be less judgemental and snippy of each other or I just happened to stumble into some friendships with some amazing ladies. Either way, I feel lucky. My life is definitely more enriched with the female friendships I've cultivated in the last few years.

Last week, my friend Sheri was visiting from Portland (she recently moved there from Sacramento) and another friend of ours Emily decided to host a girls' night get together for her. Of course, good eats are always necessary- so there was pasta salad, various cheeses, pickles and veggies, hummus and homemade lime sorbet. I didn't have time to prepare anything fancy since I was gone all day so I decided to throw together a quickie dessert. I had purchased some Vol au Vents awhile back, so I decided to take those, press some goat cheese into them and top it off with some preserves. I did half with homemade apricot preserves and the other half with homemade ginger-Asian pear preserves. If you're not familiar with Vol au Vents, they're miniature, hollow puff pastry shells that are very light and crispy. The ones I used are made by a company called Erica's Kitchen and are shaped like super cute little flowers. I think they must have came out pretty good since the dish was empty at the end of the night. Next time, I might go the more savory route and make some Wild Mushroom Vol au Vents or maybe stuff them with some brie and brown sugar. What do you think would make a good filling?

Girls' Night Vol au Vents

Ingredients

1 package Vol au Vents (12 mini puff pastry cases)
3 oz. goat cheese
your favorite homemade jam or preserves (I used apricot and ginger Asian pear)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

2. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat mat, and place Vol au Vents on mat, spaced evenly.

3. Press the middle circle of dough down, then place about teaspoon of goat cheese into each Vol au Vent. Gently push the goat cheese down into the opening.

4. Top with a teaspoon of your favorite homemade preserve.

5. Bake the Vol au Vents for approximately 10-15 minutes or until layers are golden.

6. Serve warm or at room temp.

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.

July 21st and 22nd at the Old Sugar Mill in Clarksburg.
For more info:  http://www.oldsugarmill.com/
Tickets are $25 online, $30 at the door

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.

When one of your nicest friends asks if you want to come to her annual birthday dinner at her family's vineyard to suck back wine and make something called CHEESE BUTTONS, what do you do? You immediately pull on your pants with the stretchy waistband and pack enough Lactaid pills to outfit a world-class army and respond, "You betcha, what time?" Turns out my friend Cate's family has a tradition of making the Volga German delicacy of Kase Knoepfla (aka "cheese buttons") every year in celebration of her birthday. Everyone helps out with making the cheese buttons, even the tiny nieces.





When it was time to eat, Cate's mom served the big group of us up the cheese buttons (which look more like pillows or raviolis than buttons) in two manners- 1) boiled, topped with breadcrumbs and sour cream and 2) fried also served with breadcrumbs and sour cream. After all, can you ever go wrong with breadcrumbs and sour cream? If you don't have any dietary restrictions, go for the latter...trust me, the fried cheese buttons are so unbelievably amazing...hot and savory on the inside, the perfect crunchiness on the outside...you will won't be able to control the corners of your mouth from turning up in a huge smile. For our dinner, the cheese buttons were served up with delicious sausages and homemade beer mustard, perfectly cooked cabbage and a refreshing cucumber and dill salad...and lots and lots of wine!


(I apologize that my final photo came out a tad fuzzy due to the steam radiating off the dish, but had I waited for the dish to cool all of the cheese buttons would have been gone...and that of course would have been no bueno.)


Cheese Buttons (aka Kase Knoepfla)  (recipe courtesy of Cate Schmiedt)
serves 6-8

Ingredients

2 cups warm water

1 tsp salt

3 eggs, separated

6-7 cups flour all purpose

3 cups Farmer’s cheese (very small curd dry cottage cheese)

Bunch green onion tops chopped into small pieces

Loaf of bread torn into small chunks

LOTS of butter

Sour cream


Instructions

1. In a bowl add the warm water and salt. Gradually whisk in the 3 egg whites.

2. Add flour a cup at a time until the dough is not sticky but still quite soft. Knead a little if the flour isn’t incorporating well. Make sure the dough is not too stiff and dry.

3. Put into lightly oiled bowl and let it rest for two hours.

4. While dough is resting mix together cheese, onion tops, egg yolks and salt and pepper to taste.


Assembling the Buttons

1. Before assembling, start a large pot of generously salted water to boil. 

2. Take a goodly handful of dough and roll on well floured surface. The dough should be springy and you want to roll it quite thin, but not too thin. A little more than 1/8 inch. The dough usually doesn’t want to roll out all that well, but it will! After it’s rolled, cut into pieces about 3x5 inches. (According to all the little old German ladies, this must not be pretty! Cheese buttons aren’t for looking, they’re for eating.) Just slice up the dough with reckless abandon.

3. Take a heaping spoonful of cheese mixture and place on one side of the dough and with your finger wet the edge of the dough to make a ‘glue’ and fold over sealing the edge. Be careful not to tear through the dough. Then crimp edges with a fork. Lower into boiling water...I let it set on the spoon for a few seconds to kind of cook the top a little and then flip it cooked side down, because otherwise if you just toss them in they WILL stick to the bottom of the pot and then tear and you’ll have all sorts of cheese floaties in your water and not in your buttons (where it belongs!).

4. Let cook for about 10 minutes. Sometimes they float to the top, sometimes they don’t.

5. Drain in colander and then place into oven safe baking dish and drizzle with melted butter so the next layer you add won't stick.

6. Keep warm in oven on low setting while you cook the other buttons. If you do get cheese in the water, you might have to replace it after a while (we usually have two pots going at a time)

7. While boiling the buttons melt butter in cast iron skillet and add torn up bread. Fry the bread up until it’s nice and toasty. Try to not eat all the bread while waiting for the buttons (it’s hard not too). After all your buttons are cooked you can either eat them boiled topped with breadcrumbs and sour cream OR fry them up in more butter and serve with bread and sour cream.

The other day someone had asked about corn recipes and I got all excited and suggested, "Mexican Corn," well after that Mexican Corn was stuck in my head and I began craving the sweet fresh kernels of local summer corn. When I ran the idea of making it by Mr. S. I got that arched eyebrow look that he gives me when he's not happy with an idea, turns out he's not a fan of eating corn off the cob like I am---too messy. I know, I know... let's not even start on that topic. But the craving was already in place, eating away at my food soul, so I decided to go with the less tradition "Mexican Corn off the cob" to appease Mr.I-Don't-Like-To-Get-Corn-In-My-Teeth. Nonetheless, corn on the cob, off the cob---it was delish!

Mexican Corn (adapted from Homesick Texan)

Ingredients:

5 cobs of corn

2-3 tablespoons of butter

4 tablespoons of mayonnaise

6 lime wedges

3/4 cup of cotija cheese, crumbled

Cayenne to taste


Ingredients

- In an oven heated at 350, cook corn in husk for 25 minutes.

- After taking corn out of oven, let it cool for 5 minutes, and then pull husk layers off.

-To cut the kernels off a corn cob, put the flat stem end in a bowl and run a sharp chef's knife down the length of the ear using a sawing motion into a bowl.

- Add butter, mayo, cayenne, lime, and cotija cheese to warm corn kernels and mix together. Ingredients should melt into corn.

- Serve while still warm.