A Hungry Bear

blackberry tequila cocktail

It’s almost winter isn’t it? The perfect time for me to pull out some of the farmer’s blackberries that I froze back in the summer, to remind me of all that I miss about summer.

Recipe adapted Food & Wine, a drink called the “Agave Negro Cocktail” from Social Hollywood in LA.

Ingredients: 3 blackberries (thawed if frozen), tequila, 1 fresh lime, simple syrup, Chambord, club soda. (more…)

Continue reading...

chocolate almond toffee

Growing up, my dad would always bring home a tin of the most delicious toffee in the week before Christmas, I think it was a gift from a vendor. At the time I thought it was a sign of how important my dad must be at work - they were kissing up to him, with the best tasting dessert in the world! I was really excited to see a recipe for something similar in the December 2009 Food & Wine. I made a double batch of it to give to friends, family, and of course dear-old-dad, this holiday season.

Ingredients (for a single batch, makes 2 pounds): 2 sticks butter, 1.5 cups sugar, 2 Tablespoons water, 1 cup slivered almonds, 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract, 1.5 teaspoons coarse sea salt, 1/2 pound bittersweet chocolate pieces. (more…)

Continue reading...

acorn squash lasagna

I love making a big lasagna on Sunday so I’ll have something to heat up during the week. This is a great recipe that I found on Serious Eats, when I was searching for ways to prepare all the acorn squash we’ve been getting from our CSA the past couple of months. The parmesan-sage sauce is a great complement to the sweet squash; I’m sure you could substitute butternut squash as well.

Ingredients: 3 small acorn squash, 1 onion, 6 cloves garlic, 1 cup ricotta cheese, 4 Tablespoons butter, 3 Tablespoons chopped fresh sage, 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, 4 cups whole milk, pinch grated nutmeg, salt, pepper, 1.5 cups grated Parmesan cheese, 2 eggs, 15 no-boil lasagna noodles. (more…)

Continue reading...

thomas keller’s yabba dabba do

I picked up Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry cookbook a few months ago, and it’s one of the few that I’ve read cover to cover.  The photographs in it are stunning - it really belongs on the coffee table.  I’ve only mustered up the courage to make a couple of things from the book, since they are all highly involved and intimidating.  This recipe is a simplified version of his “Yabba Dabba Do”, a roasted rib steak with chanterelle mushrooms, roasted potatoes (I didn’t attempt the Pommes Anna, a fluffy prune-filled potato cake), and bordelaise sauce.  You might also notice some braised endives in the picture above, which I borrowed from another part of the book - they didn’t really go with the dish so I won’t include it here. Even with my adaptations, this is probably still a special occasion dish for us - but the bordelaise sauce is easy enough, and I’m sure it would be delicious with any grilled steak.

Ingredients: 2.5 pound double-cut rib steak (ask the butcher to trim, french cut and tie the roast - that means, trim excess fat, scrape the bone clean, and tie string around it to keep it together, as in the picture below), 4 T butter, canola oil; (for the bordelaise sauce) 1 cup red wine, 1 carrot, 2 shallots, 10 sprigs Italian parsley, 2 sprigs thyme, 1 bay leaf, 3 garlic cloves, whole black peppercorns, 1 cup beef stock; optional sides - small potatoes and olive oil for roasting, and 1 cup fresh chanterelle mushrooms to saute.

Start by seasoning the roast the night before. Sprinkle a generous amount of kosher salt and plenty of fresh cracked pepper. Press the seasoning into the meat; cover and refrigerate overnight. (more…)

Continue reading...

highland’s fall

This smoky scotch drink is exactly what you need to warm up fast when it’s freezing outside. Adapted from Bon Appetit.

Ingredients: Laphroaig smoky scotch, 2 ounces blended Scotch (Johnnie Walker Black), juice from half a lemon, 1 ounce St. Germain elderflower liqueur. (more…)

Continue reading...

braised radishes

We have been getting a lot of radishes in our CSA box - sometimes 2 big bunches per week. There’s no way we could eat them all if we only sliced them fresh for salads, so I had to do some research to find a way to use them up. I was skeptical when I read a recipe on The Kitchn that said radishes could be almost sweet and caramelized when braised in a little balsamic vinegar, but they were right.

Ingredients: 1 pound radishes, 4 shallots, 1 Tablespoon butter, 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup chopped parsley. (more…)

Continue reading...

gnocchi with sage cream sauce

Gnocchi may take a lot of work to prepare, but fortunately they are served best with the simplest of cream-based sauces. This would also work well with any type of pasta, if you’re feeling indulgent.

Adapted from Epicurious.

Ingredients: 12 ounces gnocchi (frozen), 5-6 minced sage leaves, 2-3 shallots, handful of chopped walnuts, 2 Tablespoons butter, 2/3 cup heavy cream, 3/4 cup white wine. (more…)

Continue reading...

gnocchi

A and I have a very indulgent “tradition” (if you’ve done it 3 times it counts as a tradition right?). When we go to Las Vegas - always for a UFC fight - we have dinner at a high-end steakhouse, in an attempt to find the best steak in the world. So far, we haven’t found a steak any better than Bone’s right here in Atlanta. But, the most memorable dish of all of the places we’ve tried was the gnocchi side at n9ne steakhouse in Vegas. The server actually described them as “pillows of love” - we laughed at what we thought was his dramatic overstatement, but we still ordered them. And they really were the lightest, smoothest, melt-in-your-mouth gnocchi I’ve ever tried - by far overshadowing everything else at the table. I doubt if my homemade version will ever be that good, but after reading many articles and tips on gnocchi, I think I’m on the right track.

This makes about 24 ounces gnocchi, or 4-6 servings. I froze them in 2 12-ounce batches.  Adapted mainly from Lidia Bastianich’s Lidia’s Italy and Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry Cookbook.

Ingredients: 2 large russet potatoes (2 pounds total), 2 cups flour, 1 egg, 1 Tablespoon kosher salt, pinch each ground white pepper and nutmeg. Special equipment: potato ricer; pastry scraper.

Bake the potatoes in a 350 degree oven for an hour, or until they are done (fork tender). Fluff tip #1: use a towel to handle the potatoes while they’re still hot - the hotter they are when you rice them, the lighter the gnocchi will be. (more…)

Continue reading...

pink st germain cocktail

I made this drink when we had our friends Albert and Lauren over to celebrate their engagement. The classic St. Germain cocktail mixes the elderflower liqueur with champagne and club soda - we made it a little more festive by using a sparkling rose.

Ingredients: 2 ounces champagne or sparkling wine (white or rose), 2 ounces St. Germain liqueur, splash of club soda. (more…)

Continue reading...

new york strip and fall vegetable roast with mustard cream sauce

I think I’ve finally started to cook enough roasts that I’m starting to get the hang of it. The most important thing I’ve learned is that you absolutely have to use a meat thermometer, and start checking it not even halfway through the amount of time you think it will need to cook. When a roast is perfectly cooked - to medium rare - and you let it rest for at least 10 minutes before you slice it, it’s incredibly juicy and flavorful. I’m giving this pep talk in advance of the recipe, since 3 pounds of NY strip is kind of pricey. It’s well worth it though; if you’re diligent with checking the temperature early and often this will be one of the best roasts you’ll ever try. The mustard cream sauce was an amazing complement too.

Adapted from October 2009 Bon Appetit.

Ingredients: (cream sauce) 1/2 cup sour cream, 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, juice of 1 lemon juice, kosher salt; (roast) 1 tablespoon room temperature butter, 2 garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary, 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, 3-pound boneless beef loin New York strip roast; (fall vegetables) 1/2 pound crimini mushrooms, 2 turnips, 4 carrots, 1 celery root, 4 large shallots, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary, olive oil, kosher salt. (more…)

Continue reading...