FoodFixe

Lemon Spread

“When life gives you lemons …”

We all know how that adage ends. Sometimes, though, life literally gives you lemons, as it did me recently—a blue bag brimming with the yellow orbs. But when life generously bestows lemons on me, I don’t make lemonade. Oh no, I make this luscious lemon spread, which looks and tastes like sunshine in a bowl. Perfect for the season.

Creamy Parmesan Polenta With Marinara

Every now and then I hit a rough patch in the kitchen—a week or more where nothing I make turns out quite right. I hit one of these rough patches a couple weeks ago. Although my cooking escapades may not have been full-on food fails (like the maraschino cherries), they were certainly unsatisfying in both effort and end results. For example, I accidentally picked up the wrong chicken broth, which rendered my risotto bland as all get out. And, when I cut into a butternut squash to make soup, I found it rotten on the inside. Unsatisfying, indeed. Sigh …

When this happens and I want to turn my kitchen karma around, I return to the tried and true—recipes that never let me down and dishes that succeed in filling me with yummy, comforting goodness. In other words, these are my feel-good foods. Not only do these dishes taste good, but they always turn out.

Krazy for Kale

For those of us who started the year trying to stay on the nutritional straight and narrow, the food universe doesn’t make it easy. In the span of six weeks, we’ve had to endure National Pie Day, National Chocolate Cake Day, National Carrot Cake Day, world Nutella Day and, of course, Valentine’s Day. Fortunately, I had recently joined a CSA—Farm Fresh To You —which at least ensured I had fresh fruit and veggies on hand as a way to counterbalance or bypass all together the sweet temptations.

Among my bounty of veggies was my first ever bunch of kale. I like greens of all kinds, but I’d never cooked with kale. When I mentioned my excitement about acquiring some kale on Facebook, I was astounded by the comments and conversation it inspired. People are crazy about kale! And, as coincidence would have it, at a team-building off-site for work that same week at Paulding & Co.,a delicious Butternut Squash and Kale and Chestnuts was among the dishes we were preparing.

Lemony Caesar Dressing

Rich foods, big meals, sugary treats. I ate more this holiday season than I have in a long, long time. By the time Christmas was over, I was suffering from some serious food fatigue. So it’s back on the nutritional straight and narrow for me.

Salads are one of the ways I get my eating back on track. And, coincidentally (or not!), leafy greens are what I crave most after the holidays. It’s probably my body’s way of telling me that I’m depriving it of a healthy, varied diet.

A good Caesar salad always hits the spot for me—fresh, crisp, and with a refreshing tangy bite. And, if you go light on the dressing, Parmesan, and croutons—or skip them all together—this salad can be satisfying and relatively healthy.

Basil Pesto

Most people have a favorite fruit or vegetable that to them screams ”summer’s here!” It might be corn, or peaches, or tomatoes. For me, it’s basil. My last couple of summers in Colusa, I would get big, beautiful bunches of basil from my friend Lettie, who nurtured a bountiful vegetable and herb garden every summer. A couple times during the season she’d hand me a large bouquet of basil—a mix of different varieties—that I would then turn into pesto. Some of which I’d freeze so I could have fresh pesto the rest of the year.

My memories of pesto go way back. It’s one of the first things I made with regularity when I was in college, having found a recipe in one of my mom’s cookbooks. I had never heard of pesto before but something compelled me to try it. I was hooked. Back then, I used dried basil because fresh basil wasn’t readily available in the 80s. Of course now I can’t imagine such a thing.

3 ways to get your greens

 Today’s post is penned by my friend Elaine. She not only crafts a sublime cocktail (see Sparkletini and Pluotta Cocktail) but also is a fine, creative cook. I’ve been hearing her sing the praises of green garlic for years and finally persuaded her to share her passion—and recipes.

I want to eat kale, really I do—it's so good for you.  I've tried and tried, but I finally had to admit that I simply don't enjoy eating piles of sautéed, stir-fried, or wilted greens, no matter how enthusiastic the application of bacon.

Mint Pesto

Given the rather nomadic nature of my life at the moment, I haven’t had the time or inclination to get busy in the kitchen. However, one of the last meals I made before “hittin’ the road” was a simple grilled chicken that I served with the following mint pesto.

I know there are plenty of you out there that don’t like mint. However, I urge you to give this pesto a try. It was far tastier than I expected and not nearly as overwhelmingly minty as I feared it might be. The pesto has a fresh, pleasingly herby mint flavor.

Mom's Spaghetti Meat Sauce

  We recently had a great run of grey, rainy weather here in Northern California. That kind of weather always makes me want to hunker down and put a big pot of something on the stove that can cook all day. So, I seized the opportunity and made my annual batch of my mom’s spaghetti meat sauce.

Even my mom only made this sauce a couple times a year, and always for my birthday. The reason is that this spaghetti sauce is an all afternoon affair. Although the ingredient list is a tad lengthy, the prep is manageable. The time commitment comes in the simmering -- 3 hours to be exact. At least it’s passive cooking, so you can catch up on your TiVo or read a book between stirrings.

Stilton-Port Wine Cheesecake with Pear Chutney

After I posted the recipe for Pumpkin Hazelnut Cheesecake, I received a request from Kyla’s mom, Elaine Carlson, asking for one of my savory cheesecake recipes. She couldn’t remember which savory cheesecake she had had years ago and neither could Kyla, but she thought it was probably the Stilton-Port Wine or the Cheddar-Porter.

Then, last weekend, when my husband’s East Coast colleague Carmichael was visiting Colusa, I served a slab of the Stilton-Port Wine cheesecake as an hors d’oeuvre to much enjoyment. My decision was made, and so I’m sharing the Stilton-Port Wine savory cheesecake recipe. The flavors are perfect for the season.

I should back up, though. Yes, I did say “savory cheesecake.” For those of you new to the concept of a cheesecake that isn’t sweet, think of it as an appetizer rather than a dessert. And if you’ve never tried a savory cheesecake, it is outstanding! In fact, whenever a customer would ask me which of our cheesecakes was my favorite, my reply was always, “The savory cheesecakes -- any one of them. I love them all!”