Recipes Archives - Page 78 of 113

Coconut Coffeecake with Chocolate Chunks Recipe (gluten-free/dairy-free adaptable)

I haven’t lived in a cold climate since I was in college, which was a loooong time ago. Sure, several times a year I visit my family in New York and we ski in Utah, but it is not the same as being there 24/7 for months on end. I am much better off in Southern California because I have never been nor will I ever be a cold weather person. Even when I was growing up in New York, I loathed winter. No matter how much I bundled up, I felt miserable when the temperature dipped below 40. I remember sneaking into the hallway many a night and turning up the thermostat to 80 degrees and then turning it down as soon as I woke up in the morning. My mother inevitably said to my father, “I was so warm last night!” And now, 30 years later, my parents finally know why the heat in our house was so wacky.

I was walking in a parking lot (in LA) a few days ago, and I overheard someone say “Boy, it’s really chilly today!” Um, it was 58 degrees at the time. Perhaps cold is relative, but even I’m not that lame. I sympathize with all of you suffering through the polar vortex of 2014. I pray that the temperature becomes reasonable sometime soon.

If I lived in impossibly cold weather right now, I would probably move into the kitchen and bake and make soups all day long. If you like the way I think, give this simple little coffeecake a try. I found the recipe on epicurious.com four years ago and “cleaned” it up a tad with a whole grain flour and an unrefined sweetener. You have to like coconut to enjoy this cake because you’ll be using three different coconut products here. No complaints from me. The actual cake is so moist, even when using whole grain flours like spelt or whole wheat pastry flour. Even though unrefined flours contain more fiber and protein than “white” flours, I actually prefer the taste which is a littler nuttier. But if it’s not your thing, you can use all-purpose flour here just the same. But it’s really the top of the cake that is the best. Just picture crispy, golden flakes of coconut mixed with soft chunks of bittersweet chocolate — RIGHT?! Heaven.

I think this cake is perfect for brunch because it’s not too sweet, but you could easily serve this for dessert with a little ice cream and/or some berries or oranges. Although if the windchill is below 0 degrees where you are, pair this with some hot tea, crank up the thermostat, and call it a day.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Save Print

Coconut Coffeecake with Chocolate Chunks

Author: Pamela, adapted from epicurious.com

Serves: 8-12

Ingredients

1 ¾ cups whole spelt flour, whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour*
2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature (use Earth Balance to make this dairy-free)
¾ cup pure grade A maple syrup or cane sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (I like Native Forest and Natural Value, which are BPA-free)
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate bars, broken into ½-inch irregular pieces, divided (or you can buy chocolate pieces)
½ cup unsweetened flaked coconut

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a 9” springform pan** and dust pan with flour, shaking out excess. You can also line the pan with parchment paper if you like.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and sea salt. Stir in shredded coconut and set aside.
Using an electric mixer beat butter and maple syrup in a large bowl until combined. It will be lumpy. Add eggs, one a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
Add flour mixture to butter mixture in 3 additions alternating with coconut milk in 2 additions, beating just until blended after each addition. Fold in half of the chocolate.
Spread batter evenly in prepared cake pan. Sprinkle remaining chocolate pieces over batter, and then sprinkle with flaked coconut.
Bake cake until golden and tester inserted comes out clean, tenting with sheet of foil if coconut atop cake is browning too quickly, 45-50 minutes.
Transfer cake to rack and cool 45 minutes before removing from pan.

Notes

*For a gluten-free version, use the following in place of the wheat flour:
½ cup sweet rice flour
½ cup brown rice flour
5 Tablespoons potato starch
¼ cup sorghum flour
3 Tablespoons tapioca flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum

**You can use a regular 9-inch cake pan, but inverting the cake makes a bit of a mess with the coconut. Just a heads-up.

The original recipe called for 2 teaspoons of orange zest, which I thought was a nice touch, but my family didn't like it. If you love coconut and you want this to really taste like a Mounds Bar, you can add a ½ teaspoon coconut extract to the batter which just makes it a little more coconutty. And if you want this to taste like an Almond Joy bar, add a ⅛ teaspoon of almond extract to the batter!

Roasted baby potatoes with broccoli and cheese recipe

Because I have no association with either football team in this year’s Super Bowl, all I really care about is what we’re going to eat! I’m have no need to read the sports pages or listen to the experts, trying to figure out if my team has a wining chance. No big deal. I’ll just ponder my repertoire of chili recipes and decide what other deliciousness I can whip together for our little group. I asked Daughter #1 for some suggestions, and she started begging me for these little cheesy broccoli potato bites. Great idea!

I’ll be honest, I don’t normally make these for the Super Bowl because I usually have a baked potato bar happening and that would be a little redundant. But I do make these baby potato hors d’oeuvres very often for dinner parties, sometimes with broccoli, sometimes with lemon creme fraiche and smoked salmon or roasted cherry tomatoes. But for the Super Bowl, I keep things really casual. Broccoli it is!

Just like the mini chicken tostadas I posted the other day, I actually think a mini version of a baked potato is better than the real thing. These little bites are super easy to eat and you get the perfect ratio of potato to broccoli to cheese. And the entire bite has a nice bit of saltiness and crispiness. Love it. AND I think we can all agree, this is reasonably healthful stuff to boot! Even if you don’t eat cheese, I’m sure you have found a good non-dairy cheese that you can sub for the mozzarella here. Keep in mind, the melted cheese is what helps the broccoli stick to the potato.

Although these baby potatoes are great any time of the year, I do think they’re better suited for cooler weather, or maybe I should say mind-numbing cold weather, depending on where you live. Ugh, sorry if that’s you. Regardless, these bites could very well be the perfect party food. They’re delicious right out of the oven, but they also stay warm for quite a bit. And I think they taste perfectly delicious at room temp, too. You can make the potatoes and the broccoli the day before and then just assemble them with the cheese and bake before you want to serve them. I promise, these will score you major points!

Save Print

Roasted Baby Potatoes with Broccoli and Cheese

Author: Pamela

Serves: makes 24 pieces

Ingredients

12 small potatoes, scrubbed and halved (I cut in half the long way)
1 Tablespoon unrefined cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
Fine grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 pound broccoli crowns, cut into 24 bite-size florets
⅓ cup shredded mozzarella or fontina cheese
3 Tablespoons grated Parmesan or Pecorino-Romano (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
Place potatoes in a bowl and toss with olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Place potatoes on parchment paper – cut side down and bake for 30 minutes (until golden brown and tender). Leave oven on if serving right away.
Place broccoli in a steamer over boiling water and steam until just tender, about 3 minutes (or blanched in salted water for 2 minutes.) If cooking the broccoli ahead of time, remove from the pot and immediately refresh under cold water to stop the cooking process.
Top each potato with a pinch of cheese and then a broccoli floret and bake until cheese is melted or broil it for a few minutes to speed things up.
Sprinkle each with a pinch of grated cheese, if desired.

Notes

Potatoes can be made the day before and refrigerated; broccoli can be blanched the day before and refrigerated.

Other complementary toppings include smoked salmon and crème fraiche, pesto and roasted cherry tomato halves

broccoli cheese potatoes

Mini Chicken Tostadas Recipe (vegetarian adaptable)

You guys know I love watching football. However, I’m not such a fan that I’ll watch just any game with teams that I don’t care much about. So unfortunately for me, this has been a very boring season. All the teams I root for didn’t make the playoffs. And even the teams I root against didn’t make the playoffs, so I really had very little excitement this year. But I still love having friends over on Sundays and I always have fun making tasty nibbles for everyone to enjoy during the games. All is not lost.

Since the Super Bowl is coming up, I know many of you will be hosting friends and family at your house or will be invited somewhere. Now is the perfect time to figure out a few fun, easy and delicious game-day recipes.

We always have a few people over for the Super Bowl – nothing big because otherwise my husband can’t “concentrate” (on the game, not in general.) I usually keep a big pot of chili (see these recipes for vegetable chili, Southwestern turkey and black bean chili, and veggie-sweet potato chili) on the stove with a topping bar on the kitchen island and some cornbread. I also will have either a taco bar or a baked potato bar as well. It’s all easy, can be prepped in advance and I think most people like to customize their own meal.

You must try these mini chicken tostadas! My kids go crazy for them. A tostada is a fried, whole tortilla topped with variety of goodies – shredded chicken or beef, refried beans, lettuce, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, really whatever you would put on a taco. I find tostadas a bit awkward to eat, but these mini ones are much less messy and they are still customizable.

I like to bake my own tortillas to make chips, but only when I have time. I’ll give you directions for how to make your own baked mini tortilla rounds for this recipe, but if you’re having a crowd, I would probably just go get the round, organic tortilla chips from Trader Joe’s or elsewhere. Maybe less healthful than baking your own, but much easier if you have a lot of other things to do. Make some chicken taco meat the day before either in the oven or the slow cooker and you’ve got a very easy crowd-pleaser!

The way I like to make these is to put a pinch of chicken and cheese on each tortilla round and bake them for a few minutes or until the cheese melts a little and the chicken is warmed through. But, if you make your chicken the same day and it’s still warm when you put it on the chip, it’s up to you if you still want to pop them in the oven. Then just top them however you like. I also make these vegetarian with refried beans instead of chicken. Either way, they’ll be a winner!

Save Print

Mini Chicken Tostadas

Author: Pamela

Serves: makes 18, but the recipe can easily be multiplied to make more

Ingredients

6 6-inch soft corn tortillas
unrefined olive oil for brushing tortillas
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken taco meat (click here for a slow cooker and oven version) or use 1 -2 cans of refried beans for a vegetarian version
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese (or Monterey Jack or cheddar)
Additional toppings: guacamole, salsa, sour cream, chopped fresh cilantro, sliced scallions

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (if you have an aluminum or nonstick pan.)
Brush both sides of each tortilla with a little olive oil. With a 2 ½-inch cookie cutter, try to cut 3 rounds from each tortilla. You can bake the scraps to make crispy bits to top a salad or soup.
Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown. They will crisp up as they cool. These can be made the day before and kept in a covered container at room temperature. Or, instead of making baked rounds, buy round tortilla chips.
When ready to serve, preheat oven once again to 375 degrees. Put a pinch of chicken and a pinch of cheese on each. Bake until chicken is warmed through. Top with desired accompaniments.

cheese chicken guacamole tortilla chips

Cauliflower crust pizza recipe (grain-free)

Grain-Free Cauliflower Crust PIzza | Pamela Salzman

I always spend Christmas week in New York with my family and it’s a great time catching up, celebrating and eating. Eating a lot. It’s a bit hard for me to follow my normal food routine when I am there. I don’t have my juicer, or access to the juice bars which are all over the place where I live. We visit with a lot of family and go out to eat more often than I do at home. But one of the main obstacles to my eating beet greens and quinoa as often as I like is that my husband’s favorite food group is pizza. Make that New York pizza. His second favorite food group is pasta, the kind with gluten. And then it’s anything “alla Parmigiana.”

So when we go to New York, he’s like a kid in a candy store, except all the candy has dairy, white flour and tomato sauce! Of course, I have a slight weakness for good NY pizza myself and I partake in the food fest, too (although maybe not quite as much.) Ironically, after we indulge in pizza for most of the week on Long Island and Brooklyn, we get together at the home of one of my cousins in Westchester and have, if you can believe it, a “pizza tasting party” with a few of my cousins and their kids. I swear.

We each bring a few pies from our favorite pizzerias and taste them all. There’s clam pie from Pepe’s and Sicilian from Sal’s; a cheeseless pizza from Polpetina and a classic from Johnny’s. There are others that I can’t even remember. The first few years that we did this, we actually voted to determine which was the best pie. Now we don’t even pretend we care. We just eat it all and wash it down with Chianti. And this year, a heating pad came out at bedtime.

I don’t normally like to mess with a good thing, but sometimes curiosity gets the best of me. A few years ago, I noticed a lot of recipes flying around the internet for pizza crust made out of cauliflower. Life has taught me, among other things, that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. And cauliflower crust pizza recipes proved that point. I tried a bunch and didn’t see what all the fuss was about. The cauliflower crust was usually mushy and fell apart, and the pizza would have to be eaten with a fork and knife. That didn’t fly in my house.

But I have always been intrigued with the idea of making a treat like pizza something I could eat a little more frequently and then I saw the recipe that I knew would work. And I saw the step that was missing from all my previous attempts and I kicked myself. How could I not have thought of squeezing the cauliflower dry?! After another attempt, I was actually able to make a pizza that tasted enough like pizza that I could pick up and eat it out of my hand.

I didn’t think my husband would actually like this at all, so I was pretty close to not even letting him sample it. But he came home one day and the house smelled like pizza and there was no stopping him. He LOVED this! And so did my girls! Mr. Picky still has issues with cheese and isn’t a pizza fan anyway, so he was predictably lukewarm about it.

My only caveat here is that it’s not an “instant” recipe. You have to cook and squeeze the cauliflower dry, then make and prebake the crust. All steps I think are worth it for a pretty nutritious pizza. As you can see in the above pictures, I made a large pizza and then many mini pizzettes, which I think would be amazing for a party. So much of this recipe at be done ahead of time, including make the crust batter or even pre-baking the crusts!

Hoping you all may enjoy good health and much happiness in 2014!!

5.0 from 5 reviews

Save Print

Cauliflower Crust Pizza

Author: Pamela, adapted from several sources, including The Lucky Penny Blog

Serves: makes one 10-12-inch pizza or twelve 3-inch pizzettes

Ingredients

olive oil for brushing on pizza stone or baking sheet
1 small head of cauliflower (about 1 ¼ pounds), cut into large florets
pinch of sea salt
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon garlic powder
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
¼ cup grated parmesan or pecorino-romano cheese
¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 Tablespoon almond meal/flour (optional, but I think it makes the crust a little “breadier”)
2 egg whites, lightly beaten with a fork (1 whole egg works, too. I think 2 egg whites makes the crust just a little crispier.)
Desired accompaniments: marinara sauce, shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and place a baking sheet or pizza stone in the oven as it is heating up.
Brush a large piece of parchment paper with olive oil (big enough to fit your pizza stone or baking sheet.)
Place the cauliflower in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse for about 30 seconds until you get very small pieces (resembling snow or rice.) You should end up with about 3 cups of cauliflower.
Place the cauliflower and 2 cups of water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer, cover, and allow to steam for about 5 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender. Drain in a fine mesh sieve and allow to cool. (If you use a colander to drain, you will lose a lot of cauliflower.)
When the cauliflower is cool enough to handle, wrap it all up in a clean, thin dish towel and squeeze out as much excess water as possible. The less moist the cauliflower, the crispier the crust will be.
Transfer the squeezed cauliflower to a bowl and stir in the parmesan or pecorino, mozzarella, salt, dried oregano, garlic powder, red pepper flakes and almond meal/flour. Add egg whites and mix with your hands until combined.
Using your hands, form the mixture into tightly packed 3” rounds or a 10-12” round and place them on the oiled parchment paper.
Slide the parchment paper onto the HOT baking sheet or pizza stone. An inverted baking sheet or a pizza peel can help with this.
Bake for approximately 15 minutes until the crust starts to turn golden brown.
Remove crusts from oven and top with desired toppings, then place back in the oven and cook for another 7 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly. You just don’t want to overdo it with any toppings that are very wet.
Allow to cool slightly and serve.

Notes

You can bake the crusts earlier in the day and refrigerate them until ready to top and bake. Or you can make the batter the night before.

almond meal cauliflower cheese egg marinara sauce

Roasted fingerling potatoes with gremolata recipe

I hope you all had a merry Christmas! We’ve had such an amazing few days with my family in New York. Christmas Eve is always such a special night and this year was no exception, with 94 of us at my aunt’s house for dinner. NINETY-FOUR. And four ladies announcing they are expecting so we’ll be 98 next year? My aunt is an absolute genius to be able to orchestrate a sit-down pot-luck for so many. I swear she could run a small country. Heck, she could probably run THIS country! We were in four different rooms eating 7 or 8 different types of fish (and a few veggies for good measure.) Although it’s really not about the food for me, instead my favorite moment of the evening is listening to all the little ones sing around the Christmas tree watching the staircase in hopes that Santa makes an appearance, which he always does. Then everyone screams and the flash bulbs go off as if there were paparazzi in the house. It never gets old for me.

Christmas Day is always the perfect balance to the evening before. It’s quieter, just 17 of us at my parents’ house and my mom is in charge. We always start the meal with tortellini in chicken broth, which my kids love. Then she makes a beef tenderloin with a red wine sauce, stuffed mushrooms, green beans with shallots and a green salad. This year I was hoping to add these amazing potatoes to the menu. I made them for Jenni Kayne’s holiday cooking class a few weeks ago and I knew they would be perfect with my mom’s menu. They would actually be perfect with almost any menu! But I’ll admit, I bailed at the last minute, thinking we had plenty of food already, I was a little tired from having gone to bed at 2:00 in the morning, and no one would care if we had or didn’t have potatoes on Christmas. Really, everyone looks forward to all the cookies after dinner anyway.

Alas, I still would love to share this recipe with you because I know you will love it and I know you will find a place for it in one of your upcoming weeknight dinners or even for something as special as New Year’s Eve. I love crispy, roasted potatoes plain and simple, but these have an extra umph from the gremolata. Gremolata is an Italian garnish traditionally made with finely chopped fresh parsley, raw garlic and grated lemon zest. I’ve had it before on osso buco, roasted vegetables and even pasta. It’s just bursting with flavor and freshness and makes ordinary potatoes out of this world. I love it! For this version of gremolata, I added a little orange zest, crushed red peppers, and fresh mint and thyme, all of which I adore with potatoes. I also made the gremolata once with a little fresh rosemary instead of the thyme and dropped the chili flakes just because — also delicious!

Try and find these teeny fingerling potatoes if you can. They are so creamy and super easy to use since you just just have to wash and dry them, no peeling, no chopping. BUT, if your market only offers Yukon Gold or red skinned potatoes, go for it. They’ll still be delicious.

I am hoping you are finding time to rest and restore your energy this week. Acting like a superhero is totally overrated and people who look like they do it all don’t, and if they do, they’re exhausted. Being a good parent or a good host/hostess or a good cook is good enough. Sounds like a good new year’s resolution for me for 2014!

Save Print

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Gremolata

Author: Pamela

Serves: 6

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon grated lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
1 teaspoon grated orange zest (about half an orange)
⅓ cup fresh parsley leaves and tender stems, finely chopped
2 heaping Tablespoons fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
1 large clove of garlic, minced or grated
a pinch of red pepper flakes
2 pounds small fingerling potatoes, washed, dried and halved (leave whole if they are only an inch or so long)
3 Tablespoons unrefined olive oil, divided
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper.
Make the gremolata: in a small bowl mix together the zests, herbs, garlic and red pepper flakes. Set aside.
Place the potatoes on the prepared baking sheet and toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Spread the potatoes in an even layer and sprinkle with ¾ teaspoon of sea salt and black pepper to taste. Place in the oven for 35 minutes.
After 35 minutes, remove the potatoes from the oven and add another tablespoon of olive oil and half the gremolata. Toss until well combined. Place back in the oven for another 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender and golden.
Remove from the oven and transfer to a serving bowl. Toss with the remaining gremolata and taste for seasoning. Sprinkle with an extra pinch of salt and pepper, if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature.

chili flakes lemon mint olive oil orange parsley potatoes

How to Cook and Debone a Whole Fish

You can totally do this. The idea of roasting and deboning a whole fish sounded incredibly intimidating to me when one of my students asked me to prepare it in a class for her husband’s birthday. She said, “the only dish I must request is whole roasted branzino — it’s my husband’s absolute favorite and I would love to know how to make it.” “So would I!” I thought to myself. But instead I offered with confidence, “Absolutely! I will show you how to make the best branzino.” My family ate branzino once a week for a month until I had it just right.

I have taught whole roasted branzino in a few classes now, and most recently at Jenni Kayne’s house for her Holiday Class with The Chalkboard. I wanted to post this recipe now, because Christmas Eve is around the corner and whenever I think of Christmas Eve, I think of fish. It is traditional in Italian homes to eat seven or more different types of fish on that night. I don’t know what we’ll have this year, but typically we start off the evening with spaghetti with clam sauce. Then a few people in my family will make the most classic Italian Christmas Eve fish, baccalà, a dried and salted cod. There are also usually eel, mussels, salmon, stuffed clams, shrimp and crab. However, I will most likely never see branzino at our Christmas Eve table because it’s not something you make for a crowd, and we are a CROWD, anywhere from 60-80 people.

Believe me, it’s not that roasting a whole fish is difficult. In fact, it is just as easy, if not easier, than roasting a whole chicken. If you can find really fresh branzino, aka Mediterranean snapper, there is very little you need to do to it for it to taste good. Isn’t that always the way when you start with good ingredients? But I usually make one whole fish per person and that would need to be a ginormous oven to cook 60 of these. Besides that, most people don’t know how to debone a fish and I wouldn’t want to sit there fileting dozens of these beauties. And therein lies the tricky part about roasting a whole fish — getting to the actual meat when there’s still a head and a tail and loads of bones in the way. Of course, I am going to show you right here how to do this so you’ll be able to have your way with a whole fish when you go out to eat or if you have a dinner party, you can do this for your guests.

I found these beauties at my local Whole Foods for $12.49 per pound. Look for clear, shiny eyes and glossy, not slimy skin. It should also smell fresh like the ocean and not “fishy.” You have every right to ask the fishmonger if you can take a sniff of the fish. People do it all the time, and the fishmongers are used to it. I do, however, consider this a special occasion fish, not because of the price, but because it flew first class from Greece to get to my market. Normally I try to limit (not necessarily eliminate) imported fish given the heavier environmental impact versus those locally caught. If you can’t find branzino in your area, walleye or another small whole fish in the 1 to 1 1/2 pound range will do.

A whole roasted fish stays nice and moist because of the bones and the skin, which I think also give it great flavor. All you need is a healthy sprinkling of salt inside the cavity along with lemon slices and some fresh parsley or fennel fronds. After you take the bones out, you can choose to leave the skin or or remove it. A final drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkle of salt and a quick squeeze of lemon is all you need to have an amazing piece of fish.

Save Print

Whole Roasted Branzino

Author: Pamela

Ingredients

6 1 to 1 ¼ pound whole sea bass or striped bass, scaled and gutted (you ask the fishmonger to do this for you)
Sea salt
2 lemons, sliced into thin rounds
6 sprigs of parsley or some fennel fronds + extra fennel fronds for the pan
Unrefined, cold pressed extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Rinse each piece of fish and pat dry with paper towels. Arrange some fennel fronds on a parchment-lined baking sheet and place the fish on top of the fronds. You don’t have to use fennel fronds, but I like the flavor they infuse.
Season the cavity of the fish with a healthy pinch of sea salt. Fill each cavity with some parsley or fennel fronds and 2 slices of lemon.
Drizzle the fish with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.
Roast the fish for 20 minutes. Take a peek under the skin along the backbone. The flesh should be opaque and not translucent.
To filet the fish, use two large spoons or a large spoon and a fork and start by removing the head and the tail. They should break off easily from the rest of the body. Remove lemon and parsley from the cavity. Scrape all the flabby pieces off the bottom of the fish. Turn the fish around and run the spoon along the backbone of the fish to remove the small bones at the top. Wedge your spoon into the middle of the fish to open up the fish so you can remove the spine. Lift the spine from the flesh. Take the meat off the skin, if desired, and transfer to a warmed plate. Sometimes I run my finger across the flesh to make sure I got all the bones. Don’t worry if you missed a few, just warn your dinner companions ahead of time that you’re not an expert and that there may be a pin bone or two.
Sprinkle with sea salt and drizzle with olive oil and a little more lemon if you wish.

lemon olive oil parsley whole fish

Hen of the Woods Mushroom Toast Recipe

I don’t eat out that much, but one of my favorite restaurants in Los Angeles is Gjelina in Venice. I would probably go there more often, but getting a table at a reasonable hour is impossible! Before my first visit a few years ago, a friend strongly suggested I order the Mushroom Toast. Let me just say that when I saw items on the menu like “Crispy Purple Peruvian Potatoes!” and “Moroccan Chickpea and Black Kale Stew!,” (I used the exclamation points, Gjelina did not) I wasn’t overly excited about “Mushroom Toast.” But I trust my friend and ordered the mushroom toast and it was ONE OF THE BEST THINGS I HAVE EVER EATEN. Delicate, earthy mushrooms in a light, creamy white wine-infused sauce, all poured over grilled bread and drizzled with truffle oil, the nooks and crannies of the toast catching every bit of mushroom juiciness. It was so delicious, I actually had dreams about it that night. True story!

The problem is that Gjelina doesn’t share their recipes, at least not with little old me. So after a game of 20 questions with my waiter, I had a game plan for attempting to recreate this dish at home. The ingredients are ones I never would have thought to put together on my own: Hen of the Woods mushrooms (what??), creme fraiche and truffle oil. Now I may not have gotten the recipe exactly right, and in fact I do believe my version is less rich and creamy, but I am so obsessed with the way this turned out, that I don’t care how different mine is. First of all, even though I don’t eat too much bread, I think anything on grilled bread is DE-licious! And grilled bread rubbed with garlic is SUPER DE-licious!

But mushrooms are the star of this show and Hen of the Woods mushrooms are so meaty and earthy with the most delicate texture. They also go by the name “Maitake” mushrooms. I found them easily at Whole Foods and I have seen them at several local farmers markets. I will warn you, they are pricey, so if you can’t find them or you don’t want to spend the money, you can use oyster or chanterelle mushrooms. You really can’t use button mushrooms or Portobellos in this recipe. I tried them here, and they’re too firm. You really need something light and delicate. Japanese mushrooms, including Maitake, are really good for you and contain loads of immune-boosting compounds and have even been shown to have anti-cancer and anti-tumor compounds. They also have less water than traditional mushrooms, so they actually have a more mushroom-y flavor. Yum!

I really went for it and bought truffle oil at Sur La Table to finish off the dish the way they do at Gjelina. Yes, this mushroom mixture is already rich enough with the creme fraiche and the butter and the olive oil, but good gracious, a drizzle of truffle oil takes this over the top. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find truffle oil locally that was totally pure, without “truffle flavoring.” But a quick search on amazon.com provided a few choices for all-natural truffle oils (like this one from JR Mushrooms & Specialties.)

I taught this recipe in my class this month and more than one person asked, “why is this so good?” It’s really everything, and not just one thing. The grilled bread, the garlic rubbed on the grilled bread, the meaty, delicate mushrooms, the tangy creme fraiche (which is really just French sour cream), and the truffle oil all make this something so special. The way I made it in these pictures would be amazing as an appetizer on a plate with or without a fresh green salad. Or you can opt for a smaller piece of toast and serve this as an hors d’oeuvre, although it can be a tad messy. I think even for brunch with a fried egg on top would be amazing. Hoping you try this and love it as much as I do!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Save Print

Hen of the Woods Mushroom Toast

Author: Pamela, inspired by Gjelina Restaurant

Serves: about 6

Ingredients

3 large slices of crusty peasant bread, about ½-inch thick
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil + additional for brushing bread
1 whole garlic clove + 2 cloves, minced
10 ounces Hen of the Woods mushrooms, aka Maitake, chopped or broken apart with your hands
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper or to taste
¼ cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken, vegetable or mushroom stock
6 Tablespoons crème fraiche
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
Truffle oil to drizzle
Chopped fresh chives for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Preheat a grill over medium heat.
Brush both sides of bread with olive oil. Grill bread on both sides until toasted and slightly charred. Thinly slice the end off of the whole garlic clove and rub one side of each piece of bread with the cut side of the garlic. Cut the bread in half crosswise and arrange on a platter.
In a large sauté pan, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper and sauté until softened.
Add wine and cook until liquid is almost completely absorbed.
Stir in chicken stock and cook until reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Whisk in crème fraiche and butter and cook until slightly thickened, but still saucy.
Spoon mushroom mixture with sauce over toasts. Drizzle with truffle oil and a sprinkle of chopped fresh chives, if desired, and serve immediately.

bread creme fraiche mushrooms truffle oil white wine

Gingerbread biscotti recipe (gluten-free version, too!)

I have been offered A LOT of biscotti in my life. When everyone you are related to is Italian, biscotti appear more often than Oreos. They’re called “biscotti” because they literally translate to “twice baked.” You bake them in logs first, then you slice up the logs and bake them again. They have this tell-tale shape you see here and they are a bit dry and crunchy and not overly sweet. There are infinite flavor combinations ranging from lemon to almond to chocolate chip to raisin to you name it. I remember my parents and all the other grown-ups dunking them in espresso or, if they were really feeling festive, dipping the cookies in a sweet Italian liqueur called Vin Santo.

Now that sounds dreamy to me for sure, but when I was a kid, all I wanted was a normal chocolate chip cookie for goodness sake! Or one with M&M’s or some other junk. I’m all grown-up now and I much prefer homemade cookies, especially ones that don’t contain M&M’s and lots of sugar. Even though I try not to indulge in sweets very often, I do like to bake cookies for the holidays. My favorite holiday “flavor” is gingerbread. Every year in my December classes I teach some sort of gingerbread dessert, two of which have been posted on my site. These gingerbread biscotti might very well be my favorite so far! One of my complaints about the biscotti of my youth is that they were B-O-R-I-N-G. What kid gets excited about orange zest in a cookie or fennel seed? Yaaaaawwwwnnnn. That’s not a dessert. But gingerbread biscotti are something else. These pack a spicy punch from both crystallized ginger and powered ginger and a double crunch from the whole almonds. Even Mr. Picky loves these. He just walked by the computer and said, “isn’t it about time we make those gingerbread biscotti again?” I absolutely swear he just said that!

Biscotti are fantastic to make for the holidays because they last a good long time (a week or more?) without getting stale, so they’re perfect for gift-giving! If you need to accommodate gluten-free, dairy-free or vegan folks, read through both recipes because there are options. If you’re not sure how to do this, please leave me a comment below and I will help you out. I’ll tell you the truth — I like the gluten-free biscotti better than the wheat flour ones. I think they’re lighter and crispier, although both have that great gingerbread flavor. I love the extra boost from crystallized ginger, but if you can’t find it, don’t worry about it. And if you’re feeling extra naughty, you can go right ahead and dip these cuties in some melted white chocolate and let them harden before you store them or wrap them up. Are you feeling the holiday spirit now??

5.0 from 1 reviews

Save Print

Gingerbread Biscotti

Author: Pamela

Serves: makes about 24

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons coconut oil or room temperature unsalted butter
½ cup cane sugar
½ cup muscovado or firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs or ½ cup unsweetened smooth applesauce
2 cups whole wheat pastry or all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 cup whole raw almonds or chopped, if desired
½ cup crystallized ginger, chopped (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat coconut oil and sugars with an electric mixer at medium speed until light and creamy. Beat in eggs, combine well.
Combine flour and next 5 ingredients; add to sugar mixture, beating at low speed until blended. Stir in almonds and crystallized ginger.
Divide dough in half. Using floured hands, shape each portion into a log 3-inches wide and 1-inch high. Place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
Bake 25 minutes. Cool 5 minutes on cookie sheet; remove to a wire rack, and set aside until cool to the touch. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.
Cut each log crosswise into ½-inch slices with a serrated knife. Place slices on the same parchment-lined cookie sheet. If you want long cookies, cut on the diagonal.
Bake 7-8 minutes; turn cookies over, and bake 7-8 more minutes. If you cut them thick, you will probably have to bake them a little longer. Cool completely on wire racks.

gluten-free gingerbread biscotti

makes about 24

8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

½ cup cane sugar

½ cup muscovado or firmly packed dark brown sugar

2 large eggs or ½ cup unsweetened smooth applesauce

½ cup almond flour

¼ cup sorghum flour

¼ cup tapioca flour

¼ cup potato starch

¼ cup sweet rice flour

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon sea salt

1 cup whole raw almonds or chopped, if desired

½ cup crystallized ginger, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter and sugars with an electric mixer at medium speed until light and creamy. Beat in eggs, combine well.
Sift all dry ingredients together and add to sugar mixture, beating at low speed until blended. Stir in almonds and crystallized ginger.
Dough will be very sticky so you can refrigerate it for 15-20 minutes and/or flour your hands while you split the dough into two logs, about 1 inch high and 2 inches wide. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown on the edges and just slightly soft in the middle. Cool 5 minutes on cookie sheet and remove to a wire rack. Set aside until cool to the touch, about 30 minutes.
Cut each log crosswise into half-inch slices with a serrated knife. Place slices on the same parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake 15-20 minutes until golden. Cool completely on wire racks.

brown sugar butter cinnamon coconut oil ginger whole wheat pastry flour