Frittata with Leeks, Asparagus, and Serrano Ham

I've always been a fan of prosciutto and ham in general. But after having a truly wonderful meal at Harvest Vine in Seattle, where I experienced the out-of-this-world Iberico Serrano, I've since been a little obsessed with the Spanish cured pork. When Mother's Day came around, I made brunch as usual, and couldn't wait to use a little Serrano ham (not Iberico, unfortunately, but still quite tasty!) with some wonderful local asparagus and leeks.

This frittata makes a great main course for any meal, as far as I'm concerned. I've served it for both brunch and dinner on warm spring and early summer nights. Look for asparagus that's very thin, so that they will be easy to cut with a fork. This recipe easily scales up to serve 6 or 8.

Round out the meal with a side salad and some crusty bread--I've made a salad of baby arugula, radishes, thinly sliced zucchini, and Duchilly hazelnuts with a little salt, pepper, walnut oil, and sherry vinegar, but any salad greens with an oil and vinegar dressing would be a great pairing.

Creamy Broccoli, Potato, and Leek Soup

I've been on a leek kick lately. Those tender, delicate vegetables add such a great flavor to so many dishes. Here, leeks lend a subtle, sweet flavor to a delicious soup - green broccoli, thickened with yukon gold potatoes. I've made potato soups before with the hand blender, to varying degrees of success - they often come out a little gluey or gummy. And broccoli soups can taste thin without the addition of butter and heavy cream. But this seems to be a great balance - enough veggies to keep the soup from being gluey, and enough potatoes to make the soup thick and filling. Just a little butter for flavor, and some evaporated milk for body, this is a great one for weeknights when you want something comforting, creamy, and healthy, but don't have a lot of time. Add some whole grain bread, or maybe a couple cheese-toasts on the side, and you have a great dinner.

Creamy Broccoli, Potato, and Leek Soup

1 TB butter
3 large leeks, white and light green parts only, chopped
2 medium potatoes, chopped into 1/2" cubes, about 2 cups
1 large head of broccoli, crowns chopped, stems peeled and chopped, about 2 cups
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
6-8 oz evaporated milk
1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Frank's Red Hot sauce
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Sweat the leeks with a pinch of salt until starting to wilt, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes. Add the potatoes and broth, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add broccoli, and simmer for another 6-8 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Turn off heat, and blend with a hand blender until creamy. Stir in milk, worcestershire sauce, and Frank's. Taste, adjust seasoning if needed with salt and and a healthy dose of pepper, and serve.

Creamy Winter Root Vegetable Mash with Frizzled Leeks

I love mashed potatoes. Creamy, rich, comforting, starchy goodness, they are at home on my plate any time the weather is under 70 degrees, which is often around here. But man (or woman) cannot live on mashed potatoes alone - we need our veggies, and mashed potatoes are starchy and can be very rich. On the other side of the coin, there are mashed potato haters out there. I know, sometimes I can scarcely believe it myself. Those that say mashed potatoes are bland and boring, like baby food. Even my husband used to say he didn't like mashed potatoes! (Don't worry, I made a convert out of him.)

But what if we could have it all - mashed potatoes that contain other wonderful veggies so they are more nutritious and not such a starch bomb, creaminess without being loaded down with tons of cream and butter, and definitely not boring? To the humble potato I've added celeriac, aka celery root, for nutty flavor, parsnips for earthy sweetness, buttermilk for richness and tang without high fat content, and frizzled leeks for that mild, oniony flavor and great crispy texture. A delicious side dish, perhaps delicious enough to convert even the most stubborn mashed potato hater!

Fall Fried Rice, American Style

Brussels sprouts are a vegetable I wrestle with. You see, I don't dislike many veggies. I like tiny veggies quite a bit - baby artichokes, small potatoes, tiny pickled cucumbers. And I love cabbage. So naturally, I should love brussels sprouts, seeing as how they're really like tiny cabbages. What's not to love? Well, I just usually don't like them, they taste funny and bitter and off to me, unless they're doused in butter and cream at Thanksgiving, and I am just not going to do that the rest of the year.

When given the option from my local CSA to get local, organic brussels sprouts on the stem, I jumped, thinking I should give them another chance, and this was a good way to do it. If I didn't like a gigantic spear of fresh, local, on-the-stem sprouts, I probably wasn't ever going to like them. I also jumped, like I am wont to do, with other seasonal goodies and overfilled my fridge. So there my sprouts sat, sad and lonely at the bottom of the fridge, until all the other vegetables were exhausted and they were the last things left. It had been over a week, and it was time. There I was, staring at the refrigerator, wondering how I was going to make this work for dinner. What else masks, err I mean, goes well with the flavor of sprouts? Well I had bacon, and leeks. Ok, good start. But I needed a starch. "Honey, do you want brussels sprouts, bacon, and leeks with pasta, rice, polenta, or potatoes?" "Rice", he replied. Of course he picked the one item I had no plan for. Was I going to have to make some sort of sauce with this? Then it hit me - we make fried rice, and that has has similar bits - veg, onion, and cured meat. I could hit this up with some more American type seasonings - Worcestershire and Frank's hot sauce, perhaps? A little thyme? Why does soy sauce get to have all the fun? So something new and delicious was born, my husband and I had a great and quick dinner, and I conquered the sprout.

Hearty Autumn Salad with Bacon, Egg, Cornbread Croutons, and Artichokes

I'm back! It's been a long while, and the weather has changed drastically since I've been gone. But I have good reason - two good reasons, actually - for being gone so long. First, my hubby and I took a two week whirlwind trip to Europe, staying in Amsterdam, Brussels, and Zurich. There was much good food, much good beer, a whole lotta walking, wonderful weather despite it being October, and in general a good time was had by all. I ate lots of delicious new foods (Dutch pea soup! Deer sausage! Stoemp! Waterzooi!), and will be posting the recipes here as I make them and can get them close to what I remember having. But besides being gone, there was a lot of planning. It was my first time to Europe, and I planned it myself. Every little bit. Lodging, transportation, train tickets, local metro passes, museum tickets, everything. It was intimidating, and time consuming, and occasionally stressful! But it all turned out well.

Secondly, I've been devoting time to one of my other passions - namely all things design. I'm a bit of an obsessive when it comes to well-designed cookware and serveware (and decor, and... ok, modern and well designed ANYTHING really), and I've been delving in headfirst scouring through thrift stores and other sources, trying to find the good stuff. The good news: I've been finding good stuff! Though it takes time. The flipside is I've been finding TOO MUCH good stuff, and I can't just let it sit there, so I take it home, and well, I've opened an Etsy shop with all my goodies. If you like unique and modern home stuff, check out my shop at http://kiteless.etsy.com/.

Pork Rillettes with Pickled Cherries

Years ago, I was invited to a party at someone's house that I didn't know. Not wanting to show up empty handed, I stopped at Whole Foods for some snacks, figuring I'd pick up something tasty from their enormous cheese counter. After chatting with the cheese lady and trying a few samples, I came across these intruiging sweet, sour, spiced, and pickled cherries. The gal had me try them with a creamy, mild blue cheese, and I was hooked. The combination was outrageous - creamy and crisp, salty and sweet, spicy and savory, all contrasting flavors and textures that harmonized beautifully. I picked up a small tub of the cherries, some cheese, and some bread and crackers, and headed off to the party, where they were devoured by the end of the night.

The other weekend, staring at the 3 pounds of sweet and juicy Lapin cherries I'd picked up from the farmer's market, I decided to see if I could create something similar to those spicy-sour-sweet cherries. I'd also been kicking around the idea of making pork rillettes, thinking that those tart-sweet cherries would compliment the creamy, rich pork nicely. I imagined sitting on a large blanket, under the dappled light of a tree, sipping on champagne, listening to birds, spreading pieces of crusty baguette with luscious pork pâté and topping with ruby red pieces of puckery-sweet and spicy cherries. I'd created quiet the afternoon in my mind, so I had to get crackin'.

I'd never made rillettes before, so I went poking around for recipes online. They all called for slow and low cooking, but on the stovetop or in the oven. I didn't want to turn on the oven or otherwise heat the kitchen for 3 -4 hours. Then it hit me - why not use the crock pot? It turned out perfectly, with minimal kitchen heating. And the pork and cherries? A match made in heaven. (Unfortunately, the weather was not heavenly - it was in the 60s and rained all weekend, in August! - so my picnic was indoors. At least the food was good.)

Crunchy Cabbage, Cucumber, and Chicken Stir-Fry

I make stir-fries a lot. They're a really simple and tasty way to make a quick and veggie-packed dinner. Usually, by the time the rice is done, my meal is done, as well (or at least really close to being done!) I often use a few variations on some common themes: beef and broccoli (sometimes with red bell peppers or carrots) with a lightly sweet soy sauce; shredded pork and cabbage with dark soy and a little heat from sriracha or sambal olek; sliced pork or chicken with Thai red curry paste, lime leaves, green beans, and basil. And sometimes I just dump in whatever I have on hand, with whatever condiments, vinegar, sauces, herbs, and maybe some crunchy toppings, sound good. The great thing is, it's pretty hard to screw up. As long as I don't overcook my meat and veggies, or make the sauce too salty, it's all pretty tasty. But I don't find them worthy of posting, because I don't measure, and while they're always good, they're never great. Not something you'd feel comfortable telling someone "Hey, you should make this! You'll like it."

Well, this time I made one that's really good, and worthy repeating (and a blog post)! Cabbage and snow peas are great in stir-fries, but the real winner here is the cucumber. Stir-fried until slightly softened, the flavor becomes sweeter, milder, and almost a little nutty. The texture becomes more silky, and it loses some of that graininess. It becomes a really nice and unexpected foil to the crisp and crunchy cabbage and peas. The mint and cilantro are a must here, too, as they cap off the stir-fry with a nice, fresh, herbal note. With a side of your favorite rice, this is a lean, healthy, satisfying meal that feels like a real treat.

Italian Chicken Burgers

I told you guys I was on a burger kick!

What happens when you take inspiration from Chicken Milanese and Salad Caprese and put it on a bun? You get a delicious sandwich, that's what. The idea for this sprang from seeing a recipe in Bon Appetit about a Chicken Parmigiana sandwich. It looked delicious, but I wrestled with the idea of putting tomato sauce on my sandwich. I envisioned trying to eat it and getting a ring of sauce in the palms of my hands. I pictured the sauce dripping onto my shirt. I pictured soggy breading. In my mind, this wasn't really going too well. I wanted a crisp-coated chicken burger, and that tangy tomato flavor, and of course the basil and cheese. Just no gloppy messiness, please.

I started with a lb of ground chicken, and an egg. It got very soupy very quickly, I had to use quite a bit of what I'd planned on using for the coating as a binder, to sop up the juice. But that's ok, because the end result is a delicious, juicy patty that doesn't taste bready, and who can argue with that? Depending on how moist your chicken is, you may need more or less bread crumbs, so add a TB or two a time until you can form a patty, while trying to handle the patty as little as possible.