RIP Zelda Rubenstein (J.D. Salinger Not Pictured)

A farewell to one of Pittsburgh's finest:


Pittsbugh's other finest:

Ladies Brunch Burger: The Follow-Up

A deep fried caper does actually sound good.

How I Feel

Beefcakes

We have a new IT guy in our office and I already liked him because he brought in a giant pan of bakalva for everyone. Now I like him even more because I just found out he is featured in the This Is Why You're Fat book for this Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf with a layer of Mac n' Cheese.

Kind of jealous.

Leftovers - '09

Some food pictures I didn't use over the last year....next week I won't be so lazy.


Willa and her birthday cake. I guess this is more than a year old...

Roasted peppers and carrots


Spinach and arugula pesto


Lora's squash and oatmeal bread


Pumpkin soup

Gimme A Beet

The dumb thing about this soup is that I don't really think anyone ate it on Christmas. The other dumb thing is that in this picture it looks like marinara sauce.

There are a couple awesome things though, too:
1. This soup is endlessly versatile and cheap to make
2. It's very healthy and great for cold weather...or actually if you have a cold
3. It's pretty and festive
4. You get to use your immersion blender


Carrot-Beet Soup with Ginger - serves about 6 people as a starter
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
4 medium carrots, peeled
1 large peeled chopped apple
2 cans of small beets
5 cups vegetable stock
Handful fresh chopped parsley
2 tsp dried thyme
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange (or clementine) juice
2 tsp orange zest
2 Tbsp freshly grated ginger
salt and pepper to taste
Optional: Plain yogurt to finish

Directions:
Saute chopped onion in olive oil over medium heat. When onions are soft add 1 1/2 cups stock to the pot and allow some of the liquid to absorb. Add carrots, apple, parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper and cover with 3 more cups of stock. Cover and simmer for about 25 minutes. Check to be sure vegetables are all fork tender and blend this mix using a food processor or immersion blender.

At this point you'll have a puree but some liquid will separate from it as it sits. Simmer for another ten minutes as you add ginger, orange juice, vinegar, and orange zest. Add any remaining stock as you do another round of blending.

For a richer soup, garnish with plain yogurt or blend plain yogurt in during the second round.

For an extra smooth soup, run the twice-processed mixture through a fine sieve.

Feasts of Christmas: Fennel Gratin and Larson's Kringler

I had a lot to be thankful for and happy about this Christmas.

My brother and his fiancee were home from Nashville. The crazy snowstorm kept my sister's family in town so we had all the little kids with us on Christmas Eve. My dad drew me for gift exchange this year and gave me this amazing collection of herbs and spices - many from his own garden - and a handmade rack that my niece kept calling my "spice ladder." But one of my very favorite parts of my holiday came on Christmas Eve morning when it was just me and some food.

First I got started making Rachel Larson's famed Almond Kringler. It's a three layer job but it's actually very quick to put together and everyone loves it.

Layer One: Shortbread-like crust. Layer Two: Fluffy, eggy, baked custard-y filling.


Layer Three: Simple icing and sprinkle of sliced almonds.


In honor of my friend Siri I baked this whilst listening to Ella's Swingin' Christmas.

Find the full recipe at The Transplanted Baker.

Next, I turned my thoughts to my loving, vegetarian sister. I knew our Christmas spread would be sausage heavy and thought she should not miss out on having something indulgent just because she doesn't groove on the meats. So I sliced up some potatoes and simmered vegetable stock, a bit of heavy cream, and two whole cloves of garlic:


And got to some more layerin'


Potatoes, leeks, and fennel with pecorino romano, the stock/cream mixture and breadcrumbs. I don't think I need to tell you it was delicious.


Fennel Gratin - makes one 9 x 13 pan

Simmer in a heavy pot over low heat:
1 can (12 oz or a little less) vegetable stock
1/2 cup half & half, heavy cream, or 2% milk
Pinch of nutmeg
Fresh black pepper
Two peeled whole cloves of garlic (discard when you remove mixture from heat)

Prepare:
6 large yukon gold or large red potatoes, peeled
1 large leek, cleaned and chopped
1 large bulb of fennel, quartered and sliced
Keep some fennel fronds for garnish

Grate:
Heaping cup of pecorino romano cheese

In a buttered 9 x 13 baking dish layer potatoes (salt and pepper them), then fennel, and sprinkle with leeks. Cover with half of the cream mixture and sprinkle with cheese. Repeat layering and finish with cheese and a handful of breadcrumbs.

Bake covered with foil at 375 for about 45 minutes. Liquid should be nearly completely absorbed. Uncover and bake for another 15 minutes. Garnish with fennel fronds.

To be continued...with Ginger-Beet soup.