crustless pasty

2 turnips
3 red potatoes
1 red onion
3 carrots
1 bottom round or eye round steak, chopped into small pieces
springs of thyme
butter
oil
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 400°F. Roughly chop turnips, potatoes, carrots and thyme.

Melt butter and oil in large cast iron pan, add finely chopped onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add turnip, potato, carrot, and thyme to the cast iron pan, and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on medium high for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.

Remove vegetables to a separate plate. Add another tablespoon of butter to the cast iron pan. Add the chopped steak and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until barely browned. Add vegetables to steak and stir to combine.

Place uncovered cast iron pan in 400°F oven. Cook for 10 minutes and then broil for 3 minutes to lightly brown top.

fancy gluten-free cranberry cake

We made a gluten-free version of this clafoutis recipe, and while our first version didn't turn out the way the pictures online look, it tasted great, was easy to make and we had all the ingredients on hand. It's an easy, and impressive, dessert to throw together for guests. For Thanksgiving, I would start to make it after dinner is over, so that by the time the 90 minutes to make it has passed you and your guests will be hungry again and it can be served warm.

3 large eggs plus 3 egg yolks
1 cup turbinado sugar
2 cups half-and-half
1/2 cup gluten-free flour (we used Cup for Cup)
3 tablespoons Grand Marnier/orange-flavored brandy (we used triple sec)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Unsalted butter, for the baking dish
2 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, halved
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Combine the eggs, egg yolks, 1/2 cup turbinado sugar, the half-and-half, gluten free flour, orange brandy, vanilla and salt in a blender. Pulse until the sugar has dissolved and the batter is smooth, about 1 minute. Let sit at room temperature, 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F. Butter the bottom and side of an 11-inch ceramic tart pan or pie plate and set on a baking sheet. Toss the cranberries with 5 tablespoons turbinado sugar in a small bowl; spread in the bottom of the prepared tart pan. Bake until the mixture starts to caramelize, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and reduce the temperature to 375 degrees F.

As soon as the batter is done resting and while the cranberries are still warm, carefully pour 1 cup of the prepared batter into the hot pan and let sit 5 minutes, then pour in the remaining batter. Sprinkle the remaining 3 tablespoons turbinado sugar on top. Bake until puffed and almost set, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool 20 minutes. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Serve immediately.

Adapted from Food Network

forget about it cranberry sauce

This was the new hit of Thanksgiving 2015. While it's based on a basic recipe, I made changes on the fly based on what we had in the house as well as the fact that I let boil way longer than originally intended because I forgot about it while I was cooking other things. We ended up with our own jellied cranberry sauce.

1 bag of fresh cranberries
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of water
1 tangerine

Empty a 12-ounce bag of fresh cranberries into a saucepan and leave aside 1/2 cup of the cranberries.

Add 1 cup sugar, 1 cup of water, and zest from half the tangerine. Squeeze the juice from the tangerine into the saucepan.

Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the cranberries burst, about 20 minutes. Continue cooking until the liquid is completely reduced, another 10 minutes.

Reduce the heat to low and stir in the reserved cranberries. Serve warm or cold.

Adapted from Food Network

beeft stew

Lots of beets and lots of stew meat means getting as close to borscht as we can. This can take a long time to make so it's a perfect weekend afternoon stew.

3 lbs of chuck eye steak
2 large vidalia onions
1 tsp sugar
6 beets
3 cups beef stock

1 sprig of thyme

salt and pepper
butter
oil

Slice onions, cut beets into small pieces and cut meat into 1 inch pieces.

In a dutch oven, heat the oil until hot. Working in batches, brown the meat on all sides. Transfer the browned meat to a plate and repeat until all the meat is browned.

Add the butter and onions to the dutch oven and stir occasionally until the onions start to soften, 5-10 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and sprinkle in the sugar. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add the beets and cook until they begin to release their juices, 10 minutes. Stir in the broth and bring to a boil.

Add the meat and the accumulated juices on the plate, and the thyme, to the dutch oven and bring back up to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

the best pork roast ever

This is similar to a pork chop and sauce recipe we love that transfers extremely well to a pork roast. The fat cap on top creates a crust that tastes just like pork belly and the thickness of the pork roast means this is the juiciest pork you've ever had.

2 lb pork loin roast with a fat cap
3 3/4 teaspoons french sea salt
3 teaspoons coriander
2 1/4 teaspoons mustard seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees with roasting pan inside. Crush coriander, mustard seeds, salt and pepper in a mortar and pestle. Rub all of the spice mixture all over the pork loin including the ends and coat with olive oil.

Add the pork loin to the roasting pan fat side up and cook, undisturbed, for 15 minutes at 500 degrees and then turn the oven down to 350 degrees and cook for 45 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes. Slice to serve.

umami chard

We saw this recipe on Man Fire Food but couldn't find it anywhere online so we made up the proportions. It is so good - a combination of flavors we would never think to put together. I imagine these flavors would be good with collard greens, spinach, or anything green and leafy.

2-3 slices of bacon
1 onion
1 shallot
1 garlic clove
honey
red wine vinegar
red pepper flakes
chard

Chop the slices of bacon into small pieces. Roughly chop the onion, shallot and garlic. In a cast iron pan, fry the bacon until the fat has rendered. Add the onion, shallot and garlic and fry until softened and fragrant. Pour in the honey and red wine vinegar and add the red pepper flakes. Stir to combine. Add the chard and stir until chard is covered with sauce. Cover the pan and cook for 8 minutes.

it's nota frittata – no egg veggie casserole

With all the farm share veggies we get frittatas are a good way of stuffing a lot of different vegetables into a single, easy-to-make dish. But wow do I get sick of eggs fast. This dish helps clear out the veggies without the need for eggs and the flavors come together in a surprisingly delicious way.

I have updated the amounts of each of the ingredients used from the original recipe to reflect the sizes and amount of veggies we get in our CSA.

2 tablespoons butter
2 small to medium onions, chopped
Olive oil cooking spray
4-5 small farm potatoes (color/type doesn't matter), sliced
2 cups of zucchini, sliced
3-4 medium to large tomatoes, sliced and halved
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2-3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400°. Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a medium skillet over medium heat; add onions, and sauté 10 to 12 minutes or until tender and onions begin to caramelize.

Spoon onions into a 10-inch dish coated with cooking spray. Toss together potatoes, zucchini, salt and pepper. Salt and pepper tomato slices separately so they don't break up. Layer potatoes, zucchini, and tomatoes over onions, alternating and overlapping slightly. Drizzle with 2-4 Tbsp. melted butter. Cover with aluminum foil.

Bake at 400° for 30 minutes. Remove foil, and sprinkle with cheese. Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

fig & honey heaven

It's fig season and I couldn't be happier! Usually we just roast them in the oven with some honey but the below recipe is an even better version of that.

Fresh figs
1-2 tablespoons of butter
2-3 tablespoons of honey
fresh whipped cream

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Wash and trim both ends of the figs. Put the figs, cut side up, in a baking dish. Melt the butter in a bowl in the microwave, add the honey and heat another 30 seconds. Whisk to combine. Drizzle the hot honey butter over the figs and roast in oven until very soft, 15 minutes.

Add the cooked figs to a bowl, top with whipped cream and drizzle with the honey butter sauce from the bottom of the baking dish.

Adapted from Food Network

making greens meaty

A spring CSA means loads of greens. So far this season we've had mustard greens, turnip greens, beet greens, tokyo bekana (a mild mustard green), arugula, swiss chard, kohlrabi greens and so much lettuce. We've tried a number of different preparations and have actually gotten through just about everything, but a favorite so far has been a quick stir fry.

We had both tokyo bekana and chard and a little bit of cottage bacon. We fried up the cottage bacon pieces in a cast iron pan until browned, added the greens with the stems removed from the chard. When the greens were just about done we added a splash of 18-year balsamic vinegar and then cooked everything for another minute or two. A bit of salt and pepper to taste and you're done.

red beans and rice take two

We enjoy Roger Mooking's Man, Fire, Food quite a bit and recently caught an episode that included red beans and rice and tons of smoked meat. The version of that recipe we tried, while similar to mine, threw in enough new ingredients, and turned out well enough, that I wanted to write down what I did before I forget.

1 package pork belly (we get it from Trader Joe's)
1 link linguica
1 package andouille sausage (we love North Country's)
1 onion
2-3 garlic cloves
12 ounces of water
2 16 ounce cans of dark red kidney beans
cajun seasoning
Worcestershire sauce
Crystal's hot sauce
Cooked rice

Cut up all three meats into bite sized pieces (we did smallish chunks for the pork belly, cubes for the linguica and rounds for the andouille). Place the pork belly in a Dutch oven and heat on high until the pork belly gets crusty and brown. Add the other meats, onion and garlic and cook until onions become translucent. Add the water and kidney beans and stir. Add cajun seasoning to taste, as well as 2 to 3 glugs each of Worcestershire sauce and Crystal's hot sauce. Heat at medium high until the liquid has thickened and reduced, or until the rice is ready.

We also steamed some spinach and vitaminna with just salt and pepper and it complemented the heaviness of the dish nicely.

Adapted from Cooking Channel

chicken corn chowda

This was an incredibly easy and delicious chowder - most of the work goes into chopping everything, but once that's done it all comes together very quickly. Good for a hearty weeknight meal.

2 cups half and half
2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
2 tablespoons butter
2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons corn starch
3 cups milk
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels (about 3 ears)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt

Combine the half and half with the first 2 cups of corn in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat, but watch to make sure it doesn't boil over. Stir regularly and cook for approx. 15 minutes until the half and half is infused with corn flavor.

Cut the chicken thighs into bite sized pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the chicken and brown until cooked through. Remove the chicken to a separate dish.

Add onion, celery, and jalapeño to the Dutch oven; cook for 3 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Add corn starch; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in milk, chicken, the half and half and corn mixture and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil; cook until thick (about 5 minutes).

Adapted from Cooking Light

non-caramel caramel pork

We stumbled across this caramel pork recipe when looking recipes using fish sauce and while it doesn't really smell very good the flavor was outstanding. The original recipe called for raw cabbage but we found the slightly wilted flavor much more appealing.

2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 pounds ground pork
1 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 cup unsalted chicken stock
6 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoon soy sauce
4 teaspoons cornstarch
4 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
sushi rice
3 cup thinly sliced napa (Chinese) cabbage
1/4 cup chopped unsalted roasted peanuts
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
4 lime wedges

Heat large skillet over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon sesame oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add ground pork; stir-fry 6 minutes, until cooked through. Remove pork from pan. Add onion, ginger, and garlic to pan; stir-fry 4 minutes. Combine stock and next 6 ingredients (through red pepper) in a bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add stock mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 4 minutes or until sauce is thick and bubbly. Return pork to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring to coat.

In a separate skillet heat second tablespoon of sesame oil and olive oil. Add cabbage and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until wilted and just beginning to brown.

Spoon 1/2 cup rice onto each of 4 plates; top each serving with 3/4 cup pork mixture and 1/4 cup cabbage. Sprinkle each serving with 1 tablespoon peanuts and 1 tablespoon cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.

Adapted from Cooking Light

lettuce mix

We eat salad at least once a week, and now that our spring farm share has started off with delicious lettuce mix it just makes us want to eat even more salads.

A few options for when we're forgetful:

Steak and Blueberry Salad

steak seasoned with salt and pepper only
blueberries
goat cheese
lettuce mix

For the dressing we used black cherry balsamic, olive oil and salt and pepper. We used Denver cut steak and it was amazing.

Pulled Pork Salad

leftover bbq pulled pork
tomatoes
orange
lettuce
goat cheese

For the dressing we used cara cara vanilla balsamic, olive oil and salt and pepper.

Pork Chop Salad

Pork Belly and Roasted Root Veggie Salad
For this you can throw in any root veggies you have. We did it with:
baby carrots
small turnips
kohlrabi
radishes

We roasted all of the veggies in a marinade of honey, olive oil, cara cara vanilla balsamic and pineapple white balsamic, salt and pepper for 45 minutes at 400 and 15 minutes at 415 degrees.

We made a vinaigrette using the pineapple balsamic, coated the lettuce, added the fried pork belly and roasted veggies and a little bit of goat cheese.

restaurant pork sauce

This turned out as well as anything we could get in a restaurant.

1 pork tenderloin
salt
pepper
garlic powder
olive oil
butter
lemon juice
parsley
thyme
sweet white wine

Preheat oven to 425°F. Season pork with salt, pepper and garlic powder and brush with 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork and cook until brown on all sides, turning often, about 5 minutes. Transfer skillet to oven, and roast pork about 15 minutes. Remove skillet from oven and let pork stand 10 minutes. Cut pork crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices.

Add 4 tablespoons lemon juice to the hot skillet the pork was cooked in and scrape up browned bits with a spoon while heating over medium high heat. Sprinkle in parsley, thyme, garlic, salt, and pepper. Add 1/4 cup of sweet white wine and reduce until slightly thickened.

Add pork slices back into the pan with the sauce and coat. Serve sliced pork with extra sauce.

ginger world soup

We adapted an earlier recipe into what you see below, and while it can literally include anything you'd like, this version was so good we wanted to capture it so we could make it again.

Ham, Mushroom and Ginger Soup

1 package dried mushrooms (we used maitake, but anything should work)
4 cups nearly boiling water
1 onion, diced
3 links hot italian sausage
3 links sweet italian sausage
A 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and diced finely
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon corn starch
6 cups homemade ham broth
1 cup diced ham
1/2 package sliced shittake mushrooms
1 bunch of bok choy, cut into bite-sized pieces
sichuan pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sesame oil
sesame seeds

Bring the 4 cups of water nearly to a boil. Soak the dried mushrooms in the boiled water for 20-30 minutes.

While the mushrooms are soaking, mix the soy, sugar, salt and corn starch in a large bowl. Make sure there are no corn starch lumps. Add the ham, shittakes and ginger to the bowl, toss to coat with the marinade, and set aside.

Heat the olive oil and sesame oil in a stockpot. Dice the onion and add to the oil. Add sichuan pepper to taste. Cook until the onions have softened but not browned. Remove the sausage meat from the casing and add to the pot. Heat until cooked through.

When the mushrooms have softened, remove from the water (saving the soaking liquid) and slice thin. Add the mushrooms into the bowl with the ham and ginger. Pour the soaking water though a fine-meshed sieve lined with a paper towel back into the cooking pot.

Put the ham and mushroom mixture, and the 6 cups of ham broth into the pot and bring to a boil. Add chopped bok choy. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook gently for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve hot. 

new thanksgiving favorite

We spend Thanksgiving as often with friends as we do with family and one of the best parts are the new foods we encounter from other people's family traditions. I could eat nothing but this and stuffing for T-day and be perfectly happy.

1 20 oz can crushed pineapple with juice
1/4 cup of sugar
1 packet unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
3 tbsp cherry juice
3 tbsp maraschino cherries, finely chopped (or substitute 1 pkg frozen strawberries)
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1 - 2 cups of cool whip

Heat the pineapple with sugar and stir to dissolve the sugar. Meanwhile, soften gelatin in 1/4 cup cold water. Add the gelatin to the pineapple mixture and let mixture cool. Mash cream cheese with a fork, then add the cherries and cherry juice. Mix with the pineapple and chill until slightly thickened. Defrost the Cool Whip and blend into the pineapple-cheese mixture. Pour into mold or glass bowl and chill until set.

Try not to eat all of it in one sitting.

go go bulgogi

I've never had bulgogi, but after watching Korean Food Made Simple this was all I wanted to make. I couldn't find the recipe online, so I've guessed at the amounts needed. Can't wait to try this.

1 to 1 1/2 lb thinly sliced sirloin steak. Freeze for 45 minutes to be able to cut across the grain thinly.
2-3 tbsp white sugar
⅓ cup of soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 knob of ginger, minced
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, halved and sliced
crimini mushrooms, halved
2 carrots thinly sliced into strips
2 green onions including the white parts sliced into small pieces

Mix sliced beef with sugar to tenderize. Let rest for 30 minutes.

Marinade: Mix together soy sauce, sesame oil, roasted sesame seeds, ginger, garlic and olive oil. Shake off and squeeze excess sugar water from beef and add beef to the marinade and stir to coat. Let marinate for 30 minutes to overnight.

Add sliced onions to hot pan. Don't brown, just soften. Add crimini mushrooms and carrot strips. Keep pan on low until vegetables are slightly softened. Add beef and cook through. Add a little water to pick up browned bits from the bottom of the pan to make a bit of gravy.

To serve, top with sliced scallions and sesame seeds.

spinach cheese pie - hold the crust

We've doubled this recipe, and added even more cheese! You can never have enough cheese!

2 bags frozen spinach, thawed, moisture squeezed out
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup of white cheddar
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place cast iron skillet in oven and heat for 10 minutes. In a bowl, combine spinach with eggs, feta, cottage cheese, cheddar, salt and pepper. Mix well. Remove skillet from oven, and reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees. Spread spinach filling evenly over crust, and bake for 20 minutes longer. Cool for 10 minutes before slicing.

porky belly salady

In an effort to find the right side salad for our sweet potato soup we came up with a delicious pork belly, fried egg and parmesan salad.

Ingredients:
2 eggs
cooked pork belly
hard parmesan cheese
balsamic vinegar
lettuce

Wash salad greens and distribute among two bowls. Shave parmesan into each bowl. Fry pork belly until crisp on all sides. Slice the fried pork belly. Fry each egg in the same pan as you fried the pork belly to use the leftover pork fat. Mix everything together.

favorite steak salad

This is our favorite steak salad - we eat it nearly once a week.

1 skirt steak
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
1/2 teaspoon (packed) dark brown sugar
4 cups (lightly packed) arugula
goat cheese
dried cranberries

Sprinkle steak generously with salt and pepper or steak seasoning. Heat oil in cast iron skillet over high heat. Add steak; cook to desired doneness, about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer to plate. Add vinegar, shallots, and sugar to skillet; boil until reduced to glaze, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. Divide arugula, goat cheese and cranberries between 2 plates. Slice steak; place atop arugula. Drizzle lightly with glaze.

Adapted from Epicurious.com

dark rum mojito steak salad

I'm not sure where this recipe came from, but it sounds super tasty, and we have lots of different rums to try in it.

1 (8-ounce) top sirloin, fat trimmed
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh chopped mint
2 tablespoons sugar
1 ounce white rum (optional)
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper
1 head Romaine lettuce, chopped
1 red bell pepper, minced
½ red onion, minced
1 cup corn cut off the cob
8 to 10 cherry tomatoes, halved

Dressing
½ cup light sour cream
3 tablespoons taco sauce or salsa
Juice of ½ lime
Salt and pepper

In a small bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon of olive oil, mint, sugar, rum and juice of 1 lime. Pour over steak and marinate for 15-20 minutes.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Season both sides of the steak with salt and pepper, and sear until golden- brown or desired doneness, preferably medium-rare or medium. Let steak rest and slightly cool.

In a large bowl, mix together lettuce, peppers, onions, corn and tomatoes. Thinly slice steak and toss with salad.

Mix all dressing ingredients together, and pour over salad. Serve immediately.

cheesy frittata

The first frittata we made came about out of necessity - we were hungry and the only thing we could make out of what we had in the house was a frittata. It was so good we went out to get the ingredients to make it again.

Ingredients:
8 eggs
2 tbsp half and half
1 small log of herbed goat cheese
1 onion, chopped
1/2 lb of bacon
salt and pepper
1 tomato, thinly sliced
slices of brie
2 zucchini, chopped

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Chop raw bacon into small pieces. Fry in a cast iron skillet until crispy. Remove to a separate bowl and pour off excess bacon grease from the skillet. Fry the onions in the bacon grease until softened and add the chopped zucchini, frying both until lightly browned. (Cover to help speed the softening process.) Add the crumbled bacon and stir to combine.

Place slices of brie on top of the mixture (use as much or as little as you want).

Whisk the eggs with the half and half and salt and pepper to taste. Pour the eggs over the veggies, meat and cheese in the skillet. Place slices of tomato carefully on top of the eggs and sprinkle chunks from the log of goat cheese over the top.

Cook on the stove top for 8 minutes, then transfer to the oven for another 15 minutes, then broil for 4 minutes until brown and bubbly on top, and cooked through.

Cut into wedges to serve.

My favorite part of the frittata is the tomato, every time. So while we haven't tried this yet, next time we plan a tomato-heavy version. 

Prepare as above, except omit the zucchini. Once the onions have softened, add the bacon and stir to combine. Place slices of tomato over onion mixture. Add a layer of goat cheese, then add another layer of tomato and a layer of brie. Pour eggs over the top. Add another layer of tomato and crumble the goat cheese on top. Cook as directed above.