Magical Peanut Butter

The Culprits

The most recent couple of times I noticed that peanut butter was making something taste better, I chalked it up to coincidence and the fact that it had the term butter in the title. Butter pretty much makes everything better. Then is started to notice that things I didn’t necessarily enjoy on their own were made incredibly tasty with the addition of some kind of peanut butter. Could this be mere chance? After a mild deliberation with my culinary memory, I made the eureka-like epiphany that peanut butter has actual magical powers and should be revered amongst all staple pantry ingredients. Think about the logistics of this statement. Celery and apples are quite boring on their own but smear them with peanut butter and you have a tasty snack that even kids love. A piece of whole grain toast is made delectable with peanut butter spread on it. Chocolate cupcakes are good on their own, but really they are just a vehicle for peanut butter frosting. The list goes on and on, its official; peanut butter is magical.

So now it’s time to apply it to a more substantial dish. Summer is here and summer vegetables are abounding at every market and begging to be eaten. Eggplant, bell peppers, broccoli, summer squash and tomatoes are all incredibly good for you, require little preparation (if any at all, I usually just stand at the counter and eat the entire carton of baby tomatoes) and make a great one dish meal, especially with the addition of a little protein. And here is where the magical peanut butter comes in. When dealing with kids, and even many adults (who are we kidding here), a dish composed entirely of vegetables is not often the most appealing dinner meal. Eureka moment alert: pour a peanut butter based dressing over said vegetables and suddenly it’s a rush for seconds at the dinner table. Another great quality about this dish is that you can easily swap out ingredients for whatever you prefer. I love it with blanched asparagus when the season is right.

So there it is, my quasi argument for the supernatural nature of peanut butter. And bear in mind, my choice of peanut butter is the super healthy, all natural, and no sugar or additives kind. Imagine what a jar of skippy would bring to the recipe…



Mixed Vegetables with Asian Peanut Dressing

2 bone in skin on chicken breasts
1 tbs olive oil
1 medium summer squash, halved lengthwise and cut into half moons
1 small Japanese eggplant, halved lengthwise and cut into half moons
1 large head of broccoli, cut into florets
1 red pepper, cut into strips
1 cup fresh snap peas
¼ cup diced scallions
1 cup cherry tomatoes

Dressing:

¼ cup smooth peanut butter
1 tbs honey
½ cup vegetable or canola oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
3 tbs low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tbs apple cider or apple cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lay chicken breasts on a rimmed baking sheet and bake approximately 35 minutes, until cooked through. Set aside to cool.

To make dressing, microwave the peanut butter and honey in a heatproof bowl for 10-20 second, until easy to stir. Add remaining ingredients and whisk to combine.

In a non stick skillet over medium low heat, cook the eggplant and squash in the olive oil until soft and starting to brown, about 10 minutes, turning heat up towards the end to caramelize the vegetables. Pour into a large bowl and add peppers, snap peas, tomatoes and scallions. Add an inch of water to the skillet and bring to a bowl. Add the broccoli florets, cover and cook 2-3 minutes. Drain and run under cold water to stop cooking process. Add to bowl with other veggies. Remove skin from chicken and shred into bite size pieces. Discard bones and skin. Add to bowl and pour dressing over to moisten. Wonderful served over brown rice. Makes 4 dinner portions.

A Tasty Way to Ruin Your Clothes

That age old saying that your grandparents taught you about some lessons in life being learned the hard way is in fact a true statement. Like that you should Never wear any articles of white clothing while prepping or cooking beets. Yep, I learned that today, when my (favorite) white pants were irretrievably marred with pink splatter marks when I got a little too excited peeling the beets. Maybe that is my punishment for wearing white before labor day. Whatever the reasoning, lesson learned. Although in the back of my mind there is a little voice asking, “you didn’t know that already?”

Ruined pants aside, I am now relishing in the fruit of my sacrifice. This delicious little appetizer is something I first made when I was working at the academy awards a few years ago. Hundreds upon hundreds of mini beet and goat cheese napoleons were passed around on silver platters that night, and it was me that made at least 150 of them. It is such a simple idea, requiring just two lovely ingredients. It’s one of those dishes that made me wonder why in the world I hadn’t thought of it before. I love beets and goat cheese in salads, so why not make a dish out of those two items alone? And while we’re at it, let’s make it incredibly pretty with a striking presentation.

A few words of wisdom on making the napoleons; use dental floss to cut the goat cheese and be sure to wipe the knife blade between cuts. I know it sounds strange to use teeth paraphernalia in the kitchen, but I assure you, nothing works better to slice through soft cheese.



Beet and Goat Cheese Napoleons

1 lb fresh beets, any color you like
1 log of goat cheese
Sea salt for serving (optional)

Bring a large pan of water to a boil over high heat. Chop the greens off the beets (if you are feeling experimental, save these and try cooking them, they are Delicious! Like swiss chard, only without all the bitterness and with all the health benefits.) Trim the tail off the beets too, if they have one and place in the boiling water. Reduce heat and simmer for 40 to 50 minutes, until tender when pierced with a fork. Drain and set aside to cool. When cool enough to handle, remove the skins by rubbing with your fingers. They should come right off. Slice the beets horizontally into ¼ inch slices and set on papers towels to absorb some of the redness.

Place the goat cheese in the freezer for 20 minutes before you slice it to help it firm up a bit.

Lay the log of goat cheese on a cutting board and using a long piece of dental floss, slide the floss underneath the log and pull up on the two ends, about a ¼ inch from the end. You want to end up with similar size slices as the beets. Repeat with remaining cheese. If you are using large beets, flatten slices slightly with your palm so they reach the edge of the beet slices. Lay a goat cheese slice on top of a beet and then top with another beet slice. You can make them two layers for a more dramatic presentation, but I like to stick with one layer. Slice in half, rinse the knife and then slice into quarters. Sprinkle with a bit of sea salt for a nice finish and serve.

Using up the Zucchini

Even though we’re still only in February, every time I visit the local market, there are zucchini abounding. Zucchini is one of those summer vegetables that simply procreate to the point where you cannot give them away. When I was growing up, if you took a drive along the old farm roads, there would be bushels of zucchini sitting at the end of driveways, free for the taking. Unfortunately, everyone else was in the same position, so more often than not, they would simply rot away. Many a hog was fattened on summer squash.

It’s always a fun challenge to create new recipes in efforts to use up all the zucchini. A while ago, I read about a chocolate chip cookie recipe that has shredded zucchini in them, and I plan on giving those a try in a couple months. And even though this recipe is slightly ahead of the normal zucchini season, I was making them for a cocktail party tonight and couldn’t help writing about them. They are the perfect little mouthful. Just one bite of zucchini goodness, in the shape of a mini muffin, which makes them fun as well.



Zucchini Fritters

2 Tbs unsalted butter, melted
2 Tbs heavy cream
2 Eggs
3 Tbs whole grain mustard
1 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbs minced garlic
1 medium onion, diced
1 Tbs chopped fresh basil or parsley
1 cup all purpose flour
¼ cup cornmeal
½ tsp baking powder
3 medium zucchini, grated
6 oz gruyere or swiss cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray 2 mini muffin pans with non stick spray.

In a large bowl, combine first 8 ingredients (through basil or parsley) and whisk to combine. Mix in flour, cornmeal and baking powder and mix gently. Add grated zucchini and cheese and stir with a spatula to evenly distribute all ingredients. Spoon heaping tablespoons into each mini muffin cup and place trays in oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until deeply browned on top. Let cool in pans for 2 minutes, then invert onto a large plate. There should be enough batter to repeat the process once more. Serve warm or let cool completely, then package in airtight containers and store in fridge. Reheat in microwave or on a sheet tray in a 300 degree oven for 10 minutes. Makes approximately 40-50 mini fritters.

A Healthy Way to Catch the Sauce

I am a true believer that one of the best parts of a meal is the sauce. I don’t make a lot of food with sauces, but when I do, it is far and away the best part. I once had a client offer me $100 for the recipe to a port reduction sauce I had made for a dinner party at her house. After a quick giggle, I gave it to her for free. That's how I roll. A thick, rich sauce swimming around a plate, soaking it’s wonderfulness into anything that dares block its path; heaven. The best vessels for catching stray sauce, beyond the meat it was designed for, are mashed potatoes and polenta. Relatively neutral and textural perfect to take on whatever flavor the sauce carries. However, as delicious as these side dishes are, there is not a lot of nutritional value in them. I wouldn’t go as far as to say they are unhealthy, for that is not the case, but I thought there had to be healthier options that delivered the same. Cauliflower puree was a great substitution, but cauliflower is one of those vegetables that many people are adverse to, so I wanted to find something else that would work.



Enter the celery root and the parsnip. Celery root, or celeriac, is the extremely odd looking, knobby vegetable you may have seen and pondered next to the carrots and celery. It has a sweet subtle flavor that is something between a potato and celery, with hints of fennel. Parsnips are the long white vegetables masquerading as albino carrots. Both are root vegetables that have the texture of a potato, but each more flavorful and packing more nutritional value than one. I didn’t stop there either; I added golden delicious apples and then added a potato for a thickening agent. Cooking in water didn’t quite do it for me, so I cooked them in apple juice instead. Yum. Finishing the dish with cream added a bit of a splurge, but gave the puree the creaminess that a great mashed potato would have, so I figured it was worth it. The finished product impressed two meat-and-potato guys, so I figure that is always a good sign. I have to admit I was pretty proud of myself with this one, and in the end it didn’t even need a sauce to be a new favorite of mine.

Celery Root, Parsnip and Apple Puree

1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1Tbs unsalted butter
1 pound of celery root, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 pound of parsnips, peeled and cut into large chunks
2 golden delicious, peeled, cored and cut into large chunks
1 medium yukon gold potato, peeled and cut into large chunks
½ cup good apple juice
½ water
½ heavy cream
Kosher salt

Add oil and butter to a heavy bottomed sauce pan set over medium heat. Add all vegetables, a pinch of salt and cook for about 5 minutes. Add apple juice, cover and lower heat to maintain a simmer. Cook approximately 30 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Check occasionally to make sure there is still liquid in the pot. If not, add some more apple juice or water. Remove from heat, stir in cream, and process with an immersion blender or in a food processor. Return to pan and add a bit of liquid of choice if too thick. It should be texturally similar to mashed potatoes. Season to taste. Serves 4 large side portions.

Carrot Double Duty

I am all for multi tasking and I still can't resist a recipe that does double duty. This time of year especially, when friends and family have time off from work and I can see the people I love again. Since for the most part, I work evenings and weekends, my schedule often doesn't coincide with my friends' schedule and I relish in these opportunities to spend time with everyone while they have time off from work. This is when the cooking ahead and making double batches of recipes comes in handy. More time I can save on cooking, more time I can play. The catch is that since I cook for a living, everyone wants to come over for dinner. Fine with me, being the hostess floats my boat, I just have to be creative in time management so that I can still spend quality time conversing and not standing over the stove the entire time. I make a double batch of the glazed carrot recipe, serve the glazed carrots for dinner, and make soup the next day. And by make soup, I mean take the remaining carrots and puree them. Dinner, done.

This soup is simple and delicious, with the added bonus of being very good for you. Kids have been known to ask for it, boyfriends will scarf it down and ask for seconds and it is an excellent starter course for a nice dinner. Because it won’t fill you up, it pairs beautifully with a coursed meal, yet it’s also a fantastic light lunch when paired with a tasty salad. Smashing the ginger as opposed to grating it releases just enough flavor to enhance the soup without overpowering the carrot’s essence.

For Glazed Carrots

3 lbs peeled carrots, cut into large chunks
2 Tbs unsalted butter
2 tsp granulated sugar
¼ cup chicken stock
1 inch chunk of fresh ginger, peeled and smashed with back of knife
Kosher salt



For Soup
3-4 cups chicken stock

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add sugar, carrots, stock and ginger, place lid on pot and cook for about 10 minutes over medium low heat. Carrots should be almost fork tender, but still have a little resistance to them. Take lid off pot and cook over medium heat until reduced to a glaze, approximately 5 minutes longer. Season to taste. This is a delicious side dish on its own, especially with chicken or pork. To make into a soup, add 2 cups of the stock and puree with an immersion blender or in a standing blender, adding stock as needed to thin. Strain through a fine mesh sieve if desired, although it’s more rustic left unstrained. Pour back into pot if necessary and season to taste with kosher salt. Serve hot. Makes 4 large servings.

A Trip South of the Border

When I originally sat down at the computer to type my recipe for tortilla soup, it was quite chilly in the Los Angeles area, a term that I realize is somewhat vague, especially for my friends living in Chicago and Boston. Chilly to me is 50 degrees, and the mercury actually dropped to below 40 a few nights ago. Over that blessed few days where it actually felt like December, I went soup crazy. My kitchen was a little nest of warmth from which it was hard to pry myself away from. Quart containers were filled with a veritable smorgasbord of tasty winter treats and the freezer is now too full to put the ice trays back in. I couldn’t help myself. Days off and cold temperatures are too tempting, and I get a little Monica with the cooking.
In honoring the month of soups, I knew that tortilla soup would have to be one of the recipes, considering my love of all things south of the border. The right blend of rich dried chilies and fresh tomatoes cooked together and topped with whatever is around the kitchen is a wonderful way to end a day, in my humble opinion. The best thing about a soup like this is that it is totally adjustable. Very little of the outcome requires precise measuring, and if you like things a little spicier, more potent chilies are easily substituted.

Roasted Chili and Tomato Tortilla soup

2 dried pasilla chiles, stemmed and seeded
2 dried California chiles, stemmed and seeded
4 large ripe tomatoes, halved
1 large onion, sliced into 8 wedges
2 garlic cloves
½ tsp chopped fresh cilantro, plus sprigs for garnishing
6 cups of chicken stock.
½ tsp dried oregano
1 tsp sugar
4 corn tortillas, cut into ¼ inch strips
Cooking spray
Kosher salt as needed
For garnishes: 1 large avocado, cut into ½ inch chunks; sour cream

Preheat broiler to high. Place a large sheet of foil on a rimmed baking sheet. Place tomatoes, cut side down on foil, along with onions and garlic. Broil for approximately 10 minutes, until tomatoes start to blacken on top, checking to prevent burning. For last 30 seconds, place chiles on baking sheet. Remove from oven and add to food processor, along with accumulated juices. Remove foil from pan and sprinkle tortilla strips evenly on pan. Spray with cooking spray to coat and broil for 5 minutes, until they start to brown and crisp. Remove from oven and set aside.



Add cilantro to chili/tomato mix and process until well combine, pulsing often to break up chiles. This should take a minute or two. Season with ½ tsp of salt. Add puree to large saucepan and cook over medium heat until reduced by half, around 10-15minutes. Pour in stock, oregano and sugar and cook over medium low heat for 30 minutes. Taste for seasoning, adding another ½ tsp if needed. Ladle into bowls and garnish with tortilla strips, avocado, sour cream and cilantro sprigs as desired. Serves 4.

Avocado Anomaly

I have to admit; I love products with defects. Odd shaped tomatoes, mine. Gnarly potatoes, sold. If something has gone awry in a product I use on a regular basis, I must have it, use it, and talk about it. So when I halved an avocado the other day for my salad and discovered that it had two pits, I was ecstatic. This avocado was meant for greatness, not just another bowl of rabbit food for a basic lunch. I had been curious about making an avocado based soup for a while and figured since it was soup month for the blog, what could possibly be a better time for experimentation?

After some interesting concoctions, I discovered the most delicious result came from letting the avocado stand on its own without too many additional flavor profiles. I original made it using guacamole as my jumping off point, creating a puree of cooked tomatoes, red onion and cilantro and pureeing in the avocado. The result was unattractive to look at and it was strange to be eating guacamole with a spoon and no tortilla chips. Since I wanted a creamy soup full of avocado flavor, I used only what was necessary to enhance that and to create a thick and luxurious soup.
Note: As they love to do, the avocado base in this soup will discolor if left standing for a while. Best to serve promptly.



Avocado Soup

1 large ripe avocado
2 Tbs fresh lime juice
½ cup crème fraiche or sour cream
2 cups chicken stock
Kosher salt
2 tbs fresh cilantro, chopped for garnish

Halve and pit the avocado and coarsely chop in a food processor. Add the lime juice, a pinch of salt and 3 Tbs of the crème fraiche and puree until smooth. Heat the stock in a large saucepan until almost simmering and stir in the remaining crème fraiche. Add the avocado puree to the stock and heat gently for five minute, being careful not to bring to a boil. Ladle into bowls, season to taste and sprinkle with cilantro. Serves two for a hearty lunch, but easily doubled.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

Fall has always been my favorite season. Even living in Los Angeles for the past 8 years, where “fall” is 75 and sunny, hasn’t sullies my memories of autumn. I grew up in the boonies and the leaves on our 20 acres of property would become a kaleidoscope of colors which I could stare at for hours on end. Riding my horse on our endless trails during fall season will always be in my top ten list of favorite things. Fall was harvest time for us and even though our garden of irises would be just ending, and the tomatoes would be finishing as well, all my favorite vegetables would be coming into season. Butternut squash is at the top of that list and it seems only appropriate that I kick off soup month with my absolute favorite go to recipe for butternut squash soup.

When I first started experimenting with this soup, I tried numerous variations of flavors and methods which to cook the squash. I found simmering it in the pan with the onions and apples didn’t bring out the deep flavor of the squash and it became overpowered by the apple flavor. Roasting any kind of vegetable at high heat is, in my opinion, is the most effective way to bring out the most flavor in vegetables. The high heat causes caramelization and brings out the sweetness of the product. I also tried a few different spices in the soup, cumin, curry powder and I once added roasted garlic as well. While these additions were not bad at all, I found the simpler I kept it, the more flavorful it was, concentrating all the taste buds on the power of the squash. Simplicity always wins, it seems.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into large chunks
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil, divided
Kosher salt
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored and cut into small chunks
¼ cup dry white wine
1-2 cups of chicken stock
¼ cup of heavy cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place squash on rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tbs olive oil and ½ tsp salt. Toss to evenly coat. Bake for approximately 30-40 minutes, until squash is fork tender and browned on bottom side. Set aside.
In a large heavy bottomed saucepan, set over medium heat, add remaining tbs olive oil, onion and apple. Stir occasionally, until onions just start to brown. Add wine and stir, using a wooden spoon to scrape the bits from the bottom of the pan. Turn heat to low, cover and cook until apples are softened, about 15 minutes. Add 1 cup of stock and squash to pan and cook 1 minute longer. Using either an immersion blender if you have it, or a regular blender, puree soup, adding stock as needed to achieve desired consistency. Return to pot, season to taste and stir in cream, reserving a Tbs to drizzle over the top. Serves 4.

Sausage Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

As I have stated previously, I adore stuffing things and eating them. When you can get your entire food nutritional requirements into one dish, what’s not to like? These rolls have your vegetable group, your protein group and your grain group, and it’s all in one tasty bite. When I first started cooking, I’m sure I would have found these rolls somewhat intimidating, but rest assured that while there are a couple steps, the whole process is performed with relative ease and you can do the steps at your leisure throughout the day. You can even steam the cabbage leaves a day ahead, and you can prepare the rolls up to the final stage before cooking and refrigerate them all day if you want to make them ahead. The only thing you need is a vegetable steamer to go inside a large pot. I make my own sausage meat for this recipe, but if you don’t have the ingredients, feel free to substitute one pound of hot or sweet Italian sausage, removed from its casing and crumbled.

For the Sausage

½ lb ground pork
½ lb ground beef
½ tsp garlic salt
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp cumin
1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed with a rolling pin
¼ tsp kosher salt
Combine all ingredients together and mix well. Refrigerate one hour

Sausage Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

1 ½ cups of water
½ cup of pearl barley, rinsed
½ tsp kosher salt
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, diced
½ cup diced celery
½ cup diced carrot
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ tsp chopped fresh or dried sage (otional)
½ tsp kosher salt
1 lb sausage of choice
12 large Savoy cabbage leaves





Combine water, salt and barley and simmer for 40-50 minutes, until cooked through and water is absorbed. Set aside.
In a large pot, bring I inch of water to boil and set vegetable steamer inside. Place cabbage leaves inside, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Rinse leaves under cold water and place on paper towels to dry slightly. Leave water and steamer in pan and keep water simmering.
Heat olive oil in large pan over high medium-heat. Add onion, celery and carrot and cook 5 -7 minutes or lightly browned. Add garlic and sage and cook additional 30 seconds. Season with ½ tsp kosher salt. Add barley to vegetable mix and add in sausage. Mix well to combine. Working with one leaf at a time, place about ½ cup of sausage mixture into center of leaf, then fold in the sides and roll fairly tightly up. Place seam side down onto vegetable steamer and repeat steps until all the leaves have been rolled and stacked into the steamer. There may be leftover sausage mix, think yummy breakfast. Bring water back to a boil, cover and steam for 30 minutes. Check to make sure there is still water in the pan halfway through and add water as needed. Remove from pan (carefully!) and serve. Makes 4-6 servings.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Sage Gnocchi

Every time I sit down to a meal of gnocchi, I think of my Nonna. Italian through and through, my Nonna makes the most amazing ricotta gnocchi I have ever eaten. It is so good, that for me to even attempt to make ricotta based gnocchi would be blasphemous and downright ridiculous. I have vivid memories of sitting at her kitchen table, staring incredulously with my young eyes, watching her make and strain the fresh ricotta, laboriously knead the dough together, and roll each and every little ball of deliciousness down the back of her fork. She would call me over from time to time to help her press the ricotta into the cheesecloth, or hold the fork steady for her. Sometimes, I would even get the honor of actually rolling the dough myself, oh the simplicity of pleasing a child! Hand her a ball of ricotta and egg to roll and she will have no need for a new bike or doll.

But oh how I have digressed. Since I can’t compete with my Nonna, I make my gnocchi with other ingredients. As much as I enjoy a light and pillowy potato based gnocchi, I like to experiment with other starchy vegetables and see what the outcome is. The best results I have found come from butternut squash and sweet potato, but if you’re feeling adventurous, try using parsnips or sunchokes. The butternut squash puree in this recipe is extremely versatile; I use it for ravioli, mix it into finished risotto and there have even been a few instances where I have been caught eating it off a spoon. Gnocchi sometimes get a bad rep and it’s true that at times the results are dense and unappetizing, but you just have to live and learn. Everyone has made culinary errors, even those of us who have been trained to avoid doing so. I find the best results come from dough that is Just at the point of no longer being sticky, and it just takes a little trial and error to find that balance. Since butternut squash is abounding right now at local markets (69 cents per pound, oh my!), go out and grab one and give this recipe a try. You will be so pleased with yourself and your friends and family will be so impressed that you know how to make the ever-elusive gnocchi.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Sage Gnocchi

For the butternut squash puree:
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into large chunks
2 tbls extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
4 sprigs of fresh sage, stems discarded

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place butternut squash chunks on rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with 1 tbs olive oil and sprinkle with ½ tsp salt. Place on middle rack and cook for about 45 minutes, or until bottoms are browned and squash is fork tender. Let cool for 10 minutes. Place squash, sage and remaining tbs olive oil in food processor and blend until squash is pureed, adding a tiny bit of water if needed. Season to taste. It’s important for the squash to stay as dry as possible here. You should have about 2 cups of puree, set one aside and save the other for another use. In an airtight container, it will last a week in the fridge or several months in the freezer.

For Gnocchi:
1 cup butternut squash and sage puree
1-1 ½ cups of all purpose flour, plus more if needed for sprinkling
1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 tbs unsalted butter
2 sprigs of fresh sage, leaves removed and chopped
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

Place puree and salt in a medium bowl and add flour, ½ cup at a time, mixing gently until flour is Just incorporated. Depending on the tesxture of the squash you may need less flour then called for. Once you get to 1 cup of flour, place the dough on a floured flat surface and knead gently, feeling for stickiness. The dough should be just barely sticky, almost to the point of smoothness. Divide dough into three portions and gently roll into 8 inch long logs, sprinkling with flour if needed. Cut each log into 1 inch pieces, dipping ends into flour if sticky. If you have a gnocchi paddle, roll each piece down to create the ridged shape. If no gnocchi paddle, have no fear! I don't have a lot of specialized equipment and I learned how to roll gnocchi with a fork. Using back of fork, roll gnocchi down, using your thumb to press lightly in the middle and then roll ends together. Place gnocchi on rimmed baking sheet sprinkled with flour and place in freezer for at least ½ hour.





Bring large pot of water to boil over high heat and remove gnocchi from freezer. Drop gnocchi into boiling water, in two batches if the pot is too small to hold all of them without crowding. While gnocchi cook, prepare sauce. In a medium sauté pan over medium heat, add butter and melt. Once foaming subsides and butter starts to brown, add chopped sage and cook another minute. Remove from heat to prevent butter from burning. Once the gnocchi rise to the top of the water, allow to cook for two more minutes, then remove with slotted spoon to sauce, and swirl to coat evenly. Distribute among bowls or plates and sprinkle with parmesan. Serves 4 side dish portions or 2 main dish portions.

Getting Stuffed

I’m a huge fan of stuffed food, peppers, squash blossoms, chicken, fish, the list goes on. I think the pleasure of eating stuffed food comes from the fact that you are eating two different things in one delicious bite. Jalapeno poppers, Yummmmmy. Frankly, anything stuffed with cheese and fried is good by me, but since I like to keep things healthy around my house, I stuff squash, and have been doing so since I was a teenager and the zucchini was flourishing in the garden. Summer squash, namely zucchini, is one of those plentiful summer vegetables that eventually you can’t give away, it is just extremely prolific. Trying to find inventive and delicious ways to use it is a challenge I am always up for and have made zucchini pasta noodles, zucchini chocolate chip cookies, zucchini chips and the ever crowd-pleasing stuffed zucchini.





This is a great recipe that is only mildly time-consuming, and holds up extremely well in the fridge both before and after being baked. You can prepare it up to the last step and then refrigerate it for a day or two and cook it off without the slightest difference in flavor from it being baked immediately. The use of round squash makes for a beautiful presentation, and I have found even picky, “I refuse to eat vegetable” kids have been known to gobble theirs down and ask emphatically if they may have another. The best thing about this recipe is that it can be easily altered. Don’t like parmesan? Use pecorino or any other kind of cheese. Saute some chopped mushrooms or peppers and add them to the mix. Think of this as a template, any substitutions will most likely have a delish result.


Stuffed Summer Squash
8 round summer squash
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
3 large garlic cloves, minced
½ cup grated parmesan
½ cup breadcrumbs (you can use any kind here, fresh, seasoned or I use panko)
1 extra large egg
¼ chopped fresh basil
Kosher salt

Cut the top part off the squash, and scoop out the flesh, using a melon baller or a small spoon. Reserve the tops (for decoration, optional) and finely chop the flesh. In a large pot, bring ½ inch of water to a boil and add squash shells, upside down so the cut end is on bottom. Cover and steam for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and place in an 8x10 baking dish. Pour 1 tbs of water into bottom of baking dish (this prevents the squash from sticking and helps them steam further in the oven).
In a non-stick sautee pan over medium heat, add the olive oil and chopped squash and cook for about 10 minutes, until the liquid has evaporated and the squash just starts to brown. Add the garlic, cook for one minute more and remove from heat to cool slightly. Season with ½ tsp of salt, add bread crumbs, parmesan, egg, basil and stir to combine. Divide filling evenly amongst the squash shells and drizzle a little bit of olive oil over the top of each one. Place in preheated 350 degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until just starting to brown on top. Let cool slightly before serving. Serves 4.