A few nights ago I had some friends over for dinner and with wine glasses in hand we gathered in the kitchen as the meal finished cooking.  One of my friends pointed to the five or so index cards affixed to the side of the refrigerator and said, “I love your recipe cards…such a good idea…wait a minute!  You can make polenta in the oven?”  Yes, yes, it is true.  Baked polenta is a shortcut I often forget the world is not fully aware of.  And what a shame — it has saved me countless hours stirring over the hot stove and in all likelihood has prevented some sort of stirring-related wrist injury (hyperbole can be fun, no?).

One of the last things I would ever want to be accused of is lazy butttttt if something that is endlessly time consuming can be revamped into something nearly one hundred percent hands off I will take it, every time.  Such is the case with polenta.  I adore the yellow Italian porridge more than most — always making a point to order it off restaurant menus and cooking it at home at least once a week.  I refrigerate any leftovers and pan fry little squares of the chilled,  firm polenta to savor its crispy exterior and creamy center.  The addition of cheese, herbs and cream can transform bland cornmeal into the perfect accompaniment to a main dish.

I sent my friend Amy home with her own little index card with the bare-bones directions scribbled with a Sharpie and proceeded to make a batch baked polenta the following evening.  We were having spicy Italian sausages and peppers for dinner that night, so stirring in a few generous crumbles of blue cheese and a few tablespoons of heavy cream into the polenta felt like the right thing to do.  Infinitely adaptable, feel free to tweak this recipe to make it your own — add Parmesan, or cheddar, or chop some rosemary and add a few extra pats of butter.  This is a side dish that is about as forgiving as it gets.

baked polenta with gorgonzola
adapted widely from Giada de Laurentiis
yields 4 generous side servings

1c polenta or medium grind cornmeal
4c water
1t salt
1T butter
2-3T heavy cream (optional)
2-3oz Gorgonzola, crumbled or other melting cheese (optional)
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium, nonreactive baking dish combine the polenta, water and salt. Bake for 50 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven and stir in the butter. Bake for 10 more minutes. Remove from the oven and stir in the cream and Gorgonzola. Taste for seasonings. If the polenta seems too loose, bake for a few more minutes to dry out.

So often, and particularly this time of year, cooking is a solitary act — but entertaining and eating are group affairs. I leave goat cheese and mushrooms on the grocery store shelves because a certain someone cannot stand to eat either, I make sure my guests allergies and dislikes are catered to and that the food I serve is plentiful and at the right temperature. But, if you were ever curious as to what I would eat if left completely to my own devices this salad you see pictured here would be it.

Butternut squash is one of my favorite things and is only at its best this time of year.  I eat it in soups, roasted with sage as a side dish and warm in this perfect, hearty little salad.  When I come home from work I crank on the oven, peel and cube some squash, open a can of chickpeas and mince some onion and herbs.  By the time the squash is done roasting in the oven, I have found the quintessential balance of nutty tahini and tart lemon juice in my salad dressing and I toss everything together in a large bowl.  I have been know to eat this salad standing up in the kitchen, enjoying every last morsel of warm squash coated in the bright, slightly thick dressing.  The recipe below adequately serves four, but I usually halve the original directions and share it only with myself — the one Scrooge maneuver I allow myself this time of year.

warm butternut and chickpea salad with tahini dressing
adapted from Smitten Kitchen, via Orangette, who adapted it from Casa Moro
yields 4 servings

For the salad:
1 medium butternut squash (about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed
1/2t ground allspice
2T olive oil
salt
15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 of a medium red onion, finely chopped
1/4c coarsely chopped fresh cilantro or parsley

For the tahini dressing:
1 medium garlic clove, finely minced with a pinch of salt
1/4c lemon juice, from about 2 lemons
3T well-stirred tahini
2T water, plus more to taste
2T olive oil, plus more to taste

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

On a large baking sheet, combine the butternut squash, garlic, allspice, olive oil, and a few pinches of salt. Using your hands, toss the squash pieces until evenly coated. Roast them on a baking sheet for 25 minutes, or until soft. Remove from the oven and cool.

While the squash is cooking, make the tahini dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic and lemon juice. Add the tahini, and whisk to blend. Add the water and olive oil, whisk well, and taste for seasoning. The sauce should have plenty of nutty tahini flavor, but also a little kick of lemon. You will probably need to add more water to thin it out.

In a medium to large serving bowl, combine the squash, chickpeas, onion, and cilantro or parsley. Either add the tahini dressing to taste, and toss carefully, or you could serve the salad with the dressing on the side. Serve right away.

People, I am worried I am turning into a one trick pony. I might need to start taking a look at my recipe pacing and selection so I do not become known as that girl that is all about cauliflower, all of the time.  But, this recipe is such a foundational formula for transforming vegetables into something unreasonably good that I felt I had no other option but to share it with you (despite the fact I used the humble cauliflower as my vegetable model for today’s demonstration).

The formula is a follows: 1) blanch a sturdy vegetable (potatoes, carrots, broccoli) in boiling water until the tip of a knife inserted into the vegetable easily releases, 2) make a simple bechamel and throw some cheese (aka sauce mornay) (recipe below), 3) layer some of the sauce in a buttered baking dish, then all of the vegetables, then the remaining sauce, 4) top with breadcrumbs, a handful of cheese and a few dots of butter, and 5) Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes until hot and bubbly.  Voilà, gratin!

Due to a few commitments for my job, this week has been hectic, fun and completely devoid of home cooked meals.  Eating out every night has its perks, particularly when you enjoy the company you share the meals with.  Like all good things, this too will come to an end shortly and I cannot wait to get back into my kitchen and cook something that tastes like home.  Needless to say, this gratin is at the top of my list.

cauliflower au gratin with cheese
adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I
yields 4-6 side dish servings

1 8-inch head cauliflower, cut into flowerets
2-1/2c sauce mornay (recipe below)
salt and pepper
2T fine, dry, white bread crumbs mixed with 2T grated Swiss cheese
2T melted butter

Move an oven rack to the top third of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees. Lightly butter a 2-quart baking dish (I used a pie dish).

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and add the cauliflower flowerets. Blanch for 9-12 minutes, drain and the rinse for 1 minute under very cold tap water.

Spread 1/3 of the sauce mornay over the bottom of the baking dish. Add the cauliflower in an even layer over the sauce and season with salt and pepper. Pour on the rest of the sauce and sprinkle with the bread crumbs and cheese. Dribble on the melted butter.

Bake for about 30 minutes until warmed through and browned slightly. Serve hot.

sauce mornay
adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I
yields 4-6 side dish servings

2-1/2T butter
3-1/2T flour
3c milk
1/4c grated Swiss cheese
salt and pepper
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of cayenne

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Stirring constantly, add the flour and cook slowly until the butter and flour froth together for 2 minutes without coloring. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat the milk with a pinch of salt over medium-low heat.

Remove from the heat and as soon as the butter-flour mixture has stopped bubbling. Pour in the warm milk into the mixture and whisk vigorously until blended. Raise the heat to medium and whisk until the sauce comes to a boil. Boil for one minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper. Beat in the cheese until it has melted and blended with the sauce. Season to taste with the salt, pepper, nutmeg and cayenne.

For someone about to enjoy two full days of eating, my kitchen is remarkably clean. Our bags are packed, the GPS is charged and the gas tank is full.  Thankfully, we are in the good hands of others today for our Thanksgiving feast and in a couple of hours Ryan and I will be on our way to visit relatives in the Bay Area.  The menu plan for my faux Thanksgiving has been tucked away for future years, but earlier this week I could not help myself and I made one of my all-time favorite side dishes.

My mom found this recipe years ago in a cookbook devoted solely to the food processor.  As you work your way through the eleven layers of vegetables and proteins you utilize every last blade, gadget and accessory this kitchen electric has to offer.  Every couple of years my mom and I look at each other, take a deep breath and decide if we are up to the task of slicing an dicing our way through each and every layer.  We almost always say yes than grumble at the dink full of dirty, sharp food processor blades.  Needless to say, using a food processor makes preparing this dish easier and faster but could definitely be made without one.  This eleven-layer salad is a Thanksgiving host’s dream because it can be made the day before, does not take up any oven or stove real estate, looks beautiful on the table and avoids sogginess with the dressing always resting atop the other ten layers.  It is my favorite salad.

Whether you are traveling or at home, with family or with friends, I hope you are having the happiest of Thanksgivings today.

eleven layer salad
adapted from an old food processor cookbook
yields 8 servings

For the salad:
1/2 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
1c fresh parsley, chopped (2 bunches)
4 eggs, hard boiled and chopped
1 large bell pepper, sliced
2 large carrots, shredded
1c black olives, sliced
1/2lb green beans, blanched and sliced
1t fresh dill
1c radishes, sliced
3/4lb cheddar cheese, shredded
1lb bacon, crisply cooked and chopped
1/2 large red onion, sliced

For the dressing:
2c mayonnaise
1/2c fresh parsley, chopped
1/2c sour cream
1T sugar
1t dried basil
1t dried dill

For the salad:
Have ready a 3 quart glass bowl or souffle dish. Arrange the lettuce on the bottom. Sprinkle with all but 2T of the parsley, making sure it comes to the edges of the bowl. Continue layering with the eggs, red pepper, carrots, olives, green beans, dill, radishes, cheddar cheese and bacon. Finish with a layer of the sliced red onion.

For the dressing:
Whisk together the dressing ingredients. Spoon 1/2 of the dressing over the salad and spread evenly. Sprinkle with the reserved parsley. Cover tightly and refrigerate from 6 to 12 hours. Serve with the additional dressing on the side.

Maybe I am jumping to conclusions, but I bet you have never made french fries at home. Sure, maybe you have thought about it but were scared off by the vats of oil, lingering odors and less than desirable caloric content. I also have a hunch you have flirted with oven fries, and were always left disappointed. (Except for these, of course. These are the exception to that rule.) But that little voice still whispered softly in your ear; you still wanted them.

Fear not, dear reader — I have come across a recipe for real french fries that you can make at home. Joel Robuchon wrote about technique, the New York Times picked it up and I found it on my television while watching an episode of America’s Test Kitchen. Today, I feel it is my duty to pass it along to you. In full disclosure, it does require a shocking amount of oil, but throw in two and a half pounds and that’s the entire recipe. Really. They are french fries, after all. Chopping the potatoes into neat little quarter-inch batons was the extent of the effort required to yield homemade french fries.

Nearly all recipes for french fries require a two-step cooking process — an initial boil to cook the inside of the potatoes, then a second fry to crisp up the outside. The appeal of this recipe is that it requires just one dip into the oil bath, and the potatoes stay there until they are finished (no deep fry thermometer required). Cold peanut oil and cold potatoes are put into a large dutch oven at the same time, brought to a boil and then left (almost) untouched until they are done. It is pasta making kind of easy. There is little danger of the oil splattering all over the kitchen and little to no fussing over the pot. So now, there really is no excuse. Homemade french fries can be yours tonight.

easier french fries
adapted from America’s Test Kitchen
yields 4 generous servings

2-1/2 lb Yukon gold potatoes
6c peanut oil, room temperature
1/4c bacon fat (optional)

Square each potato, then cut into quarter inch pieces/batons (no need to peel). Put potatoes into the pot, then pour in peanut oil and bacon fat, if using. Bring up to a full, rolling boil. When at a boil, set timer 15 minutes. Do not touch or stir. After 15 minutes, stir gently with a pair of tongs and scrape of fries that stick to the bottom. Cook 5-10 additional minutes until most of the fries are turning golden brown around the edges. Remove with a slotted spoon or a spider onto a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Sprinkle with salt while still warm.