Category: Recipes

recipes we’ve made

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Recipes

zucchini pancakes

If you’re like me, then you’re probably bursting at the seams with zucchini. We’ve got zucchini from our CSA, my mom brought us zucchini from her garden, they look really pretty at the farmers’ market and it’s hard for me to resist pretty things, but two people can only eat so much grilled zucchini and zucchini gratin. Zucchini bread was a viable option, but I was more in the mood for something savory on Sunday evening.

This recipe is another from Smitten Kitchen. I was sold at the first photo and the dish did not disappoint. Deb calls them fritters, but mine turned out more like pancakes. Regardless, they are wonderful! The scallion and zucchini are amazing together. They are crunchy on the outside, creamy on the inside. Everything you want from a veggie, right? Plus, I’ll take any excuse I can get to eat sour cream.

Zucchini Pancakes, from Smitten Kitchen 
3 medium zucchini, grated
1 t coarse salt
2 scallions, sliced thin
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup flour
1/2 t baking powder
2 T olive oil
sour cream for serving

Grate the zucchini on your box grater or with the grater attachment of a food processor. Put it in a bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Pour the zucchini into a mesh strainer or cheesecloth and squeeze out the excess water. A lot of water will drain out. Those suckers are mostly water.  Taste for seasoning. You may need to add a bit more salt. Add the scallions.

Add the egg to the zucchini and mix. In a small bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. Add the flour mixture to the zucchini mixture.

Heat the oil over medium heat in a cast iron skillet. Cast iron is where it’s at for this type of frying. Once the oil is hot and shimmery, drop in a 2 T scoop of the batter. Flatten the pancake slightly with a spatula. It should bubble and sizzle almost immediately. Add several more pancakes to the pan, being careful to not overcrowd the pan. I was able to fit about 5 in my skillet. You want to leave space for pancakes to brown. Flip them after about 4 – 5 minutes and cook the other side for 3 – 4 minutes more. Drain onto paper towels and keep in a warm oven until serving.  Serve with sour cream or lemon juice.

Don’t you just love taking a totally healthy vegetable and making it so fabulously and deliciously unhealthy! Oh yes!

-Emily

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Recipes San Francisco

fresh strawberry milkshakes & other exciting news

First the milkshakes … we walked the dogs to the park on Saturday afternoon and after a brisk stroll on a sunny summer day, our friend-neighbor Nadr suggested strawberry milkshakes. (Side note: Can you believe that these three beasts all live on the same floor in tiny apartments and get along swimmingly?!?) Now, I’m not one to turn down a great idea like that and so we went back to my place and focused our efforts. I supplied the milk and food processor, Nadr supplied the strawberries and ice cream, Robin provided the charm (and Harry Potter audiobooks  – my new addiction).

Fresh Strawberry Milkshakes
1 pint fresh strawberries, stems removed
1 pint vanilla ice cream
2/3 cup milk

Combine strawberries, ice cream and milk in a blender or food processor. (A blender is probably a better choice, but none of us had a blender and milkshakes could not be denied so food processor it was). Give it a whirl, pour into glasses and enjoy! Tricky recipe, right? Fresh strawberries just make it!

And now for the exciting news … I am officially a published writer. It feels darn good! I wrote an article for GOOD Magazine about La Cocina and the wonderful work they do in San Francisco. You can read it and check out the photos here. I am so proud to see it “in print” and the piece has gotten a lot of social media buzz – great for La Cocina and great for me!

-Emily

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Recipes

tomatillo salsa

Thanks to Isabel Caudillo and the Simple Salsa class at La Cocina, I now know the basics of making a variety of fresh and cooked salsas. I was super excited when we received tomatillos in our CSA this week and decide to make a salsa verde. Tomatillos are small green fruit that grow in a non-edible papery skin. They have a tart flavor and the texture of an unripe tomato. They make absolutely awesome salsa! I imagine they would also be wonderful breaded and fried … I might have to try that next week.

Tomatillo Salsa 
1 lb tomatillos, dehusked
1/2 onion, cut into large chunks
1 serrano chili, seeds removed if you want a mild-medium salsa
3 cloves garlic
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 lime, juiced
salt, to taste

For this salsa I used a mixture of cooked and raw tomatillos because I wanted two distinct flavors in my salsa—the tartness from the raw and the sweetness from the cooked tomatillos. I chose to make a salsa hervida—a boiled salsa— because it is easy and quick, but you could also dry roast the tomatillos, saute them in a little vegetable oil or grill them.

In a small saucepan combine half of the tomatillos, onion, chili and garlic. Add water to just cover. Simmer for 10 minutes. Strain out the water and put in a food processor. Add the raw tomatillos, lime juice, cilantro and a large pinch of salt. Process until almost smooth. Taste for seasoning. It is that easy! Enjoy with chips or with carnitas tacos like we did!

-Emily

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Recipes

lemon blackberry muffins

I was very much in a muffin mood this Saturday morning—sometimes it just feels good to make muffins! (I think this might make me weird/a grandma, but I’m going to roll with it). It does help that both Jordan and Robin very much enjoy when I am in a muffin mood and generously offer to help me eat the muffins produced.

These muffins are adapted from Smitten Kitchen. Deb is just so good at making recipes that I absolutely must try. I definitely have a cook-crush on her, no question about it.

Blackberry-Topped Lemon Muffins, adapted from Smitten Kitchen
1 1/8 cup sugar, divided
2 lemons, zested
2 cups flour
2 1/2 t baking powder
3/4 t salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
2 t vanilla extract
1 container blackberries (in my case) or raspberries (per Deb’s recommendation)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners or grease and flour them. In a small bowl, mash 1/8 cup of sugar with the lemon zest. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.

In the bowl of a mixer, cream the butter. Add the remaining 1 cup sugar. Add the egg, buttermilk, vanilla and lemon sugar. Mix in the flour just to combine.

Spoon the lemon muffin batter into the cups. Top each muffin with several berries, pressing the berries into the batter slightly. Bake for 30 minutes, until the tops of the muffins are just golden.

When we first tried these muffins, Jordan thought that the berries weren’t really necessary.  They sure looked pretty, but didn’t add much in the way of flavor. I kind of had to agree. The lemon muffin was great without them. But the second morning that I enjoyed the muffins, I changed my mind. The berries add a great tartness to the muffins and have a nice texture to boot. If I make these again, I will most certainly keep the berries.

-Emily

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Recipes

potato hash with onion, tomato and egg

It feels good to pull of a satisfying dinner without putting in much thought or effort or really even grocery shopping. I threw this dish together on Tuesday night with the remaining contents of our CSA, plus some leftover produce from Monday night’s dinner. It was pretty awesome. And, when you feel like your haphazard dinner isn’t substantial enough, just throw an egg on it.

Potato Hash with Onions, Cherry Tomatoes and a Fried Egg
3 – 4 potatoes, cut into small cubes (we used a combo of yukon gold and purple potatoes)
1/4 cup olive oil
salt, pepper, paprika or piment d’espelette
1/4 onion, sliced (we used 3 small bunching onions)
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 T parsley, chopped  (you could use any herb you have lying around – chives, basil, dill, cilantro)
2 eggs
butter, salt, pepper

Heat an oven to 375 degrees. Cut the potatoes into small cubes and toss with the olive oil, salt, pepper and paprika. Spread into one layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes, until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

When the potatoes have about 10 more minutes to cook, begin to saute the onions in a little olive oil over low heat. Saute until just translucent, about 7 – 8 minutes. Push the onions to the side of the pan and add a little butter. Once the foaming has subsided, add the eggs. Cook your eggs until the whites have set up and sprinkle them with some salt and pepper. Remove the potatoes from the oven. Place a layer of potatoes on the plate. Top with the onions and then the egg. Sprinkle with cherry tomatoes and herbs.

This dish is homey and satisfying. You hit almost all of the flavor bases … crunchy (potatoes), salty (potatoes again), creamy (egg yolk – yum!), tart (tomatoes). It is also filling, inexpensive and pretty low maintenance to cook.  Plus,  you could make a ton of variations on this same idea depending on what is lurking in your fridge or in your fruit bowl. Asparagus? Summer squash?  I don’t mind if I do!

-Emily

Ps. Why oh why have I wanted sing some sort of bizarre variation on Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” the entire time I’ve been writing this post … If you like it then you better put an egg on it!?! Oh boy, I need help.

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Recipes

summer vegetable gratin

Like I mentioned earlier this week, we’ve just begun to receive summer’s bounty in our CSA. A while back we noticed this recipe for a summer vegetable gratin in Ad Hoc at Home and flagged it for later on. Now that the appropriate veggies are in season, we were able to enjoy it!

Summer Vegetable Gratin, from Ad Hoc at Home
2 medium zucchini, sliced
2 small eggplant, sliced
3 medium tomatoes, sliced
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, grated
1/2 T plus 1/2 t fresh thyme
1/4 cup olive oil
salt, pepper
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I used panko)

Heat an over to 350 degrees. Saute the onion and garlic over medium low heat in some olive oil for about 20 minutes, until translucent. Add the 1/2 T thyme. Slice the other veggies into 1/4 inch thick slices. Toss them with olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour the sautéed onions into a baking dish.

Top with the zucchini, eggplant and tomatoes, overlapping each slice slightly. I kept mine in cute little rows, but you’re welcome to mix them and spread them in an even layer. Mix the cheese, breadcrumbs and remaining 1/2 t thyme together. Sprinkle that mixture on top of the veggies and drizzle with a little more olive oil.

Bake for 35 – 45 minutes, until the veggies are tender and the top is browned.


This gratin is tasty, and blessedly lighter than most other gratins. I really enjoyed the zucchini and tomatoes. Sadly, I am still not a huge eggplant fan, even when it is covered in breadcrumbs and cheese. Jordan was valiant and ate all of my eggplant so I didn’t have to feel guilty about wasting food. Isn’t he a stud!

-Emily

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Recipes

summer veggies two ways

According to our CSA it is officially summer! Last week we received the first tomatoes, zucchini and eggplant of the season. Because the produce we receive from our farm is such great quality, it’s incredibly easy to make the veggies taste great. Tonight we prepared two veggies two ways with wonderful results.

Turnips with Chives, Sea Salt and Butter
1 bunch turnips, sliced
1 T chives, chopped
1 t sea salt
2 T butter (Don’t skimp on the butter. Turnips love butter)

I know turnips aren’t traditionally a summer vegetable, but we’ve been getting a ton of them in our CSA box lately. They are delicious—kinda like a parsnip or a cross between a radish and a potato— and I’ve never eaten so many in my life!

Put a pot of salted water to boil. Quarter or eigth the turnips depending on their size. Toss them in the boiling water for 8 – 10 minutes, until al dente. Drain into a bowl. Toss with butter and sea salt. Top with chives to serve.

Grilled Zucchini with Lemon and Chili
2 small zucchini, sliced
1 T olive oil
zest of 1/2 lemon
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt, chili flake

Heat a grill pan or grill over high heat. Slice the zucchini on the diagonal. Toss the zucchini in the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, chili flake and salt. Grill the zucchini for a few minutes per side and serve.

And don’t feel bad about the two tablespoons of butter in the turnip recipe—you are eating a cup of turnips after all!

If you are interested in finding a CSA in your area, search on Local Harvest.

-Emily

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Recipes

a whole fish story

Before I get to the fish, let me just get something out in the open. I have not baked in two weeks. Two weeks! I think this might be a record since starting the blog. I have a pound of butter in my fridge, a new sourdough starter on my counter, but alas, I was away last weekend and I am running a corporate retreat through the end of this weekend. Withdraws, people, withdraws. Please tell me you’re missing it too …

Onto the fish. I love fish, but didn’t always. I was a reluctant fish-eater until my sweet love Jordan opened my eyes to the deliciousity of the underwater buffet, and now I am officially a convert. Despite our devotion to pork, most weeks we eat more fish than meat. But, those fishies can get expensive—hence our experiments with cheaper, more plentiful varieties like squid and sardines. Last week we splurged on a branzini, not as cheap as sardines, but not breaking the bank like salmon or halibut. Isn’t he a handsome devil?

Cooking a whole fish is amazingly easy. The most important thing is to not overcook it. Giving it a liberal dose of salt, pepper and lemon juice doesn’t hurt either.

Baked Whole Fish
1 whole fish, like branzi or rockfish (Several sardines per person would also work just as well in this method. Or if you can’t find a whole fish, a fillet can also be cooked this way)
1 lemon, sliced
salt, pepper, fresh herbs
olive oil

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Clean and descale your fish, or have your fishmonger do this for you. Lightly coat an oven-safe saute pan in olive oil. Sprinkle both sides of your fish with salt and pepper. Stuff the belly cavity with herbs and lemon slices. Put your fish in the pan and bake for 15 – 20 minutes, until just cooked.

This is a great trick for checking doneness of fish. Jordan taught it to me, but it is originally from Eric Ripert. Insert a very thin knife (or better yet, a needle) into a fleshy part of the fish. Remove the needle and immediately touch it to your finger. If it feels room temperature to warm, the fish is done. If it is hot, you’ve overcooked the fish. If it is cold, give the fish a few more minutes.

We served the fish in the pan with an extra sprinkling of lemon juice and herbs. Whole fish is trickier to eat than fillets because it has a lot of bones, but if you’re careful, you can pretty easily extract the fillets from the skeleton. Whole fish appropriately baked are wonderfully succulent and the cooking method really honors the flavor of the fish. If you’ve never enjoyed a whole fish so simply prepared, dive in!

And don’t forget to eat the skin! It’s the best part!

-Emily

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Recipes

cheeseburger cheeseburger

Living in San Francisco, one encounters many smells.  Some good, some not so good.  But one that always excites is the smell of charring ground beef getting ready to be made into a hamburger.  Unfortunately, this pleasant smell isn’t always followed by delicious food.  As a matter of fact, it can be quite hard to come across an exceptional burger.  This is obviously a problem for us, so we took things into our own hands.  Before I explain how we achieved burger satisfaction, I must thank our friend and neighbor Robin for getting this whole burger movement started.  She purchased a small grill and has provided us with some fantastic cheeseburgers in the past few weeks.  It had been a while since I had made a proper cheeseburger, but with the right ingredients and tools, making an excellent cheese burger is fairly simple.

classic cheeseburger:
1/3 pound ground beef (per burger)
salt
caramelized onions
aioli
cheddar cheese
good quality buns

Before I explain the technique, a quick note about ingredients.  Obviously, we care a great deal about quality and sustainability when it comes our food, and a cheeseburger is one of the few places where very high quality meat, cheese, and produce can really shine (and only for a little more cash).  For these burgers, I used 16 % fat, grass-fed ground beef and seasoned them with salt about an hour before cooking.  The onions came from our csa and cooked up delicious and sweet with butter, olive oil, and plenty of time.  The aioli is homemade and leftovers get turned into a terrific buttermilk dressing perfect for coleslaw.  And the buns, while not homemade, are from Acme Bread; they have a great texture and a nice, yet mild taste.

So, how does it all go together?  We’ll start with cooking surfaces.  As far as I’m concerned, you can either grill your burgers or cook them on a flat surface (preferably cast iron).  Since I don’t have a grill, I use a flat cast iron surface that covers two burners.  There are a couple advantages with this method: you can cook more food on the large surface (either more burgers, or onions, like I did), and by cooking the burgers on this flat surface, the juices kind of self baste the meat as it cooks.

As I said earlier, I formed and seasoned the burgers about an hour before cooking so the salt gets a chance to season the center of the burger.  Around this time, I also started caramelizing the onions over medium-low heat with butter and olive oil.  Once those are at the desired consistency, you can turn the heat off and just warm them as the burgers are cooking.  To cook these magnificent burgers, turn your burner up high and get that pan smoking.  Carefully place the burgers over the heat and leave them for 2-3 minutes, until they are dark brown and you can see the it’s half way cooked. Turn down the heat to medium-high (cast iron has will just keep getting hotter and hotter, so you really have to keep an eye on your temperature). Flip and leave for a couple more minutes and add your sliced cheese.  Cover for thirty seconds to one minute, until the cheese is melted and the meat is finished cooking (medium-rare, please).  Set burgers aside and toast those buns.  Slather on some aioli, then the burger, caramelized onions, some sliced pickle, and a little ketchup.  Serve with some coleslaw or a salad and a nice beer.  Heaven.

-Jordan

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Recipes

lemon tart with shortbread crust

What does one do when one somehow (how?!?) forgets an entire tin of shortbread cookies on top of her refrigerator? Well, this girl turns those past-their-prime cookies into a delightful pie crust. And then fills that pie crust with a dreamy lemon cream.

Lemon Cream Tart with Shortbread Crust, lemon cream from the Tartine Bakery Cookbook and cookies from Lottie + Doof

For the crust
1 cup shortbread cookie crumbs

Forget about a tin of these cookies or purchase a decent shortbread cookie. In a food processor, process the cookies until they are sand-like and start to come together. At this point, you may need to add a little melted butter to bring the crumbs together. My cookies were already so buttery that I didn’t need to. Push the crust into a tart pan or pie dish using the back of a measuring cup. Refrigerate the crust.

For the lemon cream
1/2 cup plus 2 T lemon juice
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup butter, cut into 1 T pieces

In a metal or glass bowl set over simmering water, whisk together the lemon juice, eggs and sugar. Tip: Don’t let the eggs and sugar sit together without whisking because the sugar will “cook” the egg and make the whole mixture grainy. Continue whisking until the mixture has reach 180 degrees and is a thick custard. Take the bowl off the heat and let it cool to 140 degrees.

Once it has cooled slightly, blend in the butter 1 T at a time. The Tartine Bakery Cookbook recommends using an immersion blender for this step. Once you have added all the butter and the mixture is smooth, pour it into the tart shell. Refrigerate for a few hours to let it set up.

I served this with peaches one night and on its own the next. Both were wonderful.

-Emily