Friday, November 23, 2012

spinach salad with warm bacon vinaigrette

gotta little obsessed

Satisfied Pie For Breakfast Day, good friends ! Do you see what I did there? I manufactured it official, which indicates that you need not feel any regret that you could have innocently come on a lonely wedge of leftover pie in the fridge this morning, and ahead of you knew it, in advance of you could responsibly hash out the pros and cons of setting your day to the tune of pie, and not, say, a muesli, fresh fruit and herbal tea detox, you in truth did have pie for breakfast and it was fantastic . You will need not sense any regret because its a holiday, and it was important that you joined in the celebration. You were only undertaking your element. (Gobble, gobble.)

baby spinach
sliced button mushrooms

And now that we received that out of the way, I bet you could go for a salad. No, not a Salad of Thanksgiving Repentance that would be rather dull. It might contain wheat germ, and its also quickly for all of that. I firmly think that on the street from total overindulgence to the type of mood that leads to my gym being jam-packed with Resolutes on January 1st, there need to be some in- amongst. A salad, yes, one particular with several whole and wholesome ingredients, but also one that you search forward to eating since it in simple fact tastes wonderful. And for that, I nominate this one particular. It comes with a warm bacon vinaigrette and outdated - school vibe. Its not even a very little sorry.

thick, thick bacon

Before I took off to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Vancouver, Washington DC, Toronto and Chicago on the whirlwind last number of weeks of the guide tour in the course of which I have missed you all terribly, I went on a critical spinach salad bender, surprising no person far more than myself. If youd presented me this salad any time in the last 15 a long time, Id have pushed it away with out regret. For a whilst there, spinach salads have been the two ubiquitous and terrible, the classic flavors co-opted with almost everything from raspberry vinaigrette to honey-drenched walnuts superior suited for an ice cream sundae topping. But as will usually happen, soon after a long break, I started out craving the old - school version, the a single you might have found on a steakhouse menu up right up until a while in the past, and I consider its fairly well established how warmly I truly feel about steakhouse traditional salads. This one particular belongs back among their ranks.

thick bacon, diced small
crisping bacon into bits
sizzling vinaigrette, cold saald

A brilliant pile of child spinach leaves is scattered with wispy slivers of red onion, thinly sliced white mushrooms ( make sure you, no fancy mushrooms right here ), coins of challenging -cooked egg and then the piece de resistance, small bits of bacon rendered in a pan until eventually crisp and salty and best, and its smoky renderings whisked with a pinch of Dijon and red wine vinaigrette in a skillet to make a speedy, hot dressing that you pour in excess of the salad, gently wilting the onion, spinach and mushrooms and leaving you wondering why you dont make this just about every week of the year. You ought to. Theres however time.

spinach salad with warm bacon vinaigrette

Guide Tour: To say that the final number of weeks of guide tour-ing and meeting so several wonderful people have been extraordinary would be the understatement of the century. Theyve been mindblowing, mind-boggling, humbling and perhaps a very small bit exhausting, but a great exhausting. 1 Id do once again in a heartbeat. Which is awesome, as its not above yet. Boston I know both the Tuesday and Wednesday occasions are offered out (boo!) but the two incorporate specifics about how you can halt by a bit later on for a signing, even if you couldnt get tickets. I hope I will get to see everybody that missed out. Darien, I cant wait to see your attractive library on Thursday. Texas, I will be counting down the 2nd until eventually I can last but not least get to Book Individuals on Friday in Austin and Blue Willow Bookshop in Houston on Saturday. [All Book Tour Details, here.]

A single 12 months ago : Sweet Potato and Marshmallow Biscuits
Two years ago : Upside-Down Cranberry Cake
A few many years ago : Moroccan-Spiced Spaghetti Squash
Four many years ago : Spaghetti with Swiss Chard and Garlic Chips
5 many years in the past : Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Sauteed Apples, Roasted Stuffed Onions and Easiest Apple Tart
Six many years in the past : Not Your Mamas Coleslaw and Indian-Spiced Vegetable Fritters

Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette
Adapted from several spots, but my favorite version is Alton Browns

To difficult -boil eggs, properly, there are a million approaches out there (see this comment section if you dont believe me). Mine is to cover a huge egg with cold water and place it on the stove and deliver it to a boil more than superior heat. After boiling, set a timer to specifically 9 or ten minutes, and minimize the warmth to medium. Once its carried out, I typically plunge it in icy water so that it will halt cooking right away and also chill rapidly. At 9 minutes, significant eggs will be a very little tender in the center, as you can see in the top photo. At 10, it will be a totally -cooked (but not overcooked) egg.

If youre freaked out by raw red onion, you can essentially add it to the dressing in the skillet for the final 10 seconds to soften it and take away a lot more of the bite, and pour the onions and dressing more than the salad collectively.

Serves four as an appetizer or 2 spinach salad enthusiasts

four ounces infant spinach
2 large white mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 / 4 small or medium red onion, really thinly sliced
one big egg, tricky -boiled (see above ), chilled, peeled and thinly sliced
4 pieces thick-sliced bacon (about 4 ounces), finely diced
two tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 / 2 teaspoon honey or sugar
one / two teaspoon smooth Dijon mustard
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place spinach in a substantial, wide salad serving bowl. Scatter with mushrooms, red onion (see over for a different, mellower way to add the onions) and coins of challenging -boiled egg. In a large skillet, fry bacon bits in excess of medium- substantial heat right up until theyre brown and crisp and have rendered their extra fat. Use a slotted spoon to scoop them out of the skillet and spread them on a piece of paper towel briefly ahead of sprinkling them over the salad. Pour out all but two tablespoons of scorching bacon fat from the skillet. Reheat above medium and quickly whisk in the red wine vinegar, honey and Dijon. Pour above whole salad and season salt and pepper. Toss gently and serve sizzling. Repeat tomorrow evening.


Spinach salad with warm bacon vinaigrette Hello! Its been far too long since I last shared a recipe with you. Ive been sort of preparing for the whirlwind of posts thats about to begin. Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette Recipe - Jose Garces ... Chef Way Preparing the salad dressing is a multistep process that includes letting chopped shallots soak up the flavors of mustard, thyme and vinegar before mixing ... Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing Recipe - Allrecipes.com Serve up good fortune with a delicious spinach salad with black-eyed peas and a hot bacon dressing! Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing Recipe : Paula Deen ... Saw this recipe on Friday and had extra spinach in the fridge - definitely worth a try. I'm sure this is really good. The dressing just didn't work out for me. My ... Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette Recipe - CHOW This simple spinach salad recipe is a mix of healthy spinach, crispy bacon, and toasted pecans, for a most satisfying salad. Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing Recipe Pauladeen.com Bacon Dressing: 5 slices bacon 1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot 1/2 cup red wine vinegar 2 tablespoons honey mustard, or more to taste Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing Recipe : Alton Brown ... Delish! I used honey dijon mustard as that's what I had in the house. This dish was fantastic! ... Amazing!!! Atkins Chef Recipes Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Vinaigrette This colorful salad is chockfull of taste and texture. The warm dressing wilts the greens, making it particularly suitable for fall and winter meals. To turn it into ... Mango-Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette Recipe MyRecipes.com This is a delicious partner for grilled fish. Don't forget fresh crusty bread to soak up every bit of the warm vinaigrette. Kitchen Riffs: Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing This Easy Classic Takes Your Game to 11 This year, summer has been slow to arrive in many parts of the United States. Weve had some cool spring temperatures ...

Friday, November 9, 2012

granola-crusted nuts

granola nuts

Seeing as Ive already admitted that Im kind of a terrible host, I might as well let the confessional continue and tell you that Im a terrible traveler. Oh, I dont mean that I kvetch and whine the whole time (though you might want to ask Alex if he agrees, now that weve taken six flights and visited five cities in eight days together!), I just mean that I never do any of those really great things those really smart people writing really quite logical articles suggest, like keeping the amount of stuff you bring down so that it will fit in one of those bitty suitcases you can stuff into overhead. I dont roll my clothing to prevent wrinkles or have my most important items in my carry-on so I wont be at a loss if my luggage is. I never have one of those scarfy/pashmina things to use as a blanket/pillow/tent of warmth on the plane or train, nor do I remember Vitamin C, hand sanitizer, eye masks, earplugs or to eschew caffeine for purer forms of hydration, like water, and I never, ever remember to pack a wholesome homemade snack.

However, if you are one of the people that fits the description above, I would immensely love to travel with you. May I interest you in a book tour?

oats, cinnamon, coconut, brown shuga
oats, coconut, pepitas, sugar, salt

If I were, however, Id bring these. I wasnt actually trying to make these when I did. I was trying to make a fall crepe. But, I decided that pumpkin crepes were kind of boring, and when trying to figure out something to gussy them up with (maple yogurt? something crunchy?) I realized that a nut would be wonderful. But then I started kicking around ideas like maple-butter walnuts and spicy-sweet-pecans I decided it was rather lame that most spiced nuts are full of butter, sugar and bacon and this was breakfast, surely they could be a tiny bit indulgent but also wholesome. And then I made these and I entirely forgot about the pumpkin crepes. (Really. We had the delight of evacuating them from our fridge after a few days of a power outage and trust me, you wouldnt be hungry for pumpkin crepes after that either!)

walnuts and pecans

Heres why they rule: theres no added butter or oil or fat aside from that which is already in the nut itself. Its crusted with just a tiny bit of sugar, but a lot of oats, coconut, seeds and pretty much anything else wholesome you like to mix into your granola. Theyre spectacularly easy to make and they work as well as a snack as they do mixed into yogurt (imagine having a bag of these in your suitcase when you travelled! And you could have them with your yogurt every morning! Man, I wish I knew people who thought of things like this.) Theyd also be a great housewarming/hostess/holiday gift as they keep really well but the best part about them is that every single one of them is like the very best part of granola: the giant clusters. The ones you fish out. Dont even try to pretend otherwise.

whisking the egg white
coating the nuts
all baked, cooling
granola crusted nuts
granola crusted walnuts and pecans

NYC Launch Rescheduled Tomorrow! Oh, we were so sad when we had to cancel the New York cookbook launch event on October 30th, but were delighted that weve been able to reschedule it so quickly: tomorrow (Saturday, 11/10) at the Williams-Sonoma at 59th Street & Lexington (across town from the Columbus Circle store, where the initial event was scheduled) at 3 p.m. I will demo my Moms Apple Cake from the book and site, there will be time for Q&A and I will sign books. While Williams-Sonoma would love it if youd buy a copy of the book there, all will be welcome at the signing. (Note: This policy has been adjusted from the original requirement.) I really hope youll be able to make it. [Details]

Book Touring! The first week of The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook Book Tour Los Angeles, Napa, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Portland, Vancouver and Seattle has been absolutely, overwhelmingly incredible. Meeting so many of you has been an amazing experience and you are all so very nice. I feel incredibly lucky to know you. Next week, I will be in Washington DC (with my mama!) in the beginning of the week and Toronto at the end, then Chicago over the weekend and into early the week after. Which will be Thanksgiving. I have no idea how that happened. Still, I cant wait.

Comments, emails, tweets: I typically take pride in spending at least an hour each morning reviewing and responding to new comments and other details. Alas, I am very far behind but will be catching up as soon as possible. I appreciate your patience. I miss you too.

One year ago: etc Coming shortly!

Granola-Crusted Nuts

My preference here is for walnuts; my husband prefers pecans, so we compromised. Any nut can be used but those bumpy, craggy ones will manage to stow more granola coating.

These are as excellent with breakfast as they would be for a travel snack or gift.

3/4 cup rolled oats (quick-cooking or old-fashioned will work; instant might get a little dusty)
1/4 cup shredded or flaked unsweetened coconut
2 tablespoons pepitas, or another nut or seed of your choice
1/4 cup dark or light brown sugar (for low-to-moderate sweetness)
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Few pinches sea salt
1 large egg white
1 tablespoon water
2 cups (approximately 1/2 pound) walnuts, pecans or nuts that you prefer

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a food processor, pulse oats, coconut, pepitas, sugar, cinnamon and salt in short bursts until the mixture is very well chopped but not powdery it neednt be like a flour. In a large bowl, beat egg white and water until frothy (but not stiff). Add nuts to bowl and coat them very well, using a few more stirs than will seem necessary because if the egg doesnt get into the craters of the nuts, no granola will stick there. And that would be sad. Pour oat mixture into bowl and very gently fold it together with the nuts, so that it just barely sticks. (I found that if you stirred it a lot, the mixture just started falling off, so just a few folds will do.) Youll have more granola coating than will seem necessary, but this is fine. Spread nuts-and-granola out on baking sheet in a single layer but no need to separate them. Sprinkle any granola mix leftover in the bowl over the nuts.

Bake for 20 minutes, moving nuts around just once in the baking time so that the inner nuts get as toasty as the ones at the edge. Transfer pan to cooling rack and let nuts cool completely there. Once full cool, break up any nut clusters and place mixture in jars/bags/your hand.


Almond Crusted Mahi Mahi Recipe - Free Diet Plans at SparkPeople baked goods drinks dairy characteristics fruits grains regional meats nuts preparation prepared seafood seasoning ... Pecan Crusted Pork Chops Recipe - Free Diet Plans at SparkPeople baked goods drinks dairy characteristics fruits grains regional meats nuts preparation prepared seafood seasoning ... Recipe: Granola-Crusted Pear and Almond Butter Panini Panini Happy Granola-Crusted Pear and Almond Butter Panini. Recipe by Kathy Strahs, ... love the crunchy coating on the outside the combination of fruit and nuts inside! Granola Crusted French Toast at The Dream Cafe in Dallas, TX Granola Crusted French Toast - With fresh strawberries, creme fraiche and dusted powdered sugar. ... nuts. oranges. citrus. Related Superfood: Health Benefits of Almonds MyRecipes.com Not only are almonds a tasty and versatile food, these little nuts boast big health benefits. Cooks.com - Recipes - Quick Oat Granola Reviews: 2 - Ingredients: 9 (nuts .. oats .. raisins .. salt .. sugar .. syrup ...) CHOCOLATE-TOPPED GRANOLA BARS. Beat together first 5 ingredients. Big Daddy's House : Aaron McCargo, Jr. : Food Network Aaron McCargo Jr., The Next Food Network Star Season 4 winner, hosts Big Daddy's House , where he shares a passion for fun and family cooking that features a ... Cooks.com - Recipes - Granola Pie Crust Ingredients: 4 (granola .. nuts .. sugar ...) 3. DIRT PIE. Pour milk into ... mixture. Spoon into pie crust. Sprinkle with remaining cookies. Freeze ... about 4 hours. Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi Mahi Recipe : Alton Brown : Recipes ... Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a medium bowl, stir together the nuts, panko, flour, and butter. Set aside. Place a piece of aluminum foil on a baking sheet and ... Granola-Crusted French Toast with Apple-Cinnamon Syrup Udis ... Nuts Pork Poultry Shellfish Soy Meal Style; BBQ ... Granola-Crusted French Toast with Apple-Cinnamon Syrup ...