Heat your oven to 425, peel then dress your carrots with extra virgin olive oil, diced shallots, curry powder, salt and pepper and put them in the oven for at least 20 minutes.
I’m going to serve them with grilled, thin pork chops and drink a white Bordeaux.
Then I’ll take a nap!

I found this recipe in the Financial Times and decided to try it out on Sandy and our neighbor Lynn before we went to see a play at the local theatre. A day of “first times”! What wasn’t a first time, was enjoying an afternoon lunch on the front porch with a glass of Prosecco and surrounded by colorful mums. We finished the meal with sweets, that Lynn brought, from our local and favorite chocolatier Raymer’s. We DO know how to live! Enjoy!

1 kg butternut squash (1000 grams or about 1 1/2 butternut squash)
1 onion
2 sticks of celery
75 grams unsalted butter (5 1/2 Tbsp.)
100 grams chorizo sausage
Nutmeg (ground or grated)
2 sprigs of thyme
500 grams of risotto rice
100 ml Prosecco or medium dry white wine
200 ml chicken stock (I had to use about 800 ml to make my risotto cooked and creamy)
10 sage leaves
50 grams finely grated Parmesan cheese

Cut the squash in half, remove the seeds and cut into segments. With a robust peeler, remove the skin. Cut the squash into similar segments, then into batons and then into dice about half a centimeter cubed.
Peel and chop the onion and celery into fine dice. Heat a heavy casserole, melt half the butter and add the diced vegetable. Sweat it gently for a good five minutes without allowing it to color. Pull off the skin from the chorizo and cut into small dice similar to the squash. Add it to the onion and celery and continue to sweat gently without frying the meat and allowing the fat to slowly render into the pan. After a further five minutes add the squash and the thyme and season with salt, pepper and a hint of nutmeg. Keeping the heat low, turn the squash until it starts to soften before adding the rice. Turn the rice and, once coated in the butter and fat from the chorizo, pour in the Prosecco. Continue to stir and cook.
As the risotto cooks, add the hot stock little by little. Shred the sage leaves very finely and add after 10 minutes. Continue to cook for at least 15 minutes. The rice will gradually increase in volume and will be cooked when still nutty to bite but without a hard, starchy center. As soon as it is cooked, stir in the remaining butter and perhaps a third of the Parmesan.
Once this is amalgamated, with every grain of rice still intact but held in suspension in a glorious sloppy mess, take to the table and serve with the remaining Parmesan.

This recipe seems as if it would be time consuming and difficult, but that’s not the case. It’s quite easy. There are some very deep flavors in this dish, the kind of flavors you especially appreciate when the weather turns colder and the leaves begin to fall. I served it with a simple salad and homemade pickles.
This recipe comes from an October 2012 edition of Bon Appetit magazine. Enjoy!

(1) 1-lb. 1 1/2″ – 2″ thick piece smoked skin-0n slab bacon
1 bay leaf
2 medium onions, 1 whole, 1 minced
2 whole cloves
2 cups French green lentils
2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 medium carrots, peeled, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2 Tsp. coarsely chopped fresh sage
2 Tsp. coarsely chopped fresh thyme
12 oz. good-quality kielbasa sausage, cut on the diagonal into 1/3″ thick slices
4 cups breadcrumbs made from day-old white country bread
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, or olive oil
1 Tbsp. coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 Tbsp. coarsely chopped fresh chives

Bring bacon and 8 cups water to a boil in a large pot (bacon should be submerged). Attach bay leaf to whole onion by piercing it with cloves; add to pot. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer bacon, turning occasionally, until tender, about 1 hour. Transfer to a plate and let cool. Strain broth through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl. Skim off fat from surface and discard.
Combine strained broth and lentils in a large saucepan. If necessary, add more water to cover lentils by 1/2″. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until lentils are just tender but not mushy, 18-20 minutes. Drain lentils, reserving broth. Transfer lentils to a large bowl.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add minced onion, carrots, celery and cayenne; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft and lightly colored, 7-8 minutes. Add garlic, sage and thyme; stir for 1 minute. Transfer to bowl with lentils.
Cut skin from cooled bacon; discard skin. Cut bacon crosswise into 1/3″ thick slices. Add to lentils; toss mixture gently until well combined. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to a 3-Qt. baking dish.
Distribute sausage evenly over lentil mixture, gently pushing into lentils. Moisten lentils with reserved broth to barely cover (2-2 1/2 cups; add water if needed).
Combine breadcrumbs with butter in a medium bowl; season lightly with salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Sprinkle evenly over lentil mixture; cover dish tightly with foil and place on a rimmed baking sheet.
Bake cassoulet for 45 minutes. Remove foil; bake until breadcrumbs are golden and juices are simmering, 25-30 minutes. Let cassoulet rest for 15 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with parsley and chives; serve with Dijon mustard and cornichons, if desired.

Wine served: 2010 Decoy, Napa County, Cabernet Sauvignon (a lovely everyday wine!)

This recipe comes from the September edition of Food and Wine magazine. I made them yesterday to have with our afternoon meal of grilled hangar steak with potato dumplings and a port wine reduction sauce with shallots and garlic. With that I enjoyed a few glasses of Joseph Drouhin, 2009 Cote De Nuits-Villages.
This morning, before my usual bike ride with my neighbor Bob, Sandy fried the dumplings and served them along side of my eggs and toast.
As you might have noticed, I have sliced tomatoes in all of my meals and that is because we are still getting fresh tomatoes in our garden. I will not let them go to waste!
Enjoy!

Four 10-ounce baking potatoes (I just weighed out 40 ounces of potatoes)
2 large egg yolks
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp. finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 1/2 Tsp. sea salt
Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
Chopped parsley and flakey sea salt such as Maldon, for sprinkling
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Using a fork, pierce the potatoes all over and wrap them in foil. Bake the potatoes for about 1 hour, until tender; let cool slightly.
2. Peel the warm potatoes and pass them through a ricer into a large bowl. Using your hands, gently mix in the egg yolks. Sprinkle the flour, cheese and sea salt on top and gently stir them in with your hands. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until smooth.
3. Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Gently roll the potato dough into 1 1/2 inch balls. In a large saucepan of salted simmering water, simmer half of the dumplings until they are cooked through, 7-8 minutes. (I let mine cook for 10 minutes) Using a slotted spoon, transfer the dumplings to a large shallow bowl and drizzle with oil. Repeat with the remaining dumplings. Sprinkle the dumplings with chopped parsley and flaky sea salt and serve.

It’s Sunday. I was watching football and trying this recipe from “Paris in a Basket” (Nicolle Aimee Meyer & Amanda Pilar Smith), a book I was told I’d like.
True. I like it very much.
And, so when our neighbor Lynn called us suggesting we have drinks on her porch, we, instead, invited her up to our porch for cosmos, dinner and the chance to try a simple French meal that I’d had in the oven for a few hours.
Lynn brought goat cheese covered in blueberries, we poured our drinks and, I have to say, from that point on… the night was an example of epicurious comfort. (we ended the meal with goodies from our local chocolatier)
The only thing I changed in this recipe is as follows: This afternoon, while out in the convertible, we stopped at a local farmers market where Sandy picked up some red carrots. I understood why she could not resist their beauty so I added them to the vegetable composition. Note:(after the veggies have been in the oven for 1/2 hour you might need to take the pan out, sprinkle a little olive oil over the potatoes, carrots and onion and toss, then put them back in the oven to finish baking) Enjoy!

1 pork shoulder roast (approximately 3.5 to 4.5 lbs./ 1.6 to 2 kg)
5 garlic cloves
2 large onions, chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 bay leaves
1 bunch fresh thyme
1/4 cup olive oil
2 lbs. roasting potatoes, quartered or sliced
salt and pepper to taste

Cut garlic cloves in half and insert them into the roast. Coat the roast with the olive oil, season with salt and pepper and place in a roasting pan on top of the bay leaves and a couple sprigs of thyme. Distribute the remaining stems of thyme around the roast along with the chopped onion and pour in the wine.
Place the roast in a cold oven and set temperature to 350 degrees F. Cook for 1 1/4 hours, basting every once in a while. Add potatoes and put back in oven for 45 minutes until the roast and potatoes are cooked.
Slice the roast, surround with potatoes on the serving dish and strain over the juices from the roasting pan.

This recipe comes from the most recent edition of Food and Wine magazine. I made a pot of chowder because today it feels as if the fall season is here. This soup is very easy to create, but I will say that it is not for someone who doesn’t like their food spicy. I am not in that category! I love the heat of this dish. The consommé made me sweat.
Perfect to share on a mildly chilly Saturday afternoon while watching a B-rated horror flick! Enjoy!

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 large onion, very thinly sliced
3/4 pound Andouille sausage, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/2 inch thick
3/4 pound smoked ham, diced
1 1/2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 pound sauerkraut-drained, rinsed and squeezed dry (1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup crème fraiche
1/4 cup snipped chives
6 slices of rye bread, cubed and toasted
Prepared horseradish, for serving

In a large enameled cast-iron casserole, melt the butter. Add the onion, cover and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the ham and sausage and cook uncovered, stirring, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour. Add the broth and sauerkraut and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Stir in the crème fraiche and chives. Serve in deep bowls with the rye croutons and horseradish.