Favorites List (5.19.12)

Happy weekend all. I thought today would be a good day for a favorites list. I also thought it might be time to share the earliest glimpse of what I've been working on for the past couple of months - QUITOKEETO. I'll do my best to pull a few more details together for you (and wrangle a recipe into shape) for later in the week. Until then -xo:

- Le Shack

- The Secret Life of Alan Z. Feuer

- Grains Well Spent.

- 204 Sunrise Lane.

- Rhubarb Beer Jam

- Happenstance. Running into Jesse in NY.

- Act Three. Mimis in the Middle.

- Whoops

- When Michelle Obama Came to Lunch

- Reading: this / Next up: this

- For the floors. And the ceilings.

- Jeffrey's Broken Bike

- Dream get-away.

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Favorites List (5.19.12)

This is the green rice recipe that got away from me. It was the last thing I cooked before leaving for New York, and I intended to keep it simple. There was some arugula to use up, and a good amount of cooked brown rice. Oh, and some peas. And a nub of Gruyere. That mint isn't going to last....You see where this is headed? Anyway, I made some green rice, perfectly good, but probably not something I'd bother posting about. Then I added a couple finishing touches, and it turned this into something I was quite excited about, something I'd absolutely make again - so I thought I'd share.

The finishing touches? Smoked paprika and toasted pine nuts. Doesn't sound particularly special, right? But it was one of those things. Remarkably good. I've been on a bit...

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Green Rice with Smoked Paprika (with recipe)

Woah - what a week. I'm sitting in the lobby of a hotel in New York, and quite a lot has unfolded since I last checked in. The short version is: I flew to New York for the James Beard Awards, and then (holy s**t) I won one. I'm making my way back home now, and my fingers are crossed that some of my photos from the past few days turn out. In the meantime, I'll leave you with this. It's a Parmesan spread I make now and then, one I like for a number of reasons. You grate good Parmesan whisper-thin into a pot. Then combine that with a splash of white wine and a big glug of olive oil. That's really it. It's one of those stupid-simple, homemade, tastes-really-good things you can make in no time. If it gets lost in your refrigerator for a week, no worries,...

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Parmesan Cheese Spread (with recipe)

This, my friends, is how you want to use that rhubarb you've been seeing at the market lately. It's a syrup, sure, but I'd venture to guess it's a syrup unlike any you've tasted. It has a lot going on, tartness from the rhubarb, tang from fresh lime juice, a backdrop of sweetness that's anything but shy, and the wildcard finish - rosewater. The resulting syrup is strong, and lovely, and a kiss of it is just what a bowl of yogurt, or glass of soda water needs.

And it really couldn't be simpler to make. Chop a few stalks of rhubarb, toss with sugar, then let it sit around until everything settles into a cold, sweet stew. Fire up your burner, and simmer until the rhubarb breaks down, then strain out the solids. You're left...

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Rhubarb & Rosewater Syrup (with recipe)

I couldn't resist doing a quick post of photos I shot at the Kinfolk brunch this weekend. It was a family-style gathering at Heirloom Cafe in San Francisco, and it was just right. The sun was out, the food beautifully prepared, the company and conversation top-notch. The front door of the cafe was flung wide open and a fascinating mix of people walked through to sit down to a meal together. I left with a sense that I'd finally met a whole host of people I probably should have met years ago - people doing all sorts of interesting things, many/most of whom live walking distance from me. It was a good feeling.

I believe San Francisco was the third gathering in a twelve month series - Portland and Brooklyn were prior....

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Photos: Kinfolk Brunch / San Francisco

This sauce looks bland from here. I know. All that white. But its totally not. I've had a jar of it in the refrigerator for the past week, and it's one of those things that makes just about everything you put it on (or in) better. I go about making it in a mortar and pestle, but have done it in a food processor in the past when I'm short on time. We're talking about garlic and green chiles worked into a paste, then bulked out with lots of scallions and cilantro. Coconut milk is the base, and the creaminess is balanced out with a good amount of fresh lemon juice.

Here's my list of how I've used it - this recipe makes a couple of cups, and it is quite rich, so a jar goes quite a...

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Spicy Lemon Coconut Sauce (with recipe)

When my nephew comes to stay with us he likes to stand in the big front window to watch the buses come up the hill. From this viewpoint he can also see a number of plastic owls perched amidst the turrets and gingerbread of the Victorian houses he calls "castles". I think the owls are there to keep the pigeons in check, but quite honestly, I'm not sure they're very effective. I found an antique owl cookie cutter recently, and thought it would be fun to bake owl shaped crackers with Jack when he came to stay with us last week. I used the cheese cracker recipe from Alana's The Homemade Pantry, and never looked back. They deliver big-time on the cheese flavor, are snappy and crisp, and you can bake them off at your convenience.

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Homemade Cheese Crackers (with recipe)