Pancetta Pasta Carbonara

Pancetta, peas and a cream sauce— what's not to like? If that's all I ate for a week, my thighs and arteries might have a list of things not to like but a once a month visit to creamy, salty pasta land won't completely derail my healthy plans for 2013. We have Sunday Funday around here (it helps to have one day a week with a little dietary reckless abandon) and pancetta is the life of the party, as far as I'm concerned. Since I've always had a fondness for peas, I settled on pasta carbonara as our Sunday Funday dinner. It lived up to the hype and was worth the wait— it was a Funday, indeed.

Pasta Carbonara With Pancetta (From The Pioneer Woman website)

12 ounces pasta, any variety
8 ounces pancetta, diced small
1/2 whole red onion, diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 whole eggs
3/4 cups Parmesan, finely grated
3/4 cups heavy cream
Sea salt & plenty of black pepper
1/2 cup peas

Preparation Instructions

Cook pasta according to package directions.

While the pasta is cooking, fry the pancetta until just barely crisp. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels. Pour off all of the bacon grease, but don't clean the pan. Return the pan to the stove over medium-low heat and throw in the onions and garlic. Cook until golden brown. Set aside.

In a bowl, mix together eggs, Parmesan, cream, and salt and pepper until smooth.

When the pasta is done, reserve a cup or two of the pasta water. Drain the pasta and place it in a bowl. While the pasta is still really hot, slowly drizzle in the egg mixture, stirring the pasta the whole time. The sauce will become thick and should coat the pasta. Splash in a little hot pasta water if needed for consistency.

Halfway through, add the peas, bacon, and sautéed onions and garlic. Finish adding the sauce, stirring until it's all combined.

Add lots of extra Parmesan and serve immediately.

Salsa di Parmigiano & Lamb Blade Chops

I used to buy a Salsa di Parmigiano dip at Kowalski's and ate it by the bucketful with slices of fresh baguette. I completely forgot about it after we moved up here (I wonder what other good food I've forgotten about) but had a lovely reminder in my email in-box a couple of weeks ago. Lemons & Anchovies, a blogger I follow, had a post about it and I was reaquainted with my old cheesy pal from Woodbury. I made a double batch and have eaten it by the spoonful ever since. It's good with bread, roasted chicken, lamb, potatoes, green beans— it's my grown up version of ketchup. One more reason to make a batch— it's been in my refrigerator for a month and still tastes fresh. This is a seriously rock solid and delicious dip, you'll be happy to have it in your fridge.

The day after I made the Salsa di Parmigiano, we needed to eat dinner and I was at an utter loss for a decent and easy idea. So, after 10 minutes spent pacing up and down the meat aisle at the IGA hoping for a stroke of genius (or at least, above average), I saw 2 packages of lamb blade chops. That was close enough to genius as far as I was concerned and I headed home to make something above average for dinner. I marinated them in red onion, rosemary, red wine vinegar, garlic and olive oil for about an hour or so, grilled them on the stove top in my grill pan (another seriously good idea) and put a generous dollop of Salsa di Parmigiano on the chops. It was definitely an above average dinner.

Salsa di ParmigianoAdapted From Michael Chiarello

1/2 pound Parmesan
1/2 pound Asiago cheese
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 to 1 1/2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Sea salt to taste

Preparation
Remove any rind from the cheeses and chop the cheeses into rough 1-inch chunks. Pulse the cheeses, red onion and garlic in a food processor until reduced to a fine, pea-sized gravel. Transfer this mixture to a bowl and stir in the rosemary.

Add the red pepper flakes, 1 cup of the olive oil and black pepper. Stir.  If mixture seems dry, add more olive oil by the 1/4 cup. Taste and add salt if you think it needs it ( I added 1 tbsp of Maldon sea salt). Cover and let stand at room temperature for at least 4 hours before using.

What I've Been Drinking

2009 Domaine de la Chanteleuserie Bourgueil Cuvee Alouettes Cabernet Franc

Cabernet Franc is often overlooked in a world of jammy, fruit bomb wines. It's definitely austere but once it opens up, the pure earthy spice and nuanced layers of fruit, minerals and herbal notes make it a wine to remember. This is another Kermit Lynch wine and I swear, I have yet to meet a Kermit wine I don't like. The Boucard family has been making wine in the Loire valley for seven generations and this wine reflects that life long connection to the vineyard. It has a strong vegetal nose and needs a little time to gather itself in the glass but once it does, it's spicy with good fruitiness and mild tannins. It's my Dorothy Parker wine— comes out swinging but eventually embraces it's complexity and really shines in the glass.

2010 Alchemist Pinot Noir

Where do I start with my love of Pinot Noir? I love the gamey, wet dog aromas, the rich, almost velvety, texture with gorgeous flavors of raspberries and spice. I went to visit my friend, Joanne, who owns Bayfield Wine and Spirits and there it was, a bottle of Alchemist just waiting to come home with me. The Alchemist is a full-bodied Pinot, loaded with red fruits, mocha, earthy spices and a touch of oak. It's a well structured wine with a lengthy finish and a silky texture— seriously good stuff. I went back for another bottle the next day.

2010 If You See Kay Cabernet Blend

Look at that label, it's like something out Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (remember Tina Turner's outfit and hair??). This is a bad ass wine with a sweet soul and I like it. It's primarily Cabernet with a little Petit Verdot and Primitivo thrown in for good measure from the Lazio region of Italy. I wouldn't have guessed there was a hint of Cabernet in the bottle when I had my first sip, it's definitely on the sweeter side and has very little acidity or tannins. It does have a big, jammy aroma, ripe berries and dried plums on the palate and a soft finish. It's not a complex wine with something to prove, it's an easy drinking wine good for an evening when you want to keep it simple but a little spicy.

2010 Caprazo Sangiovese Toscano

This is another wine from Bayfield Wine & Spirits and it's a good one. The Caparzo is a blend of Sangiovese, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Alicante with a solid texture, firm structure and bright acidity. There are a lot of juicy flavors on the palate: raspberries, ripe cherries, vanilla, fennel and roasted herbs. The acidity and firm texture balances the jammy, ripe fruit flavors exceptionally well; it would really shine when paired with roasted meats or salumi.

2011 Orin Swift The Prisoner Zinfandel Blend

I had my first bottle of The Prisoner in 2006 and I was blown away. Lucky for me, even though Dave Phinny sold the label to Huneeus Vintners in 2010, I have yet to open a bottle of Prisoner and not be happy. It's a sophisticated California field blend with an emphasis on Zinfandel— lots of big fruit. The 2011 vintage is a blend of Zinfandel, Cabernet, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Charbono and Grenache and it's a powerhouse. It's a soft and round wine with a full body and enough acidity and structure to balance the plethora of fruit and savory flavors. Bayfield Wine and Spirits has a few bottles left and it's worth every penny, trust me.

2005 Michael David Winery Petite Petit

I buy some of my wine from Marketview Liquor and saw this wine on their website while I was looking for the If You See Kay wine. Unfortunately, it was too cold to ship the wine and I put it out of my mind, until I walked in Star Liquor and was wandering among the wine bottles (it's hard to miss a garishly colored label with two enormous elephants on it). I put two bottles in my basket, thanked Kevin for his wise wine procurement and headed back home to find my corkscrew. It's a blend of 85% Petite Sirah and 15% Petit Verdot from Lodi, California and since Petite Sirah is one of my favorite grapes, I was really excited to try it. This wine did not disappoint— it's beautifully balanced, relatively complex with lots of dark fruit, chocolate and smoky spice with a lush, round finish.

2009 Sotorrondero Bodegas Jimenz Landi Syrah Blend

This Spanish wine is a blend of 85% Syrah and 15% Granacha— two grapes that go together like peanut butter and jelly, hollandaise and crab cakes or lemon curd and shortbread cookies. It's another powerhouse of wine— full of ripe fruit, smoke and a hint of gamey meat. It's a nicely balanced, full-bodied and rich wine with a smooth texture and a long finish. Wine Advocate gave the 2009 Sotorrondero 92 points and I have to agree— if you like rich, assertive Syrah, I think you'll agree as well. It's available at Bayfield Wine and Spirits, can you tell Joanne and I have very similar wine palates??

2009 Bogle Vineyards Essential Red Blend

There's nothing too terribly special about this Bogle wine other than it's a decently complex wine that's easy to drink and a great value. I struggle with finding 'everyday' wines and this one was a pleasant surprise from Star Liquor.  It's a blend of old vines Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Syrah and Cabernet— it tastes kind of like the younger sibling of Bogle Phantom (a terribly special wine). The predominant flavors of ripe berries, molasses, vanilla, a little oak and spice are nicely complimented by a medium body and a rich fig and prune flavored finish. I was frankly surprised by the quality of this wine and I'm thrilled to have an 'everyday' wine that I truly will enjoy drinking.

An Afternoon On Skis

Tripping over Joy
Hafiz

What is the difference
Between your experience of Existence
And that of a saint?

The saint knows
That the spiritual path
Is a sublime chess game with God

And that the Beloved
Has just made such a Fantastic Move

That the saint is now continually
Tripping over Joy
And bursting out in Laughter
And saying, “I Surrender!”

Whereas, my dear,
I am afraid you still think
You have a thousand serious moves.

Tripping over joy (and my skis) was a pretty good description of our afternoon at Mt Ashwabay. Ted and I rented cross-country skis and took off for parts unknown on Saturday. Actually, I knew exactly where I wanted to go but had forgotten a) how far it was and b) how many hills were involved in getting there and back. There was a stump on Black Bear Cutoff near a particularly primal part of the forest I wanted to visit. I met it three years ago (on my first too long and too many hills cross-country ski adventure with the kids) and I've never forgotten it. A picture of that beautifully decorated stump with its snowy cap would remind me of an afternoon spent with snowflakes drifting down through the trees on our little ski caravan. Little did I know this trip with Ted would burn about 8,000 calories, require serious foot/hand coordination and provide us precious time to talk, laugh and marvel at the beauty surrounding us.

I'm pretty new to the whole cross-country skiing scene and going down hills proved to be problematic. Flying down a hill, in tracks with skis on, is not a good idea for me so I spent a lot of time taking off my skis, walking down the hill and then putting my skis back on. As I've mentioned before, I have less than stellar eye/hand/foot coordination and putting the skis back on was no small feat, thank God we weren't in the Birkie. Ted, on the other hand, is a fan of flying down the hills and spent a lot of time waiting for me. Luckily, he always had a smile on his face and some kind words of encouragement when I caught up with him. In between all the hills and ski removal activities, it was pure joy to ski together. Isn't it funny how joy is so much more accessible when you're not planning any one of 'a thousand serious moves' and just experience what's always around and within you?

Another Beefy Adventure With Marrow

Beef marrow in January, kind of counter intuitive, right? Not for me. Turning the page on the calendar into a new year has never meant turning my back on the foods I've met and enjoyed over the past year. This year, that list included farro, green smoothies, artisan butter from Eau Claire and bone marrow. Variety is not only the spice of life, it's the key to dietary happiness for this girl. I just need to make sure there are more green smoothies than butter and beef— sounds thoroughly reasonable to me. I wonder how many kale and collard smoothies I need to drink to balance out stuffed bone marrow? I guess it's a good thing I like green smoothies.

Back to tale of the marrow and mushrooms. I've stuffed pumpkins, chickens, clams— why not add bone marrow to the list? I settled on mushrooms, garlic and red onions as a good place to start for my first foray into bone stuffing. It was everything I hoped for— savory compound beefy butter in a bone. The family is still not completely on the marrow train, they aren't on the green smoothie train either, but they are coming around (slowly). A plate of bones won't hit the Dougherty dinner table more than every couple of months but when it does, it's a dinner I can't wait to tuck into.

Beef Marrow & Mushrooms

4 beef bones, 3 0r 4 inches long
2 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
1 cup cremini mushrooms, chopped
1/8 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Maldon salt and coarsely ground pepper

Preparation
Rinse and dry the bones. Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat and add the onions and mushrooms, sauté for about 8 - 10 minutes or until the vegetables are softened. Add the garlic and sauté for another 2 minutes. Remove the vegetables from sauté pan and cool completely in the refrigerator. Scrape or push out as much of the marrow as possible and chop it up into bite size pieces. Add the cooled vegetables, shredded parmesan and thoroughly combine. Stuff the bones with the marrow/vegetable mixture, season with salt and pepper and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour. You want the filling to be as cold as possible before you place it in the oven (to avoid having it cook too quickly and completely render).

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the bones in a roasting pan and roast for about 15 minutes. Begin checking the bones at 10 minutes and pull them out when the marrow starts to bubble and the tops are getting brown. If they cook them too long, you'll end up with a pan full of empty bones swimming in a pool of rendered beef fat.  Serve immediately with lemon slices, parsley salad or a few salted capers on slices of toasted baguette.

Asparagus & Anchovies

Anchovies and asparagus, who knew? They are a match made in little fishy heaven and the combination takes plain old asparagus to a new level of fancy schmancy. Since I'm wholeheartedly embracing vegetables, it's good to have a flavorful butter sauce to ease the transition from eating meat and poultry with wild abandon to practicing a little restraint and filling my plate with vegetables. I've decided I'm a devout omnivore and that includes things like pâté, Fromage d'Affinois and roasted duck with a reduced port sauce— just not every day. In fact, I made my very first foray into black bean burger land tonight and while my recipe needs a little work before I pass it on to you, it wasn't that bad. Maybe I need to add a few anchovies (and butter).

Alongside the 45 types of mustards, pickles and Thai fish sauce in the fridge, there's always a little jar of anchovies in olive oil— they're my secret ingredient in stews, salad dressings and sauces. I'm telling you, for such a little fish, they pack a big punch and when they mingle with white wine, capers and butter— it's a good thing.

Asparagus With Anchovy Butter

1 bunch fresh asparagus, washed and ends trimmed
4 tbsp butter
3/4 cup dry white wine
4 anchovies in olive oil, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced 2 tbsp shallots, minced
2 tbsp Italian parsley, chopped
1 tbsp capers
2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
4 tbsp Parmesan cheese
Maldon sea salt and pepper

Trim asparagus stalks to the same length, cook 3-4 minutes in salted boiling water until cooked but still crispy. Drain on a towel.

Add the white wine, shallots, garlic and parsley to a medium sauce pan, simmer until the wine is reduced by half. Whisk in the butter until melted, add the anchovies and capers, stir to combine. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper, if necessary. Place the asparagus on a platter, pour the butter sauce over the asparagus and garnish with Parmesan and pine nuts. Serve immediately.

Christmas Day Photo Safari

We took a Christmas photo safari this year, a first but I suspect it's going to become a tradition. Kind of like the Jimmy Dean sausage strata for brunch, opening one present on Christmas Eve and prime rib for Christmas dinner. It started to snow midway through our safari, those huge flakes that meander and float on their way down. It looked like we were inside a snow globe, absolutely perfect.

Charlie struck a mischievous pose on the first leg of our adventure. He was cold and decided photo bombing the pictures was a good way to make sure we got back into the car. It worked. We warmed up on the way to Little Sand Bay— I wanted to visit the lake on Christmas Day.

The icicles were magnificent— the rocks and picnic tables were encased in frozen tusks of Lake Superior's water.

It was a monochromatic but austerely beautiful day. We weren't there for long, it was windy and cold, but it was enough to reconnect with the lake that has become an integral part of my life. It was my favorite gift of 2012.

Pork Pot Stickers- A Good Way To Start 2013

What's not to like about a pleated package of pork with a crunchy, almost burned bottom? Add a salty dipping sauce and I'm a happy camper. When we were knee deep in our development of a Bayfield outpost of Chinese take-out, I had pot stickers on my list of 'things to figure out'. My eye hand coordination is shaky at best and utterly pathetic at worst. Maybe it's because I only played Pong as a kid or because I need to admit I'm over forty and get glasses but making those little pleats proved to be problematic, at first. After I watched a couple You Tube videos, it finally sunk in and now it's like riding a bike— I'll never forget it.

You can put whatever you want in the filling, we chose pork because it's traditional and we are a porky kind of family. You want to make sure the filling (pork or not) is highly seasoned and lucky for us, Chinese food has a wide array of choices: garlic, soy sauce, ginger, oyster sauce and toasted sesame oil. Don't skip seasoning the cabbage with salt and then wringing out as much of the moisture as possible— cabbage gives off a lot of moisture when it's cooked and will make your pot stickers soggy. One last tip, don't over fill the wrappers, it'll make it really, really hard to get your pleats to stick. I made a double batch and then froze them for another day when I have a hankering for a little Chinese take-in.

Pork Pot Stickers(Adapted from Ming Tsai & Epicurious.com)

2 cups finely shredded green cabbage
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus 1/8 teaspoon for seasoning
1/3 pound ground pork (not too lean)
1/2 cup shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
2 tbsp coarsely shredded carrot
3 tbsp shallots, minced
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 teaspoons Asian (toasted) sesame oil
1/2 egg, lightly beaten
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
30 gyoza (pot sticker) wrappers, from 1 (14-ounce) package*
1/4 cup canola oil

In large bowl, toss together cabbage and 3/4 teaspoon salt and set aside for 30 minutes. Transfer to clean dish towel or cheesecloth, gather ends together, and twist to squeeze out as much water as possible. Wipe bowl clean, then return cabbage to it. Add pork, mushrooms, ginger, carrots, shallots, scallions and garlic and stir to combine.

In small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and egg, then stir into cabbage-pork mixture. Stir in pepper and remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt.

On dry surface, lay out 1 gyoza wrapper, keeping remaining wrappers covered with dampened cloth or paper towel. Spoon 1 1/2 teaspoons filling into center, then moisten halfway around edge with wet finger. Fold moisture-free half of wrapper over moistened half to form open half-moon shape. To seal, using thumb and forefinger of one hand, form 6 tiny pleats along unmoistened edge of wrapper, pressing pleats against moistened border to enclose filling. Moistened border will stay smooth and will automatically curve in semicircle. Stand dumpling, seam-side up, on baking sheet and gently press to flatten bottom. Cover loosely with dampened cloth or paper towel. Form remaining dumplings in same manner.

In 10-inch, lidded, non-stick skillet over moderately high heat, heat oil until hot but not smoking, then remove from heat and arrange pot stickers in tight circular pattern standing up in oil (they should touch one another). Cook, uncovered, until bottoms are pale golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water, tilting skillet to distribute, then cover tightly with lid and cook until liquid has evaporated and bottoms of dumplings are crisp and golden, 7 to 10 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons more water if skillet looks dry before bottoms are browned. Remove lid and cook, shaking skillet to loosen pot stickers, until steam dissipates, 1 to 2 minutes. Invert large plate with rim over skillet. Using pot holders, hold plate and skillet together and invert skillet. Remove skillet and serve pot stickers warm.

December 31st, 2012

It was a good last day of 2012. We did it all: skiing, hiking, warming up in the hot tub and sauna, sending wish lanterns into the night sky, eating, drinking and making merry. Since the moon was void of course, we decided it would be best to hold off on any declarations of intentions until today after 11:30— it freed up a lot of time for additional eating, drinking and merriment. It was a record for me, dinner didn't hit the table until 10:52. At least it wasn't 11 o'clock, that's way too late for dinner. On the upside, we were all wide awake and full when we headed outside to light the wish lanterns in the sub-zero temperatures.

I know I've said it before but, isn't George such a handsome dog?? He had a blast running up and down the sugarbush trail and struck this pose as were headed back to the ski hill. I think in a previous life, he was definitely a movie star.

Meg is a fearless  and joyful skier (unlike her mother), she literally had a smile on her face the whole way down the hill. I can't believe how competent she has become in just a few short years.

Of course, we had sparkling wine and Rack and Riddle Blanc de Noirs is one of my favorites. It's made from primarily Pinot Noir grapes and is the most beautiful color of pink. It's more subtle (like French champagne) than most moderately priced California sparkling wine I've tasted— it's nicely balanced with citrusy and subtle wild strawberry flavors.

I was at Andy's buying snacks for the kids and saw Old Dutch puff corn was on sale. I knew exactly what to do— make a heap of caramel corn and try to restrain myself from eating the whole pile (good practice for the dietary austerity measures headed my way in 2013). While it's not the most fancy caramel corn I've eaten, it's got everything I need: sweet, salty and crunchy. I sprinkled a little Maldon sea salt on the caramel corn as it was cooling— nothing like gilding the lily, right? If your 2013 dietary plan allows some room for caramel corn, here's the recipe (link here), it's seriously good stuff.

After dinner, we bundled up and went outside to send off five (not four, I'm not a fan of even numbers) wish lanterns to welcome 2013. We couldn't have asked for a better night— it was calm, the moon was shining brightly and the stars were blanketing the night sky. At midnight, amid the fireworks a neighbor set off, a pack of coyotes welcomed in the new year with yips and howls, it was pure magic. Of course, I put the dogs inside after the serenade was over, better safe than sorry with my wild life unsavvy pack.

2012 taught me a number of lessons but the most powerful one, and one I'm carrying into 2013, was mindfulness (and conversely, mindlessness). I've learned to let what needs to go, go and to allow what needs to come in, come in. Sounds pretty simple but turning off my monkey brain has been, and continues to be, a challenge. Those moments when I'm taking my own advice and truly existing only in the present moment are enough to inspire me to keep practicing.

When I hiked to the sugarbush yesterday morning, I practiced listening to the trees, hearing the wind and watching George joyfully bound up and down the trail. It amazed me how easy it was to become an open conduit for contentment when I kept my focus soft, listened to the quiet voice inside me and felt the blessings of my life. 2013 holds such promise and I can't wait to see where it takes me.

As usual, Mary Oliver had just the right words for my hopes for 2013. She had a dog named Percy and she asked him the simple question, 'how should I live my life'? Of course, a dog would know just what to say.

I Ask Percy How I Should Live My LifeMary Oliver

Love, love, love, says Percy. And hurry as fast as you can along the shining beach, or the rubble, or the dust.

Then, go to sleep. Give up your body heat, your beating heart. Then, trust.

Pancetta & Asian Pear Tartlets

Are you casting about for an idea of a suitable appetizer to mark the end of 2012? Look no further, these little tartlets are full of flavor, beautiful to behold and easy to pull together. You can substitute pears or apples for the Asian pears I used— the key is just a little sweet fruit to play off the gorgonzola and pancetta. I drizzled honey on the top of the tartlets and while I couldn't necessarily pinpoint the honey flavor, it added a cohesive, glazed texture to the melted gorgonzola.

We are headed out to Ashwabay for the afternoon— Ted and the kids are skiing and George and I are walking out to the Nourse sugarbush. Tonight, I'm repurposing my Christmas prime rib as stroganoff, making a batch of fried chicken for the kids and I think there will be a few glasses of Rack & Riddle Blanc de Noirs sparkling wine in my immediate future. What a gift to spend the last day, of what has been a transformative year, with the people and dogs I adore beyond words. I hope your day and evening are full of whomever and whatever you hold dear.

Pancetta & Pear Tartlets

1 package of puff pastry, thawed
1/4 pound of pancetta, diced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 Asian pear, thinly sliced
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1/2 cup gorgonzola, crumbled
2 tbsp butter, room temperature
Honey
Maldon salt and cracked pepper, to taste

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and butter the tartlet pans. Unfold a sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface and roll out until it's about 1/4 inch thick. Cut the pastry into individual rounds large enough to fit into your tartlet pans (mine are about 4 1/2 inches in diameter) and place in the buttered pans.

Divide and sprinkle the parmesan between the tartlet pans. Divide and place the sliced pears, onions, pancetta and gorgonzola in each pan and then drizzle with honey and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 15 minutes or until golden brown and puffed. Remove from the pans and either serve immediately while warm or at room temperature. Makes five 4 1/2 inch tartlets.

What Happens When The Moon Doesn't Cooperate?

You get a decent shot of a windswept fishing boat in the harbor. I was on my way to feed Gen's horses when the full yellow moon caught my eye. I turned around to get my camera and headed to the lake to get a picture (I figured the horses wouldn't mind a dinner delay if it was for a good cause). I was feeling a little cocky about my moon picture-taking prowess and thought, f/11 and 1/250 was the magic ticket. Wrong-o. Maybe it was too windy, the moon was rising too fast or that it was 30 degrees below zero and I didn't have a hat or gloves on but I ended up with this less than stellar lunar image on the right. I captured the image on the left about 20 minutes later, as I was headed home after apologizing to the herd and promising to only take pictures after they've eaten. Room for growth is a good thing, right?

Cherrystone Clams & Chorizo

It was a fruitful trip to Duluth—fresh Cherrystone clams from the grocery store and chorizo from Northern Waters Smokehaus. About once a month I head to Duluth to stock up on things I can't get around here: anything and everything from the Smokehaus, good butter from Mount Royal, shampoo and cocktail napkins from T J Maxx and my favorite soap from Waters of Superior. On this particular excursion to the big city, I was on a mission to find crab legs and stumbled upon these beautiful and sturdy looking clams in the seafood department. They went right into my cart and by the time I hit the checkout, I realized— short of chowder, what on earth was I going to do with 6 pounds of clams?

As luck would have it (since this was an excursion), I had 1 1/2 hours to think about it on my way back to Bayfield. At about the Brule River, I thought stuffing the clams seemed like the right direction to take— it most likely would benefit from butter and wine, it was easy and I have a family who will eat most anything (even clams) if there is some sort of sausage involved. I have to admit, I wasn't sure how it was all going to play out but I suspected it was going to be worth eating. Turns out, not only was it worth eating, those stuffed clams were seriously pretty— some of the shells had the most beautiful, deep purple edge.

Cherrystone Clams Stuffed With Chorizo (Adapted From Monahan's Seafood Market)

8 Cherrystone clams
2 tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 tbsp onion, chopped
4 tbsp parsley, minced
2 tbsp basil, minced
1 tbsp oregano, minced
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 of a red pepper, chopped
5 tbsp Parmesan, grated
1 1/2 c (or so) bread crumbs
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 ounces chorizo, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation
Steam clams in 1/4–1/2 inch of water until they just begin to open. Remove meats and save the shells. Finely chop the clam meats and set aside.

Place the butter in a large sauté pan and heat until the butter is foaming over medium high heat. Sauté chorizo, celery, garlic, onion, herbs and red pepper until chorizo is cooked and the vegetables are softened. Add the wine and continue to cook for another couple of minutes. Combine in mixing bowl with chopped clams, parmesan, lemon, egg and mix in the bread crumbs until the mix holds together in a ball in your hand. Taste for seasoning and stuff the 8 shells. Bake at 375° for about 10–12 minutes or until nicely browned. Serve immediately.

Canal Park Safari

Julie and I took the kids to Duluth before Thanksgiving for a photo safari and lunch at Pizza Luce. We walked around, snapping pictures of whatever caught our fancy and finished our safari with caramel apples from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. All in all, a successful safari.

We stopped into the Maritime Museum mid-safari. It was windy and cold outside and a respite in a warm building sounded like a good plan of action.

Russian Tea Makes It All Better

Despite my best efforts, we've succumbed to the cold that has been traveling around the Bayfield peninsula. Since the kids are sick of green smoothies, we've moved on to Russian tea— my Mom's panacea to sniffling and sneezing. It seemed exotic to me as a kid. We never had Tang in the house (for some reason, I associated it with astronaut food and my parents were firm believers in real orange juice) and drinking 'tea' seemed like the grown-up way to handle a cold. As I was mixing it up this morning for my crew, the mildly citrus and über sweet smell brought me right back to my childhood kitchen on West 60th Street. I'm always struck by how smells and tastes conjure up memories I thought I had forgotten, food is powerful medicine.

Russian Tea

2 cups instant tea powder
2 cups Tang powder
1/4 cup sweetened lemonade mix (I used Country-Time)
1 cup white sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground cloves

Preparation
Add all ingredients to a large bowl and combine thoroughly. Add 2 tablespoons to one cup hot water and mix to dissolve. Store in a sealed container.

Mu Shu Pork & Mandarin Pancakes

This was the final frontier in our quest to satisfy our hankering for Chinese take out but those thin little Mandarin pancakes gave me nightmares. Ted loves, loves, loves mu shu pork and mu shu from the Great Wall in Edina was his gold standard. I always thought the pancakes were crepes but I was wrong. They are made from a dough with two ingredients, water and flour, rolled paper-thin and cooked on the stove top in a hot skillet. Needless to say, I decided it sounded like a disaster in the making and who needs mu shu anyways when we have Thai curry to keep us satisfied? But it was always out there, the promise of pork wrapped in a pancake and drizzled with hoisin. I decided to man up, stop whining about rolling out paper-thin pancakes and get cooking. It was so much easier than I anticipated; I can't believe it took me so long to bring a little Edina Chinese food to Bayfield.

After a fair amount of trial and error, I learned two things: you really have to roll the pancakes out as thin as possible (think really thin tortillas) and generous use of sesame oil is going to make the whole process much more enjoyable (pancakes that stick together are no fun). I've made the pancakes a couple of days before I make the pork filling and they hold nicely in the refrigerator (tightly covered). They also freeze well, again tightly covered. The pork mixture is a breeze to pull together and if you have the pancakes in the freezer, I swear it kind of seems like take out— minus the little cello packages of soy sauce and fortune cookies.

The pork part of the equation is basically a very simple stir fry. As with most Chinese food, I find a mis en place approach to be the best. There is a fair amount of chopping and if you do it all at once, it really is just a matter of throwing it all in the pan, cooking and eating. The recipes I saw called for either pork loin or tenderloin. I've tried it both ways and frankly, since the pork is thinly sliced, I can't tell the difference. You can also substitute chicken thighs if you aren't a pork fan or tofu if you aren't a meat fan. One last caveat to make your mu shu experience the very best it can be— buy good hoisin. We like Lee Kum Kee or Koon Chun.

Mu Sho Pork & Mandarin Pancakes

Mandarin Pancakes(From Fine Cooking)

1-3/4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
3/4 cup boiling water
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil

In a bowl, mix the flour and the boiling water with a wooden spoon to combine. Turn the shaggy dough onto a lightly floured board, gather it into a heap, and knead it until smooth, about 3 min. Cover with a towel and let it rest for about 1/2 hour.

With your hands, shape the dough into an even cylinder about 12 inches long. With a sharp knife (I find gentle pressure and a serrated knife prevents squashing the dough), cut the roll into 1-inch pieces. If the cutting squashes any of the pieces, stand them on end and shape them back into rounds.

Lightly flour your palms and use them to flatten the pieces into 2-inch rounds. Brush the top of each round generously with sesame oil. Lay one round on top of another, oiled sides together. Flatten the pair together with the heel of your hand. Continue until you have 6 pairs.

With a floured rolling pin, roll each pair into a thin pancake about 7 inches in diameter, flipping the pancake over now and again to roll evenly on both sides. Stack the pancakes as you finish rolling them.

In an ungreased cast-iron skillet or nonstick pan over medium-high heat, cook the pancakes one at a time. Heat one side until it becomes less opaque and starts to bubble slightly, and just a few brown spots appear, about 1 min. Flip it over and cook it until a few light brown spots appear on the other side, about 30 seconds.

While the pancake is still hot, pick it up, look for a seam to grab, and separate it into two very thin pancakes. Stack them on a plate as you go and wrap them in foil to keep them warm and prevent drying. If not using right away, refrigerate until ready to use.

Mu Shu Pork

1 pound pork loin or tenderloin, julienned
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp chile garlic sauce
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 head green cabbage, thinly shredded
4 eggs, beaten
8 green onions, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups Chinese black mushrooms, re-hydrated and sliced (you can substitute white or cremini mushrooms)
1 1/2 cup bamboo shoots, rinsed and drained
5 tbsp vegetable oil

Preparation
Place the soy, oyster sauce, chile garlic, toasted sesame oil and cornstarch in a bowl, mix to combine and add the pork. Toss to thoroughly coat the pork and set aside. In a large skillet, heat one tablespoon of oil over medium high heat and add the beaten eggs. Once the egg has set up enough to flip over in one piece, carefully flip it and continue to cook a few seconds more. Move to a cutting board, julienne and set aside. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the skillet you cooked the eggs in and add the sliced green onions and green cabbage. Saute over medium high heat until the cabbage is wilted but still crunchy, about 5 minutes. Remove from the skillet and set aside. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in the same skillet and sauté the garlic, mushrooms and pork (with all the sauce that the pork was sitting in) over high heat until the pork is cooked. Add the sliced eggs, cabbage and green onions and sauté for 3 - 5 minutes. Put a smear of hoisin down the middle of the pancake, place the pork mixture on top and roll the pancake up (like a burrito). If you love hoisin as much as I do, drizzle additional hoisin on the outside of the pancake as well.

Jupiter And The Waxing Moon

On my way to light the sauna last night, I glanced up and stopped in my tracks to take in the luminous beauty of the last nearly full moon of 2012 and Jupiter shining in the night sky. I went in the house (after I lit the sauna), grabbed my camera, made sure I had the right camera settings (f/11 and 1/250) and captured this image. In case you're wondering where the largest planet in the solar system is in my picture, it's that tiny spot above the moon (it's really, really far away).

A picture of the waxing moon and Jupiter (who symbolizes abundance, warmth and good fortune) was the perfect way to mark our Christmas of 2012. Next year, Jack will be 'coming home' for Christmas, I'll have two high-schoolers, one middle-schooler and Meg will be in fifth grade.  Our family is growing up and as much as I want to stop time, I'm happy to have this image and everything it symbolizes. I sincerely hope your holiday was full of the warm companionship of family and friends, a table heavy with food and wine and at least one glance towards the night sky.

Persimmon Bread (It's Not Just For Dog Treats)

I forgot how incredibly good this bread is— until this morning when I pulled it out of the freezer for breakfast. My Mom and Dad came up to catch the kid's last performance of the Christmas Carol and since breakfast wasn't ready when they arrived (big surprise), I went to the freezer for a little something to tide us over. I made these loaves before Thanksgiving and I'm telling you, they tasted as good as the day I made them. Quick breads are a nearly foolproof baking adventure (except when I forgot the baking powder and ended up with dog biscuits) and I highly recommend having a few loaves of this bread in your freezer. It's like a beautiful slice of the holiday season— aromatic spices, chestnuts and spiced rum.

Persimmon & Chestnut Bread

3 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup crystallized ginger, chopped
1 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 tbsp vanilla
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup spiced rum
1/2 cup orange juice
3 persimmon, pureed
1 pear, pureed
1 cup chestnuts, toasted and chopped
1 cup dried cranberries

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 2 large or 7 small loaf pans.

Combine the flour, salt, baking soda, nutmeg and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter, eggs, vanilla, rum, orange juice, persimmon and pear purees and mix thoroughly. Fold in the cranberries, crystallized ginger and chestnuts. Bake for an hour (if using large loaf pans) or 30 minutes (if using small loaf pans). The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean. This bread freezes beautifully, make sure to wrap it well and it'll keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Quince & Apple Gingerbread

Judging from what I've baked lately, I clearly have a thing for spice cakes and cookies. There's something about the way cinnamon, ginger, molasses and cloves envelope a room in an intoxicating warm aroma that makes me feel like all is right with the world. This cake has an impressive list of ingredients to gather together but it's worth it, the complex sweet and spicy flavor is just the thing to eat on a cold night in December (and it goes perfectly with a healthy dollop of whipped cream). If you don't have quince lying around, you can substitute an Anjou or Asian pear and still end up with a fantastic cake.

Apple and Quince Gingerbread (From Apt. 2B Baking)

2 large apples
1 large quince
4 ounces plus 1 ounce butter
4 tablespoons coarse sugar (turbinado or light demerara)
6.5 ounce all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3.75 ounces brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger root
2 tablespoons molasses
3 tablespoons rum or bourbon
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup buttermilk
10 walnut halves (optional)

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350º. Butter and flour a 9'' cake pan.

Core and peel the apples and quince then cut into thin slices. Melt 1 ounce of butter in a skillet and stir in the apple and quince slices until coated with butter, then add 2 tablespoons coarse sugar. Saute over medium heat stirring occasionally until the fruit has softened and caramelized slightly. Set aside to cool while you prepare the cake batter.

In a medium bowl sift the flour, baking soda, salt and spices.

In a stand mixer cream the butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time. Then beat in the zests, grated ginger, molasses, rum or bourbon and vanilla extract.

Slowly stir in the flour mixture followed by the buttermilk until the batter is smooth.

Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan, top with the sautéed apples and quince, then pour the rest of the batter on top and smooth with a spatula. Arrange the walnut halves on top (if using) then sprinkle with the remaining coarse sugar.

Bake the cake for 45-50 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. This cake is best the day that it's made, but will last for a few days in an airtight container.

Lebkuchens- The Spice Cookie With The Cool Name

The last couple days have been tough and I needed to find some way to calm my mind. Since sitting quietly is challenging for me, I went into the kitchen. Cooking is my version of meditation— it engages my hands and mind enough to leave space for the small quiet voice I often forget to listen to. I wanted to bake cookies— it seemed like the perfect way to love my kids and make the house smell like home. I realize it's kind of a Pollyanna way to try to make sense of a completely senseless tragedy but as I was dropping those cookies onto the sheet tray, I sent prayers of healing and protection to the families in Connecticut and for all of us. Cookies won't change the world but it's what came to mind on a rainy afternoon in December.

Since baking is problematic for me, I tend to stick to cookies that don't require a rolling-pin and aren't too sticky. These lebkuchens fit one of my criteria (they don't need to be rolled out) but are super sticky. I didn't believe the dough really needed to be frozen for 4 hours, I thought 2 hours on a cold porch would be sufficient. Wrong. Definitely put the dough in the freezer, it's going to make the experience so much more pleasant for you, trust me.  Otherwise, these cookies rock. They're crunchy, chewy, sweet and spicy all wrapped up in one round-ish cookie package. I'm trying to build a repertoire of Christmas cookies I can manage and these lebkuchens are at the top of the list.

Lebkuchen(From Food And Wine Magazine)

Cookies
1 1/2 cups blanched whole almonds
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon fine salt
inch of freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1/2 cup sweet orange marmalade
1/4 cup finely chopped candied ginger (1 ounce)
1/4 cup unsulfured molasses
5 large eggs

Icing
3 cups plus 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Cookie Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350°. Spread the almonds on a rimmed baking sheet and toast for about 10 minutes, until fragrant and lightly golden. Let cool completely. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder, cinnamon, ground ginger, cloves, allspice, salt and nutmeg.

In a food processor, pulse the cooled almonds until coarsely chopped. Add the brown sugar and pulse until incorporated. Add the marmalade, candied ginger and molasses and pulse until the mixture is well blended and the nuts are finely chopped. Add the eggs all at once and pulse until just incorporated. Add the dry ingredients and pulse until incorporated and the batter is uniform in color. Scrape the soft batter into a bowl, cover and freeze until very firm, at least 4 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350° and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a 2-tablespoon ice cream scoop, scoop 8 level mounds onto each baking sheet, about 3 inches apart. Freeze the remaining batter between batches. Bake the cookies in the upper and lower thirds of the oven for about 20 minutes, until risen and slightly firm; shift the pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through. Transfer the sheets to racks and let the cookies and pans cool completely. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Icing Preparation
In a bowl, whisk the confectioners’ sugar with the milk and butter. Spread the cookies with icing and let dry completely before serving or wrapping.

Heavy

It is a heavy day, indeed. I pray the families in Connecticut will walk through their grief and shock into healing. It's bound to be an unimaginable journey.

Heavy
Mary Oliver

That time
I thought I could not
go any closer to grief
without dying

I went closer,
and I did not die.
Surely God
had His hand in this,

as well as friends.
Still, I was bent,
and my laughter,
as the poets said,

was nowhere to be found.
Then said my friend Daniel
(brave even among lions),
“It’s not the weight you carry

but how you carry it—
books, bricks, grief—
it’s all in the way
you embrace it, balance it, carry it

when you cannot, and would not,
put it down.”
So I went practicing.
Have you noticed?

Have you heard
the laughter
that comes, now and again,
out of my startled mouth?

How I linger
to admire, admire, admire
the things of this world
that are kind, and maybe

also troubled—
roses in the wind,
the sea geese on the steep waves,
a love
to which there is no reply?