In the Kitchen: Weekend Baking & Brunching

I'll never pass up the opportunity to host and entertain - even if it means comfortably cramming 12 lovely ladies into my small studio apartment for an all-afternoon brunch this past weekend.  Baked, brunched and conquered - with a solid balance of health, indulgence, seasonal ingredients (and a few pear-peach mimosas) in mind.  From the mushroom-caramelized onion quiche to coffee cake & apple butter to spinach salad with roasted butternut squash, dried cherries and goat cheese, there's nothing better than a long, leisurely, boozy brunch and great conversation.  Wondering how I pulled it off in my pint-sized apartment?  Pre-planning and prepping and strategic placement of nearly every inch of my studio.  Here's how...

dahlias & cockscomb for color, marcona almonds for nibbling, pellegrino 

& a pitcher of mimosas set on the coffee table

a simple standby - cheese, crackers & concord grapes 

 sweet treats displayed on my desk: sour cream coffee cake, pecan cookies with spiced-caramel 

& a bowl of pastel-hued macaroons

 glasses & extra fresh-squeezed juices arranged atop an antique wooden armoire

quiche for the cutting - mushroom, thyme & caramelized onion 

and Swiss chard with fresh ricotta and parmesan

For a quick bonus, here's the recipe for the Swiss chard, ricotta & parmesan frittata above. 

Swiss Chard, Ricotta & Parmesan Frittata

serves 8 to 10

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

1 small shallot minced

1 bunch rainbow Swiss chard, stems cut and set aside

6 eggs

3/4 cup fresh ricotta

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese divided *I had pecorino romano cheese on hand and used that instead

pinch of cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 375.  In a large saute pan, cook Swiss chard stems with 1 tablespoon of water for about 2 minutes.  Set aside in a small bowl.  Heat olive oil in pan and saute shallots for 1 minutes on medium-high heat.  Add in Swiss chard leaves and stems and saute for 3 to 4 minutes until soft and wilted.  

In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, ricotta, and half of the parmesan, cayenne pepper and nutmeg.  Add in Swiss chard and shallots and mix well. 

In a tart or pie pan, pour in egg-Swiss chard mixture and sprinkle the remaining parmesan cheese over top.  Bake for 25-30 minutes until the top is golden brown.

An apple a day...and then some rain

After a picture-perfect fall weekend, I'm sitting here listening to the pouring rain and bellowing thunder.  I'll take back my sunny Saturday thanks.  A fun day-trip upstate with old friends and some productive apple-picking at Mead Orchards in Tivoli, NY.  Now just to think what to do with almost 2 pecks of apples sitting in my kitchen, any suggestions?!
Pictures from the trip and an apple recipe to start simmering on...a simple apple compote, one of my stand-by favorites.

 my good friend Lisa knows a good apple when she sees it

 so that's how they gather all those apples...

 easy, light and delicious -- apple compote with bourbon & vanilla ice cream

Apple Compote

Makes 2 to 3 cups

3 granny Smith apples (or other tart apples like Crispin), peeled, cored and cut into 2” chunks

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon candied ginger, minced

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup bourbon

In a large saucepan or heavy-bottomed pot, combine all ingredients except bourbon and simmer for 20 minutes.  Add bourbon and simmer for an additional 5 to 10 minutes.  Compote should be slightly chunky.  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.   

Images: Nourish 1-6, David Malosh 7

A New Cookbook & Some Peacefulness on Your Plate

I must admit, it's been quite an odd, dreary week and when I happened to stumble on some photos of the landmark Copenhagen restaurant, Noma, yesterday, they brought a little solace and inspiration.  There's something about gathering around the table with good friends in a warm, rustic environment that just makes you smile and appreciate what's on your plate (and who's in your life) a bit more.  
Noma was named "best restaurant in the world" earlier this year in the S. Pellegrino 50 Best Restaurant awards.  Though I have yet to travel to Denmark to qualify that statement, the photos featured in Noma's new cookbook (Phaidon) by famed photographed are pretty spectacular. A collaboration between chef Rene Redzepi and photographer Ditte Isager The restaurant and the book exudes the essence of everything Scandinavian - the design, the food and that feeling of calm that goes along with it.  Take a good, long gaze for yourself...

Here's to a very relaxing, peaceful weekend!  On tap for moi...apple picking upstate and a few events at this weekend's NYC Wine & Food Festival.  Stay tuned for resulting recipes and recaps, including an overview of the incredibly-stacked panel I attended yesterday: Dan Barber of Blue Hill, Tom Colicchio of Craft and Top Chef, Alex Guarnaschelli of Butter, Daniel Humm of 11 Madison Park and Patrick Martins of Heritage Foods - all discussing the meaning of "local" and where the direction of eating and thinking more sustainably is heading.  


Images via: NordicDesign, Phaidon, Ditte Isager, La Tartine Gourmande