roasted olives recipe.

I'm not a huge olive fan, though I do love olive oil and tapenade. I guess really I'm a very picky olive eater -- I only like the ripe ones (green = ick!), and I like to nosh on tiny Arbequino, Nicoise and oil-cured black olives with a glass of wine before dinner.

When Dad & Ellen were here for a Christmas visit a couple of weeks ago, we hit Lavomatic, a delightful French-style wine bar/cafe, for an afternoon pick-me-up. We ordered a dish of roasted olives to snack on -- I'd never had roasted ones (and these were served cold, which didn't seem ideal), but they were tasty and I resolved to try making them. I sort of made this recipe up:

assorted olives of your liking
a sprig of rosemary (fresh thyme would work, too, maybe for a spring or summer variation)
1 clove of garlic, smashed
a pinch of red-pepper flakes
a glug of olive oil
a splash of red wine
a piece of orange peel would be nice, too

I warmed the olive oil in my small Lodge cast-iron skillet (any oven-proof skillet would do), then added the garlic, rosemary sprig and pepper flakes and warmed them until they were fragrant. I added the olives and stirred them around for a few minutes, then added the red wine. Then I shoved the pan into a preheated 400-degree oven for about 12 minutes, until everything bubbled and smelled delicious.

These improve greatly over time -- I made a batch for New Year's eve that were much better when I finished them off on Friday evening, more than a week later. Yesterday's batch will sit in the fridge until next weekend, when I'll scoop a few into a small dish and let them come to room temp for a little snacketizer.

the fun list.

Last weekend, as our extended holiday time off was waning, Rob cheered me up by proposing that we create The Fun List -- a bunch of places to go, restaurants to hit and things to do during these short, dark, cold days of winter. I think his suggestion was mostly an act of self-preservation, as I can get sort of grouchy as I wait for the days to get longer, sunnier and warmer. The Fun List is a welcome distraction.

First up on the list: a trip to Jungle Jim's, a crazy food emporium (six acres under one roof!) on the way northwest side of Cincinnati. Yesterday was the perfect day for this Bit of Fun, as the weather was simply disastrous. So we trekked up I-75 and hit JJ's; an hour an a half and 130 bucks later, we emerged with a really random assortment of things. Our receipt shows:

-- 3 boxes of DeCecco pasta and a bag of my favorite, Fregola Sarda
-- 1 bottle of Verjus (a variant of wine vinegar that I've been interested in trying)
-- a liter of imported olive oil
-- bananas, zucchini, carrots, garlic, avocados
-- 2 cans of San Marzano tomatoes and a tube of imported tomato paste
-- 2 different kinds of fancy butter
-- 2 Spanish cheeses: an aged Manchego and a stinky-as-feet blue Cabrales
-- assorted fresh olives
-- 2 kinds of imported sea salt (coarse and fine)
-- a gorgeous piece of Sockeye salmon which, with the red lentils we also bought, was the centerpiece of last night's dinner
-- Cafe du Monde coffee
-- 4 additions to Rob's Pez collection: the Riddler, the mom and baby from "The Incredibles" and Linguini from "Ratatouille"

It was great fun!

a dream of mine.

If we won the lottery and could build a second home, this is exactly how I'd want it: a modern box, a kitchendininglivingroom with a loft bedroom above and all surrounded by glass. I found a picture of this house (who knew someone had been reading my mind?) on NYTimes.com. I would not like my house to be in Idaho, as this one is. But the structure is just right.

Photo below is by Stuart Isett for the NYTimes.

tree, you've been lovely.

Sadly, though, it's time to carefully remove all the beloved ornaments from your branches, take off the garland draped throughout your boughs, unwrap the strings of white lights, and pack it all away for the year. I hope you've felt like a star, all dressed up in the glittering painted-glass ornaments that I love so much -- the ones that first hung on my little artificial tree in my room growing up, even a few that probably came from Grandpa's flower shop and hung on Mom & Dad's tree when they were starting out. The ones that I picked up at the Herb Barn every day-after-Thanksgiving when Mom, Grandma and I would go out together. The ones that Rob and I have collected over the years, including the one that looks like a seed packet that I purchased just a few days ago.

You've been a gorgeous and welcome addition to our home these past few weeks, and we're glad we found you that cold night.

Thank you.

a meal to remember.

Last night, Rob and I went out for a fantastic dinner at a Fancy White-Tablecloth Place. (Actually, the tables were dressed in lovely terra-cotta French Provençal linens.) Jean-Robert at Pigall's is probably Cincinnati's top restaurant -- its name a combination of the top chef and one of the city's finest old establishments. Back in the 1960s, Cincinnati somehow produced three of the 10 exclusive Mobil Five-Star restaurants in the country, and Pigall's was one of them.

It was an amazing meal and a terrific evening.

We started with cocktails at the lounge next door, then moved into the dining room. The space was gorgeous -- an inviting, long, low-ceilinged space with interesting decor and the above-mentioned linens. From the moment we sat down, the service was perfection -- proper and professional but warm and unpretentious.

And the food. OMG, the food.

We opted for the three-course menu, though the five-stepper beckoned. As a couple of fairly accomplished home cooks, we're always awed when a restaurant takes things that we prepare at home -- in this case, roast chicken and roast sea bass -- and turns them into something we could never possibly accomplish in our own kitchen.

We started with a lovely amuse bouche -- three of them, actually: a warm potato soup, a duck-confit salad and a phyllo purse of sauteed red cabbage and cream cheese.

First courses were, for me, a composed crabmeat/avocado/cucumber salad with a perfect scoop of cider-vinegar sorbet; for Rob, gorgeous duck ravioli with an intensely flavored duck/wine sauce. They were as different as can be, but both were just perfect.

Second courses: for me, the roast sea bass, which sat atop a bed of roasted fennel, sauteed shiitake mushrooms (which gave a creamy, earthy quality), orange segments and blue potatoes, and which was doused in a gorgeous orange butter sauce. I was amazed by the little garnish on top of the fish -- I thought it was shredded carrot, but one bite produced this intense, velvety flavor of candied orange peel. Rob had the roast chicken, which was topped with a wine sauce and sat alongside a sort of potato/cheese/mushroom croquette.

Dessert, as if we needed it, was for me a cheese assortment and for Rob an amazing dark-chocolate molten cake that was elevated to sublime with a scoop of pumpkin ice cream. The first and last entries in my mild-to-strong cheese plate were both Basque sheeps-milk cheeses that tasted similar but impossibly different.

All the way home, we talked about the individual flavors and tastes like we'd dissect the scenes of a complex movie. Every single dish was built from a pantry-full of ingredients, and you could taste each and every one of them individually. You could tell that all the elements had been prepared separately, seasoned minimally, and composed like instruments in an orchestra.

It wasn't a cheap night out, but it wasn't a bank-breaker, either. And it (obviously) left quite an impression. We'll most definitely go back.

more food. really, i need to stop.

Some wise person, I'm not sure who, once said, "It's not Christmas without a cheese ball." So here we are. Actually, this is more of a log than a ball, but the spirit is the same. I spotted this recipe on the blog Homesick Texan, and I doctored it a bit, swapping in walnuts because I love the combination of walnuts and blue cheese.

8 oz. cream cheese
4 oz. blue cheese (I used Maytag, my favorite)
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 cup of toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped

Blend the cheeses until smooth, blend in garlic and Worcestershire. Form into a log, then roll in toasted walnuts. Chill.

too funny.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

department of food.

On NYTimes.com, columnist Nicolas Kristof has a piece about how President-elect Obama should revamp the Department of Agriculture and rename it the Department of Food. He cites Michael Pollan, noting that U.S. agricultural "policy" subsidizes the production of cheap calories (i.e., high fructose corn syrup) instead of real, healthy food. Here's a bit:

The Agriculture Department — and the agriculture committees in Congress — have traditionally been handed over to industrial farming interests by Democrats and Republicans alike. The farm lobby uses that perch to inflict unhealthy food on American children in school-lunch programs, exacerbating our national crisis with diabetes and obesity.

But let’s be clear. The problem isn’t farmers. It’s the farm lobby — hijacked by industrial operators — and a bipartisan tradition of kowtowing to it.

Can I get an 'amen'?

cookie baking, part 1.

Yesterday was Cookie Baking Day 2008; I mixed up four different kinds (some of which I'll share with my delightful co-workers during our annual homemade gift exchange this week). I'll wait to post the recipes for the ones I'll be sharing (so the HOWgirls don't know what's in store), but there's one batch I. Most. Definitely. Will. Not. Be. Sharing.

No, no. These are mine. They taste like Mom's crunchy caramel frosting--nutty, buttery, caramel-y. I used sea salt, and the coarse grains didn't dissolve and integrate into the dough, so you get this delightful pop of salt in random bites. They definitely require a glass of milk, though they were just as nice with an espresso for our dessert last night.

Brown Butter Shorties from Smitten Kitchen:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar (preferably dark)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt (flaky salt would be great in these)
Demerara sugar (Sugar in the Raw) or sanding sugar for rolling (optional)

Cut butter into four or five pieces and cook butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently, until it has a nutty fragrance and flecks on bottom of pan turn a light brown, anywhere from 4 to 7 minutes. It helps to frequently scrape the solids off the bottom of the pan in the last couple minutes to ensure even browning. Transfer butter to a bowl and chill until just firm, about 1 hour.

Beat together butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in vanilla, then mix in flour and salt at low speed until just combined. Transfer dough to a sheet of wax paper or parchment and form into a 12-inch log, 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Chill, wrapped in wax paper, until firm, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Unwrap dough and roll it in coarse sugar, if using, and press the granules in with the paper you’d be using to wrap it. Slice dough into 1/4-inch-thick rounds, arranging 1 1/2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake until surface is dry and edges are slightly darker, 10 to 12 minutes. Let sit on sheet for a minute before transferring to a rack to cool.

a cold night.

On my way home, I debated going to the gym vs. taking a walk and decided I'd see how eager Wrigley was to get outside when I got home. Turns out, OHF had a huge case of The Puppies, so out we went. It was a cold night, and as we walked toward Hyde Park Square, I heard the bells at Knox Presbyterian chiming one of my favorite Christmas carols, "O Come, O Come Emmanuel." And we spotted a show in the sky: the conjunction of Venus, Jupiter and the Moon. It was a beautiful sight on a brisk almost-winter evening, and I'm glad I didn't miss it. The gym can wait until tomorrow.