httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kSS-XPm5Fg
We have finally birthed our 3rd smoothie book, Super-Charged Smoothies, and it’s SUPER-CHARGED with lots of energizing smoothies. Check out this clip for a sneak peak into the new wave of smoothies! And to order, go to Chronicle Books or Amazon.
Our dear friend and amazing baker, Charlotte Hardwick, made this kick-ass cake a couple weeks ago at a gathering in San Francisco. She served it slightly warm alongside a perfectly brewed cup of jasmine tea that was sweetened with raw honey and homemade almond milk. You know when something hits ya JUST right? Mmmmmmmmm… I think I ended up eating half the cake in the car on the way home. It took every ounce of discipline I had to save a tiny sliver for Sara to sample.
Sara loved this lemony delight as much as I did (surprise surprise!), so we decided to showcase it at our annual Easter party in Sonoma last weekend. We dressed the cake in a zesty, lemony, buttercream frosting and it made a bright, yummy ending to a cold, rainy Easter. Feel free to serve the cake plain or with the icing. Either way is delish. And to those of you who raise a skeptical eyebrow at baking gluten-free cakes, we’d put this one up against a traditional lemon poppyseed cake any day of the week.
For the Cake:
For the Icing:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Whisk eggs and sugar together in a medium bowl. Thoroughly whisk in the ricotta and the butter, followed by the Pamela’s baking and pancake mix and the almond flour. Last, whisk in the lemon zest and lemon juice.
Grease an 8 or 9-inch round cake pan. Either is fine. Pour batter into cake pan, and bake for 30 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out with loose crumbs attached. Let cool on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes and invert onto a serving plate.
For the icing, whisk the butter in a small bowl with the powdered sugar. Add the cream and whisk until well incorporated. Whisk in the lemon zest and lemon juice. Ice the top of the cooled cake and garnish with fresh berries.
Serves 8
Last weekend I road-tripped to Lake Tahoe with five gal pals. It didn’t take us long to break into the homemade banana bread. (I mean, who doesn’t love good ol’ banana bread?) However, I’d brought two versions and was itching for a taste test. Hands down, they preferred our “new and improved” banana bread, made with Pamela’s Wheat-free, Gluten-Free Baking & Pancake Mix and coconut oil, to our trustworthy recipe in our Bride and Groom Cookbook.
The big difference between these two recipes is that the older one calls for all-purpose flour and canola oil; the new one uses Pamela’s pancake mix and coconut oil. The new combination gives the bread a great, fly-away texture. Oh, and we did sneak a little crumble topping on at the last minute and it rocks!
Even our kids, after so many years of loving the tried-and-true Bride and Groom version, agreed that this recipe is the new benchmark for yummy banana bread. William belted out, between swigs of raw milk, “This version rules!” It’s unanimous in our households. Let us know what y’all think!
For topping:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the peeled bananas in food processor or blender and process until smooth. Measure 1 cup banana puree and set aside. Whisk together oil, sugar, banana, eggs, and vanilla in a medium size bowl. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. Whisk dry ingredients into wet ones. Pour mixture into a greased 8 by 4-inch bread pan (metal one works a tad better than glass). We grease the pan with coconut oil followed by a dusting of Pamela’s mix or you can use the nonstick spray.
For topping, mix melted butter (or butter-coconut oil mixture) with remaining ingredients. Sprinkle over the top and press lightly into the batter. Bake for about 50-60 minutes or until tester comes out with lose crumbs attached. We always check after about 30 minutes and usually need to cover the bread loosely with foil so it doesn’t get too brown. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack for 15 minutes before removing from the pan.
Yield: 8×4-inch loaf
Note: Pamela’s wheat-free & gluten-free baking & pancake mix is made primarily of rice flour, almond meal and tapioca starch, and is the base for so many recipes in our households. The pancake recipe on the back of the package is fantastic, as are the biscuits and the scones. This is great for people who eat gluten free. Just note that this recipe is gluten free ONLY if you omit the oatmeal in the topping. If you want, just substitute with nuts or add 3 more tablespoons of the Pamela’s mix.
Rather than a recipe, we’ve got a big fat tip this week, one that will boost any number of recipes already in your rotation. While away in Aspen last weekend, we whipped up hearty bowls of cinnamon-raisin oatmeal. After the third morning of mediocre oatmeal, we had an epiphany about our problemo. Our all-time-fave brand of butter was missing! It was the butter that made all the difference. If you have never tried KERRYGOLD IRISH BUTTER, we urge you to find some. Here’s why:
Ireland has long been revered for its dairying because it has everything needed to make a cow happy: good soil, mild climate, moisture, and green grass galore. As we know, happy cows produce amazing milk, which makes unbeatable butter. Kerrygold Butter is so golden that it looks like it’s been colored. In fact, the rich color is natural and comes from the beta-carotene in the vibrant green Irish grass consumed by the cows.
We admit to being butter snobs, but promise you can taste the difference. Kerrygold is pricier than some other brands (depending on where you live), but worth every penny. We buy six 8 oz. packages at a time at Trader Joe’s ($2.69 per 8 oz. versus up to $5.99 at some stores) and put them in the freezer so that we are never without. We prefer the flavor of the salted butter to unsalted, but run a taste test and decide for yourself.
For those of you who are nutritional “nervous Nellies,” as Julia Child use to say, and are wary of eating real butter, we urge you to pick up a copy of Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon. Based on the work of Weston Price, this expansive nutritional guide explains why our bodies need old-fashioned animal fats… and much, much more. After discovering this book and its wisdom years ago, we spread, dip, dunk, and DELIGHT in all that butter has to offer.
There’s always a stash of chicken nuggets in our freezer and if you have small children, I bet there’s probably a box or two in your freezer as well. Bell & Evan’s yummy, breaded, boneless, skinless chicken breasts get thumbs up in our households. But, we all know, homemade chicken nuggets really blow frozen away. When you’ve got a little time, and a little extra patience for a big, happy mess, help your kids make their own nuggets. Our kids delight in rolling up their sleeves, getting dirty and having fun in the kitchen. Hands get gooky and there is always a hefty dusting of flour and bread crumbs on the floor, but it’s worth the mess to watch the kids have so much fun. Experts say that the best way to get children to open their minds to different foods is to get ’em in the kitchen. We keep trying!
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Clean up the chicken thighs by removing any excess fat or gristle. Cut into bite size pieces, about 11/2 inches each. Season with salt and pepper. Pull out three bowls, preferably soup or pasta bowls. Mix together the flour and garlic powder in one of the bowls. Whisk together the eggs in another bowl. Pour the breadcrumbs into the last bowl. Line the bowls up… flour, eggs, breadcrumbs. Now the fun begins! Roll up your sleeves and dredge the chicken into flour with one hand, using the other hand to dip in the egg, then switching back to the “dry” hand to dredge in breadcrumbs. Place the prepared chicken nuggets on a plate. Repeat til all the chicken nuggets are breaded. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon canola oil. When the skillet is hot and the fat is bubbling, add half the nuggets. Reduce heat to medium (or even medium-low depending on your oven), and cook for 5-7 minutes per side. The goal is to get a crispy golden brown color on both sides. YOU DONT WANT TO COOK THEM TOO FAST or they will be too dark on the outside and undercooked on the inside! Place cooked nuggets on a paper towel-lined sheet tray. Wipe out the skillet and repeat process. Warm nuggets in the oven if necessary just before serving. Just make sure to remove the paper towels first. Oh, one more thing. These little nuggets will look slightly pink in the center if you use thigh meat. This does not mean that they are undercooked.
Makes about 24 nuggets: Serves 4
Note: As you probably know by now, we are hip to gluten free products. We don’t have Celiac disease (in which gluten damages the absorptive surface of the small intestine, preventing the body from absorbing important nutrients). But we do suspect we’ve got an intolerance to wheat, due to the lethargy we feel after consuming it. So… organic quinoa flour is a great alternative to AP flour, as it is a complete protein that enhances the nutrition of countless dishes. Also, look for gluten free breadcrumbs. Glutino is our favorite brand.
What’s better than serving a supremely delicious meal with about 15 minutes of effort? Between basketball tournaments, ice cream socials, sleepovers, potty training, and yoga, I slipped over to Trader Joe’s in search of inspiration. Sara had been raving about their fabulous French style flat-bread tarts with mushrooms, Emmental and Parmesan cheese, and I wanted to surprise Jack with a quick and tasty grown-up dinner on the fly. I hurled a few frozen tarts into the cart and headed home. TJ’s tart, much like a thin-crusted pizza, turned out to be great on its own, but I found that a little truffle salt really gives it that “Je ne sais quoi.” Years ago Michael Chiarello of www.napastyle.com gave us this flavorful salt as a gift for being guests on his TV show, and it’s been a staple for us ever since. Truffle salt adds zing to eggs, pasta, salad and risotto – or just about anything that goes well with mushrooms. Your family and friends may well hallucinate in culinary ecstasy after one bite of this easy dish. Jack was delighted and, truth be told, I barely had to lift a finger!
Preheat oven to 450 degrees and cook the tarts according to package instructions. While they are cooking, put the lemon juice in a bowl. Season with salt, freshly ground pepper and a drizzle of agave nectar or pinch of sugar. Whisk in the olive oil. (You can also place vinaigrette ingredients in a jar and shake just before assembling the salad.) Place the greens in a medium size bowl and season them with salt and pepper. Drizzle with the vinaigrette and toss lightly. Sprinkle the cooked mushroom tarte with truffle salt and freshly ground pepper. Cut into wedges and serve with the arugula salad. Garnish the salad with shavings of Parm cheese if you like.
Note: If you want to spruce the salad a bit, feel free to add some sliced red onion or toasted hazelnuts. If you have access to Meyer lemons, you could also make a Meyer lemon vinaigrette. Just use a little less oil as Meyer lemons are not as sour as regular lemons.
Serves 2
This week, something a little different! We’ve created some how-to videos for Pottery Barn’s Style House party planner, discussing some of the ideas we shared in our Bride & Groom First and Forever cookbook. There are four videos in the series; we hope they inspire you to prepare a stylish, stress-free and easy brunch of you own, any time of the year.
You can find the full recipe for Puckery Lemon Parfaits with Summer Berries, and more from Bride & Groom in the Our Books section of our site.
Printable recipes from the videos can be downloaded in Pottery Barn’s Spring Celebration Party Planner (PDF). Enjoy!
We’ll never forget our first encounter with goat cheese at the River Café in NYC when we were about 12 years old. The chef, David Burke, delivered a melted goat cheese bruschetta and with one whiff, we pinched our noses shut! Dad, bent on teaching us to try new things, offered us 50 bucks just to taste it. Mom hit the ceiling with disgust and… we can’t seem to remember the rest. What we do know is that bribery is no longer necessary when it comes to eating goat cheese. Now it’s more about restraint, especially when it comes to the revered Humboldt Fog. This elegant, luscious goat cheese has a ribbon of edible vegetable ash along its center and under its exterior, giving it a unique, cake-like appearance. It’s stunning! Made by Cypress Grove Chevre in Humboldt County, California, it is available at Whole Foods and other artisanal cheese shops or online at www.cypressgrove.com. Peppadew peppers make a perfect complement to the creamy, slightly tangy cheese. These piquante peppers from South Africa’s northern provinces are found in the condiment section of some grocery stores, but mostly in specialty stores. And www.amazon.com can come to the rescue for those who live in remote areas of the country. (We couldn’t find the Peppadews on the day we took the photo for the blog post, so we bought another brand of sweet and spicy peppers that we had never tried before and they were a great substitute. We are always improvising, and hope you will too!) Pair this combo with any of the five flavors of Mary’s Gone Crackers. HEAVEN! You’ll definitely have to pull your self away. We bet your guests will too!
Place the hunk of goat cheese on a serving platter. Top with Peppadew Peppers and serve alongside Mary’s Gone Crackers. Place some bread sticks in a glass for some added dimension if ya like! Sliced bread from a baguette is another option.
Note that the cheese is best served room temp. Oh, if you have leftover Peppadews, chop them up and drop them into chili or spaghetti sauce. They are also excellent over lamb and pork.
errata: We misspelled Humboldt in the original post; it remains that way in the post title so as not to break links.
Here’s the deal: A spaghetti sauce can be marginally good or exceptional. To make the leap, we use Grandma Broadbent’s 100-year-old secret sausage recipe. You have to order it online, but it’s well worth your time and money, as this rich hickory smoked sausage is “da bomb!” We order extra to stash in the freezer for on-the-fly meat sauce, chili, holiday stuffing and decadent weekend breakfasts. Both of our families serve the spaghetti sauce over gluten-free quinoa spaghetti, (Andean Dream is a great brand) or brown rice pasta, (Tinkyada is our fave), which is also gluten–free. Both of these brands can be found at Whole Foods. To order the sausage, go to www.broadbenthams.com.
Break up the sausage in little bits and cook over medium high heat in a large heavy-bottomed pot till brown and thoroughly cooked, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meat to a paper towel-lined plate. Rinse the pan clean, dry and return to the burner over medium high heat. Add the bacon fat, or olive oil. Add the onions and red peppers and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 5-7 minutes until they are soft and sweet, stirring occasionally. Add the chopped garlic (if you’re not too pressed for time) and cook another few minutes to avoid that raw garlic taste. Be sure to stir the garlic-onion mixture frequently so the garlic doesn’t burn. Turn the heat to medium low and add the tomato sauce. (We rinse each jar with a little water to avoid wasting the sauce and pour it into the pot, about 1/2 cup water total.) Add the agave nectar, the oregano, the chipotle or hot sauce. Season with more salt and pepper to taste and add a little more agave or brown sugar and hot sauce if desired. Stir in the basil just before serving.
We always toss the warm cooked and drained pasta with salt and pepper, butter and/or extra virgin olive oil before adding the sauce. Garnish with parmesan and a basil leaf. If you like our serving dish and set up, go to www.crateandbarrel.com.
Serves about 8
Makes about 8 cups meat sauce/ 24 oz dry pasta yields about 8 cups cooked
FYI: This is always best made 1 or 2 days in advance day. We often make a big ol pot for the weekend and when the kids have had enough, we’ll turn the sauce into a quickie chili by adding some black beans/and or some kidney beans(rinse and strain them if you are using a can), some chili powder, paprika, and cumin. We add a little water and some more agave, salt and pepper and serve it over quinoi or brown rice.
Mary Corpening Barber and Sara Corpening Whiteford are the authors of the best-selling Bride & Groom First and Forever Cookbook, and many more.
Pom Acai
If you haven’t yet discovered acai (pronounced ah-sigh-ee), make this smoothie and you might just become an acai ADDICT! This exotic purple berry, loaded with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, comes from the Brazilian rainforest and is thought by many to be the world’s super fruit. Reminiscent of blackberries and blueberries, sweet acai comes alive when paired with teasingly tart, antioxidant-rich pomegranate juice. Keep your eye out for acai juice blends, as well as smoothie packs (sweetened or unsweetened), which have less sugar than sorbet and are found in the freezer section at natural food stores. Our kids love to top this smoothie with organic granola for a supercharged breakfast.
Combine the pomegranate juice and banana in the blender. Add the blueberries and the acai smoothie pack or sorbet. Add the Mila (preferably chia gel) and blend until smooth.
Makes about 2 1/2 cups; serves 2
Note: After all the research we have done on super-charged foods (and we have done a lot!), Mila is at the TOP of the charts. Mila is a proprietary blend of chia seeds that is chocked full of Omega-3’s, fiber, protein, antioxidants, phytonutrients, calcium and essential vitamins and minerals. For more information on this powerful whole raw food (this is no supplement!), check out our personal Lifemax website at marysara.lifemax.net.
We like to pre-hydrate the Mila, creating a chia gel, before adding to smoothies, milkshakes, oatmeal, or yogurts. The gel is easier for the body to digest and absorb, and it also maximizes hydration in the body. To make the gel, add 1 scoop (2 tablespoons) of Mila to a cup or more of water. Stir and let sit for 15 minutes or more. If we are just consuming Mila on its own (without adding to other foods), we stir 1 scoop of Mila in 16 ounces of water or juice and let sit for 15 minutes or several hours. It does get a bit gelatinous, but does not bother us.
P.S. Our kids hate the gelatinous effect of Mila, so they stir it in juice and power it back immediately when we don’t have time to make a smoothie.