Ingredient: pepper

Guacamole with Clementines

Clementines, Mandarins, Cuties, Halos, whatever you call these delicious little gems, they are easily found at grocery stores this time of year. I nearly always have a bag of them in my fridge during the winter months. They travel well, are super sweet, and let’s face it; seasonal fresh fruit is scarce this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere. But, this small citrus fruit shines when it is cold outside.

So, why not add a little oomph to your guacamole with chopped up segments of clementines? That is exactly what I did here. I took a handful of those easy to peel clementines and cut each segment into thirds. I wanted the pieces to be substantial enough that you get a burst of sweetness in a bite but not so big that you would have worry about keeping it balanced on a chip.

Everyone loves guacamole. I mean, if you don’t love guacamole then you confuse me. We can still be friends and everything, but I don’t understand how anyone can resist dipping a chip into a bowl of fresh creamy guacamole. Actually, if you don’t like guacamole, let me know, I will invite you over to my place. More guacamole for me!

A local restaurant here in Salt Lake City called Taqueria 27 offers a ‘guacamole of the day’ (G.O.D.). They offer up some wild combinations.

Recent G.O.Ds include:

red apple, Anaheim pepper, and pickled red onion
grilled onions and jalapenos, lime and queso fresco
blueberry, gorgonzola, habanero, and balsamic

I don’t love all of them but I do appreciate the chef’s commitment to using interesting ingredients.

That is what inspired me to add clementines to a batch of guacamole last weekend to snack on while the NFL playoffs were on. Plus, the Superbowl is coming up in a few weeks which always feature the best game-snacking opportunities of the year. I believe I once heard that the statistic that more avocados are sold Superbowl weekend than any other time of the year.

This recipe doesn’t stray too far from a traditional guacamole recipe other than I bumped up the heat a little to complement the sweet from the clementines. I love the sweet and spicy combination with the traditional creaminess of the avocados and acidity of the lime. Recommended!

Do you have a favorite non-traditional ingredient that you like to add to your guacamole? If so, I would love to hear about it in the comments.

A few other ideas for your Superbowl party:

Parmesan Broth with White Beans and Kale

You don’t throw away those end rinds of Parmesan cheese, do you? Please don’t. Ever. Take them and place them in a freezer baggie and freeze them for future use. Or, next time you are at a grocery store that has a nice cheese section, look around, sometimes stores will sell the rinds. Buy them. Every single one that you can find and stash them in the freezer like you are a squirrel hoarding acorns for the winter. These little flavor bombs are perfect to add to soups, stews, a pot of beans, and, of course, making Parmesan broth.

Making a pot of Parmesan broth is ridiculously simple. Plus, the smell of Parmesan broth cooking on your stove top will infuse your kitchen with the most delectable smell. The broth can be ready in under an hour. Then, you can decide whether add a few more ingredients and have dinner on the table or if you want to use the broth later, place it in the fridge or freezer for future use.

To make the broth you will put water, an onion, cloves of garlic, and the Parmesan rinds into a pot or Dutch oven. You don’t even have to peel the onions and garlic! Simmer for 45 minutes. Then, strain the soggy solids out which will have given up every ounce of flavor, and there you will have Parmesan broth. Now comes the fun part. What ingredients will you add to transform this broth into a scrumptious bowl of soup?

The world is your oyster here! Feel free to add whatever soup ingredients that you like. I decided to add a can of white beans, some leftover cooked quinoa, and kale. The addition of these ingredients transforms the Parmesan broth into an incredibly satisfying and hearty meal.

This recipe was inspired by the incredible Julia Turshen cookbook ‘Small Victories’. I would encourage you to track down a copy. Julia is a cookbook author, food writer, and hosted the first two seasons of Radio Cherry Bombe which featured interviews with amazing women in the world of food.

In the recipe from Small Victories, Julia added peas and some small pasta to her Parmesan broth. One of the features of the cookbook that I really enjoy in that she offers variations for all her recipes. I find that those suggestions inspire my creativity and also encourage me to look around my fridge, freezer, and pantry to use ingredients that I already have on hand rather than running to the store. One of her variations recommended beans and greens which I almost always have on hand. Plus, I had some leftover quinoa in the fridge so I threw that into the pot too. The result was an perfectly warming meal on a frigidly cold night.

The Best Beet and Potato Latkes

I turn into a total mush during the holiday season. I don’t know why. My typically even keel demeanor goes straight out the window during December. I find myself on an emotional roller coaster sobbing during commercials in the glow of the Christmas tree lights. I imagine it has something to do with all the memories of holidays past and the desire to make the holiday season as special as possible. It’s a lot to process.

But, thinking about, preparing, and sharing holidays meals is what keeps me grounded. Food magazines arrive in my mailbox full of beautifully photographed and delicious-sounding foods. I nearly jumped out of my chair with excitement when I saw the article on latkes in the December 2016 issue of Cooking Light. The magazine article features recipes for:

I want to try them all! But, I decided to start with the beet latkes. The recipe below was adapted from Cooking Light version.

Potato latkes have been associated with the celebration of Hanukah since the mid-1800s. If, like me, you love learning about the cultural meanings of food, you can check out this Atlantic article on the history of latkes. People of Jewish faith eat fried foods during Hanukah to celebrate the Miracle of the Oil where one day’s allotment of oil burned for eight days.

In addition to their cultural significance, latkes are just plain delicious. If you have never eaten them I encourage you to give them a try. I love latkes. I am absolutely full of affection for them. At their core, latkes are typically shredded potato and onion, flour, eggs, and seasoning that are fried in a skillet in a thin layer of oil. The potato pancakes turn out golden brown and crispy and are often served with sour cream and apple sauce.

To make beet latkes, you simply replace some of the potato with beets and their beet greens which give the latkes their spectacular coloring. So, when you are buying the beets make sure to buy beets with the greens still attached. The color contrast of the red beets and vibrant greens make this a perfect holiday meal. I am thinking that I need to plan a latke party.

Golden Beet, White Bean, and Orange Salad

I went through the first twenty-five years of my life thinking that I didn’t like beets. My only point of reference was the pickled beets that I encountered sliced up on salad bars. Those pickled beets just didn’t do it for me and never made their way to my plate.

Believe me when I tell you that back in the day, I knew a lot about salad bars. When I was in high school I worked at Burger King and back then BKs had salad bars where diners could make their own salads. I was the queen of that salad bar. I took pride in making sure that the salad bar looked fantastic when I was working. I would painstakingly arrange the kale (which was decorative in those days) around the containers of salad fixings. I would also make sure that the salad bar items were fresh and full and oh so tempting. I took it as a personal affront when people ordered hamburgers instead of a salad! But, I digress; let’s get back to this salad.

I can’t remember the exact moment when I first tried a roasted beet but it was well after my BK days. I just know that at some point I became a roasted beet fanatic. That discovery then led to me realize that I also love steamed beets, especially small beets. Their texture and flavor are well-suited to steaming. In the notes section below you will find cooking directions for steaming, roasting, and microwaving beets. Yes, microwaving. Who knew? I tried the method listed below and it works well. But, I included all three methods because I wanted you to have a few options so you can pick your favorite cooking method.

Beets bring an earthy flavor and wonderful texture to salads. In this salad, I chose to use golden beets for a few reasons. Firstly, I prefer working with golden beets because my kitchen and I don’t end up looking like a crime scene which sometimes happens when working with red beets. Also, don’t the yellow beets look gorgeous with the orange segments and pieces of green pistachios? I can’t help it; I like my food to be colorful and coordinated.

Once your beets are cooked, this salad comes together in a snap. You could cook your beets ahead of time if you need to get dinner on the table quickly during the week or if you want to serve this salad as part of your menu for a dinner party.

The combination of the beets and beans gives this salad some heft making it a light and satisfying meal on its own. But, it can also be paired nicely with fish, chicken, or pork.

If you are a beet lover should also check out my recipe for beet gazpacho.

Winter Squash & Havarti Puffs

A neighbor once told me that she had never met anyone who pleasure read cookbooks before she met me. She made that comment years before blogs and the internet were a thing. I wonder what she would think if she knew how much time I spent perusing food blogs these days. There are a ton of really, really good ones. I mean they not only have delicious-looking recipes but also breath-taking photographs.

This recipe is inspired by the Kabocha and Havarti Pocket recipe on the I Will Not Eat Oysters blog. I was practically drooling when I saw the photos she posted. Plus, who doesn’t love roasted squash at this time of year? It’s so seasonal, baby!

I have been actively seeking out recipes using winter squash because my friend Laraine had a bumper crop of winter squash this year and generously shared her harvest with me. I used a buttercup squash for this recipe but you could substitute butternut, red kuri, or kabocha squash too. The process will be the same regardless of which squash you chose. You will want to use a really sharp knife to cut through the hard skin of the winter squash. I quartered the squash and scraped out the seeds and strings. If you use butternut squash you will only need to cut it in half lengthwise instead of quarters.

Another modification that I made to the recipe was to add a bit of heat to the roasted squash filling. I added chipotle chili powder, cayenne pepper, and a little drizzle of maple syrup. I thought the sweetness of the squash and creaminess of the Havarti could stand up to the additional spices. I am happy to report that the result was delicious! In keeping with the fall flavors I also used apple cider vinegar instead of the champagne vinegar called for in the original recipe.

These tasty little treats are super versatile too. You can make small puffs which are perfectly-sized appetizers which can be eaten in two bites. Or, you can make larger puffs and serve them as an entree. I would pair the larger puffs with a salad and crisp Sauvignon Blanc.