Sunday Breakfast

On Sunday, I wanted to make a big breakfast. Usually my husband has meetings early in the morning until late in the evening on Sundays. I'm alone with the kids in the morning to get them ready to go for our 9:00 AM meeting time. (It's kinda rough, I'm not gonna lie to you.)

Last weekend we were able to stay home and listen to the Semiannual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I really look forward to the two weekends a year that we hear from our church leaders. Even if you aren't a member of our faith, the talks are very inspirational.

And....no meetings! No sitting with the kids through church! Hooray for staying home in pajamas! Hooray for big breakfasts!



This is what we had:

Toad-in-the-Hole
Heirloom Tomatoes
Roasted Potato Wedges (in goose fat!)
Fresh peaches
Passion fruit juice

Years ago, I found a recipe for Toad-in-the-Hole in an issue of MSL. I copied it into a notebook and forgot about it. We started buying bangers (fresh, English-style pork sausages) at Whole Foods when we lived in NY and then I remembered about that recipe for TITH.

Toad-in-the-Hole is basically Yorkshire pudding baked with sausages in the batter. Martha's recipe adds Dijon mustard and fresh herbs. We serve it with her recipe for onion gravy.

It's savory and very rich. We tend to eat smaller portions and bulk up on fruit or something to offset all the fat....the glorious fat! Also, I always pour off the accumulated fat before we cut into it or it would be swimming with grease. (Sometimes I miss my gallbladder.)



Toad-in-the-Hole
from Martha Stewart Living

2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons vegetable oil or bacon fat (I use a bit less than this and it works just fine)
5 (1 lb.) English-style fresh pork sausages, casings removed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
Onion Gravy (recipe follows)

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, water, and mustard; season with salt and pepper. Whisk in the flour. Let stand 20 minutes.

2. Coat a 13 x 9-inch or 3 1/2-quart baking dish with the oil; heat in the oven 10 minutes. Remove from the oven. Pour the batter into the dish. Arrange the sausages on top; sprinkle with rosemary. Bake until puffed, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve with gravy.




Onion Gravy

Makes 1 cup

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium onions, halved and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Madeira wine (I never have this on hand, I just use extra broth)
1 cup homemade or low-sodium store-bought chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the onions, stirring, until golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Cover; cook over low heat until brown, about 25 minutes.

2. Add the flour. Cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in the wine, stock, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer until thick, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Sage, Walnuts and Brown Butter

(Forgive my undying love for Gourmet magazine. I'm still sad that it won't be around after next month. My tributes will continue over the next few weeks, I'm sure.)

The first page I opened to in the October 2009 issue of Gourmet showed lovely orange gnocchi with a sprinkling of cheese and dotted with sage leaves.


(image via Gourmet.com)

I fell in love and shoved the magazine into my husband's hands and asked him if he wanted me to make this for him.

He got a dreamy look in his eyes and said, "Yes."

This has been one of my favorite, favorite, favorite recipes. It says it is supposed to feed 6-8 people. At our house, it was more like 4. I put in extra time at the gym the next morning to work it off--but it was completely worth it.

I changed the recipe to fit what we had on hand. I picked some sage from Aunt Robbie's garden. And I've resolved to plant my own next summer. Fresh sage is one of those herbs that screams autumn.

You can find the original recipe here. I've included my changes below.

I fried the sage leaves in a little olive oil and then the walnuts. Instead of using the olive oil as a base for the sauce, I poured it out to use for something else later, and instead added 4 Tbsp. of butter to my skillet and let it brown. We've fallen in love with brown butter, too. Oh. my.

The recipe also calls for adding cheese to the gnocchi dough. Because I was concerned with all the added calories and fat that might add, I left it out.

Ha! You know me better than that. I didn't have enough on hand, so I left it out and used what I had as a garnish. (If I'd had enough cheese I would have added it in, so I left that in the modified recipe below.)

If you can, try to use freshly grated nutmeg. The flavor is so much better.

Also, I used sweet potatoes, not yams (sometimes mistaken for sweet potatoes), thus the lighter yellow color. They gave the gnocchi a slight sweetness that we loved, but also an earthiness.

Go make it. Don't be scared to make gnocchi--if I can do it, you can do it. Seriously. What are you waiting for?




Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Sage, Walnuts, and Brown Butter
adapted from Gourmet, October 2009

Serves 6-8 (or 4, if you're like us)

Active time:1 1/4 hr
Start to finish:2 1/4 hr

1 1/4 lb russet (baking potatoes)
1 (3/4-lb) sweet potato
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano plus more for serving
1 1/2 to 2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup sage leaves (from 1 bunch)
1/2 to 3/4 cup whole walnuts
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Make gnocchi:

Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in middle.

Pierce russet and sweet potatoes in several places with a fork, then bake in a 4-sided sheet pan until just tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Cool potatoes slightly, then peel and force through ricer into sheet pan, spreading in an even layer. Cool potatoes completely.



Lightly flour 2 or 3 large baking sheets or line with parchment paper. Beat together egg, nutmeg, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper in a small bowl. Gather potatoes into a mound in sheet pan, using a pastry scraper if you have one, and form a well in center.



Pour egg mixture into well, then knead into potatoes. (Or just crack the egg into the center, sprinkle the salt, pepper, and nutmeg over the top, and use a fork to break it up and mix in the riced potatoes.)


(Thanks to my husband for taking this lovely picture of me kneading the dough.)

Knead in cheese and 1 1/2 cups flour, then knead, adding more flour as necessary, until mixture forms a smooth but slightly sticky dough. Dust top lightly with some of flour.



Cut dough into 6 pieces. Form 1 piece of dough into a 1/2-inch-thick rope on a lightly floured surface. Cut rope into 1/2-inch pieces. Gently roll each piece into a ball and lightly dust with flour.

Repeat with remaining 5 pieces of dough.

Turn a fork over and hold at a 45-degree angle, with tips of tines touching work surface. Working with 1 at a time, roll gnocchi down fork tines, pressing with your thumb, to make ridges on 1 side. Transfer gnocchi as formed to baking sheets. (Kind of flick them off the fork and let them fall to the baking sheet. Once you get going, it goes quickly. Dust your fingers with flour and wipe off the fork tines if the gnocchi are sticking.)



Fry sage leaves and walnuts:

Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Fry sage leaves in 3 batches, stirring, until they turn just a shade lighter and crisp (they will continue to crisp as they cool), about 30 seconds per batch. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Season lightly with salt.

Fry the walnuts in the remaining oil until toasted and golden. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Season lightly with salt. Pour off the remaining oil and wipe out the skillet.

Make sauce:

Add butter to skillet and cook until golden-brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Cook gnocchi:

Add some of the gnocchi to a pasta pot of well-salted boiling water and stir. Cook until they float to surface, about 3 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a large serving bowl. Cook remaining gnocchi in same manner, transferring to the bowl.

When all of the gnocchi have been cooked, drizzle with brown butter and gently stir to coat them. Sprinkle with fried sage, walnuts and grated cheese.

Cooks’ notes:

* Uncooked gnocchi can be frozen (first in 1 layer on a baking sheet, then transferred to a sealable bag) up to 1 month. Do not thaw before cooking. Chestnuts can be sliced 1 day ahead and kept in an airtight container at cool room temperature.
* Sauce and topping can be halved; make full recipe of gnocchi and freeze half of it.

Pear Butterscotch Pie

Gourmet.

There are no words. I was sad when Domino bid farewell, but that was nothing compared to having to say good-bye to probably the greatest food magazine ever. At least they are ending on a high note. Their last several issues have been so amazing--the photography and food styling, the recipes and articles. I guess we'll survive somehow.



Over the summer I started cooking a lot from Gourmet. You know, instead of drooling over the photos, I could drool over the actual food. (A lot better and much more satisfying.)



My good friend, Nat, is always so generous. She shared a bounteous pear crop with me. I used them in all sorts of ways. They were the most delicious pears I think I've ever tasted. (I know I exaggerate sometimes, but really, they were.)




Anyway, to get ready for Thanksgiving, I've been making pies. Pie crust and I are now officially back on speaking terms, and in fact, we are friends. (Not quite BFFs yet, but close.)

The Pear Butterscotch Pie called to me from the pages of the September issue of Gourmet. In that issue (one of my favorites) recipes were organized and showcased alphabetically. It was fun to read and look at the lovely photos. I could tell the whole staff had a great time putting it together.

This pie is G-O-O-D, good. As my daughter pointed out, it does taste a lot like apple pie. Except that it's not! It's better. You know how apples in pie sometimes get more...toothesome? In sort of an unappealing way? Or completely break down? The pears don't. They melt in your mouth, but hold their shape.

Though not in the photograph, we ate our pie with a side of pear ice cream. (The recipe for that is coming soon to a blog near you.)



Pear Butterscotch Pie
from Gourmet, September 2009

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 1/2 lb firm-ripe Bartlett or Anjou pears (about 5), peeled, each cut into 6 wedges, and cored 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 prepared recipe for a double crust all-butter pastry dough (I used Martha's Perfect Pate Brisee)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into bits
1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon warm water
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Put a baking sheet on middle rack of oven and preheat oven to 425°F.

Whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, then whisk in brown sugar, breaking up any lumps. Gently toss pears with brown sugar mixture, lemon juice, and vanilla and let stand 5 to 15 minutes to macerate fruit.

Roll out 1 piece of dough (keep remaining disk chilled) on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 13-inch round. Fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Roll out remaining piece of dough into a 13-inch round. Reserve scraps.

Transfer filling to shell. Dot with butter, then cover with pastry round. Trim edges, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang (reserve scraps). Press edges together to seal, then fold under. Lightly brush top crust with some of egg wash, then cut 3 (1-inch-long) vents.

Roll out dough scraps about 1/8 inch thick and cut out shapes with cutters (or a knife). Arrange decoratively on top of pie, pressing gently to help them adhere. Lightly brush top crust and cutouts with some of egg wash and sprinkle with granulated sugar.

Bake pie on hot baking sheet 20 minutes. Reduce oven to 375°F and bake until crust is golden and filling is bubbling, 40 to 45 minutes more. Cool to warm or room temperature, 2 to 3 hours.

*The magazine says the pie is best the day it is made, which is true, but it also tastes great for about 4 days in our opinion.

Communal Giveaway Winner

Congrats to Brian and Ally! You win! Hooray!

If I were just a bit smarter with computer stuff, I'd figure out how to show the image of the random number generator that picked your comment--#58--in this post. Alas, I am not. So you'll have to take my word for it.

I'm so happy for you. E-mail me with your contact info and I'll get that gift card sent to you asap.

Thanks for playing everyone!

Communal Review & Giveaway

Disclosure: I got a free meal. I also got a $25 gift certificate that I'm not sharing with you, so don't ask. (Enter the giveaway instead, ok?)

Also, over the summer I was asked to review quite a few restaurants and I said "No, but thanks for asking." I made a new rule that I would no longer be accepting free products to review or free meals or the like. This is my blog and it's not a billboard--even if I do like said products, etc. That being said, I made an exception because it's my blog and I can do that. And because when you get asked to try out a new restaurant from Joseph McRae and Colton Soelberg, you don't say no unless you are crazy. Even I'm not that crazy.

These opinions are all mine, and even if though gave me a free meal and a gift certificate, I am still giving you my honest review. Spoiler alert: I LOVED IT.

Let's begin...

Communal is the brainchild of Joseph McRae and Colton Soelberg, the guys behind the famed Pizzeria 712. I love those two and their fab restaurants. They are changing the food scene here in Utah County for the better.

If you've been a long time reader, you know that our family likes to support local small businesses, grocery stores, and restaurants. And we like top-notch food which is hard to find at chain restaurants.

Communal, like P712, is dedicated to establishing a relationship with local farmers and businesses to bring the freshest seasonal ingredients directly to your table. It's that whole "farm to table" thing you keep hearing about. And it's awesome.

Rookie picked me up and we headed north to P-Town for lunch. (We were happy to see our other blogger friends, but really, we just wanted some good eats.)

Before we were served, Rookie and I walked around to check out the decor. The walls are covered with splendid artwork. The furniture is hip--but not too trendy. You've got to see their awesome bathrooms. (That might be worth the trip alone.) You can see more pics of the before and after on the P712 blog.



(Check out the pics of the super cool concrete counter being poured here.)



(A private dining room that is also equipped with all the technical stuff to accommodate business meetings.)


(Our table with cool lamps suspended above.)

This walnut bread was brought out first.



For me, bread is a good indication of how the rest of your meal will be. This bread was good. Soft, flavorful, just enough salt. The butter was yummy. It may have just been regular butter from the supermarket, but it tasted creamier and richer. (I don't usually make these things up--I'm a girl who likes her butter.)

The menu said something about Heirloom Tomato Bread Pudding. Interesting, right?

AND DELICIOUS. This is peasant food at it's best--bread cubes, fresh tomatoes, herbs, olive oil, and eggs. It was perfection.



Just when I thought you couldn't get stellar tuna in Utah, they went and proved me wrong. The tuna was cooked perfectly (see that nice rosy rawness there in the middle--that's how it should be) and had a flavorful green olive tapanade on the side. The frisee salad was the perfect accompaniment.



Next came Heirloom Tomato Salad with Onions and Cucumbers. The tomatoes are from Jacob's Cove, a local farm. See those cute little orange tomatoes? Those were my favorite. Next year I'm planting them in my garden.



I think the Roasted Squash with Apples and Thyme and the Potato Leek Gratin came out next. Both dishes were great and pushed me right into the mood for fall cooking.



Are you wondering how I ate all of this by myself? I didn't. The whole idea behind Communal is to enjoy a Sunday dinner type meal--the kind you share with the person across from you. That person happened to be the lovely Rachel from Black Eiffel. (She's as lovely as can be.)



Above is the Flatiron Steak with Gremolata Butter (flavored with fresh herbs, lemon and garlic)


Seared Sea Scallops with Tomato Relish. The relish was sweet, the scallops were tender, my mouth was happy.



I read somewhere or heard someone say recently that they were so disappointed when they would go out to dinner with other people and someone would order chicken. Chicken is a pretty safe bet at most restaurants. But I bet you it's not this good. The flavor of the rosemary was infused throughout the chicken. The outside was crisp and salty, the inside was super tender and juicy. It has an interesting name--Airline Chicken. But it's unlike anything you'd ever find on an airplane dinner tray. As in--this chicken is spectacular. Mmm.

Of course, I was looking forward to dessert.

Below is a Caramel Chocolate Tart made using local Amano chocolate. I have made similar tarts before, so I was curious. The Amano makes it. It's serious chocolate--not for those who like Hershey's or Nestle and think dark chocolate is "gross". I'll have to save another day to sing the praises of Amano chocolate. (BTW--I wouldn't say no to some free chocolate from them either.)



I saved the best for last. We Johnsonians have a preference for creamy, custardy desserts. This is the Butterscotch Pot de Creme.



I took the first spoonful while everyone was listening to Joesph and Colton talk about Communal and their plans (hint: more restaurants and a catering business are in the works).

I didn't want to share with Rachel. I didn't...don't tell her though. I don't want her to think I was jerk or anything. I may have even had one or two spoonfuls more than she did. Because I didn't want everyone to know what a heathen I can be, I refrained from licking the ramekin. I just scraped it about as clean as I could with my spoon.

Anyway, I guess I sort of like this place. And I have plans to go back often.
___________________________________________________________

Do you want to go there? I bet you do! Leave a comment on this post (the one you are reading) to enter the giveaway for a $35 gift certificate.

I can't personally keep track of extra entries via Twitter or FB or who has subscribed to my feed. Everyone has one entry and that makes it fair and square.

Rules:

1. One entry per person
2. Leave your comment on this post before 10:00 PM on Sunday. (I try to be bed early.)
3. Tell your friends or don't if you want a better chance at winning. (Not really a rule.)
4. If you leave your comment anonymously, how will I know it's you? Be sure to leave a name or e-mail at least, okay?
5. If the winner don't respond to me in two days, they lose! I'll give it to someone else.
6. You can take me with you, if you want, but it doesn't increase your chance of winning.
7. I'm out of other rules, so....

Get cracking.