rosemary farro with roasted grapes, shallots, and almonds

i was a smelly homebody this weekend! i wrote and procrastinated and then wrote and procrastinated some more, and then at night we emerged to go eat salads at our brand spankin new awesome town brewery because we are hip millennials and our brewery is so cool. (now that we have a brewery, what else do we need in order for you to come visit us? a fried chicken place? a cookbook store? i'll work on it.)

i have some personal news and that's that i don't think i'm a future village champion curler of america. or maybe i'm just judging it too quickly? but ok, imagine this: because i was a former mathlete and know a thing or two about angles and curves, i was elected to be the skip, which is the position that stands down at the far end of the ice to give aiming directions while everyone else (i.e. all of your friends who you signed up with) waits to throw the stone (i.e. hangs out and laughs and forms inside jokes and strengthens their friend bonds). so there i was, spending my three units of social time for the week trying to make small talk about the fabled beer vending machine that's hidden deep in the back room of the curling barn with a total stranger and failing miserably and watching my friends at a very long distance laughing and having the best time ever. so i quit.

conveniently, the class session ended that day so i didn't need to be dramatic about quitting mid-season and letting my team down, not that i was of any real value anyway, but i'm glad i tried! it was a really fascinating learning experience and maybe i'll take it back up again once i find a teammate who is socially confident enough to not get fomo while watching a bunch of people whom they can't interact with have fun. could i put out a craigslist ad for a skip? female, 26, seeks platonic friendship with introverted calculus whiz who can lunge well. 

errmm...for now i think i'll devote all my free time to master of none. what a great show! 

i wanted to make you a grape salad as a nostalgic nod to #grapegate for thanksgiving. but i came up with this farro salad with roasted grapes, because 1) ohmygahh grapes deserve better than to be dressed in an outfit of sour cream, and 2) i'm going through a farro stage. it's such a fancy yet hearty grain! i've been using it lately where i would normally use israeli couscous or rice. (my first foray into farrotto happened over the weekend and it was a success.) this salad is great warm or at room temperature, and the rosemary, toasted almonds, and roasted grapes lend some wonderful fall flavors. i've been putting some fresh mozzarella in mine, but if you're looking for a vegan dish for your thanksgiving table, this will totally hold up without the cheese. and speaking of vegan thanksgivings, um, i think i'm gonna make a squashducken...????

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rosemary farro with roasted grapes, shallots, and almonds

serves 4-6

ingredients

1 pound grapes from california

1/4 c olive oil, divided

kosher salt and black pepper

1 c farro, rinsed and drained

1 sprig rosemary

1 large shallot or 2 small ones, finely chopped

1 1/2 tb white wine vinegar

1/2 c toasted almonds, roughly chopped

4 oz fresh mozzarella pearls, optional

clues

preheat the oven to 425ºf. line a baking sheet with parchment and spread out the grapes (remove them from their stems). drizzle them with 1 tablespoon olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper and roast for 30 minutes.

in a large pot, cover the farro with water, add the rosemary sprig and a good pinch of salt, bring it to a boil, and then reduce the heat to simmer for 30 minutes, until tender. drain it and place it in a large bowl. (discard the rosemary sprig.)

while the farro is simmering, place the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a small pot with the shallot and simmer it over medium heat. remove it from the heat once the farro is done cooking and stir in the vinegar. 

add the grapes, almonds, and mozzarella (if using) to the bowl with the farro and drizzle it with the shallot mixture. toss to combine. salt and pepper to taste. serve warm or at room temperature. enjoy!

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-yeh!

this post is sponsored by grapes from california. all opinions are my own!

cannellini and soffritto pizza with pancetta and parmesan + a pizza party in tuscany!

we have rules in our house about friday night pizza night:

1. we have to eat pizza every friday (duh)

2. things that have traditional pizza ingredients but aren't necessarily technically pizza count. so, like, cheese on toast with a tomato slice counts. spaghetti with tomato sauce and parmesan cheese counts. a grilled cheese with ketchup counts. this is weird, i am aware.

3. if eggboy and i are apart on a friday or if we're somewhere on a friday night where there is no pizza, we either try to plan ahead and have pizza for friday lunch or makeup for it and have pizza on saturday or sunday.

4. frozen pizza is ok. take-out is ok. planning a day ahead and starting a batch of jim lahey's no-knead pizza dough on thursday night is ideal though. i should have a reoccurring reminder on my phone for this.

5. if we're apart for a week or more, all bets are off. eat as much pizza as you want, when you want, standing over the sink, while watching reality t.v. anytime, anywhere. sending blurry pizza eating selfies and surpluses of pizza emoji are noted bonuses.  

my pizza night in tuscany was a category five pizza night: it was on a monday. a monday! and it was at sunset, with a view of the rolling tuscan hills and a big hunky pizza oven that was part of our home for the week. rebecca, alana, brandiego, and i used herbs from the garden and tons of other tasty things to build soo much pizza, it was fantastic. with some inspiration from the surrounding vineyards, i made a little riff on this prosciutto + grape pizza. it had a grape smiley face.

today, as a little reunion for our tuscany trip, the other davinci storytellers and i are posting pizza recipes inspired by our trip! since i already posted the grape pizza that i made at our party, my recipe today is inspired by the amazing cannellini beans that i ate in tuscany. they were so good and fresh, i think we were there during bean season. beans have never really been at the top of my favorite foods list (unless they were blended into hummus), but with the way these tuscan ones were prepared, with plenty of rosemary, garlic, and olive oil, i saw them in a whole new way. so in the place of sauce, this pizza has a cannellini bean puree, and it's then topped with a basic soffritto and some crispy pancetta. 

and ok, i am well aware that it is not the most supermodel-y lookin pizza, no amount of casually dropped rosemary sprigs or fresh parm or even white truffle oil from the tiny tuscan town of san miniato can fix that. but listen up! it tastes like grandma's chicken soup went on a pizza and it's good. 

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cannellini and soffritto pizza with pancetta and parmesan

serves 4

ingredients

1 can cannellini beans, strained and rinsed
1/2 sprig of fresh rosemary (stem removed), plus more for garnish
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for finishing the pizza
Kosher salt and pepper
5 ounces chopped pancetta
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1/2 large onion, finely chopped
1 batch Jim Lahey’s pizza dough (divided into 2 parts, not 4), or pizza dough of your choice
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

white truffle oil, optional

clues

Preheat the oven to 500ºF.

In a food processor, combine the beans, rosemary, garlic, olive oil, a good pinch of salt and a few turns of pepper and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.

In a medium skillet, cook the pancetta until crispy. Remove it to a plate, keeping the fat in the pan. You’ll want a thin coating of fat on the pan to cook the vegetables, so pour some off if needed, or if the pan is a bit dry, supplement the pancetta fat with a drizzle of olive oil. Heat the fat over medium high heat and add the vegetables with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, for 7-10 minutes, until the vegetables have softened. Salt and pepper to taste.

On a baking sheet or pizza peel, flatten out half of the pizza dough. Top it with half of the bean mixture, pancetta, vegetables, and parmesan and bake until the crust is splotchy with brown spots. Begin checking for doneness at 5 minutes. Repeat with the other half of the pizza dough and toppings.

Finish the pizzas with fresh rosemary, a drizzle of olive oil or white truffle oil, and more parmesan and enjoy with a glass of davinci chianti!

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-yeh!

as a davinci wine storyteller, this post was created in partnership with davinci wine! 

garlic sesame broccoli rabe with panko crusted chicken

sugar beet harvest is more than halfway done! i couldn't believe it when eggboy told me this news yesterday. he's expecting it to be over by friday, making it a contender for the smoothest harvest in my three-harvest history on the farm. it is at once a joy, because once it ends there will be more eggboy time for me (!!), and a shame because i've been liking the weirdness of the harvest schedule and the excitement of having all of the extra workers and their significant others around.

a typical day for eggboy this past week has been a midnight to noon shift in the fields and then another few hours being a man about the farm. a typical day for me this past week has been:

6am: wake up! before the sun! eggboy is long gone, which is kind of lonely at first but then i realize that 1) he has left me coffee and it's already cooled to a temperature where i can chug it at the speed of light, and 2) i can do all of the beyoncé dance workout videos on youtube without anyone seeing me.

7am: let out the chickies! this is normally eggboy's job but i've been doing it this week and getting a perfect shot of cold crisp air in the morning as i shout with glee, good morrrrrrning chickies! as if they are all at summer camp and i am the camp director wishing everyone a swell morning over the p.a. then i count them to make sure they're all there. and then i take in the creamsicle sunrise. 

sometime before noon: make a baked good for all of the drivers to enjoy when they get off their shifts and then run it out to the sweet table that i've set up in the workshop. this is extra fun! it makes me feel like i have a little bakery.

sometime between noon and 5pm: have lunch with eggboy. by this time he is exhausted and trying to adjust his eyes to going to sleep, so he wears sunglasses. and i don't know if he lost his or what but he's been wearing my iris apfel ones and it's completely absurd.

5pm: tuck eggboy into bed, do a little more work, and then parrrrrrrtay. either with all of my new cookbooks and prime time television, or with the other "harvest widows," as i think we're called. but i hate that name. so i'm just gonna say emily and sheila. 

nightfall: put the chickies to bed. another job that eggboy normally does but that i've been doing this week. it's a little scary to walk the five feet outside into the dark spooky nighttime but it's making me a stronger lady. 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻

meals this week have been a lot of things that don't have to be eaten immediately. sweets that can sit out in the shop at my little pop-up bakery, soups kept on the stove, quiche (lots of quiche)... and salads of various types. this broccoli rabe + chicken salad is inspired by a tasty situation that i had multiple times at lemonade in los angeles this summer. theirs was pineappleish and coconuty with some green beans scattered within, but when you zoomed out the main takeaway was that it was crunchy, salty, sweet, and vegetabley. so good. so while my version is sweetened with honey, flavored with a variation of mum's magic sesame sauce, and greened up with broccoli rabe, all of the elements i loved about that lemonade salad are there. yeah, it's essentially fancy chicken nuggets cut up and tossed with sautéed broccoli rabe. and yeah, it is perfect either hot or cold. so make some for supper and then pack the leftovers for lunch! 

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Garlic Sesame Broccoli Rabe with Panko Crusted Chicken

makes 4 servings

ingredients

Chicken:

2 large eggs
1/4 cup honey mustard
3/4 tsp kosher salt
10 oz boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into strips
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

Broccoli rabe:

Salt, to taste
10 oz broccoli rabe, chopped into 1-inch pieces
2 tb flavorless oil, like canola
4 cloves garlic, minced

Dressing:

1 tb soy sauce
1 tb sesame oil
1 tb honey
2 tb tahini
a pinch of crushed red pepper

clues

Chicken:

Preheat the oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set it aside. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, honey mustard, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and submerge the chicken. Cover and let marinate for 5 minutes at room temperature. 

In a separate dish, mix together the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt, the bread crumbs, and the toasted sesame seeds. When the chicken is done marinating, using tongs, work a few strips at a time to transfer it to the bread crumb mixture. Coat all sides of the chicken in the bread crumbs, and then transfer it to the baking sheet. 

Lightly spray the tops of the chicken strips with cooking spray and then bake for 20 minutes, until lightly browned and cooked through. 

Let cool slightly and then chop into 1-inch pieces.

Broccoli rabe:

While the chicken is baking, prepare the broccoli rabe. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the broccoli rabe. Cook for 1-2 minutes and then drain, rinsing under cold water to stop the cooking process. Pat the broccoli rabe dry.

Heat the 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute, and then add the broccoli rabe with a pinch of salt and cook, stirring, for 5 more minutes. Taste and add additional salt if desired.

Assembly:

Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients.

Place the broccoli rabe and chicken in a large bowl and drizzle on the dressing. Toss to coat. Serve warm or cold. Enjoy!

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-yeh!

thank you, andy boy broccoli rabe, for sponsoring this post!

pilpelchuma potato salad

i feel like a really big asshole about the fact that until about a month ago, the only thing i knew about libya i learned from back to the future. ummmmmmm. which is to say that i knew nothing. 

but then when mum visited she brought me that new nifty exotic spice situation from trader joe's which has a spice blend in it called pilpelchuma, and it is libyan! so i did some research and learned from janna that it is typical in libyan jewish cuisine. and it was the first i had ever heard about libyan jews, so i did a little more research and it turns out they're in rome and israel now. (hi from tuscany, by the way! speaking of italy...)

pilpelchuma translates to "pepper garlic" and it usually consists of hot peppers, caraway, cumin, and garlic, making it pretty similar to harissa. except omg ottolenghi's pilpelchuma calls for 20 garlic cloves, compared with harissa's 3. dannnng. 

i began my pilpelchuma journey by sprinkling it onto scrambled eggs, ever so daintily for fear that it would be way too spicy, but the trader joe's one is really quite manageable for my wimpy tastebuds. so then i went straight to mixing it with mayo because all good things in life involve mayo.

pilpelchuma mayo is so good: it brings me back to being severely drunk at lucky burger on the lower east side, eating all of the french fries and chipotle mayo that my college self desired. dammit, why do i keep this stuff on my blog. is it gonna get me in trouble one day? 

so drawing on my chipotle mayo/french fry memory, i roasted some of the potatoes from our garden (we grew potatoes this year! so dirty but so fun!) and made a potato salad so that i could strengthen my identity as an upper midwesterner. and of course when you call it a "salad" you have every right to eat it for dinner even if it is just cut up oven fries covered in mayo. i topped mine with micro greens too because i've been growing micro greens* and i suddenly feel less terrible about killing all of my basil. 

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pilpelchuma roasted potato salad with radish micro greens

makes 4 servings

ingredients

lots of kosher salt

2 pounds red potatoes, cut into 1/2" cubes

2 tb unsalted butter, melted

black pepper

1/2 c mayo

2 tb white vinegar

1 tsp sugar

2 tsp pilpelchuma spice blend (this will make it  kind of spicy. add 1 or 1 1/2 tsp if you want it on the milder side)

1 large shallot, finely chopped

a handful of micro greens

clues

preheat the oven to 450ºf. line a baking sheet with parchment and set it aside.

bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil (i use about 3 tablespoons of salt), add the potatoes, and cook for 6 minutes. strain them and place them in an ice bath for 5 minutes. strain them, pat them dry, and then toss them with the melted butter. season them with salt and pepper, scatter them about your baking sheet and roast them for 45 minutes, tossing halfway through.

in a large bowl, whisk together the mayo, vinegar, sugar, and pilpelchuma. (i use the same bowl for the ice bath, tossing the potatoes in butter, mixing the mayo, and for serving, and sometimes for eating, cause i'm lazy/resourceful/crunchy like that.) when the potatoes are done roasting, toss them in the mayo with the shallot. taste and adjust seasonings as desired. top with micro greens. enjoy!

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-yeh!

*i'm growing these micro greens c/o the coolest company ever, green towers, which just started a  grow-your-own micro greens subscription service. every month they send you planter trays and all you need to do is water them and within days you'll have micro greens!!! and your gardening self-esteem will have tripled. use the code "mynameisyeh" for 20% off your order!