It's all in the timing

As with a lot meals they are created in a flurry, with just barely enough time, in between having to do this and having to do that. Luckily I decided on two dishes that fit perfectly into the 'this' and the 'that'...and they weren't half bad.

I, for some reason, had always been terrified of roasting root vegetables. The few times I had they either didn't crisp up or they burnt the deepest shade of brown. I had no idea what temperature, how much olive oil, salt, how long...I was lost and it bothered me. Then I received a wonderful cookbook called Fast, Fresh and Green: More than 90 delicious Recipes for Veggie Lovers at my bridal shower that just lays everything out so beautifully. The recipes are simple, easy and definitely not boring. It sections off the book by cooking methods, and low and behold they had a section on oven-roasting. I had my hand to lead me through it like an elementary grader. Here are the two things I learned:

1. My oven was defiantly not hot enough.
2. I would use WAY to much olive oil
3. I wouldn't rotate my pan

Easy enough, and I feel like an idiot.

Oven Sweet Potato Fries with Saffron Roasted Red Pepper Remoulade

1 lb or 1 large Sweet Potato
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp sea salt flakes

1/4 hot water
8 strands of good saffron
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup roasted red peppers
1 big and fat garlic clove
1/2 tsp paprika (what ever kind you like, I used sweet spanish)
salt to taste

1. Pre heat oven to 475 F. Wash and dry the sweet potato. Slice into 1/4 in rounds, and then into 1/4 in think sticks. Try to keep all the pieces about the same thickness so they roast evenly. Toss with the olive oil and salt. Turn out onto a rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan. Make sure the fries lay in a single layer.
2. Roast for 20 minutes; rotate pan half way through. Use a spatula to flip the fries, then return to oven to roast for another 10 minutes.
3. While the fries are roasting, make the remoulade sauce. Combine the hot water and saffron in a small bowl for 10 minutes to let the saffron dissolve. In a blender puree the roasted red peppers, garlic clove, salt and paprika. Add the saffron water to the red pepper mixture and process until combined. Pour the mixture into a small mixing bowl and stir in the mayonnaise until combined. Serve with the fries as a dipping sauce.

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This tart is gorgeous when finished. Make sure to take a second and (visually) savor the beauty of what you just created. Also, it is very simple English fare and I felt like it was lacking a little bit on spice so I may have added a bit more freshly cracked pepper. The recipe did call for 1/4 freshly grated nutmeg, but I forgot this and I don't think it suffered.

Asparagus and Potato Tart adapted from Jaime at Home

*note: to remove the woodsy ends of asparagus, grab the tip with one hand and the bottom with the other and bend. Where ever it breaks is the good part, toss the lower half in the compost. Also, make sure you refreeze the remaining Filo in a well sealed bag or wrapped in cellophane.

5 sheets of thawed Filo pastry (thawed, in package, in fridge for 5-7 hours, or overnight)
1 lb potato (I used one large Russet, but you could use any you have laying around), peeled, and cubed
1/2 cup grated swiss cheese
1/2 cup sharp white cheddar
1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper
8 oz heavy cream
3 large eggs
1/2 stick butter, melted
1 lb asparagus, woody ended removed

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a large jelly roll pan (rimmed baking sheet) with parchment paper.
2. Lay one sheet of Filo at a time down onto the pan, brushing each with a bit of melted butter, making sure to leave a little hanging over the sides. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl whisk together the cream and eggs. Set aside
4. In a small saucepan of boiling salted water, blanch the asparagus for 4 minutes. While they are cooking, prepare a small bowl of ice water. Remove the asparagus and drop into the water bath for a 2 minutes, remove and set aside.
5. Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for 15 minutes. Drain, return to pan, mash with a fork or potato masher. Mix in the grated cheeses. Drop a few tablespoons of the hot potato mixture into the cream egg mix, and then whisk together. Then stir into the remaining potato cheese mixture until combined.
6. Spread the potato mixture evenly over the filo dough. Then lay the asparagus over the top of the potato mixture in cute little rows.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the center is set and the filo starts to brown. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, cut into big squares and serve with some wild arugula with a little olive oil drizzled over.

...and all I can think about is what's for dinner

I am getting married in 24 days and all I can think about today is what's for dinner.

But that's to be expected from me. When my soon to be betrothed, Benjamin, takes on dinner for the evening he does everything shy of fluffing a pillow in an attempt to help me take a load off. And my first response is to grab the closest cook book and start flippin.

I can't help it, I love food. More specifically, I love the colors and smells, I love the choices, I love the rush of suspense when you wait for that slight change in expression on a person's face after their first bite. Will it be a yay or a nay? But really it is about the process. From beginning to end, I find it so peaceful.

So this is to be a place for me to share this obsession with cooking, but also with eating healthful, interesting, fresh, local food. There will be some meat dishes from time to time, but mostly everything will be vegetarian. Now this is not to say I don't like meat...I love meat. The smell of a perfectly grilled steak triggers much more than just my salivary glands. The only restriction I put on myself when it comes to meat is I need to know for sure that the animal's were treated humanely, without any antibiotics or hormones, pasture raised or allowed to forage. I won't go into why since I feel like most people have an inkling if not more (check out Michael Pollan if you don't), but I will say anything else grosses me out.

thank you for reading this far, and double thanks if you continue to read. keep on cooking...

nora.