Food Lush

White Bean and Pumpkin Stew Recipe

Editor's note: For our last week at Food Lush, I've asked the writers to share both a favorite post by another writer, from over the last three years, and a favorite post of their own. You'll see these posts linked to at the top of their new post for the week. Enjoy a stroll down Lush memory lane!

By Dani

As everybody has said, it's really, really hard to pick a favorite Food Lush post, so I'm going to go with my gut and what I'm enjoying this week: Tara C.'s Zuppa di Anglio Fresco has been fighting off cold winds and germs for me lately, and I love it.

For me, I have to pick Tell Me: Starbucks vs. Indie Coffee - a topic that is oddly close to my heart. It's also a post that recalls one of the things I have loved about Food Lush: that it's a place to relive travels, bounce around ideas, debate the merits of food-related issues and try new things. Thank you for being a part of that, and letting me be a member of the team that played here every week.

***

Now, I want to share with you a stew recipe that has been a staple for me this winter - it's sweet, salty, hearty - and a perfect use for leftover ham. It's adapted from a recipe is Campfire Cookery (an excellent cookbook in its own right!)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb of dried beans (I used Great Northern white beans, but anything will do)
• 1 lb. or so of fresh pumpkin, cubed (butternut squash also works)
• 1/2 lb. of ham or pancetta, chopped
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon of thyme
• 1 cinnamon stick
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Soak beans overnight, or simmer for about an hour before making the rest of the stew. Once the beans are softened, place all ingredients in a Crock-Pot with two quarts of fresh water or broth, and let cook for about eight hours. (The longer it simmers, the better it is!) Serve with crusty bread and a sprinkle of brown sugar and nutmeg on top.

(The finished product and cookbook. Photo by me.)

Reader Help: Palm Springs Eats

By Dani

The Hubs and I are going to Palm Springs this weekend for a little anniversary getaway, and I've been pretty excited about it... until we caught up on the DVR. Did you guys see the Modern Family episode about going to Palm Springs?

Needless to say, I don't really want to spend my anniversary weekend playing poker with Billy Dee Williams (although that would be pretty cool) or eating Cherries Jubilee. ;) I haven't been out to the Palm Springs area since my childhood, so maybe my memory of paradise amidst swaying palm trees and glitzy restaurants is a little smudged by time?

However, I have faith in you, Food Lushers. I know a lot of us hail from the Southern California area and many of you have probably vacationed in Palm Springs at some point, so tell me: where should we eat? (We'll have fun no matter what, but even a sub-par location can be dressed up with lots of great food, obviously.) It doesn't have to be a swanky find - greasy spoon gems are fine by me. Advise away, and thanks in advance!

(Photo credit: TV Guide.com)

Great New Recipes: The Mile End Cookbook

By Dani

So, for Christmas, I asked my family for a few select cookbooks and guess what? I GOT THEM.

I spent the whole week after Christmas dreaming of delicious, homemade goodies, and some of the recipes that intrigued me most where those from The Mile End Cookbook.

This is a Jewish comfort food cookbook, and I'll be honest: the closest I've come to making anything remotely Jewish was a Seder experience in college, and I'm not even sure how authentic it was. But the recipes in this book are easy-to-understand, the conversational tone is endearing, and the photos look INCREDIBLE.

I first got turned on to it from the review in Food and Wine magazine and the New Yorker, both writers who actually know what they're talking about and are more convincing than I am, so you might want to click over for those reviews also.

If you have a holiday gift card to a bookstore and want some new recipes (smoked fish sandwiches and potato latkes, anyone?) this is a fun adventurous cookbook to try. (Also, if you are familiar with Jewish cooking I'd be interested to know what you think of their versions!)

(Image credit: Barnes and Noble.com)

Roasted Cornish Game Hens with Berries Recipe

By Dani

Boy, oh boy, you guys, I love to cook fancy stuff at Christmastime. However, I'm a little short on time and long on stuff to do, you know? That's why I loved this recipe... it's a unique flavor (the combination of sweet, spicy, and savory is really nice) and so easy to make! Enjoy!

Ingredients (serves four):

• Two cornish game hens (thawed)
• Mixed berries (I used a frozen berry mix from Trader Joe's, about a 12-ounce bag)
• One tablespoon diced jalapenos (for less spice, use pickled, pre-chopped jalapenos rather than fresh)
• Olive oil to taste
• Raspberry or Champagne vinegar to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Stuff hen cavities with berries and half the jalapenos each. Place hens breast-side up on a rack in a roasting pan, if you have any extra berries, toss them in the bottom of the pan to flavor the drippings.

Sprinkle hens with salt and pepper and brush with olive oil and vinegar. Then cook for 10 minutes at 400 to get a crispy glaze.

Brush hens with oil and vinegar again, then turn oven down to 350 and cook for about 50 minutes, or until juices run clear, basting with oil and vinegar every 15 minutes.

When they're ready, pull the hens from the oven and let them rest for 5-15 minutes under foil. While the hens rest, strain the pan drippings into a sauce pan, add a little butter and flour and heat until you have a thickened gravy.  Then slice hens down the middle and serve with gravy, polenta or rice for a lovely, easy holiday dinner!

(Photo credit: Me. - Adapted from a recipe in Pike Place Market Cookbook)

Aloha from Oregon Pepper Jelly FTW!

By Dani

I discovered Aloha from Oregon products last week in a wine company tasting room, and they are now my snacking obsession.

My favorites are the Apricot Pepper Jelly and the Raspberry Pepper Jelly--a scrumptious blend of sweet, savory and crisp--the perfect compliment to rich cheeses or dips. If you're going to a little Christmas party and need a hostess gift, I think they'd be great for that, and who doesn't need more food at the holidays? (Kidding. Kinda.)

Anyway, order online or try your local gourmet market for Aloha from Oregon products... you won't regret it.

(Photo credit: Aloha from Oregon)

Pete Wells vs. Guy Fieri: A New Kind of Food Review?

By Dani

By now, you've probably read about Pete Wells' takedown of Guy Fieri's Times Square restaurant in the New York Times. If you haven't read it yet, you definitely should - it's a one-sided Socratic debate that will make you want to be a food snob:

"Did you notice that the menu was an unreliable predictor of what actually came to the table? Were the 'bourbon butter crunch chips' missing from your Almond Joy cocktail, too? Was your deep-fried 'boulder' of ice cream the size of a standard scoop?"

In my opinion, it was easily the most awesome restaurant review I've ever read. Heartily honest, brutal and hilarious - a far cry from the typical "atmosphere - service - food" formula we've come to expect from most critics. However, Fieri is an easy target, so I'm not sure that this really spells a revolution in food critique. He's so over-the-top that he's a caricature of himself, and it's not surprising that the New York Times isn't impressed by his far-from-intellectual approach to cuisine. Nor is it particularly daring to make fun of someone who makes a living eating ungodly amounts of fried food and hollering about it's awesomeness. 

Nonetheless, the war that's emerged (well, really, the entertainment, as Fieri is simply floundering to pin a conspiracy theory on Wells) is pretty fun to watch. SNL even got in on the action with this great unaired sketch:

So, what do you think? Is this a new era of clever, brutally honest reviews or simply a chance to bully an easy target? Did you laugh at the review, or do you like Guy Fieri? More importantly, do you wear sunglasses on the back of your head?

A New Tradition: Friendsgiving

By Dani

I'm convinced that all food tells a story. Most homemade recipes have love behind them - the dessert your best friend loves, the green beans your grandmother made, the scrambled eggs that taste just like Saturday mornings with your dad. Even when we try new recipes, I'm convinced that we're drawn to flavors based on the people and feelings they remind us of, even if it's subconcious.

This year, we got together with some of our closest friends and had a "Friendsgiving" a few weeks before the real thing. We're from all over the country, so our foods and stories were diverse: Turkey brined "St Louis style", vegetarian stuffing from California, sweet carrots from Michigan, homemade ice cream from Kansas, green bean bundles from Texas, potatoes from South Carolina, a relish tray from Oklahoma. We all had reasons for our foods, a memory or a special person who gave us our inspiration, even if the recipe wasn't exactly "the way mom made it".

It was one of the most fun (and tastiest) evenings of the year. It's nice to know that you can take your family and your traditions with you wherever you go, and we'll definitely be making "Friendsgiving" a priority every year.

Have you ever had a Friendsgiving? What's your signature recipe?

Restaraunt Review: La Siesta

By Dani

I'm in a constant hunt for great mexican food. Mexican food is not usually thought of as artful or difficult cuisine, but there is a special touch that you just can't find at chain restaurants. There's something to be said for homemade, slow-cooked refried beans, roasted carne asada that falls apart at the touch of your fork and warm, buttery-tasting fresh-made tortillas. Baja Fresh and Chili's, you are great, but you can't really play at this party.

In my opinion, you can't have a great margaritas without going classic - just give me tequila, homemade margarita mix, and lots of salt and I'm a happy girl.

La Siesta is just this kind of no-frills, homemade mexican food, with only one location (close to North Beach) in San Clemente. It's about a mile from the official downtown San Clemente, so it's funkily situated between a pharmacy, an auto parts store and an empty lot, but still manages to be consistently full of happy eaters.

The staff are friendly and accomodating (the bartenders especially are great) and it's become our favorite place to hang out for a relaxing Sunday Night Football outing, as the perfect end to a busy weekend. The other bonus is that it's very affordable - a gigantic dinner for two people (including a couple of margaritas each) will set us back less than $50 on average, and that includes tip and plenty of leftovers to take home.

Next time you're in south Orange County, you have to try it. You'll be so glad you did.

{Photo by me. I wish I would have gotten a good picture of my enchiladas, but they were blurry. And DELICIOUS.}

Worth a Taste: Ancient Peaks Winery

By Dani

A few months ago, at my beloved San Clemente Wine Company, I tasted Ancient Peaks Zinfandel and loved it. I mean, I'm not the kind of girl who can instantly declare a wine to be laced with gentle leathery notes and flavors of ripe succotash, but I know good wine when I taste it. I like to think that I am (slowly) getting better picking out more flavors than "mmmm delicious, more please!"

All that to say, the Ancient Peaks Zinfandel was one of those wines that you have with a meal and you actually remember. So, when the Hubs and I were driving through Central California a few weekends ago and I saw their winery, I made him turn the car around right then and there, so we could taste away.

The tasting room is small and spare, and the tastings are cheap ($5 for five tastings, refunded if you buy a bottle). The sommeliers behind the bar are knowledgeable and friendly and, of course, the wine is SO good. Most of it is reasonably priced too, we wound up purchasing a bottle of Merlot and a Cabernet Sauvignon for about $30 total.

The shop and vineyard is in the little town of Santa Margarita, so it's kind of out of the way, but if you're ever in Central California it's definitely worth stopping in. We didn't have time to try it, but we heard there's also a zipline on the vineyard, which could be really entertaining--especially after a robust tasting.

(Photos courtesy of me and my phone. Cute place, right?)

Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispies Treats, AKA Homemade Pumpkin Flavor for the Time-Challenged

By Dani

Is it just me, or is October whizzing by? Honestly, I usually relish October as a calm before the holiday storm, but if my entire fall/holiday season is going to be like this month has been, I might just find a nice closet to hide in until 2013.

Anyway, my point is that I usually take some time to bake special fall-flavored treats, and this year I'm lucky if I remember to eat lunch. The other day I was wandering through the grocery store looking for dinner inspiration and found these:

Yeah, that's right. Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows.

I bought them because I'm obsessed with anything remotely pumpkin-y, and then stared at them wondering what possible use I had for them (other than gorging myself, obvy. re: forgetting to eat lunch).

I decided to make Rice Krispies Treats with them, and let me tell you: it was fantastic. It made my house smell yummy like real baking was actually happening, the taste was incredible, and I felt, for a few moments, like I'd actually reclaimed my supposedly-relaxing October. I actually used a couple of handfuls of regular marshmallows in order to mellow out the pumpkin-y flavor, and that was a good move. If you really love pumpkin, go full-force, but I thought the blend was perfect.

Maybe next time I'll use cookie cutters and drizzle a few melted chocolate chips on top to turn my treats into party-worthy snack (even for the time-challenged).

(Picture (with review!) from Baking Bites)