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Meatless Monday: Panettone French Toast

By Lydia Ellison Howerton | December 12, 2011

For most of high school I dated a sweet guy from an Italian family. Both his parents were INCREDIBLE cooks and they taught me so much about, cooking, entertaining, fashion, dining out and most of all family bonding. I learned many life lessons from the Votanos like never put cheese on seafood pasta, baggie jeans are NOT the height of style and to gift Panettone bread at the holidays. The first Christmas David and I were dating his mom sent me home one December afternoon with a huge blue box wrapped in cellophane tied with a big ribbon.

My mom and I examined the box with curiosity and finally opened the package which revealed a tall domed bread studded with dried fruit. The first taste was confusing, lightly sweet and studded with raisins and bits of candied orange peel with a distinctive smell of orange and butter. I was skeptical ( I was 14 ok). Then my mom toasted us some slices for breakfast the next morning and the mysteries of the Panettone revealed themselves to me. Toasting turned the edges crisp and flaky and the inside to a fluffy gooey texture, like that of a fresh glazed donut.

17 years later I cheer when I see the tall trapezoid boxes with rounded edges stacked in the markets after Thanksgiving. I resist buying one until mid-December when I toast a slice of Panettone for my birthday breakfast. With each bite I savor the dueling textures and my high school memories. When I go to my mom’s house for the holidays I always know a Panettone awaits for us to share in the morning over tea.

This year I decided to go beyond the simple toasting of the bread and whip up some Panettone french toast. Drew couldn’t resist a few bites (even though he has been Gluten-Free for 7 years) and proclaimed it “the best ever, even better than a bear claw.” We ate it huddled over one plate drizzled with maple syrup and marveling over the custardy texture. I can’t think of a better holiday morning breakfast. Do try it friends. Your new holiday tradition awaits. Or give one as a gift as the Votanos did and open your loved ones up to a new world of flavor.

Panettone French Toast

serves 4-6

6 thick slices of Panettone (1 inch, half moon slices)

2 organic large eggs

1 cup organic whole milk

2 tablespoons organic unsalted butter

Maple syrup or powdered sugar for serving

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees. Cut your Panettone loaf in half vertically with a serrated knife and lay one half flat side down on the cutting board. Trim off the brown parts of both ends of the bread and slice the loaf into 6 half moon shaped slices. Whisk 2 eggs into 1 cup of milk in a large flat dish. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a non-stick pan over medium-low heat. Soak 3 slices of bread in the custard for 15 seconds on each side. Gently place the custard soaked slices into the melted butter and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side. Be sure to adjust the heat down if they are burning. Once nicely browned, flip the bread and fry on the other side. Cook until the bread has a firm texture and puffs up slightly. Remove to a baking sheet and keep warm in a low 200 degree oven while you repeat the process with the remaining slices. Serve immediately with maple syrup or powdered sugar.

xo,

LEH

Topics: Kitchen | 7 Comments

Meatless Monday: Squash and Greens Frittata

By Lydia Ellison Howerton | November 14, 2011

If you have never made a frittata you should try this recipe as an example of how to make one. SO SIMPLE to make and it’s the perfect vehicle for left over squash or greens you don’t know what to do with in you fridge. Satisfying for breakfast, lunch or dinner with a side salad. Even an impromptu appetizer when friends come over, cut it into bite sized pieces and served on toasted baguette. Sarah and I agree this is one of the basic dishes that everyone should have in their repertoire so we made the steps for this recipe super easy to follow and create the least amount of dishes possible! Cooking 101 dear friends. Class is in session.

Squash and Greens Frittata
serves 2-3

Saute extra greens and roast some extra squash for dinner the night before and reserve leftovers for the next day’s frittata. Pictured above was roasted Delicata squash half-moons from dinner the night before and curly kale from my organic box.

Ingredients:
1 cup cooked squash, cut into thin slices or small chunks (Delicata, Kabocha, Butternut)
1/2 bundle raw Kale, Swiss Chard or Whole Spinach (about 1 cup when cooked)
1-2 tablespoons butter or olive oil for cooking
4 eggs
salt and pepper
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated (buy real Parm instead of pre-grated, the difference can’t be denied)
Sriracha chili sauce (optional)

Trader Joes and Whole Foods sell bags of raw Kale already washed, clean and cut!

Instructions:
1. Pre-heat your oven or toaster oven to 400 degrees.
2. Rinse your greens in cold water, place onto a clean towel to dry. Pull the greens off the stems (good activity for kids) and chop into thin ribbon sized pieces equaling about 2 cups of raw greens.
3. Place 1 tablespoon of butter or olive oil in a small (6” oven proof) non-stick skillet over medium heat and add the greens. Saute over medium-high heat until soft about 3-5 minutes, add a big pinch of salt and stir well. Wipe down your cutting board and your knife with the wet towel from the green vegetables.
4. Chop your cooked squash into small bite sized pieces on the same cutting board with the same knife and add to the pan of greens to warm. Stir a few times with spatula and turn off the heat. Wipe down your cutting board and knife with the same towel.
5. Mix the eggs in a bowl with a fork and a pinch of salt and pepper. Grate the Parmesan on the microplane over the bowl of eggs (or measure out 1/4 cup) and mix well.
6. Pour the eggs into the skillet of warmed vegetables over low heat. Mix a few times (as if you were making scrambled eggs) with your spatula to distribute the vegetables evenly and then pop the skillet into the oven. Bake about 5 minutes until the eggs have set, no wobbles when you shake the pan.
7. Remove from heat and let sit 3 minutes. Using the same spatula to go around the edge of the frittata in the pan to loosen it. Invert onto a cutting board and cut into wedges with your wiped down knife. Serve with chili paste on the side if desired.

xo,
LEH

Topics: Kitchen | 2 Comments

Meatless Monday: Organic Fall Green Smoothie

By Lydia Ellison Howerton | October 17, 2011

A slight variation on my favorite healthy breakfast. An organic green smoothie with the star of fall produce, the apple! Trader Joe’s now sells bags of cut and washed kale which makes this smoothie a breeze to whip up in the morning or you can buy frozen kale at Whole Foods. This is the prefect breakfast for your morning commute.

Organic Fall Green Smoothie
Serves 2

1 cup organic cucumber, chopped (about half of an English cucumber with the skin on)

1 ripe organic avocado

2 cups organic apples, chopped (skins on)

2 cups organic kale, chopped and tightly packed (washed and dried)

1 cup organic lemonade (or 1 cup fresh squeezed lemons and oranges)

1/2 cup of ice

Puree in a blender until very smooth and bright green. Make sure to blend well as chunks of kale are not so appealing. We like to drink ours with a straw.

xo,
LEH

Topics: Kitchen | 5 Comments

Meatless Monday: Vegan Cooking Class

By Sarah | October 10, 2011

Happy Monday, loves! Thirteen college students joined me in a vegan cooking class this past weekend at USC. Here’s a few shots. You may recognize some of the recipes.

Southwestern Quinoa salad

I veganized our Southwestern Quinoa Salad by eliminating the chicken and feta and adding in avocado for richness and pépitas for crunch. The dish gave us the chance to talk about the importance of putting protein into a vegan diet (quinoa and beans of any kind are a great starting point) and practice our chopping skills. I was able to share a few tips, like laying your big pepper slices skin-side down on your cutting board before slicing.

a trick of the trade

It’s much easier and safer to cut from the inside out rather than try and push your knife through the pepper’s waxy skin.

Rolling spring rolls

I demonstrated rolling a Sweet Coconut, Tofu and Mint Spring Roll.

A finished roll

And the students went to town.

Yum!

Mini cupcakes

Elan shared her recipe for Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes.

Beating in the confectioner's sugar

And Vegan Almond Frosting.

Gilding the lily

Hopefully she’ll post the recipe here sometime soon. I had no idea vegan baking could taste so good.

one little cupcake

What’s your take on the vegan diet? I couldn’t commit. Eggs are far too important to me. That said, I found it easier than I imagined to create a really satisfying meal. And those cupcakes! Thank you, Elan. And thanks to Eleanor, one of our sophomores here at USC, for taking command of the camera and producing such gorgeous pictures while I was busy chatting with the class.

xoxosl

Topics: Library | 4 Comments

Meatless Monday: Baked Sweet Potato Chips

By Lydia Ellison Howerton | October 3, 2011

This is one of the easiest dinner side dishes of all time. Drew and I make this at least once a week and sometimes more. I bet that kids would love these.

Heat your oven to 400 degrees. Wash one organic sweet potato per person and slice them into 1/8″ thick coins or rounds. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Toss the potatoes with olive oil and then season well with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bake for 15-20 minutes until slightly browned and crisp.

Mine looked like this when they were done.

If you mix Sriracha chili sauce in with some Vegenaise or Mayonnaise you have a fantastic spicy-garlicy-creamy dipping sauce for your sweet chips. Happy Monday indeed.

xo,
LEH

Topics: Kitchen | 3 Comments

Meatless Monday: Fig and Raspberry Crostata

By Sarah | September 26, 2011

This is it, my sweets. The transition point. Call it summer’s last hurrah or fall’s hello. At our house we marked the moment with a fig and raspberry crostata. Jammy and fragrant with crushed almonds, this tart takes all of 5 minutes to assemble.

I thawed a dough ball made from this recipe, placed my pizza stone on the middle rack and preheated the oven to 400 degrees. You can also use a lined baking sheet, but I got the idea for this tart from Alice Waters’s Chez Panisse Fruit, the beautiful book Lydia gave me for my birthday. Alice uses a pizza stone for her crostata.

The base of this tart can be used with any fruit. Mix 1 tablespoon flour, 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons ground almonds. Done. The almond flavor works beautifully with summer fruit and berries as well as pears and apples when the time comes. You can change it up with the same amount of ground walnuts. Whatever floats your boat. The touch of flour keeps your fruit from getting too runny and the sugar sweetens it all up.

On a piece of parchment paper, roll your dough into a 12-inch round about 1/4- inch thick and sprinkle with your sugar/flour/almond mix, leaving a 1-inch border all the way around.

Cut 1 pint fresh figs into quarters the long way. Toss with 2 tablespoons sugar. Placing each fig on its bottom cut side up, arrange them in concentric circles on your almond base, working from the outside in. Planting each fig on its chubbiest part gives your tart a little height and creates a pretty layered effect. Gently fold the extra inch of dough up and over the fruit filling, crimping as you go.

Brush your crust with a little melted butter and sprinkle with a tablespoon of sugar. Transfer the crostata, parchment paper and all, to your preheated pizza stone and bake for 40 minutes, rotating once halfway through baking. After 40 minutes, toss a few fresh raspberries on top and continue baking until the berries are warm and soft, about 20 minutes more.

Enjoy plain or with almond-scented whipped cream.

The verdict? At first I was unhappy with the raspberries. They detract from the beauty of those crowns of figs. But taste and you’ll know, the softly sour raspberries are what let you really savor the sweet figs.

xoxosl

Topics: Kitchen | 2 Comments

Meatless Monday: Roasted Ratatouille

By Lydia Ellison Howerton | September 12, 2011

I love all the flavors and vegetable involved in ratatouille (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, zucchini and onion) but I often don’t end up liking the dish when I eat out. There is a BIG range of texture issues with ratatouille it seems. Some restaurants barley cook the veggies, they are all too hard and the flavors are separate, not melded together. Others saute the veg for hours until they all blend together into a slimey mess and you can’t tell eggplant from zucchini. I decided to Goldy Locks this dish and make a recipe that was just right.

I diced the eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers and onion into similar sized cubes and roasted them in a hot 400 oven. Meanwhile I sauteed the tomatoes and garlic to make a quick tomato sauce. When the vegetables were perfectly roasted, sweet with flavor but not too mushy, I tossed them with the quick tomato sauce and fresh basil. Then I cooled the dish and chilled it over night for maximum flavor! It turned out really well and I converted 2 former ratatouille haters over a game of Risk (sadly I lost the game.)

Drew and I lived off this dish for a whole weekend. We ate it cold for breakfast topped with poached eggs and brought it to a BBQ as a room temperature side dish. We warmed it and topped it with grilled chicken breasts the next night. I dreamt about spooning it onto thick slices of grilled bread rubbed with garlic, but alas it was all gone.

Roasted Ratatouille

Serves 6-8

3 fat zucchini, diced into medium sized cubes

1 large eggplant, diced into medium sized cubes

1 large red onion, diced

3 small bell peppers, diced into medium sized cubes

3 springs of fresh thyme, leaves removed from the stems

4 large Roma tomatoes, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar

Dash of red chili flakes (optional)

Olive Oil, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

10 leaves fresh basil, coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and toss the zucchini, eggplant, pepper and onion chucks with lots of olive oil, salt, pepper and fresh thyme leaves. Distribute in an even layer on the two baking sheets. Roast for 20-30 minutes until the vegetables are fork tender and lightly browned on the edges. While the vegetables are roasting, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot and saute the garlic over medium heat for 1 minute. Add the chopped tomatoes and allow to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the tomatoes are cooked down into a rustic sauce, add salt, vinegar and a dash of chili flakes. Stir well and continue to cook for 5-10 more minutes. Remove from the heat and add the roasted vegetables, gently stirring to coat each piece with tomato sauce. Allow the ratatouille to cool to room temperature and then add in the chopped fresh basil and taste for salt and pepper. Serve immediately or let chill overnight for maximum flavor. This dish tastes great warm, room temperature or cold.

Topics: Kitchen | 3 Comments

Meatless Monday Video

By applesandonions | September 5, 2011

Happy Labor Day friends! Just a little reminder of why we reserve this space on Monday’s for a meat-free recipe.

Thanks to the fine folks at Meatless Monday for their hard work to promote this simple yet profound campaign.

xo,

A & O

Topics: Kitchen | Leave a comment

Meatless Monday: Sweet Coconut, Tofu and Mint Spring Rolls

By Sarah | August 15, 2011

Do not reserve these for Meatless Monday only.

You’ll be missing out all the other days of the week.

Gingergrass, one of our favorite Silver Lake restaurants, makes a Bo Bia spring roll in which coconut adds sweetness to a rich and savory cooked egg and vegetable combo. It’s a delicious roll, but the coconut is what floors me. So simple and so unexpected. I tried it last week in a raw roll, where the chewy decadence of sweet coconut makes the crisp vegetables and herbs taste even fresher.

Extra-firm Japanese-style tofu was my starting point, but you can go straight veg if you prefer. Then, a few piece of cucumber, bell and jalapeno peppers all cut into matchsticks. I balanced them on the damp rice paper, centered in the quadrant closest to me. Then I topped my little pile of joy with sweetened coconut and fresh mint leaves. Go bold with the mint; you want some in every bite.

Here’s the first roll, where you cocoon the filling into a little torpedo, using your fingers to gently pinch and even out the roll.

Then you fold in both sides of your little see-through burrito and continue rolling, tightening with each step until you seal the end.

Use a sharp knife for a diagonal cut.

How crunchy and fresh do those veggies look? Add a spicy peanut dipping sauce and let me know how you like it.

xoxosl

P.S. Angus and I are having my birthday dinner at Son of a Gun tonight. Angelenos, any menu suggestions? Anjali says the shrimp toast can’t be missed.

Topics: Kitchen | 3 Comments

Meatless Monday: Cold Zucchini Noodles with Pesto and Roasted Tomatoes

By Lydia Ellison Howerton | August 8, 2011

This recipe is for the HOT late summer nights where you can’t imagine turning on the stove too make dinner. Shred up some raw zucchini and toss them with fresh spinach and basil pesto. Roast some cherry tomatoes in your toaster oven or blister them in a pan for a pop of sweetness in your cold “noodles”.

Zucchini Noodles with Pesto and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
Serves 4

Ingredients
8 zucchini
1 pint cherry tomatoes

1 clove garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
2 cups fresh basil leaves
1 cup fresh spinach leaves

3/4 cups olive oil

juice of 1/2 a lemon
½ cup Parmesan Cheese, grated (plus more for serving)

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400. Rinse one pint of cherry tomatoes in a colander with cold water, allow to drain dry. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper toss 1 pint of clean cherry tomatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 15-20 minutes until blistered and splitting. Allow to cool slightly. Can be done in advance.

2. Meanwhile shred the zucchini into ribbons using a mandolin or a food processor fitted with the grating blade. If using the food processor, make sure to place the zucchini into the feeder horizontally so you get long strips of zucchini. Can be done up to 5 hours in advance and kept in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap.

3. Rinse out the food processor to make the pesto. Fit the bowl with the the sharp blade. Add 1 clove of garlic and pine nuts to the bowl and pulse well. Add fresh basil and spinach, 1/2 a teaspoon salt and pepper and pulse 5 times. Turn the machine on and slowly add the olive oil and lemon juice until well incorporated. Add Parmesan cheese, combine and taste for seasoning. Store for later if not using immediately.

4. Just before serving toss the zucchini noodles with the pesto in a large bowl, add Parmesan cheese and roasted cherry tomatoes. Serve cold or at room temperature.

xo,

LEH

Topics: Kitchen | Leave a comment

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