Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake - gluten free! Or not.

So it's mid-October and we are finally getting some "weather" here in Southern California. And by "weather," I mean that it has been overcast all morning, and last week it even rained a little bit for two days!.

If you live, well, anywhere else, I don't know if you can understand how exciting this is for us. It is sunny and hot here almost every day of the year. And while that sounds nice on the face of it (no blizzards! No hurricanes!), after a lifetime of perfect sunshine, you start to get sick of it. You crave days where it's appropriate to wear closed toed shoes, or a sweater. You wish it were cold enough to enjoy a mug of hot cocoa. You long to curl up on the sofa with a blanket and a good book while the rain patters outside. You start to get resentful of the cheery weather, and are deeply disappointed by another perfect sunny day in November. You shake your fist at the sky, and grumble about how it's supposed to be autumn, not summer.




So when it actually rains here, people are so excited that get just a little bit hysterical. Every freeway is gnarled up with enormous traffic accidents. People keep their kids home from school and celebrate by putting on thick socks and drinking hot cocoa. There is a mad rush for umbrellas. And it's not uncommon to see people standing outside, just looking at the rain with awestruck wonder. When it rained last week we were so excited about our "weather" that we bundled the baby up and sat out on the patio, just to watch the water fall from the sky. When Nate and I lived in England, I used to walk around in a constant state of elation, because it rained almost every single day.. Every single day felt like a gift to mankind, as though every day were Christmas.

This cake is the perfect complement to the rare and precious Southern California rainy day. It is delicious, rustic, warm and comforting, and infused with the flavors of tart apples, warm sticky caramel, butter, almonds, cinnamon, and nutmeg. It's yummy.






Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake

This cake can be made 2 ways: gluten-free, or not. Whatever way you make it, I encourage you to try it with the almond meal and the almond milk. The almonds really bring along a light, nutty flavor that really complements the apples and the caramel.

Ingredients
4 tart green apples, such as granny smith, peeled, cored and sliced
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup vanilla flavored almond milk (you can substitute cow's milk)
1.5 cups gluten-free all purpose flour (I used Pamela's and we LOVE it! I totally recommend. Or substitute 1 cup all purpose flour and 1/2 cup almond meal)
2 pinches salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup chopped, toasted walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a heavy bottomed skillet, melt 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter. Add 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, and bring to a bubbling boil, whisking vigorously until the sugar and caramel are incorporated and smooth. Add 4 peeled, cored, and sliced green apples, and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer, stirring ocassionally, until apples are coated in caramel and beginning to soften. Turn off heat and set aside. You can cook the cake in this skillet, or divide the apples between ramkins for individual servings.

1. A a stand mixer, beat 1/2 cup (1 stick) room temperature butter with 1/2 cup white sugar until pale in color and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add 2 large eggs one at a time, and mix until fully incorporated.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together 1.5 cups flour, 1.5 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1 pinch salt.

3. with mixer on low, Add 1/2 cup vanilla almond milk to stand mixer, followed by flour mixture. Mix until just incorporated. scrape down sides of bowl, mixing in any little bits that may be clinging to the side of the bowl. Pour batter over apples, and spread gently to cover the apple mixture. Top with 1/s cup toasted almonds.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. Remove when cake has puffed and is golden on top. When cake has cooled, run a knife around the edges of the cake pan and invert onto a serving platter. Scrape any apples or caramel that cling to the pan onto the cake. Top with a scoop of vanilla icecream. Enjoy!

Rustic Basque Chicken Stew with Tomatoes, Potatoes, and other Yummy Things

Blog, I've missed you. And I am so tired of explanations and excuses, so I'm not going to go into it. Honestly though, I needed a break. The last six months of my life have just been so crazy, so full of crisis, sleeplessness, and borderline hysteria, that now that things have finally begun to settle down I just needed to chill OUT and get my life back together.

BUT.

Now I'm back! And I have so many yummy autumnal recipes to share with you! And so many cute pictures of this little one! I love him so, even if he has turned my world upside down shook it within an inch of its life.




This recipe is very special to me. It was one of the very first things I learned to cook when I was about 16, and the first taste of it floored me. I had never tasted something so good, and truth be told, I didn't even know food could taste so rich and wonderful. I'm not going to lie to you - my mom is not exactly the most inspired of cooks, and it was normal for us to eat the same thing every night for dinner for YEARS. My sister and I still joke about the "stuff on rice" years, where we ate sauteed chicken and vegetables on rice every single night for about 6 years. That's 2190 consecutive dinners of the same thing. By the 2189th dinner, we were really tired of it. This stew was SO good, and it still is. It's not as mind-blowing to me as it was back then, seeing as how I eat different things for dinner all the time now, but it's still mighty good. BECKS RECOMMENDS. You may cook now.






Basque Chicken Stew With Tomatoes, Potatoes, and Other Yummy Things
adapted from Paul Williams

The secret ingredient in this stew is BACON. Bippity Boppity Bacon! Don't leave it out. It's important. And so tasty.

Ingredients
2 large chicken breasts
1/4 lb bacon
2 medium yellow onions
2 red bell peppers (or 1 red and 1 green)
1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
2 cups small new potatoes, peeled and chopped into large chunks
1 cup white wine
1 bunch fresh Italian parsley
1 pinch cayenne pepper (about 1/4 teaspoon)
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
olive oil




Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush olive oil over 2 chicken breasts, and sprinkle liberally with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast in over 15 - 20 minutes until cooked through. Remove from the oven, and let cool.




Dice Chicken.




Cut 2 red bell peppers in half lengthwise, and remove the stem and seeds. Roast in the oven until tough skins are blackened, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.




remove skins for peppers, and slice into long strips.




Cut 1/4 lb bacon into small strips. Saute in a heavy bottomed skillet until crispy. Remove from pan, reserving the bacon grease.




Chop two medium onions into long strips. Saute in the reserved bacon fat until softened and translucent.





Place bacon and chicken in a large pot.





Add sliced pepper, sauteed onions, and 2 cups chicken stock.





Add 1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes...





...1 cup white wine...





...1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley...





... and 2 cups peeled, roughly chopped new potatoes.





Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and let simmer 1-2 hours, until potatoes are soft. Tastes even better the second day. Enjoy!

The Little Owl's Italian Meatballs: for Sandwiches, Spaghetti, Sliders, Whatever!

This is, quite possibly, the best meatball recipe ever. Ever. EVER! Um, see that all caps? I must really mean it. BEST EVER, EVER, EVER. EVER! Ok, ok, I don't know for certain if this is the best meatball recipe ever due to the simple fact that I haven't tried every meatball recipe in the whole wide world, but this one is pretty darn good. In fact, this recipe is now the recipe I measure all other meatballs by. It's tasty, folks.

In my experience, meatballs are usually a disappointment. Salty and tough, or mushy and bland, meatballs tend to be the ugly stepsister at the party. You can dress them up in fancy sauces all you want, but the awful is still there underneath. Most of the time, I just avoid meatballs altogether.

But this recipe is different. It's a revelation. It's a foretaste of the Kingdom of Heaven. I think the secret to why this recipe tastes so amazing is the trio of meats. The first time, I only used two kinds, and I thought this recipe was ok. The second time, all I used was one, and they were a major dissapointment. But the third time, the third time being a charm, I followed the recipe to the letter, and behold, a choir of Angels appeared as I took my first bite, and a light shone from heaven, and I was rewarded with meatballs from the Italian section of the celestial city. I was, in short, in meatball paradise. Are you persuaded yet? Will you try them? Will you?




In case you are wondering, this recipe did not descend directly from heaven, written on a golden scroll. It came through a much more mundane source: my local library. Every week I've been trying to get the baby out of the house, and we go the the library every Tuesday. They have an ongoing book sale at the Huntington Beach library, and I've become somewhat, er, addicted, to cheap books and magazines. Can you believe I bought a first edition of Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking for only 50 cents? The treasures that are buried there! It's hard to limit myself to only $5, and only once a week.

One of my favorite things to buy is back issues of home and cooking magazines, and I have amassed quite a collection of Martha Stewart Living and Bon Appetit. This particular recipe was the cover of the September 2007 issue of Bon Appetit, and it's pulled from a little restaurant in New York called "The Little Owl." If I ever make it to New York, and to the Little Owl (you know, if Little Lord Thunder Thighs ever lets me out of the house again), I'll do my best to kiss the cook on behalf of everyone in the whole wide world.




The Little Owl's Italian Meatballs: Just About the Best Meatball Recipe EVER

At The Little Owl, these are served as sliders, but you don't have to eat them that way. They are great with spaghetti, and they make a mean meatball sandwich as well (or so Nate tells me). And honestly? They are pretty darn good all by themselves.

This also includes a recipe for sauce to go along with the meatballs if you want to make sliders or a meatball sandwich. If you want to make the sauce, make it first, before the meatballs, because it needs a good 20 minutes or so of simmering, and it can cook away by itself while you are making the meatballs.



For the Meatballs
vegetable oil for frying
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 lb ground veal
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan, Pecorino, or Romano Cheese
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
1/2 cup fresh, fine bread crumbs
(I just take a piece of gluten-free bread, rip it up into pieces, and them give the pieces a whirl in the blender. You can use Panko if you want, but you need the crumbs to be moist, so be sure to rehydrate them with 1/2 a cup of water when you mix them into the meat).

If you want to make a meatball sandwich: For the Sauce
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh basil, packed (use 2-3 tablespoons dried if fresh is not available. Maybe 1 tablespoon of Oregano too).
1 + 1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds (so essential! Don't skip!)
3 cans fire-roasted, diced tomatoes (14.5oz each)



In a medium bowl, combine 1/2 lb ground beef, 1/2 lb ground pork, and 1/2 lb ground veal.




Add 1 large egg and the yolk of 1 large egg.




Then add 1/2 cup fine fresh bread crumbs (These are easy to make, just take a piece or two of bread, gluten free or not, tear it into pieces, and give it a whirl in the blender. So easy, by baby could do it. Blindfolded.) If you opt to use panko, be sure to also add about 1/4 cup of water to the mixture to moisten it, so your meatballs don't come out crunchy.




Now for 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan/Romano cheese...




... and 1/3 cup finely chopped italian parsley.




And FINALLY (home stretch!), 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper.




Now mix it all up together... until it is mixed. Do it with your hands. You know you want to.




Form the mixture into balls.



Heat oil in a heavy bottomed skillet (cast-iron is great!). Cook meatball in batches, turning every 4-5 minutes, until meatballs are brown all over. Serve in the manner of your choosing. Enjoy!



For the Sauce/ Meatball Sandwich

In a heavy bottomed pot or skillet (I like to use my enamel cast iron Stew pot) saute onions, garlic, and fennel seeds until onions are softened and beginning to brown, 5-10 minutes.

Add tomatoes and their liquid to the onions, as well as basil/oregano. Reduce heat and let simmer about 20 minutes, until sauce has thickened. Puree in a food processor until smooth, but not TOO smooth. We wouldn't want it to be a beverage :)

Return to pan, and simmer Meatballs in sauce 5-10 minutes.


Mm... tasty looking, yes?




Lay some arugula on a toasted bun.




Top with meatballs. But we're not done!




Add some more sauce. You'll be glad you did.




Oh, and don't forget the cheese. Never, ever forget the cheese. Forgetting the cheese makes baby Jesus cry.




This is my favorite part. Enjoy!

Sundried Tomatoes - in the oven!

Dear Internet,

I'm sorry I haven't written. I still love you. It's just that I have been very busy with PROJECT TUDOR WEDDING GOWN 2009, and it's kept me, well, busy. Please accept this sun-dried tomato recipe (IN! THE! OVEN!) as sort of, um, an "I'm sorry" present. What, exactly is PROJECT TUDOR WEDDING GOWN 2009? Well... You may or may not remember that my real job, the one that pays actual money (as opposed to my "mom" job, which definitely does not) is a dressmaking business. Specifically, I make period attire for weddings, reenactments, balls and masquerades, etc. It's a fantastic job where I get to be creative, work flexible hours, and most importantly (to me anyways) I get to stay home with Little Lord Thunder Thighs.




I think it's bad luck to talk about a gown before it's finished, so I'm just going to keep the actual gown under wraps until it's done. All I can say it, it's going to be FABU-FRICKIN-LOUS. I can, however, show you my "practice" gown I made in a different fabric and size. I had never made this specific period, so I wanted to practice before I made the real thing. This gown, by the way, is for sale on Ebay RIGHT NOW! BUY BUY BUY! Just kidding. Kinda.



So, anyway. Internet, let's get together next week when I'm done with this whole PROJECT WEDDING GOWN 2009 business. Let's have brunch. In the meanwhile, please accept this offering of sundried tomatoes: IN! THE! OVEN! Good times.

love forever,

Becks.



Sundried tomatoes - In! The! Oven!

Every summer, I vow to make hundreds and hundreds of these and pack them in olive oil, and then invariably I only make one pan, and I eat them all up in one day like candy. Because that's exactly what they are: TOMATO CANDY!

Ingredients
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, or other type of tomato actually, but cherry tomatoes are the best IMHO
- that's it.



Preheat oven to 200 degrees, or whatever the lowest setting is. Cut tomatoes in half lengthwise. Arrange, cut side up on a baking sheet.



Bake in 200 degree oven until withered and gummy, but not crunchy, rotating every hour or so and letting some of the heat out of the oven. Takes anywhere from 2 hours to more, depending on the size of the tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes take about 2 hours. enjoy!

Sauteed Summer Corn with Mushrooms and Cilantro

This is one of those recipes where you read the list of ingredients and say "those flavors don't go together!" but then you taste it and it's AMAZING. Like, completely, mind-blowingly amazing. I first had this dish, well, ok, a similar dish, last summer when we ate out at The Slanted Door in San Francisco. I know everyone is always raving about the Slanted Door's shaking beef or whatever, but this dish is the one I couldn't get out of my mind. Fresh sweet white corn. Mushroom. A hint of heat. Butter. AMAZING. If I recall, the original had green onions and chanterelles, but I've been making it with cilantro and crimini mushrooms and loving it.



It's getting to the end of the summer, and I imagine you are starting to get tired of corn on the cob, and you're ready to shake things up a bit. And also, you probably have fresh sweet corn coming out your ears this time of year. This would be a great bring-along dish for a barbecue, or just a great side for a weeknight dinner.




Fresh Sweet White Corn, Sauteed with Crimini Mushroons and Cilantro

Ingredients
- 5 ears sweet white corn, husks removed and kernels cut from cobs
- 1 cup crimini mushrooms, stems removed and cut into a medium dice
- 1/4 cup butter (1/2 a stick) (to make this dairy free, substitute coconut oil or olive oil. Both are healthy and delicious!)
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 bunch chopped cilantro (about 1/2 a cup)
- kosher salt
- cracked black pepper

In a medium heavy bottomed skillet, heat 2 tablespoons butter over high heat. When butter has melted and is just beginning to brown, add 1 cup chopped crimini mushrooms, and saute until softened and browned.

Reduce heat to medium high, and add corn kernals from five ears of corn, as well as the rest of the butter. Add 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper and 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika. Stir to combine. Continue to saute until corn kernals are softened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in 1/2 cup cilantro. Enjoy!

Ina Garten's Basil Green Goddess Dressing - The Best Salad Dressing EVER

I have finally found a dressing that begs the question, can you BE in love with a salad dressing? Oh yes, you can. You know, this is not the first green goddess dressing I've ever had, but it is hands down THE best. Ever. Someday when I am old and gray, I will be able to look back at my life with satisfaction because I will, at last, have found the perfect salad dressing.

I'm not really one to go in for traditional salad. A salad made of lettuce and a few tomatoes? So boring. But that was before I had this salad. And this salad is different than your typical ho-hum, been there, done that salad for a couple of reasons. First, the lettuce: I have never had butterhead lettuce before (where have I been for the last 26 years?) and it totally rocks. I tend to really dislike lettuce, but, true to its name, this lettuce is mild and delicious, not bitter or bland at all. I loved it. Second, these were some of the most amazing tomatoes I have ever had. My aunt grew them in her backyard, and OH MY. A perfectly ripe tomato really is a thing of beauty. If you are not lucky enough to have an aunt like mine, I am sure your farmer's market has some lovely tomatoes this time of year.



But the dressing. Oh. The dressing. It's marvelous. And don't stop with salad. This would be great on grilled chicken, as a dip for vegetables, tossed with red potatoes and chopped parsley as a potato salad - endless, endless possibilities. Please, please make this dressing. I mean, just talking about this salad is making me want it. In fact, be right back....

...Oh. so good. Yeah, I'm eating it right now. Why aren't you?




Ina Garten's Basil Green Goddess Dressing Recipe
adapted from Barefoot Contessa At Home
Makes about 4 cups

Fun fact: Green goddess dressing was originally created at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco in the 1920's in honor of William Archer's hit play The Green Goddess. This recipe has been updated by Ina Garten, and I've changed it up a bit too. The original called for tarragon, but Ina is right on the money by using basil instead.

Ingredients
1 cup good mayonnaise, such as Hellman's or Best Foods
1 cup chopped green onions (scallions), white and green parts
1 cup chopped fresh basil, packed
juice of 2 lemons (about 1/4 cup)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 anchovy fillets, minced (don't skip! You won't taste the anchovies, but it definitely gives the dressing a fuller flavor)
1 cup sour cream

Place the mayonnaise, green onions, basil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, and anchovies in a blender, and blend until smooth. Add sour cream, blending until just incorporated. Use immediately, or store in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. Enjoy!