Satchel's Pizza

My friend Satchel is a man of many talents, most of which glitter brightly at his jewel of the south- Satchel's Pizza. During a recent day trip to Gainesville, FL I was lucky to discover why this place is known as the pie paradise, the mozarella mecca, the shangri-la of sauce. I ordered a slice with tempeh, spinach and roasted red bell pepper. I'm partial to thin crusts and this one was at once crispy, rich and pillowy down to the last bite. The sauce was sweet and aromatic, yet did not overpower the fresh flavors of the toppings. Everything at Satchel's comes with a side of pure magic, which you're sure to experience at every turn and is 100% homegrown. Do yourself a favor: http://satchelspizza.com/

Cassata Siciliana

"Cassata or Cassata siciliana is a traditional sweet from the province of Palermo, Sicily (Italy). It is similar to the French gateau, and consists of pound cake moisted with kirschwasser or an orange liqueur and layered with a ricotta, candied peel, and chocolate filling, similar to cannoli cream. Most variants are also covered with a shell of marzipan or chocolate frosting. Sicilian cassata is made with a somewhat dry, light, and delicate cake called Pan Di Spagna and is used in thin layers to support the cheese and cream. It is unlike the thick, moist and spongelike pound cake of Northern Europe. To moisten the pan di spagna rum or other liquori are used. The ricotta filling is a sheeps milk ricotta, and if whipped or sweetend cream is added, it too will be made from sheeps milk." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassata

Thanks mom!

Happy Nummy-days

We're each off to our families this holiday, but fear not, there is plenty of eating underway. Look for highlights of some of our favorite family nummies over the coming days.

Julie's Custard Pear Tart

We love having company over for dinner, especially when they come bearing nummy treats like the delicious custard pear tart.

Japanese Breakfast

Here at N3, we are fortunate to be surrounded by inspired individuals who share our gastronomical passion. Of those, surely our friends LB and Michael top the list. Last Sunday we had the enviable privilege of being invited over for Japanese breakfast, which, as you can see, is like a sort of tabletop festival of loveliness. There were egg custards filled with savory treats, sea urchin roe, sautéed burdock, rich dashi, sweet inari, multi-colored pickles, delectable mushrooms, sashimi, monkfish liver, steamed daikon and more and more and more....our favorite kind of meal. We were sent off with full bellies and a jar of homemade miso! Dōmo arigatō!

Comfort Couscous

If you hadn't noticed, we have an ongoing love affair with Israeli couscous. We taken to cooking it with braised root veggies in chicken stock, to make a sort of couscous risotto. Mmmm-hmmm.

Brussel Sprouts with Polenta and Aduki Bean

This jazzy Macrobiotic-inspired trio will make music on your lips. These gorgeous, yes, gorgeous brussel sprouts were found at the winter farmer's market. We sautéd/steamed in olive oil, red wine, garlic, salt and pepper. At the same time, while T cooked up a batch of polenta, I simmered a can, yes, a can of organic aduki beans to which I'd added chopped onion, garlic powder, tamari, and olive oil. We piled all three together and topped with fresh arugla- a true love supreme.

Orange Butternut Soup

This soup pushes the mild sweetness of the butternut squash into bold territory with strong spices and not-so-subtle heat. Begin by sautéing chopped red onion, garlic and ginger in a little vegetable oil and butter. Add chopped butternut squash and seasonings: cumin, nutmeg, cayenne, salt and pepper. Continue cooking until squash starts to sweat then add chopped roasted red pepper and chicken stock to cover. Add bay leaf and dried navel orange slices (found at Trader Joe's). Bring everything to a simmer and continue for 10-15 minutes, or until squash is soft. Remove bay leaf and oranges, scoop flesh from oranges and return to pot. Add 1/2 cup of 1/2 and 1/2 (optional) and purée in small batches. We served with thick slices of toasted walnut wheat bread and butter.

Giving Nummy Thanks

We had an intimate Thanksgiving dinner with our charming friends Dennis and Stuart. They cooked all the nummy favorites, including this picture-perfect turkey, and a de-constructed greenbean casserole, which we both adored. Our contribution was an orange and butternut squash soup. Thanks D and S, for a terrific holiday!

PB and Pistachio

I know! It seems we passed over the biggest eating holiday without so much as a num! But fear not, we were invited to an exquisite Thanksgiving feast with charming hosts and nummy cheer. I'll have a few photos to post in the coming days...

In the meantime, let me present this high-born peanut butter sandwich topped with ground pistachio and honey, on French walnut bread.

Spaghetti Squash Minestrone

Here is a recent take on minestrone, replacing pasta noodles with roasted spaghetti squash. We started by slicing the squash in half, rubbing it with olive oil, and roasting cut side down in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. We also roasted a green paper, white onion and garlic on the same tray, but pulled them out after 20 mnutes. After the veggies cooled a bit, we gave them a chop and saute in a little more olive oil in a heavy soup pot, along with a bay leaf, dried basil, thyme, and oregano. The roasted garlic adds a very nice, deep aroma. Next we added chicken stock to cover, chopped kale, one can of white beans, chopped boneless chicken (we cooked in the same 400 degree oven), and the scooped flesh from the squash. I then seasoned with salt, pepper, and a few red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, and cover and simmer low for 10 minutes, or until the kale is nice and soft. Then we turned off the heat and added the chopped tomato and let the soup sit for another 10 minutes. We served with grated asiago.

Baked Orange Roughy with Miso Glaze

These tasty fillets were dressed in olive oil, lemon juice and miso sauce and then baked at 400° for 10-15 minutes. We finished them off under the broiler. However, the real standout star here is the miso sauce (the recipe for which I picked up while working at The Wildflower Café in Siesta Key, FL back in the mid-nineties). It's at once tangy, sweet, earthy and comforting like a good cup of miso soup. I've been making this for years and use it as a marinade, for salads, as a condiment, or for dipping.

Wildflower Miso Sauce
1/4 white onion, chopped (or 2-3 green onion)
1/2 cup of sweet white or mellow white miso
1/4 cup of rice vinegar or cider vinegar
2-3 Tbsp tamari or soy
1/2 cup water
1 cup canola oil

Add all ingredients (except oil) to a blender or food processor, pulse until blended. Then turn on and while spinning drizzle in the oil. Adjust to taste.

Red Radish and Daikon Quick Pickles

We got a few shots of the dishes from the birthday dinner. These homemade quick pickles make a lively start- tangy, sweet, and tart- they really awaken the palate. We dressed these in an umeboshi vinaigrette for an extra punch.

Bird's Birthday Menu

Numnumnum is fresh off the heels of our first catering job! We prepared a six course seasonal dinner with a medley of macrobiotic and Asian flavors. It was a lovely evening on Lake Monona with kind people, good cheer, and lots of numnumnums! The menu included:

Starter: Quick radish and daikon pickles with umeboshi vinaigrette

App: Nori roll of sweet brown rice, carmelized tempeh and green onion, with cranberry ginger relish, pistacio dust and tamari-wasabi sauce

Soup: Cream of curried butternut squash, red bell pepper, and cilantro with Chinese 5-spice cracker

Entree: Baked halibut on udon noodles tossed with shitake mushrooms, roasted carrots and miso dressing

Salad: Mesclun greens with red pear, toasted pumpkin seeds and citrus vinaigrette

Dessert: Mulled apple sorbet with candied apple slice

Curry Under Pressure

Many thanks to TPY's folks for mailing us our new dreamy pressure cooker. We christened the pot with a batch of spicy beef curry. We modified a recipe from the ATK Family Cookbook (where you'll find an impressive list of pressure cooked dishes). It's naan or never!

From TV to Table: Hot and Sour Soup & Chicken Stir Fry with Crispy Noodle Cake

Have I mentioned what die-hard fans we are of America's Test Kitchen? This weekend they featured their take on these Asian standards and it all looked so nummy and yummy that we had to run out and give them a try. The recipes can be found here: http://www.americastestkitchen.com/login.asp?did=3222&LoginForm=recipe&iSeason=7

And here: http://www.americastestkitchen.com/login.asp?did=3799&LoginForm=recipe&iSeason=7

Notes: The stir-fry was fantastic. Definitely do the corn starch coating on the chicken before cooking. We had a hard time finding fresh udon noodles for the cake, so we used fresh egg noodle pasta instead. Don't rinse the noodles after they boil- just drain and toss them straight into the pan. Lastly, we used a very low-sodium chicken broth for the soup, that was almost flavorless, so we ended up having to add a little extra soy and actual salt. It held up great overnight and was much more complex, heady, and nummy on day two.

Celeriac and Apple Soup

This soup starts with chopped onion, potato, and a medium celeriac (peeled and chopped), sauteéd in 1/2 a stick of butter and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. After 10 minutes, add 1 chopped garlic clove, 1 chopped apple, and 2 teaspoons of thyme and ground nutmeg each. Cook another 5 minutes, then add enough vegetable or chicken stock to cover and bring to a simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes. Lastly add 1/2 cup of grated parmesan and turn heat off. Purée and adjust seasonings.

Farfalle with Tomato Cream Sauce

It seems that we can't get enough butter and cream in our diet these days! Yay! We had this tasty tripoline pasta dish at Madison's Sardine* recently that involved pancetta and squash and loosely inspired this imitation. In our version, we sautéed onion and acorn squash in butter and a little olive oil until soft. Then we added 1 cup of chicken stock, 1/2 cup of red wine, and 1 tbsp. of tomato paste and simmered another 10 minutes to reduce. Next came the fresh chopped tomato and peas along with a handful of chopped fresh herbs (I pulled them randomly from the garden box outside in the dark, I'm not sure, but I think there was basil, Italian parsley, oregano, and sage). We turned down the heat and added 3/4 cup of half-n-half and some chopped Greenbush Italian sausage that we buy from a local vendor at the farmer's market. Lastly we tossed in the cooked pasta, (reserving a little cooking juice to thin out at the end). We recommend letting this sit for 10 minutes or so before serving so the sauce has a chance soak in. This also held up well to reheating and increased in complexity the following day. In the coming weeks, stay tuned for NUMNUMNUM spinoff, TUBTUBTUB!

* http://www.sardinemadison.com

PB, Honey, and Arugula

This sandwich combo of savory, sweet and bitter is just downright scrumptious. I recommend unsweetened and unsalted PB, and just sprinkle a little sea or Kosher salt on the greens. NUM!

Harvest the Pearl

Amazing grain, how sweet thou art. We cannot get enough of this fluffy, flexible, crowning gem of the cousous family. I think we crave it every week here at Numnumnum, and why deprive ourselves? Why, why, why?! Here we created a somewhat hearty repast with savory herbs and root veggies. We started with shallot, carrot, and parsnip chopped into small cubes and cooked in a bit of olive oil. Then we added dried thyme, oregano, salt and pepper, and the chopped yellow bell pepper, and continued cooking until everything was soft. Next came about about 1 and 1/2 cups of the cous-cous that we tossed with the veggie mixture and cooked over low heat for 1 minute. We then added enough chicken stock to cover the entire mixture and turned the heat down to a very low simmer. We stirred every few minutes, as the stock gets absorbed, then turned heat off and covered for about 10 minutes. After it had time to rest, we added 1 tablespoon of butter, fluffed with a fork and adjusted seasonings.

Cream of Spinach and Mushroom Soup with Broiled Tomatoes

This entire meal takes about 45 minutes from start to finish. The soup starts with white onion and red potato sautéed in olive oil until translucent. Add some chopped garlic along with dried basil, oregano, and red pepper flakes. After 2 or 3 minutes, add chopped mushrooms and cook until soft. Then add chicken stock, 1 cup of red wine, and the spinach (we used frozen spinach that we thawed and squeezed out the excess water). Let that simmer for about 10 minutes then lower heat and whisk in 1 cup of half and half. Turn heat off, and ladle into blender to puree. When smooth to your taste, transfer back to pot, season with salt and pepper, and bring back to simmer for another 5-10 minutes. While soup is simmering, slice tomatoes into thirds, arrange on baking sheet, and drizzle with olive oil. Top with grated asiago and put under a low broiler, until cheese is bubbly and tomatoes slightly brown. We paired this with a primitivo wine from California that worked wonderfully!

Eurasian Fried Rice

We love to celebrate diversity at N3, and why not with a delicious dinner? Here we fried some leftover brown rice in olive oil with garlic, red bell pepper, scallion, basil and oregano. We tossed in some fresh arugula and hard-boiled egg to finish. Allez cuisine!

Roasted Acorn Squash and Apple Mash

Squash are here...hooray! We love these earthy exoctics! We roasted our first acorn squash of the season in a light sesame oil rub, tossed with apple and chopped shallot at 400 degrees for 40 or so minutes. After it cooled, we scooped out the flesh and mashed everything with a tablespoon of butter and toasted pumpkin seeds. Welcome fall with mouths open wide!

Marion's Marinara

A few weeks ago we bought a bunch of San Marzano tomatoes on the cheap at the farmers market, and the sauce-fest ensued. I always go to my Sicilian grandma's recipe when it comes to marinara. Here goes: Saute onion and garlic in olive oil on low heat until transluscent. Add bay leaf and chopped fresh basil and oregano. Next add fresh chopped tomato, about 1 cup red wine, and 1/4 cup of sugar. When things start to simmer, add 1 can tomato paste, salt and pepper. Cook on low for about an hour or until the entire house smells like a kitchen in Palermo. That weekend we also made our own hand-rolled pasta, which was great with just a little olive oil, fresh garlic and parmesan.

Aubergine Dream Salad

In this late, late summer season the eggplants are still in lovely abundance at the farmer's market. Each week, we've been buying several varieties- including the long, elegant Japanese and the plumpy round Thai. My favorite way to prepare them, these days, is to cube, douse with some olive oil, salt, pepper, and lemon juice, and oven roast until they are sweet and caramelish. It's great to have on hand throughout the week to add to pasta, rice, and nummy salads. Here we spooned some atop mesclun greens, encircled by thick golden tomato sentries. Beauty on the lips!

Guggenheim Molé

Thanks to our sweet pal Danette for forwarding this distinctive take on chicken molé, penned by none other than art lumin-heiress Peggy Guggenheim. We love recipes that measure amounts in handfuls and half-fingers! I ended up using about an ounce of unsweetened baker's chocolate (assuming my fingers are a longer than PG's) and Alessi brand sesame bread sticks for the "grisini". All in all, we followed the recipe closely to its mouthwatering end. Though a little more Euro in flavor than some of the Texas molés I'm used to, the sauce still had a rich mix of nutty sweet and tangy bitter flavors. It was even deeper and more complex by day two, thanks Peg!

Rainbow Noodle Stirfry

At midweek our hoard of farmer's market goodies are usually starting to thin, so these sorts of stirfrys tend to take shape. Here we used red bell pepper, carrot, scallion, garlic, and burdock root. We fill things out with a can of seitan or block of tofu and some noodles. While the veggies and seitan cooked in a little sesame oil, we boiled the udon noodles (about 4-5 minutes). We then used tongs to transfer the hot, al dente noodles directly to the wok. We watered down a little bit of honey in some water and added this along with tamari for our seasoning. Healthy. Easy. Num.

Baked Chicken with Almond Apricot Couscous

This baked chicken is sort of a family recipe on my mom's side. T and I used boneless, skinless breasts that we pierced a few times with a fork and then rubbed with olive oil, dried basil, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper. They baked at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Couscous has been our favorite summer grain and here we cooked a batch in chicken stock with onion, dried apricot, chopped almond and butter. Lastly, okra's in season and we sauteed some with a little onion and spinach for a little green earthy goodness.

Gotcha' Some Focaccia Num

T. baked a rosemary focaccia this weekend that turned out like a dream- a light golden outer crust with a pillowy soft interior. While he was at it, I marinated tofu and mixed veggies in a little olive oil, salt, pepper, fresh basil, and lemon zest. As the bread cooled on the rack, we got to work on the grill. This tasty stacked dinner sammy was layered high on the sliced focaccia with fresh greens, the grilled tofu and veggies, a little grated parmesan and garlic aoli.

Rosemary Focaccia (Gourmet Magazine 2002)
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/106275

Curry-licious

I've always been fascinated, if not a little intimidated, by the innumerable ways to build a curry. This one began like many of our meals at N3, by improvising with whatever is left in the fridge. Onion, garlic, jalapeno and ginger were softened in a little oil, to which we then added bell pepper, okra, tofu, and corn. When the tofu was lightly browned we added chicken stock, tomato paste, turmeric, coriander, cumin, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Covered, the whole batch simmered for about 15 minutes, adding a little water here and there. We paired it with Israeli couscous and garnished with fresh chopped mint.

Cauliflower Pesto

During my commute last Friday, I had the pleasure of hearing the delightful chef Monique Jamet Hooker on the WI Public Radio show Here on Earth: Radio Without Borders hosted by Jean Feraca. While getting me fired up over canning, pickling, and freezing summer's current garden bounty, she mentioned this recipe for cauliflower pesto that I was eager to experiment with asap. In short, we blanched a small head of cauli and then gave it a rough chop in the cuisninart. Then separately, we ground together raw almonds, garlic, and lemon juice. We then combined the cauli, nut mix, and parmesan back in the cuisninart, seasoned with salt and pepper, and blended together while drizzling in about 1 cup of olive oil. We paired it with a penne and garnished with a little fresh basil and lemon zest. The sort of aromatic rawness of the cauliflower is accented nicely by the raw garlic and almond. It's also working nicely on toasted bruscetta. Thanks Monique!

For more info: http://www.moniquescuisine.com/