Life in 3D

Ricotta gnocchi with mushrooms and arugula

Why, hello there!  It's nice to see you too.  It's been a little bit of a busy time around here.  Someone turned one, and then turned thirteen months, and now is lurching around like the cutest little drunken hobo in the world, and work has been busy, and we're trying to pack up our lives to move, and...well, life just took over.

But here's some food.  A few months ago we went out to dinner and brought home some leftover gnocchi for Henry.  He loved them.  I figured I would try to make some at home, since some versions, at least, are pretty easy.  I didn't want to make the traditional potato-based kind, since boiling, peeling, mashing (really, ricing, and I don't have a ricer) seemed like too much work.

So lo and behold, in the March issue of Food and Wine, there was a recipe for ricotta gnocchi from Michael Symon, tucked into a Lexus ad.  First lesson:  recipes in advertisements apparently are not checked for accuracy, and are pretty loosely written.  The instructions for the homemade ricotta would only have made half of the ricotta the gnocchi recipe called for.  I made extra because I wanted some ricotta to spread on toast or what have you, but I barely had enough.  The rest of the recipe was fine.  Pretty good, actually.  Here it is.

Ricotta
1 quart whole milk (I read somewhere not to use ultra-pasteurized)
juice of one lemon (zest it first and use zest for gnocchi)
1/4 t kosher salt
1/4 t sugar

Line a colander with cheesecloth and put in the sink.  In a small pan, heat milk to 180 degrees (approximately when it starts to simmer).  Remove from heat and add lemon juice, salt, and sugar.  Stir until curds form.  Using a skimmer or small strainer, scoop ricotta into colander and let drain slightly.  Use immediately, or refrigerate and use within 2 days.  Makes a scant one cup.

Gnocchi
3/4 cup flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
zest of one lemon
1/4 t kosher salt
1 cup ricotta
1 large egg

1. Combine flour, parmesan, lemon zest, and salt in a bowl.  Add ricotta and egg.  Using a wooden spoon or your fingers, combine well until the dough just comes together.  Try not to overwork it.
2. Scrape the dough onto a well-floured surface and pat it into a rough square.  Cut the dough into thirds using a bench scraper or knife.  Using your hands, gently roll each piece into foot-long ropes about 1 inch in diameter.  Place the ropes on a plate and refrigerate uncovered for five minutes, or up to 2 hours, to rest.
3. When the dough has rested, place the ropes on a floured surface.  Cut each rope into 1/2-inch pieces with a bench scraper or knife and set aside.

Sauce
8 T (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2-3/4 pound mixed mushrooms, sliced (I used oyster and shiitake)
1 small shallot, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
juice of one lemon
2 large handfuls baby arugula
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
2 T water
12 large leaves flat-leaf parsley
salt

1. Bring a pot of water to boil.  Meanwhile, add 4 T butter to a medium saute pan over medium-high heat.  When the butter foams, add the mushrooms and saute until they begin to soften, 2-3 minutes.  Add the shallot and a pinch of salt and saute until fragrant.  Add the garlic and reduce heat to medium.  Add the lemon juice and arugula and saute just until arugula wilts.  Turn off the heat and set aside.
2. When water comes to a boil, salt it well, and cook gnocchi for 1 minute.  While the gnocchi are cooking, heat 3 T butter in a large saute pan over medium-high heat.  When the butter is brown and fragrant, drain gnocchi and add to the pan.  Cook, turning occasionally, until gnocchi are brown and crisp on all sides, 5-6 minutes.  Pour in the mushroom sauce, turning to coat.  Add remaining T butter, parmesan, and water, stirring until the sauce emulsifies and forms a silken coating. 
3. Turn off the heat.  Spoon the gnocchi into 3 shallow bowls, garnish with parsley leaves, and serve immediately, dusting with additional parmesan if desired.

Serves a not-very-hungry 3.

 

Warm Farro Salad

Guys.  I can't believe I have waited this long to tell you about one of my favorite meals.  I have been making variations on this salad for probably about a year now, and it never ceases to delight.  It's one of my go-to dishes for company because it's a great use of seasonal produce and can be vegetarian or vegan if you want it to be.  It is endlessly versatile and always delicious.  If you haven't tried farro, do it now.  It's so, so good.

A formal (well, still pretty loosey-goosey) recipe follows, but don't let that limit you.  I made this one with some mushrooms sauteed with sherry vinegar, roasted yellow cauliflower, and roasted cubes of butternut squash.  Previous versions have included roasted brussels sprouts, quick-pickled roasted beets, strips of fried prosciutto...you name it, and it will probably work.  This is like the anti-Coco Chanel of salads - it's fun to add one thing and play around with flavor combinations.  Any root vegetable would be great--parsnips, carrots, sweet potatoes--and you could vary the "sour" element of the salad (vinegary mushrooms, quick-pickled red onion, etc.).  Change up the cheese as well - feta, parmesan, even gruyere would be fun.  The only non-negotiable thing is the marcona almonds, because they are just delicious and really make the salad.

Warm Farro Salad
Serves 4

1/2 pound farro
1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeds and strings removed, and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 shallot, minced
1/2 pound assorted mushrooms, sliced
1-2 T sherry vinegar
1/2 t dried thyme
2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
1 generous handful marcona almonds, toasted
1 handful parsley, chopped
juice of 1/2-1 lemon (depending on juiciness)
olive oil
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400.  Bring a pot of water to boil, salt generously, and add farro.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until farro is tender, about 15 minutes (I didn't keep track of the time, unfortunately - just test it every now and then).  Drain, return to pot, and toss with a glug of olive oil and the lemon juice.  Season with pepper and more salt to taste, if necessary.  Cover to keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 T olive oil over medium heat in a medium skillet.  Add shallot and saute until fragrant, 2 minutes.  Add mushrooms and stir to coat with oil.  When mushrooms have wilted a bit, add sherry vinegar (start with 1 T), thyme, salt and pepper to taste, and stir to combine.  Cook mushrooms, stirring occasionally and adding a bit of water if they get too dry, until they are tender, about 15 minutes.  Taste about halfway through and see if you want more vinegar.
3. Also meanwhile (hello multitasking), toss cauliflower and butternut squash with olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste on 2 large roasting pans.  Roast, stirring once, until vegetables are tender but still have a bit of bite, about 20 minutes.
4. When the vegetables are ready, add them and the farro to a large serving bowl (you may not use all the butternut squash - save for your tiny diner, if you have one around).  Add the goat cheese and parsley and stir everything to combine.  Sprinkle the marcona almonds on top and serve immediately.

What Mom eats when she's home alone

Guys, I am just a lame-o at this blogging business.  I have lots to tell you about now, but the time before now was pretty boring, food-wise (read:  lots of delivery), and pretty fun, other-wise (read:  Thanksgiving!).  We went out to California for the holidays.  The travel was hard but the being there was really fun.  Henry got to see his great-grandmas, see his cousins, and meet Santa!

When we got back I found myself in cruciferous vegetable heaven.  I love fall and winter at the farmers' market - cabbage, brussels sprouts, cauliflower - I'm so nerdy in love with these guys.  I brought home an embarrassing amount of produce, and then found myself home alone for dinner the other night when T had a work event.  I wanted something fast and satisfying, and I wanted to get my veggie on.  I made a simple egg fried rice, some balsamic-glazed brussels sprouts, and a totally sad and uninspiring cheesy toast that was not cheesy at all.  I'm not even going to bother telling you more about it.

Fried rice is one of my favorite fast meals.  When we were growing up, my mom often made bacon-and-egg fried rice for breakfast, which may sound weird but is so, so good.  As we got older and lazier, she would just leave it on the stovetop for us to re-fry as we woke up.  With each round of frying there would be more and more little bits of crispy, savory, rice.  I didn't want to bother with the bacon the other night (blasphemy, I know!), so I just used egg.

I think of all the winter veggies, I am the nerdiest in love with brussels sprouts.  They are like little bites of sweet-salty vegtable candy.  I think they are at their best with very little adornment aside from some salt, some fat, and some heat (I mean, what isn't at its best with some salt, some fat, and some heat?  I'm talking to you, potatoes.).  A drizzle of balsamic vinegar gives them a wonderful depth of flavor.

Egg Fried Rice
Serves 1

1 cup leftover cooked rice
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 T canola or other vegetable oil
soy sauce to taste

1. Heat oil in a wok (a nonstick frying pan will work, but a wok is really best for this).  Add rice and toss to coat with oil and break up any clumps.  Season with a bit of soy sauce.
2. Push rice aside to make an empty space in the center of the wok.  Pour the eggs into this space and let cook, undisturbed, for 30 seconds or so.  Using a spatula, scramble the eggs in place, trying not to mix the rice in.  When the eggs are cooked enough to hold their shape, stir the rice and eggs together. 
3. Transfer the fried rice to a bowl and season to taste with soy sauce. 
This would be great as well with some scallions - add before the rice and stirfry till fragrant.

Balsamic-glazed brussels sprouts
Serves 2

1/2 pound brussels sprouts, stems trimmed and halved (quartered if large)
1 T olive oil
1 T balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat a pot of water to boil.  When it boils, add a good pinch of salt and the brussels sprouts.  Cook, stirring occasionally, 4 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a cast iron or other heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat.  When the 4 minutes are up, transfer the brussels sprouts to the skillet.  Move them around so the cut side faces down for as many sprouts as possible.  Cook, undisturbed, until the cut sides are nicely browned, about 5 minutes.
3. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar over the sprouts and stir to combine.  Keep cooking, stirring occasionally, until sprouts are tender and browned, about 5 minutes more.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Kale, Caesar!

Kindly excuse my lengthy absence.  Let's eat some garlic, shall we? 

We've gotten kale several times in our CSA box over the summer.  Every time but one I've made delicious kale chips (thanks, Maddy!), but I wanted to do something different this week.  As fate would have it, I came across a recipe for a kale caesar salad and was intrigued.  I've had raw kale salads that I've enjoyed, but something about the words "raw kale" makes me think of terrible health food and gets me depressed.  Like, here, have some delicious raw kale and a bowl of steamed bulgur.  MMMMM.

But fear not.   This kale gets splashed with a real caesar dressing - the punch of raw garlic, the deep salinity of a few anchovies, some bright lemon, and some smooth egg yolk and olive oil to bring it all together.  Add some shavings of parmesan and some utterly simple but totally delicious croutons and you have a gorgeous salad.  You won't want to smooch anyone the next morning, but it's worth it.

I halved the recipe and we split this salad for dinner, along with some confited duck legs (no, I did not confit them myself, although that is one of my silly goals).  The halved recipe is supposedly good for 3-4 "generous" servings.  Surely they mean appetizer-size servings.  The original recipe also calls for you to add the olive oil one drop at a time.  Are you kidding me?  We're hungry here, people!  As long as you're going to eat this forthwith (and you're going to want to cause it's yummy!), the emulsification wll hold just fine if you add it in glugs.

Kale Caesar Salad
Serves 2 as an entree
Adapted from Tasting Table's adaptation from Chad Robertson's Tartine Bread

Croutons
3-4 slices day-old rustic bread, sliced into 1-inch cubes
2 T olive oil
salt

Salad
1 large clove garlic
3 anchovy filets
zest and juice of one lemon
1/2 large egg yolk (you can only really approximate this.  Eat the other half + the white for breakfast the next morning!)
salt
2/3-3/4 cup olive oil
pepper
1 head kale (about 1/2 pound), tough stems removed and leaves torn into bite-sized pieces
shaved parmesan

1. Croutons:  Preheat oven to 400.  Toss the bread, olive oil, and a good pinch of salt in a medium bowl.  Spread on a baking sheet and bake until toasted, 10 minutes, stirring once midway through.
2. Dressing:  In a blender or mini food processor, pulse the garlic, anchovies, and lemon zest.  Whiz in the egg yolk, a squeeze of lemon, and a good pinch of salt.  Alternate whizzing in the olive oil and remaining lemon juice until the dressing is smooth and creamy.  Taste and add more salt or lemon juice (I thought one lemon was fine) and a good grinding of black pepper. 
3. Combine the kale and croutons in a large salad bowl.  Dress the salad liberally, toss it well, sprinkle the shaved parmesan on top, and serve immediately, passing any remaining dressing at the table.

Simple chilled borscht

Oy.  Wouldn't it be nice if I could just think my next blog post and it would magically appear?  That way, it would've popped up weeks ago and wouldn't have started with the oys, sighs, and harrumphs that are currently going through my head.  The other night, T asked in a small voice, "are you ever going to blog again?"  And the fabulous Jess asked me, "did you ever make borscht?"  Cause remember back when I said I'd tell you about it?  Well, that day has finally come.

I mean, it's only been a month or so, but it feels like forever.  A certain bottle-holding midget turned 6 months (!!!!), I went back to work, T and I had our four-year anniversary, and to be honest, the heat of this summer just kind of wiped me out.  Excuses, excuses. 

But here's a nice chilled soup to enjoy in the last days of summer.  I didn't have borscht until I was 22 or so, but it's been one of my favorite soups ever since.  I love a meaty one brimming with cabbage and carrots in the winter, and this light, refreshing one is perfect for summer.  Beets in any form (except those awful canned slices that are, unfortunately, a lot of people's only idea of beets) are fabulous, and this version from Mark Bittman really lets the beets shine through. 

Chilled Borscht
Adapted from Mark Bittman
Serves 4

2 pounds red beets, peeled (you'll look like an axe murderer after this, but it's fun)
1 large onion, peeled
1 bunch dill, stems removed and tied in a bundle
salt and pepper to taste
lemon juice to taste
sour cream

1. Grate the beets and onion on a box grater, if you're strong and patient, or with the grater blade of a food processor, if you're weak and lazy, like me.  Place beets and onion in a large saucepan with the dill stem bundle and add 6 cups water.
2. Bring to a boil, the lower heat so that soup simmers steadily, until beets are tender, 15-20 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper, remove dill stem bundle, and chill (wait till it's room temp before putting it in your fridge, or else it'll up the temperature in your fridge).
3. When soup is cold, add lemon juice and more salt and pepper to taste, as necessary.  Chop as much of the dill fronds as you want to garnish.  Serve with dill fronds and sour cream.

OKAY I can't help it - beets don't just dye your skin red; they dye other things too.  So if you eat borscht, say, 2 days in a row, you may think you are dying of colon cancer when you, er, go to the bathroom.  You are not.  It's just the beets.  So don't worry.  There.

Plum tart

I mentioned last time that we've been getting tons of produce from our local CSA.  CSA, for those who don't know, stands for Community Supported Agriculture, and it's a group of folks who get together and team up with local farmers to get shares of delicious local produce.  Our shares get delivered every week, and we get armloads of greens, herbs, veggies, and fruits, plus eggs, pasta, and bread.  Every once in a while we special order farm-raised meat, which we all have enjoyed.  It's fun -- every week is a little bit of a challenge figuring out what to do with, say, 45 little plums or 8 cucumbers.  I find that making a list of things I want to cook is helpful.

(That was this chard/zucchini tart, these zucchini pancakes, this carrot/feta salad, this Moroccan tomato soup, and these zucchini blossoms.  All really, really good, and all blogged about by better chefs and bloggers than I.  More on the borscht and mac 'n cheese later.)

So, yeah, I had handfuls and handfuls of yummy purple plums to deal with.  My first instinct with fruit is just to eat it as it is, but I didn't want to get indigestion from all the plums we had.  I needed a dessert for a friend who was coming over for dinner, so into this tart they went.

 

The tart is pretty easy.  The dough is fairly foolproof - it seems as though it doesn't have nearly enough sugar, but the dusting of sugar it gets before going into the oven turns it into a crispy, crunchy treat.  I didn't use as much sugar as the recipe calls for, since I am not one for super sweet desserts.  Plus, that way the vanilla ice cream the tart calls for works that much better with it!

Plum Tart
Adapted from the New York Times
Serves 6

Dough
1 c flour, plus more for rolling dough
1/4 t salt
1/4 t sugar
6 T cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1/4 c ice water

Filling
2 1/2 T flour
8-10 T sugar
1 lb plums (I used small purple ones), pitted and quartered

1. To make the dough, combine the flour, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl.  Add half the sliced butter and combine with your hands (or a pastry cutter, but hands were pretty easy) until the mixture resembles coarse meal.  Add the remaining butter and combine until the dough forms chunks the size of large peas.  Add the water and combine until a dough forms, adding a bit more water if necessary.  Shape into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least one hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a circle about 15 inches in diameter.  It's okay if your "circle" is a hideous shape that was not taught in school.  Put the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (this is important - I tried it with aluminum foil once and the sugar stuck to the foil) and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
3. To make the filling, combine the flour with 3 T of sugar.  Sprinkle over the dough, leaving a 2-inch border.  Lay the plums over the flour/sugar mixture in an even layer.  Sprinkle the plums with 3-4 T sugar - it looks like a lot, but you basically want the plums to have a nice thick coating of sugar. 
4. Fold the 2-inch border over the plums, gathering and pinching to fit and hold it together.  Brush the edge of the pastry with water and sprinkle 3 T sugar over it.  Don't skimp here!
5. Bake until plums are tender and pastry is well browned with spots of caramelized sugar, 45-50 minutes.  Slide the tart from the pan onto a rack.  Using a pastry brush, brush the top of the tart with some of its juices to glaze.  Allow the tart to cool.  Serve it with vanilla ice cream.

Sea+scapes: Linguine with garlic scape pesto and bay scallops

Spring is in full force at the farmers' markets!  Not that I would know this from first-hand experience, since the days slip by somehow so quickly now (a certain someone is three months old already!) and I haven't managed to get to any of the markets near us.  Luckily, my mom lives about a block from the Union Square Greenmarket and has become like our personal CSA delivery person.  The last few times she's come to visit Henry, she has brought with her armloads of delicious stuff from the market.  Last weekend she brought a big bunch of garlic scapes.

 

There were a lot of scapes, so in addition to making two batches of the scape-and-white-bean dip I blogged about 2 years ago, I made two batches of Dorie Greenspan's garlic scape pesto, only very slightly modified.   I froze one batch and tossed the other with linguine.

I wanted to add a simple, easy protein to the pasta, so I picked up some cute little bay scallops.  The whole dish comes together pretty much in the time it takes to boil water and cook the pasta, so it was perfect for a weeknight after a long day in the office.  The pesto was light and flavorful, with bits of toasted almond and the grassy tang of the scapes, which pack a fantastic garlic flavor without giving you breath that could take out a dozen vampires.  I'm definitely looking forward to making a few more batches.

Linguine with garlic scape pesto and bay scallops
Serves 4

1 pound linguine
10 or so garlic scapes, chopped (use the part only up until the little bulb thing, which you can sort of see in the picture above)
1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted (Dorie says the toasting is optional but I really liked the nutty depth toasting provided)
1/3 cup grated parmesan
about 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
salt + pepper
1 pound bay scallops

1. Heat a large pot of water for the pasta and when it comes to a boil, salt well and add linguine.  Cook according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, add the scapes, almonds, parmesan, about 1/4 cup of the olive oil, and a pinch of salt to the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse a few times to combine.  Whiz and add oil through the feed tube until it reaches the consistency you like (I liked it still a little thick and not too oily).  Taste for seasoning.
3. 5 or so minutes before the pasta is done, heat a large skillet (preferably NOT nonstick) over high heat and add the one tablespoon olive oil.  Pat the scallops dry and season with salt and pepper.  Add them to the skillet and sear until browned on one side, about 2 minutes.  Flip the scallops (tongs work best for this, I think) and sear on the other side until just cooked through, about 2 minutes more.
4. Drain the pasta, reserving a cup or so of pasta water.  Add the pesto to the pasta and toss to combine, adding pasta water if necessary to help the sauce be...saucier and combine with the noodles.  Distribute the pasta among 4 bowls and divide the scallops evenly on top.  Serve immediately.

Spring! Asparagus and ramp risotto

Hooray hooray hooray spring is here!  I know, I know, it's technically been spring for 6 or so weeks already, but it's only now making itself manifest at the farmers' market.  (Or so I hear.  Haven't actually been in a couple of weeks.)  My mom gave me some produce she had left over after having us over for dinner (thanks, mom!) - three bunches of ramps and a handful of cute pencil-thin asparagus.  Risotto time!

A bit of a digression, first, though:  I was worried that mommyhood would mean the end of any time in the kitchen, and indeed, Chunk's first few weeks involved him wanting to eat dinner right when we did, which meant mommy scarfed some food down and then sat at the kids' table, as it were.  However, boy genius has decided to be the best baby ever and do this from about 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., leaving us with some nice time in the evening to do grown up things like eat dinner and watch TV.  (How exciting, I know.  Oh, mommy can also drink wine.  That actually is exciting.)  So.  Hopefully lots of cooking in our future.  Plus we signed up for a CSA share this summer, so I will be forced to use a ton of lovely produce.

Anyway.  I'm not going to post a full-out instruction-laden recipe, because risotto is pretty easy once you get the basics down (and I wasn't paying the closest attention when I made this!).  In terms of proportions, I used 1 1/2 cups of rice to about a quart of chicken stock.  First, preheat the oven to 400 and roast the asparagus (drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper) for 15-20 minutes until nicely browned - it's fantastic to almost have asparagus fries on top of the risotto.  Heat the stock and keep it at a simmer.  Meanwhile, heat a combo of olive oil and butter in a pan and saute the sliced ramp bulbs.  Add the sliced ramp leaves and wilt.  Add the rice and stir till coated with fat, then add about a quarter cup of dry white wine.  When that is absorbed, add the stock, a ladleful at a time, and let it absorb, stirring frequently.  It's done when the rice is tender with a bit of a bite.  Stir in some grated parmesan cheese, a pat of butter, and season to taste.  Slice the asparagus, shave some more parmesan, and serve the risotto with these lovely fixins on top.  Enjoy!

Meyer lemon semifreddo

Yum, dessert!  The other day I sent T to the store for some lemons and he came back with both lemons and Meyer lemons.  I hadn't ever cooked with Meyer lemons before, so they sat in the fridge for a while while I tried to figure out something to do with them.  Hooray for the internets, which makes searching for recipes using a certain ingredient so very easy.  I had all the ingredients for this recipe from Bon Appetit on hand, so it was the winner.

And what a winner it was!  T proclaimed this his favorite dessert ever (after banana cream pie, which is, like, one of my least favorite desserts ever, so it's good he found a close second that I also like).  We served it to a friend who came over for dinner, and I saw him wiping up the last melty bits on his plate with his finger.  The recipe seems complicated (or tricky) but I thought it came together pretty easily and lasted for a while in the freezer, letting us enjoy it night after night.

Meyer Lemon Semifreddo
Serves 8-10
Adapted from Bon Appetit

1/2 c sliced almonds, toasted (toast them so they're nice and golden brown to make a good contrast with the pale semifreddo)
1 3/4 c chilled heavy whipping cream
1 1/4 c sugar
7 large egg yolks
1/2 c fresh Meyer lemon juice or regular lemon juice (from about 3 lemons)
1 T plus 2 t finely grated Meyer lemon peel or regular lemon peel (from about 3 lemons)
1/4 t salt

1. Line a 9x5x3 metal loaf pan with plastic wrap, leaving lots of overhang (you will be wrapping the plastic wrap around the top). Sprinkle almonds evenly over bottom of pan.  Set a large saucepan of water over high heat until simmering.
2. Meanwhile, using electric mixer, beat cream until soft peaks form.  Refrigerate.  Rinse beaters.
3. Whisk sugar, egg yolks, lemon juice, lemon peel, and salt in a large metal bowl to blend.  Set over saucepan of simmering water and whisk constantly until yolk mixture is thick and fluffy and an instant read thermometer inserted into mixture reads 170 degrees, 4-6 minutes.  Remove bowl from over water and beat with electric mixer until cool, thick, and doubled in volume, about 6 minutes.  Fold in chilled whipped cream.
4. Transfer mixture to prepared loaf pan and smooth top.  Tap pan against the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles.  Fold plastic wrap over the top to cover.  Freeze semifreddo until firm, about 8 hours or overnight.

To serve:  if you are serving the whole thing, unfold plastic wrap and invert the semifreddo onto a platter and cut into 1-inch slices with a knife that's been run under hot water.  Otherwise, do your best to cut slices out of the loaf pan.  Serve with berries that have been mixed with a bit of sugar and let to stand for several minutes (or a few hours).

1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

1 3/4 cups chilled heavy whipping cream

1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar

7 large egg yolks

1/2 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice or regular lemon juice

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons finely grated Meyer lemon peel or regular lemon peel

1/4 teaspoon salt

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Meyer-Lemon-Semifreddo-with-Summer-Berries-242511#ixzz0lEA3DqP0

1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

1 3/4 cups chilled heavy whipping cream

1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar

7 large egg yolks

1/2 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice or regular lemon juice

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons finely grated Meyer lemon peel or regular lemon peel

1/4 teaspoon salt

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Meyer-Lemon-Semifreddo-with-Summer-Berries-242511#ixzz0lEA3DqP0

Sophie Dahl's Warm Winter-Vegetable Salad

Spring is here!  I love the spring - buds in the trees, crocuses and daffodils peeking up through the dirt, warmish days and a lightness in the air.  But the produce world is a little slow on the uptake, which means that the farmer's market will continue to have sad wintered-over apples, carrots, and potatoes for a good few weeks to come.  (So I've heard, at least - I haven't been recently, as someone would prefer to stay home and eat bears.) 

I made this for dinner very shortly before Henry decided to join us.  I was about 900 pounds with a belly out to there and wanted something filling but healthy that didn't require me to spend too much time in the kitchen.  I saw this recipe in the March issue of Food & Wine and decided it fit the bill.  I tweaked it a bit to suit my taste and what I had in the fridge and thought it worked out quite well - the sweet earthiness of the roasted vegetables playing off the bitter arugula, tangy feta, and crunchy toasted almonds, with bright bits of parsley scattered throughout.  I may even make it again before the markets catch up with the season.

Warm Winter-Vegetable Salad
Adapted from Sophie Dahl
Serves 2 as a main course, generously

1 small red onion, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch wedges
1 carrot, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1 parsnip, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1/2 small celery root, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
2 small beets, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
olive oil
salt and pepper
several handfuls baby arugula
homemade vinaigrette of your choice (a dab of dijon + lemon juice, red wine vinegar, or balsamic vinegar + salt/pepper + olive oil)
handful marcona almonds, toasted (I used the toaster oven for this - watch them carefully so they don't burn)
2 ounces feta, crumbled
2 T parsley, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 425.  In a medium roasting pan or dish, toss red onion, carrot, parsnip, celery root, and beets with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Roast for about 45 minutes, stirring once or twice, until tender and lightly browned in spots.
2. Remove vegetables from oven and let cool slightly.  Toss arugula with 1/2 the vinaigrette and vegetables with the other 1/2.  Spread arugula on a large plate or bowl and pile vegetables on top.  Scatter almonds, feta, and parsley on top and serve.