Paulie (the Bowl Man) & a Yum Yum Harvest Salad

Post: Erin

Just about a year ago, when our cookbook was hot off the presses and I was in search of the perfect wooden spoon to pair with it, my brother (who loves to tackle a good project with me!) did a little “googling” and found Paulie, the Bowl Man, from New Hampshire Bowl and Board. And what a great find he turned out to be! We sold dozens upon dozens of his beautiful wooden spoons in our 2017 Winter Bundle (yes, we still have a few, if you missed out!) Turning to my wood crafting friend again this winter, we were inspired to create a yummy harvest salad worthy of his gorgeous cherry bowl.

A little back story…A few years ago, as I was looking for a way to brighten up my roasted butternut squash for Thanksgiving, my dear friend Marlene won me over with her warm butternut squash side dish tossed with spinach, red onions and cranberries. It was as beautiful as it was delicious!

So, with bowl in hand, and Marlene’s side dish on my mind, I set out to remake it into a memorable spinach salad. I knew it could be done, I mean, who doesn’t love spinach salad with lots of yummy decorations on top?!? After a fun brainstorming session with her, and a long distance drive into Boston which allowed just enough time to let my imagination run free, I could literally taste it! And I couldn’t wait to get home to my cozy kitchen and actually make it.

The recipe below is the final result. It might seem like just another salad (though one bite will tell you it’s anything but that!) but for me, this recipe (as with most) is the culmination of a journey…

Here’s to another winter together, Paulie!

Harvest Salad

The Butternut Squash

1 medium butternut squash, peeled, cored, and chopped into 3/4" pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt for sprinkling

The Candied Bacon

1 pound bacon, regular cut
1/3-1/2 cup brown sugar
Coarse black pepper for sprinkling

The Vinaigrette

1 medium shallot, minced (about 4 T.)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon dijon-style mustard
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8-1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup canola oil
1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar

The Rest of the Salad

1 pound fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup pomegranates
1/3 cup roasted, salted pumpkin seeds
4-6 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced

BAKING THE SQUASH. Place butternut squash on a baking sheet, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake in 375°F oven for 30-40 minutes, until tender, turning once halfway through. Set aside.

MAKING THE BACON. Lightly coat both sides of bacon with brown sugar and sprinkle with pepper; lay slices on a baking rack atop a baking sheet and bake in 375°F oven until bacon is cooked (careful not to burn the sugar.) Cool. Chop. Set aside.

FOR THE VINAIGRETTE. Combine all ingredients and whir up in a blender. Or, do as Paulie, the Bowl Man suggests, and grab your wooden bowl and a fork and go to town! You can make this a day or two ahead. Refrigerate until ready to use.

ASSEMBLING THE SALAD (just before serving) In a large mixing bowl, toss spinach with some of the dressing (though it is very tasty, less is more!). Put remaining dressing in a gravy boat or small pitcher, and let people drizzle on a bit more should they want it. Garnish with all of the toppings and serve.

Stuffed Dates Two Ways

Post: Erin

Sweet and gooey Medjool dates are unbelievably versatile and find themselves in a number of my recipes (for appetizers and desserts!) They can add an unexpected note of sweetness to an otherwise savory bite, or be the sweet surprise inside a crispy bacon-wrapped bundle. But sometimes, you just can't beat simple elegance. This no bake no fuss recipe celebrates dates as the perfect vehicle for your favorite filling. Stuff them with goat cheese, top with a walnut half, and add them to your next cheese board. Or, fill them with peanut butter and drizzle with dark chocolate for an easy but elegant dessert.

Goat Cheese Stuffed Dates

12 Medjool dates
2­–3 ounces goat cheese
12 walnut halves

Peanut Butter Stuffed Dates with Chocolate

12 Medjool dates
2–3 ounces peanut butter
2 ounces dark chocolate chips*
Ground pistachios or sea salt for sprinkling

First Things First. Pit each date by making a lengthwise slit down the center of the date; remove the pit. This will leave an opening perfect for stuffing.

Filling the Dates. Using a butter knife, scoop up a heaping teaspoon of filling and smooth it into the date. 

The Toppers. For goat cheese stuffed dates, top each with a walnut half.

For peanut butter stuffed dates, drizzle with melted chocolate. NOTE: In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate, stirring every 30 seconds, for 90 seconds or until melted. Use a fork to drizzle. Finish with a ground pistachios or a sprinkle of sea salt.

*substitute your favorite chocolate (milk, semi-sweet, etc.)

The Somewhat Annual Southern Hospitality Tour

Post: Erin
Photos: Jim Dunnavant

Born and raised in Kansas, I am a Midwestern girl at heart. There’s literally nothing southern about me…except for my dad…and my brother…and the twang in my voice when I hang out with them for more than 5 minutes! Honestly I don’t know where that twang comes from; I only lived in the South for one summer! Well, even that was more than enough for this delicate flower. I couldn’t stand the heat (literally), so I got out of the kitchen (so to speak) and moved back home (apparently, with a little twang in tow.) My Dad and my brother, on the other hand, fell in love with the South (and their southern belles) and have never looked back.

While I may not love the heat, I do love just about everything else. I love the people. Love the pace. Love the sense of faith and family that is visibly woven into the fabric of southern life. It envelopes you like a cozy blanket and leaves you feeling welcomed and loved; charmed by the warmth of day-to-day interactions where people are quick to offer a smile and a genuine hello, having never laid eyes on you before.

I feel that sense of belonging every time I visit – of course from my family, but also from their friends. You know what they say about southern hospitality…well, I’m here to tell you it’s all true. I’ve experienced it first-hand, time and again; if you aren’t “family” when you arrive, you are when you leave. Perhaps that’s why I eagerly await any opportunity to pay a visit…

It has become an almost annual tradition for me to fly down for a long weekend and “cater” a big dinner for family and friends. Truth be told, I am not the first one in our family to show up with a tray of baklawa, three batches of maamoul and a dozen different spices in her suitcase; that distinction belongs to my Sitey (my grandma) who started this tradition many years ago as, one by one, her children and grandchildren settled in cities far and wide. Not unlike my Jiddo (my grandfather) who travelled the country selling ladies handbags, Sitey took her show on the road, cooking her way from one family to the next.

So, this past winter, on a Sitey-inspired road trip, I filled my suitcase with pastries and spices (to the utter dismay of airport security!) and traveled southward to cook for about 50 of my brother’s friends and family. Lest you think I tackled this alone, I should be clear: the only thing I love more than cooking for family is cooking with family! So, Dad, Eric and I, along with the rest of our “team” (Tissie, Patti and  Cindy) cooked up an honest to goodness Middle-Eastern feast. Over the course of two days, we rolled a mountain of grape leaves, washed an even bigger mountain of dishes, shopped, chopped, sliced, diced, and taste-tested; all the while bantering about whether Sitey made it this way or that way and who’s recipe was closest to hers! We laughed, cried, reminisced and, when all was said and done, longed for just one more bite from the hands of the one who loved and taught us all.

The Studio, the Pretzels, and the Painting

Post: Erin
Photos: Leeann Plouffe

The Studio, the Pretzels and the Painting

I am blessed to have the most amazing studio space; I actually cried when I saw it for the first time. It was everything I needed: space and natural light. An answer to prayer, to be sure! I had been painting icons in my small home studio for the better part of two decades when I finally admitted that it was bursting at the seams; it was time to find new digs. And so, with a few phone calls (and a heapin’ helping of divine intervention) I found my home on the 3rd floor of Building 26. While it may be modest in the eyes of most with its endless staircases and abandoned-warehouse charm, it feels like a palace to me and I love everything about it. I mean, what’s not to love with its well-worn wood floors and clanging hot water pipes whose intermittent song keeps me company (and toasty warm) on those late night work sessions.

While my studio time is, for the most part, spent in silence (save for the water pipes), anyone who knows me knows that I love a good chat! So, one unexpected perk of my move to the 3rd floor has been the people I’ve met and the friends I’ve made along the way…

I was away for a month, installing icons in Texas, when Greg and Sean moved into the “neighborhood.” Best friends since high school, their big hearts and warm personalities brought a new level of life and community to the 3rd floor which previously had been missing. Perhaps that is why it was so easy to find myself offering to help with the food for Greg’s gallery opening. While I was a little disheartened to hear they were all set with the food, I was quite happy to hear they had no plans for dessert. And so, the mission for this wannabe caterer began!

Greg, an amazing artist whose paintings quickly captured my heart with their rich palettes and soulful stories, had not only vision for his masterpieces, but for every last detail of his event. My goal? To make pastries that fit seamlessly into his vision. He suggested the trendy Chocolate Chip Cookie Shot Glasses made famous by pastry chef, Dominique Ansel. I’d never heard of them, but after a quick Google search, I was smitten! Adorable and oh so yummy! I thought they’d pair perfectly with my Decadent Chocolate Cheesecake Bars, White Chocolate Bing Cherries and Dipped Pretzels. The menu was set!

What a fun week I had testing recipes and refining my technique for the cookie cups (I’m pretty sure my family didn’t mind being the guinea pigs); converting my cheesecake recipe into bars (finger foods were the goal); and daydreaming about dipped pretzels that would match my favorite painting, Screen Door Slams, inspired by Bruce Springsteen’s Thunder Road.

The whimsical array of desserts disappeared quickly in this crowd of about 120 friends and patrons. I don’t know if anyone even noticed that the “Pollack”-esque Pretzels were an ode to the painting, but it made me happy just the same. And I’m fairly certain they were quite happy eating them!

SWEET AND SALTY PRETZEL RODS

24 Pretzel Rods

12-ounce bag of Ghiradelli Dark Chocolate Melting Wafers

½ cup Ghiradelli white chocolate*, broken into pieces

½ cup Ghiradelli milk chocolate*

Sea Salt for sprinkling

Terbinado Sugar for sprinkling

Styrofoam Block or Baking Parchment

2 Pastry Bags

FIRST THINGS FIRST: For best results, you’ll want to let your dipped pretzel rods dry standing up. You can use a block of styrofoam, pressing one end of a pretzel into the styrofoam to make the holes. Or, just keep it simple (that’s what I did) and lay your dipped pretzel rods on a sheet of baking parchment. They’ll be a little less perfect, but equally delicious!

DIP THE PRETZELS In a coffee cup or other taller-than-wide container, melt the dark chocolate following instructions on the bag. Dip the pretzel rods one at a time, gently tapping to remove excess chocolate. Set aside to cool.

DECORATE THE PRETZELS Put the white chocolate in a pastry bag and melt (as per bag instructions). Using a pair of scissors, cut the very tip off the pastry bag and drizzle the dipped pretzels rods as you like. Repeat process with the milk chocolate, sprinkling the warm chocolate with a hint of sea salt and terbinado sugar for added texture and flavor.

Let cool and enjoy. If you’re impatient (or in a hurry) put them in the frig for about 10 minutes so the chocolate will set up more quickly. Yumm!

*Cocoa butter is what makes chocolate drizzle smoothly when melted. Some bars of chocolate have higher cocoa butter content than other bars or chips which makes them preferable for melting. So keep that in mind when shopping; alternatively, you can add a drizzle of oil to chocolate chips when melting in order to achieve similar results.

Baking Scones and Painting Domes...

Post: Erin
Photos: Alexis

I love to cook, we’ve established that! But did I mention that I also love to paint icons? If you’ve been thinking I was noticeably absent for the past month, it’s because I was in Houston, Texas, installing icons in the dome of Saint Anthony Orthodox Church. 

So, your “wannabe caterer” is also a byzantine iconographer.

At first glance, one might think that preparing a meal and painting an icon have little in common. But for me, they are nearly one and the same. Well, at least where it counts most. They are a means to an end. The “end” I refer to? Relationships. Relationships with family and friends, with people I’ve known all my life and those I’ve yet to meet – and, perhaps some I’ll never even meet at all! And of course, my relationship with God.

Cooking (along with the hospitality that follows) has been intertwined with my relationships for most of my life. It is how I knew my grandmother’s love; how I share my love with others; how I draw closer to God as I joyfully use the gifts He gave me to nurture those around me. I feel His presence in those moments as surely as if He were standing in front of me.

For me, painting icons follows much the same rhythm--I take what God has given me and prayerfully prepare it for others. My hope? That they will know Him through the icons; that they will be “fed” spiritually and thus draw closer to Him. My reward? That the journey (and the relationships that form along the way) feed me in ways unexpected and indescribable. God is good!

So keep cooking…or painting…or blogging…or jogging...or…or…or…so that God might continue to work through each of us, whatever our gifts may be!