Friday Links

A few random links for you to enjoy on this Friday.  Check out the first one... starting a new Instagram account and I want YOU to be a part of it!


Share your REAL LIFE moments on Real Moms Wear Grey.
I will not sleep until you sign up for the TODAY Food Club.
We've had some serious dance parties to Daniel Kim's Pop Danthology 2015.
And while we're on absurd dips... S'Mores Dip.  OMG.
Holiday candles like this one are my weakness.
Thanksgiving in a slow cooker?
And finally, more grey... these pajamas!

TODAY Food Club Launch


Yesterday I was honored to help launch the TODAY Food Club.  If you're still unfamiliar with it, it's an online community where people can share recipes and connect with on-air talent, chefs and Today Show staff.  It includes monthly challenges, weekly tips and meal-plan ideas (lord knows I need that), and the chance to win prizes and be featured on air!  Instead of just an online place to find recipes, it will be a place to have a conversation and receive feedback.  Food is my favorite thing to talk about (duh), so I couldn't be more excited about this!

Yesterday, I made the infamous Spaghetti Pie (which was Today.com's number one recipe for 2015), and Today Food Stylist, the lovely Alli Simpson, made her family's Ultimate Banana Bread (truly the best I've ever had).  It was a treat to be there for such a special event.  Go join the club, share your recipes, get your friends to vote for you, and maybe I'll see you on the Today Show someday soon :)


Alli and I (top) and some of the fabulous Today Food team (below)...


All photos by Samantha Okazaki

Taco Pie with Winter Squash


After making this insanely delicious Spaghetti Pie the other day (as seen on my Instagram page), I started imagining what other dinners I could make in a pie pan, and because it was Tuesday my mind instantly went to tacos!  Taco Pie!  But not just any taco pie, no, no... this particular dish is only disguising as comfort food (which is what it tasted like, oh man).  This hearty but healthy casserole has lean meat, the protein and fiber from beans and the nutrients from a whole lot of squash you won't even know you're eating.  By the way do beans have fiber?  I don't know, it just sounded right to say.

At the last minute I decided to add a frozen package of cooked squash into the meat (the pureed kind).  It melted beautifully, and balanced out the spice of the meat in a sweet and subtle way.  My kids loved it (well, two of them did, not the middle one who would live off of Skittles if she could), and had NO idea I had tricked them into eating something healthy.  And by the way, I ate two slices topped with avocado.  IT WAS SO GOOD.  


Taco Pie with Winter Squash
(Serves 8)

1 T olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 lb. ground turkey
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1/2 cup water
1 12 oz. pkg cooked squash, thawed
1 8oz. bottle taco sauce
3 flour tortillas
1 can refried beans (you probably won't use it all)
2-3 cups Mexican blend grated cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add onions and sauté for a few minutes, until onions begin to soften.  Add ground turkey and sauté until no longer pink.  Add taco seasoning and water and stir to combine.  Bring to a boil, and then lower heat and simmer until sauce begins to thicken.  Add thawed squash, and stir to make sure everything is well incorporated.  Remove from heat.  Spray a 10-inch cake or pie pan with cooking spray.  Add a small amount of the taco sauce and spread with a spatula.  Place a tortilla in the pan, and then spread a layer of refried beans on top with a spatula.  Top with a third of the meat, then a third of the cheese and finally a third of the taco sauce.  Place another tortilla down, and repeat with the beans, meat, cheese and sauce.  Place your last tortilla down, top with beans, the rest of the meat, the rest of the sauce and ending with the rest of your cheese.  Bake for 30-35 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and golden.    


The squash disappears!



"Brookies"


This cookie is bananas.  Half chocolate chip, half brownie cookie.  Now that I know how easy it is to make two different doughs and roll them together into one perfect cookie, I think the possibilities are endless, don't you?  WHAT UP, CHRISTMAS COOKIES?!  I'M TALKING TO YOU, BOO.  Sorry I don't know what that was.  I used this recipe but I cut the chocolate chip cookie dough in half.  I've written the word "cookie" way too many times in this post.  Cookie.  

Sweet Potato Muffins – The Sweet Potato Pie of Muffins

Sometimes you don’t have a good reason for not loving a certain recipe, and that’s how it is for me with sweet potato pie. It just does not do it for me, and I don’t even know what “it” is. However, I thought the same flavors could work for a holiday-inspired sweet potato muffin, and I was thrilled with the results.

These are perfect if you have leftover sweet potatoes during the holidays, but if not, totally worth cooking a few just for this easy recipe. I microwaved mine for about 6 or 7 minutes, until they were very soft, but roasting, or boiling will also work.

By the way, we’re not using sweet potatoes for our sweet potato muffin; we’re using yams, which are actually just incorrectly named orange-fleshed sweet potatoes.  So, I guess never mind.

As I mention in the video, these muffins are just a little bit of frosting away from being cupcakes. I’ve never understood the allure of mini marshmallows on a sweet potato casserole, but something tells me some “fluff” would work well on these, as well. I really hope you give them a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for 24 Sweet Potato Muffins:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup melted butter
2 cups mashed sweet potato or “yams”
1 cup chopped pecans, plus more for the top
demerara sugar for the tops

- Bake for 25 minutes at 350 F. or until a wooden skewer comes out clean.

Crispy Farro Cakes – All Killer, No Filler

I had some crispy farro cakes at a restaurant a while back, and thought they would make for an interesting video, but when I started to research various recipes and techniques, I discovered something a little surprising; there was no such thing as a “pure” farro cake.

Every recipe I came across had some type of filler used to help bind the mixture together. I didn’t really understand this, until I proceeded to make a batch using nothing but cooked and cooled farro. They completely fell apart in the pan, and I ended up with something more like crispy fried rice. Not a bad thing by any means, but not farro cakes.

After a few more experiments, I discovered that by using a little egg, and a touch of finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, I was able to make it work with no non-ancient grain additions. The whole key is the crust. By letting the first side cook until a well-browned, crispy surface forms, the cakes develop enough structure to make the flip possible.

One thing I failed to mention in the clip; you should check your mixture for seasoning before frying the cakes. I used a good amount of salt when I cooked my farro, but you should still taste and adjust.

And while these were great with the crème fraiche and golden trout roe, there are so many ways these could be otherwise used. As usual, I’ll be lurking on Twitter and Instagram to see what you come up with, so fair warning. I really hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for about 6 farro cakes:
1 cup farro, not rinsed
3 cups water
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 springs thyme
3 garlic cloves, finely minced or crushed
1/2 cup finely diced onion
- simmer covered about 45 minutes until very tender, drain well, but DO NOT rinse

Then add:
1/4 cup finely diced red bell pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 ounce (about a 2-inch square piece) freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano (if you use real Parmigiano Reggiano, and grate it on a microplane, you’ll get about 3/4 of a cup)
1 large egg
pinch cayenne
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil for frying

Sea Salt Pumpkin Butter Cups


Halloween Candy season may be over, but Pumpkin has not gone out of style just yet.  I saw these online the other morning at 5AM because my 14 month-old is all, SCREW YOU TIME CHANGE, THIS FEELS LIKE 6AM STILL, and I realized I actually had everything I needed to make them!  Chocolate chips, pumpkin puree, almond butter, pumpkin pie spice and honey.  That's it.  A dark chocolate shell with a creamy pumpkin butter center.  Oh, and sea salt on top because chocolate can barely go without it these days.  They were easy to make and delicious (however I recommend popping them in the fridge to let the bottom chocolate harden before you add the filling and top).

Enjoy these.  Enjoy your weekends.  Enjoy your sleep if you're getting any (I hate you).    

Recipe here.


Roasted butternut squash soup

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So, Halloween came and went. We had  a really fun party for the kids and their friends - 14 kids in total. They really enjoyed "mummy sausages dipped in blood", "grape caterpillars", "icy gummyworms" (one little girl sat petrified for several minutes, believing those were real) and "graveyard muffins". Lots of fun!

However, we didn't carve a pumpkin. I couldn't find a good one in time, and then I sort of just ran out of time. We had some other decorations, but Titus was disappointed since he had looked forward to a pumpkin soup. (Not that you actually want to make soup from your carved pumpkin, but he doesn't know that...) So, last night I made this lovely soup instead. Very yummy! Well, I thought so at least - neither the kids nor the husband were fans. Oh well...

Roasted Butternut Squash soup

1 small butternut squash - peeled and cut into large dice
1 onion, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
olive oil
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
about 1 litre chicken stock
100 ml cream
salt

Start by tossing the squash with a little olive oil and salt, and roast in a 200°C oven for 20-25 minutes. It should be lightly browned.

In a soup pot, heat some olive oil and sauté carrot and onion with coriander and cinnamon until soft - about ten minutes. Add the squash dice, and the chicken stock. Cook for at least ten minutes on low heat, make sure everything is nice and soft.

Use a blender, or an immersion blender, to make the soup completely smooth. Stir in a little cream if desired (always desired in my family), and season with salt and pepper to taste.

We served this with crispy fried bacon and sour cream and a nice sourdough baguette.

Thanksgiving Sides on TODAY


Did you know Thanksgiving is 3 weeks from tomorrow?  NOBODY PANIC.  I say that as I panic, of course.  However, if you tune into the Today Show everyday this month, you'll become inspired with a new Turkey Day idea.  Today Carson and I made two side dishes: his mom's "Drunken Mashed Potatoes" and my version of the Midwest classic, Green Bean Casserole.

If you missed the segment or want to view the recipes, click here.



Photos by the lovely Samantha Okazaki.

I heart Instacart!

Since August I have ordered groceries from the online delivery service Instacart more than 10 times. Crazy, right? Not at all. I am absolutely thrilled with their service and here’s why:

Choice
I can choose from among several stores. Not just big box stores like Costco and Target and supermarkets like Safeway and Whole Foods, but also smaller local stores like Rainbow Grocery that offer lots of bulk ingredients. 

Price
For most of the stores, the prices are exactly the same as they are in the store! 

Service
The service is amazing. You can not only track your order, but chat in real time with the shopper who is shopping for you. If they can’t find the item you want, they get in touch immediately with suggestions for replacements that you can approve. Also if you decide you want more or less of something or if you forgot an item or can’t find it in the database you can communicate that too. 

Accuracy
They get my orders right, which not something I experienced when I tried ordering directly from a supermarket unfortunately. 

Time
It’s a huge time saver for me to be able to skip going to the store. Of course, I do still go to the farmers market and shop for some things like fresh produce, but there are many items I really don’t need to personally pick out such as eggs, dairy products and cleaning supplies.

Convenience
I love being able to not just shop, but comparison shop at multiple stores to see who has the best prices on items I want to purchase. In the time it takes me to make a list, I can place an order online. The detailed receipts are also extremely helpful when I’m creating recipes for clients and need to keep track of my expenses. Last but not least, no looking for parking, no waiting in line to check out and no schlepping heavy bags of groceries.The groceries come right to my front door (up two flights of stairs).
The Instacart website, iPhone app and iPad app are super easy to use and after just a few deliveries I was sold. I gladly paid $99 for an Instacart Express membership and now get free delivery within 2 hours for any purchase over $35 (good for one year). Want to try it? Use this link and get $10 and free delivery to try the service.

Do they deliver near you? So far they are operating in California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington. But you can check with your zip code.


Disclaimer: I was not paid to write this post although I do get a tiny credit towards my account if someone signs up using the link provided.