Giveaway! Kitchen Tools

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Happy Thursday loves!  Lydia and I have been talking about how we so appreciate your every comment, email, Facebook post and tweet.  You’ve made writing this blog a rewarding experience for us at A & O and we thank you.

But we’d really like to thank you with a gift.

Which is why this first ever A & O giveaway is actually a gift from both of us to (one of) you.

Would that we could give it to you all.

We’re giving one reader our three favorite kitchen tools, all from Crate & Barrel.  The first indispensable kitchen tool is the OXO stainless steel and nylon tongs seen above.  Lydia and I keep several pairs in our kitchens because when we’re together we each need one if not two—for flipping our meats and vegetables, for plating salads and sides, for tossing pasta and nudging hot pans out of the way.  Tong devotées think of them as an extension of their own arms.

OXO makes the most comfortable and good looking tongs of all.

And we think that matters : )

Second, we have our Microplane grater-zester.  An invention that seemed revolutionary just a few years back has now become a necessity.  No more must we struggle to protect our soft finger pads while zesting citrus or adding fresh nutmeg to our pumpkin pie.

This fab tool also grates Parmesan into a beautiful soft snow.

Last but certainly not least we have a dual citrus squeezer, an absolute must when you make as much vinaigrette as we do or like to enliven your soup and fish dishes with a drop of acidity.  The squeezer adds force to your natural squeeze and the cup–which adorably resembles the citrus you’re pulverizing in your now-mighty grip– keeps those pesky seeds from falling onto your plate.

(One tip–if you need to zest and juice, say, a lemon, be sure to zest then slice it in half for juicing.  It’s tough to zest a wet and deflated half lemon.)

If you’d like to add these ergonomic workhorses to your collection, tell us below—what is your favorite kitchen tool and why?

Comments will close at midnight Pacific time this Friday, November 5th.  We’ll then choose a winner at random and make the announcement after he or she has been notified next week.  Giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.

If you’d like a double entry, follow us on twitter or subscribe to our RSS feed within the same time-frame and we’ll enter your name a second time.

Good luck!

xoxosl

The Classics: Banana Pecan Bread

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According to Starbucks the holiday season has officially arrived.  Here in Los Angeles, however, the temperature reached 97° so I feel entitled to say that I will be easing my way into the holiday deep end.  The winter fruit and nut pies beckoning from the cover of this month’s Martha look like artifacts from another world— albeit an inviting one.  But our banana bread, which we wrap in holiday ribbons and bows for clients and friends, works for me whatever the weather.

Lydia found this recipe in Virginia Willis‘ Bon Appétit Y’All, a serious cookbook with a charmingly light title.  After making this bread you’ll probably reach the same conclusion I did: in a time of relentless self-promotion— says the blogger— the ever-gracious Willis buries her own lede. Which would read in this case Exceptional southern chef makes killer food.

Virginia is a kitchen warrior, with years of culinary education and experience (many of which were spent with Martha) to prove it.  All we needed was one bite of her banana bread.

Lydia tweaked this recipe by adding vanilla extract.  In four years, we’ve never even tried another banana bread.  Make this and just try to imagine using a different recipe while the smell of warm, buttery bananas fills your kitchen.

Let me know how that works out for you ; )

xoxosl

Banana Pecan Bread

Makes one 9-inch loaf

Ingredients

1-1/4c flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

3 ripe bananas

1/2 cup pecans

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Lightly grease a 9-inch loaf pan

In a large bowl, sift together the flour and baking soda.  In a separate bowl, cream the salt, butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.  Add the eggs, one by one, beating well after each addition.  Add the vanilla and mashed-up banana.  Mix until just combined.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined.  Fold in the pecans.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan, using a spatula to smooth out the top.  Bake until the top is dark golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out almost clean, about 1-1/4 hours.

Cake will keep, wrapped tightly for 4 days.

Meatless Monday: Mediterranean Egg Salad

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Mayonnaise is the food I like least in the whole world.  I don’t care if it’s homemade, spiked with spice or masquerading as “aioli”–I don’t want an egg yolk and oil whip  polluting my sandwich or my fries and I definitely don’t want it in my sushi.

I don’t even want it in my fridge.

And yet.

I love eggs, especially the yolks, and I love olive oil.

Hence my joy in discovering Le Pain Quotidien’s olive oil-based egg salad, a no-mayo Mediterranean take on the deli favorite.  Capers and sea salt make it brackish and the olive oil softens the yolks to velvet— lovely against thick dark bread.   Cornichons add satisfying crunch.

I also like it with a scattering of sunflower seeds and crisp romaine.  Delicious on Meatless Monday and every other day of the week.

If you have access to a farmers’ market, I can’t emphasize enough how nice it is to have farm fresh eggs.  You’ll notice a difference in the density of the yolks and the overall flavor.

xoxosl

P.S. With plenty of veg and vegan items on the menu, Le Pain Quotidien is a great option for eating out on MM.

Mediterranean Egg Salad inspired by Le Pain Quotidien

Yield: 4 sandwiches or tartines (open-faced sandwiches)

Ingredients

6 large eggs, the fresher the better

3 tablespoons good quality olive oil

1/4 cup wild capers. rinsed

a handful of parsley, roughly chopped to taste

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

Cook the eggs until they are just hard boiled.  Fill a medium-sized pot with cool water to just cover the eggs.  Bring to a boil then cover the pot and remove from the heat.  Let sit 8 minutes total then uncover and drain.  Rinse eggs with cold water or submerge in an ice bath to stop the cooking process.

When eggs are cool enough to touch, gently crack all over and remove the shells.  The easiest way to do so is under cool running water.

Slice each egg in half and remove the yolks.  Use a fork to mash the yolks in a mixing bowl.   Neatly dice the whites and add them to the bowl as well.  Add the olive oil—you may use 1 tablespoon more or less, depending on how you prefer your salad— and gently stir to combine.  Add the capers and parsley and combine.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Enjoy!

A & O Weekly Menu: 11.1.10

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Red Velvet Cupcake

Happy Monday, my dears.  We’re cutting our cooking week short–Lydia is getting married! Plenty of gorgeous photos and DIY tips in the weeks to come.

In the meantime, these dishes are calling our names…

xoxosl

Monday

Lunch- Grilled chicken and shaved vegetable salad with Matsuhisa vinaigrette

Dinner- Steamed sea bass with assorted grilled vegetables and brown rice

Tuesday

Lunch-Ground chicken taco salad with a corn tortilla cup, black beans, jalapeno and cilantro lime vinaigrette

Dinner-Pan-seared cod over soba noodles in a spicy ginger miso broth

Wednesday

Lunch-Smoked trout salad with crunch persimmons and green apples

Dinner-Grilled fillet of beef with mustard sauce, green beans with shallots and mixed greens salad with red wine vinaigrette

Sweet Treat-Red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting (see image, above)

Thursday

Breakfast-Steel-cut oats with cinnamon-sugar sautéed apples

Lunch-Turkey bacon BLTA with side of apple butternut squash soup

Dinner-Black bean veggie chili with chunks of butternut squash and cornbread on the side

Friday

Let the celebration begin!

The Weekend Dish: Halloween Treats

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What are you going to be for Halloween?

My pumpkins aren't nearly so nice

I’m still undecided costume-wise, but if we’re to heed Martha’s quiz —and what does Martha say that isn’t heeded?—I’ll be vamping it up this weekend while Lydia cackles away.

Artisanal LA served up the best of LA foodstuffs this past weekend and I sampled plenty of sweet treats.   If only the houses on my street would hand these out!

Pssst… all of these desserts—all deliverable– would make a delicious end to an otherwise homemade dinner party.

Incredibly soft and fudgy Cup-o-Java brownies from Embrace Sweets

Coconut Clouds from Bakelab

S’muffins from Gotta Have S’More

A fig tart with pomegranate glaze from Tartist LA

And an LA-centric tea towel from Miss Fruitfly

Ok, you can’t eat it.

But still.

The best treat of all might be gift membership to The Tell Tale Society.  The Tell Tale Preserve Co., a bakery/patisserie located in San Francisco, is well on its way to beating Santa Claus at his own game.  Membership entitles you to receive a once-monthly burlap parcel stuffed with mystery treats like doughnut boules and red velvet sandwich cakes.

Heaven.

For a sweet and spooky trip down memory lane, remind yourself that some ghosts just want to be friends.

Happy haunting!!

xoxosl

In praise of Ina Garten

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You guys! I can’t believe how jealous I am of Gwyneth Paltrow today. Not because she is married to a rock star, is tall and blond and stunning, is best friends with fashion royalty and Tracey Anderson, has a widely read and informative blog and even not because she has her pick of any good movie role in Hollywood. I am jealous because she got to go over to Ina Garten’s house and cook with her!!!!!! Yes, Ina Garten better known as the Barefoot Contessa!

Gwyn and Ina

Photo courtesy of Barbara Liberman

All the details and recipes of the homemade ricotta with fresh herbs they made together over at GOOP. They cooked and ate a recipe from Ina’s new book How Easy is That? which just dropped on Tuesday. I’m going to pick up a copy to devour on my honeymoon. Yes that is correct, I read cookbooks, all the way through. Sarah and I highly recommend thoroughly reading Ina’s cookbooks, she has TONS of valuable cooking and entertaining advice hidden on the chapter headings and recipe introductions.

Top 3 entertaining rules I’ve learned form Ina’s books…

1. Organize your grocery list by department of the grocery store. List all the dairy you need together, then all the produce together, all the dry goods, meats and so on. Then when shopping you glance down at your list and grab all the items in that one area of the store and move onto the next section. No racing back and forth, forgetting items and loosing your mind and motivation to cook.

2. Have all of your meal prepped and ready before your guests come so you can visit with them. No one feels comfortable to relax and have a good time when the hostess is in the stressing out in the kitchen, just getting started on dinner. Prep in advance so you can enjoy the evening too.

3. Only make a few dishes but make them really good. Make 3 dishes perfectly and but buy the rest from the store or have a friend bring a dish. I often buy a spread of store bought appetizers, make 3 yummy dinner dishes and then have a guest bring dessert. This way you can enjoy the cooking process and put energy into making those cooked dishes spectacular instead of feeling overwhelmed by the 6 items you have to make in one afternoon.

Ina’s cookbooks make fantastic gifts as the recipes are simple and the instructions are very thorough. Her recipes are so well tested that literally every single recipe is delicious and you can execute it perfectly the first time making the dish (though Ina’ advises not to make a new recipe for important occasions with out doing a trail run first.) I so look forward to the day when Sarah and I are lounging in her squashy arm chairs, draped in cashmere blankets and nibbling on gougeres and toasting Veuve Clicquot with Jeffery and Ina in the Hamptons. Yes, Gwyneth can come over too. Sigh.

The Classics: Chocolate Cake

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This, my pretties, is not a new recipe.  It may even be familiar to you A & O faithful.  But because I use it at least once a month and because my last photo was heinous and failed to showcase the pools of fudgy frosting I adore, I’m sharing this with you once again.  It makes 48 mini cupcakes, 24 regular-sized and 1 9-inch round cake with batter left over (or 1 9-inch plus a 6-inch round cake for a two-layer chocolate cakeaganza).  It goes gluten free without a hitch.  Flexibility is part of its charm.

Our pal Beth photographed my last batch with blue sprinkles.  Tonight I’m topping them with orange sprinkles and little white ghosts for a Halloween-themed progressive dinner.  I’ll also be serving some of Ina’s blood-red velvet minis.  The recipe’s in her new cookbook.

You need this and one good flourless chocolate cake recipe and you’re good-to-go chocolate-wise for life.

xoxosl

Buttermilk Chocolate Cake

Cake

2 sticks unsalted butter

1/2 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder (I like Droste or Green & Black)

1 cup water

2 cups AP flour (or gluten-free equivalent)

2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup buttermilk

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract (for the gluten-free version, I use 2 teaspoon vanilla extract and a tablespoon of espresso to cover the chickpea flavor of the gluten-free flour.  You can add espresso to the traditional recipe as well)

Frosting

1/2 stick unsalted butter

1/4 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder (I like Droste or Green & Black)

3 tablespoons buttermilk

2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

you can also add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or other nuts to the frosting if desired.

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Butter and flour the cake pan of your choice or line your cupcake tins.

2. Make the cake.  Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Whisk in the cocoa powder and water.  Bring to a boil them remove from the heat.  Let cool.

3. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.   Add the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla.  Blend well using a hand held mixer or a strong hand and whisk.  Add the cooled cocoa mixture, stirring until just combined. The batter will be thinner than regular cake batters, but this only means you are on your way to making a great cake.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan.  Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean, about 20-25 minutes for large cakes, about 12-15 for cupcakes and 8-10 for minis.  Let cool completely  before frosting.

4.  Make the frosting.  Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Whisk in the cocoa powder and buttermilk.  Bring to a boil then remove from the heat and let cool.  Pour into a large mixing bowl.

5.  Using a handheld mixer, beat the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and walnuts into the cocoa mixer.  Mix until thoroughly combined and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Pour or spread over cooled cake.  The frosting will set into a shiny glaze that crackles like thin ice when you cut into it.  Beautiful.

6. The secret step.  Wrap the cooled and frosted cake loosely in cling wrap and refrigerate it, even if only for an hour or so before serving.   Whereas refrigerating tends to dry out baked goods, it dampens this cake so that it’s amazingly dark, dense and moist, just how I envisioned mud pies when I was little.

The Look: Halloween Chic

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For you

For your table

"Dark Side" mercury glass votives

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Mummy "spirits"

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Bat place cards

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Snake plates

or

Right eye plate

Am I alone in thinking that eating off an eye is creepier than eating off a snake? Gives me the willies.

xoxosl

P.S. What Halloween character are you?  I’m Dracula : )

Meatless Monday: Mac and Cheese

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Macaroni and cheese is so appropriate this time of year. Hearty, gooey and satisfying to the soul. Pair it with a big kale salad for dinner and you have a vegetarian feast for a crowd. Serving just your family? Portion the recipe into two smaller baking dishes and freeze one of them before baking for another night.

Mac n Cheese with orange tomatoes

Macaroni and Cheese

Serves 8-12 people

Ingredients

1 pound elbow macaroni

1 quart of milk

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

10 ounces Gruyere, grated (3 cups)

8 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (2 cups)

1 cup Parmesan cheese grated

1/2  teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2  pint fresh cherry tomatoes

1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a large pinch of salt. Add the macaroni and cook according to the directions on the package, 6 to 8 minutes, do not overcook. Drain well.

Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan but be careful not to bring it to a boil. Melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a large (4-quart) pot and and slowly whisk in the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring often. While whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or two more, until thickened and smooth. Off the heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, Parmesan and 1 tablespoon salt, pepper. Add the cooked macaroni and stir well. Pour into a 3-quart buttered baking dish.

Stud the cherry tomatoes on top of the dish and then sprinkle the bread crumbs in an even layer. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top. Serve warm.

*The mac and cheese seen in the photo had slices of orange tomato on top instead of cherry tomatoes in honor of Halloween but I really love the pop of fresh tomato in every portion that the little guys provide.

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