comfort pasta.

I've been on a baking kick recently - following minute directions with the belief that doing so will lead to something delicious is soothing to me. But there's been some cooking too, like this pasta that is well-suited to plentiful farmers' market greens and crisp fall evenings. I loved the combination of the chard, olives, feta, and garlic; it also made great leftovers because the flavors had a chance to meld.


I used French feta at the suggestion of the Nice Cheese Man (or rather, one of the Nice Cheese Men) at DiBruno's; it's creamier than Greek feta and melted into the pasta beautifully. Because I was having such fun at the cheese counter, I also got some Cabra La Mancha (a semi-firm goat's milk cheese from Firefly Farms with, according to its label, a "tart flavor up front and a lightly meaty, savory finish") to go with sourdough bread and a mammoth Asian pear, sliced thinly, to start with. All in all, a very satisfying meal for three very tired grad students.




Spaghetti with Chard and Olives
from Gourmet (Nov. 2008), via SmittenKitchen

1/3 c. olive oil
1 head garlic, cloves peeled and thinly sliced lengthwise
1 med. onion, finely chopped
2 lb. Swiss chard, stems and center ribs finely chopped and leaves coarsely chopped separately (*The original calls for green chard; I used rainbow and loved the color and taste.)
1/2 c. water
1 lb. spaghetti
1/2 c. Kalamata olives, slivered
6 oz. feta, crumbled (1 1/2 c.)

[Serves 4-6]


1. Heat oil in heavy skillet until it shimmers, then cook garlic, stirring, until golden - about 3 mins. (I got sidetracked and let my garlic chips get a bit too brown. Oops.) Use slotted spoon to transfer garlic to plate lined with paper towels.

2. In oil that remains in skillet, cook onion until softened, stirring occasionally, 3-5 mins.

3. Stir chard stems and water into onions; add salt and pepper. Cook, covered, over med. heat about 5 mins., until almost tender. Stir in chard leaves, cover, and cook about 5 mins. more, until stems and leaves are tender. (*I find a pair of tongs very helpful for stirring bulky greens like this.)

4. Cook spaghetti in boiling salted water until al dente. Reserve 1 c. cooking water and drain spaghetti. (*I forgot this step. The greens mixture created its own liquid, though, so it didn't seem to matter that much.)

5. Toss spaghetti with chard mixture, olives [and 1/2 c. cooking water]. Season with salt and pepper if necessary. Serve topped with garlic chips and feta.

halloween treats.

I tend to get a lot more excited about holidays like Christmas than I do for Halloween. I didn't dress up this year; after last year's Joan Holloway, nothing seemed quite as fun. However, a handful of us did band together to brave a 70s-scary-movies night, featuring Carrie and The Omen. Good friends, good beer, good snarky commentary on the movies. Plus, a good excuse to try a few new recipes: applesauce cupcakes and molasses cookies with lemon glaze. And though these treats weren't spooky, they were autumnally yummy.

Applesauce Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
from SmittenKitchen, adapted slightly


This recipe is actually for a 9" square cake; because I a) don't own a square cake pan and b) thought cupcakes would be fun, that's what I did. The recipe makes about 14 cupcakes, and there's plenty of frosting for all of them.

I'm a little bit addicted to making applesauce at the moment, so this was the perfect use for a jar. Plus, this cake is quite delicious.

For the cake:
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 c. packed light brown sugar (*the original calls for 1 c.; I found 3/4 sufficient)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
zest of 1/2 lemon

For the frosting:
5 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350F; line cupcake pan with paper liners. (*This cake is quite moist, so I used paper inside foil liners to avoid sogginess.)

Make cake:
2. In small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.

3. With an electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and vanilla at high speed until fluffy, about 2-3 mins. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add applesauce and zest and beat until combined.

4. At low speed, add flour mixture until just combined. The batter will look curdled, but that's ok.

5. Distribute batter into cupcake tins, filling about 3/4 full. (You'll have some left over; bake the rest after the first batch is done.) Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 25 mins. Cool on wire rack.

Make frosting:
6. Beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla mixture at high speed until fluffy. Sift confectioners' sugar and cinnamon on top, then beat at medium speed until incorporated. Spread frosting on cooled cupcakes.



Chewy Molasses Cookies with Lemon Glaze
from TheKitchn


Yum. I really liked the combination of the dark molasses cookies with the tart lemon glaze. The recipe makes about 3-4 dozen (sometimes I get overly enthusiastic and end up with larger cookies) and they last fairly well for a handful of days, which is nice.

For the cookies:
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, very soft
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1/4 c. dark molasses
3/4 c. brown sugar, packed (*the original calls for 1 c.)
1 egg
2-inch knob of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
2 1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper
granulated sugar, for rolling

For the glaze:
2 lemons, juiced (about 1/4 c. fresh lemon juice)
1/3 c. granulated sugar
1 c. confectioners' sugar

Make the cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. With a stand mixer, beat butter, oil, molasses, and brown sugar until lightened and fluffy. Then beat in egg until smooth, then add the grated ginger.

3. In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and spices; add to butter mixture and mix at low speed until combined. The dough will be quite soft; turn it out onto plastic wrap and wrap it tightly, then refrigerate for at least an hour. (*The original recipe says to refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour. I had the dough in the freezer for 45 mins. and it was still quite soft in the middle, almost unmanageable.)

4. Pour about 1/2 c. granulated sugar into a shallow bowl. When the dough is firm enough to handle, divide it into four parts. Divide the first part into 12 walnut-sized chunks and roll each into a ball, rolling the balls in sugar before placing them on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat for the second quarter of dough.

5. Bake for 12 mins., rotating the sheets halfway through. Remove from oven and let cool 5 mins., then transfer cookies to wire rack and repeat rolling and baking process for the rest of the dough.

Make the glaze:
6. When the cookies are cool, whisk together the lemon juice and sugars. Dribble over the cookies with a fork or a pastry brush; let glaze cool and dry until hard.