LAUREL'S BREAD

Laurel, like her bread, is striking. She’s regally tall with a sheet of dark brown hair and carries herself with an ease I’m completely jealous of. This ease transfers into her baking, where her no-knead bread is reminiscent of traditional Italian loaves, crusty on the outside and just barely sour, making it the perfect partner with olive oil and a little sea salt. It takes a little planning but is well worth the wait. There nothing like a fresh loaf of bread to last you through the week...or the hour.

Ingredients:

3 cups Flour

1\4 Tsp. Yeast

1 1\2 Tsp. Salt

1 1/2 cups Water

Olive Oil

Combine flour, salt, and yeast. Add 1 1\2 Cups of water and gently mix (the dough will be sticky). Coat another bowl with a drizzle of olive oil. Transfer dough to the oiled bowl, and cover it with plastic wrap and let it rise for 12-18 hours, or until at doubled in size. Lightly flour a work surface and place the dough on the work surface and sprinkle with more flour. Fold the dough on its self once or twice. Cover with plastic wrap again and let it stand 15 min. Sprinkle the surface with flour again and shape dough into ball. Coat a kitchen cloth with flour and place dough on cloth Dust bread and add second cloth and let rise for 1 1\2 to 2 hours. After an hour and a half, preheat oven to 500. After the bread is done rising, place the dough into a dutch oven (le creuset works best), cover and bake for 30 min. Uncover and bake 30 more minutes. Cool on wire rack.

HERB BAKED FIGS WITH BURRATA AND A BALSAMIC REDUCTION

Figs, in my mind, could've been the forbidden fruit.  They have an overripe earthiness with no comparison in nature.  From the outside, they're these mysterious, dark and squishy lumps.  You squeeze them, and they have the consistency of  a nerf ball.  So you pluck on and rip it opened.  Nope.  Fooled again! It's not even halfway to ripe.  This has happened to me in my parent's backyard innumerable times. I give up, fig! You win.  When the figs start hitting the ground, then I'll take my chances. At their peak, figs are earthy and mildly sweet, and delicious to eat alone or with a little honey.  But to bring out that sweetness, and up the juiciness, I like to bake mine over herbs.  These can be eaten as a dessert with some whipped cream, or as I have them in part of a cheese course.  Either way, they're fabulous.

Ingredients:

10 ripe figs, halved

1 bunch rosemary

1 bunch thyme

1 bunch sage

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper

2 balls burrata cheese

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  In a casserole dish scatter the herbs on the bottom.  Place the figs on top of the herbs, face side up.  Drizzle the whole thing with a little olive oil and pop in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the figs a plump and juicy.  While the figs cook, bring the balsamic to a simmer in a small sauce pan and reduce to about a 1/4 cup, or until syrupy and thick.  Set aside.  When the figs are finished, throw them on a plate with the burrata, and drizzle on the balsamic reduction with a little olive oil.  Sprinkle a little salt and pepper over the whole thing and enjoy!

THOMAS FAMILY BREAKFAST

Saturday morning breakfast is a tradition in the Thomas household, and it is entirely under my dad's supervision.  As I've mentioned before, his culinary purview is limited to french fries, grilling, and breakfast. His crispy hash browns are derivative of bubble and squeak, and the eggs are my creation, inspired by a family trip to Prague where we had sunny side up eggs with the bacon cooked right in.  The french toast my Auntie Ree's most acclaimed dish, and we all clamor for it whenever she visits. Why not wake up a little early this Saturday and surprise someone with a tray of the good stuff?  Enjoy!

Bohemian Eggs and Hash Browns:

Ingredients:

 4 large eggs

4 thin slices of pancetta

salt and pepper

olive oil

2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped

4 russet potatoes

3 cloves of garlic, minced

Directions:

Spear the potatoes with a fork a few times over the skin.  Pop the potatoes in the microwave and cook for 13 to 15 minutes, until the skin is pulling away and the potato is soft.  Grate the potato with the widest grate you have (if you don't have one wide enough, just finely chop the potato) and discard any large sheets of the skin.  Heat a large saucepan with about 1/4 cup olive oil and the garlic over a medium flame.  Add the potatoes and mix to combine, then press everything down, forming a sort of patty.  Salt and pepper them, then let the potatoes cook, untouched, for a few minutes, until just starting to get golden brown.  Flip the potatoes (as best as you can, it may fall apart a little), pat down and salt and pepper that side, and cook for a few minutes more until that side is golden brown.  Repeat this process until the potatoes are a deep golden brown and crunchy.  With the back  of your spatula, break the potatoes apart and stir around.  Done!  For the eggs, lightly oil a pan and cook the pancetta over medium heat until crunchy on one side.  Flip that pancetta and crack an egg over it.  Salt and pepper the egg and cook until the whites are no longer clear.  Sprinkle a little parsely over the egg and enjoy!

Auntie Ree's French Toast

Ingredients:

1 loaf brioche, cut into 1 inch slices

3 eggs

1 cup half and half

1 cup milk

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, grated

pinch of salt

butter, for greasing the pan

powdered sugar, for dusting

Day old brioche works best, as it soaks up the mixture more.  In a bowl whisk together the eggs, half and half, milk, spices, and salt.  Heat a saute pan over a medium flame and grease with a little butter.  Dunk the bread so that both sides are well coated (not totally drenched).  Cook in the pan until golden brown, flip, and cook until golden brown on that side.  Dust with a little powdered sugar.  Enjoy! 

CANNELLINI BEANS: ROASTED AND BLISTERED

Cannellini beans are the food world's pushover.  You want them  in a soup?  They'll accommodate you.  You want them creamed? Fine, but only because they've known you since high school. Roasted, Sauted, whatever you want, like an insecure kid trying to get in with the "cool crowd." They're easy, delicious, and get along with almost any ingredient. So here are two applications that I adore, and both of them take under 30 minutes to make.  The first dish, Roasted Chipotle Cannellini beans is inspired by a white bean and kale dish over at 101 Recipes. I made a few adjustments to suit my own palette, but the smoky, spicy, comfort food quality is still there.  In the second dish I crisp up the beans with garlic and rosemary, and add lemon zest at the end for some brightness.  Enjoy!

Roasted Chipotle Cannellini Beans with Spinach and Queso Contejo

Ingredients:

4 or 5 15 oz cans of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons of red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves, finely chopped
1 tablespoons adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers
2/3 cup spinach, de-stemmed and finely chopped
1/2 cup Cotija or Queso Fresco
1 1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425F degrees. Bring the olive oil, red pepper flakes, salt, and minced garlic up to heat over a medium flame for about a minute. Stir in the tomatoes and the fresh oregano and bring to a gentle simmer.  Off the heat, add theadobo sauce and taste.  I added a little too much the first time I made this, so beware, adobo is powerful stuff. Salt and pepper to taste, but go easy on the salt, because I find that canned beans can be a touch salty.  Add the beans and spinach, and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into a 9x13 baking pan and sprinkle with the cheese and breadcrumbs and bake in the top-third of the oven for roughly twenty-five minutes, or until it is browned and bubbly on top.  Enjoy!

Blistered Cannellini Beans:

Ingredients:

3 15 oz cans of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tablespoon of rosemary, finely chopped

1 teaspoon chili flakes

about 3 tablespoons of olive oil

salt and pepper

Zest of one lemon

Directions:

Ok, this is super fast and easy.  Add the garlic and chili to the oil over a medium flame.  Once it starts crackling a little add the rosemary and stir for about 10-15 seconds, careful to not burn the garlic.  Add the beans and gently stir to combine everything.  Bring the heat up a little, and let the beans sit, getting browned and crisp on the outside.  Add salt and pepper to taste, stir, and let them rest for another minute.  Pour them onto a serving dish and sprinkle the zest over.  Enjoy!

HEIRLOOM TOMATO SALAD

Summer is all about simple, and you can't get more idiot-proof than this.  The trick is finding tomatoes at their peak of flavor and texture, and eating them as quickly as possible after they've been plucked from the vine.  The longer you wait, the more the sugar, as well as flavor and texture, breaks down. So hurry! The tomato's biological clock is ticking!

Ingredients:

4 awesome heirloom tomatoes (choose a variety for a difference in flavor and color)

Salt

Pepper

Olive oil

Balsamic

Directions:

Slice the tomatoes about a 1/4 inch thick and arrange on a plate.  Sprinkle with salt and fresh cracked pepper and serve with balsamic and olive oil.  Enjoy the pure, sweet flavor of summer's bounty.

 

GARLIC AND ROSEMARY INFUSED POTATO CHIPS

My dad is a frying aficionado, resulting in my mother and I being spoiled by late night french fry feasts while watching TV on her bed.  Well, I've decided to give my dad a break, and fry up my own.  The only trick to these is using a mandoline, because unless you're a freakish savant who can freehand perfect circles and slice wafer thin potatos, you will need one.  The rosemary and garlic imparts a subtle earthiness and spice to the chips, so they only need to be adorned with a bit of salt.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3 yukon gold potatoes

3 sprigs fresh rosemary

8 cloves of garlic, sliced in half

About 2 quarts of vegetable oil

Directions:

Pour the oil in a heavy pot, and put on medium high heat.  Add the garlic and rosemary.  Keep an eye on the oil, because once the garlic is a caramel brown, you need to discard it and the rosemary (nobody likes burnt garlic flavor).  While the oil heats, slice the potatoes on the thinnest setting on the mandoline.  You should be able to kind of see through the potatoes.  When the oil has reached about 350 degrees, toss in a potato slice.  It should brown and cook in about 20-30 seconds.  Carefully toss the potato slices in and stir to make sure they don't clump.  Once cooked, transfer with a slotted spoon to a dish lined with paper towels.  Scatter salt over them and serve with fried garlic and rosemary.

FRESHEST FISH TACOS WITH GREEN RICE AND CORN SALSA

Ah, the open sea. You wouldn't know it by looking at me, but I am quite the salty sea wench. I have been to Troutdale (a pond in Malibu heavily stocked with hungry trout) at least twice, and pretended to be Ariel for the first 8 years of my life...so I know a thing or two about the ocean.

When my friend Melissa invited me to the fabulous Edible LA fishing trip, I had to ask her "Pretend fishing trip or fishing fishing trip?" Exhibited by their insatiable appetite for costume parties, I have noticed that angelenos love pretending to be and do things.  I think it has to do with the movie industry being here for 93 years, but we all hunt for our moments of magic, even if it is as constructed as a back-lot set.  Friends from out of town will visit on halloween and be blown away by our enthusiasm.  "What is this??" they cry, confused.  They come from dark, sad places, where costumes are reserved for children under the age of 8, who knock on a few doors and wander home with a handful of candy. Pathetic.  Anyway, I digress.

It was a fishing fishing trip and our prey was the menacing Barracuda. I hooked two, but both were eaten by a fat, greedy sea lion, so Melissa graciously gave me hers to mess around with.  I asked a chef on the boat, the charming Adam Cole (formerly of Bazar) what he suggested I do with it. "Salt, pepper, and grill it. This is the freshest fish you will ever eat, so enjoy it." Two steps and only one ingredient?  What could I do to complicate and embellish matters? Fish tacos, would be the answer. The barracuda was extraordinarily flaky and perfect in the tacos.  I found their flavor to be buttery and a little nutty actually, the perfect compliment to spicy and sweet corn salsa and the herbaceous rice.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

12 corn tortillas

2 barracuda fillets (or whatever's freshest) 

Olive oil

3 ears white corn

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1/3 red onion, finely chopped

1 small jalapeno

2 lemons, juiced

2 teaspoons Pico Pica Sauce

For the rice:

3 cups basmanti rice

1/2 bunch parsley

1/2 bunch mint

1/2 bunch cilantro

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper

plus, my simple salsa on top

Directions:

Starting with the rice, put all of the herbs in a food processor with 4 cups of water and blend.  Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pot and add the garlic.  Add the rice and stir around, toasting it for a minute or two.  Add the liquid mixture plus a pinch of salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, then let simmer for about 20 minutes.  Fluff and salt and pepper to taste.

Heat the grill to high.  Rub the corn with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Grill on all sides until evenly toasted. Slice the kernels off and put in a bowl with the cilantro, lemon juice, onion, and pico pica.  Toss and allow to marinate a little.  Roast the jalapeno over an open flame, and finely chop.  Add to the corn mixture and you've got you're salsa. Rub the fish fillets with salt, pepper, and olive oil.  Grill until just cooked through.  Meanwhile, toss the tortillas onto the grill, just until they have a little color. The fish is very delicate, so use a spatula to get it off the grill. Flake the fish and assemble your tacos. Enjoy!

GRILLED ARTICHOKES WITH GARLIC AND LEMON AIOLI

For the first job of my adult life I had to don an all black power suit and slick my hair into a tight bun. No, I wasn't a back up guitarist in a Robert Palmer music video. I was a hostess. I had a name tag, I came home smelling like hickory smoke every night, had to tell gentleman that they had to remove their hats if they sat down, even though we were blocks from the beach, and I would actually jar awake in the middle of the night, having dreamt that all of the table numbers had been switched and I had to memorize them again. Like sharks, we would die (or be killed, rather) if we stopped moving. And God help me if I lost one of my pens. We were given three at orientation, and cut off there. But, they did have delicious food, and this dish was one of my favorite things they had to offer. It does take a little prepping, but these artichokes are perfect as an appetizer before dinner for a big barbeque or outdoor dinner party. So put in the effort and try them out. They're smoky, savory, and perfectly complimented by the bright lemon and garlic in the aioli. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

4 artichokes

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

For the Aoili:

1/2 cup Mayonaisse

2 tablespoons Whole Grain Mustard

1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Prep the artichokes by chopping off the top quarter and snipping the tops off all of the leaves. This makes it easier to eat them, and they look better too. Peel the stems down. Slice the artichokes in half and remove the fuzzy interior with a melon baller or spoon. Boil the artichokes in salted water for 15-25 minutes (depending on size), and cool in an ice bath. Set the grill to high heat. Drizzle the artichokes with olive oil, salt, and pepper and grill for a minute or two, or until covered in dark grill marks. Flip and grill for another minute. Set aside.

For the aioli, mix together all of the ingredients in a small bowl, and salt and pepper to taste.

To eat, rip off a leaf (or petal?) dip it in the aioli, and Enjoy!

ROASTED EGGPLANT WITH GREMOLATA BREADCRUMBS

Who knew my mom's weakness was this eggplant? She practically coos when she sees me bust open the mandoline, which is a refreshing response, as the men in my life look upon eggplant with confusion and disdain. "It's the texture!" "It's the flavor!" "How does this resemble an egg?" Oh, shut up all of you. The texture is tender, the flavor is basically a blank palette, and the name has origins from the middle ages and Europe's trade with the east.  They were apparently known as "mad apples" because they were believed to make you insane and tomatoes were believed to be poisonous, so the fact that eggplant parmesan happened at all is a miracle. Either way, some brave individual, or more likely a starving caravan-riding 14th century Italian (I'm looking at you, Marco Polo!) took a bite and thought, "Ey! Thees ees not a-poisonous! Thees ees deeleeshus!" Or, you know, something to that effect.  And right he was, that Italian explorer.  Roasted tender with the edges slightly crisp and covered in bright and spicy gremolata breadcrumbs, this eggplant makes an excellent side (especially with lamb!) or a perfect hors deuvres rolled up.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 large eggplants (or 4 smaller ones)

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 cup fresh toasted breadcrumbs

small handful flat leaf parsley, plus more for garnish

small handful mint

3 cloves of garlic

2 oz Parmiggiano

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Very thinly slice the eggplants. I use a mandolin for ease and consistency.  You want each slice to be about a 1/4 inch thick or under. Lay the slices on a baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.  Pop in the oven for 5 minutes, or until softened and brown along the edges.  Remove from the oven and flip, sprinkling with salt and pepper and olive oil, and return to the oven for 3 minutes.  While the eggplant is cooking, add the breadcrumbs, lemon zest, parsley, mint, garlic, and parmiggiano.  Pulse until well combined and the parm has become small crumbs.  Flip the eggplant again (it should be very soft) and sprinkle with the breadcrumbs.  You can choose to roll them up to serve hors doeuvres style, or leave them open to serve as a side.  Cook for 5 minutes.  Serve warm.  Enjoy!

POACHED EGGS OVER MARKET VEGETABLES WITH PESTO AND BREASCRUMBS

This has got to be my favorite breakfast. And lunch. And item on the menu at Huckleberry. It basically combines everything at the peak of its ripeness and flavor, plops a poached egg on top, and adds some texture with breadcrumbs and pesto. In my version I used white corn, sugar snap peas, cherry tomatoes, and squash blossoms, creating a delicious harmony of summer sweetness. The best part is that it takes only 10 minutes to make. enjoy!




Ingredients:

1 ear white corn,

4 oz sugar snap peas, tips removed and cut in half

4 oz cherry tomatoes

handful of squash blossoms, cleaned and ripped into strips

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup packed basil leaves

1/4 cup walnuts

2 tablespoons parmaggiano

3 cloves of garlic

1/2 cup olive oil

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon vinegar

1 slice baguette, toasted

Directions:

Fill a saucepan 3 inches deep with water and the vinegar, and bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to a simmer.  In a food processor, blitz the toast until it's fine crumbs.  Set aside.  Put the basil, walnuts, parm, garlic, and olive oil.  The pesto should drip off of a spoon.  If it's on the chunky side, add more oil.  Set aside.  In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and add the peas, corn, and tomatoes and a pinch of salt.  Cover and let the vegetables saute for a few minutes, or until the corn is cooked, the peas are bright green, and the tomatoes look a bit blistered. While the vegetables are cooking, poach the eggs.  Crack one egg into a small bowl and then stir the water in the saucepan. The trick is to stir a spoon in the water to create a sort of whirlpool. Plop the egg in.  Let the egg cook for 3 minutes, then transfer (a slotted spoon works best) to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking, or, if you're ready to eat that very second, transfer the egg to a slice of untoasted bread to soak up the excess water, and then transfer to your plate.  Scoop the vegetables onto your plate, add the egg, sprinkle some breadcrumbs, and drizzle over the pesto.  Enjoy!