Warm out of the oven, they are little wedges of heaven. The next day you can pop them in the toaster to imitate that fresh-baked feeling. Either way they are great for brunch, tea, or in lieu of biscuits with a fried chicken dinner. I was on the verge of adding crispy bacon to the mix, so if that floats your boat, don’t let me stop you.

The key to flaky scones is to leave the butter pieces reasonably large so they melt and bubble and create little air pockets in the scones during the baking process. I like to mix this up with my fingers so I can feel the butter pieces, but you can use a pastry blender if you prefer. The ideal size and shape is either little balls, like small lentils, or flat pieces about the size and shape of cornflakes.

Recipe: Buttery Cheddar and Scallion Scones
makes 8 scones

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1/2 cup butter, cold and cut into small cubes
• 6 green onions, trimmed and finely chopped, white and light green parts only
• 1 cup medium or sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tblsp half and half or heavy cream

METHOD:

• Preheat oven to 400F and prepare a baking sheet with parchment or a silpat.
• Sift together flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and cayenne.
• Add butter and use your fingers or a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour mixture until the butter pieces are the size of small lentils. There can also be flat pieces of butter about the shape and size of a cornflake.
• Add cheese and green onion and mix to combine. Stir in 1/2 cup of half and half or cream just until dough comes together. If it’s too dry, add a little more.
• Move dough to a floured surface and fold over on itself just once or twice to totally combine. Pat into a circle about 7 or 8 inches in diameter. Cut into 8 wedges. Transfer to baking sheet, leaving about 1/2 inch between each scone.
• Brush top of each scone with remaining 2 Tblsp cream. Sprinkle with coarse salt and additional cayenne pepper (optional.)
• Bake 20 minutes, until golden brown on the bottom and top. Serve warm.

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Curds need a lot of acid, which is why you only see citrus-based curds like lemon or orange or grapefruit, and never apple or banana or strawberry. This is definitely not health food–it’s essentially a buttery, yolky, sugary suspension flavored with citrus juice and zest. You know, like hollandaise sauce or aioli, but sweet. I learned to make curd in a double boiler, but I’m lazy and 8 months pregnant and my giant belly keeps accidentally turning on the gas when I lean over the stove to stir, so I did not use a double boiler because it takes forever. Instead, I made it very carefully over low heat and then strained it through a fine mesh strainer. You can do that too, and you don’t even have to be pregnant. I should tell you that if you don’t strain it, a) you might get zest in your teeth, and b) more importantly, it might have little pieces of cooked egg in it, which in case you can’t figure out, would be extremely disgusting.

For the record, I hate hate hate the word “curd” – to my ears, it’s one of the least pleasant words in the English language. I know a lot of you are not fans of “moist” or “panties” or whatever, but for me “curd” rises to the top of my icky words list. Unfortunately, curds of all types are extremely delicious so for the time being I will just have to suck it up and try to embrace the curd for what it is and not what it’s called.

Recipe: Clementine Curd
Makes about 1 1/2 cups. You can substitute part oranges, blood oranges, tangerines, etc. for all or part of the clementines.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup butter, cut in pieces
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup clementine juice (I needed 10 but I think I am a wussy juicer)
• zest of 4 clementines
• pinch salt
• 3 egg yolks

METHOD:

• Put butter pieces, sugar, juice, zest, and salt in a heavy saucepan, like an enameled cast iron pot. Heat over low heat, stirring with a whisk, until butter is melted.
• Prepare a large metal bowl with ice and water and set aside.
• Put egg yolks in a bowl. Ladle a little of the hot liquid over the yolks to temper them and whisk. Add yolk mixture back to the pot.
• Whisk constantly over low heat, about 15 minutes, until curd is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon heavily enough to leave a clean line when you run your finger through it. (It will thicken more as it cools.)
• Put pot into ice bath and continue whisking to cool. You don’t have to whisk constantly – just whisk well, wait a minute or two, whisk again, and repeat until cooled to room temperature and thickened.
• Pour into airtight containers or jars and refrigerate. This will keep for at least a week.

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You may or may not know that I am part Norwegian. Now if you’re not Scandinavian, you might not realize what a big deal it is for a Norwegian to make and enjoy something Finnish. My grandmother was one of the sweetest, warmest, kindest women in the world, but as a proud Norwegian, she really had it in for the Finns (even worse than the Danes or the Swedes.) So it speaks volumes that this is a cherished family recipe despite its, er, unlikely origins.

Sometimes people eat this and think it’s the same thing as a Dutch baby, but in fact, they are a little bit different, and I feel that the Finnish pancake is superior. Probably because it has more butter in it. A typical Dutch baby recipe asks that you mix a lesser amount of melted butter into the batter, while the Finnish pancake requires that you melt a bunch of butter in the cooking pan then add the batter on top, creating an end result that’s more butter-coated, with small rivulets and channels of butter along the entire surface. And yet, the Dutch baby gets all the love. In fact, Finnish pancakes don’t even have a Wikipedia page! Oh, the injustice. (Update: commenter Nicole points out they do have a Wikipedia page, under Pannukakku, but it’s admittedly pretty lame.)

According to my grandmother’s recipe, you are meant to serve this with fresh berries, and whipped cream. I also like maple syrup on the side. If I’m feeling energetic, I’ll make a simple raspberry red wine sauce (recipe below.) You can whip up some cream to go with it–if I have creme fraiche on hand, I add a few spoonfuls to give the cream a slight tang. But hey, it’s Christmas morning, and you’re probably tired from playing Santa, so a can of squirt whipped cream and a handful of mixed berries will work just as well! It’s all about the pancake, anyway.

Ideally you would make this in a cast-iron pan, but any large metal oven-proof frying pan will work. It doesn’t need to be non-stick, because of all the butter. If you don’t have either of those, you can make it in a casserole-type dish, but it won’t puff up quite as much. It will still be delicious, though.

Recipe: Finnish Pancake
serves 6

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 tablespoons butter (original recipe calls for twice that much, but I think 4 tablespoons is the right amount. If you really and truly love butter, like even more than I do, which hardly seems possible, you could go up to 6 tablespoons)
• 5 eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup flour

• Put butter into a heavy, oven-proof skillet and place into the oven. Turn oven to 400 degrees F.
• Beat eggs and sugar with a hand mixer until foamy.
• Add milk and flour and beat until smooth and frothy.
• Pour batter into melted butter in heated pan. Cook for about 25 minutes, until pancake pulls away from sides, rises, and browns on top.
• Serve warm with fruit and whipped cream.

Easy Raspberry Red Wine Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 small baskets fresh raspberries
• 1 cup red wine
• 3/4 cup sugar (more or less to taste)

METHOD:

• Before preparing the pancake, put all sauce ingredients in a small saucepan on the stove.
• Bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer. Simmer 30-40 minutes, while you prepare and bake the pancake.
• Just before taking the pancake out, remove from heat and put into a pitcher or bowl. Serve warm.

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I, for one, can barely register the actual Thanksgiving meal as I’m cooking and eating it, because I’m so focused on how much better everything will taste the next day. I made this chicken hash this weekend with (wait for it) leftover chicken- but I think it would be just as fabulous with leftover Thanksgiving turkey.

And if getting together with your relatives leans more Mommie Dearest than Leave it to Beaver, you could even prep all the vegetables for this dish while you’re making Thanksgiving dinner and put them in the fridge – so that even in a bleary-eyed morning-after state of tryptophan- and whiskey-induced torpor, you can throw this together with minimal effort.

This was inspired by the chicken hash at Bix. If you eat dinner there with someone who has eaten there before, at some point as you’re perusing the menu they will say something like “you should really try the chicken hash, it’s terrific” and you’ll be thinking, “Why would I eat that for dinner? Why am I even here? Is there more wine? Why is he drinking all the wine? I really think he is hogging the wine.” and so forth. But my point is, you will be skeptical about eating chicken hash for dinner. You will also be wrong. It’s fantastic. And the internet, amazingly, has still to this point managed not to produce a recipe for it. So this is an attempt at meeting its high standard of quality. Since it’s a “restaurant recipe” I made sure to add fattening dairy products in at the end. You know that’s their top secret trick, right?

Recipe: Chicken (or Turkey) Hash

If you make eggs to go with it, serves 6. If not, serves 4.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 Tblsp olive oil
• 1 large russet potato, peeled and grated
• 2 large or 3 small carrots, peeled and grated
• 2 stalks celery, strings removed and chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 2 1/2 cups cooked chicken or turkey meat, no skin, chopped in small pieces or shredded with your hands
• 2 Tblsp chopped fresh parsley (flat leaf or curly is fine)
• 8 scallions, chopped finely
• 2 Tblsp dijon mustard
• 3/4 cup half and half

METHOD:

•  Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick saute pan over high heat. Add potatoes, carrots, and celery and cook, stirring every few minutes, about 8-10 minutes, until vegetables are cooked through and beginning to brown.
• Add salt and pepper to taste, along with chili powder, paprika, and thyme. Add chicken, parsley and scallions. Cook another 3-5 minutes, until scallions are translucent and chicken or turkey is heated through.
• Using a fork or small whisk, combine mustard and half and half in a bowl. Pour into pan and turn heat to medium. Cook about 7-10 minutes, stirring, to reduce sauce and boil off the liquid, leaving a creamy hash.
• Top with fried or poached eggs if desired. Serve with hot sauce and lots of freshly cracked black pepper on the side.

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Duck fat is perhaps the finest fat there is, and in biscuits it really sings. I found a recipe (British, naturally) and did some adaptation and experimentation to get it just right. Since the original recipe called for milk, I substituted sheep’s milk yogurt which provides a little tang and is still fully allowable for those who can’t handle bovine products. You can serve these with tomato jam, some fresh honey, or just a big pat of butter.

Top tip: if you have leftover duck fat, cook a batch of popcorn in it- yummmm.

Duck Fat Biscuits with Chives
makes about 10-12 biscuits

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 4 ounces duck fat, frozen for 1 hour and cut in small pieces
• 1/4 cup chives, chopped finely
• 6 oz. sheep’s milk yogurt

METHOD:

• Preheat oven to 425 F.
• Put flour, baking powder, and salt in a food processor and pulse to mix. Add duck fat and pulse again until the mixture has pieces the size of lentils. Add chives and yogurt and pulse again a few times to form a dough. (Dough may be slightly sticky.)
• Transfer to a floured surface and knead dough to make it come together, but no more than 2-3 times.
• Use your hands to pat the dough into a 1/2 inch thick shape. Cut with a cookie cutter and transfer to a baking sheet. Press any remaining dough together and cut out more biscuits until dough is all used up.
• Bake about 12-15 minutes, until biscuits have puffed and turned golden. Serve warm.

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The weird thing is you can make really terrific granola with no oil, so it’s unclear to me how that practice got to be so commonplace. You do need something sweet, or else you just have some dried-out oats, so let’s not be crazy here. But you actually don’t need very much sweet stuff to make good granola. Also, making it yourself is really cheap, especially if you’re like me and you use it as a way to clean out the hodgepodge collection of nut remnants that lurks in your freezer. (Or am I the only one who has miniscule amounts of 15+ different kinds of nuts leftover from other projects?)

This is more of a how-to than a recipe, because you should be allowed to put whatever you like in your granola. I mean, it’s a free country so if you hate raisins then by god you shouldn’t have to wake up to them. This is a basic formula I use that can be adapted depending on which types of dried fruits, nuts, and seasonings you like. Compared to store-bought granola, this version is a lot cheaper, it’s a lot less caloric, and it tastes better because you can make it just how you like it.

Oil-Free Granola Made Exactly to your Liking
makes about 7-8 cups

INGREDIENTS:

• 5 cups rolled oats
• about 1 1/2 cups dried fruit, raisins, etc. of your choice (I used a medley of dried cherries, dried apricots, dried bananas, and dried mango)
• about 1/2 cup chopped or sliced nuts or seeds of your choice (I used sliced almonds)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (could substitute date sugar, white sugar, raw sugar, your choice)
• 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
• 1 tsp vanilla (more or less as you like it)
• big pinch of salt
• 1-2 tsp cinnamon or other spice of your choice (powdered ginger, pinch of cloves, allspice, etc.)
• optional: handful of flax seeds, dried coconut, sunflower or pumpkin seeds, etc.

METHOD:

• Preheat oven to 275 F. Prepare a half sheet pan or other cookie sheet with sides with a piece of parchment or foil. Spray with cooking spray or brush lightly with oil. (If you are super anti-oil you can skip this without too much harm, but it does help it prevent sticking.)
• In the microwave or on the stovetop, heat the brown sugar and maple syrup or honey with 1/4 cup of water until the sugar is melted and combined. Add salt and any seasonings like vanilla or spices to the mixture and stir to combine.
• Toss the sugar mixture with the oats to coat well. Add the nuts, seeds, and dried fruits and toss again.
• Pour onto prepared pan and flatten into an even layer. Bake 15 minutes at a time, stirring well in between. After 45 minutes, test a few oats to see if they are crunchy. When oats are crunchy, remove from the oven. Total cooking time should be about 1 hour.
• Let cool to room temperature, tossing occasionally during cooling process. Store in an airtight container.

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Originally conceived as an appetizer, I’ve found that tuna confit can be appropriately served and enjoyed nearly any time of the day. You can eat this in place of your usual lunchtime sandwich, or for a luxurious breakfast. My husband particularly likes to eat this for a hearty weekend brunch, topped with a runny fried egg and some chili flakes.

Tuna Confit on Avocado Toast

serves 4 as an appetizer; 2 as a main dish

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound fresh tuna, cut in chunks
• 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp olive oil, divided
• zest of 1 lemon
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
• 1 Tblsp Dijon mustard (smooth or grainy is fine)
• 1 Tbsp sherry vinegar (can substitute white wine or champagne vinegar)
• leaves from 8 sprigs thyme, chopped (can substitute another fresh herb if you like)
• 2 tsp capers, rinsed
• salt and pepper to taste
• 6 slices crusty bread of your choice (if serving as an appetizer – use smaller pieces or cut them in halves or thirds again)
• half of a soft avocado

Method:

• Place tuna, 1/2 cup olive oil, lemon zest, and garlic in a small bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste and mix well. Try to cover the tuna with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap on top of the tuna. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours, for up to 24 hours.
• About 40 minutes before serving, put the tuna mixture into a saute pan and cook for about 5 minutes on medium low, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat and let sit 20-30 minutes.
• Remove tuna from oil and mash well with a fork. Add mustard, vinegar, remaining Tbsp olive oil, herbs, capers, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Toast bread in the oven, on the grill, or in the toaster. Smear a dollop of avocado on each piece of toast. Top with tuna mixture. Serve immediately.

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You get to enjoy the fresh asparagus, fava beans, and ramps two ways in this super spring tart: in a pesto that makes the base, and as whole pieces scattered on top. Topped with a few shallots and a smattering of fromage blanc on a puff pastry crust, you have the perfect dish to serve at brunch, as an appetizer, or as a light dinner. Drizzle it with a little truffle oil and you’ll put it over the top. If you serve it at brunch time, you can top each square with a fried egg. Any way you serve it, this tart will be a hit!

Of course, in other seasons, you could use the same basic premise and employ the bounty of {insert season here.} Feel free to be creative! If you can’t find ramps, you can try substituting a few scallions plus a clove of garlic.

Fromage blanc is a lovely cheese that stands up really well in the oven, but if you can’t find it or don’t like it, you could substitute goat cheese, feta, or, for a very different taste, crumbles of blue cheese.

If you’ve never worked with fresh fava beans, and you want more details, you can read this post–although, I’ve become much less of a fava wimp since then.

Spring Tart with Favas, Asparagus, Ramps, and Fromage Blanc

serves 6

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lb fresh fava beans in their pods
• 1 bunch asparagus (about 15 medium stalks)
• 1 small bunch ramps, trimmed and roughly chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 Tblsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup parmesan
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 shallots, sliced thinly
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup fromage blanc
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Remove the fava beans from their pods. Boil a salted pot of water and cook the favas for about 2-3 minutes, until their secondary shell starts to come apart at the edges. Drain and rinse in cool water. Remove the peels and discard.
• Trim the asparagus spears, then cut them into 1 inch pieces. Reserve the flowery top sections and set aside. Boil a salted pot of water and cook the asparagus bottoms in the pot for 3-4 minutes, until tender. Drain and rinse with cold water.
• Put about half the fava beans, the cooked asparagus bottoms, and half the ramps in the food processor and pulse to chop finely. Add olive oil, parmesan, lemon juice, and salt to taste. Continue processing until you have a pesto-like consistency.
• Roll out the puff pastry on a silpat or piece of lightly oiled parchment paper, to a rectangle the size and shape of a half sheet pan. Roll the edges of the puff pastry inward to create a small edge.
• Spread the pesto evenly across the puff pastry with a spatula. Distribute the reserved fava beans, uncooked asparagus tops, and ramps on top of the pesto. Add the shallot slices. Crumble the fromage blanc over the top with your hands.
• Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the puff pastry is cooked through and lightly browned. Let sit for about five minutes, then cut and serve at the table with a drizzle of truffle oil, if desired.

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The only thing that’s more fun than one kind of cheese souffle on a Wednesday afternoon is TWO kinds of cheese souffle on a Wednesday afternoon. Souffle number one: Sharp cheddar accented with Dijon mustard and lots of cracked black pepper. This is terrific paired with a simple salad, like pea shoots or microgreens tossed with a bit of lemon juice and oil.

Souffle number deux: Gorgonzola souffle with a light honey drizzle. Have you ever had a cheese plate with a pungent blue cheese and some honey on the side? It’s a fantastic combination that inspired this souffle. For a double dose of decadence, you can serve it with a pile of thinly sliced salami.

Souffles are one of those things that people are afraid to make, because they think something will go wrong. Here is a secret: as long as you know how to whip and fold egg whites, a souffle is no magical feat! You, too, can make them in a snap. It’s true, they should be served fresh out of the oven or they will fall. But you can have every bit prepared and in the fridge, and the dishes floured and ready to go, hours before it’s time to do the whipped egg white part. Since these cook for about 35 minutes, you can pull them off for a dinner party without too much fuss. Adding sour cream makes them a little lighter and a little custardy all at the same time. You can use lowfat sour cream in the souffle if you like; it won’t really affect the final product.

So, after the taste test–who is the winner? Me. Definitely me.

Gorgonzola Souffles with Honey Drizzle

makes 10-12 individual souffles

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup flour (plus more for dusting the molds)
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 6 eggs
• 6 oz Gorgonzola cheese, rind removed, crumbled (can substitute another kind of blue cheese)
• large pinch cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Butter (or Pam) and flour 10-12 small ramekins. Put on a baking sheet.
• Separate eggs.
• Combine 1/2 cup flour with sour cream and mix with a hand mixer or stand mixer with whisk attachment until combined. Add egg yolks one at a time, whipping after each addition. Add cheese, cayenne pepper, and salt and mix to combine fully.
• In a separate bowl, whip egg whites with a whisk attachment until they make firm, shiny peaks.
• Fold cheese mixture and whites together gently, until no streaks remain. Gently fill ramekins to the top.
• Bake 30-35 minutes, until tops are golden brown and raised. Remove from oven and serve immediately with a drizzle of honey on top or on the side.

Sharp Cheddar and Dijon Souffles

makes 10-12 individual souffles

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup flour (plus more for dusting the molds)
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 6 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 Tblsp Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp salt
• about 20 grinds of a pepper grinder

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Butter (or Pam) and flour 10-12 small ramekins. Put on a baking sheet.
• Separate eggs.
• Combine 1/2 cup flour with sour cream and mix with a hand mixer or stand mixer with whisk attachment until combined. Add egg yolks one at a time, whipping after each addition. Add cheese, Dijon mustard, salt, and cracked pepper and mix to combine fully.
• In a separate bowl, whip egg whites with a whisk attachment until they make firm, shiny peaks.
• Fold cheese mixture and whites together gently, until no streaks remain. Gently fill ramekins to the top.
• Bake 30-35 minutes, until tops are golden brown and raised. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

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A little research and some experimentation led to this recipe. Typically chilaquiles verdes are made with chicken, but I prefer chorizo. For those who requested it, I fried an egg and laid it on top of their plates.

I am extremely lucky to live nearby some wonderful Mexican grocery stores, so it was easy for me to find everything I needed. (SF locals: In case you are curious, all of the ingredients were purchased at La Palma Mexicatessen and Casa Lucas.) I am, however, not lucky because it took me about 20 minutes to find a parking place near these great stores on a Sunday morning. Normally I fry tortillas to use for chilaquiles, but since I was running late and since I had never seen these before, I had to buy them!

They translate to “little hard ones for chilaquiles”–a chip specially formulated to embody the structural integrity needed to withstand the bath of sauce, cheese, and meat. What will they think of next?? Also, is this where they got the name “Doritos”?

I think it might be. Some people claim that the word doritos means “little pieces of gold” because gold in Spanish is oro. I don’t agree. A closer match for “little golden things” would be doraditos as opposed to doritos. I posit that duritos is a closer match for doritos. Anyway, have you tasted Doritos lately? They are not as good as I remembered. In fact, they are pretty gross. I’m going to stick with chilaquiles and stop talking about Doritos.

Chilaquiles Verdes

serves 6

Ingredients:

• 3/4 lb. tortilla chips, duritos, or tortillas
• 1 1/2 lbs fresh tomatillos, husks removed and rinsed
• 1-2 jalapeños, stem and seeds removed (if you like spicy things, you can leave some seeds in)
• 3 large cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
• 3-4 scallions, white part and up to medium green part
• 1 lb. Mexican chorizo
• 1 cup crumbled cotija or queso fresco cheese
• scallions and cilantro for garnish

Method:

• If making your own chips: cut tortillas into chip-sized wedges. Heat about 1 inch of oil in a large saute pan. Fry chips in batches until golden on both sides, removing to drain on paper towels.
• Meanwhile, place whole tomatillos, jalapeños, and garlic cloves in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook 5-7  minutes, until tomatillos are turning brown and vegetables are soft.
• Put tomatillos, jalapeños, and garlic cloves in a blender or food processor with a cup of the hot liquid, the cilantro, scallions, and a large pinch of salt. Blend until smooth and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350.
• Remove chorizo’s outer skin and break into pieces with your hands into a saute pan. Cook chorizo, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until browned.
• Pour a thin layer of sauce into a non-metal (ceramic or glass) 9×13 baking dish. Add a third of the chips and spread them out. Pour more sauce over, then sprinkle with one quarter of the cheese. Add half the chorizo and spread it on top.
• Add another third of chips, more sauce, more cheese, and the remaining chorizo. Add the remaining chips, then cheese, sauce, and top with cheese. By this point you should have used most or all of the sauce.
• Bake for about 20 minutes, until cheese is just starting to get a little brown. Garnish with chopped scallions and cilantro. Serve with refried beans, avocadoes, and Mexican crema or sour cream.

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