A Somewhat Belated "Happy New Year" from the Guerilla Kitchen

Hello and Happy 2012 to you all! I'm a little late to the party, I know, but better late than never, I hope. (And it's still 2012, after all.) I hope you had a festive holiday season with friends and family, and that you watched A Charlie Brown Christmas at least as many times as I did. (Four).

As for many of you, the holidays were a busy, yet enjoyable time for Brady and myself.

Allie and I traditionally spend Christmas Eve with our Dad, Vince, the zany-looking fellow you see here. Naturally Allie's manfriend Sebastian is the guy taking the picture.

Some of these packages contained fun, fabulous new kitchen gadgets for the GK. Like a hand mixer! No more creaming butter and sugar by hand for THIS lady!

New Year's was spent in Boston with our dear family friend Kathy, who has been gracious enough to host us in all or multitudes (Allie, Sebastian, Brady, Dad and myself) for four straight years now. Between all the visiting, gifting and eating, we've been fairly booked solid until just recently, but we wouldn't have it any other way. Though we are still on the Cape with my family for the time being, we will be heading back to western MA within a week, so we are enjoying the best of the place while we can.

We've taken some great walks through woods, marshes and colonial cemeteries. 

Cape Cod is lovely in the winter, don't be fooled by its summer-only reputation.

Obviously, "the best of Cape Cod" involves seafood, so expect some fresh food posts for the brand new year! Coming soon: fish tacos (probably beer battered), Amy Sedaris' killer pastitsio (not seafood but still fab), and basically anything that I can cook in my extremely glamorous new lidded three-ply aluminum Le Creuset saute pan. And as always, I'm open to requests and suggestions, so have at it!

All photo credit for this post goes to my very talented future brother-in-law, Sebastian Ebarb of Sebastian Ebarb Design.

White Bean & Andouille Sausage Stew from the Crock Pot

So, to get it out of the way (and, okay, because I'm really happy about it) I would like to share with you all that I've finished my master's degree! I am a Master of Science! What a world. And, since the next big steps for me are moving back to MA to be with Brady in two weeks and starting the hunt for my first real job in the New Year, for the sake of my short-term sanity I've chosen to focus on the Holidays with my family and on all the delicious things I can cook before that "What next?" moment comes. 

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When I was a kid, I didn't like a lot of food. I know how unlikely that now seems, but for a while there around ages 8-10, one of the only things my Mom could make that I would always eat happily was her soup made with kale, sausage (maybe kielbasa?), and other delicious things that I have since forgotten. In a sense, I think the details of the recipe are less important than how gleeful I felt when I ate it, and how she enjoyed making something that I loved so much.

This recipe is a variation on a theme: I added white beans and tomatoes and swapped the kale for other veggies, but the substantial texture and subtle spiciness of the sausage remains. Of course, you could easily add chopped kale or collard greens in the last 30 minutes or so of cooking, but I am myself just coming off a bit of a kale binge (is that even a thing?) so I decided to go a slightly different route.

It is SUPER HARD to photograph steamy food.

Ingredients:
About 1/4 lb. Andouille (or other smoked) sausage links, halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise
1/4 cup dry white beans, sorted, rinsed and soaked overnight, or 1 15 oz. can prepared white beans
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes, with or without green chiles
1 (above) can of water (if you are using dry beans, add another 1/2 can)
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, smashed
1 tablespoon mixed dry Italian herbs
1 bay leaf (optional)
1 dried chili pepper (optional)
Salt and pepper, to taste


[Written for a 2 qt. crock pot]


Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in crock pot and cook on "low" for about 4-6 hours if you used prepared beans (more like 8-10 if you're using dry-soaked beans), or on "high" for about 4 (or more like 6 if, you guessed it, you're using dry beans), or some combination of high and low until beans and veggies are tender. The exact time will depend on your machine.
2. If necessary, remove the lid for the final hour or so of cooking to reduce liquids.
3. Remove bay leaf and serve with butter and a good crusty bread. (If you're looking for a super no-knead, healthy, rustic bread recipe to make with your soup, check this out).

The great thing about smoked sausage (besides the fact that it is sausage, and that it is smoked) is that since its fully cooked, you just need to be sure it is well-heated and it's ready to go. But better still, when you slow cook smoked sausage like this, it lends such great flavor to your soup without a ton of different seasonings. Win-win. As a different twist, you could use chorizo, the "with green chiles" tomato option, serve topped with fresh cilantro and some shredded cheese, and if you happen to have some corn chips on hand, you've made grown-up taco soup.

Maybe it is my imagination, but it seems to me that while I've been living alone (and especially now that it is winter) my posts have been mainly about easy, comforting food. In so doing, I hope I haven't strayed too far from the other part of my mission, of cooking and writing about healthy food. But, GK is also about my life, which heaven knows is a moving target. It's sort of crazy to me that I've been sharing my kitchen exploits with you all for the majority of my life as a graduate student. I guess the moral of the story is, life is short. Way too short not to eat well.

Thanksgiving Essentials: Honey-Sweetened Cranberry Sauce and Maple-Whipped Sweet Potatoes

Hello readers! So, I know it's been a while, but this weekend I find myself in western MA with Brady  - which means a real kitchen with all my gadgets and an actual food audience - so it it seemed like a good time to jump on the holiday bandwagon. This was very fortunate timing for Brady, as his MAT colleagues had a lovely Thanksgiving potluck shindig this weekend as well. I would like to think that I did him a favor cooking two things for us to bring, but I've missed cooking for people other than myself, so I can't act like it was some huge hardship.

And also.. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for the complete lack of photos in this post, but those of you who have ever tried to cook something and bring it to a party still warm can relate: those last few minutes getting out the door are a bit nuts. So you will just have to believe me when I tell you that the sauce and the potatoes were both colorful and lovely. Or better yet - make them yourself if you don't believe me!

Cranberry Sauce (Vegan)

I am not ashamed to admit that usually, can-shaped cranberry sauce is my preference. I love the stuff. But, when arriving at somebody's house for a party, I thought cranberry jell-o might be considered a bit.. gauche. So, here is a simple recipe that is cool, refreshing, festive, and a great relish compliment to all those rich holiday sides. This makes a rather large batch, since I was serving about 12 people, but can be easily halved:

Ingredients
2 12-oz bags fresh cranberries
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup 100% orange (pulp is ok), cranberry juice (not cocktail), or tangerine juice
1 tsp grated orange or tangerine zest
3/4 cup honey

Autumnal spices - ground cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, allspice, etc (optional)

Directions
1. In a medium-to-large saucepan, combine water, zest and honey, and bring to a boil.
2. Rise cranberries, picking out any shriveled or ugly-looking berries, and add once liquid is boiling. Bring back to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook uncovered for about 10 minutes. (You can also add a dash of cinnamon or nutmeg, or a pinch of ground clove or allspice at this step, if you want to).
3. Remove from heat and cool fully at room-temperature, then refrigerate for up to one week. (Sauce will thicken as it cools).

The orange adds a more mellow citrus flavor to the tart cranberries, and with the honey it is a nice balance of tart and (barely) sweet. I had tangerines on hand, so I used the juice and zest from one in place of the orange, which worked out great. And of course, I certainly feel better about using honey than a refined white sugar. If you can be convinced to deviate from the can-shaped variety, I recommend it!

Sweet Potatoes (Vegetarian)

This recipe comes from Martha Stewart's impossibly-perfect-yet-so-elegantly-simple recipe for Maple-Whipped Sweet Potatoes, which calls for oven-roasted potato flesh and a few staple additions to make some seriously beautiful potatoes with minimal effort. Again, this is a pretty big batch, but close to all of it was eaten by 12 people:

Ingredients
7-8 medium sweet potatoes
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions
1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Prick sweet potatoes all over with a fork; about 6-8 times each.
2. On a rimmed baking sheet, bake potatoes until very tender when stabbed with a fork, about 1 hour. When cool enough to handle, halve the potatoes lengthwise, and scoop out the flesh, discarding the skins.
3. Transfer potato flesh to a food processor, add butter and syrup, and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, and serve warm.
4. (Or, if you're in a party-travel situation, transfer sweet potatoes to a large covered baking dish, cover with aluminum foil, wrap in clean cotton dish cloths, and hope they stay mostly-warm through the 20 minute drive to the party. If needed, you can always reheat them, uncovered, later on).

These were super, super tasty, and got lots of compliments. And it's not exactly quick, but definitely easy, and surprisingly light in texture. I did end up reheating them quickly when we arrived, but that's more because we got lost on the way than anything else. They were keeping my lap quite toasty until that third wrong turn...


We had a great evening with some great people, and as potlucks go it was exceptionally "lucky" - everybody brought something delicious that they had made, the hostess roasted a beautiful turkey, and a good time was had by all. Enough to make you thankful to know good people, even if you don't know them all that well. Thanksgiving success.

A Farewell to Crocktober

Hello readers!

How quickly Crocktober seems to have flown by - at least for me. It's been a lot of fun, and I hope some of my recipes will bring you some cozy crock pot joy this fall and winter.

And speaking of winter...

Some of you may remember that I promised you all a crock pot recipe for spiced apple cider before the end of the month. Well, nature had a different plan, and while I was visiting Brady in MA this weekend we got nearly a foot of snow overnight and lost power for over 24 hours. Clearly we survived, but the storm put a pretty big wrench in my cooking plans for the weekend, so the cider will have to wait. I'm also working on a fig preserve, goat cheese and caramelized onion pizza that will be popping up on GK around the time of my next visit to MA, less than two weeks from now. So good things come to those who wait.

This post is also a bit of a disclaimer. As many of you know, I am THISCLOSE to finishing my Master's Degree at Drexel University. The last month or two will be fully hectic while meeting all my thesis requirements, so while I hope to provide the occasionally entertaining-and-possibly-enlightening post, they will surely be much less frequent until after the New Year. So bear with me, keep your ideas coming, and keep your fingers crossed for me!

Genevieve

The Next Chapter of Guerilla Kitchen

Hello readers! As most of you probably know, Brady will be earning his MAT at UMass Amherst (yay!) starting in September. Alas my graduate program here at Drexel doesn't end until December, but it's not all sads. Next weekend we will be embarking on a grand adventure, moving all of his stuff and 75% of mine to Sunderland, Massachusetts, where I will be joining him after the Holidays. This is great news for me in lots of ways. The area is bursting with arts organizations, which will hopefully translate into a job for yours truly, and as a really sweet bonus we will be only a few hours from both our families. (Also, I'm not built for city living, I'll be honest. I'd happily sacrifice a few spare CVS locations for stars at night and fresh air.) We are excited about the apartment, which we love, and for the next chapter of both our lives.

So what am I doing until December, you might be wondering. Well, for one thing, I am moving as well, to a studio apartment in the same building where we live now. The next week or so involves a lot of moving. After the 10-day-hiatus that I am taking from GK, I expect that the next stage will be a bit different, though I am not yet sure exactly how. How can I stay motivated to come up with new ideas when there is no one there to oooh and aaah about it, and just how often will thesis-writing mania and distraction cause me to get a sandwich for dinner from the amazing deli across the street? For those of you cooking for one, I hope GK will become a resource for you as I figure out just how to incorporate fresh, healthy, delicious and cost-effective food into a sole-proprietorship-type-menu. You know, when I'm not having popcorn, peanut butter and Pabst for dinner.