crispy delicata squash chips
SERVES 4 (BUT REALLY 1; DON'T KID YOURSELF)
ACTIVE TIME: 10 MINUTES
TOTAL TIME: 35 MINUTES
We all know that weirdo squash display that shows up every October in your grocery store produce area. To be honest, I truly thought most of these … gourds … were used for fall doorstep decor, or to bring a little "meh, looks good" to the center of your dinner table. But no!!! And I cannot stress the "no!!!" enough!
The weird-looking dinosaur-egg–looking squashes with the dots and lines make for an INCREDIBLE little squash chip. I know most people wouldn't use that word for something as boring-sounding as a squash chip, but let me tell you, I could not stop eating these. I mean, look, this entire book's creative process was basically Adeena and me making three to six recipes a day for months, then at the end we removed some recipes that just didn't fit in the vibe, no matter how good they were.
The fact that these squash chips knocked out some really great recipes should tell you how much faith I have in these being your perfect snack. The only thing is, they're best eaten superfresh, while they're still crisp.
1 large or 2 small Delicata squash (about 1 pound total)
3 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 Preheat the oven to 425°F.
2 Trim the bottom and top of the squash, then halve the squash crosswise. Use a spoon to scrape around the inside of the squash halves, hollowing them out so they look like tubes. Use a sharp knife to slice them into ¼-inch-thin rings, or even thinner if you want the crispiest rounds.
3 Toss the squash in a bowl with the olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and roast, flipping once, until some are deeply golden and crisp on both sides and some are a little softer in places, 18 to 24 minutes total. Taste, season with more salt and pepper if needed, and dust with the parm.
Oh, they're called Delicata squash. Deliciousata!
whole-roasted oyster mushrooms
SERVES 2 TO 3
ACTIVE TIME: 3 MINUTES
TOTAL TIME: 18 MINUTES
Not gonna lie, I had never encountered this kind of mushroom before I started getting a weekly box from my friends at Flamingo Farms, a most beautiful place with a gorgeous kitchen and the kindest owners in the world. We once called to ask if we could do a picnic on the grounds, assuming it was a public spot, but in fact it was just them and … their house. But they let us do it. They even let Pepper cook on premises!
So. Back to those 'shrooms. They're called oysters because they sort of look like them, growing in big petals. They have the most amazing ability to get crisp when roasted. If you are lucky and get whole heads (or bunches, or clumps? I don't know the technical term, but a lot of them stuck together) from specialty shroomists (yes, I definitely made that word up), you can roast these babies until they're crispy and juicy, and you will never. miss. meat. again. No, I'm not going vegan, but these could hold me over for a good, long while. If you can't find the whole ones, you can more easily find them already separated into velvety mushroom petals, equally delicious when crisped.
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 head (1 pound) fresh oyster mushrooms, or 1 pound packaged mushroom pieces, tough stems removed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 Preheat the oven to 500°F. During the last 10 minutes of preheating, place a small rimmed baking sheet or square baking dish in the oven to preheat. When the oven is preheated, use an oven mitt to remove the sheet from the oven, drizzle 1½ tablespoons of the oil on the baking sheet, arrange the mushrooms on the baking sheet, and drizzle all over with the remaining 1½ tablespoons oil.
2 Season with the salt and pepper and return the sheet to the oven. Roast until the mushrooms wilt slightly, look shiny from releasing some of their juices, and the edges are dry and charred, 13 to 18 minutes.
If using the mushroom pieces, toss them with the oil, salt, and pepper in a bowl first, and then spread them out on the baking sheet and roast until crispy and golden, 12 to 13 minutes. (Keep an eye and nose on them, though, a few minutes before—don't let them burn!)
artichokes with hot garlicky melted butter
SERVES 4
ACTIVE TIME: 15 MINUTES
TOTAL TIME: 1 HOUR
Steamed artichokes! Oh my goodness, you make these once and you will never stop because the dirty little secret is how laughably easy they are to prepare. Fun to eat, too—once they're cooked in their lemony garlicky broth, you get to pluck off individual petals from the artichoke, dip them in garlic butter (or mayo, or Wishbone, or anything else you want!), then scrape the luscious veggie velvet off with your teeth before discarding the leaf and starting all over again … and then you get to the meaty heart and go to town.
They're first-course dinner party-worthy, but also a perfect sort of light lunch kind of a meal that will satisfy you without weighing you down.
4 large artichokes
1 lemon
½ cup dry white wine (optional)
1 dried bay leaf
10 whole black peppercorns
5 garlic cloves
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
2 teaspoons Sriracha or Cholula hot sauce, plus more to taste
¼ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
1 Make sure you have a steamer basket that fits into a pot (a metal colander also works) that has a tight-fitting lid.
2 Place an artichoke on a cutting board and trim off the top ½ inch with a sharp knife. Peel off and discard any loose, dried bottom leaves. Use scissors to trim just the thorny tips off the remaining leaves. Repeat with the remaining artichokes.
3 Halve the lemon, then cut one half into thin semi-rounds and the other half into 4 wedges. Place the lemon slices in the pot and add about 2 cups of water along with the wine (if using), bay leaf, peppercorns, and 2 of the garlic cloves. Place the steamer basket in the pot; it's okay if the liquid comes up into the basket a bit. Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat, then add the artichokes to the steamer basket, reduce the heat to low, cover, and steam until the artichokes are tender and a leaf pulls off easily from the inner part of the artichoke, 40 to 45 minutes.
4 During the last 10 minutes of the steaming, warm the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until melted. Mince the remaining 3 garlic cloves and add to the butter; cook, stirring often, until fragrant and the garlic has softened, 3 or 4 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the 2 teaspoons hot sauce and ¼ teaspoon salt, and cover to keep warm.
5 Remove the artichokes from the steamer. Uncover and whisk the butter until well blended, and serve each artichoke with 2 tablespoons of the garlic butter and a lemon wedge.
6 To eat the artichokes, pull off individual leaves and scrape the meaty flesh off the bottom with your teeth. Once you get to the artichoke center, pull off the more papery leaves surrounding the choke (the hairy, fuzzy part) and remove the choke with a spoon, making sure to reserve the artichoke heart sitting just beneath. Savor that heart and stem!
parmesan whipped mashed potatoes
SERVES 6 TO 8
ACTIVE TIME: 20 MINUTES
TOTAL TIME: 40 MINUTES
Every cook has a personal arsenal—recipes that you pretty much know how to make anytime. Things like roasted chicken, tomato soup, Mom's Thai chili sauce, pancakes … stuff that just makes your life work.
But no matter what else is in your arsenal, mashed potatoes are a must, a component of a meal that binds everything together—the main, the sauce, the sides. It never, ever make things worse, only better. (I lived in Idaho when I was a kid.)
And they're truly hard to fck up. I've only done that once in my life, and even that is more than most people. That time, I let the potatoes boil until soft, then turned the heat off and let them sit in the hot water long enough to create potato glue when I mashed them. I honestly have never seen anything like it—they were just complete starchy glue. But you know what? The flavor was still incredible. It was like … if you love eating glue, this dish is a dream? I dunno.
Anyway, this recipe is for buttery mashed potatoes that are light and fluffy, whipped with the flavor of sharp Parmigiano. Yes, it makes a lot, but you can halve it … and who doesn't want more mashed potatoes? These can be eaten with about 80 percent of the dishes in the book or simply eaten alone while watching Peaky Blinders start to finish, like me. Did you know it's pronounced kill-ian?
4 pounds (8 medium) russet or Yukon Gold potatoes (or a combination)
½ cup heavy cream
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, plus more for topping
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, finely grated (1 cup), plus more for topping
3 tablespoons finely minced fresh chives
1 Peel and cut the potatoes into 1½-inch pieces. Place the potatoes in a large pot, cover with 3 inches of water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low to maintain a vigorous simmer and cook, uncovered, until the potatoes can easily be pierced with a wooden skewer or a dinner knife, 15 to 20 minutes.
2 While the potatoes are cooking, warm the cream and butter in a small bowl in the microwave until the butter is just melted, 30 seconds to 1 minute. When the potatoes are done, drain and place them in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or use a handheld mixer and large bowl). Add the cream-butter mixture, the 1 tablespoon salt, and the 1 cup cheese. Starting on low speed, whip the potatoes, gradually increasing the speed to high and whipping until fluffy, 30 to 45 seconds (much more, and the potatoes could get gluey!).
3 Season with more salt to taste, transfer to a serving bowl, dot with pats of butter, dust with some more parm, and garnish with the chives. Serve immediately. (If the potatoes cool down and start to stiffen, warm a bit of cream in a small saucepan or the microwave, drizzle it in, and whip again with a whisk.)
Okay, the other way you can eff them up is by making them in a blender or food processor, which also turns them into glue. Don't do that! Unless you want to.
salt-roasted yams with lime-yogurt sauce, pine nuts & hot honey
SERVES 2
ACTIVE TIME: 20 MINUTES
TOTAL TIME: 1 HOUR 30 MINUTES
I'm not sure I've ever seen a dish that looked as perfect as it tasted. To me, usually the sloppiest-looking meals taste the absolute best, but this? Not this one. This roasted, crispy-skinned sweet potato is home to a creamy, lime-infused yogurt, and every single bite pops with honey, garlic, and the crunch of toasted pine nuts. I have no idea why, but these flavors were meant to be together. And while, yes, it is a potato, and a potato screams side piece, I definitely say this should be the one and only for your dinner plate tonight.
1 cup kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
2 large sweet potatoes (the orange things we sometimes call yams)
¼ cup honey
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 lime
⅔ cup plain whole-milk yogurt
3 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup pine nuts
4 garlic cloves, minced
Cilantro leaves, for garnish