Making magic spontaneously, the recent story of my life

This year has been so busy, that in a search through my archives for a recent project I realized I've been playing catch with food in my fridge on repeat, for months. Catch. Toss. Repeat.

It is true that sometimes I am able make space in my schedule and a grocery run for a deliberate drool-worthy dish (hello peach and squash blossom pizza, 2x!). Usually though, with the juggle of work projects and my abomination of waste, I eat all the leftovers - giving them new leases on life for our daily sustenance.

Really, there are no complaints. Especially fortuitous is that this method has at its foundation, refined my "let's-spontaneously-create-something-amazing" muscle. Lucky for husband and me, we like eating this way.

Last Sunday's breakfast is a perfect example. Freshly harvested squash blossoms from a neighborhood volunteer and the community garden, some plump shiitakes, and things-needing-using-up frittata. The weather was still quite hot so I opted not to turn on the oven, and instead cooked the thing using just the stovetop.

It turned out gloriously. There was a slight crust on the bottom from the hard seared greens + mushrooms, and soft eggy top studded with delicate flowers.

Scroll down for the recipe......

With a much-needed moment of pause between projects - its own sort of vacation before the momentum of fall kicks in - I thought with all the recent Instagram requests to share a few more recipes from the last week or two. These creations happily passed through the kitchen and our bellies, and they are each worth making for yours.

Crunchiest summer salad

Plump buttery scallops with Meyer lemon, peaches, and fennel

Wild blues, blacks, and wineberry galette

Squash blossom - shiitake frittata
Serves 2-4

1 large handful (or what you have) fresh squash blossoms, brushed of debris and any clingy insects
5-8 shiitake mushrooms, stems trimmed and halved (or quartered if large)
1/4 cup heavy cream
3-5 pasture raised eggs
Parmigiano-Reggiano, for grating
extra virgin olive oil, for sautéing
sea salt and freshly cracked pepper

Add to the foundation your mix of "needs-using-up" greens or other support veggies
I had:
a small gem lettuce
wilting arugula
a handful of parsley
the tops from a bunch of amaranth
a few sprigs of thyme
there were also some wayward pepitas and purslane tips (leftovers from a composed salad)

Whisk eggs and a pinch of salt in a medium bowl until frothy. Set aside.

In a medium heavy-bottomed enameled or cast-iron skillet over medium high heat, brown the shiitakes in a small glug of olive oil on all sides, about 7 minutes total. Add gem lettuce or other greens/veg and hard sear without disturbing, for 3-5 minutes.

Lower heat to medium, drizzle olive oil around the perimeter of pan and lean so that pan sides get a light coating in oil. Use tongs or a wide spatula to prevent the cooked veg from spilling out as you do so.

Pour beaten eggs into pan and arrange mushrooms and greens to your liking. Nestle squash blossoms into mixture, followed by thyme sprigs. Season with s+p.

Tilt pan to one side to allow beaten egg to seep to pan edge and repeat on opposite side, until only a very light surface liquid remains. In a circular gliding motion, use the blade of a silicone spatula to separate egg from inner edge of hot pan. Once that is done, after another minute, give the pan a good jostle to ensure frittata is not stuck to pan bottom. If any portion remains stuck, gently glide spatula under frittata to free it.

Drizzle cream over frittata, followed by grated Parm. Lower heat to medium-low and cover, leaving pan lid slightly askew. After 3 minutes longer, frittata should be just-done. Check, cook a couple minutes longer if needed, then remove from heat.

Give a final shower of Parm - to your liking - and cut into wedges. If you are using soft herbs (dill or chives, for example) add them just before serving. Serve warm or room temperature.

Crunchiest summer salad
Serves 1 hungry body 

1 corncob, shucked and silk removed
2-3 small zucchini
pickle brine - I pickled field garlic back in spring and used the brine from it
good olive oil
1 large handful sugar snap peas, ends trimmed and seams removed
1 handful fresh parsley, chopped
1-2 thin scallions, finely sliced
finely grated zest from 1 organic lemon
sea salt and freshly cracked pepper
flake salt, for serving

Make zoodles - I use a mandoline placed over a bowl. Dress zoodles with the pickle brine and a glug of oil and carefully toss to coat. Season with s+p.

Cut kernels off the cob. Use the freshest available as you won't be cooking the corn, and the juicy sweetness fades over time (leaving only starchiness). Slice snap peas on the diagonal and toss with corn. Season with s+p.

For presentation, shape zoodles into nests on a serving dish and spoon corn-snap pea mixture on top. Add as much freshly cracked pepper as you like, and a sprinkle of flake salt. Scatter parsley and scallions, drizzle all with a little more olive oil and another spoonful or two of brine, and serve at once.

Scallops with Meyer lemon, peaches, and fennel
Serves 2

6 large day boat scallops
1 small fennel bulb
2 tree-ripened peaches
1 Meyer lemon
1 tbsp grain mustard
1 tbsp butter
good olive oil
sea salt and freshly cracked pepper

Remove scallops from refrigerator, pat dry, and allow to come to room temp. Season with salt and pepper on both sides.

Trim top and bottom from lemon and place a flat side onto cutting board. Working along the curve, slice skin-pith layer from flesh in strips, turning as you go. Squeeze any juice in the strips into a large bowl then discard. Cut lemon into supremes into the bowl, then squeeze the juice from the membrane.

Cut fennel in half lengthwise. Use a mandoline placed over the bowl to shave fennel, reserving the fronds. Add a drizzle of oil and the mustard, and season with s+p. Gently toss the mixture to combine.

Heat a cast-iron skillet over high heat until near smoking. Add a glug of olive oil and quickly swirl, then place scallops into pan equidistant from one another. They should immediately vigorously sizzle. After a minute or two - do not disturb them - add 1 tbsp butter, dragging it in between each scallop.

Sear for 3 more minutes, tilting pan once or twice to keep the hot fat flowing around them. Turn scallops over and baste their caramelized surfaces with spoonfuls of the hot fat. Repeat basting as you sear for one minute longer, then remove scallops from heat, transfer to a plate, and pour pan juices over.

Cut peaches into slices. On two plates, divide fennel mixture and layer with peach slices and reserved fennel fronds, and nestle scallops on top, pouring the pan juices over all. Add a final sprinkle of sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, and eat at once.

Wild berry galette
Serves 6-8

for the filling
2-2 1/2 cups mixed berries, rinsed and drained - I went foraging and Nature provided this gem-mix of wild black and blueberries, and wineberries
juice from 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp tapioca flour
3 tbsp organic cane sugar

for the dough
1 1/4 cups AP flour
3/4 cup Honoré Farm+Mill Sonora wheat flour
1/2 cup Farmer Ground rye flour
8 oz unsalted butter, cut into cubes, freezer-cold
1/4-1/3 cup goat milk plain yogurt
1 tsp organic cane sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
freshly cracked pepper for subtle spice, to your taste (optional)
1 egg, for wash
demerara sugar, for sprinkling

I am a huge fan of mixing dough by hand but truly have not had the time in recent day-to-day work. If you prefer to make dough that way, bravo. Click here for a bit of guidance.

Pulse dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor to combine. Add butter and pulse in 3 second intervals until the mixture resembles a coarse meal with numerous pea-sized bits. Drizzle in the yogurt with the machine running at 3 second intervals until the dough holds together. Be careful not to over-mix. To test: remove processor top and if when squeezed, it holds together, it is ready. If not, add a small drizzle more, pulsing as you do so.

Empty dough out onto cellophane laid onto your work surface, into two equal piles. Work all the bits in one pile together into a cohesive ball, then flatten into a disk and wrap securely. Repeat with the second pile. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes for the dough to mellow, up to 3 days in advance. If you don't have another galette waiting in the wings for the second disk, it can be frozen (wrap in a layer of foil and then a resealable plastic bag) for up to 3 months.

For the fruit filling, combine all ingredients and gently toss to coat. You can do this step a day in advance.

Remove the dough from refrigerator 10 minutes before you plan to roll it out. On lightly floured parchment, roll dough, making a 1/8 turn with each pass of the rolling pin. Be deliberate - if dough is too cold it will split as you roll. If it is too warm it will smear. Transfer dough to a rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate if too warm, or give it another minute or two sitting on your work surface if too cold.

When ready, dough should be 1/8-1/4 inch thick, about 14 inches across. Leave a 3-inch border all around and make a shallow pile of the fruit mixture in the center. Reserve most of the liquid for just before baking.

Fold pastry onto fruit, gathering and pleating as you go. Seal creases together with a light paint of water and pressure from your fingers. On the baking sheet, transfer galette to the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, up to overnight, or freeze for 1/2 hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Before placing galette in the oven, whisk together the fruit juices/tapioca/sugar mixture and carefully spoon it over the fruit. Beat egg, paint eggwash all over pastry, then sprinkle Demerara sugar for a light, glittery coating.

Bake for 30 minutes until golden, checking after 20 for even browning. Reduce the temperature to 375 once the crust has become golden brown, baking until the juices bubble, about 10-15 minutes more.

Cool galette completely on a wire rack. Slice and serve plain, or with ice cream or crème fraîche.

Now I want to make each of these again and relive the delight they provided me the first time 'round....

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For some of my recent work out in the world:

amazing wild salmon and fried sage gremolata with this season's Driftersfish sockeye and La Tourangelle walnut oil

The New York Times butteriest fish all-Amatriciana, watermelon chaat, and namoura semolina cake

Cover beauty for the newest Edible magazine on the block

Kid Chef minty lamb burgers in the latest Cooking with Kids, Where Women Cook

New best-selling Instant Pot book cover and new Air Fryer cover

Food styling, Knorr selects Pinterest campaign - here, here, here, and here 


Follow my daily adventures in food over on Instagram for round-the-clock inspiration. Make something delicious for yourself this weekend. :)

Savory Crostadas and The Perfect Aioli

I've been baking this season's bounty into lots of delectable galettes and crostadas, i.e. free-form pies.

The tender crumb of buttery crust - recently flecked with citrus or parmesan and black pepper - perfectly cradles sweet or savory fillings. My impulse of late is almost an automatic, "oooh that would be great made into a galette!" You can see why….

One of yesterday's projects was to use the second disk of dough I'd made when prepping the tomato-olive-scape crostada, which - thank you all! - was very loved on Instagram. 

For the broccoli galette, I devised a base layer of barely-steamed waxy potato slices, mascarpone smeared over the potatoes (heavily seasoned with black pepper and garlic, grated on a microplane), and piled on top of that, delicate broccoli stems which I'd harvested while at Seven Arrows last week, where I've been making some time to help out with the huge work that is the season's planting and harvesting.

The dough itself is magic. It is made particularly pliable with the addition of a goldeny yolk egg - also thanks to Farmer Meg and her sweet, plucky free roaming hens. 

I use this dough often and modify the add-ins (citrus zest/ cheese/ herbs/ black pepper/ etc) depending on what I plan to make.

After thoroughly enjoying how folks responded upon seeing this creation, my week got even better when "proper bad-ass LA made aprons" co. Hedley and Bennett decided to share it, too. 

Which - I am reminded of an important aside - Saveur Magazine is holding their annual Blog Awards *right now* and have created a new category for Best Food Instagram. I pour my heart into Instagram every day and would very much appreciate your nomination! Here is the link to vote - you can do so as often as you like, until July 18th. -> http://lickingtheplate.com <- Best Food Instagram - yippeeee!

Okay, back to the tarts…. ;)

Made with the same parmesan-black pepper-flecked dough, this tart has a base layer of goat cheese I'd made from milk brought home from Seven Arrows' Farm, and seasoned with herbs, boursin-style.

After a good schmear of that onto the pastry (to help the crust from becoming soggy from the juicy tomatoes) I placed tomato slices on top, then studded the surface with torn olives. I had Kalamatas; use whatever you have, in the directions of something deeply savory. 

Before folding the pastry onto its contents I scattered thinly sliced garlic scapes for a little more punch, and then as I folded, sealed the pastry seams with beaten egg.

This crostada was quite easy to make once the dough had been prepped. Plan the time to make the dough, because the results are completely worth it.

Tomato, olive, garlic scape crostada

for the dough
1 1/2 cup AP flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp kosher salt
2 sticks butter, cut into small cubes, freezer cold
1 pasture-raised egg
2 tbsp cider vinegar plus 4 tbsp ice water
1/4 cup Parmiggiano-Reggiano, finely grated
lots of freshly cracked black pepper

for the filling
3-5 tomatoes, depending on their size, sliced into rounds
1/4-1/3 cup goat cheese, boursin, etc.
a handful of pitted olives, torn into halves
2-3-inch segment of a garlic scape, sliced thinly
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly cracked pepper

1 pasture-raised egg, lightly beaten, for brushing onto pastry

Stir together all dry ingredients in a large bowl - flours, salt, grated cheese, black pepper.

Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter, just until pea-sized bits remain. Add the egg and cut in to incorporate. Drizzle in vinegar-water mixture a little at a time, cutting the liquid into the dough, pausing to check and see if dough holds together when squeezed between your fingers. Use only as much as needed for the dough to come together.

Empty dough out evenly onto two large segments of cellophane. With your hands underneath, use opposite diagonal ends of the cellophane to press dough together, into a solid mass. Seal dough in cellophane, then pat into a disk. Repeat with second batch.

Refrigerate dough for at least 20 minutes to allow it to mellow. Remove it 5-10 minutes prior to rolling out. Makes two crostadas, one top+bottom crust pie, or, freeze the second disk (as I did), wrapped in cellophane and foil, then placed inside a resealable bag, for up to three months.

Unwrap dough and sandwich between two sheets of lightly floured parchment paper. Roll out into a circle, 1/4-1/8-inch thick. Transfer pastry to a sheet pan and refrigerate at any point during this process, if it becomes smeary (aka not cold enough).

Peel away the top layer of parchment and begin: leave a 1 1/2-2 inch border and slather on the goat cheese or boursin, followed by the tomato slices. Nestle olive pieces around, and then scatter surface with sliced scapes.

Season the whole thing with freshly ground pepper and a light drizzle of olive oil, then crimp the pastry over the fillings, brushing the seams with egg wash and pressing to seal. Evenly brush the pastry surface with egg wash, then chill for at least a half hour, so that it retains its shape once in the blazing hot oven.

During this time, preheat oven to 425 degrees, with oven rack positioned in the bottom third. Transfer chilled crostada to the oven and bake until cheese bubbles and crust is deeply golden, about 40 minutes. I like to check about halfway through to rotate the pastry for even browning.

When ready, use the sheet of parchment to slide finished crostada to a wire rack to cool. This delightful tart can be enjoyed hot, cold, or at room temp. Perfect for brunch, dinner, or your next picnic.

Broccoli, potato, and garlicky mascarpone galette
2 waxy potatoes, such as Yukon gold, peeled and sliced
4 oz mascarpone
2-4 cloves garlic, depending on your taste
1 handful thin broccoli stems, or 1 head broccoli, cut into thin florets
sea salt and freshly cracked pepper
good olive oil, for drizzling
buttermilk, for brushing

Use the same pastry recipe for this galette.

Lightly steam broccoli until stems turn bright green. Shock in an ice water bath. Briefly steam the potato slices, enough to soften.

Use a microplane to finely grate your preferred amount of garlic into a small bowl (or mince it with a knife and transfer). Add mascarpone, season with salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Set aside.

Roll out pastry as detailed in the tomato crostada recipe. As above, pastry should be transferred on its parchment paper onto a baking sheet once you are ready to make the galette.

Pat potato slices dry and arrange in a concentric circle leaving a 1 1/2-inch border, and slightly overlapping them as you go, as your base. Slather mascarpone onto potatoes. Drain and shake broccoli dry (or pat dry with a tea towel). Measure and cut broccoli into lengths so that when arranged onto the pastry, their florets meet in the center (or, as you like - feel free to get creative). I had enough to make two layers of broccoli; consider which stems are most attractive as you make yours and save them for the top layer.

Fold dough onto fillings, painting the seams with a little buttermilk and crimping to seal, until the galette is complete. Paint buttermilk evenly onto pastry and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour (or freeze for 15 minutes).

For this preparation I transferred the cold galette onto my pizza steel, which I'd placed to preheat in the oven. The results worked out quite well. If you have a stone or steel, I'd recommend doing the same! Bake with similar timing/attention as for the tomato crostada.

I was extremely pleased with how this broccoli galette turned out and will definitely be making it again! If you make it too, please let me know what you think. ;)

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Another recent, vocal request has been for my aioli. I made a caper version for my Anthology column some time back, paired with aromatics-poached salmon. I referred to that recipe, minus the capers, for a recent dinner party. I served it with all manner of steamed and crunchy veg that night and was so present to my guests, I forgot to document the evening (!!).

Here is a plate of leftovers we devoured, the morning after.

And, more of the richly hued leftovers (which you could say I didn't mind having extras of), slathered onto quick & easy pan roasted fish - a seriously great recipe unto its own and included in my new book, Kid Chef. This unexpectedly delicious meal made for an incredible midday interlude.

Perfect Aioli

4 pasture-raised egg yolks

1-2 cloves garlic, finely grated on a microplane, or minced

a pinch of kosher salt

juice from half a lemon

grapeseed oil and good olive oil, to emulsify 

Rest a small mixing bowl onto a tea towel draped over a pot of similar size. This helps the bowl stay put so you can use both hands. 

Whisk together the egg yolks, salt, and garlic. Squeeze a little lemon juice and whisk again. In the thinnest stream, drizzle grapeseed oil as you whisk continuously. You'll add about 1/4 cup or so, stopping at intervals to make sure the mixture has emulsified. Keep whisking! The mixture should thicken; when ready, the aioli should appear plump. 

Add the olive oil now, again in the thinnest drizzle. Add about 1/8-1/4 cup, whisking continuously. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.