Meatless Week: Copying the master.

I was absolutely, completely convinced that someone would buy me the Frankies Spuntino cookbook for Christmas this year. Not only was it on my gift guide, but it's a cookbook chock-full of recipes from my new favorite restaurant, one to which I have dragged pretty much every single person who buys me Christmas gifts on a regular basis.

But, no. No one did, most likely because they all assumed someone else would. And so I found myself ordering said cookbook last week, in no small part so that I could make the Frankies' escarole, red onion and walnut salad at least once during Meatless Week. Frankly, I can't believe it's taken me this long to tackle my favorite Frankies salad in the comfort of my own home.

Because, friends, believe me when I tell you: this is one freaking delicious salad. I was first introduced to escarole via my college's ever-present chicken escarole soup, and so I always assumed it was the kind of green that must always be cooked, preferably on low heat for an obscene length of time.

But, no! Turns out escarole (aside from its bitter, tough outer leaves) is a sweet, crunchy delight - somewhat akin to a silkier version of romaine. Sounds amazing, right? And Frankies treats it just right, tossing it with sliced red onion and crumbled walnuts, and dressing it in a walnut dressing spiked with just a touch of honey. They top the whole thing off with shaved pecorino, which lends the proceedings a bit of funk.

So. Freaking. Good.

I made it Sunday afternoon while my gratin dauphinois (recipe to come) browned up in the oven. It paired beautifully with the rich potato goodness, and it makes me exceedingly happy that I can now enjoy my favorite wintertime salad any time - no trip to the Lower East Side and/or Carroll Gardens required.

Escarole Salad with Red Onions and Walnuts
Adapted from The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion and Cooking Manual

For the dressing:
1/4 cup walnut halves, crushed
1 tsp. honey
1 tbs. walnut oil
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tbs. water
2 tbs. sherry vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper, to taste

For the salad:
1 small head of escarole
1/2 cup red onion, sliced as thin as you can manage
1/2 cup walnuts, crumbled by hand
1/4 cup prepared dressing
1/2 tbs. walnut oil
1/4 cup loosely packed Pecorino Romano cut into curls with a vegetable peeler
Black pepper

Prepare the dressing:
Combine all ingredients in either a blender, or, if you want to use an immersion blender, in a tall, narrow container (I used a tall Tupperware container.). Puree the dressing until it's emulsified. The texture of the dressing should be uniform and silky.

Use the dressing immediately or cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.

Prepare the salad:
Discard the dark green outer leaves of the escarole. Core the head and wash the remaining leaves in cold water. Spread on a tea towel to dry, or pat dry with paper towels. Chop or tear the leaves into roughly bite-sized pieces.

In a large bowl, toss the escarole with red onions and the walnuts. Dress the mixture with the walnut dressing and the additional walnut oil, tossing well with your hands to ensure that the salad is evenly and lightly dressed.

Divide the salad between the plates. Garnish with the Pecorino and a few turns of black pepper.

Serves two.

Besties.

My friend Louisa is the best best friend ever. She spoils me, she cooks with me and for me and eats my food, she knows exactly what I want even before I do, and she even gives me a talking to when such is required. (Infrequently, I assure you.)

She has purchased and raised two adorable dogs (clearly and exclusively for my petting and cuddling purposes) and married one of the most wonderful men on the planet. I mean, come on - is there a greater blessing than loving your best friend's spouse almost as much as you love the friend herself? I think not.

This first trip to Austin has been amazing, and the vast majority of that fabulousness is due directly to Louisa's planning, which is in turn based on her ability to know exactly what I will want and when I will want it. Tacos? Obviously a Sunday afternoon thing. Is there a slight lull in the action? Clearly time for champagne! Sushi? Last two nights before I leave, so that I will be waiting with baited breath until my return. She's crafty, that Louisa.

So, thank you, Lou, for the best first visit to Austin of ALL TIME. Here's to you, here's to us, here's to Austin, and here's to my next trip!

Meatless Week: Altering when alteration finds.

So, as we've discussed, Meatless Week in August = delicious, easy, full of tomatoes. Meatless Week in January = far trickier and chock-full of root vegetables. That is, unless you're tricky and decide to buy some sweet frozen corn.

Now, nothing's as good as local corn bought in season, but frozen corn is a pretty close second. It easily kicks the ass of out-of-season corn, no matter how local or organic, that's for sure. And it offers the addict an easy way to get a fix, even in the depths of winter.

Yesterday afternoon, for my first Meatless Week lunch, I decided to tweak a recipe from my summertime meat-free adventure that seemed to go over pretty well with all of you: orecchiette with corn and basil. I substituted tarragon in for the basil (since I had it in the house for some green goddess dip, and since it seems somehow more wintry to me), left out the red pepper, and used some Ronnybrook Creamline milk instead of half and half.

The combination of the delicate licorice flavor of the tarragon played beautifully with the quiet sweetness of corn, and the milk, of course, made things creamy and comforting. All in all, a success for sure, and one that will definitely make a reappearance even when Meatless Week comes to an end.

Orecchiette with Corn and Tarragon

1 tsp. olive oil
1 small shallot, minced
1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed in lukewarm water and drained
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tbs. tarragon, finely chopped, divided
1/4 lb. orecchiette, cooked to al dente and drained
1/4 cup whole milk

In an 8-inch skillet set over moderate heat, warm the olive oil. Add the shallot and cook for a minute or two, until the shallot has turned translucent and is just beginning to color.

Add the corn and some salt to taste. Saute the corn in the oil and shallots for several minutes, until it is hot and starting to soften just a bit. Season with pepper to taste, then add one tablespoon of the tarragon and cook for a minute or two more.

Add the pasta to the pan and mix well with the corn. Add the milk and continue to cook until the mixture has thickened a bit. Transfer to a shallow bowl and sprinkle with the remaining tarragon. Adjust seasonings to taste and eat!

Serves one.

A wee experiment.

Upon the completion of the holiday season, most of us are typically left feeling a bit bloated, over-extended, exhausted, and, let's face it: kinda gross. And so when my friend Richard suggested Queenie take on a winter meatless week to get over the New Year's food and booze coma, I decided he was a genius.

My meatless week kicks off today. I laid in a huge supply of winter greens (mainly escarole) and root vegetables (celeriac, potatoes, beets, carrots), and plan to feast on them all week long. Beets will make several appearances, as will some out-of-season delights from the depth of my freezer, including corn and sweet peas. (The latter are pretty much always better frozen, and the former are a decent substitute for the in-season delights of Jersey corn.)

My summer meatless week went by in a free and easy blur of corn, tomatoes, cucumbers and fresh herbs; I'm anticipating that this one will be a bit more of a challenge. I just don't crave winter's vegetables the way I do summer's bounty. Never fear, though - I will stick to it, even if it means breaking halfway through for French fries and salted peanut butter hot chocolate at Shake Shack.

To get you started, here are a few of things I plan to try this week...I'd love it if you played along!

- Beets With Garlic-Walnut Sauce
- Gratin Dauphinois
- Escarole with Red Onion, Pecorino and Walnuts
- Orecchiette with Corn and Basil Tarragon
- Celeriac Remoulade
- Orange-Honey Glazed Carrots
- Peas with Ramp Compound Butter
- Butternut Squash Galette

Also, I'd love to hear if you have any suggestions for me! I'm dying for recommendations...

Austin Tacos, Part One: Taco Deli

On the Monday after Christmas, Louisa and I sneaked off to Austin Java to drink copious amounts of coffee and try to write at least a little. Louisa succeeded in both respects; I kind of slacked off in the latter.

After coffee and writing, we decided we needed something delicious for lunch. I mentioned that I really wanted to try some tacos while I was in town, and Louisa immediately determined that we should check out Taco Deli, her mom's absolute favorite. And so we headed out, bound for Taco Deli's newest location, north of its original digs south of the river.

Luckily, we were a bit late for lunch and managed to avoid what Louisa swears are the typically epic lines. We walked right up and ordered five tacos: veggie, al pastor and Cowboy for me, fish and a special sweet potato taco for Louisa.

We grabbed a few of the signature salsas (including the famous, bright green Doma sauce), sat down and opened our Mexican Cokes. What's Mexican Coke, you ask? It's Coke made with sugar cane instead of corn syrup, and it is insanely delicious. I've never liked regular Coke, because I always thought it tasted too artificial, but this? This was heaven.

But on to the tacos. My veggie taco was fine - the tortilla was tasty, but the filling was, essentially, unremarkable. Spiced up with a little Doma, it was good, but nothing to write home about. Now, my two other tacos? Were stellar. The al pastor (pork cooked in a special sauce, topped with chopped onion and a touch of cilantro) was fantastic - smoky and rich almost to a fault, just as it should be. And the Cowboy taco (steak with caramelized onions, crema, corn, tomato salsa and queso fresca) was just as tasty. An excellent combination of meaty, cheesy and vegetal - everything you want in a taco, frankly.

Louisa's tacos were similarly tasty. The Mojo Fish taco is, in a word, awesome. It has just the right balance of acid and meat, and goes down almost too quickly. The special taco, made with roasted sweet potatoes and topped with pumpkin seeds, was autumnal perfection. I especially liked this one when spiked with a healthy amount of the spicy Doma - the contrasting kick really did it for me.

In short, if you are in search of delicious, mostly-traditional-but-slightly-updated tacos, and you're lucky enough to be in Austin? I highly recommend a stop at Taco Deli. Highly, highly, highly.

Making the rounds.

It's You + ME* day! I'm posting over at You + ME* Equals today, where I've decided to share a Queenie oldie-but-goodie, perfectly suited to New Year's resolutions and the general need to cut the gluttony of late December off at the knees.

That's right: spicy cauliflower with lemon and honey. Get thee over there to check it out, and I'll be back here tomorrow with more Austin goodness. (Tacos!)

The nog.

If, for some reason, you're still craving eggnog in this post-holiday period, might I humbly suggest you hire my friend Nick to make yours? Barring that, please do give Craig Claiborne's 1958 recipe a try. Nick did, and the result was the creamiest, booziest, most your-spoon-stands-straight-up-in-it eggnog in the history of the world.

And don't forget the fresh nutmeg garnish. It's key.