Guacamole

If pressed, I could tell you how to make good guacamole in one sentence. It goes something like this. Mash ripe avocados with finely chopped white onions, a minced garlic clove, a squeeze of lime juice, then salt to taste. But to make great guacamole, it’s the little decisions going between those commas that make all the difference. If you were standing next to me throughout the process, you’d pick up on the dozens of choices and considerations that actually matter. So, I thought I might try to go longer-form with you on this one – walk you through my thought process, step-by-step here, related to one of my favorite things to eat.

Good Shopping is Key

Like most things that end up on the table, your success or failure depends on how you do at the market. The most important step in this entire process is procuring the perfect avocados. Ripe. But not too ripe. Beautiful, buttery, green-fleshed decadence – that’s what you’re after. Sometimes easier said than done.

Choosing the Right Avocados

I spend more time choosing the avocados for guacamole than actually preparing it. You want avocados that are ripe and the only way to figure out whether they’re at their peak is to evaluate them one at a time. To decipher whether or not an avocado is ripe enough, hold it in your palm, and give it a gentle squeeze with the pads of your fingers. There should be some give, like butter that has been out of the refrigerator for an hour in an average-temp kitchen. The give should be uniform across the surface of the fruit. Try to imagine whether that amount of give would translate to good mash-ability. Avocados tend to be more ripe toward the surface, less ripe toward the seed. Keep that in mind as you’re evaluating them.

Look at the color as well. Over-ripe avocados (depending on the varietal) tend to be black with pockets of unstructured softness. I don’t typically use the trick where you wiggle the stem button – if it’s loose, the avocado is ripe (but possible too ripe!), but that is another tactic to decipher whether an avocado is in the zone.

If you buy under-ripe avocados and have a few days before using them they’ll continue to ripen over time. If you’re in a rush – avocados ripen more quickly sealed in a paper bag. To slow down the ripening process, place them in the refrigerator (but bring back to room-temperature before using).

The Right Temperature is Key

Temperature matters here, and you’re going to want to use room-temperature avocados. Because avocados have such a high percentage of fat, imagine trying to mash cold butter versus room temperature. Once is going to be much creamier than the other. So, don’t try to make guacamole with cold avocados. Also, serve at room temperature, not chilled.

The Concept of Guacamole “Stretching”

Avocados can be pricey, so a lot of restaurants will “stretch” or bulk out their guacamole with things like chopped tomatoes. I’m not a fan of this. The tomato addition in particular. I don’t love the way watery tomatoes bump up against fatty avocado – it’s literally oil and water. I like guacamole to be about the avocado, and unless I’m throwing some wildcards in the mix (like the one in my last book), I typically keep it as clean and simple as possible.

Variations

Beyond this – trust your taste buds to balance things out. If you like a bit of spicy kick, add some minced serrano pepper. Use salt and lime juice, adjusting little by little, until things taste just right.

If you want to take your guacamole up another notch, try this favorite Indian-spiced guacamole, and inspired by a Julie Sahni recipe. I also love to use this guacamole on these Vegan Nachos – so good!

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Super Swiss Meringue

Let’s make beautiful, billowy meringues! Few treats are more charming or versatile. The first order of business is deciding which method to use – there are a number of options. More often than not, I go the Swiss meringue route, which I’ll explain below. A lot of people like to use the French method – where you whisk eggs until they are nice and frothy, adding granulated sugar, a bit at a time. I wouldn’t disagree that it’s the simplest method, but I like the Swiss meringue approach instead, for a number of reasons.

Swiss Meringue Technique

To make Swiss meringue, you basically combine all your ingredients in a mixing bowl. Heat it over a pan of simmering water until smooth, and then pop that mixing bowl back into your mixer. Whisk until you have a beautiful, bright, glossy meringue. It’s quite straight-forward. I think cooking sugar always freaks people out, and to do it right, you should use a thermometer, but don’t let that deter you.

Why Swiss Meringue?

Reason number one, you don’t have to remember to bring your eggs to room temperature. This is major. I always forget to pull my eggs from the refrigerator. You don’t have to worry about this if you’re using the Swiss approach. The second thing, I like to be able to pipe my meringue into somewhat intricate shapes (see photos). I have much better luck with Swiss meringue. It’s stiffer, and holds ridges, dollops, and flourishes better. If you’re trying to avoid blobby meringue, start here.

Keys to Success

1) Use a completely clean, dry  bowl, whisk, spatula, etc. to get the most volume of meringue. Any residual oils will hamper your efforts.

2) Adjust your baking time based on whether you’re like a chewier or crisper meringue. Leave them to bake longer for crisper. Up to a few hours even!

3) If you do leave your meringues to bake longer, just be sure they aren’t taking on any/too much color. Ways to counter coloring: gently rotate pans, propping over door open with a wooden spoon, moving baking sheets either up or down in oven.

4) To maintain a glossy sheen and texture, try not to slam your oven door or baking sheet while baking. They might collapse a bit and end up with a crackled texture.

Favorite Add-ins

The recipe below is a nice base recipe. Once you get the hang of it play around with different add-ins. I love to stir in cacao nibs, toasted coconut flakes, saffron bloomed in the almond extract, dried rose petals + rose extract, lots of mixed sesame seeds, or toasted pistachios.

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Heirloom Bean and Mushroom “Carnitas” Casserole

What you see here is an excellent, hearty, winter-spirited casserole. It’s simple to pull together, and once in the oven the smell of garlic and herbs baking alongside the heirloom beans, simmering tomatoes, and golden mushrooms will bring neighbors in off the sidewalk. You should make it a.s.a.p!

I found the recipe deep in back of Rancho Gordo Vegetarian Kitchen cookbook – (Rancho Gordo forever around here). The technique for cooking the mushrooms is part of what caught my attention. You cook the mushrooms in quite a bit of liquid and then allow them to cook in the residual fat (olive oil) after the liquid evaporates. The technique is like carnitas, the classic Mexican pork dish. Hence the recipe title. But, of course, unlike the traditional preparation, cooking this with mushrooms makes it a vegetarian casserole.  

Choosing the Right Beans

The recipe falls into the Dark & Hearty Beans chapter of the book, and Eye of the Goat beans, or other brown beans are what’s recommended. That said, many, many types of beans could work here. I went a bit rogue and used some beautiful Rancho Gordo Yellow Eye Beans. They’re creamy, melty, and mild. They took on the bubbling casserole juices beautifully. I also love the way those beans in particular hold their markings. Beyond those suggestions, I imagine using any creamy white bean would be nice here too – for example, the Alubia Blanca, or Marcella. And, if you only have canned beans on hand – it’s ok! Drain them, rinse them, use them!

Cooking the Mushrooms

I just wanted to leave a visual reference here. This is how the mushrooms looked (above) when I take them off the heat. And now that I’m looking, I could have even gone a bit longer. Do you see how there’s nice browning on the edges? That’s what you’re after. Then, you add all the other ingredients to the same pan (below), give it all a good stir, add a bit of cheese and pop it in the oven. I’ve tweaked the original recipe a bit to allow you to go from stovetop to oven in one skillet (reflected below), and bumped the quantity up by half, because this casserole is popular and goes fast.

Variations

Here are a couple ways you might build on this idea!

– With Breadcrumbs: Toss 1 cup of chunky breadcrumbs with a glut of olive oil and sprinkle across the top of the bean mixture before baking.

– Breakfast Casserole: Make three divots in the bean-mushroom mixture prior to baking, crack an egg into each of the depressions & bake until eggs are set, and bean mixture is bubbling.

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Pasta with Etruscan Sauce

I thought it might be fun to cook some recipes together this year. Recipes that are new to me, and likely new to you as well. I keep an ongoing list of recipes I want to try from cookbooks, magazines, websites, and e-books, and this Pasta with Etruscan Sauce has been at the top of it for a while. I spotted it while watching Vicky Bennison’s Pasta Grannies series on You Tube. It was the sauce in the video with nonna Luigina at La Vialla, an Agriturismo near Arezzo, Italy that got me. A quick puree of sun-dried tomatoes, black olives, parsley, and garlic, is tossed with pasta. It’s fast, strong, adaptable, and doesn’t disappoint.

The Pasta Grannies video demonstrates how to make a handmade pici pasta to serve with the Etruscan sauce. If you have the time and inclination, by all means make the pici! It’s one of my favorite pasta shapes, easy to do even if you’ve never tried making fresh pasta before. That said, I was a bit pinched for time when I cooked this and reached for a box of ruffled radiatori pasta instead. The Etruscan sauce got wonderfully caught up in all the ridges and curves, and there were no regrets. If you’re Italian, and upset about my pasta choice, I apologize in advance. It might not be “right” but it sure was delicious.

I’ve watched my way through much of the Pasta Grannies archive ( I love them all!), and was lucky to meet the series creator, Vicky, when she came to Los Angeles to promote the Pasta Grannies cookbook at Now Serving. If you haven’t seen it yet, keep your eyes peeled. I’m so inspired by these women, and the book with its stories, is such a nice companion to the video series. If you’re more of an Instagram person vs. You Tube, you can also find Vicky & Pasta Grannies here. 

Etruscan Sauce

Back to the recipe – the sauce is a tapenade of sorts, it gets thinned out (a bit) when you add it to the pasta along with a bit with reserved pasta water. The way the recipe is written below, you’ll have a good amount left over, so here’s a quick brainstorm of other ways to use it.

For starters, this is a sauce that is A+ slathered on all things flat and bread-y or toasted – crostini, flatbreads, pizza, paratha, sandwiches, etc. You can add a dollop to a bowl of beans, for a quick bean salad. I tossed a spoonful with some sturdy lettuces for a side salad at lunch, so good. And you won’t be sorry if you pair it with pan-fried artichokes. Let me know any other ideas you have in the comments.

Let’s Cook!

I like the idea of taking this site back to its roots – cooking from inspiring recipes and cookbooks, vintage & contemporary. So that’s going to be the theme this year. And, I think it’s going to be more fun if we cook recipes together! If you end up making this pasta in the next week or two, send a note, or tag a photo or video on Instagram so I’ll see it (@heidijswanson // #101cookbooks) ! I’ll regram helpful tips, photos, insights, ideas, and riffs we collectively come up with. I’ll also posting some video clips in my “highlights” tomorrow, if you want to see how Pasta with Etruscan Sauce came together for me.

For more pasta recipes, for more vegetarian recipes.

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Rosewater Shortbread Cookies

These are buttery, whole-wheat shortbread cookies – fragrant with rosewater, and flecked with toasted nuts, and dried rose petals. They have a crunchy dusting of sugar on top that provides a satisfying, sweet tongue scratch, and are punctuated with black sesame. I’m not going to lie – it took a few attempts to nail them down. As many of you know – dealing with floral flavors can be a bit tricky. But now, as written, they’re oh so tasty.

Shortbread Cookies: Inspiration

These little guys came about when I was tasked with bringing dessert to a friend’s house. She was cooking an impressive Ottolenghi-inspired feast, and I thought these would be a pretty finish. With the rose petals and all. In the years since that dinner they’ve become part of my regular shortbread repertoire, and I make them often for special occasions and holidays. I mean, they’re so pretty and tasty!

Baking with Flowers

The trick with cooking or baking with florals is figuring out how much is too much, and how little is too little. For example, with this shortbread recipe, the first couple of attempts I used dried rose petals only, and a good amount. But the flavor got pushed around a bit, bullied and overpowered by the browning butter.

Second attempt? I gave the rose notes a boost by layering the petals in the dough with a splash of rose water. The dough immediately became more fragrant, balanced, and helped nail what I intended (and hoped for) from the start. I suggest using a bit of caution when baking with rose water, because each bottle seems to vary in strength, quality, and scent. Strictly for reference, I’ll mention that I have been using Nielsen-Massey Rose Water. If you’re unsure about the quality or strength of your rose water, start with half, and taste the dough. You can always adjust with more from there. Trust your senses :)!

These little shortbread cookies are perfect alongside other bite-sized treats on a post-dinner sweets board. I like to break up a good bar of chocolate, include some salted caramels, maybe a few dates, etc. Or you could do a cookie-only sampler, with a range of tiny cookies. There are a lot of favorite cookie recipes to explore, or bake larger cookies, and cut them into quarters so people can sample.

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Gingerbread Cookies

Gingerbread cookies are the best. I like to bite their heads off first, then each arm, and then each leg. These are going to be the second cookie I am going to include in my holiday cookie boxes.

I have a few strong opinions on how I like my gingerbread and this recipe fits the bill on every front. These cookies are tasty, classic, spice-flecked and a rich shade of brown – exactly what they were supposed to be.

Let’s Make Strong Gingerbread Cookies

This isn’t the time for chewy, moist, or flaky cookies. When you are making gingerbread men (or women) it’s important to make a cookie that is crisp, sturdy, and a shade on the dry side. This is especially important if you are making large + tall gingerbread men, or using the recipe to create walls for a gingerbread house or structure. You should be able to hold you gingerbread cookies by one leg and not have the leg crumble or bend off. I’m not talking about making a gingerbread cracker here, but hopefully you get my drift. As you can see from the picture my gingerbread cookie is standing tall and straight. That’s what you’re after.

Big Flavor

I love gingerbread cookies with some kick. No skimping on the spices please. This recipe is loaded with a generous dose of ground ginger, cinnamon, ground cloves, and pepper. Every bite should have a spicy tingle to it. As they are baking, people should flock to the oven from the far recesses of the house to have a peek at the source of the wonderful smells. You can’t be shy with the spices.

Appearance

Gingerbread cookies look best when they’re deep ginger in color, and spotted from head to toe with freckles of spices. The molasses in this recipe along with the generous amount of spices made for a nice, classic gingerbread appearance. I’m also picky about the shape and physique of my gingerbread people. I’m always on the lookout for cookie cutters that are just the right shape for them. Too squat or stubby is no good, but my current cutter (the one I used for these pics) is a tad on the lean side.

Decorating Gingerbread Cookies

I tend to opt for simplicity here. Sometimes just two little button dots are enough. I may do a few without the buttons and go for one tiny white heart sprinkled with a touch of sugar sparkles instead. A little variety is nice.  And, although I like a cookie with higher frosting to cookie ratio, more elaborate frosting designs on gingerbread sometimes end up looking a little too krafty for my tastes.

Baking Tips

Getting the baking time key. Whatever you do, don’t over bake these guys. They will dry right out. If anything, under bake them just a shade. They will continue to bake for another couple of minutes once you pull them from the oven. Big cookies take longer to cook than tiny ones, keep that in mind as well.

A Clever Serving Idea

I was at a holiday part once where gingerbread cookies were baked onto popsicle sticks. They were arranged, bouquet-like, in a container filled with sugar. Kids loved eating them like lollipops.

Use all the Dough

My gingerbread men and women tend to bake alongside tiny gingerbread stars, hearts, and gingerbread candy canes. All made from dough scraps. You can gather your scraps and re-roll a couple of times to use as much of the dough as possible.

Overall, I love this gingerbread recipe, especially for cookies (and beyond!). It’s a classic dough that could easily be adapted for other gingerbread endeavors!

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