I posted this recipe for Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Brown Butter and Fried Sage a year ago, almost exactly. Funny how soups come around like that. It is soup season in our little house. We have three soups on our menu this week; and I made soup twice last week! I am happily cooking and consuming vast amounts of piping hot soup. This weekend the temperatures dropped to the ridiculously frigid negative degrees! I think we've established I'm a mellow weather kind of girl, but at least these freezing temps come along with the most gorgeous sunrises and blue skies imaginable. My friend, Andrea took this photo up at her farm yesterday morning. So, despite having been pretty much stuck inside all weekend I'm in a pretty good mood, and this Butternut Squash Soup has something to do with it. It's thick and silky, with a wonderful caramelized depth of flavor. Gigi and I had so much fun making this video, and as usual there are plenty of outtakes...

Wishing you all a wonderfully cozy start to your week!

I actually made this video for my other website, Gorge in the Gorge, but I'm really excited with how it turned out so I decided to share it here too! I've been working a lot more with video and loving it. Sometimes it's nice to be behind the camera.

Henni's is one of our very favorite restaurants. It's where we always go when friends and family come into town to visit and usually one of us orders this awesome burger. What seems like months ago chef and owner Christiaan and I talked about making this video and on Tuesday I left the little gals at home with their Papa and headed out to shoot this. It was so much fun to make. I hope you enjoy watching it!

Next week I have a new cooking video with Gigi to share with you too! Have a fabulous weekend.

I truly can't believe another month has gone by. I think I say this every month, but this age is so great! Baby Lu is full of personality these days. She's rolling all over the place but not showing signs of crawling. She'll roll right across the room until she runs into something and then she just keeps trying to roll (she can really only roll in one direction). The other day I turned around and she had her head stuck in the lower level of G's dollhouse! She is teething like mad which makes for some fussy days but for the most part she is a happy little gal. She is becoming quite the cuddler. She loves her Sofie Giraffe and really any toys that have faces. Watching Gigi is one of her favorite things to do and G is seeming more and more excited about having a baby sister... I think she's finally starting to realize the playmate potential. They love taking baths together although it usually involves me getting in too since Lu isn't sitting up on her own yet. Sheis still waking up once or twice each night to nurse, and although I look forward to when she'll sleep soundly through the night, I am enjoying our middle of the night cuddles. She is an absolute sweetheart. My friend was over today and she commented that Lulu was such a "bright" baby, meaning that she's just a joy, a light... and I think that discribes her so well. I'm one lucky Mama.

She loves to have naked play time. If she's fussy, stripping her out of her clothes will usually do the trick.


THIS is what she looks like when I go get her up from a nap or first thing in the morning. It's one of the highlights of my day. Sometimes, for no apparent reason, this big smile suddenly turns into hysterical tears which makes me laugh and breaks my heart all at the same time.


Her favorite toy.


Dressed up as Julia Child for her first Halloween.

We had a really wonderful Thanksgiving. Kyle took Wednesday and today off so we have had lot of family time. We spent part of the earlier week with his family, and the latter half of this week with my family. We spent Wednesday night and Thanksgiving night up at my Dad and Stepmom's little ranch with lots of friends and family. We get pretty spoiled for the big day, with talented chefs cooking up wonderful dishes, our wonderful friend from Portland brings the most amazing cheeses and treats and incredible champagne. I brought my Sourdough Stuffing, and Salted Caramel Cheesecakes. My Stepmom is a fabulous hostess, the table is arranged beautifully with thoughtful, funny gifts laid out for everyone and there’s a focus on gratitude, conversation, and fun. It’s quickly becoming one of my favorite holidays.

If you’ve hosted your own Thanksgiving and are lucky enough to be in possession of a leftover turkey, you can make this simple and incredibly comforting Turkey Barley Soup. The first step is to make a rich, flavorful broth from what remains of your Thanksgiving turkey. The soup is the perfect remedy for the long cold evenings between the holidays. Cozy up next your Christmas tree with a bowl of this soup and a chunk of crusty french bread.

Turkey Barley Soup

Ingredients.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and sliced

4 cups shredded turkey meat

1 cup barley

8 cups turkey broth*

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

1 bay leaf

pinch nutmeg

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper



Directions.

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Sauté the onion until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the carrots and celery and sauté for another few minutes. Toss in the garlic, spices and bay leaf and stir together for a minute or two.

Add in the broth, turkey, and barley. Stir together to combine and simmer, uncovered, for 35-45 minutes, until the barley is cooked through but still has a little chew and the broth is slightly thickened and bubbling. Season to taste.

Serve and enjoy.

*I make my turkey broth by cutting and breaking up my turkey carcass into smaller parts, submerging those parts in cold water in large stock pots, adding a bay leaf or two, a couple sliced carrots, celery and onions, peppercorns and a bit of thyme and rosemary. I simmer them on very low heat, partially covered for a few hours until the broth is super flavorful and slightly thickened. I strain it, and allow it to cool. Strip all the meat from the bones and set it aside to use for the soup. Scrape the fat from the top of the cooled broth and discard it. You should have a wonderfully flavorful and gelatinous broth!

This is my final holiday recipe. All of my holiday recipes are compiled here.

When I was a little, we spent every Christmas Day at my Grandma and Grandpa's house. My Grandparents’ house was always warm and cozy, and always smelled slightly smokey due to the firelplace and woodfire stove. The house seemed huge to me, the Christmas tree was always over-lit with hundreds of white lights. My Grandma made Christmas elegant; she was an elegant lady. Their little kitchen island always boasted an array of snacks and treats... Almond Roca, my Grandma's caramels, cookies from Grandpa's favorite bakery. Come to think of it, I'm sure there were savory snacks as well but I inherited my Grandpa's sweet tooth so I only had eyes for things dusted with powdered sugar.  



There was always a nice Christmas dinner, usually consisting of a roast (expect for when I was a vegetarian and my well-intentioned Grandma made a ham, "Honey, I know you don't eat meat so I made you a ham."), a green salad with Grandma's ketchup-and-vinegar dressing, and various classic sides. Dinner was lovely but I couldn't wait for dessert, more specifically for Grandpa's "famous" apple pie.



Grandpa's pie was tart and sweet, with apples sliced so thinly they practically melted in your mouth. Their oven was old, electric, and very small, and the bottom of his pies were always coated with a thin crust of caramel, something I haven't been able to replicate despite years of trying. His crust is rolled so thin you can see through it, using only one pie crust recipe for two pies. My Grandpa just turned 92 and he still sends me recipes, and we talk about all things baking: crusts, pies, tarts... he is my favorite resource.

When I was a teenager, I called him and asked him if he would teach me how to make his spectacular pies. He obliged and we spent a day in the kitchen together. Everything my Grandpa does is done with precision. He was methodical and specific. He peeled the apples with a small paring knife, the slices were 2mm thick, the flour sifted perfectly. His pies were not glamorous, the tops were often patched up, with perfunctory vents. He used a fork to crimp the edges, then rolled the sides in to prevent the juices from making a mess in the oven. Practicality trumps beauty in his book... which is ironic since my Grandma was just the opposite.

I remember thinking that I would never be able to make them quite as good as he does, and I think that's true, but I love making them nonetheless. I love this time of year when I can go to the store and load up on apples, and set about baking pies. Gigi is now old enough to (kind of) help me make them. We recently pulled on our aprons and got down to business making Great Grandpa’s Apple Pies. It means so much to me to be making them with Gigi, even if she’s mostly just making a mess.