kthread cooks

kthread cooks: granola

Recipe: Heat oven to 300 degrees Farenheit (325 if you like your granola crunchier). Stir 2 cups rolled oats with 1/2 cup dried fruit (raisins, cherries, cranberries, etc.) and 1/2 cup nuts/seeds (pecans, walnuts, pistachios, pepitas, etc.). Add 1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil, 3 tablespoons honey (or agave nectar), mix thoroughly, spread in even layer on baking sheet. Bake, removing to stir every 5 to 7 minutes, for a total of 20 minutes or until your personal crunch index is achieved. Season...

kthread cooks: tortilla soup

Recipe: Tortillas: 2 cups masa to 1 1/4 cup water, stir, form into palm-sized balls. Flatten in tortilla press or with rolling pin. Fry in hot pan with 1 Tablespoon of oil, flipping once, letting air bubble form within. Soup: Sauté one diced onion in 1 teaspoon oil in medium-hot pan until translucent, add one minced garlic clove, stir, cook 10 seconds. Add one 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes (or 5 fresh, ripe tomatoes in season), simmer for 5 min—also adding chile powder or other spices, if desi...

kthread cooks: chess pie

Friday was National Pie Day (I've extended this to International Pie weekend), and chess pie seems most appropriate this year. This is my secret Chess Pie recipe with a filling that crackles with mystery in whatever city and season it is baked: Recipe: Make pie crust (RLB's perfect cream cheese crust recipe below), line pie dish. Crimp edges, prick with fork. Bake the empty crust for 10 minutes if desired. Then, whisk three eggs + one yolk in bowl. Add 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, 1 tablesp...

kthread cooks: tomato soup + american cheese

This week, we make tomato soup. Yes, soup for you. And let's reclaim American cheese in this moment too, shall we? Recipe: 2 ripe, red tomatoes (or half a 28 oz. can) + 2 white shallots all cut into 1/2 inch pieces, spread on parchment paper on a baking sheet and tossed with 1 tbsp olive oil, roasted for 20 min at 425 degrees. Then, blend/process roasted mix, thin with water or stock (start with 1/4 cup), heat. Top with blue cheese. reading recommendation: GOOD Magazine's First 100 Days Sheetl...

kthread cooks: the color of collards

In the American South, a bowl of collards = money in the new year. Here's to a prosperous 2009--Recipe: (for a houseful of people) Add four tablespoons olive oil or 2 pieces of bacon, diced to a large pot over medium. Heat 3 minutes. Add 1/2 small onion, diced, cook 3 min; add 5 cloves garlic, minced--cook 1 min. Add 6 to 8 cups of water (depending on how many in your house), bring to boil. Chop one bunch collards and one bunch kale into 1/2in pieces, add to water. Cover and simmer 25 minutes....

kthread cooks: latkes

Recipe: (for 2 as a side, multiply as necessary) Peel one large russet potato, grate with microplane into bowl. Pour off juice. Finely dice 1/2 small onion, add to bowl. Stir in one tablespoon of flour, one egg. Heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil until shimmering in pan over med-high heat. Add batter and spread thinly; brown each side (~3 min/side). Rest very briefly on paper towels, then plate, sprinkle with salt, top with sour cream or applesauce. These are best made in batches for friends that...

kthread cooks: umami miami

Rather than the ubiquitous sweets surrounding this season, I’m craving umami, the indulgent fifth taste that I close my eyes to savor. This is a stack of recipes that I combine into hors d’oeuvres, but anchovy aioli and chicken liver pâté are always nice to have on hand—whether or not you assemble them on toasted bread with slices of hard-cooked eggs between. Be sure to tuck some away for impromptu sandwiches in the reveling that continues into early hours…

kthread cooks: pepita pesto

Recipe: [for 4] Dice 2 delicata squash (or peel and dice other hard squash) ~ 2 cups / 460 grams. Peel and halve 20 pearl onions (or as many as you like); spread squash and onions on baking sheet, toss with 1 tbsp olive oil, roast at 425 degrees F / 218 C for 20-30 min until browned and gorgeous. Meanwhile, toast 1/2 cup / 115 g unroasted, unsalted pumpkin seeds in dry pan over medium until they pop. Cool. In food processor, make pesto: with machine running, drop in 2 cloves garlic (green stem...

kthread cooks: aligot

The ultimate comfort food? Aligot. Traditionally almost equal parts potato puree and Tomme cheese (joined in elasticity), I like to take mashed potatoes in this direction, adding garlic and Tomme/Raclette to Yukon Golds, stirring with figure eight motions. This Thanksgiving side deserves a place in your dinner rotation all year. I’ll be making this for the family in Atlanta in a few weeks—want to swing by and help me stir? (And, if in the U.S., try to find Thomasville Tomme from Sweet Grass Da...

kthread cooks: whatever provencal