mix

1. Place a large Dutch oven or heat-proof pan on the stove and add the olive oil along with the sausage, breaking it up roughly with your fingers. Brown the sausage for a few minutes and break it up a bit more with a spatula.
2. Add the onion, garlic, celery, and carrot and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes. Add the tomato paste, the stock, and the beans. Season and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.
3. If you are adding any cabbage, tomatoes, or zucchini to the soup, add them 5 minutes before serving so they don’t overcook. Serve with crusty bread and some grated Parmesan, if you wish.

1. In a food processor, combine the shrimp and eggs and process until almost smooth. Add the butter and truffle oil, if using, season with salt and white pepper and pulse until the butter is incorporated but still visible in small pieces. Test a small amount for seasoning by microwaving it at high power for 10–15 seconds, or by sautéing it in a little oil in a small pan.
2. Adjust the seasoning if necessary. Use or place in a container, cover and store refrigerated for up to 2 days.
3. To form the shumai, have a bowl of water handy. Hold 1 wonton wrapper in the palm of your non-dominant hand. Cup the hand and place 1 heaping tablespoon of the mousse in the centre of the wrapper. Bring the wrapper up around the filling, pressing it to adhere to the filling and pleating as you go. Continue around the filling. There will be 6–8 pleats and the filling will be exposed. Tap the dumpling against the work surface to flatten the bottom. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.
4. Put the scallions on a platter. Add the sesame seeds and combine. With a wet palm, press down on the shumai, flattening them to a thickness of about ½ inch. Press the ‘open’ top side of the shumai into the scallion mixture.
5. Line a large plate with paper towels. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil and swirl to coat the pan. When the oil is hot, carefully add half the shumai to the pan coated side down and cook until golden, turning once, for 1 ½ – 2 minutes per side. The tip of a paring knife, when inserted in the shumai, should emerge hot.
6. Transfer the shumai to the kitchen paper to drain. Cook the remaining shumai with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Transfer to a platter, sprinkle with the reserved scallion greens and serve.

1. Soak the cranberries in the port for an hour. Fry the onion and bacon gently in the butter, until the onion is tender and the bacon is cooked. Add the garlic and fry for another minute or so.
2. Cool slightly, then mix with all the remaining ingredients, including the cranberries and port, adding enough egg to bind – I find it easiest to use my hands. Fry a knob of stuffing in a little butter, taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a blender, combine eggs, flour, salt, pepper, and herbs, milk, and cheese. Blend on medium speed.
3. Spray a mini-muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray. Pour the batter into the muffin cups, filling each cup 3/4 full. Bake until puffed and golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.
4. Remove popovers from muffin tin and cool on a wire rack. Save in a storage container to take to the picnic.

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Butter and flour parchment and sides of cake pan, or spray both with a nonstick baking spray.
2. Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan (or large one, if you’d like to make the cake entirely in there) and add baking soda — it will foam up! this is fun! Let stand for 5 minutes, then stir in butter until melted. Whisk in dark brown sugar, molasses and fresh ginger, if using. Mixture is usually just lukewarm by now, but if it still feels quite hot to the touch, set it aside to 10 to 15 minutes to cool further before using.
3. Place flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, salt and baking powder in a fine-mesh strainer or sifter so that you can sift them over the wet ones in a minute.
4. Transfer molasses mixture to a large mixing bowl if your saucepan isn’t large enough to make the batter in. Whisk in eggs until just combined. Sift dry ingredients over wet, then stir the wet and dry ingredients together until just combined.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan; bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer cake to a wire rack and let cool completely. Once fully cool, cut around cake to make sure no parts are sticking to the side and invert cake out onto a rack, then onto a serving plate. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and cut into squares. Please, promise you’ll serve this with lightly sweetened, softly whipped cream. They’re made for each other.
6. Do ahead: Whipped cream needs to be stored in the fridge, of course. Cake keeps at room temperature for up to a week in an airtight container. It gets better with age, just like you, babe.

1. Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat, then pour in the olive oil and tilt the pan to coat the bottom with oil. Add the chickpeas and fry for about 6 minutes, or until golden. Whisk together the tamari, tomato paste, maple syrup, and liquid smoke. Pour over the chickpeas, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat and cover to keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, tear the greens into bite-size pieces, wash, and spin dry. Transfer to a large salad bowl and add the onion, tomatoes, avocado, and carrot. Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients and pour over the salad. Toss the vegetables to coat with dressing and divide the salad among serving bowls.
3. Sprinkle nutritional yeast over the warm chickpeas and stir to coat. Top the salad with hot chickpeas and a twist of freshly ground black pepper to taste, and serve it up!

1. Mince the onion and garlic. Heat the olive oil in a small saute pan over medium heat. When hot, add the garlic, onion, salt and pepper, and cook until everything is soft, about 4 – 5 minutes.
2. Finely dice the zucchini (there should be a little more than 1/4 cup) and add to the pan. Cook until the zucchini is tender, about 3 – 4 minutes.
3. Remove the pan from the heat. Rinse and chop the pickled lemons, and add them to the pan. Scrape everything into a bowl and allow to cool to room temperature.
4. Once cool, add the lamb, egg yolk, flour and mint. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and mix well with your hands.
5. Preheat the oven to 450°. Using damp hands, shape the mixture into 1-inch balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes, until the meatballs are slightly browned on the outside. Serve hot or at room temperature with hummus or tzatziki as a garnish.

For the Bacon, Scallion, and Cream Cheese Stuffing:

1. Cook 3.5 oz bacon in a skillet over medium heat until it's auburn brown and crunchy. Remove it from the pan and chop it into small pieces; set aside. In another pan, set aside the bacon grease (the stuff that leeches out of the meat while it is cooking... yum. Right?)
2. Put 14 oz cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and cream it on medium speed. Pour in the reserved bacon fat and continue creaming at a lower speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl before adding the chopped bacon, chopped bunch of scallions, 2 teaspoons sugar, and 1 teaspoons salt. Continue mixing at a low speed briefly to incorporate the dry ingredients.
3. Scoop the cream cheese mixture onto a sheet pan in 16 even lumps. Freeze until rock hard (about 1 to 3 hours).

For the Mother Dough Bread Buns:

1. Stir together 3 1/2 cups flour, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 1/8 teaspoons active dry yeast in the bowl of your stand mixer -- do it by hand, using the dough hook like a spoon. Continue stirring by hand as you add 1 3/4 cup water, mixing for 1 minute, until the mixture has come together in a shaggy mess.
2. Engage the bowl and hook and have the machine mix the dough on the lowest speed for 3 minutes, or until the ball of dough is smoother and more cohesive. Then knead for 4 more minutes on the lowest speed. The dough should look like a wet ball and should bounce back softly when prodded.
3. Brush a large bowl with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and transfer the dough ball into it. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough proof at room temperature for 45 minutes.

For the Egg Wash Topping and Putting It Together:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 (F).
2. Punch down and flatten the dough on a smooth, dry countertop. Use a dough cutter to divide the dough into 16 equal pieces. Use your fingers to gently stretch each piece of dough out into a mini pizza between 2 and 3 inches wide.
3. Put a frozen cream cheese glob in the center of each dough circle. Bring up the edges of each round and pinch to seal so that the cream cheese plug is completely contained, then gently roll the ball between the palms of your hands to ensure that the bomb has a nice, round, dinner roll-y shape. Arrange the bombs 4 inches apart on a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet.
4. Whisk 1 egg together with 1/2 teaspoon of water to create the egg wash. Brush a generous coat of this wash on the buns. In a small, separate bowl, stir together 4 teaspoons poppy seeds, 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, and 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder. Sprinkle a heavy, even coating of this mixture all over the bagel bombs.
5. Bake the bagel bombs for 20 - 30 minutes. While in the oven, the bombs will become a deep golden brown and a few may have cream cheese explosions. You can use your fingers to tuck the cream cheese inside, or leave them as is. Continue baking until you see this happen. When they are ready, serve immediately.

Make the cake:

1. Heat oven to 350°F (175°c). Line the bottom of an 8-inch square cake pan with parchment paper, and either butter the parchment and exposed sides of the pan, or spray the interior with a nonstick spray. In a large bowl, use a hand or stand mixer to beat the butter and sugars until fluffy; scrape down bowl. Add the egg, yolk and vanilla and beat until combined, then the buttermilk and mix again. Scrape the bowl down well and don’t worry if the batter looks uneven. Place your flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a sifter (I find this step necessary because my cocoa is very lumpy) and shake it over the batter bowl. Stir on low until just combined; scrape down bowl a final time. Scoop batter into prepared pan and smooth flat. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes (updated, based on feedback) 25 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes in cake pan on cooling rack, then flip out onto rack or serving plate to completely finish cooling before frosting. Speed this up by placing it outside for 10 minutes (thanks, winter!).

Make the frosting:

1. Place frosting ingredients in a food processor and run machine to to mix. Scrape down bowl then process for another 1 to 2 minutes (updated based on feedback) just until smooth and somewhat fluffed. [Don’t have a food processor? Beat butter, powdered sugar and salt, if using, in a large bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy. Pour in chocolate, milk and vanilla, beat until combined, then one more minute to whip it further.] Scoop the frosting onto the cooled chocolate cake and swirl it around. Finish with rainbow sprinkles; don’t even fight it. Cut into squares and prepare for your family/roommates to completely freak out when they spy it on the counter. (But only share if they offer to do dishes.)
2. Cake keeps at room temperature for a day or two, or in the fridge up to a week, or so I’ve heard but never tested out.