Cooked

1. Preheat the oven to 325°. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons each of the hot and sweet paprika on the short ribs and rub it in well. Season the meat with salt and pepper.
2. In a large enameled cast-iron casserole, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil until shimmering. Add half of the short ribs and cook slowly over moderately low heat, turning, until browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer the short ribs to a platter and repeat with the remaining oil and ribs.
3. Add the onions to the casserole and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, 1/4 teaspoon of the caraway seeds and the remaining 1 teaspoon each of hot and sweet paprika. Cook over low heat until fragrant, about 4 minutes. Add the Cognac and simmer for 2 minutes. Whisk in the flour and cook for 3 minutes. Increase the heat to moderately high and slowly whisk in the beef stock until smooth.
4. Return the short ribs to the casserole with any accumulated juices and bring to a simmer. Cover the casserole with wax paper and then the lid and bake the stroganoff in the oven for about 2 hours, or until the meat is very tender.
5. Meanwhile, in a small skillet, toast the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of caraway seeds over moderate heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a plate to cool, then finely grind in a spice grinder or mortar.
6. Return the casserole to the stove over low heat. Stir in the cornichons and toasted caraway. In a bowl, whisk 1/2 cup of the hot cooking liquid into the sour cream. Stir the sauce back into the stroganoff and turn off the heat. Continue stirring until well blended. Serve hot.

Make Ahead

The stroganoff can be refrigerated overnight. Rewarm and add the sour cream just before serving.

1. Cook the ground beef in a large pan over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it cooks, before draining any excess grease.
2. Mix the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, brown sugar, chili sauce, garlic, ginger, cornstarch and water, add to the pan along, with the green onions, and cook until the sauce thickens a bit, about a minute.
3. Remove from heat, mix in the sesame oil and sesame seeds.

Option: Add some vegetables to the mix such as broccoli, peas, peppers, etc.

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with vegetable oil.
2.  Line a plate with paper towels. In a large skillet, cook the sausage over medium heat until browned, about five minutes, breaking it up with a side of a spoon. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the sausage to the paper towels. If there is very little oil left behind in the pan, add some olive oil. Sauté the onion until translucent, about five minutes. Stir in the hash brown potatoes and cook until the potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally, about eight minutes. Stir in the reserved a sausage. Remove the pan from heat.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, milk, garlic powder, paprika, sage, salt, and white pepper. Whisk in the Cheddar. Stir in the sausage/hash browns mixture.
4. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
5. Bake until the top is browned and the center is set, about 45 minutes. Cover the baking dish with foil if the top begins to brown before the center is set.
6. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the chives on top before serving.
7. The casserole is best served the same day it is baked. Store leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to two days.

Make the sugared cranberries: Bring 1 cup the sugar and 1 cup water to a simmer on the stove, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and add cranberries. Let syrupy cranberries chill in fridge overnight, if you have time, or an hour or two, while you prepare the rest of the cake. [I left mine outside at 34°F for an hour.] Drain cranberries (you can reserve syrup for sweetening drinks). Place remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a bowl and roll cranberries in it. Arrange them on a plate and chill until dry to the touch, about another 45 minutes in the fridge [or 20 minutes outside for me].

Make the cake: Heat oven to 350°F and line the bottom and sides of a 10×15-inch jelly roll pan with a large piece of parchment (I used a pre-cut half-sheet rectangle). Dabbing the edges and corners of empty pan with a bit of water can help parchment stay in place. Coat the parchment with butter or nonstick spray.

Beat the eggs in a large bowl with a whisk or electric mixer, until well-mixed and bubbly. Add brown sugar, molasses, and applesauce, sour cream, or mascarpone and mix again. Sprinkle baking soda, salt, and spices over the batter and whisk thoroughly into batter, giving it several more whisks around the bowl than seems necessary. Sprinkle flour on batter and switch to a rubber scraper to stir. Stir slowly from the center of the batter, drawing in a little flour at a time until all the flour disappears. Scrape bowl well.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 4 minutes; rotate pan 180 degrees. Bake for another 4 minutes, and check for doneness. The finished cake may look sticky and underbaked, but will not move when the pan is jiggled, and a tester inserted into the cake will come out clean or only with a couple sticky crumbs, not loose batter. Return to the oven for 2 minutes more, if needed, [updated] and in additional 2-minute increments until cake is set.

Transfer cake pan to a cooling rack and let cool for 5 minutes. While it cools, grab several things: A second large sheet of parchment paper, a large cutting board or flat tray, powdered sugar, and a mesh strainer to sift the sugar over the cake.

Run knife around between the cake edge and parchment, loosening it. Tilt the pan and gently tug the parchment and cake onto the cooling rack. Sift powdered sugar all over. Put the second sheet of parchment over the cake, and the cutting board over the parchment. With potholder-ed hands, grab cooling rack and board together, and flip cake onto the board. Gently, carefully peel back the parchment on the back of the cake. Sift powdered sugar all over the back of the cake.

Use the parchment underneath the cake to help you roll the cake from the short side into a snug coil and rest seam side down. Let it cool completely in this parchment log; this take a couple hours at room temperature or about an hour in the fridge. [But I chilled mine outside and it took about 45 minutes.]

Make the bark: Melt about 2/3 of the chocolate chips (you can eyeball it) in the microwave — give it 30 seconds, then stir, add another 30 seconds, if needed — or on the stove in a small pot over medium heat. Off the heat, stir in the remaining chocolate chips until melted. This will bring down the temperature of the chocolate so you can use it right away.

Spread chocolate thinly over a large piece of parchment paper — I use the same size I do for the baking pan, a 13×18-inch sheet. Roll it up into a log; I leave about 1 to 2 inches open in the center, for a looser coil — imagine rolling it around an invisible dowel. Chill in the fridge until firm [I sound like a broken record but I put mine on the patio for 15 minutes].

Make the cream: Place heavy cream, vanilla, and sugar (I use the lower amount; I prefer a barely sweetened cream here) in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer — or with a large whisk — until the mixture holds stiff peaks. Whisk in mascarpone or sour cream until it disappears. This adds both a very slight tang and stabilization; the cream will stay thick for days.

Assemble the cake: Gently, carefully unroll your cooled cake. Spread it with about 2/3 of the whipped cream, in an even layer. Carefully re-roll your cake with the cream inside, carefully peeling off the parchment as you do. Sometimes, barely any cake stuck to the parchment. Other times, a bit more did and a scraper helped separate it. Place the rolled cake seam side down on the final serving platter.

Cover cake with remaining cream, leaving ends exposed. Slowly unroll your chocolate bark coil. The pieces of chocolate will separate in long and short curved pieces. Arrange them over the whipped cream to resemble bark. Shower cake with powdered sugar and decorate the tray with sugared cranberries.

Do ahead: Yule log will keep for several days in the fridge. The cake gets a bit softer every day.

Here's the prompt: bulgogi-style tofu. It’s simple. Press some firm tofu to extract as much liquid as you can. Make a marinade of soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, minced garlic, grated ginger, a spoonful of gochujang, a splash of neutral oil, some sliced scallions and toasted sesame seeds. Slice the tofu into bite-size cubes, and slide them into the marinade. Let that sit — a half-hour works; a few hours works better. Then roast them in a hot oven on an oiled foil-lined pan until they’re crisp. Serve with bibb lettuce cups to wrap them in, with rice, kimchi and a dipping sauce of ssamjang and a little bit more gochujang thinned out with neutral oil and sherry vinegar. (If not, go with sesame oil and ground white pepper.) That’s a fine dinner.

MAKE THE BUNS
1. Whisk the buttermilk, 1⁄2 cup of the melted butter, and eggs together in a medium bowl.
2. Put the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook or a large bowl (if using a hand mixer). Turn the mixer to low and pour the liquid ingredients into the flour mixture. Increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough starts coming away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. (If the dough doesn't pull away from the sides after a few minutes, add another tablespoon of flour and mix again.)
3. Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead it until it is soft and elastic, about 5 minutes. Add a little flour as you go if it starts to get sticky.
4. Grease a large bowl with olive oil. Put the dough in the bowl and turn it over a few times so the oil lightly coats its surface. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set it in a warm place to rise until it has doubled, about 3 hours.
5. When the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and gently stretch it out (without ripping it) to form a 12 x 20-inch rectangle. The longer side of the rectangle should be facing you, with the shorter ends on the sides.

6. Brush the surface of the dough with the remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter. Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, then sprinkle them onto the dough, covering the dough all the way to the bottom and sides of the rectangle but leaving about 1 inch of uncovered dough along the top (the side
farthest from you).
7. Working from the end closest to you, gently roll the dough up into a tight spiral. The edge with no filling (at the top) will stick to the roll; pinch it lightly so
that it seals.
8. Grease two 12-cup muffin tins with olive oil.
9. Use a knife to make 24 even marks along the roll (this is easiest if you start with a mark in the center, then mark the halfway point on each side, then the halfway point of those sections, and so on). Use a piece of dental floss to cut each roll from the dough log: scoot the string under one end of the log and cross it over the top, then pull both ends so that the string cuts through the log evenly. Transfer the cut section to one well in the muffin tin, with the spiral up. Repeat, moving down the log, to cut and place all 24 rolls.
10. Cover the tins with plastic wrap and let the rolls rise until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours (or refrigerate them overnight, then bring them up to room temperature; make sure they've doubled in size before baking).
11. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
12. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the rolls are golden brown. Remove the rolls from the oven and let them cool to room temperature.

MAKE THE FROSTING
1. Beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer in a medium bowl until it's light and fluffy, then beat in the powdered sugar, 1⁄2 cup at a time. Add the milk and beat on high until you have a smooth mixture that leaves a thick coat on the back of a spoon but still runs easily; mix in a bit more powdered sugar or milk
if necessary to get the right consistency.
2. When the buns have cooled to room temperature, spread the frosting evenly over the tops. Store the buns in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms to the dry pan, season with salt, and cook for 5 minutes or until some of the moisture cooks out and the mushrooms begin to caramelize. Add 2 teaspoons of oil along with the onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook until golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, cumin, and paprika, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to the bowl of a food processor along with the chipotles, to taste.

Place the skillet back over medium heat. Add the walnuts to toast for 1 to 2 minutes until nutty smelling, stirring frequently. Transfer to the food processor and pulse with the mushroom mixture until finely chopped. Scrape into a large bowl and set aside.

Add the black beans and rice to the food processor and pulse two to four times to coarsely chop and combine. Add to the mushroom mixture along with the egg, mustard, 1 tablespoon of breadcrumbs, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Stir well to evenly combine. If the mixture is a little loose or too sticky to handle, add the other tablespoon of breadcrumbs.

Place the nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil. Divide the mixture into six equal pieces, about 1/2 cup each, and shape into burgers roughly the size of your buns Flatter patties will be generally firmer and crispier. Thicker patties will have a nice crisp exterior with a more tender center.

Cook until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes per side. If making cheese areers, add a slice of cheese to each paste cover the pan with lith and allow the cheese to melt for about 1 minute. Serve the patties on toasted buns with your favorite toppings.

Preheat your oven to 450°F and drizzle 1 tablespoon of the oil onto a sheet pan.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, garlic powder, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, cumin, and salt and whisk to combine. Whisk in the soda water, then add the cauliflower florets and chickpeas. Stir well to evenly coat the cauliflower and chickpeas in the batter.

Add the breadcrumbs to a separate large bowl. Dump the cauliflower and chickpeas into the panko and toss very well to combine and evenly coat, then transfer the cauliflower and chickpeas to the prepared sheet pan. Spread into an even layer, leaving some room between each piece. Drizzle over the remaining tablespoon of oil and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden and crisp, tossing halfway through.

Meanwhile, make the buffalo sauce by whisking the hot sauce and butter together. Remove the cauliflower and chickpeas from the oven and toss with the buffalo sauce. Return to the oven for 5 minutes to allow the sauce to soak in.

While the cauliflower and chickpeas cook, whisk the mayonnaise sour cream, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, and garlic powder together in large bowl. Stir in a the blue cheese and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the chives, carrot, and celery, reserving the leaves for garnish.

Stuff the pitas with the buffalo cauliflower and chickpeas and top with the blue cheese slaw. Scatter with the reserved celery leaves and serve.

Leftover cauliflower and chickpeas can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
 

1. Mix all dry ingredients - Divide in half
2. Add 2 eggs and 1 cup of milk
3. add vanilla and baking powder
4. Bake 350c for 40 mins

1. Add peanuts to the canister of a food processor, process on high power until creamy and smooth, about 5 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the canister if necessary. However, I find the less scraping and interruptions, the better.
2. The peanuts will go through stages of: crushed, crushed into a fine powder, a paste, a thicker paste, a big “dough ball”, and then the ball will break down into runnier peanut butter. At the point the peanut butter is runny, continue processing for about 1 to 2 more minutes, making sure the peanut butter is as smooth as desired.
3. Add the vanilla, chocolate chips*, optional salt (I do not add salt; the salt from the peanuts I buy is enough for me) and process for 2 to 3 minutes, or until smooth and incorporated. I add the vanilla and chocolate chips all at once through the feed tube with the machine running, but if using a weaker or older food processor, sprinkling them in more slowly may prevent your machine from struggling.
4. Transfer peanut butter into a glass jar or other container with a lid. Store peanut butter in the refrigerator or at room temperature. At room temperature, it firms up some, but stays soft. In the refrigerator, because of the chocolate it hardens and solidifies, but softens up after ten minutes at room temperature. I estimate that it could be stored at room temperature for at least two weeks without issue, but with anything, let common sense be your guide. In the refrigerator, it keeps for months. The shelf life at either room temp or in the refrigerator will far exceed your willpower; making longterm storage issues moot.