use real butter

Recipe: herbed garlic knots

Of all the friends I have made through blogging, the two people I hold dearest in my heart are Todd and Diane. The first time I met them in person was shortly after I finished my radiation treatment when I had a mere hint of fuzz on my head and my face was still puffy and swollen from chemotherapy. They invited me and Jeremy into their home and paradise of a garden for an evening of amazing food, great conversation, puppy time, many laughs, and a generosity that touched our hearts. Todd and Diane are my favorite kind of people – no bullshit, honest, straight shooters. We think of them as family. We weep over their losses and we celebrate their successes. I was beaming with pride when I opened up my copy of their cookbook Bountiful.

Disclosure: I received a free review copy of the book from the publisher with no obligation. Opinions are entirely my own.

todd and diane visiting us in crested butte this past september

300 pages of awesome

As I flipped through the pages of this hefty tome, I muttered, “They should have called it ‘Beautiful’.” And it IS beautiful, filled with their signature stunning photography and equally wonderful recipes. If you’ve been a reader of use real butter for any length of time, you’ll know that I draw much inspiration (and recipes) from Todd and Diane. They are always willing to share their incredible food and knowledge, making everything as accessible to others as possible. The book itself is organized by families of fruits and vegetables that they grow in their lush Southern California garden. I tagged so many recipes to try, but there was no question which one I wanted to make first. I’ve been eyeing these garlic knots for years and now I had zero excuse not to bake them.

the dough: flour, salt, yeast, sugar, olive oil, water

combine the warm water, yeast, sugar, salt, and olive oil in a large vessel

add the flour when the yeast is dissolved

let the dough rise, covered in a warm location

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Recipe: pear upside down gingerbread cake

Pears have been around for a few months, but I’ve only really taken notice of them in the past few weeks. I’ve always had a mild fear of pears. I know that sounds silly, but hear me out. The Chinese say it’s bad luck to split a pear between two people. One person eating a pear is fine. Three or more people sharing a pear is fine too. Two people should not split a pear. Because splitting a pear in Chinese is fen li and that is the same sound as the phrase for separation. But I figured, if I put the pears in a cake and shared it around with lots of people – I’d be in the clear.

bosc pears

the topping: pears, butter, light brown sugar

the cake: flour, brown sugar, molasses, butter, water, candied ginger, egg, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves

It’s the perfect time around here for a pear upside down gingerbread cake, don’t you think? Gingerbread stirs that festive holiday mood and pears are in season. Also – it’s 11°F outside, so turning on the oven is a wonderful, awesome, very good thing to do.

peel, core, and slice the pears into eighths

sprinkle brown sugar over the melted butter and let cook

arrange the pear slices over the butter-sugar mixture

First, you begin at the stove with a cast iron skillet or other non-stick ovenproof frying pan. These recipes always call for a 10-inch skillet and I only have a 12-inch cast iron skillet. So I sliced up four pears instead of the 2.5 from the recipe to make up for the added volume. Besides, I really like a higher fruit to cake ratio. Start with melting the butter then add the brown sugar. Mine did not melt much at all, it just kind of sat there. But when I added the pear slices, it started turning into this beautiful caramel colored melty syrup. Even if it doesn’t start melting, never fear – it will definitely melt in the oven. But you have to make the batter before you can pop this into the oven.

whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices together

beat the sugar, butter, and egg together

whisk the molasses into the boiling hot water

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Recipe: pasta carbonara

The other day as I was wrapping up a product shoot, I noticed Kaweah lying on the floor next to a light stand, looking bored. I walked over to stroke her silky ears and she casually lifted her front paw asking for a belly rub. Kaweah was in a mellow mood, which used to be a rare thing but is now the norm. Instead of putting the studio gear away, I pulled the background down to the floor and coaxed the dog over with treats. I need to remind myself to do this more often while she’s still with us. It’s so easy to get busy and tell yourself that you’ll do it later, and then one day… later is just too late.

she reminds me of a plush toy sometimes

kaweah got bored

the half-bambi

We took care of house things on Saturday which involved lots of running up and down the stairs to do laundry, to seal the driveway before the next snow storm, to consolidate our recycling and trash to take to the dump, to move our deck furniture into the basement until summer. That sort of house stuff. Kaweah, in her old age, no longer likes hearing loud sounds (despite being mostly deaf). She also dislikes seeing furniture or large appliances moved about. And it makes her nervous when we go in and out of a room too much. So after getting wigged out for most of Saturday and hiding in the office, she finally emerged when I started making dinner.

pasta carbonara: linguine, olive oil, pepper, parmigiano-reggiano, eggs, pancetta, salt

Yes, leave it to cured pork (or any meat) to pique Kaweah’s interest. Truth be told, I was interested too. I’ve never made pasta carbonara before. It’s something I have seen and heard praises about for eons, but I had never even tasted it. Pasta carbonara had been sitting on a long list of dishes I wanted to make and/or try. I had no idea it was so simple.

dice the pancetta

grate the cheese

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