To score a table at Don Angie, the Italian-American hotspot in New York’s West Village, the official course of action is to log on to restaurant booking site Resy at 9 a.m. seven days before the desired dining date. At least, that’s the policy that chef-owners Angie Rito and Scott Tacinelli have set up for potential diners.

But those who have recently tried to book those elusive seats via the reservation platform know they rarely open up.

If you head over to Appointment Trader, however, and are willing to pay up to $125 just for the opportunity to walk through the door, you can start bidding on seats for any day for the next few weeks.

The issue of seats disappearing that should be available began last summer, says Rito. “But it has become more pronounced over the last few months.”

She believes that bots—software programs engineered to perfect certain tasks, like swiping up Taylor Swift tickets or restaurant reservations the millisecond seats open up—are mostly to blame.

The operators behind those seat-snatching programs then try to make a quick buck—or several hundred—by reselling the reservations on sites like Appointment Trader. The two-year-old website enables individuals to buy and sell restaurant bookings and finds seats using bots as well as concierges and other people with access to restaurants.

Owners at several other of New York’s hard-to-get-into restaurants, from downtown Indian haunts Dhamaka and Semma to tiny Farra Wine Bar in Tribeca, and the revamped new American spot Virginia’s, also report being burned by bots. “We have noticed certain names making a large amount of reservations, and either no-showing or having different guests utilizing them,” says Isabella Pisacane, a partner and director of hospitality at French bistro Libertine. “Certain guests will appear trepidatious when approaching the maitre’d when checking in, as they’re not using their actual names.”

“It is a very serious issue now, happening to a lot of restaurants and bars,” says GN Chan, co-owner of Double Chicken Please in the Lower East Side and ranked No. 2 on the World’s 50 Best Bars list. He notes that the bar began receiving brokered reservations from bots soon after the drinking den was named the best bar in North America earlier this year.

Em Pak, a manager at Double Chicken Please, says that there are some signature ways to tell if a seat has been booked by a bot: Resy accounts may be connected to invalid email addresses comprised of jumbled numbers and letters, or profiles with a history of booking prime time, back-to-back reservations on weekends — such as 7 p.m. reservations every Friday and Saturday for several weekends. Others are the usual disconnected phone numbers attached to bookings and invalid credit cards.

But even though they may suspect suspicious activity in advance, Pak admits that a lot of the time they don’t know for sure, “and we don’t want to risk canceling a reservation that belongs to someone who authentically booked.”

This means that not only does the business miss out on the $20 cancellation fee charged to invalid credit cards, the bar loses time, and eventually customers and revenue, when they hold bot seats that go unfilled.

But Chan—who has seen seats at his bar selling for $340 each on six-month-old Cita marketplace, another website that enables diners to buy and sell restaurant reservations—calls out another issue. When guests drop $100 or more just to walk in the door, “people have [the] wrong expectation when they come” he says because those expectations might be unreasonably high.

Pak says that Resy, which runs the reservations for Double Chicken Please and is owned by American Express, has taken action: They are “deleting confirmed bot profiles and sending what are essentially cease and desist emails to broker profiles,” she says. The actions have helped, Pak adds, but the issue persists. Now, Double Chicken Please has cut down on the number of reserved seats they offer and are welcoming more walk-ins.

A spokesperson for Resy says that the company is taking measures to block bot-booking. “Resy detects and deactivates bad actor accounts, cancels reservations, and blocks bot traffic,” they said over email.

At Tock, another reservation site that books tables at notable restaurants around the world, there’s an in-house Fraud Prevention team that uses a proprietary algorithm to flag suspicious activity. It has used it to block cards and scalper accounts a handful of times. Two months ago, the company added verification techniques to block bots, that include having users check boxes to verify they are real people. Resy also uses a variety of checks, including checking boxes and two-factor authentication for profiles.

Some new sites are testing out their own bot workarounds. ResX, a six-month-old app that began as an Instagram account, is free to use and provides a platform for diners to give away and claim restaurant reservations. For $10 a month, ResX also offers access to what it calls “premium” restaurants, like the power pasta dining spot Misi in Brooklyn. Users earn “tokens” by giving away their reservations; the tokens, in turn, can be used to claim premium reservations.

Longtime ResX user Jake Andrew, who declined to give his last name, has used the app to avoid cancellation charges. That includes trading a table for 8 at Montauk’s Surf Lodge last summer — the definition of valuable culinary real estate in the Hamptons. “I was going to be charged $400, $50 per guest,” he says.

Another new members-only app, Dorsia, works with restaurants to score prime reservations at places like the supper club space 9 Jones and even the impossible-to-get-into Carbone in New York. (The site, whose name has a clear American Psycho connection, also covers cities like Miami, London, the Bay Area and Los Angeles restaurants.)

But a diner must agree to a certain prepaid per-person spend when they book: For example, dinner at Cote Korean Steakhouse might cost $125 per person on a weekday night at 5 p.m.; on a weekend at 9 p.m. that figure might be $175. The benefit is that, although the seats might cost more, the extra money goes to a diner’s food and drinks as opposed to a reseller’s pocket.

For now, the only solution for frustrated restaurateurs is “a lot of added time and effort,” says Don Angie’s Rito. She and her staff are currently reaching out to every customer on Don Angie’s waitlist one-by-one to ensure that they’re a real person who will walk through the door of the restaurant and into a seat.

___

©2023 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Make-ahead foods, such as scones, can be ideal because they are delicious at room temperature, which means can accommodate guests who are early risers as well as those who prefer to sleep in.

This recipe for “Lemon-Ginger Scones” from “Simply Scratch” (Avery) by Laurie McNamara produces refreshing flavor in a buttery scone. Serve with tea or coffee and guests will be in heaven.

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Lemon-Ginger Scones

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup cold heavy cream

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon organic lemon extract

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) ice-cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1/4 cup finely diced candied ginger

2 tablespoons grated lemon zest

1/4 cup powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.

In a 2-cup liquid measuring cup, use a fork to beat together the heavy cream, eggs, lemon extract, and vanilla until combined. Chill until ready to use. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Drop in the ice-cold butter and use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse wet sand.

Pour in the chilled cream mixture, ginger and lemon zest and use a rubber spatula to stir until just combined. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead it a few times before forming it into a ball. With floured fingers, flatten it out into a 1 1/2-inch-thick round. Cut the round into 8 equal-sized wedges and transfer them to the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking. Transfer the baked scones to a wire rack to cool.

Once the scones have cooled, dust generously with powdered sugar before serving.

Makes 8 scones

Be sure to use real old fashioned rolled oats (not quick oats) for these to have the crispy texture you’re after. I prefer the richness and salty flavor of Irish butter in my baking, but feel free to substitute standard salted butter. If you want to make just one cookie sheet full and save the rest for fresh-baked cookies at a later time, wrap the remaining dough in plastic wrap and roll it into a thick log before placing it in the freezer, so you can just slice it into half-inch thick discs to bake when the craving strikes.

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Crispy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Comfort Cookies

INGREDIENTS

1 cup butter, room temperature

2/3 cup white sugar

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/3 cup ground flax meal

¾ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon sea salt

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats (not instant)

½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1½ cups chopped walnuts

2 cups dark chocolate chips/chunks

¼ teaspoon coarse sea salt, optional, for sprinkling tops

DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 3 cookie sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or in a large bowl with a whisk), beat the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the egg and vanilla and beat another 30 seconds, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

In a separate bowl, combine the whole wheat flour, flax meal, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt. With the mixer on the lowest speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until just incorporated, about 10 seconds. Next, mix in the oats and shredded coconut until fully incorporated. Finally, mix in the walnuts and chocolate chips with a large rubber spatula until evenly distributed. The dough will be a bit crumbly.

Place 2- to 3-tablespoon mounds of the dough onto the cookie sheets, spacing the mounds about three inches apart, and then flatten each mound with your palm until it forms a flat circle, about ½-inch thick. Lightly sprinkle the coarse sea salt over the tops before baking.

Bake one cookie sheet at a time on the center rack of the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and crisp. Allow to cool completely on the baking sheet for an extra crispy cookie. Once completely cool, store in an airtight container for up to five days. Makes about 2½ dozen cookies

Registered dietitian and food writer Laura McLively is the author of “The Berkeley Bowl Cookbook.” Follow her at @myberkeleybowl and www.lauramclively.com./Tribune News Service

I use a small amount of sherry with soy sauce. If you don’t have sherry on hand, you can buy it in small bottles or splits in a wine store. Or use unsalted chicken broth instead.

You can use regular sesame oil instead of toasted sesame oil.

If using dried noodles instead of fresh, boil 2 to 3 minutes longer.

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Honey Glazed Stir-Fried Pork

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon dry sherry

1 tablespoon honey

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

3/4 pound pork tenderloin, sliced into 1/2-inch strips

1/4 pound fresh or steamed Chinese noodles

4 teaspoons toasted sesame oil, divided use

1/4 pound broccoli florets

2 cups sliced onion

2 cups sliced red bell pepper

DIRECTIONS

Place a large pot of water on to boil. In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, sherry, honey, and red pepper flakes. Add the pork strips and toss well. Ser aside. When water comes to a boil, add the noodles and boil for 2 minutes. Test to make sure they are soft. Boil another minute, if needed. Remove 2 tablespoons water to a bowl and add 2 teaspoons sesame oil and noodles. Toss well. Drain the noodles and add to the bowl. Toss well, divide in half and place on two dinner plates.

Heat a wok or skillet over high heat. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons sesame oil. Add the pork with the marinade and stir fry for 1 minute. Remove to a plate. Add the broccoli, onion and red bell pepper and stir-fry for 2 minutes return the meat to the wok continue to stir-fry 1 minute. Divide in half and add to the two dinner plates over the noodles.
Yield 2 servings.

Recipe by Linda Gassenheimer

(Linda Gassenheimer is the author of over 30 cookbooks, including her newest, “The 12-Week Diabetes Cookbook.” /Tribune News Service

Be sure to use real old fashioned rolled oats (not quick oats) for these to have the crispy texture you’re after. I prefer the richness and salty flavor of Irish butter in my baking, but feel free to substitute standard salted butter. If you want to make just one cookie sheet full and save the rest for fresh-baked cookies at a later time, wrap the remaining dough in plastic wrap and roll it into a thick log before placing it in the freezer, so you can just slice it into half-inch thick discs to bake when the craving strikes.

Crispy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Comfort Cookies

Makes about 2½ dozen cookies

INGREDIENTS

1 cup butter, room temperature

2/3 cup white sugar

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/3 cup ground flax meal

¾ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon sea salt

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats (not instant)

½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1½ cups chopped walnuts

2 cups dark chocolate chips/chunks

¼ teaspoon coarse sea salt, optional, for sprinkling tops

DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 3 cookie sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or in a large bowl with a whisk), beat the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the egg and vanilla and beat another 30 seconds, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

In a separate bowl, combine the whole wheat flour, flax meal, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt. With the mixer on the lowest speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until just incorporated, about 10 seconds. Next, mix in the oats and shredded coconut until fully incorporated. Finally, mix in the walnuts and chocolate chips with a large rubber spatula until evenly distributed. The dough will be a bit crumbly

Place 2- to 3-tablespoon mounds of the dough onto the cookie sheets, spacing the mounds about three inches apart, and then flatten each mound with your palm until it forms a flat circle, about ½-inch thick. Lightly sprinkle the coarse sea salt over the tops before baking.

Bake one cookie sheet at a time on the center rack of the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and crisp. Allow to cool completely on the baking sheet for an extra crispy cookie. Once completely cool, store in an airtight container for up to five days.

Registered dietitian and food writer Laura McLively is the author of “The Berkeley Bowl Cookbook.” Follow her at @myberkeleybowl and www.lauramclively.com.

It was gorgeous, goth and moody. It was grand, with color you could taste — burgundy, raspberry, chocolate — hues well suited for the crushed velvet drapes of a vampire’s Victorian parlor. And you Freddy Krueger fans will appreciate this: It gave me serious “chest of souls” vibes.

I had to make it. The power of pumpkins compelled me. So much so, that I made it almost immediately. Even though it was only August.

If you’re going to season creep, creep big.

The pignoli cookie is a sweet, simple way to time travel

Ghoul at Heart is a second home and handle for cooking blogger Laurie Castellon, whose love of Halloween eventually prompted her to branch out from her Castellon’s Kitchen site with year-round recipe posts featuring creations campy, cute, gory and great. I mean really great. Just check out this near-literal crime scene of a cheese course, the Amputated Appetizer, (instagram.com/p/CwfsM1Sp-Ry)  if you need further proof. Her Instagram account is a frighteningly fun rabbit hole in which to descend, but I digress…

Because it was the galette that grabbed me at the outset.

This terrifying tart features the flavor trifecta of pear, raspberry and chocolate. One can go all-in and make the jam from scratch or cheat a little with something from a jar, but the fun is undeniable. It’s an artsy-craftsy creation you can eat, and really, based on how I felt when I saw it, it’s all but guaranteed that if you’re throwing some sort of Halloween bash, your guests are going to go ga-ga when they see it.

To be upfront, the Grim Reaper Galette is a two-day project.

That’s because of the “boos.”(See what I did there?) For those of you who love cooking with wine — and sometimes even put it in the food — the dramatic color on these pear skulls comes from a mixture of dry red vino and Chambord, a divine black raspberry liqueur that’s as enjoyable by the spoonful over good vanilla ice cream as it is by the splash in good vodka or bubbly.

But first, you’ll have to carve them.

Castellon’s recipe calls for various tools to get the job done, but I had neither a corer nor a cookie cutter, so I did it all by hand. Are the skulls pastry-pro perfect? Perhaps not, but I think they look cute enough. So, if you don’t have these items in your kitchen drawer already, don’t feel like they’re must-haves you need to spend money on.

Once peeled and carved, the pears will require an overnight soak to get that beautiful red color. I flipped them a few times throughout the process to ensure an even red. And since they need the overnight, I suggest making the jam and dough the day before, too, which will make your second day’s work an easier cleanup.

Making the dough was far more straightforward than I expected. To a layperson like me, pastries are high-level baking. And though I probably could have done a better job in rolling it out into a thinner sheet, the flavor — a buttery-rich chocolate that’s not at all sweet — balanced very nicely with the sugary-tart combo of jam and fruit. Almond slivers, along with the seeds in the jam, add some crunch, though you avid bakers out there might have an additional suggestion for more.

One thing I can say is that those privy to my pastry ahead of time were duly impressed with this thing, in both looks and taste. You’ll probably want something a little less sophisticated on hand for your table, as well, whether for the kids or those who aren’t fans of a fruity finish.

For those of you who are, however, the scratch-made raspberry jam is a nice bonus. The recipe made far more than the tart required and so even now, months later, the spirit of my dearly departed dessert lives on in a jar in my fridge, destined to haunt dozens of toasted bagels in the months to come.

Find me on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com, For more foodie fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group.

Grim Reaper Galette

Recipe Courtesy Ghoul at Heart; (ghoulatheart.com/grim-reaper-galette)

Equipment*

• 1 pastry blender
• 1 apple corer
• 1 mini heart cookie cutter

*I carved the pears and made the pastry by hand; equipment not mandatory. 

Ingredients

Chocolate Galette Dough

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup butter, cold and cut into ¼-inch slices
• 6-8 tablespoons ice water

Macerated Pears

• 3-4 pears, cored, peeled and halved
• 2 cups Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur
• 1 cup dry red wine (for color)

Raspberry Jam Filling

• 2½ cups raspberries
• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ cup water
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• Sliced almonds (optional)

Instructions

Pear Skulls

1. Pour Chambord  and wine into medium-sized bowl. Working one at a time so pears don’t brown, core and peel pears, then cut it in half lengthwise. With the larger end of the pear on top, use the apple corer to cut out two holes for the eyes and then cut out the nose with the heart-shaped cookie cutter. Use a paring knife to score the smaller end to create teeth, and then add a skull crack if desired. Place pears in Chambord/wine mixture and allow to soak overnight.
2. When ready to assemble tart, remove pears from macerating liquid and place on plate. Reduce macerating liquid over medium-high heat until syrupy, 8-10 minutes. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Chocolate Galette Dough

1. Add flour, cocoa powder, sugars and salt into large bowl. Whisk to combine.
2. Add cold butter slices and, using pastry blender or fork, work in butter until it looks like pea-sized crumbles.
3. Stir in ice water, two tablespoons at a time, until a ball forms and pulls away from the bowl. Turn dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, shape into a round disc and wrap tightly. Refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes or overnight.

Raspberry Jam

1. Combine raspberries, sugar, water and cornstarch in medium saucepan. Mash with potato masher and over medium heat as you bring to a boil. Stir frequently until mixture begins to thicken, about 10 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside or refrigerate until ready to assemble.

Assembly

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Remove dough from the refrigerator and roll out onto a lightly floured surface to about ⅛-inch thickness. Transfer dough to parchment-lined baking sheet. Fill center of dough with jam leaving about 3 inch border. Sprinkle with sliced almonds.
3. Place macerated pears on jam. Fold dough over to encase  jam and pears. Brush dough with egg wash and bake for 35-45 minutes. Serve with a drizzle of the Chambord syrup, and enjoy!

Individual grim reaper tartlets: Divide dough evenly into 6 or 8 rounds and assemble as instructed above. Bake for 25-35 minutes.

Before tossing out brown bananas, consider this recipe for “Chocolate Chip Banana Bread” courtesy of Jenna Barnard and the Butternut Bakery Blog.

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Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups ripe and mashed banana (3 to 4 medium bananas), measured

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup 2% Greek yogurt (sour cream also works)

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup mini chocolate chips, plus a handful more for sprinkling on top

DIRECTIONS

Preheat your oven to 325 F and grease and line a 9×5 loaf pan with parchment paper. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix together the melted butter and sugars until you reach a paste-like consistency. This may take some vigorous whisking for a minute or two. You can either use a whisk or an electric mixer with the paddle attachment. Add in your mashed bananas followed by the eggs, yogurt and vanilla.

Once all of your wet ingredients are mixed together, fold in the dry ingredients. Then, fold in the chocolate chips. Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan and spread it evenly. Sprinkle extra chocolate chips on top if you like. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.

Let it cool completely before removing from the pan. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.

The cost of a dozen grade-A eggs at a typical grocery store can range from $3.00 to a whopping $10.00. Considering eggs cost more than ever, are the more expensive eggs worth it? What do the labels on the egg carton even mean? There are common misconceptions about egg labeling, so let’s crack the code to the meaning of common egg carton labels.

Egg Grading

Eggs are graded on a scale of AA, A or B. Eggs are graded on appearance and the firmness of the white with AA being the highest quality. Typically, supermarket eggs are graded A, which is fine for baking and cooking.

Cage-free

While cage-free may sound like an improvement in the treatment of chickens, it simply means that the chickens are not kept in cages. They may still be packed tight in confined hen houses with no access to the outdoors or daylight.

Free-range

Eggs labeled free-range are produced by chickens that must have access to the outdoors at least six hours per day and have two square feet of space per bird. There are no requirements regarding the conditions of the outdoor space.

Pasture-raised

Pasture-raised eggs are produced by chickens that have been raised in a vegetation-covered pasture with 108 square feet per chicken for a minimum of six hours per day. Chickens are fed only grains without animal byproducts and are free to eat the insects and seeds in their natural environment. Pasture-raised eggs are Humane Farm Animal Care certified, a non-profit certification organization.

Due to the superior diet of pasture-raised chickens, the eggs they produce are known to have better flavor and substantially greater nutritional value, including more vitamin D, vitamin A, omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E.

Certified organic

Organic certification is regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture and means that chickens have access to the outdoors and are fed a feed that does not contain genetically modified organisms, antibiotics or animal byproducts.

Antibiotic-free

As with certified organic eggs, eggs labeled antibiotic-free came from hens that haven’t received antibiotics in their feed or water according to the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association. However, these eggs may not qualify for an organic certification due to other factors.

Natural or Farm-fresh

Terms like “natural” and “farm fresh” are unregulated. These terms may be added to food labels, including the packaging of eggs, but do not impart any important meaning or value.

Overall, eggs are a nutrient-dense food; however, omega-3-enriched and lutein-enhanced eggs are likely the best eggs for their extra nutritional value. Nutrient enrichment and enhancement of eggs is a separate label from those related to the treatment of hens.

There are important factors to consider when choosing the best eggs for you and your family. More nutritious eggs from humanely treated hens may have the best taste, but also the highest price. These are all important factors to consider when purchasing eggs. Keep in mind that savings may be achieved when purchasing cartons of 18 eggs instead of a dozen. Shop around and compare prices at different markets and use coupons to get the best price. If any of your neighbors have chickens, you may be able to score a good deal or a barter for fresh, local eggs.

LeeAnn Weintraub, MPH, RD is a registered dietitian, providing nutrition counseling and consulting to individuals, families and organizations. She can be reached by email at RD@halfacup.com.

Thumbing through the recipes, I doubted it at first glance. A quarter-cup tomato paste seemed like a bad idea. But guess what? I made it and loved it. The soup is as delicious as it is simple to prepare.

Easiest Vegetable Soup

Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

Black pepper to taste

6 cups vegetable broth or water

3 cups chopped firm vegetables, such as carrots, winter squash, cauliflower, broccoli or root vegetables

3 cups chopped soft vegetables such as zucchini, bell peppers, green beans or any greens

3 cups cooked or canned beans or fresh or frozen corn kernels or peas

Garnish 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

DIRECTIONS

1. Put oil in large pot or Dutch oven on medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook until it dries out a bit, a minute or two. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

2. Add broth or water and scrape up any bits on the bottom of the pan. Add firm vegetables and bring to boil. Adjust heat so the mixture gently bubbles. Cook, stirring once in a while, until vegetables are soft, 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the kinds you’re using.

3. Add zucchini or other soft vegetables, along with beans or corn or peas. Return to boil, then lower the heat so the mixture bubbles gently. Cook, stirring once in a while, until everything is quite soft, another 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in basil; taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Source: “Eat Vegan Before 6:00” by Mark Bittman (Clarkson Potter, $26)

Award-winning food writer Cathy Thomas has written three cookbooks, including “50 Best Plants on the Planet.” Follow her at @CathyThomas Cooks.com.

I agreed. So much so that I’d have had it as a shot in my honey-vanilla chamomile as I wrote this. I’m not, though. Because there’s no amaretto in the house. With the holiday season fast approaching, that’s about to be remedied, but even so, I now have two notes to write to myself this morning.

Always have amaretto, Amy Drew.

And, since the years have clearly done a number on your priorities, always have pignoli cookies.

I just finished baking a batch, and these sweet, chewy-delicious pine nut cookies — with that beautiful lacquer of toasty pine nuts on top — are the stuff of nonna’s kitchen, which may be tied to the holidays (they’re so festive!) or just baking with her on a Sunday while the sauce is going. Maybe it’s your uncle they remind you of. Or mom. Doesn’t matter. The point is pignoli cookies are evocative of family.

And can you think of a better way to celebrate National Nut Day (Oct. 22) than with a salute to your family?!

The rainbow connection: an Orlando search for a northeastern favorite

I kid, I kid, but when I heard this food holiday was upon us, my first thought was pignoli cookies. It had been forever since I’d had them, so I made a batch. And while doing so, I wondered whether other people had similarly strong feelings.

“OMG! That is literally my favorite cookie!” Denny Tornatore wrote after I sent him a pic. “I don’t care how much they cost when I am in N.Y.C. I pay the price. Pignoli cookies are the best!”

He agreed to discuss them with me for the price of two cookies. Which, if I were selling them, would be a lot.

Pine nuts are expensive. There are a multitude of reasons why. The types of trees that produce them (a limited number of pine species actually produce edible nuts) don’t do so until they are quite mature. The harvesting process is laborious. Most pine nuts are imported, and because they can spoil, extra prep and care go into their transport. They’re also in very high demand.

“I think the cookies were $24 a pound last time I went to Ferrara in New York,” Tornatore tells me. (They’re currently clocking in at $42.95 a pound via Goldbelly.)

As the chef/owner of Tornatore’s Restaurant in Orlando’s College Park neighborhood, he’s also a regular consumer. Pine nuts are the prime ingredient in pesto, after all, which he has on the menu. “They’ve gone up consistently since COVID,” he says. “Lots of things have started to come back down since then, but not pine nuts.”

It was around the holidays that Tornatore remembers the cookies showing up.

“My nonna would make them and put a little powdered sugar on them, and we’d just eat them warm, oh my god…” he trails off, lost in food memory. I get it. As I type, mine are just about cool. I’ve already had three.

“Pignoli cookies!” Patrick Tramontana replies when I send him the same pic. Again, there’s a similar time warp.

“They make me think of my childhood on Long Island. Going to pick up my mom after school with my dad when she worked at the bakery. She was the cookie lady.”

Erga Italian Bakery was a neighborhood staple in Bethpage, New York, for decades. (It’s since become another bakery, Moscato‘s.) Little did the cookie lady know that one day, her son would be heading up the kitchen at Antonio’s of Maitland before taking the helm at The Mayflower at Winter Park.

Local chef finds work-life balance among the retired

Every time he went, Salvo, the baker, would come out and let him pick whatever he wanted.

“I’d always pick the strawberry eclair because it was the biggest thing they had!” he says, laughing. “My mom would come home with loaves of semolina bread all the time. And every once in a while, and always during Christmas time, she’d come home with pignoli cookies. They’re so delicious! They have this wonderful chewy thing, but they’re also crisp at the same time.”

Yep. It’s a texture thing, courtesy of its prime ingredient — almond paste — that’s at least equal to the rich almond flavor it imparts. There’s a balance of crisp and gooey in these flourless cookies that’s matchless.

“I’m a big almond fan. I go crazy for almond desserts,” says Kevin Fonzo, whose La Tavola dinners at the Emeril Lagasse Foundation’s Kitchen House in College Park sell out as fast as he posts them. “But for me, this is a history thing. It’s the feeling of warmth and comfort and love.”

Growing up in upstate New York, Fonzo would regularly visit his grandparents in the Bronx. And though his great aunts made pignoli cookies all the time, they still remind him mostly of the bakery behind their apartment building.

“When we’d spend the weekend with my grandparents, it was a daily stop for us. We’d walk around the corner to this bakery, and there were all these amazing cookies that weren’t chocolate chip or Oreo or things you’d see at the supermarket.”

To date, Fonzo still orders many of his cookies from his favorite places in New York, like Ferrara in Little Italy.

“Every year, I order like for my sister, who is crazy about the pine nut cookies, too, and for the holidays, I’ll get an assorted cookie tray. And I always get pissed off because there’s never enough pignoli cookies.”

That’s why you have to make your own.

Find me on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com, For more foodie fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group.

Pignoli Cookies

Recipe by Angela Allison courtesy of This Italian Kitchen (thisitaliankitchen.com/pignoli-cookies)

Some notes: This recipe made 24 cookies. I baked them at 350 degrees instead of 325, and they browned beautifully. Try out a couple of testers and see if the higher setting suits your oven as it did mine. And if you want to stretch your pine nuts farther, which you might when three ounces go for about $13 at Publix, press them into one side of the dough ball instead of rolling the whole thing.

Ingredients

• 6 ounces pine nuts
• 14 ounces almond paste (two 7-ounce tubes)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 large egg whites
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.* Line two baking sheets with parchment; set aside. Place pine nuts in a small bowl; set aside.
2. Open tubes of almond paste and break into one-inch chunks using your fingers. Place paste into food processor and pulse until the it has broken apart.
3. Add granulated sugar, powdered sugar and salt to the food processor. Pulse until well combined and mixture forms a crumb. Add in the egg whites and process until a dough forms. (Dough will be slightly sticky).
4. Use a cookie scoop to measure out equal amounts of dough. Form dough into balls using your hands (wet hands slightly if dough begins to stick). Place the dough ball in the bowl of pine nuts and gently press in the nuts so they stick to the ball.
5. Place cookies on lined baking sheet, leaving about an inch and half between each (you should be able to fit a dozen cookies on each baking sheet.) Bake on center rack in oven for 15-18 minutes, or until the cookies start to spread and lightly brown.
6. Remove the cookies from oven and cool on the baking sheet completely before moving. If you move the cookie while warm, you risk it falling apart. Dust cookie with powdered sugar before serving (optional).

This year, Halloween hosts can serve up a slice of “Chocolate Fudge Pie” from “Real Simple: Dinner Tonight Done!” (Time Home Entertainment) from the editors of Real Simple.

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Chocolate Fudge Pie

INGREDIENTS

1 pie crust (store-bought or homemade), fitted into a 9-inch pie plate

6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped, plus more shaved, for topping

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

3 large eggs

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 375 F. Place the pie plate on a baking sheet. Prick the crust with a fork and line with foil. Fill to the top with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until the edges are firm, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and bake until just golden, 8 to 10 minutes more. Reduce oven temperature to 325 F.

Meanwhile, in a large heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter, stirring often, until smooth; set aside. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs, salt, and 1/2 cup of the sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes. Fold one-third of the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture, then fold in the remainder. Pour the mixture into the crust and bake until puffed and beginning to crack, 20 to 25 minutes. Cook for 1 hour, then chill until firm, at least 2 hours.

Beat the cream with the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar on medium high-speed until soft peaks form. Spread over the pie and sprinkle with the shaved chocolate.

Serves 8

Gala and the ubiquitous Red Delicious tend to be the most popular for eating out of hand, but sweet-tart cultivars such as Honeycrisp and the bright green, citrusy-tart Granny Smith are also great for a quick after-school or workday snack.

They’re also delicious on top of a salad, providing both a satisfying crunch and a fresh fall flavor that speaks to the season.

Here, thinly sliced apples add a bright and colorful crunch to a healthful, tossed salad mix of spicy arugula, shredded kale and cabbage. It’s dressed in a sweet and tangy, mustardy vinaigrette sweetened with another fall favorite, local maple syrup.

I dressed up the salad with dried cranberries, toasted pecans and a generous crumble of blue cheese on top because that’s both what I had on hand and the flavor combination I love best. But walnuts or cashews would be just as tasty, as would dried dried cherries or raisins and any favorite tangy cheese.

The salad can either be served as a vegetarian main dish (larger portions) with some crusty bread and a crisp Chardonnay or as a first course (smaller portion).

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Apple Salad with Maple Vinaigrette

INGREDIENTS

For dressing

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 clove garlic

Dash of paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/3 cup olive oil

For salad

6 cups mixed arugula, shredded kale and shredded green cabbage

2 Honeycrisp, McIntosh, Granny Smith or other tart apples (or combination of), thinly sliced

Sprinkle of flaky salt, such as Maldon

1/2 cup dried cranberries or cherries

1/2 cup crumbled feta or blue cheese

1/2 cup toasted pecans, walnuts or cashews

DIRECTIONS

Prepare dressing by whisking together vinegar, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, garlic, paprika, salt and pepper. In a slow, steady stream, whisk in olive oil until salad dressing is smooth and emulsified, 10-15 seconds. Set aside while you build the salad.

Prepare salad. In a large salad bowl, combine arugula, kale and cabbage ad apple slices. Sprinkle with salt and toss to combine well.
Top salad with dried berries, crumbled cheese and nuts. Drizzle with the maple vinaigrette, a little at a time, and then toss again, making sure everything is coated to your liking.

Divide into two bowls for a main dish, or four salad bowls for a first course.

Serves 2-4.

Tribune News Service

It’s also handy when those cocktails don’t involve too much fuss and a long list of ingredients, though there are a few that are absolutely worth the effort. If all else fails, you can also mix the drinks in batches for multiple pours, just keep track of those added up ounces while you shimmy to the “Monster Mash” and try to avoid spilling on your costume.

Several big alcohol brands are starting to share their spins on Halloween-themed adult beverages, so we rounded up a few that not only tasted amazing but looked the part for the spooky season. From a sophisticated smoky bourbon old-fashioned to a fun candy corn-inspired glass of goodness, here are five cocktails to try out this season.

Jack The Ripper

1 ounce vodka

1/2 ounce raw carrot juice

1/2 ounce Bauchant orange liqueur

Lemon twist

Mix all ingredients in a mixing glass and pour into a shot glass. Garnish with a twist of lemon.

Candy Corn Cocktail

1/2 ounce Sorel Liqueur

2 ounces Skrewball Whiskey

1 ounce fresh lemon juice

0.75 ounce simple syrup

1 egg white

Combine whiskey, lemon juice, simple syrup and egg white in a cocktail shaker. Shake until combined and foamy, about 10 seconds. Add ice and shake until chilled, about 10 seconds. Strain into a cocktail glass and top with the liqueur.

Talum Devil

1 ounce Cenote Reposado

1/2 ounce creme de violette

1/2 ounce lime juice

2 ounces ginger beer

Pour all ingredients into one glass and stir over ice, strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a lime wedge or fresh blackberry.

Palominado

1 1/2 ounces Smokehead Tequila Cask Terminado

1 ounce fresh grapefruit juice

1/2 ounce fresh lime juice

1/2 ounce agave syrup

Top with Grapefruit Soda

Crushed ice

Add Smokehead Terminado, fresh grapefruit and lime juice and agave syrup to the shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a highball glass filled with ice. Top with grapefruit soda.

The Smoked Old Fashioned

1 1/2 ounces of Devil’s Gate bourbon

1/2 ounce of Grand Marnier

3 dashes of aromatic bitters

Orange peel

Add ingredients to mixing glass and stir. Smoke it with a cocktail chimney and add orange peel.

Fried Onion Burgers are an Oklahoma specialty, a version that boasts a crisp crust of caramelized onions on the meat patty. It’s a technique that can turn burgers into an irresistible meal.

The raw onion isn’t layered on top of the meat. Instead, the 1/8-inch thick onion slices are salted and wrung out in a clean towel to remove excess water. Ground beef is formed into balls and pressed against a mound of onions to form a patty and in the process the onions stick.

Traditionally these burgers are topped with slices of American cheese. That’s fine, but I prefer sliced cheddar or provolone. If you like, you can butter and grill the buns, and then top with lettuce, tomato, and pickles.

Fried Onion Burgers

Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

1 large yellow onion, halved, placed cut side down, cut into 1/8-inch thick crosswise slices

1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divide use

3/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided use

1 pound (85 percent lean) ground beef

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

4 slices American cheese (4 ounces)

4 hamburger buns, toasted if desired

DIRECTIONS

1. Toss onions with 1 teaspoon salt in colander and let sit for 30 minutes, tossing occasionally. Transfer onion to clean dish towel, gather edges, and squeeze onion dry. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

2. Divide onion mixture into 4 equal mounds on rimmed baking sheet. Divide ground beef into 4 equal portions, then gently shape into balls. Place beef balls on top of onion mounds and flatten beef firmly so onions adhere and patties measure 1/4-inch thick.

3. Season patties with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Melt butter and oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Using spatula, transfer patties to skillet onion side down and cook until onion is deep golden brown and beginning to crisp around edges, 8 to 10 minutes. Flip patties, increase heat to high, and continue to cook until well browned on second side, about 2 minutes. Transfer burgers to platter and let rest for 5 minutes. Place 1 slice American cheese on each bun bottom. Serve burgers on buns.

Source: “The Modern Pantry” from America’s Test Kitchen

Award-winning food writer Cathy Thomas has written three cookbooks, including “50 Best Plants on the Planet.” Follow her at @CathyThomas Cooks.com.

While I don’t subscribe to the belief that soup is a seasonal food, fall is undoubtedly the best time to slurp up a big bowl. As a soup fanatic, the recipes below (plus a pasta for the soup haters) are my favorites. Both make great leftovers and are filling enough to stand alone or act as a side or starter.

Happy fall, ya’ll. And happy cooking!

Minestrone Soup

Since I was a kid, this family recipe has been one of my favorites and I’ve perfected it over the years. It’s packed with veggies and feels like a warm hug.

Ingredients 

• 6 cups of vegetable stock (or more if you like more broth)
• 2 14.5-ounce cans of diced tomatoes (or fresh tomatoes, if you have ’em)
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 2 cups diced onion
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 1/3 cups of zucchini, sliced into half-moons
• 1 1/3 cups green beans (frozen, fresh or canned)
• 1 1/3 cups of small shell pasta
• 2 cups packed chopped spinach
• 1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can white navy beans, drained and rinsed
• Seasonings: salt, pepper, basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, garlic powder, onion powder
• 3 bay leaves
• Handful of fresh parsley, chopped
• Freshly shredded parmesan for serving
• Olive oil

Directions

1. Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot. Add celery, carrots and onion, stirring until softened. Add garlic, stirring until fragrant. Add seasonings (at least 1/2 tablespoon of each) and stir.
2. Add tomatoes, vegetable stock and bay leaves. Bring the pot to a boil, then lower to a simmer for at least an hour.
3. Taste and add more seasoning to taste.
4. Add zucchini, shell pasta and green beans. Simmer for another 30 minutes.
5. Taste and add more seasoning to taste.
6. Stir in spinach, kidney beans, white navy beans and parsley and allow to simmer about 10 more minutes or until ready to serve.
7. Top with parmesan in bowls and serve.

Creamy Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta with Sausage and Spinach

This is a recipe by Julia’s Album that I found on Pinterest but quickly became a fall staple in my house. Veggies, cream sauce and pasta make everyone happy.

Ingredients

• 2 cups butternut squash, cubed
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 pound sausage, crumbled (I prefer a spicy sausage)
• 4 garlic cloves
• 8 ounces spinach
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
• 8 ounces farfalle pasta
• Seasonings: salt, pepper

Directions

1. Toss butternut squash in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.
2. In a medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add sausage and cook until browned. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Wipe out the skillet or grab a new one to make the cream sauce. Heat another 1 tablespoon of oil and add garlic and spinach over medium heat. Cook about 5 minutes until spinach wilts.
4. Add heavy cream, bring to a boil and immediately reduce to a simmer. Add parmesan and keep stirring until the cheese melts. Remove from heat.
5. Cook pasta al dente in salted boiling water. Strain; add the cooked pasta to the creamy spinach sauce along with sausage. Season with salt according to taste. (Salt depends on how salty your sausage is.)
6. Top with butternut squash and extra parmesan cheese.

Wild Rice and Mushroom soup

I found this recipe last fall from Lucy & Lentils on TikTok. While her measurements are more vague, this is what I loosely follow. Her original recipe is vegan but this version is not. It’s a winner that even the kiddos loved.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 leek, chopped
• 2 cups of mushrooms, chopped
• 1 butternut squash, chopped and roasted
• Seasonings: paprika, parsley, thyme, basil, salt, pepper, red chili flakes
• Splash of tamari or soy sauce
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 1 package of microwavable wild rice (to keep cooking time low)
• 1/2 cup of heavy cream (or more if desired)
• Crusty bread for serving

1. Toss butternut squash in olive oil and season with salt, pepper and paprika. Roast your butternut squash for about 30 minutes at 400 degrees or until desired tenderness is reached.
2. When butternut squash is almost done, heat butter in a large pot. Add leeks and mushrooms, stirring until softened. Add garlic until fragrant. Add seasoning (1/2 teaspoon each at least or more to taste) and tamari.
3. Add in vegetable stock, rice packet, and butternut squash. Bring to a simmer and add heavy cream. Add more seasoning to taste.
4. Optional: Add fresh herbs on top.
5. Serve with a crusty bread and enjoy.

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Almond butter does wondrous things to the cookie. It’s not as pronounced in flavor as peanut butter, which (in my opinion) easily overwhelms the flavor of a cookie. Almond butter is stealthier; it adds a mellow, toasty, golden-buttery backdrop to the dough.

Meanwhile, chunks of dark chocolate stud the cookie, replacing the go-to chocolate chip. Many chocolate chips read “sweet” more than “chocolate.” By chopping up a quality bar of dark chocolate, the overkill of sweetness is avoided, while the flavor of the chocolate shines through. Not only that, but when you chop a bar, you will be left with a pile of chocolate shards and dust. Be sure to sweep all those little bits into the batter along with the chunks to infuse it with more chocolate.

The final flourish is a pinch of sea salt flakes to balance the cookie’s inherent sweetness. A little salt tends to make everything taste better, even sweets — especially when chocolate is involved.

Almond Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Makes about 24 cookies

INGREDIENTS

1¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon table salt (or 1½ teaspoons kosher salt)

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup unsalted creamy almond butter (not raw)

7 ounces chopped dark (70% to 75%) chocolate

Sea salt flakes for garnish

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add the egg and vanilla and mix well. Add the almond butter and mix until smooth.

Add the flour mixture to the mixing bowl and mix until the ingredients are incorporated without overmixing. Stir in the chocolate, including all the little pieces and dusty bits (they will melt into the batter).

Drop heaping tablespoons of the dough on baking sheets lined with parchment. Add a tiny pinch of sea salt flakes to each cookie. Bake until light golden in color, 13 to 15 minutes.

Slide the parchment and cookies onto a wire rack to cool. The cookies will continue to firm up while cooling.

Lynda Balslev is a San Francisco Bay Area cookbook author, food and travel writer and recipe developer.

Tribune News Service

A hint about the curry powder for this dish. The curry powder sold in supermarkets is a blend of about 15 herbs, spices and seeds. This type of powder loses its flavor quickly. If you have curry powder that is more than 6 months old, buy a new one. It will add more flavor to the dish.

You can use 4 crushed garlic cloves instead of 2 teaspoons minced garlic.

You can use chopped sweet onion instead of frozen chopped onion.

A quick way to defrost the peas and onion is to place them in a sieve and run hot tap water over them.

Brown rice can be used instead of basmati.

Curried Coconut Beef

INGREDIENTS

3/4 pound grass-fed tenderloin

2 teaspoons canola oil

1 cup frozen diced onion

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon mild curry powder

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 cup reduced sodium canned diced tomatoes

1 cup light coconut milk

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Cut beef into 3/4-to-1-inch pieces. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef and brown for about 1 minute turning them over as they brown. Remove to a plate. Add the onion, minced garlic, curry powder and turmeric and saute 1 minute, mixing spices together.

Add tomatoes with their juice. Stir to combine all ingredients. Add the coconut milk and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well for 1 minute. Return beef to the skillet and toss in the sauce 1 minute to warm through. Divide in half and serve over the rice on two dinner plates.

Yield 2 servings.

Recipe by Linda Gassenheimer

Spiced Rice

INGREDIENTS

Microwaveable basmati rice to make 1 1/2 cups

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 cup frozen peas, defrosted

1 teaspoon canola oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Cook rice according to package instructions. Measure 1 1/2 cups and save any remaining rice for another meal. Add cumin and peas and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Divide in half and place on 2 dinner plates.

Yield 2 servings.

Recipe by Linda Gassenheimer

Tribune News Service

There are a few different ways to warm tortillas. It’s easy to place them in a microwave oven on a plate and covered with a slightly damp paper towel. They can also be warmed in a 200-degree-Fahrenheit oven or in a skillet for 30 seconds. The secret is, once they’re warmed, to keep them wrapped in a napkin or foil.

You can use any type of tortilla.

You can use any type of mushroom.

You can use black or red kidney beans instead of pinto beans.

You can use prepared taco sauce instead of fajita sauce.

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Mushroom Fajitas

INGREDIENTS

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 cup sliced red onion

1 cup sliced red bell pepper

1 cup sliced yellow bell pepper

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 cup rinsed and drained pinto beans

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 8-inch whole wheat tortillas lite

4 tablespoons prepared fajita sauce

1 cup sliced avocado

3 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

DIRECTIONS

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and saute for 2 minutes. Add red and yellow bell peppers and continue to saute for 5 minutes, stirring while they saute. Add the mushrooms and continue to saute for 2 minutes. Add the beans and cook for 2 minutes to warm the beans. Add the prepared fajita sauce and toss to combine all ingredients. Remove from heat.

To warm tortillas, place them on a plate, cover with a slightly damp paper towel and place in microwave for 30 seconds. Remove and wrap in a napkin or foil to stay warm.

To serve, place vegetables with beans and sauce in a bowl. Add avocado to another bowl. Add sour cream and cilantro to separate bowls. Set the bowls and wrapped tortillas on the table for each person to fill their own.

Yield 2 servings.

Recipe by Linda Gassenheimer

Tribune News Service

When it comes to desserts, chocolate in any form is usually most people’s favorite, which I discovered when I put a 2-pound box of See’s candies on the Thanksgiving dessert table a few years ago. The caramel apple pie, the toasted pecan and pumpkin cheesecake, and the lime and cranberry curd tart were hardly touched but that box of chocolates? It was soon empty. What makes chocolate so irresistible above other desserts?

Well, we know through archeological findings that humans have been consuming chocolate for centuries. Before the discovery of the awesome combination of chocolate and sugar, cocoa beans were ground and fermented into a bitter drink. It was believed to be an aphrodisiac and energy booster by the Mesoamericans. In parts of Mexico, it was used as currency. Many years later when it reached Europe sugar was added making a popular sweet drink available only to the aristocracy. Chocolate was even consumed in Europe before coffee became the popular morning beverage. Finally, in the mid 1800s, the first candy bar was sold in England.

Still, why do we crave it?

Some say like our first food, breast milk, chocolate has the same percentage of sugar and fat. Another theory is that it contains stimulants such as caffeine and endorphins. But in my opinion, we love chocolate because of its smell, taste and smooth texture as it melts on our tongue.

This recipe comes from Aleksandra Crapanzano’s cookbook “Gâteau: The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes.” A couple of things drew me to this recipe. Separating the egg whites and yolks makes for a light and airy cake. Though it is light on the first day, the addition of fresh juicy raspberries makes for a moist cake that gets denser and fudgier, which makes it  great with a cup of coffee.

It’s perfect as is but if you serve it with a dollop of crème fraiche, well, let’s just say no one will be disappointed.

Claudia Alexander, a resident of Marin County, has been happily cooking for family and friends for more than three decades. She has a weekly food blog, sweetbynurture.com. You can contact her at sweetbynurture@gmail.com.

Chocolate Raspberry Cake

Serves 8

Ingredients

7 ounces dark chocolate, at least 66% cacao

4 eggs separated at room temperature

14 ounces unsalted butter softened

1-2 cups of fresh raspberries

¾ cup pastry flour

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons Chambord (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Wash the raspberries gently and place bottom down on a kitchen towel to dry.

Butter a 9-inch springform pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper and dust the sides with cocoa.

Combine the chocolate and butter in a large heatproof bowl. Place the bowl over a smaller pot with simmering water. Stir until the ingredients have melted into a creamy texture. Pull off the heat to cool slightly. You want it to still be pourable.

Beat the sugar and the yolks and a large bowl until mixture is light yellow and the consistency of mayonnaise, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the cooled chocolate and the Chambord if using, beat until just combined.

In another bowl beat the whites with the salt until they hold a soft peak.Stir a third of the whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it and using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the remaining egg whites. Add the flour and lightly combine.

Line the bottom of the springform pan with a single layer of raspberries, pour the batter over the top and bake for 28 to 30 minutes. The top should be slightly cracked and just starting to pull away from the edges. Cool for 5 minutes on a rack and then gently unmold.

Leftovers can be stored covered in the fridge, but I think it is better to send your guests home with the any remaining slices. Better if they find themselves standing in front of the fridge at 3 a.m. eating cake.

— Adapted from “Gâteau: The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes”

Worthington is the cofounder of the Kneaders chain, which has locations from Nevada to Colorado. Their baked goods, especially their cinnamon bread French toast and this cookie recipe, are indulgent and delicious. Feel free to use nuts or raisins instead of chocolate chips, or combine walnuts and chocolate chips — or just go all chocolate.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 6 dozen cookies

INGREDIENTS

3 sticks butter, softened

1½ cups brown sugar

2 eggs, slightly whisked

1 (16-ounce) can pumpkin puree

2¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon dried ginger

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup nuts (optional)

1 cup raisins (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Using a stand mixer with paddle attachment on medium speed, cream together butter and brown sugar until butter starts to lighten and the mixture becomes fluffy.

Add eggs and pumpkin puree. Mix for one minute on low speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix again for one minute.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix on low speed for one more minute until incorporated. Fold in the chocolate and the nuts or raisins, if desired, by hand.

Using a 2-ounce cookie scoop or a spoon, scoop into 2-inch balls. Place on baking pans lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15–17 minutes, until the outside edges are brown.

Remove from the oven and let sit on the pan for 10 minutes to finish baking, then transfer to cooling racks to cool.

—  Courtesy Colleen Worthington, “Kneaders Bakery & Café: A Celebration of Our Best Recipes and Memories” (Shadow Mountain, $34)

Among 100 recipes for flavor bombs with names like The One & Only Hoagie and Crispy, Crunchy Brocc & Grains with So. Much. Mint., the cookbook provides this formula for a Pumpkin-Cannoli Cheesecake Cake.

“I like to think this version of the pervasive pumpkin bread is a major upgrade — it’s topped with a creamy ricotta cheesecake layer that tastes like the filling of a great Italian cannoli,” Baz writes. “My pumpkin cake (it’s a cake, let’s just admit it) doubles down on ginger — there’s both freshly grated ginger in the batter and crystallized ginger in the cheesecake filling, because why settle for just one expression of fall’s quintessential ingredient when you can have two?!”

Pumpkin-Cannoli Cheesecake Cake

Makes one 9-inch cake

INGREDIENTS

1 cup vegetable oil, plus more for the pan

1¼ cups raw, shelled pistachios (6 ounces)

1½ ounces crystallized ginger

1 orange

1 pound fresh whole-milk ricotta cheese

4 large eggs, divided use

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided use

2½ cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided use

2 tablespoons vanilla extract, divided use

2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided use

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground cardamom

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger

1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree

DIRECTIONS

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan with vegetable oil. Line the bottom with a round of parchment paper cut to fit, if you’d like to more easily transfer the baked cake to a plate or cake stand to serve. Grease the parchment.

Make the cannoli cheesecake topping: Coarsely chop 1¼ cups raw, shelled pistachios. Set aside 2 handfuls for sprinkling later on. Transfer the remaining pistachios to a large bowl.

Finely chop 1½ ounces crystallized ginger (you should have 1/4 cup). Using a vegetable peeler, remove the zest of 1 orange in strips. Thinly slice them lengthwise. Now thinly slice the strips crosswise to finely chop.

Add the orange zest and crystallized ginger to the pistachios, along with 1 pound ricotta cheese, 2 large eggs, ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon salt. Whisk vigorously until smooth. Set the ricotta mixture aside for now.

Make the batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining 2½ cups all-purpose flour, cinnamon, cardamom, baking powder, the remaining 1 teaspoon salt, freshly grated nutmeg and baking soda.

Finely grate enough of the 2-inch piece of fresh ginger to measure 1 heaping tablespoon. Add that to a large bowl, along with the remaining 2 large eggs, remaining 1½ cups sugar, the pumpkin puree and remaining 1 tablespoon vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth. Add 1 cup vegetable oil and whisk until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in 2 batches, stirring just until no floury bits remain.

Assemble and bake: Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Add the ricotta mixture on top and spread it to the edges in an even layer. Scatter the reserved pistachios over the top.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake layer comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool for at least 20 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the springform pan to loosen it. Release the cake from the pan, place on a wire rack and let cool before slicing. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator — the cake’s great cold, too!

— From “More is More,” copyright © 2023 by Molly Baz. Photographs copyright © 2023 by PEDEN + MUNK. Illustrations copyright © 2023 Claire McCracken. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Random House, $31.50.

The book is structured around the seasons, so in spring you’ll find Pan-Roasted Pork Chops with Spring Onion Gravy and a Shaved Spring Onion Salad, and in the summer a Grilled Lobster with Lime-Jalapeno Butter and Spicy Old Bay Corn on the Cob. For autumn, home cooks seeking a twist on Thanksgiving pumpkin pie might try out his decadent Chocolate Pumpkin Pie.

“If a flourless chocolate cake and a classic pumpkin pie had a love child, it would be this silky, sinful dessert,” writes Symon. “I made a version of it for Thanksgiving during the second season of (ABC’s) ‘The Chew,’ and it absolutely blew up on my social media pages. You can cheat a little by using a store-bought crust.”

Chocolate Pumpkin Pie

Makes one 9-inch pie

INGREDIENTS

1¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling

8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar

2 to 4 tablespoons ice-cold water

6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

1 (15-ounce) can pure pumpkin

1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

3 large eggs

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Pinch of ground cloves

DIRECTIONS

Make the pie crust: In a food processor, combine the flour, butter, salt and granulated sugar and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse sand with small marbles of butter remaining. Sprinkle in 2 tablespoons of ice water and pulse until crumbly and the dough holds together when squeezed. If the dough appears too dry, sprinkle in another tablespoon or two of cold water, being careful to not overmix the dough. Transfer the dough to a plastic bag, press into the shape of a disc and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a 12-inch round. Carefully press the dough into a 9-inch pie pan. Trim the dough to leave a 1-inch overhang all around. Flute or fold under the excess dough. Fit a large piece of parchment paper into the pie shell and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Transfer to the oven and bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Leave the oven on but reduce the temperature to 325 degrees.

Make the filling: In the top of a double boiler set over medium-low heat, combine the semisweet chocolate, bittersweet chocolate and butter. Cook, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat.

In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin, evaporated milk, brown sugar, eggs, cornstarch, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, salt, nutmeg and cloves and stir to combine. Fold in the melted chocolate.

Place the pie pan on a baking sheet, pour the filling into the pie crust, and bake until the filling is set, about 1 hour. Refrigerate until cooled completely before serving.

— From “Simply Symon Suppers,” copyright © 2023 by Michael Symon. Photographs copyright © 2023 by Ed Anderson. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Random House, $35.

The recipe comes courtesy of a new cookbook, “Bake Smart: Sweets and Secrets from My Oven to Yours,” by New York food writer Samantha Seneviratne. It’s set to hit bookshelves Nov. 7.

Downy Pumpkin Bundt with Maple Cream

Serves 10

INGREDIENTS

4 sticks (1 pound) butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan

3¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 pound powdered sugar

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree (about 2 cups)

Maple cream:

1/2 cup mascarpone

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon whole milk, as needed

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Butter a 12-cup Bundt pan. (Use a pastry brush and soft butter and make sure to get into every ridge.)

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg and salt.

Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until just combined. Fold in the pumpkin.

Tip the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Rap the pan on the counter to knock out any air bubbles. Bake until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 70 to 75 minutes.

Transfer the cake to a rack and let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then flip the cake out onto the rack and let cool completely.

Prepare the maple cream: In a small bowl, stir together the mascarpone, maple syrup and powdered sugar. Stir in a little milk, if necessary, to adjust the consistency; the cream should be thin enough for drizzling. Drizzle the cream over the top of the cooled cake to serve.

— Courtesy Samantha Seneviratne, “Bake Smart: Sweets and Secrets from My Oven to Yours” (Harvest, $35)

This year, instead of celebrating pumpkin season with a traditional pie, consider showcasing the iconic golden squash in one of these desserts, each sourced from a different cookbook coming out this fall from Molly Baz, Michael Symon and other noted food writers.

Hosting a fall brunch? Try wowing guests with a Pumpkin Bundt Cake topped with a maple cream glaze. It has all the traditional pumpkin-pie spices — cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice — with a maple-mascarpone glaze that takes it over the top. The recipe hails from New York food writer Samantha Seneviratne, whose new cookbook, “Bake Smart: Sweets and Secrets from My Oven to Yours” ((Harvest, $35), hits bookstores on Nov. 7.

Looking for a show-stopping bake of the maximalist variety? Try the ambitious Pumpkin Cannoli Cheesecake Cake, which comes courtesy of Molly Baz, the former Bon Appetit food editor and online-video host whose first cookbook, 2021’s “Cook This Book,” rocketed up The New York Times’ best-seller list. She’s following that debut with another cookbook, “More Is More: Get Loose in the Kitchen” (publishing Oct. 10 from Clarkson Potter) that emphasizes her love of bold, bracing flavors — more garlic, more vinegar, more mortadella, more… well, basically everything.

“My pumpkin cake (it’s a cake, let’s just admit it) doubles down on ginger — there’s both freshly grated ginger in the batter and crystallized ginger in the cheesecake filling — because why settle for just one expression of fall’s quintessential ingredient when you can have two?!” Baz writes.

Want a decadent and chocolaty take on pumpkin pie? Look for inspiration from Michael Symon, the grinning, shiny-pated genie of so many reality-food shows. He and coauthor Douglas Trattner teamed up to write “Simply Symon Suppers” (Clarkson Potter, $35), a compendium of 165 recipes that includes a silky chocolate pumpkin pie recipe.

“If a flourless chocolate cake and a classic pumpkin pie had a love child, it would be this silky, sinful dessert,” writes Symon. “I made a version of it for Thanksgiving during the second season of (ABC’s) ‘The Chew,’ and it absolutely blew up on my social media pages. You can cheat a little by using a store-bought crust.”

For a more straightforward, travel-friendly bake, throw some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies in the oven. This recipe comes from Colleen Worthington, cofounder of Kneaders Bakery and Cafe, which has locations across Western states from Nevada to Colorado.

“(These cookies) are so good,” she says, “they just may become your tradition as well.”

A rich and warming pot of chili is a good dish to make the transition from summer to autumn in part because it’s a perfect football food — it feeds a crowd and it’s so easy to eat on the couch in front of the TV. Chili is also versatile, and can satisfy a vegetarian as well as a carnivore, depending on the mix of ingredients.

It’s also equal opportunity when it comes to spice. If you love a dish that makes your lips and taste buds burn, throw a few more chili peppers or tablespoons of chili powder into the pot. If you’re more reserved, use less or choose a milder chili pepper, such as poblano.

This green chili combines chunks of pork tenderloin with white onion, garlic and salsa verde. Cannellini beans, a type of white kidney bean, add protein and fiber without overpowering the other flavors. I also add fresh jalapeno pepper for a gentle kick of heat. (To make it even spicier, don’t remove the ribs or seeds.)

The broth is a bit thinner than in some beef- or bean-based chilies, but it’s incredibly flavorful. Plus, it all comes together in less than 45 minutes.

To make salsa verde from scratch, place 1 pound tomatillos (husked and rinsed), 2 or 3 stemmed and seeded jalapeños and half of a white onion in a large saucepan or Dutch oven and add enough water to completely cover.

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to low and simmer until vegetables are cooked through and soft, around 8-10 minutes. Transfer to a blender using a slotted spoon. Add cilantro, garlic, lime juice and a generous pinch of salt and blend until smooth. Taste and add more salt or lime juice if desired.

TAG GOES HERE

Chili Verde

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 small white onion, diced

1 jalapeño, seeded and minced, or more to taste

4 garlic cloves, minced

3 cups chicken stock

2 14-ounce cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

2 cups homemade or jarred salsa verde

1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin, cubed

1 teaspoon cumin, or more to taste

2 teaspoons chili powder, or more to taste

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons lime juice

Sliced avocado and chopped fresh cilantro, for serving

DIRECTIONS

Heat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat until glistening. Add onion and cook, stirring, until softened, 4-5 minutes.

Stir in jalapeño and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add chicken stock, white beans, salsa verde, pork, cumin, chili powder and salt, then stir to combine well. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil, then reduce to medium-low.

Simmer until the meat is cooked through, about 25-30 minutes.

Just before serving, stir in lime juice. Ladle into bowls and serve with avocado and cilantro.

Serves 6.

— Gretchen McKay

Tribune News Service

How to celebrate the two?

Enter the Pumpkin Spice Tres Leches Cake.

Instagram’s Domestic Rebel, Hayley Parker just featured the recipe, featuring a tantalizing photo of a squishy-wet square of autumnal color with literal cream on top.

I knew I had to make it. And I did. But first, a little about this cake that’s popular in myriad nations from Nicaragua to Puerto Rico, Cuba to the Canary Islands. The Caribbean is no stranger to soaked cakes, the rum cake being the most obvious. Nor is the American South where poke cake, which is literally poked full of holes into which sweet, syrupy and even gelatinous things can be poured, is a varied and popular dessert option

Tres leches translates to “three milks.” In the case of this recipe, that’s evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and heavy whipping cream. The loveliness of this sweet concoction cannot be underestimated, and when it sets into what is a beautifully spiced and not-overly-sweet cake, it becomes something greater than the sum of its parts.

Texturally, the creamy soak gives the lower part of the cake a density that balances with its airier top half — as well as the light, homemade whipped cream. As its author notes, the most difficult part is waiting overnight (or a minimum of eight hours) for the soaked cake to set and allow the flavors to meld.

Offset your impatience with the knowledge that you’ll have batter beaters to lick on Day One with whipped cream to follow on Day Two.

TAG GOES HERE

Pumpkin Spice Tres Leches Cake

INGREDIENTS

For the Cake:

1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar

15 ounces (1 can) pure pumpkin puree (do not use pumpkin pie filling)

3/4 cup vegetable or canola oil

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

4 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

For the Tres Leches filling

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

12 ounces evaporated milk (one can)

14 ounces sweetened condensed milk (one can)

For the Whipped Cream frosting:

1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

Ground cinnamon, for dusting the top, optional

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Liberally grease a 13-by-9-inch light metal rectangular baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

In the large bowl of a stand mixer, cream together granulated sugar, pumpkin puree, oil, eggs and vanilla extract with the paddle attachment on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Gradually add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture until fully combined and batter is smooth and cohesive. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pan and smooth out the top.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool 15 minutes. While cake is cooling, in a medium bowl, whisk together the heavy whipping cream, evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk until combined. Set aside.

Poke holes all over the warm cake using a skewer or dowel, or if you don’t have either, the handle of a wooden spoon or a knife’s tip.  Pour the milk mixture evenly over the cake, using all of the milk mixture. It will seem like a LOT of milk, but bear in mind that the cake will gradually soak up the mixture overnight in the fridge. Cover the cake and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Just before serving, make the whipped cream frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip together the heavy whipping cream and confectioners’ sugar until stiff peaks form, about 5-7 minutes. Spread the whipped cream evenly over the cake. Dust with ground cinnamon, if using. Store the cake in the fridge, covered.

Recipe courtesy The Domestic Rebel

Tribune News Service

Sons and daughters are more apt to eat things they’ve had a hand in preparing and, by teaching them to cook, even just a little, you’re fostering life skills that will come in handy once they’re off on their own at college or jobs or wherever life takes them.

Iron Chef and cookbook author Alex Guarnaschelli, alongside her teenage daughter, Ava, show exactly how fun and inspirational cooking together can be in their new cookbook, “Cook it Up.”

In it, they share more than 70 recipes that define their modern family meals together. Ava tends to find inspiration on TikTok, while Alex draws on her classic French culinary training, decades of repetitive cooking in restaurants and cooking on TV.

“We just want kids and adults to cook together and share their ideas with one another,” they write in the foreword. “Ava told me, ‘I don’t want kids to think they have to just cook kid food, Mom, OK?'”

This easy recipe for skewered chicken meatballs uses two cooking techniques: After being shaped into balls or cylinders, the seasoned meat is first simmered in water and then browned and glazed onto a hot grill with salty-sweet yakitori sauce.

I served them on top of steamed rice and doubled the sauce recipe so there was plenty for extra dunking. If using wooden skewers, be sure to soak them in water for 20 minutes prior to grilling so they don’t burn.

TAG GOES HERE

Japanese Chicken Meatball Skewers

INGREDIENTS

1 pound ground chicken

1 cup panko breadcrumbs

1 small shallot, grated

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

Kosher salt

1 large egg, lightly beaten

4 tablespoons soy sauce, divided

2 tablespoons rice vinegar, divided

3 tablespoons mirin rice wine

1 tablespoon sugar

2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Metal or wooden skewers, for grilling

Steamed rice, for serving

DIRECTIONS

Make the meatballs: In large bowl, combine chicken with breadcrumbs, shallot, ginger, cornstarch, a generous pinch of salt, the egg and 2 tablespoons soy sauce. (I minced the ginger and shallot instead of microplaning it.) Use a rubber spatula to combine, then add 1 tablespoon vinegar.

Roll the mixture into 24 meatballs or 18 cigar-shaped cylinders.
Set a wire rack over a baking sheet. Fill a shallow 2-quart pot 3/4 full and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Season water with salt.

Rub a wooden spoon with oil to prevent the meatballs from sticking, and carefully drop 6-8 meatballs in water. Simmer until they are completely cooked through, 5-7 minutes. (You can test by removing one and cutting it in half.) Use a slotted spoon to remove to rack.

Return water to simmer and repeat with remaining meatballs.

While meatballs are cooling, make sauce. In a small saucepan, combine remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce, mirin, remaining 1 tablespoon vinegar and sugar, and cook over medium heat until slightly thick, 2-3 minutes.

Preheat a grill or grill pan. While it’s heating, thread 3 meatballs or 1 cylinder on the upper half of each skewer.

When grill starts to smoke, dip a kitchen towel in oil and use it to grease the grill grates. Arrange a few skewers side by side.

Cook for 5 minutes, until browned, grill marked and hot. Repeat with remaining skewers. Using a brush, glaze the meatballs with the sauce and serve warm.

Serves 4.

— “Cook it Up: Bold Moves for Family Foods” by Alex Guarnaschelli and Ava Clark (Clarkson Potter, $30)

Tribune News Service

September is my birthday month. It’s a time for reflection of all the special times and people in my life. I love my Italian heritage, and I am a huge fan of the food – which for most Italians go hand in hand.

There are so many memories tied to the food my mother made. I think that’s one reason I love to cook.

Spaghetti and meatballs is a comfort food memory. When the garlic hits the olive oil, it brings back memories of when I helped my mother in the kitchen.

Sunday was sauce day. We would invite relatives over for spaghetti, and play cards after the meal.

This month, meatballs are the star of this column, with a plain red sauce.

For questions or comments, email cjvigos@yahoo.com.

Meatballs

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds 80% ground beef

2 eggs

2 to 3 large garlic cloves, minced

1 cup bread crumbs softened with 3/4 cup water

13/4 teaspoons salt

3/4 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon dried oregano

3/4 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 tablespoon olive oil

PROCEDURE

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. I mix with my hands and form balls, using about 1/4 cup per meatball.

Heat olive oil in a fry pan on medium low and brown the meatballs on both sides. Do not overcrowd the pan, so fry the meatballs in batches.

Meanwhile, make your red sauce or use jarred sauce, at least 48 to 72 ounces – enough to cover the meatballs. Heat sauce to a simmer in a large sauce pan. Add the browned meatballs and simmer on low for an hour. Be careful to stir the sauce gently, or you will end up with just a meat sauce and no meatballs.

The meatballs can also be formed into small patties and cooked through if you don’t want the sauce. Leftovers can be frozen.

Makes 8 servings.

Meatball sandwich

Meatballs are always great with spaghetti, but I also love a meatball sandwich.

Hollow out the center of a crusty hoagie roll. Place the roll on a rimmed sheet pan, brush the insides with olive oil and broil until toasted.

Take the top halves out of the pan, place meatballs in the bottom half and top with provolone or mozzarella. Put under the broiler again to melt the cheese. Top with more sauce if needed, grated Parmesan or Romano, and optional crushed red pepper or pepperoncini.

Two things. Be sure to use a metal baking pan and not a glass baking dish in this recipe. And two, when the marshmallow topped beauty goes under the broiler, keep a watchful eye on it.

S’Mores Brownies

Yield: 16 brownies

INGREDIENTS

Crust:

6 whole graham crackers, crushed into crumbs (3/4 cup)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 tablespoon sugar

Brownies:

8 tablespoons ( one stick) unsalted butter

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

2/3 cup (3 1/3 ounces) all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups miniature marshmallows

DIRECTIONS

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make foil sling for 8-inch square metal baking pan by folding 2 long sheets of aluminum foil so each is 8 inches wide. Lay sheets of foil in pan perpendicular to each other with extra foil hanging over edges of pan. Push foil into corners and up the sides of pan, smoothing foil flush to pan. Grease foil.

2. For the crust: Using your fingers, combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and sugar in bowl until evenly moistened. Sprinkle mixture into prepared pan and press firmly into even layer. Bake until firm and lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes.

3. For the brownies: While crust is baking, microwave butter and chocolate in bowl at 50 percent power, stirring often, until melted and smooth, 1 to 3 minutes; let cool slightly.

4. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a second bowl. Whisk sugar, eggs, and vanilla together in large bowl. Whisk chocolate mixture into sugar mixture until combined. Using rubber spatula, stir in flour mixture until just incorporated.

5. Transfer batter to pan with crust and smooth top. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 22 to 27 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Remove pan from oven and heat broiler.

6. Sprinkle brownies evenly with a single layer of marshmallows. Return brownies to oven and broil until marshmallows are lightly browned, 1 to 3 minutes. (Watch oven constantly; marshmallows will melt slightly but should hold their shape.) Immediately remove pan from oven. Let brownies cook completely in pan on wire rack, about 2 hours.

7. Using foil overhang, remove brownies from pan. Slide foil out from under brownies. Spray knife with vegetable oil spray to prevent marshmallows from sticking. Cut into 16 squares. Serve.

Source: “Everything Chocolate” from America’s Test Kitchen

Award-winning food writer Cathy Thomas has written three cookbooks, including “50 Best Plants on the Planet.” Follow her at @CathyThomas Cooks.com.

If you don’t know where to start with fall wines, let us help. Here are five wines at reasonable price points for a bunch of different occasions that taste great when it’s 90 degrees and when it’s 60 degrees.

Xanadu Circa 77 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon ($18)

Yes, this wine is a mouthful (thankfully in more ways than one). This Australian twist on a favorite French blend is about 60% Savvy B and 40% Semillon. The combination of the two grapes makes for something that’s both laid-back and fruit forward, crisp and clean. The locals call it a Margaret River style wine, a unique mashup you can’t really find outside of the south west coast of Western Australia.

Conundrum White Blend ($18)

Wild wine blends can freak traditionalists out (even though Europeans have been doing it for generations). When Conundrum started adding a splash of this and a splash of that to make a new white in 1989, not many Californians were taking chances like this vineyard. Even today, with the 2021 edition, Conundrum doesn’t reveal the exact recipe (but every vintage includes Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Viognier). And every bottle comes out super refreshing. This crowd pleaser triangulates sweet, tart and dry in a way no one grape can do.

Robert Mondavi Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2020 ($18)

Mondavi is a huge reason people love California wine. The late Napa Valley champion pioneered so many styles. Here his namesake brand delivers a classic West Coast Sauvignon Blanc softened with a 10% dose of Sémillon. The result adds a creaminess and a dash of the herbaceous. A perfect starting point for somebody looking to expand their palette beyond those mass-produced $10 whites.

Honoro Vera Rosado ($11)

Do you know the best place to spend fall? That’s right, Spain! If you can’t get to the hills of Murcia this summer, close your eyes and take a sip of this rosé. Made in Jumilla, Spain out of Tempranillo and Syrah, Honoro Vera Rosado has a medium body and dryness that makes it right for sweater weather. But it is also light and fruity enough to drink in a t-shirt. Try it with a summer salad or while watching a 6:30 sunset.

San Felice Chianti Classico 2021 ($18)

If you haven’t got the message: You can drink a gin and tonic on Christmas! You can enjoy an Irish Coffee in July! You can pop the cork on a chianti whenever! Don’t be trapped into not enjoying your favorites year ’round. And San Felice Chianti Classico should be a favorite. This 2021 DOCG brings a touch of warmth to cool nights and a touch of class to BBQs. Made from native grapes, this Italian go-to has a nice medium body and works well with Greek gigantes, Spanish cheeses, or a store bought veggie burger.