I wrote a column late this summer about election season -- particularly August and early September-- being called Silly Season in Washington, and, I suppose, by pundits elsewhere/everywhere. In D.C. we knew it was Silly Season when people were getting on the subway in shorts, without a sweater (the air conditioning is very cold in the buildings in D.C.). We knew it was Silly Season when we couldn’t get those cheapo weekend rooms at Dewey Beach, or St. Michael’s. These memories are all strongly photographic: the white socks in the sneaker, chubby knees below the shorts, the bellies pressing against thin cotton t shirts that will be too cold in the Air and Space Museum, in the Metro. The haze across the Chesapeake bay bridge. The yellow of the corn at the roadside stands.

This Saturday, the market was 20% open stands. My son asked for raspberries (the last weekend was it), pears (only a week or two left, said the vendor I secretly call Mountain Girl), a Horchata (still going strong). And these were signs: pointing towards velvet, shimmering green. Kale Season.

This week we’ll be trying the Kale and Pork Chops I saw on DALS, and since it was $2 for three bunches, there will be “homemade pirate booty” (Kale Chips), and, I imagine, next week we’ll be eating one of our top 5 favorite pasta dishes: Portuguese Pasta.

Portuguese Pasta (Or, Pasta with Sausage and Kale)
3 tbs olive oil
1 lb hot sausage, crumbled
1/2 lb kale, center ribs discarded, leaves chopped
1/2 lb rigatoni
1/2 c broth
1 oz grated Pecorino plus additional for serving

Directions
Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat until hot but not smoking, add sausage, breaking up any lumps with a spoon, until browned, 5 to 7 minutes.
Meanwhile, blanch kale in a 6-quart pot of boiling salted water, for about 5 minutes, strain.
Return cooking water to a boil, and cook pasta. Drain, reserving 1/2 c pasta water.
While pasta cooks, add kale to sausage in skillet and sauté, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Add broth, stirring and scraping up any brown bits from bottom of skillet.
Add pasta, reserved cooking water to skillet, tossing until combined. Stir in cheese.

For whatever reason, Fall always makes me think of party food.
It’s funny, really, because we never have a party in September, too full of the fun of “back to school”, and often, a trip for my father-in-law’s birthday. And November brings my birthday, and thanksgiving, and, in years past, the annual California Road Trip we and some friends would take (in the Before J era).

So really, it’s October that makes me think of parties, although funnily enough not ones that I host. One friend always hosts a Chili Cook-off (we’ve only won the whole thing once:(), swollen now to more than 200 people, 7 types of chili, and separate competitions for sides, deserts, and specials. I think she should get Anchor Steam Brewery to sponsor the event, but not this year: no cook-off, as baby number 2 is due in 2 weeks. Then there is Heather’s annual pumpkin carving: pumpkins, red wine, oatmeal cookies, tortillas and (homemade) tomatillo salsa, and all kinds of sweet potato snacks, her favorites.

Heather moved to Amsterdam two years ago, though.We’d hoped to visit her this October, but instead we are here, in the rain.

I do love fall party food, too. Where as other times of year I feel compelled to cook something innovative, or Asian, or Italian, in the fall, it seems perfectly acceptable, appropriate, even, to simply have comfort food, super traditional stuff that rarely makes it into the sort of cookbook chefs write, Amazon recommends, or the library displays. So this year, I’ve decided to start a new tradition, our own October party... call it an insurance plan against new babies or moves,if you will: I want to make sure I get my fall party in.

This Sunday, we’re hosting our first annual pumpkin carving party, with 10 of J’s friends, their parents, a bevvy of my favorite fa snacks, old and new.

I am originally from Washington, D.C., and Cheese Straw are a common snack in the South, as are the Spiced Nuts and Sugared Bacon. All of these recipes are pretty easy to make, and a bit addictive.

Cheese Straws
8 oz grated Cheddar cheese
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and cut up
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon cream

Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a food processor, combine all the ingredients through the pepper until the mixture is coarse/breadcrumble-y, then add the cream and blend just until the dough balls.
On a lightly floured surface roll the dough until 1/8-inch thick.
With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut into 1/4 inch wide strips.
Transfer the strips to a lined cookie sheet
Bake the straws on the middle rack for 12 to 15 minutes, until the ends are just brown.
Cool before serving.

Spiced Pecans
4 tablespoons butter, melted
4 cups pecan halves
1 tablespoon of kosher salt
1 teaspoon cayenne

Preheat the oven to 325°F.
Combine the butter and the pecans in a medium bowl and toss to coat.
Spread the pecans in one layer on a large cookie sheet.
Bake for 25 minutes, shaking the pan 2-3 times to prevent scorching.
Let Pecans cool slightly (10 minutes-ish), then sprinkle with salt and cayenne.
Cool completely before serving.

Sugared Bacon
1 lb bacon (in slices)
1 tsp cayenne
1/3 c firmly packed brown sugar
Nonstick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Slice Bacon slices into thirds, length wise (basically you are making bacon snacks or bites instead of big breakfast slices).
Mix Sugar and pepper together
Line two large cookie sheets, and spray with nonstick spray
Arrange bacon in a single layers on the sheets.
Evenly sprinkle with pepper and sugar.
Bake until bacon is crisp and browned, about 30 minutes. Rotate the sheets half-way through cooking to prevent burning.
Drain on paper towels,and serve immediately (while warm!)

Ice Breaker
I first had this drink at a now long-closed restaurant in San Francisco called The Last Supper Club. Cheesy name, but they had a great bar, and some fantastic down home Italian dishes. It is sorely missed.

These are proportions only; I’ll be making a pitcher for us adults:

1 1/2 ounces ice wine
1 1/2 ounces Ciroc or other grape-based vodka
4 frozen grapes

Fill half of a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the wine and vodka and shake well. Strain into a martini glass, garnish with the frozen grapes and serve.


Also on the menu:
Etsy’s cupcake adaptation of Rose Bakery’s Broccoli Cake (the cake is delicious, and so fun for kids) and Orangette’s Sweet Potato Bundt Cake.

My friend Jason says he’s looking forward to his son’s first opportunity to run with scissors.... I’m just looking forward to the food.

This blog post + these recipes are part of Pretty Mommy’s fall recipe exchange. Last up was whiskitgood with the great post on Morocco (we spent our honeymoon there!) and Moroccan food .... next up (Monday) is Tina at Bull in a China Shop.... looking forward to more recipes!

We had quite the day of making around here yesterday, mostly to make sure nothing  went to waste. We used everything but the squeal.
Cabbage pickle to use up the cabbage from  green chorizo tacos last week
Babaganoush with the eggplant left over from last week's ratatouille
Tomato conserva with tomatoes that we'd forgotten about (oh and a few new ones, discounted  for sauce making,  from the market, of course)
Skordalia with the tomato left in the blender from the conserva
Chorizo scrambled eggs, with the last of last weeks' eggs, and the leftover chorizo.

And, focaccia, grilled fish, roasted radicchio, braised artichokes, hibiscus orange iced tea, fig tart, and overnight oatmeal.

I am tired, but looking forward to making pesto tonight with my super-discounted-basil-with-an-extra-bunch-thrown-in.

J, M, and I made up the fig tart recipe, and I made up the babaganoush and skordalia recipes as  I went, but didn't write anything down. Of everything we made yesterday, the Conserva is by far the easiest, and I think the one thing that will really "last" through the winter: 2 jars went into the fridge (one for keeping, one for giving), and two jars in the freezer.

Tomato Conserva
This is halfway between tomato paste and tomato jam, and can be used in place of either.  It is a great easy way to use up extra tomatoes that are going soft, and just a spoonful adds a really lush, deep flavor to tomato sauces all winter long. 

4 lbs tomatoes
1/4 c olive oil
1 tbs salt
1 tsp brown sugar

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line a 9x12 pan with foil
Core and then slice or roughly chop the tomatos; you should have enough to cover the pan in a single layer (you can double the recipe before you need to use an additional pan), pour olive oil on top and sprinkle with salt and sugar.

Put the pan in the oven and turn the oven down to the lowest setting. Cook for at least 4 hours and up to 16 hours.

Remove from oven and cool for 30 minutes. Strain the tomatoes for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours-- you don't want to press, just dump the ingredients of the pan into a colander set over a bowl.

Puree strained tomatoes. Add about 1/4 of the strained liquid. You want a really creamy, almost peanut-buttery consistency: add more of the liquid until you get there. I used about 3/4 of the retained liquid, but if you use all of it and need some more, add olive oil.

These proportions should yield 2 small jars of tomato bliss.

Sundays follow a pretty predictable routine around here. M goes to Master’s Swim, J and I do a craft activity, we all go to church, we come home, eat brunch, take naps (some for longer than others...) do some cooking for the week (this week: gluten-free peanut butter cookies and these blueberry muffins), go on a walk or to family swim when J wakes up, home for dinner-- usually something slow-cooked all day long, in the background, with enough leftovers to pinch-hit throughout the week, then a bath and bed for J, and Mad Men for us.

Recently I’ve really noticed how much Mad Men has been inspiring our Sunday evening meal. I think it tarted out as a bit of a joke, and really, sometimes the food is a bit of a joke, sadly, but sometimes an old 60s stand by, re-made with fresh/ modern ingredients turns out to be a real winner (chocolate pudding!).

Last night we had both a winner and a loser. I made a “chinese” style pot roast, based upon this recipe (changed to cook more slowly) and was reminded that the slowcooker we have is absolutely useless and I really should just use our Le Crueset and the oven. The broth was absolutely delicious, and poured over some leftover sweet potatoes and rice it could be a good lunch on a cooler day. Unfortunately, I have 3 lbs of inedible Cross-tied pot roast to go with the delicious broth.

Sunday is usually the only night of the week I make desert (it’s leftover sweet or fruit the rest of the the time, if anything), and when I hit upon the “chinese” pot roast (it sounded like such a fun idea!), I tried to think about what an American in the 60’s would have thought was an “oriental” flavor. Also, I prefer single serving-size deserts for us when possible-- it helps with portion control, and wanted to avoid having to buy ingredients at the grocery store (farmer’s market was okay). Ended up making Coconut Pudding (okay, really, Coconut Panna Cotta): maybe one of the best simple deserts I’ve ever made.... J and M certainly both thought o: portion-control be damned,they both ate two servings.

Coconut Pudding
Adapted from Gourmet
You can freeze the puddings for about 3 hours to set if you are in a hurry, but don’t leave them there more than 16 hours or so: move them to the fridge. Also, panna cottas tend to break down within 24-32 hours, so don’t make these more than 2 days in advance.

Ingredients
1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
1/4 cup turbinado sugar
1 can coconut milk (shaken)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream plus additional if necessary
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
2 tablespoons water

Directions
Bring a kettle of water to a boil and pour 3/4 cup over coconut in a blender, add sugar, let soak 5 minutes. Blend well, about 30 seconds. Add coconut milk, cream, and sugar. Blend at high for about 5 minutes, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve. You should have about 3 cups of liquid; add more heavy cream if necessary. Strain, pressing on solids until you have 1 cup coconut milk.
Lightly oil 6 ramekins, small tea cups, or small glass desert bowls.
Sprinkle gelatin over water in a small saucepan and let soften 1 minute. Heat over low heat, stirring, until gelatin has dissolved. Add coconut cream and whisk over medium heat, for 1-2 minutes. Divide among ramekins and chill until set, at least 4 hours.

Mad Men image from AMC...

I bought a watermelon today to make "Frozen Watermelon-Lime Bars".

I started to just write down the changes I made to the recipe, but realized they were more extensive on paper than they had seemed in my head... so here's the recipe, revised and improved:

Ingredients
For Watermelon Sorbet:
1 (2 1/2-pounds) piece of watermelon (this was about half of the watermelon I had... more on that later)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons tequila

For Lime Semifreddo:
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon grated lime zest
3/4 cup fresh lime juice
3/4 cup chilled heavy cream

Directions
Make watermelon sorbet:
Line a 9-inch square baking pan (2 inches deep) with plastic wrap, leaving a 2-inch overhang. Put lined pan in freezer.
Coarsely chop watermelon flesh (leave seeds in), then purée enough to yield 2 1/2 cups in a blender. Strain this quickly to take off about 1/4 cup of juice.
Return flesh to blender and add sugar, juice, and tequila to purée and blend 30 seconds.
Freeze sorbet in ice cream maker. Transfer to lined baking pan, smoothing top. Put in freezer to harden, for 1 hour.
Break up the semi-frozen watermelon sorbet with a spoon, and then smooth it out again. Freeze another 30-60 minutes.

Meanwhile, make lime semifreddo:
Whisk together condensed milk, zest, and juice. Beat cream until it just holds stiff peaks, then gently fold into condensed-milk mixture.
Spread over sorbet (after the 2-stage freeze), smoothing top. Freeze until solid, at least 2 hours.

The recipe actually caught my eye in an ad for the new Gourmet app. I don't have an iPad, so no comment on the app functionality, but I am glad there is some hope for the Gourmet brand yet. I actually think it's a really interesting development, and don't have the reflexive, "OMG, it's franken-magazine!" response which seems to be the default reaction. Maybe I have worked in technology too long. I am curious whether this was a McKinsey recommendation, an after thought, or the work of yet another consulting company (my guess, the latter).

Anywy, the desert only used half the watermelon, so I made a salad with the other half:

Ingredients
2.5 lbs watermelon
1/4 red onion
1/4 cup chopped black olives
handful chopped mint
1/3 c olive oil
juice of 1 lime (about 3 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon rice wine vineagar
salt
hot pepper to taste

Directions
Chop the watermelon into chunks-- about 2 inches square. Toss with other ingredients, and enjoy-- don't mix until right before you are ready to eat.

All of this was inspired by experimenting with making Horchata for my son, who is addicted, and spends about an hour every Saturday morning (from the time we hang up from chatting with Nonna and Babbo, until the moment we arrive at the stand at Alemany) chanting "Horchada! Horchada! Farmer's Eat!". I started with this recipe, but I am still working on it. Too powdery. And I think my cinnamon was a little stale, even thought I bought it today. Next time, a trip to La Palma is in order.

If only Nopalito would just publish a cookbook already. Which is another way to say that while the green tacos were AWESOME tonight, I still can't even come close to Nopalito's, and no recipe yet.