Chicken a Diable (French Spicy Chicken)

I know, I know, many of you are thinking that I got mixed up with this recipe, whispering to yourself - Doesn't she mean Fra Diablo? Made with tomatoes and hot pepper flakes? Fear not, lovely reader, this is the correct spelling, the correct recipe and the correct ingredients, according to Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table.

I, too, was confused when I first read the recipe. But, as it turns out, the Italians are not the only ones to equate spicy with the devil. The French version uses spicy mustard, not the "spice" most people think of but this was taste bud tingle-worthy for sure!

Wine Vinegars - Red and White - Made At Home

A couple of years back when I bought a farm and was going to turn it into an inn I was obsessed with making everything from scratch. It was a serious back-to-the-land itch that I scratched as much as possible. I learned how to make mustard, mayonnaise, canned vegetables, fruits, made pickles of all sorts and even aspired to making country wine (dandelion was my choice - it didn't work out). But my favorite venture was learning how to make cider vinegar.  I had a few apples trees that provided just enough juice to create cider vinegar. I added some raw cider vinegar to the existing juice and let it work its magic. It was so easy it almost felt like a let down.

When I moved to California and found that red wine becomes vinegar faster than you can say 49iners, I realized there was a reason that red wine vinegar was the vinegar of choice in Mediterranean recipes (and why apple cider vinegar is so prevalent in northern climate dishes since apples grow so well in colder weather). I've been making it ever since, and pass it along to anyone who will take a bottle off my hands.

Easy Dark Chocolate and Walnut Fudge

I have been meaning to make this easy dark chocolate fudge recipe since the beginning of December. What was holding me back? While I am not your typical choco-holic, I do like fudge, and I feared for my waistline if I did make it. So, with evil, I mean graciousness in my heart, I waited until I had guests to enjoy it with me. This week's Golden Globe Awards seemed the perfect time to spring these delicious morsels on unsuspecting innocents. It worked! Everyone loved the fudge which is just creamy enough to feel decadent but not overly rich to make you feel queasy with remorse for eating more than one piece.

For my part, the ease and quickness of preparation made me just a tad smug. Fortunately for my guests, I'm an decent actress when it comes to appearing humble about what I cook. No one was the wiser!

Deconstructed (Lazy Cook's) Spinach and Cheese Ravioli

Mark Bittman recently blogged about quick and easy homemade pasta made in the food processor. At first I was horrified (really, a food processor? Mark, this is too minimalist for me.) Then, I took a step back and thought about the shortcuts I have used and remembered this recipe.

At the beginning of my cooking life I was obsessed with spinach, ricotta and parmesan cheese as a combination and would spread it on toasts, baguettes and, of course, tossed it with pasta. After thinking about Bittman's recipe, I realized that this recipe was really a lazy cook's version of spinach and cheese ravioli. This was a staple all though grad school when I was too lazy to make homemade pasta. Thinking back on those days, when much time was spent reading post-modern theory and talking about deconstruction it dawned on me that this was a deconstructed ravioli!

Shredded Carrots with Harissa, Feta and Mint

As a child I ate tons of carrots, so much so that once I finished a 1 lb bag in one day and my mom called the doctor to ensure I wasn't going to get some sort of Vitamin A poisoning.

When I saw these gorgeous carrots at the farmers market, I knew this was a marriage made in heaven. These are Nantes carrots, which are not usually found in stores, and are especially sweet and crisp. A few years ago I grew them in my garden and have been hooked on them ever since.

I still love carrots and eat them raw whenever I want a good snack. But I also love to gussy them up once in a while and this recipe is fantastic. When I read this recipe and saw that Smitten Kitchen had made a carrot salad with harissa, I knew I would be, well, smitten.

Smitten Kitchen prepared the dressing a bit differently, sauteing all of the ingredients together at once. But I was inspired by the harissa to use more of a Maghreb/Moroccan style of preparation so I decided to mash garlic, cumin, caraway and sugar in a mortar and pestle before sauteing in oil. Add some lemon juice and you have an amazing dressing that sings with heat and savory-ness.

Home-brined Olives (Manzanilla)

One of the primary reasons I moved to California was the fact that I could buy local olives and olive oil (don't tell my family - they think I moved here for them!)

Olives are my favorite food, Ever! I could eat them every day for every meal. I never tire of them. So when I found fresh, raw olives at the farmers' market this fall I scooped them up faster than you could say olive-holic.