Category Archives: cheese

Linguica Pizza

29 October 2009 by local kitchen

I grew up in Gloucester, MA, at the tip of Cape Ann on Massachusetts’ North Shore, then mostly a commercial fishing town and a summertime escape for wealthy Bostonians. Like many fishing towns or villages in New England, Gloucester had, and still has, a large community of Portuguese immigrants and their Portuguese-American descendants. If you grew up in Gloucester, or New Bedford, Fall River or even East Cambridge, you already know the wonder that is linguica (pronounced “lin-GWEE-sa”). If you did […]

Categories: basil, cheese, main course, pizza, pork, sausage, tomatoes, whole wheat flour, winter, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, pizza, pork, recipes, whole grain breads

Kale & Arugula Lasagna

16 September 2009 by local kitchen

A rich and savory lasagna, the execution is deceptively simple as this one is all about the sauce. Jam-packed with vegetables and working equally well with fresh summer tomatoes or canned bounty in the depths of a frigid February, this lasagna is Ugly Food at its finest: warm, comforting, satisfying. While leafy greens form the backbone of the flavorful sauce, don’t be afraid to experiment with whatever fresh veg is on hand: carrots, fennel bulb, fresh basil or oregano, eggplant […]

Categories: arugula, cheese, kale & leafy greens, main course, tomatoes, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, pasta, recipes, vegetarian

Goat Cheese & Herb Gougeres

1 September 2009 by local kitchen

“Real” cooking: [reel kook-ing] adj., verb; techniques and skills used in preparing food that should have been learned, at culinary school, at your grandmother’s knee, from a dedicated chef-type friend or a really detailed cookbook, before you tried to wing it, in your usual slapdash fashion, without having a clue what you were doing. So, do you know what a gougere is? I didn’t. Not until some determined Googling informed me that a gougere is a savory puff pastry, made […]

Categories: 100% local, appetizer, baking, breads, cheese, parsley, pastry, year round • Tags: baking, cooking, food, local, recipes

Sausage Bread Redux

14 August 2009 by local kitchen

OK, seriously, I know it’s hard to believe, but this bread tastes better than it looks. Scout’s honor. Spicy Italian sausages, sauteed onions & garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and fresh mozzarella, all wrapped inside herb-filled whole wheat bread. I’m drooling, but I can’t have any yet, because this bread is destined for a Very Special Occasion: my bachelorette party up in the Catskills this weekend. A dozen girls, (at least) a dozen bottles of champagne, a hot tub and sausage bread. And […]

Categories: baking, basil, breads, cheese, herbs, pork, sausage, tarragon, thyme, tomatoes, year round • Tags: baking, bread, cooking, food, local, recipes

Cucumber Tomato Feta Salad

27 July 2009 by local kitchen

My cherry tomato plants are finally producing enough for a decent harvest. I collected two big handfuls (just under a pint) the other day and decided to make one of our summer favorites: crisp, cool and refreshing cucumber, tomato & feta salad. This salad is so simple that the ingredients completely make or break the dish: source the freshest, best-tasting vegetables you can find. Sample cherry tomatoes at the farmer’s market. Look for cucumbers that are firm and heavy for their […]

Categories: basil, cheese, cucumber, salad, side dish, summer, tomatoes • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes, salad

Flageolet and Roasted Garlic Spread

16 June 2009 by local kitchen

More picnic fare that is easy to make, travels well, yet is impressively yummy and leaves friends wanting more. With the exception of olive oil and black pepper, this spread can be made entirely local with Navy beans from Cayuga Pure Organics; or you could do what I did and fly to San Francisco, visit friends, and hit up the Rancho Gordo booth at the Ferry Building! Adapted from Cannellini Bean Confetti Spread in Heirloom Beans, by Steve Sando […]

Categories: appetizer, beans, cheese, chives, fall, garlic, grains & legumes, heirloom beans, herbs, spring, summer • Tags: beans, cooking, food, garlic, local, recipes

Asparagus, Andouille & Spring Greens Frittata

2 June 2009 by local kitchen

Leftover grilled asparagus, kale & pastured eggs from Saturday’s farmer’s market, andouille sausage, and homemade mozzarella combined to make today’s lunch something special. ————————————————————– Asparagus, Andouille & Spring Greens Frittata INGREDIENTS bacon grease, lard or olive oil 2 lbs potatoes, scrubbed and diced to 1/2-inch 2 links (about 6 oz) andouille sausage, sliced in half lengthwise 1 large onion, diced 1 large bunch (about 1 lb) kale, chard or other leafy green, coarsely chopped about 12 stalks cooked asparagus, tips chopped to 3 […]

Categories: 100% local, asparagus, breakfast, cheese, herbs, kale & leafy greens, main course, parsley, potato, sausage, spinach, spring • Tags: cooking, eggs, food, frittata, local, recipes

Easy Breezy Pea(sy) Salad

26 April 2009 by local kitchen

Update: Funny to see how hot it was in April, three years ago, when here we are in June 2012 and it’s been chilly, grey and rainy for days. This time around, with fresh peas-from-the-pod, ever so slightly steamed, and radishes & lettuce from the first CSA of the year, this salad was still easy, breezy, pea(sy) good. —————————– This crazy “Spring” weather, with temps approaching 90 degrees, has got me not wanting to do much of anything beyond laying in front of […]

Categories: cheese, dill, lettuce, peas, radish, salad, spring, vegetarian • Tags: cooking, food, local, quick & easy, radish, recipes, salad, spring, vegetarian

Mac. And. Cheese.

8 April 2009 by local kitchen

I can think of but one response to snow (yes, I said snow) on April 8th – mac and cheese. There are about a gizillion recipes out there for macaroni and cheese (actually Google informs me that there are “about 1,420,000“); this one is a classic version, with a bechamel-cheese sauce, a little salt, pepper & nutmeg, and not much else. I like a lot of different varieties of mac & cheese – the Half King in Chelsea makes a great version […]

Categories: 100% local, cheese, pasta, year round • Tags: cheese, cooking, food, local, main course, pasta, recipes, vegetarian

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

6 April 2009 by local kitchen

I’ve been testing out cake (and filling, and frosting) recipes for Kami’s birthday celebration this Thursday. Kami is turning five years old this Thursday – and while her parents are certainly dear friends of mine, Kami and I are fast friends in our own right. She has very discriminating taste for an almost-5-year-old, so I generally try to pull out all the stops for her birthday cake. Not as easy as it sounds, when you consider that most “pull out […]

Categories: baking, berries, cheese, dessert, sauces, spring, summer, year round • Tags: baking, cooking, food, local, recipes, vegetarian

Goat Cheese Pizza with Garlicky Kale

4 April 2009 by local kitchen

Quick & easy, flavorful and healthy; perfect for weekend Pizza Night and a nice change from the tomato-sauce-and-mozzarella variety. Serve with a nice glass of wine and vintage Woody Allen – perfection! ————————————————————- Goat Cheese Pizza with Garlicky Kale INGREDIENTS 1 recipe Quick(er) Whole Grain Pizza Dough OR 12-Grain Pizza Dough about 1/4 cup olive oil 4-5 large kale leaves (5 oz), washed & coarsely chopped (with center stem) 1 stalk fresh/green garlic, well-washed and sliced fine, OR 4 large […]

Categories: cheese, fall, kale & leafy greens, pizza, spring, vegetarian, whole wheat flour, winter • Tags: cooking, food, local, pizza, recipes

Lemon Basil Pesto Pizza

24 March 2009 by local kitchen

Really, amazingly, deliciously, incredibly, mouth-wateringly good. Really. ————————————————————– Lemon Basil Pesto Pizza INGREDIENTS Pizza 1 recipe 12-grain pizza dough OR Quick(er) Whole Grain PIzza Dough 1 tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp grated hard cheese, such as parmesean or Sprout Creek Barat or Ouray 4-6 tbsp lemon basil pesto (recipe follows) 4 oz mozzarella, homemade or purchased 1 head roasted garlic 4 oz cooked chicken breast, such as lemon chicken freshly ground black pepper 1/2 tsp dried lemon basil Lemon Basil Pesto […]

Categories: basil, cheese, chicken, herbs, pizza, summer, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, pizza, recipes

Sausage & Leek Frittata

16 March 2009 by local kitchen

We had a Chiquita’s Weekend at my house this weekend, which mainly consists of lots of eating, drinking and staying up ’till 4:00 am. While there is nearly always lots of good food, and I like to try out new recipes, tradition dictates that I make a frittata at some point during the weekend. I make frittata often, as they make for a quick & easy breakfast or lunch and are a good way to use up leftovers or excess veggies; this being the […]

Categories: 100% local, cheese, eggs, fall, herbs, leek, main course, parsley, pork, sausage, spring, winter, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, pork, recipes

Sausage, Herb & Mozzarella Bread

6 March 2009 by local kitchen

It’s been a crazy week. My business tends to be feast or famine; this week has defnitely been a feast, work-wise, but a famine, cooking-wise. I’ve had no time, in between 12-hour days at the computer, to cook a thing and I realized today how much I missed it. Cooking, and most especially baking bread, can be enormously relaxing. There’s a science to measuring and combining the ingredients that is soothing in it’s detail and familiar rhythms; kneading the dough […]

Categories: baking, breads, cheese, fall, pork, sausage, spring, winter, year round • Tags: cheese, cooking, food, local, pork, recipes, whole grain breads

30-Minute Mozzarella

5 March 2009 by local kitchen

Here is another great recipe from Ricki Carroll’s Home Cheese Making. This recipe makes a delicious mozzarella that has all of the characteristics of the milk used to make it so can be endlessly varied. It really is a very quick recipe – it may not take you only 30 minutes on your first try, but once you get the hang of it, it will go very quickly. It’s faster for me to make this cheese than to go to […]

Categories: cheese, milk, vegetarian, year round • Tags: cheese, cooking, food, local, recipes