California. It definitely is an interesting place to live. When I moved here I was looking for a change from the northeast and I certainly found it. There are always going to be things that I miss about where I grew up, but one of the best things about California is its diversity.

From the bounty of vegetables and fruit grown all over the state…

…to vineyards producing the most amazing wines …

..to country roads where you can step back in time…

…to night after night of spectacular sunsets. Thanks California.

Yes, I have it, bad. I can’t believe how long it’s really been since I’ve been there-a year and a half. It’s hard enough to think about it, let alone actually write it down and see it on paper. On my last day of language school in Arezzo I told my teachers that I would return, soon. Of course that was my intention, but sometimes real life gets in the way and all doe not go according to plan.

Italy is part of my everyday life. It’s in my daily schedule with the blogs I read, the places I research for future travel and the food I cook. I frequently have RAI (Italian TV) on in the background and always listen to Italian music in the car. I spend time alone thinking of how I would say things in Italian. Lately I’ve been waking up with Italian songs in my head. I think I’m way overdue for a trip there!

I know when the time is right we’ll be back and will visit old favorites but will definitely explore places where we’ve never been. I want to see Cinque Terre and arrive there by boat. Ever since we got lost down on the docks of Genoa on our first trip to Italy we vowed to return and spend a night or two seeing a better part of the city. And on to Piemonte to explore and swirl and sip its luscious wines and to finally visit Baur B & B. And what about Bologna-we still haven’t been there and I dream of piles and piles of tortellini! And that’s just a start-I don’t have time right now for my dreams in the south so I’ll save that for another post. A presto!

What is it that makes us crave a certain food? Clear out of the blue, I had an urge for chicken a la king! This is a dish that I probably haven’t had since my mother made it oh so many years ago. I couldn’t stop thinking about it and could actually remember exactly what it tasted like. Of course I knew right then that I would be making this classic dish from the fifties.

You don’t really need a recipe for it-it’s basically chicken that’s been poached and then served in a white sauce over biscuits or rice. I added sauteed mushrooms and peas to mine. I’ve also seen it made with pimento. I grew up having it with biscuits, so of course that’s what I had to have. It was exactly as I remembered it. As I savored each bite I realized that the flaky biscuits covered with chicken in the creamy, sherry laced sauce was another dose of comfort food! Sometimes you can recreate a little piece of your past.

Baking Powder Biscuits

2-1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable shortening, chilled
1 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Sift 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt into large bowl.

Add shortening to flour mixture and cut in with a fork or pastry blender until it has the texture of coarse meal. Add the milk and stir with a fork, until mixture pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Mixture will be sticky.

Lightly flour a cutting board and turn dough out and knead gently for about 30 seconds until dough is no longer sticky. Pat dough into a 9″ circle about 3/4″ thick. Cut with a cookie cutter and place on to baking sheet. Bake until golden, about 12-15 minutes. Makes:12 biscuits

I am in my glory with the beginning of cooler weather. It’s time to say goodbye to all those warm weather recipes and welcome time in the kitchen preparing stews, braises, roasts and lots of baking. I must admit that I use my outdoor grill all year long (hey, a cold evening here is only in the 50s!), but when time allows, I much prefer preparing dishes that take minimal time to put together, but hours of pleasure as you savor the aromas coming from your kitchen as these dishes cook away.

My head is swimming with ideas for things I want to cook and today I was happy to find lamb shanks at my local supermarket. I didn’t have time to drive all over town looking for these and had a back up plan if they weren’t readily available, but there they were-New Zealand lamb shanks. I knew I wanted Mediterranean flavors with a hint of the Middle East thrown in, and so this is what I came up with.

Braised Mediterranean Lamb Shanks

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 lamb shanks
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup green olives, pitted
1 cup white wine
2 cups chicken broth
6 canned plum tomatoes, chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/8 teaspoon allspice
2 cardamom seeds, crushed
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
2-14 ounce cans cannellini beans, drained

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat and add lamb shanks and brown-about 5 minutes per side. Remove from pan, lower the heat to medium and add onions, carrots, celery, olives and garlic and saute until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Increase the heat to high and add wine and simmer until wine is reduced in half.

Add broth, tomatoes , cumin, coriander, allspice, cardamom, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Stir to combine and add lamb back to pot. Bring to a boil, cover pot and place in oven. Cook for 2 hours. Add beans and cook for another 30 minutes. Remove from oven and serve with couscous or polenta. Serves: 4

I was lucky to grow up in the idyllic small town. Situated on the banks of the Hudson river, my town is postcard perfect. It’s your classic northeastern village complete with quaint buildings, church spires and lots of history. The Revolutionary War came right through here and a famous British spy-Major John Andre, who had plotted with Benedict Arnold-was captured here.

Growing up I probably took for granted how special a place this was. It had all the advantages of a little village, yet you could hop on a train and be in NYC within a half hour.

Someone had the foresight to save this great old building where I went to the movies as a kid and now it’s a great spot to see a live performance.

One of the oldest churches in the country-The Old Dutch Church-is right down the street from where I lived. Built in 1685, it sits at the entrance of a cemetery which is not only beautiful and a great place to take a stroll, but has the graves of many famous American, dating back to the 1700s.

And one last thing-we’re home to the famous Headless Horsemen who rode his horse over the bridge at the end of my street! Sleepy Hollow-I’m thankful for having the opportunity to grow up in such a special place.

This is the time of year that I seem to miss the northeast the most. In a few months when the weather is freezing and snow and ice cover the ground, I won’t be feeling quite so nostalgic. Autumn however is a sight to behold and if you’ve never experience New England in the fall, you have to go at some pint. From the country to the city, it’s a sight to behold. if you do go, make sure that a stop in Boston is on your list.

Calling all bakers-I need help! What’s up with “00″ flour- the flour used in Italy to make their delicate pasta and spectacular baked goods? I keep seeing recipes calling for this flour and it’s not easy to find here. The last time I was up at the amazing restaurant supply store Surfas in Los Angeles, I decided to purchase a large container of it. I had fantasies of the delectable Italian specialties that I’d be baking, now that I had the proper flour. I could barely wait to get into the kitchen and get baking.

The first time I tried the “00″ flour I made a pizza dough which I promptly threw in the trash. I figured it was the recipe. Next time I used it for pasta dough for ravioli. I’ve made homemade pasta many times so I figured these would be the ravioli of my dreams-not. I could tell while I was kneading the dough that something was different and in the end, I also tossed this dough.

Yesterday I decided to make a stuffed foccacia that I saw in “Taste of Italia”. The fillings were sauteed escarole, onions and sharp provolone topped with tomatoes, roasted peppers and oregano. I started early in the day making the dough and once I again I thought “what is up with this stuff?”. It didn’t seem smooth and elastic and it took forever to rise. I should have gone with my initial instinct and started over with regular unbleached flour. No, I went ahead with my “00″ experiment and in the end was once again disappointed!

It doesn’t look too bad, and J. was a willing taster and proclaimed that he liked it. I thought it was tough and made a decision right then that I’ll be re-making this over the weekend, using regular flour and another dough recipe.

What am I missing with the use of “00″ flour?

It’s “officially” fall. We’ve turned the clocks back and its dark way too early. I wish I could say that there’s a chill in the air, but here in southern California it still feels like the middle of August. Despite the temperature, I’m embracing autumn and cooking with the incredible cool weather vegetables that are showing up at the farmers market.

This exquisite kabocha squash had been sitting on my counter for a few days when I remembered a recipe for a stuffed pumpkin I had torn out of Gourmet last November. Crispy french bread croutons layered with cream and shredded gruyere and emmental cheeses couldn’t be anything but delicious!

Roast Squash with Cheese “Fondue”

1 small baguette cut into 1/2″ slices (about 7 oz.)
1 (6 lb.) pumpkin or kabocha squash
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
6 oz. grated gruyere
6 oz. grated emmental
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees with rack in lower third of oven. Toast baguette slices on baking sheet until tops are crisp, about 7 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool. Lower oven to 400 degrees.

Remove top of squash by cutting a circle around stem. Scrape out seeds and any loose fibers from inside with a spoon. Season inside with salt.

Whisk together cream, broth, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a bowl. Mix in cheeses in another bowl. Put a layer of toasted bread in bottom of squash, then cover with about a cup of cheese and then top with 1/2 cup cream mixture. Continue layering until the squash is filled to about 1/2″ from top. You may have some bread and cheese left over.

Cover squash with top. Put in an oiled roasting pan and brush outside of squash with olive oil. Bake until squash is tender, about 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
Cool slightly, slice into wedges and enjoy! Serves: 8

Take a look at a similar recipe that I tried last year that uses mascarpone cheese and sauteed mushrooms in the filling.

Last weekend I begrudgingly cleared out all of our tomato plants. It’s been a great four month run and I loved walking out the back door and bringing in the bounty. I got to the point where I took it for granted that there were tomatoes to pluck whenever the urge struck, but reality set in and I knew it was time to say good bye to the summer tomato.

J. went down the hill from our house today to the farm where I’ve always purchased tomatoes when we didn’t have our own plants. We haven’t shopped there in months. He came home with five perfect tomatoes, two of them heirlooms. Hard to believe, but this photo is of one tomato! There was a little mozzarella di bufula in the fridge and for a moment it seemed like it was August again.

I recently had the pleasure of being exposed to a variety of people who think about and take action to care about people that they don’t even know. I realize that this sort of thing (should I say “charity” for lack of a better word?) probably takes place a lot more than I think, but I suppose I haven’t had much up close and personal exposure for a while.

Yesterday I spent the morning at a grammar school where seventh and eighth graders had organized a drive to collect goods for pregnant women (and their babies) in need. It was really awe-inspiring to see these pre-teens so excited about what they had accomplished. Each and every one of them wanted to help carry the bags of gifts out to our cars. We filled three cars with bags and boxes chock full of supplies for moms and their babies. Their enthusiasm for helping others was precious and it gave me hope that there are young people out there who think about more than themselves.

I would like to express my gratitude to all of you out there who put the needs of others above yourself and extend a hand to those in need. I’m truly inspired by what you do.

Be sure to check out Diana at Creative Structures for the rest of the Gratitude Friday group.