Kitchen Loves

With all of this cold weather outside, I've found myself pottering about the kitchen even more than usual.  Cooking, baking and organizing all, generally, while thinking of what to make myself as a snack.  As my healthy new year resolutions fade, I find myself drawn to more decadent and filling comfort food recipes, tools, and ingredients.  Here are a few I'm particularly loving at this moment:

Cold fig preserve and cheddar sandwich.

A simple snack that has become one of my current favorites:  tear off a piece of crusty baguette, split it in half, slather with fig preserves and top with slices of the sharpest white cheddar.  So good.  If you have the time, throw it in the panini press for an amazing grilled version. But I usually can't wait that long.  

Homemade vanilla bean sugar.

Simply fill a jar with sugar and add to it split vanilla bean pods that you've used in recipes. Just keep adding pods and refilling the sugar as you use it.  Sweet, fragrant and so versatile.  Add this sparkling mix to a bowl of warm oatmeal, boil it with equal parts water to make a vanilla bean simple syrup to sweeten iced tea or cocktails, whisk it into your pancake batter, add a little to your morning latte or, my personal favorite, generously sprinkle it on buttered bread before toasting it under the broiler.  Heaven.    

Rimmed baking sheets.

I can't get enough of these.  Nothing is better for roasting chopped vegetables.  Line them with parchment and they become ace cookie sheets.  Roast a chicken effortlessly, the rim catches any drips. Perfect for brownies.  The list goes on.  I love these things.

White truffle butter.

Anyone who knows me knows about my affinity for truffles.  Especially Italian white truffles. Unfortunately, at around $1000 a pound I'm not exactly shaving them over my risotto every night. But I wish I were.  As luck would have it, there is a much more affordable option - truffle butter. Creamy butter dotted with chunks of real truffle. Perfection.  Lightly brown a healthy scoop of it in a large skillet and toss with freshly boiled pappardelle pasta, shaved parmigiano reggiano, black pepper and fresh parsley for an amazing and quick meal.  Rub it under the skin of a chicken before your roast it.  Spread it on sliced, crusty bread, top with gruyere cheese and make yourself a delectable grilled cheese.  Pure bliss.  

Cheese and herb refrigerator crackers.

Refrigerator crackers.  So rich, delicious and a great make-ahead appetizer.  Mix up this easy dough, roll into a log wrapped in parchment paper, refrigerate, slice and bake.  Make a few batches and freeze.  Keep a few batches on hand and quickly slice and bake off when unexpected guests arrive. They are herby, cheesy and so tasty. Like small savory cookies. Use any cheese and any herb, you really can't go wrong.