warm and toasty

For all those warm emotional moments that traditionally accompany the holiday season, an equally warming treat for your taste buds…

Hot Toddy

Makes 2

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons apple juice concentrate

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 cinnamon stick

6 tablespoons bourbon

Garnish:

Two 3 x 1/2" strip of lemon peel

2 cinnamon sticks

Stir 2 tablespoons honey, 1 cup water, apple juice concentrate, lemon juice, and cinnamon stick in a 2-cup measuring cup. Heat up in your microwave for about 3 minutes then let sit for about 4-5 minutes to really marry the flavors together. Add 6 tablespoons bourbon and stir. Divide between 2 Toddy glasses. Twist a 3 x

1/2" strip of lemon peel over each drink, then add to glass. Stir each with a cinnamon stick and serve.

Adapted from Bon Appetit

Butternut squash, broccoini, and prosciutto crostata with fontina cheese

Ben and I rolled into Victoria late Sunday night, which meant Myra was busy at work on her article for the Victoria Advocate. These articles (including recipe and photography) are due early every Monday morning, so the Starkey house each Sunday night is abuzz with ritualistic cooking and the digging up of memories in order to fashion these fabulous articles. This week she was writing about our collective memories of Christmas (and making us edit them ourselves). Since everyone was going to be up late anyway sitting around the kitchen chatting and snacking, I took the opportunity to make a crostata I had been wanting to make. Turned out tasty and kept us fed while we dug up our memories!

Below is the recipe and a few of my memories of Christmas:

Christmas meant Mom turning us loose in Toys R Us in order to make lists of what we wanted for Christmas…including the aisle and shelf number so that Santa could find them easier (never mind that Santa was supposed to be spending the remainder 364 days actually making these toys himself).

Christmas meant leaving cookies for Santa who would politely take only a few bites as he was clearly watching his jolly ol’ figure.

Christmas meant that American Girl doll (the pioneer woman) that I got as an 8 years old and the subsequent months my dad spent reading me her story books before I went to sleep.

Christmas meant snow…only once. I remember “sledding” behind a friend’s car with a rope and a trashcan lid (until my mom found out and made us stop).

Christmas now means Stephanie, Kim, and Caroline coming over to make gingerbread houses and mostly eat the candy until it either runs out or our houses fall over.

It means reading the Christmas story with my tightly knit family to remind us of why we all loved on each other through gifts and gathered together in the first place.

Butternut squash, broccoini, and prosciutto crostata with fontina cheese

FOR THE PASTRY:

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

3 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces

1 ½ tbsp lemon juice

1/2 cup mascarpone cheese

3 tbsp ice water

1 egg, lightly beaten

FOR THE FILLING:

3 oz prosciutto, diced

½ cup diced ham (optional)

1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped

1 cup butternut squash, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

splash of olive oil

1 ½ cup broccolini, ends trimmed

¾  cup grated fontina cheese

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

In a food processor combine the flour and a ½ teaspoon of the salt. Pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse a few more times until the butter is finely chopped and the mixture resembles a coarse meal. In a small bowl combine the lemon juice and mascarpone, then add to the food processor and pulse a few times. Add the ice water a tablespoon at a time, pulsing briefly between each addition. Pulse just until the mixture is moist and crumbly, but does not form a mass around the blade; be careful not to over-mix. Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Press into a disk, cover, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°F. Heat a good glug of olive oil over medium heat. Add the broccolini to the pan and saute over medium heat until tender and lightly golden. Add in the ham (if using) and sauté until crisp. Dump the broccolini and ham into a bowl with prosciutto, thyme, and grated fontina. In the same pan, sauté the cubed butternut squash with another good glug of olive oil until golden brown and tender.

Add squash to the bowl (of ham and broccolini etc), remaining ½ teaspoon of salt, and pepper and toss to combine.

Place the chilled dough on parchment paper. Roll the dough out into a 12-inch wide circle about 1/4-inch thick. Spread the vegetable mixture out in the center of the dough leaving a 2-inch border. Fold the edges of the dough up and over the vegetable mixture to form a crust. Lightly beat the egg with 1 teaspoon of water then using a pastry brush, brush some of the egg wash over the crust. Transfer the parchment paper and crostata to a baking sheet. Bake until the crust is golden, about 25 minutes. Slice into wedges and serve while still warm.

Adapted from dramaticpancake.com 

recipes

Herb Roasted Potatoes

1 bag red potatoes

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon thyme, chopped

1 tablespoon oregano, chopped

good glug (or about 3) or olive oil

Wash and dice potatoes (about 2 inch chunks). Toss with olive oil, salt, and herbs and roast in your oven at 400 ° F for about 1 hour (toss every 15 minutes to ensure even crispiness).

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

1 package active dry yeast

1 ½ cups warm water

5 cups sifted all-purpose flour, divided

½ cup sugar

2 teaspoons salt

½ cup shortening, melted

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

½ cup butter, melted

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

Combine yeast and warm water in a 2-cup liquid measuring cup & let stand for 5 minutes.

Combine 4 cups sifted flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in yeast mixture and shortening. Add eggs and remaining 1 cup sifted flour; stir vigorously until well blended. Dough will be soft and sticky. Brush or lightly rub dough with some of the melted butter. Cover loosely with a dishrag; let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, about 1 ½ to 2 hours or until doubled in bulk.

1 cup sugar

1 cup butter, melted

½ cup ground cinnamon

Mix together the above ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle flour on your risen dough as well as on a big clean work surface. Take half of the dough and roll it into a 30 by 20 inch rectangle. Spread half of cinnmon mixture over dough. Roll up dough jellyroll fashion, starting at the short side, just to the center of the rectangle; cut dough along side of roll to release it. Roll up the remaining half of the rectangle in a similar fasion. Set rolls of dough aside. Repeat procedure using dough and cinnamon mixture (and make sure to re-flour your work surface).

Grease the bottom of pans with butter (be generous!).

Cut each roll of dough into 16 or so 1 ¼ inch thick slices. Place slices, cut side down, in prepared pans, leaving about ¼ inch space between the slices. Brush slices with remaining melted butter. Let rise, uncovered, for one more whole hour in a warm place free from drafts, or until again doubled in bulk.

Preheat oven to 375° F . Bake rolls, uncovered, for 18 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly in pans.

2 ½ cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons strong brewed coffee

Stir above ingredients until smooth (add a touch more milk if icing is too thick) and drizzle over warm cinnamon rolls.

Serve warm. Share with many friends and neighbors and prepare to make their day!

freedom!

I’m baaaaack.

Time is my greatest gift right now. Time to cook. Time to run. Time to read. Time to love on others.

Sometimes during the semester its difficult for me to spend very long over-extending myself for others. School has trained me to be rather selfish with my study time, so despite my true desire to indulge others, my efforts do not often reflect actual sacrifice.

But yeasty cinnamon rolls now mark this moment of freedom from school for me. Time to let rise and show real effort. The gift of time given to people I think are worth mine. I had a little Christmas brunch for some of my friends on Saturday morning. I had to get up early just to start these cinnamon rolls, but they are well worth every minute you devote to them.

Last Christmas, my Aunt Susie donated a kidney. She had to take off work for 8 weeks for recovery. But now that fortunate person will not have to go to a dialysis center three times a week and sit for several hours each session in order to have his blood filtered. He can have his life back. Talk about a gift of time. 

cinnamon rolls, sausage, bacon, herb roasted potatoes, fruit, mimosas, and hot toddies!

Recipes to follow soon…

6 minute meal

BLACK SESAME SEED CRUSTED AHI TUNA STEAK AND SALTED EDAMAME

my instagram pic

The edamame is even the rate limiting factor here…

Edamame: Follow the directions on the frozen steamable bag! Ready go…

Tuna: Put 2 high quality tuna steaks in a bowl and splash with some soy sauce. Sprinkle black sesame seeds on the top of each steak and press with a back of a spoon (to make sure they stick). Heat a good two tablespoons of olive oil on HIGH in a skillet. Sear the bottom of each steak (about 1 minute). Gently flip steaks. Sprinkle some brown sugar on the bottom on each steak and another splash of soy sauce. By now, it will be time to flip the steaks again (about 1 minute). Turn the heat down to MEDIUM and cook for about 2 more minutes (or take them off now if you like it raw!). These fine quality pieces of fish should still be pink in the middle. Remove steaks from skillet. Pour in 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar. Stir quickly and serve with tuna steaks (I call this black gold).

Whew, that’s a quickie. Your microwave should be beeping right about this time telling you the edamame is ready. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve with tuna.

test time!

Pardon my absence (but also encourage it); it is test time once again. Thankfully this December, I only have 5 tests, 5 measly tests, until the complete freedom and bliss of a 2-week break, during which I will have fun every second and love everyone around me extravagantly. Get ready!

Last December, I had 15 tests in 18 days, a scourging that has lead me to greatly appreciate this second year of medical school. I cannot say I survived the year without a few tears along the way; in fact, I once wrote myself this little note to help me out of those clouded moments (I honestly could not afford the time to sit and sob):

Despairing child,

For what, for whom, do you exist? Can you endure the present burden for the sake of lifelong purpose? Patiently carry this moment’s tension—between what you are supposed to do and what you are actually able to do—by realizing the present’s role in facilitating the future. The parameters of your perspective are embarrassingly limited. To properly understand yourself and know what that piece of the Fire inside you is responsible for, you must set yourself in the widest possible context, the whole of humanity. Adopt a stature of gratitude—this life (and school) is a privilege—God is loving you extravagantly with this specific path.

            “what is madness but nobility of soul at odds with circumstance”

Sense the confused energies inside you caused by thwarted plans to accomplish what you so desire. Instead, will the one thing (God’s way) and allow life to be a healthy integration of actions enveloped by that one will, so that your energy/passion does not dissipate. Regain self-aware communion with God and others by involving both inward and outward commitments. Let spirituality—that channeled passion—keep you glued together. Let the known transience of anxiety raise your mind above the mire of this desperately narrow personal perspective.  Fortify your cracks by looking upward and outward (towards God and community). You are a vessel, that when coherent in mind, body, and soul, can carry out great tasks because you are essentially harboring a great spirit. Do not allow anxiety and despair to paralyze that spirit or damage your soul’s communion with it. A climate of narcissism, pragmatism, and unbridled restlessness does not foster the depth and healthy interiority necessary to accomplish this course of life. Too much order imposed on your life suffocates you—therefore allow yourself to occasionally stretch chaotically and lovingly in order to foster a mellowness of heart. Do not sit down and close up; reach out, actively seek transcendence of this moment. Depend on your faith community to not permit you to wallow, unencumbered by right perspective. Breathe in deeply the peace you know exists outside and above this moment. Partake in the next action with gratitude and appreciate the peace created in its wake.

Disclaimer: yes, i wrote this to myself, but maybe even one other person will find it beneficial in a moment of angst...

trifecta grilled cheese

sometimes a little salt and butter just hits the spot...

Grilled Cheese
3 bell peppers (one red, one orange, one yellow- the trifecta)
6 cloves of garlic
olive oil
1 ball of fresh mozzarella 
basil leaves
4 slices sourdough bread
butter
salt and pepper


Slice bell peppers into about 3 pieces each. Toss big slices and garlic with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast in your oven for about 40 minutes on 400 degrees. Remove garlic cloves at 20 minutes and smash into a paste. As soon as the veggies come out, start building the sandwich.
Slice up the mozzarella and wash your basil leaves. On each sandwich: spread some of the roasted garlic paste you made on one piece of bread, top with cheese, roasted peppers, a bit more cheese, then the basil leaves and the other half of the bread. Grill your sandwich on medium heat in a cast iron in ample amounts of butter until the outside is crispy and the cheese is melted. 

one day I will be a doctor...

...and I will help people stay focused on what really matters to them.

Mistress Illness

You must have a way about you.

Powerfully present yet illusive. Total capture of an often arbitrary victim whilst you lay with them, rolling around, toppling normalcy and consuming more and more of a person until they emerge a patient. Your tryst leaves them wondering if they still have traces of you left lingering. Even in your absence you steal away all the attention. The patient inside the person becomes his new identity.

A man’s thoughts constantly drift back to you, wondering if this or that littlest sensation is a sign of your return, of your still demanding and transforming presence.

You are not beautiful or loving, so what is this way about you?