Granola? Yes, Thanks.

Granola.

Sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it. I kind of left it behind awhile back. There were the variety of store-bought granola-type bars that my daughter favored when she was young, which were too coyingly sweet. And, the lack of good things to mix it with (no dairy, and I don't like "replacement milks" for anything but baking), made it possible for me to forget about granola.

Recently, I saw this recipe on Food52 and knew I hd to try it. For one thing, it has Olive Oil in it, how great is that for someone (me) who loves to mix sweet and savory flavors? And, it offered an easy way to mix in as many nuts as I wanted, which, I realized, was lacking in your standard issued granola. I happened to have most everything the recipe called for in the house, so I set to making it.

I adjusted the type of nuts (instead of pecans, I used walnuts and almonds), and forgot to add the salt (which I now regret and will do next time), extended the baking time (because I love crispy, crunchy and toasty stuff) and ended up with the best tasting granola I've ever had.

The big bonus of the day, aside from cups and cups of great tasting granola? Our upstairs neighbor came down the a few hours after I had baked the granola and said he had to come see what I was making because it smelled so good in their apartment. He took a batch with him and was very happy with the offering.

On my next round, I'm going to reduce the amout of brown sugar and maple syrup, because, I guess, in my old age, my sweet tooth is diminishing. Other than that, this makes a huge batch of delicious granola that I will make again and again.

Granola with Nuts, Coconut Maple Syrup and Olive Oil

Original recipe appears here, on the Food52 website, thanks Nekasia Davis

Makes about 7 cups

• 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds, hulled
• 1 cup raw sunflower seeds, hulled
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut chips
• 1 1/4 cup raw pecans, left whole or coarsely chopped (I used half walnuts and half almonds instead of the pecans)
• 3/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• Coarse salt

• Heat oven to 300 degrees.
• Place oats, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, coconut, pecans, syrup, olive oil, sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl and mix until well combined. Spread granola mixture in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Transfer to oven and bake, stirring every 10-15 minutes, until granola is toasted, about 45 minutes.
• Remove granola from oven and season with more salt to taste. Let cool completely before serving or storing in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

Salade Nicoise: How-To: Another Cooking for One recipe

The salade nicoise has got to be the best salad ever. It involves only a handful of ingredients (two of which I've featured recently as make-ahead basics, here  and here).

When my daughter and I were in Paris, I ordered salade nicoise. What I got was not at all what I was accustomed to from our American version.

For one thing, there was rice in it. Yes, you read that right, rice. For another thing, the tuna tasted and looked odd, and overcooked. Lastly, there was some heavy dressing with a bit of cream in it. I won't judge the entire country on how this one brasserie made their Nicoise. Instead, I guess I'll just have to venture back over to France to find the perfect version.

In the meantime, I decided to try my hand at home making this lovely salad. Usually, there are boiled eggs included, but when I was almost finished making (and photographing) the salad, I realized I had forgotten to make them. To my surprise, I didn't miss the eggs at all.  I actually think I preferred it without the eggs, but you can go ahead and add them back in if you want to.

The key to my success was the freshness of the tuna steak. Of course, if you can't locate a tuna steak, you can use a can of best-quality (that's a Gran-Franism, the best quality thing) solid olive oil packed tuna fish. Drain some of the oil out, so that the flavor of the dressing will shine through.

I really enjoyed making this, especially since it was so simple and tasted so darned good.

Salade Nicoise

serves 1

Ingredients:

• A large handful of Salad Greens (I didn't measure, just grabbed as much as I thought I'd eat)
• 1 serving of cooked Green Beans (recipe here)
• 1 serving of Boiled Potatoes (recipe here)
• 1/4 pound Tuna Steak
• 4 Tbsps Olive Oil
• 2 Tbsps Red Wine Vinegar
• 1 tsp Mustard
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:

• Place the salad greens, green beans and potatoes on a plate. Set aside.
• Heat a heavy-bottomed non-reactive pan over high heat.
• Salt and pepper the tuna steak.
• Once the pan is good and hot, add a small amount of olive oil.
• Add the tuna steak to the super hot pan.
• Cook on first side for five minutes.
• Turn over the tuna steak and cook for another 3 minutes.
• Remove the tuna from the pan and let rest for a few minutes.
• Mix the olive oil, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper for the dressing.
• Slice the tuna and place on top of the salad.
• Sprinkle the dressing over the top of the salad and enjoy!

Quagliariello

I got a bunch of really nice gifts for my birthday, many of which had to do with cooking.

Two are featured here: a lovely stuffed quail and a beautiful Le Creuset skillet.

The quail is incredibly fitting, as you are about to learn. The friend who gave me the tiny bird to roast knew some of my family history, and that my daughter's middle name is Quaglia (a shortened version of Quagliariello). She also gave me a gift certificate for a lovely speciality butcher shop here in SF, Olivier's, which I cannot wait to cash in.

I asked Joe (my Dad) to recount the story one more time of the history of his family's name. Here is his story, which I felt I couldn't do a better job of paraphrasing so included the whole epic story.

Well, it all started during the Holy Roman Empire. My ancestors were poor peasants who tilled the land not two miles from Caesar's Palace. (Not that one.)

A couple of thousand years later, my paternal grandfather decided to tear himself away from the rocky, dry land he was tilling, and he arrived in Brooklyn around 1900. He got a job working in a shoe factory, which turned out to be demanding and ill-paying, but still better than the land-tilling ever would, so he decided to stay.

His name was Thomas Quagliariello, the last name being Italian for "little quail." Starting with the day he spent at Ellis Island, he was aware that his last name didn't sound American. So he decided to follow the course taken by his cousin, a locally well-known boxer.

This cousin had a cigar-smoking manager who ruled that, for poster purposes, the boxer need a name shorter than Quagliariello. The manager smoked only light cigars, which were identified on the side of their box by the Spanish word "claro," which, in different contexts can mean, "mild" (for cigars), "clear" (for weather), or "I understand" (as in "It's clear").

So Pasquale Quagliariello became boxer Patsy Claro, and my grandfather, believing this was an American name (even though it sounded Italian), followed suit. Years later, my father and two of his half-brothers did the same, while the other brothers either retained their original name or shortened it to Quaglia. 

And that's the story.

So as you can see, my friend hit the nail on the head with her gift, which was delicious as well.

Stuffed Roasted Quail

each bird serves 1 person

• Order pre-stuffed birds from your local butcher, if you can get them.

You can stuff your own bird, but I believe it would be very hard, based on the tiny nature of these birds and the tiny bones you'd have to remove. If you are going to stuff it yourself get some nice sausage, roasted chestnuts and some raisins or sultanas. I can't really advise you how to stuff the actual bird, but check

this link

out, it may be helpful.

Method:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees
• Put a small amount of olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Make sure the pan is big enough to allow space between multiple birds.
• Lightly salt the bird and put it in the pan.
• Roast the bird(s) for 10 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes.
• Drain the fat from the pan and serve up the bird(s).

It's Not Burger King...Best Chicken Sandwich Ever

I love the Burger King Classic Chicken Sandwich.

Let me rephrase that. I love the memory of eating the Burger King Classic Chicken Sandwich. That first bite, the warm breading, the mixture of grease and mayonnaise. I rarely allow myself to buy one anymore, but the memory lingers on.

Yesterday, while I was doing birthday returns, there appeared on the horizon the mighty Burger King. I was almost weak enough to give in and get in that drive-thru lane and get me one of those sandwiches.

Then it dawned on me, wait a minute, I can make my own version, my way, in no time at all. Which is exactly what I did.

I knew I could make a good gluten-free breaded chicken, mayonnaise is always in my fridge but I had to think about the elements (other than actually deep frying) that make that sandwich taste so good. Then it hit me: lettuce. I know it seems simple, but I never put lettuce in a sandwich, unless it's a BLT.

The marinade that I made is a one that I make regularly. I replaced the milk with almond milk and added some honey, barbecue sauce, egg and hot-sweet mustard. The bread I used is a great gluten-free variety toasted and spread with mayonnaise.

Well, let me tell you, it worked! What a great treat, easy, not too bad for you, and delicious.

Gluten Free and Dairy Free Breaded Chicken Sandwich (or the Faux Burger King Classic Chicken Sandwich)

serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 Chicken Breasts, boneless/skinless, cut thin
•  1 egg
• 3 ounces Almond Milk (or any kind of milk you have on hand)
• 1/4 cup Barbecue Sauce
• 2 tsps Mustard (I used sweet-hot, but you can use any variety)
• 1 Tbsp Honey
• 1/2 cup gluten-free Bread Crumbs (I use this brand.)
• 2 slices Udi's Gluten Free Bread

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Mix all the wet ingredients in a bowl large enough to accommodate all the chicken, too.
• Add the chicken. Let it soak for at least ten minutes. If you've thought ahead and got to this point the night before, go ahead and soak the chicken overnight.
• Turn the heat to high on a large skillet.
• Put the bread crumbs on a shallow plate.
• Place the chicken in  the breadcrumbs and turn it over to coat both sides.Repeat until all chicken breasts are coated.
• Add oil to the hot pan.
• Place each piece of chicken in the pan, making sure there is some space between each piece.
• Cook on the first side for 5 minutes.
• Turn over the chicken and cook for 2 more minutes.
• Put the pan in the oven to finish cooking for about 10 minutes.
• While the meat is cooking, shred the lettuce and toast your bread.
• Remove from the oven and make your sandwich.

Enjoy!