the haystack needle

angela adams doormat

I've wanted an Angela Adams rug for a very long time. Every time I'm up in Portland, I like to stop in the Angela Adams shop to see their collection of rugs, with their graphic, nature-inspired patterns. (And then in my head, I pick out which one I'd buy. ) Now I found one that fits my budget. Just look at this Angela Adams doormat! What a brilliant way to mark your entrance with style. And did you know that 80 percent of dirt in your home gets tracked inside off your feet? It's true. I choose a cute doormat over vacuuming any day.

german potato salad

One of the highlights of my Thanksgiving was learning how to make the family potato salad that I've grown up eating all these years, at every Thanksgiving. German potato salad. We're talking a mayo-less potato salad that's doused in a lot of vinegar — and tastes exponentially better the day after you make it. Thank goodness I'm part German, as I'm not a fan of pairing mayonnaise with your potatoes. This potato salad could not be more simple. And it's a stand-out dish that will mingle deliciously well with everything on your plate, but tempt you to take seconds and then thirds — until you're sitting there full of potatoes. The recipe comes from my Na (pronounced nay-a, my great-grandma on my mom's side.) She never wore pants (only dresses) and lived to be 100, and she was the sweetest soul. I thankfully grew up with Na living in our house. Just like the potato salad, you could always depend on Na — she was an unassuming, quiet star.

Na's German potato salad

makes 5 lbs of potato salad (we always double the recipe for Thanksgiving)

you'll need:

5 lbs of red skin potatoes

apple cider vinegar

canola oil

white or red onion, chopped

fresh flat-leaf parsley, diced

salt and pepper

*one note: My mom makes this potato salad without a formal recipe. So she showed me how to make it, and we made an effort to measure how much oil and vinegar we were using (since she usually just eyes how much she needs.) These measurements are not exact — more of a guide. The potato salad should have a pronounced vinegar kick to it. It's also best to make this recipe the night before, so the flavors can sit and settle into the potatoes (and so it's chilled.)

Boil the potatoes till they're soft (but not mushy.) Peel the potatoes after they're boiled, but while they're still hot. Put the peeled potatoes back in the pot over the stove to keep them warm while you're working on peeling the potatoes. Then start transferring the potatoes to your serving bowl, slicing the potatoes into bite-size chunks as you add them to the bowl. Once you have a layer of chopped potatoes in your bowl, you want to start adding your oil. Continue adding another layer of potatoes and pause to add more oil — repeat until you've added all the potatoes. The oil needs to be added to the potatoes while they're still very warm, or the potatoes won't absorb the oil. You'll use about a cup of oil to distribute over all the potatoes. You want to add enough oil so that the potatoes look shiny, but there's not a pool of oil at the bottom of your bowl.

Next, add your chopped onion and mix in with the potatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste (you'll need to add a good amount of salt — as there are a lot of potatoes to cover.) 

Start adding your vinegar. Start with one cup of the vinegar. Pour and mix in with the potatoes. We added in another 1/2 cup of vinegar when we made it on Wednesday night — you should clearly taste a kick of vinegar in the potatoes. Finally, add a half bunch of flat-leaf parsley to your potato salad. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator overnight. 

The next morning, we always taste the potato salad and it always needs a little more vinegar (as the vinegar absorbs into the potatoes overnight.) We added another 1/2 cup of vinegar and it was perfect. We always eat our potato salad at room temperature for Thanksgiving dinner. But as leftovers, I can never wait and dig into my potato salad straight from the refrigerator. It's delicious either way.

A big thanks to my mom for teaching me how to make one of my favorite recipes — and for letting me share our family recipe here. You're the best, Mom.

moose tags

This year will be my first Maine Christmas. Dan and I booked our flights to celebrate Christmas this year with his family in Maine. I'm so excited! I saw these moose tags by Linda & Harriett and think they might be the perfect gift tags for the presents we bring up to Maine. Oh I hope it snows, as I'd love to go sledding.

broccoli with cheese sauce + spinach croquettes

Before heading out for Thanksgiving, I wanted to share two more vegetable recipes from the cookbook, I Know How To Cook put out by Phaidon Press. Both involve Gruyere cheese. Decadent and delicious.

I haven't tried this recipe yet (looking forward to making it tonight.) But I have high hopes for it. As many of you know, I don't often cook with a lot of vegetables as Dan is not a fan of most vegetables (it makes cooking dinner rather tough some days.) I'm slowly trying to incorporate more veggies, and I'm always scouting for recipes that will extend his palette to liking more greens. This recipe caught my eye. When I was a kid, my mom got me to eat broccoli by smothering it with Chees Wiz. Maybe it wasn't the most healthy option, but it did get me to eat greens and develop a love for broccoli. So I instantly tagged this recipe when I saw it — sounds like the grown-up, French take on broccoli with Chees Wiz.

Broccoli in Cheese Sauce

recipe by Ginette Mathiot for I Know How To Cook

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Steam the broccoli for 4-5 minutes or boil it in salted water for 6 minutes. Drain and put it in an ovenproof serving dish. Coat the broccoli with the cheese sauce. Brown in the oven for 5 minutes before serving. 

to make the cheese sauce (sauce mornay):

Stir scant 1 cup grated Gruyere or Parmesan cheese into the white or bechamel sauce (see below for recipe). The cheese thickens the sauce.

Simple!

Last night I made the Spinach Croquettes (below, on my favorite tea towel from Hammocks & High Tea.) They didn't turn out as well as the photo in the book (my croquettes looked more like patties.) I noted below where I think I made a mistake, and one part that I still don't understand. Any suggestions, please leave a comment with your thoughts. I'm going to try them again as I LOVE spinach croquettes.

Spinach Croquettes

recipe by Ginette Mathiot for I Know How To Cook

1 cup bechamel sauce

1 3/4 pounds cooked spinach

2 eggs beaten

generous 3/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese

scant 1/2 cup butter

Make the bechamel sauce. Process the spinach in a food processor or pass through a food mill until smooth, and mix with the sauce. Add the eggs and cheese. Heat the butter in a skillet. When it is hot, drop spoonfuls of the spinach mixture gently into the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, until browned.

how to make bechamel sauce:

2 heaping tablespoons butter

1/3 cup flour

generous 2 cups milk

salt and pepper

grated nutmeg

Melt the butter in a pan. Stir in the flour and cook for 2-3 minutes to form a paste. Gradually add the milk, stirring all the time to prevent lumps forming, and simmer for 10 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

the inspiration photo from the book — oh the perfect croquettes.

Note from book about cooking spinach: To prepare, remove any large or tough stems from the leaves. Wash the spinach in several changes of water, then cook uncovered in plenty of boiling salted water for 5 minutes, using about 3 1/4 quarts of water per 2 1/4 pounds of spinach. Drain and press out water. The cooked weight will be approximately two-thirds less than the raw weight.

Notes from Jen: I know that I made a mistake on the amount of spinach as I didn't notice this note before I bought groceries. And I don't own a kitchen scale, so I don't know how to figure out that I have 1 3/4 pounds of cooked spinach anyway. This recipe made me want to invest in a scale. I definitely had too little spinach. 

The part of the recipe that I don't understand is the scant 1/2 cup of butter that you're supposed to put in the pan to cook the croquettes. That's actually a stick of butter which seems like a lot! And I don't get how to cook in butter without burning the butter. I tried following this and totally burned my butter. So then I dumped the butter and started again without butter (I was using a nonstick pan anyway, so I didn't think I needed the butter.) Any thoughts here? What am I missing?

I like to eat spinach croquettes with a yogurt sauce. I whipped together a simple yogurt sauce to pair with my croquettes last night: just plain yogurt mixed with some fresh lemon juice and a little pressed garlic.

Have a happy Thanksgiving! Eat well. xo Jen

green beans french-style

 

I don't know about you, but my favorite part of Thanksgiving is definitely the sides. All the roasted vegetables, the cranberry chutney, and my family's German potato salad (I'm finding out the recipe on Wednesday and will share it with you!). So when I had the chance to sit down with a new gorgeous cookbook put out by Phaidon Press, I Know How to Cook, I had vegetable sides on the brain. And thankfully, Phaidon is letting me share 3 recipes from the book with you! This cooking bible is basically a French cooking version of The Silver Spoon. And a favorite blogger, Clotilde, is behind updating this French classic for an American version. Besides the textbook resource of 1,400 recipes, I love how the book explains sauces and shares tips on cooking different kinds of meats and vegetables. And I also happen to adore the illustrations in the book by Blexbolex (and am desperately trying not to ruin the pretty matte pages with my messy fingers).

Today, I'm sharing the recipe for Green Beans A La Nicoise, which I made last night (see photo above — it was delicious!). Check back in tomorrow for more vegetable sides — maybe one will inspire a last minute vegetable on your Thanksgiving table.

green beans a la nicoise

by Ginette Mathiot, I Know How to Cook

2 1/4 pounds green beans

generous 2 cups tomato sauce

1 handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Prepare and cook the beans. To prepare, trim each bean. If the beans are large, split them in two lengthwise. Wash in warm water and cook immediately in boiling salted water. To keep the beans green, put them in one handful at a time, and wait for the water to come back to a boil before adding the next handful. Allow 8-12 minutes for cooking. The beans should remain slightly firm. Drain and place beans in a pan with the tomato sauce. Simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Add the parsley and serve.

(to make the tomato sauce)

1 pound 10 ounces tomatoes, quartered

4 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup flour

1/2 cup vegetable stock

1 carrot, diced

1 onion, diced

1 sprig of parsley, chopped

1 sprig of thyme chopped

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper

Put the tomatoes in a pan, with no oil or butter, and cook for 5 minutes over moderate heat, stirring from time to time. Make a puree by pushing them through a strainer. Prepare a blond roux with 2 heaping tablespoons of the butter and flour, and stir in the strained tomato pulp. Add the stock, and the carrot, onion, parsley, thyme, bay leaf, and salt and pepper. Let simmer for 30 minutes. Just before serving, stir in the remaining butter. 

To make the blond roux: Melt the butter in a heavy pan over moderate heat. When it is hot, add the flour and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon until the roux is pale brown in color and sandy in texture. Take the roux off the heat and gradually add the stock or water, stirring to avoid lumps. Return to the heat and slowly bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook gently for 2 minutes to cook out the taste of flour.

+ The sauce takes a little time to make, but it smells amazing simmering on your stove! Totally worth the time.

rifle paper co.

Congrats to Anna Bond for the launch of her AMAZING new online shop, Rifle Paper Co. I'm floored by all the goodies!! And I was tickled to see a print that I'd picked up from Anna at the Brooklyn Renegade (now hung on our bedroom wall in a ReFrame) as part of the collection. Her Anatomy of Love print is one of my favorite pieces in our apartment. Here's what else is on my wishlist:

 

folk-art inspired notecards

the perfect thank you

 

love this balloon birthday card!

 

this Monsters in the Bushes print makes me want to be a kid again

 

and holiday gift wrap that is so pretty — I want to pin up a sheet on the wall and enjoy it all season.

Head over to Rifle Paper Co. to check out all of Anna's illustrated wonders!

ps. Today's the last day for the Hello!Lucky card giveaway! Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win.

patterned sheets

Do you have one favorite thing in your closet that always gets picked first? We have one patterned John Robshaw flatsheet that I scored at a sample sale. I'm always sad when it's out of rotation with laundry, as I love seeing some pattern under our quilt. My white sheets are just not as exciting. I spotted these colorful, patterned sheets by Kerry Cassill — love their bohemian style. We have a neutral quilt, so I like the idea of adding in color with your sheets.

On a side note, I'm making our bed these days in a very un-Martha way. That dreaded fitted sheet. I even did my share of reporting on how to handle fitted sheets when I worked at Real Simple. I may know the right way to make a bed, but I'm totally lazy when it comes to doing it. So I've skipped a step altogether. We have a featherbed on our mattress that inevitably makes it 10x harder to make the bed with a fitted sheet, even the "extra-deep pocket" ones. I gave up a while ago, and I'm so much happier for it. This wouldn't work for every bed, but we have a platform bed — so no boxspring. Here's the new way I layer our bed:

mattress, featherbed, mattress cover, flat sheet, flat sheet, blankets, quilt

It's best to use a king-size sheet as the fitted sheet replacement — that makes it easier to tuck the corners under your mattress.

Dear fitted sheets, I've entered you into an early retirement.