Mixed Greens with Goat Cheese and Dried Cranberries

The husband introduced me to a phone app called Words with Friends. It's dangerously addictive. One minute you're having a conversation with your spouse, and the next, you're trying to land a "j" on a triple letter score, muttering "mmmhhhmmm" to whatever he's saying.

Although you can't buy it on iTunes, I think cooking with friends is just as good. There are a gaggle of reasons why it's an excellent past-time, dinner-time, party-time...

1. It's fun. Another couple joining you for a double date, a few glasses of good wine, someone attempting to use an immersion blender for the first time. It's either a recipe for disaster or hilarity, and it always seems to be the latter. 
2. It's less work than cooking alone. Hate peeling carrots? Assign that job to a friend while you focus on chopping onions. Or you can be the supervisor and just watch everyone else cook while you sip a cocktail. Someone has to be the coordinator, right?
3. It takes the pressure off. Entertaining can be intimidating, especially if you're not terribly comfortable in the kitchen. Cooking with your dinner guests is the best way to remedy that. If your meal doesn't turn out according to plan, it's on everyone's shoulders. And you know my rule; if dinner doesn't work, you can all go to McDonald's. 

This salad is one of my favorite things to make when I cook with my friend, Kelly. It's her favorite. Also, it's easy. So we can focus on gabbing and drinking. (See #1 above.)

Mixed Greens with Goat Cheese and Dried Cranberries

A.k.a. Kelly's Favorite Salad

Serves: 4

8 cups mixed greens

2 apples, very thinly sliced (If you're not as obsessed with apples as I am, you could use just one.)

4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup toasted, chopped pecans

High-quality balsamic vinegar

High-quality extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

In a large bowl (or on individual plates) combine greens, apples, goat cheese, cranberries, and pecans. Drizzle with vinegar and oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.  

And the Winner is...

RUTHIE!!!

Thanks a million for being a faithful reader. We can't wait to post you your very own Hot Dinner Happy Home apron, so get in touch with us!

xoxo

{ Lady of the House }

Butternut Squash Soup

Did you know that autumn is my favorite season? I love the crisp air, cozy sweaters, and hearty foods. I start lighting candles that smell too strong and give the husband headaches. I feel all nest-y and start cleaning my house. It's the best. Well, except for the headaches. Poor husband.

Winter squash is one of the many other reasons I love fall. I think I've mentioned my sweet tooth a time or two on HDHH. Squash is a vegetable (read: healthy, chock full of vitamins), but it tastes like candy (read: sweet, delicious, wonderful.) I swoon just thinking about it.

To kick off the first day of fall last week, I made Roast Butternut Squash Soup with Jill and Kelly. With it's creamy texture and rich orange hue, it was the perfect way to start the season. This soup is more savory than other butternut squash soups I've had in the past, and it's flavor made me think about an upcoming fall favorite, Thanksgiving.

Make plenty extra because it reheats well for lunch the next day. Everyone in your lunch room will be jealous.

Three cheers for fall!

Butternut Squash Soup
Serves: 6-8

1 butternut squash (about 3 pounds)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
1 onion, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and diced
1/4 cup white wine
2 bay leaves
2-3 cups vegetable broth

The first step is roasting the squash. I'll give you a few methods, and you can pick your favorite depending on how much time you have and how strong your aversion to slicing raw butternut squash is. These techniques are from the trustworthy tome Joy of Cooking.

Roasting Whole Butternut Squash
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pierce the squash with a knife in 4-5 places so it doesn't explode. Place squash in a baking dish (so it doesn't ooze it's sugary juices all over your oven and create a sticky, stinky mess) and bake until the flesh is tender when pierced with a knife. Since butternut squash is large, it will take about an hour and a half to cook. Once it's cooked, cut squash in half and scoop out the seeds and strings.

Roasting Pieces of Butternut Squash
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut squash in half and scoop out the seeds and strings. Place cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet. Add 1/4" water to the pan and cover with aluminum foil. Bake until flesh is tender when pierced with a knife, 45 minutes - 1 hour.

While your squash is roasting, add olive oil to a large soup pot over medium heat. Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic. Saute until vegetables are tender and golden, about 10 minutes. Pour in wine and stir, scraping the bottom to deglaze the pot.

Scoop squash out of the skin and add to the soup pot. Add vegetable broth just to cover and stir in bay leaves. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.

Remove bay leaves and puree the soup using an immersion blender. If you don't have an immersion blender,  puree the soup in batches in your blender. (Then add an immersion blender to your Christmas list!) If the soup is too thick, slowly add more broth until it reaches the desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Plan-Ahead Tip: Roasting butternut squash takes a long time, but it's totally hands-off. Roast squash the day ahead or while your kiddos are taking a nap, and dinner will be ready in moments!

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burritos

After a summer hiatus, this week marked the return of dinner co-op with my friend and co-worker, Therese. She made her world-famous chili, and I made Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burritos. I've mentioned dinner co-op before, but I'll explain it again for those of you who may be new to HDHH.

Therese and I both have households of two. On Mondays, we cook dinner for four people, and we bring the leftovers to work on Tuesdays and switch them. I take home Therese's leftovers and she takes home mine. That means on Tuesday nights, both of our families get new-to-us dinners, but we only have to cook once! It's really a genius situation.

When I was whipping up these make-ahead-friendly Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burritos, I noticed something: They are not photogenic. In fact, when the husband came nosing around the kitchen to see what the delicious smells were all about, I shielded my culinary endeavors from him and hollered, "Don't look! Don't look!" See, the husband has been known to turn up his nose at foods that look funny, even if it's just during the prep stages.

If I wasn't going to let the husband watch me cook the burritos, I certainly wasn't going to take pictures for this post. I figured I'd just take photos when they were on the plate and finished. I had high hopes of a salsa and sour cream garnish that would knock your socks off. Maybe even a sprinkling of cilantro.

Yeah, so I forgot about all that. I was too hungry, and we just dug in. But trust me that these burritos are delicious. Even the husband said, "These are really good. Especially for vegetarian food!"

Now I know you're all going to make them tonight.

Oh, and because I couldn't stand to leave you without one of my photographic masterpieces (I sense a note of sarcasm...), here's a picture of the leftover burritos in my fridge. They're gonna be good again tonight!

P.S. Don't forget to enter our contest for a fantastic prize. Read more about it on Monday's post. Anyone who comments on a post from this week will be entered to win a Hot Dinner Happy Home apron in celebration of our first birthday! Comment away, folks!

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burritos
Adapted from An Occasion to Gather
Serves: 4-6

1 very large (or two small) sweet potato(s), peeled and cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 large onion, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 ounces diced green chiles (1/2 of a small can)
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons coriander
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
8 flour tortillas
Salsa and sour cream, for serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place sweet potato in a saucepan with enough water to cover and a hearty pinch of salt. Bring water to boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and allow sweet potatoes to cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until   they're easily pierced with a fork. Drain sweet potatoes and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and chiles and saute, stirring often, for 7 minutes. Stir in cumin and coriander and cook for another minute, until the spices are fragrant. Remove onion mixture from heat and set aside.

Combine sweet potatoes and black beans and mash them together with a potato masher or whatever mashing implement you prefer. (I like my burrito filling to have some texture, so I didn't mash it too much. Just use your best judgement.) Stir in onion mixture, cheese, and cilantro.

Evenly divide the filling between the tortillas. Roll burritos up tightly and place seam-side-down in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 5 minutes if you'd like to crisp up the tops a little bit.

Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Fit to be Tied by Lady of the House

Today I hit my local craft store with one thing in mind, or I should say two: my niece and nephew. They're approaching the wonderful age of scribbling and doodling, and I've had this idea for a while that I ought to make them each their own little crayon roll-up. I found adorable fabric and headed straight for the cutting table.

With the help of my dear Mum, a true artistic genius, we whipped up this little kit in no time. I used basic quilting fabric, cut to an 18 by 18 inch square. Then, I lined it with a piece of felt cut to 10 inches by 16.5 inches.

We folded the edges of the quilting fabric, pinned it, then stitched it.

Allowing ample room for the spiral sketch pad and crayons, we stitched pouches so everything tucks neatly into its proper place. (At the outset, a placemat, and a bit of pinning with the crayons and notebook of your choosing give a good gauge of where you're headed measurement wise.) And perhaps it's helpful to note that we allotted 1 and 3/16 inches per crayon, and 5.5 inches for the notebook.

The crayons I purchased are triangular in shape and recommended for little ones. Truthfully, I think those crayons are really suited to their parents who don't need the added burden of chasing rolling crayons in addition to keeping the blasted things out of baby's mouth!

I'm no seamstress, but I'm happy to report this was a simple project with zero drama. And hey, I've got a jump on my Christmas presents!!

xoxo,

{ Lady of the House }

please send along any questions: hdhhlady@gmail.com

Happy Birthday, Hot Dinner Happy Home!

So...does anything seem different today?

No, I'm not wearing a new perfume. I didn't cut bangs or get a perm. And my lipstick, well, it's Burt's Bees pomegranate lip balm, so nothing out of the norm there, either.

Oh, Hot Dinner Happy Home looks different, you say? Well, lovely of you to notice!

In celebration of Hot Dinner Happy Home's first birthday, the Lady of the House and I did a bit of redecorating. New logo, fresh background, the whole kit and caboodle.

Being technologically un-advanced, we weren't able to accomplish all the design tweaks we wanted by today, so you may notice a few additional updates over the next few weeks. Speaking of technologically un-advanced, while I was making changes to the site, a few old posts decided to move to the top of the list. Sorry about that, but I'm afraid I have no idea how to fix it.

Anyway, we would LOVE to hear your feedback about our new design. Do you like it? Hate it? Any opinions or suggestions are appreciated, so comment away.

But back to the birthday. So much has happened over the past year. We've baked, visited the farmers' market, celebrated holidays, used the BBQ, welcomed new family members, eaten tons of corn, organized our photos, conquered the slow cooker, brined, cleaned without noxious fumes, cooked for one, roasted, and    sent our love through gifts. Ahh, the memories.

We have had a wonderful year, and we feel so blessed to have shared it with you, our fabulous readers. We are so grateful to you for joining us on our adventures as we strive to turn our homes into havens. We hope our little corner of the interweb has been a bit of a haven for you...from work, screaming kids, the monotony of daily routine. You have certainly brought joy to our lives!

As a small token of our gratitude, we are giving away a lovely Hot Dinner Happy Home apron emblazoned with our fabulous new logo. In order to win this highly coveted prize, all you need to do is leave a comment. It doesn't need to be anything fancy; your name, your thoughts on our new design, your favorite birthday tradition, whatevs. We will pick a comment at random, and that person will be our winner. Entries will be accepted until midnight Pacific time on Sunday, September 25.

Happy birthday, Hot Dinner Happy Home!

P.S. Many thanks to Sandra Busta for the lovely logo!

I'll be Brief by The Lady of the House

As you may recall, this week my family and I are heading a few miles across town to some new digs. Moving is quite likely the most heartening of domestic events, fraught with a range of emotions all settling down to one hope: the hope of "home." Somehow while you're scrubbing schmutz off cupboard doors, and trying desperately to get surfaces to feel like new, you're having your own little Louisiana Purchase moment, staking your claim. Okay, maybe that's just me. At any rate, on Monday, I scrubbed, mopped and dusted our "new" San Francisco flat built in 1926, and it'll be a while before it feels like home. Needless to say, I'm a bit short on time, so I thought I'd post a little link love.

As I stare at all these blank walls, I've got ART on the brain. Here are some inexpensive and positively lovely posters just begging for a spot in your home and mine.

--I have always loved these quirky maps, probably because I wasn't born with any sort of internal compass. They're not only fun to look at---they actually help you get your bearings! Wouldn't the Heart poster be perfect for Valentine's Day?

--I bought this poster for Erin for Christmas, and I've got one in black hanging in my own kitchen. If you're reading this blog, I'm guessing one may be welcome in your home as well.

--For those of us that think about things like typefaces, printing methods, and cool wedding gifts, try this route. I have always coveted the aqua ampersand.

--I adore Amy Butler's textile designs. Now she's taken the best bits and turned them into iconic prints. Genius! Wishing you could slap your powder room walls in decadent wall paper? This may be your fix.

--And now for some art that's slightly "off" in a good way... Like what home isn't complete without a print of owls and pigeons partying? Tell yourself it's for your kid. It's totally for you!

xoxo

Lady of the House