"Eat butter first and eat it last...and live 'till a hundred years be past" -Old Dutch Proverb

I am a healthy chef. Yep, I said it. And many of my friends tease me by asking what sort of “nuts and twigs” I’ve been eating when I see them. Ha! (although it is totally true, if I were an animal I would probably be a squirrel, eating nuts and seeds and running around all the time). I digress…..my point is that as a healthy chef I really have to rely on high quality ingredients or techniques that bring about the most intense flavor so you don’t have to drench your food in butter or cream or cheese to hide bland cuisine.  This brings me to one of my most favorite things in the world to work with- browned butter. Yes, yes, I know butter isn’t the healthiest thing in the world. But that’s my point ladies and gents! By browning the butter and enhancing the flavor ten fold you can use just a little smidge of it and you get such delicious and intense flavor. Num, num, num.

Here is how to brown butter and a few ways I like to use it. Plus, it will make your kitchen smell just incredible…enjoy!

Browned Butter
gluten free, egg free, soy free, nut free

Place any amount of high quality unsalted butter (I prefer Plugra, but any good brand will be perfectly fine!)in a small metal saucepan or fry pan and turn heat to medium.  Allow butter to melt and swirl occasionally to move the foam around. After about 5-6 minutes you will probably see the edges begin to brown, continue swirling the pan until the liquid is a beautiful amber color and it smells nutty. Remove from the burner and transfer to a heat safe bowl, be sure to scrape up any delicious brown bits stuck to the bottom!

Favorite ways to use browned butter (“bb”)…..

• Use the bb to sauté some white beans, shallot and garlic.  Add some chopped fresh spinach to the pan at the end and toss just until wilted. Squeeze of fresh lemon juice over, a touch of fresh parmigiano and a sprinkle of sea salt.
• Toss roasted pumpkin or butternut squash wedges with the bb, add some minced sage, a light drizzle of maple syrup or sprinkle of maple sugar and sea salt.
• Make frosting for anything fall scented- 12 T. bb (warm) + 4 c. sifted powdered sugar +1/3 c. whole milk, ½ and ½, coconut milk or almond milk.
• Drizzle some bb over pumpkin soup or butternut squash soup and top with toasted pepitas.

 Happy healthy eating! xx, Kendra

It's a staple in chicago, people.....Pizza!

**Please note this post was written prior my gluten sensitivity discovery. The referenced recipe below includes flour. 

I just so happened to be free last Sunday (and for those of you who know me you’ll understand how rare that is!!), so I called up one of my sisters and suggested that I come spend the afternoon/evening with her and the kids. Thought it would be fun to hang out and I needed to use up the pizza dough I had lingering in my fridge, it had been waiting patiently to be rolled into a delicious crust for a few days. And she couldn’t say “yes please!” fast enough.  I have to admit, I am extremely lucky that I get to say that I am best friends with my two sisters. And despite our large age differences (Kara and I are 6 years apart and Krista and I are 13 years apart. Yep-you guessed it, I was a “blessing.”) we all seem to relate to each other and support each other in the most incredible way.

So, last Sunday I was off to suburbia (gulp) with a bottle of wine (duh) and 6 lovely balls of smooth pizza dough (yum).  After some errand running we were back at the homestead and everybody was beginning to get that food scavenger bug in them…..you know, the evil bug that creeps out when you know dinnertime is approaching but you feel like you might die if you don’t put something in your mouth. Right. Now. So, Kara opened the vino and I got to work on the pizza with the help of my adorable and culinary talented nephew (who, mind you, is only 7. But he was always in the kitchen with us, from the time he was a babe….I think it might be a genetic thing this cooking talent!). We decided we were going to make a quick sauce from their beautiful garden tomatoes+shallot+olive oil (we didn’t even cook it! Simply whir it up in the food processor, strain it through a mesh sieve and use the thick tomato “pulp” on your ‘za!). 

Then we thought about toppings- sauteed portabello mushrooms with some garlic and shallot, whole milk mozzarella and dried oregano. Simple and delicious. So, I went to work mincing the shallot and dicing the mushrooms with Colin volunteering to be the mushroom sauté master once ready.

Then we rolled, spread, sprinkled and baked the pies on a piping hot stone.  

The house had that pizzeria smell of toasted flour, cornmeal and a bit of crisped cheese from the part that oozed off the crust.  Then, Kara threw together a fabulous salad and it was finally time to enjoy Colin's and my hard work. Ohh, darlings, how I wish you could smell this pizza through your computers...just look at it. Oozy cheese, fresh tomatoes...yep. you want pizza for dinner now, I just know it!

 Way to go buddy, you can be my sous chef anyday! xo, Auntie Kendra OR xo, Kendra (in the fashion of my father who always felt the need to clarify if he was “Dad” or “Mr. Peterson” on my college answering machine).

*For a fabulous refrigerated pizza dough recipe check out Heidi Swanson’s fabulous blog for her rendition of whole wheat pizza dough….mine was roughly based on hers! 

Mangia!!