LBD Tofu

This is the Little Black Dress of Tofu. I KNOW it's weird to compare tofu to a little black dress, but hear me out. This tofu is simple, it's a staple, it goes with almost everything, and you can dress it up in so many different ways. It matches Asian flavors, Italian flavors, and Tex/Mex flavors.

This is not the dress/tofu that will stand out in a crowd, but it is the protein that will make everyone notice how delicious your dinner is. In fact, if you serve this to your family, they'll think you're a good parent without you actually having to think about dinner. Ok, maybe I over sold that. But we are currently eating this tofu 1-2 dinners a week and everyone is always happy to see it on the menu.

ABOUT LBD TOFU FOR PESTO PASTA: If you're going to mixed into this pesto pasta, just cook as described below and add an optional 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder and a few grinds of pepper. Mix tofu directly into pasta and fold into pesto! Kids (and some adults) might even mistake it for cheese!

ABOUT LBD TOFU FOR ENCHILLADAS: Cook tofu as described below, but add 1/2 teaspoon cummin and a bit of paprika or chili pepper. I had grilled a poblano peppers and corn the night before and I sliced up a pepper and an ear of corn, and added it to the cooked tofu along with a handful of chopped cilantro. Proceed with your enchillada recipe.

ABOUT OTHER LBD TUFO MEALS: Enjoy this tofu: 1) With hot honey lime sauce (1:1:1 honey, hot sauce, lime juice. 2) With soy sauce and sautéed spinach over rice. 3) With steamed veggies and sweet chili sauce. On it's own when your kids reject whatever fancy food you're making for dinner.

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LBD Tofu

Cook time 20 minutes. Prep time 5 minutes. Use cast iron or non stick pan for easy cleanup. Serves 3-5

Ingredients

1 pound super firm tofu

2-4 tablespoons avocado oil

1-3 scallions sliced, green and white parts seperated (red onions or shallots work too, but we like scallions the best)

1/2 teaspoon Diamond kosher salt (or to taste)

Optional Ingredients

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

STEP ONE

Pat dry your super firm tofu. Grate it with a box grater. Set asside.

STEP TWO

Heat a nonstick or cast iron pan on medium heat, add 1-2 tablespoons of your neutral cooking oil, and cook the white part of the green onions for 2 minutes. Add your tofu, salt, and any seasoning, and increase heat to medium high. Set a timer for 14 minutes. Cook stirring occasionally for about 7 minutes.

STEP THREE

You'll notice that at about 7 minutes your tofu will start to crisp and start to stick to the pan a bit. If tofu seems super sticky, you may need to add the extra 1-2 tablespoons of oil. Keep cooking your tofu on medium high heat for another 7 minutes. Tofu should be crispy without seeming dried out. Once it's cooked through you can add the green parts of the green onions. Serve immediately!

Fall Salad With Maple Vinaigrette

This Fall Roasted Vegetable dish is the salad version of Thanksgiving Stuffing. It has all of the key thanksgiving flavors, but with more texture and less mush.

This salad is fantastic when made ahead and served at room temperature. The roasted celery, hazelnuts and the warm spices make it just different enough from other roasted veggie dishes to make it both familiar and unique, and the hint of sweet from the maple syrup and dried cherries will entice kids who usually prefer their vegetables "plain."

We didn't roast cauliflower (or celery) when I was a kid. In fact, I remember when roasting cauliflower became a "thing." About 10 years ago. I started seeing it served roasted with sumac or with a sprinkling of za'atar, and it was delicious. Then, there was that phase where restaurants served whole heads of roasted cauliflower on cutting boards with aioli on the side, and while I am sure that there was a delicious version of whole roasted cauliflower somewhere, I never had it.

I think it's time for a cauliflower update: Roasted Cauliflower and Celery! They go so well together and roast at the same speed, so I was astonished to see that celery and cauliflower are not paired in Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg's The Flavor Bible. (For those who don't know it's a nerdy book that tells you what ingredients go with what). In fact, roasting celery isn't even mentioned as a possible technique for cooking celery in The Flavor Bible! That is a terrible omission. When roasted, celery's punchy grassiness turns becomes more mild and sweet (as opposed to just becoming kind of bland the way it does when you braise it). Also, I will definitely be roasting my celery this year before adding it to my TG stuffing.

I am currently working with only one rack in my oven as well as crazy sports/lives schedules, so I like recipes that can be made ahead so that dinner is waiting when we get back from lacrosse, gymnastics, school events and other such things. This salad will make an ideal side for thanksgiving dinner! The veggies can be roasted the day before, stored in the fridge over night, then brought to warm on the counter and the chopped apples and dressing can be added right before serving.

Note about Seasoning: I didn't add any heat to this recipe, just a bit of black pepper. I think a pinch of cayenne pepper added before roasting would give the recipe even more warmth, but my kids asked me not to mess with "perfection".

Note about Roasting Hazelnuts: I keep roasted hazelnuts on hand, but if you don't have any the fastest way to toast them (stir them and watch them like a hawk) is in a large skillet over medium low heat. I do not recommend toasting them with your roasting vegetables, it's too hard to gauge the timing and you'll likely end up with charred nuts.

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Fall Roasted Cauliflower and Celery Salad

Takes about 40 minutes to make including 20-30 minutes to roast the vegetables. Serves 5 as a side.

Ingredients

1 medium-large head of cauliflower cut into large bite-sized pieces

1-2 stalks of celery cut into 1 inch pieces

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup roasted, unsalted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped

1/3 cup dried cherries or cranberries

1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped

1/8 heaped teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 scant teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 medium apple, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Dressing

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

STEP ONE

Preheat oven to 425 or 400 convection. Combine large bite-sized cauliflower pieces and celery pieces in a mixing bowl and drizzle 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over top. Mix them to combine then add a few grinds of black pepper and about 1 teaspoon of diamond kosher salt or 1/2 teaspoon sea salt and mix to combine.

STEP TWO

Spread celery and cauliflower out on a large rimmed baking sheet and bake until cauliflower starts to take on a roasted brown color and celery starts to brown around the edges (20-30 minutes). Once vegetables are roasted, remove from oven and set aside to cool until you're ready to build your salad.

STEP THREE

To build your salad, add celery, cauliflower, dried cherries, and hazelnuts to a serving bowl and sprinkle 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/8 teaspoon of allspice over top. Add chopped apple, dried cranberries and chopped hazelnuts, toss again, and set aside. In a small bowl combine 1 tablespoon each of maple syrup, olive oil, and sherry vinegar. Whisk to combine. Pour dressing over your salad, then top with chopped parsley and serve.

If you're going to make this salad a few hours ahead of time, you can dress it, just hold off on adding the chopped apple and parsley until just before you serve it.

Bacon Scented Honey-Whole Wheat Pancakes

(Bacon Scented Honey Whole Wheat Pancakes topped with Sliced Peaches and Honey drizzle)

These pancakes are like golden clouds. That hint of salty-smoky bacon which makes them irresistible right out of the pan also makes them the ultimate freezer pancake. Make this big recipe, freeze them, and reheat them in the toaster for a quick warm breakfast on chilly school days. When we're running late on school mornings, we eat them plain from the toaster on the walk to the bus stop.

I was joking with my sisters that my first cookbook would be copy-cat IHOP pancake recipes. That it would be all of our childhood favorites, like the smiley faced chocolate chip kid's pancake and the silver dollar pancakes. But the truth is, I would love to write a pancake recipe book, but I wouldn't write copy-cat IHOP pancakes. I would write a collection of pancake recipes that bridge childhood cravings for simple sweetness with adult cravings nuanced flavors.

These Honey Whole Wheat pancakes (with or without bacon) are the perfect example of recipe that bridge childhood sweets with adulthood complexity. They have a cheerful honey lightness that brightens whole wheat flour perfectly, a little tang from the buttermilk and a slightly salty, slightly crisp edge from the smidge of bacon grease that they're fried in.

About Freezing Pancakes. I love making these panackes for future mornings. Just allow them to cool on a plate and then line a sheet pan with parchmant paper and freeze the pancakes. Then transfer frozen pancakes to a ziplock bag for long term storage. Reheat pancakes in a toaster (according to your toaster's settings) until cooked through.

ABOUT BACON FAT: Whenever I make bacon, I always pour off the fat and store it in the fridge. It keeps for a very long time. But you don't need bacon fat to make these pancakes. While the tiny bit of frying fat elevates them with that salty unique kick of flavor, we often make them without it. Or if you're serving bacon next to them, I might omit the bacon fat since it would be A LOT of bacon flavor for one meal. But maybe you're into that, in which case, go for it!

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Bacon Scented Honey-Whole Wheat Pancakes

Takes 10 minutes to make the batter, 10-15 minutes to cook all the pancakes. Makes enough to serve 6-8 people.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons melted butter (plus more for the pan)

• 2 cups good quality buttermilk

• 2 large eggs

• 1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

• 3 tablespoons honey (plus more to serve)

• 2 cups whole wheat flour (230 grams)

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (60 grams)

• 1 teaspoon Diamond Kosher salt

• 1 and 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 baking soda

• 1 tablespoon bacon grease (optional)

STEP ONE

In a large mixing bowl combine dry ingredients: whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.

STEP TWO

Melt your butter in a small bowl in the microwave. Then stir honey in with the butter. The warm butter will help the honey to thin and make sure that you don't get honey clumps in your batter. Set aside.

STEP THREE

In a small mixing bowl whisk together eggs and buttermilk. Add eggs and buttermilk mixture and honey and butter mixture into the dry ingredients and fold to combine.

STEP FOUR

Warm a skillet over medium heat and then grease pan with either a roughly teaspoon of butter or roughly a half a teaspoon of butter and half a teaspoon of bacon grease (depending on the size of your skillet. I use a 12 inch skillet but any size will do). Reduce heat to medium low and add about 1/4 cup of pancake batter to your pan for each pancake. Make sure that each pancake has enough room to spread without touching.

Cook pancakes about 3 minutes for the first side and 1-2 minutes for the second side. You know it's time to flip your pancakes when you see little bubbles around the edges and the bottoms look lightly browned.

Enjoy right away or keep warm in an oven set to warm. Serve with butter and honey or maple syrup.