My friend Sonja requested this recipe as soon as I served it to her a few nights ago, and then my cousin Rachel asked for it when I told her about it. All three of us will be putting it out as a nibble before our Thanksgiving feasts, with carrot and celery sticks and blue tortilla chips as dippers.

When the cool wind started roaring around our new hilltop home last week, I got out a heavy saucepan, and stirred up a batch of herb-scented polenta to warm us up.  The simmering potion took the chill off the house too.   

I keep a package of Bob’s Red Mill medium grind cornmeal (available at many grocery stores) in the cupboard at all times; that along with other staples- a bit of onion, scallion or shallot, a handful of fresh herbs, and a little grated cheese, are all the ingredients needed to transform cornmeal into a creamy polenta.

There is one step in the preparation that requires attention- adding the grains of corn to the boiling liquid in such a way as to avoid clumps. The technique is simple: scoop up about ¼ cup of the cornmeal at a time, and sprinkle it from the measuring cup into the bubbling water, whisking all the time.

The wild chanterelle mushrooms and sweet blue lake green beans I found at the farmers’ market this week reminded me of an intriguing fall salad I recently enjoyed at Jar restaurant. Chef Suzanne Tracht offered special dishes at a dinner benefitting the Women’s Heart Center at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, and I was a lucky guest at my friend Margaret’s table.

I took the summer off from blogging to move. Steve and I had felt cramped in a small house along with 3 cats, my growing collection of kitchen props, and the expanding photo equipment we need for this blog and our work with the Monterey Bay Aquarium. With falling real estate prices, we could now afford a house with separate offices for each of us, space for the large oval dining table we inherited from Steve’s mom, and a nice big kitchen. 

I am recently home from speaking on a culinary cruise along the Atlantic coast of Europe. Thomas P. Gohagan & Company put together the tour for alumni organizations and cultural institutions. Like all of Gohagan’s adventures, the voyage was intimate, with only 230 passengers on a small, luxurious ship. My job was to give lectures about food along our route and host meals at distinctive venues in the countries we visited- Portugal, Spain, and France.

I tasted some excellent Spanish cheeses, all purchased at Andrew’s Cheese Shop in Santa Monica. Andrew introduced me to Mont Enebro, a real discovery! It is oblong shaped, soft ripened goat’s milk cheese that is covered with a layer of what appears to be ash but is actually penicillium roquefort mold, the same that is used to make exquisite blue cheeses. However, Mont Enebro is not a blue cheese, but has a creamy white center with an earthy flavor punctuated by peppercorn-like spiciness. It is dense when young, but ripens to a plush creaminess. It is the creation of legendary cheese makers, who are part of an artisanal cheese movement in Spain. Its taste is so complex, I like it best on its own with crusty bread or atop a simple tossed salad. If you don’t live near Santa Monica, the cheese can be ordered from Murray’s Cheese. 

On Tuesday, June 7 at 6:30-9:30 PM I will be teaching a cooking class at Let’s Get Cookin’ in Westlake Village where I will demonstrate 5 dishes from my book, Weeknight Fresh and Fast. I plan to offer lots of tips for putting together fresh, tasty, and healthful meals after a busy day at work. 

Heirloom beets are showing up in spectacular colors at the farmers’ markets- golden, red, deep purple, and candy cane stripe. Beets with firm, glossy leaves offer a bonus: delicious cooking greens.

Cool weather and rain in the forecast make this a perfect week to cook a pot of warming seafood chowder. This recipe, with its creamy broth, delicate cod, smoky bacon, and fresh kale, has rich flavors and is simple to make. I developed it for the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch website, to entice people to try Pacific Cod, a sustainable fish that is terrific in chowder and tacos, and is not expensive. Atlantic cod is greatly overfished, so Pacific cod is a tasty alternative.