This Week in Food: Socca

Layered Casserole with Beef, Cabbage, & Potato

Since I've been on this unintentional trend of "one-pot-meals", I thought, "Hey, why deviate?" So, rather than change that trend, I opted for changing the region. ITALY! The recipe brought to you buy Lidia Matticchio Bastianich (thanks for the beautiful Italian cookbook Uncle A!)

Socca is from Valle d'Aosta, a region located in the northwest corner of Italy. It's nestled right in the western Alpine range surrounded by infamous peaks like the Matterhorn. (Yes, the inspiration for the Matterhorn ride at Disneyland. I wonder if that's also where they got their inspiration for the abominable snowman...)

The dish itself is exactly what the English name says (see above): a big casserole with slices of beef, shredded cabbage, and sliced potatoes (all nicely seasoned with a sort of homemade pesto). It bakes for a couple hours, then bakes again, covered with a layer of shredded fontina, which then bakes into a crusty cheese topping. Needless to say, the smells saturating our home made my mouth water for 2 hours straight.

Could it get any better? Yes. It could. We ate it.

And we'll definitely be making this one again. Anyone interested? :)

Stockings, Christmas Trees, and Decapitated Snowmen

It is that time of year. Our banks accounts dwindle, the air is filled with pine, Christmas lights replace trim (singlehandedly causing an energy crisis), and if you're like me in the valley of Northern California, you wish some miracle would happen and it would snow. But we make the most of it.

To me, making the most of it usually requires music and cookies. So this week, the amazing and brilliant Annie (my sister) came over.

We decked the halls--well, we decked

my kitchen counter--with cookies, icing, sprinkles. It was a beautiful sight to behold.

<---that's Annie's meticulous hand.

Samson the Faithful

waited by our feet,

hoping desperately to catch a

rogue sprinkle.

Annie had to keep rinsing excess

frosting from her hands...

Gingerbread lost limb, star lost point, snowman lost head--all in a duel between the territorial cookie sheet and the spatula.

Very few cookies perished.

Ben came home from a long a

grueling final to indulge in the festivities.

He also started taking photo's.

Even the amazing Uncle A,

all the way in Atlanta, was able to join us!

Skype is THE fastest way

to travel.

(Ciao il mio preferisco Zio A!)

An afternoon well spent.

We enjoyed the fruits of our labor.

With a side of egg nog, of course. :)