My favorite meal since Christmas.

A good meal can put me in a state that I can only describe as pure bliss. As you might have surmised, I think about food an inordinate (freakish?) amount of the time - what I'm going to eat next, how soon is lunch, what I can make with the asparagus in my fridge. And certain foods can always make me happy, no matter how mediocre: pizza, cheese, most Mexican food.

The real quest in all of this is not adding a little excitement to my daily grind (yay - thai for lunch!), although that can be nice. What I'm often trying to create or re-create or find is that one meal. That meal where the flavors blend so perfectly, where the texture makes me what to die, the one where even I cannot find a flaw. I can still tell you what my husband and I ate for dinner at Gary Danko's nine years ago (Cornish game hen) and where I've eaten the best pork chop of my life (Nopa). This is all to say that when I find that meal, I cannot help but savor the memory.

This past Christmas dinner was one of those meals - succulent prime rib, spicy cauliflower and the most decadent scalloped potatoes you can imagine. Since then, I've had some delicious food (we had a truly delightful bone marrow appetizer at Michel in Oakland), but these tacos have emerged as my next Best Meal, to no one's greater surprise than my own. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.

Beef brisket tacos with simple lime slaw

Serves 4

1-2 avocados, sliced

10-12 thick, small corn tortillas

Simple lime slaw (see below)

Southwestern pulled brisket (see below)

I try not to post recipes from other blogs if I have added very little in the way of modifications, so for the taco filling I will send you over to Smitten Kitchen's Southwestern pulled brisket. I have made this recipe several times now and I only have a few comments (I swear):

1. You don't need to cook a whole 3 lbs of brisket. Use whatever amount you want, but keep the rest of the ingredients the same for simplicity sake. You'll just have more leftover liquid to simmer down in the end and this is a good thing. I generously estimate about 1/2 lb brisket per person and usually use about 2 lbs.

2. Please take the time to find the canned chipotle chiles in adobo. I have made this recipe with and without, and I would say don't bother making it if you don't have the right chiles. I used two chiles and found the heat was still pretty mild, so if you like spice, consider adding three or four.

3. You MUST strain the sauce like Deb suggests and remove the overcooked vegetables. Simmer it down to about 1/2 and then add back the pulled brisket. No need to skim the small amount of fat.

Simple lime slaw

I make this slaw to go with everything and vary it depending on what I'm serving. I'll use apple cider vinegar in place of the lime juice, leave out the cilantro, and increase the mayo, oregano, and cayenne pepper for a spicy slaw to go with hamburgers. This version has a lot of lime, which is perfect for topping tacos, but can be served on the side as well if desired. Feel free to omit or increase the cayenne pepper depending on your preference for heat.

1/2 head cabbage, rinsed and thinly shredded (or 1 Trader Joe's bag of shredded cabbage)

2 carrots peeled and coarsely grated

6 green onions, chopped
handful cilantro, chopped (optional)

Dressing

juice of 1 lime

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 tsp oregano

1 large pinch cayenne pepper (optional)

salt and pepper

Whisk together dressing ingredients in medium bowl. Taste for salt and pepper.

In large salad bowl, combine cabbage, carrots, green onions and cilantro, if using. Toss with dressing about twenty minutes before serving and taste for salt and pepper.

Spaghetti and meatballs (for a crowd).

Reeeeally this post is just an excuse to talk about our weekend. That's not to downplay the food, but when you're surrounded by good friends, in a beautiful place, and your toddler went down for a three hour nap in the afternoon after a morning in which you got to take him "kee-ing" (skiing) for the first time, it's hard not to love whatever is set before you on the table.

We spent this past weekend with a group of close friends and their babies on the shores of Lake Tahoe. The snow at Squaw Valley was sparse and wet which made for a shorter day of skiing on Saturday, but still satisfied all the same (from what I hear). I was jealous of the skiers, of course, but I was also excited about my plan to take Charlie skiing for the first time and get to introduce him to a sport I love. Unlike his mama, this kid seems to show no fear, so I had a feeling he would take to skiing pretty quickly. He was excited before we even got to the slopes - after we rented boots and skis of his own. They my boots, they not Daddy's boots, they my boots. They not Mama's boots, they Charlie's boots.

The ride down the "mountain" ended up being more of a work-out for me than for Charlie, as I was wearing hiking boots and tried to basically hold him upright while maneuvering his skis into a "pizza slice" to keep him from going too fast down the mountain. When he (we) got tired halfway down, we took off his skis and sat and ate snow for a while. After our second trip down, we called it a day and went and got hot chocolate - the perfect end to any ski day.

I spent Charlie's extended nap time blissfully going to the grocery store by myself for the makings of good meatballs and spaghetti. This recipe comes from the Cook's Illustrated Meat Book which was gifted to me by my mother-in-law this past Christmas. I had been looking for dishes that could be made for a crowd, particularly relatively cheap pasta dishes, and was looking forward to testing it out.

The recipe is filled with explanations for the science behind the ingredient choices, which is helpful when you're adding unflavored gelatin (whaa? Oh, to replace the gelatin in often-used ground veal - adds suppleness) or high-quality prosciutto and Parmesan (adds glutamates - of course!) to the meatballs. I was skeptical along the way at times, but I have yet to be disappointed by a Cook's Illustrated recipe, and this one definitely delivered. It helps so much on time and effort that you don't pan-fry the individual meatballs! Also, I will note, the recipe is pretty easily cut by 1/3 or 2/3 to feed four or eight, respectively.

Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs for a Crowd
Adapted, barely, from Cook's Illustrated Meat Book
Serves 12

Meatballs
2 1/4 cups panko bread crumbs
1 1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup plain yogurt thinned with 1/2 cup milk)
1 1/2 tsp unflavored gelatin dissolved in 3 tbsp water
2 lbs 85 percent lean ground beef
1 lb ground pork
6 oz thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped fine
3 large eggs
3 oz Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1 1/2 cups), plus more for serving
6 tbsp fresh parsley
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Sauce
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, grated
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
3 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
6 cups tomato juice
6 tbsp dry white wine (I used red - really whatever is open)
salt and pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
3 tbsp fresh parsley

3 lbs dried spaghetti (recipe recommends DeCecco no. 12 after in-depth taste comparison)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. If necessary, adjust oven racks to upper middle and lower middle positions. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with aluminum foil and set wire racks over. Spray wire racks with cooking oil spray. (I did not have wire racks or aluminum foil given it wasn't my kitchen, so I just placed the meatballs directly on the baking sheets. It worked fine, although I would recommend still spraying or wiping with vegetable oil to try to limit the amount of sticking and save time washing dishes.)

In a large bowl, mix together panko and buttermilk and let sit until smooth paste forms, about 10 minutes. Using your hands, mix in beef, pork, prosciutto, eggs, Parmesan, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper, and dissolved gelatin. Form mixture into about 2-inch balls, making 30-40 meatballs total and place on wire racks. Bake until well browned, about 30 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through baking.

Meanwhile, in a large soup pot or dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add grated onion and cook until soft, about 5-7 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes and cook until just fragrant, about 30 seconds. Finally, add tomatoes, tomato juice, wine, 1 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper and bring to a simmer.

This next step can be done in the oven or on the stove top, depending on your preference. If choosing oven, once meatballs are done cooking, decrease oven temperature to 300 degrees. Gently add meatballs to sauce and place in oven, covered. Cook until sauce is thickened or about 1 hour. Alternately, (if you don't' have a large oven-proof pot) you can add meatballs to sauce and simmer over low heat on stove top for about an hour to hour and a half, uncovering for last 15 minutes or so.

Cook spaghetti according to package directions until al dente, reserving about 1/2 cup of cooking water. Once sauce has thickened and is ready to serve, add fresh basil and parsley. Add about 2 cups sauce to pasta and toss to combine, adding reserved cooking water as needed. To serve, add pasta to large bowl and top with remaining sauce and meatballs. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan.

Baked goods, vacation, and other news.

So much to share.

I have been neglecting my duties recently, mainly because I haven't made anything that I'm ready to reveal yet. I have been doing my fair share of baking, for reasons that I will not divulge immediately, and the smells of bread and pastries coming out of my kitchen have been heavenly, but nothing is satisfactory enough to pass along just yet. In the meantime, I will send you over to some recipes on Alexandra's Kitchen that I have tried recently and which turned out incredible with very little work.

Peasant bread
Prosciutto and Gruyere croissants

Don't be intimidated. As I mentioned previously, I hardly think of myself as a baker, but I do love to eat all things bread-related, so I realized that I would probably benefit most from improving my skills. I actually used to be pretty scared of yeast dough because it never seemed to rise appropriately. Then I came to a revelation over the summer when I made those delicious brioche rolls that the problem wasn't me - the problem was my yeast! More specifically, it was dead. I would usually buy a couple of packets for a single purpose and then try to reuse the packets a year or two later which never produced the light, airy, stretchy dough of my dreams. The trick I found after numerous internet searches is to store it in the freezer in an air-tight container - that way it will last for years.

Another yeast-based recipe I use pretty regularly is Smitten Kitchen's take on Jim Lahey's no-knead pizza dough. Nothing could be easier than making this dough - literally dump and stir. The tricky part comes with the baking, and I still haven't found myself completely satisfied with the results. Using a cookie sheet, I feel like the crust doesn't come out crisp and chewy enough. My latest thought is that I am in need of a pizza stone, but first I'm going to try it next on the back of a cookie sheet. The great thing about pizza, though, is that no matter what comes out of the oven, I never seem to get any complaints.

Next, we just got back from a week in Maui! Charlie was a champ on the airplane this time, mostly thanks to my Kindle, these toddler headphones, and many episodes of Curious George. On the way home, we actually had compliments from an older couple behind us on how well behaved he was, which was a complete shock given our plane ride to Hawaii a year ago resulted in Charlie screaming his head off for at least twenty minutes and me having a stare down with an older woman across the aisle when she tried to give us the stink eye. Giving us dirty looks does not make a 20-month-old stop crying!

The beach was incredible with Charlie - he finally is old enough to enjoy all the fun. He ran from waves, built sand castles (and destroyed them), and threw rocks and footballs for hours. My parents and my brother and his girlfriend all joined us in a little condo north of Kaanapali Beach right on a beach with gentle waves and no scary undertow.

Of course, not every day was gorgeous and sunny - we had a couple days of rain throughout the week. My brilliant idea one day was to go get SHAVE ICE (because what could be more amazing) and we were shocked to find we were the only customers at an otherwise popular spot. Doesn't a rainy day say time for an icy dessert at eleven in the morning to anyone else? There was ice cream under all that shave ice and it was delicious.

I miss it already. As usual, we're already dreaming about when we can make it back. Next time, it might be a little more complicated, though, as there will be four of us. I'm excited to announce (to the three of you who are reading this far and don't already know) that we're expecting another baby BOY in July! It's going to be hard to compete with his older brother, though. In so. many. ways.

Devil's food cake with mascarpone cream.

I've recently decided that I need more cake in my life. Well, I think my friend's birthday introduced the idea, but I'm planning on running with it. There is something about January that is way too anti-cake - the 30-day Paleo diets, the new gym memberships. It's just no fun.

Luckily, my friend Kerrie's birthday comes at the end of January, and she has an eight year tradition (eight years!) of serving or eating a German feast to celebrate. Nothing truly says screw you, January (or happy birthday for that matter) like pork schnitzel and spaetzle. And cake! It's a birthday! I will make cake!

I spent an obscene amount of time trying to decide what cake to make. To make matters worse, Kerrie was being decidedly coy and selfishly wouldn't offer up any measly guidance ("just make something you're excited to make"). Of course, I had to go and make it more thrilling by creating fake criteria such as "all fruit must be seasonal" (in January) or "it's a birthday, it really should be a layer cake."

If you haven't guessed, I am not a cake maker. I don't even consider myself a baker, but I do know how to follow a recipe, and I know one simple rule: chocolate is usually well received. Being a non-chocolate-lover myself, I am highly aware of how often people serve chocolate and how freaking excited people become. I personally can enjoy chocolate, but usually when contrasted with something else: peanut butter, caramel, Oreo filling.

So, chocolate it was. I had initially asked my sister-in-law Lizzie for ideas, who is a true baker and lover of all things sweet. She gave me three amazing suggestions, but each had their minor flaw (out-of season berries, too much work, not a layer cake, etc). One of them in particular caught my eye, a beautiful mascarpone-filled cake with sherried berries. The reviews kept mentioning that the cake itself was just okay but that the mascarpone cream was to die for. I love a good cream cheese frosting, and mascarpone can take it up a notch, but mascarpone and heavy cream, whipped, together, at last, made me very happy. I also couldn't help but think how much it might taste exactly like a giant Oreo cookie if it were layered in between a good devil's food cake.

Now this devil's food cake is no joke. There is sour cream and buttermilk and a pretty delightful amount of butter and eggs. It's rich and very moist, so if you're looking for a lighter crumb, I would consider subbing your favorite chocolate cake recipe. The frosting is on the lighter side since it's really a mix between cream cheese frosting and whipped cream - no butter - so it gives a nice contrast. While not pictured here, I used a vegetable peeler to make chocolate shavings for the top which was very easy and I think an elegant touch.

For other amazing cake ideas, my sister-in-law also turned me onto this delightful blog with the most beautiful cakes I've ever seen! I will be working my way through some of her recipes this year (now there's a New Year's resolution), perhaps starting with this gorgeous lady.

Devil's food cake with mascarpone cream

adapted from Ad Hoc at Home

3 1/3 cups cake flour

2/3 cups and 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

3 cups granulated sugar

1 tsp kosher salt

2 cups buttermilk

2 cups sour cream

6 eggs, lightly beaten

12 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Semisweet chocolate bar for shaving (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Add cake flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar into bowl of stand mixer and mix gently to combine. In a separate bowl, mix together buttermilk and sour cream. In a third bowl, combine eggs and melted butter and whisk gently to combine. Place the stand mixer with paddle on medium-low speed and add the two mixtures above alternately until mixture is smooth.

Cut parchment paper to fit the bottom of 3 9-inch cake pans and then spray with canola oil spray or butter generously. Divide batter evenly among cake pans. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes in pan, then flip carefully onto cooling rack to cool completely. If your cakes have domed, you may want to even out the top by using a long serrated knife so that your cakes stack evenly. The cake scraps can be mixed with a bit of frosting to get a nice sample of what your cake will taste like!

Make the mascarpone filling (below). Place the first cake on cake stand and spread about 1/3 of filling evenly on top. Repeat with remaining two layers. If desired, use vegetable peeler to shave chocolate bar into thick crumbles and curls. Sprinkle on top evenly or in desired pattern. Chill cake in refrigerator until ready to serve. Cake is best served within a few hours of making filling.

Mascarpone cream
adapted from epicurious.com

16 oz mascarpone cheese
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Combine ingredients in stand mixer bowl and set on medium speed using whisk attachment. Whisk until high peaks form being careful not to over-beat. If you over-beat by accident, you can try to add a little more cream and try again.

This recipe has a very small amount of sugar by most frosting standards, so if desired, feel free to increase the amount, but personally I liked the flavor of the cream and mascarpone coming through. Full-fat cream cheese can be substituted for the mascarpone if necessary.