Quick noodle lunch

When I’m too busy or lazy to cook anything, I make this meal – it’s healthy, fast, versatile, and pretty much as easy as boiling a pot of water. I dressed this up a bit by adding sauteed scallions on top …

Swiss Chard, Raisin and Pine Nut Flatbread

So this was the recipe that I decided to tackle during the cooking class last week – a bit labor intensive, but the results are rewarding! This makes a great appetizer to share at a dinner party, or serve as …

Shrimp Dumplings

One of my favorite wedding presents so far has been our spiffy new food processor – I can’t believe how I’ve lasted without one all these years! In college I briefly had a mini food processor that I bought from …

Garlic Butter Cherry Tomato Pasta

Cheers to making it through the week. Even though we had the Columbus Day holiday on Monday, this week hit me like a ton of bricks. No marathon tomorrow, thank goodness. The fiance was extra nice to me and cooked this delicious meal one night as I burned the midnight oil staring at my laptop screen and fighting through my writer’s block. I made all my deadlines and even had a little time to check out Harvard’s 375th birthday bash – a delightfully high and lowbrow affair, with Yo-Yo Ma and a ridiculously ginormous Flour cake in the shape of an “H”, not to mention the intermittent downpours in between.

This pasta dish is delectably simple – a buttery sauce with notes of garlic and bursty cherry tomatoes. Tossed with tiny pasta, fresh spinach, and a dusting of parmesan to finish.

2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 medium red onion, diced

1/4 c. crushed tomatoes (optional)

a few cloves of garlic, minced

a few sprigs fresh thyme – leaves minced

2 tbsp butter

pinch of red pepper flakes

salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

1/2 c. grated parmesan

1/2 lb. pasta

Heat butter until melted and bubbly – add onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Saute until fragrant, add cherry tomatoes and thyme. Season with salt and pepper, cook until tomatoes break down into the sauce. Stir in crushed tomatoes and simmer.

In the meantime, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain, and add to the simmering sauce. Turn off heat. Add cheese and spinach, toss and let the heat of the pasta and sauce wilt the spinach.

Take a break and enjoy.

Butternut Squash Chowder

I am never going to eat soup out of a can ever again.

Tonight’s dinner was lovingly prepared by my fiance – I can’t take credit for any of the cooking. The finished chowder was marvelous – toothsome bits of potato, parsnips, carrot, and celery nestled in a silky, butternutty soup. I topped my chowder with a scoop of herbed pearl couscous and a sprinkle of fresh grated parmesan.

It was so good that I went back for seconds … and then thirds.

Butternut Squash Chowder  (originally from Food and Wine)

1 medium butternut squash – halve, rub with olive oil and season with salt & pepper. roast at 425F for 40 mins, cool and scoop out the flesh and rough chop

Diced: 1 large leek, 1 yellow onion, 4 celery ribs, 1 large Yukon gold potato, 2 parsnips, 2 carrots

1 tsp fresh thyme, rough chop

Melt 1 tab butter into 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pot. Add leeks and onions, cook until onions are translucent.

 

Add all other vegetables, with 6 cups organic chicken broth, 1/2 cup marsala wine, and thyme.

Bring everything to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Add the butternut squash and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Ladle a third of the soup into a blender, puree until smooth. Add puree back to soup pot, and mix well, seasoning with salt and pepper. Add 1/2 c. of chopped flat leaf parsley and simmer for 5 more minutes. Serve and enjoy.

 

 

Flavors of fall

Even though it was in the 80s today, it felt like a perfect fall day. My original Saturday plans fell through and I found myself on a spontaneous apple picking trip in the late afternoon. I made away with a peck of apples and the lingering autumn sunshine in my hair.

Having worked up an appetite and inspired by this tantalizing post, I pulled together the ingredients that I had in my kitchen and whipped up this meal. Started with an assortment of mushrooms (lobster, oyster, and shiitake – very appropriate for Boston!) …

…sauteed with a smidge of garlic and a squeeze of lemon. Creamy, buttery polenta finished with fresh cracked pepper and parmesan. Topped with a perfectly poached egg (the first one I’ve ever made!)  Simple and soul satisfying. It is an infinite comfort to be able to let everything else fall away, if just for a moment, and immerse yourself in the act of putting together and eating a meal.

1 egg (organic, pasture-raised is best)

1 cup assorted mushrooms (lobster, oyster, shiitake) – cleaned, coarsely chopped

1/2 c. yellow corn meal

organic chicken broth

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 lemon

butter, olive oil

salt & pepper, parmesan

For the polenta: Simmer about 2 cups chicken broth and add cornmeal. Stir frequently until the cornmeal absorbs all the liquid and the polenta thickens. Add shaved parmesan (more or less to taste) and a pat of butter. Season with salt and pepper.

Make the mushrooms: Heat a fry pan with a scant tablespoon of olive oil with a pat of butter. Add chopped mushrooms and garlic, saute until browned and aromatic. Squeeze the juice from the half lemon over the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Add about a quarter cup of chicken broth, and simmer mixture until liquid is mostly evaporated.

Poach the egg: Bring salted water to a boil on high heat in a shallow and wide pan. Using a wooden spoon, swirl the boiling water and add the egg. Turn the heat to medium/low and cook for 3-4 minutes until the whites are opaque.

This was my first time ever poaching an egg – it’s so intriguing to watch the egg swirl and dance around in the water like a small ghost, only to emerge minutes later as a soft oval of delicious eggy-ness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Put it all together: Ladle the polenta onto your dish, top with mushrooms and egg. Finish with cracked pepper and a fresh grating of parmesan. Sit. Eat. Enjoy.

Last taste of summer salad

We eat with our eyes first, so I love making dishes that are naturally colorful and fresh. This salad is refreshingly simple to make and can be adapted to use whatever chopped veggies you happen to have on hand. Just chop, and toss with a vinaigrette and you’re good to go. For this salad, I used chopped red bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, yellow corn, red onion, and cilantro.

I don’t know why red onion is called red onion, since they are clearly purple. I used to dislike eating raw onions, until I learned a little trick at culinary school. To take the bite out of the onion, all you have to do is soak the chopped onions in water for about 15 minutes and then drain them before adding them to your salad! You get the sweet onion flavor, without the oniony-ness that lingers afterwards. Try it and you’ll see what I mean.

I mixed a very basic vinaigrette for this salad – with a secret ingredient: orange juice! People always think of lemon juice for salads, but I like adding a splash of orange juice for the citrusy flavor with a little bit of sweetness. For the dressing, I mixed orange juice, balsamic vinegar, grain mustard, and whisked all of this with olive oil. I adjusted all of the ingredients by taste, so taste the dressing as you mix it and add more or less of each ingredient depending on what you like!

After that, just mix everything up in a big bowl and enjoy!

Skillet Gnocchi with Cannellini Beans

There’s just something about autumn that makes me want to cook – could be the touch of briskness in the air that nudges me to stay inside and make something warm to eat This was last night’s dinner – filling, delicious, and you only need one skillet to make the whole thing.

Gnocchi is always one of those things that can be incredibly finicky to make. I usually use the store-bought kind, boil them, and then toss them with some pesto for a super quick and low brow meal. However, I find that if I boil them for just a tiny bit too long, they immediately become a sticky, chewy mess instead of the light and fluffy pillows that you get when the gnocchi are cooked just right. But … who says that you have to boil the gnocchi? In this recipe, I first pan fry the gnocchi in a bit of canola oil until they are browned and puffed before cooking the sauce. This way, the gnocchi get a nice sear on the outside and stay light and fluffy on the inside when they are tossed with the wonderfully cheesy vegetable sauce.

 

1 package store bought gnocchi (17.5 oz)

1 can diced tomatoes with Italian seasonings (15 oz)

1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 medium onion, diced

a few cloves of garlic, minced (I used 4)

1/2 c. part skim mozzarella cheese, grated

1/4 c. parmesan cheese, grated

2-3 c. baby spinach

canola oil

salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat up about 1 tbsp. canola oil in a skillet. Add the gnocchi, tossing often. Cook until gnocchi are browned and puffed (about 8 minutes). Remove gnocchi and reserve in a separate bowl.

2. Add another tbps of oil to the pan, then add onion & garlic. Saute until onion becomes translucent. Add beans and tomatoes. Bring to simmer, season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Stir in gnocchi and spinach. Top everything with mozzarella and parmesan. Cover and cook until cheese is melted.

4. Serve and enjoy!

 

Coconut Grilled Chicken

It always makes me happy when I discover a recipe that is easy to make, healthy, and tasty all at the same time. This one definitely fits the bill. I’ve been meaning to find more ways to cook chicken thighs since my fiance is more of a fan of dark meat than white – he also gave this dish a rave review. It’s the perfect weeknight meal.

Ingredients:

- 6 to 8 chicken thighs
- 3/4 cup soy sauce
- 3/4 cup coconut milk
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 white onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- splash of sesame oil
- chopped cilantro for garnish (optional)

Place chicken thighs in a large bowl or container. Mix together all of the remaining ingredients and pour over chicken. Let the chicken marinate for at least an hour.

Grill the chicken thighs – I used my trusty George Foreman – about 5 minutes per side, or until done.

Top with chopped cilantro and serve with rice, couscous, or polenta.

DIY Costco Lobster Roll

 

$10 – Costco rolls

$35 – Costco lobster salad

= 4 full size lobster rolls (with claw meat!) at $11 each

The bf (now just f – for fiancé!) recently had a bright idea for low-brow lobster rolls – he had noticed while we went grocery shopping that Costco sold both bread rolls and lobster salad. I have to say that I was highly skeptical about this plan, but after I tasted the DIY lobster roll I was pleasantly surprised! The lobster salad was not soggy or clogged with too much mayo and it actually passes for a pretty tasty lobster roll! On the approval matrix this would definitely go in the “low end” but “brilliant” quadrant.

Chocolate Buttermilk Cake

A deliciously moist and rich chocolate cake – perfect way to use up the leftover buttermilk from our Thanksgiving buttermilk honey corn muffins.

 

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cups good cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk, shaken
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Sift together dry ingredients in a large bowl. Beat wet ingredients together (except for coffee), then slowly incorporate dry ingredients into wet mixture. Add coffee to mixture using beater at low speed. Pour batter into bundt pan and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees F or until toothpick comes out clean.

Makes one chocolate bundt cake!

Hamantaschen

A long long while back, I was inspired by my coworker S. to make hamantaschen – I had no idea what I was getting into! The result was delicious, but very labor intensive – well worth the time and effort (if you have the free time and patience to make all of the cookies). I love the dough for these cookies, it is very soft and sweet – almost pastrylike. I made these with cherry and raspberry preserves, although any fruit preserves will work – experiment with your favorites! This will make a ton of cookies – I made a combination of large and small ones but I had enough to freeze two tupperware’s worth, plus two containers to eat and share immediately.

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• fruit preserves

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until lightly and fluffy. Stir in the oil, vanilla and orange juice. Combine the flour and baking powder; stir into the batter to form a stiff dough. If dough is not stiff enough to roll out, stir in more flour and/or refrigerate dough for 10 minutes.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out to 1/4 inch (less is better) in thickness. Cut into circles using a cookie cutter or the rim or a drinking glass. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets (I used silicone baking mats). Spoon about 1 scant teaspoon of preserves into the center of each one. Fold edges and pinch to form three corners.
4. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Dinner Party

A week or two ago, I had a little dinner party and invited my friends S and T over to my apartment for a homecooked meal. It was wonderful to have the chance to just chill out and make some good and rustic food for my friends, and to also get to try my hand at some new recipes! I had been meaning to try out my hand at making focaccia and also Giada’s Roman Style Chicken, and this was the perfect opportunity. For the evening, I made rosemary garlic focaccia bread and the Roman Style Chicken, T brought a delicious grapefruit avocado salad with a lemon vinaigrette, and S brought some yummy cakes and macarons from Ktown for dessert.

Rosemary Garlic Foccacia

1 packet active dry yeast (1/4 oz)

4 c. flour

1/2 tsp salt

5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

8 sprigs rosemary

6 cloves garlic

coarse sea salt

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 c. warm water, let stand 10 minutes, then add 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil.

Combine flour and salt in a large bowl, stir in chopped leaves from 5 rosemary branches and chopped garlic (you can adjust these amounts more/less depending on how herby/garlicky you want your bread to be).

Add yeast mixture and 1 1/4 c. water, stir until dough forms. Turn out dough onto a floured surface, knead until smooth. Shape into a ball and then place in a large, well oiled bowl. Cover bowl with damp cloth and let dough rise in a warm place for ~ 2 hours.

Transfer dough to baking sheet covered with a silicon baking mat (or parchment) sprinkled with corn meal. Knead dough into the baking sheet and form into large rectangle that fits the sheet. Cover with damp cloth and set aside for an hour.

Preheat oven to  400F. Combine 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and 1 tbsp water in small bowl. Uncover dough, dimple with fingertips. Brush dough with oil/water mixture, arrange small sprigs of rosemary on top of the dough and sprinkle with sea salt.

Bake until top of dough is golden, about 30-40 minutes. Cool before slicing.

Grapefruit Avocado Salad

Roman Style Chicken

2 skinless chicken breasts (with ribs) and 4-6 chicken thighs, with bones (preferably free range)

1 red bell pepper and 1 yellow bell pepper (preferably organic), sliced

6 slices prosciutto, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 15 oz can diced tomatoes

1/2 c. white wine

1 tbsp thyme leaves

1 tsp fresh oregano leaves

1/2 c. chicken stock

2 tbsp. capers

1/4 c. fresh chopped parsley leaves

kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, organic olive oil

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper.

2. Heat up oil in a large pan – once oil is hot, sear chicken until golden brown, remove and set aside.

3. Add bell peppers and prosciutto to pan, cook until prosciutto is crisped and peppers are softened. Add garlic and cook for 1 min. Add tomatoes, wine and herbs.

4. Return chicken to the pan and add in chicken stock. Bring to a boil and then let simmer until chicken is cooked ~30 min. If making ahead of time, transfer to a storage container and refrigerate.

5. When ready to serve, heat up chicken and mix in capers and parsley. Serve with focaccia bread.

Selection of Desserts!

Tiramisu

Cookies & Cream, Blueberry Macarons

Raspberry Chocolate Mousse Cake

Green Tea Cake

Rosemary White Bean Soup

This was a quick, filling and easy dinner on Saturday – perfect for winding down after a long and busy day that included brunch (see update post soon), meeting Thomas Keller, tasting some delicious wines, and grocery shopping while tipsy (from the wine tasting!). This weekend was one of those weekends that really makes me appreciate being in New York – and getting out and replenishing my Vitamin D certainly helped too!

Rosemary White Bean Soup (makes 2 generous servings)

1 small (or 1/2 large) yellow onion, chopped

a couple cloves of garlic, minced

1 c. chicken stock

1 can of cannellini beans – drained and rinsed

olive oil

chopped rosemary (fresh or dried)

bay leaf

kosher salt

ground black pepper

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan and add onions and garlic. Season with chopped rosemary (about 1 tsp) and a few dashes of salt and pepper to taste. Saute until onions are translucent and aromatic. Add beans, chicken stock, and bay leaf. Bring mixture to boil and simmer for about 10 minutes. Turn off heat, let soup cool for about 5 minutes, then add to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth (or to the consistency that you would prefer). Eat and enjoy!

Spaghetti and Meatballs

For Valentine’s Day dinner, I decided to make my sweetie some good and hearty Spaghetti and Meatballs. We stayed in  because nothing could be more impersonal than trying to shout at each other in a crowded restaurant on V-day, and because what can be more simple, rustic, and romantic to eat than a plate of spaghetti and meatballs (just watch Disney’s Lady and the Tramp!)? It took me three hours to grocery shop for this because I was navigating the unfamiliar terrain of Shaw’s, the grocery store near my bf’s place in Boston, and I was still trying to stick to buying the freshest ingredients possible. In the end, I settled for “vegetarian” fed beef – (aka … still corn fed, probably, but at least no animal parts in their feed!), and Applegate farms bacon. No pastured eggs or farmer’s market in such short notice, so I settled on what I could find. The meatballs turned out pretty fantastic – moist and savory. I created this based off of a combination of different recipes – this is one that I will definitely make again. Plus, you have tons of leftovers that can be kept for meals the rest of the week (or frozen for longer storage!).

Meatballs:

1 lb. ground beef (90% lean)

3 -4 slices bacon

1/2 tbsp. ground marjoram

ground italian seasonings (~1/2 tsp. rosemary, thyme, pepper, onion)

dash of onion flakes

1/2 onion

1/2 c. roasted red pepper, finely chopped & drained

3 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 egg, beaten

1/2 c. bread crumbs (I used italian seasoned bread crumbs)

1/4 c. finely grated parmesan cheese

Sauce:

1 jar of your favorite marinara (I used a spicy marinara for some extra kick)

1/2 onion, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

italian seasonings (or a few pinches of rosemary, thyme, pepper, garlic)

extra roasted red pepper (maybe 1/8 to 1/4 c. finely chopped)

2-3 slices of bacon, finely chopped

a few splashes white wine

To make the meatballs:

Place bacon with garlic and onion (chopped into a few chunks) in a food processor and process until the mixture becomes a coarsely chopped paste. Combine in a large bowl with remaining ingredients and mix well. Let mixture sit for 15 minutes (start making the sauce – see below), then form into golf-ball sized balls and place on a cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil. Broil for 20 minutes (10 minutes on each side). Set aside.

Make the sauce:

Heat up bacon in a hot pan to render out the fat, then add onion, garlic, and seasonings. Saute until onions are translucent, and then deglaze the pan with a few splashes of white wine (get all of the brown bits from the bottom of the pan for flavor). Add in marinara and roasted red pepper, bring to a simmer and keep warm until meatballs are finished above.

Finish and assemble the dish:

Place sauce in a large rectangular casserole dish and add meatballs. The meatballs should not be covered in the sauce -the sauce should come up about halfway:

Sprinkle additional parmesan cheese on each meatball, and broil for another 5-10 minutes or until cheese has melted and the tops of the meatballs are browned.

Serve with al dente pasta (I used organic fettuccine). Eat and enjoy!

Easy like Sunday Morning

I’ve been slacking a bit on updating my blog because my desktop computer recently broke, so all I have left now is my little laptop where it is a little more difficult to load pictures/edit, etc. Alas, patience is a virtue so hopefully I’ll be able to get my desktop up soon so I can post all of the updates that I have!

Today I made green eggs and ham for breakfast – sunny side up eggs to match with a sunny Sunday morning. I bought pastured eggs from the Union Square greenmarket on Saturday and picked up some Prosciutto di Parma from Whole Foods.  This dish is very simple and quick to make – easy like Sunday morning.

1 pastured egg (or regular, if you must.)

1 slice Prosciutto di Parma

1/2 whole wheat english muffin

1 tsp of your favorite pesto

1. Cook egg sunny side  up (or any style that you prefer). I like the sunny side up because I love the rich creamy egg yolk that melts over everything and is soaked up by the english muffin!

2. Layer together from the bottom: toasted muffin half, prosciutto, egg, pesto.

3. Eat and enjoy.

Ricotta Thumbprints!

This is a spin-off from a Christmas cookie family recipe that my friend H shared with me – instead of cottage cheese, I used ricotta in these little thumbprint cookies and they turned out fabulous!

• 2 c. flour
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 8 oz. ricotta cheese
• granulated sugar
• preserves (I used apricot and blueberry)
• baby carrot (for making indentations)

Beat butter, ricotta and vanilla together until creamy. Mix in flour to form dough. Refrigerate for half an hour. Form dough into half tsp balls and make indentation in each ball using the baby carrot. Fill each cookie with a little bit of preserves.

Filled with apricot:

Filled with blueberry:

Bake at 400 degrees F for about 12 minutes or until cookies are golden on the bottom. Eat and enjoy!

Oreo truffles

These truffles are incredibly easy to make and also fun to eat! Just grind up a package of Oreos in a blender/food processor, add a block of softened cream cheese. Mix, then form into balls (1 rounded tsp per truffle). Refrigerate for an hour, then dip in melted chocolate chips and top with some extra Oreo crumbs for garnish. Voila!

Pineapple Salmon

I had been craving salmon for some time and was originally planning on making a seared salmon filet with a balsamic citrus reduction – however, as I was making the sauce, it did not turn out to be what I had envisioned and I did a quick change of plan. This is a variation of a recipe given to me from one of my coworkers for salmon baked in a pineapple marinade. Instead of baking the salmon, I seasoned it simply with salt and pepper, seared it stovetop in a pan, and topped it with a reduction of pineapple juice, soy sauce, honey, and garlic. Served with garlic herb cous cous and pineapple arugula salad – this makes a healthy and delicious dinner!

Breakfast for two

This past weekend the bf was visiting from Boston, so I decided to make an extra special breakfast for the two of us to enjoy: blueberry ricotta pancakes! The pancakes are actually super easy to make and come out soft and fluffy – perfect with some sweet maple syrup!

Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes

1. Mix together 1/2 + 1/3 c. water and 1/2 tsp vanilla.

2. Add to 1 c. pancake mix.

3. Fold in 1/2 .c whole milk ricotta.

4. Gently add 1/3 c. frozen blueberries until just mixed together.

5. Brush pan with oil or butter, and cook about 2 minutes on both side (or until golden brown).

Look at these little cuties sizzle!

Plate and drizzle with pure real maple syrup – eat and enjoy!