happy mother's day

Today on Mother's Day I'm thinking about how much of my cooking abilities and interests are because my mom also loved to cook.  I have often observed that I was never taught to do things like cut fruits and vegetables--I just sat and watched my mom.  I know how to make basic meals without a recipe the same way my mom did, which oftentimes I think she learned from her mom.  I hope I can pass that knowledge along someday.  I also give her credit for helping me develop my tastes in food.  She introduced me to different flavors from early on and set the ball rolling for me to expand my tastes more and more.   Cooking and eating are such a big part of my life and I enjoy sharing it with my mom still.  Thanks, Mom!

 

Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe and Goat Cheese
from Serious Eats (I think there's a missing step in their recipe, so I've filled in the blanks below with what I did.)

1 lb broccoli rabe, chopped
1/3 c extra-virgin olive oil
6 garlic cloves, chopped
3/4 tsp crushed red chile flakes
12 oz orecchiette (I can never find orecchiette at my grocery store, so I used a short-cut pasta that looked close enough.)
2 tbsp lemon zest
4 oz goat cheese, sliced 

salt

 

Pour about 8 quarts of water into a large pot, add a few tablespoons of salt, and bring it to a boil. Toss in the broccoli rabe and cook for 4 minutes. Remove it with a pair of tongs and immediately toss it in some ice water. Chill for a few minutes then drain and pat dry.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat.  Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and saute 1-2 minutes until garlic is just golden.  Add the broccoli rabe and cook 3-5 minutes until stalks are tender and the leaves wilted.

Meanwhile, bring the pot of water back to a boil and cook the orecchiette according to the directions on the box. Taste the pasta with a minute left on the timer. If al dente, turn off the heat, drain the pasta, and transfer it to the skillet. Turn the heat to high, add the lemon zest, and season with salt. Cook for a minute, stirring constantly.

Transfer the pasta to bowls or plates. Add a bit of goat cheese to each one. Serve.

breakfast of champions

You know how you buy an ingredient for a recipe, use the tiniest scoop, then have the majority of it left to deal with?  How sometimes those things go bad before you can find a use for them?  With the recipe I found, a leftover container of mascarpone is not a problem. 

strawberry mascarpone grilled cheese

 This sandwich was inspired by a recipe for a mascarpone and Nutella grilled cheese topped with strawberries, but if I bought a jar of Nutella, I'd be in the same mess all over again.  And as good as Nutella is, I didn't want it around to chocolify every breakfast.  So, I cut the Nutella and put the strawberries inside the sandwich.  Also, the recipe called for brioche, which I couldn't find at my local grocery store, so I went with challah.  I was pleasantly surprised that the challah I got happened to be orange-flavored.  That meant the bread was the sweetest part of the sandwich, with the cheese mild and creamy and the strawberries a welcome tartness.

Tomorrow, I might put bananas with the strawberries.  Or maybe I could top the strawberries with some fresh basil and make a sweet, syrupy balsamic reduction to dip the sandwich in.  I was just telling my friend that my incredibly technical grad courses this semester are killing my creative brain.  I hope today a little of that brain came back!

In my tweens, I developed a fail-proof system for making grilled cheese (since that was basically all I could cook).  Butter both pieces of bread, then place them buttered sides together on the cutting board, so as not to get butter everywhere.  Ingenious, right?  I thought so.  Anyway, then put your cheese and whatever else on top of the bread stack you made, then when you're ready to cook them, separate the buttered pieces and assemble the sandwich in the pan.  This worked well for me today, since I could add one more smear of mascarpone to the top piece of bread before closing the sandwich.

Strawberry Mascarpone Grilled Cheese
adapted from Sweet & Saucy (be forewarned--the blog plays music)

4 slices brioche or challah bread
2 tbsp butter
2-4 tbsp mascarpone, as much as your heart desires
6 strawberries, rinsed and sliced

Butter one side of each slice of bread.  Then smear 1-2 tbsp mascarpone on the other side of each slice.  Place strawberry slices, overlapping, on top of mascarpone.

Heat cast iron skillet to medium heat.  Cook sandwiches until browned on each side.  Attend to the pan carefully, since these went from golden to black for me very quickly.  Also, turn with care since the mascarpone doesn't really stick the slices together like a slice of American cheese would.

eat your veggies

creamy cauliflower and pasta

I love cauliflower.  Raw, cooked, in cheese sauce, and especially in this pasta.  Luckily, my husband, who is usually cauliflower-averse, also likes this pasta.  The cauliflower is meant to be creamy and fall-apart tender.  Really it just melts in with the pasta and Parmesan.  I made this once before, but didn't cook the florets long enough--trust me, you don't want the cauliflower tender-crisp in this case.  I also added in a can of diced tomatoes this time, which added to the pizza-type flavor of this dish along with the garlic, oregano, and cheese.  I used the end of a block of Wisconsin Parmesan to top the pasta, but recently I bought a chunk of Parmesan from Hook's cheese out of Mineral Point.  It's by far the best Parmesan I've ever tasted and would have made this meal even better.  Alongside a piece of baguette slathered with roasted garlic, the whole wheat pasta and cauliflower made this a hearty (and fairly healthy) winter meal.

Every time I browse through my favorite cookbook, Simply Organic, I find more to try.  This recipe is located in the "deep winter" section of the book, but I'm looking forward to trying it again when we can get local cauliflower from our CSA or the farmer's market.  And, as a side note, we signed up for the CSA through Amazing Grace once again.  So excited for spring to come!

Creamy Cauliflower and Pasta
from Simply Organic by Jesse Ziff Cool

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 lb whole wheat pasta, such as shells or rotelle
1/3 c olive oil
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 c dry white wine
15-oz can diced tomatoes, drained (optional, but recommended)
1 1/2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano or 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 c kalamata olives, pitted and chopped (I omitted these--we're not olive fans.)
1 tsp red pepper flakes
4 sprigs fresh Italian parsley, stemmed and chopped
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
1/4 c shredded Parmesan or Asiago cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat.  Add the cauliflower and cook for 5 minutes, or until tender.  Remove with a slotted spoon to a medium bowl, reserving the water.  Cook the pasta according to the package directions in the reserved water.  Drain and transfer to a large serving bowl.

While the pasta is cooking, in a large skillet heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Add the garlic and cauliflower and cook for 5 minutes, stirring and breaking the cauliflower into bite-sized pieces.  Add the wine, oregano, tomatoes and olives (if using), and red-pepper flakes and cook for 3 minutes, or until the cauliflower is very tender.  Add the parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Pour over the pasta and toss to coat well.  Top with the cheese.

1 chicken 4 ways: numbers 2 and 3

In the last several years, I have endeavored to make a few meals a week meatless and to make the most of our meat. Think Michael Pollan's mantra: eat meat, not too much, mostly plants. When I buy a piece or package of meat, I want it to make several meals, complementing the vegetables and starches, but not dominating the meal. It has also been important to me that the meat we do eat comes from local and humane sources. I've been heading out to a nearby butcher to get pork and whole fresh chickens. That's where I got the meat for our beer-can chicken.

A few days later, the rest of the chicken became a lunch and a dinner. Sorry about the dark photos. We've been eating really late for the last few weeks, so my natural lighting for photos has been nearly gone.


Curry Yogurt Salad
from Serious Eats

2 to 3 ounces of boneless, skinless shredded turkey or chicken or 1 shredded Quorn Naked Chik’n Cutlet
1 squeeze of lemon juice
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch of pepper
1 to 2 teaspoons of curry powder
7 ounce container of single-serve Fage 2% yogurt, or other Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons of cashews
2 tablespoons of golden raisins (sultanas)
1 pinch of nutmeg (optional)

Mix the curry powder into the Fage, add a pinch of salt or pepper to taste. Add the raisins and cashews. Add a pinch of nutmeg if desired. Squeeze lemon on the cooked, shredded Quorn or poultry. Stir into the yogurt mixture. Add more curry powder, salt, pepper, or lemon to taste. Serve on shredded lettuce or on a slice of warm cinnamon raisin bread, whole wheat bread, or Naan bread.

Minced Chicken in Lettuce Cups
from Serious Eats

I had less chicken and more mushrooms than were called for, but everything still balanced well.

2 pounds chicken, skin removed and bones removed (in my case, precooked chicken)
1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/2 cup water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
2 scallions, white part diced and green part chopped
1 cup cremini mushroom, chopped
8 leaves Boston, bibb, or iceberg lettuce
Salt and pepper

Finely dice the chicken. Pour the oil into a work or large iron skillet set over high heat. Add the ginger and scallion whites and stir-fry until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Dump in the chicken and mushrooms. Continue stirring, breaking up the chicken pieces, and cook for about a minute, or until the chicken is white and no longer raw (if using precooked chicken, just stir-fry until the chicken is warmed). Pour in the oyster sauce and cook for 2 more minutes, stirring frequently.

Remove from the heat and add the scallion greens and chopped water chestnuts. Stir until everything is combined. Season with salt if necessary. Fill each lettuce cup with a little bit of the mixture and serve.

I felt like this could have used some kind of soy-based sauce to top the lettuce cups. I liked a bit of okonomiyaki sauce and Matt used some Sichuan black bean paste. I thought something like a ponzu might be nice too. Any ideas?

another easy dinner

Somehow when I'm menu planning, I can manage to fill one week with incredibly painstaking recipes and the next with very simple meals. I typically don't notice this trend until the groceries have been purchased and it's time to cook. It seems his week has been on the easy side. Here's a sandwich recipe that took us less than 20 minutes to whip up tonight.

These sandwiches are a more modest version of the super-sweet Monte Cristo which is typically topped with powdered sugar and raspberry jam (sometimes Matt fixes his that way still!). What makes these Monte Cristos is a french toast-style bread filled with some kind of meat and cheese.

Turkey Monte Cristos
adapted from Family Circle
Makes 4 sandwiches

8 slices sourdough bread (the crustier the better!)
sliced turkey breast
4 slices muenster cheese
Dijon mustard
tomatoes (optional--we just happened to have some around)
arugula, basil, or spinach leaves
3 eggs
1 tbsp milk
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp butter

Assemble the sandwiches with the mustard, turkey, tomatoes (if using), muenster, and greens. Beat the eggs in a bowl with the milk, nutmeg, and cayenne.

Heat 1 tbsp of the butter in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until bubbly. Quickly dip each side of the assembled sandwich in the egg mixture. Fry two sandwiches for a few minutes on each side, until brown and the egg is cooked and the cheese is beginning to melt. Transfer the sandwiches to a warm oven and turn the skillet down to medium heat. Cook the other two sandwiches. Serve with your favorite kettle chips. Easy!

*Note: If you'd like to make a more traditional Monte Cristo, leave off the mustard, add ham, dust with powdered sugar at the end, and serve with raspberry jam.

easiest dinner ever

It seems I've been posting pretty involved meals lately. Often the quick 30-minute meals don't make it to the blog, I guess because they don't always seem that impressive. On the other hand, everyone needs quick and easy weekday meals, so here's a new one that we tried tonight. (I tend to say "we" because Matt almost always assists in the cooking process!)

This ravioli dish is hearty and flavorful, vegetarian, and can be easily halved as we did tonight.


Cheesy Toasted Ravioli with Pesto
from Cook's Country April/May 2010
Makes 4 servings

1 tbsp unsalted butter
2 (9-ounce) packages fresh cheese ravioli
1 c low-sodium chicken broth
1/3 c heavy cream (I used 2% milk because I don't like to have tons of cream sitting around)
1/4 c basil pesto, homemade or store-bought refrigerated
1/2 c crumbled goat cheese (we used goat feta)
3 plum tomatoes, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
Salt & pepper

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat broiler (do as they say or your cheese won't brown--I tried to skip this). Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat (if you use an oven-safe skillet you won't have to switch pans midway). Add ravioli and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Stir in the broth and cream and cook, covered until ravioli are nearly tender, about 3 minutes. Remove lid and continue to cook until sauce is slightly thickened and ravioli are completely tender, about 3 minutes.

Off heat, stir pesto and 1/4 cup cheese into pan with ravioli. Transfer to broiler-safe 1 1/2-quart casserole (unless you used that oven-safe pan in the beginning). Arrange tomatoes over ravioli and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and broil until surface is spotty brown, about 3 minutes. Serve warm with a salad.

easy & hearty

I definitely did not want to cook tonight, but since we try to save eating out for one day a week (and that day is tomorrow), I hunkered down and got cooking. Luckily I had ingredients on hand to make a very tasty, satisfying, and easy pasta recipe. It's so good when I'm tired, cold, and craving richly flavored, starch-heavy comfort food.

This makes a lot of pasta and sauce for only two of us, so I only made half a package of pasta and froze half of the sauce. That way, I'll have an even easier meal on hand in the future. By the way, this is vegan-friendly--unless, of course, you add the pancetta like I did.


Bucatini with Tomato Sauce
adapted from Rachel Ray Magazine

3 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp finely chopped garlic
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
4 oz finely chopped pancetta (optional)
1/2 tsp red pepper flake (optional)
2 cups diced tomatoes (I just used a 32-oz can)
1 lb bucatini (or other long-cut pasta)

In a medium skillet, combine the olive oil, garlic, and parsley over medium-high heat. When the garlic sizzles, add the pancetta and red pepper (if using). Cook for about 1 minute, then add tomatoes. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has evaporated and the oil has begun to separate from the sauce. Put the water on to boil and cook the pasta according to the directions. Top the pasta with sauce and parmesan, if desired.