tastysfadventures

i like food. and making it. once upon a time, this was me: http://runbeansrun.blogspot.com

[tastysfadventures]

Miso Glazed Salmon with Sweet Potato & Kale Hash

So I learned many things as I prepared this meal. First of all, I cannot be trusted to marinate fish. Yeah, I know marinating fish is kinda weird in the first place, but sometimes you just get lazy and decide to make something easier one night and then the fish sits in the marinade a little too long. Gah! 

Point is, I threw these super flat salmon fillets in the miso mix and by the time I actually cooked them (don’t worry, it was early the next evening and I didn’t poison us), I basically cured those suckers. Woah. I mean, they were incredibly flavorful, but some of the thinner portions ended up REALLY garlicky and salty. OOOF.

The second thing I learned: mustard seems to be my go-to ingredient when I’m not sure what else to use. I thought hm, this hash needs a flavor...oh, lemme grab that jar of mustard. Wtf. Weirdo.

That being said, the mustard didn’t add a ton of mustard flavor to the dish. Just enough to make you wonder hm, what is that flavor??

Miso Glazed Salmon 2 salmon fillets 1 1/2 tbsp white miso paste 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce 2 cloves garlic, crushed squirt sriracha (or more if you like it spicy) 1/4 tsp maple syrup

Whisk everything except the salmon (obvs) in a shallow dish. Lay salmon flesh side down in the marinade, making sure it’s well coated. Let marinate for at least 30 minutes, but no more than an hour.

Broil fillets for 5 minutes (maybe more, maybe less depending on how thick they are) and serve immediately with hash on the side.

Sweet Potato & Kale Hash 2 small sweet potatoes, diced 2 tbsp olive oil, divided 1/2 onion, chopped 1/2 bunch kale, finely chopped 3 Early Girl tomatoes, chopped 3 tbsp low sodium chicken broth 1 tbsp dijon mustard (I only had regular dijon on hand, but if you have whole seed dijon mustard, use that) salt & pepper to taste

Toss sweet potatoes in 1 tbsp (or a less depending on how many potato cubes you end up with) and roast in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

Saute onion in 1 tbsp olive oil in a medium skillet until translucent. Stir in kale and cook until just wilted. Fold in tomatoes, sweet potatoes, mustard and chicken broth. Cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt & pepper to taste. 

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Garlicky Tomato & Avocado Salad

Can I really call this a recipe? I mean, it’s really just a bunch of crap chopped up and tossed into a bowl...

We had a sack of Early Girl Tomatoes and a huge bunch of basil from our produce box that needed to be used. I love me some Early Girls...sweet, juicy, so tomato-y. Yum. Pair them with some salt and avocados. AHHH heaven. 

I served this atop a simple broiled salmon (seriously, just salt, garlic powder and a ton of freshly ground pepper) and it was the perfect dinner on an unseasonably warm day. 

Garlicky Tomato & Avocado Salad Early Girl tomatoes, chopped avocado, chopped basil, chopped garlic, crushed (I used 2 cloves and it was POTENT) plenty of freshly ground pepper kosher salt

Toss ingredients together in a bowl and let sit for a few minutes before serving over chicken or fish. Or eat by the spoonful. I won’t judge.

I briefly considered tossing this with a splash of balsamic vinegar, but everything was perfectly ripe and flavorful, it seemed wrong to bring vinegar to the party. Taste along the way and season accordingly. 

If you wanted to turn this into more of a chopped salad type thing (sans lettuce), you could always toss in some corn or chopped cucumber.  

[tastysfadventures]

BIKE THIS: Hawk Hill to Sausalito

Did I ever tell you about the time I thought riding up Hawk Hill was a great way to celebrate my 5 year SanFranciscoversary? Well, I did. It was not an awesome idea.

I mean, the views were fantastic. I just wish we had a little more fitness under our belts before we tried to haul ass up that hill.

That hill was no joke. On the bus it doesn't seem like it and even checking out the route from afar doesn't give you any clue as to how slowly your pedals will move. I mean, I had my bike on the lowest gears possible and I still had to take breaks. Woof.

Who: Anyone willing to sweat it out for some awesome views.

What: A reasonable 11.6 mile ride to the Golden Gate Bridge followed by a short, but steep incline to Hawk Hill and a fun descent to Sausalito.

When: Any clear day, though I’d avoid the super sunny days since this route doesn’t have much shade. There will be a fair amount of bike traffic on the weekends.

Where: This starts in Russian Hill and ends at the Sausalito Ferry Landing.

How: We rode to meet a friend at the Golden Gate Bridge visitors center and then went on to tackle the hill. Since neither of us was very fit, we basically stopped at all the viewpoints to soak in the views and catch our breath. Worth it.

Here's our map. If you set it to the hybrid view, you can check out all the potential viewpoints. The one Google Maps labels 'Best GG Bridge Vista' is pretty good, but I think I took the most photos at the second one (right after the 6 mile mark).

We rode to the parking lot below Hawk Hill and parked our bikes there since no one seemed to be riding much further up. Took some photos, hiked up the steep incline to soak up some more views and then zipped back down the hill.

Treat yourselves to some snacks and beverages with a view in Sausalito before catching the ferry back!

[tastysfadventures]

Cavatappi with Italian Sausage & Broccolini

So awhile back I made this awesome tortellini dish with a fantastic italian sausage sauce. It was incredibly easy and required only a few ingredients. Unfortunately, every time I’ve tried to recreate the dish I always forget a critical ingredient. This time was no exception.

After grabbing what I thought was everything I needed for the recipe, I realized that I was missing tomato sauce, mushrooms, chicken broth and parmesan. Woah. More than one ingredient missing. Thankfully, my substitutes made for a great sauce!

I ended up having to pull together a makeshift tomato sauce concoction that involved tomato paste and a can of San Marzano tomatoes. Whole tomatoes. Eeeps. If you have tomato sauce, use it. 

Cavatappi with Italian Sausage & Broccolini 1/2 box cavatappi (or any cut pasta), cooked and drained 5 links hot turkey italian sausage, casings removed 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 small bulb fennel, shaved handful baby arugula 1 bunch broccolini, cut into bite sized pieces 3 tbsp tomato paste 4 whole San Marzano tomatoes, crushed with the back of a spoon, plus 4 tbsp juice 1/4 c water

In a large skillet, brown sausage until no longer pink. Stir in garlic and fennel and saute for 2 minutes. Stir in broccolini and arugula.

Mix tomato paste, tomatoes and juice in a large bowl until combined. Add to skillet. Stir to combine. Add water to loosen up the mixture a bit and continue cooking for another 3-5 minutes. Serve immediately on top of cavatappi.

[tastysfadventures]

Tequila Lime Chicken Fajitas

I guess it’s pepper season? We’ve been getting a ton of peppers in our produce box lately and I had no idea what to do with them. Fajitas. When in doubt, fajita.

I grabbed fixins for a pretty ghetto bowl of guac (one avocado, some garlic, 1 early girl tomato, lime, cumin) and a container of mango salsa. I thought the mango salsa was a little too sweet at first, but once I got a bite with the over marinated chicken, the two balanced each other out. Oh, right. The chicken. I let it sit for a little too long. Please don’t marinate for longer than 30 minutes. 

Tequila Lime Chicken Fajitas 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied 1 clove garlic, crushed 2 tbsp tequila juice of 1/2 a lime 1/4 tsp Goya Adobo seasoning 1/4 tsp chili powder 1/4 tsp cumin splash olive oil 4-5 peppers, sliced 1 red onion, sliced 1/4 tsp oregano salt & pepper to taste

Marinate chicken in garlic, tequila, lime juice, adobo seasoning, chili powder, cumin and a splash of olive oil for no more than 30 minutes, flipping once. Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Cook chicken for about 5 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Slice chicken thinly and set on a plate.

Heat the same skillet over medium heat with a splash of olive oil. Saute red onion and peppers until they start to soften. Add oregano and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve chicken and peppers with flour tortillas, salsa, guacamole and greek yogurt (or sour cream!).

[tastysfadventures]

Quinoa Burrito Bowls

Generally speaking, lazy dinners tend to be ugly. I mean, you scramble to put something together that resembles a square meal and then it’s just a bowl of blah. I love when lazy dinners turn out to be gorgeous bowls of color!

This burrito bowl of sorts takes almost no time to pull together. Had I prepared the quinoa in advance, it probably would have taken all of 6 minutes to prepare. GAH! Advanced planning. I don't have it.

So, I can't really call this a recipe, since it's just a bunch of colorful veggies thrown neatly into a bowl. Let's call it a guide. Suggestions, if you will.

I've done variations on this with rice and other grains, but I think the quinoa keeps things light. Also, feel free to use your meat of choice (or no meat at all!). We just happened to have tilapia (which, I usually hate, but ate anyway), so I seasoned the shit out of it.

Quinoa Burrito Bowl Quinoa, cooked (a few spoonfuls works) Arugula (a handful or two) Black beans (I used a can of low sodium ones. Be sure to rinse those suckers) Corn (again, can. No salt. RINSE RINSE!) Tomatoes (We had some New Girl tomatoes...NEW to me ahhaa) Avocado (my avocado was weird and half ripe. I do not appreciate this) Salsa (we usually have Casa Sanchez's Fresh Roasted Tomato on hand  but you know what would be amazing? PAPALOTE!) Tilapia (see below)

Spiced Tilapia 2 tilapia fillets onion powder chili powder Adobo Seasoning

Generously season tilapia on both sides, place in a hot skillet with just a slight spray of olive oil. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Slice and place in bowls.

[tastysfadventures]

HIKE THIS: Marin Headlands (Coastal to Wolf Ridge Trail)

Manfriend and I hadn't done a real hike in awhile and were kinda itching to get back into it. I wasn't feeling the whole rental car thing so we decided to make the most of public transit and modify a hike I did with a friend last year. 

We didn't really have a plan for where we'd hike, but I figured hey, there are a ton of trails in the Marin Headlands, I'm sure we could find something exciting and new!

Unfortunately, the trail map doesn't show mileage, so we had no idea what we were getting into until about halfway through. If we had planned properly, I would have preferred to extend this hike to Tennessee Beach, but that just seemed so far away by the time we reached the trail.

Who: There were a variety of people on the trail ranging from kids to pups to older folks. Consider this good for anyone, though keep in mind there are a couple steep areas with dry, loose footing. Poles may be a good idea if you need a little more stability on the descent.

What: An easy to moderate 6 mile out and back hike with some challenging spots and stairs.

When: We started this around 10:30am when it looked like the fog was just starting to burn off and then it lingered. There isn't a ton of cover so there were definitely some hot spots. We welcomed the fog after awhile.

Where: This starts at the Fort Cronkhite parking lot where the 76X drops you off 

How: The trails are well marked at intersections, though we got a little confused at the start. Don't worry, if you wander down the wrong trail at the beginning, they all kinda meet up with each other eventually. After you hit Battery Townsley, it's pretty clear from there.

Follow this handy dandy map and you'll be good to go.

There are plenty of spots to stop and enjoy the views and take in a bit of military history. Battery Townsley is the first you'll hit, followed by Hill 88. Hill 88 was super creepy when we got to it since we were at the fog line. Fog and abandoned structures...woof.

Once you are done there, walk back down the hill and you should see a sign for Tennessee Valley Trails to your right. Follow that trail downhill to the left and you'll be on the Wolf Ridge Trail.

The Wolf Ridge Trail to the Tennessee Valley Trail is surprisingly colorful and full of bright flowers. Very different from the Coastal Trail. This was also the narrowest and steepest point of our hike and the ground was super loose. There may have been a few spills. Also note that we hit a patch that seemed to be full of bees, so zip through there quickly.

Turn around and come back the way you came. We packed a picnic and lounged on Rodeo Beach as we waited for the bus. Perfect end to the day.

[tastysfadventures]

Mediterranean Feast

Oh hey, strangers! I know I've been MIA, but there haven't been many blog-worthy dishes coming out of my kitchen lately. Imagine my delight when this Mediterranean feast turned out surprisingly delicious!

The cauliflower couscous was a total experiment. I love cauliflower rice, but I also love me some starchy carbs. I figured hm, what if I sprinkle in some real couscous?? The result was fantastic. The textures blended perfectly!

Prepare yourselves for the recipe dump. There were 3 separate dishes that made this feast. All are SUPER easy, especially if you prep things ahead of time. Enjoy this on a warm night with a nice big glass of rose :)

Cauliflower Couscous 1/2 head cauliflower, cut into bite sized pieces 1/3 c couscous 1/2 c water or chicken broth 1 scallion, finely chopped olive oil salt & pepper to taste

Toss cauliflower in a light drizzle of olive oil, spread onto a baking sheet and roast at 400 degrees until cauliflower starts to brown. Remove and allow cauliflower to cool slightly.

Place cauliflower in a food processor and pulse until it resembles couscous. Toast lightly in a medium saucepan.

Bring 1/2 c water or broth to a boil and add couscous. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir couscous into the pan with cauliflower and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add scallion and cook for another minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Kofta 1 lb ground lamb 1 tbsp ground coriander 1 tbsp chili powder 1 tsp cumin 1 onion, chopped and pureed salt & pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, refrigerate for at least 20 minutes. Form into ovals and grill (or cook these in a pan) for about 2-3 minutes on each side.

Easy Chopped Salad 1 romaine heart, finely chopped 2 large tomatoes, chopped 1/2 large English cucumber, chopped 1/2 small red onion, minced juice of 1 lemon splash red wine vinegar 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp zatar 1 tsp garlic powder salt & pepper to taste

Toss all ingredients, except romaine, in a large bowl. Refrigerate for 10 minutes, stirring halfway through. Add romaine before serving.

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Monday Meatballs

Looking at the past few posts, I realize it looks like we're pasta fiends. I guarantee you, we are not. Sometimes I get a hankering for a big bowl of pasta and sometimes those experiments turn out wonderfully. Also, they're way more exciting to post than salads or random bowls of veggies.

It's pretty rare that I'll whip up non-turkey meatballs, but I just had this serious craving for real meatballs. I think the veal was just an extra treat. In hindsight, I probably could have done this with a mix of beef and pork...

Make these and serve them up with your favorite sauce and pasta. Dinner is served.

Monday Meatballs 1/2 lb lean ground beef 1/4 lb ground veal 1/4 c panko 1 tbsp whole milk 1 egg 1 tbsp dried oregano 1/2 tbsp dried basil 1 tbsp garlic powder 2-3 tbsp grated parmesan 1/4 c flat leaf parsley, chopped 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper salt & pepper 1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce (or make your own!) 1/2 lb spaghetti, cooked and drained

Whisk egg, milk, oregano, basil, garlic powder, crushed red pepper, parsley, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Stir in panko, parmesan, beef and veal. Combine well with hands. Cover and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.

Form meat into about 12 even sized balls. Place evenly on a baking sheet and bake for about 10-15 minutes at 425 degrees.

As meatballs bake, bring sauce to a simmer (I doctored up plain marinara with some onion, garlic and a pinch of sugar). Remove meatballs from the oven and place in sauce. Continue simmering for another 15-20 minutes.

Serve over spaghetti with parmesan on the side.

[tastysfadventures]

Spring Potato Salad

This may be one of the few times I make a mayo-based potato salad. Ever.

I was scouring the internet for recipes involving asparagus since we keep getting giant bunches of them in our CSA box. It's getting a little out of control. One recipe stuck out because it used asparagus, potatoes AND eggs. Eggs. It piqued my interest. It sounded like a weird, yet potentially delicious potato/egg salad combo. Yeesss.

I forgot about the egg when I made this. I also don't care for Miracle Whip (I may hate it more than mayo). I may have also started thinking about the lemon dill potato salad I made last year. Basically this is a mashup of several different recipes.

Did you expect anything less?

Spring Potato Salad (inspired by In Good Flavor) 3/4 lb creamer or yukon gold potatoes, quartered 1 tbsp mayonnaise juice of 1/2 lemon 1 clove garlic, crushed 1 scallion, chopped 1/4 c mint, chopped 1 bunch asparagus, roasted and cut into thirds 1/2 c frozen peas, defrosted salt & pepper to taste

In a large pot, boil potatoes until fork tender. Drain and let cool slightly.

In a large bowl, whisk together mayo, lemon juice, garlic, scallion and mint. Gently toss in potatoes, asparagus and peas. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

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Collard Green Carbonara

Long time no, um...everything.

Lately we've been doing a lot of salads, take out and ugly repeats of old recipes. It's not pretty. The other night I wanted a low maintenance meal and for whatever reason, I was craving pasta. Very weird.

Carbonara...I always look at it with a shifty eye. Raw egg, cheese galore. I just feel a little gluttonous just thinking about it. We just so happened to have all the ingredients for a makeshift carbonara in the apartment. Hello, kitchen experiment!

I refused to buy any extra ingredients aside from the pasta, so that's why this recipe involves a log of salami and a random chicken breast. That's what we had in terms of meat in the fridge. Obviously this would be better with pancetta, but in the event you find yourself craving carbonara and don't have pancetta or bacon, know that it's A-OK with salami.

We had some collard greens that needed to be used, so I thought I'd balance the meal out by adding them into the mix. Feel free to sub in any other leafy green or omit them all together.

Collard Green Carbonara 1 lb linguine, cooked and drained 1/2 onion, minced 1/2-1/3 c chopped salami (I used Fra'mani's Salametto) 1 cooked chicken breast, chopped 1-1 1/2 c chopped collard greens 2 tbsp chicken broth or water 2 tbsp butter 1/4 c parmesan cheese, grated 2 eggs freshly ground black pepper crushed red pepper flakes

In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, parmesan and a generous amount of freshly ground pepper. Set aside.

Cook salami in a large skillet over medium heat until fat is rendered. Add chicken breast and onions and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add collard greens and broth or water, reduce heat and cover for 2-3 minutes.

Melt butter into the skillet and add pasta. Toss to coat. Remove from heat and quickly toss in egg mixture, stirring vigorously. The heat from the pasta and the skillet should lightly cook the egg.

Serve immediately with additional black pepper and crushed red pepper.

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Smokey Broiled Salmon

In case you haven't noticed, my recipes that involve salmon are pretty limited to ridiculously simple lemon/caper/white wine and Asian flavors. There have been a lot of Asian flavors crossing our palates recently so I was craving something exciting and new.

I came across this interesting, yet super simple, recipe and decided to give it a try. I wasn't quite sure what the 'dried mixed herbs' were, so I just ommitted them and it was just fine. I loved the nice smokey smell of the cumin and paprika as the fish cooked!

Next time, I'd probably serve this over a salad or even with a nice salsa as recommended in the original recipe.

Smokey Broiled Salmon (adapted from Maya Kitchenette) 3/4-1lb salmon fillet, cut into 2-3 portions 1 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp smoked paprika juice of 1/2 lemon 1/2 tsp olive oil salt & freshly ground pepper

Generously season salmon with salt and pepper.

Combine garlic powder, cumin, paprika, lemon juice and olive oil until a light paste forms. Coat salmon pieces with paste and let marinate for about 30-40 minutes.

Place salmon on a baking sheet and broil for 5-10 minutes depending on the thickness of your fillets. Serve immediately.

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Chicken & Kale Breakfast Pasta

Woah. Almost forgot about this guy! One Saturday morning, I woke up and declared I was going to make brunch. Except we didn't have enough breakfast ingredients in the fridge to make a whole meal of food. What we did have was exactly enough ingredients to make a breakfast pasta!

What is breakfast pasta, you ask? Well, I'm declaring that it's pasta eaten around breakfast time with an egg plopped on top. Ta da!

Delish and simple. Give it a try...any hour of the day!

Chicken & Kale Breakfast Pasta 1/2 lb linguine, cooked according to package 1 chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces 1 bunch kale, finely chopped 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 c chicken broth 1/2 tsp chili garlic paste 1 tbsp olive oil salt pepper garlic powder 2 poached eggs parmesan cheese for serving

Toss chicken in some salt, pepper and garlic powder. Set aside.

Saute onion in olive oil in a large skillet until softened. Stir in kale and chicken broth. Cover and let cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and chili garlic paste and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Scrape veggie mix onto a plate and set aside.

In the same skillet, brown chicken until cooked through. Return kale mixture to the pan and cook for another 1-2 minutes until combined. Serve over linguine and top with a poached egg. Sprinkle with parmesan if desired.

[tastysfadventures]

Chinese Beef, Tomato and Egg

Ok. THIS. This dish is kinda ugly, but it was SO delicious!

During my DC days, we used to frequent a lot of Asian restaurants. Some favorites that totally deserve a shout out here: A&J Restaurant, Great Wall Szechuan House, Bob's Noodle & Joe's Noodle. AHHH. Drooling just thinking about all the great food and fun times!

I remember a friend ordering this beef & tomato dish that was served with egg over rice. The egg was gently blended into the sauce and gave it an amazingly rich (but not too rich) flavor and texture. I ordered it during another visit and just assumed that the egg always came with it. NOPE. Such a huge difference. The egg made the dish! Without it, the sauce was way too acidic and really, not that great.

I googled. I think I found the dish. I think I like it because it involves ketchup. Yep.

It doesn't taste exactly the same, but then again, it's probably been at least 6 years since I've had it at a restaurant. Point is, it was close enough and I'd make it again.

Chinese Beef, Tomato and Egg (adapted from Edible Love) 1 lb london broil, very thinly sliced 1 tbsp sugar 2 tbsp soy sauce 3 tbsp oyster sauce 1 tsp tapioca starch 3 roma tomatoes, chopped 1/4 cup water 4 tbsp ketchup 1 tsp oil 2 eggs, beaten

Stir sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce and tapioca starch in a medium bowl. Add beef and stir to coat. Let marinate for at least 20 min. Tip: To get your beef super thin, freeze it for a few minutes and then slice.

Cook beef in batches a skillet over medium high heat. Keep an eye on your beef! You want the slices cooked to rare/medium rare. A little pink is a good thing! Remove beef from skillet and set aside.

Add oil to the skillet and saute tomatoes, scraping up any sauce leftover from the beef. Cook until tomatoes start to break down. Add ketchup and water and bring to a simmer. Lower heat and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Bring heat up to medium, add eggs to skillet and let sit for 20 seconds before gently stirring. Cook for another minute, stirring occasionally. Gently fold in beef and cook for another 30 seconds. Serve immediately over rice.

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Tomato Sauce with Onion & Butter

Oof. It's been awhile, huh? I've had the next few recipes saved for awhile...I just haven't gotten around to posting. It's been a month of comfort. Running around, salads and comfort. Bear with me as most comforting dishes aren't so easy on the eyes!

I came across this ridiculously simple recipe many many months ago and flagged it thinking no way, this sauce can't be that awesome. Where are the other ingredients? 

Well, I just so happened to have a can of San Marzano tomatoes to go with the onions and butter I always have in the house, so insta-dinner!

Well, maybe not insta insta. This simmered for a lonnng time, but I was fine with the low maintenance aspect of this dish. It gave me some time to catch up on life.

We only had brown rice penne (Manfriend requested cut pasta and I think that was a fine choice), which was fine but I think it would be better with regular pasta. Duh.

Tomato Sauce with Onion & Butter (adapted from Smitten Kitchen) 1 28-oz can whole San Marzano tomatoes 1 large onion, ends trimmed and quartered crosswise (make giant rings!) 4 tbsp butter cooked pasta for serving parmesan cheese for serving

Empty tomatoes into a heavy saucepan. Crush them a little with your hands.

Place butter and onion rings into the pot. Bring to a simmer then lower heat to keep the sauce at a slow steady simmer for about an hour. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes with the back of a spoon as you stir.

To serve, discard (or save!) onions and spoon over pasta. I saved my onions, chopped them up a bit and sprinkled them on top of my sauce. With the parmesan. Delicious. The only thing that kept me from eating more was knowing how much butter went into this. MMMMMM.

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Sausage Shepherd's Pie

Meat and potatoes. They make the world go 'round. 

I'm actually pretty shocked that I've never attempted shepherd's pie before, especially since it combines meat and MASHED POTATOES (quite possibly my favorite form of potato).

I'm not quite sure why, but something in my head said 'Eff that plain ground beef nonsense. You should make this with SAUSAGE.' Mokay. Sausage it is.

I thought we had some leftover ground pork in the freezer, but no, it was beef. I used it anyway and you know what? It was fine with the sausage. Victory!

I basically made this up as I went along, tasting and smelling along the way. It's for sure not a traditional shepherd's pie, but I enjoyed it. Though, to be honest, I can't recall ever having shepherd's pie. I was a little worried about the parsnips (they were much more fragrant than I expected), but they ended up working well with the meat mixture. I love when things fall into place!

Also, we are officially done with the mascarpone container. No more mascarpone for a long time. Unfortunately, there were more giant spring onions in our produce box. Wah wah...

Sausage Shepherd's Pie 6 yukon gold potatoes, peeled and quartered 3 parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks 2 tbsp mascarpone 1 tsp butter 1/4 c milk 6 cloves roasted garlic 3 links mild Italian sausage, casings removed 1/4 lb lean ground beef 2 tbsp tomato paste 1 tsp thyme 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 1 stalk spring onion, chopped 3/4 c frozen peas Large handful arugula

Place potatoes and parnsips in a large pot of salted water and boil until fork tender. Drain and lightly mash with butter and mascarpone. Add milk and roasted garlic and puree with an immersion blender. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Brown sausage and ground beef in a large skillet, breaking up large chunks with a spoon. Add spring onion and cook for 1 minute before adding tomato paste, worcestershire, frozen peas and thyme. Continue cooking for 4-5 minutes on medium low, stirring occasionally. Add arugula and toss until just wilted.

Preheat oven to 425. Fill baking dish and/or ramekins (I did 4 tiny ramekins and one small oval baking dish) with the meat mixture and top with a generous pile of potatoes. Make sure the potato mixture hits the edges of the dish. Place in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes start to brown. Let cool slightly before serving.

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Lemony Kale & Mascarpone Pasta

I've been getting in touch with my creative side this week as I had a bunch of appetizer-specific ingredients leftover from the failed superbowl party attempt. I must say, it's been an exciting kitchen week!

I've also started making sure some ingredients last through a few dinners so I'm not constantly buying stuff at the grocery store. 2015 - the year of responsible cooking.

Normally I wouldn't have a container of mascarpone in the fridge, but I purchased a tub for the reuben bites and I felt compelled to find more dishes to use it in.

This dish was inspired by a kale crostini I saw on the interwebs. I was a little worried about the capers, especially since the original crostini recipe combined capers, gherkins and something else. Basically nothing I had in this dish. Manfriend and I were both pleasantly surprised by the briny zing the capers added to the dish!

I only had one link of sausage leftover and it got lost in this dish. As we ate, I thought it would also go great with some sliced chicken breast or even flakes of salmon. Experiment!

Lemony Kale & Mascarpone Pasta 1/2 lb pasta, cooked and drained 3 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 large tomato, chopped 8 oz chopped kale 1 heaping tbsp capers, chopped 1 link chicken andouille sausage, chopped 2 tbsp white wine 2 tbsp mascarpone 2 1/2 tbsp grated parmesan 1/4 tsp garlic powder zest of one lemon 1 tsp olive oil salt & pepper to taste

Stir together mascarpone, parmesan, garlic powder, lemon zest and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Brown sausage in olive oil in a large skillet. Add garlic and capers and saute for 30 seconds before adding kale. Saute kale for about a minute and add wine. Stir, cover and let cook for 2-3 minutes.

Uncover and stir tomato into kale. Continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes or until kale is wilted. Gently fold in pasta and cheese mixture. Stir until cheese is incorporated and serve immediately.