The Less Famous Ratatouille (i.e., not the talking rodent)
Things to know about ratatouille:
I'm finding it really difficult to type and spell.
It's the name of very colorful Disney character; an apparent Michelin quality rat-chef.
That's not what I'm talking about in this post.
Rather, it is a traditional French summer dish that is all roasted veggies and herbs.
It is terrific on it's own, or over pasta, with bread, or really any kind of grain.
It's one of those dishes that is awesome as a leftover (not just like, "ugh, whatever, I'll eat it because there's leftover" - but actually tastes better the day after).
I make this at least once a summer, and while I've always used the veggies from the supermarket, I *know* it would be fan-freaking-tastic with veggies from the farmers market or better yet, your garden. Like the French do. As I would imagine.
Check out the recipe!
Ratatouille
Time: 2 hours / Serves: 4-6
Dish Factor: Two pot meal - love it!
Dollar Factor: Seriously, try and get as much as you can from a (yours, someone elses) garden, if possible - not in the essence of being cheap, but because it will taste that much fresher.
Ingredients:
2 medium eggplants, quartered and cut into slices (1/2 inch thick)
2 zucchini, sliced (1/4 inch thick)
salt and pepper
olive oil
2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 12 oz cans of diced tomatoes with juice, or 1 1/2 lb fresh tomatoes, peeled and diced
1-2 tbs tomato paste
2-3 tbs flat leaf parsley, chopped
3 fresh thyme sprigs
5-8 fresh basil leaves, shredded
Directions:
Lay out a layer of paper towels over a large plate or two. Place an even layer of eggplant and zucchini slices on the paper towel, sprinkle with salt, and let sit for 30 minutes. This will make the vegetables "cry", and release excess water - wipe down with more paper towel after the 30 minutes are up.
In the meantime, cut up your other vegetables. In a frying pan, heat 2 tbs of olive oil over med-high head and add the onions and saute untl softened (5 min). Add the peppers and half the garlic, and cook until the peppers are softned, another 5 minutes. Transfer to a dutch oven or large sauce pan.
Add two more tbs of olive oil to the original frying pan, and add the dried off eggplant and saute until browned on both sides (5-7 min). Throw those into the dutch oven with the rest of the vegetables, and then repeat the process for the zucchini.
Once all vegetables have been sauteed and are in the dutch oven, add the remaining garlic, the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, parsley, thym, and basil to the mixture and stir well. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Bring to med-low heat and simmer, turning occasionally until most of the liquid has evaporated - about half an hour. If it's not evaporating, remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon and set aside in a bowl - letting the liquid cook, reduce, and thicken over high heat before returning the vegetables back into the pan.
Once done, remove from heat, stir and adjust seasoning. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Okay okay okay...I know that short ribs doesn't necessarily evoke hot weather eating. Red meat slow cooking in a hot oven with thick, bubbling sauce doesn't inherently scream "SUMMER!" at you.
But you know what does scream summer? Hair slicked against the back of your neck as you wait for the subway. Walking 20 minutes to Central Park only to leave after 15 minutes because there is no breeze. Iced coffee melting before you make it to your office. Sweat marks left on the backseat of the cab (lovely). You get what I'm saying - sometimes the best summer activity is one that only requires an AC and a season of Revenge on demand. It's stay-inside-and-avoid-the-scorching-sun weather.
So, while watching Emily Thorne drop double entendre number 78 while executing revenge on the Grayson empire ("I always play my cards right", she seethes, while eyeing down her next target over a game of poker), it's kind of nice to let something simmer in the over while you're wedged between the tv screen and the blast of the air conditioner.
If you recall my last experience with short ribs (during Hurricane Irene! Another summer weather buzzkill), I cooked them over the stovetop for about three hours. This time around, I wanted a lighter (ha!) version that only would include leeks and spinach - a recipe from one of my handy Williams Sonoma books. Well - Chuck Williams did me wrong this time; the directions were not particularly clear (does the meat need to be covered in liquid?) or the timing was just plain wrong (in what world would short ribs take only 30 minutes to cook?) and as a result I found myself getting increasingly disgrutled, hungry, and wondering if the meat was ever going to get tender.
It did, but the spinach and leeks got a little overworked as a result and I needed to throw a new batch of produce in so that the veggies weren't all mush. In the end it was tasty, and I would give it another go - maybe this time in the winter when it's more seasonally appropriate. I've modified (i.e., CORRECTED!) the original recipe so you can try it at home. If you have the time, a season of something absolutely absurd to watch, and an AC - you'll have a pretty delicious dinner.
Short Ribs with Leeks and Spinach (adapted from the Williams Sonoma Collection)
Serves: 6 / Time: 3.5 hours
Dish Factor: It's a one pan meal (plus a few extras) so despite the time, it's easy for those of you who are dishwasher-less.
Dollar Factor: Short rib meat is fairly inexpensive although give it a good look before you buy it - since it's on the bone, you want to make sure your dollar is going towards edible meat, not entirely bone.
Ingredients:
6 lbs beef short ribs
3 large leeks, white and light green parts, sliced thin
6 cloves of garlic, smashed and roughly chopped
1 cup beef stock (or as much needed to keep ribs covered)
1/2 cup ketchup
salt and pepper
1 bunch spinach
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper.
In a large frying pan over medium heat, brown the ribs in batches until nicely colored on all sides; about 7 minutes per side, per batch. Transfer ribs to an oiled heavy roasting pan just large enough to fit all comfortably. Place them meat side down.
In a bowl, combine 2/3 of the leeks, garlic, stock, ketchup, and salt and pepper to tatste. Stir to blend and place over ribs, making sure they are covered (it's okay if the bones peek out).
Roast the ribs for 2 hours. Flip the ribs over in the roasting pan, add the last third of the leeks and stir around, and place back in oven to roast 1 hour more.
In the last 15 minute of cooking, add the spinach, mixing it in well.
Once done and fork tender, transfer the ribs to a large, shallow bowl with the pan juices and vegetables and serve hot.
Are you seeing a theme here with my summer "cooking"? So far of the three posts I've made (great job keeping up, self), two have been some sort of fruit and cheese salad combination.
Can you really blame me though? New York is balls hot in the summer; I mean, I break out in a fine sweat anytime I'm watching TV with the AC off for less than three minutes (since the damn AC makes this awful dude-in-high-school-who-suped-up-his-car sound due to my laziness in taking it out of the window during our 60 degree winter I can't hear myself think over it). As a result the thought of doing something that either requires heat or any effort is massively unappealing most days.
In all honesty though, this salad is deee-licious and obviously incredibly easy - I had this little watermelon-feta combo a while back in Miami for like, four days straight. I'm not even kidding, I sat in a beach chair and ordered the same exact salad every single day, right where I sat. No effort.
Maybe I'm seeing a theme in more than just my eating habits....
Watermelon & Feta Salad
Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 1
Dish Factor: Literally just your plate. And a fork and knife. Laaave it!
Dollar Factor: While the pre-cut watermelon costs more than one you have to cut up yourself, how annoying is it to do that? Seriously, just don't. Get it pre-cut and spare yourself the extra few bucks.
Ingredients (more or less to taste):
Approx. 2 handfuls of baby arugula
6-8 cubes of watermelon
A few spoonfuls of feta
salt and pepper
juice from 1/2 a lemon
1 tbs EVOO
Directions:
Place the argula on a plate.
Place the watermelon chunks over it.
Sprinkle the feta on top.
Squeeze the lemon juice all over to coat, and do the same with the olive oil.
Yeah, yeah - pizza might not be the first thing that comes to mind when I say summer (if I had said Ninja Turtles that might be a more likely association), but I definitely consider anythings that's topped with salad to evoke the summer months. So hear me out!
Matt and I decided one night to make pizzas in the apartment. I wanted mine with arugula on it (per a recipe I saw in a Barefoot Contessa cookbook) and he wanted his with peppers and onions. So, we bought some premade dough to keep things simple and went spliskies on it. Lucky for us, one of the two of us was a bonafide pizza professional in college, getting to serve up slices to throngs of drunk people at the campus bar-with-a-pizza-place-in-it (if you thought the answer was me, then you are wrong - of the two of us, I am the high school sandwich professional. And also one of the drunk people who harassed Matt for slices while somehow stomaching Long Island Ice Teas).
After the jump, you'll find the recipes for both pizzas - although with the base recipe, you can really top them with whatever you want. Enjoy!
White Pizzas, Two Ways
Time: 40 minutes / Serves: 2
Dish Factor: A little messy - as is anything when you're throwing flour around.
Dollar Factor: I had no idea, but pizza dough is like, 2 dollars. Literally 2 dollars. Chaching!
Ingredients (base):
fresh store bought pizza dough
flour (no particular measurement)
6 garlic cloves, sliced
5 sprigs fresh thyme
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Freshly ground black pepper
3 cups cubed Italian Fontina cheese (8 ounces)
1½ cups sliced fresh mozzarella (7 ounces)
salt and pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
Ingredients (arugula topping):
2 tbs olive oil
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
8 ounces baby arugula
Ingredients (pepper topping):
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 onion, sliced
Directions:
Make the garlic oil. Place quarter cup olive oil, garlic, thyme, and red pepper flakes in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat. Cook for 5 minutes, making sure the garlic doesn’t burn. Set aside and let flavors steepen.
Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. With floured hands, break the dough into two even balls. Start stretching until you have 2 eight in circles (or ovals, or squarish ovals...it doesn't need to be perfect). Place the circles on a parchment lined baking sheet, coated with a little bit of oil.
Brush the pizzas with the garlic oil, and sprinkle each one liberally with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the pizzas evenly with Fontina and mozzarella. IF YOU ARE DOING THE PEPPERS AND ONIONS VERSION: This is when you add the peppers and onions. Drizzle each pizza with 1 tablespoon more of the garlic oil and bake for 10 to 15 minutes until the crusts are crisp and the cheeses begin to brown.
IF YOU ARE DOING THE ARUGULA VERSION: While the pizzas cook, for the vinaigrette, whisk together 2 tbs of the olive oil, the lemon juice, some salt, and some pepper. When the pizzas are done, place the arugula in a large bowl and toss with just enough lemon vinaigrette to moisten. Place a large bunch of arugula on each pizza and serve immediately.
So if you've noticed, I'm kind of awful, terrible, simply not good at updating this blog regularly. I think it comes down to this: if I've just spent nine hours burning my retinas via staring at a computer screen, it's hard to motivate myself to do it for another two. Unless we're talking about the tv screen. Somehow I manage to find time for that. There's batshit crazy housewives to be watched, come on!
Anyway - I figured if I stuck to a theme over the next few months, then I'll push myself to be a better blogger.* Like if I'm going to have summer themed, light fare on the blog - I *have* to post them June-August (okay, maybe a little into September) or else they're not relevant. Thus, the Summer Grubbin Series is born!
As you can figure, I'll be featuring food that's light, fast, and doesn't require a lot of time slaving over the oven. First one on deck: this peach salad. I found this recipe on Fine Cooking and modified it as it called for grilled peaches, something I don't have the luxury of making as my wee little fire escape is no place for a grill. I couldn't resist as peaches are pretty much the best fruit ever. And mozzarella is well, mozzarella (meaning delicious).
This takes like, 2 seconds to make and is easy on the waistline to boot. Check it out!
*Speaking of being a better blogger, I finally can up my photo game as I got a legit camera. Yes, I finally have a real deal, thebombdotcom digital SLR! My composition still leaves something to be desired, but aren't these just so much prettier already?
Pancetta Also Makes Everything Better (Like Butternut Squash Ravioli)
My mom recently bought me a new cookbook - making it number 48 in my collection. Somehow, I've managed to fit 48 cookbooks into my tiny kitchen.
Anyway, this cookbook is called "Pasta Revolution" and it's from Cooks Illustrated, which is the magazine version of America's Test Kitchen. I love that nerdball show. It's like, Bill Nye for food - all those chef-dweebs test out different ingredients and techniques to figure out the perfect dish, and tell you why something works/doesn't work.
Best part is that they're totally not highfalutin about the ingredients and products they use. Like, for this dish - they admit in the book that making butternut squash ravioli from scratch is as fun and painless as say, getting a cavity filled, and that you don't need some hoity toity brand to use - they think good ol' Buitoni in the refrigerated pasta section of the grocery store tastes the best.
Anyway, this is the first recipe I've tried out of the book and it was delicious - the combo of cheesy ravioli with chunks of squash and pancetta was really tasty, and the sauce that the squash and chicken broth form is a really nice binder.
If you don't have the book, then give it a try with my recipe after the jump!
Ravioli with Squash and Pancetta
Time: 45 minutes / Serves: 4
Dish Factor: One big dutch oven, love a one pot meal!
Dollar Factor: $20-$25 - not bad split 4 ways!
Ingredients:
1 tbs unsalted butter
4 ounces pancetta, sliced
2 lbs butternut squash cut in 3/4 cubes
1 shallot, minced
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups water
2 packaged cheese ravioli (18-20 oz)
1/4 grated parmesan
1 tbs lemon juice
optional: 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
Directions:
Cook butter and pancetta in Dutch oven overmedium heat until pancetta has browned and is crisp, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove and pat grease off with a paper towel.
Add squash to fat left in pan and cook over medium high heat without stirring until golden brown on one side, about 5-7 minutes. Stir squash and continue to cook and stir occasionally until spotty brown on all sides, about 3 minutes more.
Stir in shallot, thyme, sugar, nutmeg, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook untl shallot is softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in broth, water, and ravioli, bring to a simmer and cook, stirring often, until squash and ravioli are tender and sauce is thickened, about 10 minutes.
Turn off heat and gently stir in parmesan, lemon juice, and pacetta. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then serve.
(not my photo - my terrible photography after the jump)
My office is about 2 blocks away from a Magnolia Bakery outpost, and whenever morale seems low, a co-worker spontaneously and generously picks up an icebox cake from the bakery. Why? Because it's a crappy week, that's why. And cake makes things better (and she should know, she's a fantastic chef).
I suppose I'm glad that Crappy Week Cake isn't an every week occurrence (I'll take not hating my life over dessert, thank you very much) but it certainly doesn't mean that I only want to have this delectable dish when I'm in a shitty mood.
So, why my dad happened to be eating a box of Nabisco Chocolate Wafers he brought on the road when coming to my apartment, I thought - I got this! How about I make the icebox cake and bring it home for Easter!
So here is the recipe, straight from the Magnolia cookbook. Do not mess around with it: it's easy, and it's perfect. And by easy and perfect I mean it's NO BAKE!
Enjoy with a side of crankiness, or milk.
Magnolia Bakery Icebox Cake
Time: 15 measly minutes, and then overnight in the fridge / Serves: 10 ish
Dish Factor: One plate or pyrex baking dish. That is all.
Dollar Factor: $10-15
Ingredients:
4 cups heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 packages Nabisco chocolate wafers
Directions:
1. Whip Cream: In a large bowl, whip the heavy whipping cream with the sugar & vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Make sure to not over beat!
2. Start assembling the cake: On a flat plate or glass baking dish (less pretty but gets the job done) arrange seven to nine wafers, each just touching the sides of the other but avoid overlapping if possible. Scoop about 3/4 cup of whipped cream onto wafers and gently spread the cream in a thin layer to completely coat the cookies.
3. Finish & Refrigerate: Continue to layer the wafers with the cream, making sure to end with the whipped cream layer on the top. Refrigerate for at least 5 hours or overnight before cutting & serving.
Hey New Yorkers! Yeah, I'm talkin' to you. Have you ever been to Lil' Frankies* in the East Village? Have you had the mussels? If you have, did you order like, ten more baskets of Italian bread so you could continue to soak up that delicious, crack-like spicy broth? I bet you did.
I've wanted to replicate their mussels fra diavola (aka mussels in a spicy tomato broth) for a long time, and combed the internet for their recipe. Couldn't find it anywhere, but figured I could make something similar by making fra diavola broth on my own by melding together a few different recipes I found on the interwebs.
Result? Delicious, bread soaking goodness, minus the trek downtown. Make it, you'll like it!
If you haven't gone to Lil' Frankies, I recommend it - it's just good, old school Italian. You have to wait absurdly long for a table (they don't take reservations - restaurant pet peeve numero uno) but once you do, their pizzas, pasta, and duh - mussels are the bomb dot com. Make sure you've got cash though, as they don't take plastic (restaurant pet peeve numero dos).
Time: Depends on what steps you are circumventing - if sauce is made and mussels are pre-cleaned, then 20 minutes / Serves: 4 as an app, 2 as dinner
Dish Factor: One big pot, a serving platter, and bowls for shells - not so bad, but I also skeeve cleaning seafood dinners
Dollar Factor: Mussels are surprisingly inexpensive - you can get a 3 lb bag of fresh, cleaned mussels for about $8 (basing this on my purchases at Fairway)
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
10-12 cloves of garlic (I'm serious)
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 cup white wine
2 cups tomato sauce (note: I usually have my own homemade sauce ready in the feezer, but didn't in this case. Instead, I bought *fresh* tomato sauce at the local Italian grocery - i.e., not from a jar. You can make your own sauce beforehand but then I'd recommend this as a weekend dinner rather than weeknight - it would take a lot of time.)
2 bay leaves
1 small onion
1 tsp oregano
3 pounds medium mussels, scrubbed, de-bearded, rinsed and drained (see directions here)
2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley
lots of fresh cracked pepper
lots of good Italian or french bread, cut up and toasted in the oven (non optional!)
Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic oregano, and red pepper, and saute until fragrant, stirring, about 30 seconds. Add the bay leaves, white wine and tomato sauce, increase the heat to high, cover and bring to a boil.
Add the mussels and replace the lid. Cook over high heat 3 minutes. Remove the lid and stir once gently. Continue to cook until the mussels are completely open and firmly cooked, about 2-3 minutes more.
Remove the pot from the heat and transfer the mussels gently from the pot to a large bowl with a Chinese wire mesh skimmer or very carefully with a slatted spoon if you don't have one. Then, pour the sauce over the mussels, and top with parsley and black pepper.
"Sometimes I just eat salad for dinner," I said to my boyfriend, Matt, before he moved into the Tiny Kitchen (well, not the kitchen itself - there's no room! - but the apartment where Tiny Kitchen takes place). This was my proclamation that I could not wolf down a 3-course meal every night now that we share a space (as we often cook this way on date nights). If I did, then I'd end up looking like quite a different person in shape and size. He received this information with incredulity; how can someone just eat salad for dinner?
Well, it's true that I do this, but it's not just chopped up lettuce in a bowl (although I'm sometimes fine with that as well). Having "salad for dinner" can be surprisingly filling - for guys and girls a like - if you've loaded it up with lots of good, fresh flavors.
A salad like this - legit Greek salad* - is probably the simplest meal you can make, and it's healthy to boot. Plus, if the salad itself doesn't satisfy you, you could always throw in grilled chicken or scoop it into slices of pita.
Here's one of my favorite weeknight meals - enjoy!
*I call it legitimate Greek salad because that's how the Greeks do - no lettuce. But, I must caveat that I don't include olives in mine because I ::gasp:: am extremely grossed out by olives of any kind. So dock a point there, but otherwise this is the real deal!
Dish Factor: One bowl, one cutting board. Skillet optional (for chicken). Fast, healthy, and easy on the sink!
Dollar Factor: Under $15, just how I like it!
Ingredients:
1/2 of a 8 oz. block feta cheese, cut in large cubes
4 plum tomatoes, quartered
2 green peppers, sliced in thin strips then in half
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cucumber, sliced then halved
generous sprinkling of salt, pepper, and oregano
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
4 chicken tenderloins (optional)
2 whole wheat pitas, toasted (optional)
Directions:
Optional: Season tenderloins with salt and pepper and a little olive oil. Place in skillet or cast iron pan over high heat and cook on both sides until done, about 4-5 min per side. Cut into 1 inch pieces and set aside.
Chop all vegetables and feta. Place in a large bowl and toss with salt, pepper and oregano and let sit for a minute or two so the salt brings out the juice of the tomatoes a bit. Add chicken if using chicken.
Add oil and vinegar, toss again (carefully so feta doesn't crumble too much).
Beans, beans, the musical fruit
The more you eat, the more you toot
The more you toot, the better you feel
So have your beans at every meal!
Normally a professional blogger wouldn't begin a food post with poop humor, but I think I've far underwhelmed anyone's expectations of bearing any semblance of a professional. So with that, let's talk about chickpeas!
Chickpeas *are* a magical fruit - well, legume. They are one of my favorites - maybe my most favorite as they're versatile and don't actually make one toot...at least not me (as I have managed to convince the boyfriend that "girls can't do that").
As I'm on my healthy stint lately, I've been craving some vegetarian entrees to make me forget the deliciousness that is meat - and side dishes ain't cutting it. In turn that made me start thinking about falafel, which I love, but actually, isn't all that healthy! Yes, I just said that chickpeas are magic, but when you deep fry them in oil you're just taking something good and making it delicious bad for you.
So I decided in order to satisfy my craving I'd make my own and bake them. Definitely nothing bad about baked falafel aside from the teeniest bit of flour in the mixture and they still taste the same. The only modification I would suggest after doing a baked version at home is that if you going to miss the crunchiness, brown on each side in a pan with a liiiiittle bit of olive oil, and then put them in the oven. A little olive oil won't kill you in the end.
I've been eating them all week - sometimes in a whole wheat wrap and sometimes on top of salad. Delicious! May you forever toot in good health.
Baked Falafel with Garlic Tahini Dressing
Time: 30 minutes / Serves: 6 (4 balls each)
Dish Factor: Ehh..anytime I have to use the food processor I get cranky. It's not hard to clean but all the pieces...I could do without.
Dollar Factor: All in, about $25. Not bad for a weeks worth of lunches, not bad!
Ingredients:
Falafel
2 15oz can chickpeas
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
4 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt to taste
pepper to taste
Tahini Dressing
4 tablespoons tahini paste
zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons water
garlic powder to taste
Fixins
whole wheat pita or wrap
thinly sliced red onion
chopped grape tomatoes
chopped lettuce
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Combine all falafel ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well blended. Scoop the mixture into a bowl and mush together so it gets compact. Then roll into little balls - you can flatten slightly, and it will make about 30-40. Place on a greased baking sheet, coat each with a little olive oil and bake for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, whisk the tahini, lemon juice, zest, garlic powder in a small bowl. Add water to get the mixture a little looser until it's a consistency you want.
When the falafel is done, take each pita or wrap and stuff/top with lettuce, tomatoes, and onion. Stuff/top with the falafel and then drizzel on the tahini dressing. Serve warm.
With the weather at a balmy 70 degrees in mid-March, two things are on my mind:
The world is clearly ending, and I hope I make it to my Brazilian vacation before it happens
Bikini season is upon us
So naturally it's time to stop the hibernation diet (soup, roasts) and start eating with my abs and thighs in mind!
In lieu of some starchier, carbier culprits on the food chain, I've turned to quinoa recently. Depending on how entrenched you are in food fads, quinoa (keen-wa, say it with me) as you may know is a grain much like couscous except it's actually a seed and has a bit more of a nutty flavor. I have black quinoa in my kitchen at the moment, but it also comes in red and brown (brown being the most common). And best of all, it's gluten free! Yes, healthy and trendy. What a combo.
All facetiousness aside, it actually is a nice little grain and is a decent replacement for rice. I've tried my hand at a couple of recipes as of late and have been pleased with both results. The first, a simple quinoa and broccoli mix, is a good side or "bring-it-to-work" lunch meal. The second, a recommendation by my friend Lauren, incorporates one of my favorite veggies (squash!) and nuts (pistachio!). Also good as a side, but I've more often just eaten it as my dinner.
I am plagued by indecisiveness. I don't quickly commit to things, and on the off chance that I do, I usually change my mind later. So, when I decided to make soup one cold evening this winter (i.e., not today or the majority of days this winter) I was torn - do I want minestrone, nice and hearty with veggies, or do I want Italian wedding, with meatballs?
I had a eureka moment - combine the two! (Genius, right?) Here is my combination Italian Wedding-Minestrone soup. It's basically like minestrone, but with meatballs in it (with the Italian Wedding part coming from an Ina Garten recipe for chicken-sausage meatballs).
Recipe:
Time: 1.5 hrs / Serves: 8
Dish Factor: It's not so much the pots that are a pain (they are, kind of) - mixing meatballs is GROSS on your hands. Gross, but worth it.
Dollar Factor: For someone like me who doesn't LOVE sausage, if you're trying to save a couple of bucks you can leave that out of the mix. Or any of the ingredients - that's the beauty of the combo soup - you can play with what you want and don't want.
Ingredients:
For the meatballs:
3/4 pound ground chicken
1/2 pound chicken sausage, casings removed
2/3 cup fresh white bread crumbs
2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
3 tablespoons milk
1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the soup:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup minced yellow onion
1 cup diced carrots (3 carrots)
3/4 cup diced celery (2 stalks)
2 cloves minced garlic
10 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup small pasta such as tubetini or stars
12 ounces baby spinach, washed and trimmed
3 tbs tomato paste
1 can canellini beans
pinch oregano
pinch red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
For the meatballs, place the ground chicken, sausage, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, Pecorino, Parmesan, milk, egg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a bowl and combine gently with a fork.
With a teaspoon, drop 1 to 1 1/4-inch meatballs onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. (You should have about 40 meatballs). Bake for 30 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned. Set aside.
In the meantime, for the soup, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a large soup pot. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and saute until softened, 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the tomato paste to the pot and let brown a little, then stir into the vegetables. Then, add the chicken stock and wine and bring to a boil.
Add the beans and the pasta to the simmering broth and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the pasta is tender. Add the meatballs to the soup and simmer for 1 minute.
Taste for salt and pepper, red pepper and oregano. Stir in the fresh spinach and cook for 1 minute, until the spinach is just wilted.
Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle each serving with extra grated Parmesan.
Okay, so it's a total misnomer to call this dish hash brown, even a fancy one, cause it's so far from being that (like, I could totally eat it as the main dish instead of the side). It's more like...tastier tortilla Espanola...with a pie crust.
I saw this recipe on the Food Network's Extra Virgin - did you know that the sassy biotch of a publicist on Entourage has her own cooking show? And based on this recipe, it seems pretty legit? Well, I discovered it while watching TV one lazy Saturday morning, and subsequently decided that I would make it for a fancy brunch in my apartment one day.
Did I say fancy brunch in my apartment? Why yes, I did. While it may seem like an unimaginable feat to cook a multi-course breakfast for eight in my apartment, I accepted the challenge by making a spread of homemade pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, fruit salad, banana bread, and this tart. Magic? No, just spending my Friday night in so I could prep (sorry for pulling back the curtain for those of you who hadn't yet realized I'm a loser).
Potato Leek Tart (adapted from Extra Virgin)
Dish Factor: Not the worst, not the best - you'll need some bakeware but I save time, dishes, and moolah by not making my own dough.
Dollar Factor: If you choose to make your own pie crust, then you'll spend less money...but when you've got a tiny kitchen, where would you roll that out?
Ingredients:
3 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled
2 leeks, trimmed, dark greens removed, rinsed well and sliced
1 shallot, finely chopped
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter, plus more for topping
3 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for sprinkling
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Butter an 11-inch tart pan. If you don't have one, use a pie pan, but note that you'll have extra dough hanging over the edge that will burn (see tips below).
In a pot of boiling water, cook the potatoes half way, for about 15 minutes, then remove from the hot water and set aside to cool off. Once cool, slice into thin slices.
In a medium pan, saute the leeks and shallots over medium heat in the oil and butter until soft and just golden, about 7 minutes. Let cool.
In a bowl, beat the eggs, milk, Parmesan and some salt and pepper. Add the leeks and shallots to the egg mixture and stir well with a fork until all the ingredients are evenly distributed.
Place pie dough into the tart pan and, using a fork, poke holes into it to prevent swelling during the cooking process. For the dough that comes over the edge, either cut away (once you pour in the mixture) or wrap the edges with tin foil - it WILL burn otherwise.
Pour the egg mixture slowly into the dough, using a spoon to make sure you create an even layer. Place the sliced potatoes very gently on top of the egg mixture, creating a concentric pattern. Sprinkle the top of the cake with freshly grated Parmesan, 3 or 4 small tabs of butter and some ground pepper. Place the pan on a sheet tray.
Cook in the oven for about 45 minutes, but make sure you check the tart after the first half hour, turn it around once or twice. The tart will be ready when the crust looks golden and the butter and cheese on top have melted. When ready, let the tart rest and settle for about 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and serve warm.
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