I have no time for a lengthy post today, so I’ll let the picture speak for itself. (Hello delicious melty cheese!) Basically, this dish is polenta (that’s corn grits to you Southern Folk) that’s been left to cool, then cut into pieces and layered with a spicy sausage and eggplant tomato sauce and ricotta and mozzarella cheese. It’s creamy and spicy and corn-y and delicious!
Go make it now!
When I was in college, my favorite snack was soda crackers slathered in yellow mustard and a Diet Coke.
(Sidebar: I used to be completely addicted to Diet Coke, going so far as to have them with my morning bagel at the dining hall. I don’t think I ever drank water in college. God only knows how I made it out alive. These days, I have maybe couple of Diet Cokes a month, but am completely addicted to sparkling water.)
Soda crackers and mustard? Isn’t that a bit…weird? Probably. But I loved how the crunchy blandness of the crackers contrasted with the salty, vinegary mustard. I could eat them all day.
These days, I’ve moved on to more sensible and refined snacks like salted chocolate covered graham crackers or homemade power bars, but I haven’t lost my deep-rooter affection for mustard. Especially for grainy, spicy mustard. The kind with a little bit of a kick. This mustard is just that. I used some Guinness to add a bit of malty flavor and some honey to sweeten it up. It will be the perfect compliment to the roast beef and pepper jack sandwiches I’m making tonight.
By the way, if you’re thinking, She’s crazy. Why would I make my own mustard? The answer is: because it’s easy. Just combine the ingredients, let them sit and blend. Voila! Mustard. The best part is that you can adjust the vinegar and honey to get it just the way you like it.
We’re in the throes of winter! Actually, we’re not here in Miami. After the ridiculous cold last week, it’s been a crisp and beautiful 70 degrees every day. This is why I live here! But enough bragging. For most of you, it’s still freezing outside and that makes salads really unappealing. Cold vegetables? No thanks. You want something warm and rich, like a lasagna. Or like this warm winter vegetable salad.
You start with rutabaga (or potatoes), carrots, leeks and brussel sprouts. Those get roasted with some olive oil, salt, pepper, fresh herbs and just a little bit of applewood smoked bacon. You know, because it’s winter and you need bacon in the wintertime. Once they’re caramelized and delicious-looking, you toss everything with some whole wheat orzo and drizzle with a balsamic reduction.
This salad doesn’t mess around – it’s bold and rich from the roasted vegetables, woodsy from the herbs and a little smoky from of the bacon. It’s everything you could ever ask for in a salad – except for lettuce.
Continue reading ‘Warm Winter Vegetable Salad (with bacon!)’
Tom and I are training for the A1A (Fort Lauderdale) Half Marathon next month and we’re getting to that point in our training where I get really, really hungry in the afternoon. I’m not talking about your typical afternoon snack craving. I’m talking full-on hunger pangs with embarrassing stomach grumbling. The kind that always happens during a quiet lull in your meeting and makes your co-workers giggle. Like I said – embarrassing.
I needed to take action. I needed a snack. Something that was filling and nutritional, but also tasty. These Nutty Power bars are it. They’re really similar to my homemade granola bars, but I added more nuts and peanut butter and omitted the brown rice cereal to keep them dense and nutritionally packed. I love how sticky salty and chewy these are. Just perfect for marathon training, regular snacking and keeping my tummy quiet during meetings.
A what-choke? A sunchoke. What’s that? Wikipedia says that “despite its name, the Jerusalem artichoke has no relation to Jerusalem, and it is not a type of artichoke, even though both are members of the Daisy family.” Does that help? No. Ok – Sunchokes are basically root vegetables. Like a cross between a potato and a rutabaga. They look weird (kind of like ginger root) but taste amazing. Better than potatoes.
They’re also simple to prepare. Just give them a good scrubbing, peel them as best you can and toss them into a covered casserole dish with olive oil, garlic cloves, salt and thyme. Into the oven for 30 – 45 minutes and your whole house will smell wonderfully of garlic. And if you make these before you go to work, you too will smell wonderfully of roast garlic. All day. I should know.
If you’ve ever seen these at the grocery store or farmer’s market and thought – what on earth can I do with those? This is your recipe. And if you can’t find sunchokes, or the thought of them creeps you out, just use potatoes or any other tuber. Because there’s nothing better than something roasted in garlic oil.
Happy New Year! It’s been a while, hasn’t it? My fingers feel stiff and rusty from lack of blogging. Or maybe it’s the frigid weather. Yes, it’s frigid in Miami! While you Michiganders and Minnesotans are probably scoffing at our Floridian fragility, 40-degree weather is unheard of down here and I’m freezing. It doesn’t help that we don’t even know how to turn the heat on. So, what to do when it’s cold out? Make soup, of course.
In Italy, it’s good luck to eat lentils on New Year’s Day. I think everyone’s looking for a little luck this year because my local grocery store was completely sold out of lentils all week. I had to pilfer some from my mom’s pantry (thanks Mom!). So I’m kicking off 2010 on Bitchin’ Camero with lucky lentils and a resolution to blog more often and redesign the site. Here’s hoping.
This recipe is actually an adaptation from my favorite Christmas present – Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home cookbook (thanks Tom!). If you’re going to buy one cookbook this year, this should be it. Not only is it spectacularly beautiful, it’s full of all kinds of tips for mastering home cooking, from essential cookware to building the perfect salad dressing. Did I mention the hundreds of amazing recipes? I am in love with this book. It’s all about showcasing good ingredients in interesting ways. Like the Roasted Beet and Potato Salad with Smoked Salmon and Soft-cooked Eggs we had last night. Sounds weird, but tastes like heaven.
This soup caught my attention immediately. Sweet potatoes, lentils, bacon and cilantro are definitely a few of my favorite things. Of course I decided to make this before work, and the recipe ended up being too much for me to handle in the morning, so I simplified it a bit. When I have more time, I’ll be making it Thomas Keller’s way and I’m sure it will blow my mind. As it turns out, the simplified version is pretty darn good, too. A little smoky from the bacon and curry powder, a little sweet from the potatoes, carrots and onions, and brightened up with cilantro and sherry vinegar. For me, it’s the perfect bowl of soup and the perfect way to ring in this rather nippy new year.
Continue reading ‘Lentil & Sweet Potato Soup with Bacon & Cilantro’
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