Published by mel on April 16, 2008 in entree and recipe.
We’re experiencing a freak cold front down here (55 degrees in April? What?) and I was craving a weather-appropriate meal. Mac and Cheese is the ultimate comfort food. It’s creamy and cheesy and has the satisfying crunch of oven-crisped pasta. I wanted to make healthier weekday update to the classic that omitted the cream and introduced some vegetables.
So, I decided on peas because they looked vibrant and spring-like and added some basil for color and freshness. I also threw some Thai chiles in there for kick. I subbed skim evaporated milk for cream, but kept the Gruyere cheese so that the dish would still have the rounded richness of traditional mac and cheese.
I was really happy with the final product. Overall, it felt light while still retaining it’s comfort-food-ness. The Thai chiles made up for any flavor that might have been lost by omitting the cream and butter. Next time I make it, I might also add some crisp turkey bacon for that delicious smokiness.
Continue reading ‘cheesy pasta & peas (or, grown-up mac & cheese)’
Published by mel on March 6, 2008 in entree and recipe.
Weeknights usually mean shortcuts. For example, I love meatballs but don’t have time to make them, then brown them, then let them simmer unless it’s a lazy Sunday. So, I look for shortcuts. A few years ago, I experimented with skipping the browning stage. Browning the meatballs gives them a more meaty flavor and allows them to keep their spherical shape. I found that if you cook the meatballs in one layer on the bottom of a large pot, you’ll still get a browning effect over time. I almost prefer this method because the marinara sauce also browns slightly, adding a more complex meaty and tomato-y flavor. As for them keeping their shape, they will as long as they’re stirred only once or twice.
I also took some extra shortcuts like using store-bought marinara sauce. (Gasp! I know!) As long as it’s a good brand that uses no preservatives, you’ll be okay. I used Gia Russa brand, which is all natural and I’ve found to be consistently top-quality. To get some sausage-y flavor in there to compliment the Artichoke marinara, I used ground pork instead of ground beef and added some fennel seeds. The meatballs were tender and flavorful and the fennel seeds were there, but not overwhelming.
While weeknight meatballs still take quite some time to cook, it’s not active time. I made them in the morning while I was getting ready for work and only had to make some pasta when I got home. They were deliciously hearty and the leftovers made my co-workers jealous.
Continue reading ‘weeknight meatballs’
Published by mel on February 14, 2008 in entree and recipe.
Wikipedia says that pasta alla carbonara (usually spaghetti, but occasionally linguine or bucatini) is a family of Italian pasta dishes based on eggs, cheese, cured pork, and other ingredients. I was very much craving the original carbonara, but it’s a bit of a heart attack on a plate. The original requires too much butter and bacon and too little vegetables.
For this dish, I omitted the meat completely and added a healthy dose of leeks and mushrooms. I also swapped the standard white spaghetti for some whole wheat fettuccine. I kept the eggs for protein and the cheese for tang. It was a simple recipe that made for a delicious weeknight dinner.
Continue reading ‘mushroom leek pasta carbonara’
Published by mel on February 8, 2008 in entree and recipe.
I’ve been thinking about individual lasagnas for a long time because everyone loves the crispy and burnt corner piece and if lasagnas were baked in little dishes, they’d be crispy and burnt all around. So, that’s what I was going for. I also had some butternut squash, arugula and prosciutto on hand, so I opted for more of a non-traditional lasagna.
When I took them out of the oven, I was afraid I had over-crisped them and they would be way too difficult to eat. They were super crispy, but I kind of loved them that way. The top layer of the pasta was crisp and chewy like a cracker, and the insides were sweet and salty and sturdy. Now I really want to try it out with more traditional ricotta, red meat sauce and mozzarella lasagnas. Maybe next week.
Continue reading ‘rustic, crispy lasagnas’
Published by mel on December 21, 2007 in recipe.
I really wanted to make a simple pasta. Something in the traditional vein of olive oil, garlic and Parmesan. But if I leave it simple as that, I often find myself eating at least half a pound of pasta. Not quite as healthy as I’d like, but that was often my hangover cure in college, and I just can’t seem to stop myself around big bowls of noodles. So, in the interest of health, I wanted to add some kind of vegetable to cut the carbiness (Is that a word?) of the dish. I decided on brussel sprouts because they looked so fresh at the supermarket and because I’ve been wanting to try them raw (or close to it) dressed with olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper as a salad. This was close enough.
The final dish was tangy, light and flavorful and came together in less that 30 minutes. A total winner that will surely be added to the weekly roster.
Continue reading ‘Fettuccini with Marinated Brussel Sprouts’
Published by mel on July 12, 2007 in entree and recipe.
I can never make whatever it is that I had planned for dinner. It’s probably the reason that I went to Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods 5 times a week when I was living in New York. My excuse was that I couldn’t carry weekly groceries home in one trip. But I’m a liar. If I get a hankering for a meal, I just want to make it right away, even if it means an extra trip to the store for me (or my poor husband who humors me far too often).
Tuesday night I had homemade burgers and oven fries planned, but ended up with a sort of pasta and meat sauce instead. I happened to have a TON of mushrooms on hand of all sorts — portobello, shitake, oyster. I wanted to make a tomat0-based sauce that was earthy and rich, something that would stand up to the ground beef. First, I sauteed the mushrooms with some butter and red wine. Then I browned the meat and added fresh garlic and whole, peeled San Marzano tomatoes. In order to get that smoky flavor I was after, I added 2 bags of Lapsang Suchon tea. To add some kick, I also threw in about 2 teaspoons of New Mexico chile pepper powder. I only had Whole Wheat Lasagne, so I broke it into smaller pieces for the pasta. The result was a really hearty dinner that was much too heavy for a tropical summer, but was delicious anyway.
Recipe after the jump.
Continue reading ’spicy, smoky, beefy’
Published by mel on July 10, 2007 in dessert, entree and recipe.
I’ve never made lamb, and wasn’t really planning on it. Instead I was going to make a pizza as an appetizer with a big bowl of fettuccine for the entree. But then I passed the meat counter. It was early Saturday morning and these beautiful lamb chops caught my attention. I passed them once and then came back and stared. Menu changed, I asked the butcher to wrap some chops for me. Then i grabbed the last bunch of fresh mint and went merrily on my way.
After some quick research on epicurious.com about cooking times, I felt prepared to undertake the lamb. Since the chops were so pretty, I didn’t want to drown them in sauces or spices and opted for a nice, charring sear instead. The lamb came out beautifully and paired well with the minty, yogurt sauce I used to dress the pasta.
A big ole dinner is nothing without a big ole dessert. I had some peaches and nectarines that were slightly passed their prime, but perfect for making into a bubbling cobbler. Also, since I bought The Perfect Scoop, I’ve been trying out new ice cream recipes. This time, I went with plain vanilla so that I could make my cobbler a la mode. It turned out to be the best vanilla ice cream I’ve ever had, creamy white and studded with black vanilla seeds. Personally, I like vanilla much more than chocolate, especially when it’s made with real vanilla beans. I’m sure I’ll be making this ice cream a thousand times just to try different sauces and mix-ins.
Recipes after the jump.
Continue reading ’seduced by lamb’
Published by mel on June 28, 2007 in entree and recipe.
Ever since Ilan won last season’s Top Chef, I feel like Spanish food has become the trend to follow. For me, Spanish food isn’t new or different, I’ve grown up on it my entire life. My great-grandparents emigrated to Cuba from northern Spain and then made their way to Miami in the late 60’s. Croquettas, tortillas and paella have always been around my house. But, I’ve jumped on the bandwagon and tried to make a Spanish-influenced dish that isn’t an update or a replica, but one that uses Spanish flavors in a fresh way.
I came up with fideos, spicy chorizo and baby lima beans in a fire-roasted tomato broth. I used lots of smoked paprika to add to the earthiness and used the baby limas to lighten the dish up considerably. Recipe after the jump…
Continue reading ‘fideos con chorizo’
Published by mel on April 16, 2007 in entree and recipe.
While browsing through the ever-delicious 101 Cookbooks, I found a recipe for Golden, Crispy Gnocchi. As soon as I saw it, I knew what we’d be having for dinner as soon as possible. As soon as possible actually turned out to be Saturday evening, when the weather was lovely and warm and not yet as windy and rainy as it was on Sunday.
Because of my seeming inability to follow recipes, I used the idea of crispy gnocchi as my starting point, but disregarded the rest of the recipe. Instead of shelled beans, I added sauteed chicken sausage, grape tomatoes, shitake mushrooms, artichoke hearts and dandelion greens. For the gnocchi, I just heated a pan with some olive oil and cooked the gnocchi on each side until crispy and browned. To plate, I served the sauteed chicken and veggies first and topped them with the gnocchi so that they would remain crispy. All this was topped with some freshly grated parmesan cheese for the most delicious meal I’ve had in a long time. This is officially my new favoritest dish, and I can’t wait to try out different meats and veggies with the crispy gnocchi.
We ate our dinner on the balcony with some Snowshoe Pale Ale, finishing everything off with some homemade Strawberry/orange sorbet.
Just for fun, here’s a picture of what the kitchen looked like after I had extracted the hearts of 2 artichokes…
Recipe after jump…
Continue reading ‘crispy gnocchi’
Published by mel on April 4, 2007 in entree and recipe.
Saturday night was Italian night. I made homemade ravioli (using wonton wrappers because who has the time to make pasta from scratch when it’s 78 sunny degrees and there’s a lounge chair with your name on it on the beach) and homemade pizza.
I got the All-Clad soapstone pizza stone for my bridal shower, and I wanted to test it out. It makes the MOST AMAZING pizza ever. The crust gets so crispy, even in the middle, and even with a ton of toppings piled on, that when you lift your slice, it doesn’t even droop. (Hey, I like run-on sentences!) The idea behind a pizza stone is that it pulls the moisture out of whatever is cooking on it. No more soggy pizza crusts, no matter how juicy the toppings. Hooray!
The ravioli was stuffed with spinach, a little ricotta and artichoke mousse (a gift) and topped with homemade tomato sauce.
No recipes today…just photos.
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