a hungry bear

a hungry bear has moved!

2009-03-02T18:14:00.004-05:00

After a great year here at Blogger, AHB is growing up. We've got our own domain now, a new look, and I think you'll find it a lot easier to use. You can browse recipes, search for certain ingredients, and more capabilities will be coming soon. So please join me over at our new address, ahungrybear.com!

spaghetti with collards and bacon

2009-02-28T10:13:00.000-05:00

I hate to start a post with an apology, especially when one is so deserved, but I'm sorry. If only you knew the exciting project I've been working on for you though, to make AHB much easier to use, with much better pictures - well, you will know soon enough I hope. And then you can decide whether or not to forgive me for my absence. For now, I'll tell you about this very simple and healthy pasta dish I found on Epicurious. It was one of those nights, where I had some things in the fridge that I needed to cook soon or risk wasting, but none of them "went together" - or so I thought. I love bacon with greens, but it turns out you can toss them with pasta and olive oil and actually make a meal out of it. I should try this more often.

Grocery list: 1 pound collards (stems removed, leaves washed and chopped), 4-6 slices bacon, 4 garlic cloves, 1 onion, dried red pepper flakes, olive oil, 3/4 pound pasta (original calls for fusilli, but I was limited to spaghetti), 1 T red wine vinegar, grated parmesan.

In a large stockpot, cook the collards in boiling salted water for 10 minutes. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon and place in a colander to drain. Bring the water back to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions.

Chop the bacon, mince the garlic, and chop or slice the onion.

Fry the bacon pieces over medium high heat in a large skillet until starting to crisp, about 4-5 minutes. Remove them with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate, but reserve the bacon fat in the pan. (Depending on how much is left, you might want to pour a little out. You only need enough to cook the onions down - about 1-2 tablespoons.)

Add the onion, garlic, and a generous pinch of red pepper flakes, and continue to saute until the onions are translucent, another 4-5 minutes.

Add the cooked and drained collards to the skillet with the onions and garlic. Stir well to combine.

Drain the cooked pasta and add it to the skillet. Drizzle with enough olive oil to coat the pasta (2-4 tablespoons). Remove from heat, and stir the bacon pieces back in. Serve with grated parmesan and cracked black pepper.

french onion soup

2009-02-20T19:02:00.000-05:00

Everyone should have a good french onion soup in their cooking arsenal right? It's easy to make ahead, and if you have people over for dinner, you can serve them in crocks and broil the cheese topping in just a couple minutes. But that's where the practicality can end if you want - it's one of the best vehicles for maximum melted cheese consumption. And can anyone guess where I scored my recipe? Soup? Hello? Of course, like every good soup around AHB, it's New England Soup Factory. (I have absolutely no association with the restaurant or book, in case you're starting to get suspicious.)

Grocery list: hunks of french bread for the topping (the original gives a nice twist on "garlicky croutons, but I skipped that in lieu of my own fresh wheat bread), 6T butter, 8 large vidalia onions (peeled and sliced), 3 cloves garlic (peeled and sliced), 2 cups cream sherry, 3 T tomato paste, 4 quarts beef stock, 2 bay leaves, 1 T cornstarch dissolved in 3 T water, 1 T balsamic vinegar, 1.5-2 cups grated gruyere cheese.

Start by slicing all those onions.

Melt the butter in a large stockpot over medium heat. Saute the onions, stirring occasionally, until they've caramelized - about 20 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and cook 20 more minutes. Add 1 cup of the sherry to de-glaze pan.

Next, stir in the rest of the sherry, the tomato paste, beef stock and bay leaves. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour.

Add the cornstarch-water mixture, bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute. Turn off the heat, stir in the vinegar, then season with salt and pepper. Fish the bay leaves out and throw them away before serving.

When you're read to serve the soup, preheat the broiler, then ladle soup into individual crocks or bowls (make sure they are safe for the oven/broiler).

Place slices of bread on top. Sprinkle (scoop, bulldoze, etc) cheese over bread, and broil until bubbly and brown.

This is as good as any french onion soup I've ever had, I promise. And if you've made a big batch of beef stock lately, I can't imagine a better way to use it.

forget resolutions: eat more fettucine alfredo

2009-02-18T10:06:00.001-05:00

Leave it to Marcella Hazan to finally clear it up for me: this famous pasta is actually called "all-Alfredo" after a restaurant owner in Rome. She simply calls it "cream and butter sauce" in her Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. This is my ultimate comfort food, since the process of making homemade pasta is so cathartic to me, and nothing is more reassuring than creamy cheesy sauce. Just be sure to do about 10 extra miles on the treadmill the next day...

Grocery list: 1 pound fresh pasta (or 1/2 pound dry), 1 cup heavy cream, 2 T butter, 2/3 grated parmesan, nutmeg.

In a large saucepan (one that would fit the cooked pasta), heat 2/3 cup cream and the butter over medium heat. Allow to cook until the butter has melted and they just start to thicken, about one minute. Cook the pasta to al dente (2-3 minutes for fresh pasta; follow package directions for dried).

After draining the pasta, transfer it to the pan with the butter and cream, and turn the heat to low. Toss the pasta to completely coat it with the sauce.

Add the last 1/3 cup cream and all the parmesan, a generous pinch of salt, fresh cracked pepper, and a tiny speck of grated nutmeg. Continue to toss until the parmesan is melted and the pasta is thoroughly coated.

broccoli parmesan gratin

2009-02-17T13:11:00.003-05:00

I make at least one vegetable side with every meal. A lot of the time, the effort goes into the main dish meat, and I have no time or inspiration leftover for the side. (We eat a lot of steamed asparagus and steamed broccoli around here.) I saw this recipe in February 2009 Gourmet and wanted to try it. I don't know if it's worth the extra calories for an everyday vegetable side, but it's definitely a good choice for dinner parties.

Grocery list: 1 bunch broccoli, 1 cup whole milk, 1/2 cup cream, 1 cup grated parmesan, 2 eggs, 1 cup bread crumbs, olive oil.

Wash the broccoli and cut into bite-size pieces. Boil for 5 minutes, then drain.

Whisk together the milk, cream, parmesan and eggs, and season with salt and pepper.

Place the broccoli in a baking dish, then pour the milk-cheese mixture over top. In a shallow pan, toss the breadcrumbs with a drizzle of olive oil over medium heat for a few minutes, until they start to toast. Pour over top of the broccoli. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes (the custard should jiggle when the dish is gently moved; if it still acts liquid-y in the middle, it needs to cook a few more minutes). Broil for a few more minutes to get the top as golden as you like.

beef and barley soup

2009-02-16T16:34:00.000-05:00

As promised last week, I'm going to share a couple of our favorite soups that you can make with homemade beef stock. And like any of the good soups I've made recently, this one is adapted from a recipe in the oh-so-amazing New England Soup Factory cookbook.

As a side note, I had no idea barley was so healthy. This soup is actually really well balanced, with a lot of fiber and even more protein. If you substitute a leaner cut of meat for the generic "stew beef" called for in the recipe, you further reduce the fat content (not to mention the meat isn't too chewy or sinewy that way).

Grocery list: 3 pounds stew beef (cut into bite size pieces), red wine vinegar, olive oil, 3 minced garlic cloves, 1 large onion (peeled and diced), 2 ribs diced celery, 6 carrots peeled and diced, 1/2 pound pearl barley, 1 cup burgundy wine, 1 8-oz can tomato paste, 8 cups beef stock, 2 bay leaves, 5 dashes worcestershire, 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley.

To start, cook the meat. Cut the meat into whatever you consider to be "bite size", and place in a stock pot with 1/2 cup red wine vinegar and 12 cups water, plus a generous pinch of salt. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 1.5 hours. Drain and reserve the meat.

Next, chop the carrots, celery and onions, and mince the garlic cloves. Heat a couple of turns of olive oil over medium high heat in the same stock pot you used for the beef.

Saute the onion, celery, carrots and garlic in olive oil for about 7 minutes.

Add the cooked beef, wine, tomato paste, stock and bay leaves. Stir in the barley.

It surprised me how much water such a small amount of barley could absorb. Don't worry if it seems like it's not enough barley; it's not like pasta or orzo, as it will double in volume, at least.

Bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer for 1 hour 15 minutes (stirring occasionally).

Remove from heat and stir in worcestershire and parsley. Remove bay leaves. Season w/salt and pepper and serve.

not as boring as it looks: black bean burgers

2009-02-13T09:21:00.004-05:00

I absolutely love these burgers (taken right out of Februrary 2009 Gourmet magazine). Before you turn away in disgust (yes, I am still the same author of AHB who prefers red meat to almost any other food), hear me out.

These are healthy.
They take 10 minutes to make 4 of them.
You can freeze them. You can reheat one for lunch in 5 minutes.
They are cheap.

And I'm not saying I'd ever replace a real burger with these, but I've started eating them all the time for lunch and they are wonderful. Maybe I should call them "black bean sandwich filling" or "black bean patties"? Whatever you call them, just make some up pronto, okay?

Grocery list: 2 cans black beans (rinsed and drained), 3-4 T mayo, 1/3 c bread crumbs, 2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1/4 tsp cayenne, 1/4 cup minced cilantro.

Rinse the black beans and divide them - half in a bowl, half into a food processor. Finely chop the cilantro and add to the bowl with the whole black beans.

Add the breadcrumbs, mayo (the original called for 3T of mayo but I found I needed a little more), and the spices to the food processor.

Process until you have a paste - if you have to add more mayo to get the consistency right, now's the time.

Add the black bean paste to the bowl with the cilantro and whole beans, and stir to combine. As you can see from the picture, it was still a little difficult to stir so I added more mayo. Mayo makes everything better right?

Form into 4 patties. If you want to freeze some, wrap them up now and stick them in the freezer. To cook them when they are fresh, saute in olive oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes per side.

If frozen, thaw them in the microwave for 30-60 seconds (not all the way thawed, just a little to kick start them), then fry for 5 minutes per side. They'll heat all the way through just fine.

Serve them on a toasted bun with cheddar cheese and salsa, or cut them in half and wrap in a tortilla with sour cream, salsa and avocado. (Do you notice how pretty that bun is by the way? I made that! With my new stand mixer I'm baking all our breads now, and these hamburger buns are the best thing I've done so far.)

homemade beef stock

2009-02-10T16:47:00.004-05:00

Cooking my own chicken and beef stock is something I've known for a long time I *should* be doing, but it has taken me a couple of years to actually come around to it. But now that I've made my own, I can never go back (at least, I hope my schedule never requires me to go back). On a weekend day, I'll make at least 6 quarts at once, and freeze them in little one quart containers. They taste infinitely better than the store-bought processes versions, are healthier, and they cost less too. I'll share a couple of recipes for soup that requires beef stock as the base soon, but for now, let's start with the basics. This one is loosely adapted from the New England Soup Factory Cookbook (also known as the only soup cookbook you'll ever need).

Grocery list (for 6 quarts stock): 7-8 pounds beef neck or short rib bones, 2 onions, 8 carrots, 8 ribs celery, 8 garlic cloves, salt, whole peppercorns, beef bouillon, bay leaves, thyme, parsley, one can tomato paste.

Quarter the onions; wash and cut the celery and carrots into thirds. Add the vegetables and the bones to a large roasting pan, and spread the tomato paste all over. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for 40 minutes at 450 degrees, till everything has a nice caramelized crust.

Place the contents of the roasting pan in a huge stock pot (12 quart capacity; if you don't have this, divide it up into 2 larger pots). Smash the garlic cloves and throw them in. Add a handful of peppercorns, a generous pinch or two of salt, 3-4 bay leaves, and fill the pot with water till it's almost full. Also add about 1/4 to 1/2 a bunch of fresh parsley, a few sprigs of thyme, and 4-5 beef bouillon cubes. I actually prefer the "better than bouillon" brand of paste, which has no artificial ingredients or MSG - use 4-5 tsps if you have this.

Bring the pot to a boil, then lower the flame so the stock is just simmering. Allow it to cook for 4 hours, adding more water occasionally as it cooks down. After 4 hours, remove from heat and allow to cool. Remove all the big hunks of bone and vegetable with a large slotted spoon. Set another large pot or bowl in the sink, and place a colander over top of it. Line the colander with cheesecloth, then pour the stock right through the colander into the bowl underneath. Then, you can easily measure out 1 quart quantities to freeze.

**Another tip: set all your one quart containers on the counter without the lids first. Allow the stock to cool more, and the fat will congeal on the surface - you can easily skim it off with a spoon. Once you've sealed the containers, beef stock keeps for 3-4 days in the fridge, or at least a couple of months in the freezer.

love your steak, part 2: roasted garlic butter

2009-02-08T08:54:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned yesterday, this is the second of two of my favorite steak sauces. I'm not sure if this is the way they make the roasted garlic butter at Kevin Rathbun Steak, but it's so good I don't mind. I served this recently with roasted brussel sprouts with pancetta and sweet potato fries (for some reason grouped in with my tilapia po boys recipe?).

Grocery list: garlic, olive oil, 1/2 stick butter, salt, pepper.

Break apart 10 garlic cloves, leaving the skins on, and place them on a sheet of foil. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in a 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes, until the garlic cloves are soft. (I don't like to heat up my oven for just a tiny foil packet, but fortunately roasted garlic can keep in the packet for a few days in the fridge.)

Mash the room temperature butter with salt and pepper. When the garlic is done, allow it to cool enough so you can handle it, then squeeze the soft garlic out of each skin.

Mash the garlic, then add to the butter. Serve with your favorite steak.

love your steak, part 1: bearnaise sauce

2009-02-07T17:44:00.000-05:00

Instead of scrambling to make dinner reservations on Valentine's Day, where every restaurant is obligated to do a prix fix "tasting menu" and shoo you in and out on a 90 minute turn, we like to stay home. And cook steak. We'll take the excuse to go out of course, but just the night before or after. My favorite steak place ever is Kevin Rathbun Steak here in Atlanta. They have these great little sauces you can get on the side, and I love to get several of them and then try and figure out how they're made. I've gotten pretty good at replicating two of my favorites, and for my V-day gift to you, I'll share them. Today it's bearnaise sauce (after trying many, I've settled on this version from March 2008 Gourmet magazine), tomorrow I'll show you roasted garlic butter.

Grocery list: 2 T chopped fresh tarragon, 1/4 c white wine, 1/4 cup white wine vinegar, 1/4 cup chopped shallots, 1 stick butter, 3 egg yolks, 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice.

Start by mixing the wine and white wine vinegar in a saucepan with the shallots and one tablespoon of the tarragon. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

Simmer until the mixture is reduced to about one quarter of the original amount, or about 2 T of liquid. Remove from the heat and strain through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth. You can toss the shallots and tarragon, and move the liquid into a glass bowl.

If you don't have a double boiler, you can improvise by selecting a glass bowl that fits partially down into a saucepan, like I've done here. Fill the saucepan with hot water, but you don't want the water to touch the bottom of the bowl. The idea is to have the indirect heat of the steam warm the contents of the bowl.

Now, once the water in the saucepan is simmering, and the liquid in the bowl is warm, whisk the egg yolks in one at a time. Keep whisking, and after a few minutes the eggs will thicken to a consistency of a thick mayo.

Drop one tablespoon of the butter at a time into the sauce, whisking after each addition until smooth, until you've used all 8 tablespoons in the stick of butter. Then, add the remaining one tablespoon of minced tarragon and about 1/2 tsp of lemon juice. Serve warm with a steak.

pork tenderloin with roasted winter vegetables

2009-02-04T07:54:00.000-05:00

This healthy one-dish meal was inspired by a recipe I found in February's Gourmet magazine (the "quick meals" section is surprisingly helpful). Instead of limiting this to roasted fennel wedges, I added some carrots and parsnips, which I roasted separately for 15 minutes before adding to the pot with the tenderloin. I also skipped the fennel seeds - thought I had them in the pantry but they were carraway. Delicious and honestly ready in less than 30 minutes.

Grocery list: 1 tsp fennel seeds (left out), 1-2 pounds pork tenderloin, 2 fennel bulbs, olive oil, 3 garlic cloves, 1/2 cup white wine, 1/2 cup chicken stock, 2T butter, 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice. Also added: 3 parsnips, 2 carrots.

If you're going to add the winter vegetables, clean them first, then slice them into spears.

Roast parsnips and carrots at 425 degrees, turning every 5 minutes, for 15 minutes.

To prep a fennel bulb, first cut off the fronds, then cut it in half. There's a really tough little inner core that you want to remove, because it won't soften up like the rest of the fennel slices when they cook.

Thinly slice the fennel, then smash and thinly slice the garlic. Season the tenderloin with salt and pepper on all sides.

Heat a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear the tenderloin in olive oil to brown it on all sides, about 5-6 minutes total. Remove to a plate.

Cook the fennel and garlic for 5-6 minutes. Deglaze the pan with white wine, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Stir in the chicken stock and butter.

Transfer the roasted parsnips and carrots from the baking sheet into the dutch oven.

Return the tenderloin to the dutch oven, nestling it right into the vegetables. Place everything in the oven, uncovered, and immediately set the temperature down to 375 degrees. Roast until the internal temperature of the pork is 145 degrees.

Allow it to rest, then slice. While it's resting, if the vegetables still contain a lot of juice, move the pan to a medium flame on the stove and cook until the liquid reduces down to a thick consistency. I like to return the pork to the main dish, along with any meat juices that collect on the carving board, so everything stays warm.

I served this alongside the buttermilk fantail rolls that I learned how to make in this same issue of Gourmet. I've actually been baking a lot lately, but am waiting till I perfect a few of these bread recipes before blogging them.

gorgonzola and walnut stuffed flank steak

2009-01-29T07:20:00.003-05:00

Flank steak is one of my favorite cuts of beef to feed a group (or one large bear). It's inexpensive, if you pick a good cut it's quite lean, and it dresses up so well. You can stuff it with many combinations (try spinach, feta & pine nuts), but this particular recipe is close to my heart. Several years ago, for valentine's day, A surprised me with this cooking-for-2 class. Despite being the youngest couple there by about 25 years (this is apparently quite popular with the empty-nester crowd), we had so much fun. On the menu was this flank steak, roasted potatoes with truffle oil, and a spinach souffle. A certainly got his money's worth with this gift; I've made this dish at least once a month every since I learned it. And I bet you will too.

Grocery list: 2-3 pound flank steak, gorgonzola cheese, walnuts, 3-4 shallots, olive oil.

Before you can start, the flank steak has to be pounded thin, to less than half an inch thickness. If you ask nicely, sometimes your butcher will do it for you. Or, just lay it down on parchment paper, cover with a few layers of plastic wrap, and pound with a meat mallet. Try and get it as even as possible, and work it into a rectangle like this as best you can.

Mince the shallots and saute in olive oil until they are translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, remove to a plate, and allow to cool. Wipe out the pan with a towel, and toast about 1/4 cup of walnuts for a few minutes. Chop.

When the shallots and chopped walnuts are cool, spread them across the flank steak, along with a couple of ounces of gorgonzola cheese crumbles. Leave one edge of the flank steak empty, so when you roll it up (this will be the outside edge), stuff doesn't fall out.

Now comes the fun part. Roll up the flank steak, and tie it with kitchen twine every inch or so along the steak. The cooking class taught us a cool trick for doing this with a single long piece of twine - like adding a slip knot every inch. I still ask A to help me with this every time, since he's so much better at it than me. If I have to do it, I just cut little individual pieces and tie them separately - elementary but effective.

When it's all tied up, season the outside with salt and pepper. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Heat a swirl or 2 of olive oil in a large oven proof skillet. Sear the flank steak for 4-5 minutes - keep rotating it every minute or so, so all sides are browned. Transfer to the oven and roast for another 20 minutes.

When it's done, allow it to rest for 10 minutes on a cutting board. You can go ahead and cut off the twine while it's resting. Then, slice along the marks left by the twine.

I served this with swiss chard with garlic and an easy gruyere souffle.

sneaky sloppy joes

2009-01-27T06:11:00.005-05:00

These sloppy joes will trick you into eating healthy. I saw the idea on food network some time ago, where you replace some of the red meat in your normal sloppy joe base with equally filling, high protein and fiber-packed beans. Technically, ground beef with beans probably makes it chili though...? Either way, these turned out great. Even A, an avid bean-hater, said the beans just sneaked into the sandwich without him even noticing.

Grocery list: one pound ground sirloin, one can kidney or pinto beans (drained and rinsed well), 1 can tomato sauce, tomato paste, red wine vinegar, worcestershire sauce, tabasco, yellow mustard, 1 red bell pepper, 1 onion, 3-4 cloves garlic, 1/2 cup brown sugar, olive oil.

Chop the onion. Preheat a couple tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat, then add the onion and the beef. Stir to break the meat apart.

Chop the pepper and mince the garlic while the beef cooks. After about 5 minutes, the onions will start to turn translucent and the beef will be about half cooked. Add the pepper and garlic.

While the peppers start to soften, add a generous splash of both worcestershire and red wine vinegar (1-2 tablespoons each). Measure out half a cup of brown sugar and open up the tomato sauce.

After the peppers have cooked about 5 minutes, the beef should be cooked all the way. Now you can add the can of tomato sauce (that's about 2 cups), plus 2 T tomato paste. I also added a generous squirt of french's yellow mustard, since that's how my mom always made it, plus a shake of tabasco to taste. Stir in the brown sugar, then season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat down to a low simmer and cook for about 10 minutes.

If you have the time, you can turn off the finished dish and let it sit there for a while (an hour, whatever) and the flavors keep melding together - just reheat when it's time to serve. Split fresh hamburger rolls, toast them under a broiler, and pile the filling in. Serve with lots of Frank's Red Hot or tabasco. (Do you see these buns? I made them! I'm working on fresh bread now - more on that when I'm confident enough to share...)

butternut squash soup

2009-01-26T05:29:00.003-05:00

I hope it doesn't do injustice to this recipe to start a post with another apology, but I feel it's due. Sorry for 2 soup posts in a row. But this one is so good you won't mind, I promise.

Butternut squash soup is one of those things, like risotto; you order it in a restaurant and love it, but assume it's too complicated to make at home. But, like most vegetable-cream soups, it's simply a matter of vegetables cooked in broth until tender, blended, with some cream stirred in at the end. This recipe, another one adapted from The New England Soup Factory cookbook (working my way through one page at a time), is stunning. It adds apple and parsnip to the butternut base, and it's served with a little bit of gorgonzola cheese to counter the sweetness.

Grocery list: 4 T butter, 2 garlic cloves, 1 large onion, 2 apples, 3 carrots, 2 parsnips, 1-2 stalks celery, 1 2-pound butternut squash, 8 cups chicken stock (preferably homemade, covered before here), 1 T worcestershire sauce, 3 T brown sugar, 1.5 c cream (I used half-and-half and it was perfect and still plenty guilty enough), gorgonzola cheese for garnish.

Start by prepping all the vegetables: peel, remove seeds if applicable, dice.

Melt the butter in a large soup pot over medium high heat, and add all the vegetables. Saute for 10 minutes, then add the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium so it's just simmering, and cook until the vegetables are soft (about 35 minutes more).

Turn off the heat, and stir in the worcestershire and the brown sugar. Season the soup with salt and pepper.

Like all cream soups, you want to blend it *before* you add the cream, which is last. So, either with an immersion blender, or by moving batches of the soup to a blender (carefully - and only fill up the blender half way with each batch, so you don't splatter boiling hot soup all over yourself - the things I learned before having a stick blender).

Finally, return the soup to the pot if you've used a blender, and stir in the cream. You might need to turn the soup back on low heat, depending on how hot you like your soup.

To serve, place a spoonful or two of gorgonzola cheese crumbles in the bottom of a bowl, and spoon the soup on top. The book actually calls for an even more impressive garnish (crispy prosciutto and sauteed apple slices), but I skipped it.

creamy broccoli soup

2009-01-22T18:18:00.000-05:00

Broccoli soup is the perfect comfort food during a cold spell. It's also as (un)healthy as you want to make it, depending on the toppings you add. The actual soup itself couldn't be easier, as most vegetable-cream soups follow the same premise: cook vegetables in stock, add cream, blend with immersion blender, serve. This recipe that I found on Food Network is perfect. If you want to slim it down, substitute whole milk or half-and-half for the heavy cream, and of course use less than the 1/2 pound of cheddar pictured above.

Grocery list: 4 T butter, 1.5 pounds fresh broccoli, 1 large onion, 1 carrot (note, I skipped the carrot since I used the last ones for my stock), 3 T flour, 4 c chicken stock, 1/2 c cream.

Over medium-high heat, melt the butter in a large soup pot. Chop the vegetables, then saute them until the onions are translucent, about 5-6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle the flour over the vegetable base, stir and cook for a couple minutes, until the flour starts to turn golden brown.

Pour in the chicken stock (one quart box of the pre-made kind, or make your own), and bring to a boil. Simmer over medium heat until the broccoli is tender, another 15-20 minutes.

Stir the cream into the soup.

Puree the soup with an immersion blender, then do a taste check, adding more salt and/or pepper if necessary. Serve with grated cheddar cheese (and/or bacon, croutons, crackers, etc).

bacon wrapped maple pork loin

2009-01-18T03:19:00.000-05:00

First, an apology/excuse... I've been (and still am) traveling to Colombo, Sri Lanka, for a work trip. As with all other work trips, I cooked up a storm before leaving (both so A would not starve in my absence, and also so I'd have some photos and recipes to blog about when I'm up at 4am with jet lag and nothing to occupy my time but the indiscernible plotlines of Bollywood movies). But this trip, I've just been so busy, and more homesick than usual, so I've been avoiding the pictures of familiar comforting foods. Without further procrastination, here is an amazing recipe I found on Epicurious for a roasted pork loin. It is certainly not meant to be cooked, portioned and then frozen, but I'm happy to report that this is what I had to do out of necessity, and A has informed me it worked perfectly well. Note that you'll need between 8 and 24 hours to brine the pork before roasting it.

Grocery list: (for the brine) 1/3 cup kosher salt, 2 T maple syrup, black peppercorns, 2 sprigs fresh sage, garlic, 1 bay leaf, 3-4 pound boneless pork loin roast; (for the roast) 3 garlic cloves, 2 T finely chopped fresh sage, 3 T maple syrup, bacon slices, 1 T cider vinegar.

To make the brine, combine the salt with 8 cups of water, a smashed garlic clove, a couple sprigs fresh sage, a bay leaf, 1 T of syrup, and a large pinch of black peppercorns. The original says to heat this all in a saucepan over the stove, but to save some of the dishwashing, I placed this in the bowl I normally use to brine things (meaning, a big one), and heated it in the microwave for 3 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature, then chill in the fridge for an hour.

Submerge the pork loin in the bowl, and chill for at least 8 hours and up to 24.

When it's time to roast the pork, remove it from the brine and pat it dry. Make a paste of 3 minced garlic cloves, the sage, and 1 T of the syrup.

Rub this over the top and sides of the pork.

Lay strips of bacon across the pork to cover the top - the original calls for 16 slices but I only needed to use 6. Tuck the ends of the bacon underneath the pork. Roast at 350 degrees on the center rack of the oven until the pork is 140 degrees (this took a little over an hour).

Make the glaze by mixing the remaining syrup with the cider vinegar, then brush this over the pork. Return to the oven and continue to roast until the internal temperature of the pork is 150 degrees (this was about 15 more minutes for me).

When the roast is done, remove from the oven but leave it resting in the pan for about 15 minutes. This will allow the pork to reabsorb some of its juices. The original recipe provides instruction for cooking up a simple au jus from the pan juices mixed with more syrup and cornstarch, but I decided to skip this. If you end up trying it, let me know how it turns out. Slice the roast on the diagonal to serve.

double-beef chili

2009-01-09T06:03:00.002-05:00

Chili is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you're trying to plan a healthy dinner. But if you're careful not to pile on too much cheese and sour cream (ahem), it's actually a good balance. There's a ton of protein, in this case from both the ground sirloin and the trimmed brisket; there's fiber and more protein from kidney and black beans; there's tons of vitamins and antioxidants in the tomatoes, peppers and the butternut squash. And if you consider how well it freezes and reheats, it's basically the perfect one-dish meal. I was inspired to try brisket and butternut squash by a recipe I found in Bon Appetit months ago, although beyond these 2 ingredients, I put this together on my own.

Grocery list: 1 pound lean ground sirloin, 2 pounds brisket (trimmed of fat and cut into bite-size cubes), 1 butternut squash, 1-2 onions, garlic, 1 bell pepper, 2 cans of beans (kidney and/or black bean work well), 2-4 cups beef stock, 2 28-ounce cans crushed or diced tomatoes, chili spices (paprika, chili powder, cayenne pepper, cumin).

Start by chopping the vegetables for the base. Set a large dutch oven over medium-high heat, add a couple tablespoons of olive oil, and add the onion and pepper. After 2 minutes, add the garlic.

Stir well, then add the ground meat and break up with a spoon.

While the ground beef starts to cook, season the brisket with salt and pepper. I trimmed it of any excess fat I could find before cutting it into pieces. Add the brisket pieces to the pan and stir to combine.

The idea is to get the brisket pieces to brown a bit on the outside; you don't need to cook them all the way through because they will braise in the chili for hours. Once the meat is brown (only a few minutes), add the seasoning. I used about 3 T of chili powder, 1 tsp of cayenne, 1 tsp cumin, and 1 T paprika. I also added a few splashes of Frank's Red Hot. This part is really up to you - just remember you can always add heat later, but you can't take it away.

Drain and rinse the beans thoroughly. Add them to the pan, along with both cans of tomatoes (including the tomato juice). Stir to combine, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a slow simmer.

Finally, peel and cube the butternut squash into bite-size pieces, and add to the chili. Cook uncovered, adding beef stock every 30 minutes or so as the liquid evaporates.

I let this chili simmer all afternoon, so I added nearly a quart of beef stock over the course of the day, but you might need less. You can see in the picture above how much it has cooked down - this is just before I served it. Taste it and adjust the salt or spices as needed. To serve, ladle into bowls and top with sour cream, grated cheddar, even some chopped red onion or avocado.

morton's crab cakes

2009-01-06T18:39:00.000-05:00

Last Christmas, A and I went to Pittsburgh to visit his family. This was back before he was in grad school, and we were fortunate enough to have 2 incomes and could afford to take his parents and brother out for a nice dinner at one of our favorite (if somewhat generic) steakhouses, Morton's. The day after was Christmas Eve, the night of his family's big seafood feast. After eating the crab cakes at Morton's, I immediately wanted to try to recreate them for the family meal. I found the recipe online, and the result tasted almost exactly like the original - or maybe better, since I was so proud to have contributed to the tradition. This year, we didn't have Morton's, but we did make a double batch of their crab cakes.

Grocery list: 1 cup fresh white bread crumbs (approximately 6 slices white bread, crusts removed), 2 garlic cloves, 1 shallot, fresh parsley, ground white pepper, prepared horseradish, dijon mustard, mayonnaise, 1 pound jumbo lump crab meat, worcestershire sauce, 2 eggs, tabasco, butter.

Start by making the bread crumbs as the base. To a large bowl, add the fresh bread crumbs, then 1 T minced garlic, 1 tsp minced shallots, 1 tsp minced fresh parsley, a pinch of salt and 1/8 tsp ground white pepper.

Next, make the mustard mayonnaise (a little of which is used in the actual crab cakes; the rest is served on the side when the crab cake is cooked). Mix 1/2 cup mayo with 4 tsp dijon mustard, 1/4 tsp worcestershire, and 1/2 tsp prepared horseradish. Stir well to combine.

Rinse the crab meat in a colander, picking through carefully with your hands to make sure there are no little pieces of shell remaining. It's very important to use jumbo lump - it costs a few dollars extra per pound, but the consistency is much better (and there is little to no shell to worry with).

Assemble the crab cakes by mixing the bread crumb mixture with the crab meat, along with 2 T of the prepared mustard mayonnaise. Also stir in 1 T finely chopped fresh parsley, 1 extra tsp of dijon mustard, 2 beaten eggs, 1/2 tsp worcestershire and 1/4 tsp tabasco.

Combine with your hands gently, then shape into 6 mounds. Allow to rest on a cookie sheet in the fridge, uncovered, for 30 minutes. According to a Tyler Florence episode I once saw, this 30 minute rest allows the crab meat to dry out a bit, so it will bake instead of steam itself (which would make for chewier crab).

Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, then brush with melted butter. Add the crab cakes to the sheet, then bake for 5 minutes at 450 degrees. Flip the crab cakes, then cook for another 4 minutes. Serve with extra mustard mayonnaise on the side.

greek orzo, lemon and chicken soup

2009-01-04T14:41:00.004-05:00

After my last post about caramelized shallot mac-and-cheese, one AHB reader reminded me that more new year's resolutions are about eating healthier, not necessarily eating more mac-and-cheese. So, I found a great option in my "New England Soup Factory" cookbook. This broth-based soup is full of protein, and the spinach packs in fiber, iron and vitamins, while the lemon adds flavor without a lot of calories. You can go back for a second (or third) bowl and not feel guilty.

Grocery list: 10 cups chicken stock (will include instructions for making this at home below), 3/4 cup orzo, 4 eggs, 3 lemons, 1 cups chopped cooked chicken, 1 pound fresh spinach. For chicken stock, you'll need a 2-3 each yellow onions, carrots and celery stalks, bay leaves, a few sprigs of thyme, half a bunch of parsley, 5 garlic cloves, a

handful of whole peppercorns, and 2-3 pounds chicken thighs (bone-in and skin-on).

To make chicken stock, put all the ingredients in a large stock pot and cover with water. (Peel the carrots and slice into 2-3 inch pieces; chop the celery into thirds; peel the garlic cloves and add whole to the pot.) In addition to the 2-3 pounds chicken thighs, you can add a whole chicken breast (skin-on and bone-in too), but instead of leaving it in for the full 3 hours, you can remove it when it's cooked for 30-40 minutes. This is the chicken you can pull off the bone and then cube to use in the soup. If you were to leave it in for the full 3 hours, it would probably be too tough to use in the soup.

Bring the stock to a slow boil over medium high heat, then turn down the heat to a simmer. If you opt to cook the chicken for cubing this way, remove it with tongs from the stock pot and allow to cool a bit, then peel the meat away from the bones. Return the bones and the skin back to the pot, so it can continue adding its flavor to the stock. Add more water over time if the stock cooks down. Simmer for at least 3 hours. Allow to cool, then strain in a mesh strainer. You can freeze extra stock in ziploc bags too.

Now, for the soup. Measure 10 cups of your homemade stock into a large soup pot, and heat over high heat to boiling. While the stock is heating, zest 2 of the 3 lemons. Juice all 3 lemons. When the stock is boiling, add the orzo and stir. Cook for 5 minutes.

Beat 4 eggs together, then slowly pour into the stock pot while stirring constantly.

The egg will cook immediately into little fluffy string shapes.

Add the cooked chicken, lemon zest, lemon juice and fresh spinach to the pot, and bring the soup back to a gentle boil.

When the spinach has wilted, turn the heat off, and season the soup with salt and pepper.

caramelized shallot mac and cheese

2009-01-01T16:55:00.000-05:00

I can't imagine a better way to start the new year than a new mac and cheese recipe, since it's my favorite food group. This one is from December 2008 Bon Appetit, and features goat cheese and crispy sweet shallots as the topping.

Grocery list: butter, 6 large shallots, 8oz dried pasta (elbow or penne), 1 1/4 cup half & half, 2.5 tsp hot sauce, 8oz grated sharp cheddar cheese, 1.5 T AP flour, 2/3 cup crumbled fresh goat cheese.

Thinly slice the shallots (6 large should be about 3 cups).

Melt 3 T butter in a heavy pan or cast iron skillet. Cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, covered, stirring frequently. Then reduce heat to medium and continue to cook until shallots have caramelized (this took another 10 minutes by my count).

Remove from heat. Cook the pasta according to package directions, or about 1-2 minutes less than al dente. Drain. Bring half & half to a simmer over medium heat.

Toss the grated cheese with flour, then pour into the pan with the half & half. Add the hot sauce. Whisk until smooth and just starting to bubble (another 2 minutes). Season with salt & pepper. Mix the cooked pasta into the sauce, then spread into a buttered baking dish. Top with the caramelized shallots, then sprinkle goat cheese crumbs across top. Bake at 400 degrees until bubbly, 15-20 minutes.

horseradish crusted roast beef

2008-12-27T06:38:00.000-05:00

This isn't what I had for Christmas dinner this year, but if I wasn't busy having the world's most perfect Christmas dinner (an updated version of the classic Italian 7 Fishes dinner - instead of smelts and octopus and other dried salted versions of fish, try broiled lobster tails, crab cakes, crab legs, fried prawns... more on this later), I would have made this. Well, I did make this, but a few days before Christmas. It would make a beautiful special occasion centerpiece kind of meal. I looked at many versions online, but finally settled on this one from Food & Wine, for the horseradish crust. I made a side of extra horseradish sauce as well (just sour cream and horseradish), and it was perfect.

Grocery list: (note the original recipe is for a 6 pound roast; I only made a 3 pound roast so all the ingredients listed here are half of their original amounts) 1/4 cup horseradish, 1 T kosher salt, 1 T dijon mustard, 1 T chopped parsley, 1/2 T pepper, 1/2 T sugar, 1/2 T sherry vinegar (I used red wine vinegar), 3 pound sirloin roast, tied.

Make the paste by combining all the ingredients together (horseradish, salt, pepper, sugar, parsley, vinegar).

Set a rack over the roasting pan so your roast can cook on all sides. Cover the roast with the sauce, including the sides and bottom.

Roast for 2 hours at 375 degrees, in the lower half of the oven. The meat should register 125 degrees on a meat thermometer. Let it rest for at least 20 minutes before slicing, across the grain. Serve with extra horseradish (mixed with enough sour cream to tone it down to your liking) on the side.

butternut squash risotto

2008-12-24T07:05:00.000-05:00

For regular readers of AHB, you may know there are a few things that I don't really follow a recipe for (meatloaf, meatballs, bolognese, lasagna, etc), and that includes risotto. Once you know the main base, you don't really pay attention to the full recipes. You start reading a recipe to see the combination of "filler" ingredients, and get ideas, and think about how that might fit in with versions you've already tried and liked. This always makes me feel like a "real" cook, since I can think about how different ingredients play off each other without feeling the need to blindly follow a recipe I have no clue about. But it leaves me with the tiny problem of crediting all the various ideas that go into a new risotto back to all the possible articles that may have contributed to it.

For this one, I had seen lots of risottos and pastas (and even a chili) that included butternut squash, since it's that time of year. There seems to be a consensus on adding some sort of salty complement to the sweetness of the squash (for example, adding squash to a beef brisket based chili, which I haven't tried yet but will). So what about using bacon, and the resulting bacon grease, as the starter for a risotto? I won't take credit for the idea, since I may have seen it multiple places, but I can't find anything exact. Anyway, here's what I did.

Grocery list: 1 cup arborio (risotto) rice, 1 cup white wine, 3 cups chicken stock, 3-4 slices bacon, 1/2 butternut squash (roasted and cut into cubes), 2 T minced fresh sage, 1 T minced fresh thyme, 1 small yellow onion, 2 cloves garlic.

Chop 3 slices of bacon into small pieces, and add to a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Depending on the fat content of the bacon, you might want to add a touch more olive oil to the pan (I did).

After the bacon has cooked for a few minutes and started to crisp, continue with your risotto base. For me, that means adding a finely chopped onion (and a couple minced garlic cloves, which is different than most risottos where I use shallots) and about a tablespoon of chopped fresh thyme leaves. Because butternut squash tastes better with sage, I added 2 T minced fresh sage leaves here too. Stir and cook until the onions are translucent.

Add 1 cup of arborio rice and stir well. Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes, then add a glass of white wine (between 1/2 and 1 cup). Keep stirring until all the liquid is absorbed.

Heat 3-3.5 cups of chicken broth until it's steaming (either in the microwave or in a pot next to the risotto). The key is to have 4 total cups of liquid for every 1 cup of rice, so 1 cup white wine + 3 cups broth, etc. Stir in the broth 1 cup at a time, stirring after each addition until the liquid is absorbed. This will take about 15-20 minutes of cooking, stirring, adding broth, repeating.

Finally, stir in the cooked butternut squash pieces and season with salt and pepper to taste.

crispy pork chops with sage cream gravy

2008-12-22T06:49:00.000-05:00

I've had this old Rachel Ray recipe on file for a long time now, and it keeps getting put to good use. I was never a fan of pork chops (from childhood, if you asked "do you want pork chops for dinner?", all I heard was "do you want bricks of glue and sawdust charred for 45 minutes on an open flame, with a minuscule side of ketchup to try and swallow it down with?"). But I do understand it's a good source of protein, and the boneless center cut loin has about the same stats as a chicken breast. And there's nothing like a little bit of crispy panko to help you get over a food phobia, right? This is actually not as unhealthy as it sounds - the gravy is made with whole milk (not cream), thickened up with an olive oil and flour roux, and the pork is pan-fried and then baked. I didn't even need the ketchup.

Grocery list: 4 boneless center cut pork loins, whole milk, egg, panko, sage, parsley, flour, parmesan.

Mix the panko, parmesan, some of the parsley and sage in a shallow bowl (big enough to fit the pork chops one at a time).

To bread the pork, dip first into the egg (whisked first of course), then press into the panko mixture.

Add 2 T of olive oil to a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat, and fry the pork chops for 5 minutes per side.

Move the pork chops to a wire rack set over a baking sheet (this will keep them from getting soggy on the bottom while they cook in the oven). Bake at 400 degrees for 10 more minutes, while you whip up the cream sauce.

Add another 1 T oil to the same pan, and whisk in 3 T of flour.

Slowly whisk in 1 cup of milk.

Mix the remaining parsley and sage into the cream sauce, season with salt and pepper, and serve immediately over the pork chops.

leftovers for breakfast: turkey bacon and kale scramble

2008-12-19T06:33:00.000-05:00

The kale with roasted onion rings was made for this purpose: to try and recreate The Flying Biscuit's bacon-collard scramble. It might not look that appealing (no offense to The Flying Biscuit, but neither does their version - greens scrambled in eggs have a beauty in the eye of the beholder), but it was delicious. Using (mostly) egg whites and turkey bacon made this a healthy option for any day of the week.

Grocery list: leftover kale or collards, eggs, turkey bacon, grated cheddar cheese.

Chop 3-4 slices of turkey bacon, and saute in just a teaspoon of oil over medium heat for 3-4 minutes.

Add about 1 cup of leftover kale (you might want to run a knife through it to chop it a little more finely) and cook for 1 minute. Whisk 1 egg + 7 egg whites together with a tablespoon of half-and-half, then add to the skillet. Scramble until eggs are cooked, then sprinkle a handful of sharp cheddar cheese over top.

garlicky kale with roasted onion rings

2008-12-17T06:35:00.004-05:00

There's a popular breakfast spot in Atlanta called the Flying Biscuit, and one of their signature plates is a turkey bacon and collard green scramble. For whatever reason, I started craving this the other day. But who's going to get up and start cooking greens at 6am? I needed leftovers for this... So instead of making old school fat-back collards (more bacon grease than greens, mmm), I tried this recipe from March 2008 F&W that I'd set aside. It was perfect: the kale wasn't greasy and still had bite (unlike southern collards), and the onion rings were a sweet contrast to the salt and garlic. I'll blog about the scramble tomorrow morning.

Grocery list: 2 pounds kale (washed, trimmed, cut crosswise into strips), 2 shallots, 3 (or 5!) garlic cloves, 1 large sweet onion, olive oil.

Start by cutting the onion into thick rounds (about 1/3 inch), like you're making onion rings. Separate the rings and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast on a large baking sheet at 425 for about 20 minutes, turning several times, until the rings are golden. Set aside.

Next, boil a large pot of water and add the kale. Cook for 4-5 minutes, then drain. This pre-cooking will help so the garlic won't burn in the next step, so don't skip it.

Mince the shallot and garlic and saute in olive oil over medium high heat. After a couple minutes, add the drained kale and stir well. I added a pinch of crushed red pepper at this stage too, deviating from the recipe just a little.

After about 5-7 minutes, add the onion rings to the kale. You might need to drizzle a little more olive oil over them too, and season with salt and pepper.

our little secret: easy but impressive leek & ham quiche

2008-12-15T14:01:00.000-05:00

If you're having dinner guests on fairly short notice, or want to prepare an easy make-ahead brunch that won't require a lot of fuss while you visit with your out of town guests, let me tell you about this quiche. Growing up, it was always my mom's staple "fancy" food - we made it for Christmas Eve, New Year's, and other festive occasions. Precisely because it can be made ahead (even baked the day before), you never have to follow the recipe exactly, it uses up odds and ends of cheese left over from other recipes in your cheese drawer, and it's impressive enough on a plate. The basic premise is some meat (optional), some vegetable (optional) plus some cheese(s), and several eggs mixed with half-and-half. I made a double batch of leek confit (remember how good it was in Molly Wizenberg's leek tart?), and used up a little fresh mozzarella, fontina & gruyere I had on hand, with a few slices of ham. Perfect.

Grocery list: one pre-made pie crust - the kind you can roll out, not frozen in a tin (or, make your own), 4 eggs, 3/4 cup half-and-half, 3 cups total shredded cheese (I used about one cup each gruyere, fontina and mozzarella), 3 ounces sliced ham, 1-2 cups leek confit. You could also saute mushrooms and/or onions to use in place of the leeks - cook them for about 10 minutes until tender, then allow to cool to room temperature before assembling quiche.

Roll out the crush into a pie dish. Spread 1 cup of cheese on the bottom, followed by diced ham. Evenly distribute leeks (or the mushroom/onion mixture).

Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the ham and leeks. Whisk eggs and half-and-half with salt and pepper, then pour over the filling. Bake at 350 degrees for 60-75 minutes, or longer.

Quiche is done when you can gently shake the sides of the pan and the inside giggles without appearing liquid-y. Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before you slice it. The eggs will continue to cook during this period, and the inside will firm up, so don't cut too early or your quiche slices will look messy.

grilled steak with arugula, fennel and orange salad

2008-12-11T14:58:00.000-05:00

This recipe ended up only being "inspired by" the original in Food & Wine magazine. I fully intended to try it unadulterated, but ended up finding a good deal on NY strip (as opposed to skirt steak) while at the same time NOT being able to find fregola. (Side note: while I couldn't find fregola at whole foods, I discovered they finally started carrying farro, which I've wanted to try in a risotto for a long time, so I consider it a wash.) For the original, you can read it online here, but I'll cover my variations on the recipe below. It would probably feed 4 normal non-bear appetites.

Grocery list: one pound strip steak, 1 T ancho chile powder, 1 red onion, 1 lemon, 1 fennel bulb, 1 navel orange, 2 radishes, 5oz baby arugula, black olive tapenade (fresh at the olive bar at our local WF).

Allow the steak to rest on the counter to bring it to room temperature while you prep the vegetables. Cut the stems off the fennel bulb, cut it in half, core it, then thinly slice. Peel the orange, quarter it to remove the center pith, then thinly slice crosswise. Wash and thinly slice the radishes. Juice the lemon.

Sprinkle the chile powder on both sides of the steak (pressing to adhere the seasoning).

Peel the onion and cut into 1/4 inch slabs. Grill both the steak and the onion slabs over direct heat. For the steak, it's a matter of preference and steak thickness to determine how long to cook (this one was thick, and took 12-14 minutes to get to medium). The onions should become tender and charred in spots - I put down a sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil first so the onions couldn't fall through the grates, and they still achieved that charred effect.

When the steak is done, allow it to rest under a tent of aluminum foil while you assemble the salad.

Toss the arugula with several tablespoons of good quality olive oil and the lemon juice. Let the onions cool, then chop them. Add the onions, fennel, orange and radishes to the salad and toss well.

Spread about 1/4 cup of tapenade across the steak, and slice on the diagonal. Mound the salad on each plate, then serve several steak slices on the top.

gift this: best ever nut brittle

2008-12-10T10:53:00.002-05:00

Like a lot of people, I'm going to try and cut back on Christmas gift spending this year. One of the best ways to show people you love them without spending a fortune is to cook treats for them (you know, you don't really love someone unless you fatten them up a little - one more proof point that I'm of Italian descent). My dad used to bring home the best nut brittle about a week before Christmas, from some vendor who gave out tins of it to all their clients. This stuff was like eating a heath bar - if you hadn't seen food in a week. I'll work on a chocolate-sided version next time, but for now, my research led me to this recipe by Tina Ujlaki (adapted from famous pastry chef Karen DeMasco). I adapted it further by trying a combination of almonds and pine nuts. I knew it was a winner when my dad said he'd gladly eat 2 pounds of it in one sitting.

Grocery list: 2 cups sugar, 1 stick butter, 1/3 cup light corn syrup, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 12 ounces nuts (slivered almonds and pine nuts were my choice, but you could use roasted salted cashews, peanuts, pistachios, pecans, or any combination), sea salt.

Mix the sugar, butter, corn syrup and 1/2 cup water in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat.

Bring to a boil and stir occasionally. At first, it will be very light colored, but as the heat rises it will start to turn caramel-y. Using a candy thermometer is absolutely critical, because if you don't boil the caramel long enough (i.e. get it up to 300 degrees exactly), it will be chewy when it cools instead of snapping apart into pieces.

When it is finally 300 degrees (the original recipe said to boil for 10 minutes, but I think it took me at least 15 minutes to get the caramel to 300 degrees), turn off the heat and quickly stir in the 1/2 tsp baking soda.

Carefully stir in the baking soda; it will bubble for a few seconds.

I finally got to use my new kitchen scale - measure out 12 ounces of some combination of nuts.

Stir the nuts into the caramel mixture.

Spread the brittle onto a large rimmed nonstick baking sheet. This takes some muscle, since the mixture is thick and cooling quickly. Once it's evenly distributed, sprinkle sea salt over the top. Allow to cool at least 30 minutes, then break into big pieces. The original recipe notes that this brittle can be stored in an airtight container for up to a month - although I can't imagine this lasting for longer than 3 days once you've tasted a bite.

yogurt crepes with raspberry sauce

2008-12-03T20:27:00.000-05:00

I've been looking for something new for the breakfast rotation lately. I mean, the buttermilk pancakes and french toast are fantastic, and I'm all over the eggs and grits with texas pete, but sometimes you just want something different. So I was excited to see an entire article dedicated to fresh breakfast ideas in December's Food & Wine - including one AHB will actually eat (sorry, salmon hash is *totally* out of the running here). Don't be intimidated by having to cook each crepe one at a time; if 8 minutes is really too long, get 2 fry pans going simultaneously.

Grocery list: 3 eggs, 1 1/4 cup milk, 1 cup AP flour, 3 T melted butter, 1/4 cup apricot preserves (I used orange marmalade), 1/2 cup frozen raspberries, 1 T fresh lemon juice, 1.5 cups plain greek yogurt, 3 T brown sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.

Since the batter has to rest for 20 minutes prior to cooking, start the batter first, then make the filling. Whisk 3 eggs with 1/4 cup of the milk and a pinch of salt, then add the flour and whisk until smooth.

The batter will be thick - almost a dough-like consistency. Carefully whisk in the remaining one cup of milk and 1 T of melted butter until smooth. Allow to rest for 20 minutes on the counter (do not refrigerate).

Add the marmalade, lemon juice and frozen raspberries to a small saucepan.

Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes - as you stir it, the raspberries will kind of melt, so the entire mixture takes on the consistency of thick syrup.

For the crepe filling, mix the greek yogurt with brown sugar and vanilla extract. (This tastes almost exactly like vanilla yogurt, so I'm not sure why you couldn't substitute. I guess it depends what you keep around the house - vanilla yogurt is always "stocked" here, but not greek yogurt...)

To cook the crepes, brush a 10 inch skillet with a little of the melted butter, and heat the pan over medium heat. Pour 1/3 cup crepe batter into the middle of the pan, swirling it around quickly so the batter fills up the bottom of the pan in a very thin layer. Cook for 45 seconds or until it's lightly browned on the bottom. Flip and cook until the other side starts to brown (15-30 seconds more). Move to a parchment lined baking sheet and keep warm in the oven (stack cooked crepes between layers of parchment paper to prevent sticking). Brush the pan with melted butter in between each batch.

When all the crepes are done, assemble them to serve. Spoon a little of the filling in the middle, roll up the crepe, and top with a bit of raspberry sauce.

football sunday marmalade meatballs

2008-12-01T20:33:00.001-05:00

We're officially in my favorite sports time of the year - NFL is in full swing, and college basketball is just getting going. I start planning my meals around the games, since making sure you've got some great snacks is just as important to me as making sure you've got your jersey on (for the record, I alternate between Julius Peppers' Panthers jersey, Heath Miller's Steeler's jersey, and a UNC hoodie). Anyway, I remember having a neighbor's family recipe for meatballs years ago at a Super Bowl party, and he told me the secret ingredient was grape jelly. I still haven't tracked down that original recipe, but I found one I could use as a starter. I make my own meatballs (half beef, half pork, minced onion, garlic, parsley, fresh bread crumbs, a couple eggs, and a tiny bit of milk, then sauteed in olive oil), and then added them to the slow cooker with this sauce for a couple hours. They were great on their own, and the slow cooker meant you could graze all Sunday afternoon.

Grocery list: 2 pounds of meatballs, a 16-oz bottle of french dressing (original says Catalina, but WF doesn't carry much by way of super processed dressings), orange marmalade, worcestershire sauce, red pepper flakes.

Add meatballs (either your own or prepared frozen ones) to a slow cooker with 1 16-oz bottle of dressing, 1 cup marmalade, 3 T worcestershire, and red pepper flakes (as hot as you like). If the meatballs are already cooked and warm or room temp, cook on high for 30 minutes to an hour; if you're using frozen ones, the recipe says to cook them on high for 2-3 hours. Turn the slow cooker to the warm setting for as long as the games are on.

winter salad: roasted acorn squash, apples & blue cheese

2008-11-29T09:29:00.000-05:00

After all the Thanksgiving dinners, I can only think about salads (and running 6 miles a day every day this week to make up for the pumpkin brownies my Gramma made). This is adapted from December 2008 Bon Appetit, which originally called for butternut squash but I substituted acorn. (Also note, this is half the original recipe -the original serves 10.)

Grocery list: (dressing) 1 T balsamic, 1 T lemon juice, 3 T good quality olive oil; (salad) 2 T balsamic, 1 tsp brown sugar, 1 2-pound butternut or acorn squash, 2 heads belgian endive, 1 fuji apple, 4 oz crumbled blue cheese, 1/4 c dried cranberries.

Start by roasting the squash. Cut the squash in half lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds. Peel and slice crosswise into 1/4 inch pieces. Arrange on a lined baking sheet and brush each piece with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 5 minutes at 400 degrees. Whisk the balsamic and brown sugar together, then brush each piece of squash; return to the oven and roast for an additional 5 minutes.

Flip squash pieces and brush with remaining vinegar-sugar combination. Continue to roast until squash is fork-tender, about another 15 minutes. Allow to cool.

Trim the root ends of endive and arrange leaves on plates - about 5-6 leaves per plate, for 4 plates. Core the apple and cut into thin strips, and evenly distribute across plates. Place squash strips in center of each plate, and top with cheese and cranberries.

For the dressing, whisk the balsamic, lemon juice and olive oil with salt and pepper. Drizzle dressing over each salad and serve. This would also be nice with a few pieces of toasted walnuts too...

football sunday onion dip

2008-11-23T19:52:00.005-05:00

A loves french onion dip: the gnarly, plastic-y "helluva good" brand french onion dip in a can. I can barely stand to look at the stuff, not to mention taste it. The label includes about 57 chemicals and "powdered" flavoring. Needless to say, I don't buy it unprompted. When I saw an article in December Food & Wine, where they suggest several different themes for parties and accompanying menus, I jumped on one that called for a homemade onion dip. It was simple enough, just caramelize some onions and mix with sour cream and cream cheese. I'd rather spend 10 minutes making this than ever buy the canned stuff again.

Grocery list (adapted from the original): 2 large onions, worcestershire sauce, 4oz softened cream cheese (half a block), 3/4 c sour cream, handful parsley, butter.

Start by thinly slicing the onions. Heat 2T butter in a dutch oven over medium heat, then add the onions.

Cook, stirring frequently, until onions are golden, about 20 minutes. Add a couple tablespoons water, and stir until the liquid cooks out. Remove from heat.

When the onions have cooled, move them to a cutting board and chop finely. Stir them into the sour cream and cream cheese.

Add about 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley, a couple dashes worcestershire, and season with salt and pepper. I also added a pinch of dried red pepper flakes for kick. Refrigerate until ready to serve - with lots of salty potato chips on the side.

salmon with tarragon mustard glaze

2008-11-20T14:07:00.004-05:00

I'm finally back in my own kitchen after 2 weeks in Sri Lanka. Instead of my normal flurry of kitchen activity after a trip, which usually ensues after I've missed cooking for a while, I've been completely laid out with jet lag. It's especially bad since I've had 3 new cooking magazines to look through, and have about 200 recipes tagged to try.

The only thing I've had energy to cook is this roast salmon from Bon Appetit. And if there's anything getting up from a semi-comatose state on the couch for, it would be this salmon. Tangy yet sweet, slightly crispy on the outside, it's just perfect. The recipe calls for a 3 pound side of salmon, but I only cooked a pound (so I only made a half batch of sauce - enough for A to have extra so he could pretend he wasn't eating salmon).

Grocery list: 1/3 cup mayonnaise, 1/4 cup spicy brown mustard, 3 T each finely chopped chives and tarragon, zest of 1 lemon, juice from half a lemon, 1 T brown sugar.

Mix all the ingredients for the sauce.

Place the salmon (skin-side down) on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

Spoon just enough sauce over the salmon to cover the top of the fish - about one third of the total sauce. Roast at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, or until the inside is opaque and flakes easily. Serve with the extra sauce.

jamie oliver's rotolo of spinach, squash and ricotta

2008-11-16T12:12:00.000-05:00

According to Jamie Oliver, he was discovered with this stuffed, rolled pasta dish called a rotolo (someone important saw him making it, and his TV chef career began). It's actually less labor-intensive than ravioli, since you are basically working with one giant stuffed piece of pasta instead of 30+. And if you really want to impress someone with dinner, it should be delicious, beautifully presented, and unique. This rotolo fits the bill perfectly.

Grocery list: 1 pound fresh pasta dough, 1/2 butternut squash (halved, deseeded), olive oil, 1 tsp coriander seeds, 1 tsp fennel, 1/2 a dried chili, handful of fresh oregano leaves, 2 cloves garlic, 1.5 pounds fresh spinach, butter, grated nutmeg, 5.5 oz ricotta, 2oz grated parmesan, fresh sage leaves.

Make pasta dough (after many batches, I've now settled on a 2 cups flour + 3 whole eggs + 3 yolks to make the perfect consistency).

Then, fix all pasta pieces together with a dab of water at the edges, so you have one large rectangular sheet of pasta.

Jamie's recipe calls for cubing the squash and seasoning with ground coriander, fennel and chili - I simply roasted it with olive oil, salt and pepper (along with a spaghetti squash I was using for another meal). Roast for about 45 minutes, or until fork tender. Mash the squash pieces until they are almost spreadable, and allow to cool.

Mince the garlic and fresh oregano, and saute in olive oil over medium-high heat for a few seconds.

Add the spinach - it will look like way too much, but will cook down drastically as long as you keep moving it around the pan.

After the water has cooked out (5 minutes or so), add a couple T of butter, season with grated nutmeg (1/2 tsp?), salt and pepper. Allow to cool.

Spoon the squash, spread the spinach, sprinkle the ricotta and then parmesan, leaving 2 inches at the top of the pasta sheet clear. Roll up like a jelly roll, then wrap in a cheesecloth and tie both ends. Boil gently in a large pot of salted water for 25 minutes.

Jamie's recipe also calls for clarifying 1/2 pound of butter (heating it till the whey separates, spooning off the whey, then using the rest so you can fry it without smoking or turning brown). I actually just used olive oil to fry the sage leaves, drained them on paper towels, then melted some butter to pour over the rotolo.

Remove from the water, cut the cheesecloth carefully away, and slice into 1-2 inch thick pieces. Drizzle a little butter, sprinkle with extra parmesan, and lay a couple of fried sage leaves over the top.

steak with whiskey mustard sauce

2008-11-14T07:31:00.001-05:00

This is absolutely amazing steak sauce. I'd say you have to try it, but I think I could get sued - it requires you to light the alcohol in the pan, and I don't want to be responsible for what happens. I have a pitiful range hood with a built-in microwave, so it's too low for this to be attempted safely again. But if you have a real range hood that sits more than 2 feet away from your stove top, you'll love making this sauce all the time.

Grocery list: 2 pound top butt steak, 2-3 shallots, 1/2 cup whiskey (or single malt scotch, which is what I used), 1 cup chicken broth, 2 T dijon mustard, 3 T butter, 1/2 tsp cider vinegar.

Let the steak sit on the counter for 20-30 minutes so it can come to room temperature; season both sides with salt and pepper. Finely chop the shallots, and measure out the liquid ingredients before you start (important - the flame will require ALL your attention later!).

Sear the steaks over medium-high heat in a fry pan, in a little olive oil, for 4-5 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter and allow to rest under a tent of aluminum foil.

In the same pan, add a little more olive oil if the pan is dry, then saute the shallots until they start to turn translucent. Now, it's time to add the alcohol. The original recipe says to pour it in, and use a long-stem match to light the liquid in the pan on fire. Well, alcohol has a magic temperature where it will burst into flames on its own, so be prepared for this to happen. Go ahead and have oven mitts on, and pour in the liquid. If it doesn't ignite on its own, use the match. It will make quite an impressive flame for a few seconds, then it'll completely die down as fast as it appeared (within 5-10 seconds).

Next, stir in the chicken broth and mustard, and cook down until it is reduced to about 1/2 cup (it will thicken to a thin syrup consistency). Remove from the heat and stir in the butter.

Slice the steak and pour the sauce over top to serve.

swiss chard with goat cheese walnuts & cranberries

2008-11-12T07:23:00.003-05:00

I've been serving swiss chard with slivered garlic, fresh lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil for a while, and wanted to mix it up. Turns out you can use a popular salad combination of goat cheese, walnuts and dried cranberries - who knew?

Grocery list: rainbow or red swiss chard, goat cheese, handful of chopped walnuts, handful of dried cranberries, olive oil.

Chop and toast the walnuts over medium flame, stirring frequently to prevent burning, for a few minutes. Remove from heat.

Remove the stems from the chard and cut into bite size pieces. Saute in olive oil over medium high heat until they just begin to soften, then add the cranberries.

Chop the chard leaves then add to the pan with about 1/4 cup water (pan will be overflowing, but the chard will cook down significantly). Keep moving the chard around so the uncooked leaves on top get moved to the bottom. The water will evaporate as well.

Sprinkle a little fresh goat cheese on top, followed by the toasted walnuts, then stir to mix. Season with salt and pepper.

chicken and mushroom ragu

2008-11-10T06:36:00.000-05:00

My bolognese sauce is my favorite accompaniment for pasta, but I don't always have 2 hours to let it simmer. For another protein-rich option, I tried this 20 minute option for chicken "ragu" from October's issue of Gourmet. Next time I won't pulse the mushrooms in a food processor - maybe chop them fine by hand to leave more texture - and possibly will add some olives and a pinch of red pepper for kick. This is a good base made with an inexpensive cut of chicken, so I'll make room in the rotation for this recipe.

grocery list: 6 oz cremini or baby bella mushrooms, 3 cloves garlic, olive oil, 1 1/4 lb sinless boneless chicken thighs, 1 small onion, 3/4 tsp fresh rosemary (chopped), 3 T balsamic vinegar, 1 28-oz can whole italian tomatoes, 1/2 dried pasta (pappardelle recommended in the original), 5 oz fresh arugula (I used spinach instead), plus grated parmesan.

Pulse mushrooms and garlic in a food processor till finely chopped.

Cut the chicken into 1/2-inch pieces, and season with salt and pepper. Heat a few T olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat, then saute the chicken (stirring frequently) for 3-4 minutes, until it starts to brown. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon to a small bowl.

Turn heat down to medium, then add the small chopped onion and cook till it starts to turn translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the mushroom mixture, chopped rosemary, and more salt and pepper. Keep stirring until the mushrooms start to release their juice and turn brown - about 4-5 minutes. Add vinegar and cook until it reduces down, another couple minutes.

Return the chicken to the pan, and add the tomatoes (as well as the juice). Break the tomatoes down and bring to a simmer. Cook until thickened, about 15 minutes.

Cook pasta and drain. When the sauce is the right consistency, add the arugula or spinach and cook for another 1-2 minutes, until it wilts. Stir in the pasta and season with salt and pepper if needed. Serve with grated parmesan.

chocolate pudding with espresso whipped cream

2008-11-05T08:31:00.000-05:00

I never thought pudding was something you can actually make at home; I guess that proves how powerful the brand association Jello has created (either that, or simply proof of my ignorance). This recipe from the November 2008 issue of Bon Appetit only took a few ingredients, things I keep in on hand anyway. The espresso powder is so simple but adds a "grown up" twist.

Grocery list: 1/4 c sugar, 2 T powdered sugar, 2 T cornstarch, 1 T + 1 tsp instant espresso powder, 2 c whole milk, 1 c bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips, 1 T butter, 1.5 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 c heavy cream.

Mix 1/4 c granulated sugar, cornstarch and 1 T of espresso powder in a small saucepan, then add the milk. Set heat to medium and whisk to blend.

When the mixture starts to boil, it will thicken after only a couple minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the chocolate chips, vanilla and butter.

Divide into small ramekins (6 small, according to the recipe; I divided into 4 for larger servings) and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

To make the whipped cream, put the cream, powdered sugar and 1 tsp espresso powder in a bowl and mix with an electric hand mixer for 2-3 minutes, until it thickens to the right consistency. Serve the pudding with a big scoop of espresso cream on top.

bacon cheddar quick bread

2008-11-02T08:23:00.000-05:00

I've never had a desire to bake my own bread, but I guess that's the next step in my adoption of the "slow food" trend. When I saw this recipe for a bacon and cheddar quick bread in the October 2008 issue of Bon Appetit, it was time to bite the bullet. It only took a few minutes to put together, and made a great breakfast. This would be a great bread to throw together if you have house guests - impressive but very hands-off.

Grocery list: 5 slices bacon, 6 oz cheddar, 1/2 cup dried fruit (original recipe called for dried pears; I used dried cranberries), 1/3 cup walnuts, 1 T fresh sage (minced), 1 3/4 cup AP flour, 1 T baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, 3 eggs, 1/3 cup whole milk, 1/3 cup olive oil.

First, chop up 5 slices of bacon and crisp it in a pan, then drain over paper towels.

Mix your "wet" ingredients - whisk 3 eggs and the milk and olive oil together.

Stir your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, pepper) together in a large bowl. Pour the egg mixture into the flour, and stir just enough to combine (don't overwork the batter, it's good if it's chunky).

The recipe called for 1 cup grated cheddar plus 1/2 cup of 1/4 inch cubes of cheese. For color more than anything, I used yellow extra-sharp cheddar for the grated 1 cup of cheese, and then cubed some seaside extra sharp white cheddar to make the extra 1/2 cup. Fold the cheese, dried fruit, walnuts (toasted and chopped), sage, and bacon pieces into the dough.

Grease the sides and bottom of a one pound loaf pan (8.5" x 4.5" x 2.5"), and spoon the dough in. Bake at 350 degrees on the center oven rack, until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. The recipe said 55 minutes (an exact number, which I interpreted as authoritative - should have checked it at 45-50 minutes, as it turned out a touch drier than I would have liked). Cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Loosen the sides of the loaf from the pan with a knife, then invert on a rack and allow to cool to desired temperature.

scalloped potato and herb gratin

2008-10-31T06:17:00.000-04:00

From Bon Appetit's Thanksgiving 2008 issue, this is a rich, flavorful, impressive yet easy to make side. I made exactly half (original recipe is below - serves 12), and it was a perfectly indulgent accompaniment to steak - go figure.

Grocery list: 1.5 lbs medium Yukon Gold potatoes, 1.5 lbs medium sweet potatoes, 2 c heavy whipping cream, 1/2 stick butter, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 T *each* minced fresh parsley, rosemary, sage & thyme, 4-5 oz grated gruyere cheese (a little over a cup).

Peel all the potatoes and slice into thin (1/4 inch) rounds. Place immediately in a bowl of cold water to prevent them from turning color. Mince the herbs and garlic.

Heat the garlic, cream and butter over medium heat until just simmering, then turn off the burner.

In a greased 9x13 pan, layer half of both types of potatoes, then half of all the herbs, season with salt and pepper, and half of the grated gruyere.

Finish with a second layer of all remaining ingredients, then pour over the cream mixture. Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes; remove foil and continue baking until bubbly and golden on top, another 25 minutes. Allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving. (The original recipe says this can be made ahead - as in up to 6 hours, not the day before or anything - just refrigerate until ready to bake.)

leek tart with goat cheese

2008-10-28T10:51:00.000-04:00

I really am loving Molly Wizenberg's (AKA Orangette) "Cooking Life" column in Bon Appetit. She is such an incredible food writer - she's so over the top with her descriptions (I can relate). Her column in the October 2008 issue was probably my favorite, featuring 2 recipes in 1, for leek confit and a leek and goat cheese tart. Based on her recommendation, I was putting leftover leek confit on everything for days (including scrambled eggs - who would have guessed?). The tart was perfect, even though I used fresh goat cheese instead of aged.

Grocery list: (for the leek confit) 1/2 stick butter, 4 large leeks; (for the crust) 3/4 tsp apple cider vinegar, 1.5 cups AP four, 3/4 tsp salt, 1 stick butter plus 1 T; (filling) 1/2 cup whole milk, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, 1/2 crumbled goat cheese (original recipe calls for aged goat cheese, such as Bucheron).

Make the crust by pulsing the flour and salt with butter (cold, and cut up into small cubes) in a food processor, until it has the consistency of coarse meal. Mix 4 T ice water with the cider vinegar in separate bowl, then add this slowly to the machine while it's running. The dough should start to make clumps (if not, add another T or 2 of ice water). Remove from the processor, shape into a ball, wrap with saran wrap, and refrigerate for 2 hours. Roll it out on a floured surface, and transfer to a tart pan. As you can see, I only had a pie pan, so this technically was a leek pie...

Cover your crust with foil, and fill it with dried beans or rice (to weigh down the crust). Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes; remove the foil and weights and continue to bake until it's golden - another 20 minutes or so. Allow to cool while you work on the filling.

To make 2 cups of leek confit (you'll only need 1.5 cups for the tart - the leftovers are great with scrambled eggs!), chop the leeks in half lengthwise, then into 1/4 inch slices. Wash thoroughly. Put 1/2 stick of butter in a dutch oven and melt over medium-low heat. Add the leeks (about 5 cups washed and chopped), plus 2T water and a pinch of salt. Cover and cook on low, stirring every few minutes, for 25 minutes. Uncover and allow any excess water to cook out - about 3-5 more minutes of cooking time.

Whisk the egg + 1 yolk with the milk, cream, and a pinch of salt.

Spread 1/4 cup crumbled cheese over the bottom of the tart, then pour 1.5 cups of leek confit over. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup cheese over the top, then pour the milk and egg mixture over top. Bake for 35-40 minutes at 375 degrees. You'll know it's done when you shake the pan and the middle of the tart is jiggly but firm (not liquid-y) - yes, these are scientific terms. I also had a bit of crust around the rim that I worried would burn, so I covered the edges of the pan carefully with foil, like you do with an apple pie. It turned out great this way.

herb-crusted roast leg of lamb

2008-10-24T15:39:00.000-04:00

Lamb is one of those less expensive cuts of meat I'm trying to use more often, and especially since you can throw a roast in the oven and dinner is ready a couple hours later. This one was so easy, and I suppose it's a technique you could use for almost any roast cut.

Grocery list: 2-4+ pound leg of lamb (or other roast cut), 1 lemon, 1 large gallon-size ziploc bag, olive oil, and herbs (mix of dried or fresh - rosemary, thyme, oregano, mint - really, whatever you have, just a lot of it).

Trim any excess fat or silver-skin from the lamb leg, then drop it in the ziploc bag. Add a good drizzling of olive oil, then throw in excess amounts of herbs - you're trying to cover the entire surface of the roast. Salt and pepper it generously, then cut your lemon in half, squeeze the juice into the bag (you can throw the lemon halves in the bag for good measure). Let it marinate for at least a couple hours, or set it up at night for roasting the next day. It can sit in the bag for 1-2 days.

Roast at 350 degrees for 1.5-2 hours, or until the internal temperature measures 150 degrees for medium. Remove from the oven and tent with foil; the temperature will continue to rise to about 160 (now it'll be medium to medium well). Adjust if you prefer more or less done - just remember that the roast continues to "cook up" another 10 degrees when you remove it from the oven! Carve and serve - I made this with the spaghetti squash & ricotta dish.

spaghetti squash with ricotta, sage & toasted pine nuts

2008-10-23T17:05:00.000-04:00

I found this awesome recipe for spaghetti squash on The Kitchn (Apartment Therapy's cooking blog). It's so true - parmesan is good and all, but is that the *only* way to make spaghetti squash? This is definitely going in the rotation. I made it with a roast leg of lamb and some rainbow chard with garlic, the perfect autumnal dinner.

Grocery list: 2lb spaghetti squash, 2 cloves garlic, olive oil, 3/4 cup ricotta, handful of pinenuts (about half a cup), about 10 fresh sage leaves.

Start by cutting your squash in half lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast at 375 degrees for about an hour (obviously bigger squash take longer; you know it's done when a fork can pierce it easily). I also roasted some butternut squash while the oven was on - to be featured soon, promise :)

Heat a thin layer of olive oil in a small fry pan over medium-high heat. Fry the sage leaves for about a minute - they'll start to brown. When you remove them from the pan to a paper-lined plate, they actually get crispy. If you wait till they're crispy in the pan, they are actually burned on the plate (learned the hard way).

Smash a couple of garlic cloves, and mix in a large bowl with the ricotta. Toast the pinenuts over medium heat in a small fry pan, moving constantly so they don't burn in spots. Chop the crispy sage and stir it, along with the pine nuts, into the squash.

When the squash is done, hold each half down with tongs and, using your other hand, drag a fork across the inside of the squash. It will come up easily, looking like little spaghetti noodles. Transfer to the bowl with ricotta and stir well. Season with salt and pepper.

football food: creamy spinach artichoke dip

2008-10-20T13:22:00.003-04:00

A and I don't really have "date night" since he's in grad school, but we do have "date football" on Sunday afternoons. If both our teams (Panthers & Steelers) are on at the same time, we bring the second TV down from the bedroom and set both up side by side. We'll make dips, chicken wings, ribs, and get some new microbrew to try. It's quite a production. This spinach dip is the most often repeated football food around my house; and if you're serving it for guests, it gives you maximum impressiveness while requiring the least amount of effort. The base is the same, but you can play around with different cheeses, different amounts of pepper/garlic, etc.

Grocery list: 10-oz package frozen chopped spinach (thawed), 1 8-oz package cream or neufchatel cheese - softened to room temperature, 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup mayo, 1.5 cups grated cheese (mozzarella, cheddar, even a little parmesan thrown in can't hurt), sriricha hot sauce, worcestershire, dijon mustard, 1 jalapeno or serrano, 1-2 garlic cloves, 1 small jar artichoke hearts, salt & pepper.

This isn't a very appetizing picture is it? Mix your softened cream cheese with the sour cream, mayo, and about 1 T worcestershire, 1-2 T sriricha hot sauce and 1 tsp dijon mustard. Stir until smooth, then fold in the grated cheese.

Drain and chop the artichokes, and mince your jalepeno or serrano pepper, and mince 1-2 cloves of garlic.

Squeeze as much liquid out of the defrosted spinach as possible, then stir it into the base. Pour into a baking dish (I use one that can go straight to the table), and bake for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees, until bubbling and starting to brown in spots. Serve with chips, pita crisps or crackers.

steak with parmesan butter, balsamic glaze & arugula

2008-10-17T17:06:00.000-04:00

A lot of food blogs have had posts lately about "the last cookout of the year," but we're fortunate in Atlanta that grilling is not limited to any season. If I've had a bad day and need to feel better, or if I've had a great day and want to celebrate it, a steak is my go-to meal. This recipe from October's Bon Appetit is perfect for any occasion. They describe the steak salad as "simple and sophisticated" - and I can't say it any better.

Grocery list (for 2 entree salad): 1 or 2 rib-eye steaks, 1 package arugula, grated parmesan + parmesan shavings, 1.5 T butter, olive oil, 1/4 c balsamic vinegar, 1/4 c chopped shallots, pinch dark brown sugar, 1 lemon.

Soften the butter to room temperature, then mix in 2 T grated parmesan, and salt & pepper to taste.

Season steak with salt and pepper, then grill over medium high heat. (Note, the recipe calls for sauteing steak, and then finishing off the glaze in the same pan - I opted for the outdoor grill.) Cook to medium rare, transfer to plate, and allow to rest under foil.

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a small saucepan (or the same pan you cooked the steaks in, if you go that route), then add vinegar, shallots and sugar.

Boil until reduced to glaze - I found it took about 5 minutes. Divide arugula and parmesan shavings between 2 plates, squeeze lemon juice over the top.

Slice the steak and top with the butter, then serve the steak over the arugula. Drizzle the glaze over top.

cheesy baked penne with cauliflower and creme fraiche

2008-10-13T14:51:00.000-04:00

The full page photo of this dish in October's Bon Appetit sucked me in - I'm always a sucker for a new mac-and-cheese recipe. This proved to be the most complicated m&c dish I've ever attempted, but also the richest and most flavorful. The different cheeses are all pricey though, so it won't be something I make all the time. (Yes, I do realize how contradictory this is with my last post about choosing cheaper cuts of meat. There's a reason I don't work in finance...)

Grocery list: 1 head of cauliflower, 2 large heirloom tomatoes, 5 T butter, 1 bunch green onions, 2 T AP flour, 1c heavy cream, 3 c grated Comte cheese (half Fontina & half Gruyere is listed as the substitute if you can't find Comte - approx 9oz), 3/4 c grated Parmesan, 1 c creme fraiche, 1T whole grain Dijon mustard, 3.5 (10oz) penne, 1 cup breadcrumbs (I substituted panko).

Bring a large stockpot of salted water to boil. Wash and chop the cauliflower into 1 inch florets, then cook in boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove from water with slotted spoon, then drop in both whole tomatoes and boil for 1 minute.

Carefully remove them from the water and turn off the heat. Set the hot water aside though, so you can reuse it for cooking the pasta.

Blanching the tomatoes will help you peel them, as the skin should almost fall off. Chop the tomatoes. At this point you should grate the Comte, chop the green onions, and get everything set up for making the cheese sauce.

Melt 2T of butter in a large skillet over med-high heat, then cook the cauliflower for 5 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes and the chopped green onions and cook for another minute.

Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.

Melt 2T of butter in a saucepan over med-low heat, then add flour and stir for 2 minutes. Whisk in the cream slowly.

Now, this was different than most white sauces, since the cream has such a higher fat content. I kept whisking it, but the fat started separating out and I thought the whole thing was ruined. But I turned down the heat and kept whisking and it reconstituted once I added the cheese in, but wanted to point this out in case the same thing happens.

Add 2 cups of the grated Comte, and whisk until melted. Stir in 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, then the creme fraiche and 1 T Dijon. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. Bring the large pot of water back to a boil and cook the penne for 10 minutes. Drain and immediately return to the pot. Stir in the cheese sauce and the cauliflower mixture.

Spoon half the pasta mixture into a baking dish, then sprinkle 1/2 cup Comte. Layer the rest of the pasta and the Comte on top.

The recipe calls for melting 1 T of butter and toasting the breadcrumbs at this point, but I skipped this step. I mixed the rest (1/4 cup) of the Parmesan with a cup of panko and spread across the top of the casserole.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes, until bubbling and golden on top.

salt and pepper crusted rib roast

2008-10-10T16:20:00.000-04:00

With the economic downturn, a lot of little luxuries are being cut, and those businesses trading in little luxuries are figuring out how to adapt. WF has done a great job of this, with all the "real value" campaigns, new $15 family dinners, etc. I also really enjoyed Gourmet's October issue, where they featured different cuts of meat (and what they can replace, how to cook them, and a few great recipes). My favorite was this Salt & Pepper crusted rib roast. I only had one little rib (still, 2 pounds!) instead of the gorgeous 10-pounder in the cover photo, so obviously a meat thermometer is important. This isn't exactly pinching pennies, but a nice splurge without blowing your weekly grocery budget.

Grocery list: beef rib roast, peppercorns, salt, olive oil.

Place a handful of peppercorns on a kitchen towel (not a microfiber or terry one, or the pepper will stick to it!), fold over the edges, and pound with a meat pounder.

Brush the roast with oil and press coarse salt and the crushed peppercorns on all sides.

Roast at 450 degrees for 20 minutes, then at 350 degrees until internal temperature registers 110 degrees. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 30 minutes, in the same pan, with a lid or foil tent over top. (Temperature will continue to rise until it reaches 130 degrees for medium rare. I left the roast in the oven until the temperature was 120, because I wanted it medium - just keep in mind that it will continue to cook after it leaves the oven).

pan roasted brussel sprouts with pancetta

2008-10-07T12:53:00.000-04:00

I fell in love with brussel sprouts because of Food 101 in Atlanta. Why am I surprised though? If you put bacon on it, it will be good right? I decided to try and replicate at home, and it was as simple as it was tasty. You just have to get over the knee-jerk reaction to brussel sprouts (most people who hate them have never tried them).

Grocery list: brussel sprouts, a couple of thick slices of pancetta (3 oz would be plenty for a pound of sprouts - serves 4-6?), olive oil, salt.

Wash the sprouts and cut in half. Chop the pancetta into 1/4- 1/2 inch cubes. In a large bowl, toss with olive oil and a generous sprinkle of salt. Pour onto a rimmed baking sheet (single layer), and roast at 450 degrees for 20 minutes, turning once or twice, or until the sprouts are brown and a little crispy on the outside.

back to basics: mashed potatoes

2008-10-06T12:38:00.000-04:00

If you're a regular reader of AHB, you already know that underneath it all, I'm just a meat and potatoes kind of girl. Okay, really great filet and pommes frites sometimes, but still, nothing makes me happier than red meat and some kind of potato. It occurred to me the other day, as I was making meat loaf for dinner (better than my usual too, leftover stale bread is MUCH better than canned breadcrumbs), that I've never blogged about mashed potatoes. I guess I assumed that everyone has their own recipe already, and there are so many opinions about them too - skins on or off, smooth or chunky, herbs or plain butter, etc. But just in case you (a) don't have a recipe you like AND (b) you prefer red skins-on potatoes with texture, then here you go.

Grocery list: small red potatoes (at least a couple pounds for 4 people), salt, cream or whole milk, sour cream, chives, butter. More butter.

Scrub the potatoes, and cut any big ones in half so they are all about the same size. Put in a big pot, cover with cold water, dump a handful of salt in, and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook for about 12-15 minutes. You'll know they're done when you break one apart with a fork and the center is all a uniform color (if they are darker in the middle they still need more time). Drain and return to pot. Stir in at least half a stick of butter, more salt, some cream, a big dollop of sour cream, and mash with a potato masher. Cut fresh chives over the top.

I'll blog the brussel sprouts shortly - they deserve their own post.

crispy goat cheese over arugula salad with prosciutto and figs

2008-10-05T14:23:00.000-04:00

What could possibly be better than crispy-on-the-outside, gooey-melted-inside goat cheese rounds? Why, putting it on top of a salad to excuse it as "healthy", that's what. This recipe from October's Bon Appetit is just pure happiness.

Grocery list (this makes 8 goat cheese rounds, which they suggest is enough for 8 salads): quart fresh figs, 1 lemon, balsamic, white wine vinegar, fresh basil, sugar, olive oil, 1 log goat cheese (11 oz), 1 c panko, 1 egg, arugula, 3 oz thinly sliced prosciutto, honey.

Don't be intimidated by the vinaigrette; it only takes a few minutes. If you don't want the hassle of cooking the figs, you can get fig paste or jam that would probably work. Stem and quarter 6 large figs, and heat in a small saucepan along with 1/2 cup water.

Simmer over med-low heat for about 5 minutes, mashing with a potato masher until you have a puree. Remove from heat. The recipe says to drain over a strainer, but I didn't have any excess liquid. I just let it cool for a few minutes then picked out the skins - the remaining paste was perfect.

Stir in 1 T fresh lemon juice, 1 T balsamic, 1 T white wine vinegar, 2 T olive oil, pinch of sugar, and 2 tsp chopped basil. Season with salt and pepper.

After trying this recipe, next time I will put the goat cheese in the freezer for 5-10 minutes before slicing - it was messy. Dip each piece of goat cheese in beaten egg first, then coat with panko. Chill on plate for 10 minutes in fridge before frying.

Heat a little olive oil in a skillet over med-high heat, then cook goat cheese for 1-2 minutes per side, till golden. Arrange arugula on plates and lay prosciutto slices over. Quarter the remaining figs and divide over the plates. Place goat cheese on top, drizzle with honey and the vinaigrette.

5 pounds of chocolate cupcakes

2008-10-02T11:34:00.000-04:00

I found this recipe in the most unlikely of places - by talking to a startup software executive at a conference. I immediately like people when it's apparent they have a love of food that rivals mine, and this woman was awesome. She had just moved back from Spain, and instead of talking about what I imagine most business people would (glad to be back to burgers or family or familiarity?), she talked about the olive oil, the bread, the markets, learning first the spanish words for basil and garlic... Wow. And then she tells me about this cake, her go-to, never-fails-to-disappoint cake made with "at least 5 pounds of chocolate" (her words). I prod a little deeper, and it turns out the recipe she uses comes from Orangette - the lovely blog I read on a daily basis - posted over 4 years ago. She sent me the recipe, which I immediately set to making. The only problem was my own impatience - not waiting for the cupcakes to cool enough before removing them = not nearly as photogenic as Orangette's, but by far the most delicious chocolate cake I've ever tried. Find someone who's birthday is near, or any other excuse possible, and make this cake. You can find the Orangette original here.

Grocery list: (cake) 3 oz semi-sweet chocolate, 1.5 cups brewed coffee, 3 c sugar, 2.5 c A/P flour, 1.5 c unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 tsp baking soda, 3/4 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 3 eggs, 3/4 c canola oil, 1.5 cups buttermilk (shaken), 3/4 tsp vanilla extract; (ganache frosting) 16 oz semi-sweet chocolate, 1 c heavy cream, 2T sugar, 2T light corn syrup, 1/2 stick unsalted butter.

To make the cake, chop the 3 oz of chocolate and pour hot coffee over it, and allow it to set for a while to melt. Grease or line 36 cupcake tins, or grease/flour 2 10-inch cake pans.

Next, work on your dry ingredients: sift the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl.

In an even bigger bowl, beat the eggs for 5 minutes with a hand mixer (or 3 mins w/a stand mixer) until they are thickened.

Then, slowly add in the oil, vanilla, buttermilk, and the coffee-chocolate mixture, beating until smooth.

Now, if you've got a stand mixer with one of those nifty attachments that keeps flour from poofing up into the air, good for you. I had to MacGiver it - I draped some towels over the top of the hand-mixer & bowl, and carefully dumped in the dry ingredients while beating on medium speed. I'm still finding chocolate powder in some crevices in the dining nook, so I'm just warning you here...

Then, pour your batter into the pans. This was an impressive sight wasn't it? Bake at 300 degrees for 20-25 minutes for cupcakes (or 50-55 for larger cakes). I think it helps to rotate the cupcake pans halfway through - meaning, move the pan from the bottom rack up to the top and vice versa. Otherwise the bottom cakes will cook way faster. Use a toothpick to tell when they're done.

While they're baking, make the ganache. Heat the heavy cream, sugar and corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, until just boiling.

Chop the chocolate (or cheat, and use chips - but they were really really nice chips from WF so I think Orangette would approve) and stir into the cream, then remove from heat.

Cut the butter into pieces and stir into the melted chocolate mixture. Pour into a bowl and allow to cool - it will keep thickening as it cools. Whenever it's at frosting consistency, you can spread it on the cakes. Make sure you remove the cakes to a wire pan and allow them to cool to completely room temperature. I rushed the first few cupcakes, and literally poured the frosting over them instead of waiting, that's how excited I was about the cupcakes. You might want to enlist some moral support during this part, if you don't want to risk ruining the presentation in the heat of the moment...

Orangette, I agree with you - this was "the most deeply-flavored, moist-yet-fluffy chocolate cake [I've] ever tried."

apple cider-braised pork shoulder

2008-10-01T09:52:00.000-04:00

Like most people, the recession is having an impact on the food I eat. But instead of giving up on the "slow movement" entirely, I'm really trying to learn to cook cheaper cuts of meat in creative ways. Some of these experiments have been failures - I don't have the heart to post the cranberry mushroom brisket that seemed so promising but was tough and boring - but this pork shoulder was a decisive win. I think most of the time people use shoulder for pork barbeque, but I didn't have the time to babysit the grill for 4 hours. This recipe (from Epicurious) was great, since you only have about 10 minutes of prep time, then the roast cooks slowly in the oven. The meat was really tender, and until I make the mistake of looking up nutrition facts for pork shoulder, this is going in the rotation.

Grocery list: 3-4 pound pork shoulder, 2 garlic cloves, 3/4 cup apple cider, 5 large onions, olive oil.

Thinly slice the garlic, then cut slits into the pork shoulder. Insert the pieces of garlic in the slits. Season all over with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 T olive oil in a large dutch oven, then brown the pork for about 1 minute per side. Remove the pork shoulder to a plate.

Heat another T olive oil in the pan, then saute the onions (sliced lengthwise) for 10 minutes, or until they start to caramelize. Stir in the apple cider.

Place the pork back in the pan, cover tightly with foil (or the dutch oven lid, if you have the oven-safe handle), and roast for 325 degrees. The recipe calls for 2.5-3 hours, but use a meat thermometer to be safe.

Remove the roast, and if the onion mixture is still more liquid-y than syrup-y, heat over medium-high flame until reduced. Shred the pork and serve with the sauce. I also made sweet potato fries and garlic chard - they tasted great but the pork's sauce can make the fries soggy. Fair warning...

chicken pot pie

2008-09-30T10:46:00.000-04:00

It would be really unfair to judge this chicken pot pie by the photos. Here's what happened: I saw some great pictures of a chicken pot pie in Bon Appetit, then did some research in my New Best Recipe book. I made a sort of hybrid of both recipes, a full batch - but split it into 2 smaller baking dishes, and froze one of them. All the photos were from prepping them in the original batch, but then the first one was so delicious and I was so starving that I just forgot completely to take a final picture. So a couple weeks later, I bake the second one (great to have a backup for the photo-op, so I thought), and while it was just as delicious, something weird happened with the inside bubbling up over the crust, so it was ugly as sin. Anyway, that's why you shouldn't judge. Try this, okay? It's amazing.

Grocery list: (topping) 1.5 cups AP flour, 4 T shortening, 8 T butter, 3-4 T ice water; (filling) 1.5 pounds chicken, 1.5 c chicken broth, 1 onion, 3 carrots, 1 celery ribs, 4 T butter, 1/2 flour, 1.5 c milk, thyme, 1 cup chopped mushrooms, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1/2 cup white wine, 3/4 frozen peas (thawed), fresh parsley.

Start by making the crust in a food processor. Note - the butter and shortening should be really cold, cut into 1/4 inch pieces, before putting into the processor. Mix the flour and a pinch of salt in the processor, then cut the shortening in with short pulses. Then add the butter and keep pulsing until it has a cornmeal consistency, and dump everything into a bowl.

Mash 3 T of ice water into the crust with a spatula (add another T if it doesn't stick together).

For a ball and flatten into a disk; wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll it out on a floured surface until it's a little bigger than the size of your baking dish.

You can make your own chicken broth by poaching the chicken in water over a slow boil (throw in salt, peppercorns, garlic cloves, some thyme, some extra chunks of celery or carrot if you have them) for about 20 minutes. Set aside 1.5 cups of the broth and shred the chicken. Prep all the vegetables by chopping into small 1/4 inch pieces.

In a large dutch oven, saute the carrots, onions and celery (I added mushrooms too) in olive oil over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes.

Add a few sprigs of chopped thyme. Then, stir in the white wine, and season well with salt and pepper.

Stir in the chicken broth, and bring to a boil. It should reduce down by about half within 5 minutes.

Melt the butter in a small bowl in the microwave, then stir in 1/2 cup flour to make a paste. This will help thicken the filling.

Stir in the heavy cream and bring back to a simmer, then stir in the chicken pieces. Mix in the flour/butter mixture one spoonful at a time, stirring well, so the filling thickens.

Pour the filling into 1 or 2 baking dishes, then cut your crust to cover it. Poke a few holes through the top to allow the steam to escape. Bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees, until the top is golden and the filling is bubbling (or in my case, till the filling bubbles all the way over and looks terrible but still tastes delicious).

peach & blackberry cobbler

2008-09-23T12:49:00.000-04:00

This isn't my Gramma's recipe, but I still think she'd approve of this well-researched version from The New Best Recipe cookbook. The biscuit topping is made with yogurt, which I've never tried before. This gives it a chewy texture, less crumbly and, well, biscuit-y, than I'm used to. I love mixing in a handful of blackberries to keep the peaches from being too sweet.

Grocery list: (filling) 2.5 pounds peaches, peeled and sliced, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp cornstarch, 1 T fresh lemon juice. If you're going to use blackberries, you don't need quite as many peaches - I used 5-6 peaches and a quart of berries. (biscuit topping) 1 cup AP flour, 3 T + 1 tsp sugar, 3/4 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, 5 T cold unsalted butter (cubed), 1/3 c plain whole milk yogurt.

Start by prepping the peaches and berries and transferring to a large bowl. Stir in the sugar and let stand 30 minutes, stirring several times.

Drain the peaches and berries in a colander over a bowl. Whisk 1/4 cup of drained juice w/cornstarch, lemon juice, and pinch of salt. Toss the peaches and berries with the juice mixture and pour into 8-inch square glass baking dish. Bake about 10 minutes at 425 degrees (till peaches bubble at the edges).

While the filling is baking, make the topping by first pulsing the flour, 3 T of the sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a food processor. Add butter cubes and pulse until it has the consistency of coarse meal.

Pour into a bowl and stir in yogurt with a spatula just until it holds together (careful not to overmix). Even though the recipe called for plain whole milk yogurt, I had some vanilla I needed to get rid of and didn't have any problems.

Pull the peaches out of the oven, break the dough into 6 equal sized mounds, and place evenly apart over the filling so they aren't touching each other. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tsp sugar, then bake at 425 degrees until topping is brown, 16-18 minutes.

Cool the cobbler on a wire rack for about 20 minutes, until it's just warm.

not boring turkey again: open-face ham, cheddar & apple butter sandwiches

2008-09-19T09:55:00.000-04:00

I have turkey sandwiches so often they've started to depress me. I know the numbers (how many calories and how much protein - so I know I'm getting what I need for an upcoming swim or whatever), but that also means I know exactly how it's going to taste. And after a while, I just dread having one. Every now and then, I'll find a new sandwich to eat for a couple days, just a bit more of a splurge, but that little investment means I can go back to my turkey again for a week or so. A vicious cycle, but at least it led me to this amazing open-face ham & cheese...

Grocery list: rustic or sourdough bread, black forest ham, extra sharp white cheddar, chives, dijon mustard, apple butter.

Drizzle slices of rustic bread with olive oil, and broil for a couple minutes on each side to toast. Spread a little dijon mustard (I prefer Roland Extra Strong), then a generous spoonful of apple butter.

Top with a few slices of black forest ham, some extra sharp white cheddar, and broil until the cheese bubbles. Slice a little pinch of fresh chives over the top, and you've got lunch.

best fried chicken in the universe

2008-09-14T21:32:00.000-04:00

The September 2008 Bon Appetit is shaping up to be the best cookbook I've ever purchased - what is this, my 6th recipe from that issue, and counting? They featured Thomas Keller's recipe for fried chicken, and the pictures of all these kids eating drumsticks had me thinking, I've got to try this. So I cross-referenced with my trusted resource, New Best Recipes, but for the most part followed Keller's recipe (scaled down to about 1/3 of the original - which called for 3 chickens!). Just like the rosemary garlic roast chicken I've blogged before, brining is the key. This is by far the BEST FRIED CHICKEN I have ever tasted.

Grocery list: (for the brine) 1/3 cup kosher salt, 3 T honey, 6 bay leaves, 10 unpeeled garlic cloves, 1 T whole peppercorns, 2 rosemary sprigs, 3 thyme sprigs, 3 parsley sprigs, zest & juice of 2 lemons, 1 3-pound chicken (or 3 pounds of chicken parts like thighs and drumsticks); (for frying) 2 cups AP flour, 2 T garlic powder, 2 T onion powder, 1.5 tsp paprika, 1.5 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp ground pepper, 1.5 T kosher salt, 2 c buttermilk, 4 cups peanut oil.

You have to start this recipe either the night before or early the morning of - in the 12-24 hours before dinner window. Put all the brining ingredients in a large bowl with 8 cups very hot tap water, and stir to dissolve the salt. Chill until the brine is cool or room temperature.

Rinse the chicken parts and submerge them in the brine. Cover with saran wrap and chill for at least 12 hours, and no more than 24 hours. About 2-3 hours before you start cooking dinner, drain the chicken and pat the pieces dry, removing any bits of herbs that stick to the skin.

Next, set up your assembly line. You'll need 1-2 large baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Mix all the dry ingredients for the coating in a bowl (flour + spices), and put the buttermilk in a bowl next to it.

Dip a piece of chicken in the flour mixture first, then in the buttermilk, then back in the flour mixture again. You want a pretty thick coat - don't shake off the excess - because some will fall off anyway during the drying process. Place the coated chicken pieces on the lined baking sheets and let stand to dry. The Keller recipe says they can dry at room temperature for 1-2 hours, but the New Best Recipe says to refrigerate them for a couple hours (your own comfort level with room temperature poultry is the determining factor I guess).

In a heavy skillet or dutch oven, heat the oil over medium high heat until it registers 320-330 degrees. The oil should be at least 1.5 inches deep. Add 4-6 pieces of chicken at a time, carefully lowering each piece into the hot oil with a slotted or wooden spoon. It's also safe to keep a splatter screen in the other hand, shielding you from the pan just in case. Fry for 7 minutes, then carefully turn each piece over and cook for another 6-7 minutes.

Transfer the chicken pieces to paper towels to drain, and sprinkle with more kosher salt. The New Best Recipe gives a helpful tip for placing the first batches of chicken in a warm oven on a cookie drying rack over a baking pan, so they stay warm and crispy (instead of on paper towels, where the crust can get soggy and stick to the paper towels).

banana flambe french toast

2008-09-11T17:36:00.002-04:00

Would it be completely ridiculous to admit I made such an indulgent breakfast on a weekday? Well, I did. No special occasion either. I just had 2 overripe bananas and a couple of half-stale loaves of brioche from the sale rack of the farmer's market that I had to get rid of, and a Thursday seemed as good a time as any. I've covered my yogurt french toast recipe before - it's SO easy, breakfast is done in 10 minutes, no exaggeration. This time I just made some bananas on the side. Try it and see what you think (my hungry bear said he liked it as much as the strawberry version, which is a good sign).

Grocery list: 1/2 cup yogurt, 1/4 cup milk, 2 eggs, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, butter, brioche or challah bread, a couple bananas, sugar, orange liquor (I used Cointreau), orange juice.

Make the french toast as usual. While it's cooking, melt a few tablespoons butter in a small saute pan over medium-high heat. Stir in about 1/2 cup orange juice and bring to a boil. Add the sliced bananas and a couple tablespoons sugar, and a generous splash (or 3) of Cointreau. It will simmer very quickly and turn into a nice syrup after a few minutes - just keep stirring. The longer you let it cook, the thicker the syrup will get. Pour over the french toast slices and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

mario's chicken parmesan

2008-09-07T10:07:00.001-04:00

I never eat chicken parmesan, never order it, never crave it. I think when I was younger, the only times I would run into it would be at some Olive Garden type of place, where "chicken parm" is just a vehicle for grease and low-quality cheese. But when I saw this picture in Bon Appetit of Mario Batali's family meal, I started to rethink chicken parmesan. I'm so glad I did. It's still super indulgent, as it's cheese + fried chicken no matter how you spin it, but absolutely worth the splurge.

Grocery list: (marinara) olive oil, 2 small chopped onions, 4 minced garlic cloves, 1 grated carrot, 3T chopped fresh thyme, 2 28-oz cans whole italian (roma) tomatoes; (chicken), boneless chicken breasts, breadcrumbs, 2 eggs, AP flour, olive oil, fresh mozzarella, grated parmesan, parsley.

Making your own marinara at home is incredibly easy - it just takes an hour to simmer. If you don't have time to do that (I make a double batch on a weekend afternoon and store it in the freezer), you could substitute a jar of your favorite basic sauce. Mario's recipe calls for sauteing the onions and garlic in olive oil over med-high heat for 10 minutes, then adding the carrot and thyme. After cooking for another 5 minutes, add the tomatoes and bring to a boil.

I've never tried this before, but using a potato masher to mash the tomatoes was a lot easier and faster than crushing them one at a time by hand (normally I grab them out of the can, crush over the pot, repeat). A word of warning - use your pot lid like a shield to prevent any tomatoes from bursting all over your shirt (ahem). Once the pot is bubbling, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the sauce thickens - about an hour.

Stir a couple of times during the hour; remove from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.

The chicken is actually very easy. You start by pounding out the chicken breasts in between plastic wrap. In hindsight, I will take the WF butcher up on his offer to pound these for me - what a pain. Did you know WF offers to do this for free, you don't have to pay extra for the pre-cut cutlets? Anyway, when you have your think cutlets, dip them in flour, then dip them in a beaten egg, then coat in egg whites. I don't list amounts here, because you can simply keep adding flour to a plate, and breadcrumbs to another one, as needed, so you don't waste any. I used 2 eggs (beaten) for the full 1.5 pounds of chicken, just for reference.

Heat 2 T oil in a big nonstick pan over med-high heat, and fry the chicken pieces in batches. Only cook them for about 2 minutes per side - you want them to brown, but not cook all the way through, since they will continue cooking in the oven. Transfer the chicken pieces to a platter. Add more oil to the pan and keep frying your chicken pieces in batches till done.

Next, preheat the oven to 350. Coat the bottom of your baking dish (a large pyrex or 9x13 glass pan works well) with 2 cups of the tomato sauce. Layer half the chicken pieces. Top with shredded mozzarella - I used slices because I was feeling lazy - then sprinkle grated parmesan. Layer more sauce and chicken, then finish with the cheeses.

Bake until cheese melts and bubbles, about 20 minutes. I also broiled mine for 2-3 minutes at the end, so the cheese on top was golden, but the original doesn't mention that. To serve, chop some fresh parsley (and oregano - AKA marjoram - if you have it) to sprinkle on top. I also made a batch of fresh pasta to mix with the remaining marinara to go along with it, the americanized side dish for chicken parm (that's one thing to thank olive garden for). This really wasn't that difficult, and would be even faster if you use the shortcuts on the sauce and chicken cutlets.

wild mushroom crostini

2008-09-04T09:08:00.000-04:00

The same great article in Bon Appetit ("Molto Americano" - new Italian restaurant recipes) that featured the SPQR lamb cacciatore also had a recipe for the side dish I made that night: wild mushroom crostini, from Baltimore's Cinghiale restaurant. All that was involved was toasting some slices of bread, sauteing some wild mushrooms, and topping with a quick thyme vinaigrette and truffle oil. While these 2 recipes were from different restaurants, they complemented each other remarkably well. As an added bonus, together they took less than 30 minutes total prep time - perfect for a weeknight.

Grocery list: butter, 12 oz wild mushrooms (shiitake, oyster, crimini, etc), fresh thyme, red wine vinegar, mayo, 1 shallot, olive oil, slices of rustic bread, truffle oil.

To make the topping, simple saute the sliced mushrooms in butter over medium-high heat with 1-2 T chopped fresh thyme, for about 8 minutes (until browned). Season with salt and pepper, and remove from heat.

This recipe made MUCH more thyme vinaigrette than I needed for the crostinis. However, it wasn't wasted - I used the leftovers as a spread for turkey sandwiches with avocado and arugula. (This was another great way to spice up a boring turkey sandwich.)

In a food processor, pulse 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 3 T fresh thyme leaves, 2T mayo, and 1 small chopped shallot. Slowly pour in 1/3 -1/2 cup olive oil while the machine is running. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Brush the bread slices with a little olive oil and bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes (turning once), until slightly crisp.

Mound some of the mushrooms on each piece, drizzle with the vinaigrette, and top with just a bit of truffle oil. I think this would make a great appetizer (I'd use a sliced baguette instead), since it's so easy to make ahead and assemble at the last minute.

lamb cacciatore

2008-09-03T06:16:00.001-04:00

Ah, one of my favorite restaurants in San Francisco is SPQR. I originally read about it in Food & Wine magazine, and took my little brother there for his birthday. We were fortunate enough to get seats at the "chef's counter" - basically a bar setup over the kitchen, where you can watch the meals being prepared. The best part was hearing the lead chef talk to the line cooks. He would taste some of the dishes under way and tell the line cooks what was missing. My favorite overheard quote was "more salt, more salt! If it's not over-salted it's under-seasoned!" So I was justifiably excited - practically giddy - when I saw the September 2008 Bon Appetit, the "Restaurant Issue": recipes from SPQR! I did not have this lamb cacciatore at the restaurant, but I will try it when I'm back in the bay area to see how it compared to my own version.

Grocery list: 3 pounds boneless leg of lamb, trimmed and cut into 1 inch chunks [note, ask your butcher, but I substituted shoulder and it was only $5 a pound - you have to trim it anyway, so it was perfect in my opinion]; 1/4 cup white wine, 2 garlic cloves, olive oil, 2T chopped fresh rosemary, 1 T chopped fresh oregano, 1 T chopped fresh mint, 4 anchovy fillets chopped (or 1-2 T anchovy paste), 1 bag fresh arugula, lemon wedges.

Drizzle wine over lamb pieces and season with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, make the marinade by mashing garlic with 4T olive oil, then mixing in all the herbs and anchovies.

Stir into lamb, cover with saran wrap, and chill for at least 2 hours.

The recipe says you can cook the lamb either over a grill (using metal skewers to make kabobs), or by sauteing - I used the latter method.

Heat 1 T oil in large pan, then saute lamb in batches over high heat, about 5-6 minutes for medium-rare. Toss the arugula with a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper. Serve the lamb over the arugula with lemon wedges on the side.

pesto pasta and roasted garlic thyme chicken

2008-09-01T07:01:00.000-04:00

I've covered these both before (pesto here and here, and chicken here) but just in case you needed to be reminded that these recipes are there for the taking...

sausage, peppers and fresh mozzarella pasta

2008-08-31T15:11:00.000-04:00

I have a coworker friend who told me about a great sausage and pepper recipe that his family loves which I've been thinking about for some time. I intend to try his actual recipe very soon - it sounds perfect for football Sundays. If I understood him correctly, he takes up to 6 green bell peppers and sautes them over low heat until they've almost caramelized, and with good quality italian sausages cooked up alongside. I had a few peppers, and wanted to try this technique of longer, slower cooking to make the peppers sweeter. With some extra cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, mozzarella, and a couple of fresh sausages, it was a delicious weekday meal that only took about half an hour to make.

Grocery list: 2-3 italian sausages, casings removed, 2 green bell peppers thinly sliced, quartered cherry tomatoes (half a pint or more), cubed fresh mozzarella, handful of chopped fresh basil, 1 pound pasta.

The prep work for this dish was very simple - just slice your vegetables and chop the sausage and mozzarella into bite-size pieces.

Start by sauteing the peppers over medium heat in olive oil, for at least 10 minutes, until they start to brown. Cook the pasta according to the package directions (save a little of the cooking water to stir into the cooked pasta along with some olive oil, so you won't need as much oil to keep it from getting sticky).

Next, add the sausage and continue to cook until the sausage is cooked through, about 8 minutes more. Then, turn off the heat, and stir in the chopped basil, mozzarella, tomatoes, and pasta. Season well with salt and pepper (and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, if you want a little kick).

four cheese serrano mac & cheese (and cheese, and more cheese)

2008-08-27T22:19:00.001-04:00

Can you ever have too many mac and cheese recipes? My sister told me she tried mincing some serrano peppers (remember her libba burgers??) and sauteing them in the butter she used for making the cheese sauce. Since I have a little serrano pepper plant - producing about 20 new peppers a week (really!), I had to try this. I threw in 4 cheeses, not to be fancy, but just to use up the ends of a bunch of things: cheddar, brie, gouda, parmesan. Some panko bread crumbs on top added some crunch to the rich cheese - perfect!

Grocery list: 3-4 cups shredded cheese, 1 pound dried pasta, 3 cups milk, flour, butter, 1 chopped onion, 2-3 minced garlic cloves, 3-5 minced serrano peppers.

It really helps to do the prep work before starting the cheese sauce. Mince the garlic and serranos, and chop the onion. Any soft cheese (like brie) should be diced, and the other sharp cheeses can be shredded.

Start the roux as usual by melting 4-5 T of butter in a saucepan. Instead of immediately adding the flour, saute the onions, garlic and peppers for about 5 minutes.

When the onions are transparent, stir in 4-5 T flour - it will turn into a paste. Slowly stir in the milk a little at a time; bring almost to a boil to thicken, then turn the heat down very low. Stir in the cheeses to melt, then remove from heat.

If you want to use the panko crust, melt a couple tablespoons of butter over medium heat, then add 1-2 cups of panko crumbs. Stir occasionally until the panko starts to toast, then remove from heat. Cook the pasta according to the package directions (minus a couple of minutes - it's best to leave it extra al dente, since it will continue to cook in the hot cheese sauce).

Place the pasta into a large greased casserole dish; sprinkle grated parmesan and panko crumbs over top. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes, until bubbly and golden on top.

turkey, blue cheese and caramelized onion sandwiches

2008-08-24T19:37:00.000-04:00

I found this recipe in the september issue of bon appetit, and decided it would be a lovely way to shake up the weekday turkey sandwich routine. (Havarti with dill and roland extra strong is my "usual" - still lovely no matter how many hundreds I've had by now...) The original recipe calls for arugula mayo - a mix of 1 cup chopped arugula with 3/4 cup mayo - but I skipped it to save time, and just used regular mayo and plenty of fresh arugula in the sandwich.

Grocery list: bread, turkey, a couple of red onions, arugula, mayo, blue cheese crumbles.

Slice the red onions and saute in olive oil over medium-high heat for about 8-10 minutes. Turn off the heat, and stir in 3T red wine vinegar, then season with salt and pepper. Assemble your sandwich: toasted bread, as much mayo as you like, turkey, some onions, blue cheese crumbles, topped off with arugula leaves. So easy, and definitely worth the extra 10 minutes of effort.

vietnamese shaking beef

2008-08-21T09:43:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite restaurants in San Francisco is The Slanted Door, a trendy Vietnamese place in the Ferry Building on Embarcadero (I go there for the food, not the trendiness - I've not been there once when the hostess hasn't acted like I should be grateful that they allow me in the door - but I digress). Recently, a friend introduced me to their "shaking beef", which is stir-fried filet mignon cubes with just the simplest of sauces to complement. Someone told me it's called "shaking" due to the way the cook has to shake the pan to quickly sear the meat in the pan. Like everything I've tried at TSD, it's amazing, but never in a million years did I think it's something I could attempt at home. That is, until I came across this full recipe for TSD's version of Shaking Beef on the SF Gourmet blog. I'll let you check out the original, and here I'll post my modified version. Please note that I did NOT use filet mignon, as I'm morally opposed to marinating any cut of meat that costs more than $20/pound. I substituted local ribeye at the suggestion of my butcher, and it was *amazing*.

Grocery list: 1.5 pounds steak, garlic, sugar, salt, canola oil, rice vinegar, rice wine, soy sauce (both light and dark if you have it, if not, just use what you have), fish sauce, lime, 1 bunch green onions, 1 bunch watercress, 1/2 red onion, butter, plus rice to serve.

This is a very simple marinade: just a couple of chopped garlic cloves, 1 tsp sugar, 1.5 tsp salt, 3/4 tsp black pepper, all mixed into a couple of tablespoons canola oil.

Chop your steak into 1-inch cubes, and swirl the meat around in the marinade to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. I actually think it helps to take it out of the fridge for the last 20-30 minutes or so, to allow it to return to room temperature.

Thinly slice half of a red onion, and chop the green onions. While the meat is resting on the counter, prepare the vinaigrette (which you'll add to the stir-frying meat and shake around, hence the name). Stir together 1/4 c rice vinegar, 1 T sugar, 1/4 c rice wine, 4 T light soy, 1 T dark soy, and 1 T fish sauce.

I don't own a wok, so I used a large nonstick skillet for this. With a wok, you have a smaller surface area on the bottom of the pan, so the original recipe says you should divide the meat and onions in half so you can cook it in 2 quick batches. I had room in my pan to do it all at once though. Heat 2 T canola oil over medium-high heat, then add the beef in a single layer. Don't stir it around for the first minute or 2 - you want it to develop a nice crust on the bottom. Flip all the meat cubes over quickly, and sear for another couple of minutes.

Add the onions and stir everything around - cook for another 1-2 minutes (the meat should be medium rare, so be careful not to overcook). Pour the vinaigrette over and shake the pan. Add a pat or 2 of butter, shaking to coat. Serve over a bed of watercress with rice. TSD also serves this with "dipping sauce" - just the juice of one lime mixed with salt and pepper.

cream cheese brownies

2008-08-20T18:08:00.000-04:00

Another weekend, another request for homemade dessert... A finally got his hands on my copy of "The New Best Recipe" (from Cook's Illustrated), and started reading the dessert section. As an engineer, he was impressed with the thorough, scientific approach, which was all he needed to be convinced that their brownie recipes must be the best in the world. I had all the ingredients on hand, so we were digging in to hot gooey layered brownies about an hour later.

For the brownie base: 2/3 c AP flour, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 2 oz unsweetened chocolate, 4 oz bitter or semisweet chocolate, 8T unsalted butter, 1 c sugar, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 3 large eggs. For the cream cheese filling: 8 oz cream cheese (room temp), 1/4 c sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 1 egg yolk.

In a medium bowl, melt chocolate and butter (start with 1 minute on high, stir, and keep heating in 30 second increments till melted). Stir the mixture till it's smooth, then whisk in sugar and vanilla.

Let this cool for a couple of minutes, then whisk in eggs one at a time till smooth.

Stir in the flour, salt and baking powder, then set aside.

In a separate bowl, make the cream cheese filling. Whisk all ingredients together till blended.

To assemble the brownies, layer half of the chocolate base into bottom of 8x8 pan (greased). Drop spoonfuls of the cream cheese filling into the base, reserving half of it. Repeat by spreading remaining brownie base, then dropping spoonfuls of the remaining cream cheese filling.

Use a knife and drag blade through mix to swirl filling and base together. Bake at 325 for 50-60 minutes, then allow to cool.

classic jambalaya

2008-08-18T12:30:00.003-04:00

None of these photos do justice to this classic jambalaya dish, but I'm going to blog it anyway in the hopes that AHB readers trust my recipes more than my photography skills by now... I've made crab and andouille sausage jambalaya before, but A made a special request a while ago for a "real" jambalaya (i.e. with shrimp, not crab). There are a surprising number of versions of this dish, but if I was going to trust anyone specifically, it would have to be Emeril, since creole cooking is his bread-and-butter. He didn't let me down - although his recipe made such huge portions (even by A's standards), we were eating leftovers for so long that I probably won't get this request again for months.

Grocery list: 1 pound medium shrimp (peeled, deveined), 2 pounds chicken, 1.5 pounds andouille sausage, 3-4 garlic cloves, 2 onions, 2-3 stalks celery, 1 bell pepper, 3-4 dried bay leaves, cayenne pepper, 2 sprigs fresh thyme, 1-2 tomatoes, 2 cups rice, 1 bunch green onions, handful of fresh parsley, plus Emeril's Creole seasoning (his proprietary blend of paprika, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder, cayenne, dried oregano, dried thyme).

Start by chopping the onions, celery, tomatoes and green onions. Cut the chicken and sausage into bit-size pieces. In separate bowls, season the shrimp and chicken pieces generously with the creole seasoning (enough to coat - the more you season it, the spicier the jambalaya will be).

Heat a couple T of olive oil in a large dutch oven - medium high heat - and saute the shrimp. After 3-4 minutes, the shrimp will be almost cooked through (whitish pink instead of opaque), so remove from the pot and set aside. They'll cook the rest of the way through when you add them back to the cooking jambalaya later.

Add a couple more tablespoons of olive oil to the pot, and cook the seasoned chicken pieces about 6-8 minutes. Remove and set aside as well.

Add the sausage pieces to the pot and brown evenly, then add all the vegetables *except for the green onions* (you'll add those later). Throw in a couple of minced garlic cloves, a few bay leaves, a sprinkle of extra cayenne, and a couple sprigs of fresh thyme.

The vegetables will wilt after 5-6 minutes, at which point you can add your chopped tomatoes. Stir in 6 cups of water plus the cooked chicken pieces.

You may want to check your rice label before using this ratio - I used brown rice, which requires a little less water but much longer cooking time. Emeril's recipe calls for 2 cups of rice to 6 cups of water - I used 2 cups brown rice and reduced that water (and the cooking times - I made sure to NOT add the shrimp until the rice was about 10 minutes from being done). Bring the pot to a boil, reduce heat to low, and cover. Cook for 15 minutes, or as long as your rice needs to cook minus 10 minutes.

Stir in the shrimp, the chopped green onions, and a handful of chopped parsley, and cook for another 10 minutes. The rice should be done, and the liquid almost entirely cooked out - the consistency is creamy, not watery. Turn off the heat and allow to stand for at least 10 minutes.

roasted potatoes, onions & garlic on the grill

2008-08-17T19:13:00.002-04:00

Have you ever tried this? It's not really a recipe, but just an easy thing to put together if you're already heating up the grill for barbeque chicken or steaks. Just slice up some vidalia onions and potatoes and layer in heavy-duty aluminum foil.

Throw in a few whole garlic cloves (smash just a little so the flavor comes out), drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and fold into small packets. Grill for about 15 minutes over medium flame.

pesto chicken salad with bacon, tomatoes and garlic croutons

2008-08-13T12:31:00.002-04:00

Yet another winner from my favorite new cookbook of the summer, "Raising the Salad Bar." With all the fresh basil at the farmers market, I made up a double batch of pesto for a couple different meals (the other pasta dish to follow soon). If you have a food processor, some basil, garlic, parmesan, pine nuts and olive oil, you can make pesto in about 3 minutes (see previous post here). This recipe combines some chopped cooked chicken with a pesto + mayo dressing, then tossed with fresh tomatoes, bacon, and croutons. The book's version doesn't do it this way, but I also mixed all the ingredients with some mixed greens (the dressing coats all the lettuce surprising well, without having to add extra) for a "true" salad.

Grocery list: 2 cups cooked chicken, 1.5 cups quartered cherry tomatoes, 1/4 cup mayo, 1/4 cup pesto, 4-5 slices bacon (cooked and chopped), garlic salt, a few slices bread for croutons.

You could certainly use store-bought croutons to make this recipe even faster, but homemade croutons are SO much better. They really don't take any time at all - you can cook them while you're prepping the rest of the salad. Remove the crusts from your bread, cut into bite-size pieces, and toss with a few T of olive oil and garlic salt. Either toast on a cookie sheet in the oven at 350 degrees (turning occasionally), or in a large skillet over medium heat.

Mix the pesto and mayo together, then toss with the chicken.

Add to a large salad bowl with the mixed greens, and toss to coat everything with the dressing. Stir in the crumbled bacon and cherry tomatoes, season with salt and pepper.

Divide into bowls (this could make enough for 3 meal-size salads), then top with the croutons.

grilled mahi tacos with avocado cream

2008-08-10T19:38:00.004-04:00

I think everyone who picked up the most recent Domino mag fell in love with this recipe. Not just the idea of fish tacos (who doesn't love fish tacos any day?), but the beautiful outdoor table setting, all the colors, all the "I just threw this little impromptu get-together with my friends and my backyard picnic table and strings of lights in the trees, you know, just because" - it's so appealing. Well, I don't have a picnic table, but I did decide to invite a couple of our friends over to share this meal. The idea of it was just too good to keep to ourselves. The avocado cream is nice, although next time I'll do what I always do and make guacamole (dual purpose -for tacos AND chips!) and keep the sour cream on the side. Red cabbage with a splash of vinegar and pinch of salt - the crunchy texture was absolutely perfect with the grilled fish. I made another batch of the jicama mango salad and the entire meal was just perfect.

Grocery list: corn tortillas, mahi-mahi fillets (skin-on), red cabbage, avocados, limes, sour cream, tomatoes, red onion, jalapeno, cilantro (I added a little fresh corn to the pico de gallo since it's in season and I can't help myself when I walk by fresh corn at the farmers' market - ever).

Make the avocado cream by blending 2 avocados with 1/2 c sour cream and the juice of 2 limes in the food processor (season with sea salt). Finely chop the cabbage and dress with a splash of vinegar and salt. Make fresh pico de gallo by chopping a couple of tomatoes, 1/2 red onion, a handful of cilantro, and as much jalapeno as you like - plus the (optional) kernels from an ear or 2 of corn. Mix with lime juice, salt and pepper. Grill the mahi-mahi skin-side down (brush with olive oil first to make sure it doesn't stick to the grates) until fish is flaky and cooked through. This can all come together in 20 minutes, and with everyone serving themselves, it might just be the least stress you've ever experienced at a dinner get-together...

brownie cupcakes with peanut butter frosting (!!!)

2008-08-08T18:40:00.002-04:00

Yes, these cupcakes are as good as the name suggests. Better yet, I'd wager you have all the ingredients in your kitchen right now. So maybe you should put down the laptop and just go see about making these right now, hmm?

Grocery (pantry) list: 6T butter, 8 oz semisweet chocolate chips + 3oz unsweetened chocolate [note - I just used semisweet only and they worked great], 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 cup AP flour, 1/3 cup walnuts (if you don't like nuts in brownies, skip them); for the frosting, 1 cup powdered sugar, 3/4 cup peanut butter, 1/2 stick room temperature butter, 1/4 tsp vanilla, 4 tsp heavy cream.

To make the brownie cupcakes, heat the butter + 1/2 the chocolate in a microwave or over a double boiler until smooth. Mix in both the granulated and brown sugar, then whisk in both eggs, the vanilla, flour, walnuts, a pinch of salt, and the remaining chocolate chips. Divide into cupcake liners - should make 8-10 cupcakes. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Use a hand mixer to mix the powdered sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla and cream together until very smooth. Keep in mind that the peanut butter will melt and get very messy if the cupcakes haven't cooled completely before you frost them (if you can wait that long...).

enchilada lasagna

2008-08-06T15:37:00.004-04:00

For people who work long hours during the week, the concept of making a few meals on Sunday that you can easily bake or reheat during the week has got to be pretty appealing. Even though I work from home, and theoretically could use all the time I save not having a commute on cooking something fresh and inspired every night, sometimes I just can't - or don't want to - get away from my laptop with enough energy to do anything special. But my problem is that the only ideas I've really had for this prepped-on-Sunday eaten-on-weekday meal is your standard lasagna. So I started looking for other options, and found this interesting recipe for Enchilada Lasagna (by Emeril). It has the same components as an Italian lasagna, with these tweaks: layers of corn tortillas in lieu of pasta, layers of seasoned meat (shredded chicken), and this great pepper jack cheese sauce instead of bechamel or ricotta-based sauce. I ended up baking it right away and then reheating in the oven during the week, since I wasn't sure what the corn tortillas would do in the fridge next to all that moisture from the sauce over the course of a day or 2. This makes a pretty huge batch (probably 8+ portions?), so it's great for a dinner party too.

Grocery list: butter, flour, milk, chicken stock, 8 oz shredded pepper jack cheese, 18 corn tortillas, 4 cups (2 pounds) cooked shredded chicken, 2 tsp "Emeril's Southwest Essence" (i.e. equal parts salt, chili powder, paprika, cumin, plus a pinch of cayenne and coriander), roasted poblano peppers, green onions, cilantro, 3 cups shredded monterey jack cheese, 4 oz shredded queso anejo (or parmesan), 1 cup chopped tomatoes, plus sour cream and salsa for serving.

You start off by making the pepper jack cheese sauce, just like any bechamel type sauce. Melt 6T butter, then whisk in 6T flour. Stir in 3 1/2 cups of milk - just a little at a time, stirring after each addition until it is combined. Then stir in 1 1/2 cups chicken stock, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. The sauce should thicken up very nicely.

Now, add 8 oz shredded pepper jack cheese, stir well, then season with salt and remove from the heat. Emeril adds a step here where you'd fry each tortilla individually in oil to soften them up - which I think would be necessary if you're having the tortillas in enchiladas or fajitas, but I decided to skip it. I didn't miss the extra oil, but you might opt to try this step if you want...

If you've already shredded your cooked chicken, you can just start assembling. I used 2 pyrex dishes (his recipe said a 9 x 13 casserole, but I swear there's no way all that food could fit in that space), lightly greased. Put one cup of sauce in the bottom of your dish (note - 1 cup for one dish, or split proportionately if you use 2 different sized dishes), then layer 6 of the tortillas. Lay half of the shredded chicken on top and sprinkle 1 tsp of the seasoning ("Essence") over it. Then you lay half the peppers - his recipe said "6 poblanos" but I cheated and used a canned version I found in WF instead of roasting whole ones myself. Then spread 1/2 cup chopped green onions, 1 1/2 cups of cheese sauce, plus 1 cup of the monterey jack. Make another layer exactly like that one (this would finish off everything but 6 remaining tortillas, some sauce, and 1 cup of monterey jack).

Finish by laying down the last 6 tortillas, and spread the rest of the pepper jack sauce over it. Sprinkle 1 cup chopped tomatoes and a handful of chopped cilantro, and the rest of the monterey jack over this layer. Top with a little shredded queso anejo (I substituted parmesan, as the recipe suggests). Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes until bubbly and golden on top. [If you're making this ahead, just take it out after the 45 minutes and allow to cool, then refrigerate for a couple of days until you're ready to eat it. Then you'd need to warm it in the oven w/the foil on for 20-30 minutes, then finish the rest of the baking w/the foil off.]

To serve, top with a little more chopped cilantro, a dollop of sour cream, and a generous amount of salsa or pico de gallo.

mango jicama salad

2008-08-04T08:25:00.002-04:00

I find myself cooking a lot more mexican-inspired dishes in the summertime. Maybe because there are so many options that involve fresh seasonal vegetables, fish, less elaborate cooking (and shorter cooking times), and especially because spicy is the best complement to the southern heat and humidity. And what goes best with spicy mexican food? This crunchy, tangy mango jicama salad. Jicama doesn't have a lot of flavor, but it has the greatest texture (crunchy and light, kind of like a water chestnut, if I had to pick something), and absorbs the flavors of whatever you mix with it. I found this recipe from epicurious (which I made a half-batch of and found plenty for 4+ servings - half batch ingredients listed below), and will definitely make it a lot more this summer...

Grocery list: 3 ears corn, 2-3 mangoes (peeled, pitted, chopped), 1 jicama (about a pound, peeled and chopped), 1/2 chopped red onion, handful chopped fresh cilantro, juice of 1 lime, drizzle of olive oil.

The only thing that requires a little work for this salad is the corn - you have to boil it for 3-5 minutes, then chill in ice water. Slice the kernels off the corn cobs, and chop all the other ingredients.

Toss everything together with the juice of one lime and a drizzle of olive oil, plus salt and pepper to taste, and that's it.

homemade everything: my gramma's influence

2008-07-29T08:29:00.004-04:00

I just returned from a weekend at my grandparents' house in rural North Carolina - a sprawling farm on the Pee-Dee River we call "Neal's Hill". Just the other night a co-worker's wife was asking me how I came to love food and cooking so much... If I had to pick any single influence, I'd say my Gramma. Although I don't cook mainly southern food, I appreciate the process of making things from scratch, and from the freshest possible ingredients, because of her. When I was young, I'd spend at least a week each summer down on Neal's Hill, and Gramma and I would go out and pick apples, peaches or blueberries and bake cobblers or pies. When Gramma pulled out her old church cookbook this past weekend, I was so excited - what pie was she going to make this time??

It turns out she made this delicious blueberry "pot pie" - kind of custardy when baked. I can't describe how good fresh berries from her garden taste.

Gramma slices up these fresh tomatoes she grows into thick pieces for...

...cucumber sandwiches! I'm not sure if this is a Southern thing, or just a Gramma thing, but she makes these cucumber and tomato sandwiches with slices of cheddar cheese and some mayo, salt and pepper - juicy and crunchy and the *perfect* lunch for a hot summer day.

My gramma grows and cans her own green beans. I took it for granted growing up that this would always be available - it wasn't until I went off to college and realized that most people only had canned vegetables.

My gramma is so multi-talented - she's really gotten into throwing her own pottery the last couple of years. My mom and sister always go straight to her new pieces when we walk in the door to see what all she's been working on (and inevitably try to convince my Gramma how deserving we are of some new bowl or platter). The coolest pieces in my kitchen are these homemade pottery dishes my Gramma made. This past trip I scored a new serving bowl, and a small lidded casserole dish. You'll definitely see these featured on the blog in the future...

And how cute is this little card my Gramma started putting in her new pieces? Her work is now being commissioned by local churchgoers and friends, and now she's got some pieces on display at the local art center. I had such a great time when I visited, as always, and I'm already wondering when I can head back...

why have I not heard of this? rich tomato sausage pasta with olives

2008-07-27T09:25:00.000-04:00

I was looking for a baked pasta recipe on epicurious the other day - I wanted to find an easy-ish recipe that I could make, divide into 2 batches and freeze half of it for future use. I came across this recipe as the most reviewed, highest rated baked pasta in their archive, from about 10 years ago. The foundation is a simple tomato sauce that simmers for over an hour (since I work from home, I'm not intimidated by longer cook times, since I can put on a pot and stir it occasionally between emails and phone calls). I added spinach and spicy turkey sausage to up the protein and vitamin content; I also used ricotta instead of havarti cheese, to increase protein and decrease overall fat. It was so good - the second half of the batch won't last long in the freezer, since I'm already craving it again.

Grocery list: olive oil, 1 large or 2 small chopped onions, a couple minced garlic cloves, 2-3 28-oz cans Italian plum tomatoes, crushed red pepper, 2 cups chicken broth, 1 pound pasta, 2 1/2 cups grated havarti (or 1 15-oz container of low-fat ricotta), 1/3 cup sliced kalamata olives (or more), 1/3 cup grated parmesan, plus optional add-ons of 1 pound spicy sausage and 1 10-oz bag of fresh baby spinach.

If you're going to add sausage, start by cooking it first in a little olive oil, breaking it up as it cooks. When it's almost cooked through, remove from the pan with a slotted spoon to a plate. Add a little more olive oil, then cook the onion for 2 minutes, then add the garlic and saute together for a couple minutes over medium heat. I added the bag of fresh spinach at this point, and stirred it till it was wilted evenly. Add the tomatoes, crushing by hand. Some of the user comments recommend keeping the tomato juice (which I did), or substituting with some combination of wine, chicken broth, etc. I think it depends on the cook time and what flavor you like. Basically you want a lot more liquid to start with than you think, so it can simmer and reduce down over the next hour or more. Season with salt, pepper, fresh thyme, oregano or basil if you have it (or dried if that's all you have available).

After the sauce has cooked down for an hour+, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and return to the pot, tossing with a few tablespoons olive oil. Mix the pasta into the sauce carefully, then add the shredded cheese and stir to combine.

Transfer to a large baking dish (or 2), then top with the shredded parmesan and chopped olives. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until bubbly.

weekday breakfast: egg white omelet

2008-07-24T15:14:00.000-04:00

Making a healthy breakfast only takes me about 10 minutes. It may seem like that's 10 minutes you don't have in the morning, but if you invest there, you won't have to take extra time out mid-morning to go get a snack or another coffee. I also take one morning (or Sunday afternoons) to prep the ingredients for several breakfasts at once, so it's even easier to just grab a handful of veggies and throw them in the pan.

Here's a version of an egg white omelet I've been making this week - but you can switch up any of the ingredients. My mom was actually just telling me about her omelet du jour, a greek-inspired version with feta, sundried tomatoes, spinach, tomatoes and red onions. I'll try that one next.

First, I dice up a couple slices of center cut bacon, and fry those in a pan for 3-4 minutes, till they are almost done. Then, I add 3-4 sliced button mushrooms.

After they've cooked for 3-4 more minutes, I add a couple handfuls of fresh spinach. The spinach only takes a minute or 2 to wilt, then you can add the eggs (or egg whites, if you prefer).

I normally cook 6-8 egg whites for me and A - with him getting about 2/3 of the entire omelet. Anyway, once you pour in the eggs, stir them a few times slowly, so that the eggs that have started to stick to the bottom get shifted around. This will help them cook more evenly. After about a minute or two, even out all the fillings and half-cooked egg whites so it's flat and in the right shape. From this point, you won't have to do anything, just leave it alone for a couple minutes (turn down the heat to medium-low if you don't want the eggs overcooked on the bottom). Add cheese if you like, then fold in half. I'll serve this with a slice of wheat toast (with peanut butter and jelly for extra energy!) and I won't be hungry again for hours.

meat loaf can be the side dish: sauteed spinach with shallots

2008-07-22T15:25:00.000-04:00

Eating more vegetables with a main meat dish is a great way to (a) eat less meat, and (b) save money, by way of (a). It's a challenge for me to come up with an interesting method for vegetables that will adequately complement an awesome meat dish without just slathering cheese and bread crumbs all over it (I'm from the south, so that would be my default treatment for vegetables). I bought a big one-pound bag of baby spinach the other day, and was just going to do the "usual" - a little garlic, cranberries and walnuts. But then I happened across this recipe on Epicurious, which is even easier and adds less sugary fatty acoutrements. It's funny to me that they call it a "chiffononade" - if I ever make this for guests, I'll have to remember to fancy it up by using it's proper name. For now, it's just sauteed spinach with shallots. (And the spaghetti squash in the photo was so nice it deserves its own post...)

By the way - I've covered meat loaf before if you're interested in checking out my recipe...

Grocery list: 3 shallots, 1 pound bag baby spinach, some olive oil, salt, pepper.

Saute 3 minced shallots in olive oil for 2-3 minutes. Add the spinach carefully, and keep moving it around so the spinach wilts evenly. When it's all cooked down (it will look like you start with enough spinach for approximately 20 people, but this really only makes 2-3 servings), season with salt and pepper. Much more interesting than you'd think, I promise...

slow cooked ribs with lisa's secret* barbecue sauce

2008-07-20T17:34:00.000-04:00

*That is, secret until I posted it here (sorry Lisa, this is too good to NOT share!). Cooking ribs in a simmering slow cooker all day seems like a great idea at first: as minimal prep work as it gets, and you have the most delicious fall-off-the-bone tender ribs you've ever tried. The only caveat? Having to sit around and smell ribs cooking for 8 straight hours. Not a big deal unless, like me, you work from home. Anyway, the best part of these ribs is the sauce. And for me, the best part of the sauce is hearing Lisa (A's mom) TALK about the sauce. A is the oldest of 3 boys, so when Lisa tells me how to cook anything, it's always "the boys used to love this." With the ribs, it's "when the boys were all home, I used to have to make 3 crockpots full, I'd have to quadruple the sauce recipe, the boys ate 40 pounds of meat each" etc. I don't know why, but I absolutely love stories about "the boys". Anyway, try this sauce, and you'll know why a mom of 3 200+ pound "boys" has to make 4x or more of the recipe. It's that good.

Grocery list: however many rack(s) of ribs you want to cook - one full rack baby back ribs serves 2-3, technically. Ask the butcher to cut the membrane off the back for you and it will save you a lot of work at home. For the sauce (I make a double batch to cook the ribs in, and another double batch for dipping later on), per batch: 1/2 cup ketchup, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup water, 1/2 medium onion finely chopped, 1.5 T worchestershire, 1 T white vinegar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp mustard, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp salt.

If you're making the sauce for the crockpot, you don't need to cook it first, just mix everything well and drop it in on top of the ribs. Set the slow cooker for 8 hours on low, and then vacate the premises lest you drive yourself crazy with how good it smells. When the ribs are almost done, you can make another batch of the sauce - heat it in a small saucepan on the stove at a low simmer for about 20-30 minutes (the onions will get super tender and all the flavors meld together the longer you let it cook).

This is what the ribs look like when they're almost done. (Note to self: never blog on an empty stomach, especially NOT about ribs.)

eat your vegetables: broccolini with goat cheese and garlic

2008-07-16T14:59:00.003-04:00

A and I were in Vegas a few weekends ago and stayed at the always-amazing Wynn Hotel. I had never eaten at their SW Steakhouse before, so this was on our list to try. It's not as good as N9NE (still reigns as my favorite - their gnocchi, which our waiter described as "little pillows of love", literally melt in your mouth, the perfect complement to an already perfect steak), but they had a few unique dishes to talk about. First, the best part of the meal wasn't the wet-aged steak (great, but not the best I've ever had). The highlight was actually one of the items in the bread basket: bacon and cheese corn muffins. I almost had to get up and walk away from the table, I was afraid of making a scene when I bit into one. Maybe one day I'll try to make these. But for now, I'm settling for an at-home attempt at my second favorite thing from this meal, the side dish of broccolini with goat cheese and garlic.

Grocery list (can you guess?): broccolini, goat cheese, garlic.

I started by blanching the trimmed broccolini: cook in boiling water for 5 minutes or until slightly tender, then drain and immediately rinse with cold water so they stay crisp and bright green. Slice 3-4 garlic cloves very thin, then saute in olive oil. Add the broccolini and cook for another 2 minutes. Sprinke some goat cheese crumbles across the top, turn off the heat, and season with salt and pepper. It was so simple I was *almost* surprised that I paid $12 for this in Vegas...

pan seared tilapia with chile lime butter

2008-07-14T11:17:00.004-04:00

I found this great recipe for chile lime butter on Epicurious. Not counting the time it takes for the butter to soften on the counter, the entire meal is ready in 20 minutes. This is definitely going in the weekly rotation. I saved the leftover butter and was able to use it later for some steamed corn on the cob - what a great treat.

Grocery list: 1 lime, butter (1 T for each serving of fish), 1 chile pepper, 1 shallot, enough tilapia per person (I made 4 fillets, 3 T butter total, this seemed like 3 normal size servings).

Let the butter soften, then mash in the juice of half a lime, a T of lime zest, 1 minced shallot, and about 1 tsp of minced chile pepper (add more if you like heat).

Heat some oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the tilapia for about 3 minutes per side, until it is flaky and opaque in the center. Serve with a dollop of the chile lime butter. On the side I had sweet potato fries (covered here), and goat cheese broccolini...

you don't have to skip dessert: strawberry shortcake

2008-07-12T09:00:00.004-04:00

I like eating healthy, but I also don't like the idea of depriving myself of dessert. Not that I'm going to make chocolate kahlua cheesecake every night, but if I'm craving something sweet, I am going to have it. Sometimes that's a fun date to get a gelato, and sometimes that's making a healthier option at home. I picked up a pound of fresh strawberries from the farmers market earlier this week, so I knew I had the option to make a light and healthy dessert with that. In order to make the shortcake healthier, I decided to keep the ingredients exactly the same (yes, butter, cream, sugar), but just make smaller portions of the bread with a larger ratio of strawberries. It was perfect.

Grocery list: strawberries, lemon, sugar, flour, butter, whipping cream, milk, powdered sugar.

Start by washing, hulling and slicing the strawberries. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over them, and sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of sugar over top. Refrigerate for an hour or more, stirring occasionally, so the strawberries release their juices and make a nice syrup.

For the shortcakes, the recipe I followed (from Epicurious) calls for 2 cups flour, 1/2 stick cold unsalted butter, 1/8 tsp salt, plus 2 T sugar (in order to make 6 shortcakes). I went for half this recipe, to make 4 smaller shortcakes, but I'll let you make that call for yourself. Anyway, after sifting together the dry ingredients, cut the butter up into small pieces and add to the bowl. With your hands, mix until the texture is course (like cornmeal). Then, pour in 3/4 cup milk and mix just until it turns doughy - don't over-mix.

Drop the shortcakes into 6 round shapes on a greased baking sheet. Using a pastry brush, brush the tops with heavy cream. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees, until the shortcakes are golden on top.

Transfer the shortcakes to a wire rack to cool. To make whipped cream, beat 3/4 cup whipping cream with 4 T powdered sugar with a hand mixer for 2-3 minutes (this made plenty for 4 shortcakes, but if you made the full recipe you might want to make double the whipped cream). Slice the shortcakes in half, lay strawberries and their juices on top of the bottom half of the shortcakes, a dollop of whipped cream, then top with the other half. Garnish with more whipped cream and a whole strawberry if you like.

Next time I'll try one of the many variations on shortcake - possibly with Grand Marnier?

a healthy bear: provencal chicken salad with roasted peppers and artichokes

2008-07-10T09:26:00.004-04:00

For the second salad from my new cookbook (Raising the Salad Bar), I tried this provencal chicken salad - it was delicious. The only problem: I halved the recipe (originally for 4 servings), but this didn't make nearly enough for a hungry bear trying to eat healthy... So even though it was delicious, I had to make a couple grilled cheeses immediately afterwards. I think the chicken salad would keep, and could be delicious in a pita, so next time I'll make the full recipe.

Grocery list (note this is for the full recipe, directly from the book): 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (I didn't have any so I skipped this), handful artichoke hearts (1 14-oz can), 4 chicken breasts, 1 roasted red bell pepper, 1/2 cup french green olives, 3 T minced parsley, 4 cups mixed baby greens (I substituted arugula). For the dressing: 2 T red wine vinegar, 2 tsp dijon (Roland extra strong recommended!), 1/2 tsp minced garlic (1 clove), 6 T olive oil, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp kosher salt, pepper.

I started by roasting the chicken with a few minced garlic cloves, a couple of sprigs fresh thyme, and lemon slices (drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and roast at 425 for 25-30 minutes - covered in more detail here).

While the chicken is roasting, you can also roast your own fresh pepper if you don't have the jarred kind. Just place it directly on the oven rack - place a pan or some foil on the rack just below it though, because it will drip as it cooks. Every 5-10 minutes, use tongs to rotate the pepper so it gets charred on all sides. It will be very soft and juicy when it's ready, usually about 30 minutes.

Let the pepper cool, then pinch it with the tongs - the skin will fall right off. Slice into thin strips.

While the chicken and pepper are roasting, prep the other ingredients. Mince the parsley, chop the artichoke hearts, and pit and slice the olives. For the dressing, whisk together all the ingredients.

Chop the chicken and place in a large bowl. Add the artichoke, olives, sundried tomatoes (chopped, if you're using them), peppers and parsley. Toss with the dressing. Arrange the lettuce or arugula on plates, the spoon the chicken salad on top. I was worried this would be dry since the leaves weren't dressed separately, but the dressing from the chicken salad seeped through and the consistency was perfect (just like the recipe said it would do). Another winner from this cookbook...

cookbook review: raising the salad bar

2008-07-09T14:19:00.003-04:00

I heard about this cookbook on NPR, where they were reviewing their favorite 10 new cookbooks, and had to order it. Here's a little background: I already cook what I believe to be "healthy." This doesn't mean dieting or counting calories at all; my definition of healthy involves eating organic fruits and vegetables, hormone- and antibiotic-free meats, seafood harvested in a sustainable way, whole grains, and above all, no processed foods (i.e. "made from scratch" whenever possible). Because A has a ridiculous daily requirement for protein, I've found myself cooking a less-than-ideal ratio of meats to everything else. This has been bothering me lately, and I won't get into all the reasons here (some related to consuming more than my fair share of natural resources, some purely health related). So I'm going to make an effort to make more creative salads and vegetables as the focus, with smaller portions of meat, and fish in lieu of red meat more often. That's why this book really caught my attention.

I started by making the cover recipe, an arugula and avocado salad, with a light lemon and olive oil dressing with a little shaved parmesan. (I took half a leftover chicken breast, combined it with walnuts and grapes, mayo & dijon, to make a small portion of chicken salad, stuffed into a small pita pocket - a great "side" to the salad!) The recipe makes 4 servings; I halved it for 2 salads. The half recipe is below.

The dressing was simple: one garlic clove, minced, plus the juice of half a lemon and a couple of tablespoons of good olive oil. Toss this with 2 cups of arugula, and divide onto 2 plates. Slice half an avocado and arrange the slices over the salad. Add a few strips of shaved parmesan, a pinch of sea salt and fresh cracked pepper on top.

Here's the result - looks pretty similar to the photo on the cover, right? The fact that the recipe turned out like the picture is one of my criteria for a positive cookbook review; the other is the actual recipe tasting delicious. So far so good! I'll post another salad later and see if the trend continues...

favorite ATL restaurants for indulging...

2008-07-04T19:12:00.003-04:00

A reader requested a few recommendations for an upcoming trip to Atlanta, specifically places for indulging, so I thought I'd share with everyone in case there are others who are visiting here any time soon... Here are a few of my favorites to celebrate special occasions:

Kevin Rathbun Steak: Since my favorite meal is a steak and a good cab, this restaurant is hands-down my favorite place in Atlanta (my "birthday" place). The atmosphere is so much cooler than the steakhouses in Buckhead that are supposed to be the best - Morton's, Ruth's Chris, Chops, et al. It's kind of like N9NE in Vegas, with a "modern ski chalet" twist to the interior decorating. They feature both wet and dry-aged steaks, and no matter what you get, you will love it. DO NOT EAT HERE without getting the mac-and-cheese with truffle bread crumbs. There are no words to describe this.

JOEL: This west Buckhead restaurant is well known for its extensive wine list (and very cool glass cellar that they will let you browse), but the best thing on the menu is their creme brulee. The best I've ever had. It's a french menu "with asian and mediterranean influences" - you can't go wrong here.

Now I'm going to throw in my 2 favorite restaurants, which aren't necessarily in the "indulge" category if that means you want to spend over $150 per person... But these are the places that are so good they are what I crave when I come back from week(s)-long international trips and I just want a place that is familiar, and comfortable, with the best food in the world. Don't get me wrong, they are still *very* nice places, and you can do a lot of damage if you let loose with the wine lists. All have entree options between $18-30 (estimated).

Murphy's: I get emotional talking about this place. It's my second home. The little wine shop attached is where I buy all my wine from, and I know at least half the staff by name. So yes, I'm biased. But have their burger with a glass of the BV Tapestry, and you'll see why this place is my favorite way to remind myself why I'm glad I'm American :)

Food 101: Best fried chicken you'll ever try. The caesar salad is incredible (these crushed up bread crumbs and whole romaine leaves - don't know what it is, but it's ridiculous). The trout with bacon and brussel sprouts is what I order when I've been there too recently to have the fried chicken again. All that in an unassuming front on N. Highland (just north of Morningside), where you can always get a reservation - perfect.

beer battered fried shrimp

2008-07-04T19:03:00.002-04:00

I never knew fried shrimp could be so easy... How have I not been making this for so many years? A actually didn't stop talking about these shrimp for 2 days - literally, each batch was gone after 5 minutes, and none ever made it to our plates. Next time I'll double (or triple) the shrimp.

Grocery list: bottle of beer, 2 cups flour, 1 pound shrimp (tails optional, but cleaned and deveined).

To make the beer batter, mix 1 bottle of beer with 2 cups flour and a generous pinch of kosher salt. Stir well till the consistency is like heavy cream. Heat vegetable oil a couple of inches thick in a large skillet till it shimmers. While the oil is heating, you can butterfly the shrimp so there's more surface area to catch the batter and get crispy (this is a Chef Sev secret techinque). Working with a handful at a time, coat the shrimp in batter then carefully transfer to the hot oil, and fry for 2-3 minutes per side.

When the shrimp are as crispy as you like, transfer with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate. Season with a little more sea salt. I mixed up some tartar sauce as well (just 1/2 cup mayo and a few T of pickle relish, and the juice of half a lemon), but the shrimp would be fine with just a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Enjoy while they're hot!

grilled strip steaks with argentine chimichurri

2008-07-01T09:14:00.004-04:00

A and I spent his birthday last year in Buenos Aires. If you've never been, imagine gorgeous architecture (European though, not American in any way, and very classic, 19th century influence), cafes on every corner with young hip-looking people taking espressos with their friends, and best of all, a preference for steak and good wine at every meal. We had some of the best steaks ever (EVER), and these would normally cost around 10 USD. After A left, I stayed a few more days to work, and one of the meals I had with my coworkers was so good I have seriously considered taking a trip back there just so A could try this -- steak with chimichurri. I decided to grill a strip steak (not the thin skirt steaks the Argentines use), and find the best chimichurri recipe I could. The result wasn't exactly authentic (I mean, it's an Emeril recipe after all), but it was a way to share the experience with A, without flying him all the way there again.

Grocery list: couple of steaks (about 12 ounces each, I used local grass-fed strip steaks from WF), 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/3 cup red wine vinegar, 1 T fresh lemon juice, 1/2 cup chopped parsley, 2 T chopped fresh basil leaves, 2 tsp fresh oregano leaves, 3 garlic cloves, 1 shallot, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes. [Note, I made a half batch of the Emeril recipe and it was more than enough for 2 steaks - could have probably worked for 4 steaks at this amount also...]

One great thing about chimichurri: you can make it in the food processor, so it only takes a few minutes. Start by chopping the garlic and shallot, then pulse in the fresh herbs. Then, pour the olive oil and vinegar slowly in the top while continuing to pulse the food processor. Remove the bowl and blade, then stir in the lemon juice, followed by generous amounts of fresh ground pepper, a sprinkle of red pepper flakes; then season with salt to taste.

Put your steaks in a ziploc bag, then add enough of the chimichurri to marinate the meat (1/2 to 1 cup). Cover the rest of the chimichurri and set aside at room temperature. Refrigerate the steaks for at least 2 hours. Remove from the marinade, brush off any excess, then grill over medium-high heat for about 6-7 minutes per side, until cooked to medium or medium-rare. Let the steaks rest on a cutting board for 5-10 minutes before serving. On the side, we had white asparagus (the kind you have to peel first), tossed in olive oil and grilled. This was perfect with the chimichurri sauce covering the plate.

grilled salmon with basil aioli

2008-06-30T14:57:00.000-04:00

What I'm about to tell you is a true story, and hopefully no one will get in trouble for it... The other day my neighbor, who works for a major airline here in Atlanta, knocked frantically on my door. She was holding a plastic bag and practically jumping with excitement. What's was in the bag? Fresh salmon fillets, each about 3 pounds, that were flown in that morning from Alaska. Why was she holding them? Because the crate they were flown in on (via a competing airline) had fallen to the ground during cargo unloading, and my neighbor was kind enough (devious enough?) to sneak several fillets away before the competition noticed they were missing. She was generous enough to share one of these with me. I have to say that it was, hands down, the best piece of salmon I have ever had. I just grilled it with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and made this basil aioli featured in July's Bon Appetit. On the side I made grilled polenta squares and a little caprese salad (to use up an avocado and some extra tomato and mozzarella I had leftover). It was the perfect summer meal.

Grocery list: salmon fillet (2-3 pounds), mayo, anchovy paste, basil, garlic, red wine vinegar, worcestershire. For the avocado caprese, tomatoes, basil, avocado, mozzarella, balsamic, good quality olive oil. For the polenta cakes, just polenta and parmesan.

The original recipe calls for making your own mayo as the base for this aioli. Considering my past disasters with attempting homemade mayo, I decided to pass on this extra step and use good old-fashioned hellman's. Mix together one cup of mayo mixed with a few T of chopped basil, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1/2 tsp each of red wine vinegar and worcestershire, plus 1 1/2 tsp anchovy paste, mixed together with a dash of hot sauce.

On the side, I made a simple grilled polenta. Cook your polenta according to the package directions, season well with salt & pepper, then spread into a thin layer in a pan, about an inch thick. Make sure you brush the pan with olive oil well first; then allow the polenta to harden as it cools (refrigerate to speed up the process). Invert the pan over a cutting board, cut into squares, brush with more olive oil, then grill over med-high heat.

I also cubed some leftover mozzarella, an heirloom tomato and an avocado, plus a handful of torn basil leaves. Tossed with some good olive oil and a few drops of balsamic, this made a great contrast in texture to the polenta and salmon.

burger review: gourmet magazine's aussie burger

2008-06-29T15:52:00.003-04:00

I think I recently read about Aussie burgers in several places (other food blogs? - no google blog search can help me find this so far), and then it popped up again right in the July issue of Gourmet magazine. In my quest to eat every possible combination of burger toppings at least once in my life, this went to the top of the list of recipes to try from this issue. I like the grilled pineapple, but think it could be better utilized as a contrast to something spicy - maybe like a jerk sauce for the burger, or spicy jack cheese? We all agreed that the sliced beets are just too weird; they add sogginess and stained fingers without a lot of flavor. The "chile mayo" (just chile paste, mayo and ketchup) was definitely great, and could be used to dip fries and onion rings in if you were making them and didn't feel the fat content was quite high enough... And the fried egg was absolutely fantastic. Next time I'll try that with bacon and cheese (which would actually be a burger called "the coronary bypass", as made famous by the Vortex restaurant here in Atlanta).

There's no real recipe here, so the typical "grocery list" I usually include is basically all the ingredients you'd use to assemble the burgers. I like to make my burgers with ground sirloin, about 1/3 pound meat for each patty. Other ingredients: pineapple (sliced, then grilled), sliced beets, lettuce, tomato, one fried egg per burger, and plenty of chile mayo slathered on both sides of a toasted bun.

Side note: chile mayo is simply equal parts mayo and ketchup (1/4 cup each made enough for 4 burgers), plus a teaspoon of chile paste.