sausage, peppers and fresh mozzarella pasta

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).

grilled strip steaks with argentine chimichurri

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

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.

green 3 cheese ravioli + tomato sauce with garlic and basil ("alla carrettiera")

In Marcella Hazan's "essentials of classic italian cooking", she talks about the "only" 2 ways to EVER make fresh pasta dough: basic egg pasta (covered numerous times, albeit imperfectly, on this blog), and "green" pasta. Green pasta incorporates fresh spinach right into the dough - and why did I think I needed even more of a challenge? It's not like I've perfected pasta in the first place, so why make it more complicated? Because after steaming, draining and mincing the spinach, and adding it to egg and flour, there was nothing but a soggy sad mess on my counter. I was THIS close to wiping it all straight into the disposal. But then I added a little more flour and started kneading. And then more flour, more kneading. After a few minutes, I had this bright green ball of pasta dough, ready for rolling. Who knew? So if you try this recipe, expect it to get very ugly before you see anything that resembles a potential dinner. And if the idea of slaving over green pasta isn't appealing - just try this sauce. Wow.

Grocery list: (pasta) 10oz fresh spinach, 2 cups flour, 3 eggs; ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella cheeses plus parsley and 1 egg for the filling. For the sauce, 1 large bunch fresh basil, 2 pounds fresh ripe tomatoes or 2 cups canned imported italian plum tomatoes, 5 cloves garlics, 5 T olive oil.



After making a regular batch of egg pasta dough, you mash in the minced spinach, cooked and drained as dry as possible (any extra moisture is going to make it impossible to knead the dough). Keep adding flour and kneading it till the texture is familiar, and the dough isn't sticking to your skin.



Then, you know the drill - break the pasta dough into 6 equal portions, and roll with the pasta machine. Each strip needs to be fed through the pasta machine 6-7 times before it's ready to start rolling through the thinner and thinner settings. When you've got the pasta strips rolled out, set each one on a dry dish towel to rest. Drying at least 10 minutes on the towels will help the dough not stick together when you make the ravioli.



The filling for this is as simple as it gets - equal parts mozzarella (shredded), ricotta, and grated parmesan, with 1 beaten egg, and a handful of chopped parsley. Season with salt and pepper.



To fill the ravioli, spoon bits of filling along one side of each strip of pasta. Then, you fold over the pasta strip and press the dough in between each dollop of filling (this will make one long strip of raviolis, which you just have to cut apart). Cut, then press the tines of a fork around the edges to make sure the edges won't burst at the seams when cooking.



This sauce doesn't start the usual way (by sauteing onions and garlic in olive oil as a base, then adding the rest). You actually put the can of tomatoes and a few T of olive oil right into the pan, THEN turn on the heat. Break up the tomatoes while the pan heats up. Chop the garlic (at least 5 cloves if not more), then add to the tomatoes. You want the heat just so the liquid from the tomatoes is barely simmering, not popping and boiling like crazy. The idea is to poach the garlic - it retains the flavor but becomes more fragrant and rich as opposed to potent (hard to describe). The juice will slowly cook out, till you have a thick almost syrupy consistency. After about 15 minutes, add handfuls of torn basil leaves, keeping a few aside to top the pasta with later.



The sauce will be done after about 20-25 minutes. Cook the pasta (fresh ravioli takes about 3 minutes) in boiling salted water, drain and mix with the sauce. This sauce is great because it really coats the pasta, much different than fresh tomato sauce. Top with grated parmesan and a little more fresh torn basil.

thai green curry chicken

In viewing this blog, you could probably infer that I only like Italian food, and Americanized interpretations of Italian, at that. But what I cook is an inaccurate representation of what I love to eat - if I want good Thai, Vietnamese, Indian, Mexican, or anything more adventurous, I go out (blog entries are not daily for a reason). But a few weeks ago our good friends Karel and Talia had us over for dinner, and Talia whipped up some red coconut curry seemingly effortlessly. Not only did it seem approachable, but it was also delicious. Ever since, I've been thinking about how I might need to forget about the disaster that was my one experiment with phad thai (HORRIBLE waste of 3 hours in the kitchen), and try this whole Thai thing again. I found a few recipes on Epicurious and one from Tyler Florence that I was able to work together. It would have still been easier to go to Thai Palate for some take out, but it was great, I knew exactly what was in it, so I'm marking this one down as a win. See what you think...

Grocery list: 1+ pound boneless, skinless chicken (cut into bite-size chunks), green curry paste (found at my local farmers market, but available any grocery store), 1 can coconut milk, chicken broth, 1 onion & 1 bell pepper chopped, 1 eggplant peeled and chopped, minced fresh ginger, cilantro, basil.



In a large heavy skillet or dutch oven, heat a few T oil over medium heat. Add the eggplant, onion and pepper, and saute for 3-4 minutes until they begin to soften. Add about 1 T fresh minced ginger, and 2 T green curry paste (this will make 1 - 1 1/2 pounds chicken pretty spicey - you may want to use less curry paste the first time, or read the label to see what kind of ratio they recommend). Stir to coat the paste on the vegetables and cook for another couple minutes.



Add 1 can coconut milk and about 1 cup of chicken broth and stir well; season with salt. Lay the chicken pieces in the pot so they can poach in the hot liquid. Simmer over low heat for 10-15 minutes. Before serving over rice, stir in the juice of one lime plus handfuls of chopped basil and cilantro.

easy pesto

With the grilled chicken and vegetables the other night, I made a quick side of pesto pasta. I realized I didn't cover that in the recipe, but it's so simple and delicious and basil is starting to be so abundant right now, I figured I should blog this... There are a million ways to make pesto, but this is my standard.

Grocery list: basil, grated parmesan cheese, olive oil, pine nuts, garlic.



In a food processor, pulse a few peeled garlic cloves and 1/4 cup pine nuts. Add about 1 cup of washed fresh basil leaves (make sure you pat them dry with a towel first), pulse for a few seconds. Then add 1/4 cup parmesan, pulse, and then with the processor running, slowly pour in 1/4 cup of olive oil, or until it is a thick creamy consistency.

Cook whatever pasta you have on hand, and stir in the room temperature pesto. The amount above will work for about 1/2 pound of pasta.

lemon ricotta pasta with pine nuts and roast chicken

This recipe meets several requirements for the "weekday rotation" in my house: fast (literally 30 minutes start to finish, less if you buy a rotisserie chicken), and lots of protein. If I'm making pasta, I've got to sneak in as much as possible -- did you know part-skim ricotta is a very lean form of protein? Combined with the chicken, this dish has at least 30 grams of protein per serving, meaning it passes my meat-head boyfriend's standards. This is much tastier than a chalky protein powder drink too.

Grocery list: chicken (either 1 pound of boneless skin-on chicken breast, or 1 rotisserie chicken), 1 pound of farfalle (bowtie) pasta, lemons, basil, pine nuts, 1 15-oz container of ricotta, plus garlic & thyme if you're roasting your own chicken.

I've covered roast chicken breast before (here's the full post), but to show how to prep all of this together in 30 minutes, I'll touch on a few points. While you preheat the oven to 400 degrees, mince a few garlic cloves and thyme leaves, pour some salt and a tsp of olive oil on it, and mash together with the flat side of your knife or with tines of a fork. Spread the paste under the skin of the chicken breast, slip a couple of thin slices of lemon under there too, and drizzle olive oil all over the chicken. Season with salt and pepper, and roast for 20 minutes.



While the chicken roasts, bring your pasta water to boil and prep the other ingredients. Zest a couple of lemons, and chop 1-2 handfuls of basil leaves. Toast a handful of pine nuts in a small fry pan. Cook the pasta (usually 12 minutes for farfalle), drain quickly and return to the pot. When the chicken is done roasting, turn the oven off and let the chicken rest in the oven for another 5 minutes.



Stir in enough olive oil to coat the pasta -- 1/4 to 1/2 cup. Drop the ricotta in spoonfuls, and stir in the lemon zest and pine nuts. Shred the chicken (discard the skin and lemon slices, but keep all the good bits of garlic and thyme) and stir into the pasta. Season with salt and pepper before serving.

homemade pizzas: pepperoni & margherita

Pizza is one of my favorite comfort foods. I'm not a pizza expert (or pizza snob, depending how you look at it), so I can enjoy mellow mushroom like it was the most authentic thing in the world. I end up craving it almost weekly, so I figure it's a good idea if I learn to make it at home so I won't feel quite as guilty indulging. In the future I'm going to try making my own dough, and seeing how a real pizza stone improves the crust, etc, but this was a start.

Grocery list: pizza dough (in the freezer at whole foods -- thaw in the fridge for a day ahead of time), 2 roma tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, parmesan, slices of pepperoni (buy as much/little as you need from the deli, not the prepackaged over processed stuff), marinara.

Divide the pizza dough into halves (you could actually divide it into fourths and make thinner crust pizza). On a floured surface, pull the dough into a circle. A rolling pin didn't work at all, you have to use your fingers and keep pushing the bulk of the dough from the center out to the edges. I didn't remember from my girl scout trip to domino's when I was 6, but you want it very thin. It will puff up when it bakes.



Brush a baking sheet with olive oil and carefully lay the pizza dough over it, and brush more olive oil over the top. To start with the pepperoni pizza, bake the crust alone at 425 degrees for 5 minutes.

Spoon marinara over the crust, then lay the pepperoni slices. Bake another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and cover with as much grated mozzarella and parmesan as you like, then continue to bake for another 9 minutes or so until the cheese is bubbly.



For the "margherita" pizza, place the raw dough onto an oiled baking sheet, then lay slices of tomato right on top. Drizzle olive oil over the top and sprinkle with sea salt, then bake for 7 minutes till the tomatoes start to give off their juices.



Lay basil on top, then mozzarella, and continue to bake for another 12 minutes or so.

mozzarella and tomato salad -- in february

One of my favorite salads is the easiest thing ever to make -- sliced tomato, fresh mozzarella, and torn pieces of basil. This time I found purple basil, which I didn't even know existed. Drizzle a little olive oil, a drop of balsamic = heaven.

And yes, it would be better if it were summer, but the heirloom tomatoes at WF were still delicious...