broccoli parmesan gratin

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.

pan roasted brussel sprouts with pancetta

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

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.

wild mushroom crostini

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.

roasted potatoes, onions & garlic on the grill

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.

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

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...

eat your vegetables: broccolini with goat cheese and garlic

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...

asparagus-ricotta tart with soppressata

I've seen a lot of food blogs touting all kinds of tarts and puff pastries, so I figured it's about time I featured one on AHB. In the April issue of Bon Appetit, there was a spring-y "asparagus-ricotta tart" that sneaks in little slices of soppressata, which spices up an otherwise fluffy tea party type of dish (yes, I really just called it that). It was delicious, but to feed my hungry bear, I'd have to make about 3 of them for one meal - and there's no way I can convince him that this is high-protein and low-carb enough. I think it would be best as an appetizer for cocktail hour, which I'll probably do in the future.

Grocery list: 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed (note, I used about half a package of phyllo dough, spreading olive oil between the sheets, and it was great), 1 egg, 1 pound asparagus, 1/2 cup whole-milk ricotta, 3 ounces hot soppressata (note, this is twice what the original called for), 3 ounces grated comte or gruyere cheese.



If you end up using phyllo dough like I did, you'll want to prep it by brushing olive oil between the sheets. I used about 8-10 layers of phyllo, or half the package. If you were using puff pastry, you'd have to roll it out, then use the beaten egg to brush around the edges to form a crust. Transfer whatever crust you use to a 13 x 10 rimmed baking sheet.



Next, steam asparagus for 3 minutes, then cool in an ice water bath and drain. Cut off the top 2 inches of the asparagus stalks and set aside to use as toppings for the tart.



Roughly chop the rest of the asparagus and place in a food processor to puree; add the ricotta, the rest of the beaten egg, 3 tsp olive oil, and salt and pepper.



Transfer this puree to a bowl, then stir in chopped soppressata and about half of the grated gruyere.



Spread the filling evenly on the bottom of the pastry / phyllo crust. Toss the asparagus tips with 1 tsp olive oil and more salt and pepper, then arrange on the top of the tart. Sprinkle with the remaining gruyere cheese.



Bake for 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees, until the filling is set. Can be served warm or room temperature.

cooking my way through jamie's italy

My friend Lydia told me that she has a habit of reading cookbooks cover to cover, even curling up in bed with them like they were novels. I like cookbooks too, but never really understood what she meant until I discovered Jamie Oliver's "Jamie's Italy." I saw a review for it on Orangette, and ordered it immediately. As soon as it arrived, I started flipping through, and before I realized what had happened, it was an hour and half, and 300 pages, later. Normally, I dismiss "celebrity chefs" for the most part - I mean, if you're going to sell out and endorse the Applebee's restaurant chain, you lose a lot of credibility with me. But this guy's cookbook is amazing, and I know nothing about his "celebrity personality" behind the book. He basically traveled all around Italy for a few months in a camper van, collecting different regional recipes - and *amazing* photos of local people and their food. There hasn't been a thing from the book that I've cooked that we haven't raved about. Here are some highlights...



The first photo above is for his "grilled swordfish with salsa di giovanna" (the second picture, immediately above, is the salsa). To make it, you just grill the swordfish steaks (brush with olive oil if you're using the outdoor grill especially) with salt and pepper. The sauce is simply juice of 1 lemon mixed with 3 times as much olive oil, salt, pepper, 3 cloves of garlic sliced very thin, a sprig of chopped mint leaves, and a sprig of chopped fresh oregano.



Who doesn't love stuffed mushroom caps? Jamie's recipe calls for 3oz ricotta, zest of 1 lemon, 1 fresh red chili chopped and deseeded (I substituted dried chili flakes), 2 T chopped fresh oregano or marjoram leaves, handful of freshly grated parmesan, 4 handfuls of mushrooms. Start by preheating the oven to 425 degrees, then pull out all the mushroom stems. Toss the caps with olive oil, salt and pepper, then arrange on a baking sheet, upside down.



The filling is simple -- mix all the other ingredients together. Spoon into the mushroom caps, and bake for about 15 minutes. You could also turn on the broiler for a minute or 2 at the end, to make the tops more golden.



In his section on first courses, I love how he pushes the concept of serving fresh blanched greens, dressed with a little olive oil, lemon, and garlic, as a starter. What a healthy way to add more greens into a meal. He recommends adding the chard stems to the boiling salted water a minute or 2 before the leaves, since they are a little tougher. I also tried his suggestion of adding a garlic clove to the blanching water, then slicing it thinly to top the chard. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sea salt, and you have a nice little salad.



This is the recipe that Orangette blogged about that got me to try the book in the first place - "funghi tagliati a fettine sottili, con mozzarella fusa e timo" (sliced mushrooms with melted mozzarella and thyme). This was truly amazing - I could probably eat an entire baguette myself, just scooping up these mushrooms... It's so simple: arrange thinly sliced mushrooms (crimini, shitake, anything you have) in a single layer of a pan, then drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle finely chopped thyme leaves across, season with salt and pepper; tear apart a ball of buffala or scamorza cheese and drop little pieces all across the dish. Broil for a few minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and golden. Wow.



Jamie presents several different bruschette topping options; I tried the "mixed roasted vegetables" to start (I'll get to the others I'm sure, not soon enough!). Chop some vegetables (1/2 a bulb of fennel, 1/2 a yellow pepper, 1 red pepper - which I skipped because I wanted to cut the recipe down, 1/2 a zucchini), then toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, 1 tsp dried oregano, and a handful of chopped fresh mint.



Roast for about 30 minutes at 425 degrees, then allow the vegetables to cool. Pulse in a food processor for a few seconds with a drizzle of olive oil, juice of 1/2 a lemon, and some herb vinegar (I actually used good balsamic, with great results). For the bruschette, you can brush slices of bread with olive oil then grill or broil - top with the vegetable mix.

memorial day cookout: my favorite borrowed recipes

I'll take any excuse to grill burgers, and memorial day is no exception. I found several recipes from my favorite new food blogs, and decided to spice up my cookout routine - I'm so glad I did. The blue cheese and bacon potato salad is from the latest issue of Martha (which I accidentally receive at my house, since its former occupant was a subscriber). The burger recipe, which is unique more for the preparation method instead of the ingredients, comes from The Kitchn, an Apartment Therapy blog. And these onion rings, these most crispy-perfect-with-a-kick onion rings, are from Last Night's Dinner, quite possibly the world's prettiest food blog.

Grocery list: (for the burgers) 1/2 vidalia onion, 2 pounds ground beef, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, garlic powder, salt, pepper, a little leftover bacon grease, bacon, buns, any toppings you like; (for the potato salad) 1.5 pounds small red potatoes, 4 slices cooked bacon, dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, 2 ounces blue cheese crumbles, chives, 1/2 cup buttermilk, olive oil; (for the onion rings) 1 large red onion, sriricha hot sauce (or other hot sauce), vegetable oil, salt, A/P flour.



Here's the original recipe from The Kitchn, which I followed almost exactly (other than substituting ground sirloin for ground chuck). I recommend spreading waxed paper and/or plastic wrap on the counter first, then shape the 2 pounds of beef into a long "snake". Form a deep trench in the middle, scattering the finely chopped onion into the well. Add about 10 dashes of worcestershire and soy sauces, a sprinkle of salt and garlic powder, and a generous amount of cracked pepper. If you have any leftover bacon grease (I don't serve burgers without bacon if I can help it), drizzle 1-2 T of this down the middle as well. Pinch off sections of the snake to form patties, and grill over medium heat till the burgers are as done as you like.



For the blue cheese potato salad, start with the dressing. Mix together 1/2 cup buttermilk with 2 ounces crumbled blue cheese (use a fork to break up the cheese thoroughly), then mix in 1 tsp dijon mustard, 1 T red wine vinegar, and 1-2 T olive oil. Slice the potatoes into halves or quarters (bite size pieces), then boil in salted water for about 12 minutes, until you can pierce easily with a fork. Drain and allow to cool. Toss the potatoes with the dressing, and refrigerate to cool Just before serving, stir in a handful of finely chopped chives to the dressing, and 4 slices of crumbled bacon. Season with salt and pepper.



Now comes my favorite part, those onion rings... The photos from the original recipe on Last Night's Dinner are much better, but I'll include mine so you can see how easy it is to replicate her masterpiece. Start by thinly slicing a red onion and separating into rings; place in a large bowl. Season with sea salt, and generously coat with sriricha hot sauce (side note - my little brother and I spent some time in Cambodia last year, and I swear this is the exact hot sauce that was served with every meal I had there). Toss to coat, and allow to sit for 20-30 minutes for the onions to release their juices.



Next, shake about 1/2 cup of AP flour into a large ziploc bag. Grab a handful of the onion rings, and squeeze out any excess water and hot sauce. Transfer to the bag, zip closed, and shake to coat. Heat about an inch deep vegetable oil in a cast iron skillet, until it shimmers (medium-high heat). Gently add a few onion rings at a time to the pan, and cook until golden and crispy.



Use a spider to carefully remove the rings to a paper-towel lined plate; season with a little more sea salt. As LND says on her blog, these are best served hot and fresh - this is so true (I couldn't help but eat approximately 1/3 of the batch before ever getting them to the table).

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.

mushrooms and leeks with pecorino fonduta

It should be fairly obvious by now that I have an obsession with Food & Wine magazine, and especially any of their Italian recipes, so this recipe from their April 2008 issue is right up my alley. According to the article, fonduta is basically Italian fondue. You serve this easy-as-possible cheese sauce over sauteed leeks and mushrooms, which rest on top of crusted slices of baguette. So simple and unique.

Grocery list: butter, 2 pounds leeks, 4 garlic cloves, 1 pound wild mushrooms, rosemary, half-and-half, parmesan cheese, pecorino cheese, balsamic vinegar, grilled italian bread slices.


Start by melting a stick of butter in a large skillet over medium low heat. Add 4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced, and the leeks. (Side note: to prepare leeks, chop off the tough green leaves and the very end of the white root; slice lengthwise and rinse under cool water, trying to separate the leaves to get the water into all the crevices. Chop the white and tender green parts only, about 1/2 inch slices, then place in a bowl of cold water. Let them soak for a few minutes, then squeeze and shake one handful at a time and remove to the pan you're cooking with.) Cook until softened, about 10 minutes.



Add the wild mushrooms and cook until the excess liquid has evaporated and they are tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in 1 tsp minced rosemary, season with salt and pepper, then keep warm.



In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup half-and-half (the original calls for cream, but I don't use cream unless it's absolutely necessary) to a boil and reduce to 2/3 cup, about 7 minutes. Turn off the flame and stir in 1/2 cup grated parmesan and 1/4 cup grated pecorino.



Drizzle the mushrooms with a few teaspoons of balsamic vinegar, then serve over the bread slices. Top with the fonduta.

prosciutto-wrapped apsaragus with lemon-dijon vinaigrette

In this month's issue of Food & Wine, there's an article featuring Mario Batali and his favorite ways to grill "italian-style". The original recipe calls for pancetta and an orange-based citronette, but I modified it somewhat by using a simpler lemon and dijon sauce and by using prosciutto in place of pancetta. This is an easy way to make eating your vegetables a lot more fun and impressive at the same time (it went incredibly well with the steak au poivre; the simpler sauce didn't overpower with its flavor).

Grocery list: 1 bunch asparagus (thicker stalks are better -- less labor-intensive), 1 lemon, dijon mustard, olive oil, prosciutto.



Wash and trim the asparagus. Wrap a slice of prosciutto around each stalk -- I actually cut the prosciutto in half first so there wouldn't be too much meat per each asparagus. Chill the wrapped asparagus for 15-20 minutes. Prep the sauce: whisk together 1 tablespoon dijon, 2 T olive oil, the juice of 1 lemon, salt & pepper.

Using a grill pan or a grill, grill the asparagus over medium heat for 5 minutes, turning to brown all sides of the prosciutto. I placed the pan in a 350 degree oven for an additional 5 minutes to cook the asparagus through (didn't want to burn the prosciutto). Drizzle the sauce over the top to serve. As a side note, in the future I'll try pre-cooking the asparagus for a couple of minutes first so I won't have to bother with the oven.

watercress, apple and horseradish salad

I made this salad to accompany the walnut-crusted tilapia, which is a loose interpretation of a recipe I found on foodnetwork.com. I tend to find a combination of things I like in a salad and then get stuck in a rut (I was recently reminded by the comment "oh, caesar again?"). So this recipe is a refreshing change of pace. I loved how the sweetness of the apple contrasts with the slight kick of fresh horseradish root.

Grocery list: 1 bunch fresh watercress, 1 horseradish root, 1 apple. For the dressing: 1 shallot, 1 lemon, apple cider vinegar, walnut oil, fennel seeds.



Start by making the dressing. Mince the shallot, and juice the lemon. Add a pinch of fennel seeds, salt pepper, and equal parts oil and cider vinegar. Whisk and let stand while you make everything else -- you want to wait to dress the salad till just before serving it.



I have never worked with a fresh horseradish root before, but it was pretty easy, and not nearly as spicy (is that the right word? nasal-passage-burning?) as the jarred variety. First, you peel it, then shred the root till you have a handful.



I used hydroponic watercress, which is all they had. You just chop off the root ball, rinse, and spin dry. Slice the apple, and you can rub the extra lemon halves (to spread any remaining lemon juice) on the apple slices to prevent them from turning brown on your plate. To serve, toss the watercress and horseradish with the dressing, and top with a spiral of apple slices.