Breakfast Hash With Bok Choy Flowers

We all know by now that I'm somewhat known for "throwing things together" to make a meal. This morning's breakfast was no exception. Except that it was exceptional.

For some reason when I woke up this morning I decided to roast that half of a bag of mini Yukon Gold potatoes. Simply quartered them, tossed them with some olive oil, salt and pepper and put them in a pre-heated 375ºF oven for about 25 minutes. By then I was hungry so I started digging around.

Last week at the farmer's market, I bought something called Bok Choy Flowers. They're picked when the bok choy plants hit the flowering stage. The stems are more tender than traditionally known bok choy and the edible flowers are sweet and quite pretty in any dish.

I'd used some of the stalks in a fried rice earlier in the week but forgot about the rest of them, as is obvious by this photo. I knew if I didn't use them now, I'd let them go to waste. So, I began layering flavors...




1 small clove garlic, minced
1 stalk Bok Choy Flowers, chopped
2 large pieces of jarred Kimchi, chopped
Handful of roasted potatoes

2 pieces cooked bacon (leftover, in the fridge), crumbled
1 egg (last one from last week's farmer's market dozen)

In a large skillet, heat 1 Tbs olive oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add bok choy flowers, stirring occasionally until wilted.  Add in chopped Kimchi, potatoes and crumbled bacon. Season with salt and pepper.

Making a hole in the center of the mixture, gently crack the egg into the center. cooking until whites are set and yolk is as firm as you'd like, flipping once.

Carefully, transfer hash to a large plate, taking care not to break the yolk like I did. Once I stopped cursing at myself for breaking the yolk, I realized it was the best thing to do. It sure wasn't pretty but the runny yolk coated the potatoes and vegetables, making it silky and rich. I was so thrown off by the broken yolk that I forgot to take a photo of the finished product!

The combination of sweet and tender bok choy flowers, the spicy crunch of the Kimchi, the smokey bacon and the silky egg created a wonderfully balanced and delicious breakfast.

Yum!

Scrounge Dinner - Roasted Broccoli, Beans, Bacon and an Over-Easy Egg

Sometimes my scrounge dinners come from "I don't have anything to make for dinner." And sometimes I realize I have something in my fridge or pantry that is fast approaching its expiration date and needs to be used. This dinner began as the later. 

I had a bunch of broccoli that I'd nearly forgotten about. It wasn't exactly at its peak of freshness and the only answer was to roast the heck out of it. So I cut it up,  tossed it with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted at 375°F for about 30 minutes until crispy. 

Now... what to do with it? Bacon! (Bacon is always an answer). I pulled out one of my pre-portioned packages of bacon from my freezer (another post for another day), sliced them up browned them. 

Drained and rinsed a can of Cannellini Beans and tossed them with the bacon and roasted broccoli. 

It seemed like it was missing something so I topped it with an over-easy egg, some freshly grated Parmesan cheese and some black pepper. The yolk from the egg coated the beans/broccoli/bacon mixture and made it silky and delicious. 

This could be great for any meal!

Enjoy! 

Lavender Lemonade

After a rough night up late with my sick dog, I decided I needed a little cooking therapy. Nothing quite soothes me the way lavender does, as is obvious by my blog name, right?

Friends and family have known for years about my passion for lavender and they often give me some as gifts. What’s great is there are so many sources for culinary lavender now and each one has its own unique flavor. Here’s a sampling of the packing you might see.

 
It’s a beautiful spring day here in Arkansas and I’d recently given my lavender lemonade recipe to a friend so the choice became obvious. 

2 ½ cups water

1 cup granulated sugar

1 Tbs dried culinary lavender flowers

1½ - 2 ½ cups cold water (depending on how strong you like your lemonade and how fast your ice cubes will melt – I used 1½ today)

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice*

Ice cubes

* an average size lemon, especially this time of year will yield just under ¼ cup of juice. Sometimes it takes only 4 lemons to get to 1 cup of juice and sometimes you need up to 8. Today it took 6.

In a saucepan, bring water and sugar just to a boil and stir until sugar is dissolved.

Remove from heat and add lavender. Stir.

Cover and let stand for 1 hour.

Strain lavender syrup through a mesh strainer, discarding lavender flowers.

Stir in lemon juice and cold water.

Serve over ice.

This makes about 4-6 servings but is easily doubled.
Enjoy!

(I’m a little distracted today and accidentally threw the lavender in before the water boiled. No harm, no foul. It was just as delicious. Even us “professionals” make mistakes, too)

Oops! It all worked out.

Mini Whoopie Pies

Living in a new city and state means meeting lots of new people. On my first real dinner party at a friend’s house, I offered to bring dessert.  Knowing my new friend lived in New England for years, I opted for an old favorite, Whoopie Pies. I also knew her 4 year old would be there and long ago I determined that sweet treats are more often eaten if made in smaller sizes, especially for little ones. So… the Mini Whoopie Pies.

I learned something when I made these. Apparently, what I know as Fluff – that gooey marshmallow stuff that you put on peanut butter sandwiches (Fluffernutter), is only known as Fluff on the east coast. The rest of the country calls it Marshmallow Crème. It’s the same thing, just called something else. Oh, and the rest of the country doesn’t know of Fluffernutter sandwiches. How sad!

Cakes:

2 cups all purpose flour

½ cup cocoa powder (if you have Dutch process, us it. I had plain old Hershey’s cocoa powder and it worked splendidly)

1¼ tsp baking soda

¾ tsp Kosher salt

1 cup buttermilk, shaken well

1 tsp good vanilla extract

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 cup light packed brown sugar

1 large egg, room temperature

Filling:

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

¾ cup powdered sugar (or to taste)

2 cups marshmallow fluff (or crème!)

1 tsp good vanilla extract

Cakes:

Preheat oven to 350˚F

Whisk or sift together the flour, coca powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.

Stir buttermilk and vanilla in a measuring cup (you have to measure the buttermilk anyway, why dirty another bowl?!)

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together butter and brown sugar with the paddle attachment, at medium high speed (3 or 4) until pale and fluffy. (Should take about 3 minutes). You can use a hand mixer, too, but it’ll take a little longer.

Add egg and beat until combined, about another minute. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl as you go. 

Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, then half of the buttermilk, another 1/3 of the flour mixture and then the remaining buttermilk mixture and then the remaining flour mixture. You can stop the motor as you add in each addition so you don’t make a mess. Make sure the stand or hand mixture is on low for these steps or you will be covered in flour and cocoa powder. Beat until the mixture is smooth. It should be a light and airy batter – not thick.

Spoon 1 Tbs mound of batter onto baking sheets covered in either buttered parchment paper or silicone mats (Silpat), spacing the mounds about 2" apart. 

Bake about 10 minutes, switching positions halfway through, until the mounds are puffy and spring back when touched lightly.

Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

You should get about 40 cookies, if you don’t nibble on the batter. 

Filling:

Using the cleaned out bowl of your stand mixer, beat together the softened butter, powdered sugar, marshmallow fluff (crème) and vanilla with the (cleaned) paddle attachment until it’s smooth and shiny.

Tip: Measuring the fluff is the hardest part because it’s so sticky. Spray the inside of a 1 cup dry measure (or 2 cup if you actually have one of those!) before filling it with the fluff. This will prevent it from becoming a sticky mess.

Assembly:

Using a small offset spatula or piping bag, spread a thick layer of filling on the flat side of one cookie. Then gently press another cookie on top of the filling to make a sandwich. 

Store in between sheets of wax paper for up to 3 days. Enjoy!

Healthy and Hearty In a Hurry

When the first chill of Autumn arrives, many of us have visions of slow-cookers and hearty stews dancing in our heads. And yes, these are definitely needed in my arsenal for cold-weather days. However, what do you do when you want something warm and comforting but it’s Wednesday night and you don’t get home from the office until 8:00pm?

How about Braised Kale with Prosciutto and White Beans in less than 15 minutes? Yes, it IS possible!

1 Tbs Olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

16 oz Kale (I had a bag of pre-cut/washed Kale. Look in your produce aisle)

1 (15 oz) can tomato puree (could use diced, whole, or stewed – whatever you have)

1 (15 oz) can Cannellini beans (kidney, small white or even black beans could work!), rinsed thoroughly

2 slices prosciutto, diced

Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a large Dutch oven. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add Kale and tomatoes. Stir to coat. Cover, reduce heat to simmer for about 7 minutes. Stir in rinsed beans, replace lid and simmer for an additional 3 minutes or until Kale is wilted. Stir in prosciutto and serve.

This could have been an even heartier one-pot meal by starting the dish by sautéing onions, garlic and browning 2 chicken sausage links (cut into ½ inch pieces) before adding the kale, tomatoes and beans. If omitting Prosciutto, add salt and pepper to taste when adding the beans.

Enjoy!

Ring Around the Yolk

Recently, my friend’s 6-year old daughter was at my house. She was hungry so I served her an egg salad sandwich I’d made earlier that morning. As she’s scarfing it down she declares, “I like hard-boiled eggs but I don’t like the gray part.”

“Gray part?” I ask, puzzled and a little bit horrified.

“Yeah,” she said, “there’s the yellow part, the gray part* and the white part.”

“Honey, hard-boiled eggs should not have a gray part. Who is making these for you?”

Of course she refused to answer that question. While her mom, a dear friend of mine, is a great cook (I’m still hoping she was not the one making the eggs although I don’t think I ever flat out asked her) I thought it would be helpful to give a little tutorial on a fool-proof way to make hard-boiled eggs.

*Note: A gray or sometimes greenish-brown ring around the yolk is a sure fire indication that your eggs have been overcooked.

It used to be that eggs were eggs were eggs. But now there are so many different kinds! Brown, white, organic, free-range, cage-free… each yolk will have a slightly different color and flavor.  Which you choose is completely a subjective thing – my only tip here is that when cooking a recipe that calls for eggs, unless it says otherwise, when it calls for “2 eggs” they’re talking about Large eggs. Not X-Large or Jumbo. 

Now, onto the hard-boiling… This technique works for anywhere from 1-12 eggs.

- Gently place eggs at the bottom of a medium saucepan

- Fill with cool water until eggs are just covered

- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat (this could take 10-12 minutes, depending on your stove output). You may cover the pot while waiting for the water to come to a boil as it can speed up the process but note that it makes it a bit more challenging to notice when the water begins to boil

- Once you see the water just come to a boil, remove the pot from the heat, cover the pot and let sit for exactly 14 minutes

- Carefully transfer eggs from the pot to a colander and discard the water from the pot

- Run eggs (in colander) under cold water until the egg feels cool when you wrap your hand around it (2-4 minutes)

- Whether you’re going to eat the eggs immediately or store them, a tip is to peel them as soon as they’re cool. It’s MUCH easier to get the shell off

- Remember to rinse the peeled eggs to ensure there’s no rogue shell clinging

- Store what you’re not using right away in a lidded container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

This will give you a perfectly hard-boiled egg with only yellow and white. No gray ring!

Some ideas for hard-boiled eggs:

* Egg salad: the possibilities here are numerous from simple mayo, salt and pepper to smoked tea soaked egg salad to dill, capers and mustard

* Deviled eggs: basically taking the yolks, making any of the egg salads above and spooning the mashed yolks back into the halved whites

* Cut them up and include them in green salads for added protein

* Eat them plain with a sprinkling of any kind of salt – eggs are a great canvas for playing here. I often use smoked salt or lavender salt (see photo above)

Enjoy!

D' Diner Breakfast

Two posts in one week?! Must have a rush of creativity this week :)

Last night, I ordered in take-out which included a mound of deliciously creamy mashed local potatoes. As usual, I only ate about 1/3 of them since the ribs that came with them were the reason I ordered this particular meal in the first place.

I woke up this morning thinking about those mashed potatoes. What to do with them? Heat them up in the microwave and eat them as is? Make them into patties and fry them in a pan? It's only 8am, maybe breakfast is more appropriate.

Chef D's Diner Breakfast

2 slices center cut bacon, cut into about 1" pieces
about 1 Cup leftover mashed potatoes
1 large, fresh egg
shredded cheese (cheddar blend)
salt and pepper to taste

---

Add the bacon to a cold, dry, non-stick skillet. Cook bacon on medium high heat, moving around occasionally until crisp.

Remove bacon with a slotted spoon or tongs and let drain on a paper towel.

Turn the heat way down to low. Add mashed potatoes to the drippings left behind from cooking the bacon. Stir gently to break up any clumps. Note: I knew there was plenty of butter in these potatoes so I didn't feel the need to add any more fat than was already in there from the bacon, but I did add a splash of fat-free milk to help break up the clumps and bring it back to creamy.

Add salt and pepper to the potatoes and continue stirring.

When heated through, transfer potatoes to a plate and top with shredded cheese and drained bacon.

In the same pan with the heat on medium, cook egg to your liking. In my case, it was over-easy (cook about 2-3 minutes on each side, taking care not to break the yolk.)

Serve egg on top of potato/bacon/cheese mixture. Sprinkle a little extra salt and/or pepper if desired.

Enjoy with your favorite coffee and orange juice.

Blueberry Lavender Crisp

As the name of this blog implies, I love lavender and I love to cook. Occasionally, I like to combine the two - I’ve used it in chicken dishes, paired it with lemon in desserts and even with dark chocolate to make Truffles.

Now that we’re approaching the end of summer and the abundance of good, fresh produce is going to dwindle, I’ve been thinking more about the combination of the sweet late season fruit and the mildly flowery aroma of lavender. Peaches and plums would both work with the flower, as would blueberries.

It just so happens I was going to a dinner party and was asked to make a “healthy” dessert. Perfect opportunity for me to play and take this thought process into reality. Here’s the result:

Blueberry Lavender Crisp

2 Pints fresh blueberries
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 Tbs sugar (optional, I did not use the sugar for this since the blueberries were already so sweet but occasionally it's necessary)
--
3/4 Cup Rolled Oats
1/2 Cup all purpose flour
1/4 Cup light brown sugar
1 tsp lavender sugar*
zest of 1 lemon (using a microplane grater, gently remove the bright yellow part only)
1/4 tsp salt
4 Tbs cold butter, cut into small cubes

Preheat oven to 350°F

Coat 8x8 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray

Gently toss blueberries with lemon juice and sugar (if using) and place in prepared baking dish

In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, brown sugar, lemon zest, lavender sugar and salt. Using a pastry cutter or a fork, cut in cold butter until mixture resembles a course meal.

Sprinkle over the top of the blueberries and bake for 35-40 minutes until topping is golden brown and blueberries are bubbling but have not burst.

Serve for dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or for brunch with some vanilla yogurt or a splash of cream.

* Lavender Sugar: In a spice grinder or small food processor, combine equal parts Culinary lavender leaves and granulated sugar. Process until a fine powder.

For the Love of Food

It should come as no surprise in these tough economic times why the Comfort Food movement has been taking off. For many, food is so closely tied in with their memories it can become difficult to distinguish if it’s the memory you love or the food itself.

Do you have any foods you think of as "comfort food?" In my travels, I've seen just about everything be considered a Comfort Food: meatloaf, jellied fish, pancakes... but in all cases, a great comfort food experience encompasses all of the senses. Not just the act of eating.

Maybe when you were a kid, Mom would bake chocolate chip cookies after a particularly bad day. It’s not just the chocolate chip cookie you remember but the whole experience: The smell of the sugar caramelizing, the sounds of dishes clanking, watching the cookies spread and puff through the glass door on the oven, taking a cookie off the rack that’s probably just a bit too hot for your little fingers to touch but you can’t wait any longer to bite into the ooey gooey chocolaty goodness. And in that moment, you’re not thinking about the kid who was mean to you on the bus or the teacher who caught you passing notes in class. Just for that moment, you feel is how special you must be to have someone that loves you enough to do what she can to make you feel better.

Maybe for you it’s not cookies. Maybe it’s Grandma’s hot chocolate after playing in the snow. Or eating Aunt Linda’s crunchy fried chicken with your entire, loud family outside on the picnic table surrounded by freshly cut grass and blooming flowers.

Now that we’re grown, sometimes we have to take our comfort into our own hands. I was recently having a rough day. Just the typical woes: work getting you down, money troubles, the health of loved ones. I needed a pick-me-up in a big way. I needed to engage my senses. Here’s what I did:

Quick Marinara Sauce

1 (28 oz) can whole peeled Italian tomatoes

1 big clove garlic, minced

1 large shallot, finely diced

¼ cup dry white wine

Hefty pinch dried Basil

Half that pinch of dried Oregano and dried Thyme

I was feeling lazy and didn’t feel like cutting up the tomatoes so I pulled out the food processor and gave them a whirl. Then,

* Heat 1 Tbs olive oil in an enamel coated cast iron Dutch oven over medium heat.

* Add shallot and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic, stir and cook until you can smell the garlic.

* Add white wine and bring to a bubble. Add dried herbs and let wine cook for 1-2 minutes.

* Add pureed tomatoes and stir.

* Turn heat to low, cover and let simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

** Use right away as spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, the base for a meat sauce, lasagna, for chicken parmesan or freeze it in (labeled!) zipper baggies for another day.

The house smelled fantastic and my mood lifted. Like getting a much needed hug.

Keep in mind the next time your child, brother, girlfriend, husband or friend is in need. It doesn’t have to be fancy or complicated. Taking a few extra moments to cater to someone’s senses is a great way to show them you care.

Salad Splendor

Who says salads have to be boring? Today's lunch included:

Fresh Baby Spinach with Crispy Lardons, Poached Egg drizzled with a Lemon-Dijon Vinaigrette.

Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette
Finely diced shallot
Fresh lemon juice
Dijon mustard
Honey
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

The egg is poached enough to hold its shape but with a soft center. The Lardons (in this case, good old fashioned bacon) are crispy. The dressing is tangy and the spinach, rich.

Not bad for a dreary Sunday!

Bliss Casserole - Vegetarian Cooking

It started slowly, a tingle in the back of my mind. For the last few weeks, I've been thinking about wanting to play with vegetarian dishes. Next thing I knew, this morning my creative juices were flowing like apple cider in October, and by the time the Giants game started, the internal brainstorm session was in full swing.

Black beans... black beans with something in the orange family... pumpkin? Butternut squash? Sweet potatoes. Ok, black beans and sweet potatoes with... Contrasting flavors and textures... spinach. What if they all go together? Like a casserole? Something on the bottom - has to be fresh.

The result? Something I'm calling Bliss Casserole. Why Bliss? Because I happened the flavors were heavenly and when before I could think of a better name, I saw an open bottle of Bliss Cabernet Sauvignon on the counter.

The presentation needs some work - Each layer needs to be set one at a time instead of all at once.

Layer 1 (bottom): Green Rice; long-grain rice with cilantro and lime zest
Layer 2: Black bean puree with a hint of jalapeno and onion
Layer 3: Wilted spinach with garlic and nutmeg
Layer 4: Mashed sweet potatoes with cinnamon, chipotle, lime juice and a touch of brown sugar

The key is to flavor each layer as if you would eat it on its own. Make sure each is seasoned to your liking with salt and pepper.

Bon Appetite.

Arroz con Pollo

Years ago while in culinary school, I had a chef-instructor who would always whip up a batch of her "Mexican Rice" while we worked in the kitchen. To me, it was a little bit of heaven after a challenging day slaving over a hot stove. Never having seen her make it, the memory of its flavors and textures stayed with me. I know she used a lot of whatever was laying around so some nights there would be chicken or various forms of pork in it so while different every time, somehow it remained constant in my memory. Still unable to replicate it, I'd almost given up. Until last night...

While this isn't a perfect replica, this version conjured the same comfort and deliciousness that Chef's dish provided. Which also proves that recipes are mere suggestions. If the overall dish is successful, who cares if you used only had a red pepper but no green? Trust me, noone will care.

Note: This recipe can easily be doubled and was created with what I had on hand - just make sure you use 1 part rice to 2 parts water.

Yield: 3-4 portions

Arroz con Pollo

½ lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
1 garlic clove, minced
½ small yellow onion, diced
½ red bell pepper, diced
½ green bell pepper, diced
½ cup dry white wine
¾ tsp. paprika
½ tsp. ground chipotle
½ cup long-grain rice
1 cup water
1/3 cup canned diced or chopped tomatoes
½ cup frozen corn
½ cup frozen peas
2 Tbs capers, drained and rinsed
¼ cup green olives, chopped
2 Tbs fresh parsley, chopped

Season chicken with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 Tbs olive oil in a large, heavy pot (with a lid) and brown chicken on both sides, 2 min per side. Using tongs, remove chicken and set aside.

Add an additional 1 Tbs olive oil and add onion, garlic and both peppers and cook over medium-high heat until onion begins to soften, about 3 minutes.

Add wine, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Let the wine bubble until reduced.

Add rice and stir to coat with the olive oil and vegetables. Add in water, tomatoes, paprika, chipotles and reserve chicken and any accumulated juices.

Reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes.

Add in frozen corn and peas, cover and let cook an additional 5 minutes.

Stir in olives, capers and parsley and serve.

Scrounge Dinner: Spain Was In My Pantry

Recently, after being away for 5 days, I came home to a horrifying site. My freezer door was open just a crack. A frenzied inspection revealed that everything needed to go. Everything had been defrosted and was VERY soft.

All of my prepared meals, sauces and emergency frozen pizzas (yes, even I indulge in the Trader Joe's frozen Pizza Olympiad) were destined for the trash heap.

I hadn't yet had time to go to the grocery store which means I didn't even have onions, garlic or any of my staples. It was suggested to me to order in some food but I saw this as a challenge to continue with my Scrounge meals since those appear to be my specialty.

After some digging through the pantry, I realized I could take a quick trip to Spain right in my own kitchen.

here's what I found:


* 1 link Spanish Chorizo, diced
* 1 container Trader Joe's Starter Sauce
* 1 can Great Northern Beans, rinsed and drained
* Italian Seasoned Panko breadcrumbs
* Dried Pasta (I skipped this ingredient - it wasn't needed)
* Dried oregano
* Fresh thyme (from my herb garden), leaves stripped from the stems
* Fresh Parsley (also from the herb garden), coarsely chopped
* Salt/pepper

What it became:

- Toasted the breadcrumbs in a little olive oil. Set aside.
- Wiped out the pan and sauteed the chorizo in olive oil for 2-3 minutes
- Added the Starter Sauce, dried oregano and fresh thyme
- Let cook for about 2 minutes over medium heat
- Added beans, salt and pepper and cooked for an additional 4-5 minutes, letting sauce cook down a bit.
- Spooned into dish and garnished with toasted bread crumbs and parsley.

Topped it off with a glass of a Malbec rose wine (ok, so that's not from Spain but trust me, it worked. I felt like I was at a little bar in Spain eating Tapas.

Delicious!

Sure Mom, I'll Cook the Fois Gras

You know your life isn’t normal when, on a recent trip to visit my parents, my mother says, “that friend of ours who owns the French restaurant gave us this fois gras. Will you cook it for us while you’re here?”

Um… ok. After ensuring it was properly cleaned and ready to go and some digging through the liquor cabinet, pantry and fridge, it ultimately became:

Seared Fois Gras with a Wild Blueberry Sauce

• Seasoned the fois gras with salt and pepper
• Seared on both sides in olive oil until cooked through and both sides are a golden brown
• Removed from pan and drained on paper towels
• Poured out most of the fat in the pan
• To the remaining fat. added 1 small shallot, chopped finely
• Added about ¼ cup Absolut Pear vodka to deglaze the pan
• Let bubble in the pan until reduced by about half
• Added 3 heaping Tbs Wild Blueberry jam, leaves from 3 sprigs fresh Thyme and freshly ground black pepper
• Cooked for about 1 minute, until jam was warmed through and flavors combined
• Poured sauce over fois gras in serving dish
• Served with toast points

Something to remember when eating fois gras – It should be eaten in small portions. It’s extremely rich and most people’s digestive systems aren’t used to eating food that rich. If you eat too much of it, you WILL have a stomachache.

In hindsight, if I’d had more time to think it through, I probably should have/would have made a pate.

Note: Yes, I know – I must replace my camera so I can post pictures of these things. Soon!

Broccoli Rabe and Sausage Over Orchiette

Playing in the kitchen today. Here's the result:

1 clove garlic, minced
¾ lb sweet Italian sausage (no casing)
pinch of cayenne pepper
pinch of dried basil
pinch of dried oregano
~ 1 cup prepared marinara sauce
1 lb. broccoli rabe (rappini), trimmed
¼ cup Panko breadcrumbs
1/3 lb orchiette pasta (ear shaped pasta)
Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt generously and add broccoli rabe. Let cook for ~5 minutes or until bright green and tender. Remove using tongs or a slotted spoon and immediately run under icy cold water. Drain any excess water out, chop and set aside in a large bowl.

Bring the same water the broccoli rabe was cooked in back to a boil and add orchiette pasta. Cook according to package directions (10-11 minutes). When cooked, drain thoroughly and add to bowl with broccoli rabe.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat oil over medium high heat and add garlic. Once fragrant, add sausage and cook until browned, breaking up large pieces with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula. Add cayenne, basil, oregano and marinara sauce. Once he sauce is heated through, add sausage mixture to pasta and broccoli rabe.

Toss broccoli rabe, sausage mixture and pasta well.

In the same skillet the sausage mixture was cooked in, heat 1 Tbs olive oil over medium heat and add breadcrumbs and gently toast until golden brown. Do not burn.

Add breadcrumbs on top of pasta mixture and serve with parmesan cheese.

Serves 3-4 with a green salad.

How to Make Matzo Not Taste Like Cardboard

A question that was recently asked of me by an old friend who had never really had the opportunity to eat Matzo. "How do you make matzoh not taste so much like cardboard?"

Most Jewish people I know fall into one of two groups: Group #1) They actually don't mind the taste or texture of it and will eat it straight, as my 5-year old Nephew does. Group #2) Work as hard as they can to mask or modify the bland, dry cardboard-like taste and texture. (Guess which group I fall into)

Before continuing, I feel compelled to provide a very quick history/religious lesson. Matzo is not designed to be delicious. Every Passover, Jews eat Matzo for 8 days to remember the exodus of the enslaved Jews from Egypt. In their haste to escape, there was no time to let the bread rise. There is much more to the story, but for the purposes of this post, I will focus on making modern matzo palatable.


Some simple serving suggestions:

* Spread with SOFTENED salted butter (if it's not softened, your matzoh will break into a million pieces)

* Spread with unsalted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar

* Spread with cream cheese

* Peanut butter and jelly either open-faced or as a sandwich

* Make a sandwich with turkey and mustard (or substitute favorite Kosher deli meat)

* Another favorite is Matzo Brei, which is somewhere between scrambled eggs and French Toast. Pour hot water over matzoh (1 sheet per person), let soak briefly (don't walk away). While soaking, beat 1 egg per sheet of matzo, with either cinnamon and vanilla (to make it taste like French Toast) or salt/pepper. Drain matzo well and add to egg mixture. Pour into hot, non-stick pan with a pat of butter and scramble around like you would make scrambled eggs. Popular toppings include granulated sugar, cinnamon-sugar, maple syrup or if you go the savory route, ketchup or hot sauce.

Happy Pesach!

Another Scrounge Dinner - Tuna Tonnato-ish

It was another night to scrounge. Nothing sounded good and I was out of my normal weeknight dinner options. My pantry is getting pretty bare so I needed to a little more digging than usual. The result wound up based on an Italian dish called Tuna Tonnato

Tuna Tonnato-ish over Linguini

1 tsp anchovy paste
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small shallot, finely chopped
1 can tuna in olive oil, undrained
1/4 cup white wine
Trader Joe's Starter Sauce ~ 17 oz
(contains tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, salt and olive oil)
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp dried basil
¼ tsp ground Black pepper
3 heaping Tbs drained capers
~ 15 cured black olives, pitted and chopped (Kalamata)
Romano Cheese
1/3 lb thin linguini


Cook linguini according to package directions in a generous amount of salted boiling water.

Meanwhile, add anchovy paste to 1 Tbs olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add shallot and cook until shallot begins to soften, stirring frequently so it doesn’t burn. Add garlic and cook until fragrant and shallot is softened.

Add tuna (along with olive oil) to pan and stir. Pour white wine and cook for ~ 30 seconds, stirring and breaking up big pieces of tuna with a wooden spoon or spatula.

Add Starter Sauce* to the pan then stir in red pepper, basil and black pepper. Mix in capers and black olives. Lower heat to medium and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Taste and add salt as necessary but the capers and black olives should add enough salt.

Add cooked linguini to pan with the sauce and stir together using tongs.

Serve with cheese.

Yields: 2 servings

Substitutions and other Suggestions:
• If you're not lucky enough to have Trader Joe’s Starter Sauce in your pantry, use 14-16 oz canned tomatoes. Whatever you have in your pantry is fine: chopped, diced, whole or even crushed.
• If I’d had artichoke hearts, I would have added them.
• I happened to have Romano cheese for a previous dish. Parmesan cheese works great as well but no cheese is necessary. Just a personal preference.
• I didn’t have red pepper flake or I would have used that instead of the cayenne. ~ 1 tsp+ depending on your heat tolerance
• Toss with Fussily or Rotini pasta and serve chilled or at room temperature.

Dinner Party Menu

I recently hosted (not catered) a small dinner party of 5 for my dear friend’s birthday. She has some strict food likes/dislikes as well as food allergies, so taking that all into consideration, I wanted to do something fun for her. Not wanting to be stuck in the kitchen when my guests were there, I needed to think of things that could be prepared ahead of time and/or could be finished quickly or reheated right before people arrive.

APPETIZERS

• Kale chips: Made the morning of the party: washed and dried well, flat kale leaves (no stalks!) tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper. Baked in one layer on low heat for a long time. Light, airy, crispy and salty. A great starter and conversation piece as they were served standing upright in a tall glass. *Caution*: Tough to eat in mixed company as they tend to get stuck in your teeth. Have toothpicks handy.

• Grandma’s Swedish Meatballs: Ok, so this was my version of Grandma’s recipe. And, frankly, they’re not classic Swedish meatballs, which are often in a cream sauce. These are actually sweet and sour meatballs. (I never did understand why she called them 'Swedish') My guests do not eat ‘beast’ so I used ground turkey. Earlier in the day I made a basic meatball recipe (ground turkey, breadcrumbs, egg), formed them into tiny, single bite size meatballs. Baked in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes then transferred to a crock pot where the sauce was already waiting. Crock pot on low, these were ready and waiting for us once the party started 5 hours later. These were a huge hit.

• Cheese and Crackers: Yes, it’s more than ok to take some help from the store when having a party. 3 different cheese in varying textures and flavors – stinky, creamy, aged, etc. The plate was garnished with a mixture of dried fruit. *Note*: One of the smellier hard cheeses on the plate wound up in a little of the sweet and sour sauce on my plate. A delicious accident!

SALAD

Fresh baby spinach, dried cranberries and candied walnuts in a pomegranate vinaigrette.

Candied Walnuts
1 cup walnut pieces
¼ cup superfine sugar
Place both the walnuts and sugar in a dry, non-stick pan over medium heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula until sugar has melted and walnuts are coated. Do not let burn.

MAIN COURSE

Chicken Pot Pie with a puff pastry crust (specific request by the birthday girl)

DESSERT

A giant cupcake-cake made by the same friend who made the chef’s hat cake to the left. We make a great team!

Gourmet Meal on a Budget

We’re all watching every penny we spend these days. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t eat healthy, gourmet meals. I, like many of you, do my staple shopping once a week, or even once every few weeks. I buy the same items to keep my fridge and pantry ready for many types of meals.

This week made Baked Shrimp Scampi with Oven Roasted Potatoes.

Items I already had in my pantry or fridge or were part of my staple shopping:

- Panko breadcrumbs (if you don't have Panko, regular dried breadcrumbs are fine)
- Butter
- Garlic
- Fresh rosemary and parsley (When staple shopping I buy parsley and one other fresh herb. Washed, wrapped in a damp paper towel and stored in a zip top bag will keep for 1-2 weeks. Use any fresh herb you have on hand. Thyme, rosemary, tarragon, etc.)
- Salt/pepper
- Olive oil
- Lemon (When I do my staple shopping, I will buy 1-2 lemons and/or limes, depending what’s on sale)

What I had to buy:

Shrimp – I went with what was on sale. They were 25/30, peeled and deveined, which meant super easy prep! I bought about ¼ lb, which translated into 9 shrimp. For one person, this is perfect. Cost = $2.80
New Red Potatoes – 3 medium baby new red/waxy potatoes. Cost = $0.33

* Cut the potatoes in half and then again in quarters, creating bite sized pieces. Tossing with olive oil, salt, pepper and some chopped rosemary, the potatoes went into a 350 degree oven.

* Meanwhile, place the peeled and deveined shrimp (tails on) into a bowl with a little olive oil (to coat, ~ 1 Tbs), salt and pepper. Add ~1 oz white wine or good beer (I used an IPA beer)

* In a separate bowl, mashed 2 Tbs softened butter with the zest and juice of a half a lemon, 1 minced garlic clove, 1 Tbs chopped rosemary and about 2 Tbs chopped parsley. Slowly add breadcrumbs, continuously mashing/mixing until the mixture came together (~ ¼ - 1/3 cup of breadcrumbs)

* Place the shrimp into a shallow baking dish. Pour the remainder of the marinade into the baking dish over the shrimp and spoon the butter/breadcrumb mixture over the top of the shrimp.

* Add the shrimp into the oven (this should be about 15 minutes after the potatoes went in) and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes. (Total cooking times: potatoes – 30 minutes; shrimp 15-20 or until breadcrumbs are lightly browned)

Serves: 1 (you could stretch this to serve 2 with a simple salad)

Total additional cost of meal (not including items already on hand): $3.13

Come On Baby, Give Me a Quiche

Growing up, I had a mixed relationship with quiche. The egg flavor was always so heavy that it overpowered any filling that was used. Even when I made it, I still had to choke it down knowing that I'd have a reward at the end (the crust, of course! Isn't that the best reason to eat any sort of pie?)

Then I learned how to properly whisk an egg. When most people make eggs, they barely mix the yolk and albumin (white) together and add it to the pan. Generally this results in dense, incredibly "eggy" eggs.

When 'scrambling' eggs, use a bowl big enough where you're not going to be afraid of overspill. Use a wire whisk and actually use the whisk to get air into the eggs. One tip is to tilt the bowl with one hand which will pool, or concentrate, the eggs into one 'corner' of the bowl. As you mix, gently lift the eggs. You know the cliche, "it's all in the wrist?" Well, it's wrong. It's actually all in the elbow.

That said, I just made a Kitchen Sink quiche chock full of leftover ingredients from my refrigerator. Here's how it went down.

I do take a little help with my quiche from Whole Foods - I buy an organic, frozen, deep dish pie crust. It's buttery, browns nicely and has a touch of sweetness that balances any savory ingredient I find to put into the pie.

I started with 4 slices of high quality, center cut bacon. To move things along, I cut it into 1/2" lardons before adding to a dry, cold pan. Over medium-high heat, the bacon cooked until brown. Removing the bacon with metal tongs, I let it cool while draining on paper towels.

Letting the bacon grease cool for about 10 minutes, I poured the grease into a glass jar to save for a later recipe.

In the same pan, I sauteed about 6 oz of sliced button mushrooms in the remainder of the bacon grease. I'd also dug up some fresh rosemary that was at the end of its life, which was chopped finely and added to the mushrooms (seasoned with salt and pepper.) Once the mushrooms were removed from the pan, the 10oz of baby spinach was added to the same pan in about 1 Tbs of olive oil. Once the spinach was sufficiently wilted and seasoned with salt and pepper, it was added to the mushrooms to let cool.

Once it was cool enough to touch, I gently squeezed the excess liquid from the mushrooms and spinach.

To the dry empty pie shell, the browned, cooled bacon was added. Then I sprinkled the mushroom, rosemary and spinach mixture over the bacon.

Earlier today I bought an intriguing cheese - a smoked, baked sheep's milk ricotta cheese. Delicious to nibble on but I thought it would enhance the smokiness of the bacon. About 1 oz was added to the pie shell (notice no egg has been added yet.)

Next I added a few handfuls of some shredded cheese that was in the refrigerator cheese drawer - an Italian mixture that includes Parmesan, mozzarella and Asiago.

Over the top of the mixture, I added 5 well beaten eggs, seasoned with salt and pepper. Do not mix. My secret? Once the egg is added, I gently pour about 1/4 - 1/2 cup of skim milk into the egg. Still do not mix.

Add another scant handful of cheese.

Place the pie on a large baking sheet in case there's any overspill.

Bake ~30 minutes at 350 degrees or until it puffs up (think souffle) and the center doesn't jiggle when the pan is gently shaken.

I must say, I wanted to quiche this supper.