Something Healthy

Here is a peek into the 4pm conversation that happens with the Husband just about every afternoon.

Husband: "What should we do for dinner?" "Do you feel like cooking?"

Me: "I guess so - what do you feel like eating?"

Husband: "I don't know, what do you feel like?"

Me: "I don't know, just pick something"

Husband: "Fine, something healthy"

Me: "Hmmm, I'll pick something up on my way home"

(There are usually a few more "I don't know, what do you feel like" thrown in there - but I didn't want to bore you.)

Cue about 30 minutes of internet research for something more interesting then a boring salad or steamed vegetables and then off to the market.

By the way, why is it so much easier, more interesting, and usually tastier, to cook unhealthy dinners. Loading something with cheese or butter for example is just better don't you think? Does anyone really like a salad more then say french fries? I know people prefer healthy sometimes and yes, it can be refreshing and taste good. But, when pressed, and I mean "lie detector tested" pressed, can people actually say they enjoy healthy food more then unhealthy food?

But I digress...back to "Something Healthy"

So last week was no different but this was one of my more favorite healthy nights - and puts a check in the healthy food is better column (still a pretty lonely check mind you).

I had about 1/3 of a box of orzo that had been taking up highly prized real estate in my cupboard. Eviction was around the corner when the next food delivery came, so it was go time. I found a recipe and adapted slightly.

To the cooked orzo (about 1 cup or so dry maybe) I added a package of halved cherry tomatoes, about 1/4 cup chopped parsley, 1/4 cup chopped green onions, minced lemon peel, and one seeded and chopped cucumber.

The dressing was a touch of white wine vinegar, olive oil, 1 minced garlic clove, the juice from one lemon (and then some) and about 1 tbsp of lemon zest. Salt and pepper of course to taste.

The result was a fresh tasting, zesty summer salad. A definite repeat. And it made enough for a small army or lots of good lunches for the rest of the week.



Fish is almost a prerequisite for "healthy nights" and because of its relative cheapness, tilapia is a regular presence on our table. I've had this fancy hazelnut oil (J. LeBlanc) that we bought in Paris and I am always looking for new uses so Hazelnut Tilapia was born.



Super easy. I made a tin foil boat for each piece of fish and placed them on a cookie sheet. I sprinkled both with a bit of the oil, salted and peppered both sides, sqeezed some lemon juice on both and topped with chopped hazelnuts that I happened to have left over from a cake I made the night before (will post about that soon - husband has deemed it the best cake I have ever made). I closed the top of each tin foil boat to make a little packet. Popped the pan in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes and voila!



Not bad if I do say so myself.

Blanquette de veau

Last night I defrosted veal stew meat that I bought on my Arthur Avenue trip....remember that trip? Actually, I was quite impressed with myself because I remembered to do this when I got home Saturday night after the aforementioned Guinness, dirty Martini et. al. That's Irish for you...

Anyway, the veal was in the fridge Sunday morning and I needed a recipe. I did a quick Google search and Blanquette de veau popped up over and over again - so out to the market to pick up a few ingredients and we were good to go. I varied the recipe slightly from what I found and would actually recommend a few changes still.

I started by peeling about 10 small white onions and chopping 3 carrots. These got tossed in the crockpot along with about 15 small crimini mushrooms. I would add more of all these veggies.



While I was chopping, I browned the veal quickly in some butter.



Browned veal say hello to carrots, mushrooms, and onions.



A little chicken stock (about 1 cup), 2 bay leaves, and about 4 sprigs of thyme went into the pot. The timer was set to 5 hours on high and nap time began.

When the beeper went off, I went back to the pot, added 1/2 cup cream that was mixed with 2 tbsp. flour. Back on high for 20 minutes and voila.



I served the stew with some rice and fresh parsley.



Not bad. I added a bunch of salt before serving and some lemon juice. Next time I will add more thyme early on. Also more lemon juice. I also think some saffron would go nicely. All in all a very hearty meal that dutifully earned the descriptor "satisfying."

I forgot to bring the leftovers to work with me but am looking forward to them tomorrow. I just wrote a note on my hand so I won't forget.

Superbowl Party

As promised, a post about the Superbowl Party we threw on Sunday. I love cooking for the Super Bowl because there is nothing fancy about it. I also tend to make things that I don't make any other time of the year.

Like Buffalo Chicken Wing Dip.



Recipe:
Poach 2lbs of chicken breast and shred. Place on the bottom of a large lasagna pan or casserole dish. Pour an entire bottle of Frank's Hot Sauce (it is important that it is Frank's). Mix well.

On stove, mix 2 8oz boxes of cream cheese with a bottle of ranch or blue cheese dressing (I used blue cheese ranch)over medium heat until smooth and bubbly.

Pour this on top of chicken. Top with about 1 cup of chopped celery. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes at 375 and then top with Cheddar or monterey jack (or both) and bake covered for another 20 minutes.

Use celery or carrot sticks for dipping. The joy of chicken wings without the wings!
Is there another time of year when this would be appropriate?

I also made Spicy Nuts.

This is one that I actually make often.



So easy. Buy raw nuts (any combo is fine). Toast the nuts on a pan at 350 degrees until slightly browned. Meanwhile melt 2 tbsp of butter, add about 2tbsp rosemary, 1tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tbsp brown sugar (I really eyeball these and you can pretty much up the quantities or reduce as you like). Pour nuts into a bowl and mix with butter mixture.

Also on the menu was 7 Layer Dip (I only did 6) - refried beans, sour cream, salsa, guacamole, cheese, jalapeno slices.

Potato chips and onion dip and cheese and crackers of course.

Hot Spinach and Artichoke dip from Food Network.

White Chili Surprise also from Food Network. This is a new favorite recipe by the way. I think it was because of the lime and tequila marinated chicken. I will probably add this to the repertoire for during the year as well. If you don't add the cheese at the end, it is pretty low fat and still tasted great. I also used canned beans which were fine. And I chopped the chicken into pieces and mixed it with the marinade and then sauteed it before adding to the chili. The recipe calls for grilling the chicken whole - I don't have a grill, also I think the chopped chicken absorbed more of the marinade.

Cocktail Meatballs. Made the meatballs first and cooked them in the oven to brown. Meanwhile had brown sugar, ketchup, and Worcestershire cooking on high in the crock pot. Added the meatballs and cooked for about two hours. Have been enjoying these for lunch the past few days.

There were Roasted Artichokes that a friend brought over (loving them for lunch this week also). Tomato and mozzarella salad - the only semi healthy thing on the menu. And it was all topped off Cinnamon Brownies with caramel and pecan topping (a little undercooked in the middle).

Here is a picture of the appetizer table.



I might have gone overboard considering what is still left in the fridge. Here is the fridge after the party. Ummm, I hope I don't actually finish all those beers...



Here is me, putting my feet up after the party, drinking the left over champagne from the champagne and bourbon cocktails that the husband expertly made.



Here is what happens the next night when you forget to run the dishwasher. That's right, you eat brownies with chop sticks.



Good food. Good friends. Good enough game. Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet.

All the makings of a successful Super Bowl Party.

Ragu

I am just about finished reading Heat by Bill Buford which is the authors recount of a year spent in Mario Batali's kitchen as well as a great deal of time spent in Italy researching traditional recipes and cooking techniques.

A chapter on ragu inspired me last Saturday. I've been making sauce for ages, but apparently I've never really made a ragu. It couldn't be easier. Or more delicious.

There really isn't a recipe, more a philosophy, which is slow cooking meat with a little tomato paste and water.

I cross referenced with Silver Spoon, the Italian cookbook that I also received for my bday.

My Ragu

3tbsp butter
1 tbsp oil
1 lb hot Italian sausage, decased and crumbled
3/4 lb ground pork/veal/beef
1 carrot chopped
2 celery stalks chopped
2 small onions chopped
Small can of tomato paste slightly thinned with water
Pinch of nutmeg
Salt and Pepper

Melt butter with oil in large pot over medium heat. Place the meat, carrot, celery, and onion in pot and cook until meat starts to brown and vegetables begin to wilt. Add tomato paste and water, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Cook over very low heat for 1 1/2 hours. Add water if it becomes a little dry (mine never did).

That's it. So good. So easy. Served over fresh pasta and it really doesn't get better then that.

I'm eating the leftovers today for lunch. Very excited.

Really Ugly Revealed

Beet Gnocchi with Rosemary

From Bon Appetit, October 2006.

The magazine says "A few roasted grated beets give this dish a lovely reddish hue." I might change the word "lovely" to something else, but I would definitely make them again and eat in a dimly lit room.

Here's the recipe:

3 small beets
1 lb fresh ricotta cheese
1 large egg
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly grated black pepper
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 fresh rosemary sprigs (I only had dried, so I used about 1 tbsp)

Preheat oven to 450degrees. Wrap beets in tin foil an roast until tender, about 1 hour. Cool for about 15 minutes. Slip skin off beets and discard skin. Coarsely grate beets. Reserve 3/4 cup and eat the rest (or toss them...you don't need them for the recipe). Into the bowl of beets, stir in ricotta cheese, egg, 3/4 cup Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Mix in 1 cup flour.

Lightly dust a baking sheet with flour. Place remaining flour in small bowl. Scoop dough into small rounds, about 1 tbsp, and transfer to bowl of flour. Coat rounds with flour, then roll to about 1 1/2 inch log. Make slight indent in the middle with finger. Transfer gnocchi to baking sheet.

Heat a pot of salted water to a simmer. Meanwhile, melt butter with rosemary in heavy large skillet. Cook until butter begins to brown, then set aside. When water is simmering, work in batches and place gnocchi in water. Cook until they float, and then cook for about 1 1/2 minutes longer. Using a slotted spoon, transfer gnocchi to skillet with butter and cook to just heat through, about 1 minute. Transfer to a plate and sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese.

A beautifully ugly dish.

What's the ugliest thing you have made?

Really Ugly

So I made these last week. Still have some in my freezer. They are perhaps the ugliest things I have ever made. But...they tasted really good.

Any guesses?




I'll post later with a recipe.

Too Many Carrots?

I haven't had any coffee or tea yet and I woke up with an unexplainable swollen left eye, so I'm a little slow going right now. This post will be short and sweet. Here are a few random thoughts:

• Had a lovely Rosh Hashanah dinner on Saturday at the in-laws. Because of a lack of communication on my part, there were two carrot side dishes. But I think it was ok because they were so different - also, can you have too many carrots?I think not. I made steamed carrots with garlic, honey, cinnamon, and cumin. They sound better then they were and ultimately tasted just ok in my opinion. My cousin in law made Carrot Souffle which was the subject of much conversation, I think because who ever heard of Carrot Souffle, but also because it was a delicious surprise. I say surprise, because I wouldn't think to put carrots and pineapple together in a souffle. Maybe cousin in law will be nice enough to post the recipe for the rest of us?
• The highlight of this dinner for me, besides the good company of course, is always the brisket and sweet and sour meatballs. I am seriously upset right now because I was supposed to take leftover meatballs to work with me and I forgot them at home, probably because I was spending too much time poking at swollen left eye.
• The brisket reminds me of how much I love braising and stewing season...a few more weeks and it will be the cooking method of choice for me.
• Finally, today is a good day because my Gourmet magazine came this weekend. I resisted the urge to read it last night so that I would have good train reading material. Cracked the magazine this morning and had an excellent ride to work.
• Coffee and bagel just delivered, much happier now.

Posts later this week, the ugliest thing I have ever cooked, finally used hazelnut oil that I bought in Paris, going to Babbo for a BNO....

Keep it Simple

I have a lot to blog about this week. I finally used my fig jam, took a great trip to Arthur Avenue, started a great book, and had a BNO Sunday night. I'm feeling a little exhausted and the creative juices aren't really flowing at the moment, so as the title suggests I am going to keep it simple...

When you have good ingredients, you don't need to do anything fancy. On the trip to AA, we picked up some fresh mozzi from Casa della Mozzarella, some extra thin prosciutto di parma from Biancardi's, and fresh bread from Madonna Bakery. Put them together and you have perhaps the best panini around. The only thing that could have maybe made it any better would have been some fresh basil.









See? Simple.

For Cheap

Two posts in one day!

Quick one here. I wanted to post something to remind everyone that you can cook a great dinner and still have it be cheap. I love bargains and I wanted to share this one.

I bought a whole rotisserie chicken for 8 bucks. Green beans for $1.50. Had left over cheese. Bought tomatoes for $2.00. Had left over lettuce.

Roast chicken, sauteed green beans with butter, salad with mozzi and tomatoes. $12.50 for two people. Fantastic.

Pork Chops and Brussel Sprouts

I came home on Tuesday with the lofty goal of making pork chops with caramelized onions and fig jam. When I was in Paris at the beginning of the summer, we got a free jar of fig jam because we bought 2 jars of fois gras. We are fancy. Have not had occasion to eat either the jam or the fois gras.

I got home only to find that the onion I was going to use was rotten. What was I to do? You'd think with the highfalutin mention of fig jam and fois gras that I would have other products to use for dinner. I looked in the fridge and I had a beer, mustard, and garlic on the counter. Hence, Pork Chops with a Mustard Garlic and Beer Sauce was born.

The fig jam will have to wait for some prosciutto concoction that I have been dreaming about since.

Pork Chops with a Mustard Garlic and Beer Sauce
4 boneless pork chops
5 cloves garlic chopped
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 dark beer
salt and pepper
2 tbsp olive oil

Heat oil in pan. Salt and pepper the pork chops. Sear the chops until browned, about 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove from pan, add garlic and saute for about 1 minute. Add beer and rosemary. Cook until sauce is reduced somewhat and the bubbles are gone, about 5 minutes. Add pork chops to pan and cook another 20 minutes. If sauce gets too thin, add a little more beer. Drink beer.


Brussel Sprouts

Heat about 1 tbsp butter in saute pan. Cut brussel sprouts in half lengthwise and add to pan.

Pour about 1/2 cup chicken broth into the pan and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 20 minutes at medium high heat until all of the chicken broth is gone. Add small amounts of water until brussel sprouts are cooked through and nicely caramelized.




Here is what it all looked like with a perfect Manhattan on the rocks. Pork chops, brussel sprouts, a Manhattan..in front of the TV.

Yes, we did watch Mr. Ed on our black and white TV and we put Beaver to bed soon after the show.

What I Ate - Farmers Market Wednesday

I love Wednesdays because I get to shop at the Farmers Market where I work. It isn't a big one, but the produce is fresh picked from New York farms. I can usually supplement with items at the Grand Central Market and come up with a pretty good meal. Here's what I came home with today:



I tried a recipe for tomato sauce from Cooks Magazine last week with pancetta and rosemary so I still had some on hand. I figured I would recreate the recipe with a bit of a twist. Here is what I came up with.

Seared Scallops with Fresh Rosemary and Garlic Tomato Sauce

7 large sea scallops
3 large tomatoes, skinned, seeded, and coarsely chopped
5 oz pancetta, diced
1 tsp minced fresh rosemary
3 large garlic cloves minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp sugar, or to taste
2 tbsp olive oil

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Saute pancetta in a large heavy pan until browned and crisped, about 10 minutes. Remove pancetta from pan with slotted spoon and place on paper towel to drain. Pour out remaining oil.

Return pan to medium heat. Add remaining tbsp of oil. Saute garlic, rosemary, and red pepper for about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and cook until tomatoes slump and turn into sauce, about 10 minutes. Add salt, pepper, and sugar to taste.

While sauce is cooking, sear scallops that have been seasoned with salt and pepper. Remove from pan. Place sauce in a shallow dish and top with scallops. Sprinkle pancetta over the top.

Heirloom Tomato and avocado Salad

Cut tomatoes and avocado. Add olive oil, the best vinegar you have, and salt and pepper to taste. That's it. The freshness of the fruits (yes both are fruits) will take care of the rest.

Here's what it looked like:

With moody lighting...

avocado and Tomato...