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When The Going Gets Tough, Grains and Carbs Keep Me (Mildly) Sane

1 Nov

I’m so busy. It hurts. Make it stop.

A girl’s gotta eat thought, right?

When the clock is ticking and time is precious, either:
1. Go out to eat,
2. Make yourself a PB&J, or
3. Cook what’s easy and familiar

One night this week I made my “go-to” comfort soup, Hearty Grain Soup with Beans and Greens:

Another night this week I made risotto (it didn’t have asparagus this time, but I did roast some carnival squash to go with my simple risotto):

And another this week I made polenta and topped it with some already prepared salmon (definitely does not taste as good as home-roasted salmon, but it saved time, right?):

**NOTE: This time I made my polenta a little different than I usually do. I did not cook it with milk and I added a snippet of butter and a bit of cheddar cheese. What can I say, I like to change it up.

All I want to do is play in the kitchen. Stir and sift and knead and chop. I need a break, folks. I need a break. School is hard sometimes.

>Elegant Dinner Party at the Brick House

12 Oct

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An “intimate” (there were 10 of us) dinner party.

The hubbub began around 4 pm when the hostess’s oven broke. She rushed over to my place so that I could cook a huge pot of chicken in my oven for her. Chicken Marbella. The house was filled with the aroma of sweet and savory-prunes and pearl onions, chicken, olives and wine, herbs and spices.

Drumstick, anyone?

I then proceeded to bake a polenta cake with olive oil and rosemary.

8 PM. I arrive at the Brick House with the chicken and the cake. The hostess has arranged a beautiful cheese platter. Olives in a shallow wine glass, dates in a slender glass, walnuts splayed elegantly around the tray. She also skillet-toasted thick slices of levain bread with some butter.


Did I mention the divine white roses?


Yep, us “young folk” (well, some of us) do know how to be classy (sometimes).

Tossin’ the salad.

Pass the wine, s’il vous plaît (please).

Also on the menu was a simple pasta and a cauliflower puree (tasted and looked just like mashed potatoes, but with cauliflower (you would never be able to tell!)).

The cake. With a cute pumpkin keepin’ it company. And…more wine!

Invite friends over for a dinner party. You cook some, they cook some. Go fancy or go casual. One of my greatest enjoyments is sharing a good meal with good company. So just do it.

>A Glimpse of My Weekend Eats

3 Oct

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The newest edition to our house…plants! Yay!

Asian-style egg noodles. Made fresh. And the noodle fest begins!

Smiley cooks

Hot n’ spicy noodles with ginger, garlic, baby bok choy, broccolini, squash, purple and yellow carrots…

Yummy in the tum

The morning brought new friends, mimosas, and pancakes

An intimate table filled with breakfast goods

Banana pancake, strawberries, scrambled eggs

Good friends and good times…

Savory Summer Galette

5 Aug

Remember the blueberry and summer peach galette that I made last week? The recipe makes enough dough for 2 tarts, and since the dough is not sweet, it can be used for either (or in my case, both) sweet and savory tarts. When I was making my fruit tart, I stuck the other dough in the freezer for later use.

I used the second dough to make a savory galette, my filling consisting of pretty much whatever ingredients I had on-hand at the time at home. After rolling out my dough, I spread a thin layer of olive tapenade along the bottom. Then I chopped some red and yellow cherry tomatoes from the garden in half and added a touch of salt and pepper.

My next layer was tiny chopped pieces of zucchini, followed by some Parmesan cheese slivers and feta cheese cubes. I piled everything in the middle of my dough and drizzled a touch of olive oil on top for a nice finish.

This is like a pizza pie…but better (well, different…!).

You can use any vegetable or filling idea that you want! Try experimenting with different cheeses i.e. ricotta, a smoky gouda, soft goat cheese, a rich brie…Try caramelizing onions and adding walnuts and lemon zest. Maybe do a fig and honey galette. Or potato, fontina, pancetta, and rosemary. Yes, herbs! Basil, rosemary, oregano, parsley. Crack an egg of the whole thing and bake it up! Oo la la, the possibilities are endless.

Savory Summer (or whatever season it happens to be…) Galette

For the dough:
Use your dough from this recipe

Filling:
(note: measurements are just estimated here…cook with your gut)
-2 tablespoons olive tapenade
–2 cups of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
–1 small zucchini, roughly chopped into tiny pieces
–salt and pepper
-3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, shaved or grated
-4 oz. feta cheese, cubed
–extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
-1 egg, lightly beaten

Let the dough warm up at room temperature for 15 minutes or so and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a rough circle about 12 inches in diameter and about 1/8 inch thick. Transfer the pastry to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and refrigerate while preparing the filling.

Prep all of your veggies and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and spread the middle with the olive tapenade, leaving a 1 1/2 inch border around the circumference of the dough. Pile your tomatoes and zucchini in the center on top of the olive tapenade. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese and then the feta cheese on top. Drizzle a little olive oil over the filling.

Fold the dough over up over the filling, and brush the rim of the dough lightly with beaten egg.

Bake in the lower part of the oven for 45-50 minutes, until the cheese is lightly browned and the pastry is golden brown and slightly caramelized at the edges. Slide the tart off the pan to cool on a rack. Slice and serve!

Dinner at Home: Simple, Summery, and Seasonal Steak and Salads

31 Jul

After two months of stop and go (but mostly go) traveling, from Europe back to the USA and down to Argentina and back, I admit, it’s nice to be home. It is nice to be home and see my family and eat dinner outside in the backyard on a warm summer evening.


The menu? Simple, summery, and seasonal:

-Mom’s steak on the grill
-Grilled fresh tomatoes from the garden with Parmesan cheese
-Leftover crispy oven-baked chopped potatoes
-My tomato, cucumber, and hericot vert salad with feta cheese
-My shaved zucchini salad with Parmesan and pine nuts


For dessert? Blueberry and Summer Peach Galette with Homemade Vanilla Bean Ice Cream: Say it, just say it. I know, I am incredible.


The tomato, cucumber, and hericot vert salad with feta cheese can be made in 10 minutes or less. The salad was inspired by my stay in Paris with my good friend Alex. The salad requires no dressing; I like to emphasize the sweet flavor of the produce and the salty cheese. The salad is perfect for summer.

And yes, I used canned green beans, but hey, they’re French-style! I quite like how soft and thin the green beans are. So sue me. They taste great, even if they are from a can.



Tomato, Cucumber, and Hericot Vert Salad with Feta Cheese

serves 4, more or less

Ingredients
3 tomatoes, preferably from the garden
2 Persian cucumbers
1 can of French-style green beans or hericot vert
1/2 block of Feta cheese, cut into cubes or crumbled

Directions
1. Slice the tomatoes into wedges and put them into a salad bowl.
2. Slice the cucumbers in half the long way and again in half along the equator. Very thinly slice the cucumbers into a julienne. Put into the salad bowl.
3. Open the can of hericot vert and drain. Add to the salad bowl.
4. Toss the cubed or crumbled cheese into the salad.
5. Eat and enjoy.

The shaved zucchini salad is another lovely and light treat that epitomizes summer elegance and simplicity. No cooking necessary. I absolutely love all of the textures and flavors going on–long, thin zucchini ribbons contrasted with tiny crunchy nuts, delicate slivers of cheese, and a salty tangy dressing.

 

Shaved Zucchini Salad with Parmesan and Pine Nuts
From Bon Appetit Magazine August 2010

Ingredients

Dressing:
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon course kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

Salad:
2 pounds of medium zucchini, trimmed
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
Small wedge of Parmesan cheese

**RECIPE NOTE: I did not have fresh basil on hand (I know, shame on me) so I just omitted it. I also added some fresh sliced avocado because, well, I love avocados and why not?!

Directions

Whisk oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and pepper flakes in a small bowl to blend. Set dressing aside.

Using vegetable peeler or V-slicer and working from top to bottom of each zucchini, slice zucchini into ribbons (about 1/16 inch thick). Place ribbons in a large bowl. Add basil and nuts (and avocado if you are like me). Drizzle the dressing on and in the salad. Using the vegetable peeler, shave strips from the Parmesan wedge over the salad.

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