Jimmy's recent hits

I started buying purple cauliflower at the farmers market, b/c it's just so pretty. Well, it turns out it's also really tasty. Jimmy invented this attractive and healthy veg medly, including purple cauliflower, little red potatos, Brussels sprouts, onion, olive oil and s&p, cooked in the oven at 400. I believe he puts the potatoes in first since they need longer; after 20 minutes he adds the veggies for another 20 minutes. It's so yummy and colorful! A great side dish for any meal.

Another one of the super-duper dishes he likes to come with is twice-baked potatoes. So delish! Potatoes, cheddar cheese, chives, sour cream... (this time we had some Crème fraîche on hand so they were particularly creamy and scrumptious). On this particular night he served them up with a juicy steak that we shared and some peas. Perfect.

Eggplant Rollantini from Paolo's Kitchen

We discovered these peeps at our farmer's market, and we have eaten so many of their rollantini this year it's not even funny. It is seriously so yummy, and all you do is pop it in your oven for 40 minutes. We've also tried their lasagna and maybe some other things I forget, ...very good, but the eggplant rollantini is something special. If you NYC area folks ever come across it, I highly suggest you pick one up.

Three-Greens Soup with Spinach Gremolata

The other night I was looking for something warm and nutritious to cook that included some of the beautiful greens that are still at the farmer's market. I found this recipe in the latest issue of bon appétit, and it was so lovely! Perfect on a cold winter night! The flavor is earthy and lemony; anytime there's gremolata or pine nuts involved I'll probably be happy. And it's super easy to make!

The beautiful greens (and reds) all rinsed

Here is the recipe, copied from the January 2012 issue of bon appétit:

Three-Greens Soup with Spinach Gremolata
4 servings; 40 minutes total

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 sm onion thinly sliced
s & p
4 garlic cloves, 3 thinly sliced, 1 finely grated
4 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1/2" pieces
1/2 bunch collard greens (8 oz.), center ribs and stems removed, chopped (about 2 cups)
1 bunch Swiss chard (12 oz.), center ribs and stems removed, chopped (about 8 cups)
1 5-oz bag packaged spinach (not baby; I used fresh), stems removed (about 4 cups), divided
2 tsp. (or more) fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. finely grated lemon juice
1 Tbsp. toasted pine nuts

Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a pot over medium heat. Add onion and season with s&p. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add thinly sliced garlic to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 minute. Add broth, potatoes, collards, and 2 cups water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer soup until potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife, about 10 minutes.

Add Swiss chard to pot and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in 3 cups spinach and 2 tsp. lemon juice until spinach is wilted.

Meanwhile, chop the remaining 1 cup spinach; place in a small bowl. Add lemon zest, finely grated garlic clove, and the remaining 1 Tbsp. oil to chopped spinach; toss to coat. Season spinach gremolata to taste with s&p and more lemon juice if desired.

Season soup with s&p. Divide among bowls. Mound spinach gremolata on top of soup in bowls. Garnish with pine nuts.

Enjoy! :)

Tilapia with Olives, Pine Nuts, Artichoke Hearts & Basil

This dish is definitely one that you will want to make again and again...at least I do!  It is super easy and so fresh tasting. Here is what the mise en place looks like.

To start, preheat the oven to 350.  Spread 1/4 cup of pine nuts out on a baking sheet and bake until fragrant and toasted, about 5 minutes or so.  Then raise the heat to 400.  Season 4 tilapia filets with olive oil and S&P, and place then in a baking dish.  Pour 1/3 of a cup of dry white wine over the fish, as well as 1 large chopped garlic clove, and about 3 TBS of chopped fresh basil.  Nestle in among the fish 1/2 cup of pitted Kalamata olives and 4 artichoke hearts (cut in half).  Cover the dish with tin foil and bake until the fish is opaque and cooked through, about 10-15minutes.

I used a dutch oven in order to minimize the number of pans I had to wash

Once the fish is cooked, remove the filets from the baking dish and transfer all the juices to a small pan.  Set the pan over medium heat and stir in another large chopped garlic clove, 2 TBS of chopped fresh basil and the toasted pine nuts.  You can also add a little more olive oil if needed.  Once it is nice and fragrant, spoon the sauce over the filets and serve.

I served mine up with some roasted potatoes. I tossed them in olive oil, S&P and put them in the oven just before the fish went in .  Oh boy! it was SO good!!!  All the different flavors come together perfectly in each bite.

Shauna:  I'm curious if this will trump the other tilapia that's in your permanent rotation. Let me know!

Potato Leek Soup with Chicken

Mom made this a couple weeks ago and I happened to be there to have some of the leftovers, which reminded me how simple but delicious this soup is.  Normally it is made sans chicken, but I also welcome protein in my soups.  This soup is super easy to make!

All you do is combine 1/2 cup of chicken stock, with 4 leeks (chopped white parts only), and 4 green onions (chopped white parts only), and bring it to a boil over medium heat.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for about 8 minutes or until the leeks and onions have wilted nicely.  Add about 1 pound of potatoes (peeled and diced) and another 2 1/2 cups of chicken stock.  Cover and let cook about 30 minutes until the potatoes are soft enough to smash.  Remove from heat and stir in 1-2 TBS of butter.  At this point you have several options.  You can mash the potatoes with a masher (which I did); or you can puree the mixture in a blender or food processor; or you can use an immersion blender if you have one.  Whichever mode you chose, you can make the soup as smooth or chunky as you like.  I personally like it somewhere in the middle.  Finally season the soup with S&P and garnish the bowls of soup with a little chopped green onions.  That is regular Potato Leek Soup!  To make the chicken version, cook up some chicken breasts, shred them with a fork, and add it at the end - after the butter and before the S&P.

Pasta Alla Carbonara

The other day while at Trader Joe's, I noticed they have a little container of pancetta that is chopped into little cubes.  And what better to do with that than make Pasta all Carbonara!  This gem from Trader Joe's saves you the time that it would normally take to chop the pancetta. This was my first time ever making this pasta, and I was a little nervous about the egg - either it scrambling or being too raw.  But voilà! it came out great!

Here is how to make it:

Boil the water for your pasta with a little salt. In a bowl whisk together 2 eggs with 1/4 cup of Pecorino Romano cheese and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese. Heat about 1 TBS of olive oil in a pan and cook the pancetta until it is browned, about 8-10 minutes. Then add 2 minced garlic cloves and cook for about 1 minute. Stir in about 1/3 of a cup of dry white wine to de-glaze the pan and cook for another minute. When the pasta is al dente, toss it in the pan with the pancetta until well incorporated. Then pour the pasta and pancetta into the egg mixture bowl and toss vigorously to heat the egg and coat the pasta. Season with salt and pepper and parsley. Serve and eat immediately.

Apple Cider Cream Pie

For Thanksgiving I volunteered to make a pie after I saw this recipe in the November Food & Wine.  I couldn't resist!  It is really quite easy to make as far as pies go.  The only trouble I had was with stretching the dough to fit my pie dish.  So it shrank a little while cooking.  But the combination of the buttery dough, with the slightly tart apple cider custard, and the sweet cinnamon-y whipped cream on top was a nice combination.

Kale Chips

I had some leftover kale yesterday and so I made kale chips with it.  It's really easy to do and for those of you who don't like kale, this is a good way to eat it that you will actually enjoy.  They are crispy, salty, light and a perfect snack!

Directions: cut the kale into chip-size pieces, then toss them in a little olive oil and salt, and finally bake them on a cookie sheet at 300 degrees for about 8 minutes or until they are crisp.  Then snack away!

Thanksgiving Pops!

I took these to a birthday party over the weekend, and since it is almost Turkey Day I made them using pumpkin and decorated them with cute fall sprinkles.

All I did was make a yellow cake and added to it one can of pumpkin puree, a little vanilla extract, and some pumpkin spice.  Then once that was baked and cooled I mixed in some cream cheese frosting that I made using 1 stick of butter, 8oz of cream cheese and powdered sugar to taste.  I even added a little pumpkin spice to the frosting too!  Then I dipped them all in melted white chocolate and decorated them with sprinkles that Shauna sent to me for my birthday!  If you look closely they are little gingerbread men and leaves.  So cute!

I think these are the best tasting cake pops I have made thus far. They were definitely a hit!

Pasta with Radiccio

Another beautiful ingredient at the farmers market right now: radiccio. Searching for something new to try with it, I found this great fall recipe for Pasta with Roasted Radiccio. You gotta try this it's so good! The roasted radiccio is SO yummy, it's bitterness perfectly complimented by the kalamata olives and pine nuts. The only thing I left out were the sun-dried tomatoes, which I'm not a huge fan of. I used fresh cherry tomatoes instead, and I thought they were perfect. We served it up with a little lean steak. Yum!

Cranberries!

I love cranberries! I've been getting them fresh at the farmers market, and I want to tell you about some delicious things I've made with them lately. First of all, this Pan-Roasted Pork Chop with Cranberries and Swiss Chard which I found on Epicurious is so good and super easy,.. I've made it twice in the last few weeks! This last time, we had a nice dry cider with it that really rounded out the lovely fall flavor profile:

Second, I made some really amazing Cranberry-Orange Scones. I used this recipe, also from Epicurious, but with a few changes. I used fresh cranberries instead of dried, and added a little extra sugar to account for the tartness, and replaced a bit of the buttermilk with some fresh squeezed orange juice. Also I cut them into 16 pieces instead of 8, because they would have been way too huge.

They were so yummy right out of the oven, and even better the next day after the flavors had time to merge further. I'm going to make them again very soon!

Heaven! i.e. Bacon Jam

I was introduced to this lovely sweet and savory gooey goodness by Margot.  She made it for a feast we had at Mom's house (I can't remember what for though) and it was soooooooo good, it blew my mind!  So of course I had to make it again!  And I will make it again and again and again!  It is really simple to make - all you need are these ingredients:

• 1 pound smoked bacon
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 medium brown onion sliced
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• Tabasco sauce (I used cayenne pepper)
• 1 cup coffee
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• Black pepper to taste
• extra water

Start by frying up the bacon in a dutch oven until crisp.  Transfer to another plate and when cool cut the bacon slices into 1 inch pieces.  Discard all but about 1-2 tablespoons of the rendered bacon fat (for a later use of course).  Add the onions and garlic to the pot and saute until softened.  Return the bacon to the pot and add the other ingredients except the water.

Simmer for about 2 hours, adding 1/4 cup of water every 30 minutes or so if it starts to look dry.  And be aware that the smell is going to permeate every inch of your house, and drive you crazy because the aromas are heavenly!

The above picture is after about 2 hours of cooking and it is done once all the liquid is gone and it is the sticky consistency of jam.  Let it cool for about 15 minutes and then process it in a food processor until it is smoother but not too smooth.

Then you can do whatever your little heart desires with it!  Eat it by the spoonfuls if you'd like - and you will! Here are a couple other ideas:

You can make some crostinis by slicing a baguette and toasting them in the oven until a little crispy and then slather some of your Bacon Jam right on them.

Or you can do like I did and make a pizza using the Bacon Jam as the sauce. I used a pre-made pizza dough from TJ's which I topped with some mozzarella, sliced red onions, and grated asiago cheese. I then put it in the oven for about 12 minutes until crispy. Then I topped the whole thing with arugula. Delicious delight!  

You gotta make this stuff mang!

Salad Time!

I love making and eating salads.  It is usually what I eat for dinner when I get home from work on my late nights.  I am going to introduce you to the current salad in my life.  I think he's a keeper and not going anywhere.

I put a nice pile of arugula in a bowl, some thinly sliced onion, some sliced fennel, a little handful of sun-dried tomatoes, another handful of sliced almonds, freshly ground salt and pepper, some grated Parmesan cheese, and lastly a drizzle of olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar if I feel like it. Other options if they are around: avocado (pictured here) and prosciutto.

Note: I know there are a lot of people who add pre-made salad dressings to their salads. But these have so many processed, fake ingredients. I promise that if you get a good olive oil and be liberal with the S&P (to your taste), you will like it much better than that other crap, and it's better for you!

Triple Chocolate Cookies

These cookies are super easy to make and very tasty.  And I just think they are so pretty too!  Here is a recipe that is similar to the one I used.

Slow Cooker Carnitas

Here is a recipe for a healthier version of carnitas than one where the meat is deep fried in lard.  This one was very easy to make and came out pretty good.  I must admit though, carnitas made with lard is much tastier.  DUH!  Anyways here is how I made this version:

First I browned the 3.5 pound pork shoulder roast which was seasoned with salt and pepper, and placed it in the slow cooker.

Then in the same pot that I browned the roast, I added a chopped onion and 2 minced garlic cloves, and sauteed those until they started to soften. Then I poured in a Corona (you can use any Mexican lager) to deglaze the pan and scrape up the brown bits in the pot.

Then I poured the beer mixture over the pork roast in the slow cooker. I zested a large orange and a lime, and added the it all along with the juice of both. And finally I added in a tablespoon of oregano.

The whole thing cooked in the slow cooker for 5 hours. After that I shredded the meat and made tacos topped with homemade guacamole, chopped onions, cilantro and a squeeze of lime! 

My new toy!

I have been trying to decide which dutch oven to keep - the big cobalt blue one or the slightly smaller one in cassis. I finally went with the smaller one because I love the color and I think the size is just right! I am excited to make lots of one-pot meals in it!

Nutella and Cheese Turnover

I had a little leftover ricotta cheese and wanted to do something with it.  We also have a supply of Nutella that never seems to end.  So I decided to make a turnover stuffed with these wonderful gems.  I mixed the ricotta with cream cheese in about a 2:1 ratio, added a few tablespoons of sugar, about a teaspoon of vanilla extract, and one egg.  I used ready-made pastry dough and cut each sheet into 4 squares, then spooned on a little cheese mixture followed by some Nutella.  I brushed a little beaten egg on the edges of the dough and folded them into triangles.  They baked at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.  Anything with Nutella is dreamy so you can imagine how these were!

Tortilla Soup: Part 2

Here is the 2nd edition in the search for the best tortilla soup recipe.  I got this recipe from Food and Wine.  It has more layers of flavor than the previous soup I made, with the addition of cumin, coriander, cayenne, chili powder, and paprika.  And it feels a little heavier as well, and I think that is due to the added spices as well as using crushed tomatoes which literally makes it a little thicker.  Overall it is a very tasty soup, but I think I still like that first one better!

Note: I used Cotija cheese and added black beans, and skipped in the tortillas.

Bistro Burger

There's always a lot of debate about who makes the best burger in New York City. And I can't say I've tried them all, but I can say that a definite contender is the "bistro burger" at the Corner Bistro in the West Village. The Corner B has been around for like 100 years or something, and it's basically a dirty old pub that serves McSorley's Ale (from another New York Institution - NYC's oldest continuously operated saloon) and makes a great burger.

(sagging counter to demonstrate how old the place is)

Their fries are amazing - kinda like your perfect McDonalds-esque skinny fry except it tastes vaguely like bacon, probably because of all the bacon grease that has been permeating the walls for the last century. And the bistro burger is "an eight-ounce slab of juicy grilled beef piled several inches high with melted cheese, bacon and raw onions." To quote New York Magazine again: "If you call yourself a New Yorker, consider it your civic duty to have a beer and a burger here at least once. If you're really a New Yorker, you'll know that the best time to do that is a weekday afternoon, when Corner Bistro's timeless tavern charm feels as warm as the sun streaming through the front windows".

Lime Bars

One of the things left over from my birthday party was a giant bag of limes, and I have been thinking that I need to make something with them.  I just bought a new dessert cookbook from William Sonoma which has a recipe for Key Lime Bars (I used regular limes in stead of key limes).  I can't find a similar recipe online because they all use sweetened condensed milk, and this one called for eggs, sugar, lime zest, lime juice, sour cream and a little flour.  But either way I don't think you can go wrong with graham cracker crust and a citrusy, sugary, custardy filling.  Joy!

Soy-Ginger Chicken

Over my birthday weekend, Gayle & Andrew were so generous to give me a slow cooker.  So yesterday I decided to make the inaugural meal in it. I found this Soy-Ginger Chicken recipe on Martha Stewart's website which sounded very appetizing.  I always like these sweet and savory Asian flavors together.  All I had to do was combine the sauce right in the dish of the slow cooker.

Then I added the chicken and sliced carrots.

Then I just let it cook for 6 hours! So simple! And here is the final product with some freshly chopped cilantro and sliced scallions on top. 

Making this recipe in a slow cooker was super easy, and now I am so excited to make more yummy stuff in it! Thank you Gayle & Andrew for this awesome present!

Caprese Salad

I love a caprese salad!  Anytime, anywhere!  It's so easy and so good!  Last night I went to TJ's and they had these brown tomatoes called Kumatos that looked like they could be tasty, so I decided to try them and make a caprese salad.

I sliced the "kumatos" and mozzarella and topped them with some chopped basil.  Then I put a pile of arugula in the center, and drizzled olive oil over the entire thing along with some freshly ground salt & pepper. Yum! Yum! and Yum!

Happy Halloweenie!!!!

These had white cake mixed with cream cheese frosting inside, and I used orange melt-aways with black sprinkles (from Shauna!) for the decorating.

I hope everyone has a spooky Halloween!!! :)

Vanilla Cupcakes with Mango Frosting

For these cupcakes I made a standard vanilla cupcake, and for the frosting I decided to make a simple Mango Buttercream.  I had a mango that we didn't eat, so I pureed that in a food processor.  Meanwhile I beat together 1 stick of butter with a dash of salt, then added about a teaspoon of vanilla, powdered sugar and spoonfuls of the mango puree until the right taste and consistency was reached. 

The Best Cup of Coffee in LA

I love coffee!  I cannot start my morning without it.  I normally make my own at home using a French Press, resulting in a strong, muddy, rich cup o' Joe.  BUT, there are times when I run out of coffee or half 'n half and need to buy my daily cup.  When we lived in West Hollywood, I would always go to Kings Road Cafe to get my fix.  It was right down the street from us and on my route to work.  Since we've moved I am unable to stop there on my way to work, but I still go there on the weekends sometimes either just for the coffee or to have breakfast.  The coffee is hands down the best that I have had in LA - great flavor, really strong, and leaves a pile of mud at the bottom of the cup (which I believe is indicative of REAL GOOD coffee).  If you live in LA in the West Hollywood area and you like GOOD coffee, please go buy a cup at Kings Road.  If you don't like it, then you don't know what you're talking about! ;)

 

Roasted flounder with potatoes, lemons & kalamata olives

This recipe can be made with any white flaky fish (bass, flounder, branzino, sole, snapper etc.)
Lemon, olives, paprika... can't go wrong! Enjoy! 

hands-on time: 10 minutes - total time: 45 minutes 

serves 4 

1 pound baby potatoes (about 12), halved 

1 lemon, thinly sliced 

8 sprigs fresh thyme 

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil 

salt & pepper 

1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives 

4 6-ounce skinless flaky white fish fillets 

1/2 teaspoon paprika 

Heat oven to 400F. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss the potatoes, lemon, thyme, 2 TBSP of the oil, and 1/4 tsp each salt & pepper; arrange in a single layer. Roast, tossing once, until the potatoes begin to soften, about 20 minutes...

Toss the olives with the potato mixture, then nestle the fish in. Drizzle the fish with the remaining tsp of olive oil and season with the paprika and 1/4 tsp each salt & pepper. Continue to roast until the potatoes are golden brown and crisp and the fish is opaque throughout, 12 to 15 minutes more. 

Oktoberfest!

A couple weeks ago, Jimmy and I had a little mini Oktoberfest at home. I made one of my favorite things that I learned how to make when I lived in Austria, which I used to make all the time but hadn't made in way too long... Käse Knödel! Knödel are traditional dumplings found in German and Austrian food; there are many different kinds: Käse Knödel, made with cheese; Speck Knödel, made with Tyrolian cured ham, Spinach Knödel, Liver Knödel, and more. Sometimes they are served in a soup, sometimes with meats and gravies. I love them so much! But my favorites are definitely the cheesy ones. We had them with our favorite tiny bratwursts from TJ's, and some yummy sauteed kale, and a good German beer.

Knödel are easy to make, and a good thing to do when you have bread that is a couple days old and has dried out (or you can just toast some in the oven). Cut the bread up into small cubes, then brown some butter and add that to the bread. Whisk 2 eggs with some milk and add to bread; add salt and pepper. Chop up a little onion and garlic, and some chopped fresh parsley, (and optional, a little bit of lemon zest and a pinch of nutmeg) add to mixture. Finally, add your cheese, chopped into small cubes, (cheese should be one that melts easily - I've always used Austrian or Swiss cheeses with a nice nutty flavor) and some flour to thicken it all up. The dough must be moist but not too sticky; adjust with flour and milk. Wet hands with cold water and roll the dough into round balls, about the size of a baseball. Drop into hot salted water (not boiling or they'll fall apart) and cook until done, 10-15 minutes.

I also made an Apple Strudel with chocolate sauce for dessert. It was tasty, but I don't think I'll make it again. It was pretty difficult to put together, and I'm not convinced it turned out right. However I did really enjoy making the filling:

Simmering star anise, cinnamon stick and vanilla bean in apple juice, then adding the apples and dried cherries... the smell really got me in the mood for yummy fall desserts!!! More to come!