Don't Roast Veggies When It's Over 60 Degrees Out

Perhaps it's the Mad Men binge I've been on, but I've been particularly domestic in the little part of this week that has transpired. With a full Sunday ahead of me, I was feeling bored and decided to plan out all my meals for the week- of course, making enough to have leftovers at lunch each day - and so I have not one, but two meals to share with you.

After grocery shopping last night (where I always get more food for my money, thank you cheap-o grocery store), I came back to make Sole Gratin with Tomatoes, Olives and Capers. And yeah, that's exactly what the dish is.

As you've probably already figured out, I didn't use Sole. Not only because my grocery store most likely didn't carry it (they don't even carry Brussels sprouts), but also because I have plenty of tilapia and didn't see the point in buying more fish. Here's how it works. You take a baking dish - or a gratin dish if you have it, I don't - and coat it with olive oil. You then rub the fish in the oil and season it with salt and pepper on each side. The actual recipe has you layer each fillet on top of the other, but I was cooking for one. Next, you thinly slice and onion. I used this same cut when I helped Kelly cook this past weekend, more on that later. I only used a quarter of an onion (again, cooking for one) and made thing slices of half moons and then separated the layers so that the onion would cook quickly.

It then called for canned plum tomatoes to be crushed through your fingers. I bought natural plum tomatoes, having read the recipe incorrectly, and opted for grape ones instead. Though I did still crush them with my hands because playing with food is fun. I also managed not to get any juice on my white Run DMC shirt while doing so. Who's awesome?

I chopped up some black olives and added it to the tomatoes and onion along with some capers, then tossed it all in olive oil, salt and pepper. This mixture was spooned over the fish, and then came the breadcrumbs. The recipe requested me to mix the breadcrumbs with oil beforehand then sprinkle them on top. I felt like I was playing with sand. It did help brown to breadcrumbs without burning them though.

This all cooked for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Thanks to the handy meat thermometer, I didn't have to demolish the dish to see if the fish was cooked all the way though. Got it on the first try!

The dish was really great, not too salty as I had feared with the olives and capers. It was nice to get away from my usual pan-searing of fish for a slightly lighter take. My only issue was the amount of oil at the bottom of the baking dish. Between what I coated the dish with and what came into the dish with the tomato/onion/olive/caper mixture, it was a little much. Next time I think I may actually spoon rather than dump the mixture on top of the fish. Also a surprise, no cheese in a gratin? Mind = blown.

Tonight's dish was another unique take on a meal I thought I knew so well: Pasta Primavera.

For some reason I've always thought primavera required some sort of creamy sauce. According to Giada, that's not so. Let me preface this by saying that I made an Everyday Italian meal that I hadn't made before - huzzah for revisiting the original goal of the blog! Moving on, Giada said that traditional primavera requires you to cut all the veggies, steam/boil/however you normally cook them, then blanch them, all in separate bowls. Thank god she didn't want me to do that, because I only have so many bowls...I live in a studio apartment.

Instead, Giada's version takes after my mother's own roasted veggie pasta, but is slightly different. It also took much longer than I anticipated (try one and a half episodes of Law & Order: SVU). I started by covering a baking sheet with tin foil for easy clean-up later. I then sliced half an onion the same way I did yesterday, and separated the layers out over the greased and covered pan. Next I peeled carrots and cut them into long, thin strips. Didn't take too long, but the worst was yet to come. I did the same with zucchini - without peeling it beforehand - and spread that out over the sheet.

Then came the worst part: acorn squash. I cut the squash in half, and was encouraged by how much easier it was to slice through it than a butternut squash. It wasn't any easier to peel it though. Actually, it may have been more difficult since its size required my hands to get closer to the peeler. I even incurred an injury. After searching the apartment for band-aids and failing, I cleaned the cut and covered it with medical tape...which I'm not really sure why I have it?

Anyhow, once the squash was (mostly) peeled, it was easy enough to thinly slice and add to the sheet. Last came one red pepper, which was exponentially easier after the squash debacle.

Considering I like my roasted veggies caramelized, I divided the now sliced veggies onto two covered baking sheets so they could make a nice, even layer. After the separation, I tossed them in olive oil, salt, and pepper, then threw them in the oven for 10 minutes at 450. At the 10 minute mark, I tossed them around, then put them back in for another 10.

Meanwhile I started cooking some spaghetti, though the recipe recommended farfalle (bowties), but I unfortunately didn't have any, and knew the elbows I did have just wouldn't have worked. I drained the pasta and left a bit of the starchy water in it, then took out the veggies and added them to the pot. The pot was just a bit too small to toss it all, but I made it work. I then topped it with tomatoes and fresh shredded parm and some Italian seasoning.

Honestly, this was delicious. The veggies get so caramel-y and sweet, and leaving the tomatoes out of the roasting adds a nice subtle crunch. I was scared it would be bland, but it really isn't at all. It's amazing how water and cheese just work like that. The difference between this and my mom's dish is the tomatoes, which she usually roasts along with garlic, then smashes them both together for the sauce. It's awesome. Oh and by the way, don't roast veggies at 450 on a day that's over 60 degrees. Especially when your ceiling fan doesn't work...and you don't have A/C...in March.

I just thought everyone should know, that in the middle of writing this post I took my garbage out and locked myself out of my room for an hour and a half. It's been one of those nights.

As for this past weekend, Kelly and I went to a yoga class at Yoga to the People where the donation for the class is suggested but not mandatory. My kind of place. I've also fallen in love with yoga...and definitely felt its effects for three days.

After yoga we went back to Kelly's apartment and she made us a dinner of quinoa, roasted kale and sweet potatoes and onions, topped with balsamic vinegar and oil and craisins. Super healthy and filling! We then came back to my place and Kelly crashed on the futon, and we ventured to the good ole diner for breakfast in the morning. The rest of the day is housewife history.

More to come later in the week.

Bean Town and Beyond

Having the first day of the week off always messes up my internal calendar. It's not necessarily a bad thing. For example, today is Thursday. In my mind it's Wednesday. I benefit from this because my weekend comes a day earlier than expected. Awesome.

This past weekend was a bit of a whirlwind as I made the trip to Grafton, MA from NYC. Being the night owl that I am, I went to bed past midnight and expected to be able to get up for a 7 a.m. train (keep in mind I live a good distance away from the train station). As my alarm went off at 5:30, I got up, turned it off, and promptly went back to sleep. Come 6:50, I jumped out of bed muttering a few choice words to myself as I scrambled for my phone to change the reservation. Though it did cost a little extra than I had paid, I lucked out and was able to grab an Acela that got me into Boston just a few minutes later than my first train.

The Acela was even nicer than the regular Amtrak trains, considering all seating is Business Class. The food was exactly the same though. Given my early morning issue, I didn't have time to get breakfast (I could've stopped at my usual bagel place, but didn't want to risk missing another train), I went to the dining car to get a bagel. Amtrak clearly doesn't understand New York bagels. The bagel itself was ok, though it wasn't the same as the boiled type, it was the cream cheese that was the problem. The attendant gave me one measly cup of cream cheese, and when I asked for an extra, he wasn't able to give me one since Amtrak hadn't provided him with extras. Lame.

It was nice to check out a different train route as I got to see parts of Connecticut and Rhode Island that I probably wouldn't travel to on my own (though I am interested in seeing Providence sometime). After about three and a half hours, I was in South Station ordering food at Cosi. I've heard people rave about this chain, and it wasn't bad, but nothing to write home about. I should've opted for a sandwich from Cheeseboy.

I took the T out to Grafton where I was met by my best friend Rae. The point of the trip was a) to see her and b) to attend an event thrown by her college. Both aspects were fantastic. The day after the event we went to a restaurant called the Celtic Tavern, which had the best french fries ever (think thicker Arby's fries that are well done and not curly) and served me a burger on garlicky, toasted, sourdough bread. I love when bar food isn't basic.

With Monday off, I came back on President's Day and did pretty much nothing. The next night however, I cooked this:

I had left over eggplant from a failed attempt at veggie tacos (I forgot to buy salsa, sour cream, seasoning...and tortillas) that turned into a pretty delicious pasta dish, and so it was necessary to make Eggplant Parmesan.

My go to move whenever I make an eggplant dish is to slice it, then sprinkle salt on both sides. I then let it sit for however long it takes me to do whatever side task necessary. I then pat down the eggplant to get the moisture out of it. It just helps it cook quicker and better. So I did this, then set up my batter station of flour, eggs, and seasoned bread crumbs. After heating some olive oil in a pan, I placed three battered eggplant slices in at a time, and cooked each side 'til golden brown.

Meanwhile, I heated some marinara sauce in a pot (love that sauce can be frozen forever). I had about a container and a half left in the freezer and thought that just the half container would do it for tonight, so that was the only one I had defrosted. It wasn't enough. After literally chipping away at the frozen sauce in the full container, I decided that holding it over the pot of sauce could help dislodge it from the Tupperware better, then dumped the frozen brick into the pot. This was by far the longest way of going about this process...well, longer than it should've been.

After all the eggplant slices had been sauteed, I began my assembly. I have these awesome Rachael Ray mini dishes that are great for making baked dishes in individual servings (see above). I covered the bottom of two dishes with sauce, then placed two pieces of eggplant on top. Next came more sauce, topped with a layer of cheese. I repeated this one more time, then put the dishes in the oven for half an hour at 400.

As the eggplant baked, I boiled water and cooked some angel hair. Once cooked and strained, I melted a pat of butter in the pasta, then tossed it with the sauce. I can't help but go for a slight Chef's Spaghetti Parm taste.

Once the eggplant was done, I put the dish on top of a plate and added the spaghetti on the side. For my first attempt at Eggplant Parm (aside from my endeavor in Eggplant Rollatini back in the day), I must say I'm impressed. My decision in slicing the eggplant about a centimeter thick was good since the cooked through completely. I do wish I had thought to use the immersion blender on my sauce when I had made it so it wasn't so chunky, but it was still fantastic nonetheless. I was really happy with the browning on the cheese, because everyone knows that's delicious.

What's even better? The second dish of Eggplant Parm - and the rest of the pasta - provided me with two days of leftovers for lunch. Success.

In other news, I've started playing the PS3 Zumba game, which makes me realize I have lost all sense of rhythm that I once had. Or I'm bad at following split-second directions that aren't actually verbalized. Either way I've found a way around not being able to run before or after work while the sun works on rising earlier and setting later.

Until next time...

Oh So Saucesome

Hey there!

Yes, it's been a reeeaaaalllly long time since I've updated in here. Don't worry, I have in fact eaten since then. I've even cooked since then, just nothing from the project. To those who faithfully checked this thing each week (Mom?), I apologize. But here it is, an update!

Tonight I made "Spinach and Mushroom Ravioli" from the stuffed pasta section of the "Everyday Pasta, Polenta, and Risotto" chapter. I had some help with this one from a certain someone named Ryan who made all the multi-tasking much more manageable. He's also just nice to have around in general. Anyhow, here's how it all went down.

We started by dicing up some mushrooms and sauteing them with some EVOO spray. Then we threw in some spinach and let it cook a couple more minutes. As this all happened, I was laying out won ton wrappers like it was my job (and I suppose it was at that moment) to make the ravioli from "scratch."

This recipe actually has you use the won ton method unlike the pumpkin ravioli. I find this odd considering the spinach and mushroom would be much easier to find in a grocery store than the pumpkin ravioli. Just sayin'.....

Once the mushrooms and spinach were sauteed to our liking, we removed them from the heat and let them cool (and I used this time to switch over my laundry that had slowly taken over my walk-in closet of a room). The next step allowed me to use one of my new gadgets, a food processor!! Yes, I received a food processor for my 21st birthday and I was ECSTATIC. We put the mixture into the food processor and pulsed it until it was a coarse texture. It actually kind of came out looking like bright green hummus. I was supposed to stir in some mascarpone cheese along with Parmesan next, but I've grown tired of buying containers of mascarpone, using a tablespoon of it, and then having it go bad in my fridge. Therefore, I improvised with two wedges of garlic and herb Laughing Cow cheese. Similar? Taste-wise, not really. Texture-wise, certainly.

Before filling the won tons with the spinachy goodness, I brushed them with a egg wash (which they needed because apparently when you let won ton wrappers sit out for any given amount of time, they sort of dry out. Oops!). Then I put one heaping teaspoon of filling onto each, sealed it around the center, and pressed the edges with a fork. I still don't own a ravioli cutter, but did not attempt to make cool edges on these ones. I've learned that butter knives literally don't cut it when it comes to designs.

And now, for more multitasking. First, we got a pot of water boiling to cook the raviolis. As I assembled the pasta, Ryan sauteed more mushrooms for the sauce. We cooked about four raviolis at a time so they wouldn't stick together (even though they still did) and it took about three minutes for each batch. We added some sauce from a jar (what?!?!?!?!) to the sauteed mushrooms and served it over the raviolis.

It was pretty good overall, but we both agreed that there was something missing from the filling. I think it was my use of Laughing Cow over mascarpone. I'll have to work out the kinks on that one. I do have a lot of filling left over that I think will be a good dip for chips or crackers, or perhaps a good topping for toasted Italian bread? Hmmm....

The next recipe will be from the "Everyday Entrees" chapter and to be honest, I don't know when I will be tackling that one. Check back every so often and you may just be lucky enough to see something new :)

Recipe Revolution

But really, when are my recipes NOT revolutions? Or....at least MY version of them. I'm just going to jump right into this one.

Today, I made the last of the "Everyday Tomato Sauces" with "Tuna and Tomato Sauce." Fear not, I refused to eat tuna this time around. Third time is not the charm in this case, because I am not willing to try it a third time. In its place, I used tilapia, ergo, I introduce to you, "Tilapia and Tomato Sauce." It still has that nice alliteration :)

There's really no use in going through how the recipe should go, because I just kind of winged this one. I started by searing the tilapia with some capers and lemon juice until it was cooked all the way through and could be flaked (what a horrible term to describe a food item. Honestly? Flaked?) I then turned down the heat and added my marinara sauce (that had been frozen from the last time I made it) and heated it through.

All the while, I cooked some spaghetti. How easy is this recipe? Final step, I drained the pasta, put it on a plate, and topped it with the sauce. Voila.

I'm not sure how I feel about this one. Obviously, it was much better than if I had used tuna (I'm having flashbacks of choking it down in the past), but the tilapia didn't really stand out. However, tilapia sort of tastes like whatever you cook it in or with, so I guess it did its job? The marinara was great as usual, and probably even better than when I initially made it from being frozen.

Not gonna lie, I probably won't make this again. Oh well. Can't win every time.

That's all the updating I intend to do this week, check back again next week though!

Martin Doesn't Know. Martin Did My Taxes...

When all else fails, use a line from the most recent commercial as your title.

Hey there everyone! Before I get too much into tonight's dish, allow me to explain the above pictures. I made Individual Vegetarian Lasagnas tonight. The recipe wanted them made in individual gratin dishes with 6-inch diameters. All I had to use were these ramekins that were about 3-inches in diameter. Luckily, three and three equals six, which explains why it looks like I pigged out with tonight's meal. Also, my hand is in the picture to PROVE that these ramekins were actually that size (a point of reference if you will). Lastly, my hand is very red because I had just finished doing the dishes in some hot soapy water.

Onto the fun part! I made some marinara sauce last night to use in my lasagnas. I'm pretty sure I can make that sauce in my sleep now, and it would STILL taste good. I ended up making much more than I needed for this recipe and freezing it since future recipes will be needing some.

The first thing I did tonight for the lasagna was steam some asparagus. I had to call my mom on this one because I had never steamed anything before (I thought I would have to steam the clams in an earlier recipe, but if you can recall, I had to shuck those. That's something I only need to do once in my lifetime). I cut the asparagus into 1/4-inch thick pieces, as suggested by Giada, and steamed them in about an inch of water. Once the water was boiling, it took no time at all to cook the asparagus. I wasn't too worried if they weren't completely soft because I would be sauteing them later on. As the asparagus steamed, I drained a rinsed some cannelini beans and set them aside.

After draining my asparagus and setting it aside, I used the same pot to boil the water for my lasagna sheets. I will note here that I can now be the chef formerly known as the Queen of Improvisation. Tonight, I was the Queen of Efficiency. For making lasagna, I used hardly any dishes at all. As the water boiled, I drained one-third of a package of frozen spinach, then finely chopped one-quarter of an onion.

I'm not entirely sure how this happened considering I don't use my box of lasagna sheets as maracas or anything similar, but most of the pieces I had left were, well, pieces. I had to do some puzzle work to make up two full sheets of lasagna. A minor set back, and really who needs full sheets of lasagna when you're just going to destroy it when you eat it anyway?

As the sheets cooked, I added the onion to a heated pan sprayed with EVOO. I then drained the sheets after about four minutes, rinsed them, and covered them with a damp paper towel. I will note here that I transferred the sheets to a bowl I had used to press the water out of the spinach. This may not be interesting to you, but I am STILL impressed by my efficiency.

To the onions, I added half of a small carrot, finely chopped. Yet another side note: despite my sub-chef-quality tools (though I must say I probably have better kitchen equipment than most college students), I have become an excellent chopper. I used to struggle with cutting carrots thin enough to be considered "finely chopped," but now it just comes second-nature with hardly any effort. Just think of what I could do if I had a knife set like Guy Fieri...wouldn't that be a great birthday gift.....???

After about three minutes, I added one-quarter of a finely chopped zucchini. Giada's recipe also calls for a finely chopped yellow squash at this point in the recipe, but it's January, and summer squash is clearly not in season. Unlike summer squash, winter squash does have some WW points value and I was not willing to budge on my total for this dish.

I added the asparagus to the pan after five minutes and allowed that to saute for another two. Unlike other recipes I have completed, this one asked me to season the veggies AFTER they were cooked. Ergo, I added some salt and pepper to the pan, then removed it form the heat.

And now, the assembly!! I first put a teaspoon of marinara sauce on the bottom of each ramekin. I topped that with a lasagna sheet that was cut to fit the bottom of the dishes (actually, it was more like I solved a puzzle to cover the sauce). Next, I layered the beans, which had been tossed with some salt and pepper, and topped those with some spinach. I then placed another pasta circle on top of that along with another teaspoon of marinara sauce. Then came the veggie mixture divided equally between the dishes with another teaspoon of marinara. Finally, I topped it all off with one last pasta circle, one last teaspoon of marinara, then two tablespoons each of part-skim mozzarella.

The lasagnas went into the toaster oven for 20 minutes at 375 degrees. These ramekins were PERFECT for the toaster oven. I was thankful I didn't have to Rachael Ray my way up to the kitchen, or assemble everything then wait for the big oven to get hot once I was up there.

I must say, I absolutely LOVE this recipe. For one thing, anytime I can eat everything that's in front of me and consider it a reasonable and healthy portion size, I'm happy. Secondly, the veggies were completely cooked (obviously after they had been well sauteed), but not mushy as vegetables can get if overcooked. In case you didn't notice, this recipe didn't use any ricotta which I consider to be a staple of lasagna. I'm pretty sure the cannelini beans took its place and they were just as good. They were much different than any beans I had had before. They weren't firm anymore and became creamy in both texture and taste. Delicious!!

My second picture above was my attempt to show off the colorful filling of the lasagna despite the mess I made of the dish. That was really the only downfall, it was a little tricky to eat the lasagna out of the ramekins, but as I said before, lasagna is SUPPOSED to be messy.

Another successful dish, but my week isn't over yet! I plan to tackle TWO, yes TWO, recipes either tomorrow or Saturday. Check back to experience some Everyday Italian Throwdown history!!

This Post is Dedicated to Caitlin...

...for the sheer fact that she actually sounded mad at me when I said I hadn't posted on this in awhile. My dearest Caitlin, this post is for you!!

It definitely felt good to do some cooking tonight!! We start classes tomorrow so I didn't have anything to do today (other than run some errands and sign a lease so that I'm not homeless next semester), ergo I was antsy to start cooking. I always say that I can't eat dinner before 5 p.m. otherwise I feel like an old person trying to catch that early bird special, but I ate around 4:30 p.m. tonight. I am weak.

Tonight I made another recipe from the "Everyday Sauces" chapter in the "Everyday Tomato Sauces" section. It was a Simple Bolognese aka "meat sauce." When it comes to tomato sauces, I generally opt for marinara over meat, but I figured I may like meat sauce more if it were my own creation...and if it didn't say "Prego" or "Ragu" on its jar.

I started by cooking some minced onions and garlic until they were soft. I was only making half the recipe (some for tonight and leftovers for tomorrow) so I used one clove of garlic and half an onion. This whole plan must have slipped my mind in the next step of adding carrots and celery. I should have used half of each, but I was in some sort of daze and just added a whole one of each. I think Common's "Universal Mind Control" on mtvU had me mesmerized. Thankfully you can't go too overboard with either of those vegetables and it didn't make much of a difference. Plus it wouldn't be one of MY recipes unless something went wrong, right?

After I sauteed those over medium-high for about five minutes, I cranked the heat up to high and added some ground beef. In true health nut fashion (side note: I was the opposite of a health nut all winter break. Chocolate and Christmas cookies are my vice), I used 95/5 ground beef. I was a little afraid that this would result in some dry beef crumbles in my sauce, but this was not the case.

Next, I had to add a can of crushed tomatoes, parsley, basil, salt and pepper. I realized I didn't buy crushed tomatoes, but did have some diced ones in burgundy wine. I wasn't sure what the wine flavoring would do to the sauce, but seeing as burgundy is a dark color and I was working with some dark meat, I didn't really see a problem with it (great logic, I know). Diced versus crushed tomatoes would only make for a chunkier sauce which also didn't faze me. Being a college student without my own fresh herb garden, I used some dried basil and Italian seasoning rather than the fresh versions suggested in the recipe.

I then let all of this simmer and thicken for about 30 minutes. In the mean time, I boiled some salted water and cooked up some orecchiette to serve with the sauce. After 30 minutes, I stirred in some Parmesan cheese to the sauce as well as more salt and pepper.

As you can see from the picture, my bolognese ended up looking like some sort of Italian sloppy joe. The consistency was very chunky, but the flavor was surprisingly smooth. It wasn't overpowering and the beef wasn't dry (I think I have the tomatoes to thank for that). It was MUCH better than any jarred meat sauce I had had before (one would hope this would be the case with anything that comes in a jar).

Overall, a successful first night back in Everyday Italian! As I said before, I'll be eating leftovers tomorrow night (which will be nice seeing as tomorrow is my first day of classes), but will be making some marinara sauce to use in some future recipes. I will see you again on Thursday when I put together another "Everyday Pasta, Polenta, and Risotto!"

Cause We Need a Little Salsa, Right This Very Minute...

Yes, it is the Christmas season, and it's a night to try another one of Giada's "Everyday Sauces!" Tonight, I made Salsa All'amatriciana. I wish I knew how to pronounce that, but I won't be taking Italian next semester, therefore we may never know (actually I probably will find out eventually). This is a tomato-based sauce that was different than what I'm used to. It was a little like marinara, but also chunky like a meat sauce. Allow me to explain:

First, I sprayed a pan with some EVOO spray and heated it over medium heat. I then added some diced pancetta. This was my first time working with and eating pancetta. I've always been told that it's the Italian version of bacon, but you know me, I didn't believe anyone. I saw Rachael Ray and Giada herself use it on Food Network and was told I would like it, but I would respond with "no. It's ham. I hate ham." True, I do despise ham. It's right up there with tuna, it sets off my gag reflex. But, as with most other foods that I have strong aversions to, everyone was right about pancetta. It is Italian bacon. Whenever my idols cooked with it on TV, they talked about how they wish you could smell it as it cooked. I now understand why. The stuff is fantastic.

I cooked the pancetta for about eight minutes (in this time, it began to start foaming as if it were rabid pancetta). I then added some finely chopped onion and cooked that until it was tender. That took about five minutes. After that, I threw in some minced garlic and crushed red pepper. Giada says to cook this until it becomes fragrant or for about 30 seconds. I actually counted it out because it was difficult to smell it over the pancetta. But I wasn't one to complain. Our kitchen smelled great!

Next I added some tomato puree as well as some salt and pepper. You then lower the heat and let the sauce thicken for about 15 minutes. During this time, I boiled some water, made some perfectly al dente spaghetti, and caught up with the Kardashians (this is not something I'm proud of, but I'm just being honest).

After draining the pasta, I stirred some Parmesan cheese into the sauce. I then put it on top of the pasta and dug in! Like I said before, it was like a marinara sauce in how tomato-y it was and with the combination of onions and garlic. But the pancetta gave it a few chunks like a meat sauce. It was a nice balance between the two. Definitely something I would make again (I made two servings of the sauce so I could eat the leftovers tomorrow night. I'm sure they will be even better tomorrow!).

I'm sure by now you're wondering what's with the picture of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree at the top of the post. For starters, it's there because I don't know how to post pictures in the middle of my posts where they are most relevant. Second, it's there because I saw it in person this weekend in NYC!! I had an amazing time in the city with my best friend Katie and, as always, was sure to eat some exceptional food. I had some Honky Tonk pancakes at the Brownstone Diner (these were pancakes with peanut butter chips in them and were topped with slices of bananas), had my first slice of actual NYC pizza (and what are the odds that Ray's Pizza had my favorite: mushrooms and black olives), and had some Cuban food as well. On top of all that, I got a lot of Christmas shopping done and was able to experience the city without the hassle of being on a school trip :)

Anyhow, I will be cooking again on Thursday night and my dish will be part of a larger meal to be shared with my roommates. One of them just graduated this past weekend and will be leaving us after this semester (that's a scary thought considering I only have two semesters left after this one). Check back then for more food fun!

Mmm...Toasty!!

I know I was supposed to make a dish last night, but a spur of the moment girl's night happened and I ended up eating some excellent, authentic Mexican food instead. I had a California burrito with veggies in it. Delicious!!

Moving on to today I finished the "Fresh From the Pantry" section of the "Everyday Pasta, Polenta, and Risotto"chapter with Orecchiette with Toasted Bread Crumbs. As all the recipes in this section are, it was easy and didn't use too many exotic ingredients. It was also worthy of a "yum-o!"

First things first, I cooked the orrecchiette (aka the pasta). This is pretty much a fancy name for shells. However, thanks to Giada's side note, I now know that orrecchiette means "little ears" which makes total sense.

Once the pasta was added to the boiling water, I began making the "dressing" of bread crumbs. This type of recipe is one that was probably used in order to use leftover stale bread (this is not my inference, it's totally from the side notes). I always think of bread crumbs as more of a coating for meat, so I found this use for it really interesting. I sprayed some EVOO into a heated pan, then added the bread crumbs, salt, and pepper. This only needs to toast for about two minutes and it's very easy to tell when it's ready. You definitely don't want to let this cook too long otherwise it WILL burn.

I drained the pasta (but not completely) and tossed it into the pan with the bread crumbs. Some of the pasta water stayed in the little ears which I think helped since the bread crumbs stuck to the pasta a lot easier. I also tossed in some finely chopped prosciutto.

Prosciutto is another new thing for me. I'm definitely not a fan of ham (though I could probably eat my weight in bacon or ribs) and I know that prosciutto is a type of ham. For years, people have told me that it doesn't taste like ham and that it's just salty. Me being me, I didn't believe them and refused to try it because I KNEW it tasted like ham. Well, I was wrong again. I tried a little piece of it before adding it in with everything else and alas, it really just tasted salty. You win again world.

After tossing all this together, I transferred the food to a bowl and added some chopped fresh parsley and Parmesan cheese, then dug in. It was really good, though I think next time I need to go a little easy on the salt. Between the bread crumbs, prosciutto, cheese, and actual salt, it was a bit much, but not enough to ruin the dish. I also needed some other wet element in it since the bread crumbs make it very dry (this may not have been the case had I used the amount of oil called for in the recipe rather than spray oil). With a few tweaks, I could probably make this dish even better, but for today, it was just fine :)

I'm off now to make some more pumpkin cookies to bring over to a friend's house tonight. I'm going to try putting a glaze on them this time instead of using cream cheese frosting since it dries much quicker. Wish me luck and check back tomorrow (so soon!) for my next dish: Grilled Seafood Salad!

Checca yoself...

...before you make another terrible pun. I may have another new love, and it's name is Checca Sauce. Not only is this "no-cook" sauce incredibly easy and quick to make, it's also incredibly delicious. Giada says that there is no point to making Checca sauce if tomatoes are not at the peak of their ripeness, but I did it anyway and it was still great.

The amount of time it took to make this sauce is basically the amount of time it took to make the pasta. As I brought the pasta water to a boil, I started the sauce by putting some cherry tomatoes, scallions, garlic, Parmesan cheese, basil, and oil into my chopper. I have to say, the best thing about my chopper is that I don't actually have to chop anything before adding it in there. It saves my hands from smelling like garlic for days on end. Anyhow, you pulse all of this together until the tomatoes are coarsely chopped, NOT pureed. No problem there. I pulsed it until it looked about the consistency of tabbouleh. If you don't know what that consistency is, then you probably haven't had tabbouleh and are therefore missing out on another delicious food.

Next, I transferred the sauce to a bowl and mixed in some salt, pepper, and mozzarella cheese. The recipe said to use some fresh mozzarella cut into cubes, but the shredded part-skim mozzarella I used seemed to work just fine.

Once the pasta was cooked to al dente, I tossed the sauce with it and I was ready to go! This whole "no-cook" sauce thing is great. Less mess, less time, but without cutting back on any flavor. Tomatoes and basil are always a winning combination and were the stars of the sauce. It was very fresh tasting. One thing I've noticed from all these recipes I've made is the spicy element of garlic. Especially raw garlic. I think the spice of the garlic in this sauce enhanced the flavors and kept them from being bland (since it's not really peak tomato season anymore).

As i was eating this, I realized this sauce would also be great as bruschetta. Some crispy Italian bread would've been perfect for soaking up the tomato juice that was left over once my pasta was gone but alas, I didn't have any. Anyway if you're looking for a very quick meal solution, I highly recommend this recipe!!

The next cooking day will be Friday when I take on another pasta dish: Orecchiette with Toasted Bread Crumbs!!

Side Note: I absolutely love that the sun is shining right now, but it's picking the most terrible spot in the sky to be at the moment. It's just at the top of my window shining directly on me and into my eyes (which are extremely light-sensitive). It's also in just the right place where I can't really avoid it unless I hover over my computer which is far from comfortable. Oh well, I'll take it shining in my eyes in the middle of the day over a dark cloudy or snowy October!

P.S. Happy Birthday Doug!

Test Run #1

Last night was my first night in my new dorm complete with kitchen space. I don't have my copy of Everyday Italian yet, so I improvised and made Pasta with Chicken and Artichoke Hearts. It didn't turn out too badly for my first meal in a new kitchen, but it could've been better.

For starters, the actual stoves are in a different part of our building (they trust us with everything else, but god forbid they give us an oven and electric stove. Madness could ensue). So I stood in my own kitchen feeling a bit overwhelmed at first at everything I would need to schlep to the actual kitchen in order to make this simple meal. After a few minutes of worry, I gathered everything up and headed down to the kitchen.

I started with some chopped garlic and a bit of olive oil in the pan. As I mentioned before, the stoves here are electric, so the two just sat in the pan for a while doing nothing as the pan heated up. I cut up the chicken meanwhile then threw it into the pan once it was hot enough. Of course, I brought my smallest pan and the chicken was cramped up, and then when I washed my knife and cutting board, I realized I didn't bring an towel to dry them or my hands off. My pants ended up doubling as a dish towel.

As all this was going on, I was heating up the water for the pasta. It took FOREVER. I had to turn the burner up almost as high as it would go because, of course, I didn't bring a lid for the pot to speed up the process. Once I forced that into a boil, I added the angel hair pasta into the water that I had forgotten to salt.

Meanwhile, I chopped up two artichoke hearts and added them to the chicken along with some basil. I then realized how bland this was all going to taste if I just added it to the pasta. I decided I should deglaze the pan (thank you Food Network and Mom) with something to pick up all the flavors from the bottom of the pan. Brilliant idea, till I realized I had nothing to do this with. I settled on a bit of water which created a faux chicken stock once it was added to the pan.

Once everything was cooked, I combined it, threw all my semi-rinsed cookware into my strainer to carry upstairs, and headed back to my room. I put a bit of parmesan cheese on top of the pasta, then gave it a try. I wasn't quite as flavorful as I had hoped, but it was my first try in a new place, so I was pleased overall. I would have included a picture, but I pretty much devoured it since I hadn't eaten for about 5 hours prior to that.

I plan on making attempt #2 tonight, so check back to see if it's a success!