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.

Tomatoes and Tiramisu

...but not together. That's just gross. I apologize for not updating sooner, but I've been absolutely SWAMPED with things to do around here. I have been able to cook amidst the chaos, however, I haven't had much time to sit down and type this up.

That being said, let's get started! I did another "Tricolore" recipe from the "Everyday Antipasti" chapter which was rather familiar. Who hasn't had some version of a Caprese Salad before?

You may notice the picture of the gross looking cheese accompanying my beautiful salad above. Allow me to explain. While I was home, I bought some boccinni (I know I butchered the spelling) to use along with grape tomatoes for this recipe. I thought it would be cool to have the ingredients all the same size. Well, I really should have used my ingredients sooner. Upon retrieving my cheese from the refrigerator, I think it's pretty obvious that it had become inedible.

A minor setback if you ask me. Instead, I opted for two sticks of light string cheese. Sure, it's not the same as fresh mozzarella, but desperate times call for such actions.

To make the salad, I sliced up the tomatoes and cheese and tossed them in a bowl. I then whisked together some EVOO (actual, not spray of course), lemon juice, salt and pepper. I then tossed the dressing with the salad and BAM, there you have Caprese Salad. It's so simple, but so flavorful. I never thought to incorporate the lemon juice in the dressing before, but it really made a difference especially in comparison to say a balsamic vinaigrette.

And now, my second recipe that I need to write about: Tiramisu. As I mentioned in my previous post, I needed to go out of order in this cycle so that I could use my Chocolate Zabaglione before it went bad. I broke my rule, but I really don't mind considering it was delicious.

I started by stirring some mascarpone cheese until it was smooth. I then whisked together some Cool Whip Free and sugar. The recipe, as always, called for me to make my own whipped cream using full-fat cream, but considering how fattening Tiramisu is to begin with, I decided to give it a little makeover.

I folded the cheese into the cream, then folded in my Chocolate Zabaglione and refrigerated the resulting cream. Next, I made some instant espresso thanks to the ever-so-strong Starbucks Via. This was used to coat the lady fingers (for those not in the know, these are light, pretty much flavor-less cookies. A softer type of biscotti). I lined the bottom of my pan with a layer of dipped lady fingers, then topped that with some of the cream. I repeated this step, then ended with a layer of semi-dipped lady finger because...I ran out of coffee. These cookies soak up liquid like its going out of style leaving me with little to work with by the end.

The Tiramisu was supposed to be to be refrigerated, then flipped upside-down to be served after sifting some cocoa over the top. This is far too complicated for a dish that's just going to be devoured by college students. I didn't have a chance to take a picture of the Tiramisu because by the time I thought to do so, there was little of it left and being the child I can be at times, I kind of destroyed it by mindlessly poking at it with a fork.

It wasn't the prettiest Tirsmisu anyway, so I'll save a picture of it for when I have it perfected.

That's all I have for tonight. I plan on taking a couple of cooking days off in order to make a bigger dent in my declining balance and to give myself some time to get ahead on my work. Don't you hate when priorities get in they way of fun?

Make Way for the Queen of Improvisation...

As I type this blog, I am being blinded by the sun while trying to watch football (but of course, not the Bills game because it's nowhere to be found!) on my TV that is poorly positioned in relation to my window. Despite these trivial annoyances, I do have a lot to be grateful for like being able to burn over 250 calories while playing DDR today, or having two available washers on a Sunday in a dorm, or eating a delicious meal inspired by Everyday Italian.

My use of the word "inspired" is not merely a way to diversify my word usage. Today's dish probably came out much differently than what Giada would have intended it to be. It was from the "Everyday Entrees" chapter in the "Everyday Grills and Sautees" section. It's name? Grilled Seafood Salad. I will point out that it is a Seafood salad and that no specific seafood is mentioned in its title, therefore, I feel less guilty in having to change its contents. It went a little something like this:

I started by making the dressing in a different method than I had ever used before. I heated some EVOO (the real thing, NOT the spray) in a pan then added some chopped garlic and herbs. The recipe calls for fresh parsley (which I have plenty of thanks to my mother's bountiful herb garden), marjoram, and thyme. I didn't even have the dried variety of the last two and didn't really see the purpose in spending money on them when all I needed was some fraction of a teaspoon of each. As I was about to proceed minus two herbs, I decided to look at the ingredients of my Italian Seasoning. Alas! It contained both marjoram AND thyme and even some oregano for good measure. Crisis averted.

I sauteed all of this for about 30 seconds just to emulsify all the flavors, then removed it from the heat and let it cool. As it cooled, I plugged in the George Foreman and moved on to the seafood portion.

The seafood called for in this recipe is scallops and squid. My problem was not with trying either of these (I am a big fan of calamari and have been meaning to try scallops anyway), but in finding them without spending an arm and a leg. My good friend Katie was kind enough to give me a lift to Wal-Mart the other night so I could pick up some other things I needed, so I decided to look there for the seafood as well. Unfortunately, neither was anywhere to be found. But as luck would have it, I still had some frozen shrimp back at my room and decided this seafood would do just fine. I once again had to go through the trauma that is peeling shrimp (one of the legs got stuck on my finger and literally made me shudder) and dried them as well.

Once my dressing was room temperature, I whisked in some lemon juice, salt, and pepper. I then dipped each shrimp in the dressing then placed them on the hot grill. Shrimp doesn't take long at all to cook, so from this point on, it became similar to an episode of "Chopped" since I hadn't thought to take any of my other ingredients out from the fridge or prepare them in any way.

First, I had to peel then chop a carrot. The recipe said to cut the carrot into two inch long, thin strips which was difficult to do quickly and without losing a finger. I escaped that task unscathed. Next, I had to chop half a yellow bell pepper in the same manner. This was slightly easier, but still time consuming for safety purposes. Once again, I made it through. I had my half cup of cannelini beans stored in the fridge having used the other half in a previous dish so I dumped the rest of those and the now chopped veggies into the remaining dressing. I tossed them all together to evenly coat them.

At this point, my shrimp were ready to be flipped, and then it was time to start assembling. Giada's salad uses arugula leaves and some radicchio. Well, Wal-Mart also failed to carry either of these produce items. However, I had a bag a Spring Mix salad back at home and was able to substitute this instead (I'm pretty sure there was a bit of radicchio in the mix which was a bonus). I placed some of the salad on my dish then topped it with the veggie and bean mixture. I then placed the hot shrimp on top of this.

As I've mentioned before, the George Foreman grill allows the "fat" of your food drip off the grill and into this little collection tray. Seeing as shrimp really don't have any fat to drip off of them, all that ended up in the drip tray was some excess dressing. I decided not to waste a drop of it and drizzled it on top of the salad.

It's difficult to see all the elements of the salad in the picture above because this was post-tossing to get the dressing throughout it. However, it was amazing and quite filling. It was extremely flavorful and balanced. I was actually very proud that I didn't overdo any of the potentially strong seasonings! My shrimp wasn't over cooked at all and there was plenty of dressing to go around without leaving a pool of it at the bottom of the plate. Personally, I love when there's a hot (temperature-wise) element in salads so this was right up my alley. Another successful recipe!

The next day of cooking will be this coming Thursday when I go for another stuffed vegetable recipe in the "Everyday Contorni" chapter: Stuffed Tomatoes!! I can't wait!

And For Her Next Death Defying Act...

...Brianne will try tuna for the first time EVER in her life. EVER. I did it, and I survived. The things I do for food and Giada. Today marked the first day of my venture into Everyday Italian. Before I go into that, I should probably mention my detailed plan of attack for this book. I am not going front to back, recipe by recipe, instead, I'm starting with the first recipe in the first chapter, then going to the first recipe in the second chapter, and so on. This way I won't be "stuck" in one certain food group for a long period of time and will have a nice mix of foods.

The first chapter is titled "Everyday Antipasti" and the first section of it is "From the Pantry." It includes recipes with ingredients that are pretty common in any pantry. The first recipe is "White Bean and Tuna Salad." I won't lie, when I first saw this, I was not at all excited. Ever since I was a little kid, I've never been one to hide my disdain for certain smells whether it be cigarettes, anise...or tuna. The smell of that being mixed with mayonnaise makes my stomach turn and believe me, I let the world know about it. So when I saw that tuna was the first ingredient in my first recipe, I was not happy. However, this project is not only about cooking new foods and having new experiences, it's about trying new foods.

The recipe is very basic. You start with two cans of dark meat tuna packed in olive oil. Being the college student that I am with limited resources, I used tuna packed in water, then added some olive oil to it. Just cracking open that can of tuna brought back so many memories of someone in the house making tuna sandwiches that I really didn't think I was going to make it. It was a true test of my perseverance.

You season the tuna with salt and pepper and break it into bite size pieces. I was OK at this point and dealing well with the whole tuna situation. I was even starting to think that this wouldn't be so bad. Next, you add two cans of cannellini beans. I absolutely love beans, so I figured worst case scenario, I eat around the tuna and go for the beans. You also add a medium red onion, thinly sliced. After mixing all of this, you add six tablespoons of red wine vinegar.

Aside from the whole tuna smell, the only difficulty I had with this recipe was getting the can of beans open. It was quite stubborn. After completing the recipe, I just sort of stood there staring at this creation wondering what it could possibly taste like, and why on Earth it's considered Italian. Then, I took the plunge, and took a bite.

The tuna wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I definitely would not opt for it over other choices of fish, but my disdain for it has decreased slightly. The beans with the red onion is a nice combination and the red wine vinegar gives it a nice kick. I'm really just not digging the tuna. As I've been sitting here typing this up, I've been taking little bites here and there, but this really isn't my favorite thing. In fact, now the tuna is starting to make me gag a bit. I really don't think I can finish it. Actually, I'm NOT going to finish it. Hey, at least I tried it. And at least now my roommates have something to eat if they're into this sort of thing.

Anyhow, the next chapter is "Everyday Sauces" and the first is Marinara sauce!! I will be making that on Friday and probably putting it over some nice angel hair pasta. I am definitely looking forward to that one :) In the mean time, I'm going to dispose of this plate of tuna creation, and put the rest in a container for someone else.

A Quick Pit Stop

I took yesterday off from cooking and hit the dining halls to see what was new and different there. My school switched up its dining plan for this year so now everything is on the unlimited plan. I got a salad which was fine (though I had to instruct the woman who was making it on how to make it. Leslie and I were about to hop behind the counter and put it together ourselves), then I got a sub for dinner which was nothing special. However, I did order it with banana peppers and I now have a new love for them.

Which brings me to my next mini challenge: how to make a healthier version of the Stuffed Banana Pepper. I had one for the first time at the Taste of Buffalo this summer, and it was fantastic. But, like everything else in the world that's delicious, it was filled with fattening cheeses and probably covered in oil. So, I'm making it my mission to make a healthier recipe for this awesome dish. I will post it once I figure it out.

I have a busy day ahead of me today with two scrimmages and a high school clinic so I will be taking the day off from cooking once again. Wednesday is the first day of classes and I intend to be back in the kitchen that night!