Fall Vegetable Hash

The other day I was cruising around the interwebs and stumbled across a vegetable hash recipe. I thought to myself, "Huh, that looks pretty good and easy" and was then distracted by something (probably a crying baby) and forgot to save the link. I no longer have a clue as to where I saw the recipe so apologies in advance to whomever I'm ripping off.  Here's my version:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Chop whatever fall veggies you like (I chose carrots, parsnips, butternut squash, brussel sprouts, mushrooms, and onions) so they are all a similar size about one to one and a half inches. Place on a foil lined baking sheet and drizzle generously with olive oil until veggies are coated. Add salt and pepper.  Place in oven and roast for about 30 minutes or until veggies are cooked through and begin to turn golden brown.  

Meanwhile, saute half an onion until translucent then add half a pound of sausage to the pan. Cook through and toss the cooked veggies in the pan and give it a couple of stirs. Turn the heat to low. In another pan fry an egg over easy. Plate the veggie/sausage mix and place egg on top. Bon appetit!

Mediterranean Inspired Meal

Throughout my pregnancy I've been craving fresh, healthy food which has been great. Fruits, veggies, and whole grains have been my staples. Hopefully this trend continues after my pregnancy and I don't revert to my sugar fueled diet of old. Anyway, I came across two recipes a little while ago and thought they'd pair together well for a dinner. The first was roasted cauliflower, chickpeas and harissa (via Apartment 34) and the second was crisp couscous and saffron cakes. We threw together some greens and sliced avocado to finish off the meal.

Quick note: Despite the saffron, I found my first batch of couscous cakes to be a bit bland. I added some curry, cumin and other spices to improve the flavor. In the future I think I'll just add that spice pack that comes with boxed couscous...

Ribollita

The other day I got the urge to make a light, but tasty vegetable soup. I was thinking along the lines of minestrone, but wanted to try something new. Searching for inspiration I visited The Wednesday Chef's recipe index and sure enough, I found what I was looking for: Ribollita. I liked that the recipe (included at the end of this post) called for cabbage and fennel, which are veggies that I enjoy but for some reason don't cook with very often. Ribollita is a Tuscan soup that traditionally uses day old bread although this recipe omits it. I ended up adding quite a bit more liquid (a 32 oz carton of chicken broth) than the 2 cups of water that recipe calls for. I also added the spinach at the last minute rather than allowing it to simmer for 30 minutes. I'm don't sure if my soup still qualifies as a Ribollita, but it was good! Buon Appetito!

Here's the recipe from the Wednesday Chef:

Ribollita di Luana
Serves 6 to 8 1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 stalks celery, cut intо 1/3 -inch-thick slices
4 carrots, peeled and sliced intо 1/3 -inch-thick rounds
2 zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut intо 1/3 -inch-thick slices
2 yellow squаsh, halved lengthwise and cut intо 1/3 -inch-thick slices
1/2 fennel bulb, cut intо 1/2 -inch-thick pieces
1/4 savoy cabbage, roughly chopped
2 15-ounce cans cannellini bеans, drained and rinsed
1 14-ounce can peeled whole tоmatоes, drained and divided intо pieces
1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary
1 tablespoon finely chopped sage
1/2 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 bay leaf
1 bunch spinach (about 6 cups), rinsed and roughly chopped
Red-pepper flakes
Extra-virgin olive oil
Parmesan cheese, grated
Crusty bread, optional

1. Heat a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add thе oil. When hot, stir in thе onion, garlic, celery, carrots, zucchini, squash, fennel and cabbage. Season with salt. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Add thе beans, tomatoes, herbs and 2 cups water. Seаson with more salt, thеn gently fold togethеr until combined. Press on thе solids so thеy are submerged in the water. Bring to a boil, then lower thе heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour. Stir gently only once or twice.

3. Fold in the spinach and simmer 30 minutes more. Remove thе bay leaf. Stir in more salt and red-pepper flakes tо tаste.

4. Ladle the soup into individual serving bowls. Drizzle each with olive oil and sprinkle with grated Parmesan. If you choose, serve with bread.

Soy Sauce Glazed Flank Steak

My mom and step-dad are visiting from Oregon this week and were scheduled to get to our house about the same time that I get home from work. I knew they would be hungry from a long day of travel and I wanted to spend time visiting with them rather than being holed away in the kitchen so I was looking for quick and simple meal to prepare. I decided to serve Soy Glazed Flank Steak. I originally got this recipe from my Aunt Kim when I was in college and have been making it ever since. It's easy, delicious and always a crowd pleaser. It also makes great leftovers (if you have any!).  I marinaded the steak the night before my folks got in and had Ian throw it on the grill while I whipped up a salad and some broccolini. I think dinner only took about 15 minutes to prepare!

Ingredients

1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tbs honey
2 tbs red wine vinegar
2 scallions minced
2 large garlic cloves minced
2 tsp minced fresh ginger
1/2 cup olive oil
1.5 lb flank steak

In a small bowl, mix together soy sauce, honey, vinegar, scallions, garlic and ginger. Whisk in olive oil. Place steak in a glass or ceramic baking dish and pour in marinade, turn to coat both sides of meat. Cover with plastic wrap and marinade, turning occasionally 1-2 hours at room temperature or up to 24 hours refrigerated.

Prepare a hot fire or use a grill pan on top of the stove. Remove steak from marinade, scrapping off and reserving as much of the marinade as possible. Place steak on an oiled grill set 4-6 inches from coals. Grill, turning and brushing with marinade several times, until outside is well browned and inside is still pink and juicy, about 10-12 minutes.

Transfer to a cutting board or platter and let rest about 5 minutes before carving on the diagonal into thin slices no thicker than 1/4 inches. Serves 4-6

For Your Monday

Artwork by Mario Kolaric. Image source

Check out this amazing video of a day in India.

This had Ian and I laughing out loud.

I think I'm a bit late to the party on this one, but I recently learned about the British clothing company Boden. Their clothes look super cute! Ian ordered a blazer a few weeks ago and has really liked it. I think I'll be placing an order for some new clothes soon :)

A warm, delicious winter drink.

I like these round windows.

Grammy dresses. I thought Rihanna was best dressed.

An interesting story about missing the obvious.

Tasty, Hearty, Veggie Dinner

Last night was one of those nights when I couldn't think of anything at home that sounded remotely good for dinner and I felt too lazy to stop by the grocery store or go out to dinner. I've been eating a lot of pasta the last few days and was craving something fresh and healthy, but a salad didn't sound good... so I turned to the internet for inspiration and came across a couple of good options.

This recipe from The Wednesday Chef looked great, but I didn't have any of the ingredients.  So I kept hunting. Then I found this recipe on Orangette and decided I'd do something similar, but with a twist. I had a bunch of veggie odds and ends around and thought I'd throw everything together and see what came out (I knew I could always fall back on a bowl of cheerios).

I started by sauteing half an onion (chopped) in olive oil. Once the onion was soft and transparent I added one clove of garlic minced and salt and pepper. Next was half a can of diced tomatoes and half a can of black beans. Separately, I boiled half a cup of barely and one carrot (I fished the carrot slices out before they became mushy and added them to the tomato/black bean mixture).  While I was waiting for the barley to finish cooking I noticed the ingredients in the saute pan were starting to get a little dry despite being on low, so I added a bit of beef broth (I would have preferred chicken or vegetable broth, but we only had beef broth in the pantry). Once the barley had cooked through, I added some chopped swiss chard to the saute pan and let it cook for a couple of minutes. I served the vegetable mixed over a bed of barley (rice, couscous or lentils would also work great I think). The meal was surprisingly delicious and only took about 30 minutes (most of that was waiting for the barely to cook)! I think I'll put it on a regular rotation, using whatever veggies I have on hand at the end of the week.

Note: this ended up being more than I could eat on my own, but not enough for two (Ian didn't have faith my cooking prowess/was too hungry to wait and opted for left over spaghetti. He ended up trying a few bites of mine and gave it his seal of approval).  In the future I plan to double the "recipe".

New Year's Eve Dinner

Ian and I had a pretty quiet New Year's Eve, which was just fine with both of us. We were in bed long before midnight struck, but to make the evening a little special I cooked up a yummy risotto dinner and tried out a new dessert.

My sister-in-law Whitney gave me this fabulous set of party plates for Christmas. Perfect for serving desserts!

I got this recipe for risotto several years ago from Bon Appetite...I think, but it's been so long I can't remember for sure.


Risotto Bianco
About 3 cans low sodium chicken stock
2 tablespoons extra virgin oil olive
1 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon sea salt
2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground black pepper

Pour the stock into a saucepan and bring to a bare simmer. Heat the olive olive in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, salt and saute until onion is soft, about 8 minutes, do not let color.  Stir in rice an cook, stirring until rice is hot, about two minutes. Add wine and simmer, stirring until absorbed. Begin by adding the hot stock one cup at a time, stirring often and adding more liquid only after the previous liquid is absorbed.  Adjust heat to maintain a simmer. It should take about 20  minutes for rice to become creamy and al dente. You may not need all the liquid, if you need a little more use boiling water.
Remove risotto from heat and stir in butter and cheese. Season with salt and pepper and divide among warmed bowls. Serve immediately.

Note: I often serve this risotto "plain" but sometimes I like to add veggies like asparagus or mushrooms. I cook the veggies separately and add with the butter and cheese.


My Grandpa Bob and Grandma Liz sent me a cookbook called Rustic Fruit Desserts by Cory Schrieber and Julie Richardson for Christmas and I've been looking forward to trying one of the recipes. I decided on Cranberry Upside-Down Almond Cake for last night's dessert.

Cranberry Upside-Down Almond Cake

1 tablespoon unsalted butter at room temperature, for pan

Fruit Topping:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sliced almonds
3 cups cranberries fresh or frozen

Cake:
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
14 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup (4 oz) almond paste
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch round baking pan.
To make the fruit topping, melt the butter in a small saucepan, then remove from heat and stir in the brown sugar.  Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread it in an even layer. Sprinkle the almonds over the sugar mixture, then evenly distribute the cranberries in the pan.
To make the cake, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Using a handheld mixer with beaters or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, almond paste, and sugar together on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition, then stir in the vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture in three additions alternating with the buttermilk in two additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Gently spread spread the batter over the cranberries in an even layer.
Bake for  60 to 65 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes.
To flip the cake out of its pan, first run a knife around the edges, then place a flat plate or serving platter face down over the top of the cake and quickly invert the cake onto a platter in one fell swoop. Serve with a dollop of creme fraiche or Chantilly cream.
Storage: wrapped in plastic wrap, this cake will keep at room temperature for 2-3 days.

Green Chile Stew

During our recently trip to Albuquerque we stocked up on green chile to replenish our supply at home.  The day we got back (yesterday) Ian cooked up a big pot of Green Chile Stew and we'll be enjoying it for lunch and dinner for the next few days.

This recipe come from Ian's brother Andrew:
1 pork loin cut into 1/2 inch cubes, lightly dusted with flour
Brown meat in olive oil in a nice big pot
Add a heaping teaspoon of cumin and garlic powder
Add salt, pepper, dash of oregano and a bay leaf
Let the spices cook in the oil for 15 seconds
Add finely chopped onion and sweat for one minute
Add 1/4 cup of flour and mix it all up into a pretty ugly paste and cook off the flour taste for two minutes
Add a 13oz tub of Bueno Hot Green Chile (even better if using the side of the road roasted real deal stuff, but use a little less because it's stronger)
Add two large 1/2 in cubed, peeled potatoes
Thoroughly drain a can of diced tomatoes, add
Add water to cover
Simmer on low for at least one hour
Serve with sour cream and tortillas

mini meatball subs

Ian and I had some friends over yesterday to watch the Broncos vs Ravens game. I decided to make mini meatball subs and used a recipe by Giada De Laurentiis (which you can find here), but ended up modifying it quite a bit. To begin with, I wanted to double the recipe and Ian wasn't able to find veal at the grocery store so we ended up with 1.5 lb each of ground beef and ground pork. I doubled the other ingredients and made one batch of the meatballs, but they didn't hold together very well...so I added one more egg, another tablespoon of ketchup, and 2-3 more tablespoons of bread crumbs, plus more salt and pepper. This seemed to do the trick and the meatballs came out really well. Then I added the marinara sauce and stuck it in the fridge overnight. The next day, shortly before our guests arrived, I assemble the sandwiches, wrapped them in foil and kept them warm in the oven. They were a huge hit and very easy to serve!

Note: One change I would make to this recipe in the future is to bake the meatballs, rather than fry them. It took much longer than I thought to fry all the meatballs (partly because I doubled the recipe), and being stuck in front of the stove for so long wasn't fun. Plus, I've baked meatballs before and I think they've turn out just as well if not better.

My friend Courtney took a photo of Lute, and as you can tell, he's literally at the center of the party...his favorite place to be! I'm still not sure how a 95 lb dog is able to fit under our coffee table.

 

P.S.
As you may have noticed from the meatball sub picture above, we got a new camera!!!!! I'm no longer using my iphone and the difference is incredible! We went with the Canon Rebel T31 DSLR camera and are loving it!!!!

Cacio e pepe

This may not be the prettiest dish you'll ever see, but on the nights that Ian teaches late, it's one of my favorite meals to cook for myself. Cacio e pepe aka spaghetti with cheese and pepper is so easy and so good.  Simply cook up some spaghetti and reserve 1/2-2/3 of a cup of the pasta water before you drain the spaghetti. Add some olive oil to the same pan you used to cook the pasta in and heat it on medium low. Throw the spaghetti back in the pan and crack some freshly ground pepper over it. Add the reserved pasta water (you may not need all of the water) and grate fresh Parmesan and Pecorino Romano cheese on it. Using both types of cheese actually makes a big difference! The cheese and reserved pasta water combine to make a nice little sauce, or at least something sauce like. I also like to add some chopped fresh basil when I have it on hand. Buon appetito!

A Winter Meal

For a few weeks now I've been craving a hearty bean and sausage stew.  The problem was that I'd never made a bean and sausage stew. I began combing threw my cookbooks looking for a recipe that fit my idea. I found a  recipe for cassoulet in a cookbook called One Pot French that my mom had given my a few years ago. While the recipes in this cookbook all look fabulous, many of them are too complicated for my taste, and sadly that was the case for the cassoulet. The recipe called for duck fat, 4 pork sauages, 4 veal sausages, 1 large garlic sausage, 4 duck confit legs, pork skin and pork belly. I'm sure the cassoulet would have been beyond delicious, but it was way too over the top for the simple meal for two that I wanted.

So... my search continued.  Luckily, a few days later, the universe threw me a bone.  I came across this recipe on Rachel Eats. While I liked Rachel's recipe much better than the One Pot French recipe, it still wasn't quite what I was looking for and I decided to forge ahead on my own.

Instead of soaking the dry beans, I turned to The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook (the same cookbook I'd gotten my Thanksgiving turkey recipe from), where I learned I could cook the beans without soaking them first. Here's what the cookbook had to say:

Here in the test kitchen, we were under the impression that beans had to be soaked before cooking to expedite the time on the stove. Sometimes, though, we either don't plan far enough ahead or we forget completely to soak our beans. When faced with a glitch of this kind, do we resort to canned beans or forgo the intended meal completely? The answer is no to both possibilities.  We simply decided to simmer the dried beans that had not been soaked and see what transpired. Much to our surprise, the unsoaked beans only took an average of about 30 minutes longer to cook than soaked beans did. Our unsoaked beans also required more cooking liquid and, admittedly, weren't as evenly cooked, but they were an acceptable alternative, especially when the beans were going to be pureed or mashed.

I boiled my unsoaked cannellini beans in 4 quarts of water for about two hours, slightly longer than the recipe called for, but I found the beans had cooked evenly.  While the beans were cooking, I fried 4 slices of bacon in my dutch oven. When the bacon was cooked, I put them on a paper towel and poured out the remaining bacon grease. I then added the sausages to the dutch oven and cooked them until done, removing them to rest. I added the chopped onion and carrot to the pan with the juices of the bratwurst and let them sautee until tender. I then added one clove of garlic. Once the garlic was cooked (about 30 seconds), I added 1/4 of dry white wine and let it reduce. When the wine had reduced, I added the cooked cannellini beans and the water in which they were cooked to the dutch oven.  I then sliced the bratwurst and crumbled the bacon, adding it to the dutch oven. I also added a bit of chicken stock to keep the dish moist and "stewy".

This dish was very hearty and just what I wanted on a winter night. Ian and I had the leftovers for lunch today, and the flavors were even better. I added a dollop of sour cream to my bowl.

Bean and Sausage Stew

1 lbs cannellini beans
4 quarts of water
4 slices of bacon
3-4 quality sausages of your choice ( I used bratwursts)
1 onion
1 carrot
1 clove of garlic
1/4 dry white wine
chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste

Possibly the best yogurt you'll ever have

Last month Ian and I flew to Austin, TX for Austin City Limits. In addition to the music festival, we also have a few buddies there that we were looking forward to seeing.  Our friends Michael and Rachel hosted an awesome brunch the last day of the festival. Although everything they served was delicious, the dish that really stood out for me was Rachel's yogurt parfait (the bloody marys were a close second :).  While I enjoy yogurt as much as the next person, it's not something that I would expect to still be thinking about weeks later, but let me tell you, this yogurt was special.  This past weekend, Ian and I were invited to a potluck brunch, so I email Rachel and asked if she'd share her recipe with me. Here's what she said:

"Happy to share! It's not really a "recipe," but it's super easy. It's just a yogurt parfait with 3 layers- fruit, almond yogurt and salty honey almond brittle.

• Fruit- Raspberries and cherries work best
• Yogurt- Fage Greek yogurt sweetened with Splenda and almond extract. It is very important to get the best almond extract you can buy. No real guidance on measurements except that it's easier to add than it is to subtract and it usually gets sweeter/almondier as it sits. So get it just a little less flavorful than you want, and then adjust right before assembly if needed
• Brittle: Toast almond slivers in pan. Once they are lightly toasted and smelling good, add enough honey to get them wet and turn off the heat. The honey loosens up as it warms up, so feel free to add, stir to see if it's nice and glossy/wet, and add more if you need. Then dump onto pam-sprayed parchment paper (foil works in a pinch, but not wax paper), spread in an even-ish layer and sprinkle with kosher or sea salt. Pop in fridge to cool.Once cool, break into clumps
• To assemble, layer fruit on bottom, then yogurt, fruit, yogurt. Top with brittle"

The almond brittle, right before I stuck it in the fridge

About half-way through assembling the parfait

The finished product!

It would never have occurred to me to add almond extract to the yogurt, but it makes such a difference! It gives the yogurt a subtle, but sophisticated flavor. I didn't have splenda, so I used regular sugar instead. I added a bit of water to it to start the dissolving process and make sure that it mixed in to the yogurt. Also, I couldn't find cherries this time of the year, so I went with blueberries and chopped dates.  Finally to give it a bit of a fall flavor I sprinkled a little bit of cinnamon and nutmeg on top of the assembled parfait. I would say that in total (not including cooling time), this dish took about 30 minutes to make.  Thanks for sharing Rachel!

DC weekend

A cute little house on the day before election day

Just in case questions come up, I work Tuesday - Saturday, so my weekend is actually Sunday - Monday (I very lucky that Ian doesn't teach on Mondays so we are still able to enjoy a two day weekend together). 

 Saturday after work, I met up with Ian and some buddies to cheer on the Ducks at our local watch bar Irish Channel. The bar lets the alumni association decorate, play the fight song, and basically take over the place. It's a fun environment, kinda like a substitute Cooler.  The bar attracts a surprising amount of Duck fans. Last year for the Rose Bowl game over 150 fans were at the bar. We feel bad for unsuspecting Caps fans who walk in hoping to catch the hockey game (I guess that's not a problem this year though...).

Duck Spirit

Some new friends from Ian's soccer league that we've converted

Ian and I celebrated the Ducks' win a bit too much, and were a little (a lot) haggard the next day and didn't accomplish much... 

...But we were rested and ready to go the next day. We decided to walk down to the Mall to see Ai Weiwei's According to What? at the Hirshhorn (more on that coming soon). It was such a gorgeous day for a walk.  Fall is my favorite season and I love being out in the cool, crisp air. Before Sandy hit we were having a bit on an Indian Summer, so it's just now beginning to feel like fall. Although our systems haven't gotten used to the temperature swing yet, and I ended up pulling out my winter coat and hat for our walk. 

Some great fall foliage

After our day of being out and about in the chilly fall weather we came home and made this delish dinner. Ian prepped and grilled the steaks while I cooked up some sweet potato fries and sauteed brussels sprouts. See the end of this post for the brussels sprout recipe. 

I'm sorry for the poor image quality of some of these photos :(.  Right now the only camera I have is my iphone! Ian and I are ready to invest in a good camera, but are totally overwhelmed by the options and don't know where to start. Any suggestions?

Sauteed Brussels Sprouts:
2 cups brussel sprouts
1 shallot
2-3 pieces of bacon
about 3/4 cup chicken stock, maybe less (my secret ingredient!)
salt and pepper
toasted walnuts (optional)

Rinse and halve the brussels sprouts lengthwise. Cook the bacon in a large sautee pan until crispy. Remove from pan and lay on paper towels to soak up extra oil/fat. Pour most of the extra bacon fat out of the pan, but reserve a little to cook the brussels sprouts in. Add the shallot and brussels sprouts to the pan used to cook the bacon.  Allow to brown a bit and add some of the chicken stock until it absorbs. The chicken stock gives the brussels sprouts great flavor and helps to soften them a bit. Continue to add small amounts of chicken stock until absorbed and the brussels sprouts are cooked to taste. Crumble the bacon and the toasted walnuts and add them to the pan. Salt and pepper to taste.