Creamy Tomato Goodness

My motivation to make this soup came from an impassioned posting by the Homesick Texan. I wasn't sick with a cold or the flu, but I figured tomato soup's restorative powers could be beneficial anyway. This was a great soup; I used a piece of parmesan rind and it added a great depth to the flavors of the soup. The fresh chives (from the garden - yay!) added a great fresh top note to the final dish.

Tomato Bisque

• olive oil
  
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 medium carrot, chopped
• 3 celery ribs, chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, minced or put through a garlic press
• 2 28 oz. cans crushed tomatoes (I used Progresso)
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2"x3" piece of parmesan rind (or 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese)
  
• 1/2 cup cream or half and half
• salt and pepper to taste

Heat a little olive oil in a soup pot. Sweat the onion, carrot, celery and garlic until softened and a little browned. Add the tomatoes, chicken broth and parmesan rind (don't add the grated cheese now if you're using it instead of the rind). Simmer the soup for about 20-30 minutes until everything is soft. Remove from heat.

Remove the parmesan rind, if using, and puree the soup in batches in a blender. Add the cream to the blender as you go. If you are using the grated cheese, blend it into the soup now. Correct seasoning with salt and pepper.

At serving time, sprinkle chopped herbs (chives, parsley, chervil, oregano, etc.) over the soup.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Week of April 29

This week's menus are inspired by the food blogs I have been reading. It's so nice to have all these great resources out there for when you're feeling super-creative.

All items made on Sunday are noted with an *, anything pulled from cold storage has an (f).

Sunday
Dinner
Nancy Silverton's pappardelle with bagna cauda & olive oil fried egg (via The Wednesday Chef) *
Green salad *
Chocolate sorbet *

Monday
Lunch
Leftovers from dinner at Eastern Standard - baked rigatoni with lamb sausage. Dee-lish!

Dinner
Tomato bisque (inspired by Homesick Texan) *
Salad *
Bread and goat cheese

Tuesday
Lunch
Sunday leftovers (but with a hard-boiled egg instead of a fried one)

Dinner
Spicy roasted chicken thighs (also from The Wednesday Chef)
Oven roasted zucchini
Basmati rice

Wednesday
Lunch
Monday leftovers

Dinner
Quinoa salad with chickpeas, mushrooms and yellow bell peppers, charmoula dressing (inspired by 101 Cookbooks)

Thursday
Lunch
Tuesday leftovers

Dinner
Macaroni and cheese (f)

Friday
Lunch
Wednesday leftovers

Dinner
Pizza from Nick's of Newburyport

Red Curry in a Hurry

I thought it might be helpful to outline how this dinner came together. So, here's a minute by minute plan for how to prepare a Thai-style curry with rice and a some sliced cucumber on the side.

I will assume veggies are washed, and the shrimp are thawed and peeled.

Thai-Style Red Curry with Shrimp

Start the clocks!

0:00 Rinse 1 cup of jasmine rice in a strainer. Put rice into rice cooker with 1 1/2 cups water. Start rice cooker. (You can also make your rice in a saucepan - but I will assume you know how to do that.)

0:05 Pour yourself a glass of wine, change out of your work clothes, and c'mon back to the kitchen.

0:15 Put 1 Tablespoon red or green curry paste into a saucepan over medium-high heat and add 1 can coconut milk, a few dashes of fish sauce (to taste) and 1 cup of chicken broth. Bring to a simmer. Let simmer for five minutes.

While the broth is simmering - take half an English cucumber and slice it into rounds. Sprinkle the cucumber with salt and a little rice vinegar. Salad's done.

0:22 Turn the heat down to medium low and add about 1/2 pound peeled, thawed shrimp, a few tablespoons each of chopped mint and cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.

0:25 The shrimp should be cooked through about now. Depending on the size of the shrimp, they may take a little longer.

0:27 Put the cooked rice into a bowl, ladle shrimp and coconut milk broth over rice. Sprinkle additional cilantro and mint over the top. Add sliced chilies, more lime juice or fish sauce to taste.

Stop the clocks! It's time for dinner. This recipe serves two-ish.

Gnocchi-licious

Ok, so now I see what all the fuss is about. This is a great thing to do with fresh gnocchi. I'm not going to give a recipe for the salad, since 101 Cookbooks and Smitten Kitchen have done that so well. Do try the gnocchi recipe in the Smitten Kitchen posting, I used the grater method and it worked great.

I made my salad with green beans, sliced fennel, sliced shallots and farmer's cheese. Then I tossed it lightly with a sherry vinaigrette and some fennel fronds. Very very nice.

I don't know how this will work with frozen gnocchi (Thaw and sear? Cook it frozen and but slower?). I did freeze some of the batch I made and will keep you posted.

I also don't know how this will work with "store bought" gnocchi (like those shelf stable packs you get at the supermarket). I will give it a try and report back.

If you've tried pan searing gnocchi before (store-bought or otherwise), leave a comment below as I would love to hear how it went and what you did.

Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream

Holy crap. Wow. This is good ice cream. I am serious. Do yourself a favor and make a batch, like now. I mean it.

Find the recipe here on David Lebovitz's blog.

We absolutely inhaled our bowls of this ice cream. It's sweet, but not too sweet; salty, but not too salty. The depth of the flavor is incredible - due to the caramelized sugar, there's a richness in the flavor that you just can't get any other way. The praline mix-in is super easy and a very nice addition to the ice cream.

In the picture, the ice cream looks sort of melty. I do think the batch needed another few hours in the freezer to freeze up and ripen, but we couldn't wait. Chef David points out that due to the high-hat, high-sugar levels in this recipe, it will alway stay sort of soft and gelato-y. I don't see how that is a problem ... at all.

Happy Spring!

Week of April 22

Yay! Spring appears to be here! We spent the better part of the last two days outside, reveling in temps in the low-seventies and sunny skies. Ah ...

In honor of these two glorious days, I was inspired to tackle two food items I have been eyeing out there in foodie-blogland. One is a seared gnocchi salad, first seen on 101 Cookbooks, then spotted on Smitten Kitchen. SK also gave us all a recipe for gnocchi, which I have to say worked fantastically well. Brava, no cursing! Second is the Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream on David Lebovitz's blog. David writes really great cookbooks, blogs about Paris and food and food in Paris and also leads very informative tours of a Parisian market (lots of fun, look him up if you visit the city of lights anytime soon).

All items made on Sunday are noted with an *, anything pulled from cold storage has an (f).

Sunday
Dinner
Seared gnocchi salad with green beans, fennel and shallots - sherry vinaigrette *
Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream *

Monday
Lunch
Barley salad with celery, sun dried and cherry tomatoes, parsley and feta *
Hard boiled eggs with mustard *

Dinner
Grilled steak tacos with tomato salsa
Black bean salad *

Tuesday
Lunch
Sunday leftovers (I hope - we'll see how the salad holds)

Dinner
Thai red curry shrimp
Jasmine rice (trying out my new rice cooker!)
Cucumber salad

Wednesday
Lunch
Taco salads, made with leftovers from Monday

Dinner
Grain salad *
Deviled eggs >:-)

Thursday
Lunch
Tuesday leftovers

Dinner
Grilled cheese sandwich
Green bean soup (f)

Friday
Lunch
On your own

Dinner
Chinese dumplings from Wang's in Somerville, MA (f)
Cucumber salad

Great Greens, Good to Go

I really like salad and am always shocked by the luxury prices charged at delis and restaurants for just a few shreds of lettuce. I have used the bagged, "prewashed" lettuces, but haven't ever loved anything about them but the convenience. After this year's spinach/e coli scare I am even less enamored of this product.

So, what's a neurotic, penny-pinching, fresh-obsessed girl to do, but figure out a way to give myself pre-washed convenience with fresh head of lettuce price and quality. I have fine-tuned a method that allows me to do all my washing up on one day and enjoy salad for most of the week.

Salad to Order

Step 1: Wash your lettuce. I know, duh. But seriously, give it a good washing in lots of water. Depending on your lettuce, you may need to do this several times to get rid of all the sand and dirt and other icky things.

Step 2: Tear the lettuce into bite-size pieces.

Step 3: Dry the lettuce - I use a salad spinner and don't know why everyone doesn't have one - they are just great. I usually prep enough lettuce for several salads. This week I prepped 6 salads (3 meals for 2) and used 2 small heads of lettuce and one of radicchio. If you have a lot of lettuce, you'll need to dry it in batches. Mix it all together in a big bowl.

Step 4: Packaging - you will need quart size zip-top sandwich bags for small salads and gallon sized for large ones. You also need paper towels: 1 per small bag, 2 per large bag. Lay your paper towel on the counter and put a handful of lettuce in (1 handful for one, 2 handfuls for 2, you get the drift ...). I find an assembly line approach (pic above) gives me the most consistent sizing. Wrap the lettuce in the paper towel - note my technique in the pic on the right.

Step 5: Put the lettuce wrap into the baggie. Gently press out as much air as possible and seal the bag. Throw the bags in the fridge. Sealed well and kept cold, this lettuce will hold well through Thursday without any noticeable quality loss. When you're ready for salad, pull out the toweling (it will make a nice napkin after you've eaten), toss the dressing in the bag and shake.

Cream of Cauliflower Soup

This is a lovely little recipe. I wanted a soup that would be creamy (I always want creamy soups when it's crappy out), but not super duper rich.

This soup is mostly cauliflower with a little coriander and nutmeg added for an additional flavor element. The creaminess comes from the pureed vegetable and a little milk.

In the picture, the soup is garnished with Aleppo pepper, truly a wonderful dried chili. It's not too hot and it gives a nice chili sweetness to dishes. Get yourself some - Penzey's is a good source.

Cream of Cauliflower Soup

• olive oil
• 3 shallots, chopped
• 1/4 cup dry sherry or white vermouth
• 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 3/4 cup milk
• salt and pepper

In a soup pot, saute the shallots in a little olive oil until golden. Add the sherry, cauliflower, coriander and nutmeg and cook until the sherry boils off. Add the chicken broth. Cover the pot and simmer until the cauliflower is tender (about 15 minutes).

In batches in a blender, puree the cauliflower with the milk. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serves 2-4, makes about 4-5 cups soup

*&@#!! Baked Beans

I love baked beans but I usually resort to the canned kind from the supermarket. B&M and Van de Camp make a good product, so why bother making my own? Sometimes, I do doctor up plains cooked beans into a quick baked bean-y side dish.

I saw a recipe for Boston Baked Beans in Cook's Illustrated and thought I'd give it a try. I had some great triple-smoked bacon from Karl's Sausage Kitchen in Saugus and what a great way to use it.

Mistake #1: I did not read the recipe all the way through or with adequate attention to detail. I discovered after I'd started cooking (had already committed the bacon to the dish) that this recipe was to take SIX HOURS! Sweet fancy Moses ...

Mistake #2: I doubled the recipe. Seven hours into cooking, my beans were still swimming in too much liquid. Ack. I had to drain off the beans and then boil down the excess liquid which took another half hour.

These were good, but goodness ... next time, I will do myself a favor and make Melissa Clark's Fake Baked Beans instead.

Week of April 15

I am writing this post in fits and starts. We are having a Nor'easter and according to the weather guys and gals the power should go out at any point. We're probably okay until tonight, when the winds are supposed to gust at over 40 miles per hour. As long as the power holds out until the beans are baked. Fingers crossed.

My normal photographer is on sick leave - so apologies for my decidedly amateur pics in the meantime.

All items made on Sunday are noted with an *, anything pulled from cold storage has an (f).

Sunday
Dinner
Veal rollatini with prosciutto and sage *
Broccoli di rape *
Polenta *

Monday
Lunch
Cream of cauliflower soup with ground coriander *
Naan

Dinner
Hot dogs and baked beans *
Sauerkraut salad *
Corn muffins (f)

Tuesday
Lunch
Sunday night leftovers

Dinner
Macaroni and cheese (f)
Green salad

Wednesday
Lunch
Monday leftovers

Dinner
Pasta with Noney's meat sauce (f)
Green salad
Garlic bread

Thursday
Lunch
Chili (f)

Dinner
Garlic shrimp stirfry
Steamed broccoli
Rice

Friday
Lunch
On your own

Dinner
Pizza (crust from freezer)

Southeast Asian Pork Burgers

Trust me on this one. There isn't a picture because we were starving and ate everything really quickly. It was yummy.

I've been having a hard time writing this post though, because I am trying to find a way to describe this dish without it sounding too fussy for a weeknight. You're jut going to have to trust me: this is not too fussy for a weeknight.

The gist: You make little pork meatballs of mini-burgers and then serve them with jasmine rice, lettuce leaves, herbs (cilantro, mint, scallions) and a dipping sauce made of lime juice, fish sauce, sugar and garlic. If you start the rice first, it will be done by the time everything else is ready.

Southeast Asian Pork Burgers

• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 clove of garlic, minced or put through a garlic press
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (more if you like things hot hot HOT)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper (if you don't have white pepper, use half the amount of ground black pepper)

Mix all the ingredients together evenly. Form the the ground pork mixture into small patties or meatballs (small patties are less fussy to form than meatballs, but will require a little more time cook - it's your call).

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a 10" skillet (cast iron is great). Fry the patties until cooked through (about 4 minutes per side).

Dipping Sauce (ersatz nuoc cham)

• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• juice of 2 limes
• 2 teaspoons sugar (brown sugar is nice)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• pinch red pepper flakes, or chopped fresh hot chili (optional)
• 1-2 tablespoons water (to taste)

Mix all the ingredients but the water together. Add water to taste: the sauce should be salty, sour and a little sweet, but not overpowering. So dilute with water to taste.

Southeast Asian Pork Burger Plate

• Cooked pork patties, as above
• Lettuce leaves, Boston lettuce is most traditional, but any leaf lettuce is fine
• Handful of cilantro spring
• Handful of mint leaves
• 3 scallions, sliced thin
• 2 carrots, julienned
• 4 cups cooked jasmine rice
• Dipping sauce, as above

The prettiest way to serve this is to fill a platter with all the vegetables and herbs. Plate that on the table with the pork and rice in their own plate and bowl. Give everyone a small dish of dipping sauce.

To eat: take a lettuce leaf and tear it into a 3"x5"-ish piece. Put a little rice in the leaf, put in some pork and then add on herbs to taste. Roll up the leaf to make a little bundle, dip it in the nuoc cham and eat. Or, if you're tired, hungry and lazy, use a fork to eat a little bit of everything.

Pasta with Goat Cheese, Sun Dried Tomatoes and Artichoke Hearts

I love using goat cheese in pasta sauces. Add a little of the cooking water or some chicken broth and voila! a [very] light cream sauce for your pasta. This pasta works well with little pasta (orzo, ditalini, pennette) or skinny pasta (angel hair, spaghettini).

Pasta with Goat Cheese, Sundried Tomatoes and Artichoke Hearts

• 1 pound pasta
• 1 can artichoke hearts (not marinated), drained and rough chopped (use 2 cans if you like artichoke hearts a bunch)
• scant 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes in oil (I use Trader Joe's julienned sun dried tomatoes in olive oil), drained on paper towels, chopped if large
• 3 tablespoons capers
• 1 4-ounce log goat cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 cup chicken broth (optional)
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil (optional)
• red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper

Cook the pasta in lots of salted boiling water. When just shy of al dente dip a coffee cup into the pasta water to save about a cup of cooking water. Drain the pasta in a colander and then throw it back in the cooking pot.

Put the pasta pot back over medium-high heat and stir in the artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, capers and goat cheese. Stir in the chicken broth, if using, or about 1/2 cup of the pasta water. As you stir, the cheese will melt into the pasta and combine with the broth or water to make a light sauce. If the pasta seems too dry, stir in some olive oil.

Season to taste with red pepper flakes and salt and pepper.

Note: For a creamier sauce, use twice as much goat cheese. For a cheesier taste, sprinkle on grated parmesan .

Yield: 4-5 generous servings

Week of April 8

Happy Easter.

This is a pretty light make-ahead week and is more about provisioning and prep. What's nice is this gives me time bake some Greek Easter cookies. I am also trying out the yogurt cake (yes, I am obsessed with this cake) with pistachio meal - it looks pretty, but it's not green or anything.

An * shows what I made on Sunday.

Sunday
Easter Dinner
Pan roasted lamb chops with tangerine, mint and dill *
Roasted red potatoes with lemon *
Steamed asparagus *
Cheese course (a lovely assortment of fromage from Grand Trunk Imports in Newburyport)
French yogurt cake with pistachios and strawberries *

Monday
Lunch
Chickpea deli salad *

Dinner
Pasta with artichoke hearts, capers, sun dried tomatoes, and goat cheese (inspired by this post at Cookthink)

Tuesday
Lunch
Sunday leftovers

Dinner
Southeast Asian-style pork meatballs
Carrot salad
Lettuce and herbs for wraps
Cucumber salad
Jasmine rice

Wednesday
Lunch
Monday night leftovers

Dinner
Chickpea deli salad * on a bed of chopped romaine

Thursday
Lunch
On your own

Dinner
Baked potato with cheese
Green salad

Friday
Lunch
On your own

Dinner
Nachos
Guacamole

Dessert: French Yogurt Cake

This is just a lovely cake. It's from Dorie Greenspan's great book Baking and it is swiftly becoming my go-to cake when I need something easy with showy potential.

The recipe below is Greenspan's. I have made it both with the ground almonds and without. I am going to try it with different ground nuts meals - I looking forward to trying it with ground pistachios for Easter.

I have baked it in a 9" springform and an 8x4 loaf pan. The springform makes for a more elegant presentation, especially when you split it and put lemon curd in between the layers. The orignal recipe calls for a marmalade or jam glaze.

French Yogurt Cake

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup ground almonds (or if you have no almonds, use another 1/2 flour)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• pinch salt
• 1 cup sugar
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 3 large eggs
• 1/4 t vanilla
• 1/2 cup light-flavored oil
  

Preheat the oven to 350 and lightly grease your baking pan (I have used a small loaf pan or a 9" springform pan).

Mix together the flour, ground almonds (if using), baking powder and nuts.

In a medium bowl, rub the sugar together with the zest (this will perfume the sugar with lemonyness). Whisk the yogurt, eggs and vanilla into the sugar. Whisk the flour mixture in until just blended. Fold in the oil with a rubber spatula.

Scrape the batter into your pan. Depending on your pan, it will take from 35-45 minutes (springform pan) to 50-55 minutes (loaf pan). The cake will pull from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake will come out with only one or two crumbs clinging to it.

Let the cake cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then remove it from the pan to continuing cooling.

Pasta Radicchionara?

Vicky and Ty, this is for you.

This was an I-need-comfort-food-night. I read a nice story about pasta carbonara recently, and I had been planning to make a pasta dish with radicchio, so ... Pasta Radicchionara was born.

Pasta Radicchionara

• 8 oz. whole wheat spaghetti (I used Bionature brand)
• 3 slices bacon, chopped
• 2-3 shallots sliced
• 1/4 cup white wine or dry vermouth
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 head radicchio (bigger than a baseball, smaller than a softball), sliced thin
  
• handful chopped parsley
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

Boil your pasta in heavily salted water - whole wheat pasta will take a little longer than "regular" pasta. While it's boiling, make the sauce.

Saute the bacon in a skillet until crisp and browned. Remove the bacon from the pan and set aside. Pour off most of the bacon fat from the skillet and saute the shallots. When they are softened and a little browned, pour on the vermouth. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. When half the vermouth has boiled away, pour on the chicken broth and the cream. Keep boiling the sauce until the liquid is reduced by half.

Add the radicchio and parsley to the sauce and stir to mix everything together.

When the pasta is done, drain the pasta and put it back into the pot. Toss the sauce on top of the pasta. Over heat, toss the pasta together with the sauce, the cheese and some salt and pepper. Toss the bacon back over the pasta.

Serves 2-3

Week of April 1

Goodness, this weekend was even busier than the last (2 sets of houseguests in two nights!). I pulled my menus together on Saturday and dashed out to get everything right away.

This week's meals are a good blend of made-ahead, make-ahead and make-quick. There’s an (f) after any item that got defrosted for the week. An * shows what I made on Sunday.

Sunday
Dinner with Doug and Alex - Yay!
Grilled hanger steak with chimichurri sauce *
Oven fries *
Cauliflower "popcorn" *
Sauteed beet greens with crispy shallots *

Monday
Lunch
Hummus * with pita, raw vegetables, feta and olives
Steamed asparagus
Hard boiled egg *

Dinner
Pasta with shallots, radicchio, parsley and lemon

Tuesday
Lunch
Edamame salad with shrimp *

Dinner
Turkey burgers (f)
Sweet potato fries

Wednesday
Lunch
Monday night leftovers

Dinner
Hummus * with pita, chopped vegetables, feta and olives
Hard boiled egg *

Thursday
Lunch
Chicken chili (f)

Dinner
Edamame salad * with grilled shrimp

Friday
Lunch
On your own

Dinner
Macaroni and cheese (f)