Dining In: Farfalle with Gorgonzola and Veggies November 4, 2009

After almost a year of cooking from a recipe once a week, I finally felt a bit challenged. For months I’ve been bookmarking and favoriting dishes that sounded good, and I have quite a collection now. However, I blame my indecisiveness more than anything else.

Finally, this recipe from Serious Eats grabbed me. Was it the Gorgonzola? The Zucchini? Well, to be honest, the photo really called me. The pasta dish looked simple and sounded flavorful. I swapped purple basil for regular basil (since they were the same price and the purple looked a lot fresher) and increased the portions of both the zucchini and celery to make it a bit heartier. The recipe below will serve 1-2.

The dish was warm and filling, and next time I think I will include a yellow squash as well. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 medium zucchini
• 1 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
• 1 large rib of celery, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 pound whole wheat farfalle
• Salt and pepper to taste
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 2 ounces Gorgonzola, diced
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 large sprigs purple basil, chopped

Directions:

1. Place 4 quarts of water in a large pot, season with salt and bring to a boil.
2. Wash the zucchini and trim the ends, then grate them on the largest side of a box grater and set aside.
3. In a large saucepan, heat the oil and butter and sauté the shallot and celery over medium heat, stirring, until the vegetables soften and begin to turn translucent. Add the minced garlic and continue cooking for another minute.
4. Add the zucchini to the pan and sauté until the zucchini begins to soften and wilt.
5. In the meantime, add the pasta to the boiling water and stir occasionally as the pasta cooks.
6. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper. When the pasta is almost al dente, add the lemon juice, 1/8 of a cup of the pasta cooking water and the cheese to the pan, stirring to melt the cheese. Stir in the parsley and basil and let the mixture simmer gently for a moment or two.
7. Drain the pasta and add it to the pan with the sauce. Let the pasta cook in the pan for a minute and transfer to a warm bowl and serve immediately.

Dining In: Tomato Lentil Soup with Fancy Grilled Cheese October 29, 2009

After a long weekend in NYC filled with a bit of overeating, fun and fall weather, I knew exactly what I wanted to cook for this week, SOUP! During my college days, my sorority house had the habit of serving tomato soup and grilled cheese on Fridays for lunch. It was the perfect comfort/hangover meal at the end of the week.

So, I decided to do a grown-up version of the classic grilled cheese and tomato soup. Soup from scratch. Whole wheat bread. Fancy cheese.

Ingredients:

• 1 can whole tomatoes
• 1 qt. vegetable broth
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 1 yellow onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 bay leaf
• cayenne pepper
• paprika
• fresh thyme
• 1/2 cup lentils
• whole wheat rolls
• Fontina cheese
• prepared artichoke tapenade (or any other pesto or tapenade you like)

Directions:

For Tomato Lentil Soup – (adapted from this recipe)

1. Rinse the lentils well and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until soft and golden.
2. Add the tomato paste, paprika, and cayenne, and cook an additional two minutes, stirring often.
3. Add the lentils, stock, bay leaf, tomatoes and a pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then simmer 15-20 minutes, until the lentils are soft and the tomatoes have broken up.
4. Add the fresh thyme, reserving some for garnish, and simmer for an additional 1-2 minutes. Taste for seasoning and serve with fresh thyme as garnish.

For the grilled cheese

1. Slice the roll in half and spray each half with olive oil.
2. Add the desired amount of cheese on each half and place on a baking sheet. Broil on low until the cheese melts.
3. Remove from the oven and spread the tapenade on each half. Serve open-faced.

Dining In: Gnocchi with Basil, Tomatoes and Olives October 21, 2009

Last week I discovered, much to my delight, that Central Market is selling their own freshly made pasta. I’m definitely not against boxed noodles or making the pasta from scratch (just need that pasta-making add-on for my Kitchen Aid mixer). But, like their bunches of herbs for $1, the convenience and freshness of the pasta grabbed my attention.

It’s been a while since I prepared some gnocchi and what Central Market had looked tasty. I prepared half of the gnocchi last week with a simple marinara, but wanted to do something more fun with it for this week’s recipe.

I checked out my good friend Foodnetwork.com to see what they could offer up for inspiration. Several chefs had recipes for making gnocchi but it took a while to find a recipe for a good sauce. These two recipes caught my eye for the basil and tomato and the olives, so I decided to fuse them together to make something new.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 – 2 cups of freshly made gnocchi
• 1/2 a lemon
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes
• a couple sprigs of fresh thyme
• a bunch of fresh basil
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper
  

Directions:

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add gnocchi and cook for 10-15min.
2. Whisk together the olive oil and lemon juice. Salt and pepper to taste.
3. Drain gnocchi, leaving some pasta water and add the lemon and oil mixture to the gnocchi
4. Mix in the Parmesan cheese, tomatoes, bail and thyme.
5. Top with a little extra cheese and serve!

Dining In: Asparagus and Rice Soup with Mexican Cornbread October 15, 2009

This week’s meal is an ode to my fantastic mom. She has taught me so many things about life and a ton about cooking. As the weather finally begins to cool off (umm, could this next cool front stick around for more than a few days??), the memories of my mom’s homemade soups are my inspiration.

Last Friday, I fixed a quick and light French Onion soup with a side of pasta salad (sorry, I forgot to take photos). Since it was just a meal for two I had tons of the ‘onion stock’ leftover. Something my mom always did was re-purposing leftovers, so last week’s French onion soup became the base of this week’s asparagus and rice soup.

I used this recipe as a sort of guide for making mine, except no bacon and a few less steps. I reheated the onion soup base in a large saucepan and brought it to a boil. I added just a 1/4 cup of white rice to the soup and cooked the rice completely, adding a little bit of water. In a separate pan, I heated olive oil and butter (to add back some fat that bacon would normally bring) and sautéed the asparagus until tender, seasoning with garlic salt. Once both the asparagus and rice were ready, I added the greens into the soup and served in a tall coffee mug.

For the second part of the meal, I had to make some cornbread. Nothing goes better with soup than fresh cornbread. And, cornbread should always be spicy and savory (not sweet) with cheese! I found a good-looking Mexican cornbread mix at Central Market, prepared it according to the directions (except adding a little more oil and milk and CHEESE). YUM!

Repair those previously fab shoes to be like new! October 13, 2009

When I wear out a pair of shoes, I usually get rid of them. Often they would look dingy, need a lot of help or are now out of style and didn’t cost that much to begin with. However, this fall I decided to get two of my favorite pairs of shoes fixed, so I could get another year out of them.

The first pair are fantastically unique Prada heels. I found them years ago at DSW for a great price, yet within the first few years I wore out the heel and tore up the sole. Since they weren’t cheap, and I’ve never seen any others like them, I’ve refused to get rid of them. They’ve moved with me at least 3 times and I cannot even remember the last time I wore them. So, it was time to bring them back to life!

The wonderful guys at the Austin Shoe Hospital replaced the heel, re-soled them with a little extra cushion, and shined them up. I cannot wait to wear them!

The second pair I purchased at Nordstroms in fall of 2007. These Franco Sarto black booties were not terribly expensive, but for the past two fall seasons I wore them at least twice a week. I knew they were on their last leg when I heard the nail head clink across the bathroom tiles at work after a long weekend of fun in NYC. For at least a month I had them in my car to have them fixed, but I never got around to it. My motivation to repair these came when I saw for the third year in a row that booties and leggings were prevalent in the September issue of Vogue.

For these, just a heel replacement and shine did the trick. Just like new!

Dining In: Spicy Roasted Tomato and Pepper Pasta October 7, 2009

Thanks to my mother, I’ve lately been obsessed with adding red pepper flakes to pasta, pizza, and just about everything to give it an extra kick. These spicy little flakes even inspire me to cook a second meal each week. So, when I saw this recipe for a spicy, roasted pasta dish, I knew I need to prepare it and share it.

I made a few changes to the original recipe to simplify it a bit and use what I already had in my kitchen.

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 pounds tomatoes
• 2 bell peppers, 1 red and 1 yellow
• 1/2 pound curly shaped pasta
• 1 tablespoon butter
• fresh basil
• Parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Slice the tomatoes and peppers and place on a roasting pan. Drizzle them with some olive oil and salt and pepper.
2. Roast the tomatoes and peppers under an oven’s broiler, turning occasionally, until the tomato skin soften and the pepper skin blackens (about 10-12 min).
3. While roasting, bring a pot of salty water to boil. Cook the pasta until al dente, reserving some pasta water.
4. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a medium skillet, and cook the garlic and chili flakes over medium-low heat until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and peppers  and raise the heat to medium and cook until the sauce thickens (mash the halved tomatoes and add a little pasta water to help the sauce form).
5. When the pasta is ready, drain the noodles and melt the butter over it. Then toss with the sauce and chopped basil. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

Purple Party Dress! October 1, 2009

So, I really love the holiday season. And, since today is the first day of October, I think it’s fair for me to start blogging about my fashion, decor and feasting plans for the final few months of this year.

My love for purple continues and seems to grow stronger with every passing month. For the holiday parties of the season, I decided to finally get a purple cocktail dress. My ‘friends’ at BCBG told me I must have this one, so I got it. Can’t wait to wear it!! *I will need to steam it first.

Dining In: Tofu and Green Bean Stir Fry September 28, 2009

This dinner was from another great find from the food blogs earlier this year.

The sauce is light, yet flavorful, and does a great job seasoning the tofu (a challenging task). The whole process only took me 30 minutes, and I just added some brown rice to make the meal complete. The recipe makes three generous servings, but it is really good leftover.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 3 teaspoons chili garlic sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 package (14-ounce) firm tofu
• 1 tablespoon Canola oil
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 3/4 pound French green beans, ends removed
• 1 red bell pepper, stem removed and thinly sliced

Directions:

1. Whisk together the vegetable broth, fish sauce, chili garlic sauce, and sugar in a large bowl.

2. Heat a large skillet and then add the oil and the onion. Cook, stirring constantly, until the onion begins to soften. Then dump in the beans and cook, continuing to stir, for about 2 1/2 minutes.

3. Pour in the sauce, the red pepper, and the tofu. Stir occasionally, and cook for 3 minutes. Cover for a quick steam to make sure the beans are fully cooked.

Classic Cocktail: Moscow Mule September 23, 2009

For a lot of people (myself included), this recession has influenced and changed how we live our lives.  Cooking more at home, eating out less. Updating and redoing instead of buying new. However, my favorite thing may be the throw back to classic cocktails. My love affair with the imbibes of our country’s depressed and prohibited past started just a few months after the recession began.

I haven’t shared a cocktail recipe in quite some time, but when I saw this one for a Moscow Mule, I knew I should.

Ingredients:

• Ice cubes
• 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) vodka
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 1/3 cups chilled ginger beer (ale)
• Lime slices for garnish

Directions:

Fill two tall 12-ounce glasses three-quarters full with ice cubes. Add 3 tablespoons vodka, 1 tablespoon lime juice, and 2/3 cup ginger beer to each glass. Garnish with lime slices.

Dining In: Tortellini with brown butter and sage September 22, 2009

After a very long Monday, I was craving something simple and savory for dinner. I knew there wasn’t much left in my fridge, so a trip to Central Market was in order after work. Since February, I’ve been flagging recipes I find on food blogs that sound tasty. However, I have so many set aside that the ones from the beginning of the year rarely catch my attention. This week I decided to start my search at the end of my list, and quickly found this recipe from Serious Eats for tortellini (one of my favorite pastas!). This was beyond delicious and such a comfort after a long day.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound dry pasta or two servings of frozen tortellini (I used Central Market’s frozen porcini mushroom tortellini)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup sage leaves, about 10 to 15, left whole or thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice, or to taste
• Freshly grated black pepper and sea salt
• Freshly grated Parmesan

Directions:

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil; add salt. Cook the pasta or tortellini according to package instructions, then drain.
2. In a small skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue cooking until the butter begins to brown, keeping a very close watch to ensure it doesn’t burn.
3. When the butter is nearing completion, add the sage leaves to crisp in the butter. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice to halt the cooking, plus some salt.
4. Toss the drained pasta into the skillet, coating well with the sauce. Finish with black pepper and Parmesan. Serve immediately.