the wild klein boys

We had a great weekend for it being SO gross outside - the weather was cold, rainy and grey. Fog rolled in and out both days and we spent a lot of time running around our basement playroom. We had some good, head- and booty-shaking dance parties and there may have been some delicious pastries on Sunday morning to offset the dreaded time change.

Dinners were a team effort this weekend, with both Mr. Klein and me tackling the prep. The boys have been playing so nicely together that it actually allows us to collaborate in the kitchen (like the good old days :).

Chris LOVES salads - the heartier the better, so Saturday night we made Parmesan-coated chicken breast paillards with homemade Caesar salad. I went all-out on the dressing (even coddling the eggs, which was a first for me!). I have to say, it was pretty good. Chris said he could have eaten the whole bowl of salad himself and even Rhys ate a good helping of the greens (shocked!). He, of course, had ketchup with the chicken :)

Caesar salad adapted heavily from marc bittman's how to cook everything

Ingredients
1/2 a clove of garlic, chopped roughly
2 anchovy fillets or 2 tbs. anchovy paste
dash of Worcester sauce
2 eggs
2 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice (regular lemons work too)
6 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup finely grated parmigiano reggiano
One head of romaine lettuce, cleaned, dried and torn into pieces

Directions:
Bring a small sauce pan of water to boil; with a pin, poke of broad end of each egg. Drop the egg carefully into the water for 60-90 seconds. Remove and carefully crack the eggs into a blender or tall measuring cup. Add the garlic, lemon juice, anchovies and Worcester sauce. Using an immersion blender (or regular blender), blend the ingredients until smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. With blender running, slowly add the olive oil until the dressing thickens and becomes viscous. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Dress the salad, coating evenly with the dressing; add the parmigiano and serve with crispy chicken breast paillards, grilled chicken breasts or croutons.


Here's what we're eating this week ...

Menu: week of 9 March 2013
Saturday: Chicken Parmesan paillards with Caesar salad
Sunday: Split-pea soup with smoked pork shank and Yukon-gold potatoes
Monday: Impossible ham and cheese quiche from Cook's Illustrated
Tuesday: Winter pizza margarita with apple-fennel salad
Wednesday: Eggs poached in tomato sauce with crusty bread
Thursday: Pasta with sauteed Italian sausage, green cabbage and fresh ricotta
Friday: Fish tacos with avocado crema and shaved cabbage

Happy eating, -s.

Since I was too busy eating, here's a photo from Gourmet magazine

Photograph by Romulo Yanes
 

I am so bad at taking photos of the dinners I make. After all that effort, I just want to eat! Last Thursday night was no exception when I hosted book club at my house. Thirteen lovely ladies showed up for dinner and drinks and good times. I cannot tell you how lucky I feel to have such amazing women in my life.

The book was The Dinner. The dinner was black beans and rice with a load of garnishes - roasted sweet potatoes, toasted pumpkin seeds, tomatillo salsa, cilantro, scallions, radishes and avocado. The dining-room table was used as a buffet for all the edible goodies, while my grandma's old dresser was used as the bar. We started with homemade guacamole, pico de gallo and tortilla chips and two big batches of margaritas. For dessert, we had dulce de leche sundaes with roasted coconut flakes (from Trader Joe's; my newest coconut obsession!).

Ever since I found this recipe on Gourmet magazine's website, it's been a mainstay in our house. The boys eat it simply, while the grown-ups can layer on the flavors and heat with the accompaniments.  As the recipe's author, Kemp Minifie, explains, it's her go-to entertaining dish, as it is a complex, vegetarian crowd-pleaser. 

 

Kemp’s Black Beans by Kemp M. Minifie
Makes 8 to 9 cups

Ingredients

1 lb. dried black beans (about 2 1/3 cups), picked over and rinsed (but not soaked)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
8 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup Sherry (cream or medium-dry)
1 to 2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 to 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Directions

Bring black beans, onion, oil, water (8 cups), and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil in a 6- to 8-quart heavy pot, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until beans are tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours (depending on age of beans). Thin to desired consistency with additional water. Stir in Sherry and remaining teaspoon salt, then soy sauce and vinegar to taste (start with 1 tablespoon each), and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes.

The beans improve in flavor if cooked at least 8 hours ahead. Chill, uncovered until completely cooled, then covered up to 1 week, or freeze up to 3 months. Beans thicken considerably as they stand, so thin with water when reheating over moderately low heat.
Note: Beans can be cooked in about one third of the time in a 6- to 8-quart pressure cooker. Follow recipe, combining beans with onion, oil, water, and salt in pressure cooker. Seal pressure cooker with lid and cook at high pressure, according to manufacturer’s instructions, until beans are tender, 30 to 45 minutes. Put pressure cooker in sink (do not remove lid) and run cold water over lid until pressure goes down completely.

Accompaniments

I serve the beans with Rick Bayless's classic, baked white rice from his Authentic Mexican cookbook. It's also great with simple, steamed white rice. The garnishes are key to this dish's success: roasted diced sweet potatoes, toasted pumpkin seeds, cubes of avocado tossed with lime juice, tomatillo salsa, lime wedges, chopped white onion, fresh cilantro sprigs, and radishes.
 

And, finally, here's what we're eating this week ...

Menu: week of 3 March 2013
Sunday: Spaghetti Bolognese with sautéed broccoli rabe
Monday: Shredded, slow-cooked chuck roast sandwiches on torta rolls with avocado and a tomato salad
Tuesday: Turkish-style green beans with whole-grain naan
Wednesday: Shredded beef tacos with onion and cilantro; served with an avocado-grapefruit salad
Thursday:  Chickpea and brown-rice casserole with lemon and herbs
Friday: Indian take-out

Happy eating, -s.   

dreamy kitchen; looks nothing like mine!

 

Last week I got slammed with the cold I was trying to mentally avoid. Being sick is no fun. It also means little-to-no menu planning and shopping. So, here's what was pulled together between a sniffle and a cough.

Menu: week of 3 February 2013
Sunday: slow-cooked pork tacos with guacamole, onions, grape tomatoes and cilantro
Monday:   from the freezer empanadas with an apple-blueberry-walnut salad
Tuesday: slow-cooker Tex-Mex chicken and pinto bean stew served over rice
Wednesday:  leftover shredded pork fried rice with snap peas and red chile eggs
Thursday: garlicky mushroom pasta with crispy sage and Greek yogurt
Friday: barbeque pork sandwiches with creamy slaw

Happy eating, -s.

Crazy Town has a new name: Sick Town. First it was James with goopy eyes and nose and a terrible, sneezy cold. Up next, Pickle, who had high temps and a hacking cough for five days (and counting). Mr. Klein was out of commission today. I am trying to mentally fight off any bugs roaming around my body, but these viruses the Klein boys have had are doozies. That means lots of hydrating food: juice, fruit, veggies, soup and smoothies. It also means some power foods: walnuts, avocado, cruciferous vegetables, spinach, blueberries and legumes.
 
Do you have your go-to cold remedy? I like Vick's Vaporub and hot soaks in the tub (really want to try this soak). And when I'm down for the count, I love to drink my 'sick-puppy' tonic of mint herbal tea, lemon, honey and a stiff shot of brandy and two aspirin. It works wonders an hour before bed.
 
Here's what some of us (okay, mainly me) are eating this week:
Saturday: squash macaroni and cheese with cheddar and farmhouse gouda; mixed greens with apples and walnuts
Sunday: potatoes dauphinois with ham; mixed greens with walnuts
Monday: creamy broccoli soup with apple-walnut slaw
Tuesday: leftover mac-n-cheese with an avocado-tomato salad
Wednesday: spicy stir-fried ground turkey with julienned broccoli stems
Thursday: ginger-carrot soup with crusty bread
Friday: pizza night - spinach Florentine pizza

Stay healthy and Happy eating, -s.

I'm not a big baker or a big chocolate or dessert lover. Give me a bowl of ice cream, a cookie or some Haribo gummy bears and I'm a happy girl. Now, this is a bit of a problem since I am married to a chocolate lover and my first-born would take anything coated, drenched, submerged and sauced in chocolate. James's love-affair with sweets is still developing, but the way he tore into his birthday cupcake makes me think I'm in for a rude awakening.

When it comes to desserts, I like homey, simple, seasonal treats: citrus in the winter; rhubarb and strawberries in the spring, berries, peaches and plums in the summer and apples and figs in the fall. Below are a collection of winter desserts right up my alley: simple, elegant, fresh and fuss-free.

grapefruit curd from Two Tarts

 

pavlova with vanilla-poached oranges from Martha Stewart

 

grapefruit olive-oil cake from The Yellow House

 

lemon pudding from Gourmet magazine

Here's what we're eating this week ...

menu: week of 19 January 2013
Saturday: pork & ricotta meatballs with sautéed green cabbage
Sunday: roasted chicken breasts with mashed potatoes and sautéed spinach
Monday: bean and barley soup with cured pork belly; served with seeded bread and butter
Tuesday: chicken and broccoli divan
Wednesday: pork and snow-pea stir-fry
Thursday: tortellini en brodo with spinach and peas
Friday: pizza night

Happy eating, -s.

gnocchi with sausage ragù

 

For many reasons, I like to cook something low and slow on Sundays; here's why:
1) I have the time.
2) It fragrances the house with good, comforting smells as it bubbles away on the stove.
3) And, it provides us with lunch or dinner another time during the week.
This Sunday it was my tomato sauce or marinara or "gravy" if you're a Soprano.

Mine is a riff on Mario Batali's basic tomato sauce from his Molto Mario cookbook. What I like about it: it uses thyme as the herbal note, which means that it can easily be used for both Italian and non-Italian dishes (like stewed white beans with herbed bread crumbs or eggs poached in tomato sauce, to name just two), it has grated carrot in it to add some nice root-veg sweetness, and it's easy to make. I always make double-batch; this time I used half for some ricotta-spinach stuffed shells for Sunday dinner while the other half awaits its turn in the fridge.

Classic Tomato Sauce
makes 2 quarts

Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 carrot, finely grated
4-6 small cloves of garlic minced; or 2 large cloves, minced
4 sprigs of thyme
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
2-28 oz. cans of whole tomatoes, blitzed in blender for 5 seconds (each can)
2 cups water

Directions
Heat a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add butter and melt. When foaming subsides, add olive oil and heat for 30 seconds; add onions and thyme sprigs and sauté for about 5 minutes, until just soft and translucent. Add carrot and garlic. Cook for several minutes, stirring regularly, so carrots and garlic do not brown.

Add blitzed tomatoes, 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 10 grinds of black pepper; stir to combine. Carefully rinse blender jar and tomato cans and measure this "tomatoey" water to make 2 cups of water. Add the tomato water to the pot and stir. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat to low; simmer for 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally. The sauce should slowly bubble away on the stove; raise heat slightly to achieve this bubbling. If too high, turn to lowest setting.

 

What we're eating this week: menu for 12 January - 18 January 2013
Saturday: Salmon chowder with corn and potatoes
Sunday:  Stuffed shells with ricotta and spinach with homemade red sauce
Monday: Turkish poached eggs with sage butter; naan
Tuesday: Grilled pear and cheddar cheese sandwiches; mixed greens vinaigrette
Wednesday: roasted carrot and beet salad with cumin-seed vinaigrette; served with hummus and pitas
Thursday: carry-out
Friday: sausage and sweet pepper pizza

happy eating, -s. 

 

Oh, January, how I dislike you. The fun of the holidays is over: you can no longer eat Christmas cookies every day without feeling a twinge of guilt and extra junk in the trunk; no longer can you have hot chocolate every time you play in the snow; no longer can you watch Christmas movies on a Saturday morning while piles of laundry grow in your basement; no longer can you have your sparkly Christmas tree without the fear of it losing all its needles at once or spontaneously combusting; no longer can you take an afternoon off of work to get "some shopping done" without your co-workers and boss raising a collective eyebrow.

Can you tell the kiddos are back to school and I don't have a day off until MLK day? I took the Christmas tree down yesterday; the decorations have been stashed away until next year. And our meals are missing the extra sugar, spice, heavy cream and butter that the holidays bring with it. Harrumph.

I do enjoy the simplicity of life after the holidays and the starkness of meals that highlight each ingredient instead of smothering it in richness., but at heart, I'm a girl who loves the indulgences of the holiday season (Champagne, anyone?). So, without further ado, here's what we're eating this week.

Menu: Week of 5 January 2013
Saturday: a family favorite: Locro de papas with avocado
Sunday: turkey meatloaf, mashed sweet potatoes and mixed greens vinaigrette with dried cranberries and toasted walnuts
Monday: spicy shrimp with yogurt and whole-wheat naan from the new (and awesome) Dinner: A Love Story cookbook
Tuesday: Carrot soup with crusty bread and mixed greens salad
Wednesday: dhal of the day with basmati rice
Thursday: spaghetti and meatballs (from the freezer); steamed broccoli with lemon and pine nuts
Friday: spinach Florentine pizza

happy eating, -s.

 detritus of a good party: one of my favorite sights

Pre-kiddos, Chris and I used to host a holiday party every year — with loads of cocktails and hors d’oeuvres — for 20 or so friends and co-workers. That annual bacchanalia took a backseat once Rhys and then James arrived. Aching to cook for grown-ups again and wanting to have a little fun this holiday season, we decided to host an intimate dinner party with some close friends.

What I’ve learned over the years of entertaining is this: prepping as much beforehand is the key to enjoying the party yourself. This isn’t a new idea; many professional chefs have based careers and cookbooks off of this thought, but I also think that keeping the menu simple is another key to success. I don’t like multiple courses, but I think having a salad or soup before the main course is a nice way to extend the meal without being too fussy. This time of year, I really love that dessert can be a tray of homemade Christmas cookies and some delicious coffee.

The evening was full of warmth, love and joviality — Chris and I feel very lucky to have such friends. Happy holidays indeed.

Here’s the menu — special enough for Christmas dinner, in case you need inspiration:

Cocktails: Champagne, craft beers and gougeres

Salad: mixed greens with mustard vinaigrette, candied pecans spiced with cinnamon and coriander, dried cranberries and French feta

Dinner: French pork stew with brandy and prunes (From Cook’s Illustrated Best Recipe cookbook), served with crème fraiche mashed potatoes

Dessert: assorted Christmas cookies; I made these:

Mexican wedding cakes
Buckeyes (controversially dipped only half-way in bittersweet chocolate)
Coconut macaroon sandwiches with lime curd
Chewy, triple-ginger cookies
Fig bars

happy eating and much peace in the new year, -s. 

p.s. my heart aches for the families of those who lost their lives on Friday in Newtown, CT. Hug and kiss those you love and let us change our gun laws now before another senseless tragedy occurs.  What terrible loss of beautiful, precious, innocent life.

from Martha Stewart

The more I entertain, the more I realize that simple is better. A multi-course spectacle doesn’t really allow anyone to unbutton and relax. Starting with a single rich nosh and some bubbly helps the evening to unfurl gracefully — without eating too much to really enjoy dinner. My go-to hors d’oeuvre is the gougeres, or cheese puff for those who don’t parlez vous francais.

Gougeres starts with the classic pate choux — a paste of flour, water, butter and eggs. This simple mixture is the start for not only gougeres, but éclairs too. Fold nutty gruyere into the batter and you have the foundation for gougeres. From there you can elevate them with some key add-ins: minced chipotle chiles, Serrano ham, sun-dried tomatoes, black olives, etc. Once they hit the hot oven, they do just as their name indicates — they puff and crisp into golden orbs that are fairly addictive — so plan for several batches before dinner for a group of 10 or so.

My go-to recipe is from Martha Stewart – I love that you can make them ahead and reheat right before the party starts.

Happy eating, -s.

My baby got sauce
Your baby ain’t sweet like mine
She got sauce
Your baby ain’t sweet like mine
She got sauce...

Sorry, couldn’t resist a little G Love and Special Sauce reference here.

James is currently experience one heck of a bout of separation anxiety. Poor little guy; Chris and I need to carry him constantly or he screams. He screams and wails and flails his arms and doesn’t breathe for 5 seconds. It’s a pretty rough scene, but soon he won’t want us to hold him at all, so I try to empathize while I do everything with one hand, like cooking and buttoning a shirt and putting on make-up — you get the picture; so dinner prep needs to be minimal and all done with babe on hip. Hence, stir-fries.

I have been working on and perfecting my go-to stir-fry sauce. We try to have some stir-fried greens (mustard, Chinese broccoli, kale, arugula, spinach) and a lean protein with brown rice (or my favorite pure-white, no-whole-grain-here jasmine rice) once a week. This is in no way authentic, but it is complex, crowd-pleasing and pantry-friendly.

 

Sarah’s oh-so-special sauce

enough for one stir-fry that serves 4 hungry bambini or adults

Ingredients

2 tablespoons tamari or low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon raw sugar or brown sugar
½ a lime, juiced
½ tablespoon roasted red chile paste
2 cloves garlic, grated on a microplane
1 thumb-sized knob of ginger, grated on microplane
½ teaspoon cornstarch (optional)

Directions
Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl, whisk to break down sugar and chile paste.

Pour onto stir-fry ingredients once they are browned and fully cooked. Cook for 1 minute, until slightly thickened and glossy.  Serve hot.

Happy eating, -s.

Our little family's favorite lunch spot is Pizza Brutta. Pickle will eat an entire pizza Margarita (minus the crust, which is my favorite part, so it works). He loves watching them assemble the pizza, place it in the 700+ degree wood-fired oven and cut it and serve it to us ("here it comes, momma!").

So, it was only natural that I try to re-create a version of their pizza Margarita at home -- minus the stunning wood-burning oven. Okay, I admit the crust is so not the same, but the essence is true and Pickle loves it just as much.  

It's simple as can be to make, especially if you have the dough for the crust already made. Peter Reinhart's recipe is impeccable -- a must try. I typically free-form this on an aluminum baking sheet.

This is a great, after-work pizza, since there is little to prep. Walk in the door and, before you even take your coat off, preheat your oven to 500 degrees F.  Pour a glass of wine, put on some music and start making the pizza! I serve this with an apple-celery salad with raisins and toasted almonds. More on that another time.

Pizza Margarita
serves 4 adults or 1 hungry bambino

Ingredients
1 large ball of pizza dough
2 cups shredded, whole-milk mozzarella
28 oz. can of San Marzano tomatoes, drained
1 small clove of garlic, sliced
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
6-8 fresh basil leaves,torn into large pieces.

Directions
Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Place a rack on the lowest level of the oven.

On a floured surface, roll or press out dough to the desired size -- about 14-inches round or a 11 x 14 inch rectangle. Place on your baking sheet.

In the bowl of a food processor or blender, add the tomatoes, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper and olive oil. Process until the sauce it smooth and voluminous. Take for seasoning and adjust as needed. This sauce is enough for two pizzas, so stash one part in the freezer for next time.

When the oven is good and hot, sprinkle with cheese, uniformly covering the surface. Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese is browned and bubbly.

Take the pizza out of the oven and spread the sauce all over the cheese, covering completely. Place back in the oven for 2-3 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for a couple of minutes before cutting into pieces. Scatter with basil leaves. Serve while piping hot.

Happy eating, -s

Our Christmas dinner was German-themed: roasted pork, potato dumplings, pickled vegetable salad and braised cabbage and apples – a pretty amazing meal that was kicked off with an afternoon noshing of flammkuchen that my sister Holley made. Flammkuchen is the German equivalent of pizza that is topped with quark or crème fraiçhe, onions and bacon/speck (see photo above of ours from Christmas). The crust is more cracker-like than chewy pizza crust – mainly due to the miniscule amount of yeast in the dough. It reminded me a lot of a lighter version of Suzanne Goin’s bacon and young onion tart with cantal cheese from her cookbook, Sunday Suppers at Lucques, of which I make a “lighter” version with just sautéed onions and the ricotta-crème fraiçhe base that tops flaky puff pastry.

In cooking, as in life, there are perfect pairs; onion and bacon are one of them. There is nothing better than sautéing onions in bacon fat to start a pot of clam chowder. Spaghetti carbonara and bucatini all’amatriciana are both sublime with the silky onions and pancetta that make up the base of their sauces; one creamy and unctuous; the other piquant. Onion and bacon can play multiple roles in the kitchen, as a flavor base, as the star of the show, or as a side note in a steaming bowl of pasta – a perfect pair indeed.

Here’s a link to a yummy recipe of flammkuchen from the very yummy blog, Delicious Days.

Up next: pork three ways: braised pork with polenta, shredded pork and avocado tacos and fragrant pork with jasmine rice and julienned cucumber.

Happy eating, -s.

Happy Holidays! Pickle's school is closed for the week, so he and I are hanging out at home. It's been a blast so far and we're only on Day Two. Here's what our days have consisted of:

1. Wake up and watch Little Bear; have juice and fish oil pills/tangerine-flavored chewables for P.

2. Eat steel-cut oats and dehydrated apples with a little maple syrup for sweetness.

3. Play with all of Pickle's new toys, while still in pajamas - heaven.

4. Have a snack (steamed edamame, seeded crackers, clementines, etc.)

5. Head outside: go on snow walks, shovel, sled in our back yard (we have a mini hill), make snow angels, follow bunny tracks.

6. Inside for lunch (soup, grilled cheese and avocado sandwiches, etc.)

7. Nap time: for me and Pickle yesterday; again, heaven.

8. Post-nap snack and more playing.

9. Make dinner (see recipe below) and dance.

10. I love vacation

I made a pledge to myself that I would cook out of my cookbooks more this year instead of constantly printing out recipes online. I'll share them with you as I proceed. I'm highlighting Alice Water's lovely cookbook, The Art of Simple Food. Last night's meal was spicy cauliflower soup from page 257 of this lovely tome. I changed only two things: I used orange cauliflower and I pureed it a bit more than what she called for as Pickle likes silky-smooth soups. Try it - it's warm, hearty and good for you, too!

Spicy Cauliflower Soup

modified from The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters

serves 4-6 hungry mamas, dadas and bambinos

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 carrot, scrubbed clean, ends trimmed and diced

1 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed

1 teaspoon cumin seeds, crushed

1 teaspoon chile powder

1/4 teaspoon dried chile flakes

salt ( I used about 2 teaspoons total)

freshly ground black pepper

6 cilantro sprigs, roughly chopped

1 large head of cauliflower, stemmed and coarsely chopped (about 6 cups)

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth

3 cups water

accompaniments

yogurt

chopped cilantro

wedges of lime

Directions

Heat a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add olive oil. Once oil is hot, add onion, carrot, spices and salt & pepper. Cook and stir often until softened but not browned. Stir in cilantro, cauliflower, broth and water.

Raise heat to high and bring to a boil; stir occassionally. Once a boil is reached, reduced heat to a simmer and cook until the cauliflower is very tender, 20 to 30 minutes. At this point, either puree with an immersion blender or use a stiff whisk to coursely puree the soup. If overly thick, add a little hot stock to thin until the desired consistency is achieved. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve hot with a dollop of yogurt, a sprinkling of cilantro and a squeeze of lime.

Here's what we're eating this week...

Menu: week of 27 December 2010

Monday: spicy cauliflower soup

Tuesday: mushroom ragout with pappardelle

Wednesday: braised pork shoulder with polenta

Thursday: black-bean soup served with crusty bread

Friday: shredded pork tacos with avocado and black refried beans

Saturday: Happy New Year! lasagne bianca with homemade pasta served with a fennel-apple salad

Sunday: sauteed broccoli rabe on ricotta bruschetta

Happy eating, -s.

Sarah's Chicken Saag Curry served with basmati rice and wholegrain flatbread
Serves 2 adults, 2 hungry bambinos with leftovers for lunches
This is my lightened-up version of Chicken Tikka Masala. While butter and heavy cream make everything taste better, your backside doesn't need it on a weeknight. I used four split chicken breasts in making this originally, but since chicken breasts come in only double-D size now, I think three should suffice.

Ingredients
3 split chicken breast
Olive oil
Kosher salt and pepper

¼ cup sliced almonds
1 (1-inch) piece ginger, peeled
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons smoked Spanish paprika
1 teaspoon ground coriander
A small pinch of dried chili flakes
1-28 oz. can of whole plum tomatoes with their juices
1 cup 2% Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves

2 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3-4 big handfuls of baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup golden raisins (optional, but really lovely)
1 teaspoon garam masala

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted, to garnish (optional, but again, lovely)
3/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

Accompaniments:
Basmati rice
Fabulous Flats wholegrain "tandoori naan": This is not the naan you get at an Indian restaurant, but it's pretty darn good. Whole Foods carries this brand and their own version. Both work.

Directions
The night before: preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place chicken breast on the baking sheet and lightly coat skin with olive oil and generous pinches of kosher salt and pepper. Roast for 35-40 minutes (depending on the size of the breasts. Let cool 15 minutes. Shred the meat into bite-size pieces and store covered in the refrigerator.

The day of: In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the almonds until finely ground. With machine running, add the ginger and garlic cloves until finely minced. Add cumin, coriander, paprika, chili and tomatoes, yogurt, honey and salt and blend until smooth. Set aside.

*Start cooking your basmati rice now and preheat your oven to 400 degrees for heating the flatbread.

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat and add the whole spices; cook 30 seconds to a minute. Add the onions and a pinch of salt and cook them until softened and lightly browned, but stir often, to avoid sticking. Raise heat to medium high and add spinach and sauté until wilted and some of its water has been released, about 3-5 minutes. Pour in the puree, and cook everything until it begins to boil and thicken slightly, about 5-10 minutes. Fold in the shredded chicken and golden raisins. Sprinkle the garam masala and salt over the mixture; stir to combine. Cover and cook over low heat for 10-15 minutes, allowing all the flavors to meld and chicken to reheat. Remove cinnamon stick and bay leaves.

Taste and adjust seasoning, as needed. Scatter with the toasted almonds and cilantro. Spoon over mounds of fluffy basmati rice. Serve with flatbread.

*Follow the directions on the package for cooking rice, but generally it is a 2-to-1 ratio of water to rice; bring to a boil, turn to low and cook covered for 15-20 minutes. Once the rice is cooked, I place a kitchen towel over the pot, put the lid back on and let the rice sit off the heat for 5-10 minutes. This yields very fluffy rice. For the flatbread, I throw them in the oven directly on a grate and let them crisp up a bit, about 3-5 minutes. Once out of the oven, brush with melted butter or olive oil.

Happy eating, -s.

Panko-crusted American farm-raised tilapia tacos with avocado crema and a black-bean salad

Fish Tacos
You can pretty much use any fish you’d like for this. I love whole-wheat panko, but for some reason the crumbs are a bit more robust in size that the white panko, so I crush them ever-so-slightly for more uniformity when coating.

Serves 2 adults and 2 hungry bambinos

Ingredients
4 tilapia fillets
¼ cup flour
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk (preferably whole or 2%)
¾ cup whole-wheat panko (slightly pulverized with a rolling pin)
¼ cup olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

8-10 corn tortillas (heated just before dinner in oven or microwave)
Optional (but yummy) garnishes: sliced radishes, microgreens or sprouts, cilantro leaves

Directions
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. In a Ziploc bag, add flour and a generous pinch of salt. In another Ziploc bag, add panko and gently roll with a rolling pin a few times to break of the really big pieces of panko. In a flat dish, whisk the egg and milk together, season with a pinch salt and a few grinds of black pepper.

Season each fillet with salt and pepper and place in the flour bag, shaking it gently to evenly coat the fillets. Dunk each fillet in the egg mixture and then one at a time shake in the panko. Place coated fillets on a plate while you coat the rest.

Preheat a large skillet. Add olive oil and when hot add two fillets. Cook 3-4 minutes, until golden brown. Flip carefully and cook an additional 3 minutes. Remove to a paper-towel-lined plate and pop into the oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining fillets. Serve immediately in warm corn tortillas or keep warm in the oven while you prep the other components.

Avocado crema
In our house, avocado is king. Click here for a mind-blowing list of stats on why avocado is oh-so-good for you. This creamy fruit is loaded with fiber, filled with good fat and packed with B vitamins.

Ingredients
1 avocado, ripe as hell
½ cup sour cream or Mexican crema
Zest and juice of half of a lime (zest first, juice second)
1-2 tablespoons tap water
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Few grinds of black pepper

Directions
In the bowl of a food processor or blender, add all of the ingredients. Pulse a few times to get things going and then process until smooth and creamy. Taste for seasoning; add more salt, lime juice, cumin as needed.

Black-bean salad
This recipe is great because it can be changed to what you have in the pantry and to what cuisine you are cooking. This version is great with Mexican, Latin and Tex Mex flavors. It’s simple and easy to execute. Enough said.

Ingredients
15 oz. of cooked black beans, either canned or homemade, rinsed and drained
1 small red onion, finely diced – rinsed in cold water for a few minute and drained
1 lime, zested and juiced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon fruity olive oil
Kosher of raw vegetable of your choice: halved grape tomatoes, diced cucumber, chopped roasted red peppers, grated carrot
Cilantro, a large handful, chopped

Directions
In a large bowl, add the onion, the lime juice and a large pinch of salt. Stir to combine. This will slightly “pickle” the onion and kill some of oniony-ness. Prep everything else and then add to the bowl, stirring to combine. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.

Note: if you are making this a day ahead, don’t add the cilantro until right before serving.

Happy eating, -s.

Since we're moving soon, I've been trying to clear out the freezer, so this week we're having freezer-supplied meals: frozen onion rings, caponata that I made from a boatload of peppers and eggplants in the fall, frozen broccoli, tomato sauce ... I can actually see the back of the freezer now!

Menu: week of 31 January 2010

Sunday: pan-roasted NY strip steak and onion rings with sauteed spinach

Monday: locro de papas (a hold-over from last week)

Tuesday: rigatoni with Sicilian-style eggplant and pepper caponata and crumbled chevre

Wednesday: grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup

Thursday: broccoli calzones with Mario's basic tomato sauce

Friday: carryout

happy eating, -s

So, I’m doing the two-for-one special again this week. I don’t know why I haven’t been doing this more, since it saves me a huge amount of time on the weeknights while still providing us with some delicious and satisfying meals.

Chris’s dad was in town this weekend and we had that classic Italian-American duo of spaghetti and meatballs for dinner last night. I made a large batch of meatballs and baked them like I always do, but reserved a portion of them for dinner later in the week. While I was at it, I roasted some split chicken breast (just a coating of olive oil, kosher salt and pepper) for tortilla soup and later chicken tikka masala. All of this was done with relative ease on a Sunday afternoon.

We’re in the process of closing on our house, moving into a condo temporarily while we figure out our job situations over the next six to nine months, etc., so if my posts are a little sporadic, a little wine-soaked or just a little silly, I apologize in advance; come March 1, I should be back to “normal.”

With that caveat, here’s what we’re eating this week (I haven't done this in a while; sorry!):

Menu: Week of 24 January 2010
Sunday: Spaghetti and meatballs with a salad of mixed greens and garlic-oil infused bread
Monday: Tortilla soup with chicken, avocado and queso fresco
Tuesday: Koftë (aka the leftover meatballs) with hummus, hothouse cucumbers and lemony Greek yogurt with multi-grain pita.
Wednesday: Chicken tikka masala with basmati rice
Thursday: Turkish-style braised green beans with yogurt and whole-wheat flatbread
Friday: locro de papas (Andean potato stew) served with avocado and queso fresco.

Last Tuesday night was carry-out night, which gave me time to prep my squash and mushrooms for Wednesday and Thursday's dinners: squash and mushroom tacos and gingery squash soup, respectively.

This combo of dishes was a little less time-consuming to execute than Dinners 1 and 2, but equally satisfying. We may make this a regular duo in our weekly repertoire.

I had two medium-sized butternut squash, one that I peeled and cubed into 2-inch pieces and the other I just halved and removed the seeds. For the cubed squash, I mixed up a spice-infused olive oil to provide a boost of flavor. I roasted everything at 425 degrees for 30 minutes. Then I added cleaned mushrooms to the cubed squash and roasted it for another 15 minutes. Everything came out caramelized and yielding to the touch. I let everything cool and then stored it in the fridge for the next night.

The tacos were great; the spice oil, smoky from the cumin, Spanish paprika and ancho chile powder, was a perfect counterpoint to the inherent sweetness of the squash. To serve, I heated a little olive oil and butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat to reheat and recrisp the edges a little. I served the filling with warm corn tortillas, local goat’s cheese and crunchy scallions, which added a burst of freshness. Each taco was topped with a tuff of micro greens.

We had leftovers from both meals, allowing Pickle to eat cold mushrooms (I know, weird) and squash as supplements to his other meals and for all of us to have a lovely and warming soup lunch after spending a very cold Sunday afternoon outside looking for bunnies (Pickle’s latest fixation!).

Here’s my recipe for the tacos … the soup is again from Ethan Becker’s revision of his grandmother and mother’s famous tome, The Joy of Cooking.

Winter Squash and Mushroom Tacos

Serves two adults, one hungry bambino, with some leftovers

Ingredients
2 medium winter squash — butternut, Hubbard or kobucha are my favorites — one peeled, deseeded and cubed into 2-inch pieces; the other just halved and deseeded
16 oz. button or crimini mushrooms, cleaned and large stems trimmed
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
½ teaspoon ancho chile powder
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
3 scallions, cleaned and sliced thinly on the bias
A large handful of micro or baby greens
6-8 corn tortillas
3-4 oz. goat cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil and place the halved squash, cut side down, on half the baking sheet.

In a large bowl combine the olive oil, cumin, paprika, chile powder and salt; stir to combine. Toss in the cubed squash and coat evenly with spice oil. Spread out on the other side of the baking sheet. Roast for 30 minutes, fold the mushrooms in with the cubed squash and roast 15 minutes longer. Remove from oven to cool slightly. If not using right away, store in the fridge over night. Reserve the halved squash for making the soup.

To reheat: heat a large sauté pan over medium-high and add ½ teaspoon each of olive oil and butter. When hot, add the squash and mushrooms in one layer and cook for 2-3 minutes, until golden and crisp along the edges. Use a spatula to turn the filling and cook the other side in the same manner. Serve warm with toppings.

Happy eating, -s.

Well, our first two meals went well. If you are looking for a simple, hands-free recipe for roasted chicken (minus the crispy skin) then the French chicken in a pot recipe is great. The meat remained moist and cooked evenly and the jus it created was a knock-out. The sauce for the enchiladas was super simple and shredding the chicken only took 5 minutes post-dinner.

Last night’s meal was a little overly ambitious for post-work cookery, made more so by the fact that Pickle and I got home before Chris and I had to assemble the casserole and get the rice going alone, with “help” from my little guy. I will definitely make both recipes in tandem again, but I will not make the rice with the enchiladas next time. The rice was really good and I love that it has spinach in it for the hidden veg-factor, but it was just too much to do in a short amount of time. A simple steamed vegetable with lime zest and butter or a salad will work better next time. The rice will get star treatment on the weekend.

On the list for this evening: carry out from our favorite Lao restaurant and prepping for both the roasted winter squash and mushroom tacos and the gingery squash soup.

Happy eating, -s.