Sunday, December 13, 2009

Chicken plus Yum

Pan Fried Pesto Chicken

chicken breast (preferably from a local chicken farm where the birds are treated humanely...but do the best you can)
pesto (homemade or storebought)
seasoned italian bread crumbs
olive oil

Cut chicken into bite sized pieces. Coat in pesto. Coat in breadcrumbs. Brown in olive oil in a cast iron or stainless steel pan. Put whole pan in oven for 10-12 min depending on the size of the pieces. Eat with something else yummy.

Links

Pesto
Pesto Recipe
Sustainable Poultry Farming

Monday, November 30, 2009

Quickie Pancake Upgrade

I had some apple cider left over from a cast party at work, so I brought it home, and as usual, experimentation ensues when I have an ingredient like that.

I've had a cold, and our kitchen is in some disarray until the dishwasher (currently in the box and in the way) finally gets installed, so this one is lowkey but yummy.

Apple Cider Pancakes Quickie-Style

Follow the recipe on the box of Jiffy mix (you know, in the big blue box) but replace 1/2 to 2/3 of the milk with cider. Add 1 egg (it's optional on the box). Cook as usual. Serve with applewood smoked bacon (apple cider cured even better!)

Links

Jiffy Mix


Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Visiting Veggie Land

I was cooking almost exclusively vegetarian for a long time, when I lived with veggie roommates and dating a vegetarian (who has since reformed). Yesterday I got back in the kitchen for a little while (hooray!) and spent some time with one of my favorite veggie options, Eggplant and Tofu Parmesan.

Eggplant and Tofu Parmesan

1 large or 2 small eggplants
1 lb. firm tofu
seasoned breadcrumbs
1 egg
olive oil
salt
pepper
oregano
garlic powder
onion powder
basil
parmesan cheese
shredded mozzarella
tomato sauce of your choice (I've been mixed 1 jar of pre-made with 1 large can of crushed tomatoes and spices - just tried the no sugar added stuff and liked it a lot!)

Tofu prep - wrap the tofu in a tea towel and place in a colander over a bowl. Weight down with a heavy can (I used the canned tomatoes) for an hour or two.

Slice tofu into 1/2 inch or so slices (you should get about 16 slices). Dredge in olive oil and garlic powder, then in seasoned breadcrumbs that have had oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, basil, salt, pepper and parmesan added. Lay breaded tofu on a sheet pan and bake at 375 for about 10 minutes.

Eggplant prep - I've gone both ways on the to salt or not to salt question. I did not salt my eggplant and drain them, I just sliced and breaded. We can debate the food science of both options some other time.

Beat 1 egg with a few tablespoons of water. Dredge eggplant in egg wash, then in seasoned breadcrumbs as above. Lay breaded eggplant on a greased sheet pan (I sprayed with canola spray) and bake at 375 for about 20 minutes, turning once.

In a square baking pan, layer sauce, eggplant, sauce, tofu, etc. You should get two layers of tofu and eggplant. Top with parmesan and mozzarella and bake at 375 until cheese is melted.

Soundtrack

Chess in Concert - Old reliable. Finding time to get back in the kitchen after weeks of no time at all, I needed comfort music.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Recipes on my Mind

I admit I have had no time to cook or to blog about cooking. And currently I have a raging sore throat, so singing is out of the question as well.

But in my head, here's what I want to be making soon:

apple cider brined fried chicken
butternut squash muffins with cream cheese frosting
roasted turkey and potatoes
squash dumplings
apple cobbler

Can you tell that it's fall and I just went grocery shopping?

Also, I have been singing, at least in my voice lesson...

On The Street Where You Live
Heaven Help my Heart

Among other things...

Monday, September 7, 2009

will return soon!

Sorry I've been MIA - end of summer has had a lot of ups and downs and quick meals outside of the house...I'll be back soon!

Monday, August 24, 2009

Simple and Lovely

Quick and Easy Lunch at Home

Best Scrambled Eggs

2 organic free-range eggs
salt
pepper
garlic powder
1-2 tsp soft cheese (I admit that I used laughing cow garlic and herb - it's a low budget week)


Heat a pan over low heat. Spray with cooking spray or lightly oil with oil of your choice. Scramble 2 eggs and cook until about 3/4 done. Add cheese in small pieces, salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste.

Serve with a crescent roll (spread with the rest of the cheese) or other small roll or biscuit, and baby arugula dressed with salt, pepper and balsamic.

Happy lunching!


Soundtrack

Chess in Concert - You'll see this one show up a lot - I feel like they finally got the book right, the 2 female leads are both belters, Idina is singing the role of Florence (my dream role), and while I have some issues with Josh Groban as The Russian, he's not offensive like Patti Lupone in Evita is. Plus, the love of my life, Adam Pascal, is playing The American, and he's PERFECT!


Links for You

Why Chess in Concert? - A message from Tim Rice
Idina Menzel
The Incredible Edible Egg
The Laughing Cow

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Too Hot to Cook...

It's terribly hot and humid, so I'm trying to avoid any cooking beyond boiling water. Also, going away this weekend, so I'm trying to use up leftovers. And I had friends in town last weekend. So my apologies.

BUT, I do have some restaurant recommendations, since I had friends in from out of town.

Two favorites that I can recommend heartily were on the agenda this past weekend.

First, dinner at Addis Red Sea.

Addis Red Sea has two locations, one in the South End and one in Porter Square. We'd previously only been to the South End location (across from the BCA) but visited the close to home Porter location this Friday night.

I only get veggie dishes, but everything I've ever tried there is good...collards, lentils, potatoes and carrots, you name it, it's yummy. Their injera is spectacular. Jen got beef and Sandy got chicken and they also enjoyed their dishes.

And the coffee is to DIE for. Any coffee lovers, you must try their Ethiopian coffee. It's the only coffee that I can drink without any cream or milk, because it isn't bitter at all. And it's amazing, and comes in tiny cups that make it feel like a ritual.

And of course, brunch at Centre Street Cafe.

When we left JP, the hardest thing was leaving the restaurants that we loved (though it was probably good for our wallets).

Centre Street Cafe has local artwork on the walls, local veggies in the food, a specials menu that rocks the weekend, and a set of regular dishes that always satisfy. My standby is the Potatoes Santa Cruz, which marries home fries with fresh veggies, cheddar cheese, and pico de gallo. Their stratas and omelets are made with whatever is fresh and local, their waffles and french toast come buried in fruit, and there's not a bad item on the menu.

And one leftover-loving recipe to tide you over until it's cool enough to really cook:

Ricotta-Pesto Pasta

Pasta
Pesto
Ricotta
Salt
Pepper
Pine Nuts


Cook 1/2 box of small to medium pasta in a shape of your choice until al dente. In a medium sized bowl, mix about 1/2 to 1 cup ricotta (left over from last week's ziti) with an equal or slightly lesser amount of pesto (fresh or storebought - I had a little of both, so I mixed and matched). Add pasta and fold until blended. Add salt, pepper and pine nuts to taste.

No soundtrack today, since I avoided the kitchen while the water boiled, but here are some links.

Links

Addis Red Sea
Centre Street Cafe


Monday, August 10, 2009

Dinner With Friends - the Leftovers Edition

From Tomato Salad and Cheddar-Pepper Toasts comes Panzanella!

Tear up the crunchy bread into smaller chunks and toss into your tomato salad...voila, you have panzanella for the next evening's meal!

From Berries, Pound Cake and Whipped Cream comes Trifle!

We didn't leave any berries behind, so I defrosted some frozen strawberries. Layer bite sized pieces of pound cake with berries and cream in a bowl, and let sit. Add liqueur if you so choose. Trifle for dessert anytime!


Friday, August 7, 2009

Dinner with Friends

Charles Square Farmers Market 12:15 pm

I usually pass by this one on the way to or from work, but this was my first time shopping here. It's small, but I got what I needed.

several varieties of heirloom tomatoes
1 box raspberries
1 box blackberries
1 round of black pepper and cheddar bread (I'm way excited about this one)
1 yellow squash
1 cucumber
1 bag salad mix

Since I'm hosting my friend, plus Jen and one of her friends, I'm excited to post my first dinner party entry.


Salad Course:

  • The aforementioned black pepper and cheddar bread (some fresh and some as garlic toast)
  • Green Salad courtesy of the fresh bag of salad mix
  • Fresh Tomato Salad
Several sizes and types of tomatoes
1 onion (preferably red, but I happened to have a yellow one)
1 cucumber
vinegar (your choice, I used some pomegranate red wine vinegar)
extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper
oregano

Seed and roughly chop 4-6 tomatoes of various colors. Halve the cucumber lengthwise and chop into halfmoons. Thinly slice onion. Toss in a bowl. Add salt, freshly ground pepper, oregano and vinegar. Toss again. Drizzle with olive oil and toss again. Cover and chill. The longer it sits before dinner, the better it will be.

Entree

More garlic toast/bread

Baked Ziti 2 ways

1 box ziti with lines
1 container part skim ricotta
shredded parmesan
garlic powder
onion powder
frozen spinach
salt
pepper
shredded mozzarella or italian-blend cheeses
tomato sauce (preferably homemade - my recipe follows)


1st way:

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. In a bowl, mix about 1/2 container ricotta, handful of parmesan, and salt, pepper and spices to taste. Mix with 1/2 of the pasta and several ladlefuls of sauce. Put into baking dish and cover top with shredded cheese. Bake in a 350 degree oven until top is bubbly and dish is heated through.

2nd way:

See above, but add a handful of thawed and drained frozen spinach to the cheese mixture.

For both, serve with extra sauce on the side, or meat sauce, or meatballs and sausage in sauce...the options are endless...and someday I'm sure you'll get my turkey meatball recipe here!

Homemade Tomato Sauce

Crushed Tomatoes (with or without basil)
onions
garlic
red pepper flake
oregano
basil
fresh basil
olive oil

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in large pan. Add 1/2 chopped onion per can of tomatoes - sometimes I make a little, sometimes I make a lot. Add 2 cloves of crushed, chopped garlic per can of tomatoes. Add salt, red pepper flakes, dried oregano and dried basil to taste. Once heated through and bubbling, add some torn or chopped fresh basil. Can be used immediately or frozen.


Dessert

Pound Cake with Berries and Whipped Cream

1 pound cake
berries
heavy cream
sugar
vanilla


I admit to buying pound cake...it's August, and I don't want to bake.

Earlier in the day, mix berries (whatever you have - I used half a box of blueberries, and the boxes of raspberries and blackberries I got today) and a few teaspoons of sugar. Set aside for a few hours.

I used frozen pound cake - it will need an hour to an hour an a half to thaw unless you want to thaw in the microwave (I didn't)

Beat 1 pint of heavy cream with electric mixer until it starts to thicken. Add 1 capful of vanilla extract (or you could use almond, orange, lemon, etc) and a few tablespoons of sugar. Beat until desired frothiness. Do not overmix, or it will become a soupy mess! Still yummy, but not thick and wonderful.

Spoon berries and cream over pound cake. Yum!

Soundtrack

I put the iPod on shuffle, so these are some of the selected tracks from today's cooking. I chose the most singable :)

Holding Out for a Hero - Bonnie Tyler - a classic
Untouchable Face - ani difranco - the ideal song to rock out in the kitchen and get out any anger
hero takes a fall - The Bangles - 80's chicks rocking with guitars - what's not to love
mr. right now - The Nields - the weird but lovable groove of the full band
kick start - Lisa Loeb - this is from cake AND pie, the album that followed my beloved firecracker
summer rain - belinda carlisle - solo or with the Go Go's, you can't go wrong with Belinda
here comes the rain again - eurythmics - again, classic
ode to a would be lover - debbie gibson - you'll hear more about my love of debbie gibson later
good night sweet girl - ghost of the robot - james marsters is the lead singer :)


No links today...I have guests!

Friday, July 31, 2009

Recipe Experiment of the Week (Plus Farmer's Market Lunch)

Experiment: Blueberry and Bacon Muffins

I like to take recipes and experiment with them to make them more interesting, more to my taste, or just more fun. My mom's blueberry muffins are fantastic, but if I don't have any protein in the morning, I'm cranky and hungry in an hour after breakfast. And lately, inspired by the bacon episode of Food Network's new show The Best Thing I Ever Ate which showed how versatile the flavor really can be, I thought this would be worth a try!

1 3/4 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 salt
1/3 c. vegetable oil (the recipe calls for shortening, but I never have that in the house)
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1/2 c. milk
3/4 c. (or so) fresh blueberries (you probably could use frozen, but it's July! Why would you?)
1 tsp. lemon juice
3 strips bacon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease muffin tins (I used canola oil spray) or put in liners. Cook bacon until crispy, drain and set aside.

Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Toss blueberries with lemon juice and a sprinkle of flour to coat. In a large measuring cup or small bowl, mix milk, egg, oil, and sugar until creamed together. Add to dry ingredients until incorporated. Fold in floured blueberries. Fold in crumbled bacon. Add to muffin cups until 3/4 full or thereabouts. Bake 20-30 mins. Makes 10-15 muffins depending on your muffin tin size.


The Verdict

The actual pieces of bacon, even though I accidentally overcooked them a bit - yummy. The bacony flavor permeating the muffin itself - too subtle to turn on that mmm, bacon part of the brain, but not subtle enough to ignore. Also, I realized after they were in the oven that I didn't put in enough baking powder. Overall, I'd say this was a mixed result. The bacon is a yummy addition, but I think there must be a way to make it a more effective part of the muffin as a whole.

And using more of my farmer's market goodies from yesterday, here's today's quick and easy lunch:

1. Boil and season 1 ear of corn (you really need to eat the fresh corn within a day or two, so I feel like eating it at every meal is absolutely a valid choice!) Yum.

2. Quick Tomato and Olive Salad

Chop up 1 tomato (any variety) and add a handful of olives. Toss with salt, dried oregano and your choice of vinegars (I used pomegranate red wine vinegar).

3. Tear up some fresh bread into chunks to serve as a utensil for the salad, and also to dip in the leftover pesto from last night's sandwiches.

Soundtrack

Lisa Loeb - Firecracker - I love this album. Lisa Loeb has a voice that I can sing along with easily, hanging out comfortably in my head voice without having to push or drop into a belt, or even really think about. Beyond that, her lyrics are insane, and yet the crazy words, when you sing along, start to make so much sense and resonate so much with my mind. This album is just as good to listen to, to sing to, and to enjoy as it was when it came out.

Links for You

Best Thing I Ever Ate
Lisa Loeb
Health Benefits of Blueberries

Thursday, July 30, 2009

This Week at the Farmer's Market

Belmont Farmer's Market - 5 pm - I like to get there earlier, but in July, it's hard to miss out when there's so much fabulousness to find!

1 bunch basil
5 small multicolored heirloom tomatoes (finally tomatoes)
3 peaches
1 box raspberries
1 box blueberries
2 small summer squash
1 round of bread
4 beef patties (I got the last package!)
4 ears of corn

I had planned to use the green beans I still had from the last trip, but unfortunately, they had gotten a little soft. While usually my green bags keep them fresh for quite a while, I think they may have gotten put away not quite dry. So the green bean recipe will have to wait.

So, tonight's dinner:

Chicken Cutlet Pesto Sandwich with Fresh Corn and Kalamata Olives

Chicken Cutlet

1 chicken breast (organic, though not from the farmer's market, unfortunately)
bread crumbs (seasoned italian, but you could use panko, or homemade, or plain)
parmesan cheese (or romano)
1 egg (mine weren't local this week - I'm still using up some from pre-farmer's market season)

Pound chicken into 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. Mix bread crumbs and parmesan in a shallow dish. Whisk egg with a few tsp. water in another shallow dish. Coat chicken in egg, then breadcrumbs. Cook on medium high heat in a few tablespoons of olive oil until golden brown and cooked through.

Pesto

1/2 large bunch of basil (you could substitute spinach, arugula, etc)
1 handful walnuts (you could use all pine nuts)
1 handful pine nuts (OR you could use all walnuts)
1/4 cup or so parmesan cheese (to desired texture)
olive oil (to desired texture)

In a food processor, pulse basil and nuts until coarsely ground. Blend in olive oil until combined. Fold in cheese by hand to create a thick chunky paste. Leftovers can be refrigerated or frozen.


Chicken Cutlet Sandwich


Slice fresh bread into thick slices. Liberally spread one slice of bread with pesto. Slice a tomato and put two to three slices on top of pesto. Top with chicken cutlet and second slice of bread. Serve with corn on the cob cooked to your preference (I prefer 8 minutes in boiling water, and then coated with butter, salt and pepper) and kalamata or other black olives on the side.

Soundtrack

It was hot today, and I didn't sing because I was dehydrated. But the soundtrack in my head was Rent - I saw the tour Saturday night and my mental love affair with Adam Pascal has been renewed by his performance.


Links for You

Mass Farmers Markets
Rent: The Broadway Tour
Adam Pascal