Are they or are they not begging to have little chicken pot pies baked into them?
m
Friday, August 12, 2011
South African Delights and Shoppe Favourites
Last night I finally had a minute free to visit my long lost friend Eileen the Wine Goddess at Cardullo's. For this Tempt Me Thursday, she was tasting South African wines. The first was a 2010 Limestone Chardonnay from the Robertsons region. 2008 Meerlust Stellenbosch region. Both were very fresh and crisp and summery, but I think the Meerlust was my favorite.
Since she was a little occupied with customers (the nerve!), I took her iphone around the store and took some photos of some of my Cardullo's favorites...
1. Cardullo's Raspberry Merlot Balsamic Glaze. I used this quite a while ago as a marinade on a pork tenderloin. It was an amazing flavor, especially in the fall with some root vegetables... mmm.
2. Lake Champlain's Aztec Spicy Hot Chocolate. In the chillier months, Eileen often offers me something hot to sip on when I come into the store. This was the most delicious thing she gave me last winter. Chili pepper + chocolate = heaven. I ask you, is there anything that doesn't mix well with chocolate?
3. Pecorino Tartufo. As if pecornio weren't amazing enough on its own, someone decided to add truffle to it. This cheese is for a special occasion, or when you just need to treat yourself. It's definitely an indulgence. And may I reccomend you taste it with this, also available at Cardullo's.
4. Edmond Fallot Mustards. Last Christmas, I baked a ham and served it on biscuits with Edmond Fallot Honey-Balsamic mustard, and it went over like gangbusters. They have a lot of interesting flavors: Black Currant, Tarragon Dijon, Burgundy, as well as more classic flavors. It would be lots of fun to experiment with these.
Now I am feeling inspired! Maybe I'll have some actual recipes for you this weeknd... I'll work on that.
Happy Friday!
m
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
back to Italia!
It's monsoon season here in Boston, and I am in the mood for something easy and comforting on this quiet rainy night. I surveyed the pantry, leafed through my cookbooks and even tried one of those online recipe generators... and finally decided on some pasta with my leftover tomatoes, lemon and greek-y cheese that Madaline picked up.
I decided to make a sauce from scratch, so I stewed three tomatoes, added a little tomato paste and some dried herbs. My go-to's are oregano, parsley, chili powder and crushed red pepper. And salt and pepper, of course.
I also squirted a little lemon juice in there, and then added about 1/4c of the cheese. I might've added a little more after that; I can't be sure.
Once the spaghetti was cooked to almost al dente, I remembered to finish cooking it in the sauce, plated it with tongs (giving it a fancy little chef-like twirl), and topping it off with a little more cheese.
The wine is a 2009 Gabbiano Chianti. I'm sorry to say that I'm not very discerning when it comes to wine, but I do enjoy this.
And no Italian dinner of any kind would be complete without my new favorite Italian dessert: Grown-Up Sundae.
I decided to make a sauce from scratch, so I stewed three tomatoes, added a little tomato paste and some dried herbs. My go-to's are oregano, parsley, chili powder and crushed red pepper. And salt and pepper, of course.
I also squirted a little lemon juice in there, and then added about 1/4c of the cheese. I might've added a little more after that; I can't be sure.
Once the spaghetti was cooked to almost al dente, I remembered to finish cooking it in the sauce, plated it with tongs (giving it a fancy little chef-like twirl), and topping it off with a little more cheese.
The wine is a 2009 Gabbiano Chianti. I'm sorry to say that I'm not very discerning when it comes to wine, but I do enjoy this.
And no Italian dinner of any kind would be complete without my new favorite Italian dessert: Grown-Up Sundae.
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| 3 seconds later... |
I haven't heard from y'all in a few posts. I'm afraid the "Reactions" are making you lazy! What did you have for dinner? Comments!
m
Greek Week(end)
This past weekend, my friend Madaline came to visit me. As it usually goes with me and my friends and visiting, there wasn't much on the agenda other than eating and hanging out. While we did manage to do a fair amount of walking, and squeezed in some shopping and a museum, the big ticket items were 1 cooked meal and 1 night out. M was kind enough to fly up, even though she was fresh off of her family summer vacation, so I didn't want to make her work too hard ;) So we went Greek!
We went through my Greek cookbook and she found a couple of things that were familiar, as well as some neither of us had made before.
Little Shoes
(Papoutsakia)
This is a favorite dish of M's that her grandmother makes when they go to Greece. Though it's hard to match a yia-yia-caliber dish, Madaline did a pretty good job... judging from our lack of leftovers.
For 4 servings, you will need:
2 baby eggplants
1/2lb ground beef
1 small onion
tomato sauce (about 8 oz?)
8oz mozzarella, (or whatever cheese you prefer), plus a little parmesan
Start by scooping out the eggplants. Chop the innards and set aside. Drizzle the eggplant skins with a generous amount of olive oil and broil until the skin is tender.
Fill each "shoe" with the eggplant mixture. Top with tomato sauce and cheese. Bake for 10 minutes at 350.
After they are stuffed, put them close together in a warm pan, add water and boil, covered. The recipe I was (not)following told me to weigh them down with a plate. I realized why I shouldn't have ignored that step when about half of them came apart in the pan. Live and learn. (Should I change the name of the blog to Live and Learn??) No matter, we couldn't have eaten that many anyway. Ugly as they were, they were pretty good for my first try, if I do say so myself.
Madaline made this Feta with a kick by mixing lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper, and 1 jalepeno (seeds removed & roughly chopped) to 8 ounces of feta cheese. She pulsed it a few times in the food processor and served it with marinated olives and pita bread.
I had eggs benedict, Madaline got the lemon ricotta pancakes (todiefor). And then, as quickly as she arrived, she was gone. Like Mary Poppins. What a delicious visit it was!
We went through my Greek cookbook and she found a couple of things that were familiar, as well as some neither of us had made before.
Little Shoes
(Papoutsakia)
This is a favorite dish of M's that her grandmother makes when they go to Greece. Though it's hard to match a yia-yia-caliber dish, Madaline did a pretty good job... judging from our lack of leftovers.
For 4 servings, you will need:
2 baby eggplants
1/2lb ground beef
1 small onion
tomato sauce (about 8 oz?)
8oz mozzarella, (or whatever cheese you prefer), plus a little parmesan
Start by scooping out the eggplants. Chop the innards and set aside. Drizzle the eggplant skins with a generous amount of olive oil and broil until the skin is tender.
Sautee about 1/2lb ground beef with about 3/4c chopped onion and some minced garlic, about 2 cloves. Add chopped eggplant meat to the pan. Mix in 1/3-1/2 the tomato sauce.
Fill each "shoe" with the eggplant mixture. Top with tomato sauce and cheese. Bake for 10 minutes at 350.
Stuffed Grape Leaves
(Dolmadakia)
Now this part was a pain in my butt... stuffed grape leaves. I didn't follow the recipe exactly(what else is new?). I sauteed about half a pound of ground beef, half a chopped onion, and 1c cooked rice. I added a little bit of fresh dill, s+p, lemon juice and dried oregano.
Then, I rinsed and blotted dry the grape leaves, and stuffed them!
After they are stuffed, put them close together in a warm pan, add water and boil, covered. The recipe I was (not)following told me to weigh them down with a plate. I realized why I shouldn't have ignored that step when about half of them came apart in the pan. Live and learn. (Should I change the name of the blog to Live and Learn??) No matter, we couldn't have eaten that many anyway. Ugly as they were, they were pretty good for my first try, if I do say so myself.
Cucumber and Greek Yogurt
(Tzaziki)
We needed something to balanced out the crazy stuffed grape leaves, so M suggested we whip up some tzaziki. This was pretty easy, but I left out one step which turned out to be kind of important. Drain 2c greek yogurt over cheesecloth!! Do it! Unless you want double the tzaziki, do it. Roughly chop two skinned, seeded cucumbers. BLot those dry as well. Cucumber contain a lot of water. Mince a few cloves of garlic. Chop a tablespoon or so of fresh dill. Mix together and serve cold with grape leaves and/or pita bread.
Feta Spread
(Htipiti)
Madaline made this Feta with a kick by mixing lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper, and 1 jalepeno (seeds removed & roughly chopped) to 8 ounces of feta cheese. She pulsed it a few times in the food processor and served it with marinated olives and pita bread.
And here's the finished meal...
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| little shoes, baked to perfection. |
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| one of these things is not like the other... (hint: it isn't the cell phone) |
And there you have it. I now have a whole new respect for Yia Yias everywhere. Done correctly, greek food is definitely an all-day undertaking. And well worth it.
Saturday night we dragged our tired and/or pregnant asses to The Beehive. I went for my birthday a couple years ago and enjoyed it. But last night, it was at least 2 years better. There was an adorable jazz band playing, and we got a table right by the stage. It was very romantic. We started with Moroccan Cigars, then Madaline got these truffled potatoes with fontina cheese and caramelized onions... holy crow. And I had seared Ahi sliders and a three bean salad with feta. And finally, we saved (and made) room for dessert: a thick chocolate mousse with whipped cream and crumbled pralines on top. Unfortunately, were far too busy stuffing our faces to take pictures. But trust in me when I say this: go to The Beehive. You will be glad you did.
And Sunday morning, we braved the monsoon and swam over to Uncommon Grounds for some of their world famous breakfast...
I had eggs benedict, Madaline got the lemon ricotta pancakes (todiefor). And then, as quickly as she arrived, she was gone. Like Mary Poppins. What a delicious visit it was!
m
Friday, August 5, 2011
Rollin' with my Comees
Tuesday night, our friends the Comees came over for dinner, on their way home from their vacation. As mentioned before, Les is a self-professed Burger Man. So we knew that he wouldn't be super impressed with anything too fancy. However, Marilyn would, so finding a happy medium was a challenge. And nothing gets our blood pumping like a good cooking challenge. What could be more impressive than bacon or cheese? That's right, bacon and cheese! Blue Cheese bacon burgers on homemade rolls, to be exact. For burgers this awesome, we also needed a few understated sides. I only had about a bajillion pounds of potatoes left over from this weekend, so I whipped up my southern-style potato salad. We also had some roasted corn, so we made up a quick salad using that as well. It might be my new favorite thing. Next time, I might add some red onion or cilantro. Or both, plus black beans.
Sanne's kaiser rolls from scratch turned out beautifully. And Les just so happened to have a bottle of champagne in the car.
Blue Cheese Bacon Burgers
Mix together:
1lb ground beef
some bleu cheese, crumbled
6 slices of bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled
a few T chives, chopped
worceshire sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
salt + pepper to taste
Fresh Corn Salsa
Mix together:
1 ear of corn
1 avocado, finely chopped
1c cherry tomatoes, quartered
juice from half a lime
salt & pepper, to taste
Unfortunately, this was the only picture I got of the corn salsa. I couldn't stop eating it, this stuff was so good!
Dinner was amazing, but the company was even better. I'm telling you, come visit, and we will try our best to impress you with a beautiful meal. That is my solemn vow to you.
What do you do to make your burgers extra-special?
m
Sanne's kaiser rolls from scratch turned out beautifully. And Les just so happened to have a bottle of champagne in the car.
Blue Cheese Bacon Burgers
Mix together:
1lb ground beef
some bleu cheese, crumbled
6 slices of bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled
a few T chives, chopped
worceshire sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
salt + pepper to taste
I decided to caramelize some onions for the burgers. I got a little distracted and they got a little burnt... or so I thought. Turns out, what I did was a pretty advanced cooking technique, which Les calls "darkening". Darkening is like burning, but with purpose.
Like so.
I tried it with the bacon too...
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| :/ |
Mix together:
1 ear of corn
1 avocado, finely chopped
1c cherry tomatoes, quartered
juice from half a lime
salt & pepper, to taste
Unfortunately, this was the only picture I got of the corn salsa. I couldn't stop eating it, this stuff was so good!
Dinner was amazing, but the company was even better. I'm telling you, come visit, and we will try our best to impress you with a beautiful meal. That is my solemn vow to you.
What do you do to make your burgers extra-special?
m
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
German-Southern-Indian-Polish Fusion, Finally!
Last week, I was enjoying some local bluegrass with my friends Kasia and Neville, when we decided that it was time for a dinner party, and it was Neville's turn to host. As we started brainstorming ideas, it became clear that this would have to be heritage-themed, with all of our homelands represented.
It was difficult for me to choose which root of mine I was going to reprezent in my cooking. In the end, I made two types of potato salad: Souther-style and German. A fair compromise, I think. But then my German side bought some German beer.
I found the recipe for German Potato salad in the Joy of Cooking. You will need:
2lbs potatoes: cooked and sliced, mashed or cubed; whatever you prefer
4 sliced bacon: cooked, drained and crumbled
1 small yellow onion: chopped and sauteed
1/2c water (or stock)
1/4c rice vinegar, white wine vinegar or cider vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
1t sugar
1t mustard powder
fresh parsley for garnish
Once the potatoes are cooked, set aside and let cool while you cook the bacon. When the bacon is done, pour out all but about 2T of the fat. Add onions and cook until tender. Then add water/stock, vinegar, mustard, and sugar and let boil. Stir mixture into potatoes. Garnish with parsley.
and for the Southern-style, you'll need:
2 lbs potatoes: cooked and mashed (I always leave the skin on)
mayonnaise & mustard to taste
a dash of sugar
salt & pepper, to taste
2 boiled eggs
dill
a couple tablespoons minced onion (raw)
sometimes I'll add celery
...and that's it. This is much more of a taste as you go recipe.
Kasia brought Polish Pork Cutlets, and a light and fresh salad, which I'm beginning to think is her specialty. It had carrots, sweet peas, potato, apple, celery, corn and a little mayonnaise dressing. It sounds like a lot of stuff, but the combination was very nice, and perfectly sweet. I enjoyed it. We also mixed up a delicious Mojito, using some of Neville's Rum from the West Indies.
Neville made an old favorite of his, traditional Indian Chole in a butternut squash soup base, including homemade ketchup using tomatoes from his parents' garden, with cilantro. I am becoming a big fan of cooking with cilantro, thanks to my Indian friends. :) He also made basmati saffron rice with turmeric, bay leaf, cardamom and clove. And he broiled the perfect salmon rubbed with balsamic vinaigrette. Well done, Neville!
It makes me a little sad that we didn't embrace our German-ness growing up. I wish I knew how to make more traditional dishes. We more than made up for it with our Southern-ness though. What are your favorites?
m
It was difficult for me to choose which root of mine I was going to reprezent in my cooking. In the end, I made two types of potato salad: Souther-style and German. A fair compromise, I think. But then my German side bought some German beer.
 |
| Köstliche Gebräue |
I found the recipe for German Potato salad in the Joy of Cooking. You will need:
2lbs potatoes: cooked and sliced, mashed or cubed; whatever you prefer
4 sliced bacon: cooked, drained and crumbled
1 small yellow onion: chopped and sauteed
1/2c water (or stock)
1/4c rice vinegar, white wine vinegar or cider vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
1t sugar
1t mustard powder
fresh parsley for garnish
Once the potatoes are cooked, set aside and let cool while you cook the bacon. When the bacon is done, pour out all but about 2T of the fat. Add onions and cook until tender. Then add water/stock, vinegar, mustard, and sugar and let boil. Stir mixture into potatoes. Garnish with parsley.
 |
| Bacon, glorious bacon |
and for the Southern-style, you'll need:
2 lbs potatoes: cooked and mashed (I always leave the skin on)
mayonnaise & mustard to taste
a dash of sugar
salt & pepper, to taste
2 boiled eggs
dill
a couple tablespoons minced onion (raw)
sometimes I'll add celery
...and that's it. This is much more of a taste as you go recipe.
Kasia brought Polish Pork Cutlets, and a light and fresh salad, which I'm beginning to think is her specialty. It had carrots, sweet peas, potato, apple, celery, corn and a little mayonnaise dressing. It sounds like a lot of stuff, but the combination was very nice, and perfectly sweet. I enjoyed it. We also mixed up a delicious Mojito, using some of Neville's Rum from the West Indies.
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| green |
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| pork cutlets |
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| the lovely Kasia |
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| mojito |
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| yours truly |
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| The Host |
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| favorite! |
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| fish in a barrel, my friend |
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| my heritage looks so mushy next to theirs :/ |
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| there were also some tasty Chinese treats |
It makes me a little sad that we didn't embrace our German-ness growing up. I wish I knew how to make more traditional dishes. We more than made up for it with our Southern-ness though. What are your favorites?
m
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