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Splayed Roast Chicken With Caramelized Ramps, Garlic and Capers + Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

May 22, 2014 //
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Splayed Roast Chicken With Caramelized Ramps, Garlic and Capers

You know I love this roast chicken recipe, but since it is the beginning of ramp season I was excited to try this recipe from The New York Times that has been pinned to my Pinterest recipe board for two years. The oven gets your kitchen pretty hot so don’t do it on a super warm day. If you can get your hands on ramps the recipe is definitely worth a try. They are so good cooked in the chicken juices. Yum!

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

1 lb. fingerling potatoes
olive oil
1 TB. chopped, fresh rosemary (optional)
salt and pepper

Toss all ingredients together on a baking sheet. Roast for 25-30 minutes until the potatoes are tender and a little bit browned.

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Categories Meals

Celebrating Spring!

May 19, 2014 //
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This week’s meal plan is a celebration of spring. It features many of the vegetables that I’ve been waiting all winter to eat: spinach, asparagus, snap peas, ramps and even rhubarb! Last Saturday, I visited the Boro Hall Greenmarket for the first time in awhile and was so happy to see piles of ramps and rhubarb. I snatched them both up even though I had no idea what I’d do with them. That’s what I love most about this time of year – meal planning shifts from recipe-driven to ingredient-driven. You have to embrace a little uncertainty but trust me, you’ll be rewarded!

Rhubarb Ramps_Web

Meal #1: Chicken Saltimbocca + Sautéed Spinach
Meal #2: Pork Chops with Rhubarb-Cherry Sauce + Roasted Asparagus
Meal #3: Splayed Roast Chicken With Caramelized Ramps, Garlic and Capers + Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
Meal #4: Penne with Shrimp, Feta, and Spring Vegetables

Your grocery list, excluding the usual pantry items:

spinach – 2 large bags or bunches
ramps  – 1 bunch
asparagus – 2 bunches
snow peas – 1/2 lb.
rhubarb – 8-10 ounces (about 5 to 6 stalks)
onion – 1
fingerling potatoes – 1 lb.
sage – 1 bunch
mint – 1 bunch
rosemary – 1 bunch (optional)
lemon – 2
chicken broth – 1 small can
penne pasta – 1 box
feta – 4 ounces
dried cherries – 1/2 cup
pine nuts – 1/4 cup (optional)
capers (If you don’t already have them)
chicken cutlets – 4 (6 to 8 ounces each)
thinly sliced prosciutto – 4 slices (3 ounces)
whole chicken – 1 (approx. 4 1/2 lb.)
pork chops – 4 (6 to 8 ounces each)
shrimp – 1 lb.
dry white wine – 3/4 cup

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Categories Meal Plans

Cooking with Wine

March 14, 2014 //
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Well, this week wasn’t any calmer than last. That may be why three out of the four recipes I choose for this week include white wine! Obviously, something is on my mind…

I do love to cook with wine. Like lemon juice or butter a little bit adds a ton of flavor and in a snap you can make a sauce to accompany almost anything. One of my rules for cooking with wine, which I learned watching Mario Batali, is to always use a wine you would drink on its own. This is great advice not only because you want to treat your dish with respect and not ruin it with something that doesn’t taste good, but also because it is nice to have a glass of wine while you cook. You don’t have to use a $30 bottle, but don’t use those “cooking wines” you sometimes see at the grocery store. There are enough decent $10ish bottles around these days which will do the job nicely. Note, the alcohol burns off as you cook so kids can eat any of these dishes.

(Meals should feed four adults and take about 30-40 minutes to prepare, or the time it takes Patrick to give Eliza a bottle and put her to bed.)

Meal #1: Perfect Pan-Roasted Chicken Thighs + Roasted Potatoes with Green Beans
Meal #2: Swordfish Parmesan + Roasted Broccoli
Meal #3: Porchetta Pork Chops + Fennel with Shallots and White Wine
Meal #4: Chicken Piccata with Noodles + Green Salad

Your grocery list, excluding the usual pantry items:

red or yukon gold potatoes – 6 medium
broccoli – 1 large head
green beans – 1 lb.
fennel – 2 large bulbs
shallot – 2
lemon – 4
lettuce – 1 head or bag
rosemary – 1 bunch
fennel seeds
noodles- 1 bag
eggs – 2
garlic (if you don’t already have it)
flour (if you don’t already have it)
capers (if you don’t already have it)
red pepper flakes (if you don’t already have it)
Parmesan cheese (if you don’t already have it)
bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs – 4-8 (depending on the size)
bone-in pork chops – 4
thin chicken cutlets – 1 ½ lb.
swordfish steaks (6-8 ounces per person)
white wine

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Categories Meal Plans

Swordfish Parmesan and Roasted Broccoli

March 14, 2014 //
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Swordfish Parmesan
Several years ago one of my Mom’s friends stopped by the house to give her this recipe, and a bag of freshly caught and cleaned swordfish steaks. This gesture wasn’t as unusual as it sounds since her friend is married to a deep sea fisherman and he had recently returned from a trip on the Atlantic Ocean with so much fresh fish there was some to spare.

My Mom and I were surprised by the flour/Parmesan coating, we usually prepared swordfish on the grill with some olive oil, salt and pepper; but we figured if it came from a fisherman’s wife it had to be good. Oh man! Because swordfish is a hearty piece of fish it can handle the coating and the sauce is amazing. You could make the sauce to accompany any other fish – sole, flounder, salmon, etc.

Swordfish Parm_Web

swordfish steaks (6-8 ounces per person), skin removed
1 cup of flour
1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
2 TB. olive oil
2 eggs, beaten
½ cup white wine
1 shallot, chopped
2 TB. lemon juice
2 TB. capers
2 TB. butter

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix flour and Parmesan cheese together. Dip swordfish into the egg whites and then the flour/cheese mixture. Heat oil in a large pan until hot, but not smoking and then add swordfish. Saute fish on both sides until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes per side.

Remove fish from pan and place on a baking sheet. Roast the fish in the oven for another 7-10 minutes, or until cooked through.

While the fish is roasting, pour off half of the oil from the pan and add the white wine, shallot, lemon juice, and capers. Whisk sauce over a medium-low heat until it is reduced by half. Turn off the heat and add the butter, whisking until it is incorporated into the sauce.

Serve the swordfish with the sauce over it.

Roasted Broccoli
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1 large head of broccoli, cut into florets
2 TB. olive oil
salt and pepper

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Toss broccoli in olive oil and salt and pepper and spread on a baking sheet. Roast for 20-25 minutes.

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Categories Meals

Pork Chops with Peppers and Capers, Green Salad

January 17, 2014 //
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This recipe comes from Mario Batali’s cookbook Molto Italiano. Does anybody remember Mario’s old show on the Food Network (back when the network was actually about cooking)? I have many cooking “mentors” from television and Mario is one of them. I learned so much about the regional nature of Italian cooking from him; and I grew up on the south shore of  Long Island where it seemed like everyone, but me, was Italian. Over the years, he has opened a lot of restaurants, which usually makes me leery, but man, are his good. To speed this recipe up I tweaked the ingredients a bit and skipped the brining process, which I’m sure makes the chops amazing, but it isn’t necessary.

4 bone-in pork chops
salt and pepper
3 TB. olive oil
3 peppers (1 each red, green and yellow), cored, seeded and cut into thin strips*
1 large red onion, sliced*
¼ cup black olives, pitted and chopped*
1 TB. red pepper flakes
1 TB. capers
1 cup dry white wine

* ingredients that can be prepped several days ahead.

Season pork chop with salt and pepper. In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil over high heat until smoking. Add chops to the pan (don’t crowd the pan – you can do 2 chops at a time if you need to) and cook until dark golden brown on the first side, about 7 minutes. Turn over and cook until browned on the second side, about 4 minutes, then transfer to a plate.

Add the peppers, onion, olives, red pepper flakes, and capers and stir with a wooden spoon to loosen the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, place the chops in the pepper mixture, and simmer for 10 minutes (the pork should be cooked to 135 degrees F).

Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Green Saladlettuce

A basic salad of your favorite greens will nicely complement the pork chops.

 

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Categories Meals

One-Dish Meals

January 17, 2014 //
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Okay, so I didn’t exactly just serve one dish per meal this week, but I could have! Each of the main dishes offer a combo of proteins with veggies and/or carbs. I love these types of dishes; especially for weeknights. I didn’t grow up eating casseroles, so you won’t see too many on this site, but I do like a dish that can serve as not only the main event, but the only event.

(Meals should feed four adults and take about 30-40 minutes to prepare, or the time it takes Patrick to give Eliza a bottle and put her to bed.)

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Meal #1: Chicken Thighs, Fennel and Artichoke Fricassee with Noodles
Meal #2: Pork Chops with Peppers and Capers, Green Salad
Meal #3: Salmon, Red Cabbage and New Potatoes
Meals #4: Chicken and Vegetable Fried Rice

Your Grocery List, excluding the usual pantry items:

bell peppers – 1 each green and yellow, 3 red
large red onion – 2
ginger – 1 piece (you can freeze or refrigerate the rest)
zucchini – 2
bunch of scallions
small red cabbage – 1
new potatoes – 10
lemon – 1
fennel bulb – 1
lettuce, or whatever greens you like for a salad – 1 head or bag
parsley – 1 small bunch
artichoke hearts – 1 can
chicken stock – 1 can (you’ll need 1 cup, but you can always freeze the rest in an ice cube tray and use later)
water chestnuts – 1 can
horseradish – 1 bottle (it’ll keep, or you could make bloody marys!)
egg noodles – 1 bag
bone-in chicken thighs – 8
bone-in pork chops – 4
skinless salmon fillet – 1 1/2 lb.
chicken cutlets – ¾ lb.
dry white wine

 

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