Archives for the month of: January, 2014
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Homemade = Healthy

January 24, 2014 //
2

We’re deep into winter, with another snowstorm under our belts here in the Northeast. By now, the holidays feel far away, but just over three weeks ago many of us were making resolutions to eat healthier in 2014. Pursuing a healthy lifestyle is always a good idea, but that doesn’t have to mean a pantry full of rice cakes. I am a firm believer that homemade dinners, when made with fresh ingredients, are healthier than most restaurant or take-out meals, no matter what you prepare. Apparently, I am in good company:  YouTube Preview Image

So, for this week I’m suggesting four dinners that manage to be both healthy and satisfying.

(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: One-Pan Farro with Tomatoes + Green Salad
Meal #2: White Fish Braised in Lemon with Red Peppers and Tomatoes + Roasted Green Beans and Red Onion
Meal #3: Skirt Steak with Arugula + Roasted Cauliflower
Meal #4: Broiled Shrimp with Tomatoes and White Beans + Garlic Bread

Your grocery list, excluding the usual pantry items:

farro – 1 bag (you’ll need just 1 cup, but it will keep)
yellow onion – 3
red onion – 1
red peppers – 2
grape or cherry tomatoes – 3 containers (wow, I had no idea I was using so many this week)
lemon – 1
green beans – 1 ½ lb.
lettuce, or whatever greens you like for a salad – 1 head or bag
arugula – 1 bunch or bag
cauliflower – 1 head
basil – 1 bunch (optional, I wouldn’t go out of my way for this)
parsley – 1 bunch (optional)
baguette – 1
white beans (such as, cannellini) – 1 can (about 19 oz.)
chicken broth or stock – 1 small can (you’ll need ¾ cup, but you can always freeze the rest in an ice cube tray and use later)
skirt steak – about 6 oz. per person
white fish (flounder or tilapia) – about 6 oz. per person
shrimp, shelled and deveined – 1 lb.

 

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Categories Meal Plans

Cherry-Almond Brownies with Eliza

January 22, 2014 //
2

I’m not going to lie, I’ve waited over 22 months for this day. Ever since I got pregnant I’ve had fantasies of cooking and baking with my child. Some of my fondest childhood memories involve making chocolate with one of my Grandmas and baking cookies with the other. So, when the day came when I thought Eliza would not only stand still long enough, but actually enjoy baking with me I went for it!

This brownie recipe from an old Everyday Food was perfect for this adventure.

To start, I got all of the ingredients ready while she was safely in her highchair having a snack. Then, she crawled up onto the step stool, I put her adorable apron on her and we got to work! You can see that she was a natural at mixing the melted chocolate and butter together.

Eliza couldn’t help sneaking a taste of the chopped almonds before they went into the batter.

 

Fresh from the oven! All of the ingredients are mixed in the same pan that you bake the brownies in, which is convenient, but really messy. Flour, sugar and eggs go everywhere when you are mixing, especially when the mixer is a 22 month old! Next time I would probably prepare the batter in a bowl and then pour it into the pan for baking.

The recipe says that you can eat the brownies right out of the oven, which Eliza demanded, but they crumble just a bit too much. Let them cool, put them in the fridge for a couple of hours, and then cut them into squares. The almonds and cherries throughout are beautiful and delicious. Eliza approves!

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Salmon, Red Cabbage and New Potatoes

January 17, 2014 //
1

Salmon, Red Cabbage and New Potatoes
IMG_0982 Web

I LOVE this recipe. I kept making salmon with a lemony, fennel salad, and it was delicious, but I was getting bored. This is so easy and interesting. One warning: the potatoes take longer than the recipe says. I recommend roasting the potatoes for 15-20 minutes by themselves,  then add the cabbage and roast for another 15-20 minutes before adding the salmon.

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Categories Meals

One-Dish Meals

January 17, 2014 //
0

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.)

IMG_3517

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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Categories Meal Plans

Pork Chops with Peppers and Capers, Green Salad

January 17, 2014 //
0

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

Chicken Thighs, Fennel and Artichoke Fricassee with Noodles

January 17, 2014 //
1

Chicken, Fennel and Artichoke Fricassee

Absolutely delicious. I made this recipe with a few chicken thighs instead of a whole chicken (you’ll see that in the meal plan’s grocery list). Try it either way, or even use bone-in chicken breasts instead, if you prefer white meat. Also, add a bit of salt and pepper at the end to taste.

Noodles

Nothing fancy here, just old-fashioned egg noodles that remind you of being a kid. They’re nice for soaking up the juices of the fricassee.

Boil salted water and follow directions on the bag.

 

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Categories Meals

Chicken and Vegetable Fried Rice

January 17, 2014 //
0

This dish is a great way to use up leftover rice from another night’s dinner or take-out, because the rice should be at least a day old or it will be too sticky for the recipe. You can use whatever protein (pork, beef, tofu) you prefer or skip it all together and just use vegetables – also throw whatever veggies you like in here. Here’s what I did.

purple onions

2 TB. vegetable oil
1 garlic, minced
1 TB. ginger, minced
¾ lb. chicken cutlets, cut into strips
2 zucchini, chopped*
2 red pepper, chopped*
6 scallions, chopped (greens reserved)
1 can water chestnuts, sliced
2 cups rice
2 eggs, beaten
soy sauce

* ingredients that can be prepped several days ahead.

Heat oil in a large saute pan or wok until very hot. Add garlic and ginger and stir quickly until they smell delicious, between 30 sec – 1 min. Add chicken and stir until no longer pink. Add zucchini, pepper and scallions and continue to stir for 1-2 minutes. Add water chestnuts, rice, and eggs and continue to stir. Once blended add soy sauce to taste, stir and serve.

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Categories Meals

Baked Fish with Tomatoes and Olives, Kale Caesar Salad

January 10, 2014 //
1

Baked Fish with Tomatoes and Olives

I’ve made this recipe with flounder, tilapia and even basa. You can use whatever flaky, white fish you want, but I would stick to something relatively thin. Don’t let the mayonnaise and cheese freak you out – it sounds weird with fish, but it helps protect the fish from the heat of the oven and keeps it very moist.

white fish fillets – 6 ounces per person
8 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced
12 Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
Zest of a lemon
salt and pepper
olive oil
4 ts. mayonnaise
4 TB. Parmesan cheese, grated
Juice of a lemon

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In an ovenproof skillet or baking dish, arrange tomatoes in overlapping circles. Scatter olives and lemon zest over the tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper; drizzle with olive oil.

In a small bowl, stir together mayonnaise, Parmesan and lemon juice. Place fish on top of tomatoes in skillet. Season fish with salt and pepper. Spread mayonnaise mixture on top.

Bake until fish is opaque throughout and topping is golden brown in spots, about 20 minutes.

Kale Caesar Salad

The first time I had this salad was at the now closed Alias restaurant on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. I was blown away that you could eat raw kale! So, I was super happy when Melissa Clark published a variation of this salad’s recipe in the New York Times a few years ago. Her version was inspired by the Brooklyn restaurant Franny’s. As you can probably tell, this salad is now ubiquitous, but I don’t care. It is super yummy and easy to make at home. (I never make this with the breadcrumbs, but I’m sure it is good.)

 

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Categories Meals

Bourbon Glazed Smoked Pork Chops and Roasted Delicata Squash

January 10, 2014 //
1

Bourbon Glazed Smoked Pork Chops
Martha Stewart’s recipes are go-to’s in our home. I have subscribed to Living for years and was a big fan of her short-lived Everyday Food mini-magazine too. These days, however, her website is where I tend to go for most of my recipe hunting. It was recently updated it to be very Pinterest friendly with a recipe layout that is wonderful to use on a tablet in the kitchen. Anyway, as you probably guessed, this recipe is from Martha.  It is so fast and tasty. If you can’t find smoked pork chops, which I had never heard of until I started shopping at my neighborhood butcher, than you can easily substitute a ham steak. Even if you only make two of these chops, keep the measurements of the glaze the same – you won’t really have extra glaze.

Roasted Delicata Squash
I had never heard of delicata squash until I was an apprentice at the Farm School, but once I tried them I was hooked. They are slightly more delicate in flavor than a butternut squash with thinner skin that you can actually eat (more fiber!). If you can’t find them, substitute butternut or acorn squash, but increase the cooking time.

2 delicata squash – halved, seeds scooped out
2 TB. butter
2 TB. maple syrup

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt butter on the stove or in the microwave and add syrup. Place squash halves facing up onto a cookie sheet and brush butter and syrup mixture on the inside of the sqush. Pop in the oven for 25 minutes, or until a knife easily slips through the flesh, and enjoy!

(This is a pretty traditional recipe, but you can also experiment a bit with winter squash and substitute the butter with olive oil and syrup with garlic and a mixture of spices such as cinnamon, chili and cumin. It will be more savory, but equally good!)

 

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Categories Meals

Penne with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage

January 10, 2014 //
1

Broccoli rabe, an Italian favorite, is a bit bitter, but if you blanch it the flavor will mellow. 

¾ lb. penne
1 bunch broccoli rabe, roughly chopped*
3 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 lb. Italian sausage, removed from casings
½ cup chicken broth
olive oil
red pepper flakes
salt and pepper

* ingredients that can be prepped several days in advance.

Boil salted water for pasta, when boiling add pasta and follow directions on the box.

Boil salted water and add chopped broccoli rabe for about 1-2 minutes, or until it turns bright green. Immediately remove it from the water, drain it in a colander and run cold water over it to stop the cooking. Or, if you are really ambitious, dump it in a bowl of ice water and then drain. Set aside. (Now you’ve learned how to blanch!) This step can be done before you start the pasta so that you can use the small pot twice.

Heat a saute pan and add sausage, cooking between 5-7 minutes, or until it is no longer pink and is starting to brown. Add garlic, and a bit of olive oil to the pan, sautéing until the garlic starts to smell delicious. Add broccoli rabe and a pinch of red pepper flakes to the sausage and garlic and saute a couple more minutes until it is covered in all of the nice juices and heats through. Pour in chicken broth and let the mixture simmer a bit until the pasta is finished.

Before you drain the pasta, reserve about a ½ cup of the pasta’s cooking water, and set aside. Drain the pasta, add it to the broccoli rabe/sausage mixture and toss. If it is too dry for your taste add the reserved pasta water – just a little bit at a time! Toss, add salt and pepper and taste. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over it and serve!

 

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