menu of the week + a secret recipe!

Hello and how are you on this bright and sunny day? At least it's bright and sunny where I am... and I'm paying for it. Serious allergies over here. I guess the rain last week wasn't so bad after all. I made a smoothie this morning to make me feel better (peach raspberry!) and made the leftovers into popsicles. So looking forward to having one later. And then of course there will be dinner at some point. Here's what we had last week - 

beef stew - Um, no recipe here - sorry, folks! My friend Karissa emailed me a recipe from a friend of hers. Basically it said to put stew beef and lots of vegetables in the crock pot with some canned tomatoes and vegetable broth. Perfect dinner for the rainy week we were having. 

eggs over polenta with gravy - I love me some polenta and I'll eat it for any meal as evidenced here. The polenta is from Gwyneth Paltrow's cookbook. I made a couple fried eggs and served it all with some homemade gravy - see the secret recipe below! Delicious. Also makes great leftovers for breakfast the following day. Just make another egg!

steak sandwiches - Easily the best steak sandwich I've ever had. The combination of carmelized onions and gruyere on top of the grilled steak and toasty baguette was a revelation.

three cheese calzones - Disastrous. Probably won't be for you though. Just don't accidentally buy bread dough instead of pizza dough. Actually dinner was salvaged - we ate mini pizzas instead of calzones and the dough was just slightly different than usual.

sweet potato quinoa salad - Perfect melding of flavors - goat cheese, toasted almonds, dried cranberries, and scallions. I like the to use tricolor quinoa because it's prettier.

Okay, so this recipe isn't really a secret but don't Italian grandmothers always have secret recipes that everyone wants? Since this is my recipe and I'm neither Italian nor a grandmother I've given myself permission to share it.

gravy (also known as spaghetti sauce)
makes enough for one pound of pasta with a little extra for serving on the side
ingredients
2 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
2 cans Pastene kitchen ready tomatoes (get the ones with no salt added)
2 T parsley
2 T basil
2 T oregano
freshly ground pepper
salt
directions
Heat the olive oil in a heavy sauce pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and stir; cook for about five to seven minutes, until the onion is translucent. Add the tomatoes and stir, making sure the onions are incorporated throughout. Add the herbs and (wait for it...) stir. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for thirty minutes, stirring occasionally. Add about 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, but taste it to make sure it's seasoned to your liking.

Note: I triple this recipe to put some away to freeze for those days when dinner needs to be quick and I'm unprepared.

image by Jeannette Ordas for Poppytalk

menu of the week + a recipe

(image via Sarah Waldman)

This past weekend was pretty much perfect. I don't think I mentioned that we were supposed to be in Newport with my family (my parents have a timeshare there) but things got goofed up so no one ended up going - hence, the change of plans. Our weekend at home was just what we needed to recharge. Here's what we ate last week -

veggie enchiladas - After Mother's Day I had an entire pan left so these made another appearance. A little bit labor intensive (so much chopping!) but very good, especially when served with sour cream. Yum.

lemon chicken tagine - We hadn't had chicken in a while so we headed to Baffoni's in Johnston and picked up eight chicken breasts. Matt thought they tasted game-y but they seemed normal to me. Regardless of the chickens themselves, I thought this recipe left a little to be desired. The lemon flavor was bright and dominant, which I liked, but the chicken turned out a bit dry. I served it with toasted almond whole wheat cous cous.

broccoli cheddar frittata with potatoes - Since we started eating less meat last summer I've had to become more creative with meal planning and I've found that eggs are very versatile, filling, and forgiving. Even if my cupboard is bare, if I have a half dozen eggs and my cast iron pan I'm pretty much all set. While I love to cook and bake and have been doing so on a regular basis for just about four years, I'm just beginning to feel comfortable cooking without a recipe in hand. I'm embarrassed to admit that, but I'm feeling brave so let's get things out in the open. With that said, here's my frittata recipe -

ingredients
2 cups chopped broccoli
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 large eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
directions
Steam the broccoli either on the stove top or in the microwave until tender. Set aside. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat (I used my 9 inch cast iron pan). Add the potato, onion, and garlic. Season the potato mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Saute over medium-low heat until the potato is golden, about 7 to 10 minutes. Add the broccoli and stir to evenly distribute. Preheat the broiler. Whisk the eggs, cream, Parmesan, an cheddar in a medium bowl to blend. Stir the egg mixture into the potato mixture in the skillet. Cover (I don't have a lid so I just use a piece of foil) and cook over medium heat until the egg mixture is almost set but the top is still loose, about 6 minutes. Take the foil off and place the skillet under the broiler. Broil until the top is set and golden brown, about 4 minutes. Use a butter knife to cut the frittata into eight wedges and serve with a small spatula.

baked barley risotto with butternut squash - anything with butternut squash is delicious in my opinion. It really tastes good no matter what you do to it. This recipe is nice because once you get it going you can just leave it on the stove and wait for it to finish. Use that time to prepare a salad or play with your toddler before dinner.

quinoa black bean burgers - I'm so glad I discovered Sarah's blog because I've gotten so many healthy, tasty recipes from her. Now this black bean burger recipe is one of my favorite things ever. Like I mentioned last time we had them, I didn't care for the large pieces of raw onion so this time I made sure to chop them extra fine. I served them on Barwosky's organic hamburger buns.

Tonight I'm making salmon burgers for the first time. I was excited to use the grill but now it's drizzling. Bummer. Here's hoping that the sun comes out again!

menu of the week

It's sad to say, but I'm pretty unenthused about last week's menu on the whole. Some nights I didn't like dinner and on the other nights Matt wasn't pleased, with the exception of pasta night. I guess it was just one of those weeks, but you just can't beat homemade spaghetti...

warm barley salad - This recipe is from the Whole Foods 'Meals for 4 under $15' flyer for Spring 2012, so if you're interested go pick one up at your local store. It's basically barley, some raw veggies, chickpeas, fresh herbs, and a lemon tahini yogurt dressing. Very refreshing, but Matt thought the dressing was overpowering. You might want to add the dressing to taste for each portion.

fresh pasta with pesto - Hillary and I made spaghetti last weekend and I paired mine with pesto made with basil from Matt's "office crops." (He grows herbs in his office which has a giant window overlooking the Newport bridge.) My favorite pesto recipe - combine 1 cup fresh basil (packed), 2 tablespoons pine nuts (use almonds if you think pine nuts are too pricey), 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano (I like it better than Parmigiano), 2 cloves of minced garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a food processor. Pulse until the ingredients are finely chopped. Drizzle in about 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil and pulse again. You pretty much can't go wrong. 

sweet potato and quinoa salad - A big hit with all of us, this warm salad is definitely something I'll make again. I used a tri-color quinoa from Trader Joe's.

cheesy polenta and roasted vegetable pie - I cut this recipe out of the Providence Journal and unfortunately it wasn't my favorite. I have such high standards when it comes polenta and this version made with water just didn't cut it. I prefer a richer polenta made with cream or at least whole milk. Also, this recipes calls for the vegetables and polenta to be combined in a baking dish and then baked. I think it would be much more simple to just add the roasted vegetables to the hot polenta on a plate and skip the baking. However, the crispy mozzarella could only be achieved by baking, so I guess this dish has at least one redeeming quality. 

porterhouse steak with garlic chips, smashed potatoes, and edamame - Simple steaks, boiled potatoes that are literally smashed with the handle of a knife and then fried in butter, and boiled edamame. And for once I timed everything right so we didn't end up eating an accidental three course meal.

Here's hoping this week is more of a culinary success.   

P.S. More pasta photos...

hello weekend

Two years ago on Saint Patrick's Day I shared my grandmother's recipe for Irish soda bread, and last year I just posted a cute picture of Ezra wearing a cheesy shamrock onesie. This year we're getting back to our roots, back to the Irish soda bread that is the foundation of my idea of Saint Patrick's Day. I recently acquired two of my very own cast iron pans that were my grandmother's (not my maternal grandmother's, of the Irish soda bread fame, but my paternal grandmother's, who was French Canadian - go figure) so I didn't have to borrow one from my mom this time. Sadly, the smaller pan was in major need of rust removal but it's cleaned up now and I ate breakfast out of it this morning. (Check back next week for the trick to removing rust from cast iron.) My breakfast was, of course, Irish soda bread! Here's the recipe again with one major adaptation - I substituted butter for shortening because no one wants to eat partially hydrogenated oil anymore... or at least I don't. 


For those of you who are wondering - no worries - scroll down for the Friday link list! Lots of fun stuff around the web this week. First things first, though. I know you want to get baking.

Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients

3 C flour

2/3 C sugar

1 T baking powder

1 t baking soda

1 t salt

1 3/4 C raisins
1 T caraway seeds

2 eggs, beaten

1 3/4 buttermilk

2 T melted butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° and grease a cast iron pan or loaf pan.  Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl.  Stir in raisins and caraway seeds.  Combine eggs, buttermilk, and shortening in a small bowl.  Add liquid mixture to dry mixture and combine until flour is just moistened.  Turn into greased pan and bake for about 40 minutes.  Remove from pan immediately.  Allow to cool through before serving. I like to eat my slices with a good smear of butter, sometimes toasted and sometimes at room temp.

I'll be bringing one pan of Irish soda bread over to our friends' condo for a little Saint Patrick's Day shindig tomorrow night. How are you celebrating? Remember: everyone is Irish on Saint Patrick's Day!

Now for the link love.

- some great tips on how to prep for a photo shoot
- make yourself a cute bow headband
- love these beautiful images of a mother and daughter
- I'm always up for trying new ways to make brownies even better
- taking photos in a renovated mill for a maternity shoot works out quite nicely
- these little paper boxes by Alli are so cute
- can't wait to try these peanut butter cookie dough balls
- this mini guide to making fresh pasta has me inspired to make some of my own
- thinking about jumping on the antlers as home decor bandwagon
- how to make your own polka dot pants, via { collected }

I said it Monday but I'll say it again: Erin Go Bragh! Happy Saint Patrick's Day and happy weekend, too.

menu of the week

(image via Williams-Sonoma)

Last week I almost didn't even make five meals, but I squeezed one of these in yesterday afternoon. So glad I did, because the frittata was so good I was looking forward to having it today when I had barely finished off a piece yesterday.

- spinach shells - Our friend Alex made this simple pasta dish for a group of people when we went to visit her in Philadelphia a couple of years ago. I like to double the recipe and freeze half to save for one of those days when I forget to defrost anything. See recipe below.

- butternut squash risotto - Anything with butternut squash in it is delicious. Period. I doubled this recipe because we were going to have it as a main dish and I wanted it to be a little more substantial. It turned out soft and creamy and the butternut squash flavor was so pronounced. Lucky for me, Matt likes the rice more than the squash so he didn't mind when I dished it out a little on the uneven side. As much as I liked it, I don't think I would make it again because I kind of detest the constant stirring risotto requires. Or maybe I just needed stronger arm muscles.

- spaghetti with tomato sauce - Kind of self-explanatory. I forgot to defrost the beef for the cheeseburger skillet pie (and although I had spinach shells in the freezer I didn't want to have them again so soon) so I made a quick tomato sauce and boiled water. I don't think there's anything easier than that.

- cheeseburger skillet pie - Another quick and easy recipe (that seems to be my dinner time mantra, everything is either 'quick and easy' or 'super simple') that gave me a good return for the time spent preparing it. Matt and I fought over the biscuits on top, and I may have used just a tad more cheese the recipe called for. Okay, so it was double the amount of cheese. And the biscuits were from Whole Foods but I forget the brand. They were frozen and the box was green. Hope that helps!

- frittata with greens - This made for a quick Sunday afternoon meal and while I had a few minor issues it still tasted great. Should I be embarrassed to say that I thought the addition of ketchup made it even better? Anyway, the main issue was not having a pan to flip the frittata into, thus the eggs didn't really set on top until the bottom was brown but not quite burnt. Let's just say Matt spent a good ten minutes washing the skillet.

This week I'm looking forward to squeezing in one more hearty soup (before the weather really warms up) and baking some Irish soda bread. Erin Go Bragh!

Spinach Shells (Thanks, Alex!)
1 lb. shells
4 beaten eggs
1/2 C olive oil
2 10 oz. packages frozen spinach, thawed
2 quarts tomato sauce
2 8 oz. packages shredded cheese
Parmigiano and Romano cheese to taste
1 T each dried basil, parsley, and oregano
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions and set aside. In a 13"x9" pan, spread a thin layer of tomato sauce. In a large bowl, mix the eggs, olive oil, cheese, spinach, herbs, salt & pepper, and shells. Pour into the baking dish and cover with the rest of the sauce. Grate Parmigiano and Romano cheese over the top. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes.  

classic banana bread

 Baking banana bread is probably one of my favorite things to do in the kitchen for at least three reasons - it makes the whole house smell delicious, it's incredibly easy, and it gives new life to old bananas. This recipe is an adaptation of the one my mom always used when I was growing up, so it was the first one I ever made. While I've tried lots of variations over the years, I always come back to this old stand-by because it's so simple. Try it and let me know what you think.

Banana Bread
Ingredients
4 very ripe mashed bananas
2 beaten eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 2/3 cup flour
1/4 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
Directions
Mix all ingredients together. Pour batter into a greased loaf pan and bake at 325° for 50 - 60 minutes. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Slice and serve.

Really the only change from the original recipe is substituting applesauce for shortening or oil. And this time I added a cup of 60% Ghirardelli chocolate chips because I just can't resist them. Okay, I confess - I add chocolate chips pretty much every time I bake banana bread. I'm bringing this loaf to our moms' group this morning as a not-quite-breakfast snack. What baked goods do you try to pass off as breakfast?

{the not-so-secret ingredient}

i love me some dutch baby

It's important to start the week off right with a yummy breakfast so I present to you one of my all-time a.m. favorites, the Dutch baby.  It's a light, buttery treat that never fails to make my day, whether I'm enjoying it for breakfast, an impromptu dinner, or as a late night snack.  In fact, I could really go for one now.  Martha Stewart Living ran an article a few years ago about cast iron and recipes to make using cast iron and one of the suggestions was a German pancake.  I had never heard of one before but set out to make one the night I read the article.  It's made of ingredients I always have on hand so it was quick and easy to whip together and I LOVED IT.  My recipe is written on a tiny monogrammed piece of note paper and I can't find the original on Martha's website so here it is - 
Dutch Baby
Ingredients
3 large eggs
1/2 C flour
1/2 C milk
1/4 t salt
1/2 t vanilla
2 T butter
Directions
Heat oven to 400°.  Whisk eggs to combine.  Add flour to eggs and whisk until smooth.  Add milk, salt, and vanilla and mix to incorporate; set aside.  Add butter to a cast iron skillet and transfer to oven until melted.  Remove from oven and quickly pour batter into the skillet.  Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.  At this point you can add whatever toppings you like, such as freshly squeezed lemon juice, confectioners sugar, or preserves.  I'm usually too impatient to bother with any of that so I eat it plain... delicious!

ready for the oven

This one and this one are similar to my recipe.  I think I'd like to try the second - honey and cardamom with apples sounds heavenly.  Check out TasteSpotting for more variations here and here.  Someone even had the fantastic idea of making Dutch babies in mini muffin tins... genius!  Can't wait to try that next time I host a brunch.  Deb over at Smitten Kitchen has a version that she refers to as loopy breakfast goodness.  I would have to agree with her on that description.

Other pancake-like breakfast foods I would like to sample - ebelskivers!  I need this pan and this cookbook for my birthday.  And these would be quite helpful, I'm sure.  Matt?  Mom?  Are either of you reading this?

Irish Soda Bread

As an Irish lass I feel it is my duty to write about Saint Patrick's Day.  My mom has always made Irish soda bread during the entire month of March for as long I can remember so I grew up associating it with Saint Paddy's Day and my Irish heritage... yeah, who doesn't, I know.  Anyway, it makes a great breakfast on the run, mid-afternoon snack, or light dessert.  This year I tried my hand at the recipe my great-grandmother Sadie used to make.  Here she is with my great-grandfather Jack.  They both traveled to America from County Cork, Ireland in the steerage section of The Canard.  Don't they look glamorous?  They were married in 1926 at Saint Peter's Church in Dorchester, Massachusetts.  

And here are my grandparents, a Scot and an Irishwoman, with my mom as a baby.  With six children older than my mom I think they look quite relaxed, don't you agree?  I hope I would have the energy to get my hair done and be fully accessorized if I were to have seven small children!  By the way, eight years after my mom they had one more!

Now on to the baking!  It's a simple recipe to make and I've no doubt it will turn out better for you than it did for me.  I checked the bread when it had about ten minutes left and to my utter dismay I found that it was as brown as a graham cracker and not the familiar creamy white to which I'm accustomed.  In a later conversation with my mother I was informed that although the recipe says to bake for an hour it really only takes about 40 minutes.  That would have been good to know before I baked my bread.  No worries though - as soon as it was cool I sliced it up and quickly tasted a piece.  I found it to be delicious and not dry in the least!  My favorite way to have Irish bread is toasted and buttered.  What's yours?   

 

Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients

3 C flour

2/3 C sugar

1 T baking powder

1 t baking soda

1 t salt

1 3/4 C raisins
1 T caraway seeds

2 eggs, beaten

1 3/4 buttermilk

2 T melted shortening

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° and grease a cast iron pan or loaf pan.  Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl.  Stir in raisins and caraway seeds.  Combine eggs, buttermilk, and shortening in a small bowl.  Add liquid mixture to dry mixture and combine until flour is just moistened.  Turn into greased pan and bake for about 40 minutes.  Remove from pan immediately.  Allow to cool through before serving.