Brussels Sprout and Gryuere Bake

Last week, James and I had a slumber party at my mom's house. He loves seeing his Ya-Ya, her black lab, Yogi, and playing with the toys she has collected for him. James favorite thing to play with is the "kitchen" that I used to play with when I was a little girl. 

My mom and dad actually found the little kitchen in an alley while they were driving around Seattle. They called the business in front of the alley and bought the kitchen for thirty five dollars. My parents brought it home, sanded it down, painted it white and put new "hardware" on it. The kitchen is made out of wood, with little china knobs, brass hinges, and glass doors.  It is simple and pretty and, in my opinion, far superior than those expensive, huge, brightly colored plastic play kitchens that are now what you see on the shelves of Toys'R'Us. 

I don't remember the specifics of the culinary masterpieces I used to imagine I was making in my sweet little kitchen, but I'm sure that, like James, I was always very busy mixing, pouring, and generally sorting through the food and dishes in the little kitchen. Of course, my mom had to stock the kitchen with all new dishes and "food" for James.

And, of course, I had to make mini-muffins for him to play with in the kitchen. 

And, of course, he had to eat them.

We left Ya-Ya's house to go meet some new friends at Gabriel Park, and then had some lunch at Grand Central. By the time we made the trek back to our home, James and I were so exhausted that we both took two hour naps. We woke up around four, groggy and in a daze.

All I could think of was food when I woke up (apparently James as well, as he was bringing me his bib and trying to climb up into his high-chair). We attempted happy hour at McMenamins, but the line was so long that we gave up and went home. Luckily, I am the meal planning type, so I had all the ingredients to make this dish.

It was gooey and hearty and extremely comforting. In the end, none of us were upset that McMenamins didn't work out. 

Brussels Sprout and Gryuere Bake

1 lb brussels sprouts

olive oil

salt and pepper

2 1/2 cups whole wheat pasta shells

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

1 cup milk

1/2 lb Gruyere cheese, grated

1/2 cup bread crumbs and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, mixed together

Preheat the oven to 425. Wash and half the sprouts. Arrange on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil (1 to 2 tbsp). Toss and arrange in a single layer, then season with salt and pepper. Roast for 10 to 15 minutes, or until just beginning to brown. 

While sprouts are roasting, fill a dutch oven about half way with water, and bring to a rolling boil. Season water with 1 tsp salt. Pour in shells and cook until al dente, about 6 minutes. Drain noodles in colander over the sink.

With noodles in colander, put dutch oven back on stove top and reduce heat to medium-high. Melt butter in dutch oven, stirring constantly. Add flour and whisk, whisk, whisk so that no lumps form. Add cheese and stir well as it melts. Add pasta and sprouts to the cheese sauce. Mix well. Top with parmesan and bread crumb mixture. Bake in dutch oven (or transfer to oven-safe dish, then top with parm/crumbs) for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is beginning to brown. Serve hot. Enjoy. 

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Acorn Squash and Goat Cheese Ravioli

It's going to be a very exciting week ahead:

Super-fun thing number one: Tomorrow, our good friends are coming over for dinner and, inevitably, a game or two of Catan because the men are engineers... and, inevitably, a glass or two of wine because they are those friends. But seriously, nothing beats really good friends. They are the type of friends that know how annoying you are, but still hang out with you. The type of friends that when you go to their house-warming party they don't say "Can I get you a glass of wine?" but instead: "the glasses are in that cabinet." I love that.

Super-fun thing number two: Wednesday we are going to OMSI after dark. (eeeeeeeep!) If you read the description of OMSI after dark on the website, it actually says "It's geeks gone wild!" My husband and I are going, so it must be true. Not only do we get to go to Body Worlds (yup, its a bunch of insides of dead people), and roam around the rest of the museum, but we also get to drink beer and wine while we do it. I did mention there will be no children there, right? This geek is going to go wild.

Super-fun thing number three: My talented friend, Leah, wrote a book (oh, and she also owns and operates her own business and runs like 5 miles a day), and she is having a book signing at her shop on Friday evening complete with live music and, of course, really good espresso.

Super-fun thing number four: On Saturday, we (Lane, James, and I) are going to Zoo Lights!!! And I think we are somehow getting in for free because Lane's company is pretty awesome to its employees. (Dear pal and "follower" Jess, if you read this, all I can say is: "they had to start using battery-operated lights because of the hippo incident of '89"...perhaps I will explain this to the rest of you when I post pics from Zoo Lights, which may not happen for at least a week since I am going to be so exhausted from all this activity.)

Despite all the adventures ahead, nothing really exciting is happening today, aside from a grocery shopping (actually, I enjoy food shopping much more than would be considered normal) and a park trip. So, being the way I am, I had to make something labor-intensive and a little strange for dinner.

I was originally going to make some sort of goat cheese and acorn squash scalloped potato dish, but it sounded too much like the food we are all now sick of from eating too much of it last week. Then I stumbled upon a recipe for pasta dough from Smitten Kitchen (who else?) that sounded so easy I had to try it.

After this dish I am even more convinced that I need a pasta machine, as this device would have made the pasta about a billion times easier, but even though it was uneven, way too thick, and really ugly, man did it taste good.

I have about fifty disclaimers before you begin, but I will only annoy you with a few of the most important ones:
1. This recipe is going to make way more filling than pasta. I packed the rest of the filling into a tupperware and popped in the freezer. When I finally do something with it, I promise I will let you know. Or, you could just double the pasta recipe, or half the filling recipe- genius!
2. Yes, it does have the same topping as the last ravioli recipe I posted. So sue me! I was originally thinking a tomato sauce or even cranberry sauce (we have so much of it left over...) for the topping, but the ravioli is so flavorful that you must keep it simple.
3. Although I tell you to roast and puree the entire squash, sometime around the asterisk I may tell you to remove some of it before adding the other ingredients. Perhaps use it to thicken a soup?
4. The recipe called for all-purpose flour, and I didn't substitute whole wheat flour because the dough is put through a food processor, and then rolled out, so the resulting pasta would have been really tough if made with whole wheat.
5. It may seem like a long, complicated recipe and a lot of dishes, but it was actually quite simple. (Says the girl who does things like this.)

Acorn Squash and Goat Cheese Ravioli
For the Filling
1 acorn squash
3 tbsp olive oil, divided (preferably rosemary-garlic infused olive oil)
4 oz log goat cheese, cut into a few pieces
3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
pinch red pepper flakes (more if you want some heat)
Pasta Recipe from Here
For the topping
about 2 tbsp olive oil
about 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
about 1 tbsp pinenuts
fresh rosemary sprigs for garnish, if desired

Cut the acorn squash in half, scoop out the seeds and stringy insides, cut off the peel, and cut each half into three slices the long way. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil (about 2 tbsp) and place squash on the pan. Roast at 425 for about 40 minutes, or until a fork can be poked easily into the squash, flipping the squash half way through.
While the squash is roasting, follow the recipe for the pasta. While it is "relaxing," continue to make the filling:
Put squash into a food processor, and process until smooth. (*I removed about 1/3 cup of the squash because I was afraid it might take over the goat cheese taste. This probably isn't necessary.) Add remaining 1 tbsp olive oil and goat cheese log, and process. Add the pepper, rosemary, nutmeg, and red pepper flakes and process until it is all well combined. Place in refrigerator until you are ready to use it.
split the pasta dough into two balls. Roll them out, one at a time, into a 10 x 10 inch square. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 2 x 2 inch squares. Place a heaping tsp of the filling onto every other square. Top the filling with an empty pasta square, and pinch the edges of the squares together. Try to get out any air bubbles that may have formed.
Bring a pot of water to a gentle boil. Add a pinch of salt. Gently place raviolis (you may need to do this is two batches) into the water. They will begin to float on the surface of the water, but leave them in a few more minutes, about 7 minutes total. Remove with a slotted spoon.
Heat about 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pan on medium heat. Add the pinenuts and allow to cook for a few minutes, but watch to make sure they don't burn. Add the vinegar, then the raviolis. Combine for a couple minutes, then plate the raviolis and eat warm. Enjoy.

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Spaghetti on a Sick Day

"I love fall food," said my husband in between bites of spaghetti on Tuesday evening.
"I know," I agreed, taking another bite, "I've been craving pasta, chili, and mashed potatoes."
And now, finally, the weather is beginning to cooperate with my cravings because, as we all know, you can't eat fall comfort food on a hot day.

On Tuesday our family was badly in need of just that sort of food. We had progressively all come down with bad colds: first James on Saturday night, then me on Sunday night, and then Lane on Monday. Luckily for us, we felt no guilt staying inside and vegging out all day because it was cold out with showers every so often.
Spaghetti was just the thing for dinner. I decided to blog about it in continuation of my easy-and-delicious-stand-by's series. I don't ever measure anything unless I am baking or going to write a blog about the dish, and sometimes not even then. So here is my recipe for spaghetti, with guesses as to the actual amounts written next to the ingredients in parenthesis:

a good amount of garlic, minced (4 cloves)
sploosh of olive oil (2 tbsp)
half a package of ground turkey (1/2 lb)
3/4 jar of marinara (2 cups)
1 can of diced tomatoes
sprinkling of Italian seasoning (2 tsp)
pinch of dried fennel (1/2 tsp)
glug of red wine (1/4 cup) (Don't worry, it was added after I removed James portion.)
3 handfuls of whole-wheat spaghetti noodles (3/4 of a box)
fresh shredded parmesan cheese

Cook noodles according to package directions.
Heat garlic in olive oil over medium-high heat until just beginning to brown. Then add turkey, breaking up with a wooden spoon. Turn heat to medium. Cook turkey through (165 degrees). Add marinara and tomatoes, sprinkle with Italian seasoning and dried fennel. Mix well. Remove amount needed for anyone not of drinking age and set aside to let cool. Add red wine, cover and cook a few more minutes.
Serve sauce over noodles and sprinkle with cheese. Enjoy!

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Goat cheese pasta with lemon-garlic sugar snap peas

Well, the wedding is over. And I- being one of the honored yet exhausted members of the wedding party- have deemed the next six days a "recovery week." I truly believe that everyone in the wedding- groomsmen, bridesmaids, parents of the bride, etc- should all take a honeymoon. We all deserve at least a week of vacation after the wedding and events leading up to it.

It was a gorgeous affair. The weather held up (miraculously).

The couple was jubilant.

All attending were excited to be sharing in their joy.

Everything went perfectly.

But, I am spent.
This week is going to be all about resting. My kind of relaxing means sticking close to home and cooking.

I finally get to catch up with all the recipes I have been jotting down ideas for but never carrying out. This recipe is one of them.

I made the snap peas this way and then threw them in with pasta and some beans a couple weeks ago. The dish was unimpressive as a whole, but the snap peas were crunchy and flavorful. I decided they needed to be paired with something that would complement them, but not overpower. Aha: goat cheese! The result is delicious indeed, and very easy to throw together. Also, if you are like my husband and you don't understand how a meal is complete without meat, simply add a few pieces of grilled chicken.

Goat cheese pasta with lemon-garlic sugar snap peas
feeds two hungry people
1 1/2 tbsp butter
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 lb trimmed sugar snap peas
juice of 1 large lemon (plus lemon wedges for serving)
2 cups whole wheat pasta (I used rotini)
salt and pepper
about 3 oz goat cheese
Melt butter over medium-high heat in a large sauce pan. Add garlic. When garlic begins to brown, add snap peas. When they are beginning to brown, add lemon juice. Toss snap peas in lemon juice until coated and the juice is starting to evaporate, about 1 minute. Then reduce heat to low and cover.
Meanwhile, cook pasta according to directions. Drain pasta (reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid in case you need to add it to the pasta later) and add to snap peas. Add goat cheese and toss to coat as cheese melts. Squeeze in another 1/2 lemon juice and/or add cooking liquid to pasta until you achieve desired consistency. Season with a little salt and a lot of pepper.
Serve with lemon wedges. Enjoy.

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Pasta with chicken sausage, spinach, and asparagus

Today was the best kind of busy day: one filled with joyful family events. But when we finally arrived home in the evening and I heard the reoccurring five'o'clock question, "What's for dinner?", I had no answer. Oddly enough, this always excites me.

I enjoy the thrill (I guess I'm easily entertained) of throwing left over odds and ends together in an attempt to make a meal look like it was premeditated.

 


Today, I started with the asparagus that was trimmed and ready to be steamed. Then I realized we had chicken sausage that I needed to use. For the meals' starch, the go-to answer: pasta. There were left over kalamata olives from this recipe, and left over pinenuts from that recipe... and the rest just sort of happened. It's a simple dish, really, so throw it together anyway you want.

Pasta with chicken sausage, spinach, and asparagus
serves about 7 or 8
2 tsp olive oil
2 large chicken sausages
1/2 lb (or 8 oz, or a large handful) whole wheat spaghetti noddles
1 large piece shallot, minced (about 2 tbsp minced)
3 large handfuls spinach (about 3 cups)
1/2 lb asparagus, washed, trimmed, and steamed but still firm,* and then cut into about 1" pieces
salt and pepper
juice of 1 really large (or 2 small) lemon
1 cup pecorino romano cheese,** grated
1/2 cup toasted pinenuts
1/2 cup kalamata olives, sliced
Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large sauce pan. Add chicken sausages to pan. Cook the sausages a few minutes, turning them to brown the outside of the sausages. Remove them from the pan (but do not wipe pan) and slice into about 1/2" pieces. Return to pan with the shallots. Turn sausages every few minutes in order to brown both sides.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add noodles and cook until al dente.
When pasta is done, drain it and add it to the sauce pan with the sausages and shallots. Add spinach also and toss, scraping the bottom of the pan to allow noodles to soak up oil. The noodles should begin to brown slightly from the oil, and the spinach should begin to wilt from the heat of the noodles. Add asparagus. Season with a generous amount of salt and pepper, and squeeze lemons over the pasta. Toss to coat.
Each serving of pasta dish should be sprinkled with about 2 tbsp cheese and 1 tbsp each pinenuts and kalamata olives. Enjoy.
*if you do not already have a method for steaming asparagus, here is an easy one: place trimmed, washed asparagus into a microwave safe dish in one layer. Add about 3 tbsp of water. Microwave about 3 minutes, or until cooked but still firm (you don't want mush!)
**this is a really salty, delicious sheep's milk cheese; it can be substituted for parmesan or asiago

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Mediterranean inspired meatballs with orzo and roasted tomatoes

It is June. Officially. And it is pouring outside. A "flood warning" (meaning larger than normal puddles) has been in effect where I live for the last week. I am beginning to wonder, as every person in the Pacific Northwest does this time of year: will summer ever come? I mean, sure we had those sunny teaser days when we all think: "Here it is! Sunshine every day until October!" But then, the rain starts again.

This year, however, I am determined to embrace the never-ending gray sogginess outside my window. After all, I am a true Oregonian in every way, and come mid-September when we will have endured four of five straight weeks of nothing but sunshine (ugh), I will be getting a little irritable and whiny, as does every other native here, pining after days when we can pull the sweaters out of storage under the bed and make chili for dinner.

So, I have decided take advantage of the gloomy weather and look on the bright side (figuratively speaking, of course). Because clouds and rain mean that comfort food is still in season, and bathing suit season is not yet upon us. Hallelujah.

And so, this recipe is a nod to the absence of laying poolside in next to nothing. It is pasta and meatballs. Gray clouds? Bring 'em on!

Mediterranean inspired meatballs with orzo
serves somewhere around 4 or 5
3 tomatoes on the vine, sliced
cooking spray, a little olive oil, salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups orzo pasta
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup bread crumbs
3/4 cup parsley, chopped, and more for garnish
3/4 cup white onion, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
3/4 lb ground turkey
1 large lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup kalamata olives, sliced
Preheat the oven to 350. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray. Place tomatoes on the sheet in one layer. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 1 hour. Meanwhile, prepare pasta and meatballs.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add orzo and cook about 10 minutes, or until no longer chewy. Turn off heat, drain the pasta, then return it to the pot. Stir in 1 tbsp olive oil.
Combine bread crumbs, parsley,onion, and 1 tbsp olive oil in a food processor. Pulse to combine. Put this mixture in a large bowl. Add the egg, feta, and turkey. Zest the lemon and add the zest to the turkey mix. (then cut the lemon into wedges and serve the wedges with the dish) Combine the turkey mixture together with your hands. Form about 16 meatballs out of the mixture. Then heat 1 tbsp olive oil and the vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a small sauce pan. (I did mention that this was not a low-fat dish, right?) Carefully add the meatballs to the pan in three batches, about five meatballs per batch. Let brown on one side for about two minutes, then flip and let brown on the other side for two more minutes. Then cover the pan and let the meatballs cook about eight minutes. Transfer to a dish and repeat with the next two batches.
Serve meatballs over the pasta, topped with kalamata olives, roasted tomatoes, and lemon wedges to squeeze over the pasta. Enjoy.

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Chicken, blue cheese, and rosemary ravioli with balsamic vinegar and pinenuts

In the last ten months, since James was born, I have learned a lot about human curiosity. For the first few months of his life, it was simply: "Who are these people?... Where am I?... What is everything around me?" Now, it is becoming a little more complex: "What happens if I turn on the sink, then sit in it?... Can I stand up by myself and pull my diapers out of the drawer?... What does a lemon taste like?"

James' questioning nature is exhausting. I have to constantly anticipate what he will try to do next ("I wonder if I could pull myself up with one hand, and try to grab Mommy's mug of hot coffee with the other?")
But, I realize that this is the way he will grow and develop.

 

And, of course, I will relate this lesson to cooking. Where would the culinary arts be, after all, if mankind was not inquisitive by nature? If no one had ever asked: "What if I beat egg whites continuously until they could stand on their own, then gently fold them in with their yolks and bake the whole kaboodle?" the souffle as we know it would not exist. I could get really carried away with this metaphor, but, in the interest of saving time and just getting to the recipe already, I will just say that it was in the spirit of curiosity that I developed this dish.

 

I had the most beautiful wedge of smoky blue cheese and I couldn't figure out what to do with it, but I knew it had to be something fabulous and unusual. Pasta always seems to be the answer, so I decided on ravioli. The quickly browning rosemary in the fridge furthered my inspiration. I wanted a little extra texture for the ravioli filling without adding any more strong flavors, thus the chicken. 

The tastes were already complex and rich, so a sauce would have been too much. Vinegar seemed the perfect option, and pinenuts for some crunch. Voila: chicken, blue cheese, and rosemary ravioli with balsamic vinegar and pinenuts was created. Whew. 

Chicken, blue cheese, and rosemary ravioli with balsamic vinegar and pinenuts

Makes about 16 raviolis
Chicken (you could also use leftover chicken that you already have)
1 skinless boneless breast
salt and pepper
2 tsp olive oil
Rinse the chicken breast and pat dry with paper towel. Sprinkle pinch of salt (4 turns on salt mill) and pinch of pepper (about 5 or 6 turns on pepper mill) on each side of breast. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan. Cook three minutes on each side (make sure browning occurs on each side), then turn heat down to medium and cover, cooking about 20-25 more minutes, or until a meat thermometer shows middle reaching 165. Remove the chicken from the pan, and shred/chop it into small pieces for the filling. Using a spatula, add the pan drippings to the ravioli filling.
(I cooked two chicken breasts and used about 1 tbsp oil. I saved the other chicken breast and will use it for something else. This gave me more oil and drippings to use for the filling, so I recommend it.)
Filling
1 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 1/2 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary (plus sprigs for garnish)
1 cup shredded/chopped chicken
drippings from chicken recipe
32 wonton wrappers
balsamic viegar and pinenuts, for serving
In a bowl, smash the cheese, rosemary, chicken, and chicken drippings together with the back of a fork.
On a dry surface, lay out 16 wonton wrappers. Scoop about one tbsp of the cheese mixture onto the middle of each wrapper. Wet the edges of each wrapper and place another wrapper on top, pressing edges together with your fingers. Try to avoid getting air bubbles in with the filling.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drop in about four ravioli at a time so that they won't stick to one another while cooking. Let cook about two minutes each, allowing them to rise to the surface of the water. Remove with a slotted spoon.
Serve the ravioli with vinegar for drizzling and pinenuts. Garnish plates with rosemary sprigs. (I served the ravioli with red wine and big piles of steamed asparagus, which I highly recommend.) Enjoy.

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