Tarta. Tomate + Queso de Cabra When I decided to host a casual yet elegant weekend brunch for my book club, I knew immediately that the main dish would be a quiche. For me, quiche is the ultimate special brunch treat, combining flaky, buttery crust with a rich yet light egg custard studded with flavorful mix-ins — in this case, sweet roasted cherry tomatoes, fragrant basil and tangy bits of goat cheese. And while it seems like a lot of work, most of the prep can be done ahead of time, leaving you with plenty of time to get dressed and relax on the morning of the party. If pie dough or custards scare you, fear not. Quiches aren't particularly difficult to make from scratch, just time-consuming, but if you break up the steps over the week leading up to the party, they are quite manageable. How To Make a Quiche in 15 Minutes a Day for 4 Days Day 1: Make pie dough. Obviously, if you have more time on any one of those days, you can combine steps. Roasted Tomato and Goat Cheese Quiche Adapted from Apples & Onions, Serves 6-8
Tomato Basil Pizza The other day, I was looking at the overload of tomatoes that I bought as the season was winding down as the end of summer nears. But I realized that I was being gradually shoved out of my small kitchen by them, so I oven-roasted the louts with garlic and herbs to reclaim a few precious inches back of kitchen counter space. Yet when they were finished, I looked in my refrigerator, and there wasn’t any room in there either. So I was left holding a bowl of roasted tomatoes that needed to get used up. Coincidentally, I also had a round of yeasted dough in my refrigerator from a batch of recipe testing that hadn’t found its meaning as something else yet—as experimental leftovers are want to do. I’ve oven-roasted plenty of tomatoes in my lifetime, especially when I need to pull and extract as much flavor as I can from less-than-exemplary specimens. Basically, you just take some tomatoes, toss them in a splash of olive oil, some herbs, and sliced up garlic. (I know, I know. Chewswise Pesto
Principal. Pescado + Panzanella When I embarked on my trip to Greece last week, I knew I'd be documenting the heck out of it, and when I landed in Athens, the first thing I did was order a Greek salad, take notes, and snap it with my iPhone. It was beautiful: ripe red tomatoes from Crete, substantial chunks of feta cheese, perfectly sweet raw purple onions, and lots of fragrant olive oil and dried oregano. Seemed familiar, and yet I relished in the experience of consuming these simple ingredients on foreign soil. Of course it's better there, I thought to myself. "I'll document all of the Greek salads I eat!" Aglaia told me that what we call a "Greek Salad" is made up for tourists. Paximadi (plural ‘paximadia’) is a barley rusk; an exclusively Greek twice-baked, molar-crushing biscuit, which was for centuries the staple snack for islanders and sailors in the parts of Greece where wheat was difficult to grow and wood for firing the oven was scarse. Paximadi Bread Salad with Tomatoes, Feta and Capers Serves 6 to 8
Three Cheese-Stuffed Shells with Meaty Tomato Sauce This is yummy. This is simple. This was dinner last night. The kids loved it. Marlboro Man loved it. Everyone loves stuffed pasta shells—even people who don’t think they like stuffed pasta shells. Pasta shells will triumph! Sorry. Dice up an onion. Some garlic, too. Then heat up some oil in a large skillet. It’s getting cold here, by the way! Translation: I’ve never been happier in my life. Throw in the onion and garlic… Then throw in the Italian sausage. You could use regular breakfast sausage. Or hamburger. Or a mixture of both. Stir it around and crumble it while it browns. When it’s nice and brown, pour in some red wine. Let the liquid bubble and cook for a couple of minutes… Then pour in the crushed tomatoes. (You can also just use plain tomato sauce.) Stir it around, add salt, pepper, and sugar. While the sauce is cooking, throw jumbo pasta shells in boiling water. Throw the ricotta into a large bowl… Then throw in the egg. Throw in a bunch of freshly grated Parmesan. And some grated Romano. Sorry.
Pasta.Gnocchi Summer nights call out for easy food that is also fresh and vibrant, abundant with tomatoes, herbs, and other garden booty. This skillet is the dish I make when I want a 15-minute meal with just a handful of ingredients, but one that tastes like summer in the mouth. Gnocchi, blistered cherry tomatoes, chicken sausage, and a handful of basil — look, I've told you the whole ingredient list already. I am such a fan of gnocchi in the summertime. And while you can certainly make your own gnocchi, store-bought works just fine here. For sausage, use whatever you like. Last but not least, I finish this with basil, not cheese. Gnocchi Skillet with Chicken Sausage & Tomatoes Serves 4 1 pound gnocchi Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 9 ounces (about 3 links) cooked chicken sausage, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick coins 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise 1 to 2 ounces fresh basil, julienned (1/2 to 1 cup loosely packed) Recipe Notes Cholesterol 61.2 mg (20.4%)
Pasta with Pesto Cream Sauce I finally have basil in my garden. Basil I can use. This is a huge development. I had no basil during the winter. None. Growing anything outdoors in northeastern Oklahoma from October through March is not possible, and I wasn’t organized enough to start indoor plants for my kitchen windowsill. Do you know how difficult it is for me to live without basil for extended periods of time? Here’s what I made myself for dinner last night. I’m still crying, actually. Basil! Too bad. Egg McMuffin. Name that movie. Throw the basil into a food processor or blender. Grate up some Parmesan… And throw it in, too. Then grab some pine nuts… And throw some in. I fall into none of those three categories. Now grab some garlic. Peel the garlic and throw it in with the other beauties. And finally, sprinkle in some salt and pepper. Throw on the lid, turn on the machine, and drizzle in some olive oil as it mixes. Stop when it’s all combined. Boil some pasta. In a small saucepan, heat up some heavy cream… Garsh. Goodness.
Principal. Cangrejo There have been many picnics this summer. Some planned, some completely spontaneous. Some pretty, some messy, but all of them with great company. The thing I like about picnics isn’t necessarily the food. Yes, that’s the ultimate incentive and satisfier, but getting together with friends and children on a sunny summer’s day somehow makes summer actually feel like such. This past weekend, I hosted a 3-day food styling and photography workshop in Seattle partnering with Angela Ritchie of Ace Camps. I found beautiful already-cooked crab at Pike Place Market and brought them to the beach for our picnic. I could have a picnic every single day of summer. The beach picnic essentials checklist: Charcuterie Olives Cheese Bread Anchovies Pink lemonade Grilled fennel and lemons Roasted carrots with paprika Cooked whole crab (you can ask your fishmonger to clean the guts if you wish) Corn and fennel chowder (recipe follows) Don’t forget a wide beach blanket, dishes and flatware! serves 6
Fresh Sriracha (aka, home made 'Rooster') recipe on Food52.com Author Notes: Another Thai-centric sauce is the ubiquitous Sriracha, affectionately dubbed ‘Rooster’. Apparently, it’s not just for Thais anymore, as I have heard that is in just about every kitchen (from the Asians to Falafel stands and even in many fine dining establishments). I don’t have to go to Asian markets to pick up a bottle--Wal-Mart in Kennesaw, GA even carries it (I was on location last year and found it there!). It’s so popular that The New York Times has written about it and the ‘Rooster’ has a Facebook page with over 220,000 fans. Don’t get me wrong--I love my Rooster and for the cost, why make it from scratch? I guess I’m just into testing out flavors and how they blend together--just curious, with some late summer time on my hands and gorgeous peppers available in my garden and at the farmers market. Food52 Review: Warning: once you make edamame2003's version, you may never be able to go back to commercial sriracha again. Serves 1 1/2 cups Tags: savory
Pasta. Camarones + Salsa de Vino Blanco I dare you not to twirl your fork into this simple summer pasta dish! Once your pasta pot is at a rolling boil, you’re about 10 minutes away from noodly bliss. A generous serving of succulent shrimp and linguini are tossed with a super quick tomato cream sauce — one that's fragrant with aromatic garlic, shallots, and white wine. Shrimp pasta feels like such a treat, maybe because I don’t often think to make it, or maybe because seafood dinners are a bit of an extravagance. Whether you’ve planned ahead and defrosted your shrimp or just pulled them out of the deep freeze, you can pull this together on a weeknight, for sure. You can also use either pre-cooked or raw shrimp — go ahead and pick up whatever variety you’re able to find in the size you prefer. If you’re using raw shrimp, let them simmer in the sauce until they’re mostly pink — a final addition of piping hot pasta will help them cook all the way through. Shrimp Pasta with White Wine Sauce Serves 4 Recipe Note Cholesterol Sodium
Broccoli and Orzo A simple side dish which combines orzo, a rice shaped pasta with fresh broccoli, garlic and oil. A perfect side for fish or chicken or enjoy it as a main meal. This was one from the archives that was ((gasp)) missing a photo. As soon as I realized this I whipped this up real quick and updated this post. I love orzo as a side dish because it's quick and incorporates my vegetables and carbohydrates all into one easy dish. Broccoli and Orzo Skinnytaste.com Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 3/4 cup • Old Points: 3 pts • Points+: 5 ptsCalories: 174.1 • Fat: 4.3 • Carbs: 30.2 • Fiber: 3.8 • Protein: 6.0 Ingredients: 4.5 oz uncooked orzo pasta2 cups of fresh broccoli florets only (no stems)4 cloves garlic, smashed and finely chopped3 tsp extra virgin olive oilsalt and fresh pepper to taste Directions: Trim stems off broccoli, cut into small pieces and season with salt. Meanwhile, cook pasta in medium pot of salted water as directed for al dente. Makes 3 cups.
Principal. Conejo braseado Receta: Conejo braseado en Torrontés con puré de zanahoria y tomillo Escrito por Fondo de Olla el Miércoles, agosto 13, 2014 · Deja tu comentario Los platos elaborados con conejo son una fija en Cafayate. Por lo general, los restaurantes locales ofrecen preparaciones sencillas. Pero dada la calidad del producto, el chef Javier Godoy, del Restaurante Muse (Hotel Grace), nos acerca una receta de autor. (Para 2 personas) Ingredientes: Conejo 1 Vino Torrontés 750 cc Hierbas frescas c/n Apio 1 Cebolla 2 Limones 2 Pimiento rojo 1 Pimiento verde 1 Zanahorias 4 Manteca 100 gramos Tomillo c/n Ajo 1 Zucchini 1 Tomate 1 Calabaza 200 gramos Berenjena 1 Preparación: Trozar el conejo separando los cuartos traseros y delanteros, y deshuesar el lomo.
french onion soup I’m firmly of the belief that no matter what ails you in the realm of the kitchen, onion soup can cure it. Never cooked before? Don’t think you’ll be able to pull off the kind of cooking you believe you need to go to a restaurant to experience? Start with onion soup. Have only $5 to spend on dinner? I realize it was unfair to even make a passing reference to weepingly delicious onion soup the other day without refreshing it here. One year ago: New York Cheesecake and ShakshukaTwo years ago: Artichoke Olive Crostini and Chocolate Caramel Crack(ers)Three years ago: Spring Panzanella and Lemon Yogurt Anything CakeFour years ago: Artichoke, Cranberry Bean and Arugula Salad and Arborio Rice Pudding Onion Soup [Soupe à l’Oignon] Adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking Melt the butter and oil together in the bottom of a 4- to 5-quart saucepan or Dutch oven over moderately low heat. After 15 minutes, uncover the pot, raise the heat slightly and stir in the salt and sugar.
Principal.Arroz + dressings When it comes to lunch, I have competing desires. On the one hand, I want a predictable and easy meal I can grab without diverting much attention from my work. But I also don't want to eat the same thing day after day. Meet my answer: the modular one-bowl lunch with mix-and-match toppings, including a smoky, nutty romesco that is quite literally the secret sauce to this meal. I love this stuff so much I call it my happy sauce. I became especially enamored of the one-bowl meal last year when I did some recipe development for Vegetarian Times. Now, sauces don't usually make it into my dinner routine, unless we're talking straight-up marinara and meatballs. That assignment turned out some of my personal favorite meals, and I've gone back to them many times since. Get some of the recipes at Vegetarian Times Not all of my one-bowl meals made it online, but here are two that did. But my favorite takeaway from that assignment was romesco. Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Baked Lemon Pasta I love simple dishes like this. They remind me of my single vegetarian days in L.A. when I’d often come home from work and find a total of three grocery items in my kitchen. This is in contrast to the 9.446 grocery items in my kitchen now—everything from bacon grease to a freezer full of beef, but we won’t go there today. Lemon is an unlikely flavoring for pasta, but oh…is it ever refreshing and good, especially in the spring and summer. There’s something about this baked version, though, that I just love. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it. This recipe may be doubled, tripled, or octupled—it’s totally easy. The Cast of Characters: Spaghetti, lemons, garlic, butter, sour cream, olive oil, salt, Parmesan cheese, and parsley. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Start by grating the zest from one lemon. If you don’t have a microplane zester, please remedy that situation immediately. In a skillet, melt the butter over low heat. Add an equal amount of olive oil. And mince it very finely. Oh, yum.