About jacky grace

I grew up in an Italian house with big meals, big flavors and big voices. My husband comes from an even bigger Greek and Armenian house with even bigger food and voices. Here in our tiny city kitchen, we adapt our family recipes for our small space without sacrificing any of the flavors, traditions or love.

BLT Salad

Posted on January 6, 2014 by jacky grace

My fiance just got his wisdom teeth out.

Which means he’s on the applesauce and mashed potato diet.

I feel horrible. But, at the same time, I’m hungry. And I can chew. So mashed potatoes and applesauce are just not going to cut it for me.

But I also don’t really feel like cooking just for me. When I lived alone I never really cooked, not because I couldn’t cook, but because it seemed like such a lot of work to make a meal just for myself.

But from that time alone, I’ve come up with some satisfying meals that involve just the smallest amount of cooking. This is one of them.

I love big salads for dinner. But sometimes you need a little meat tossed in there to make it really feel like a meal. Usually I go the route of the prosciutto salad dressing, but I was in the mood for something with a little more to it.

I liked the idea of prosciutto, but I wanted something a little smokier, something more like bacon.

And so, a BLT salad.

I love BLTs, but sometimes you just aren’t in the mood for a sandwich. Don’t brush aside the meal, but instead think about deconstructing it and assembling it in a bowl.

For this salad you will need:

Bacon
Lettuce
Tomato
Avocado
(and any other bits you like added to your BLT)

For the dressing, I’m making a champagne vinaigrette. But again, use whatever you like.

My dressing is a tablespoon of good, spicy mustard, a tablespoon of champagne vinegar, two tablespoons of olive oil and some freshly ground black pepper, tossed in a mason jar, then shaken (lid on) to combine.

From there it’s just a matter of slicing up your veggies and your bacon

Tossing in a bowl and topping with dressing.

I’m aware it’s slightly mean to make bacon and fill the apartment with the intoxicating aroma when your other half can’t eat, but I’ve made promises to make him all of his favorites as soon as he’s better.

That makes it okay.

Right?

I’m Tellin Helen You ate the Cinnamon Rolls!

Posted on January 3, 2014 by jacky grace

The Irish Coffee was a good way to kick off the snow day.

But this winter storm calls for something even better.

Grandma Helen’s Cinnamon Rolls.

I may have told you about my grandma Helen before, so if I have, I apologize. But she was such a great woman that she deserves a repeat story.

My dad is one of 6 kids – 2 girls and 4 boys. And there is a wide age range between with the first 3 being born about a year apart from one another and then the fourth following after about 8 years. Which means that when my parents were dating at 17, my dad’s youngest brother was 7.

My grandmother had no dishwasher. And no driver’s license.

But she cooked and baked. A lot.

When she passed away and we held her wake, the funeral home was filled to the max with kids from the neighborhood who used to come over for dinner or snacks or family parties. She basically fed the whole neighborhood at some point. Pies, stews, spitzad, pepperoni and string beans, and a whole list of things. Thursday night spaghetti night would find my aunt’ college friends piled into the kitchen.

But Monday night. Monday night football to be exact, was about cinnamon rolls.

I’m not going to lie, I’ve been intimidated by this recipe for some time. Yeast. Letting dough rise. Making a caramel sauce?

Yikes!

But it actually isn’t that bad. And it is totally worth the wait.

Before I get started, a note on the name. My dad and his siblings used to say to each other “I’m tellin’ Helen!” whenever one or the other did something bad. Eating these cinnamon rolls is not in any way a bad thing. But eating them all and not saving any for a family member is definitely a bad thing!

So be sure to share.

Or I’m telling Helen you hate the cinnamon rolls.

For this recipe you will need:

1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup margarine, room temperature
1/2 cup scalded milk
1 package dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
3 and 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 egg, room temperature
extra margarine for greasing the dough
2 tablespoons melted butter for brushing the dough
cinnamon
brown sugar

For the glaze:

1 cup brown sugar
6 tablespoons margarine
4 tablespoons hot water

Okay. To get started combine sugar, salt, margarine and scalded milk in a large bowl.

Scalded milk is milk heated to just before boiling.

It will look something like this – bubbles at the edges and a slight skin on the top.

Dissolve the yeast in a half cup of warm water

When the yeast mix is lukewarm, add it, half the flour and the egg to the sugar, margarine and milk mixture.

Continue to stir and incorporate the flour until all of it has been added.

Turn the dough ball out onto a floured surface and knead for a few minutes.

Grease the dough ball with margarine, then place back in the bowl, covered with a towel in a warm place.

Let the dough rest and rise for 1 and a half hours.

It will double in size.

Then, punch the dough down, cover and let sit for another 15 minutes. It will rise a bit again.

Now we are ready to get rolling! Preheat the oven to 350.

Flour your work surface. The Itty Bitty kitchen does not have enough counter space to roll out dough, so we use our table.

Roll out the dough into a rough rectangle. We’re going to roll it up like a jelly roll so you want it to be fairly thin.

Brush the dough with melted butter and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Be generous.

Starting at one ed, carefully roll it up.

Leave the dough to sit for a minute while we make the glaze.

In a sauce pan, heat one cup of brown sugar and four tablespoons of hot water, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.

Add 6 tablespoons of margarine and stir until melted.

Pour this sauce into the bottom of a greased 9×13 baking tray.

Stay with me on this one.

Slice the cinnamon roll log up – I got 16 rolls out of this dough – and place the slice rolls in the tray on top of the sauce.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. The rolls will absorb the glaze and will puff up.

Let them sit for about 5 minutes so the glaze sets up on the rolls.

Flip.

Marvel at the ooey-gooey cinnamon deliciousness.

Stormchaser – Irish Coffee

Posted on January 3, 2014 by jacky grace

Well, the city got hit by winter storm Hercules.

It’s cold.

It’s windy.

And the streets are a big slushy mess.

It’s the perfect day for Irish coffee!

Irish coffee is one of those drinks that bars and restaurants will charge you a ridiculous amount for. You will be walking around, cold and tired, and you will see a warm and snug Irish pub, beckoning to you with freshly brewed coffee and a shot of whiskey.

Well, guess what? That’s all it is, so man up. Buy a bottle of Jameson and brew up some coffee.

Jameson

Milk

Coffee

Whipped Cream

Cinnamon

Slainte!

Eggs in Purgatory

Posted on January 2, 2014 by jacky grace

If you’re reading this from the Northeast, then you’re getting ready for the foot of snow they say is coming our way.

You’re probably trying to run to the grocery store, braving the long lines, and fighting off angry moms for the last loaf of bread and carton of milk.

But, I bet you have the ingredients in your house already to make a warming, cozy and filling dinner.

Eggs in Purgatory, or Uova in Pugatorio in Italian, is a little dish I stumbled on in the Sopranos Family Cookbook. It’s insanely simple. Insanely delicious. And perfect for a snowy night because 1. it’s spicy and warm and 2. you probably have everything on hand.

You will need:

Marinara sauce (jarred or homemade)
eggs (figure 2 per person)
Red pepper flakes
Parmesan cheese
Crusty bread (optional. Don’t risk a run-in with a soccer mom before the storm)

To start, heat marinara sauce in a large skillet over medium heat. If you want to make a quick marinara from scratch, dice half a white onion, 2 cloves of garlic and sautee in olive oil until the onions are translucent. Then pour in a can of diced tomatoes and cook. But again, jarred stuff works great for this.

Crack the first egg in a small bowl. Using a wooden spoon, move the sauce aside to make a little bed for the egg. Gently pour the egg into the indent.

Continue to add eggs until you have enough for everyone.

Let the eggs simmer in the sauce for about 5 minutes. You are essentially poaching the eggs, but in marinara instead of water. Which is way better. When the eggs are cooked (see how the whites form around the yolk) it’s time to turn this into purgatory.

Give the eggs a healthy pinch of red pepper flakes.

Spoon out the eggs onto plates and top with marinara sauce and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.

This is a great dish to whip up when you want a light dinner or when you have bare cupboards and no desire to go outside.

Meme’s Manti

Posted on January 1, 2014 by jacky grace

When pepe and meme were first married, pepe woke up in the middle of the night with a craving. He didn’t know the name of the dish, so instead, in the wee hours of the morning, he described the dish to his (very patient, might I add) wife. Instead of being totally annoyed with him for waking her up, she surprised him the next day with the dish that woke up from his dreams. Manti.

Manti is an Armenian dumpling, almost like an Armenian tortellini stuffed with meat instead of cheese.

The basic recipe is ground lamb, onions, garlic and some Armenian spices, all mixed up and stuffed inside of pasta dough. It’s then boiled and served with a garlic yogurt sauce and mint in melted butter.

But that’s the basic recipe.

This is meme’s recipe.

And meme’s recipe involves frying the dumplings before boiling them.

That’s right, we’re going to mix the meat, make some pasta dough, roll little dumplings, fry them all, then boil them.

You ready?

I suggest doing this when it’s snowing or raining out and there’s a good football game on TV. You’re going to be here for a while.

For the filling you will need:

1 pound ground lamb
1 pound ground sirloin
blob of crushed garlic
bunch of parsley
2 finely chopped onions
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon coriander
1 tablespoon halebi biber (For more on this check out the comments on this post)

For the dough, use your favorite pasta dough recipe, or wonton wrappers if you want to cheat a little.

For the sauces for serving you will need:

Greek yogurt
Chopped Garlic
Mint
Butter

Are you ready?

Are you sure?

Okay. Let’s go.

Start by pulsing the onions and parsley in the food processor. Then place the mix in a strainer and press to remove the liquid.

Place the drained parsley and onions in the bottom of a large mixing bowl.

To the onions and parsley, add the crushed garlic (a blob is about 2 large cloves), salt, halebi biber and coriander.

Last, add the lamb and sirloin and mix until completely combined.

Set the mixture aside and roll out your pasta dough.

Trim the edges so you have a rough rectangle.

Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into one inch squares and drop about a teaspoon of the meat mixture into the center of each square.

Pick up a square, dip your finger in a bowl of water, and run along the edges.

Fold so the corners meet and the square is now a triangle. Be sure to press and seal the edges.

Fold the top point of the triangle in and over the meat mix, so they almost look like tortellinis. Repeat until all the meat is used up.

Now, take a break. Trust me. Get a drink or a snack.

Okay, ready for the next part?

Fill a heavy-bottomed pot with enough vegetable oil for the manti to be almost submerged. Turn the heat to medium, and start frying the manti.

They take about 2-3 minutes on each side. Flip using tongs.

Then, place them on a paper towel-lined plate to drain slightly.

Then put them in tupperware to store.

Or, if you’d like to eat them right away, place the desired amount of manti (less than you think per person as these are very heavy) in a pot and cover with chicken broth. Bring to a simmer. Not a boil. Just a simmer. The manti will absorb some of the broth and soften.

Finally, top the manti with a garlic yogurt sauce (just some chopped garlic stirred into Greek yogurt) and, if you want to be very traditional, some melted butter with torn mint leaves tossed in. We left that out, opting for just yogurt instead.

And there you have it. Manti.

This is not a fast and easy dish to make, but it is delicious. And if you make a large batch, you freeze the rest and have some Armenian dumplings ready to go.

You know, in case you have a late night craving like pepe.

New Year’s Eve Vegetable Lo Mein

Posted on December 31, 2013 by jacky grace

Did you know that eating noodles is good luck for the new year?

I was googling around for some New Year’s eve dinner inspiration and I came across this article on Woman’s Day about the good luck foods for the New Year.

In China, Japan and other Asian countries, it’s customary to eat long noodles, which signify longevity, on New Year’s Day. Since the noodles are never to be broken or shortened during the cooking process, the typical preparation for “Long-Life Noodles” is a stir-fry.

Well, I’ll drink to longevity! You can choose any combination of vegetables you like. You can add some pork or some chicken if you want to make this a meaty dish. Also, in some countries, pork is a luck New Year’s food as the pig symbolizes progress.

But as I always say, the beauty of cooking is the ability to adjust to your specific tastes. So have fun with it. Just don’t break the noodles!

So here’s my New Year’s Eve, Long-Life Vegetable Lo Mein.

You will need

2 tablespoons chopped ginger
2 chopped garlic cloves
3 chopped scallions
white button mushrooms, sliced
snow peas
shredded cabbage (I like the coleslaw mix because it has cabbage and carrots all shredded and ready to go)
vegetable oil
soy sauce
stir fry sauce or teriyaki
noodles ( I used Japanese somen noodles which are wheat noodles that cook in like 2 minutes)

To get started, bring a pot of water to a boil. Then, in a large skillet, drizzle olive oil and add the ginger and garlic. Sautee for a few minutes.

Next, add the mushrooms and cook until they are browned.

Add a little water, maybe 1/8 of a cup, to the bottom of the pain. Then add in the snow peas. The water will help you scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pain and will steam the snow peas so they stay nice and crunchy.

After about 3-5 minutes, toss in a few handfuls of the shredded cabbage.

Add a few dashes of soy sauce and two tablespoons of teriyaki or stir fry sauce.

Add the noodles to the boiling water and let them cook while the cabbage wilts into the mix. When the noodles are done, drain and toss them into the skillet, stirring to coat them in the sauce. Top with scallions.

Serve up heaping bowls and toast to a new year!

Christmas Cookies

Posted on December 30, 2013 by jacky grace

My coworkers and I do a Secret Santa every year.

I should note that half of my coworkers are in London, so this is not just any Secret Santa. oh no. This is a transatlantic Secret Santa!

My lovely boss pulled my name, and, knowing my love of baking, got me this custom stamp and cute tags so I can package all the Christmas cookies I baked.

And when I say all the Christmas cookies, I meant ALL caps, lots of cookies, like 10 dozen cookies.

That all got wrapped in parchment and placed in Christmas tins.

The sealed up tight

And tagged, with love

From the Itty Bitty City Kitchen!

Christmas!

Posted on December 30, 2013 by jacky grace

I know this is a few days late. But I hope you will cut me some slack. I wrapped, I cooked, I cleaned, and then Iumped around.

That’s right. I cooked!

Christmas dinner came out of the Itty Bitty City Kitchen this year!

And there was no skimping on the food just because it’s a small space, oh no! It’s Christmas! There needs to be an overabundance of food. I mean, I’m Italian. And my fiance is Greek and Armenian. It’s all about the food on both sides.

So I have to admit, I was a little nervous to cook the big holiday dinner. I mean, you get one Christmas dinner a year. Talk about pressure!

And I knew this year would be a little harder without meme here with us. So instead of worrying and stressing, I took a deep breath and decided to do Christmas my way. I talked to meme about it first. She told me not to worry and to do it my way.

Seriously.

I tend to talk to her when I’m in the kitchen. Cooking was a passion we both shared. That and our love for family, especially for Christopher. My god, I’ve never seen a grandmother love her grandsons so fiercely.

But anyway. The food. We decided to do a combination of Greek and Armenian mezze and Italian antipasto, a fusion of our families.

It started with meme’s hummus. That is the only hummus recipe you will ever need.

Then we added pita, olives, salami, prosciutto, and basturma (a seasoned and cured meat)

The we brought out the brie (the Armenian side of the family went to France after the genocide so there’s a mix of French and Armenian there), mozzarella, provolone, kasseri (a Greek sheep’s milk cheese) and Armenian String Cheese (no, I did not make that up)

We left this array of munchies out and everyone picked at it while we relaxed, drank some wine and, of course, opened presents!

After gifts were exchanged and thank yous were said, I got started on dinner.

I actually started dinner a few days prior by making a big pot of meatballs and gravy. I just doubled my usual recipe. I also fried up some sweet Italian sausage and added that to the pot of gravy as well.

I stored it in the fridge for three days, so the flavors could, okay dad’s word all together now, fester. Then on Christmas morning I pulled out the pot and pot it over a low flame, stirring occasionally, and filling the whole apartment with that awesome smell of meatballs and gravy.

To accompany the meatballs, I went with stuffed shells. They don’t require boiling. You throw some gravy on them and throw them in the oven, so you’re not standing at the stove and then draining pasta and dirtying another pot like you would if you were making raviolis say.

Instead, preheat the oven to 350 (or follow the directions on your package), pull out an aluminum baking tray, and layer gravy, shells and then more gravy in the pan. Top with mozzarella (because we didn’t eat enough cheese) and bake for about 45 minutes.

The cheese will get bubbly and melty.

And despite the amount of mezze/antipasto consumed, everyone will find room for a meatball or 2 or 3 and a few shells.

And as if that wasn’t enough, for dessert we had fruit salad, chocolate chips and Dad’s Favorite – the Cheesecake Thing

So, don’t be intimidated. Cook what you love. Cook what makes you happy.

And you can have an Itty Bitty City Kitchen Christmas too!

Buon Natale

Kalá Christoúgenna

Shnorhavor Surb Tsnund

Joyeux Noël

Eat Like a Kid – Chicken Fingers and Green Bean Fries

Posted on December 24, 2013 by jacky grace

Santa is on his way.

There’s something about Christmas and the spirit of Santa, and yea, the presents, that can make even the most mature adult into a 4 year-old in footie pajamas.

So, feeling like a kid, we decided to eat like kids.

With chicken fingers! I really wanted the dino shaped ones, but the store was out of them. So we made do with regular old nuggs and then made some awesomely kid-like sides – green bean fries and sweet potato fries! That’s right – two kinds of fries. But they’re made from healthy vegetables and baked so this is a good for you dinner.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Lay out green beans (fresh or thaw some frozen ones) on a foil-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and black pepper and bake for about 15 minutes.

Check out my recipe for the sweet potato fries here.

Get those jammies on and put the utensils away. This is a finger food, waiting for Santa, watching Christmas Story kind of night,

Christmas Quiche

Posted on December 23, 2013 by jacky grace

With Christmas only a few days away, dinners need to be fast, easy and light.

Whenever that’s the order of the day, I turn to quiche. Quiche doesn’t sound light, but if you take away the crust, you’re left with fresh veggies and eggs, both of which are good for you things that will keep you going during your marathon present wrapping session!

I know that the crust is the best part of most things. But with the amount of pies and cookies that we’re all going to consume in a few days, I think it’s okay to lose it for this dish.

You can use any vegetables you like in this. I’m going with spinach, tomatoes and some feta cheese for a bit of a Greek twist. Let me know the combos you come up with.

The basic quiche mix will be the same.

You will need 4 eggs and a few tablespoons of heavy cream. Okay I’m being a little naughty. You can use skim milk if you want to be totally virtuous.

Also, I bake my quiche in a lightly buttered pie dish. It makes for easy serving, easy clean up, and it looks really pretty. I usually don’t care about presentation, but with the holidays coming up, I send that to you as a little piece of advice in case you wind up with unexpected overnight guests. Baked eggs in a pie dish = elegant breakfast!

Okay, for my spinach, feta and tomato quiche, I started by preheating the oven to 400.

Drizzle some olive oil in a skillet and add heaping handfuls of baby spinach.

When the spinach starts to wilt a bit, add a few diced tomatoes (The other wonderful thing about quiche is that there’s no measuring necessary. Chop up leftover veggies, throw ’em in and you are good to go).

When the spinach and tomatoes are cooked, pour the mixture into the bottom of your greased pie plate.

You’ll notice I didn’t season these. I’m going to crumble feta over the veggies, so I don’t want to add extra salt.

And I season my eggs with pepper (I forgot to take a picture after adding pepper. Imagine little black specks floating amidst the cream and egg yolks!)

Beat the eggs and cream and pour over the veggies.

Bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until the eggs are set.

This is great to bake the night before then warm up for a grab and go breakfast, too.

And look. It’s red and green. That’s a very festive quiche, if I do say so myself.

Itty Bitty City Kitchen

tiny kitchen, BIG CULINARY ASPIRATIONS

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