Red Wine Mushroom Ragu

Posted on August 30, 2013 by jacky grace

It’s been a long week. I don’t know why. It hasn’t been particularly busy or stressful, but it just felt never ending.

Maybe it’s the anticipation of hanging with family over the Labor Day Weekend.

Whatever the case, we needed a comforting meal.

When I think comfort food, I always first think pasta. I’m Italian. I can’t help it.

The second thought is usually some kind o warm and earthy sauce.

In this case, it’s a chunky red wine and mushroom ragu.

You will need one pound of mushrooms (I’m using baby portabella, shiitake and oyster mushrooms) olive oil, black pepper, red wine and parmesan cheese.

Give the mushrooms a rough chop and toss them in a large skillet with some olive oil. Let them brown and cook down and then add a few grinds of black pepper.

Pour in about a half cup of red wine. If you wouldn’t drink it, then don’t use it is the general rule for cooking with wine. You want a nice red that can stand up to the mushroom flavor.

Let the wine reduce. Then top your pasta. Add some parmesan cheese. I used penne because it’s what we had. Any kind would do. Though I suggest staying away from angel hair as it’s a bit flimsy for these hearty flavors.

Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

Posted on August 9, 2013 by jacky grace

If you ask my dad, he’ll tell you that pasta should come one way – topped with gravy and a meatball.

He doesn’t go for vegetables or shrimp or cream sauces. Gravy. End of story.

Thankfully, my fiance is less picky than my dad.

This is one of our favorite gravy alternatives for pasta.

Roasted butternut squash pureed into a rich and creamy pasta topper.

You will need a medium squash, two cloves of garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. You can also add some heavy cream for some richness and creaminess.

Preheat the oven to 400.

Cut the squash in half lengthwise.

Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds.

Drizzle olive oil over the cut side and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Place the squash, cut side down, on a foil-lined baking sheet.

Roast the squash until it is tender, about thirty minutes or so. Flip the squash over and roast for an additional ten minutes, cut side up.

Really important. Let the squash cool completely! This is not the time to be a hero. It’s hot. Really hot.

When it is completely cooled, scoop out the insides and drop the squash chunks into a large pot.

Add a little olive oil and two cloves of garlic, chopped.

Cook over medium for a few minutes to cook the garlic a bit. The add enough water to the pot to cover the bottom.

Cover and let the steam soften the squash some more.

Using a potato masher if you want a workout or an immersion blender if you’re less of a masochist, blend the sauce until it is smooth. You can also dump the mixture into a blender or food processor.

Toss your favorite pasta in the sauce. I used penne.

You get a rich creamy sauce coating the pasta with notes of sweetness and spice from the garlic and pepper.

It’s still summer, but this dish is fall in a bowl.

Escarole and Cannelini Bean Soup

Posted on August 7, 2013 by jacky grace

It’s kind of gray and drizzly outside today.

There’s 85% humidity.

But that doesn’t matter. Sitting on the couch in the apartment and looking outside at the clouds and the raindrops on the window, I feel a little chilly.

It’s totally in my head. Well aware of that. But still, I feel that chill that rainy days can bring.

And I feel like the only answer is a bowl of soup. And let’s be honest, what’s easier or more itty bitty city kitchen friendly than a one pot meal like soup?

One of the easiest soups I know how to make is the classic escarole and cannelini bean.

I’m a huge fan of escarole. I love it sauteed in olive oil and garlic as a side dish, so I played with that idea and turned the side of greens into the main attraction in this soup.

In a large pot drizzle some olive oil. Toss in half a white onion, diced and two cloves of garlic, diced. To that, throw in a head of escarole that you’ve washed and cut up into manageable pieces. The escarole will take over the pot, but it’s like spinach – it will wilt down a lot.

Cook the escarole, onions and garlic over medium heat, stirring occasionally to rotate the escarole in the pot. Add a mess of black pepper and some salt.

When the escarole is wilted, add a can of cannelini beans, rinsed and drained, and stir.

Add enough water to the pot to cover the escarole and the beans. You can use chicken broth or vegetable broth, too, but I like to keep it simple and use water so that the flavors in the soup really come through. That’s why I used a mess of black pepper. The onions, garlic and the pepper are seasoning the soup.

Let the soup simmer, covered, for fifteen minutes. Dish up in bowls and top with parmesan cheese.

It may not be cold out, but this will chase away the rainy day blues.

Ginger Garlic Stir Fry – He cooks for me

Posted on July 23, 2013 by jacky grace

Tonight’s post is a very special one.

Tonight, I am not cooking.

We are not ordering take out.

And no, we are not going out to eat.

Tonight, he cooks for me.

Here he is – the man and his wok.

I’m going to admit something. This is just between us.

I’m kind of scared of the wok. I don’t know why I have this irrational fear, but I hate the wok. I love the food it makes, but I haven’t yet worked up the courage to cook with it.

So when we want to make asian dishes, he’s in charge.

I take care of the prep work though.

The prep is the key. You have to have everything chopped and ready to go because the wok cooks things really quickly.

We’re doing broccoli, snow peas and cabbage but you can do any mix of vegetables. I blanched the broccoli quickly when I got home and let it hang out until he was ready to go.

Other ingredients you need in addition to your veggies:

chopped garlic
chopped ginger
soy sauce
vegetable oil
rice wine vinegar
toasted sesame oil

Drizzle some vegetable oil into the wok. Add in the broccoli. The broccoli takes longest to cook, so it goes in first.

Next add your ginger and garlic. The broccoli acts like a barrier so the ginger and garlic don’t burn.

Toss in the snap peas.

Drizzle in some rice wine vinegar, soy sauce and toasted sesame oil and stir. Add the cabbage and stir some more.

That’s the other key to cooking in the wok- keep things moving. It gets really hot, so food cooks quickly, which means it can burn quickly.

When the veggies are cooked but still have some crunch to them, remove from the heat. Dish up bowls of rice or egg noodles and top with the vegetable mixture.

Add a sprinkle of sesame seeds and you have a dish to rival the takeout place.

The only downside?

House rules say the one who cooks doesn’t do the dishes.

Which means there’s a wok with my name on it.

Phooey.

Two Ingredient Black Bean Soup

Posted on July 22, 2013 by jacky grace

Hello City!

Hello city kitchen!

A week away at the beach, relaxing in the sun and enjoying dinners out every night was a wonderful break from the every day drudgery of alarm clocks and subways and desk jobs. But it’s always good to be back home.

As crazy as the city gets (and as bad as it can smell in the summer) it’s home and I love it dearly.

We got back pretty late last night so I only got the essentials at the store – milk, half and half and orange juice – so we could have breakfast.

I was excited to get back to cooking, but the first day back at the office is always brutal. So by the time I got home, I really had no energy for dinner.

And if you’re vacations are like ours, you come home with your wallet and your waistline a little bit angry with you.

Ice cream every night, boardwalk fries and heaping plates of fish tacos had done a number on my tummy.

So tonight would be light. And cheap. And super easy.

So easy that I’m embarrassed to post this as my first post in a week.

I’m kind f inclined to not even call it a recipe.

For this dish you will need two things:

Yup. A jar of salsa and a can of black beans.

Think about black bean soup. It’s got beans, obviously, tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic and some spices. Now read the ingredients on the jar of salsa. Yup. Same thing.

If you’re in a bind, why not?

Dump the jar of salsa and the can of rinsed and drained black beans into a pot.

Add 1 salsa jar of water to the pot (precise measurements, no?) You could use chicken or vegetable broth too, but the salsa has so much flavor that I usually stick with water.

Stir and let simmer over medium heat for a few minutes until warmed through.

Top with some taco cheese, tortilla chips and sour cream. Add a side salad dressed with a squeeze of lime to keep the Mexican flavors and you , and you have dinner on the table in ten minutes and for like seven bucks.

Your tummy and your wallet will thank you.

Prosciutto, Pea, Ricotta Pasta Salad

Posted on July 11, 2013 by jacky grace

So the boyfriend is not coming home for dinner and we leave for vacation tomorrow.

That means two things.

1. I can make something he doesn’t like.

2. I don’t want to buy any groceries since we’re going away for a week.

This means a rummage in the fridge. I cam up with some ricotta cheese and some prosciutto left over from sub night.

The cabinets are always stocked with pasta.

And I make it a point to always have some kind of frozen vegetable in the freezer.

In this case, it’s peas. He hates peas, so that covers point 1.

I don’t know how anyone can eat peas. They’re so fresh and bright and springy. They burst open in your mouth and release their yummy flavor with every bite.

Oh well. I like them, so I’m making them.

This is a super simple dish that you can easily make ahead and toss in the fridge. It’s a good one to make in a huge batch for a party or to leave in the fridge to be portioned out for lunches during the week.

Like I said, I had everything on hand. So you can adjust this to what you have. Frozen broccoli would be really good, too. And if you want to make it vegetarian, you can easily leave off the prosciutto. I like the saltiness it adds, so maybe add a sprinkle of parmesan if you eliminate the prosciutto to give it back that salty bite.

This is an almost no cooking dinner.

Defrost the peas according to the instructions on the package.

Look at those bright green emeralds! I don’t understand how anyone could not want to eat them up.

Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil.

I’m using these little mini farfalline, or bowtie pasta. Farfallina means little butterfly in Italian. (Farfalla is butterfly. the ina makes the word mean little). The pasta does kind of look like little butterflies.

Cook your pasta according to the directions on the box. You can use any shape you like. I prefer something with some shape to it. I don’t like angel hair or spaghetti for this. I like that the farfalline is about the same size as the peas. It makes it easy to eat.

As the pasta cook, rip up some prosciutto and drop it in a dry skillet. Cook over medium until it crisps up.

When the pasta’s done, drain it and toss it in a bowl with the peas.

Add a scoop of ricotta and stir.

Top with the crispy prosciutto.

This is a great bowl to curl up on the couch with. Especially while watching Say Yes to the Dress!

Oh my god. What is she thinking? That dress is atrocious.

Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cheddar Quiche

Posted on July 2, 2013 by jacky grace

Is there a more perfect pairing than broccoli and cheddar cheese?

I don’t know who first put the two together, but I want to thank that person.

The crispness of broccoli paired with the rich, fatty melty sharpness of the cheese.

Yum.

We’re heading out for the long weekend tomorrow night, so tonight’s dinner had to be fast (we have to pack and stuff) and require only a few ingredients ( I don’t want to have things in my fridge that will go unused).

Immediately my mind goes to quiche.

We always have eggs and milk in the fridge, so if I just have to get a few veggies on my way home, it’s not a big deal.

I grabbed some baby greens for a simple side salad and some broccoli and cauliflower.

I feel like if you make a side salad then even the simplest dish feels more like a meal.

So I whipped up some of the sunflower oil dressing and this yummy quiche.

Dinner on the table in about forty-five minutes.

And, you know why I love quiche. That’s right, dishwasher safe pie pan.

Score.

Preheat the oven to 400.

Bring a pot of water to a boil and blanch the broccoli and cauliflower. About a minute is all you need.

Drain and then dump the veggies into the lightly greased baking dish.

In a bowl, whisk together four eggs and some milk.

Pour the mixture over the vegetables.

Top the whole thing with slice of sharp cheddar cheese.

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

Throw the dish in the dishwasher, pack up the bathing suits, and one more work day to get through until vacation!

Runny Egg Vegetable Stew

Posted on June 28, 2013 by jacky grace

I came across this recipe in a magazine months ago.

It was a mix of beans and peppers and tomatoes topped with a fried egg.

The veggie mix was seasoned with an exotic mix of cumin and coriander and curry powder.

I wrinkled my nose when I read that part of the ingredient list.

Those are some very polarizing spices. They’re in the same category as cilantro. You either take a bite and say oh my god! What is that? This is delicious. Or, you take a bite and say oh my god! What is that? This tastes like soap.

Yes, it’s true. Due to chemical makeups in the body, some people get a soapy taste when they bite into cilantro (for more information check this New York Times article).

So anyway. I was a fan of the concept of the recipe but not all of its parts.

But that’s one of my favorite things about cooking – you can adjust to your tastes.

So I took the basic components of the recipe, sauteed peppers, tomatoes and cannelini beans topped with a fried egg, and replaced the spices and seasonings with those more favorable to my palate.

Since we had chorizo and scallions from out Chipotle salad the other night, I took this dish south of the border.

You will need

2 green bell peppers, diced
1/2 a pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 can cannelini beans, rinsed and drained (you can use any kind of bean, black beans for a more Mexican flavor, red kidney beans for more of a chili feel, chickpeas for a ratatouille. I just happen to have cannelini beans in the cabinet)
2 tablespoons chorizo, diced
2 scallions, chopped
vegetable oil
salt
pepper
eggs

Drizzle a pan with olive oil. You can use a big frying pan or a big pot. I like my aluminum one for this because I have tendency to throw things onto my stove when I use a shallow pan.

(My nickname in college was Calamity Jane. I’m not quite as calamatous. But still a bit)

Toss in the peppers and the chorizo.

This dish is cooked in layers as the cooking times vary on the vegetables.

When the peppers start to soften and the chorizo is starting to brown, add the tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes release their juices.

Add the beans and the salt and pepper and stir.

In a frying pan, crack 2 eggs per person, and fry them so the yolks are still runny.

A runny yolk is absolutely necessary to this dish. You can change the chorizo and scallions out for prosciutto and basil, or you can make it vegetarian with some parsley and oregano, but you cannot do this dish without a runny yolk.

While the eggs cook, the vegetables will simmer together and the juice from the tomatoes and the oil from the chorizo will make a thick stew like sauce. That sauce will mix with the runny yolk… but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Add the chopped scallions and let them warm through. I like to let them stay crisp for a difference in texture.

Scoop out the veggie mixture onto a plate.

Top with the fried eggs.

Run your knife through the yolk and let the deep yellow yolk mix with the red, spicy tomatoey chorizo sauce.

I highly recommend some crusty bread to mop up all those juices.

Parsley Pesto Pistachio Pasta

Posted on June 25, 2013 by jacky grace

Lordy lou is it hot!

Pardon my slipping into the mouth of an 85-year-old southern grandma, but that’s the only thing I can think to say.

Everyone is melting in the heat. But rather than rant and rave about it, I want to take a moment to share this picture I snapped on my way home from work.

You know it’s hot when the sidewalks are that empty!

We’re experiencing a full on heat wave here and today really is another salad day. But I think my boyfriend will rebel if I plunk another salad on the table and call it dinner.

Tonight needs something fresh and bright though.

And when I think fresh and bright, I tend to lean towards parsley. And tomatoes. Which I have a ton of still left over from making yesterday’s shirazi salad.

So the wheels started turning.

How about a bright and fresh parsley and mint pesto with tomatoes over some pasta?

Pasta is quick cooking, so less time standing in the hot kitchen, and the pesto just requires some ingredients to take a trip in the Cuisinart. Brilliant!

Pesto can be made with anything. Take some herbs, some garlic and some olive oil and blend it up and you have pesto. The standard variation is basil and olive oil. There’s usually pine nuts or walnuts, but I prefer to leave the nuts out of the pesto itself and instead chop them up and sprinkle them on top of the pasta. I like the texture.

Tonight, I wanted something really light and fresh and with a bit of a different flavor. So I chose to go with parsley and mint as my herbs and then sunflower seed oil in stead of olive oil. Everyone makes basil and olive oil pesto. March to the beat of your own drum!

I usually don’t like mint. But I do like mint and parsley together. Strange? Oh well.

So into the Cuisinart go the garlic, parley, mint and oil.

Whiz it up until smooth.

I suggest popping in the fridge for a bit so the flavors can meld. If you don’t have much time, just the few minutes it takes to boil the water and cook the pasta will suffice.

Part of the reason for the trip to the fridge is my love of temperature differences. The steaming hot pasta and the cool pesto in one bite. Yum. It’s the same concept as warm brownie and cold ice cream.

I used mini shells, but you can use any pasta you have on hand.

Cook the pasta to al dente.

Toss the pasta with the pesto and some diced tomatoes.

For some texture, sprinkle over chopped pistachios. Pistachios are so summery to me. Maybe I associate them with sitting on a beach towel, cracking the shells and snacking after a swim in the ocean. They also compliment the parsley and mint nicely. But you can use any nut. Walnuts would be great, too.

For a final layer, some parmesan cheese.

A bright and colorful bowl of pasta bursting with flavor. The mint and parsley bring enough freshness to the table that you’re not weighed down in this heat.

And dinner is on the table in about 15 minutes, so you can spend the rest of the evening lolling on the couch with a cocktail.

Experiment with the herbs in your fridge! Share some of your favorite combinations with me and I’ll give them a try.

Salad Days – Persian Shirazi Salad

Posted on June 24, 2013 by jacky grace

My salad days,
When I was green in judgment: cold in blood,
To say as I said then! But, come, away;
Get me ink and paper:
He shall have every day a several greeting,
Or I’ll unpeople Egypt.

So spake Cleoptara in Shakespeare’s Anthony and Cleopatra.

And there is the meaning of the phrase salad days. A period of time in one’s life that points to one’s youth, to blissful abandon, to idealism. I tend to associate Salad Days with Richard Hell and punk rock in general.

In the reviews of Richard Hell’s book I Dreamed I was a very Clean Tramp, the reviewers have noted that “In the end, the demiworld salad days came crashing down.”

There’s a novel about growing up in the 80s punk scene by Charles Romalotti by the name Salad Days.

In any event, salad days and punk rock are linked in my mind.

Which I suppose isn’t that far off from it’s true definition of idealism and youth…

But I digress.

The phrase kept coming to mind today when I was trying to think of what to make for dinner. It’s hazy, hot and humid here in the city, with hair frizzing uncontrollably, and a walk to the coffee shop inducing loads of sweat.

So when dinner came up, I thought, well today is surely a salad day.

I was flippin gthrough Bon Appetit Magazine and came across a colorful and exuberant spread on Persian dishes. Cool and crisp salads with fresh cucumbers, tomatoes and herbs; even cooler creamy yogurt dips for pita breads.

Persia is speaking my language.

Tonight is about combining ingredients we love in a different way. It’s about bright, refreshing flavors and even brighter colors. This is a super simple vegetarian option for Meatless Monday, a great make ahead for lunch for work or a great way to start a meal.

We are going to make beet yogurt dip and shirazi salad.

Shirazi salad is simply a salad of cucumbers, tomatoes and herbs. There is a “right” way to prepare the “traditional” salad, but I’m a firm believer in adjusting for your tastes. But here’s the recipe if you want it.

You want a mix of different tomatoes for contrast, cucumbers for crunch, one or two herbs, and then the dressing.

Here’s what you need for the dressing:

red wine vinegar
olive oil
juice of half a lime
salt
pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 shallot, minced

Whisk up the dressing in a large bowl. I went with 3 parts oil to one part vinegar, plus the lime juice. But again, adjust to your tastes.

Now, get ready to start chopping. I used 2 English cucumbers, almost 2 pints of campari tomatoes and almost 1 pint of yellow grape tomatoes.

I quartered the camparis and halved the yellows.

Peel and cube up the cucumbers.

Toss it all in the bowl and coat with the dressing.

Tear in your herbs. I went with parsley and mint and a touch of scallions. The recipe calls for terragon and chives, but the groery store didn’t hae them. Salads should be thrown together with things you like and they shouldn’t be stressed about. It’s too hot to stress. So use the herbs you like and that will give some more freshness to the dish.

We added some crisp romaine to the mix as a bed for the tomato and cucumber mix.

I definitely suggest making this the night before or the morning of so it can sit in the fridge and, say it with me now, fester.

Truly, all jokes at dad’s expense aside, this is something that tastes better the next day.

To accompany the salad, you can easily do the crusty bread and butter route. You can also whip up some hummus and warm some pita bread. But, well, we just made hummus. And I don’t want you all to think I’m boring!

You know my obsession with Greek yogurt though. I put tzatziki on everything and dunk berries in the stuff for an afternoon snack.

But again, we’ve made tzatziki before.

But the beet yogurt recipe next to the shirazi salad. Now that caught my eye. A bright purple bowl of yogurt to dip bread into? Now that livens up a table!

I love beets. Beets are one of those things I am greateful is good for you. Loaded with nutrients and antioxidants and they have anti-inflammatory properties.

And did I mention the beautiful purply pinky color?

But back to the dip. You will need

Preheat the oven to 400.

The only cooking involved is roasting the beets. You are going to put them in the oven for an hour and then walk away. That’s it. I promise.

Trim the ends off the beets and wash them.

Lay out two sheets of aluminum foil, doubled, on the counter. You are going to wrap the beets up in a packet so make sure the foil is large enough to surround the beets.

Place the beets, skins on, in the center of the foil. Fold up the sides of the foil, leaving an opening at the top.

Drizzle in some olive oil and some salt and pepper.

Close ’em up.

Into the oven for one hour.

Flip through a magazine. Vacuum the apartment. Paint your nails.

Remove the beets from the oven.

Pop them in the fridge to cool them off if you’re in a rush, otherwise let them sit on the counter until they are able to be handled.

Take a paper towel and use it to rub the skins off. You can peel them off before you roast (I used to) but this is way easier.

Discard the skins.

Grate the roasted beets into a bowl.

Scoop in one small container of Greek yogurt (like the individual serving sizes).

Start mixing until the beets are well-incorporated with the yogurt and it takes on this beautiful purple color.

Add salt and pepper to taste and a minced garlic clove. Tear in a few mint leaves and mix.

Warm the pita in the oven, serve up the salad and slather the bread with the beet-infused yogurt.

Between the creamy yogurt and the bursting tomatoes, you will forget about the heat outside.

Itty Bitty City Kitchen

tiny kitchen, BIG CULINARY ASPIRATIONS

Tag Archives: vegetarian dinner

Red Wine Mushroom Ragu

Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

Escarole and Cannelini Bean Soup

Ginger Garlic Stir Fry – He cooks for me

Two Ingredient Black Bean Soup

Prosciutto, Pea, Ricotta Pasta Salad

Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cheddar Quiche

Runny Egg Vegetable Stew

Parsley Pesto Pistachio Pasta

Salad Days – Persian Shirazi Salad