Carbonara

I usually try to plan out a weekly menu so I only need to hit up the grocery store once a week.  Having an 18 month old this is exceptionally beneficial because he can get a little wild in the cart sometimes.  Every now and then, however, for whatever reason, I have to push back my “normal” grocery day, Monday.  Sometimes it even gets pushed back to Wednesday ::gasp::.   

These weeks, I have to rely heavily on my pantry and freezer staples.  I always have some sort of pasta around, because Aiden will always eat pasta.  Aiden also loves peas, so I always have them in the freezer to throw in to dishes.  I normally have bacon around, for obvious reasons.     Eggs are a staple too, because that’s another last minute meal, or for when there is a cookie emergency.  When you toss all these ingredients together, you get one of my favorite last minute meals, Pasta Carbonara.

Serves 2 .5

½ box spaghetti
3 slices of bacon, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 eggs
2 T milk
½ c peas
1 lemon, zested
Parm, grated for garnish
Minced parsley, for garnish
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Render bacon over medium low heat until crispy.  Remove bacon and set aside to drain.  Reserve bacon fat.

While bacon is rendering, cook the pasta according to package instructions, about 2-3 minutes less than recommended.   Drain, reserving about a cup of pasta water.

Toss pasta in the pan with the bacon fat over medium heat.  Add garlic peas and some pasta water. 
Whisk eggs with milk.  Reduce heat to low and pour eggs into pasta.  Toss until pasta is coated with egg, adding more pasta water if necessary.   Add parsley and lemon zest and toss.  Garnish with parmesan cheese.

This is such a quick meal start to finish.  The only thing that takes any time is waiting for the pasta water to boil, during which you can prep everything else.  I can usually have it all ready in about 15-20 minutes.  You can add some diced chicken (I usually sauté it in the bacon fat) to it if you want.  It’s always so good and it’s great as leftovers too with an egg fried on it if you’re down with going egg crazy.
Enjoy!

Chocolate Caramel Marshmallow Pops

I love marshmallows; plain, in hot chocolate, in S’mores, dipped in chocolate.  Now, if I love marshmallows, I REALLY love chocolate and caramel.  With the latest “pops” craze, it was only a matter of time before I tried putting all this good stuff together. 

As I was wasting time (I mean, doing very important culinary trends research) on Pinterest, I came across Austinweddingblog.com post about marshmallow pops, so I took that for ideas and inspiration.  The great things about these pops, is they are so versatile.  You can customize them for seasons, wedding colors, holidays, whatever you want.  Apparently, I was a little late on the St. Patrick’s Day sprinkles because even though I made these almost a week before the holiday, all the sprinkles were sold out, except for the green sugar.

Because this was a really busy day that I was making these, I took the easy way out with store-bought marshmallows, Candiquik, and Kraft Caramel bits.  Normally, I would make my own marshmallows, caramel, and temper chocolate.  You could certainly do that; I would make the marshmallows a day ahead, and maybe even the caramel and just reheat the day of.  Even with my snobby attitude J I think these turned out really well, and with the easy way, they were super quick. 

20 Jumbo Marshmallows

1 bag Kraft Caramel bits

1 pkg Chocolate flavor Candiquik

Vegetable oil or cooking spray

Sprinkles, Nuts, Graham Cracker crumbs, Crushed Candy Bars, etc for decorations

2 lollipop sticks

Insert lollipop sticks into marshmallows, set aside.

Line sheet pan with plastic wrap or wax paper, generously coat with oil or spray.

Heat caramel bits in microwave safe bowl, following package directions.  Caramel with be bubbling and going crazy and that is ok, just stir it until it’s smooth and melted completely.

Using a silicone pastry brush, coat the marshmallows.  Don’t worry if they don’t look perfect, as you will be dipping in chocolate also.  Set caramel coated marshmallows on oil coated plastic wrap.  Continue with remaining marshmallows and allow to set, approx 10 minutes (coating will still feel tacky).

Prepare another sheet pan with parchment paper.  Melt chocolate according to package directions.  Dip each marshmallow into chocolate, and then sprinkle with toppings as desired.  Set on parchment lined sheet pan, either standing up or laying down depending on how marshmallows are decorated. 

 Puffed sugar, dipped in burnt sugar, dipped in chocolate and coated in sugar!  This will definitely satisfy a sugar craving for like a day and a half.  I used the Jumbo marshmallows because that’s what I grabbed, but I would definitely recommend using the regular sized ones because it is quite the sugar overload.  You could also forego the caramel and just do the chocolate.  I’m thinking about making some more dipped in chocolate and then sticking a mini pretzel twists on the top for that salty sweet kick.  I could go on all day with the variations! 

Enjoy!

I'm always looking for something good to do with fish, as we try to eat it at least once a week. Fish high in omega 3s is great for your heart and as February is American heart month, I thought I would share this delicious recipe.  I found this in October 2011 Bon Appetit and it just looked so pretty I had to try it. 

This is also a good recipe for those a little apprehensive about cooking fish.  You just plop it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone liner, top it, and bake it, no flipping to worry about.  Matcha powder is one of the ingredients, and you may have some trouble finding it in a regular grocery store.  An Asian market will probably be your best bet.  I ended up forgetting to stop in and grab some, so I used some cilantro instead for its herbal quality and I'll tell you it worked really well. 

So here's my modified recipe:
1/2 c raw pistachios, toasted
2 T cilantro
1/2 tsp sugar
2T Panko bread crumbs
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1 T unsalted butter, melted
Salt and Pepper, to taste
4 Halibut fillets or Mahi Mahi, or other firm white fish
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for drizzling

Preheat oven to 400.
In a food processor, grind pistachios, cilantro, and sugar, 15 seconds.  Add Panko, zest and butter and pulse until combined (do not form into a paste). 
Season fish on both sides with salt, pepper, and olive oil.  Place on parchment lined sheet pan and pat 1/4 of the mixture on each fillet.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until just opaque in the center. 

This was a really quick week night dinner.  The pistachios gave a nice crunchy crust, and let's be honest, who doesn't like pistachios.  There was also a nice sweetness that was really very pleasant.  I just served it with some steamed brown rice and a nice salad on the side.  I'm looking forward to trying it again soon and using the Matcha powder.  Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Cinnamon Buns

Who doesn’t love a hot, sticky, sweet cinnamon roll fresh out of the oven?  Crazy people, that’s who!  All joking aside, a hot batch of cinnamon rolls just makes you feel good.  Unfortunately, these little delicious pastries are not quite what you could call healthy.  But what if you could get a healthy dose of vitamin A in each little cinnamon-y bite?

Enter Vegetarian Times, November 2011 recipe for Sweet Potato and Pecan Cinnamon Buns with Maple Glaze (http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/11745).   Ok, I’m not going to say these are healthy per se, but compared to those cinnamon rolls you get in the Food Court at the Mall, it’s definitely a step in the right direction.  The dough makes 12 good size rolls, but you could make 24 mini rolls and not feel like your skimping on anything.  Each regular size bun is 331 calories and 11g of fat  when you make the recipe as printed, keep in mind there are nuts, which is a contributor to the higher fat content. 

Everyone has had a Hamburger Potato Roll, a nice light texture that is more of a condiment soaker-upper than a flavor component.  Using sweet potatoes definitely kicks that flavor up a notch.   This dough, texture-wise, is just lovely.  The dough was very easy to work with and I look forward to experimenting with it a little more in some other applications.

This is actually a vegan recipe, but I used non-vegan ingredients.  I also omitted the pecans and made an orange cream cheese glaze instead of the maple (subbed a tsp of orange zest for the maple flavor and added a drop of vanilla extract).  I used 1 decent sized potato for the 2/3 c and there was just a little left over.  This is a pretty easy recipe but you do need to factor in the 1 hour and 45 minutes of proofing time (hour for the dough, 45 min after rolls are cut).  That being said, it is quite a quick recipe other than that.  Give it a try this weekend!

*If you don’t need 12 cinnamon rolls (remember portion control!) you can follow the recipe up until the final 45 min proof.  At that point proof the rolls you want to back that day and put the others in the freezer on a sheet pan and freeze them until solid.  Then put them in a Ziploc and label them.  When you want to bake them off let them sit in the fridge over night and bake them off in the morning. 

Pudding-Palooza!

I’m not sure why, but for the past couple of weeks I’ve been on this Butterscotch Pudding kick.  I don’t know why or where it came from but it came in with a vengeance and is still kicking around with no sign of leaving.  Fortunately, I have some very easy-going taste testers to help me out.

What is it about pudding?  It’s such a kids’ dessert, but it’s just so good!  It can be fancy, or plain.  You can fold it into whipped cream for a quick mousse or use it to make a beautiful trifle.   You could even toss it into a popsicle mold and freeze it!  Oh the possibilities!

First I decided to just do a plain old butterscotch pudding recipe and top it with some crushed Heath bar.  Absolutely delicious!  Then I decided to try a more grown-up, Italian twist on pudding, the Caramel Budino with Salted Caramel Sauce from Bon Appétit Sept 2011.  The budino starts off with a chocolate cookie crumb crust, then a layer caramel pudding, and topped with a salted caramel sauce.  I tasted each layer separately as I was making them, as any good chef should do, and each layer was OK, nothing special.  I put the puddings in the fridge to chill and set, figuring at least it would be something different for dessert. 

Sometimes the sum of the parts is greater than the whole, and sometimes it goes the other way.  In this case it went the other way!  The layers all together were soooooo good.  The chocolate-y crust, sweet smooth pudding, and salty sweet sauce hit just about every taste bud I had.  I’m not going to lie, using an extra wafer cookie instead of a spoon, while not mandatory, is highly recommended!

Homemade "Poptarts"

I’m always looking for some fun and new food to try.  If you’ll remember, I’m a big fan of oatmeal for breakfast, but this morning I was looking for something different to feed Aiden.  I have this really great book for “baby food” and I had remembered seeing a recipe for “Pop Tarts”.  Seeing as how my little alarm clock (Aiden) went off early today I had a little extra time before the feeding frenzy would start so I decided to give these a try.

This book I have, Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron, is amazing.  It says its baby food, but let me tell you it is not limited to food and certainly isn’t limited to baby.  I very highly recommend this book to anyone with a new baby, and well anyone in general.  There are a lot of healthier recipes for convenience products, like the pop tarts, “Shake n Bake” and other things like that, but also “recipes” for cleaning solutions without chemicals.  And, to be honest, there are very few differences between what a healthy baby should eat and what a healthy adult should eat; fruits, vegetables; unprocessed foods.  Seriously, this book is invaluable.

So here is the recipe:

                2 beaten eggs
                ¼ c olive oil
                2 T melted butter
                ¼ c +2T honey
                2 c flour
                2 tsp baking powder

Mix ingredients together and chill for an hour in the freezer.  Cut and roll dough into 12 rectangles.  Place about a tablespoon of filling in the center of half of the rectangles.  Top with another rectangle and crimp edges.  Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

If you want a frosting mix 2 T powdered sugar, ¼ tsp vanilla and 1 T milk and drizzle over top of baked pastries.

The dough can be a little difficult to work with because it is so delicate with all the liquid in it.  I did half the batch with about a half hour in the freezer, but the other half I left in for more like an hour plus and that worked easier.  I also recommend only working on half of the dough out at a time for that same reason.   Cut and roll out 6 pieces of dough from each half, using one piece for the bottom and one for the top.   The dough is just so delicate that it kept tearing if I tried just folding it over. 

As far as fillings go, you can really do anything.  I used strawberry jam because that’s what I had.  I’m going to experiment more with some other fillings, like maybe homemade apple butter or peanut butter and banana, or Nutella!  The possibilities are endless really!

The Incredible Edible Egg

Eggs are such a versatile food.  Breakfast, lunch and dinner, there’s an egg for that!  I love a fried egg sandwich with ham and cheese, a weekend delicacy I grew up with.  In my house, my Dad was the Egg Man.  He would heat up the little cast iron skillet, for me the only appropriate egg cooking vessel, and whip up egg sandwiches for the whole family.  When I go home to this day I still ask him to make me an egg sandwich, because even with all my culinary training, somehow, my dad still makes the best sandwich.
Many people will disagree with me that a cast iron skillet is the best way to cook an egg; they will say you want to use a non-stick skillet.  Well, let me tell you, I’ve tried it both ways, and toxicity issues aside, I think an egg made in cast iron just tastes better.

 The “issue” with cast iron is that you have to know how to use it.  It takes a while to get hot, and then retains the heat, so if you crank it up to get it going quickly you may need to completely take the pan off the heat by the time you are ready to cook.  I like to heat my pan on low for maybe 10 minutes while I’m getting everything else ready. 

The other thing you need to be aware of when using cast iron, is the cleaning and upkeep.  It is important to “season” your cast iron.  This is a simple process that produces a non-stick surface.  To season your pan, heat it on medium heat until hot.  Remove it from the heat and pour about a tablespoon of vegetable oil in and swirl it around.  Carefully, using a paper towel, rub the oil around the surface of the pan.  I like to get the edges and even outside of the pan as well, but not the bottom.   Let the pan cool and then wipe out any excess oil.  You should do this every time after using your pan. 

When cleaning the cast iron, you really just want to use a non-abrasive cloth and warm water, no soap.  Some people don’t like that, and if it really bothers you, use the soap.   Then re-season the pan.  The more you use your pan the better the season gets, which is why these pans are great passed down through generations.

Getting back to the eggs; as I said, I love a runny fried egg sandwich, but I like using fried eggs in a lot of different ways.  When I make risotto and have a little left over, I’ll throw a fried egg on top of it and have it for breakfast.  I have a Sausage and Kale Risotto that I make that is especially good with the egg.  It’s so good that it’s even worth making the risotto especially for the egg-garnish it with a little truffle salt if you’re feeling extra special!  My Kale and White Bean Ragout is also another favorite to top with a fried egg.  It may sound weird, but try it out.  You may find that you’re making dinner just to have leftovers!