Shells with Bacon and White Beans

I am one of those people who eats soup year round. I honestly have a bowl almost every lunch time thanks to a few amazing NJ diner's who have 5 or 6 choices year round. Soup is one of the best meals out there. You can make it with just about anything - just throw some meat, vegetables, noodles, beans in a pot with some water or broth and you have a delicious meal that can be reheated over and over. I am trying to break my habit of going out to lunch every afternoon and so I have started to make a big batch on the weekend that I can then store in individual containers that I grab on my way out the door.

This soup was a little more thought out than usual...  I even made sure to have the bacon on hand and defrosted so no running the package under water for 10 minutes before I can start cooking. I saw the inspiration for this recipe earlier in the week on the kitchn and decided that I just had to make it. I went a bit more traditional for the pasta fagioli by including some diced tomatoes but you don't have to....and that is the beauty of soup!

Hoboken Sandwich Tour

Hoboken, NJ might now be best known for its cakes as the home of Carlo’s Bakery where “Cake Boss” is filmed. However, it was once famous for the bread bakeries that provided its Italian residents with a fresh loaf each day. In my opinion, if you have fresh bread then you are more than half way to a delicious sandwich! From all of the different bakeries come different loaves, each with its own sandwich following.  And I can't wait to check out all of the different versions of these classic subs.

 From Lto R: Fiore's Italian Combo and Roast Beef & Mozz, Park & Sixth's Park & Sixth and All-Star

 My friend Tim has lived in Hoboken for a while now and decided to host this taste test so that we could all try some of Hoboken’s finest. We tried two sandwiches from each shop and rated them from 1 to 5, with 5 being the perfect sandwich - bread, meat and cheese all delicious and in the perfect ratio. Technically, Park & Sixth closed their Hoboken location but because the sandwiches were such favorites we brought takeout from the Jersey City store which is near our apartment .

 Piccolo's CheeseSteak

All Purpose Marinara Sauce & a photo show of gnocchi making

Growing up there was only one type of sauce, my mother made it almost every Sunday after frying up a few dozen meatballs and some spicy Italian sausage. This was just how things were...we didn't know any vegetarians and so there was no reason to make a sauce that didn't start with the rich meaty flavors that came from using the left over bits of meatball stuck in the bottom of the biggest pan we had in the house. But now that I am living a few hundred miles away and have friends that follow every diet under the sun, I rarely make meat sauce because pasta is one of the only meals that most of us can eat together...as long as the sauce is vegetarian friendly (and we ignore those gluten-free people!). When I first moved down here, I would still make my mothers classic meat sauce and use jarred sauce for those friends who didn't eat meat. But when I made things like lasagna where the sauce was already mixed in, we ran into problems. The fix was easy - learn to make a marinara sauce that would rival the deep flavors of any meat sauce.

When I looked on the internet for example recipes (usually I like to look at 4 or 5 different versions then decide which ingredients and methods I will go with), I wasn't happy seeing additions of sugar, powdered spices and other ingredients that my mother (never mind my grandmother!) would never have put in sauce. I decide to make up my own version and over the past year or so I feel that it is really a great substitute. Nothing will compare to a meat sauce and those nicely browned up bits of meaty surprise that are well incorporated into the sauce lending it flavors that are uniquely carnivorous. But this sauce avoids some of the most common pitfalls of vegetarian sauces, too many vegetables (don't get me wrong I love my veggies but this is pasta sauce not minestrone soup!), too thin and watery (I simmer low and slow just like a meat based sauce), too much "raw" tomato taste (the addition of carrots seems to add enough sweetness to balance the acidity of the tomatoes) and with a rich base that gives this flavor to spare (onion, garlic and a splash of red wine).

But first some pics of our gnocchi making session... 3 girls, 15 lbs of potatoes and 3 4  hours of work. Somehow things always seem to take a lot longer than they should but at least when you are making dinner there is a great reward for you at the end!

  Jess and Tova ricing the potatoes

 

Me trying my hand at the ricer 

  

Pouring beaten eggs into the potato

Making the ridges in the fresh gnocchi

 A close up of the finished goods!

Keep reading for the marinara recipe

Souper Soup Swap & First Annual Soup Awards

Food swaps are the newest craze in the foodie world....they aren't exactly new as cookie walks have been around as a holiday staple basically forever. But now you can mass produce and swap baked goods, soups, baby food, garden harvests, frozen dinners or any thing homemade! The benefits of food swapping are simple instead of having leftovers for a week of the same old boring meal,  you switch with friends (or strangers in some cases) for their versions of the food in question. If you have ever tried to cook soup for one you know how hard it can be - it seems like no matter how carefully you measure you end up with a giant pot simmering away on the stove and lunch leftovers by the dozen.

 (pictured clockwise from top left - split pea, minestrone, indian style seafood stew, 

and tom yum goong) 

We had 9 different soups entered into the swap and everyone who participated brought home 4 different containers for a variety of leftovers. We ended up with three main categories for our soups - vegetarian, meat/seafood and chicken broth based.  It was a lot of fun and we had a great time sharing our recipes and picking our favorites. Then again when you have good friends any reason to get together is always a great time!


Here are the entries & winners in each category:
Vegetarian:
1st Place - Split Pea Soup
2nd Place - Cold Watermelon Soup
3rd Place - Wild Mushroom and Leek Soup

Meat/ Seafood:
1st Place - Indian Style Seafood Stew (pictured above)
2nd Place - Chili
3rd Place - Tom Yum Goong

Chicken Broth-Based
1st Place - Pasta Fagoili (pictured above)
2nd Place - Vermont Cheddar Ale
3rd Place - Minestrone

Some of the participants:

                       

VIDEO POST! Pan Roasted Chicken with Ratatouille Sauce

It has been really fun using my new Flip Camera to record recipes. And so far I have gotten some great feed back...and even had a friend make something new because of my video! They say a picture says a thousand words - so what about a video? I know that personally I often look up videos of new cooking techniques because so many of us are visual learners. This recipe really turned out amazing. As I say in the video its fast, easy and really is perfect for company as it makes a great presentation. Don't be afraid of the hard to spell French name - Ratatouille is a wonderful vegetable dish that is a perfect recipe to have when your summer garden is making you see green (zucchini that is!)

I used two Newman's Own products in this recipe - Family Recipe Italian Dressing as a marinade for the chicken and Cabernet Marinara as part of the ratatouille. I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts as I find them much more flavorful than the standard boneless, skinless chicken breast. However, if you wanted to serve this with on the bone chicken breasts I think that would be a great option as well. Also feel free to serve this over brown rice, another type of pasta or even something more exciting like quinoa or couscous!

Click the link for the full recipe and instructions

VIDEO POST! Flexitarian Pasta Bakes

Well I am not really one for following directions so here is a bonus video from my experiment this weekend. I was asked to make a short (<5 min) video that featured Newman's Own products in a quick recipe (<30 min) and what did I do? Well I picked a recipe that had to cook in the oven after you prepped 4 or 5 different ingredients.... and I took over 10 min explaining it!  I was able to trim it down a little and I must say that they were absolutely delicious. While I don't think that I can call it a quick dinner for after work definitely find the time to make these individual pasta bakes. They freeze wonderfully and are perfect to have on hand when you want something homemade but don't have the time to make it right now.

Dinners like this are a favorite in my house because while we eat meat (or rather everything) we have lots of vegetarian friends.... so I try to make food that is adaptable to different eaters. This is the perfect dish to make double of and save one for a "rainy" day. Oh and for the record it should take you about 20 min to prep all the ingredients and then you just need to let them bake for about 20-30 min so dinner will be on the table in less than an hour!

Click the link to get the full ingredient and recipe

5/20/10 - Pork Pizzaiola with a Portabello mushroom cap

While supermarket produce has really improved, the time and transportation needed to get it from the farms to our stores prevents truly ripe products from being picked in most cases (because they are too easily bruised/ rot). When we buy from the farmers market, you are usually guaranteed a very fresh and ripe product that is just bursting with flavor. I never really considered mushrooms something that was very flavorful but once I tried these giant portobello caps from Bulich Mushrooms at the Greenmarket I was surprised! Mushrooms can have a taste! This dinner was quick and made good use of some left over pasta sauce that I had defrosted for some raviolis earlier in the week.

Pork Pizzaiola topped with mushroom cap
2 boneless pork tenderloins - sliced
1/2 onion- diced
1/2 green bell pepper - diced
2 cloves of garlic - smashed and diced
1 tbsp oil
2 c pasta sauce
2 tbsp fresh basil - chopped
4 tbsp grated cheese

4 portobello mushroom caps
1 tsp olive oil

1)  In a large pan, heat the oil and add the crushed garlic
2) Add the sliced pork, and saute until browned
3) Add the peppers and onions, combine and let soften
4) Stir in the pasta sauce to coat - cover and allow to simmer for 5 min
5) On a heated grill pan, place mushrooms coated in olive oil (cap side up)
6) Once they are softened removed and plate one mushroom with each serving
7) Top with basil and cheese