Roasted Cauliflower and Red Lentil Curry

I love to use my Moroccan spice blend every time I roast veggies - especially cauliflower but this time I went a bit further. I decided to try my hand at a Indian flavored dish that using red lentils.  There were many recipes for dishes that were more like a stew with all the ingredients together in one pot but I decided to roast the cauliflower to maintain some of the texture of the dish. By not cooking the cauliflower in the lentil stew you have more distinct tastes and textures. Usually we don't eat to many Indian type dishes as curries are often a bit overpowering to me. In this dish  most of the ingredients retain their own flavors which is more pleasing to me. I also used some lemon to brighten up this dish.

I used chicken broth in this recipe just since we had an open container available but feel free to use water or veggie stock to make this recipe appropriate for vegetarians/vegans. If you would like to serve the dish with the roasted cauliflower I would suggest putting that in the oven before starting on the lentils - I usually roast at 400F  but feel free to use 350F if something else is in there! Just toss with some olive oil and a bit of spices into the oven for about 30-40 min depending on the size of the florets. If you aren't a cauliflower fan you could try adding rice or even a protein like grilled chicken or fish.

click through for the recipe 

Vegan Bean and Grain Salad

This winter I decided to take a few days off from meat. I love vegetables and usually have more veggies with my meal than any other type of food but there generally is some meat in there (even if it is only chicken broth or a slice of bacon for flavor.) I wanted to challenge myself for a week to see if I could eat totally vegan (so no dairy or other animal products). Unfortunately I forgot about plans with some friends that involved helping her make a roast beef with all the fixings so I didn't get to go a week but I did have a great time coming up with this delicious lunch option that is easy to make ahead and can be packed up for work.

I really love eating a fresh healthy salad for lunch but most mornings I am not in the mood to start peeling vegetables and cleaning off lettuce so I had to do some advance planning. But a little time on Sunday made the week go by so easily! I was able to pack up individual servings of the bean and grain salad along with a baggie full of lettuce. When I lunch time arrived mixed all of the ingredients together and added a tiny squirt of balsamic dressing. You can also eat this warm as a side dish to almost any dinner!

Clams in Red sauce with Bacon

There is really nothing easier than a clams in a broth. You can use almost any liquid with herbs to give it more flavor. I love garlic and bacon and couldn't resist clams steamed in this delightful duo. So rich and fragrant - I am not sure if there is a more tempting aroma to great you from the bottom of the staircase as you are entering the kitchen.You could also use a white wine in this dish with some additional caramelized onion to make a whole new combo. I love easy, versatile cooking. Its fun to follow recipes sometimes but whats even better is being able to adjust and work with what you have on hand.

One of the most important parts of this dish happens long before the sauce come together - completely cleaning and removing sand before steaming the clams. The last thing you want is to have a gritty, sandy broth. Take a few extra minutes to make sure that you completely scrub each shell with a small brush.

Eggplant Cups

Let me share one of my favorite money saving ideas.....hosting a dinner in can be less expensive than paying your share of the bill at a restaurant. Add in the comfort of a casual dinner spread over a few hours at our home compared to being rushed out of your table, the awkward moments of how to split the check and then the early goodbyes to go home our separate ways and dining at home wins in so many ways. This is especially true when you have friends who are willing to do dishes since the clean up is absolutely my least favorite part of hosting! So many thank you go to all my awesome friend who don't hesitate to grab an apron and get scrubbing.

I am an avid reader of SmittenKitchen blog and I was super excited to see her post on the feature in Everyday Food , one of my favorite Martha publications. I loved her creative use of eggplant as a little shell to "stuff" - you know my love of stuffing veggies and eggplant isn't going to escape. I didn't really follow her recipe exactly - its a bit past fresh tomato season and well I forgot mint at the store (at least remembered parsley for my chicken roasting/soup making later this week) but I want to give some credit to the inspiration for tonight's dinner. I served these eggplant cups alongside some grilled steak tips (a cut that I NEVER see in NJ but grew up loving in New England!) and roasted zucchini.

Tomatoes - two ways!

I love shopping at the Farmer's Market but at times it can be a little expensive so I am always looking for a deal. A few weeks ago, I notice that my normal farmer had bags of about 6 large tomatoes on sale for $3. Normally these tomatoes are close to $3 each (since they are almost a pound each!) but since they were already nice and ripe they had them on "clearance". I was able to find a bunch that wasn't over-ripe and since I was going to use them right away anyways I was happy to buy them ripe and ready to use.

One of my favorite meals in summer time is tomato salads. There is nothing so simple and perfect but dependent on the ingredients. Tomatoes are something that still really only taste right in the summer. One bite of a fresh summer tomato is enough to make me want to swear off all of the super market varieties that range from acceptable to almost orange and mealy! But unfortunately, winter will be back soon enough and there will be 8 months worth of salads that rely on these sad tomato like substances!

The first variation is a traditional Italian tomato salad. This is an easy side that is welcome at my dinner table any night. It is best when you make it in advance and give it some time in the fridge to meld together. This is a simple mix of diced tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, fresh basil and some salt and pepper. If you want to turn it up a little a splash of balsamic can also be added. Or some fresh mozzarella to turn it into a Caprese Salad.

The second is more of a chunky salsa using the fresh flavors of Mexican cooking. For this version, I rough chopped the tomatoes with some red onion, green bell pepper, garlic, lime, cilantro and of course olive oil,  salt and pepper. These flavors are naturals with the sweet ripe tomato and the addition of some hot peppers (I used a jalapeno and a cherry bomb) kicks this up to another level. Make sure you are careful with the hot peppers though and use caution when chopping and with your hands after as the oil from the peppers can remain on hands for some time. 

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

Tomato Mozz and Basil appetizer

There are a million recipes for this classic Caprese salad. But there is a reason for that, at their best there is nothing more that you need than this perfect bite of fresh mozzarella, tomato and basil. Here in the New York area spring is starting to creep in - I saw my first tree buds and flowers yesterday- but freshly grown tomatoes are still many months away. Luckily, we have been able to maintain our herbs all winter long (well fingers crossed!). I wish that I could take credit for this but my thumb is definitely not green...basic Pothos type plants are really all I can handle. Luckily, my boyfriend is quite good at keeping our little garden alive.

This winter we have shared our basil fresh bites of summer by bringing this dish to a few friends parties - a welcome addition to the usual chips and dips. We dressed them simply with sprinkle of salt and pepper and a swirl of aged balsamic vinegar and good olive oil. Like most others I think I am going a bit spring crazy with the nice temperatures over the weekend.... so here it is my ode to warmer days!

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

A new twist on a Vegetarian Pasta Bake

Fall temperatures make me crave all of the comfort food of my youth. Coming from an Italian family that usually means cheesy pasta dishes. While I don't think that I would be able to pass up a gooey slice of lasagna with those cheesy strands that just have to be stolen and stuffed into your mouth as you serve it up I have been trying to make a conscious effort to eat better. I know that denying myself my favorites isn't going to work out in the long run so instead I have tried to come up with some ways to lighten up dishes. I find that for many vegetarians (for the record I am not one but many of my friends are and I do try and accommodate them when possible) its easy to fall into the trap of pasta dishes. They are fast, easy and cheap... what more could you want? Well maybe some protein for starters!

Even though this dish looks like a standard version of "lazy man's lazagna" (ie pasta mixed with sauce and cheese and baked vs the painstakingly layers of a real lasagna) there are a few hidden tricks that makes it so much more. While this one was made with "normal" pasta (figured it was time to use it up!) definitely feel free to use whole wheat or rice pasta for an even healthier (or gluten-free) version. By adding both beans and vegetables to this dish you still get a lot of volume but with out all of the carbs or calories of a plate of pasta.

8/18/10 - Fish Simply Two Ways

The summer is the best time to eat simply. When its cold, I love spending hours in the kitchen coming up with some exotic combination. But when farms all over the state of New Jersey are working hard to provide me exquisitely ripe and juicy produce, I go with it. In my last post, I took a look at one of my favorite parts of the summer months - fresh tomatoes. Growing up my whole life, I was lucky to have grandfathers who kept amazing gardens. Summer was always filled with zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, arugala (long before I knew anything about rocket or fancy mixed baby greens) and tons of basil - everything a good Italian kitchen could need.

The top dish pictured is a fresh salsa served over pan seared swordfish with a cajun rub. I accompanied the dish with a side of wilted swiss chard and red onion.
The dish below was a one skillet meal. While I usually make this dish in the oven, the temperatures outside had me looking for another option. First, I sauteed the vegetables (peppers, onions, mushrooms, broccoli)  and then removed them from the pan. I added the haddock and once it was ready to flip (3-5 min), I returned the vegetables to the pan. I topped the fish with the tomatoes and covered the pan to allow it to heat through (5 min).

8/17/10 - Fresh Salsa

It's amazing how many uses I have for some nice delicious salsa.... this one bowl ended up in 2 dinners, a lunch and there was still a few nacho's full left over! A friend recently asked me what to do with an overflow of mangoes (she is living in sunny, beautiful Hawaii) and my first thought was SALSA! Dress it up in a wonton cup as a fancy hors'doeuvres or smother it in cheese for the big game...either way its a hit! The biggest secret to fresh salsa is dicing all the ingredients up nice and fine so that there is a lot of surface area for all the flavors to mingle together. Also salsa is always better when it is made in advance and it has time to rest and let all of the juices blend together.

This is a very basic salsa made with nice ripe jersey tomatoes, however you can feel free to add most fruits to a salsa as well - mango, peach, strawberries all work well!

3 plum (or roma) tomatoes - diced
1/2 red onions - diced
1 bunch cilantro - leaves only diced
1/3 green pepper- diced
1 jalapeno - diced (seeds removed) 
juice of 1 lime
salt & pepper
2 garlic cloves - smashed & diced

1) combine all ingredients together and refrigerate overnight

7/24/10 - Another Chopped Caprese Salad

When I saw this salad last summer on Smitten Kitchen's page I knew I would be weak against it. My favorite flavors combined and diced into bite size little cubes for easy consumption? I made a version souped up with some baby arugala and pancetta. This time I kept it simple (and vegetarian friendly) and it still was delicious. The perfect afternoon snack to tide us over from brunch to a late dinner with friend or a great start to a "bruscetta bar" served with garlic bread rounds to entice your guests. 

This easy salad is a combo of fresh mozzarella, drained and rinsed canellini beans, diced fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, diced garlic, salt & pepper, EV olive oil and a small splash of balsamic vinegar.

7/11/10 - Buitoni Reserva Party!

I was really excited to find out that I was picked to hold a dinner party using Buitoni Reserva Fresh Pasta. For once I didn't have tons of prep which was amazing - the Tastemaker program from Foodbuzz provided all the fresh pasta! It was fun to focus on my friends and enjoy the party instead of hanging out behind the island chopping, stirring, saucing..... The fresh agnolotti (which is basically like a ravioli) came in 4 different combination of meats, veggies and cheeses. Since the pasta cooked up so quickly, I decided it would be a perfect match for some fresh summer vegetables. The veggies combined with the filling agnolottis made a perfect main course for any hot summer night. The best part of dinner was that in the time I boiled the water to make the pasta my sauce was ready to go!

Each dish contains a good amount of veggies which makes for a balanced meals. I tried to complement the flavors in the agnolotti with a fresh bright summer vegetable fresh from the farmer's market. The favorite dish of the night was the starter because of the unique way that I served the agnolotti. The Quattro Formaggi Agnolotti was also the favorite pasta of the night as well! The runner up was the second dish which was made with vegetable 'noodles'. These noodles are a fun unexpected way to serve vegetables - I make the carrot noodles with a standard vegetable peeler while I used a large box grater to make the zucchini however a spiral vegetable peeler is an easy way to do this as well (unfortunately I don't have one and couldn't locate one anywhere near by!)

Check out my whole menu:
Baby Arugula salad with Crunchy Quattro Formaggi Agnolotti in Cilantro Shallot Vinaigrette 

Zucchini & Rainbow Carrot "noodles" with Wild Mushroom Agnolotti in Pesto Cream sauce

Spicy Beef & Sausage Ravioli with Fresh Tomato and Spinach Sauce

Keep reading for the recipes!

5/23/10 - Tomato Basil Open Faced Grilled Cheese

The best ingredients make the best meals..... this advice is true no matter what you might be cooking. And I think it might be even more applicable when you are cooking some thing simple since each ingredient makes a big impression. It seems that all my posts recently are revolving around the Greenmarket in Union Square and I have to admit, the first sites of spring have me a bit giddy! There is something about walking around among like minded foodies knowing that everyone is in search of the perfect tomato or cheese to make thier dinner just right...unlike the super market where I often find myself tsk-tsk'ing (I know I shouldn't judge!) behind a cart filled to the brim with processed foods, sodas, cookies etc. As some one who doesn't have children, I know that I can't even begin to understand the time (and energy and money) needed to raise a family, but sometimes I wonder just how convenient some of these pre-package foods are? Do they really save time or is it just the marketing telling us that we don't have time and we deserve a treat/ time off/ to relax etc? I mean this delicious fresh meal only took me about 10 min tops to make and only about 1 min to clean up!

4/7/10 - Mediterranean Stir-Fry

This isn't your traditional Asian stir-fry but its just as easy....and the assembly is very similar - just make sure to cut veggies the same size! I served the stir-fry on a bed of cooked broccoli rabe instead of a more traditional rice or pasta because I had a big chicken club sub today and felt the need to be a bit healthy! This meal was made with chicken however you can easily substitute the chicken for some beans (I would say canellini beans would be best) to make a vegetarian version.

3/12/10 - Flexetarian stuffed portabello mushroom caps.....with or without chicken sausage

Last week when I was in the store I saw some beautiful portobello mushroom caps. They were HUGE! and I just couldn't resist especially since my vegetarian friend's boyfriend hates mushrooms... I figured we could have a secret girls only mushroom feast!  In the end the boyfriends joined us and I made three variations of a meal with similar ingredients but customized for each of us. She got a vegetarian version - her stuffing was just peppers, shallots, breadcrumbs, pine-nuts and butter. Jeremy and I added some chicken sausage crumbles to the mix and Stephen skipped the mushroom all together and went with whole sausages for the base. (this picture is of mine....so its sausage stuffing...though it looked the same as a veggie version)

This recipe included some new Bertolli Arrabbiata sauce that I received as part of the Food Buzz Feature Publisher Tastemaker program. While I love to make my own sauce I really like the Bertolli products and try to keep some on hand since I usually make a meat sauce and my vegetarian friends don't like that!  (Though a few have debated it though after smelling it simmering for a whole Sunday afternoon)