Forearms like an Italian grandmother...

I love Italian food and enjoy making pasta from scratch, so I decided to make ravioli with a ricotta and chanterelle mushroom filling.  I got some lovely mushrooms in my produce box that were locally foraged (eat your hearts out, hipster foodies).  After some mistakes and a major arm workout, we had these...

 

Pasta (from the book Urban Italian by Andrew Carmellini)

*Note- that's one of my favorite cookbooks.  Awesome, awesome food.

6 cups of 00 flour (that's flour that has been ground-up finer than regular all-purpose flour).  I haven't been able to find it locally, so I ordered it from King Arthur flour.  It's called their "Italian-Style" flour.
7 whole eggs
5 egg yolks
1 Tbs salt
2 Tbs olive oil

I know...that's a lot of eggs.  But this makes about 50 raviolis.  We had enough for dinner for six (with no side dish).  These are hearty, substantial raviolis.

Combine the flour and salt, then add the eggs and olive oil and mix into a ball.  And here's where I made my mistake...I've been keeping my flour in the freezer which sounds weird, but it makes your flour last longer and it keeps any sort of creepy-crawlies away...however, I needed to let things get to room temperature before I decided "Oh hey, let's make ravioli!"  This resulted in really cold dough that was almost impossible to knead.  I was really worried that the ravioli would be disgusting because of my stupid, cold dough error...but amazingly, the ravioli was just fine.

Once everything is combined, knead the dough for a bit until it is smooth and elastic.  Then cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (overnight is even better).  Then you can start rolling out the dough.  I roll mine into nice, big rectangles.  Then I add the filling down the length of the dough, fold the dough in half, and use a ravioli stamp to seal the dough into nice circles.  (There's a great tutorial here: Ravioli Tutorial). 

After they've been filled, boil until they rise to the top of the pot...about 6 minutes, but this will vary depending on how thickly you've rolled your noodles.  So, just take one out and test.  You'll know if you need to go longer.


Filling

3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tbs butter
2 Cups of chanterelle mushrooms, chopped finely
1 Tbs lemon zest
1 Container ricotta cheese
1/4 Cup of parmesan cheese, grated
salt & pepper

Heat the butter on the stove over medium heat, add the garlic and cook until softened.  Add mushrooms, lemon zest, and salt & pepper to taste.  Saute until mushrooms are tender and have released their water content.

Let the mushroom mixture cool, then mix with the ricotta and parmesan.  All ready to stuff the ravioli!


Lemon-Parmesan Cream Sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs butter
1/2 Cup of cream
1/4 Cup of parmesan, grated
Juice of a lemon
salt & pepper

In the same pan you cooked the filling, add the butter and garlic and cook until the garlic has softened.  Add cream, lemon juice, and parmesan and simmer until the sauce has reduced.  Add salt & pepper to taste.  Fresh chopped parsley would be wonderful in this as well.  Spoon the sauce over your finished ravioli. 

Save some for lunch for the next day, because it is even better on day 2.  The mushrooms are awesome and the lemon gives it just enough acid to balance all the cheese...and cream...and butter...and more cheese. 

Some greens and a loaf of meat...

We get a weekly organic produce box and this past week it included collard greens.  I'd never eaten collard greens, let alone cooked with them.  But there they were, sitting in my fridge...challenging me.  :-)

So, I sliced them into strips and braised them in butter, a smashed clove of garlic, and salt & pepper.  When they had wilted and had a nice color, I added the juice of a lemon and some leftover broth from my Sunday pot roast.  And you know what?  They were delicious.  I really like collard greens, Sam-I-am.  I enjoy spinach, and I like lacinto kale, but I don't like the other kales as much, and I detest chard (blech!).  But collards taste like broccoli more than anything else.  When we weren't looking, one of the dogs stole some off a plate.  So dogs like collard greens too. 

I also served tomatoes sliced up and dressed with olive oil, salt & pepper - because I wasn't sure if the boys would eat the collards.  But they did! 

And I made an improvised meatloaf.


Meatloaf

1 pound of ground beef
1 demi-baguette, turned into bread crumbs (I just toasted the whole thing in the oven, then used my knife to break it up.  This was the bread I made a week ago...so it was nice and stale for crumbs.)
1/2 small sweet onion (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
2 Tbs tamari (soy sauce)
2 Tbs dijon mustard
1 Egg
2 Tbs tomato paste
1/2 cup fontina cheese, cut into small cubes (or another meltable cheese)
1 tsp of cumin
1 Tbs of hot sauce (we used sriracha)
A few leaves of basil, chopped (it'll bruise, but that's okay here)

The ingredients are sort of random, because I had all of that on hand and didn't have to go shopping to make dinner (which is always nice).  I would have used parsley instead of basil, but basil worked. 

Mix everything together and put into a loaf pan.  Bake at 350 for about 1 hour until the meat is cooked through.  (In a convection oven, it will be done in about 45 minutes.)

I think this would make for an easy weeknight meal.  I just assemble in the morning and have one of the boys pop it in the oven after school.  The meatloaf wasn't dry at all and was very flavorful.  Boys were pretty happy.  It made awesome sandwiches the next day too.

Weeknight scratch cooking is tough.

I forgot to take a nice pic.  Here are the leftovers.
Lunch!

My schedule is such, that I work all day and have the evenings loaded up with activities. There's something almost every night- music lessons, Kung Fu, volunteer work... It goes on and on. So, making a nice dinner is really hard. I'm working on it.

So far this week, we had:

Monday - ordered pizza (boo...)

Tuesday - my guy made chili (thank the Lord)

Wednesday - guess what? Leftover chili.

Thursday - Somen noodles with veggies, chicken, and a ponzu sauce (of sorts).




















Here's Thursday's recipe- in one pot!


Somen Noodles with Carrots and Chicken in a Quick Ponzu Sauce

Take a large skillet and boil water, add somen noodles to the skillet and cook for 3 minutes (they cook really fast - you don't want to overcook these). I found Somen noodles at a big chain grocery store. They only had three ingredients: wheat flour, water, and salt. Drain the noodles and set aside (they'll stick together a bit, but don't worry about it.  As long as you didn't overcook them, they'll be fine.).

Heat 2Tbs of oil on the stove (I had olive, so that's what I used. Peanut would be good.) - add 2 cloves of garlic (minced) and cook until soft but not browned. Add veggies- we used 3 carrots, thinly sliced, and a red onion that I sliced into paper-thin rings. Add cubes of chicken. You could use breasts, but I bought thighs because they looked good at the store. I just trimmed off some of the extra fat so the dish didn't get too oily.

While the chicken is cooking, you can make the ponzu. Ponzu is a citrus-infused soy sauce and you can get fancy with it. Typically you are supposed to mix the ingredients and let them sit to develop flavor, but in a pinch this way gives you nice flavor and only takes a minute. Add 1Tbs of orange zest to a bowl, add the juice of an orange, and the juice of a small lemon (it's citrus season!), add about 1/3 of a cup of soy sauce (I used Tamari because it is 100% soy) and mix together. Easy-peasy. Not traditional, but it tastes good.

Add the ponzu sauce to the pan. Return the somen noodles to the pan, and add bean sprouts. Stir to break up the noodles and coat with sauce.

It's really, really fast to prepare and it tastes really good. Boy approved. They ate all of it, even the bean sprouts.

Unexpected Weeknight baking- Meyer Lemon Curd and Molasses Cookies

My guy has the flexibility to occasionally work from home, so with the snow yesterday, that's what he did.  He also made his excellent chili in the crockpot.  (He's a keeper.)

So, I didn't have to cook.  What did I do instead?  Relax?  Catch up on reading?  Nope.  I made lemon curd and baked cookies.  I'm a tad bit insane.

But the lemon curd was delicious...

The lemon curd is from an Ina Garten recipe (I love the Barefoot Contessa show) - Lemon Curd

We discovered lemon curd by purchasing it on a whim a few years ago, but it is very expensive.  I saw some beautiful Meyer lemons in the store and knew I had to try making my own.  I figured out that I spend just about the same amount of money...but instead of one jar of curd, I have enough for four or five.  So I get that bonus...plus no Yellow Number 5 or other weird ingredients.  That awesome yellow color is all lemon.


The molasses cookies were also tasty, but they gave me too much rise.  I think I need to reduce the leavening next time.

Here's the recipe: Molasses Cookies

I didn't use margarine, of course. I used unsalted butter instead. I also didn't have any baking soda, so I substituted baking powder. Baking powder is made with baking soda plus cream of tartar, so it's an okay substitution, but didn't really work here. My cookies were too puffy- but I think it's a good recipe. They have a great flavor and were soft with awesome cracking. Teenage boy approved.

Sunday Dinner - Pot Roast

We had our very first flakes of snow this past Sunday.  Perfect day for pot roast.

This recipe is based on the Boeuf à la Mode recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  I changed a few things (like I don't use veal shanks).

Pot Roast

First, make a red wine marinade for the roast.  Heat 2 cups of red wine on the stove (I used a lovely Syrah) with ten whole black peppercorns (cracked), 2 sprigs of rosemary, 2 sprigs of thyme, 2 bay leaves, 2 cloves of garlic (minced).  Cook for a couple minutes just to get all the flavors to come together- you aren't trying to reduce this marinade.

Let the marinade cool completely then cover your roast and refrigerate for as long as you can.  Overnight is best.  I did mine at 8am, in preparation for eating dinner at 6pm.

At 2pm, I took the roast out of the marinade and dried it completely.  Wet roast won't brown- so this step really is important.  Salt & pepper your roast on all sides.  Heat some oil (or butter) in a dutch oven on the stove.  When the oil is nice and hot, brown all sides of the roast.  I do this by working with a spatula and a pair of tongs.  It only takes a couple of minutes per side.

Remove the roast from the pot, and drain out the excess fat.  Add the roast back in, along with beef broth.  Stock is another thing I want to start making myself, but I've never even tried it...so I purchased 2 boxes of organic beef broth.  It was just the grocery store brand, but it had good ingredients and cost $2/box.  Not bad for organic.  Julia's recipe doesn't add the wine back into the pot...but I like to do it because I just can't bring myself to pour out the wine...so it goes in.  Just don't forget to remove the thyme stems, rosemary stems, and bay leaves before serving (like I did).

Bring everything to a boil, and then reduce the heat to a simmer.  Cook for 3 and a half to 4 hours.  When it gets to the last hour, add sliced onions and cut up carrots.  I added a whole, sweet onion, and an entire bunch of carrots. 

At the last hour, I also cut red potatoes into small pieces and tossed with rosemary, salt, pepper, and olive oil- then baked in the oven at 350 to serve alongside the roast.

At the last ten minutes, I sauteed mushrooms to be served on top of the roast.

After everything was done, I removed the roast from the pot so I could slice it (it was so tender I didn't even need a knife) and made a quick gravy in the pan I'd used for mushrooms.  I added 2Tbs of butter, 2Tbs of flour and whisked together into a paste, then added the broth from the pot roast to thin it back out.  When it reached the right consistency, I got that ready for my boys to spoon over the roast or potatoes or whatever...

We ate this with leftover baguette from the day before.  Grownups got wine. 

You need to make this pot roast.  It is a labor of love, but so worth it on these cold days.  It is tender, delicious, and comforting.

Another Saturday Soup - with homemade baguettes

I love to cook, but I really, really love to bake.  If you don't love to bake, don't beat yourself up about it.  It's not for everyone and it is time-consuming.  Baguettes take over five hours to make- from the time you mix the dough to the time you pull them out of the oven.  If you don't want to do that, then there are lots of great bakeries that use wholesome ingredients.  I, personally, find it relaxing.  When you work all day in front of a computer, sometimes it is nice to do something a little more tangible.  With bread, I know I'm going to actually produce something.  It'll be real.

I made three baguettes using a recipe from King Arthur flour (the recipe was printed right on the bag of flour).  I buy all of my flour from them (they definitely don't pay me to say that).  While I'm not going to say you should use their stuff...I am going to say that you should find a brand you like and stick with it because flour is different across brands and you want to get used to your flour so you'll know how it behaves.  For example, all purpose flour is typically a mix of hard and soft wheat - so different brands of all purpose flour will have different protein contents.  So different all purpose flours will have slightly different consistencies and will rise differently, etc...  You'll be able to gain confidence baking if you get comfortable with your flour.

That being said, there are times when you want more protein, less protein, etc...  You want a different flour for a bread than for a cake.  Flour matters. 

Anywho...I bought the King Arthur French Style flour because it is high-ash (that means more minerals and more nutrients) and made from hard wheat.  It's supposed to be more flavorful.  And we all want yummy baguettes, right? 


Baguettes

Mix 6cups of flour, 2 cups of lukewarm water, 2Tbs of instant yeast, and 1Tbs of salt until it comes together in a smooth dough.  Let it rest for half an hour. 
Knead the dough for 7-10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic.
Let the dough rise in a greased bowl (cover it with a tea towel) until doubled (1 and a half hours)
On your worksurface, work the dough for a while- folding it over onto itself numerous times
Let the dough rise again until doubled (another 1 and a half hours)
Form your baguettes - stretch the dough into three about 15 inch baguettes
Let the baguettes rise for an hour
Heat your oven to 450 degrees
Spray the baguettes with water, put in the oven for 20-25 minutes until deeply golden
Turn off the oven and open the door about an inch
Let the baguettes cool completely in the oven

Like I said, it takes time.  The baguettes are lovely though- and only have four ingredients: flour, water, yeast, salt (maybe a little oil from the greased bowl).  That's it.  No preservatives.

 

 

Next time, I think I'm going to make it a bit of a longer process and start with a sponge starter, because that adds even more flavor to the bread.  I'll post about that soon.

 

And here's the soup to go with it...that's right soup goes with the bread in my house.  The bread is more important. 

 

Curried Split Pea with Ham Soup

 

I made those baked potatoes with broccoli, ham, and cheese during the week and this is a good way to use the rest of the ham. 

 

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a pan over medium heat

Add 3 cloves of garlic- minced, 3 shallots- minced (you could use onions...I had shallots, so I used shallots), and half a cup of diced carrots.  Cook until softened and starting to brown.

Add the cubed ham (I added about 2 cups) and cook until it browns a bit

Add a bag of split peas (picked through for rocks, rinsed and drained)

Add 8 cups of water and bring to a boil

Boil for 2-3 minutes, then reduce heat to a simmer

Add 2-3 Tbs of curry powder (to taste) and salt & pepper (to taste)

Cook until the peas have softened (30 - 40 minutes)

Taste for seasoning.  Adjust if necessary then simmer for about 20 more minutes so the flavors meld.  If you need to add more liquid you can definitely do so.  Water works fine, but broth would add more flavor.

 

Lots of curry makes this split pea soup more brown than green



 

Two Weeknight Dinners

Finally feeling better.  Last week, we ended up with more sandwiches for dinner and then by Thursday night, I felt well enough to cook a bit. 

Here are a couple of quick weeknight meals.

We had leftover buttermilk from the waffles I'd made Sunday.  What do you do with buttermilk?  Make fried chicken, of course.  :-) 


Buttermilk pan-fried chicken breasts

Soak chicken breasts in buttermilk, salt and pepper
Remove chicken from buttermilk and coat in flour (I had some panko crumbs, and added those because I didn't have enough for a full recipe and didn't want to waste them)
Heat butter (about 2-3 Tbs) or oil (but not extra-virgin olive oil) in a skillet until hot
Fry the chicken on both sides until golden, and then put into an oven at 350 degrees and cook until the internal temp gets to 165 (about 20 minutes for thick chicken breasts)

While you're waiting for the chicken, you can use a bit more buttermilk to make ranch dressing for salad.  Just whisk together about 1/2 cup of buttermilk, 1/2 cup of mayo, the juice of a small lemon, a clove of garlic (minced), salt & pepper, and then whatever herbs you want (I had chives in the freezer from our garden and they are perfect).  Flat-leaf parsley is also good.  The dressing is great over a simple lettuce salad.  We had a head of romaine.  Making your own dressing is easy, tastes better than store-bought, and you know exactly what is in it (I know...I need to start making my own mayo...baby steps). 

That's it- chicken and salad for dinner.  Yum.  Dinner #2 was even easier (and inexpensive). 


Baked Potatoes with broccoli, cheese, and cubed ham

All I did was bake the potatoes in the oven, chop the broccoli, and then cook it with the ham and some minced garlic on the stovetop until the broccoli was tender and the ham had some crispiness.  I opened the potatoes, buttered them, and topped them with the ham and broccoli mixture and grated cheddar cheese.  They went back in the oven for another ten minutes until the cheese was nice and bubbly.  So simple, but still homemade.  I've been instructed to make this again.  :-)  I'm lucky that my oven has a baked potato setting, and a delayed start.  So, I could set things up to start the potatoes before I leave the office and have dinner ready nice and early.  But this is also something I'd feel comfortable teaching teenage boys.  I'm sure they could throw potatoes in the oven for me.