The Sassy Squid

Penne with Slow-Roasted Tomatoes and Goat Cheese

Sunday, June 28, 2020

I bought two logs of some really fantastic goat cheese from Costco a couple of weeks ago to make Smitten Kitchen's tomato shortcakes with whipped goat cheese, which was yummy but not quite blog-worthy. With a whole lot of extra goat cheese to use up, I found this recipe that conveniently used up the rest of the log, as well as the rest of the cherry tomatoes I had lying around. Don't you love when you find that perfect kitchen clean-out recipe? It ended up tasting great and was a really easy dinner to have in my back pocket for the future. It's like a tangier tomato-and-basil version of alfredo, but way easier to make.

Penne with Slow-Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Goat Cheese
(Recipe from Sara Moulton via the Food Network)

2 lbs red and yellow cherry tomatoes
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp kosher salt
1 lb penne
6 oz fresh goat cheese
1 cup loosely packed basil leaves, torn into pieces (I chiffonaded them)
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil
Halve each tomato, place on baking sheet, and toss with 1 tbsp olive oil and all of the kosher salt. Arrange all tomato halves to be cut side up. Roast tomatoes until dried around the edges but still moist, around 2 hours.
Crumble the goat cheese and refrigerate until ready to serve the pasta.
Cook the penne in salted boiling water according to package directions. Before draining, remove 1 cup cooking water and reserve. Drain the pasta and add back to the pot.
Add the roasted tomatoes, goat cheese, basil, reserved cooking water, and remaining 2 tbsp olive oil to the pasta. Toss well and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm.

Caramelized Corn with Fresh Mint

Friday, June 26, 2020

This is one of the easiest and tastiest side dishes I've ever made. All you have to do is defrost a bag of frozen corn, toast it in a pan with some butter, throw in some chopped mint and salt, and boom you have a beautiful side dish. I love it because you don't even have to cut corn kernels off the cob, one of the things I hate doing when making dishes with corn. It's barely a recipe, but last night when paired alongside pan-roasted chicken thighs with braised leeks, this totally stole the show.

The only changes I made to the original recipe were scaling up the recipe, since it called for a 10-oz bag of corn, and the bag I bought was 16 oz. In scaling it up, the proportion of butter got increased, but I'm sure you won't mind. ;)

Caramelized Corn with Fresh Mint
(Recipe from Julia Moskin via The Wednesday Chef)

1 16-oz package frozen corn (try to find frozen petite white corn if you can)
2 tbsp unsalted butter
3 tbsp minced fresh mint leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Defrost the corn in a colander, tossing occasionally, for 30 minutes.
In a wide skillet, melt the butter over high heat. Add the corn and cook, stirring often until golden and browned, about 10 minutes.
Stir in the mint and season with salt and pepper. Serve.

Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Galette

This is probably the first recipe I bookmarked in the Smitten Kitchen cookbook. It has everything I ever want in a meal--roasted butternut squash, caramelized onions, fontina cheese. All baked in a flaky pie crust. Of course it turned out delicious even if my pie crust was a little wonky. This was my first time making my own pie crust by hand, and I've learned that next time I need to work the butter into smaller chunks and really flour that board before I start rolling it out.

And trust me, there will be a next time. This is the perfect entree for a vegetarian dinner party, served alongside a green salad with a tart dressing.

Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Galette
(Recipe from the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman)

For the crust:

2 1/2 cups (315 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp table salt
16 tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1/2 cup (120 grams) sour cream or full-fat Greek yogurt
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/3 cup ice water

For the filling:

1 large butternut squash (about 2 1/2 pounds)
3 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp table salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp unsalted butter
2 large sweet onions, such as Spanish or Vidalia, halved and thinly sliced
1/4 tsp sugar
2 cups grated Fontina cheese (6 1/2 oz or 185 grams)
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme or 2 tsp chopped fresh sage (we used sage and would increase to 1 tbsp next time)
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tsp water for glaze

In a bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add the whole sticks of butter and using a pastry blender, break up the bits of butter until the texture is like cornmeal, with the biggest bits of butter the size of small pebbles (really make sure the butter is in small enough chunks or it will leak out of your crust like it did for me).
In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, vinegar, and water. Pour this over the butter-flour mixture and stir with a spoon until a dough forms, kneading it once or twice on the counter if needed to bring it together.
Pat the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic, and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Peel the squash and cut into 1/2-3/4-inch chunks. Toss with 2 tbsp olive oil on a baking sheet, season with 1/2 tsp of the salt and the freshly ground black pepper, and roast for 30 minutes, turning the pieces occasionally. Set aside to cool.
While the squash is roasting, melt the butter and remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy skillet. Add the onions, sugar, and remaining tsp of salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and tender, about 25 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Mix the squash, onions, cheese, and herbs together in a bowl.
When ready to assemble, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. On a well-floured work surface, roll the dough out into a 16-17-inch round (yes, this will be large). Carefully transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet (use a rolling pin to help you with this, as this was quite difficult to do with such a big round).
Spread the squash mixture over the dough from the center to about 2 inches from the edges, leaving a border. (This will look like a lot of filling but it will work.) Fold the border over the squash and cheese, pleating the edge to make it fit. The center will be exposed. Brush the outside of the crust with the egg-yolk wash.
Bake until golden brown, 30-40 minutes. Remove the galette from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes before sliding onto a serving plate and cutting into wedges.

Strawberry Chiffon Shortcake

Happy belated Father's Day! Last weekend was special because it was both Father's Day and my father-in-law's birthday. We celebrated with a socially distanced steak dinner outside, and this showstopper of a cake. Strawberry shortcake is my father-in-law's favorite dessert, and while this doesn't taste like your traditional biscuit-based shortcake, it was delicious all the same.

Assembling it together with my husband was a lot of fun. As was seeing the reaction on my father-in-law's face.

If you're going to make this to bring somewhere else like we did, I would recommend bringing the cakes, strawberries, and whipped cream separately and assembling it wherever you're going to serve it. With its four layers of cream and fruit, it would not travel well. I do see it making a nice trifle though if you don't want the extra fuss of a dessert you have to assemble later.

Strawberry Chiffon Shortcake
(Recipe from Smitten Kitchen)

For the cake:

2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups superfine or regular granulated sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup cold water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 large egg yolks at room temperature
8 large egg whites at room temperature
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

For the filling:

2 cups heavy cream
6 tbsp confectioner's sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 quarts strawberries, hulled and sliced thinly

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line the bottoms of two 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper that has been sprayed lightly with cooking spray. Leave the cake pans ungreased otherwise.
Sift the flour, sugar, 1 1/4 cups of the sugar, baking powder, and salt together twice in a large bowl.
In another bowl, beat the egg yolks, water, oil, zest, and vanilla on high speed until smooth. Stir into the flour mixture until smooth.
In another large bowl, or in the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until soft peaks are formed. Add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and beat on high speed until the peaks are stiff but not dry.
Use a rubber spatula to fold 1/4 of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture, then gently fold in the remaining egg whites just until the egg whites are no longer visible. Don't overdo it. You don't want to knock out too much air and end up with a dense cake.
Scrape the batter into the two prepared pans and spread evenly. Bake until the top springs back when lightly pressed and a toothpick comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes.
Let cakes cool on a cooling rack for at least an hour. (Honestly, we only let them cool on a rack for half an hour before we put them in a car and drove 2 hours). When cake is completely cool and you are ready to assemble the cake, run a knife around the sides to release, then flip the cake out onto a plate and then another plate.
Make the whipped cream by beating the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a clean mixing bowl until it forms stiff peaks.
To assemble the cake, carefully cut each 9-inch round cake in half to form two layers. You should have 4 cake layers in total. Place one layer on your serving dish, top with 1/4 of the whipped cream, and spread evenly to the edges. Arrange one quarter of the strawberries over the whipped cream. Place another cake layer over the strawberries and repeat the layers, ending with strawberries on top. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat.

Spaghetti with Mint Pea Pesto

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

If the idea of a mint pea pesto intrigues and haunts you as much as it did to me, I recommend you take out your food processor and gives this a spin. The best part is that it relies on frozen peas, so you can really make this whenever you have some fresh mint in your fridge.

Andrew has been making the most of our fire escapes this year and has been planting pots and pots of herbs, so I had plenty of mint to work with. Now we just need to figure out what to do with all the rest of the mint...I have a feeling there will be more minty recipes in this blog's future. *wink wink*

Spaghetti with Mint Pea Pesto
(Adapted from Dinner: A Love Story by Jenny Rosentrach)

1 pound spaghetti
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
1 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1/3 - 1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil on your stove. When ready, cook your spaghetti according to package instructions. Before draining, reserve 1 cup of pasta water.
Add the peas, mint, Parmesan, lemon, and olive oil to a food processor and blend until it has a consistency between a smooth and chunky guacamole.
Add pesto to the pot you cooked your pasta in. Drizzle some of the reserved pasta water into the pot and whisk until it has the consistency of a creamy sauce. Season to taste, keeping in mind it will become less seasoned when you toss it with pasta.
Add the spaghetti to the sauce and toss until coated. Serve with more Parmesan.

Lemon Basil Cake

Back in medical school, I had a lovely little herb garden on my patio, and one summer had a flourishing basil plant. I've never had that kind of luck with basil again, but that summer, we added basil to everything.

I found this intriguing recipe for a basil cake on one of my favorite Chinese food blogs, and I immediately made it for dessert. Andrew went nuts for it. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised since lemon and basil are two of his favorite flavors, and this cake combines them in a light, bouncy, tangy package. We recently made this again and enjoyed it just as much.

Lemon Basil Cake
(Recipe from the Woks of Life)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
Zest of 2 lemons
3/4 cup yogurt (we used whole-milk)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil or vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup finely chopped basil
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch or 9-inch round pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the sugar and lemon zest. Using your fingers, rub the zest into the sugar until the sugar has the texture of damp sand.
Add the yogurt and lemon juice to the sugar and mix well.
Add the oil, eggs, vanilla, and basil. Whisk until well-blended.
Fold in the dry ingredients until just combined. Do not overmix.
Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes for a 9-inch pan or 35-40 minutes for an 8-inch pan, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool.
Prepare the glaze by mixing together to the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and milk until smooth. When cake is cool, drizzle the glaze over the top. Serve.

Pork Shoulder Ragu

I apologize for the messy photo, but I was so excited to eat this that I could barely stand to wait. This is basically Italian pulled pork in the best way. You braise a small pork shoulder in a tomato and red wine sauce until it falls apart into shreds of moist, saucy meat. It's heavenly on its own with a side of some bread, but we decided to make our own tagliatelle to toss it with. The recipe is from Dinner: A Love Story, who call it an instant dinner party, and I can totally see it being perfect for that. But even if it's just for two, I would make this again over and over.

Pork Shoulder Ragu
(Recipe from Dinner: A Love Story by Jenny Rosentrach)

2 1/2 pound boneless pork shoulder
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 large can whole tomatoes with their juice
1 cup red wine (we used a cabernet sauvignon)
5 sprigs fresh thyme
5 sprigs fresh oregano
1 small handful fennel seeds
1 tbsp hot sauce, for smokiness (I used Sriracha)
1 - 2 pounds wide pasta (we used tagliatelle even though the original recipe calls for pappardelle)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Liberally salt and pepper the pork roast. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium high and add olive oil and butter. Once butter is melted, add pork shoulder to Dutch oven and brown on all sides, about 8-10 minutes total.
Add the onion and garlic and saute for 1 minute.
Add tomatoes, wine, thyme, oregano, fennel seeds, and hot sauce. Bring to a boil, then cover and put in the oven. Braise for 3-4 hours, turning the pork every hour or so.
When meat is practically falling apart, remove the Dutch oven from the oven and transfer the meat to a large bowl. Using two forks, pull the meat apart into shreds, then return to the Dutch oven and combine with sauce.
Cook your pasta, drain, and toss with a liberal amount of ragu, adding more to your liking. You may have leftover pork (we had about 3/4 cup left over). Serve.

Shortcut Strawberry Trifle

I was looking for a nice dessert to bring to a friend's rooftop graduation party last week (I know, I know, we broke the rules. Judge away). We also knew we would have to take the T to get there rather than drive since she lives downtown where parking is $$$. Times like these are where trifles come in handy. They're the perfect party dessert since they 1) are easy to transport, 2) feed a crowd, and 3) look spectacular. If you invite me to your party and tell me to bring dessert, chances are I will bring a trifle.

This one was fun to put together and really tasty with all the ripe strawberries we bought at Costco. It has a few shortcuts such as pudding mix and cake mix if you're lazy like me, but I didn't think it tasted artificial. If I had had more time, I would definitely have made my own pound cake to use in this. Next time!

Shortcut Strawberry Trifle
(Recipe from Taste of Home)

2 cups cold heavy whipping cream
1 cup cold milk
1 cup sour cream (trust me, the end result will not be sour)
1 package (3.4 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix
1 tsp grated orange zest (I left this out since I didn't have time to run to the store)
8 cups white cake, cubed (I baked a cake from a white cake mix and cubed it. You can also use a store-bought angel food cake or pound cake.)
4 cups sliced fresh strawberries

In a large bowl, whip the heavy whipping cream until soft peaks form. Keep chilled.
In another large bowl, beat the milk, sour cream, pudding mix, and orange zest on low speed until thickened. Fold in whipped cream.
Place half the cake cubes on the bottom of a trifle bowl or 3-quart glass bowl. Arrange a third of the strawberries around the sides of the bowl and over the cake. Top with half the pudding mixture. Repeat layers once. Top with remaining berries.
Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

Roasted Carrot and Fennel Salad

This salad is another winner from Dining In. It's an interesting play on textures and flavors. You slice up carrots and fennel, roast half of them, leave the other half raw, and then toss it all together in a casual lemony dressing. The little details like roasted scallions, feta, and fresh herbs are what makes this brilliant. It tasted even better the next day.

If you're nervous about cooking with fennel like I was, rest assured that the licorice-y flavor here is mild. It's even milder if you eat it the next day. One thing I could not allow in my salad however was cilantro. I'm sorry, but cilantro is a deal-breaker. Since we had a bunch of fresh mint to use, I used that instead, and I thought it perfect.

Roasted Carrot and Fennel Salad
(Adapted from Dining in by Alison Roman)

1 large fennel bulb, halved lengthwise
1 bunch small carrots
1 bunch scallions, halved crosswise
5 tbsp olive oil
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
10-15 mint leaves, torn roughly
3 oz feta cheese, sliced into 1/4" slabs

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Slice half of the fennel into 1/2-inch thick slices and place them on a baking sheet (lined with foil if you wish). Thinly slice the rest of the fennel lengthwise and set aside.
Trim the tops off your carrots. Scrub them but leave the peels on. Place half of them on the baking sheet with the fennel. Thinly slice the rest of the carrots lengthwise and set aside.
Add half the scallions to the baking sheet with the carrot and fennel and toss with 3 tbsp olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast, tossing occasionally, until the carrots and fennel are browned and the scallions begin to char, 20-25 minutes. (Check on them periodically. I had to remove the scallions early since they were cooking faster than the carrots and fennel.) Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature.
Add the raw sliced fennel and carrots to a large bowl. Thinly slice the remaining scallions on a diagonal bias and add to the bowl.
When the roasted vegetables are at room temp, add to the bowl of raw vegetables. Toss with the lemon juice, mint, 2 tbsp olive oil, and feta (Alison Roman adds chopped pistachios as well but I didn't have these). Serve.

Coconut Cardamom Cake

Monday, June 22, 2020

Andrew loves coconut. I love cardamom. This bundt cake sounded like a dream to us. It was on my to-make list for months, but I ran out of cardamom and couldn't find it at any of my local grocery stores. I eventually had to order a new bottle, and this was the first thing I made. It's a moist, dense, fragrant cake. It's very lightly sweet if you leave it naked like we did, and I think it would be even better with the frosting that the recipe called for. We will definitely make this again.

Coconut Cardamom Cake
(Recipe from Odette Williams via King Arthur Flour)

2 1/4 cups (270 grams) all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cardamom
2 cups (226 grams) shredded unsweetened coconut (I used sweetened coconut and just reduced the sugar to 1 1/4 cups)
1 1/2 cups (298 grams) granulated sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 can coconut milk, plus 3-4 tbsp coconut milk
16 tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 10-cup Bundt pan.
Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and cardamom in a large bowl.
Add the coconut and sugar to the flour mixture and whisk to combine.
In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and coconut milk. Add to the dry ingredients, stirring to combine, then stir in the melted butter.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake the cake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Gently jiggle the cake to loosen it from the pan and turn it onto the rack to finish cooling completely.
To make the glaze, sift the powdered sugar into a small bowl and stir in 3 tbsp of coconut milk. Add more coconut milk as needed to get the glaze to the consistency that it will cling to the cake but is still pourable. Drizzle over the cake before serving.

Roasted Tomato and Anchovy Spaghetti

Saturday, June 20, 2020

Maybe it makes me a bad Asian to say this considering her recent controversy, but I really do like cooking out of Alison Roman's cookbooks. Dining In is a lot of fun to read, and the recipes are solid. This twist on spaghetti with marinara sauce was so good we wanted to lick our plates. The picture above was actually taken the day after I made this when I reheated it for lunch (and for the record, it reheats beautifully).

Roasted Tomato and Anchovy Spaghetti
(Very barely adapted from Dining In by Alison Roman)

3 pounds small-medium tomatoes (such as hothouse or vine-ripened)
1 1/2 cup olive oil, plus 1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves crushed garlic
A few sprigs fresh thyme or oregano
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
Crushed red pepper flakes
4 anchovy fillets
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 pound spaghetti or bucatini

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Halve the tomatoes crosswise and place them in a 3-quart baking dish, cut-side up.
Cover with 1 1/2 cups olive oil and add the crushed garlic and oregano or thyme sprigs to the baking dish. Season with salt and pepper. Roast tomatoes until they are shriveled and caramelized, about 3 1/2 hours.
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.
While waiting for the water to boil, heat the 1/4 cup olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and season with salt and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is cooked through but not browned, 10-15 minutes.
Add the anchovies and stir until they have melted into the pan, about 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste and cook until it turns a brick-red color and sticks a bit to the bottom of the pan, about 90 seconds.
Add the slow-roasted tomatoes, scraping up any bits on the bottom of the skillet. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until sauce thickens. Season to taste and keep warm.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling water until just al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water and drain the pasta.
Add the pasta along with 1/2 cup pasta cooking water to the skillet and toss to coat. Cook, tossing occasionally, until the pasta is well-coated in sauce. Serve with lots of Parmesan cheese.

Potato Frittata with Feta and Scallions

Saturday, June 6, 2020

We've always been quiche people, but for some reason it's taken us more time to make frittatas a regular part of our brunch routine. This frittata recipe from Smitten Kitchen however has everything I've ever wanted on my breakfast plate--roasted potatoes, bacon, scallions, feta, and eggs. I actually ended up making it for dinner with a salad alongside, and it was the perfect weeknight meal. I had seconds, and Andrew may have had thirds...Needless to say, we will be making this again. It's a bit involved for breakfast since you have to roast potatoes, cook bacon, assemble, and bake it all, but it's hearty enough for dinner. Yum.

Potato Frittata with Feta and Scallions

(Recipe adapted from the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook)

2 tbsp oil
1 3/4 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
1/2 tsp table salt, plus more for roasting potatoes
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 pound bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch matchsticks
3-4 scallions, thinly sliced
2/3 cup (3 oz) crumbled feta
6 large eggs
2 tbsp milk or cream

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a roasting pan or baking sheet generously with 2 tbsp oil.
Peel potatoes and cut them into 1/4-1/2-inch slices, then halve lengthwise into half-circle shapes. Spread them out in the prepared pan and generously season with salt and black pepper. Roast 30 minutes, or until potatoes are mostly cooked, tossing once halfway. (To save time, you can also cook potato slices in a saucepan covered in an inch of cold water and simmered for 5-7 minutes until tender).
Cook bacon in a well-seasoned 9-inch cast-iron frying pan until crisp. Scoop out with a slotted spoon and drain. Pour out bacon fat until 1-2 tbsp remains in the pan and reheat over medium heat. Carefully swirl the drippings up and around the pan until fully coated.
Arrange roasted potatoes in your skillet in an even layer. Scatter bacon pieces, then scallions, then feta over potatoes.
Whisk eggs with milk or cream, 1/2 tsp salt, and several grinds of black pepper in a medium bowl, and pour over potatoes.
Cover skillet with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until puffed at the edges and set in the center. Serve right from the skillet.

Lightly Sweet Chai Spiced Granola

I'm obsessed with granola. I'm obsessed with masala chai. Of course I was going to combine them at some point. I used a granola recipe from Alison Roman in her book Dining In and tweaked it to fit what I felt like eating at the time. Less sesame seeds, less egg white, different spices, coconut chips instead of coconut flakes, and then I added in a liberal amount of chopped crystallized ginger to add some subtle sweetness and more spicy ginger flavor. The result was addictive. It's not very sweet for a granola, but that's how Andrew and I like it.

Lightly Sweet Chai Spiced Granola

(Adapted from Dining In)

3 cups rolled oats
2 cups unsweetened coconut chips
1 cup chopped pecans
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp cardamom
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup coconut oil or olive oil
3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1 cup chopped crystallized ginger

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine the oats, coconut chips, pecans, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, allspice, cloves, black pepper, and kosher salt in a large bowl. Add the egg whites, honey, and coconut oil and toss to combine.
Spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and bake, stirring every 15 minutes or so, until everything is golden brown, about 30-35 minutes.
Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds on top.
Let cool, then add chopped crystallized ginger and toss to evenly distribute.

Shaved Asparagus Pizza

I've been having fun this week cooking out of cookbooks while working from home. One such cookbook is the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, which I'm just now discovering even though I've been a fan of Deb Perelman's blog for years. I was particularly intrigued by this shaved asparagus pizza, which looked so vividly green and whose flavor I could not imagine. Andrew was skeptical, but game.

The results were so delicious and like no pizza we've ever had before. I have to disagree with the amount of mozzarella Deb recommends though--we found it to be way too much to the point where it got in the way of the asparagus. And this is coming from a girl who loves cheese. Next time we would cut the mozzarella in half (the amount we recommend is reflected in the recipe below). Next time meaning today because I saw a big pack of asparagus at Costco last weekend and immediately started thinking about making this again.

Please try this pizza! You won't be disappointed.

Shaved Asparagus Pizza

(Recipe adapted from the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook)

1 pound asparagus
4 tsp olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt
Several grinds black pepper
1.5 pounds pizza dough (we used our favorite pizza dough recipe and had about 1/3 of the dough left over)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino
1/2 pound mozzarella, shredded
2 scallions, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 500 degrees or however high it will go. Place a pizza stone in the oven if you have one. Line a pizza pan or baking sheet with parchment paper (this is our go-to trick to get the pizza off easily).
Holding a single asparagus spear, use a vegetable peeler to create long shavings of asparagus by dragging the peeler from the base of the asparagus to the top (don't fret if they don't come off as long continuous shavings at first, it will get easier). Repeat with all of the asparagus stalks.
Toss shavings with olive oil, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
Take half or 1/3 of your dough (depending on how much you want to use--this recipe will make two pizzas). Roll or stretch out your dough to a 12-inch round on top of the parchment paper.
Sprinkle dough with 1/4 cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino. Then sprinkle with 1/4 pound mozzarella.
Top with half the shaved asparagus, arranging evenly on top of the cheese.
Place the pizza in the oven on top of the pizza stone if using, and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the edges are browned, the cheese is bubbling, and the asaparagus is lightly charred. (While this pizza is in the oven, you can work on assembling the second pizza on a second piece of parchment.)
When finished, remove the pizza from the oven and immediately top with half the sliced scallions. Slice and serve immediately. (Cook the second pizza in the same way.)

Chicken Pot Pie

I never grew up eating chicken pot pie, and I can't remember when I first tried it, but it just screams love and comfort food to me. It also reminds me of the Zumba classes that my roommate Anisha and I used to have in college--not because of the class itself but because of the chicken pot pies we would pick up from the Student Union afterwards. They were flaky and delicious, and at some point the class became less about the dancing and more about burning off as many calories as we could before eating them all back again immediately after.

Believe it or not, I haven't had chicken pot pie since college, but when Dinner a Love Story posted about it a couple of weeks back, I knew it had to be on the menu at some point. I mean, chicken and dumplings is already one of our favorite comfort food meals. With its flaky pie crust, chicken pot pie is even better.

This isn't the prettiest chicken pot pie I could have made (there's a big seam in the middle because my storebought pie crust cracked when it fell out of my freezer at one point), but we ate almost the entire thing while we had a Zoom baby shower for our friend. I'm already figuring out an excuse to make it again, this time with leftover rotisserie chicken.

Chicken Pot Pie

(Recipe adapted from Dinner, A Love Story)

1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 large Yukon Gold potato, peeled and diced
1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
Leaves from 2 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 cup milk
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped (I poached two chicken breasts)
1/3 cup frozen peas
1 store-bought or homemade pie crust
1 egg or egg yolk, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
In a medium saucepan, bring the broth to a boil. Add the potato, carrot, onion, celery, and thyme. Season to taste. Simmer for 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
While the vegetables are simmering, whisk together the milk and flour in a small measuring cup or bowl. When vegetables are ready, slowly add the milk and flour mixture, stirring until the filling has thickened.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chicken and peas. Add the mixture to a 9-inch pie plate. Cover with the pie crust and cut a few slits on top. Using a brush, paint the top with egg wash. Place the pie plate on a sheet pan to catch any drippings (it will bubble up and drip, so don't forget this step or you will have to clean the bottom of your oven!) and place the sheet pan in the oven.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until filling is bubbling and crust is golden brown. Serve!

52 Weeks of Cookies (Week 4): Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made these cookies a week and a half ago to celebrate being finished with 6 weeks on service. I don't think I've ever felt so drained after 6 weeks of working in the hospital, but that's COVID for you...

Don't be fooled into thinking these are just any oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. The recipe from King Arthur was named their Recipe of the Year back in 2015, and when you take a bite, it's easy to see why. They strike the perfect balance between sweet and salty in a way that makes you want another, and another, and another. The texture is the perfect balance between crispy and chewy. The amount of chocolate chips is just right. They're perfect.

Part of the joy of bringing these into work was watching people take one and then 5 minutes later, show up asking for more. I heard "These are really good!" more than a few times that day. They also make a lot of cookies, so we currently have 16 frozen dough balls in our freezer waiting for the next time we have a craving for something sweet.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Recipe from King Arthur Flour)

16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (213 grams) light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup (99 grams) granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temp
1 large egg yolk, at room temp
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 cups (241 grams) all-purpose flour
1 cup (99 grams) quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats (I used quick-cooking)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt (or 3/4 tsp table salt)
3 cups (510 grams) semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Beat together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth.
Beat in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.
Whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Add to the butter mixture and mix to combine.
Stir in the chocolate chips.
Scoop your cookies onto the tray (I used a tablespoon cookie scoop which made about 50 cookies), leaving about 1 1/2" between cookies.
Bake for 12-17 minutes, or until cookies are light golden brown with slightly darker edges.
Remove the cookies from oven and transfer to cooling racks. Enjoy!

Oven-Baked Smoky Ribs

Wednesday, June 3, 2020

Since we don't have any outdoor space in our tiny Boston apartment, when we saw ribs on sale at the grocery store, the only thing we could do was bake them. But we didn't let that stop us. I cobbled together some recipes, and we made a rack of ribs in our oven that I think even a grillmaster would be happy to eat. While this is a time-consuming process and requires some advance planning (don't start baking the ribs at 5PM like I did!), it's largely hands-off, and the results are worth it.

Oven-Baked Smoky Ribs

(Recipe adapted from Iowa Girl Eats and Serious Eats)

1 slab of baby back or St. Louis style ribs (about 2 1/2 - 3 pounds)
2 tsp table salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
Barbecue sauce (we like Trader Joe's Sriracha and Roasted Garlic BBQ Sauce)

Remove the membrane from the back of your rack of ribs.
In a small bowl, mix together the salt, pepper, onion powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and cayenne. Rub onto both sides of the ribs, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F and set rack in center position. Set a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet covered in aluminum foil.
Unwrap your ribs and sprinkle liquid smoke over the dry rub, rubbing it into the meat to evenly distribute. If ribs don't smell smoky enough, rub in a little more liquid smoke, but use sparingly because a little goes a long way!
Wrap ribs in aluminum foil, sealing tightly, and set on wire rack on prepared baking sheet.
Bake ribs for 2 hours. Remove ribs from the oven and discard the foil.
Set the ribs back on the wire rack, meaty side up, and return to the oven. Bake for 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours longer, or until a toothpick or skewer can be pushed into the meat with minimal resistance.
Remove ribs from the oven. Increase the oven temperature to 500 degrees F. Brush ribs with barbecue sauce, return to oven, and cook 5-10 minutes until well-browned.
Serve!

Tuscan Ragu di Carne

There's nothing like a classic Tuscan meat ragu to make me feel like I'm back in Italy. It's the perfect Sunday supper for enjoying with friends. We learned this recipe from a cooking class we took outside of San Gimignano, but I've adapted it slightly to make it easier to make in the US. You will need to locate passata, which is a tomato puree found at specialty Italian grocery stores. This is the kind we used.

I imagine if you can't find passata, you could puree canned whole tomatoes in a food processor or blender until smooth.

Tuscan Ragu di Carne
(Recipe adapted from Chef Mauro)

4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 large stalks celery, finely chopped
4 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1 1/3 pound ground beef
1/2 pound Italian sausage, casings removed
1 cup red wine such as Chianti
1 6-oz can tomato paste
1 bottle (700 grams) of passata
1/2 cup water
Salt
Pepper

Add olive oil to a large pot (I use a Dutch oven) over medium heat. Add onions, celery, and carrots. Cook 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the ground beef and Italian sausage to the pot. Cook for 5-6 minutes or until most of the pink is gone, stirring occasionally.
Add the wine, increase the heat to high, and cook for 2-3 minutes to let some of the alcohol cook off.
Add the tomato paste and passata. Use the 1/2 cup of water to rinse out any tomato puree coating the sides and add it to the pot. Season to taste.
Lower the heat until mixture is just simmering and allow to simmer uncovered for two hours.
Season to taste and serve with fresh pasta. We use about 3 pounds of fresh pasta for this amount of ragu. It definitely feeds a crowd! Feel free to cut this in half if you're cooking for just four or don't want leftovers.