Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: 5 Stars Dinner at Home… But Will the Kids Eat It?

Are you a foodie? Are you a foodie and a parent? Do your kids share your passion for food? Or do they give you a hard time?

I am a foodie and a picky eater in a choosy finicky, or conscious eating way. Since we got married, I got my husband all excited about food too. Our kids, however, are a different story. We have a one-year-old girl who is willing to try anything, almost, but changes her mind about what she likes and dislikes quite often. And we have a kindergartener who challenges us more.

I always try to cook family friendly food (hence the name and essence of my blog) that we will all like. I compromise a lot between what I really love to cook and eat and what kids usually prefer (we all know what THAT is). I really go a long way to make them happy but I draw the line when it comes to junk food. We have never ordered pizza or any other take-out and we never set foot, (or car), at any of the junk fast food places (Well, not willingly. Oh, how I hate those kiddies birthday parties at Chuck E Cheese). Once a month I might prepare an upgraded pizza (see recipe here) or a Mac and Cheese but then I use real wonderful artisanal cheeses.

My son can be a picky eater even when it comes to dessert. He always prefers a candy (from Halloween and birthday parties… ) over a fresh home-baked cake. Can you believe it?! (Click here to see the cakes). On one hand, this kid can tell the difference between goat cheese, feta, parmesan, Gouda, Swiss, Brousin, mozzarella, cheddar… and of course, a cheese stick. On the other hand, he is a typical 5 years-old. After a few years of trying different strategies with the kid, I have decided – enough. This is not really working anyway and I’m getting bored with the food that we eat. We’re going back to what mommy likes to cook and eat. So OK, no chilies and no Bobby Flay food yet, but a few weeks ago I cooked dinner and the menu was:

Young onion tart with cantal, applewood-smoked bacon, and Herb salad
From “Sunday Suppers at Lacques” cookbook


Butternut squash, butter lettuce, arugula and apple salad
Inspired by Ina Garten’s recipe from her new cookbook “Back to Basics”

It was heavenly.

Why this menu?

The choice of the menu was affected by our decision to eat less meat and chicken following a few posts I wrote about the cruel conditions under which animals are raised. (No, we’re not becoming vegetarians, just eating a smaller amount of animals and less frequently. If you care about conscious eating, see my second blog “Good Food and Bad Food”)

I knew the menu will be a tricky one with the kids. However, I decided to make it anyway because I was very curious about the recipes and I fell in love with “Sunday Suppers at Lacques” cookbook (there’s a short review at the end of the post). The food was so amazingly delicious. And this is an understatement. Really. It was like a 5 stars restaurant dinner but only at home. (And by “5 stars” I mean in flavor, not in labor-intensive preparations). The baby devoured the tart. She had crumbs all over her face and in her beautiful and funny hair. The kindergartener? He, surprisingly, ate the onions on the tart. The onions! He never eats onions. He declares a ban on onions, and onions, you know, are the base for many many dishes. He ate it and said that it was good! Then I told him: “you know, those are onions”. His answer: “no, this is a new kind of chicken”.

Since we loved the tart and salad so much, I wanted to make them again. Tonight I have recreated this dinner to show you: 1) the challenges foodie parents face with young kids at home, 2) how amazingly delicious these dishes are, 3) how fantastically simple and easy it can be to cook a 5 stars dinner at home, and, of course, 4) the funny comments and reactions from the kids’ point of view.

The menu:
* Onion tart with gruyere, applewood-smoked bacon, and Herb salad
* Butternut squash, butter lettuce, arugula and apple salad
* Good wine (not for the kids) – Meadow 2007, Ross Andrew winery, Oregon (Something local that the guy at the grocery store recommended with my menu. Thanks, Bruce! It is a lovely wine.)
* Home-made cinnamon ice cream (you have been so good to read this long post up to this point, so I give you a bonus – dessert. Actually, we always have dessert on the weekend, remember the cakes?)


The Recipes:

Young Onion Tart with Cantal, Applewood-Smoked Bacon, and Herb Salad
Don’t skip making the herb salad. It will be a huge huge mistake. It is so unique and to die for.
Slightly adapted from Suzanne Goin, “Sunday Suppers at Lucques”
Serves 6-8

1 sheet frozen all-butter puff pastry (I used two 8*9-inch sheets)
1 extra-large egg yolk
½-pound sliced applewood-smoked bacon
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cups sliced onions, red and white
1 tablespoon thyme leaves
½ cup whole milk ricotta, drained if wet
¼ cup crème fraiche
1/3 pound Cantal, Gruyère, or Comté cheese, thinly sliced

½ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
¼ cup tarragon leaves
¼ cup chervil sprigs
¼ cup 1/2-inch-snipped chives
A drizzle super-good extra virgin olive oil
½ lemon, for juicing
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Defrost the puff pastry slightly and unroll it onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Use a paring knife to score a 1/4-inch border around the edge of the pastry.

Stack the bacon slices in two piles, then cut crosswise into 3/8-inch rectangles or lardons.

Heat a large sauté pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, and allow to heat another minute. Add the bacon, and sauté over medium high heat 4 to 5 minutes, until slightly crisp but still tender. Reduce the heat to low, and toss in the young onions, thyme, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir together a minute or two, until the onions are just wilted. Toss in the onion tops, and remove to a baking sheet or platter lined with paper towels to soak the fat, and to cool a bit.

Place the ricotta, egg yolk, and 1 tablespoon olive oil in abowl and whisk until smooth. Gently fold in the crème fraîche and season with 1/8 teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper. Spread the ricotta mixture on the puff pastry within the scored border. Lay the Cantal over the ricotta, and arrange the bacon-onion mixture on top.

Bake the tart 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the baking sheet once, until the cheese is bubbling and the crust is golden brown. Lift up the edge of the tart and peek underneath to make sure the crust is cooked through. (If you underbake the tart, it will be soggy.)

Toss the herbs in a small bowl with salt, pepper, a drizzle of super-good olive oil, and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Cut tart to wedges and serve with herb salad.

Butternut squash, butter lettuce, arugula and apple salad
Inspired by Ina Garten’s recipe from her new cookbook “Back to Basics”
Serves 4-6

1 (1 1/2-pound) butternut squash, peeled and cut in 3/4-inch dice
Good olive oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sliced shallot
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
4 ounces baby arugula
½ head butter lettuce, torn into 2 bite-size pieces
1 apple, thinly sliced
1/2 cup walnut halves, toasted
3 tablespoons dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Place the squash on a sheet pan. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, the maple syrup, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper and toss. Roast the squash for 20 to 30 minutes, or until tender.

To make the vinaigrette, mix the cider vinegar, shallot, and mustard in a small bowl. Whisk in ¼ cup olive oil, salt, and black pepper.
Place the arugula and butter lettuce in a large salad bowl and add the roasted squash and apple. Add the cranberries and walnuts. Spoon just enough vinaigrette over the salad to moisten, and toss well.

Cinnamon Ice Cream
Make this at least 1 day ahead just to be on the safe side that the ice cream has the right consistency.
Slightly adapted from Suzanne Goin, “Sunday Suppers at Lucques”
Makes 1 quart

2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
2 cinnamon sticks
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 extra-large egg yolks
½ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract*
1 teaspoon hazelnuts extract*
Pinch ground cinnamon for serving*

Place the milk, cream, cinnamon sticks, and ground cinnamon in a medium pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn off the heat, cover, and let the flavors infuse about 30 minutes.

Bring mixture back to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat.
Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl. Whisk a few tablespoons of warm cream mixture into the yolks to temper them. Slowly, add another ¼ cup or so of the warm cream, whisking to incorporate. At this point, you can add the rest of the cream mixture in a slow steady steam, whisking constantly. Pour the mixture back into the pot and return to the stove.

Cook the custard over medium heat 6 to 8 minute, stirring with a rubber spatula, scraping the bottom and sides of the pan. The custard will thicken, and when it’s done will coat the back of the spatula. Off the heat, add the vanilla and hazelnut extracts and mix. Strain (in a fine mesh sieve) and chill at least 2 hours in the refrigerator. The base should be very cold before you churn it. Process in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Serve with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon.

*My additions.

Kiddies comments and reactions:

Herb salad
I put some salad on my son’s plate. He immediately burst into tears. E.: “I don’t like salad. Take it out of my plate. I want a new plate”. Me: “OK, I’ll take it out”. E. :”no, I want a new plate”. Me: “I’ll wipe it clean”. E.: “you can’t wipe out the flavor”. Me: “relax already. Here, see? It’s all gone”.

R., that’s the baby, on the other hand, didn’t try it at all. The minute she saw it, she threw it away from her tray and onto the floor. E. finds it very amusing and laughs loudly. She was however, very interested in a long stem of chives.

Butternut squash salad
Me: “how about this salad? This lettuce taste very nice”. E.: “no, I don’t like salad”. Me: “OK, what about eating the ingredients separately but not the lettuce?” E.: “OK”.

R. tried to eat the lettuce but had a hard time chewing on it since she has only 2 tiny teeth. She made a funny face and spitted it out. Well, at least she tried. She ate the squash but can’t eat the berries and nuts (choking hazards).

Onion tart
E. eats the bacon on top of the tart, and then stops. Me: “why don’t you eat all the “pizza””? E.: “it has onions. I don’t like onions”. My husband: “you ate the onions last time and liked it”. E.: “No I didn’t. I don’t like onions”. Me: “OK, just take them out and put it on the side of your plate and finish eating it”. Then he takes a bite and me and my husband see the onion hanging from the side. There’s a moment of silence… he ate it! Didn’t say a word.

R. loves this tart. No complains on her part.

Ice cream
Me: “today we have home-made ice cream!” E. – “I want a candy on the ice cream because ice cream alone doesn’t taste good to me.” Me: “you need to choose – ice cream or candy”. E: “then candy”. At the end he chose a Scooby Doo push up Popsicle, leftover from his birthday party last spring. Me: “how can you choose a Scooby Doo over home-made ice cream?” E.: “I’ll eat ice cream another time”. Me: “so why don’t you eat the Scooby Doo another time and tonight you’ll eat ice cream?” E.: “because that is what I chose”.

R. – this is the first ice cream she had in her life! She loved it. She even managed to feed herself with a teaspoon for the first time.

Some photos taken by E. who likes to take pictures and do some food styling

Conclusions:
For this kind of dinner, send the kids to someone else’s home, like grandma and grandpa, if you can. Open a bottle of good wine, dim the lights, and have a nice, quiet dinner at home with good adult conversation, because this is the best food. I tell ya. And young kids are just too… too young to appreciate it. One day I’m sure they will.

Good night... Bye bye...

The Cookbooks:

“Sunday Suppers at Lacques” by Suzanne Goin
I have heard about Lacques cookbook here and there, don’t remember exactly where… so I borrowed it from the library (that’s what I do before deciding if I am going to buy a book or not). There is something about that book that makes you fall in love with it immediately. I can’t quite tell what it is. I really love that it is arranged by seasons. (Already an excellent reason to love a cookbook). But there’s something beyond that. Could it be the simplicity of its sophistication or the sophistication of its simplicity? There’s something very earthy, rustic, yet terribly smart and chic about it. The recipes I have read seem to be pretty easy to make, the photos are gorgeous. Everyone should own a copy of this book.

“Back to Basics” by Ina Garten
The Barefoot Contessa… no need to elaborate what I love about her, like so many millions of people around the world. I thought that owning 4 of her cookbooks is enough but I just couldn’t resist buying the fifth one. It is just as good and beautiful as the previous ones.

Wow! You have made it this far! It is a loooong post. I admire you! I do.
Would you like to subscribe to my blog? Click here.

Thank you for reading! Nurit.

Thank you Foodbuzz!

Some links and related posts:

Good Food & Bad Food blog
Sometimes it’s Pizza for Dinner
A cake for the weekendHome-Made Food is the Best!
Cooking with Kids: “Feast Lesson”
Baking with kids: Chocolate-banana cookies, recreating the magic

Mashed Potatoes with Cheesy Crunchy Topping

Creamy mashed potatoes with tanned and crunchy and cheesy topping. A combination of all good things together in one dish. Doesn’t this make it the ultimate comfort side dish? I assume that you don’t really need a recipe for mashed potatoes, do you?! But I will share a few tips for making an even better one.

* If you have time, cook the potatoes whole and unpeeled. I find that it gives the potatoes maximum flavors because they absorb less water while they get cooked.
* When the water boils, lower heat to low. It should simmer gently so the potatoes don’t break.
* After the potatoes are cooked, drain, let cool a little (but not get cold), peel and continue from there.
* If you do peel and cut them, drain them after they are cooked, and return to the hot pot, uncovered, to release their steam. This will result in mashed potatoes that don’t taste so watery and with a diluted texture.
* I like to make them with butter and milk/cream/half and half. First I add the butter and mash the potatoes, and continue from there with the rest of the ingredients.
* For a variation, try to add sour cream.

OK, for the crunchy cheesy topping:

In this recipe I used leftover mashed potatoes, but of course you can use a fresh batch.

Place your mashed potatoes in a baking dish.
Mix together:
Seasoned fresh breadcrumbs (recipe here)
Good soft cheese/s, like goat, feta, Bruson
Good yellow hard cheese/s, like parmesan, pecorino

Spread on top and bake at 350 degrees until potatoes are heated through and the top is lightly browned, about 20-30 minutes.

More leftover recipes:

Mashed potatoes turned into Light-as-a-feather potato pancakes
Black Forest Chocolate Roulade using Leftovers: Egg whites
Leftovers: Roasted Chicken

Zucchini Pancakes Addiction

We have two food addictions in this house. One is for Brussels sprouts (recipes here and here) – now it’s like we’re trying to compensate for all those years we thought we hated them and wouldn’t eat them (what picky eaters we were) – and a newer addiction for zucchini pancakes. Once looked upon as a boring vegetable that is no longer the case.

The recipe that has changed it all is from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa at Home. I keep making it over and over again. I think we ate these pancakes 3 times in the past 4 weeks. And I’m not talking leftovers here. Try it.

Zucchini Pancakes

Adapted from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa at Home
Makes 10 (3-inch pancakes)

2 medium zucchini

2 tablespoons red onion

2 extra large eggs, lightly beaten

6-8 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

unsalted butter and vegetable oil

Grate the zucchini and red onion into a bowl (I do this in the food processor using the grater disk). Immediately stir in the eggs. Stir in 6 tablespoons of the flour, the baking soda, salt, and pepper. If the batter gets too thin from the liquid from the zucchini, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour.)

Heat a sauté pan over medium heat and melt ½ tablespoon butter and oil together in the pan. When the butter is hot but not smoking, lower the heat to medium-low and drop a heaping spoonful of the batter into the pan. Flatten with the back of the spoon. Cook about 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Add more butter and oil for the next batch.
I serve these with sour cream.

For pan frying tips, click here or here.

These were originally served with Fresh Wild Pacific Northwest Salmon.

Yum.

Weekly Meal Plan – November

Dear blog readers and subscribers,
It's time for another weekly meal plan suggestion. As always, mix and match according to what you and your family like to eat.

A reminder - one day left to vote for your favorite animal – is it chicken/fish/lamb/beef/pork, so I know what kind of recipes you are looking for. The poll is on the right side column.

Also, I encourage you to subscribe to the blog to get updates (it’s FREE), and, to share it with your friends… (We have added a “ShareThis” button at the end of each post).

So what's on the menu?

Entrées:
Balsamic and sweet roasted chicken
Fresh Wild Pacific Northwest Salmon
Thanksgiving-y chicken dinner with carrots, butternut squash, sweet potatoes
A simple yet delicious fall stew beef with butternut squash, Jerusalem artichokes, potatoes
Grilling in the rain - Balsamic marinated lamb, Tomato and mint orzo salad, and Hummus

Side dishes:
Garlic & Thyme Roasted Brussels sprouts
Light-as-a-feather potato pancakes
Orange marmalade salad
For more side dishes, click here.

On the sweet side - NY Times Chocolate Chip Cookies
For snack - Pumpkins Seeds Roasted With Curry Seasoning

More weekly meal plans:

Weekly meal plan - October
Weekly menu plan - September

Have a wonderful wonderful week!

Nurit

Eat Your Brussels Sprouts

I used to hate Brussels sprouts, but I have already told you everything about it in Try something new: Brussels sprouts. So, let’s assume that you have tried it – as I said, and liked it – as I knew you would, and pick up from there?

For the past 3 years I’ve been making Brussels sprouts the same way – 375 F degrees, salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil – and we liked it just like that. But last Saturday I thought – OK, enough, I got to try something else. I grabbed a few garlic cloves, sent the kid to cut some thyme sprigs from the backyard plant, chop chop, and – voila! A new variation was born. Yummy, just the same. Easy to make, just the same.

I eat these little devils as if they were peanuts; they are small and sneaky, and taste so good.
OK, I’m not kidding myself. I know some of you are still not convinced. I didn’t have much luck either trying to convert some people I know from mashed potatoes to Brussels sprouts. What can I tell you? It only means there will be more for me! Ha, ha, hah, hhhhhhhhhaa.

But seriously now, give it a chance.


Garlic & Thyme Brussels Sprouts

Makes 4-6 servings

1 1/2 – 2 lbs. Brussels sprouts
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Ground black pepper
A few garlic cloves, chopped
A few sprigs of thyme, leaves picked off from the stems

Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.Cut off the ends of the Brussels sprouts and pull off any rough outer leaves. If they are big, cut in half. Place on baking sheet. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkle salt, black pepper, garlic, and thyme. Mix together.Roast for 30-40 minutes, until outside in browned and they are tender inside. Turn the sprouts halfway through the cooking time so they brown evenly.


Serving suggestion.

Serve with:
Balsamic and sweet roasted chicken
Fresh Wild Pacific Northwest Salmon
Thanksgiving-y chicken dinner
or any other Dinner tonight.

Leftovers: Mashed potatoes turned into Light-as-a-feather potato pancakes

I really don’t have anything to write about this recipe. Maybe except for – you can reheat leftover mashed potatoes in the microwave, or if you have an extra 20-30 minutes make these pancakes?

Light-as-a-feather potato pancakes

Makes about 10 pancakes

2 cups mashed potatoes
1 cup onion, small diced
2-4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Salt, pepper
Extra virgin olive oil (evoo) and/or canola oil for frying*
1 cup sour cream for serving
Chives, chopped, for serving

Variations: play with adding paprika, cumin, fresh chopped herbs, corn, peas…

Heat oil/s in a 10-12-inch skillet over medium heat. (Oil/s should be about half the height of the pancakes, or about ½ cup oil.)
In a bowl, mix mashed potatoes, onion, garlic, flour, eggs, salt, and ground black pepper with a fork.
Fry about 2 tablespoons of batter at a time (that’s 3-4 pancakes for each batch). Flatten with the back of the spoon. Fry about 4-5 minutes, or until nicely browned. Using spatula, flip gently to other side and fry 4-5 minutes more.
Drain on a plate lined with (at least 3) paper towels.
Serve hot with sour cream and chives.

* Tips for pan-frying:

I use both canola and extra virgin olive oil when frying. Canola oil for the higher cooking temperature (Burnt oil is not a good thing) and evoo for the flavor and health.

Also, when frying, the food needs only to visit the oil, not move in together. You don’t want the food to stay too long in the oil because then it soaks too much oil and you end up with oily food (not a good thing either). If you see that the pancakes take forever to fry, turn the heat up a bit and see how it goes. Adjust heat as you go along.

Also, don’t overcrowd the pan with batter since it lowers the temperature too much which will end up with the pancakes taking forever to fry, and we have already covered up that point.

If you don’t want the pancakes to stick to the pan, make sure the oil is hot enough (by placing a little batter in the oil. It should sizzle), or use a Teflon coated skillet, or use stainless steel but don’t be tempted to turn them over before they are done/browned.

... and, enjoy.

Nurit

More Mashed Potatoes with Cheesy Crunchy Topping

More leftovers...

Leftovers: Roasted Chicken

Leftover bread turned into Bread pudding with spiced rum sauce for dessert

Cake for the weekend: Black Forest Chocolate Roulade, and Leftovers: Egg whites

Top Secret Orange Marmalade Salad

This recipe was originally posted on my seattlepi.com blog.

This vinaigrette was my best kept secret. Until now.
It is ridiculously good and quick to make, yet sophisticated. You won’t believe it until you try it.
Orange marmalade is a food item I always keep in the pantry or in the fridge (after opening) since we love this vinaigrette. I also use it in marinades, not to mention on a crispy toast of bread. Try it with this salad.

Green salad with fruit and goodies
This is more a list of ingredients than a recipe. Play with it, mix and match, and use quantities according to your liking.

Ingredients for salad:
Any combination and type of lettuce, arugula, mixed greens
Grapefruit and/or orange, peeled and cut to segments. Squeeze the middle core of the fruit (what is left after you cut out the segments) and add the juice to the vinaigrette.
Apple, pear
A handful of walnuts and/or pecans, toasted and chopped
Dried cranberries, or other type of berry
Goat/Blue cheese, crumbled

For the Orange vinaigrette:
In general, I do it this way – 1 part orange marmalade: 1 part apple cider vinegar: 2 parts evoo (extra virgin olive oil)

1 tablespoon orange marmalade
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (or other fruity and mild vinegar)
2 tablespoon fruity evoo
Salt
Black pepper, ground

Whisk all the ingredients, with juiced center of fruit, in a bowl, or shake in a jar.

Place all salad ingredients in a bowl. Add vinaigrette. Toss gently and serve.

Oh, and let me know if you like it.

Nurit

See also: Roasted chicken with orange-mustard marinade, yellow jasmine rice, steamed broccoli

Try something new: Acorn squash

My husband went grocery shopping and came back home with this weird looking squash. I was amazed and surprised, I must admit, about this initiative. I still remember the days when he refused to eat vegetables, and until this day I still have to shove fruits down his throat. Like a little baby, he won’t eat fruit unless I peel, cut, and take any seeds out for him. Isn’t life hard?

Anyway, this squash didn’t look very promising to me. I was so wrong. It tasted amazing!
We tried the following recipe for the cookbook Everyday Food Great Food Fast by Martha Stewart Living Magazine. It is really easy to make. The hardest part is chopping the squash. You need a strong hand and a sharp knife. So, call your strong and masculine husband to do the dirty job? Or use a machete.

Roasted acorn squash, shallots, and rosemary
Serves 4

2 acorn squash (2 pounds each), halved
8 shallots, peeled, root ends left intact (separate into lobes, if large)
6 small sprigs fresh rosemary
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven to 450 F degrees. Carefully cut each squash half into four wedges.
Combine the squash on a rimmed baking sheet with the shallots, rosemary, olive oil, and vinegar. Season with 2 teaspoons coarse salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; toss well to coat, and spread in a single layer.
Roast, turning squash halfway through, until browned and tender, 35 to 40 minutes.

If you liked this post, you might be interested in:
Try something new: Eggplants
Try something new: Truffle oil
Try something new: Brussels sprouts
Try something new: Artichokes

Come on! Try it.

A little bit of this, a little bit of that - Improvising dinner

And there you have it. A photo of raw chicken breasts on an indoor grill…




Some days I have no idea what I am going to make for dinner. Most nights I hardly have any time to cook.
Dinner tonight was just like this. But we ended with a nice dinner with the help of some leftovers, pantry items, and a quick stop at the grocery store to buy chicken.

Using an indoor grill, as fall is seriously here to stay and winter is quickly approaching, and it is raining tonight, also made things quick and easy. I just hate cleaning that thing. I wish they will invent one you can out in the dishwasher.
Also, after reading the recipes’ please vote – what kind of recipes do you prefer – with precise instructions or general ones (see poll at the top of the page on the right side).

A little bit of this and a little bit of that chicken breasts, ginger-scented rice, haricot vert*


* Haricot vert are French thin green beans
Makes 4-6 servings

For the chicken:
I had no idea whatsoever how to prepare the chicken. I looked in the fridge and grabed the following:

3 chicken breasts, about 2 lb., cut lengthwise to thin portions
Big splash of extra virgin olive oil (evoo), or about 3 tablespoons
Salt, ground black pepper
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon mustard
Big splash of soy
1 handful parsley and cilantro, chopped small
3 cloves garlic, minced


Mix all ingredients together and marinate at least one hour (I did for 2 hours), and up to overnight.
Grill outdoor/indoor, or pan fry.

For the rice:
1 tablespoon evoo
½ of small onion, dices small
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup jasmine rice
Ginger, peeled and sliced thin (1 teaspoon if you want it “scented” or more for a stronger gingery flavor)
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups boiling water

Sauté the onion in evoo over low heat until translucent. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add rice, ginger, salt, and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Let stand, covered, about 5-10 minutes.
Fluff gently with a fork and it is ready to serve.


For the haricot vert:
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon evoo
½ medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced/thinly sliced
About 4-5 cups haricot vert, cleaned and steamed for 3-4 minutes
Salt, black pepper


Sauté the onion in evoo and butter over medium heat until browned. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the beans. Season with salt and pepper.

Additional "dinner tonight" ideas:

Weekly menu plan

Pork schnitzel, potato-yam mash, roasted cauliflower

How to spend more time with your kids AND have a daily home-made meal

Roasted chicken with orange-mustard marinade, yellow jasmine rice, steamed broccoli

Rib-eye steak, grits, cherry tomatoes and butter lettuce salad

Grilled potatoes, corn, and lamb with yogurt-mint sauce

Leftover bread turned into Bread pudding with spiced rum sauce for dessert

I love bread, especially artisanal bread. And they can be quite costly ranging $3-$5 each! So, when I have leftovers, which doesn’t happen often (because I like my bread toasted so it taste fresh and crunchy even after 4 days), it will break my heart to throw it in the trash (it’ll break my grandma’s heart too and she we roll in her grave, but more about her some other time).

So here are few ideas for using your __X__-days old bread. If you are not going to do any of them right away, cube your bread, without the crust, and freeze it in a Ziploc bag. Write the date on the bag. Keep frozen until needed.

1. Home-made fresh breadcrumbs


Thaw the bread a bit, if it is frozen. Process it in the food processor until you get fine crumbs.
Use this for breaded food like pan-fried breaded chicken breasts, or pork schnitzel, or to make a crunchy top for baked savory dishes like quiches, Mac and cheese, casseroles.

Even better, if you have leftover herbs like parsley, cilantro, oregano, thyme, add those to the bread and process all together. What the heck, while you're at it, throw in a garlic clove or two, and season with salt and black pepper to make your own home-made seasoned breadcrumbs to be used in other home-made yummy dishes.

2. Sweet bread pudding


A few years ago, while on a trip to Oregon’s beautiful sea side, we went to an English pub where we ate bread pudding for the first time (I wish I’d remembered its name).
The concept was new to me. I was somewhat shocked by the idea of “bread pudding????” But oh my my, it was oh so good, warm and sweet and soft, and fluffy, and I think it had a splash of alcohol in it. Heavenly.

Here is my favorite recipe for bread pudding from Epicurious Magazine which everyone who ate it in my home just loved. Give it a try.
And, if want to be able to say “I’m in heaven” while living on this planet, I encourage you to make the rum sauce as well.

This is the easiest recipe on earth to make. To make a smaller pudding with less servings, you can reduce all the ingredients by half and the baking time to 45-50 minutes. Use an 8 * 8-inch, or 9 * 9-inch pan.

Bread pudding with spiced rum sauce
Bon Appétit
October 2001
The Seafood Buffet at Grand Casino, Biloxi, MS
Makes 12 servings.

8 large eggs
3 1/2 cups whole milk
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1-pound loaf cinnamon challah or cinnamon-swirl bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (or white plain bread – N.)
1 cup golden raisins

Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Whisk eggs in large bowl to blend. Add milk, sugar, cream, and vanilla; whisk to blend well. Stir in bread and raisins. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake pudding uncovered until puffed and golden, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool slightly (pudding will fall). Serve warm with Spiced Rum Sauce.

Spiced rum sauce

1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons spiced rum or dark rum
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Stir brown sugar and butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until melted and smooth, about 2 minutes. Add cream, rum, and cinnamon and bring to simmer. Simmer until sauce thickens and is reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 5 minutes. Serve warm. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to simmer before serving.)

3. Savory bread pudding with cheese


If your leftover bread is a savory one, make a savory bread pudding. Makes sense, right?! It is a good opportunity to use your leftover cheese as well.
This is a wonderful and sophisticated side dish to serve with steak, lamb chops, roast, pork, chicken, etc.
It is based on the sweet bread pudding recipe, but I have changed it a bit. Well, more than a bit, so I call it my own.

Nurit’s savory bread pudding with cheese
Makes 6-9 servings.

4 large eggs2 ½ cups whole or 2% milk
1 – ½* loaf bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (*depending on the size of your bread)
1 teaspoon salt
Ground black pepper
About 1 – 1 ½ cups cheese, crumbled/grated (like Brouson, Parmesan, Feta, Goat, Gruyere, Ricotta, Gouda… whatever you have in the fridge)

Butter 9x9x2-inch glass baking dish.
Whisk eggs in large bowl. Add milk, salt, pepper, and cheeses. Whisk to blend well. Add the bread and mix well.
Pour mixture into prepared baking dish. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours. (But if you need to make it NOW, like I did, just make sure all the bread cubes have soaked the liquid).
Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake pudding uncovered until puffed and golden, about 45-60 minutes. Cool slightly (pudding will fall).

I’m sure you’ll love these.
I think my grandma will be pleased.

Check out this post: Leftovers: Roasted Chicken

Nurit

Orzo salad

Orzo is pasta shaped like rice. It is one of my favorite kinds of pasta.
This salad is very easy and quick to make. It is colorful and delicious. It is festive enough to serve at a party or a holiday dinner.

Orzo salad
Makes 4-6 servings

½ box orzo
Salt
Black pepper, ground
Extra virgin olive oil (evoo)
2 red bell pepper, roasted* and peeled, diced
Olives, black and/or green, chopped
Goat and/or feta cheese, crumbled/diced small
Tomatoes, chopped, optional but recommended!

Cook pasta according to the instructions on the box.
Drain and season with salt, black pepper, and a splash of a good fruity evoo. Add all the other ingredients, and toss.

* to roast the peppers, slice them in half, clean from the seeds, and place skin side up under the broiler (you can do this in a small toaster oven – I did it – it’s much faster). Once their skin is blackened, remove from oven and place in a bowl, cover with plastic foil and let it sweat and cool. Once cooled, the skin peels easily.

YUM YUM.

Nurit

Weekly Menu Plan - September

I thought that in addition to posting recipes on the blog, I will collect a few to create a weekly menu for you. This way you can have a meal plan for the week. How easy is that? It sure does;

* Save time on planning and thinking what to cook (that’s the part that takes most of my time, going through recipes and cookbooks and trying to choose what to prepare)

* Make a grocery list through copying & pasting the ingredients in the recipes

* Print the recipes to make a collection

* All recipes are easy and/or quick to make

There are a lot of chicken recipes since this is a kids’ favorite ingredient. I always have a success with chicken.
So, your weekly menu plan can look like this:

Monday – Grilled potatoes, corn, and lamb with yogurt-mint sauce

Tuesday – Chicken thighs, Israeli couscous, steamed cauliflower, and salad with feta

Wednesday – Rib-eye steak, grits, cherry tomatoes and butter lettuce salad

Thursday – Pork schnitzel, potato-yam mash, roasted cauliflower

Friday – Roasted chicken with orange-mustard marinade, yellow jasmine rice, steamed broccoli

Vegetarian meal – Artichokes, Brussels sprouts, Eggplants, Simplest vegetable salad/Love-ly Heirloom tomatoes salad, Easiest corn on the cob ever, with good bread, cheeses, etc.

Let me know if you like this idea and would like to have more weekly menu plan ideas.
E-mail me: chef@wflavors.com, Post a comment below, or forward this to a friend (click on the little envelope icon below).

Have a wonderful week!
Nurit

Love-ly Heirloom tomatoes salad

Eating heirloom tomatoes is a summer must-do thing. It is a real treat.

I saw heirloom tomatoes at the grocery store this week. They were $5.99/lb. (Yep. Ouch.). But today we went to a farm that is located 15 minutes drive from our house – how cool is that?! – for $3.99/lb.

Lesson learned: shopping at a farm stand cost less than shopping at the grocery store.

These tomatoes are so delicious, so sweet, and worth every cent. Try it and you will never look at a tomato the same way again.

I am not going to give you an exact recipe but a list of ingredients. Use whatever you like.
My husband prepared the salad in the photo and made it all pretty for posing in a picture.

Love-ly Heirloom tomatoes salad

Heirloom tomatoes – red, green, yellow, funny looking ones, fat ones, squishy ones, striped, etc
Salt*
Toasted pine nuts**
Crumbled goat cheese (and/or feta)
Herbs (basil, oregano, thyme, parsley, cilantro)
Black pepper
Splash of extra virgin olive oil
Squeeze of lemon juice

* my mom says that my grandma first salted the tomatoes and then let them sit for a while before she went on to take care of the other ingredients. That is the secret to very tasty tomatoes. (What an excellent cook she was, a magician, using only salt and maybe some oil, in her cooking. That was a time when herbs, spices, and fancy vinegars and oils weren’t used so frequently and freely like today)

** best way in to toast pine nuts is in a 350 F degrees oven. Second best it to toast them in a skillet over very low heat.

Isn’t it lovely?!
Nurit

Pork schnitzel, potato-yam mash, roasted cauliflower

I love it when things works like that: it’s a sunny day, I pick up the kids from school, we go to the park (preferably by a lake), come back home around 5:30, I give the baby some food, put her to sleep, and then start working on dinner.
Today was a day like that. So much fun.
I started cooking around 6:15 pm. We sat to eat around 6:50 pm.
Dinner was delicious!

For the pork:
4 pork cutlets*
Salt
Black pepper, ground
1 egg, beaten
1 ½ - 2 cups breadcrumbs (preferably with herbs) **
Canola oil and/or extra virgin olive oil

Reheat oil/s over medium heat in a large skillet.
Season pork with salt and pepper. Put egg in a shallow bowl and the breadcrumbs in separate bowl.
Dip each cutlet in the egg, then coat in the breadcrumbs pressing with your fingers to adhere the coating.
Fry on each side until golden-brown.
Remove from oil and put on paper towels to soak the extra oil.

* Today I used pork loin rib center thin cut (it has some nice marble/fat), or use other cuts (ask the butcher to tenderize them for you if needed), or use chicken breasts.
** Whenever I have leftover bread and herbs (like parsley, cilantro, oregano), I process them together in a food processor to make fine breadcrumbs and freeze it in a Ziploc bag until needed.

For mashed potatoes & yam:
Originally, I planned to write: “You know how to make mashed potatoes. Just add a yam to this one.”
But then I recalled a few watery mashed potatoes I had in the past in other people’s homes. Not a good thing. So, I must add – after draining the potatoes, return them to the hot pot to release some of their steam. This way the water evaporates and your mashed won’t taste so diluted/watery. Also, I find that it is best to cook them whole and unpeeled.
Otherwise, it is the same salt, pepper, butter, and a bit of milk/half and half/heavy cream.

For roasted cauliflower:
1 medium size cauliflower, cut to florets
Salt

Option 1: In a small steaming pot add 2’’ water and bring to boil. Put the cauliflower in the steam basket, salt lightly, cover and cook about 8 minutes (I forgot to measure the time. I think this is what it took).
Now, you can stop here, or take the extra step and roast the cauliflower in a 375 F oven. First check if it needs more salt, black pepper, and if you want, sprinkle some turmeric to give it a nice yellowy color. Drizzle evoo. Mix it gently with your hands. Roast for about 30-40 minutes until browned.

Option 2: just roast it without the steaming step. The cauliflower will be more crunchy.

Bon appétit.
Nurit

Try something new: Eggplants

If you think you don’t like eggplants, think again.

Recipe for one eggplant:

1 large eggplant, sliced to 1 – 1 ½ - inch slices
Extra virgin olive oil (evoo)
Salt

Preheat oven broiler.
Brush the eggplant slices lightly with evoo and sprinkle with salt, on both sides. Place on baking sheet.
Broil in oven, about 7 inches away from the heat element, until browned, with some dark brown spots (It takes only a few minutes. Use a timer so you don’t burn them). Turn them up side down, and broil until browned. Remove from baking sheet to a serving platter.
While eggplant is broiling, make the marinade.

For the marinade:
2 tablespoons basil leaves
2 tablespoons parsley
2 tablespoons cilantro
1 small garlic clove
1 tablespoon mild vinegar (like champagne or apple cider vinegar, balsamic works too)
1-2 tablespoons parmesan, grated, optional
Salt
Black pepper, ground
3-4 tablespoon evoo

For serving, optional:
Goat cheese, or feta, crumbled
Cherry tomatoes

Put all the marinade ingredients in a food processor and process until all leaves are small chopped. Spoon over eggplant.
And, enjoy.
*If you don’t have one of the herbs that’s’ OK. Use whatever you have in your fridge or in your garden/herb pots. You can use oregano and/or thyme as well.

If you liked this post, you might be interested in:

Try something new: Truffle oil

Try something new: Brussels sprouts

Try something new: Artichokes

Try something new: Acorn squash

Give it a try...

Try something new: Brussels sprouts

For many many years I hated Brussels sprouts. I didn’t want to hear about them or look at them. Not think about them eaither. But after a few Thanksgivings and Christmases, I started to have doubts. I thought that if this is a staple at the table during the holidays season, (you see it in all recipes in magazines and TV shows for the holidays), maybe there IS something to it. So I gave it a try... and fell in love.

My husband hated this veggie too, but a simple roasting recipe has changed it all. Now we make this dish 1-4 times a month when it is in season. I had never tried to add any other ingredient to it or try another recipe. Salt, papper, and olive oil, plain and simple.

I think I don’t like Brussels sprouts when they are cooked in water, steamed or poached. But when they are roasted or sautéed they become browned and caramelized, they have a creamy sweet flavor.

If you hate Brussels sprouts, give them a second chance, please. And try the recipe below. You might fall in love too.

Roasted Brussels sprouts
Makes 4 servings

1 - 1 1/2 lbs. Brussels sprouts
2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Cut off the ends of the Brussels sprouts and pull off any rough outer leaves. If they are big, cut in half. Place on baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil, and sprinkle salt and black pepper. Mix together.
Roast for 30-40 minutes, until outside in browned and they are tender inside.

If you liked this post, you might be interested in:
Try something new: Artichokes
Try something new: Acorn squash
Try something new: Eggplants
Try something new: Truffle oil

Enjoy.
Nurit