Last night we found our way to La Esquina, a Mexican restaurant in Williamsburg. The food was great, though I have to take issue when restaurants do not provide salt on the table. I understand that the chefs may find their food perfectly seasoned, but I like salt, you know?
Monthly Archives: October 2012
I set the bread on fire
Tonight I set the bread (bruschetta, to be precise) on fire, literally, and that is why it isn’t pictured here. Before burning it (literally, I’m talking flames), I topped the bruschetta with pesto left over from Monday’s pasta, and had planned to top that with some bufala mozzarella.
On a more positive note, I feel like I’m on a roll with the good weeknight recipes. Tonight’s Chicken Parm Meatballs were particularly easy and quick to prepare. Shane and Rose said they were a for sure make-again. I totally get why they’re one of the internet’s most popular dishes this week. Thank you DALS.
Because I’m not a good planner-aheader, I made my meatballs with turkey and without mozzarella. In lieu of mozzarella, I sprinkled a bit more pecorino on top after broiling. I also left out the parsley because a certain someone was sure to reject the meatballs if there was green in them.
For salad we had arugula with toasted almonds and a slightly sweet balsamic dressing. Did you know you can buy toasted, slivered almonds at Trader Joe’s? They are perfect for people like me, who can’t seem to use the broiler with out starting a fire.
Shrimp & white beans
Consensus is that Garlic Shrimp & White Beans (with grilled bread) is a keeper. It’s quick, easy and delicious. And it works as a one-dish meal. This is a great one for busy weeknights.
Lazy Wednesday: Japanese salad turnips
Japanese salad turnips, oh how I love you. I didn’t even know these little gems existed until I first got them in my csa box. Now I look forward to them every time, and wish they came more often.
The recipe I use, if I’m not just eating them raw, is Salad Turnips with Miso, from the Golden Earthworm Farm’s blog. I alter the recipe ever so slightly by using only 1/3 cup of water, this makes the sauce thicker. Also, because the size of a bunch of turnips can vary, I add the miso butter somewhat gradually, tasting as I go to make sure it doesn’t get too salty. You can easily substitute rice wine vinegar for the mirin.
Busiate alla Trapanese, sort of
I made a rendition of this Busiate alla Trapanese tonight. I substituted sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in water then drained, for the cherry tomatoes. And obviously, I didn’t make the pasta myself. It was good enough to try the full recipe one day, but not on a weeknight.
For salad, we had mixed greens topped with sliced kohlrabi from my csa box. And a dressing with slivered parsley leaves in it.
Pizza in the dark
By Nina Max in dining out, traditions 2 Comments
When we realized we wouldn’t make it home in time for dinner, we called ahead for takeout from Franke Pepe’s in Fairfield, CT. And then we ate our delicious pizza, together, in the car, in the dark.
A last hurrah at the Mezza Luna
By Nina Max in cape meals, dining out 1 Comment
Sometimes it’s better not to know that the last time is the last time. Instead of preparing our own last Cape meal of the season, we did something relatively unheard of, we left the property and ate out… at a restaurant! It was tons of fun.
Mezza Luna is a classic Italian-American style restaurant in Bourne, Mass. It’s a side of ziti, red sauce, and Sinatra music type of place. It also happens to be an all-time favorite of André. Even baby Cal got in on the action, in a sleep-through-the-whole-thing kind of a way. To quote my mom: “We always have a great time at the Mezza Luna, no matter what.” And that, my friends, is the way to end a summer.
Second to last
By Nina Max in cape meals, drinks
Tonight we had our second to last Cape meal of 2012, and continued with our fridge and pantry emptying venture. It was hard to tell we were scrounging.
Shane looked in the freezer and realized he’d bought a bag of frozen strawberries every time he’d gone to the grocery store all summer long. We immediately issued a moratorium on all non-strawberry based cocktails. While we cooked, and sat around ogling the baby, Shane served up freshly-blended strawberry daiquiris, strawberry margaritas and strawberry virgins, to order.
Rita unearthed some frozen chicken, and along with bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, a can or two of tomatoes and who knows what else, she put together a chicken parm, sans mozzarella, that went over very well.
With my csa veggies, we made two salads. Anna made the wonderful raw kale salad that we all love so much (and that only Anna gets just right). I made a boston lettuce salad with Rita’s Dressing, mint and fresh raspberries. Per Rita’s recommendation, I let the mint and raspberries sit in the dressing, with the lettuce on top and didn’t toss until ready to serve.
On the side, we had 4 large scallops, browned in butter and deglazed with white wine. Not bad for an empty the fridge meal, not bad at all.
The beginning of the end
By Nina Max in cape meals 1 Comment
Okay, so I can be a bit dramatic about the passage of time. We’re here on Cape Cod to close up the houses for the season and it feels like the beginning of the end.
We try not to shop when we come down at the end of the season, so most of our dinners this weekend will be made from whatever we have left in the fridge and pantry. Plus the addition of some of this week’s csa veggies.
Tonight we had two kinds of chicken, one roasted, one curried, made by my mom. Actually, my mom made almost everything with just a little help from the rest of us. Roasted potatoes, roasted root vegetables and leeks and a nice grainy loaf of bread with butter. I was too busy playing with the baby, whom I hadn’t seen in a whole two weeks(!!) to make a note of recipes. Sorry.
Pasta with escarole
By Nina Max in quick 1 Comment
We get a few heads of escarole each year in our csa box. I usually saute it in olive oil with garlic until it’s nicely wilted and serve it with parmesan cheese. This works just fine. Recently, The Golden Earthworm Farm, of which we are csa members, posted a link to several recipes for escarole from Martha Stewart. Tonight, I made Whole Wheat Pasta with Escarole and Gorgonzola Cheese.
I really enjoyed this dish for it’s heartiness and bold flavors, but it’s not for everyone. It was not for my husband or my daughter. Escarole can be bitter. I enjoy semi-bitter things like tonic water, radicchio, endives, dark coffee and escarole. I don’t like very bitter things, like Campari and certain herbal remedies.
Use this as your gauge for whether you’d like this dish or not: Do you like Campari straight up? You’ll love this (yay! now you know what to do with that giant head of escarole). Radicchio salad and gin & tonics go down easy? Definitely worth a try. Endives make you shudder? You should probably skip this one.