There you have it folks. Posts will be back when I am. Until then, wishing you good health.
Monthly Archives: December 2012
Baked Pasta
By Nina Max in uncategorized
You might recall that several weeks ago I made the Kitchn’s Easy Pasta Bake but ran out of time, and didn’t bake it. Tonight I made the real thing, more or less. It is easy, but for me, it’s a bit too time consuming for an ordinary weeknight because of the 45 minute sauce. Not that I would change the sauce, Marcella’s Famous Sauce is really, really good.
So here’s my solution. Make it on a day when you have time and freeze half of it. (The to-be-frozen pasta is the image on the left, the one that looks like an endless field of cheesy starchy goodness.) If your family is small like mine, you can probably split the single recipe in two. Otherwise, double it.
Whenever I cook a previously frozen pasta dish, I let it thaw completely, in the fridge or on the countertop, and then bake it per the recipe’s instructions.
For veggies, we had a simple fennel salad with mustardy dressing.
Be sure to check out the new addition to In The Kitchen today. It’s The Steady Table’s Costco shopping list.
Stained glass cookies
By Nina Max in dessert 1 Comment
We didn’t have stained glass cookies for dinner, we had pizza and salad.
I used to make stained glass cookies with my mom when I was a kid, and it remains a magical experience. Basically, you roll out sugar cookies, punch holes in their centers, crush hard candy, put the candy bits in the holes and bake. When they cool down after baking you are left with a delightful, and tasty, stained glass window in your cookie.
I think that Real Simple’s Recipe is foolproof, and pretty good taste-wise for a cookie that might ordinarily be considered strictly decorative. The only thing I would add, is that you don’t want the cookie to stained glass ratio to be more than 70/30, or else the cookie is overcooked by the time the candy is melted.
The process is great for kids and adults alike. Kids will enjoy sorting the candies by color and then smashing them into bits with a mallet or hammer. Filling the cookie centers with candy dust, and then peeking in the oven to watch as they melt, is pretty much irresistible. Click on the photos below to see every step in action.
Lazy-ish Wednesday
By Nina Max in uncategorized
Not quite as lazy as most Wednesdays, but the salad was worth the effort. Rose had leftover Cappellini with Shrimp, from last night. I had an arugula salad with roasted sweet potatoes, almonds and a creamy miso dressing. I will make it again, with measuring, and post the recipe soon.
Capellini with shrimp
By Nina Max in uncategorized
Here’s a good one that I’ve probably posted about before, Capellini with Shrimp. Teresa of Teresa Cooks turned me on to this recipe, and it’s one I make over and over again. In fact, we just ran out of sweet vermouth, which like Teresa, I use exclusively for this dish.
My family doesn’t like cappelini, so I use thin spaghetti. You could probably use a curly pasta as well.
In other news, there’s a brand new section here on the site called In The Kitchen. It’s going to be a behind-the-scenes, helpful tips and info catch-all section. I hope you’ll click on over. And if there’s something you’d like to know or hear about on The Steady Table, I hope you’ll let me know so I can post about it in In The Kitchen.
Oh, those bean quesadillas!
By Nina Max in picky eaters, quick
Simple, easy and quick, these Black Bean and Goat Cheese Quesadillas are just so good. (And I feel like you get extra credit for the whole wheat tortillas). Tonight I used one thinly sliced leek, added before the garlic, instead of scallions. Instead of goat cheese, I used fresh mozzarella (yes, I realize they’re not at all similar). I love goat cheese but the corner store was out of it, and these days I never seem to have time to go farther than the corner store.
With our quesadillas we had a simple salad, quick guacamole (just lime, salt and avocado) and salsa verde.
The best part? My five year old, picky-eater’s genuine enthusiasm when she told us that tonight’s dinner was a great meal. Major.
A good salad & the truth about my kitchen
By Nina Max in uncategorized
I like to make a main-course salad when Shane is out, and I have the time and ingredients to do so. Tonight’s was a winner, with mixed greens, herbs, lentils, roasted sweet potato and gruyere cheese.
• Mixed Green Salad with Herbs, Lentils, Sweet Potato & Grueyere •
Heat oven to 350. Peel and chop one sweet potato into 3/4″ chunks. Toss in a bowl with olive oil and salt and then lay out on a baking tray. Roast sweet potatoes, turning occasionally, until lightly browned and tasty, about 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, boil dry lentils in salted water until tender, drain and set aside. Put a single serving of mixed greens, (or whatever you have including any fresh herbs) in a wide, flat bowl. Top with lentils, then roasted sweet potato, your favorite vinaigrette, and grated gruyere cheese.
As I prepared the salad (and mini sausages for Rose), I thought about what a wreck my kitchen is while I cook, and how the photos of our dinners might lead you to believe otherwise. So here’s another glimpse, the ugly truth in case you missed the last one:
Carbonara
By Nina Max in dishes by shane
Shane made dinner tonight, his signature Pasta alla Carbonara, which is always good. He also made a delicious and well-planned salad, and dressing. Thanks Shane.
Potluck
By Nina Max in uncategorized
A casserole
By Nina Max in uncategorized
Tonight’s dinner was an exercise in stepping out of my comfort level. I made a casserole. With the exception of baked pasta (in all it’s glorious forms), I rarely make casserole-like dishes.
Polenta & Black Bean Casserole is easy to prepare and would be a great make-ahead dish. You could assemble it whenever, and then pop it in the oven 40 minutes before serving.
I liked it in a change of pace kind of a way. It used more canned ingredients than I would normally use in one recipe. And it seemed a little bit like something you might serve at a football party. But it was tasty, really tasty, and it definitely succeeded in pushing my boundaries a bit.
It’s not a dish that will become an easy weeknight regular for me. If I’m going to add it to my repertoire, I’ll need to find an appropriate occasion for it. (I don’t get invited to many football parties.)