Carbonara for a crowd

By in family

Our friends “The Drews” visited this weekend. It was delightful to see our Cape friends off-Cape and off-season.

Saturday night Shane made his famous carbonara for, I don’t know, maybe 17 people, maybe 20. My mom made a couple of dishes for anyone who didn’t want carbonara.

The Pasta alla Carbonara was a hit, as always. My kids devoured it, and couldn’t wait to polish off the leftovers the next day. Sid left a little pile of pancetta pieces by the side of his plate at dinner, because so far he’s not a meat eater.

My mom tried out a couple of dishes from the beautiful Venetian (of Sorts) cookbook, Polpo. So far everything we’ve made from this book is amazing.

The lentils with burrata and pesto were a vegetarian’s dream come true, and the roasted tomatoes with mozzarella were pretty perfect too.

Happy weekend!

xoxo

Lately

By in cakes, family, parties

Salad
Lately, dinner prep happens while it’s still light out.

Penne
We’ve been eating Penne alla Vodka at least once a week.

Birthday
Shane had a birthday. Note: This delicious cake is easy enough to make the night before without having to stay up too late.

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We’ve been having this farro dish for dinner, and the leftovers for lunch.

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I have a new “helper” in the kitchen.

 

 

 

 

 

Peppers, anchovies, goat cheese, oh my!

By in meal plans

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 presetOur family is newly in love with this dish. Roasted Red Peppers with Anchovies, Garlic and Goat Cheese from Phyllis Grant’s column at Food52.

We are so in love, that these peppers made it to our weekly meal plan twice in as many weeks. It’s so good, we haven’t noticed if the kids are eating it or not because we’re too busy devouring it.

My mom and I thought it might be too anchovy-y but it really isn’t. The anchovies add the right amount of salt to the dish and melt so perfectly into the juice from the peppers that the sauce is just lick-your-plate succulent.

It works well accompanying a simple chicken dish, or makes a perfect meatless meal (if you don’t count anchovies) when served with grilled bread and a fried egg.Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset• Roasted Red Peppers with Anchovies, Garlic & Goat Cheese •
from Food52
serves 4

2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and cut lengthwise into eighths
16 anchovy fillets, packed in oil (we like the kind that comes in a jar)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced lengthwise as thinly as possible
4 ounces creamy fresh goat cheese, chilled
A handful baby arugula, chopped (or not chopped, if you’re lazy or short on time)Heat oven to 350° F.

Place peppers skin side-down in a baking dish. Place one anchovy fillet in the belly of each red pepper slice. Evenly distribute the butter, olive oil, and garlic between the slices.

Cover with tin foil. Roast until peppers are starting to soften (about 25 minutes). Agitate the pan a bit to make sure all the slices are evenly coated with oil and not sticking to the bottom of the pan. Remove tin foil and cook for another 15 minutes or so until everything starts to brown. You want the peppers tender but not falling apart. This can take anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour. Just be vigilant and don’t let anything burn. It’s fine to turn down the temp or place the tin foil back on.

Slice chilled goat cheese into about 8 discs. If they fall apart, just pat them back together like clay. Place on top of cooked peppers. Bake until goat cheese is warm all the way through, about 5 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes. Garnish with chopped arugula. Serve on grilled bread.

Farro with butternut squash, almonds & goat cheese

By in uncategorized

Processed with VSCOcam with a6 presetIt was Sunday night, and I was really in the mood for farro. My usual recipes didn’t appeal to me so I thought I’d try this one.

Not surprisingly, we didn’t have all the ingredients and I decided to mess with the recipe. The result was amazing (and smelled amazing while cooking too!) The recipe is below.

We also had salad with broccoli, leeks, basil, goat cheese and radicchio, and pork tenderloin. But what I’m taking home from this dinner is the farro.

P.S. If you have a baby, he or she may devour this dish.

• Farro with Roasted Butternut Squash, Goat Cheese & Almonds •
adapted from this recipe from 101 Cookbooks
serves 6 as a side dish

1 cup farro, rinsed and drained
salt
3 or more cups butternut squash, cut into 1/2-inch dice 
1/2 large red onion cut into inch-ish sized chunks
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced
olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup almonds, toasted & chopped
1/4 cup (about half a small log – more to taste) goat cheese, crumbled

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. In a small saucepan, boil the farro in plenty of salted water until al dente. When done, remove from heat, drain, and set aside.

Meanwhile, toss chopped butternut squash, thyme, onion & balsamic vinegar in a bowl with a good amount of olive oil and salt. Roast in a baking tray for about 45 minutes until fragrant and cooked through, browned nicely and not too mushy. Toss with a spatula for even cooking and taste along the way.

When the squash is done, toss it in a large bowl with the farro and almonds, taste for seasoning, adding more salt and oil if needed. Add crumbled goat cheese and toss one more time. Serve warm.

Blizzard party: Part 2

By in parties 2 Comments

I don’t know if you’ve heard, but we’ve had a lot of snow here in Boston, with no end in sight. In the midst of it all, our good friends Ian and Britta, and their four (!) kids came to visit.

Ian & Britta thought we were brave and crazy to invite all six of them to stay with us (during a blizzard, no less). And we thought they were brave and crazy to come visit us with all those kids (during a blizzard, no less).

Aside from some sleepless nights and the fact that our parting gift to each other’s families was a stomach bug, a great time was had by all. Seriously, we had a great time. We always do with those guys.

On the second night of their stay, Shane decided to bust out the Smokey Joe we got him for Christmas and grill up some local organic burgers. He grilled them outside, in the snow, in sub-zero temperatures, while his ‘Gansett froze in his hand. What a guy.

Not to be outdone by himself, Shane also made “winter margaritas” and twice-fried french fries, in his Fry Daddy. My mom and I made a couple of salads to round things out and Ian grilled up some additional burgers on the stove top, while holding either one of two twin toddlers the entire time.

Hopefully I’ll get around to posting part 1 of the blizzard party soon.

Cake: Part 2

By in cakes, dessert

VeganCake_IMG_5261Remember the cake I made last weekend? I was testing out a recipe to bring to work to celebrate Jenya’s birthday. One of the gals on our team is vegan and lately I’ve been enjoying the challenge of making a delicious dessert that everyone in our group can enjoy.

This amazing vegan chocolate cake was a roaring success. It’s super-rich and moist, the frosting is heavenly, and it’s quick enough that you can make it after putting the kids to bed on a weeknight.

• Delicious Vegan Cake Topped with Chocolate Ganache •
cake from this recipe and this recipe

for the cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons neutral oil (like corn, canola, or vegetable)
1 cup cold water
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon cider vinegar

for the ganache:
6 ounces (1 cup) good quality semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup coconut milk (I used the kind that you get in the dairy alternatives section of the grocery store)
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Heat the oven to 350° F. Mix together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, sugar, and salt. Sift. In a separate bowl, whisk together the water, oil, vanilla, and vinegar. Whisk together the wet and dry mixtures. If lumpy, whisk until smooth, or pour through strainer in to a bowl and break up lumps, pressing them through. Mix again, and pour into a greased and lined 9-inch round cake pan. Tap the edge of the pan against the edge of the counter, or drop from 6 inches to the floor several times to pop air bubbles. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the top springs back when pressed gently. Do not over-bake. Cool before removing from the pan.

While the cake is baking, make the ganache. Put the chocolate chips into a small to medium sized heat proof bowl. Bring the maple syrup and coconut milk to a gentle boil in a small saucepan. When the mixture boils, pour it over the chocolate chips and let sit until the chocolate chips are melted. Whisk the mixture until smooth. Remove cake from pan and place it bottom side up on a rack. When cake is cool, slowly pour the ganache over the cake, letting it drip down the sides a bit.

Let sit for several hours for ganache to set, then remove cake from rack onto a serving plate. Serve at room temperature. 

Cake

By in dessert 2 Comments

Cake_IMG_3763Today was probably the most productive and gratifying day I’ve had, at home alone with two kids, in the past 14 months.

What made today so special? It wasn’t that with both kids awake, I managed to get the entire bathroom and the kitchen floor cleaned. It wasn’t that I managed to get a whole tortilla pie made for Monday (or Wednesday) night’s dinner. It wasn’t the laundry I did and hung on the radiators because we destroyed my parents’ 20 year old dryer.

It was the cake.

Cake! I made a cake, in my “new” apartment, with my kids. And, what I mean by with my kids is that Rose and I made a cake, while Sid played with the cooking utensils, put handfuls of cat kibble into the cat water, and periodically toddled over for a finger full of batter.

Thank you Margaret Fox’s Amazon Chocolate Cake, for grounding me.

P.S. She was always a Patriots fan.

What I like about Fridays

By in uncategorized 2 Comments

IMG_5196It’s been over 6 months and I still don’t really feel settled into our new home/city/life yet. I still miss New York. I miss it a lot. Like in a totally heartbroken, feel like I’m in mourning most of the time, kind of  a way.

I know that sounds a bit dramatic, but hey, it’s how I feel. Except on Fridays.

Fridays feel normal, probably because they’re most like my old life. On Fridays I work from home, and then I pick up Rose from school, I chat with a mom or two at pickup, hang with my kids and… I cook dinner! (Usually)

On this particular Friday my mom and I cooked together. She made Baked Chicken Meatballs from Smitten Kitchen. I made Lemony Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Turnips, Potatoes and Horseradish Creme Fraiche from Dash & Bella.

IMG_5195The highlight of the meal was the roasted brussels etc. from Dash & Bella. First of all, it’s totally my kind of recipe, no quantities or proportions, just a general guideline, a cooks-cook kind of a recipe.

Throwing big chunks of lemon and all of those fresh herbs in with the vegetables, really makes the dish. And the combination of different textures—turnip, brussels sprouts, potato—keeps things interesting.

We had a bit of trouble with the horseradish creme fraiche, I added too much horseradish and it caused it to separate, like when you’re halfway to making butter. Next time I’ll just add a small amount of horseradish. And I promise you, next time will be soon.

The chicken meatballs were well-received as well, but couldn’t hold a candle to the veggies.

Happy Weekend. xo

• Lemony Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Turnips, Potatoes and Horseradish Creme Fraiche •
from Dash & Bella

Preheat your oven to 425 °F.
 
Use a large sheet pan or baking dish so that everything has room to get nice and crispy. We had a lot of veggies, so I used two pans.
 
For veggies we used: a few peeled garlic cloves, sage, rosemary, thyme, a big pile of halved Brussels sprouts (funky outer leaves removed), quartered Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped (about 1.5″ pieces) turnips, and 2 quartered lemons. Make sure potatoes and turnips are cut to about the same size.
 
Put all your veggies into a bowl, and then be really generous with the salt, pepper, and olive oil; use your hands to make sure everything is well coated.
 
Pour everything out onto a sheet pan or two, and pop in the oven. Keep checking and tossing the vegetables around so that they cook evenly.
 
Bake until the vegetables are just cooked through and golden brown, the potatoes will take the longest.
 
It’s even okay to let things burn a bit. 
 
Serve with Horseradish Crème Fraîche (freshly grated horseradish and chopped parsley mixed into crème fraîche). Be careful not to add too much horseradish, you want to keep it creamy and relatively mild.IMG_5197

 

 

 

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