March 02, 2015

Winter Slaw

March 02, 2015/ Margaret Lunetta

Disclaimer: We are going to pretend I didn’t go MIA yet again last week okay?...I don’t want to talk about it.

Well that went fast. It’s March already? How the hell did that happen? Winter is, dare I say, almost over?

I'm not winter's biggest fan or anything, and yet I’m vaguely sad about it. I’m not sure if it’s just time passing by so quickly that makes me feel wistful or if it’s genuinely the fact that another season has just ticked by. I was really getting in the swing of things for winter cooking. Baking all the squash, eating all the kale salads, living off pears, apples, and citrus. Braising, roasting, soup-making.

The thought of winter cooking terrified me when I was sitting upon heaps and heaps of summer produce (with scarcely an idea of what to do with ALLLLL of it.) I realize now, the abundance of summer produce can be downright overwhelming.

Where as, and I’ve said this before, the limited variety of winter produce has me figuring out how to use the same vegetable in several different, more creative ways. I also look back on past winters when I was always so disappointed with the general lousiness of vegetables. Mealy pink tomatoes, rubbery peppers, miniscule zucchinis, nevermind the tasteless strawberries and costly raspberries -- then seasonal eating went and slapped me upside the head. Um, hello! It ALL makes sense now. Eating locally and seasonally has changed my entire life, and I can say definitively for the better.

So since winter is just about done (although currently in NYC there looks to be no end in sight, i.e. snowing the rest of the week) I’m sharing with you today a Winter Slaw. I lived off this slaw for about a week and it only got better with time. And then I made it again, because it was that good. And before winter yields to spring in a few weeks, I want to make another batch, to toast to the cabbage, and kale, and carrots, and apples. Because even among the grey, dreariness of the season, they made everything a little brighter.

Winter Slaw

Ingredients:

¼ cup white balsamic vinegar or apple cider vinegar

¼ cup olive oil

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

salt and pepper to taste

1 head red cabbage, shredded thinly

½ bunch kale, chiffonaded

4 carrots, shredded or julienned

1 granny smith apple, shredded or julienned

½ cup golden raisins

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix all dressing ingredients and whisk together until well combined. Set aside.

To assemble slaw, add all prepped vegetables to a large salad bowl and toss together until well mixed.

Pour dressing over vegetables and toss again to coat.

The slaw only gets better with time, taste wise and it turns a very pretty magenta after a day or two in the fridge.

Yield: 10 to 12 servings

February 07, 2015

Kale & Sausage Dinner Tart with Cheesy Rice Crust

February 07, 2015/ Margaret Lunetta

So, it’s Saturday. Not Friday, when this post was supposed to go up. And I have no excuse really. I just suck. But let’s not focus on that right now, let’s focus on this tart, pie thing.

Pie. This was Sausage Pie. And it was glorious.

I’m using the past tense here, because that beautiful thang is long since gone, and I may or may not be still mourning it’s end. The lovely smell of sausage filled my kitchen for the better part of a day and it was heaven. Heaven, I tell you.

I can not take full credit for the ideas, I found both recipes at different times on Food52. But then I had the "genius" (um, common sense) idea to put them together. So la di da. I adapted lightly here and there to adjust for what I had on hand. Most especially there is a lot more sausage in here than the original recipe which I like to think is an improvement. I carnivore, therefore, I am. I am also not the type of person who typically has wine on hand for throwing into recipes. Do you think of me differently now? Chicken stock (from da freezer!) sufficed.

What is actually genius is the vision to smash leftover rice into a crust for a flawless gluten free alternative to tart dough. So thanks for that, Food52. Writing about this makes me want to make it all over again. Next time, I’d go all out and use hot italian sausage instead. Nice and sassy like.

Kale & Sausage Dinner Tart with Cheesy Rice Crust

Ingredients:

Crust:

lightly adapted from this recipe at Food52

1 ½ cups cooked rice

¼ cup shredded parmesan

¼ cup white cheddar

1 egg white

salt and pepper to taste

Tart filling:

lightly adapted from this recipe at Food52

1 pound sweet italian sausage

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bunch kale, cut into 1 inch pieces

¼ cup chicken stock

¼ cup ricotta

2 eggs beaten

salt and pepper to taste

shredded parmesan for sprinkling (optional)

Directions:

Heat oven to 425 degrees

In a large mixing bowl, mix together rice, cheeses, egg white, and salt & pepper until well combined. Mixture should be sticky enough to hold together if you squeeze it lightly in hands.

Press mixture evenly into a 9-inch pie pan. Par bake in oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven and cool slightly.

Lower heat to 400 degrees.

Brown sausage in a large skillet over medium heat. Once cooked, remove from pan and set aside in a large mixing bowl. In the fat from the sausage, add onion to the pan and saute until translucent and beginning to caramelize. Add garlic to pan and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add kale to pan and cook until wilted, 5 to 10 minutes. Add chicken stock to pan and cook until reduced just slightly, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan as you go. Remove from heat and add to bowl with sausage. Stir to combine. Allow to cool slightly.

Once cooled, about 5 minutes, add ricotta, eggs, and salt & pepper. Stir to combine well and then pour into prepared crust. Spread out evenly. Sprinkle top with shredded parmesan if desired.

Bake in oven for about 15 to 20 minutes or until crust has browned a bit on the edges.

Once removed from oven, leave to cool a bit and set.

Serves 8

January 30, 2015

Spinach Artichoke Mashed Potatoes + Friday Faves!

January 30, 2015/ Margaret Lunetta

Because, Super Bowl.

While these aren’t something you would necessarily "dip" into since piling carbs on top of more carbs seems a smidge excessive. But, seriously though, YOU DO YOU. I won't slap a tortilla chip outta your hand or anything. But, if any of you plan on tucking into a more traditional dinner while watching the game this Sunday these are damn near perfect for the occasion.

Oh man, these are so freaking tasty. They taste so similar to that famous dip, but don’t have the globs and globs of mayonnaise and sour cream most recipes call for. The potatoes provide the entire base, I just added some cheese sauce to make them creamy and taste closer to the traditional dip.

They’re best paired with a simple main, since they’re on the richer side. But let’s be real, Superbowl Sunday isn’t one of those diet days.

Here are the Friday Faves for this week:

this is how sassy i *wish* my blog was

seven vegetables that are in season now

to add to my to do list

this reminds me, I have to start composting!

cauliflower, not carbs!

also on my to do list

PREACH!

my generation

oh and p.s. anyone want a bean-free hummus recipe?

Spinach Artichoke Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 pound potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-inch chunks

1 tablespoon butter

2 garlic cloves, minced

8 ounces spinach

1 can artichokes, drained

1 cup heavy cream

¾ cup shredded cheddar

cayenne, to taste

salt and pepper to taste

additional ½ cup shredded cheddar for sprinkling on top

Directions:

In a medium sauce pan, cover potatoes with cold water. Bring to a boil over medium heat then reduce to a simmer until potatoes are soft when pierced with a fork, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

While potatoes are cooking, melt down half the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and then add the garlic. Saute garlic until fragrant and then add the spinach. Cook spinach until wilted, less than 5 minutes. Remove spinach and garlic from pan and set aside. In the same pan, melt down the last half of butter. Add artichokes to pan. Cook artichokes just until heated and beginning to caramelize a bit.

Meanwhile in a small saucepan, heat your heavy cream over a medium-low heat. Season with salt and pepper. Heat only until just hot enough to melt shredded cheddar cheese.

Once your potatoes are done, drain the water from them and then mash them best as possible, you may need to add a splash or two of cream to get them going. Once mashed, transfer them to a casserole dish.

Stir the spinach, artichokes, and cheese sauce into the potatoes until combined well.

Sprinkle remaining cheddar on the top and throw into the oven until golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Serves 6 to 8 as a side

January 28, 2015

Winter Chipotle Chicken Soup

January 28, 2015/ Margaret Lunetta

Remember when you roasted that Cowboy Chicken? Did you roast that Cowboy Chicken? Well, you should have because then you would have Cowboy Chicken remains on hand for making the stock for this INSANE soup.

This is a winter soup if there ever was one. Spicy and warming, full of good for you bone broth and vegetables --- it’s chicken soup who made friends with some sassy smoked jalapeños. The chipotles warm the chilliest of souls and bones.

Pro tip: freeze everything. — Pro tip: freeze *everything.*

When thinking about this soup, the immediate thought is to go straight to traditional mexican/latin vegetables and flavors. But as mentioned on Monday, my cooking is now much more controlled by the seasons. This meant --- no fresh peppers, no fresh tomatoes, no fresh corn. While it seems inhibitive, cooking with the seasons only makes me feel more creative. So I embraced the winter season and went with onions, carrots, delicata squash, and kale for my vegetables.

I’m cheating a little bit with the avocado for garnish as it is for sure not local, but I’ve professed my undying love for them before, so you understand, yes?

As with most soups, it’s better the next day, surprisingly I found that the chipotle mellows out a bit.

Lastly! I’ve realized that I’ve really only been posting chicken after chicken after chicken mains for months. About to get some variety up in here so soon!

Winter Chipotle Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 carrots, sliced

1 delicata squash, cubed into 1-inch pieces (could also sub in sweet potato or butternut squash or acorn squash)

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 chipotles, minced

3 tablespoons tomato paste

2 to 3 tablespoons of chipotle sauce (in the can with the peppers) or to taste

6 cups chicken stock**

2 cups cooked chicken**

1 cup lacinato kale torn into 1-inch pieces

1 avocado, sliced (for garnish)

Directions:

Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of a large stock pot. Over medium heat, saute onions, carrots, and squash chunks. Cook until onions are translucent and beginning to get caramelized. Add in garlic and minced chipotles and saute just until garlic becomes fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add in the tomato paste and chipotle sauce, and stir into the vegetables. You want to begin to brown the tomato paste/sauce. Let it start to caramelize. Have your stock at the ready. It will start to brown and get stuck to the bottom of the pot. Don’t fret! Do this until you just can’t stand it anymore and then splash a smidge of chicken stock in and deglaze the pan. It will sizzle and cook off and while it does this take your wooden spoon and begin to scrape up all that browned goodness from the bottom of the pot. Deglaze a bit more as needed to scrape up all brown bits and then add in the full amount of stock.

Add in the chicken and bring soup to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and then add in the kale. Simmer until the kale is tender to the bite, about 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and serve soup with sliced avocado on top. A squeeze of lime wouldn’t hurt if you had it. If you can stand cilantro, go for it. These pickled red onions would not be out of place. Um, sour cream? Cause why the hell not. You know?

Yield: about 8 cups

**Note: I made my own chicken stock and used the meat from the carcass. Here’s how I did it: Throw that sucker, roasted (or raw) chicken in a stock pot with some carrots, a halved onion, some smashed garlic cloves, whole peppercorns and a bay leaf, cover it all with cold water, bring to a boil, then simmer away for a couple hours. Strain the broth and set aside, pick off the meat that’s left on the carcass and set that aside to use for the soup. Ta-da! Stock!

January 13, 2015

Stuffed Chicken with Grapes & Olives

January 13, 2015/ Margaret Lunetta

An ever obsessing fangirl of Deb Perelman at Smitten Kitchen, this recipe was inspired by her recent posting of roasted grape and olive toasts.

While I am in a lifetime love relationship with toast, I do try to limit my gluten/carb/flour intake on a daily basis. So I wanted to see how I could translate this dish into one without toast. I needed a vehicle for the ricotta, but it had to be something that wouldn’t outshine the grapes and olives.

Then I was reminded about my other stuffed chicken recipe, which this is very reminiscent of. I could totally stuff the chicken with the ricotta and those roasty grapes and olives would make that bland ‘ole chicken breast pop! I added some paprika on top for color and done.

Salty and sweet, and just a touch of heat from the ricotta mix. Sound familiar? Do you know my favorite flavor profile by now?

It also looks super pretty, so there’s that.

Stuffed Chicken with Grapes & Olives

Inspired by this recipe from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 cup of ricotta

pinch of red pepper flake to taste

1 teaspoon dried oregano

salt and pepper

4 skinless boneless chicken breasts

1 cup red or black seedless grapes

1 cup assorted olives, pitted

drizzle of olive oil

sprinkle of paprika

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

In a small bowl mix ricotta with red pepper flake, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Using a small sharp knife, create a pocket in the middle of each chicken breast.

Divide the ricotta mixture equally among the 4 chicken breasts stuffing each pocket and pulling them closed. Place the breasts on an oven proof dish or roasting pan. Distribute grapes and olives among the chicken. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and then lightly sprinkle each breast with a little paprika. Drizzle the entire dish with olive oil and throw into the oven.

Roast chicken for about 45 minutes to an hour or until chicken is cooked through and grapes and olives have caramelized and gotten soft and juicy. Toss the grapes and olives a few times throughout the roasting time to ensure even cooking.

When finished roasting, transfer chicken, grapes and olives to a plate and immediately add a little water to the hot baking dish. Using a fork or whisk, scrape up all the brown bits and caramelized goodness to create a simple, quick, pan juice. Season this if needed, and then pour over chicken and fruits and serve.

Serves 4

January 09, 2015

Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad

January 09, 2015/ Margaret Lunetta

Now that we are firmly in resolution territory….brussels sprouts and kale for everybody!

Amirite? Or amirite? Great!

As already discussed, I am one of those suckers that looks forward to January 1st for that giant, metaphorical reset button. In life, in health, in food.

I mentally press it with all my might the second I pop out of bed New Year’s Day and get excited to start eating super cleanly again, as though I needed permission to do so.

This salad is decidedly virtuous. I get a straight up health high knowing how good it probably is for me. Between the sprouts, the ever true health beacon that is kale, and the endless pops of anti-oxidants as I chew down on those pomegranate seeds. Oh MAN! I am so good at being healthy!

Please don’t hate me when I post so many salads over the next coming weeks. I’ll come to my senses eventually and balance all this clean eating shit out with some sort of sinful something.

I promise. <3

Shredded Brussels Sprout Salad

Ingredients:

Dressing:

3 tablespoons of olive oil

1 tablespoon of sherry vinegar

2 teaspoons of maple syrup

squirt of mustard

salt and pepper to taste

Salad:

1 pound brussels sprouts

½ bunch of kale

½ cup of toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

seeds of 1 pomegranate

¼ cup of shredded parmesan

Directions:

Whisk olive oil, vinegar, syrup, mustard, salt and pepper together until combined. Set aside.

Thinly shred brussels sprouts (the easiest way is to use a mandoline) and chiffonade the kale leaves by destemming them, layering them on top of one another and then rolling them up into a long tube. Cut across tube to create thin strips of kale.

To assemble salad --- toss brussels sprouts and kale with hazelnuts, pomegranate seeds and parmesan. Drizzle dressing on top and then gently toss again to coat evenly in dressing.

Serves 6 as a side.

January 01, 2015

New Year's Day Chicken Soup

January 01, 2015/ Margaret Lunetta

I love everything about New Year’s Day (not to be mistaken with New Year’s Eve.) I am the quintessential cliche when it comes to making resolutions and seeing a bright shiny future.

I do happen to let loose many of my standards of health when it comes to the holidays. Things get overwhelmingly busy at work and in life so I truthfully eschew heading to the yoga mat as often, usually some sort of annual-right-on-schedule viral infection will throw me off course for a week (hello Christmas morning cold -- still fighting you off!) and of course, don’t get me started on the general holiday glutton. I do get a little carb happy. I mean I got four separate birthday cakes this year, FOUR! And then I made half baked blondies on top of that. And then there’s --- “Sleep? What’s that?”

I love the idea of clean slates, and starting fresh. Whether it’s metaphorical or not, the new year always gets me in the mindset of newness, a reset, improvement, evolution.

And as much research is out there that New Year’s resolutions tend to fall by the wayside and send everyone who made them into a downward spiral of defeat and failure about three weeks into January, it always sets me into the fast lane for realigning my goals for the coming year.

Having this blog has turned into a bit of a journal of sorts and I’m excited to check in again next year and see what I’ve accomplished. As far as 2014 goes, it was not my favorite year, but I did start this blog and I really like it. I’m looking forward to what 2015 has in store for me, I have a good feeling about it all...it’s bubbling at the surface. I can feel it in my fingertips.

For 2015:

start composting

take some classes at the Institute of Culinary Education

use up that gift certificate from LAST YEAR at Broadway Dance Center. I wanna be like dis girl. I’m sure three classes is enough to get me up to speed.

conquer both handstand and forearm stand in yoga

i have dreams of more visits to Austin

visit NOLA

visit San Fran

drink more water

cook more on weeknights (I’m more often than not a #putaneggonit type of girl)

Brown Butter Sage Squash and Sausage

December 19, 2014/ Margaret Lunetta

Did everyone else already figure out that Christmas is in less than a week?! Because that shit snuck up on me this year. And that is nearly impossible for a Christmas baby, like myself. An actual Christmas baby, as in, down to the day.

So to make up for the fact that I’ve neglected it completely I just went on an amazon clicking SPREE. Because, as proven previously, I am a “responsible” “adult” who leaves more than enough time to get things done and never lets things burn in the oven.

I waited until the day before the secret santa exchange to purchase the gift online and then was super surprised when everything went wrong with the order. No, that will not ship when you need it, no, definitely a week after you need it and no, you can’t cancel your order because you need to be taught lessons in thinking ahead of time. Thanks, life.

Will I learn my lesson? Will I begin my Christmas shopping IMMEDIATELY so that I can have everything wrapped before the actual day arrives? We shall see. I do enjoy the adrenaline rush of finding out NOTHING WILL SHIP WHEN IT’S SUPPOSED TO AND THIS IS OUT OF STOCK AND YOU CAN’T FIND IT IN STORES.

Whew! I love the holidays!!

Lies. I am possibly a Grade A grinch. I am sorry to burst anyone’s holiday bubble. I am a bah humbug, no tree, no decor, no holiday spirit type person. In other words, the worst. But! but! but! Before you leave me and my Christmas hating ways, give me a secret surprise to try and contain for weeks and a rolling pin and cookie cutters and I am your girl! I make up for my Scrooge-likeness with my deep pleasure for gift giving and holiday baking.

I am super excited to try out this recipe from the goddess over at smitten kitchen and I’ve already made and gifted her hot chocolate mix.

In the meantime, I’m plotting what my birthday sweet might be and making super simple meals like the one below while I panic over the upcoming holiday. All I can say is, thank goodness for amazon prime shipping!

Brown Butter Sage Squash and Sausage

Ingredients:

1 pound sweet italian sausage, squeezed from casing

1 large butternut squash, or two small ones peeled and cut in 1 inch cubes

salt and pepper

4 tablespoons butter

4 to 5 whole sage leaves

Directions:

Brown sausage in a pan over medium heat until no longer pink, approximately 10 minutes. Break up sausage into crumbles as it it cooking.

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

While sausage is browning, prepare a sheet pan with a piece of parchment paper or tinfoil. Spread cubed squash out on pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Once the sausage crumbles are basically cooked through, toss them with squash on the sheet pan. Make sure to get all that good sausage fat on there too and coat the squash cubes with it.

Throw into the oven for approximately 40 minutes, turning over at least once so the squash sides roast equally.

While the sausage and squash is roasting, melt butter and sage down in a small pan over a medium heat. Once it’s melted, watch for it to become a toasty brown and start to smell nutty. Watch it very carefully. Don’t let it go too far or you'll end up with burnt butter, not brown butter.

Remove from heat once brown and nutty. Set aside.

Once squash and sausage is done roasting, pour brown butter sage sauce over the hot squash and sausage. Toss gently to coat and serve.