Spaghetti with Hazelnut-Spinach Pesto
I love the idea of hazelnuts and spinach in a pesto. It sounds so healthy, and delicious.
Hazelnuts have been popping up everywhere in my monthly cooking magazines. But, I never would have thought to put them in pesto. For years, my sister and I have begged for my Mama’s pesto recipe. She always just says, “I put a little of this, and a little of that. Whatever, I have on hand.” One time, my Sister was making pesto at her house and she had my Mama on the phone telling her exactly what to do. After she tasted the pesto, it tasted nothing like what she remembered it to be. Maybe it is the fact that my Mama grows all of her own herbs.
I feel like this recipe would be right up my Moma’s alley. Sometimes she uses almonds or walnuts in her pesto, instead of pine-nuts. I will now have to tell her that she can successfully substitute hazelnuts!
I made this meal for my best friend, Lindsi, while we waited around for a dress rehearsal that we were not in. She proclaimed that is was her new favorite pasta dish:)
Pork Roast with Broccoli Rabe and Peaches
Erik finally decided yesterday that he wanted to open his 29 year old Cragganmore Single Malt Scotch. So, he needed me to cook a fantastic meal for all of his buddies that were going to partake in the sampling. I am not a huge fan of scotch, so I just watched.
I also just like an excuse to cook a roast every once in a while, and feed the masses.
I have never brined meat before, and now I feel stupid for even eating meat all these years without knowing of this amazing trick. Brining makes the meat more tender by hydrating the cells of the muscle tissue through osmosis. It makes a huge difference with the flavor and consistency of the meat. Especially pork, chicken, and turkey, which can be dry and bland if cooked improperly.
There seem to be many brining formulas. Mostly though, I have noticed they all start with water, salt and sugar. Then, adding the herbs and spices seem to be the cook’s preference. What is your formula for brining?
Six-Spice Hangar Steak
Erik, Cashew, and I have a frequent outing that we take most weekends. We walk from our house to Greenlake (1.5 miles), around Greenlake (3 miles), and back (1.5 miles) . The whole trip takes about two hours because we walk leisurely, but it is one of my most cherished times that I get to spend with my husband.
The first mile, or so, of our walk, we talk about what we are going to have for dinner, or maybe about our plans for an upcoming trip. But, as the time passes we get into topics of child rearing, what we want to be when we grow up, and what city to live in next. I find that walking is very therapeutic. I don’t think Erik and I would have enough patience to sit on the couch for two hours and have talks like these.
I think that my next step after dancing will be something with food. I don’t want to cook in a restaurant, or even own one, but I would love to be a personal chef. Of course my ultimate pipe dream is to be a celebrity chef on the Food Network. Dream big, right?
We ate this meal after our long, therapeutic walk, and it hit the spot. I served the steak with sauteed bok choy and snow peas, and sticky rice.
Cafe Lago’s Pomodoro al Forno
Cafe Lago kept presenting itself to me in many ways. First, the owner’s brother works as one of our stage crew at the Pacific Northwest Ballet. Everyone at the ballet knows that I am a foodie, so I had been told many times about the restaurant by many of the stage crew. I just never got around to going there.
Second, I read about the restaurant in the most recent issue of Bon Appetit. And, the most important is that my favorite blogger, Molly Wizenberg, at Orangette, wrote about it and her favorite recipe on her blog today. Well, I guess that was not much of a coincidence because she was also the one who wrote the article in Bon Appetit.
So, when I went last week, I had to try the recipe that Molly had raved about in her monthly column. It was stunning, just as promised, but that was not all. The food and wine was out of this world. Our waitress even recommended a wine that came specifically from her Grandmother’s small Italian town.
And, I had been resisting for so long….
Here is my attempt at Cafe Lago’s recipe. I will have to go back soon to see if I am even in the ballpark.
Pressed Chicken with Yellow Squash and Tomatoes
This past weekend we shipped the kid (Cashew) to my Mom’s, drank as much water as we could, and headed to Sonoma to celebrate Erik’s 30th birthday. We rented this amazing Italian Villa with a huge gourmet kitchen which I had planned to cook in. But, I actually did not saute or dice the entire weekend (thanks to Dane, Michael, and Eddie). We did many wine tastings, spent hours in the hot tub, and it turned out to be one of the best weekends I have ever experienced.
Well, last night, even though I was itching to cook again, my exhaustion got the best of me, which means Erik cooked. And by that I mean, he ordered a pizza.
Tonight, however, I made no excuses. I went to the grocery store to see what inspired me, and this seemed like my last salute to summer. Summer squash, corn, and grape tomatoes. I had also seen this “pressed chicken” by many of my favorite chefs, and I felt that at some point, I needed to jump on that bandwagon and try it. Enjoy!
Penne with Cherry Tomatoes and Pancetta
I know I have told you before, but tomatoes could quite possibly be my favorite food. I like them cooked or uncooked, seasoned or not, and my favorite is right off the vine in my Moma’s garden.
One of my favorite dinners of all time is my Steak with Tomato Pan Sauce. I was thinking of how I could incorporate that pan sauce into a lighter dish using pasta. And this is what I created….
I love summertime because you can get cherry tomatoes inexpensively in all assorted colors. In the winter, all though they are available, they just don’t taste the same.
What is your favorite way to use cherry tomatoes in cooking (or not)?
Ethan’s Mussels with Speck and Oregano
I feel like I have not been here in forever. It has actually only been a week. And what a week it was.
I just finished my 2007-2008 Season with PNB. It was an emotional end because many of my friends are leaving to dance elsewhere or pursue other interests. This also means I have five weeks to twiddle my thumbs and cook until we start our 2008-2009 Season.
Also in this weeks news, I broke my iPhone in a cab and had to buy a new one, ran out of gas and proceeded to order a pizza while waiting for more gas, broke off my front door handle and therefore got locked out of my house, and to top it off, this morning Erik’s car got towed from the front of our building. Whew! Hopefully all of this bad luck is over.
In more positive news, Ethan Stowell, my former boss’ son, just won best new chef from Food and Wine. Not to mention that he also got nominated for the James Beard award. I saw this recipe online and decided it would brighten my chaotic week.
This recipe has an ingredient I had never heard of: speck. It is similar to a prosciutto flavor, but cooked more like a pancetta. I found it at Whole Foods and it really added a delicious smoky and salty flavor to the mussels. Also, I loved the used of fresh oregano in the recipe. I just recently planted fresh oregano because it is the only thing that grows on my north-facing porch. There was something satisfying about using an herb that I have grown. Maybe there will be some more gardening in my future.
Shrimp Baked with Garlic and Herbs
The words “Baked” and “Shrimp” do not seem to have an affinity, but I assure you, this is my new favorite method of cooking these crustaceans.
An overcooked shrimp can taste like a pencil eraser, and I assure you, I have made my fair share of those. But, the great thing about shrimp is that they have a natural internal timer. Once they get pink and remain “C” shaped, they are cooked all the way through. When they are overcooked, they become “O” shaped, and hard as a rock.
Shrimp is one of the first things I started experimenting with when I was learning to cook. It is generally foolproof if it is seasoned well, and like I said before, not overcooked. The oven assures a perfectly cooked shrimp every time!
I made these for a risotto, but you could serve them as appetizers or even pop them on the grill in the summer with the same garlic and herb rub! Your choice.
What is your favorite way to prepare shrimp?
Five Cheese Lasagna
Erik just turned 29 last week, however, we celebrated his birthday all weekend. For one of his events, he requested that I make lasagna. I researched a bunch of recipes, and this one intrigued me the most. This is a “high-maintenance” lasagna. I would save it for a special occasion because of cost and time, but you HAVE to try it!
Asian Beef Kabobs and Cilantro Rice
Summertime is meant for Shish Kabobs. My mom used to make them all the time on her fancy metal skewers, but she would put mushrooms on them (and I don’t like mushrooms). Now, as an adult, I can put whatever I want on them! I found the marinade for this recipe on Epicurious.com. This is my recipe but feel free to use any type of protein (chicken, lamb, beef, or tofu) and you can also use different vegetables as well (zucchini, japanese eggplant, green bell pepper, yellow onion, or mushrooms).
Serves 2
Prep time: 30 minutes
Marinading: 1 hour or up to 1 day
Cook time: 25 minutes
For Kebabs:
4 (7-inch ) bamboo skewers (or fancy metal ones)
1/2 c. tamari or soy sauce
4 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
2 tsp. grated ginger root (grate on a microplane)
1 thai chile, seeded (if preferred) and finely minced
3 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. sesame seeds
2 tsp. black pepper
3/4 lb. top sirloin, cut into 1 inch chunks
10 scallions, thicker parts only cut into 2 inch slices (reserve thinner parts for rice)
1 large orange bell pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks
For Rice:
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 red bell pepper, finely minced
Kosher salt
1/2 c, jasmine rice
1 c. water
10 scallion tops (leftover from kebabs), finely minced
3 tbsp. finely minced cilantro
Directions:
Soak bamboo skewers for 1 hour in a Ziploc bag with water. In a small bowl, whisk together the tamari, garlic, oil, ginger, sugar, vinegar, chile, sesame seeds and pepper. Add the meat, scallions, and peppers to marinade. Empty entire contents into a Ziploc bag. Remove all the air and marinate for 1 hour or up to a day.
Preheat broiler oven or grill. Remove marinade from fridge and skewer a piece or meat, scallion, and pepper. Repeat until all the contents are on the skewers. Pour leftover marinade in a small sauce pan. Bring marinade to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and reduce to desired thickness.
Meanwhile, bring another pot with the vegetable oil over medium high heat. Saute the red peppers for 2 minutes, season with salt. Add rice and saute 1 minute. Add water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and cook covered for 20 minutes.
When the rice has 10 minutes left, put skewers on a baking sheet or on grill or grill pan and cook, turning, for 8 minutes (4 minutes per side).
Remove the skewers from the oven or grill. Take the rice off the stove and fluff with a fork. Add in chopped scallions and cilantro.
Scoop rice on the bottom of a plate and drizzle reduced marinade sauce over top. Give each person 2 kabobs and enjoy!
