Dreary Days = Soup
I’ve been up in North Florida at St George Island with the family for the past few days, just relaxing and fishing. I just came home to rainy and dreary weather here in South Florida. Since it actually dipped below 80 degrees, I was in the mood for a bit o’ soup. One of my most favorite soups is Pasta Fagioli. It’s an incredibly easy and quick cooking soup, and is made from basic ingredients I usually have in my pantry. There are many, many different recipes for this soup, some adding marinara, some adding Italian meatballs… I don’t add either of those. I’ve been tweaking it a bit each time I make it, and this last time was just perfect. My secret (which is now no longer a secret) is to puree half of the white beans.
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Salad… Its What’s for Dinner
Anyone that knows me knows that I’m a steak and potatoes kind of gal. As I’m maturing, and that darn metabolism slows, I try to eat less of that and more salads. Here is one of my favorite ways to incorporate red meat into a healthy dinner. Grilled Filet Mignon served on top of a delicious salad with lots of goodies in it. Its really the best of both worlds: Raw veggies… check! Yummy grilled steak… check! Candied Almonds… check! OK, the candied almonds are not exactly “healthy” but they sure are tasty.
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Hakuna Frittata!
Just like Lion King, when making a frittata, there are no worries! :)
I began my love of frittatas while working as a Pastry Chef at the Aquarium Restaurant in Kemah Texas. I often worked early mornings, prepping for the dinner service that night. The kitchen prep ladies would make breakfast for the staff, and one of the most popular items was a frittata. They would go from station to station, grabbing a handful of bacon from Garde Manger, perhaps some par-cooked Haricots Verts from the saute station, julienne of carrot… whatever tickled their fancy. I’ve even had it with lobster on a few occasions when the executive chef was away from the kitchen… but we were sworn to secrecy!
Paste Di Meliga
Also known as Italian Cornmeal Butter Cookies from Piemonte. I was looking for something different to bake this past weekend. I came across this recipe in Cookies Unlimited by Nick Malgieri. This book, by the way, is fabulous, and I suggest everyone buy it. It not only has every cookie you can imagine, it has pictures… of every cookie. All of the recipes I’ve made from this book have been delicious. I use several of his recipes for my Christmas baking… which I go completely overboard on… so stay tuned!
The cookie has a nice crunch, but is also very delicate. Very nice combination of butter and vanilla.
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Feeling Blue?
Stephan was watching a food show recently and saw a blue cheese stuffed hamburger, and asked me to try it. Since I had not seen the show, I had to wing it a bit, but it really turned out great… except I always forget how much burgers shrink when they cook. I think the next time I make burgers at home, I’ll make them the circumference of a human head, then it will hopefully fit the bun! Gosh, my buns looked huge next to the burger :p
One warning, however, when you bite into it, a bit of hot cheese *may* squirt out, and if it does… its like red hot magma…
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Pearls of Wisdom
Another Africa hot day in lovely South Florida and I was craving a cold dinner. I’m sure Confucious said somewhere “When day hot, eat cold couscous.” Or something like that.
I found this recipe on a message board I frequent, but didn’t actually write it down, so its probably completely different than the original recipe. Whatever… its good, with a surprising mix of flavors and textures. I use only pearl couscous, as I prefer it to the regular tiny grained couscous, which always seems mushy to me. My grocery store usually has a dusty box or two of it on the top shelf near the rice and pastas. If you can’t find it in a regular grocery store, Whole Foods always carries it. We ate the couscous as a main dish, with delicious sunflower seed bread from The German Breadhaus, which has… hands down… the best German bread in South Florida.
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Dios Moi Fajitas!
Ahhhh…. fajitas… O’ how I love thee? Although many people down here in South Florida think I’m latino, I’m not… I’m a gringo… actually, I’m a Gringo/Japanese mixture… Perhaps I’m Gringonese? Either way, I love all things latin when it comes to food. I’m definitely living in the right place for great latino food.
Fajitas is a quick dinner, but one you have to plan for it. I make the marinade the night before, and let the steak and marinade mingle all night. The skirt steak used for fajitas is very tough and absolutely must be marinated, unless you want to give your jaws a serious workout. The acid (lime) in the marinade breaks down the tough cut of steak. The other stuff makes it taste yummy!
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I Scream for Ice Cream
Ahhhh… This was quite the sweet weekend for us. I realized I was making far too much “food” and not enough sweet treats. So I started our sweet binge with Rum Raisin Ice Cream. I’m not sure if this is a kid friendly ice cream… but it sure is yummy!
I have the Krups Ice Cream Maker, and it works wonderfully every time. The only drawback is the base has to be frozen for at least 12 hours, which makes it difficult to make spur of the moment ice cream. You can solve that problem by storing the base in the freezer… just make sure you put the base in a plastic bag or it might get freezer funky…
Check out my Fannie
My Fannie Farmer cookbook, that is! :p
My older bro, Ken bought this cookbook for me as a birthday gift during my first year of culinary school. Although it was sweet, I scoffed a bit… Fannie Farmer??? I’m like a professional, dude! I suppose this wasn’t as bad as my mom buying the Florence Henderson’s Shortcut Cooking… Yeah, that’s Mrs Brady from the Brady Bunch, if you don’t know who Florence Henderson is… What was my mom thinking… buying that awful cookbook for a culinary student??? I still tease her for that… :p
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Broccoli and Almond Risotto
For those that don’t really care for broccoli, (my husband being one) this is the perfect use of this delicious and oh so healthy veggie. I always add a handful of chopped almonds at the end, which gives the perfect crunch to the risotto. You can use a little less oil and butter, but it will not be quite as rich. We generally eat this as a main course, as its quite the satisfying meal.
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