Asian-Style Chicken Stir-Fry

November 30, 2009 by Stephanie | 1 Comment

stirfry

I’m often inspired by the food I see at the market or in my kitchen, and that’s how I decide what to cook. This recipe is different; I was inspired by my wok. I saw it hiding in its cabinet one morning, decided I wanted to use it, and defrosted some chicken in preparation.

It doesn’t have to take long to produce a healthful and appetizing meal. This meal consists of protein and vegetables thrown into a wok and cooked with soy sauce. If you don’t have a wok, a regular large saucepan will do the trick, too.

Pumpkin Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce

November 25, 2009 by Stephanie | 1 Comment

I like to cook with real pumpkin when it’s in season. About once every year I get my hands on a pumpkin, and after roasting the seeds, I cook with the flesh. Usually I make chocolate-chip pumpkin bread. This year, I decided to try a recipe I saw a lot of online: pumpkin ravioli with sage brown butter sauce.

Does anyone serve dairy for Thanksgiving? Instead of (or in addition to) a traditional pumpkin pie, this would be a great seasonal recipe for anyone whose menu wasn’t filled with turkey and meat. Try this for a vegetarian (or your unkosher) Thanksgiving feast!

After pureeing and flavoring the pumpkin for the inside of the ravioli, I made my own dough to wrap it in, and rolled it out by hand. I only got about as far as 20 raviolis before I broke my rolling pin. I suggest using a pasta maker or the pasta Kitchenaid attachment. I have neither, so I went out and bought some wonton wrappers the next day (for less than $3) to form the rest of my raviolis, which I threw into the freezer to save for another day.

Roasted Mushroom Pizza With Fried Egg

November 18, 2009 by Stephanie | 3 Comments

I love pizza. I love making it at home, I love little mini ones, and I love pizza store pizza. Sometimes, homemade pizza needs a little twist. Tomato sauce and muenster cheese can get boring. When I saw Aida Mollenkamp make pizza with roasted mushrooms and an EGG on top, I knew I had to try it.

I made it once before, on one pizza dough, and with only one egg. That was definitely not enough – of course if two people are eating the pie they’ll fight over that lone egg. So this time I made the pizza I split the same amount of mushrooms over two pies, and put three eggs on one pie, and two on the other. The result? Well, aside from absolute deliciousness, it was a perfect meal for a busy/lazy day. I didn’t even to make a side dish that night. If you’re not lazy like I am, a nice big salad would be delicious with this. Continue reading …

Chicken with Potatoes and Tomatoes

November 13, 2009 by Jessica | 1 Comment

I used to watch Jamie Oliver when he was The Naked Chef on the Food Network, but only watched his new show, Jamie at Home, once. In that episode he made game pigeon, which did not really look appetizing to me. I never tried any of his recipes, but admired his use of homegrown (or local/seasonal) ingredients. When I read this article last week, I knew I had to take a look at his new cookbook, Jamie at Home. While browsing through it at the book store, I saw a lot of unkosher recipes, and some graphic pictures of dead hanging rabbits and other animals. I did find a few recipes that looked delicious and very easy, and decided to give a chicken recipe a shot at home.

I actually got the recipe from the food network site (it’s the same as the one in the book), and changed it a bit (or a lot) to make it a little easier. Maybe I’ll try the original one next time…

Butternut and Acorn Squash Mac & Cheese

November 2, 2009 by Stephanie | 2 Comments

The cold weather means it’s winter squash season, as you know. And everyone knows those are the best types of squash. I recently got my hands on an acorn and a butternut variety and didn’t know what to do with them. Soup? Roasted? Boring!

After a long brainstorm, I thought to make macaroni and cheese:

Originally, I wanted to make risotto, but then I realized that I’d have to go shopping, and I really didn’t want to go to the supermarket, so I had to pick something that I could make with whatever I already had in the kitchen. Then pizza came to mind (I always have mini pizza doughs in the fridge), but I wasn’t feeling it. That’s when I thought of mac & cheese; I’ve read about camouflaging cauliflower in it to trick kids into eating more healthily, so why not put squash in it? I wasn’t trying to make it healthier, just different, but I went with it, and my little experiment was a big success!

Braised Short Ribs with Dijon Mustard

October 30, 2009 by Jessica | 3 Comments

I’m still not sick of using my dutch oven, and decided to braise some meat in them. I chose short ribs, a meat that can hold up more than two hours of cooking. This is a delicious dish for Friday night, but if you’re up for it, it’s easy enough to impress some friends with or make it for a special weeknight.

Mehshi B’Laban, or Stuffed Squash, Dairy Style

October 22, 2009 by Stephanie | 2 Comments

I bought some giant zucchinis at the farmer’s market last week and wanted to make something special with them. This recipe gets its delicious flavor from butter, and is traditionally made with long grain white rice. I made a healthier version with less butter and brown rice. It had a delicious, nutty flavor. The recipe calls for slender zucchini, which probably would have been better than the fat ones I found. Make sure you scoop them out very well so the zucchini cook through. Continue reading …

Onion, Spinach, and Mozzarella Frittata

October 13, 2009 by Stephanie | Leave a comment

This is probably more appropriate as a breakfast/brunch food, but I decided to serve it for dinner. Everyone likes to eat breakfast for dinner!

This is where I would usually put a photo of the completed product if I hadn’t either forgotten to take one or virtually misplaced it. Please use your imagination.

It’s kind of an omelet, but made in the oven instead of over the stove. And the ingredients are mixed in, as opposed to folded in.

Roasted Potatoes and Garlic

October 12, 2009 by Stephanie | 2 Comments

There are so many ways to eat a potato. Here is just one of them. It’s boring, we know, but it’s also easy and oh-so flavorful!

crispy

Quesadillas

October 8, 2009 by Stephanie | 2 Comments

You can put almost anything inside two tortillas and pan-fry them. The insides get gooey and the outsides get crisp and you can cut them into tiny wedges and they will be delicious.

quesadillas

I prepared six of these in advance, fried them up a few hours before I was ready to serve them, and then heated them on a cookie sheet immediately before serving. Continue reading …