Mmmmm, Beets!

We actually made these delicious roasted beets last week, but I have been a slacker poster lately! I have a back log of about 3 dishes that I hope to get up this week/weekend, so stay tuned.

The recipe “Baked Beets with Balsamic Vinegar, Marjoram, and Garlic” is from Jamie Oliver (we modify slightly)

Ingredients:
1 lb fresh, raw beets, preferably golf ball size, scrubbed
10 cloves of garlic
1 handful fresh marjoram or sweet oregano, leaves picked from stems
Salt and freshly ground pepper
10 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
6 Tablespoons olive oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400
line baking dish with tin foil, with enough on edges to fold up to cover beets
We peel the beets (Jamie Oliver does not)
If beets are larger than golf ball size, chop into smaller pieces
Place beets, garlic, and marjoram into foil lined dish
Season generously with salt & pepper and add balsamic vinegar & olive oil
Seal up tin foil around beets
Place in oven and bake for about 1 hour, or until tender


I could eat this every night! (sorry for the dark photo)

Risotto Primavera

Chris started his new job on Monday so I wanted to make him a nice dinner, no I didn’t have it ready for him when he walked through the door, but I did have a nice Negroni mixed up for him!

(obviously not my photo, courtesy lasplash.com via google image search)

I thawed a couple of lamb chops to grill with a rosemary/garlic rub and bought some salad greens for a side, but the challenge of the meal was the Risotto Primavera! I have watched Chris make risotto and I knew it was a time consuming process and can be difficult, but I wanted to challenge myself (and I love risotto!). I heard the apprehension in his voice as I told him over the phone what the night’s menu would be and that I would be doing the risotto myself, the slow “ooookay” was all the more motivation for me to make this dish!

I found the recipe on epicurious.com, it comes from the April 2003 edition of Bon Appetit

Ingredients:
1 medium carrot, peeled
4 tablespoons olive oil

8 ounces slender asparagus spears, trimmed, cut on diagonal into 1-inch pieces

1 medium zucchini, trimmed, quartered lengthwise, seeded, cut on diagonal into 1-inch pieces

1 medium-size yellow crookneck squash, trimmed, quartered lengthwise, seeded, cut on diagonal into 1-inch pieces

4 1/2 cups (or more) low-salt chicken broth

1 large white onion, finely chopped

1 3/4 cups (11 1/2 ounces) arborio rice or medium-grain white rice

3/4 cup dry white wine

8 baby carrots, peeled, tops trimmed to 1/2 inch

1 1/3 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 4 ounces)

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, cut into 1-inch pieces

1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

Additional freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Cut 1/4-inch slice off 1 long side of carrot to stabilize.
Cut lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick slices.
Stack half of slices and cut lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick strips.
Cut strips crosswise into 1/8-inch cubes. Repeat with remaining slices.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat.

Add asparagus, zucchini, and crookneck squash; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Set vegetables aside.

Bring broth to simmer in medium saucepan over low heat. Cover and keep warm.

Heat 3 tablespoons oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and cubed carrot. Sauté until onion begins to soften, about 2 minutes.

Add rice; stir until rice is translucent at edges but still opaque in center, about 3 minutes.

Add wine and simmer until absorbed, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes.

Add 1 cup warm broth and baby carrots. Simmer until broth is almost absorbed, stirring often, about 4 minutes.

Add 2 cups more broth, 1 cup at a time, allowing each addition to be absorbed before adding next and stirring frequently, about 10 minutes.

Mix in sautéed vegetables and 1 cup broth. Simmer until broth is just absorbed, stirring often, about 5 minutes.

Add 1 1/3 cups cheese, peas, butter, and 1/2 cup broth. Simmer until butter melts, rice and vegetables are just tender, and risotto is creamy, stirring often and adding more broth by 1/4 cupfuls if risotto is dry, about 3 minutes longer.

Mix in basil; season with salt and pepper.
Sprinkle with pine nuts when served.

It was a time consuming process,at least an hour, but not as difficult as I anticipated. One thing that made it MUCH easier was having everything prepped ahead of time and within reach of the stove (and having Chris around to grab the forgotten items was pretty handy as well!)

We both thought the risotto came out great, the fresh veggies made the creamy risotto taste fresh and summery!

Grilled Steak and Sauteed Okra with Tomato & Corn

I didn’t have a meal planned out for tonight, but I knew what side dish I wanted to make and I originally thought I might pick up a piece of fish to go along with it. I was down at the bird sanctuary again this afternoon for work so I stopped by Sweet Berry Farm to get some fresh local produce for the corn dish. While in the store thinking about where to buy the fish, I remembered Sweet Berry Farm carries grass fed beef, raised locally right on the island. We’ve had grass fed beef before and it is delicious, you can really see & taste the difference, so I picked up a couple of Flat Iron Steaks. This was a big step for me, steak is a daunting meal….I don’t grill. I have, what Chris considers, an unhealthy fear of fire and working with combustibles and flames is hard for me. Once a grill is lit I can stand over it with a spatula flipping burgers and looking all cool, but the turning on the gas and lighting of the grill scares the crap out of me. However, there was no way I was turning on the broiler in the middle of July, so I decided to bite the bullet and grill.

The first thing I did when I got home was search the internet for a good marinade for the steak. I was looking for something quick & easy that didn’t require any crazy ingredients because I was not going back out to the store. I ended up finding a recipe from Emeril Lagasse that only called for ingredients we have in house.

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup dry red wine

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon Creole mustard (or other grainy mustard)

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

I made the marinade in a shallow bowl and placed the steak in, letting it sit while I prepared the other dish.

For the side dish, I made one of our favorites from last summer Sauteed Okra with Tomato & Corn from the September ’97 issue of Gourmet Magazine (as found on epicurious.com).

Ingredients: (with my tweaks…)
1/2 pound fresh okra (I used about 6 large pods)

1 medium vine-ripened tomato (4 or 5 plum tomatoes)

1 small onion1 ear corn (used 2 to increase recipe)

1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (little more for flavor and for increased recipe)

Directions:
Cut okra into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Peel and chop tomato. Cut onion into thin slices and cut corn from cob.

A trick I learned last summer for cutting corn from the cob, use a bundt pan, it saves you the frustration of corn bopping all over the counter!

In a heavy skillet heat 1 tablespoon oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and sautee okra with salt to taste, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 3 minutes. With a slotted spoon transfer okra to a bowl.

Add remaining‚ tablespoon oil to skillet and sauté onion, stirring, until it begins to soften. Stir in tomato, water, and Worcestershire sauce and simmer, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes. Add corn and simmer until corn is crisp-tender and sauce is thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in okra with salt and pepper to taste and cook until heated through.

While the corn dish was simmering, I got the grill going. This was even more of a terrifying task for me because I had to actually hook up the gas tank to the grill, but I did it and nothing blew up! Once the grill was hot, I put the steak on for just a few minutes on each side since it is a very thin cut.

I have to admit I was shocked the steak came out as well as it did, I thought for sure I would horribly overcook it, but it was just right and the okra/tomato/corn dish was just as tasty as I remember from last summer!

A little help from my friends...

Day 2 of my challenge was beautiful and sunny and since I was in Newport for the day I of course had to go to the beach with friends after work! Following a rough afternoon of playing in the waves and lounging on the sand we all headed back for a cookout at Joan & Joseph’s, who are lucky enough to live at a wildlife sanctuary with views of the ocean! I had a moment of guilt that it was only Day 2 and already I was going to fail my challenge of a home cooked meal every night this week! But then I thought, it’s not my house but it’s still home cooked right? And if I help with the cooking, it might be justified. So I happily gave up cooking by myself in my own kitchen for sharing a good meal with great friends on a beautiful summer night!

We enjoyed a delicious meal of burgers, dogs, chicken and a fantastic bean salad from Sweet Berry Farm in Middletown. Also from the homemade stock at Sweet Berry Farm was a delicious Blueberry pie topped with their own vanilla bean ice cream!

Thank you Jill, for documenting me “cooking”!

Tonight, I was back in my own kitchen, cooking solo. The first thing I made was a Gazpacho I had planned on making Sunday night to enjoy all week, but that obviously didn’t happen so I chopped all of the tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, et al tonight instead. I used the same recipe from an entry below and I am looking forward to having some for lunch tomorrow!

For my dinner, I once again used a recipe from Healthy Cooking for Two (or just you) called Fettuccine with Spinach & Feta on page 125. This was also very simple to make, the most time consuming part was boiling the water for the pasta.

Ingredients:
4oz Fettuccine
8 cups loosely packed spinach leaves
1 Green onion
2/3 cup Feta
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
½ Teaspoon Dried Dill Weed
Pepper to taste

Directions:
Cook Fettuccine according to package directions
Meanwhile, thinly slice green onion and place in medium mixing bowl
Add Feta, Oil, Lemon Juice, Dill Weed, and Pepper
During last 30 seconds of cooking the fettuccine place the spinach into the water with the pasta and push under to wilt.
Drain Pasta/Spinach
Add to mixing bowl with cheese mixture, toss to coat

Although the heat wave has officially broken, it was still quite hot & humid this evening as multiple thunderstorms passed through. Before starting dinner, I turned on the AC in the living room so I’d have a nice cool place to eat after standing over a hot stove. Literally 30 seconds after I turn the pasta water off and am tossing the fettuccine with the cheese, the power goes out! I had a very uncomfortable, sweaty, eating experience which could only be relieved by getting in my air conditioned car and getting an ice cream cone!

Finally! A New Post!

Well it's been a long hiatus, life gets busy. We anticipated a nice, calm, relaxing summer after the sleep deprived weeks leading up to our wedding, but that is certainly not what we've experienced! Chris has been in the field about 99% of the time since returning from our honeymoon, we are getting ready for a move (or moves, plural, I should say) as Chris prepares for a new job, and we are in day 6 of a heat wave, which all adds up to not much cooking!

Despite all of that, I have decided to challenge myself this week... I am committed to making a home cooked meal every day of this week all by myself (Chris is away all week again). I chose all of my recipes yesterday, took a trip to the market to stock up, and came home from work today ready to cook, 90 degree temperatures and all!

Tonight I made a recipe out of a book I bought for myself when I was a single gal in Providence called Healthy Cooking For Two (or Just You). Since I am solo this week I don't want a lot of leftovers. I made the recipe 'for two' and plan on taking the second portion for lunch tomorrow. I'm hoping these recipes will inspire me to do a lot of cooking when I am once again a single (yet very happily married!!) gal back in Providence this fall!

Here is Orange-Glazed Pork Chops & Sweet Potatoes (2 servings)

Ingredients:

2 lean boneless pork chops

Canola oil (i used olive oil)

2 small sweet potatoes

1/2 cup Orange juice (I fresh squeezed my own, about 1 large orange)

1/2 cup dry sherry

salt & pepper

Directions:

Place a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat (I used our trusty Le Creuset pot). The recipe calls for brushing the chops with oil, I just poured some into the pan. Salt & Pepper both sides of the chops. Place chops in pan and cook for 3 minutes on each side, or until well browned.

Meanwhile, peel the sweet potatoes and slice into 1/4 inch discs, get OJ & Sherry measured out.

Remove chops from pan, reduce heat to medium and add the OJ & Sherry

Add sweet potatoes in single layer (i doubled up a bit and all was well), place chops on top of sweet potatoes.

Cover and cook for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and pork is done.

Remove chops, turn up heat to high and reduce the OJ & Sherry sauce to a thick, syrupy glaze.

To serve, place potatoes near the pork chop and spoon glaze over both. YUM!

I realize this is more of a fall meal, but I just couldn't resist Pork Chops & Sweet Potatoes, two of my favorites (especially together!)

In other food blog news.... Chris & I had the pleasure of visiting my friend Gail on Maui during our honeymoon! Gail is the author of a fantastic Vegan Cooking Blog and prepared a delicious meal of Lasagna & Coconut Rum Cake for us during our visit. If you are in the mood for some delicious new ideas, I recommend checking out Gail's blog! If nothing else, it will make you wish you are here....

Officially the Reatons!

and a cupcake update....

the cupcakes at our wedding on May 31,

pictures of more wedding food to follow shortly...

Cupcakes!!

I haven't posted in a while because honestly I have hardly set foot in my kitchen in about a week. I've been busy with wedding stuff and Chris is traveling for work so I really haven't cooked for myself much. Chris said he was going to be checking this blog to see what I cooked for myself while he was gone, but I figured a post about Tuna Fish Sandwiches and Scrambled Eggs (not together) would be a bit boring for my other 3 readers.

Today, I ventured back into the kitchen to tackle the job of making cupcakes for our wedding. My friend & bridesmaid Jennifer came over with a Kitchen-Aid and an assistant in tow and we got started on our 4 hour cupcake extravaganza!

Marlaina hard at work mixing the dry ingredients

We have a lot of counter space but every surface was covered with the ingredients

144 Cupcakes!

Ok, 143....our assistant required compensation

Raspberry Almond Layer Cake

This weekend we celebrated Chris's dad's birthday with a delicious dinner of leg of lamb from our lamb, and fresh asparagus straight from Chris's parents garden. I offered to make the dessert thinking I would use the opportunity to practice my cupcake recipe for the wedding, but then I decided I wanted to use all of the new tools I recently received at my bridal shower.

The Kitchen-Aid was actually a birthday gift from Chris and I love any excuse to bring it out!

To look for a recipe for a cake, I went to cooksillustrated.com, which is related to one of my favorite shows "America's Test Kitchen" and the magazine Cooks Illustrated. One quick little search brought me to the "Classic White Layer Cake with Butter Frosting and Raspberry Almond Filling - An All-Purpose Birthday Cake". Since my only guidence for this cake was "Anything But Chocolate", this seemed perfect.

The cake was delicious, it had a great almond flavor, with sweetness from the raspberry and frosting. The only thing I would do differently for next time is cut back slightly on the Almond Extract.

Recipe:

Cake-

2 1/4 Cups flour, plus more for dusting the pans (I used cooking spray with flour, so no dusting)

1 Cup whole milk, at room temperature

6 Large Egg Whites, at room temperature

2 teaspoons almond extract (slightly less for me next time)

1 teashpoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 Cups Granulated Sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon table salt

12 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened but still cool

Frosting -

16 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened but still cool

4 Cups confectioner's sugar

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

1 Tablespoon whole milk (I ended up needing more to get right consistancy)

pich table salt

Filling -

1/2 Cup blanched slivered almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped

1/3 Cup seedless raspberry jam

Directions:

1. Set oven rack in middle position and pre-heat to 350.

2. Spray 2 9-inch cake pans with non-stick spray, place parchment rounds on bottom of pans, spray parchment rounds, and dust whole pans with flour, tapping out excess (I used non-stick spray with flour)

3. Pour milk, egg whites, and extracts in 2-cup measure, mix with fork until blended

4. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed. Add butter, continue beating at slow speed until mixture resembles moist crumbs.

5. Add all but 1/2 Cup of milk mixture and beat at medium speed for 1 1/2 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 Cup of milk mixture and beat 30 seconds more. Scrape down sides and beat another 20 seconds on medium.

6. Divide batter evenly between 2 pans, making sure batter is spread to sides and top is smooth. Arrange pans at least 3 inches apart and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 23-25 minutes

7. Let the cakes rest 3 minutes, loosen cake from sides of pan if necessary and invert onto wire racks. Reinvert and let cool completely, about 1 1/2 hour.

8. For the Frosting: Beat butter confectioners' sugar, vanilla, milk, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed until sugar is moistened. Increase speed to medium-high, beat, stopping twice to scrape down bowl, until creamy and fluffy, about 1 1/2 minutes. Avoid overbeating

9. For the Filling: Combine 1/2 cup of frosting with the toasted chopped almonds and spread over the first layer. Carefully spread the jam on top, then cover with second cake layer. Spread frosting over top and sides of assembled cake. If enough frosting left over, pipe around perimeter of cake at base and top.

10. I added fresh raspberries and sliced almonds around the cake and a few on top for presentation.

Everyone seemed to enjoy it!

Ernie's Chicken & Broccoli

A couple of nights ago we attempted a new-to-us recipe. Chris had eaten this dish several times before when his dad had made it and he always talked about making it himself. Finally, after a special trip to the asian market for salted black beans, the recipe came out of the binder.



There are many steps in this recipe, everything is cooked in stages and then melded together at the end. We prepped all of the ingredients before getting the Wok hot since there is no slowing down once you start the stir-frying.



Chris said it came close, but didn't come out exactly the same as his dad's...
But we both agreed it was delicious and I'm sure we will be making it again soon!

Ernie's Chicken & Broccoli

Ingredients:

2 cloves of garlic, minced

4 thin slices of fresh garlic root

2 T salted black beans

corn starch

peanut oil

2 boneless skinless chicken breast cut into bite size pieces

1 container of extra-firm Tofu, drained & cubed

2 Cups broccoli, flowerets cut and stems sliced on the diagonal

Sherry, white wine or vermouth

1 can chicken broth

Directions:

1. Soak black beans in warm water (just enough to cover) for about 10 minutes

2. Marinate chicken in sherry (enough to cover) and mix in 1-2 T corn starch to coat for about 20 minutes

3. Drain, then mince black beans

4. Combine black beans and garlic

5. Heat Wok as hot as can be

6. Add 1 T peanut oil

7. When oil is hot, add 1/2 of the bean & garlic mixture

8. Stir Vigorously

9.Add chicken (already drained)

10. Stir briskly until chicken is well browned, about 4 minutes

11. Remove contents of pan and set aside on a plate

12. Add 1 T of peanut oil (do not clean pan in between)

13. Add the other 1/2 bean & garlic mixture

14. Heat until smoking, stir to avoid fire

15. Add tofu and stir briskly for about 2 minutes

16. Remove tofu, add to chicken set aside

17. Add 1 T peanut oil and heat

18. Add ginger slices, cook for 2-3 minutes, then remove ginger from oil (keep oil in pan)

19. Add broccoli and stir vigorously

20. Add chicken broth and simmer for about 2 minutes

21. Add chicken, tofu, and garlic/black bean combo back to broccoli in pan

22. Cook (simmer on HI) until chicken is done

23. Mix 2T of corn starch and 1/4 cup water

24. Add corn start mixture to thicken if needed

Flavor with soy sauce & serve over rice.

An Eclectic Dinner

A couple of months ago Chris & I bought a lamb. We try to eat as much locally grown/raised food as possible so we jumped at the chance to have meat that we knew exactly where and how it was raised. We are lucky enough to know a couple in Connecticut who raise a few lambs each year and this past February we received about 40lbs of lamb to fill our freezer. Tonight, we grilled two of the delicious Loin Chops and paired it with Asian Greens & Spring Vegetables and Gazpacho, all very unique flavors that seemed to work well with each other.

I started off making the Gazpacho, working from a recipe we received recently from Chris's brother and his girlfriend. With temperatures finally in the 70's it seemed like the perfect day for a cold soup. I roughly chopped up 8 tomatoes, 1 green bell pepper, 1 red bell pepper, 1 red onion, 2 seeded/peeled cucumbers, 1 jalepeno, and 1 clove of garlic, dumped it all into the food processor and processed until it was all mixed together. I placed this mixture into a large glass bowl and added 32 ounces of Spicy V8 Juice, 1/3 cup red wine vinegar, and 1/4 cup lemon juice, stirred all together and and placed into the refrigerator to chill.

While I was finishing up the Gazpacho, Chris started working on a Moosewood Restaurant New Classics Recipe for Asian Greens & Spring Vegetables

The lamb chops were the quickest and easiest part of the meal. I made a rub of rosemary and garlic and coated both sides of each chop.

Chris then put the chops on hot grill for about 5 minutes each side.

The tastes of each dish were all completely different, there was the savory lamb, the spicy, tangy gazpacho and the sweet, yet salty, greens & vegetables.

We completely forgot to slice up the avacado to serve with the gazpacho, but luckily we still have plenty of the soup left over and will definitely add the avacado for lunch tomorrow!

Braised Chicken Thighs

Tonight we broke in one of our first wedding presents, a new Le Creuset enameled cast iron pot! We worked off a Mario Batali recipe for Chicken Thighs with Saffron, Green Olives and Mint, but have tweaked it a bit the past couple of times we've made it. We used just 6 chicken thighs instead of 12 and cut the skin off since, in the past, it has just caused us problems by sticking to the pot and falling off anyway. We seasoned the skinless thighs with salt & pepper, did not dredge in flour as the recipe calls for, and browned in our heavy-bottomed pot.

Once the thighs were browned we transferred them to a plate, leaving all those glorious brown bits on the bottom of the pot. We added 1 red onion, thinly sliced, to the pot and let the water cooking off of the onions deglaze the pot.

Once the onions had softened a bit, we added about a cup of white wine to aid in the deglazing process. We then added the olives and carrots, cooked a bit and added our own homemade chicken stock. This was brought to a boil and the browned chicken thighs were added back into the pot. Since there seemed to be a little too much liquid we boiled it down just a bit before covering the pot and placing in a 250 degree oven for about an hour to hour and half. When the chicken came out of the oven we stirred in a handful of fresh, chopped mint. The chicken was served over cous-cous, with a side of broccoli sauteed with garlic and finished with Balsamic Vinegar.

Braising on a week night means a late meal, but this is so tasty and makes great left-overs for lunch!

Spring is Here!

We've had a busy week and haven't been cooking much, probably not the best week to start the cooking blog! But tonight, inspired by the thermometer finally nearing 60, we grilled salmon & asparagus for a great summery meal.





Chris put a coat of mayo, salt & pepper on the salmon and grilled it using our fish griller, which works well except the plastic handle melted off the first time we used it (genius design, plastic handle on a grill tool). The aspargus was tossed with olive oil & salt and put on the grill for just a few minutes. It's a very quick, simple, and delicious meal!

And just for you "Homer".... we paired it with a nice Fume Blanc.

Homemade Pizza

We have recently instituted "pizza night" in the Reaton household, experimenting each week with different toppings. Tonight, on our 5th pizza night, we went traditional with red sauce & cheese.

The dough recipe came from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics cookbook. The recipe makes 2 pizzas, so last week when we made our dough, we split it in half and froze some for this week. For my first attempt at this recipe I did not have bread flour, just all purpose flour. I have since used bread flour (like the recipe calls for) and definitely noticed a difference for the better. I have made the dough both in a food processor and most recently in my new Kitchen-Aid stand mixer, both did the job, but the Kitchen-Aid with the dough hook is far superior!

The red sauce is Mario Batali's Basic Tomato Sauce recipe, this recipe comes out fairly chunky, which is great for pasta dishes, but for the pizza tonight we gave it a spin in the food processor to thin it out a bit. The cheese was a blend of Asiago, Parmigiano- Reggiano, and Mozzerella.

The Moosewood recipe calls for a baking time of 20-30 minutes in a 425 degree oven. After our first attempt resulted in a hard, dry crust, we did some research into pizza making and altered the recipe to about 10-12 minutes in a 550 degree oven. Much better.

It may not be perfect looking, but it was delicious....