Bolognese for days

Sunday night after a great boat ride out on the bay I came home and tackled a new recipe that I found in this month’s Martha Steward for Bolognese.  I can’t find the link to the recipe online but I will keep looking and post it soon.  As I added the last ingredients my dutch oven almost overflowed. “We’re gonna need a bigger boat” aka might be almost time to get a bigger dutch oven!

Easter colors!  My table was set but once everyone sat down I had to remove the large candlestick because it was right at eye level and awkward to talk to people. Oops.

Easter colors cont. Ty was thrilled to be able to get the garnish of parmesan going while enjoying the sweet scent of simmering sauce. Try and say that 5 times fast.

I also made a simple salad of mixed green, fuji apple, blue cheese and strawberries with a balsamic vinaigrette.

Now this isn’t the prettiest girl in the prom dress but no tiara’s were involved with this evening so it didn’t matter. I actually served it on fettucini that night and atop this polenta tonight. This sauce is so much better served the next day and even two days later. We were on our third night in a row of Bolognese and I still have some left so I threw the rest in the freezer, I’ll be sure to pull it out in time for the last dance!

St. Francis Fountain

Occasion: Brunch with a BFF

Destination: St. Francis Fountain in the Mission, I would go back soon but it’s in the Mission

My dear Kath (who is now blonde and having so much more fun) was in town for a blink of an eye to attend a screening of a Sundance movie that she worked on. Right before she got on the plane to go back to LA, we sat down to catch up over this meal. Blueberry pancakes and a vegetarian chorizo, jack and spinach scramble. It was every bit as good as it looks.

This place has a ridiculously good looking menu, thank God Kathy was there and could make a decision. I would have stared at that menu for way too long, kind of like I am staring at this blog post and trying to make it interesting.

Random Dinner for 2

Tonight was one of those nights that I didn’t plan dinner out and my house is teetering on empty as far as food assortment goes. I don’t know how this happened but when you cook every meal at home, it goes quick.

I knew I had some swiss chard, wheat penne, parmesan cheese and carrots that needed to be eaten immediately. I also had an artichoke and I figured, well, if you add an artichoke to any meal, it will be a great one.

So I decided to boil the chard for about 10 minutes in some heavily salted water, drain it and add it to the cooked and drained pasta which I then stared at for a bit while deciding how to cook the carrots. I thought I would roast them but that would take forever, I thought about grating them but they were the small ones and it would take too long as well so I popped open this great cookbook that I got for Christmas two years ago, A Platter of Figs, remembering that they had a great looking carrot recipe. This one called for saffron, lemon zest and butter, which I had none of but the recipe said if you cut them thin like coins they cook in 5 minutes! Bingo! Ty cut the carrots after throughouly washing each one individually. I love it when he helps out with dinner, he takes each job very seriously and where he isn’t the fastest prep cook, he gets it done right and it usually looks really pretty. Tonight he had to jump in because I just had my nails done.

The carrots took even under 5 minutes, I added the coin like chopped carrots with some garlic, salt and pepper and 2 big sprigs of rosemary from a big bush outside, added a cup of water and covered it and within minutes they were done! I removed the rosemary and tossed them with the pasta, threw on some olive oil and grated parmesan and we had dinner for 2.

Surprisingly, as random as it sounded and started off, it was delicious!  Plus we have leftovers for tomorrow, love that!

I just heard a loud crash downstairs just minutes following Ty telling me he’d be up in time for Modern Family but he had to clean out the fishbowl. That didn’t sound good, I hope little Mako made it through. His home life might have just taken a drastic change for the worst I am afraid.

Thank God my fiance isn’t bored with quinoa yet!

At dusk today, which is my favorite time of day, we sat outside and had some chips, guac and salsa. It was the perfect break between the afternoon chores and errands to sit down, relax and enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Needless to say we didn’t have much room left for dinner but I did want to make a little something. My latest go-to is Quinoa and we had just enough for one more batch. This variety is the Red Quinoa which we just discovered. I had no idea that there were so many varieties. This is Ty’s favorite and I think mine too. The black quinoa is not that great tasting and the white kind is a bit sweet but I don’t think it has as many redeeming health qualities.  One day I mixed the white and black together which was pretty tasty.

I sauteed some garlic in olive oil for a few minutes. Then added some asparagus and green beans and when those were looking ready I threw in the chopped cherry tomatoes. The final step was to mix the veggies with the quinoa, add some fresh lemon zest, lemon juice, a sprinkle of olive oil, salt and pepper and red chili flakes and some goat cheese.

It was a great Sunday light dinner for two, not exciting I know! If we had leftovers and jobs it would be the perfect thing to take to work tomorrow to kick off a great week ; ) One day!

Garden Break

This week I took a little breather food blogging and really cooking much of anything amazing too. The weather was gorgeous and I was so inspired to dedicate some time to sprucing up my garden out front and back!

I will find the before photos and post them soon but here is the where we are at right now! I can’t wait for my Princess plant to bloom its gorgeous purple flowers and for my morning glories to come back to life and the petunia’s that I just planted to bloom as well.

The plants on the right are lavender that I planted and I spray painted the wire holder green, it was white.

I added the green pot holder and boxed plant to the front door with some fresh flowering plants. My goal was to create a little more inviting entrance.

The last thing that I did out here was plant the petunia’s in the base of the bamboo plants which have been largely pruned. Bamboo is great but ours had a lot of dead leaves that Ty and I spent an afternoon chopping off. They look a little bare but hopefully soon they will come back! The morning glory needed a ton of work chopping all of the dead vines and I untangled and re-braided the vines that were alive to climb back up the lattices.

Funny Ty and I looked at these pictures and it looks like we didn’t do much but it really kept us busy for a few days! I love being outside in gorgeous weather! Spring has SPRUNG!

Girls night in

Last night we hung in the city at Amanda and Nate’s pad in the lovely Pac Heights. After tucking little angel into bed we bellied up to a rockin’ vegetarian meal. Even though we are 3 very much meat eating young ladies, we switched it up for the night.

I brought a Cauliflower and Leek gratin (that I added some broccoli to of course) that I just read about in the Chronicle a few weeks ago. We didn’t like it.

We also had a delicious salad and this amazing whole grain bread from Whole Foods that Amanda doctored up with some homemade garlic butter – 1/2 stick of soft butter, 1 garlic clove minced, salt and parsley flakes. Deadly carb induced fest.

For dessert the pregnant Momma made these gorgeous individual lava cakes! Topped with some soy ice cream, it was the richest and yummiest dessert.

sorry for the sideways photo, don’t know why its doing that!

Perhaps Nate won’t demolish all of the non-soy ice cream in advance the next time. I’m kidding!

Great night with funny stories and yummy homemade food, can’t go wrong!

Crispy, creamy cauliflower-leek gratin

Serves 4-6 as a main course, 8 as a side dish

Roasting the leeks and cauliflower (which you can do well ahead) brings out deeper flavor and a crisp-around-the edges texture. Serve as a side dish with roasted meat, or as a main course with salad and bread. If you don’t feel like making the white sauce, gently warm 1 1/2 cups of cream in a saucepan until bubbles form around the edges, then stir in the cheese and season with salt and pepper. Pour it over the vegetables.

• Roasted vegetables
• 2 small heads cauliflower, about 3 pounds untrimmed
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• — Kosher salt and pepper to taste
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large leek
• Gratin
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups low-fat milk
• 1/2 cup (generous) grated Parmesan, gruyere or Manchego cheese
• — Kosher salt and white or black pepper
• 1 teaspoon whole-grain Dijon mustard
• 1 to 2 ounces ham, cut into baton shapes (optional)
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs

To make the roasted vegetables: Preheat the oven to 400°.

Cut the cauliflower into florets that are 1 1/2 inches wide. In a large bowl, toss the florets with 3 tablespoons olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, and spread out on a large rimmed baking sheet. Roast until tender with just a bit of bite and browned, 35-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the garlic after 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, remove the coarse dark tops of the leek and cut lengthwise. Wash thoroughly, then cut each half into 2-inch lengths, discarding any more dark green ends and checking for hidden dirt.

Separate the layers and toss with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and some salt, then spread out on another large rimmed baking sheet and roast until crispy in some parts and thoroughly soft throughout, about 15 minutes. (You can roast the vegetables several hours ahead and refrigerate before completing the dish.)

To make the gratin: In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 3-5 minutes, taking care that it doesn’t brown. Whisk in the milk until smooth, then bring to a simmer. Maintain the heat so it’s bubbling gently; stir often until the sauce thickens and the flour cooks, about 15 minutes. Add 1/3 cup of the Parmesan and stir until just melted. Remove from the heat and season well with salt and pepper, then stir in the mustard.

When the vegetables are done, reduce the oven temperature to 350°. Toss the vegetables with the ham, if using, in a 13- by 9-inch baking pan, such as a Pyrex. Pour the sauce evenly over the vegetables. Combine the breadcrumbs with the remaining cheese and sprinkle over the top.

Bake until bubbly and lightly browned, 20 minutes. If you like, run the gratin briefly under the broiler to brown well. Serve warm.

Welfare Soup

Tonight I got an email stating that I didn’t get the job I interviewed for a couple of weeks ago. Great, more cooking time! (no sarcasm there or anything)

I just got this recipe from Aaryn and she gave me a little sample of her version of this earlier today after our run. I was on the fence about making this but those few bites sealed the deal.  Despite the fact that I burned my tongue pretty bad trying it and sliced my finger today cutting chicken earlier, (workman’s comp?) leaving me typing with my middle finger as my pointer, I was amped to try this.

If you have access to this cheese, I highly recommend it, its fabulous.  For a triple creme, it has a considerable amount of stink in the flavor which we miss about the cheese in France. It was the last one in the pile and I wanted to try something that I hadn’t before while I prepared the soup. This also lures my fiance into the kitchen to chat with me instead of powering through a trilogy of “Pawn Stars” reruns while I cook dinner which I like.

Welfare Soup

• 1 large carrot – chopped
• 3 Stalks of Celery – chopped
• 1/2 onion – chopped
• 1 clove of garlic – chopped
• Saute the above in olive oil until the onions are almost translucent.
• Few leaves of Kale, core removed – boiled for 10 minutes, drained and all of the liquid squeezed out of it, then chopped
• This part is really up to you in terms of measurements:
• Few cups of Veggie Broth
• 1/2 Cups of Water
• 2 Cans of White Beans

Heat this for awhile over med-high heat until its hot, add salt and pepper to taste, then add the veggie mixture and kale. Bring to a boil so it thickens to your desire, about 5 minutes.

This part is optional – 1 sausage link, I used a spicy pork sausage. Saute until meat it cooked through.

I chopped this up into chunks and topped it on the soup when its in the bowl and then added a nice serving of shredded parmesan cheese while piping hot. It will melt perfectly!

Serve with some crispy bread to dip with!

The is for sure way better than the stuff they serve at the soup kitchen.

Veggie Quesadillas

This is what happens when I haven’t been to the store in awhile, am too lazy to go to the store and starving from a workout. Veggie Quesadillas. I surprised myself as these were actually great!  You can use whatever leftover veggies you have in your fridge, here is what I used and it was enough to serve 2 very hungry peops.

You will need:

4 tortillas

Mexican cheese medley, enough to cover 1/2 of 4 quesadillas

Broccoli – finely chopped

1 Carrot – grated

Grape or Cherry tomatoes – as many as desired

1 Avocado

Arrange first the cheese on the tortilla, then broccoli, tomatoes and shredded carrot and top with avocado slices, then fold in half. The avocado almost acts as a little glue when you fold them over.

Grill in a lightly greased pan until both sides are crispy and cheese is melted, about 3 minutes a side on med-high heat.

On the side I served siricha and a lime sour cream that I made with a little lime juice mixed with sour cream.  We didn’t have any salsa but that would be also be delicious.

This can be a great lunch or even an appetizer. I think that when you mix anything with cheese, broccoli, avocado and a tortilla, you can’t really go wrong.  Be adventurous in the kitchen and you may surprise yourself as well!

Bad day good dinner

You know when you wake up on the wrong side of the bed and anything that you try to accomplish that day just doesn’t work out the way you want it to? Yesterday was one of those days for me. Ugh.  They happen to everyone and sometimes you just have to ride it out.

Ty turned the day around for me by picking up two pieces of gorgeous Chilean Sea Bass on his way home and volunteered to make them for dinner. I am not even sure if I have ever had Chilean sea bass before, at least it has been a very long time. This fish is so delicious and we knew that not a lot of preparation was necessary to create a very yummy dinner.

All Ty did was cover it in olive oil, salt, pepper and a generous sprinkle of paprika. He put it on a foil lined cookie sheet and baked it at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

It came out flakey, moist, and fabulous. I roasted  a couple of fingerling potatoes and carrots and sautéed some greens that I got at the farmer’s market last weekend and topped off with some golden raisins.

It was a really fancy looking and tasting little meal that we had just at home. We closed our eyes and pretended we were in Paris for just a minute and by the smell of things, you wouldn’t know the difference!

Gelato

One of my new favorite things is gelato, I am literally obsessed with this little treat. We have a place in town and at least once a week we look at each other and say, it’s time. This place is highly addictive and I am not sure if I am completely happy about the recent discovery, well my waistline isn’t that thrilled about it, I’ll leave it at that.

Last night was one of those nights. Above might be the best combination ever. One the left is salted almond and the right is honey coffee. Amazing. The salted almond is literally to die for, so complex, it changes flavors from salty to sweet with a rich roasted almond flavor at the end.  It is the most satisfying dessert I have had in a long time.  I think next time I might just get the salted almond with some chocolate sauce.

If you are in the neighborhood, stop by and give this place a try!

Cici