Dinner Disaster

Not every meal can be a masterpiece ...

As formidable home cooks, sometimes it’s easy to get a bit cocky. But then, a series of events humbles you and you’re forced to eat disgustingly mushy broccoli.

Last Sunday we had an “easy” meal planned. Parmesan Herb Baked Flounder is a Cooking Light recipe that we’ve been making for years. I admit I really don’t like most seafood. Even the freshest piece of salmon smells fishy to me. But I’ll eat white fish like cod and halibut somewhat grudgingly. Trevor loves fish in all shapes and forms and is constantly trying to get me to cook it more often. When Trevor brought it up this week, I saw frozen cod fillets were on sale so I said we could do the Cooking Light recipe.

Because we’ve made it so often and always have the ingredients on hand, I didn’t check the recipe before going to the grocery store. I didn’t put green onions and Parmesan cheese on my shopping list. I thought I had the cheese and completely forgot green onions were called for. That was misstep number one. When I got home, I put two fillets in a bowl of cool water to defrost. When we got ready to make dinner, they weren’t completely thawed. We should have put them in the microwave to defrost them a tiny bit. That was big misstep number two.

Trevor made the topping without reading the recipe and mixed all of the wet ingredients with breadcrumbs. We did stop and correct that. Although I grated the tiny bit of Parrano cheese we had left down to the rind to have a scant amount of cheese for the second attempt. At this point, things already were not looking good. This was supposed to be an easy, quick meal. We’ve made it a million times and it’s always tasty — even to someone who doesn't like fish.

I had held off making the sautéed broccoli we were having on the side until the Persephone Yellow Finn potatoes I was boiling were almost done. We held off putting the fish in the oven, too since it usually takes 10 to 12 minutes to cook. Once the fish went in, I sautéed garlic slices in olive oil and added the broccoli, salt and red pepper flakes, then added about ¼ cup water and covered. It takes about 7 minutes with the heat turned to low. The broccoli should be bright green and crisp tender when done. I'd timed it to be ready when the fish came out of the oven. When the fish should have been done, Trevor stuck a fork in it and realized it was still frozen in parts. So it went back into the oven.

I had tossed the potatoes with a quick vinaigrette of red-wine vinegar, grainy mustard, olive oil and salt and pepper. I loved boiled potatoes with lots of vinegar and a bit of oil when I was little, but it’s not something I eat often now. With lots of potatoes in our root cellar, I thought they’d be a good quick side. Trevor had the idea of adding some crumbled bacon on top. That made them even better.

As we were waiting for the fish to cook, I turned the broccoli off, but kept the lid on to keep it warm. I’ve lost count of what misstep this is, but that was another one. As we were waiting for the fish, we started picking at the potatoes. I took one, then Trevor accused me of eating a bunch, so he took several bites. The fish still was not done and we were running out of potatoes.

Finally the fish was out of the oven. But when I went to put the broccoli on the plates, I realized it had kept cooking and was an unappetizing olive green. But at this point, we’d gone too far to call it quits. We ate our fish, remaining potatoes and mushy broccoli, shaking our heads and laughing at ourselves for making the sorriest looking meal we’d had in a long time. (And Trevor's fish still had a few parts that weren't quite done!) The Persephone potatoes were the only bright spot. They were tangy and salty with a little crunch from the bacon. And although we completely biffed the fish this time, it is a recipe worth trying. And it’s one we will eat again — when we’re sure the fish is completely defrosted first.

Links

Parmesan Herb Baked Flounder

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000000577222

Noodling Around

I’ve had my eye on the Kitchen-Aid pasta roller and cutter attachments for quite some time. And thanks to the generosity of my in-laws, we finally get to enjoy fresh homemade pasta.

Since I had some spicy, peppery arugula from our surprise Persephone Farm delivery, I decided to make some pappardelle noodles with my new toy. We’d made Summer Pappardelle with Tomatoes, Arugula, and Parmesan from Cooking Light before and I decided to adapt it to become a winter dish.

Making the pasta isn’t hard, but it’s time consuming. After initially kneading the dough, it has to rest for at least an hour before you can roll it out. I followed the pasta recipe from Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen and used Martha Stewart’s Cooking School as a visual guide because it has such lovely step-by-step photos. The recipe called for four eggs, and I had one Persephone Farm egg left, which I used. If you look at the photo of the yolks, it’s easy to spot which one is from a chicken that roams around eating organic grass and bugs. It’s obviously a much richer yellow.  

Rolling the pasta out with the attachment was fun and I was able to do it quickly by myself. I used a pasta cutter that looked like a mini-pizza cutter to make 1-inch wide pasta ribbons. (This cutter also has a fluted-edged cutter that I’ve used for ravioli — and Trevor and my dad have used to seal a window screen, but that’s another story.)

Also, I cut some large pasta squares that I’m drying and will use it to make cannelloni for Valentine’s Day. Lidia’s homemade cannelloni is one of the reasons I wanted to get this pasta roller. I rolled out pasta by hand with a rolling pin for that meal and will never do that again!

Once the pasta was cut and rested, I made the quick sauce. Instead of using out-of-season cherry tomatoes, I used about 1 ½ cups of homemade garden tomato sauce that we usually have in the freezer. And I sautéed the arugula to wilt it slightly. I really can’t say enough about the homemade pasta. It’s completely different from commercially made dried pasta. It was flavorful, silky and light, and really let the flavors in the sauce shine. I don’t think we’ll ever go back to pasta from a box.

Links:

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000001572209

Slow-simmered pork

When the weather starts getting cooler, I happily get reacquainted with my old friend the slow cooker. And after Trevor brought home a couple of pounds of tomatillos, cilantro and several onions after working at the Persephone Farm stand at the PSU Farmers’ Market, I couldn’t wait to make chile verde.

Chile verde is home-style Mexican cooking at its best. It’s versatile — eat it as a stew, wrap it up in a flour tortilla, or make enchiladas with the leftovers. It’s filling and comforting — the pork falls apart when touched with a fork. And it’s healthy — a serving is a moderate amount of lean pork swimming in a sea of vegetables. Serve it with corn or flour tortillas, homemade gorditas or even with some Spanish fried rice.

Slow Cooker Chile Verde
Serves 6 to 8
I adapted this recipe from a Cooking Light recipe. I like to use a mix of Anaheim and poblano chiles. Sometimes the chiles are hotter than other times, but this dish isn’t supposed to very spicy. You can also make this on the stovetop, so I included a link to the original version below.

2 tablespoon canola oil
2 (1-pound) pork tenderloins or pork sirloin roast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 ½ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup water
4 cups onion, chopped
2 pounds small tomatillos, husks and stems removed and quartered
1 pound fresh Anaheim or poblano chiles (about 4 medium), cut into 1-inch pieces
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 ½ cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons flour
¼ cup water

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the pork evenly with salt and pepper. Place flour in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add pork to bag; seal. Shake to coat. Add pork to pan, and sauté 5 minutes, browning on all sides. This may need to be done in batches. Add more oil if necessary. Remove pork from the pan and place in a slow cooker. Add ¼ cup water to the hot skillet to deglaze it. Use a wooden spoon to loosen all the browned bits stuck to the bottom. Add water and browned bits to slow cooker.

Add onions, tomatillos, chiles, garlic, chicken stock, cilantro, cumin and oregano to the slow cooker. Stir to combine ingredients. Cover and cook for desired amount of time. (I usually cook on the high setting for 4 to 5 hours, but you can use the low setting and cook for 8 to 10 hours.) 1 hour before chile is finished cooking, use a fork to mix together 2 tablespoons flour and ¼ cup water. Mix until there are not any lumps. Add mixture to slow cooker and stir. Cover and let cook for remaining hour. Taste chile verde and add salt and ground black pepper as needed. Enjoy!

Links:
Chile Verde
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1054864

Dancing Ravioli

Several years ago when I was living in California, I was at a party in which one of the hosts started making fried ravioli late into the night. He was dancing around while breading up the ravioli and deep-frying them. He wasn’t someone who had the reputation of being a “ladies man”, but nevertheless he soon had a crowd of hungry girls dancing around the kitchen with him — and eating the crispy ravioli as soon as they were cool enough to handle.

I think that was the last time I’d indulged in deep-fried ravioli goodness. So when I saw a recipe in Cooking Light magazine for Quick Crisp Ravioli with Roasted Tomato Sauce, I wondered if this version could match my memory of the decidedly "unlight" version.

And I have to say, the light version met that same incredible combination of crunchy breading and oozing, melted-cheese filling I remembered. For the sauce we used two pints of super sweet Sungold tomatoes straight from our garden and Persephone Farm garlic. We added fresh basil to the sauce as well since it’s just going crazy in our garden right now. And the combo of fresh tomatoes and fresh basil is hard to beat.

The recipe called for refrigerated ravioli, but I had some frozen ravioli that I used instead. We just cooked them in boiling water before draining them and breading them. They worked out just fine.

This meal was cheap, fast and utterly delicious. Definitely a reason to dance around the kitchen.

Links:

Quick Crisp Ravioli with Roasted Tomato Sauce 

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=2011033

Ravioli

Spring Forward

This Saturday was the first day of the 2010 Portland Farmers’ Market in the South Park Blocks. And the weather couldn’t have been more gorgeous. Trevor is back at the Persephone Farm stand and that means more fresh veggies for us. It is still a little early in the season, so all the Persephone greens were snapped up pretty quickly. But there were plenty of leeks and a few heads of cabbage, so I threw them in my market bag with a Lidia Bastianich recipe in mind: Whole Wheat Pasta with Sausage, Leeks and Fontina.

It’s a wonderfully flavorful vegetable-packed pasta dish. If you love pasta, but get tired of tomato sauce, give this a try. Leeks and shredded cabbage cook down to an almost silky texture. The sausage adds some heat and the whole-wheat pasta is really filling.

This recipe was published in Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen and Cooking Light magazine. I’ve included the link to the Cooking Light version since it’s available. The recipe in her book calls for more olive oil and three links of sausage instead of one, and more cheese. I used the version in her cookbook and chose leaner turkey sausage instead of pork. Either way, the dish is delicious.

Links:

Whole Wheat Pasta with Sausage, Leeks and Fontina

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=833349

Eat Like the Irish

I spent a good part of my 20s frequenting an Irish pub walking distance from my apartment building. When it was that lean time right before paydays, my neighbor Kathy and I would scavenge in coat pockets, raid our laundry funds and check the couch for spare change so we could walk down for a pint of Harp or Newcastle, some live music and a chat with some Irishmen. As a result, I have an affinity for all things Irish.

With St. Patrick’s Day coming up (which was the only day of the year my neighbors and I ever ventured to English pub across the street), I was happy to find a fine Irish recipe for soda bread in this month’s issue of Cooking Light. This is a real thick, dense bread delicious slathered with butter. It has great texture from the steel-cut oats and whole-wheat flour. (I used locally milled Bob’s Red Mill flours.) It’s the kind of bread I picture Frank McCourt drooling for in the book Angela’s Ashes.

And even better, the issue contains a recipe for a Ploughman’s Lunch Platter. This was on the menu back at Irelands 32. Admittedly, the only time I really ate at Irelands was when my friends and I could talk Kevin the bartender/cook into making us “chips” after the kitchen was closed. But seeing the recipe made me want to try it with my freshly baked Brown Soda Bread.

The Ploughman’s Platter ended up being an economical use of odds and ends in the fridge. The recipe called for homemade tomato chutney. I swapped it for some mango chutney I had. (Even if you don’t make a platter I highly recommend eating the soda bread with Cheddar and chutney. It’s unbelievably good.) We almost always have sharp Cheddar on hand as well as some salad greens and pickles. I happened to have some chicken sausage in the freezer. You could always use a couple of hard-boiled eggs instead. It was a tasy and filling lunch. I can see why Irish wives fed this to their hungry farmer husbands. It’s cheap, healthy and fortifying.

Links:

Brown Soda Bread

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1963985

Ploughman’s Lunch Platter

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1963986

Happy Meal

Last night Trevor and I didn’t really talk while we were eating except for the occasional exclamation of “Oh my God, this is so good!” or “Mmmmmm!” The meal that had us so happy and full was from Cooking Light’s 2009 March issue. We had Tomato Poached Eggs, Zucchini and Mint and homemade focaccia.

We’ve made this meal several times since we got the issue in the mail. The recipes are based on traditional Sardinian cuisine. Sardinia is a “Blue Zone” with a higher-than-normal amount of residents living to be healthy 100-year-olds. As Cooking Light reports, one of the secrets to this longevity may be a plant-based diet in which meat only plays a small role.

And this meal is definitely worth sticking around for! We did slightly modify the recipe. Instead of the traditional Sardinian music bread, we made focaccia with stone-ground flour from Bob’s Red Mill. For that recipe we swapped the dried herbs for fresh rosemary and basil, and added thinly sliced onions, too. And we used homemade tomato sauce we had on hand instead of making the sauce. But we have made the sauce in the recipe before and it’s delicious.

We used zucchini, garlic and onion that Trevor brought home after working at Persephone Farm’s stand at the PSU Farmers’ Market. And we picked all the herbs from our garden. Ricotta salata is a firm, salty version of creamy ricotta. This cheese can be difficult to find, but it’s available at New Seasons stores in Portland.

This meal is so good, we forget it’s vegetarian. It’s so homey and satisfying that even a staunch carnivore won’t feel like something is missing from his plate.

Links:
Tomato Poached Eggs
Zucchini and Mint
Easy Focaccia
Bob's Red Mill

Zucchini Overload

It was August when Trevor and I moved to Portland. The sun was shining in a way that made me doubt Portland could ever be cloudy and drizzly for a good eight months out of the year. And it was peak zucchini season. We walked by a bus bench on the way to explore our new neighborhood and noticed a plastic grocery bag sitting on the bench. When we returned home, the bag was still sitting there. Curiosity got the best of us and we opened it up to discover a bag full of gorgeous green zucchini. And a desperate note: Please take. So we did.

When we got home, I searched through my Cooking Light magazines for some recipes to use up the gift squash and found Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread. http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1809024 I thought, “Perfect!” It’s been a favorite ever since.

Summer squash season is still going strong at Persephone Farm, so we had a large selection this week. I grabbed a few extra to make this wonderful snack bread. I did “unlighten” it though. I didn’t have applesauce on hand so I increased the grated zucchini to 2 cups, upped the oil to 1/3 cup and added 3 tablespoons of light sour cream. I also swapped 1 cup of all-purpose flour for 1 cup of Bob’s Red Mill Whole Wheat Pastry Flour. It still was moist and delicious

I’ve still got more squash in my fridge, so later this week I’ll post my Zucchini Slaw recipe that I developed after tasting a wonderful salad at a bakery in Corvallis, Ore.