Mediterranean Pasta

I have returned to blogging after a summer of complete gluttony. My siblings were visiting New York for a month and then we were off to Paris for another few weeks. The word of the season was 'food.' We squeezed in some culture with plays and exhibitions but we made sure that these activities included pre-museum lunches and post theatre desserts. The meals ranged from Shake Shack burgers and Peter Luger steaks, to one star restaurants in Paris, and decadent desserts at Pierre Herme. As a result, I think I've cooked a handful of times in the past few months and sampled a good number of restaurants in both cities. Having finally returned to New York "sans famille" and thus reality, I've dusted off my pans and started cooking again. It feels good.

Yesterday, I was in the mood for seafood because of some delicious meals I had over the summer. One was an amazing dish at a buzzing restaurant called Jane. The dish, aptly named 'Jane Benedict', is decadent, with a base of crab cakes topped with poached eggs where the yolk oozes out to enhance the rich hollandaise sauce it is topped with. I know, for some, it sounds odd, but trust me it is to die for! The other, was an absolutely amazing fish we had at an Asian restaurant called Kittichai (see below)

I knew I couldn't replicate those crab cakes or the fish so I opted for a much easier seafood dish made with shrimps. I decided to use some Mediterranean flavors such as cherry tomatoes for a pungent flavor, onions for crunch, basil, and some balsamic vinegar in the sauce to give it a kick. First I put two boxes of cherry tomatoes in a pan with some olive oil until they started to pop, then I added some chopped onion with garlic, salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar to the pan and stirred it until it became a sauce adding the shrimps at the end. In the meantime, I had boiled some whole wheat spaghetti (you can use any pasta you like), which I added to the pan with the sauce and some pasta water. I sprinkled it with some basil leaves for flavor and we were done. It was simple, delicious, and flavorful. I would definitely recommend it and if you have some cheese laying around you can finish it off with a few shavings of parmesan.

Recipe for Cherry Tomato Shrimp Linguine (from the Noshery blog http://thenoshery.com/2010/04/13/cherry-tomato-shrimp-linguine/)

Cherry Tomato Shrimp Linguine (Serves 2)

• 5 oz dry linguine (or spaghetti)
• 3 Tbs olive oil
• 10 oz cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1/2 large red onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste
• 24 large deveined and peeled shrimp
• fresh basil

Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Cook pasta until al dente.

While the pasta cooks heat a skillet with 3 tbs of olive oil at medium high heat. When the oil is nice and hot add 10 oz of cherry tomatoes and stand back. If you have a spatter screen you may want to use it. Fry the tomatoes until they start to pop. Add salt, pepper, garlic, balsamic vinegar and red onions to the skillet. Stir the until onions are tender and tomatoes are soft, about 10 minutes.

Add shrimp to the skillet. Cook until the shrimp is pink and begins to curl. Add cooked linguine and toss until evenly coated.

If you have fresh basil tear it and add to the pasta and toss.

Spring Strawberry Spinach Salad

Now how's that for a tongue twister. Try saying it ten times fast.

Luckily its a little easier to make than it is to say...

I tried this salad almost a year ago when my sister was in town visiting. I really didn't think I would like it because strawberries and salad seemed like a weird combination. After much coaxing, I finally did, and to my surprise, I loved it! So much so, that when I lived in San Diego it became part of my lunch staple where the strawberries are seriously in a league of their own.

Chopping up strawberries, adding them to a bowl of baby spinach, tossing it all with a balsamic vinegarette, and then topping it with toasted pine nuts takes literally all of five minutes and makes for a delectable combination. The best part is that it's healthy, low in calories, and the perfect dish to make in spring.

Note that I've named this the Spring Strawberry Spinach Salad. Spring has supposedly begun but with the snow thats hit NY for the past two days we still haven't given up our winter coats. I'm hoping by including some light fresh spring recipes I'll be able to encourage the good weather to move in quickly. We're all a bit tired of heavy winter foods and ready to trade in the winter squash for flavorful strawberries, cherries, and apricots!

Try it out. It'll brighten up your day even if the weather refuses to do so....

Recipe for Strawberry Spinach Salad

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 pack of strawberries (about 15-20 strawberries)

1 pack or 3 cups of baby spinach

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

Dressing

3 tbsp olive oil

1.5 tbsp balsamic vinegar

salt

pepper

Directions

Pour baby spinach into a salad bowl. Dice each strawberry in half and add to the spinach. Mix together the olive oil and balsamic vinegar in a separate bowl and add a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix in the dressing and then add the toasted pine nuts last for a bit of crunch.

Simply Salmon

We've all had those days where we're too tired to cook, not in the mood for greasy takeout chinese, and hope that if we procrastinate long enough a delicious, preferably healthy, meal may magically appear on the table. I've done this a few times and I've sadly discovered that there's no food fairy godmother.

All is not lost because I've discovered a go-to meal that has a three minute prep time, is healthy, and most importantly tastes delicious. I actually disliked salmon before I tried this dish and now I'm converted. Its that good!

Melt about 2 tbsp of butter in a bowl, add a cup of breadcrumbs along with some dill, and some salt and pepper for seasoning. Mix it all together and layer it on top of the salmon. Bake in the oven for about 20-30 mins if the pieces are thick (less if they aren't). The result is deliciously flaky salmon complemented by crunchy dill flavored crust. The butter incorporated in the bread crumbs gives it a beautiful golden brown color when it comes out of the oven.

Yesterday had been an exhausting day for both Nadir and I. We sat down to dinner at almost 10pm and devoured this meal. It was both quick and completely satisfying. Try it out. Its worth those three minutes....

Adapted from Claire Robinson's Herb Crusted Salmon Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh bread crumbs
• Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh dill
• 2 to 3 tablespoons butter, melted, plus 1 tablespoon
• 4 center-cut salmon fillets

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a bowl, then add the bread crumbs, salt and pepper, and finally the dill. Mix together with a fork.

Pat the salmon dry and season on all sides with salt and pepper, to taste. Top each fillet with the herb/crumb mixture. Put the pan in the oven and bake until the fish flakes with a fork. About 20 minutes. Transfer the fish to a platter and serve immediately.

Anniversary Dinner - Tender Succulent Short Ribs..

Now, if that title didn't entice you, then there's not much that will. I rarely spend hours slaving over a meal in the kitchen but once in a while an occasion comes along where you just want to make something that will knock someone's socks off...namely, a first anniversary. I had toyed with the idea of going out to a romantic restaurant but as our main pass time is checking out places to eat, I thought this would be something a little more memorable.

Speaking of romantic restaurants, a few weeks earlier, we had dined at a classy place called Prado, in San Diego, set in the middle of a beautiful park. I ordered duck which was amazing but I looked over at Nadir's huge short ribs and took a tentative bite. The tender meat just fell off the bone and proceeded to melt in my mouth. Needless to say, a few minutes later, the short rib dish was in front of me and the duck had mysteriously made its way over to Nadir :)

With the memory of those short ribs still fresh in my mind I started looking online for recipes. A lot of them seemed pretty complicated and entailed leaving things overnight and cutting up hundreds of vegetables. I finally decided on a pretty simple recipe by Paula Dean. . I seasoned the short ribs with salt and pepper and seared them in olive oil and garlic. I then added some beef broth and water and brought it to a boil. Afterwards, I put everything in an oven proof pot with a lid, adding onions and seasoning and let it cook for 2 1/2 to 3 hours in the oven. The short ribs aren't hard to make they just take a while to cook.

While they were in the oven I made some mashed potatoes, mushrooms, and salad to go along with them. I pulled the short ribs out of the oven once Nadir was home and, hands down, it was one of the best dishes I've ever made. The meat was so tender that it just flaked off the bone. The gravy was hearty and flavorful and the creaminess of the mashed potatoes alongside the butter coated mushrooms complemented the meal perfectly. This isn't a meal you'll be making weekly but when you want to pull out the big stops, keep this recipe in mind. Its definitely worth it.

Recipe for Short Ribs by Paula Dean

Ingredients

• 3 pounds short ribs
• House Seasoning, recipe follows
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped, plus 2 more cloves chopped
• Water
• Beef Broth, plus more for roasting
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 onion, sliced
• White rice, for serving

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Season ribs liberally, or to taste, with House Seasoning. Lightly dust with 2 tablespoons flour. (I skipped the flour part)

In a Dutch oven, place a small amount of oil. Add the 2 garlic cloves and cook until lightly browned. Add the ribs and brown on each side. Add half water and half beef broth to cover ribs. Bring to a boil. Remove the ribs from the Dutch oven and place in a casserole dish (I used a pot which had a cover that I left on while it was cooking in the oven. I highly recommend you do this). Add the remaining garlic, salt and pepper, onions, and about 1 cup broth to the ribs. Roast ribs for 2 hours. Serve over buttered white rice.

House Seasoning:

1 cup salt

1/4 cup black pepper

1/4 cup garlic powder

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

Thanksgiving and Pumpkin Pie

I've never embraced the Thanksgiving holiday but I think its because, until last weekend, I hadn't experienced a true Thanksgiving meal. For the six years of my life that I've actually spent in N. America, I've loved Thanksgiving for all the wrong reasons, namely, the opportunity to get away to warmer climates when I was in DC, and even more so, when I was freezing away in Montreal.

The first surprise came when I went to pick up the turkey. I assumed, for some reason, that turkeys were slightly larger than chickens. I discovered how wrong I had been as we lugged the 20 lb monster-of- a-bird back to the car and dropped it into the trunk. I'm going to stick in a picture of Nadir preparing the turkey just to show you what I'm talking about. (Side note: the turkey he made was amazing).

I was in charge of dessert for the Thanksgiving meal so I went online and found a non-traditional pumpkin pie recipe. I've never even tried a pumpkin pie or dessert but I figured from the 600 positive reviews listed , there had to be something to it.

Luckily, a week earlier, I had frozen some fresh pumpkin puree which I thawed out and mixed with some eggs, butter, cream, sugar, vanilla essence, and a touch of cinnamon. I poured the mixture into a premade crust which had been in the oven for about 20 mins (see below) and was beginning to brown.

I left the pumpkin pie in the oven for about 65mins (a little longer than the recipe requires) and took it out to cool once it had set. The pumpkin is more yellow than orange which can be attributed to the fresh pumpkin puree I used over the canned. It looked and smelled delicious.

After leaving it in the fridge overnight I served it at the Thanksgiving dinner with some cream. It was all gone within 20 minutes. I have a different take on Thanksgiving now; its about family and more importantly it completely revolves around food. There's a combination thats hard to beat!

Paula Dean's Pumpkin Pie Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups canned pumpkin, mashed
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg plus 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, optional
• 1 piece pre-made pie dough
• Whipped cream, for topping

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place 1 piece of pre-made pie dough down into a (9-inch) pie pan and press down along the bottom and all sides. Pinch and crimp the edges together to make a pretty pattern. Put the pie shell back into the freezer for 1 hour to firm up. Fit a piece of aluminum foil to cover the inside of the shell completely. Fill the shell up to the edges with pie weights or dried beans (about 2 pounds) and place it in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, remove the foil and pie weights and bake for another 10 minutes or until the crust is dried out and beginning to color.

For the filling, in a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer. Add the pumpkin and beat until combined. Add the sugar and salt, and beat until combined. Add the eggs mixed with the yolks, half-and-half, and melted butter, and beat until combined. Finally, add the vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger, if using, and beat until incorporated.

Pour the filling into the warm prepared pie crust and bake for 50 minutes (I baked it for 65 mins), or until the center is set. Place the pie on a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Cut into slices and top each piece with a generous amount of whipped cream.

Butternut Squash Pizza with Goat Cheese and Caramelized Onions

Yesterday as my husband, Nadir, was leaving for work, I threw out an idea for a butternut squash pizza, to mentally prepare him for a dinner, that may or may not be edible (depending on how successful my experiment went). His response was a raised eyebrow and "interestingggg." Now, when words such as 'interesting' and 'unique' come into play in reference to one of my cooking ventures, its definitely a way to mask a growing apprehension or uneasiness on the part of my culinary guinea pig.

Unfortunately, the inspiration behind the pizza is quite pathetic. It was not inspired by the lovely thin crusted, fresh tomato topped, basil covered pizzas, that I ate in Italy. Nor did the delicious tartine, that I tried at a brunch place, covered with flavorful unique ingredients, get my creative juices flowing. It was actually a commercial for Dominos Pizza that I saw on TV on Sunday night, that had me craving pizza through to the next morning. I know anyone who claims to have a sophisticated palate is not supposed to admit to enjoying things like Dominos' pizzas, but as a student it was one of my staples, and I have to say, at times there was nothing that compared to taking a comforting bite out of one of their thin crusted pizzas. Anyway, before I turn into a Dominos commercial, lets get to the pizza I created.

I had a butternut squash in the fridge which I wanted to use up so I thought that if I could somehow incorporate it onto a pizza it might taste good. I looked up recipes online but nothing really appealed to me. They all used chunks of butternut squash and grated parmesan cheese with caramelized onions. I finally decided to bake the butternut squash in the oven and puree it, adding a little bit of milk, and then use it as a base sauce. I topped it with chunks of goat cheese and some caramelized onions, and then sprinkled it with a little bit of mozzarella. I baked it in the oven for about 10 minutes (as I had used the store bought crust).

The pizza was deeeeeeeeeeeelicious! The slight sweetness from the butternut squash was cut by the tartness of the rich creamy goat cheese and the crunch and flavor from the caramelized onions just put it over the top. I loved it. I looked over at Nadir as he took his first bite. His eyes widened and a satisfied smile followed. If an apprehensive "interestingggg" can be converted into that expression, I'd say its definitely a recipe worth trying. Its a little more labor intensive than most pizzas but it definitely pays off.

Butternut Squash Pizza Recipe

Ingredients

1 butternut squash

1/4 cup milk

Chilli flakes

Salt

Pepper

Goat cheese (About 5 oz)

Mozzarella cheese (handful)

2 onions

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Store bought crust

Olive oil (3 tbsp)

Directions for the Butternut Squash Sauce

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Microwave the butternut squash for 3 mins with the skin on (this will soften the skin and make it easy to peel). Use a potato peeler to take off the skin. Chop into 1 inch cubes and spread on a foil covered baking tray (make sure you've oiled the tray beforehand so it doesn't stick). Sprinkle the squash with salt, pepper, olive oil, and 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar. Mix together in the tray and then let the squash bake for about 25 mins. Once it is soft transfer to a food processor, add some salt, pepper, and chilly flakes to taste and pulse until it has a smooth consistency. Slowly add in the milk pulsing a little at a time until it is thin enough to spread over the crust.

Caramelized Onions

While the butternut squash is in the oven cut up 2 onions and sautee them in olive oil on high heat for about 10 mins or until onions start to soften and become a translucent color. Turn heat down to very low and add the balsamic vinegar. Allow the onions to cook for about half an hour stirring them every 5 mins or so until they have caramelized.

Pizza

Assemble the pizza by spreading the butternut squash sauce over the surface of the crust. Add chunks of goat cheese and the caramelized onions, and then top it all with a sprinkling of mozzarella. Bake in the oven for about ten minutes and then serve.

Yam Fries

I had never eaten sweet potatoes until I tried the delicious sweet potato fries at the restaurant, Urban Solace. It came as a side to a delicious juicy burger, but once I bit into those slightly sweet, slender crispy fries, I almost forgot about the main course. The only reason that I can come up with to explain why these amazing fries have escaped me all these years, is that I haven't been exposed to much Southern cuisine. I really have been missing out! I also haven't partaken in many traditional Thanksgiving meals where I've heard sweet potatoes are usually found in abundance and for some are a necessary part of the meal.

Another common side found during Thanksgiving meals are yams. Yet another vegetable that I haven't been exposed to. Along with winter squash they are currently lining most of the stalls at my local farmer's market. Its exterior resembles those of ordinary potatoes but beneath its rough skin lurks a surprisingly cheerful orange vegetable.

I had heard that yams are both similar in taste as well as color to sweet potatoes. So, reminiscent of those delicious fries I had at Urban Solace, I decided to make Yam fries. I cut them into wedges rather than thin fries to make things easier. After seasoning them with some salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and olive oil, I put them in the oven to bake for about 35-40 mins. (See below)

They came out slightly crisp on the outside and soft and dense on the inside. They tasted as good as the sweet potato fries that inspired them; vibrant orange wedges, slightly sweet, and perfectly crisped. I dipped them in ketchup and it made for a great side to our dinner. They were much healthier than real fries (as there was no frying involved), and best of all, they tasted just as good.

Recipe for Yam Fries (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

2 Yams

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Powder

1 tsp paprika

2 tbsp olive oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking tray with foil and spray with cooking oil.

Peel the yams and then cut into thin wedges. Sprinkle them generously with salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder and add the olive oil. Mix it all together and then lay it out on the baking sheet. Bake for about 35-40 mins. If you prefer it crispier broil it for the last minute or two but keep a close eye on it because it can burn easily.