Vegetables

Things that sprout up from the earth!

Spinach, Ham, and Eggs Bacon Cups

/ andreah94 / Leave a comment
I found a recipe similar to the one posted below whilst putting together a menu for a “Brinner” themed dinner party. I changed it a little bit and, though I could not eat it, was told that it was yummy. These are pretty simple to prepare and you can bake them individually or in a larger pan (using a little more care).  As I was cooking five different things, picture taking was not my mine priority – so this picture shows an egg that feel to the side (probably because I did not bother to make the well).
Spinach, Ham, and Eggs Bacon Cups
Serves Four
Adapted from Bon Appetit
6 slices applewood-smoked bacon
Four small shallots, diced or thinly sliced
1 5-ounce bag baby spinach One loaf challah bread, cut into ramekin sized rounds, buttered and well toasted 
12 slices ham or prosciutto 
4 large eggs
4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
A few tablespoons basil pesto (optional)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until crisp; transfer to paper towels. Pour off drippings from skillet; reserve drippings. Add shallots to pan, saute until glassy then add spinach to pan, sprinkle with pepper, and toss over medium heat, two minutes. Transfer to strainer set over bowl to drain. Brush four 1-cup ramekins with bacon drippings. Crumble bacon and reserve.

Place one toasted piece of challah bread (cut into the right shape) in each ramekin. If using pesto, place a dollop on toast and spread it around.  Top toast with two to three pieces of thin ham or prosciutto. Divide spinach among ramekins, dividing equally. With back of spoon, shape a well in center of each ramekin. Gently crack one egg into well in each ramekin, keeping yolk intact. Drizzle 1 tablespoon cream over each egg. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake eggs until whites are just set but yolks are still runny, 14 to 16 minutes. Top with crispy, crumbled bacon.

Crispy Leeks

/ andreah94 / 1 Comment

Like fried shallots, crispy leeks are a wonderful way to add a bit of texture to a dish.

Crispy Leeks

One bunch leeks, white parts only, cut into circles
One cup Canola Oil
Pinch Salt

Heat the oil to a high heat, add leeks and fry until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a napkin lined plate. Add a sprinkle of salt and serve immediately.

Meaty Porcini Marinara

/ andreah94 / 2 Comments

This week’s cooking spree continued with homemade “meaty marinara.” I call it this because marinara is traditionally a tomato sauce and a Bolognese is a meaty version of marinara in a round-about-way. But, to the dismay of Italian cooks everywhere, I made a bastardized version of both and have chosen to call it meaty marinara. It was my first ever attempt at making either marinara (not surprising since I do not eat marinara) or meat sauce, and it was really – ummm -incredible. This accompanied turkey and arugula pizza pockets, but it would be wonderful tossed with fresh pasta and a bit of cheese, tossed with gnocchi, or made into a pizza sauce. If you choose to use Porcini, you will need to be dried as they only grow in Italy and must be imported. You can either grind them or you can reconstitute them in liquid before adding them to the sauce. This is a great sauce to make and then let hang out on the stove whilst you turn your attention to something else. Additionally, it gets better the longer it sits and this includes fridge time. Make a big batch and freeze it or use it to make three different dishes over a three or four day span.

I fear I must apologize as this “recipe” was concocted in true Andiland style. I threw stuff in a pan (without measuring as always) and then adjusted as necessary. The measurements I provide below are guesses at best, feel free to adjust to your preferences.

Note: I did not add celery to my Soffrito, only garlic, onions, and carrot. I did use celery seed in the sauce as a replacement. You can use whichever you like.

Meaty Porcini Marinara

Two slices Bacon
1/3 pound of Hot Italian Pork Sausage (bulk)
Four Large Shallots, sliced
12 Cloves Garlic, whole and slightly crushed (skin removed)
3/4 Tube of Good Quality Tomato Paste
Two Tablespoons Butter
Red Wine (I used a Malbec), about a half a cup
Beef Broth, about 2 and a half cups
Chicken Broth, about a half cup (this was added to thin the sauce out some and is optional)
About a quarter cup of porcini mushrooms, either ground or reconstituted
Three tablespoons Herbs de Provence and Italian Seasoning, split
A couple good pinches of salt
Three tablespoons black pepper
One large carrot, diced
One tablespoon celery seed (or a few stalks of celery cut into large dice)
One tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes (adjust according to preferences)
12 campari tomatoes on the vine, halved and gently squeezed of seeds
Fresh torn basil for garnish

In a large dutch oven, heat a couple glugs of olive oil over a medium heat high. Once fat is smoking, add bacon (or its porky sub) and all to crisp. Then add hot Italian sausage and brown slightly. Push meat to the side and add the soffrito (carrot, onion, garlic, celery seed) with a touch of salt. Once the onions turn glassy, add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, HDP and Italian Seasoning, Crushed Red Pepper, Tomato Paste, Ground Mushroom, and give a good stir to mix everything well. Then add in wine and broth (in 1:2 ratio), reduce heat and cover. Allow to simmer for a few hours (I cooked it for about four hours). Adjust seasoning as necessary. Once you are ready to serve, use an immersion blender to partially puree the mixture. Top with basil and serve or reserve for use with pasta else.

A few ideas of uses for this sauce:

Dipping Sauce for Pizza Pockets
Sauce for pasta and veggies
Lasagnameat sauce
Served individually with a little bit of cheese and fresh basil
Pizza sauce

Butternut Squash Pizza

/ andreah94 / Leave a comment

Last Thursday, I just could not seem to get butternut squash out of my head. Being summer, (ergo my love is out of season) I blame it on my strong desire for fall and cooler temperatures that I spent about 90 percent of my day fantasizing about one of my fall/winter favorites. Ironically enough I was supposed to be making chicken and dumplings for dinner on Thursday evening – another cold weather favorite – but D was amazing enough to acquiesce to my squash craving (most likely out of a desire to avoid hearing me talk about orange truly for three hours if I did not get it).

On the first night, I did not care for this pizza much. It tasted good, but was a bit too sweet for me. I began to wish that I used the Delicious Orange Truly  a.k.a roasted butternut squash whole as it was with a pesto topping instead of puree-ing the squash and using it as the sauce. However, this pizza seemed to get better and better as a leftover and by the next afternoon I was enjoying it thoroughly. It is entirely possible that it was delicious the whole time and I was in a weird mood (a culinary trend that dominated last week), but either way this pizza is a tasty way to deliver loads of nutrition to picky adults or kiddos! Feel free to add whatever you like, or omit whatever you don’t like. As usual, this is a great way to use up leftovers before they spoil.

Butternut Squash Pizza

For the Squash Puree

One recipe Roasted Butternut Squash
One head garlic, for roasting (omitting this might detract from sweetness)
Small amount of chicken broth

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut top 1/4 inch off heads of garlic to expose cloves. Place garlic, butternut squash, and onions in a baking dish. Add oil and spices to taste, sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Turn garlic cut side up. Bake until garlic skins are golden brown and squash is tender, 40-50 minutes.  Squeeze garlic cloves from skins, combine with squash, onions, and a small amount of chicken stock in a food processor or blender and puree (can also use an immersion blender). Taste and adjust for seasoning preferences.

For the Pizza

Favorite Pizza Dough, stretched and rolled to desired thickness
Spinach
Crushed red pepper flakes to taste
Handful of sliced mushrooms
One-Half a zucchini, sliced into quarters
Grilled chicken breast with seasoning of choice, sliced
One-Half Mild Italian Chicken-Provolone Sausage, pan seared and sliced
Summer Heirloom Tomato, thickly sliced (optional, these are also wonderful as a side salad)
Fresh mozzarella, either grated, crumbled or cut into small dice (optional)
Half cup each of shredded Fontina and Smoked Provolone (more if necessary to cover or desired)
Salt and Freshly cracked black pepper
Sun-dried tomatoes, minced (optional or can sub for heirloom tomatoes)
Simple Arugula salad
Caramelized onions (optional)
Two cloves garlic, minced or cut into thin chips

Place rolled pizza dough on a pizza baker (preferably one with holes). Spoon the squash mixture onto the dough and spread in a circular fashion; top with the fresh garlic. Sprinkle a bit of salt, crushed red pepper flakes, and freshly cracked pepper.  Top with a layer of spinach (to keep the spinach from drying out), then a layer of the cheese mixture. After the cheese, arrange zucchini, mushrooms, chicken sausage and chicken around the pie. If using sun-dried tomatoes or regular tomatoes, add at this time. If you have extra roasted garlic, feel free to squeeze it over the pie. Bake in the oven (preheated to 400) for about 12-15 minutes until the dough rises and turns golden brown – adjust cooking time for thicker or thinner crusts accordingly. Once you remove the pizza from the oven, cut into slices with a pizza cutter and top with Arugula salad. If using caramelized onions add now as well and serve with crushed red pepper and freshly cracked black pepper to taste.

Roasted Butternut Squash

/ andreah94 / 4 Comments

Apart from zucchini, I do not really harbor much love for the squash family. Given this, my undeniable love affair with butternut squash is something of an anomaly. It is not that I do not eat yellow squash, I just do not do it whole-heartedly. I downright dislike spaghetti squash and eggplant purely on a textural basis. But butternut squash is like a giant, soft, comforting blanket for me for some inexplicable reason. I love roasting it and happily scarfing it down in bite size chunks or pure pleasure. I also love roasting it and turning it into the star of dishes in unexpected ways. It is a great way to “sneak” nutrients into common things such as pizza, pasta, lasagna, risotto, etc. It can be pureed for small children (though it is generally soft enough to eat on its own),  used fortify soups and salads during the fall., and be sweet or savory. It is just a wonderful little powerhouse of flavor and nutrients that I turn to time and again. The only discouraging thing about butternut squash is the time and effort it takes to peel it. I have not mastered this technique yet and, more often than not, I will buy previously diced squash from Whole Foods. Whole Foods also has bags of frozen butternut squash which are great for making a quick, nutritious puree without the torture of cutting the squash! The following method is my favorite way to roast butternut squash.

Roasted Butternut Squash

One pound butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice
One large white onion (or six or seven medium shallots), large dice
One head garlic, minced
Two tablespoons Italian Seasoning or Herbs de Provence
One tablespoon black pepper
One teaspoon White Pepper (optional)
A couple good pinches of salt
Couple glugs good olive oil (regular, basil, garlic, or truffle)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place garlic, butternut squash, and onions in a baking dish. Add oil and spices to taste, sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Bake until golden brown and squash is tender, 40-50 minutes.  Taste and adjust for seasoning preferences.

Caramelized Onions

/ andreah94 / 2 Comments

Caramelized onions. Two words that can turn  a bad day right around – after the stock market insanity last week, maybe that is exactly why I could not stop day-dreaming about caramelized onions, only stopping to fantasize about winning the lottery. These little treats are so easy and elevate something wonderful into something stellar! The versatility of onions slowly coaxed into a pile of gooey, delectable sweetness if something quite marvelous as well. Creativity shines with an element that can be thrown into sandwiches, eggs, soups, meats and stir-frys, pizzas, salads, pureed into jams, stuffed inside things,  or heaped onto gooey baked cheeses. Try to make this dish with as much tender love as possible and I swear the onions taste even sweeter. You can make caramelized onions several ways, I am giving the version that I do without a ton of butter and in a much faster time frame. However, the longer the deep, rich, sweet onions are cooked on a low heat the more amazing they become. Feel free to make a bigger batch in a crock pot over the weekend (8-12 hours) or, if you are pressed for time, simply use a little more heat to whip this up in about two hours on a week night.

Caramelized Onions
Approximately One and One-half Cup, depending on size of onions

Image obtained from Ciao Florentina!

One plus One half sweet onion, sliced evenly
One tablespoons butter (or olive oil or a mixture of the two)
A good pinch of salt
One-half tablespoon cane sugar

Slice onions in half, then slice the half into 1/8 inch slices (approximately). Heat oil or butter in a large saute pan or dutch oven. Once a medium-low heat is achieved, put onions into the pan and stir well to coat. After a couple of minutes add salt and sugar. Stir well. Return to pan every few minutes to check and make sure that the onions are not burning (add more oil, butter, or a little water or broth in the event that they do begin to burn). The goal is to have onions brown and stick to the pan without burning. Stir every few minutes for about a half hour, then lower heat and continue cooking for about an hour continuing to stir and adjust according to brownness (conversely, keep the heat a tad higher and cook for less time but check for burning).Eventually, the onions will be a rich, dark brown color. Remove from heat after about an hour and a half and either use immediately or store in an air-tight container in the fridge. It will last several days. If desired, you can hit the onions with a dash of vinegar or wine at the end of the cooking process to de-glaze the pan (for possible reuse) and bring a little additional flavor to the onions.

 

Sauteed Kale and Mushrooms

/ andreah94 / Leave a comment

Kale has been hard to find for months now due to hard winter freezes on Kale growing fields. I knew that it was scheduled to grace Whole Foods’ shelves again soon, but considering I basically cannot tell you what day it is right now, this date was not on my “need to remember” radar. So a couple days ago, I was buying some bananas and some bread from Whole Foods and the chef in front of me in check-out line had a couple bushels of my favorite green superfood. “You have kale again,” I exclaimed, to which the cashier responded: “Yeah it isn’t it awesome! You have time to run and get some.”  I said it was ok, I wouldn’t be able to use it tonight and he said, “if you go get some, I will give it to you for free.”  Well ok then, off I ran, and a few minutes later Kale was hanging out in my fridge waiting to be cooked. Last night it served as the source of veggies that I have so fervently been missing.

One bunch of Kale, rinsed, stemmed and roughly chopped
Two tablespoons Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
Good amount of Freshly cracked black pepper
One medium Vidalia onion, sliced
One to two tablespoons minced garlic
3.4 pound of cremini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup of white wine
pinch salt

In a pan, heat a bit of olive oil then add garlic, red pepper flakes, onion and a pinch of salt. After a few minutes add mushrooms and white wine.  Reduce slightly and add Kale stirring once. Cover the pan and allow the Kale to steam. After a few minutes remove cover, add salt and pepper to taste, and stir kale with the onions and mushrooms in the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and serve.

*Can be topped with crispy prosciutto, cranberries, or shaved Parmesan if you like.

Butternut Squash Penne with Shrimp and Greens

/ andreah94 / Leave a comment

So Wendy Davis screwed up my summer (not to mention screwed Texas) with a filibuster so when the leg adjourned Sine Die and announced they would be back the next day, I was less than thrilled. D wanted to know what I wanted to do, which really was curl in a ball and cry whilst simultaneously working out and getting a massage. You see, when you are sitting in an uncomfortable chair for 18 hours a day for about two weeks (straight) your body aches like you have the flu. Not to mention my derriere is now competing for Kim Kardashian status (except not as toned) and I need vegetables like regular people need water. So instead of crawling in bed and catching up on desperately needed sleep (only after I cried myself to exhaustion of course), I poured an ice cold beer and decided I very badly wanted to see my Sarah, hang out with D, go to the grocery store for a proper shopping trip, and cook a homemade meal – veggies inclusive. Being that I was not in any sort of mental state to be decisive about what I wanted to make, I made a small list of seemingly healthy dishes (since the special session will keep me out of the gym, and full of crap food from a box, meaning the pounds will keep adding up) that would provide flavor and nutrition. Once at the store I decided that I would make one of two things and got ingredients for both in the hopes that if I double prep, maybe tomorrow I can throw together whichever I do not make tonight. On the menu: Penne with a Butternut Squash sauce and Shrimpies and Greens, Sauteed Kale with Mushrooms, and Steamed Beets and Carrots. Dinner was awesome. Veggies were awesome. The mess I made was awesome. Standing up was awesome. Hanging out with Sarah, D and Reagan (he made a surprise appearance) was awesome! Then I passed out – which was also awesome.

Butternut Squash Penne with Shrimp and Greens

One three-pound butternut squash
Half pound to three quarters of Penne Pasta
A few good handfuls spinach
A few good handfuls of Arugula
About 3/4 cup of shredded smoked provolone and shredded Pecorino Romano
4 cups chicken broth
1/8 cup half and half, plus 1/8 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup basil, chopped
six garlic cloves, minced
4 large shallots, mined or sliced
red pepper flakes to taste
1/2 cup white wine
couple of pinches salt
3 tablespoons herbs de provence
Cayenne to taste
Two tablespoons ricotta cheese

For butternut Squash

Preheat oven to 400. Cut squash (peeled) into half-inch dice and place on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil (flavoured if you like), and toss with salt, pepper, cayenne and herbs de provence. Add 3 tablespoons shallots and 2 tablespoons garlic to pan and mix well. Bake on 400 for about 25 minutes until squash is soft.

For the Sauce

Once the butternut squash is done, spoon the contents of the baking sheet into a food processor. Add half and half, almond milk, and ricotta cheese and blend well (if you would like a thinner sauce add a little bit of broth reserved from cooking the pasta as well).

For the dish

Cook pasta in boiling broth until al dente.

In a pan, heat a bit of olive oil and add remaining shallots, garlic, red pepper flakes and a pinch of salt. Cook until just glassy and add white wine. Add shrimp, searing on each side then transfer the squash sauce to the pan and stir well. Add arugula and spinach to sauce and allow to wilt, add any desired seasoning (i.e. black pepper or salt). Add pasta to the sauce (add pasta broth according to sauce consistency desires) and stir well. Add cheese to pan, stir well to incorporate. Once cheese has melted, top with basil and serve.

* This can also be made with chicken, just like the portion that I made for D because of his seafood aversion. Pancetta could also be crisped and added to this dish. Additionally, if you have dairy aversion – or are vegan – feel free to omit the half and half and use almond or rice milk instead.