In a rut? Go for pasta.

Sometimes you really don't have the energy nor the willingness to really cook anything. You come back from work after an exhausting day, you don't even want to think about food, or any other chore for that matters. You ask your family if they have something special in mind. They either come up with elaborate menus or, worse, they simply tell you "Oh, anything is fine!" Of course they don't realize that "anything is fine" is really not fine at all. But you have to feed your family, and if mine is any indication, you have to be creative and always give them something they'll like. In these cases your best bet is pasta.

Growing up "Italian", this was our "passe par tout" solution, a meal that doesn't need much, a meal that you can whip up with what you have at hand, and you'll never run out of options or variety. You're sure that you'll get a different dish every time: just boil some pasta, make a sauce, toss and enjoy. At that time we didn't name our pasta: it was simply pasta, or the kind of pasta used, with this or that. Our pasta was never arrabiata, or of any other name.  It's only when I got older and started going out to restaurants that I realized that what I've been eating anonymously for years, actually had a name!

PASTA PUTTANESCA

                                                 

If you know what this word means, you can imagine that no nun would ever serve this kind of pasta to the students in her school. Nor mammina would call this sauce by that name and serve it to us. So, for years and years this was always pasta (penne or spaghetti) with sauce and olives. Now that we are all grownups we can call it what we want!

I came across many recipes for this dish, some really from scratch using fresh tomatoes, some using canned tomatoes. It doesn't matter. My pasta is usually made with what I have around, sometimes with fresh tomatoes, or canned tomatoes, sometimes with both. Actually this is what I used for the dish today: I had 3 fresh tomatoes that became too soft to use in a salad, and a leftover cup of crushed tomatoes that I had used yesterday in another dish. They'll do just fine. Before we start I have to tell you 2 things: the original recipe uses a pinch, or more, of red pepper flakes. I don't. We don't eat hot food at all, but you can add them to your taste. Also, if you are going to use fresh tomatoes, the original rule is that you drop them in salted boiling water for just a couple of minutes to be able to peel them. Then you should seed the tomatoes before using them in the sauce. To tell you the truth, I didn't do that. Why? I had crushed tomatoes, which have peel and seeds, so I just beat the fresh tomatoes in the blender and used them. You'll need:

3 large tomatoes

1 cup crushed tomatoes (both can be substituted with whole canned tomatoes)

1 (6oz) can black olives, pitted

3 tsp capers, drained

3 garlic cloves mashed and finely chopped

1 (2 oz) can anchovies

3/4 box of penne (I used 3 and 1/2 handfuls of penne). You can also use spaghetti

3 tbsp grated Parmigiano cheese

1 tsp olive oil

Drain the anchovies and finely chop them. Cook the anchovies in the tsp oil in a large skillet, then add the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes. Work the fresh tomatoes in a blender, add them with the crushed tomatoes to the anchovies in the skillet. Let them cook on medium heat until the oil comes to the surface. In the mean time, cook the pasta according to the package direction, until al dente. Chop the olives in quarters lenghtwise and add them to the sauce. Add the capers and turn off the heat. Add the cheese and mix well. I used the cheese to replace the red hot pepper flakes. If you are using them, make sure to add them with the garlic, at the very beginning so that they can infuse their flavor to the sauce. Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce. Toss and serve. You can also sprinkle some chopped parsley on top. You may have noticed that I didn't add any salt to the sauce. We're using anchovies, olives and cheese in the sauce, and cooked the pasta in salted water, so you'll not need to add any extra salt.  

BAKED TORTELLINI

                                                      

This kind of pasta causes a huge dilemma in our house: mom loves it, but my husband doesn't. For him pasta is always penne, and sometimes spaghetti. Nothing else. So today I thought that maybe if I cooked it this way he may be tempted to try it. It worked in a way: he had a taste, said that "it was OK, no, no, it was good", he said, but he then had another helping from the moussaka I had served. But don't be discouraged by his opinions: we love it, and also some friends and family who tasted it, loved it too. It's a nice departure from the regular pasta dish, and with the added cheese it is really satisfying and delicious. Also when you cook it in the oven, it gives you a sense of accomplishment: when you get the dish out of the oven, you feel that you have made something difficult, while in reality it was so easy to make.

As usual I always make it with what I have around, and the quantities are always approximate: I buy a big bag of tortellini and keep it in the freezer to use cup by cup as needed. I also tweak the recipe to accommodate the ingredients I have at hand. I also like to add some green element to the dish, usually it's green peas.  Remember the whole idea is to make things easier for you, not to add to the shopping list or to the difficulties in our lives. Besides, I discovered that even with the same ingredients, you'll never cook the same dish the same way twice: there will always be something different every time you cook it. So why not make it deliberate and feel free to tweak as much as you can without feeling guilty? You'll need:

1 and 1/2 lb tortellini

1/2 bag frozen peas, about 2 cups

1 (2oz) can anchovies

1 (14 oz) tomato sauce

6 oz mascarpone cheese

1 and 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano

1/2 bloc Queso Blanco (or ricotta salata, or mozzarella)

Chopped parsley

I always have a bloc or two of Queso Blanco. It's a white cheese, a bit similar to feta, but firmer and less creamy. Its saltiness is just right, you can eat it as is, or use it in a cooked dish. It usually comes in 4 inch blocs, in packages of two.

Add the tortellini to a big pot of salted boiling water. When they start popping to the surface, add the frozen peas. In a non stick skillet, cook the anchovies for a couple of minutes until melted. Add the tomato sauce and cook on medium heat for about 6 to 7 minutes. Remove the sauce from heat and start adding the mascarpone cheese and stir to dissolve. Add the Parmigiano and stir to incorporate. Drain the tortellini and add them to the sauce. Stir to combine. Transfer to an oven proof dish, or if you used a skillet that goes from stove to oven (this is what I actually used), slice the Queso Blanco in thin slices and arrange them over the pasta to cover it. Bake in a 375 degrees oven until the cheese is melted. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.

TIP: You can cook the dish on the stove: just cover the skillet and cook on very low heat until the cheese is melted.  

                                               

What to do with veggies? Stuff them.

It's amazing how sometimes you have one small item and you end up building around it a whole meal, something like having a button in your hand and sewing a whole suit for it. This is what happened to me yesterday. Remember the one zucchini I had two days ago when I fried it with the cauliflower? Well, I kept thinking what should I do with it, and decided to stuff it. But in our tradition stuffing vegetables is not an easy thing. It's a whole production, and traditionally the day someone decides to stuff some veggies, it's the only thing he'll be doing that day. So, stuffing vegetables is what we're doing today. Usually you have to make a mixed stuffed vegetable dish: zucchini, peppers, eggplant, cabbage and vine leaves. In Turkey it's called Dolma, in Egypt it's Mahshi, and it's almost the same, there might be some slight differences in the seasoning, but the dish is the same and probably it goes back to the days when the Ottoman Empire covered all that region of the world.

Of course as you will see, it is almost impossible to stuff all these vegetables at once, especially that the stuffing is a bit different from vegetable to vegetable. So, today we'll be stuffing only peppers, zucchini (the whole reason for this project) and some grape leaves. The reason is simple: I couldn't find eggplants and cabbage was too much work.

STUFFED PEPPERS

                                                 

Usually it's bell peppers, but when I first made them, they were so big that nobody could eat anything else. So I tried the smaller long peppers, still, too big. And for a while I didn't make any stuffed peppers, actually I didn't stuff any veggies at all until I found these adorable mini sweet peppers. I bought them and decided to surprise my family by stuffing them. It will be for sure a nice "something different" as mom always wants to have. It's easier to prepare filling for several veggies, and this is why when someone decides to cook Mahshi, this is the only thing he'll cook, and probably the only thing he'll eat for a couple of days to come. So I'll give you the recipe for different kinds of Mahshis, it will make work easier and get the best result in a shorter time. You'll need for 3 kinds of veggies:

4 cups of rice (I use long grain)

3 large firm tomatoes

1 onion

7 to 8 garlic cloves

1 bunch each flat leaf parsley and dill

1 and 1/2 lb ground beef, browned

4 tbsp butter or ghee (I actually used about 4 tsp)

Salt and pepper

Chicken or vegetable stock

2 lb small sweet peppers

First let's prepare the filling: in a food processor, chop the onion, garlic, dill and parsley until they become almost like a pulp. Transfer to a large bowl. In the same food processor, give the browned ground beef a couple of pulses to make sure that there are no lumps of meat left. As usual I brown about 3 to 4 lb of ground beef and keep them to use as needed. (Just add some onion/garlic mixture to the meat, stir frequently to avoid lumps from forming, add salt and pepper and keep cooking until it absorbs all its liquid). Add the meat to the bowl. Cut the tomatoes in half and drain their seeds and liquid by gently squeezing them. Chop the tomatoes as small as you can and add them to the bowl. Add salt and pepper and mix to combine. Reserve about 1 and 1/2 cups of the mixture in another smaller bowl: this will be the base for the zucchini filling. Rinse the rice several times and drain it thoroughly. Add the rice to the mixture in the big bowl, reserving only a good handful to the other smaller bowl. Mix well. You may test the mixture for seasoning by just putting a couple of rice grains on the tip of your tongue, your taste buds will let you know if you need to add some more salt or not. Now add the butter (kept at room temperature) to the mixture and mix again to incorporate.

Prepare the peppers by cutting the top of each one with the stem, and carefully removing the seeds and the white veins inside. (If you are using the big bell peppers carefully cut around the stem to keep the rounded edges on, they will keep the rice from overflowing).

Start stuffing the peppers by taking some of the rice mixture and slightly pushing it with your finger inside the pepper. The idea here is to make the rice reach the tip of the pepper. Make sure that the rice does not reach the edge of the pepper and that you don't over stuff it, or else it will burst while cooking. Arrange the stuffed peppers in a nonstick pot. I use a large and somewhat shallow skillet to have a larger surface to allow for quicker and more even cooking. Arrange them horizontally tip to tip and opening to opening. When you finish the bottom layer, add another one, and another one depending on the size of your pot. You don't need to add any butter, it's already in the filling. Heat the stock and add it to the pot, only halfway. Remember all the vegetables have liquid in them and the rice will not need as much liquid as it says on the package. You can always add more liquid if need be. Cover the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to the lowest, use a heat diffuser if you have one and let cook covered until the rice is tender. Add more liquid if you need to, but usually half the pot is enough.

STUFFED ZUCCHINI

                                                

This was the main reason of this whole operation: the leftover zucchini I had from the other day. I got 2 more almost the same size, I think they'll be enough. So rinse them, pat them dry and let's go to work. We have already the stuffing mixture from above, and we'll add to it something extra. So, cut both tips of the zucchini, and then cut them in 3, each part about 2 1/2 inches high: you'll get 9 pieces. With a small peeler (photo on bottom), carve the zucchini pieces by removing some of its flesh going around it several times. Be careful not to pierce the bottom of the piece, and making sure that you have some kind of uniform walls all around. Don't discard the flesh that you removed: add it to the filling mixture after finely chopping it. Start filling the cavity of each zucchini piece with the mixture, making sure that the filling doesn't come all the way up to the rim of the zucchini. We need some space for the rice to plump up while cooking. Arrange the zucchini pieces in a small nonstick pot standing up. Add stock to the middle of the pot, cover and bring to a boil, covered, over high heat. Reduce heat to the minimum and let cook until the rice is done.

STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES

                                                         

I have to admit: this is the more difficult and time consuming stuffed vegetable. But the result is delicious. Actually it's the only stuffed vegetable I eat!! Since forever, when they made stuffed veggies I used to peel the outside vegetable and only eat the filling. When they tried everything to convince me not to do that, they finally accepted my "strange" taste and just cooked some filling rice for me the day they made the stuffed veggies. But grape leaves are another thing altogether, they are delicious. We used to have a big grape tree in our old yard. My grandma used to send me pick up the leaves for her: she taught me how big they should be, and how to pick them, with the stem attached. They should not be very big or dry, pick only the tender mid-sized leaves. Of course now I don't have this choice, so I get the leaves in a jar from a Middle Eastern grocery store. They are California grape leaves in a 1 lb jar. Carefully remove them from the jar, they usually come in 2 rolls in the jar, discard the liquid and rinse each roll under running water. Then carefully separate each leaf and rinse separately and keep them in a bowl. Make a work station: on the left place the pot you'll use to cook the grape leaves, in the center place a clean cutting board, on the right the filling bowl and the leaves bowl. Take one leaf, spread it open, smooth side down over the cutting board, cut the little stem on its end. With a small spoon take some filling and put it crosswise where the stem was. Depending on how large the leaf is, you may use 1 spoon full or a little more. To give you an idea I used a regular plastic tsp and usually used one heaping tsp or one and a half to stuff the leaves. They were rather large, and to save time I stuffed them as is. My grandma would kill me if she saw that, because when she happened to have large leaves, she would cut them in half to get a stuffed leaf the size of a cigarette, not more. Sorry grandma!

                                       

 Flip the sides of the leaf over the rice, then roll it while tightening it slightly. Bring the sides of the leaf to close the roll that you just made and complete the roll. Make sure that it is firmly but not very tightly rolled: you have to leave room for the rice to cook and plump up or else the roll will burst. Arrange the rolls around a wide pot, I used a sauteuse. Some like to add a clove of garlic between the rows, I don't. Also you can use an upright nonstick pot, it will help when you serve the stuffed leaves. Just get a serving dish bigger than the pot, cover the pot with it and turn it upside down. Remove the pot and voila: you'll have a "cake" of delicious stuffed grape leaves. But today I'm cooking just for us, so the sauteuse will do. When all the leaves are stuffed and arranged in perfect rows in the pot, add some stock and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cook covered until they are done. When it comes to a boil, you'll notice that the leaves have plumped up and grown in size, so take that into consideration when you arrange your rows: they should not get to the rim of the pot, give them at least 3/4 inch space to grow.

Serve with Yogurt salad.

YOGURT SALAD

                                                      

A very easy side dish for the stuffed veggies. After all this work, you cannot afford to make anything else. It's also very refreshing. You'll need:

16 oz Greek plain yogurt (1/2 of a large container)

2 small cucumbers

A pinch of dried mint

1 tsp garlic powder, optional

Salt and pepper

Peel the cucumbers and cut them in 4 long strips, then in small slices (like small triangles). Put them in a bowl, add the yogurt, salt and pepper and garlic powder if using it. Mix well. Crush the mint leaves between the palms of your hand and sprinkle them over the salad. You're done.

 TIP: You can make this dish completely vegetarian simply by omitting the ground meat. If you want to go vegan, use oil instead of butter or ghee.  
NOTE: If you have the possibility of using fresh leaves, rinse them and then boil them for a couple of minutes in hot salted water. Remove promptly when they become tender and use as above. If you have the whole stems, just cut them after boiling the leaves and arrange them in one layer in the bottom of the pan. They will prevent the stuffed leaves from sticking to the pan. Remove them from the platter before serving.                                           

Let's have something delicious and naughty

Every now and then my mom decides that she wants to eat something "different", as if all the menus we have every week are not "different" enough! In those days, she just announces that for dinner we're having fried cauliflower. Of course it's understandable that every now and then one might have some cravings, so I let it be and make her what she asks for. We used to have a neighbour who actually spoiled mom by making it for her almost every week, but since I'm not easily convinced of frying things, even vegetables, every week, I can do it for her when she asks for it. So, let's get spoiled for a day and have something fried.

FRIED CAULIFLOWER AND ZUCCHINI

                                                

It is a very easy dish to make, my only problem with it is that it is fried. But as we said, having it every now and then is not that bad, and if it makes people happy, that's a bonus. For years we depended on our neighbour who likes to fry things and give us some of her products. To tell you the truth, I never ate her fried veggies, simply because I prefer my own cooking. She uses a batter that she makes from scratch. Usually when mom asks for this dish I simply beat an egg, dip the veggies in it, then coat them with bread crumbs and fry them. For some reason today I decided for the first time to make it with a batter. Why? I really don't know, maybe because I had some dill on my kitchen table and remembered the batter that our neighbour used. I really can't tell for sure. I also fried some zucchini. I actually had placed an order from the grocery store and asked for 2 zucchini. They sent me two alright: one of them was huge, something like a baseball bat, so I used this one only. The second is still in the fridge. You can use as much as you want, the only thing that matters is how you slice it. You'll need:

1 head of cauliflower

2 green zucchini

4 to 5 tbsp flour

A few sprigs of dill

1 egg

1/2 to 3/4 cup of skim milk

Salt, pepper and cumin to taste

Vegetable oil for frying

In a deep bowl mix the flour, egg and milk. Start with half a cup and add more if needed. The batter should be more fluid than that of pancakes. Finely chop the dill, add it to the bowl, plus salt and pepper. Mix to make sure that there are no lumps. Set aside. Cut the cauliflower into florets (don't throw away the core, you can peel it and nibble on it later, it's very tasty). In a sauce pan bring some water to a boil, add salt and the cauliflower. Bring again to a boil and promptly remove from the heat. Drain and let cool. The idea is to make the cauliflower a little tender to make sure that it will be fully cooked when fried. You may also add a pinch of cumin to the boiling water; it's up to you. While the cauliflower is cooling, rinse the zucchini and pat dry. Cut both ends of the zucchini and then slice them in 1/4 inch slices on the bias to have a larger slice. Dip the zucchini slices in the batter and one by one carefully drop them in the heated oil. When they are golden brown on one side turn them once, then remove to a plate lined with paper towels. Taste one, you may need to sprinkle the zucchini with some salt and/or cumin while they are still hot. Dip the cauliflower in the batter and fry in batches. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels and adjust seasoning if needed. Transfer to a serving dish and serve.

EASY CHEESEBURGER

                                                             

Only vegetables for dinner? I think not. So, since we're having something different today, we'll go all the way. I'm thinking cheeseburgers. I had the dill and parsley on the kitchen table, so I decided to make the burgers. It's my basic recipe with a small twist. It's easy and can be done in minutes. You may make a big batch, use what you need and freeze the rest for later. That's what I did. I also made two sizes: one the size of the whole slice of cheese and the other the size of half the slice. It depends on the people you are feeding: if they are all grown ups, go ahead and make the big patties, for children or elderly I prefer the smaller ones. They can always get another serving instead of leaving a half eaten burger on their plate. You'll need:

3 lb lean ground beef

1 egg

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

3/4 cup bread crumbs

1 small onion

3 to 4 garlic cloves

1/2 a bunch each dill and flat leaf parsley

1 tbsp skim milk, optional

Slices of provolone cheese

Salt and pepper

In a food processor chop the onion, garlic and herbs until very smooth, almost pulverized. Add some of the ground beef and give it a spin. Transfer to a bowl big enough to hold all the beef. Keep working with the food processor until you've given all the ground beef a second grinding to make it smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients to the meat in the bowl and mix them thoroughly with your hands. If you feel that the meat mixture is a bit dry, go ahead and add the tbsp of milk. Form the patties by taking one ball of meat in your hands, roll it several times between your hands, then press it between your palms to the size of the cheese slice, and about 1 inch thick. To make the smaller burgers, take half of the amount of meat, roll it between your hands, then shape it in an oval patty and press it lightly between your palms to get the perfect shape we need. Heat a griddle over high heat, arrange the burgers over it and let cook for 3 minutes. Turn with a spatula on the other side and let cook for another 3 minutes. Put one cheese slice over each burger, cover the griddle for 2 minutes to allow the cheese to melt. Remove to a platter. If you're making the smaller burgers fold the cheese slice in two and place over the burgers. Serve with a salad.

More soup, please..

Weather is really getting crazy. After the cold, we're back in the 50s in New York. Still, this is not an excuse to stop having soup, at least for lunch. It's January after all!!

The best thing about soup, is that you can have it as a complete satisfying meal, even if it doesn't contain actual pieces of meat or chicken. You can have it alone for lunch, or as a starter in dinner. Sometimes I even have it as a hearty snack in the afternoon, instead of a cup of hot beverage and a cookie. It is easy to come up with delicious recipes for soup using what you have in the kitchen, or even some leftovers in your fridge. For my next recipe I actually used the cooked Lima beans in tomato sauce we had at dinner one day before, since I was sure that nobody was going to eat the same side dish again soon. But that will be our little secret, I'll give you next the "official" recipe for the soup.

THREE BEANS SOUP

                                                

It's a hearty soup that I like to serve as a one pot meal. It has everything you need: proteins (beans), carbs (orzo or pastina), lutein (tomatoes) and vitamins and nutrients (vegetables). I always make a big pot, even if I am serving 2 or 3 people, soup is always welcomed in my house. Also I try to make it early in the day so it can be ready for lunch, and the pasta in it will be fully plumped. You'll need:

3/4 cup orzo, or any small pasta like stars

1 (15.5 oz) can each cannellini and chick peas

1 package frozen Lima beans

3 to 4 celery stalks

1 handful baby carrots or 1 large carrot

1 tbsp frozen onion/garlic mixture

1/2 (28oz) can crushed tomatoes

Stock, chicken or vegetable

In a 5.5 qt pot wet the orzo with the oil and stir on high heat until light golden brown. The idea here is that when you brown the pasta this way, it will keep its shape and size, even if the soup is reheated several times. When you drop the pasta in the soup, it will keep absorbing the liquid and grow in size. Add the onions and stir for a minute. Add the Lima beans, even if not completely defrosted, and stir to completely defrost. Add the crushed tomatoes and the stock, up to the handle of your pot. Bring to a boil and keep the cover ajar. Chop the carrots into bite size and add them to the pot. Slice the celery and add it to the soup. When the veggies are almost done drain the cannellini and the chick peas, rinse them in cold water and drain them again, then add them to the pot. Stir everything together, adjust seasoning and serve.

BASIC SOUP

                                                 
I just realized that we've been talking about soup without mentioning the obvious: basic soup with pastina. I've already gave you my basic recipe for stock, chicken, meat, duck or even rabbit (Boil the meat first, discard the water, rinse and boil again in a clean pot adding one small onion, salt, pepper, ground cardamom, mastic and celery salt until the meat is tender). Sometimes, when it's really cold, I'm satisfied with just a cup of hot clear stock.
My favorite chicken soup ever, was the chicken rice soup I used to have at school. Nobody could replicate it until now. I don't know why. Our cook tried, my grandma tried, I tried several times, still, it was not the same. Maybe it's a childhood thing that is gone forever!!
So, I usually go for my second best: chicken and orzo soup. It's a very easy recipe. Actually you don't need a recipe at all. All you have to do is brown the orzo (or any small pasta: starts, shells, alphabet, or even rice) in a drop of oil, add the stock, stir and let cook on medium high until the pasta is done. How easy is that?
Browning the pasta adds some color to the soup and keeps the pasta from swelling excessively. The soup in the picture is actually a rabbit stock I had made two days ago to serve as Melokheya, and this was the leftover soup.
NOTE: Another favorite soup is what we call the HALF AND HALF SOUP. Just boil some water, add one cube chicken stock and one cube beef stock. Break a couple of spaghetti into 1 inch bits, add to the pot and cook until the pasta is done. This was our favorite late night snack while studying in high school.

Soup: The best weapon against this cold.

I spoke too soon. Since my last entry, snow has covered New York, it's getting colder by the day, and we still have parts of the front and back yards covered with snow. So my best weapon to fight this weather is definitely soup. The first day i had some chicken sauce reserved in the freezer from the last chicken osso buco I made. It's very easy to transform it into delicious tomato/vegetable soup: just add some stock to thin it and you're good to go.

But the cold is not going away, and I always get the same answer to my eternal question (what are we going to eat?) "Anything"! So, soup it is. I know my husband doesn't consider soup "food", but I took my decision hoping that the cold will help him make the right decision. Mom is a safe bet, she can live on soup just like me. No problem here. So let's have some soup.

CHICKEN CORN SOUP

                                                 

This is my favorite Chinese take out. But the last time I ordered it from my favorite restaurant, it was a bit fatty for my taste. They could have changed the cook or wanted to give me something extra, but the fat in it did not agree with my system. I decided to make it myself thinking "what is the worse that could happen? Nothing, we'll still have a soup, maybe a bit different, but it will still be comforting soup in this weather". It will be a good way to celebrate the Year of the Dragon.I'll make it with what I have in the kitchen, rotini or fusilli pasta, corn in a can and no need for the fried strips of dough that comes with the soup in the delivery, the pasta is enough.  It was a big success: my husband ate it all with no complaint whatsoever!! You'll need:

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

2 handfuls of rotini pasta

1 (15.25 oz) can of corn

1 tbsp oil (canola or vegetable)

1 egg

Chicken stock

Salt and pepper to taste

Remove any visible fat from the chicken breasts, rinse and pat dry. With a sharp knife butterfly the thickest part of the breast in 2 or more slices, depending on the thickness of this part. You will have several parts of the same thickness. Slice the breasts into strips as big as the rotini, or the thickness of McDonald's french fries. Season with salt and pepper. In a 5.5 qt pot, heat the tbsp oil, add the chicken and the pasta and stir frequently until the chicken strips are no longer pink. The pasta will also change color a little to become white. Add the stock. I added the liquid up to the handle of the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium high. Drain the corn, rinse it if you prefer, and drain it again. Add the corn to the pot and stir. Cover the pot with the lid halfway. When the pasta is done, beat the egg with a fork and add it to the soup while stirring. Your soup is ready.

ARTICHOKE AND CARROT SOUP

                                                         

This is the lighter version of a hearty soup, traditionally served in our family. It is usually made with vermicelli pasta (the very thin spaghetti cut in 3/4 inch bits), but when I discovered wild rice I thought it would be nice to use it in this soup instead. The original recipe calls for browning the vermicelli in oil or butter, and using butter and flour to make a thickening agent for the soup. I don't do that. I use a tbsp or two of sour cream, or a cup of skim milk with flour dissolved in it to get the same result. I usually use frozen Egyptian artichoke hearts, they come in 1 lb bags. But sometimes I have leftover bags, so I use what I have and add to it the other ingredients accordingly. The idea is to have a nice balance between the different colors: white, orange (the carrots) and black (the wild rice). So you can make it for one, two or 10 people by just adjusting the quantities. You can use any kind of stock, chicken or vegetable, or even water, the veggies will give you enough flavor. You'll need:

1 lb frozen artichoke hearts, cleaned

1 handful baby carrots or 1 large carrot

3/4 cup wild rice

2 tbsp sour cream (or 1 cup skim milk and 2 tsp flour)

Chicken or vegetable stock

Rinse the artichoke in cold water to defrost. When they are tender enough for you to handle, cut them in bite size pieces. Cut the carrots the same size as possible. In the mean time rinse the wild rice several times, then put it in a sauce pan and add enough water to cover it. Bring to a boil and keep it cooking. You may need to add more water until it is tender.

In the soup pot, bring the stock to a boil, add the carrots first and let cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the artichoke, drain the wild rice and add it to the pot. Let cook until the rice opens up. Adjust seasoning and add the sour cream while stirring to completely dissolve. Cover and continue cooking for 4 minutes or so until the soup is creamy and the veggies are done.

Chicken two ways.

Winter is here. Actually it is almost here, because until yesterday winter has been very kind to us here in New York. Temperatures started to fall only in the last couple of days, and with cold temperatures we need something hearty to keep us warm. In these cases I prefer to have one dish meals. Somehow they are the best way to fight the cold weather: it's comforting to have everything you need on one dish served hot, instead of going through several courses.

Today we are making a classic Italian recipe: Chicken cacciatore. It's a kind of peasant dish, where chicken is cooked with vegetables. This makes it a perfect choice if you have young children and you want them to learn to eat their veggies: being a one dish meal it will be difficult to separate the vegetables from the chicken, and since they are cooked together, everybody will consider them a package.

As usual I tweaked the basic recipe to make it lighter, and I am giving you two versions of the basic recipe. You can mix and match ingredients, quantities and how to cook, according to your taste. To give you an example, today I made the first recipe: I used 4 thighs, mini sweet peppers that I had on hand, and some Lima beans, just because my mom likes them. Instead of tomato sauce, I used half a can of crushed tomatoes, and didn't need to add the paste.

CHICKEN CACCIATORE 

                                                 

I like to think that this dish was born out of necessity. There are some staple dishes in every culture that are some kind of "catch all", and they are served on days when the family is otherwise occupied. I remember that way back when washing machines were not that common, they used to have a "laundry day" where everyone was busy doing something related to this huge endeavor, so dinner had to be something they had at hand in the pantry or in the kitchen. So, if the name tells us anything, I think the "chicken cacciatore" was created for the days when everybody went to hunt and this is what came out of that necessity.

When making this dish you have a lot of choices: you can use whole legs, thighs only or thighs and drumsticks. You may consider one leg per person or one thigh and one drumstick or two thighs, maybe even breasts, but make sure to cut them in half at least. Use any combination you like. You'll need:

3 thighs and 3 drumsticks (with or without skin)

1 small onion chopped

2 cloves garlic minced

1 green bell pepper sliced

1 ½ cup sliced mushrooms

3 stalks of celery chopped

½ to 1 cup frozen small Lima beans thawed (optional)

1 16 ounces can tomato sauce (or chopped tomatoes) + 2 tbsp tomato paste

½ cup green olives sliced (optional)

1 to 2 cups chicken stock or water

2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

                                                      

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Set aside until you prepare the vegetables.

In a large skillet slightly brown the chicken pieces in 1 tbsp of oil until there is no blood near the bone. If you are using chicken with the skin on, start with the skin side first, then turn the pieces to cook on the other side, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Remove the chicken to a dish. In the same skillet add the 2^nd tbsp of oil, stir the onion until translucent and then add the garlic. Stir for a moment, then add mushrooms and salt/pepper. Stir. Mushrooms will render their liquid. When it’s almost absorbed add celery and bell pepper. Stir. Add Lima beans. Stir and when liquids are almost all absorbed add back the chicken and any liquid that may have accumulated in the dish. Stir to mix well, then add olives, tomato sauce. In ½ cup of water or stock dissolve the tomato paste and add to the skillet. Stir to check on liquids. The sauce should be of medium thickness to allow for the vegetables and chicken to cook until done. Add more liquid if needed, and adjust seasoning as needed. (Remember if you used green olive they are salty, so don't put too much salt at the beginning).

Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve over yellow rice or small pasta.

Note: You can change the ratio of the ingredients according to taste.

You may also change the vegetables and use bite size asparagus pieces, or ½ inch quartered zucchini slices. Do not use potatoes in this dish.

When adding the vegetables you have to take into consideration the time each one needs to cook and add them to your skillet accordingly.

Ex: start with mushrooms, then peppers, then asparagus, zucchini and finally frozen veggies. Zucchini slices should be rather thick so that they don’t become mushy.

CHICKEN CACCIATORE II

1 whole chicken cut in 8 to 10 pieces

1 medium onion chopped

3 cloves of garlic minced

1 red bell pepper chopped

1 can chopped tomatoes, or whole tomatoes 

2 to 3 tbsp capers, drained

1 cup red wine (optional)

Chicken stock

½ tsp dried oregano

2 to 3 tbsp all purpose flour

2  tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

You can use chicken with or without skin.

Lightly flour chicken pieces and season with salt and pepper. In a non-stick skillet brown the chicken in one tbsp oil until there is no more blood near the bones. Start with the skin side first if you are using chicken with the skin on. When done, remove to a plate. In the same skillet add the remaining oil, the chopped onion and stir. Next add the garlic and follow with the red pepper. Season with salt and pepper. Stir and add the wine, followed by the tomatoes. Break the tomatoes with a spoon, sprinkle with oregano, then add the capers and 1 cup of stock. Bring to a boil. Add the chicken back to the skillet, the liquid should be almost covering it. Add stock if you need. Bring again to a boil, then let simmer on medium heat covered until done.

Serve over rice or small pasta.

NOTE: You may have noticed that I used a finely chopped onion in these recipes. The reason is that in such recipes the onion pieces will disappear when cooked, so I have no problem with that.

YELLOW RICE

This is a delicious way to make a different side dish of rice. By now you already know that I don't like to boil rice or make it simply white, except for special dishes. So, cooking it this way adds a little something extra to your side dish. I usually serve it with fish cooked in tomato sauce, or chicken, also cooked in sauce. I like the contrast in colors. You'll need:

1 small onion finely chopped

1 good pinch of saffron threads or 1 tsp of turmeric

2 cups of rice

1 tbsp ghee (at Indian stores) or clarified butter or vegetable oil

Liquid (water or chicken stock) according to rice package

Salt to taste

Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Drain well.

In a non-stick pot melt the ghee, add the onion and stir until translucent. Add saffron and stir to coat and release the flavor and color. Add the rice and stir to completely coat and to make sure that all the liquid from rinsing is absorbed (you will hear crackling). Add water according to package directions and salt to taste. Cook covered over high heat until all the liquid is absorbed. Lower the heat, fluff the rice, adjust seasoning, cover and let simmer until completely tender.

TIP: You can replace the ghee with a mix of equal parts of butter and oil. The aim here is to prevent butter from browning during all the dry stirring and thus giving a bitter taste to the rice.

Stirring the rice until you hear it crackling will guarantee that grains will be separated  and rice will be fluffy, not sticky.

Big family dinner made easy.

Now that the holidays are here, we have to work quickly to make things easier for us. You have first to determine what kind of party are you hosting: is it a dinner for the whole family, family and friends children included, or is it a gathering of friends, all grown ups, with drinks and all the works?

Yesterday I hosted a big family dinner, everybody was invited, with children of all ages. This kind of gathering does not allow you to have drinks and hors d'oeuvres or elaborate dishes. You need to have everything ready when the hungry hordes arrive from the cold. Remember, the day started for them very early, when they opened their presents, fought a little bit about them to determine who got the best present, tried on the new clothes that Santa brought them, maybe had a little bite to eat, then headed out to come to your house. So you better be ready to feed them quickly. I started on Friday night: I got the ingredients out of the freezer, and made my to do list. Saturday morning I started early: I cleaned the house and got the big serving dishes out. After lunch I started cooking for the big day. I had in mind a menu that would please children and grown ups alike: lasagna, chicken osso buco and beef tenderloin with vegetables. For dessert I thought of something very easy that will surely please everybody: mixed berries and two kinds of ice cream.

EASY LASAGNA

            

                                              

The first time I made lasagna was two weeks after I got married. It was the first time we had invited friends to our house, and my husband asked me what I was going to serve. I gave him some options I thought about, and added "maybe I'll make a lasagna". He seemed a bit reluctant, but he asked "Did you ever make it before?". "No, I said, but it's no problem." The next day, I was up early and went directly to the kitchen. He came to check on me several times, he seemed a bit nervous around noon and was courageous enough to ask "Are you sure that this is how lasagna is made?" Later he came in to ask:"Are you sure you don't want me to call for a pizza or something?" I didn't understand what was this all about, until our guests left the house: he was worried because he thought that the career woman he married was not capable of cooking something elaborate, let alone prepare a complete dinner with lasagna! Needless to say the lasagna was a big success, and maybe this is what brought us here!

The key to make it an easy dish is to be organized: get all your ingredients ready and set a working station to have a smooth operation. Also, I usually make a big pot of sauce, and I keep the leftover to use later on. The ingredients may vary depending on the size of your baking dish: I use a regular Pyrex rectangular dish; it fits 3 lasagna strips side by side, so it's perfect for the job. You'll need:

3 lb lean ground beef

1/2 of a 48 oz tub of ricotta cheese

Ground Parmigiano

Shredded Mozzarella

1 egg

1 (28 oz) can of crushed tomatoes

1 (6 oz) can tomato paste

3 tbsp frozen onion/garlic mixture

2 tsp dried oregano, crushed

Salt and pepper

First prepare the sauce: brown the ground meat with the onion/garlic mixture and salt and pepper. Cook until all the liquid rendered from the meat is absorbed. Add the crushed tomatoes and the can of tomato paste. Rinse both cans by filling them halfway with water and add it to the sauce. Stir and let it cook on medium high heat, until the sauce is not very liquid. Add 1 tsp of oregano and stir until done. Remove from the heat.

In a medium bowl mix the ricotta cheese with the egg and 1 tsp oregano. Set aside. In the mean time, cook the lasagna according to package directions. I prefer the curly strips. They are predictable and easy to handle with no surprises, unlike the "no-cook" sheets, who can balloon in your baking dish and go overboard. Drain the pasta, cool with cold running water and drain. Arrange the lasagna strips on a tray and get ready. With a big spoon line the baking dish with a couple of spoonfuls of sauce. Arrange 3 strips of lasagna, cover with sauce and sprinkle with about a handful of grated Parmigiano. Add 3 strips of lasagna, cover with half of the ricotta mix and sprinkle with some mozzarella or Parmigiano. Add another layer of pasta, cover with sauce and cheese, followed by another layer covered with ricotta, then another layer of pasta and top with sauce and mozzarella. You're done. How easy was that? You may prepare the lasagna a day ahead, refrigerate it and bake it the day of the party in a 375 degree oven until the top is golden brown and bubbly. Let it rest for at least 20 minutes before serving or it will be running and you'll not be able to have neat squares.
TIP: You can follow the same recipe to make a vegetable lasagna: just substitute the ground meat with finely chopped white and cremini mushrooms (don't use fancy mushrooms, they may change the taste), brown them with the onion/garlic mixture and add the sauce just as you did with the ground meat. Assemble the lasagna according to the same recipe.

ROAST BEEF WITH VEGETABLES

                                                        

I thought I had a whole beef tenderloin, but to my surprise it turned out to be a whole eye round. I was a bit disappointed, because this meant a change of plans, and it worried me because as I told you before I have not yet mastered the art of cooking this cut of meat as good as I remember it from my grandma or school. So, let's go to plan B: I have to make this work. But how? "What would grandma do?" I asked myself. Well, she didn't always have an oven, and she used to cook everything on the stove. Maybe this will work. I'll make a combination of the old and the new. I marinated the beef overnight in the fridge and cooked it halfway on the stove and finsihed cooking it in the oven. You'll need:

1 whole eye round ( about 3 to 4 lb)

2 tbsp frozen onion/garlic mixture

salt and pepper

1 tbsp oil (vegetable or canola)

Beef stock or water

Rub the beef with the onion/garlic mixture and salt and pepper. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight. The next day, put the tbsp oil in a rectangular pan that goes from stove to oven. Brown the meat on all sides, about 4 minutes per side. Add about 1 cup of beef stock and bring to a boil over high heat. Turn the meat on another side and let it cook for about 5 minutes more. Cover it again with foil and transfer it to a 375 degree oven. Let it cook, covered, for about 20 minutes for medium. If you prefer it well done (as we do), remove the cover and let it cook for 10 more minutes or until the thermometer reaches 170 degrees. Remove the meat from the pan and keep it covered with the foil until it's time to slice it. You can use the sauce in the pan as is, or if you want to make it fancy, slice some mushrooms, sautee them with a finely sliced scallion or two in a drop of butter or oil. When the mushrooms are done, add the sauce and stir. Serve on the side.

I thought of serving roasted vegetables on the side, mainly because I had the oven on, so it will be easier to put everything in, the roast, the lasagna and the veggies. But because we had children coming, I thought that roasted veggies was a bit "grown up" for them, so I opted for sauteed vegetables. It is so easy and it only takes minutes to prepare. You'll need:

Baby red potatoes

2 to 3 zucchini, depending on the size

Baby carrots

Chopped parsley

Thinly sliced scallions, white parts and a little green, about 4

1 tbsp oil (olive, canola or vegetable)

Salt and pepper and/or 2 tsp granules of chicken or vegetable stock

Boiling water

The quantities depend on how many people you are serving. Peel a strip in the middle of each potato and boil them in salted water. Drain and let cool. In the mean time cut the baby carrots lenghtwise in 2. Cut the zucchini also lenghtwise in 2, then in 1 inch cubes. If the zucchini are big, you may slice them in 3 lenghtwise or even 4. The idea is to have the pieces of vegetables almost the same size. In a large nonstick skillet, heat half tbsp oil, add some sliced scallions and stir until translucent. Add the carrots and stir. Let cook over high heat. Add salt and pepper and granules, stir, then add some boiling water. Keep cooking until the carrots are tender. Add some chopped parsley, stir and remove from heat when all the liquid is completely absorbed. Transfer the carrots to the serving dish. In the same skillet add the potatoes, sprinkle with some granules and stir. Don't add any liquid (or oil), the potatoes are already cooked, you just need to caramelize them a little bit. Sprinkle some chopped parsley, stir again and you're done. Transfer to the serving dish. Add the remaining oil to the skillet and cook the zucchini the same way as the carrots. It will need less liquid and time. Don't worry if some of the pieces are caramelized, it will give the zucchini more flavor. Arrange the veggies with the sliced roast and serve.