THE LAST OF THE FESTIVITIES

Holidays are over, no more dinners or parties, but wait, don't put away the good china yet. We still have some more festivities to go through. Yes, we had many friends in town who decided to stay for a couple more days, and after being together in fancy dinners and restaurants, I decided to gather everybody at my place for one last party. I thought of a new formula for this gathering, something that would keep us all together drinking, eating and enjoying the company. Instead of the usual dinner, seated or otherwise, I thought of having everybody for tea at 5 in the afternoon. This way, people can wake up at their leisure, do whatever they have to do, have a light lunch, or nothing at all, if they woke up late as I did, then come for drinks and food, and go home at a decent time to get ready for the week. For me it was a snap: I had the cleaning lady the day before, so the house was clean and ready for guests. I prepared most of the things that evening, and left only some touch ups for Sunday. This formula allowed us to stay all together in one room, no going back and forth to the kitchen, and cleaning after they left was easy. The success of this new formula encouraged me to organize another one next Sunday in honor of a group of friends who are in town for the week. Hope the weather cooperates!

                                                

EASY MEAT BALLS

                                          

If I decided to have friends over for tea or drinks, please don't take that as just serving some store bought chips and dips. No, I actually served something ready (baked hors d'oeuvre), but with it I had a full menu all home made. Also, home made doesn't necessarily mean you have to slave over what you are serving and spend long hours in the kitchen. It's easy to find the right balance between easy and elegant. So these meatballs are the perfect idea for this menu. You'll need:

3 lbs ground beef

1 bunch each: parsley and dill

1 medium onion

3 to 4 garlic cloves

1 to 2 eggs

1/4 cup bread crumbs

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

In a food processor mince the onion and garlic. Chop the parsley and dill and add them to the food processor and pulse until you get a smooth mixture where you can't see the leaves of the herbs anymore. In a large bowl mix the ground beef with all the ingredients and the herbs until well combined. Don't work it too much or the patties will become tough. You will have to work them when you start forming the meat balls. Let stand for 30 minutes, then start forming the patties. Take about 1/3 cup in one hand, gently press your fingers over it, transfer it to the other hand to form a rather thick finger, then pat it down and shape it in an oval form. Keep the meat patties in a plastic container in the refrigerator. The next day, preheat the oven to 375, arrange the patties on a baking sheet, and put it in the oven undisturbed for about 15 to 20 minutes until the top is browned, and some juices are rendered in the pan. Turn the patties and give them another 7 to 10 minutes and remove them from the oven and let them cool before you transfer them to the serving dish.

CHICKEN KEBAB

                                                      

That's another easy dish that people will think you've spent a whole day preparing, while it only took 30 minutes or so. The special marinade with an Indian twist gives it an extra flavor, a kick, that makes it different from any other chicken dish you can serve. It can be made with breast or thighs. I made both, knowing that some people prefer breast or dark meat. I have to confess that I made a boo boo while preparing it, but, was lucky enough to correct it before it was too late. What was that? Well I mixed all the chicken pieces together before putting them in the skewers, so it took me longer to separate them. To avoid this, marinate the chicken pieces separately. Also I made a lot, it was helpful because the children came the next day and found something nice to eat, and I took some of it to work for lunch. You can halve or double the recipe easily. You'll need:

4 half chicken breasts, skinless and boneless, fat trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes

5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, fat trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes

3 tbsp frozen onion/garlic mixture

3 tbsp lemon juice

3 tsp garam masala (Indian spices), or more to taste

1 tsp curry powder

About 2 cups plain yogurt

Salt to taste 

In a glass bowl mix all the ingredients together. Let stand for 30 minutes, then start putting 3 to 4 pieces in bamboo skewers that were previously soaked in hot water. Arrange the skewers in a rectangular dish, deep enough to hold the whole quantity you're making. Cover with plastic or aluminum foil and refrigerate until the next day. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, arrange the skewers on a baking sheet and cook until one side is browned, then turn once, and let cook until done. Let cool, then arrange on the serving dish. The chicken kebab can be served at room temperature. 

COUSCOUS AND SHRIMP SALAD

                                      

                                                   

Another easy dish you can make ahead and get a lot of praise for it. Actually this dish was the star of the party, everybody liked it and asked for the recipe. It can be prepared a day ahead, or the same day. You can use cooked shrimp or cook the shrimp yourself. This time I made it in the morning and used cooked shrimp. It actually doesn't need a recipe. All you have to do is cook the couscous according to the package directions, chop some lettuce, cucumber, bell pepper, red onion and cherry or grape tomatoes, toss everything with the shrimp and your favorite dressing. Go for a simple vinaigrette, or add a tsp or two of mustard. Just let it marinate in the refrigerator for an hour or two so that the flavors can combine together. How easy is that? As usual, I made the couscous just with the boiled water, no butter added.

I also served some ready hors d'oeuvre that you can buy frozen and bake while you have the oven on, and on the side a cilantro pesto made of cilantro, red onion, garlic, lemon juice and oil, all finely chopped and to taste, and my special sauce (7/15/12) with mustard, capers and dill.

FREEZING AGAIN? SOUP IS THE SOLUTION

Here we go again. We barely stopped complaining about the heat, that we start again complaining about how cold it is. But this year, it is really really cold. And for me to say that, it means that everybody else is already freezing! Today in the North East, we are going through the third snow storm in a row, and weather predictions are not very encouraging. 

To make you feel better I'll start by posting a recent picture of my famous lentil soup. It was in one of my very first blogs. This is the only soup that my husband eats and what we ate for two days last week. 

           

CAULIFLOWER CREAMY SOUP

This turned out to be a very easy soup to make: it took only minutes. It just needs the time for the veggies to cook, and it's about ten minutes. Preparation is very easy too. I had a head of cauliflower and with the cold weather I thought of using it in a soup. I was not very sure about the result mainly because I never had it before and also because usually boiling cauliflower gives the whole house a certain smell. I looked into some recipes and found that all of them use a lot of butter to have the creamy texture. But butter is not an option for me, especially that I intended to use half and half in my soup. So I went for my obvious solution: add some potatoes. It will make it creamy enough and eventually absorb and offset any odor we might get from the cauliflower. Of course I could not rely on my husband to tell me if it was good or not, but fortunately while making it, the grandchildren came with some of their friends. I offered them some soup. At first they hesitated, but one of them, just to be nice to me, accepted to have a taste. That was all it took. They all loved it and I packed some for their mom to take with her for the two year old who is very picky with her food, but who declared " I like soup" when she tasted it, and she ate the whole cup I served her. You' ll need:

1/2 head of cauliflower cut into florets

4 small potatoes, about 1 1/2 inch in diameter, peeled and cubed, I had red potatoes

3 celery stalks finely chopped 

1/2 bunch of cilantro, leaves and just their stems

1 tbsp cumin

1/2 tbsp coriander

3 cubes chicken or vegetable stock, I used 3 spoons of granules

1 cup half and half

Rinse the vegetables and transfer them to a large pot, add the spices, barely cover them with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and keep cooking until all vegetables are tender. Reserve a couple of florets for garnish. Add the granules and stir. Remove from heat and let cool for a while. Purée the vegetables in a blender or using a hand held mixer. Return the soup to the stove, on low heat. Stir in the half and half and let simmer to combine. Adjust seasoning if you need. Serve topped with the reserved florets and some chopped parsley or grated cheddar cheese, or both for color.
For the other half head of cauliflower, I didn't have cilantro, so I used parsley. It came out equally delicious. As for the garnish, the kids found that dipping small pieces of florets in their cup gave the soup a nice crunch, so this time around I used small raw florets for garnish with the chopped parsley and the grated Cheddar. If you want, you can stir some grated cheese in the soup. I only melted what I had as garnish in my bowl.

                                                 

                                                    

ONE RECIPE, TWO DISHES

I've been away from my blog for a while. I was very busy at work, and cooked just for survival. I mainly made dishes that I can take with me at work for lunch. This made my husband very happy, because these dishes were on the dry side (my husband's favorite), so that I can chop some of the leftovers on a salad to take with me. During the week end, I checked out the kitchen freezer to plan my coming week. I needed some veggies. Dry food (grilled chicken or meat, or anything without any kind of sauce) without vegetables on the side, is not an option for me. I found 3 packages of chicken breasts. That's a start. I decided to compromise: with some I'll cook a dry dish for my husband and some with sauce, just for a change.

I just remembered that the last time we had some friends over I made chicken Marsala, so why not make it today with a twist?

CHICKEN MARSALA WITH A TWIST

                                               

  

I actually made this dish as an after thought. To my husband's delight I announced that we were going to have chicken Milanese today. I had already trimmed the chicken breasts, pounded them thin and started marinating them when I decided to put some cutlets aside to make another dish. Why? Simply because while I was reorganizing the fridge, I found a couple of tomatoes who started to go soft, because I had just bought a box of canned mushrooms, and I still had some dried mushrooms in the pantry. So I thought: tomatoes and mushrooms, can we still call it Chicken Marsala if it had tomatoes in it? I guess we can. I made it and nobody objected, not even the chicken. You'll need:

4 breast cutlets (from 1 chicken breast)

1/2 tbsp onion/garlic frozen mixture

2 tbsp oil

1 large handful of dried mushrooms

1 ( 4 oz) can sliced mushrooms, or 2 cups fresh sliced mushrooms

1 good pinch each dried oregano and thyme

1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes with their juices

1/2 cup Marsala

2 cups chicken stock

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp flour for dusting

First a note: these are the "official" ingredients. What actually happened is that when I thought of making this dish, I had already started marinating the chicken cutlets for the other dish, so I just fished out the cutlets I needed and shook them to remove as much marinade as I could. I also used the leftover mixture of flour and bread crumbs to dust the cutlets before cooking them. I also had chopped fresh tomatoes that I used with the canned diced ones.

So I dusted the cutlets, and in a non stick skillet cooked the onion/garlic mixture, with salt and pepper, in the oil for a couple of minutes, just until tender. Add the cutlets and let cook on one side undisturbed for about 4 minutes. In the mean time, cook the dried mushrooms in the stock until tender and the stock reduced. Turn the cutlets to the other side, sprinkle with oregano and thyme, and let cook for another 3 minutes. I don't want them to brown, just a light yellow. Add the Marsala, let reduce, then add the sliced mushrooms, the cooked mushrooms with the reduced stock, and finally the tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer until all the ingredients come together and the sauce thickens. Serve with rice, pasta or simply toasted slices of bread.

CHICKEN MARSALA, HOLD THE MARSALA

                                                        

I made this dish when we had some friends over for dinner. I knew that they don't drink, and was not sure that they would have easily accepted the idea that when you cook with wine, the wine evaporates and you just get the nice flavor. I didn't want to have a discussion over it. I'll make the chicken Marsala, without the Marsala. Again, nobody objected, and the dish was a big success. I didn't fret about it because I know that when I eliminate one ingredient from a recipe, I always add something else to make up for the one I lost. I just made one mistake: I used too much chicken and my biggest pan was a bit too little for the quantity. You'll need:

2 chicken breasts, sliced in cutlets and pounded thin

1 1/2 tbsp frozen onion/garlic mixture

1 to 2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp dried oregano

1 lb fresh white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

2 tbsp oil

Flour for dusting the cutlets

1 to 2 tsp chicken gravy powder, optional

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by marinating the cutlets in the onion mixture, with salt, pepper, oregano and lemon juice.  Let stand for 30 minutes. Lightly dust the cutlets with flour. In a non stick skillet heat the oil and start browning the cutlets in batches. Make sure that the cutlets are a very light brown. Remove to a platter lined with paper towels. Next cook the mushrooms in the same skillet until tender. Return the chicken pieces to the skillet. Add some water or chicken stock, and carefully stir with a spatula to deglaze the pan. Let reduce. If using the chicken gravy powder, add it to the skillet and stir to combine until you get a nice thick sauce. Serve.

EASY THANKSGIVING AND CHRISTMAS DINNER, II

Let's finish our menu for both dinners. For those who don't eat poultry, I made two meat dishes for the two occasions. You may think that this is too much work, but, again, as I said, if you get organized from the start, you will not be overwhelmed  and you will have all the time to enjoy the company of your guests. In fact, from where I come from, having people for dinner means that you should not spend your time in the kitchen leaving your guests to themselves. When my grandma or my mom had company everything had to be ready beforehand and they went to the kitchen only to serve the food, or supervise the cook while plating the food. Hors d'oeuvre were ready in the fridge in the serving platters to greet the guests as they arrive. You have to understand how shocked I am when I see on TV programs where people are looking for houses with "an open concept" kitchen, so they can be cooking while their guests are out there. This means that these people usually do not cook, because if they did cook on a regular basis they wouldn't like to have a sofa, or any furniture for that matters, in a space open to the kitchen with all the fumes. Have you seen the hood of your range if it's not regularly cleaned? That would be your sofa in an open concept living space!

To get organized for a big dinner is not that difficult, you only have to plan your menu, chose items that don't need individual cooking or frying, and limit the items that need to be prepared a few minutes before serving. So the best option is to chose a meat dish that can be marinated overnight and cooked in the oven with no hassle. That's what I did on both occasions.

EASY EYE ROUND

                                                      

I often choose this cut of meat because it's lean and when sliced it comes in perfect circles, so it's more attractive for children and you're not going to supervise them while eating to remove fat or cut it for them. I've tried several ways of cooking it until I managed to find the easiest way to do it. For this recipe i had to make it big to serve a lot of people, you can use only one piece of meat. You'll need:

2 beef eye rounds
3 tbsp frozen onion/garlic mixture
Salt and pepper

Rinse the meat and with a sharp knife remove the fat that is usually on the lower part of it. They say it makes it tastier, I don't think so, and it will melt and remain in the pan, so you will have to remove it eventually before you use the liquid to make gravy. So remove it from the start. The flavor will come from the marinade, not from the fat. In a small bowl, mix the onion mixture with salt and pepper, then rub the mixture all over the meat. Transfer the meat to the cooking pan. Chose one that is large enough to hold both pieces of meat without touching, and it should be high enough to reach at least half of the meat height. Cover with aluminum foil, refrigerate overnight. The next day, remove from fridge, let stand for 20 to 30 minutes at room temperature then cook in a 375 degree oven undisturbed for 2 hours (I put it in the oven with the turkey). Remove the foil and let it cook for another 30 minutes. By then it should be browned on one side, so turn it in its sauce and cook for another 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, transfer to a cutting board and cover with foil until it's time to carve it. Slice the meat and arrange it in a serving platter. Use the liquid to make gravy by simply adding a couple of tbsp of flour, whisking it until completely dissolved and thickened. Adjust seasoning and serve in a gravy boat.

EASIEST ROAST EVER

                                                    

While shopping for Thanksgiving dinner I came across a different cut of beef. It was a cut from the side of the beef, where you have the ribs, but these were removed. It was about 16 inch X 10 and 2 inches high. What made me think of it was that it had almost no fat. So I bought it and took my chances. It turned out that I had made a good choice. It cooked very quickly and came out tender and delicious. You don't need a recipe for that. Simply rub it with my usual onion/garlic mix with salt and pepper, but add to it as I did a good pinch of cajoun seasoning. I thought it would give it a kick, and it did. Cover it with foil, refrigerate it overnight and cook it as the previous dish. But with this cut, be careful after you remove the foil: you have to check on it after 15 to 20 minutes, then turn it once and give it no longer than 15 minutes more. It will melt in your mouth.

AND FOR DESSERT....
                     
                                                  

I made an easy Oum Ali (original recipe on 12/3012). This time with hazelnuts, almonds, coconut and 3 (4 oz) container of peaches in syrup I had in the pantry. I prepared it the night before and put it in the oven after I removed the turkey and the meat.

EASY LEFTOVERS FIX

Just toss some chopped lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers, top with slices of meat, white and dark meat from the turkey, each one on a different side, and your favorite cheese, I used Jarlesberg in this one. Use your favorite dressing and voila: you have a chef salad.

                                               

EASY THANKSGIVING AND CHRISTMAS DINNERS, I

The key to an easy Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner is planning. Plan ahead and you'll have a wonderful dinner and you'll enjoy the company of your guests. I started this blog before Thanksgiving, it was meant to give an idea on how to prepare for a dinner party, but I had to travel for work right after that day, and here we are today, with another dinner for the whole family just before Christmas.
On Sunday before Thanksgiving, I had already done my shopping by Friday evening and was ready for the big day. As usual, each of my guests has his own request, some are vegetarians, others don't eat poultry, and some don't eat vegetables at all. For the last three weeks we've been bombarded with advise about the Thanksgiving meal, how to cook the turkey, to brine or not to brine, with stuffing or not, to cover it or not to cover it, not to mention the side dishes. As a starter, I don't follow the American tradition when it comes to side dishes or dessert. First I don't like pumpkin, so no pumpkin pie. Also, traditionally we never cooked with cranberries, as far as I know, in my Mediterranean culture we don't have cranberries, so I am not going to stress over something I don't know and maybe getting it wrong. I have to taste it first to know what it is before I try to make it, and until now I am the one always cooking on this day and nobody volunteered to bring it over. Also traditionally sweet potatoes for us are exactly that, sweet, so we're not having them as vegetables in a side dish.

So what are we having? Well, turkey of course, and I am glad I had a rehearsal dinner the other day when we threw a party for a colleague who retired, so I got to make two turkeys to feed the whole office and their families. Instead of stuffing, I am making my famous brown rice with nuts.

For the vegetarians in the group it will be tortellini with spinach sauce, and lots of salads. And finally I am thinking of making a big beef roast. For sides I bought green beans and fingerling potatoes, in different colors. I will not mash them, but will think of a way to cook them to impress those of us who never saw colored potatoes. My husband asked for moussaka, so we'll have that and a babaganough dish on the side. As for dessert, I thought of the best way to please everybody with an assortment of ice creams, and many items to create your own special dessert or sundae. With the shopping  done, I think I can rest until Tuesday when I will start the process. Two days ahead, I chose the serving dishes, the platters and cleaned the house. Our guests for Thanksgiving were all adults, so I could afford to use my delicate china and table cloth.

                                    

EASY TURKEY

                                                     

 I don't remember if I told you that before, but where I come from, free range turkeys were really free range, meaning they roamed freely in the yard all day, and had really strong muscles. My grandma used to boil them first to tenderize the meat, then roast them. Our turkeys here don't need all this, they just need the right way to marinate them before you cook them. When I started cooking, I looked into many recipes, tried some of them and came up with my own fool proof recipe. I never brined the turkey or stuffed it. Actually I always made my brown rice with nuts on the side, because every time I tried to make stuffing everybody asked for the rice, so we ended up always serving rice with the turkey. This recipe can be adjusted according to the size of your turkey, add to it if it is bigger or reduce it if you have a smaller turkey. For this recipe I had a 19-20 lbs turkey. You'll need:

2 tbsp frozen onion/garlic mixture
2 pinches ground cardamom
1 tbsp dry oregano
2 to 3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 orange
Salt and pepper (I use Adobo), and
My secret ingredient: the stems of any herbs you have, parsley, dill, cilantro. I used all three.

Clean the turkey, remove the giblets and neck from the cavity and cut the extra skin on the neck side so that you can reach inside the bird from that side and remove any vocal chords or extra fat. Also remember to remove the fat from the other end of the bird, it's easy to remove with your fingers. Rinse the turkey inside out and make sure that there is no water left inside. Place the turkey, breast side up, on a rack in the roasting pan. 
In a small bowl mix all the ingredients except the orange and the stems. Take a good pinch of salt, about 2 tbsp, into your hand and rub it inside the bird, spreading it all around the cavity. With your hand, go between the skin and the breast to completely loosen the skin, then rub the whole breast with the marinade mixture. Do the same inside the cavity and all over the skin covering breast and thighs with the mixture. Cut the orange in 4 and, depending on the size of the bird, you can keep it whole or in quarters. Insert the orange in the turkey cavity making sure that while doing so you squeeze it a little to release some of its juices. Add the herb stems to the cavity. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight. The next day, around noon, preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and let the turkey cook undisturbed for 2 hours, after which remove the cover and continue cooking until golden. Make sure to follow the time table for cooking given in the instructions that came with the turkey. To be sure that the turkey is well done, a thermometer  inserted in the thickest part of the breast should read 180 degrees. Remove the turkey from the oven, cover with foil until ready to serve.

EASY GREEN BEANS

                                                      

I usually cook smaller quantities of vegetables, just enough for the three or two of us, and when I sautee them, I never boil the vegetables beforehand. I simply sautee the veggies in a large pan and add a little boiling water to cook them through and keep their beautiful green color. Today I have to cook a large quantity of green beans, so I have to change my technique. For the first time I felt I have to follow what many cooks do, i.e. start by boiling the beans. So be it. You'll need:

2 lbs french green beans
2 to 3 tbsp pomegranate seeds
2 to 3 tbsp toasted pine nuts
1 tbsp clarified butter or oil
Salt to taste

In a large pot cook the green beans in boiling salted water until barely tender. Drain the beans and put them in cold water to stop the cooking process, or simply open the cold water on them in the colander for a few minutes. Drain the beans and at this point, you can keep them refrigerated until the next day, just make sure that they are thoroughly dry. Ten minutes before serving dinner, melt the butter in a non stick skillet large enough to hold the beans in almost one layer. Add the green beans and toss with tongs to completely coat and heat through. You may adjust seasoning at this point. Serve on a large platter sprinkled with the pomegranate and pine nuts.

EASY BAKED POTATOES

                                                       

I love fingerling potatoes, I love their shape and their colors. I feel they add something extra to the regular potato dish. So this was a good opportunity to serve something new, especially that some of my guests have never seen them before. It was a very good conversation starter over dinner. You'll need:

5 lbs fingerling potatoes in different colors
1 tbsp rosemary, preferably  fresh
1 tbsp oil 
Salt to taste

Cook the potatoes in salted boiling water for 5 to 7 minutes maximum. Drain and let cool until easy to handle. If you have some potatoes larger than others, cut the big one lengthwise to have some kind of uniformity. Spread the potatoes in one layer on a baking sheet, sprinkle with rosemary and salt. Drizzle the oil and mix it with your hands to evenly distribute and coat the potatoes. Bake in 375 degrees oven until completely done, about 20 to 25 minutes.  

TWEAKING MY OWN RECIPES

I always maintain that we never cook the same dish the same way, all the time. We always do something different with the same recipe. Maybe it's because we don't have all the ingredients, so we substitute, or we need to experiment with a different twist on the recipe, or maybe we think that a new way of cooking the same recipe might give us better results, or, simply, we forget all the details of the original recipe, so we improvise. Mostly this tweaking happens when you have a rather new recipe, you want to experiment to see if by tweaking it, the recipe will be better, or if you make some substitutions you'll have a perfect dish. To tell you the truth, old recipes also often get tweaked in my kitchen. This happens mostly when I am tired, or lazy to follow the recipe step by step, or when I am in an adventurous mood and start questioning tradition. This is basically how I got to make my own improved version of melokheya. No one would dare to tweak such a recipe, it has probably been around since the days of the Pharaohs, but one day when I felt lazy and adventurous, I changed the way of cooking it and got a better result. This doesn't mean of course that all tweaking will yield better results, sometimes it creates disasters, so be careful, and try to work within certain limits, meaning, be creative with the spices you use for example, but don't go overboard with the creativity. My sister once  used some strong oriental spices in a tomato sauce we were going to use with pasta, and we ended up having the pasta with just some butter and a sprinkle of black pepper.

Lately I didn't put many posts simply because I was repeating many of my usual recipes. I wouldn't call it a rut because we had many friends over for dinner many times, and two of my best friends came for a prolonged visit and stayed with us. We went out all the time doing all things tourists do, shopped a lot, but also had many dinners at home. This is the main reason that made me think about this post today. I realized that although I was cooking from my usual repertoire, I always managed to make something new. This is also why I made a point of taking pictures of these old recipes that I tweaked. So here are some tweaked recipes. You might find them more interesting than the original.

CAULIFLOWER AU GRATIN

                                                    

We had a big dinner party to celebrate the first day of Ramadan. I made the dishes that everyone expects to have after a day of fasting, also with a twist: I didn't serve chicken, but rabbit. Usually on these occasions people serve some kind of meat and another protein dish, usually chicken, but I went another way. Also people expected some kind of old fashioned rice dish, but were surprised to have lasagna. We had soup as a starter and two kinds of vegetables. This one was particularly appreciated. That made me really happy because I always make a point of taking care of my vegetarian guests so that they don't feel left out. In such occasions and menus, vegetables are usually treated as garnish, or as an after thought, nobody cares about them and they are the last dishes to be picked or served. But I always have some vegetarian friends in my parties and I want them to feel included, that their dishes took as much care and preparation as all the others. So I decided to make my cauliflower au gratin. I didn't go back to my recipe, you remember that I had made it only once, tweaking it from a recipe we found in the NY Times. It is very easy. I made two heads of cauliflower, and added to it slices of carrot in a quantity that creates a balance between the colors white and orange. So it's up to you to decide how much carrots you'll add. I sliced one can of pitted black olives, and added 3 tsp of capers.
I didn't have any parsley, so I used cilantro. It turned out to be an excellent idea. It gave the dish a new layer of flavor, especially when I added the takleya (finely chopped garlic cooked with coriander, salt and pepper in a drop of oil until browned and fragrant). This is what gives the dish the "oriental" flavor. So start by boiling the carrots and cauliflower in salted water, adding a pinch of cumin. When the vegetables are tender, after about 4 to 5 minutes max, drain them and transfer to the baking dish. Add the olives and capers, toss with the takleya, making sure that you don't break the florets. Sprinkle with the chopped cilantro. Make a simple roux by dissolving about 4 tbsp flour in 2 cups of milk, I used skim, and cooking it over medium heat stirring with a whisk to prevent lumps. Add grated cheese to the thickened roux. Use what you have available or what you like most. Just don't use a cheese that would overwhelm your veggies. How much? Start by melting a cup of shredded cheese, and add another 1/2 cup, stirring to melt. Add the sauce to the dish, and with a spoon, push the veggies so that the sauce is evenly distributed in the dish. sprinkle some more cheese on top, and bake in a 375 degree oven until golden brown.
The picture is taken before adding the sauce.

BAKED PASTA

                                                     

This is my classic baked ziti or penne with three cheeses. But this time it's a bit different. I served it the day we had invited a young couple who just got married and were just coming back from their honeymoon. I wanted to make it special, but that day I had to go to work, so I had to think of an easy way to make that special. I found the easiest solution in a traditional concept: Add meat to a dish and it will be special. I had, as usual, some browned ground beef in my freezer. This is the solution. I'll add it to the pasta. I made one whole box of penne. Cook it according to the package instructions. In a pan heat the browned ground beef, then add a can of tomato sauce, rinse it with 1/2 a can of water, and add it to the pan, plus a sprinkle of crushed oregano. Cook the sauce until thickened. Transfer  the pasta to a large deep baking dish, and add the sauce. Toss. Add 1 cup of ricotta cheese and toss. You may add another 1/2 cup, then 1 cup grated parmigiano. Stir to combine all. Add shredded mozzarella on top and bake in a 375 degree oven until the cheese is melted. It was a great success. They expected some kind of bechamel sauce in the dish, but were surprised to know that this creamy texture came from cheese. 

WHAT TO DO WITH THE WRONG CUT OF MEAT?

The other day I asked my husband to get me the cut of beef that I recently discovered, the strips of beef that I liked so much and think are very versatile. I had in mind a new plan for them. He told me he did, so I stepped outside for some errands while the meat was defrosting. When I came back, I discovered that we were defrosting the wrong cut of meat. I was disappointed. I had a very nice plan for my strips. I also make sure that when I pack the meat to freeze, I usually write on the bag the name of the cut and the date, so how could he get something else? I didn't stop for long to fret about it. I am now used to this "man thing" about the refrigerator. They never find what you need unless it's on the edge of the first shelf, so how can you expect to get something from the freezer? I let my plan go, and started thinking about the new challenge.

BEEF CHUNKS WITH TOMATO 

                                         

The cut that I got was from the tip of the big top round of beef that I buy sometimes and cut according to my needs. They were two pieces from the top, I call them bananas because of their shape. We usually sear them and continue cooking in the oven on a bed of root vegetables. But today I was in a hurry so I had to think of a new way to cook them of the stove and quickly. We just came back from shopping and were hungry. So I started marinating the meat in onion, garlic and salt and pepper until I thought of the new plan. It turned out to be one of the easiest meat dishes I've ever made. It was easy, quick and delicious. You'll need:

2 medium strips of beef (about 7 X 3 inches each)

1/2 onion cut into medium strips

2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped

1 can chopped tomatoes with juices

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by marinating the beef in the onion and garlic with salt and pepper. Heat a non stick skillet and add the meat. It will sizzle. That's good. Brown the meat on all sides, then add some water to the skillet. With a spatula, scrape all the browned bits on the bottom of the skillet. You'll have a brown sauce around the meat. Let it boil and reduce. Add the can of chopped tomatoes with their juices. Bring to a boil and lower the heat. Cover the skillet and let simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes until the meat is fork tender. You may need to check on it from time to time, add some more liquid, depending on the nature of the cut of beef you're using. In the mean time you can cook some yellow rice to serve on the side and make a salad or sautee some vegetables.Slice the meat against the grain, serve topped with some of its sauce. Wasn't that really easy?