Extreme Comfort Food

I live in Chicago and Fall is definitely here. The leaves are falling, there is a crisp, cool breeze in the air. While I don't like the season that comes after Autumn (icy, arctic winter) I LOVE Fall. I love bundling up in a sweater or light jacket and heading to the apple orchard or a biergarten, but most of all... I love the yummy hearty food that comes along with this lovely season.

For me, there is nothing more comforting than a steaming hot bowl of pasta or a huge helping of lasagna. Some people like fried chicken, or meatloaf, but for some reason, hearty Italian food feels like a warm blanket on a rainy day. To clarify, I am not Italian, but have adopted their food traditions, because when was the last time you happened upon a Dutch restaurant? Or heard someone say.... "ooooo, you know what I could go for today? Some Dutch food." I honestly couldn't tell you what the people of my "home country" eat... I'll look into that and get back to you.

Anyway, the other day, I felt the first chilly breeze of fall and was inspired to make lasagna. Normally I follow a recipe by my favorite chef: Giada DeLaurentiis, but I decided to branch out and try a new recipe. I found a great one by Ina Garten and while I changed the ingredients slightly, the results were amazing. The recipe I used was for Ina's Turkey Lasagna. I chose it because it called for some things that I hadn't used in making this dish before... like goat cheese. I LOVE goat cheese.
The most drastic thing that I changed in the recipe was that I used 1 lb of ground buffalo in addition to spicy turkey sausage. I had the buffalo and needed to use it.... honestly I think that it definitely added to the dish, it made it very meaty and the combination of flavors was really good! I know, the turkey & buffalo combo sounds weird, but for some reason, it worked!

I followed the rest of the recipe exactly and really loved it! The cheese mixture was so delicious! The goat cheese added a really great tangy component!! I will never make lasagna without goat cheese again, it was fantastic. It also freezes really well! I made a full recipe of lasagna and ended up freezing half of it. After defrosting and heating it up again, it tasted just as good!

Honestly, make this lasagna, curl up in a blanket with some wine (of course) and enjoy this wonderful season!

Sooo..... I just met Mario Batali

This post is a bit different because I'm not blogging about food or talking about some delicious fusion of flavors.... But I had to share this....

I JUST MET MARIO BATALI!!!!!

While in NY for a friends wedding, we had a little extra time to walk around the city. I had heard about Mario's new Italian grocery store from a friend's mom (and one of my Blog followers :) ) and had to see it for myself. The shop is amazing!!! As soon as you walk in the doors of Eataly you are met with the aroma that only exists in really good markets..... sweet, salty, earthy and just plain wonderful. Eataly has a small, but well stocked produce section, a fantastic seafood counter, beautiful fresh pasta and more cuts of meats and delicious cheeses than you could ever hope to see. The gelato is pure heaven and the smell of the espresso bar transports you to a small cafe in Florence. To top it all off, Eataly has tons of counters and tables scattered throughout the market where people are welcome to eat and enjoy all of the goodies that this place has to offer.

So, as I'm walking through this magical place, I notice a man (sitting at one of the counters) enjoying a bowl piled high with mussels in some type of a garlic/white wine sauce. Because I was staring at this man's food, I wasn't watching where I was going and knocked over a box of crackers. As I  bent down to pick them up I froze.... right there, right in front of me.... were an unmistakeable pair of orange crocks. After about 5 seconds of looking like a total idiot, I slowly looked up and found myself standing 4 feet away from MARIO FREAKING BATALI. At first I thought he was a statue, but it turns out he was just listening to the man eating the mussels.... who coincidentally was Emeril Lagasse. I honest to god almost had an aneurism.

After running over to my husband and hyperventilating like a teenager at a Twilight movie premiere (and eating some really good prosciutto which he had lovingly ordered) I worked up the courage to introduce myself to Mario. It was quick, perfect, and best of all... he didn't have me arrested for being a creepy stalker.
I decided against bothering Emeril because he was enjoying a lovely lunch with a lady (maybe his wife?) and I didn't want to interrupt.

All in all my day at Eataly ranks as one of the best I've had..... honestly what could be better than a day full of prosciutto, fresh ricotta and Mario Batali?

If they serve soup in heaven...

It is near impossible for me to pass up a good Tomato Basil soup. Whether I am at a restaurant or someone's home, the perfect flavor combination of subtly sweet tomato and the slightly spicy basil lure me in every time.
While in Michigan last week for a family wedding, I purchased some beautiful heirloom tomatoes at a farmers market... they all were different varieties, shapes, sizes and flavors and promised to make some outstanding soup. They did not disappoint.

My favorite tomato basil soup recipe comes from Ina Garten. Ina is an amazingly talented chef who frequents the Food Network... she always comes up with simply mouth watering recipes and definitely hit the mark with her Roasted Tomato Basil Soup.

You start by roasting fresh tomatoes (chopped up and seasoned with salt, pepper & olive oil) at 400* in the oven for 45 minutes.... roasted tomatoes are one of the most delicious foods you will ever eat. The tomato flavor is intensified and mixed with good olive oil, and honestly, there are few flavors better than this simple one.......I eat them alone, or even just on some garlic toast with a baby arugula salad.......I think i just found my lunch for the day.

Back to the soup.....

While the tomatoes are roasting, sauté the onions, red pepper flakes & garlic until the onions are translucent and slightly browned. Next comes the canned tomatoes, basil, thyme and chicken stock. The roasted tomatoes should be finished at this point in the process, and you can add them to the pot along with the liquid on the baking sheet. This liquid is all of the tomato juices intensified by the baking process and melded with the seasoning and olive oil... it's like liquid gold :) Delicious.

Once the roasted tomatoes are added, bring the pot to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer for 40 minutes (uncovered.) After 40 minutes Ina says to pass the soup through a food mill... well.... I don't have one of these, but I do have a hand-held immersion blender :) THESE ARE SO MUCH FUN. They are exactly what they sound like and do a fantastic job at blending whatever you ware working on... they are especially good at allowing you to decide how blended you want your product. I've used my immersion blender every time that I've made this soup and every time it has worked perfectly.

Quick Tip... if you leave this soup slightly chunky, you can use it as a really fresh and delicious pasta sauce... or if you puree some of the soup to a smoother consistency you can even use it as a component to bruschetta. (Slice a baguette in diagonal slices, rub some fresh garlic on each slice, top with a small layer of the pureed soup, place a basil leaf, a few sun dried tomatoes, salt, pepper and some fresh mozzarella cheese on top and pop in the oven until the cheese gets all melty and wonderful..... or you can opt to not bake it for a more traditional and more fresh bruschetta)

Husband Rating: 10

Whole Snapper with Goat Cheese Stuffed Figs

I love the fish counter at my local Whole Foods....Everything is so fresh!! The guys who work there are always able to answer my questions and are honest about where/when/how the fish were caught. I always opt for wild fish over farm raised... I like the idea that the fish that I am eating was once swimming happily in a stream, lake or ocean rather than in a tank somewhere.
I also appreciate the new system that the Blue Ocean Institute recently came out with to help to educate consumers on which fish is OK to eat from an environmental standpoint. They have a color rating system that ranges from Green (Fish are abundant and the fishing method caused little damage) to Red (Low abundance and the fishing method seriously harms other wildlife or natural habitats.) They also have a gray color which means the fish has not yet been rated. I really appreciate this and always take the rating into consideration before buying my seafood.

Enough tree-hugger ranting...

The other day I purchased a whole bunch of stuff, including a whole snapper and some fresh figs. I didn't know what to do with them at the time but after exploring my refrigerator at home, I decided to stuff the figs with cheese and bake the snapper in a lemon and garlic sauce. It smelled so good!

The figs were SO simple, and they look super gourmet and beautiful on your table.
I rinsed the figs (8 in total, 4 for me & 4 for the husband), dried them, then made two cuts perpendicular to each other from the top of the fig to about half way down.... you want to be able to stuff some cheese inside the figs, but not so much that it breaks apart or tears. I then stuffed probably about 1/2 tsp of goat cheese into each fig, and set them aside until the fish was almost finished baking.... I hear you can wrap the figs in prosciutto before baking them too... I am DEFINITELY trying this next time... Prosciutto could solve all of the problems of the world..... yummmm
A simple and easy recipe to follow for Roasted Figs

The fish was easier than I expected. The guys at the fish counter scaled and cleaned the Snapper for me, so it was all ready to go when I unwrapped it at home. I followed this recipe pretty much word for word and got fantastic results. I stuffed and coated the fish with sliced lemons, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, butter and seafood seasoning. I then wrapped the fish in foil and let it marinate in the fridge for about 3 hours.
The fish baked inside its foil wrapping (and on a baking sheet incase of seepage) at 350 for 40 min. The fish was moist, full of flavor and provided a fun, new way to cook fish.... plus it made for some good pictures before cooking, which somehow did not save to my camera :(

Husband Rating: 7

Carrot Cake For Breakfast

I love desserts with vegetables or fruit in them because I can sort of trick myself into thinking that they are healthy.... for example, if I bake a blueberry pie and have it for dessert one day, I will absolutely always have it for breakfast the next morning.... because there is fruit in it.... and fruit is healthy..... ergo, pie for breakfast is perfectly fine. I LOVE dessert for breakfast. 

So when my husband requested Carrot Cake for his birthday, I thought, Yes! Score! Delicious dessert that I can eat in the morning! Because carrots are healthy, and although I generally woulnd't eat a carrot in my cereal, I do sometimes eat granola with coconut in it, and I just so happened to find a carrot cake recipe with coconut! PERFECT!!! 

The recipe we found (we being my mom & I... we are home for a family wedding) is from Gourmet Magazine, and is fantastic! The cake turned out to be moist, not too dense and not too sweet. It was simply delicious. We made only a few changes to the recipe. We tend to think sweetened coconut has an artificial flavor and is just too sweet, so we substituted Bobs Red Mill Unsweetened Coconut Flakes (which are soooo good) in place of the sweetened variety. We also toasted some flakes (put about a cup or so on a baking sheet and pop in the oven at 350 for around 5 min... watch it to make sure it doesn't burn.) We sprinkled the toasted flakes on top of the cake after it was all finished --- It looked so pretty!!! 

And tasted delicious for breakfast the next morning :) 

The recipe calls for:

3/4 lb carrots

2 c all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 c granulated sugar

1 1/2 c vegetable oil

4 large eggs

1 (8oz) can crushed pinapple (drained)

1 c sweetened coconut ***We used unsweetened coconut flakes****

1/2 c chopped walnuts

2/3 c rasins **We didn't add rasins, becuase they aren't our favorite... I think they taste like soap

Frosting (We made 1 1/2 times this frosting recipe)

2 (8oz) pkgs cream cheese, softened 

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 c confectioners' sugar, sifted

Preheat to 350*

Butter and flour the cake pans

Shred the carrots finely using a grater or a food processor to measure 2 cups

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon into a large bowl. Stir in sugar, oil, eggs, carrots, pineapple, coconut, walnuts and raisins (which we didn't use)

Divide batter between the cake pans and bake until a wooden pick comes out clean. (35 to 40 min)

Cool layer in pans on a rack for 5 min, then run a knife around the edge of each pan, invert layers onto rack and cool completely. 

Frosting: 

Beat together butter, cream cheese, and vanilla in a a large bowl until it is fluffy (2 min). Reduce speed to medium and add the confectioners' sugar a little at a time (unless you want to be covered it.)

Place 1 cake layer bottom side up on a cake plate and spread with some frosting. Place remaining cake layer right side up on top and spread remaining frosting over the top and sides. 

Delicious, Healthy, Beautiful Ratatouille

There are few things I love more than a great Disney movie, but a delicious meal that shares its name with a Disney movie takes the cake.

Ratatouille (the dish, not the adorable rat made famous by the movie) is a French Provencal vegetable stew that is as versatile as it is tasty. Perfect as a side dish or a light main, Ratatouille is a great way to use up a surplus of veggies from a late summer garden or an overzealous trip to the farmers market :)
I like to eat mine alone with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese on top, or as a chunky and wonderful pasta sauce. Most recently, we ate it as a perfect side dish to sauteed shrimp.....yummmmmm.

My Ratatouille recipe is from my amazingly culinarily gifted mom... my passion for cooking and baking came from her, she is a genius in the kitchen and this is just one of her mouthwatering creations.

Recipe

1 small eggplant, cubed
1 red onion, diced
1 red pepper, cubed
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 zucchini, cubed
2 shallots, sliced
3/4c good red wine (she says to pour yourself a glass or two while the Ratatouille cooks)
salt
pepper
2 tomatoes, rough chopped
1 28 oz can stewed italian tomatoes (If you have a ton of good summer fresh tomatoes you can forget the canned tomatoes and substitute fresh for canned.)
herbs - lots!! (This is a typical mom ingredient. She has an amazing garden with more herbs that you could ever use in a summer... when making Ratatouille she goes out with her snippers and cuts herbs from whichever plants speak to her, basil, oregano, thyme, parsley.... Just add a cup or so (chopped) of a combination of these fresh herbs and you'll be fine..... heavy on the basil)

Preheat oven to 350

Cut the eggplant, drizzle with olive oil and dust with salt and pepper. Roast eggplant until golden brown, remove from oven and set aside.

In a large sauce pan (I always use my enameled sauce pan, and find that it works perfectly) over medium high heat, add a drizzle of olive oil. Add the garlic, red pepper, zucchini, tomatoes, eggplant and saute for around 15 minutes.
Turn the heat down to medium low and add the stewed tomatoes, wine, shallots, salt, pepper and herbs.
Cook slowly for 1 hour or more. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

Like most stews, this recipe is even better the next day. Also, separated into servings, Ratatouille freezes beautifully allowing you to hold onto those delicious summer flavors for a little longer :)

Pernil al Horno

I had the pleasure of going to Puerto Rico a few summers ago for a friend's wedding and was blown away by the culture and especially the food! The flavors that the people of this island have developed are unbelievable....everything is made with such dedication and love! I probably gained 10 pounds in the week that I spent there :)

I recently found a recipe that I had to try... Roasted Pork Shoulder, or Pernil al Horno, is a traditional Puerto Rican dish made by marinating a pork shoulder overnight in a delicious mixture of garlic(lots...yummm), oregano, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. I mean, those ingredients alone are amazing and mixed together they create a flavor that is simply heavenly.

I followed the recipe exactly, with the exception of substituting olive oil for vegetable oil. I always go for the olive oil over veg oil because olive oil has so much flavor and really does great things to any dish you add it to. My pork was finished cooking in exactly 3 hours and was moist, delicious and bursting with flavor. I made some beans & rice to go with the dish to complete my Puerto Rican meal :)

As I said, the flavor of this dish was unbelievable.... however, the pork shoulder was a bit fatty for my liking. I mean, the fat on the top might have been the best thing I've ever tasted... It absorbed all of the garlic salty goodness, and honestly was amazing. The part that wasn't my favorite was the fat that was marbled throughout the shoulder. I realize that this is just a part of the cut of meat, and it is how it is supposed to be, however I may try a different cut next time I make this.

I have no idea what cut I'll use.... any suggestions???

Husband rating: 10 for flavor & juiciness.... 5 for the cut meat

Close up of the herbs & garlic on the pork....yummmmm I wish I could add a "smell app" to this blog :)