Serving up delectable inspiration

We’re doing our best to commit to a budget and obviously cooking at home plays a large role. A couple of years ago I mentioned my grocery inventory spreadsheet, and I still use it to this day. Considering the call I received from Google a couple of years ago about my spreadsheet, I figure I’m really on to something. Yes, it takes some upkeep, but for someone who revels in organization as much as I do, the work is actually fun. I just update my spreadsheet when I buy groceries and I’ve now added a section where I jot down recipes for the week and a spot for ingredients I need to purchase for each one.

I love spending a little time each weekend on the couch going through cookbooks, magazines, and web sites looking for recipe inspiration. Here’s a snapshot of my coffee table from a couple of weekends ago (I’m a bit delayed in posting these recipes):

My husband (who recently moved into a new office space) recently told a group of friends that he’d rather move offices any day than move my cookbooks again. We moved at least ten boxes back in September. What can I say, I love ‘em.

Here are a few quick snapshots of the recipes I made, along with most of the recipes.

*taken with Instagr.am

Monday: Pasta in White Clam Sauce (adapted from In the Kitchen with Rosie: Oprah’s Favorite Recipes by Rosie Daley) and Broccolini

After my latest visit with my midwife, who told me that the 25lbs. I’ve gained thus far in my 22 weeks of pregnancy is not ideal, I’m trying to be more conscientious about what I’m eating. I tend to eat pretty healthfully as a rule, choosing whole foods over processed, but I must admit that I never shy away from butter, cream, and other yummy fats that make food taste so good. So when craving a pasta dish with white sauce, I sought out a recipe that would satiate yet not be too laden with saturated fat. I remembered liking a number of recipes out of this old cookbook and this pasta dish is definitely a keeper.

8 oz. dried spaghtetti (I used whole wheat linguine)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup water
1 small onion, diced
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
Few grinds of freshly ground black pepper
4 garlic cloves, minced
10 oz. canned clams, juices reserved
1 cup lowfat buttermilk (here’s a super easy buttermilk substitute I often use when I don’t have it in the fridge; I use lemon juice rather than vinegar)
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 teaspoons water
4 teaspoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon hot sauce
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions, but take care not to overcook. You want the pasta a little underdone when you drain it; it will continue cooking from the residual heat and again when you place it in the sauce.
2. Put the wine, water, onion, salt, pepper, and garlic in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir in the reserved juice from the canned clams and cook for 4-5 minutes, until the liquid has reduced by about half.
3. Reduce the heat to low and whisk in the buttermilk and cornstarch mixture. Cook for about 2 minutes to thicken, whisking constantly. Stir in the cheese, clams, hot sauce, and parsley.
4. Add the pasta to the sauce and toss to coat. Serve immediately.
We enjoyed our pasta with fresh broccolini (sometimes called aspiration) steamed then flash-seared in a hot pan with some olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes.

Tuesday: Broiled Sweet and Spicy Salmon with Pineapple (adapted from March issue of Everyday Food) with Trader Joe’s Wild Rice Pilaf and haricot vert

I signed up for a subscription of this magazine through one of those Living Social deals and found a few things to make out of the first issue I’ve received. Aside from being tasty, this meal was thrown together in 15 minutes. Jef asked if this one could be in our weekly rotation. Funny, we don’t have a weekly rotation of any kind, but I’m aiming to make this again soon.

1/4 cup pure maple syrup (I prefer Grade B)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 lb. salmon fillet, cut into 4 pieces
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 of a whole pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into roughly 1-inch chunks

Heat the broiler. Make rice according to package instructions. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together maple syrup and cayenne pepper. Season salmon with salt and pepper. Lightly grease a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil (or use nonstick cooking spray) and arrange salmon and pineapple in a single layer. Brush with half of the maple syrup glaze.Heat a saute pan and bring a few tablespoons of water to a boil. Add frozen haricot vert and cook for about 2 minutes over medium heat. Drain well and heat a tablespoon of olive oil in the pan. Add 1/4 teaspoon red chile flakes and garlic. Add the beans and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally. Taste a bean to test if it’s done after about 2 minutes. Should be crisp yet tender. Broil salmon about 4 minutes, then brush with the remainder of the glaze. Broil for another 2-3 minutes, until salmon is cooked through. Serve immediately with the rice pilaf and green beans. Delicious!

*taken with Instagr.am

Thursday: Shrimp Curry (adapted from Ruth Reichl’s wonderful memoir Comfort Me with Apples)

1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
Coarse salt and freshly ground peppper
4 Tbsp curry powder (make sure you like the flavor of your curry powder)
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup well-stirred coconut milk
2 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth
2 tsp freshly grated lime zest
1 lb. shrimp, peeled & deveined
3/4 lb. fresh green beans (or frozen; I like the haricot vert from Trader Joe’s)
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
Accompaniments: cooked rice, mango chutney, salted roasted peanuts, raisins

Melt the butter in a heavy pot over medium heat and add the onion, garlic, about 1/4 tsp salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened, about 3 minutes. Add the spices and flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Whisk in the cream, coconut milk, broth, and lime zest, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low and simmer, stirring constantly, until it begins to thicken, about 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and green beans and simmer about 4 minutes more. Stir in the lime juice and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over rice and top with chutney, peanuts, and raisins.

I also made some Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread with Toasted Walnuts and Pumpkin Seeds, slightly modifying a recipe from Amy’s Bread. I won’t post the recipe as it’s quite long; in addition, I wasn’t too crazy about the outcome. It was my first time making bread using a biga (yeast starter) and it was a fun process, but the bread is very dense and the taste didn’t thrill me. ‘Could have been my fault, I’m not sure. It did the trick, though, for sandwiches throughout the week.  Plus, it made fantastic french toast, recipe to follow. The bread recipe made two loaves so I still have one in the freezer.

Saturday: Double Cinnamon French Toast (adapted from The Bon Appétit Cookbook)

1 cup pure maple syrup
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
2 tsp cinnamon, divided
3 large eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup coconut milk (or you can use all cream, or half-and-half, or milk)
2 tsp vanilla extract
8 3/4-inch-thick slices of a hearty bread (I used the whole wheat toasted nut bread mentioned above)

Bring syrup, 1 tablespoon butter, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon to boil in a heavy small saucepan. Boil 2 minutes.
Whisk eggs, cream, coconut milk, vanilla, 3 tablespoons maple syrup mixture, and remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a medium bowl. Place bread slices in a large shallow baking dish and pour egg mixture over it, turn bread to coat. Pierce bread several times with a fork. Let stand at least five minutes, or up to 15 minutes.
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add bread and cook until browned, about 3 minutes. Turn bread over and cook until browned on the other side, about another 3 minutes. Transfer to plates and serve with remaining syrup. YUM.

Saturday’s sunny afternoon found us working in our backyard and we enjoyed a no-cook lunch of burrata (the most decadent cheese ever; I’d volunteered Friday night at an awesome mozzarella making class at Murray’s Cheese in NYC), salami (Tofurkey for my veg hubby), sliced radishes, baguette slices, roasted red tomatoes, pickles, and olives. Perfection.

Lest you think I always have success with my recipes, here’s a shot of the burned Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip-Butterscotch Cookies I made for an Oscar-viewing party at a friend’s house. I adapted a recipe from Kim Boyce’s Good to the Grain, a fantastic baking book that’s won several awards and big nominations since its publication. I normally use parchment paper to bake cookies, but didn’t have any so just greased my pans. I’m not sure if that’s why the bottoms got so black, or what happened. I scraped off the burned bits as best I could, and most people said they still enjoyed the cookies.

I definitely ate at least ten by myself over the week. I only encountered a problem one day at work when the cookie wouldn’t fit into my glass of milk. It’s a hard life, I tell ya.

*taken with Instagr.am

{ 0 comments }