What We're Eating - A Food & Recipe Blog

Wordless Wednesday: Reinaert Flemish Wild Ale

Amanda — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:17:49 +0000

Baked Rigatoni with Turkey Bolognese

Amanda — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:05:09 +0000

Oooo… melty cheese and pasta!

We’re eating baked rigatoni in a turkey bolognese covered with melted Havarti and mozzarella then garnished with fresh basil.

I realize it’s the middle of summer and most people aren’t in the mood to turn their ovens on to 450 degrees, but what can I say! I wanted some oozing cheesy baked pasta mixed with loads of hearty bolognese, zucchini, creminis and fresh basil! Give a girl a break. Sometimes you have to sweat for what you want…In my case that appears to be Italian food!

I really can’t say enough about the difference that using good canned tomatoes vs. cheap acidy canned tomatoes makes in pretty much any dish. If you can find them, spend the extra dollar and get the San Marzanos. Also, as another side note, heavily salting your pasta water truly makes the difference between bland and flavorful pasta. Aim for nearly sea water levels and you’ll have delicious pasta every time.

A Pasta Recipe, by Amanda

Baked Rigatoni with Turkey Bolognese

To start the Bolognese:
1 tbsp canola oil
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

To finish the sauce
1 tbsp canola oil
8 cremini mushrooms, thickly slices
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried basil
1 can (28oz)whole tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
1 zucchini, large dice
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, chiffonade

8 oz dried Rigatoni, cooked according to directions on package
3 oz Havarti, grated
3 oz part-skim mozzarella, shredded

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray an 8″x11.5″ glass or ceramic baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.

Place a large pot of water over high heat. Add a large handful of salt. Bring to a boil.

Place a large saute pan over high heat. Add 1 tbsp canola oil. Once the oil is almost smoking hot, add the ground turkey to the pan. Sprinkle the turkey 1 tsp kosher salt and 1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, break up the turkey. Allow the turkey to brown, stirring occasionally, until cooked through. Remove browned turkey from pan, drain and set aside. Return saute pan to medium heat.

Add 1 tbsp canola oil to the saute pan. Add the cremini mushrooms, onions and carrots to the pan. Saute the veggies over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes until the onions are translucent and the carrots are soft. Add the garlic to the pan and saute for another 1 minute. Add the dried basil and oregano. Saute for 1 more minute.

Using your hands, individually crush the whole tomatoes into pan. Be careful of squirting juice! Once all the tomatoes have been crushed, add the rest of the juice left in the can as well as the browned turkey back into the pan. Stir. Bring sauce to a simmer.

Simmer sauce over medium heat until nearly all of the liquid from the tomatoes has cooked away, about 30-40 minutes stirring occasionally. Once liquid has cooked away, taste and adjust seasonings as desired with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

After about 20 minutes of simmering the sauce, boil the pasta according to the directions on the package. Drain.

Add the cooked pasta, diced zucchini and basil to the finished sauce. Stir thoroughly to evenly coat. Pour the pasta and sauce into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle mozzarella and Havarti evenly over the top of the pasta. Place into a preheated 450 degree oven. Bake until the cheese is melted and golden in areas, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for at least 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh basil if desired. Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday: Gyros…Get In My Belly!

Amanda — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:36:20 +0000

Wordless Wednesday: Cat and Mouse

Amanda — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:26:15 +0000

Lemon Cheesecake Ice Cream Recipe

Amanda — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:38:26 +0000

Tart, Frozen AND Sweet…Just like me!

We’re eating tart and creamy lemon cheesecake ice cream made with fresh, local lemons, cream cheese and a swirl of crumbled graham cracker.

Until about a week or two ago there was no possible way for us to make and feature ice creams or sorbets on WWE due to our lack of equipment. Then our wonderful friend Nicole swooped in and saved the day. While browsing through a thrift store, she found the exact model of ice cream maker she uses, but for about 1/6 of the cost. Lucky for me, she didn’t let this amazing find pass her by. Nope, she snatched that thing on up and gave it to little ole me! (Maybe because I’ve been threatening to make gin sorbet using her machine for the past six months & she’s hoping to avoid the hangover from gorging on it!)

In another showing of Nicole’s awesomeness, she took me over to her sister’s house, who happens to have a huge lemon tree, and we were given an insane number of lemons, fresh from the tree! AND we didn’t even have to pick them ourselves. Nicole’s sister, Penny, had already done all the work. Thanks, Penny! You rock! Hell, your whole family rocks!

Equipped with my new ice cream maker and a butt-ton of fresh lemons, there was only 1 conclusion for me to reach: lemon ice cream! I knew that I also wanted it to be a cream cheese based ice cream as they tend to be my favorite and you don’t find them too frequently out here. (In Louisiana, that was a different story.) With this in mind I set out on a google search to show me ingredient ratios to make the perfect ice cream. Recipe after recipe that I looked at was filled with a huge number of eggs and cups of heavy cream! UGH! I was already going to be adding 8oz of cream cheese to my recipe so I really didn’t want all the excess cholesterol and fat included in all the recipes I was finding.

Fortunately I then remembered the King of Ice Cream, The Perfect Scoop Author, the fabulous David Lebovitz. After perusing his site for a while I came across this recipe for pistachio gelato where he uses milk and corn starch to form a pastry cream as the base of his gelato rather than a custard of eggs and heavy cream. Perfect!

It was exactly what I was looking for. With this technique in hand, I set out to make what turned out to be a deliciously refreshing, creamy, tart lemon ice cream… thanks to Nicole, Penny and David!

An Ice Cream Recipe, by Amanda

Lemon Cheesecake Ice Cream

1 1/2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
zest from 1 lemon
2 tbsp cornstarch
pinch of salt
2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/5 cups crumbled honey graham crackers, (large crumbles are good!)

In a small bowl, make a slurry using the corn starch and about 2-3 tbsp of the milk. Stir until corn starch has completely dissolved. Set aside.

Place the remainder of the milk, the sugar, the lemon zest and a pinch of salt into a saucepan and stir to combine. Place the sauce pan over medium-high heat. Allow the mixture to almost reach a boil, stirring frequently. Once the mixture has almost reached a boil, whisk in the corn starch slurry then reduce heat to a low simmer. Let the milk mixture simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened. Remove from heat and set aside to cool for at least 15 minutes at room temperature.

While the mixture is cooling, beat the cream cheese in a mixing bowl either using an electric mixer or by hand with a spatula until the cream cheese is creamy and easy to work with. Adding about 2-3 tbsp at a time, beat the lemon juice into the cream cheese until smooth. Once the 2-3 tbsp have been incorporated, repeat this process until all of the lemon juice has been fully mixed in.

Add the slightly cooled milk/cornstarch mixture to the lemon/cream cheese mixture. Stir until thoroughly combined. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 3 days until ready to churn.

Freeze the ice cream in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Once frozen, remove from ice cream machine and add the crumbled graham crackers. Using a wooden spoon or a spatula, stir until the graham crackers have been distributed throughout the ice cream. Serve the ice cream immediately or place into an air-tight container and place in the freezer. The ice cream is best consumed within 24 hours. (The longer it sits in the freezer the icier, and less desirable, it will get!) Enjoy!

Citrusy Squash & Kumquat Salad

Amanda — Fri, 29 May 2009 18:36:58 +0000

Ignore the meat. The salad is the star of this post!

We’re eating a shaved zucchini, yellow squash, kumquat and shallot salad dressed in an orange, lime & cumin vinaigrette. The cool, crisp shaved squash easily take on the refreshing flavors of the vinaigrette and the kumquats pull it all together with their bright citrusy flavor.

We thought this salad was so good that it deserved a post all of its own even if we did eat it with the succulent brined pork chops featured in the last post. I’m pretty sure that once the heat of the summer sinks and we’re too hot to cook, we’ll be eating a lot of this type of salad! What’s your favorite food to beat the heat?

A Salad Recipe, by Amanda

Citrusy Squash & Kumquat Salad

2 zucchini, thinly shaved slices
1 yellow squash, thinly shaved slices
5 kumquats, thinly shaved slices
1/2 shallot, peeled & thinly shaved
kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

For the dressing:
juice from 1/2 a ripe orange
juice from 1/2 a lime
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
1/8 cup canola oil

Add the shaved zucchini, yellow squash, shallot and kumquats into a mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl, prepare the dressing: Whisk together all ingredients for the dressing EXCEPT the oil. Continue whisking vigorously. While whisking slowly drizzle in the canola oil to form an emulsified vinaigrette.

Pour dressing over shaved veggies. Using clean hands carefully toss the salad, separating the thin slices and making sure all veggies are coated with dressing. Taste then adjust seasoning as desired with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes. Toss before serving to redistribute the dressing. Enjoy!

Nothin’ Beats Manda’s Meats

Amanda — Wed, 20 May 2009 15:51:07 +0000

Want a piece of our juicy meat? I know you do!

We are so ready for summer and our diet shows it! For the past couple of weeks we haven’t been able to get enough grilled food and summertime veggies. Tonight’s meal was no exception. We’re eating succulent grilled brined pork chops with a peppery brown sugar-cumin rub.

In my opinion, when working with a really thick pork chop, one of the best ways to impart flavor and keep the chops juicy is to let them sit in a brine for at least 1 day. The flavors in the brine work their way deep into the middle of meat and ensure that the pork chop will be both flavorful and incredibly moist to boot!

Do you see that gorgeous salad peeking it’s head out from behind the meat? It was the perfect compliment to the pork… but you’ll have to wait for our next post to find out more details (and the recipe)!

A Pork Chop Recipe, by Amanda

Grilled Brined Pork Chops

For the Brine:
6 cups water
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp kosher salt
3 tbsp brown sugar
4 cloves crushed garlic
1 tsp juniper berries
1 bay leaf
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 piece star anise

2-4 thick cut (about 1 1/2″) pork loin chops, bone-in preferably

For the rub: (double amount of rub if cooking 4 chops)
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
1/4 tsp kosher salt

Make the brine: Combine all ingredients for the brine into a pot. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30. Remove from heat. Allow brine to cool completely.

Once the brine has cooled completely, place the pork chops into a large contain with a lid. Using a mesh colander, strain the brine into the container with the pork chops. Make sure that the chops are completely submerged in the brine. Place lid on the container, then place container in fridge. Allow the chops to brine for at least 24 hours and no more than 48 hours.

Remove the chops from the brine and let drain on a rack.

Stir together all ingredients for the rub in a small bowl until mixed.

Prepare a grill to medium-high heat. While the grill is heating, evenly coat the pork chops with the rub. Place the chops onto a preheated grill. Grill for 3-4 minutes then rotate the chops a 1/4 turn (to create hatch marks), grill another 3-4 minutes. Flip the chops and repeat the process for another 6-8 minutes total or until the pork has reached the desired state of doneness. Remove from grill and let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Chipotle Glazed Meatloaf

Amanda — Sat, 09 May 2009 00:33:26 +0000

Itsa Spiiiicy Meata Loafa…

When I’m under the weather, very few things appeal to me more than some good ol’ comfort food. You know, the kind of indulgent food that you grew up eating that really warms the soul. Having been sick all last week and still in recovery mode this week, I decided that only meatloaf would make me feel better! My meatloaf was mixed with sauteed fennel, red peppers, onions & garlic and fresh herbs then topped with a spicy chipotle glaze then served with buttery mashed potatoes.

Growing up, my dad was always the cook in the family. My mom baked for Christmas and occasionally other holidays but never cooked. Let’s amend that - still never cooks. To this day, I believes she might use her oven as excess storage space rather than a cooking appliance and I would put money on there being canned goods in the cupboards that I purchased when I was in high school! The one savory dish that my mom would make throughout my childhood was her meatloaf, which I absolutely loved. It was just a basic ketchup topped, well-seasoned ground beef meatloaf, but my god, I loved it! (And loved the meatloaf sandwiches on white bread w/ yellow mustard that followed.) Now, while my version of meatloaf isn’t exactly what my mom used to make, I still think of her and her version whenever I go to make one. And yes, I still use a ketchup based topping!

This one’s for you mom! For always being there for us and providing for us whether we were under-the-weather or just under-your-skin, if not in the kitchen, then in every other aspect of our lives. We wouldn’t have grown up into the kickass people we are (imho) without you playing such a fundamental role in our lives! I love you!

(p.s. mom - if you actually read this, the next time we talk use the code phrase “Adrian Paul likes pretty pink puppies”)

A Meatloaf Recipe, by Amanda

Spicy Chipotle Glazed Meatloaf

For the loaf:
1 tbsp canola oil
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
1/2 bulb fennel, cored and finely diced
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/3 cup whole milk
1/3 cup fresh parsley, minced
1 tbsp fresh oregano, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 egg
2 tbsp pureed Chipotle in adobo
1/4 cup ketchup
3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp Montreal seasoning
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

For the topping:
3/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup pureed Chipotle in adobo (or less if you don’t like spicy food)
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place rack in upper 1/3 of oven.

Place a large saute pan over medium heat. Add canola oil to the pan and allow the oil and pan to preheat. Once the pan is hot (about 2-3 minutes), add the diced onions, fennel, and red pepper. Season with a pinch of kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Saute over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are completely translucent and fennel is soft. Remove from heat and allow veggies to cool slightly, 1-2 minutes.

While the veggies are cooling, prepare the topping. Add all ingredients for the topping into a small mixing bowl. Whisk to combine thoroughly.

Place the fresh bread crumbs into a large mixing bowl. Add whole milk and stir. Once the bread crumbs have absorbed all of the milk, add the sauteed veggies to the bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients for the loaf into the mixing bowl. Using your hands, thoroughly mix all of the ingredients into the ground beef.

Pour the mixture out onto a sheet pan. Form the meat into a long loaf about 3 to 4 inches tall and 4 to 5 inches wide. Once the loaf has taken shape, pour the topping down the center of the top of the loaf, lengthwise. Using the back of a spoon, evenly spread the mixture over the top allowing a small amount of the topping to slightly drizzle down the sides.

Place meatloaf into a preheated 350 degree oven on the rack in the upper 1/3. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes until the loaf has cooked through and the topping has begun to caramelize. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving. Enjoy!