Tomato Soup Comfort

Do you remember those Campbell's Soup commercials where the kid comes home from school and the mom puts out a warm bowl of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich?

It always looked so warm and tasty.

Unfortunately I have always hated tomato soup as it is no longer a fresh vibrant tomato, nor is it slow-cooked tomato sauce. It's something kind of sad in a middle stage.

However, on the afternoon after we got home from London there was little in the house, I'd only grabbed a few things from the store, and it was a cool and rainy night.

I decided to attempt some tomato-ish soup and grilled cheese.

I wanted that picture from the commercial!

I started with the usual suspects of diced onion/shallot and 2 cloves of garlic in a bit of olive oil. I then added 2 carrots that I had peeled and diced. Once those had started to soften I added a pint of sliced grape tomatoes, because that was what I had grabbed at the store, and a few cups of chicken stock.

Add a pinch of dried thyme, some salt, and a bay leaf.

Simmer.

After about 20 minutes I removed the bay leaf and puréed the soup with an immersion blender.

Popped the bay leaf back in and left the soup on low heat to give it more time to combine flavors.

I happen to love having muenster cheese in my deli drawer. It's great melted over corn chips for nachos and makes nice, gooey grilled cheese sandwiches seasoned with a pinch of garlic salt.

Tip: butter the bread instead of just melting it in the pan and everything will come out evenly.

Instead of adding cream to the whole batch of soup, I just put a dollop in each serving. That means that the leftovers will freeze nicely, as dairy doesn't always freeze well in soups (it tends to separate.)

If you wanted to get really decadent, use a spoonful of mascarpone cheese instead of cream.

Happily for my arteries, I was lacking in that much decadence at the moment.

Still it was a fairly tasty meal, and very satisfying.

And while I have not come close to perfecting my recipe for tomato soup, I'm guessing this tasted a damn sight better than anything out of a can!

Poached Egg Over Quinoa

I ate way too much grilled meat this weekend, as I'm sure many others did as well.

It's time to lighten up and get some healthy food back in my system.

Unfortunately, that much grilled meat also makes me feel rather sluggish, so combining that with the 90º heat makes me a very lazy cook.

Luckily lazy does not have to mean bland.

I took leftover quinoa (I always make extra as it keeps well in the fridge for quite a few days) and placed it in a ramekin (or bowl) with a bit of grated pecorino, some crumbled goat cheese that was like a smoother ricotta salata, and some chopped basil.

Mix well and form in a patty.

I did not bother to fry this in any way. It's just room-temperature quinoa with cheese and basil.

Simplicity works sometimes.

Next step: poach an egg, 2-3 minutes in almost-boiling water.

Place poached egg on top of quinoa.

Sprinkle with salt and more grated pecorino.

Allow warm runny yolk to ooze.

Yum.

A schmancy-ish and filling breakfast for sure, and done in about 5 minutes.

Sun-Dried Elbows

Super simple summer pasta?

Done.

Fresh mozzarella, marinated/rehydrated sun-dried tomatoes, fresh basil, and pasta.

Oh, and salt to season.

That's all you really need.

Dice.

Cook pasta.

Red.

If you're feeling decadent, throw a knob of butter on the hot drained pasta along with the sun-dried tomatoes.

Combine all ingredients in the still-hot pot, making an homage to the Italian flag while the mozzarella begins to soften and stretch.

Serve.

Yum.

Mushroom Mac n' Cheese Cups

6 boxes of elbow macaroni later...

Mushrooms, both baby bellas and porcini, sautéed in butter and sherry with dried thyme.

Lots and lots of rounds of cupcake pans and muffin cups.

Note: environmentally friendly muffin cups to not stand up well to moisture buildup or reheating...

Whoops.

For the actual mixture I used 1/2 cup of butter, 2/3 cup of flour to make the roux. Then add 6 cups of milk and stir until thickening.

Add 3 cups of your favorite cheese. I used a mixture of sharp cheddar and gruyere.

Season with salt and pepper to taste, add 1 TBSP of truffle oil, and add cooked pasta (about 2 boxes).

Toss in the mushrooms and stir to encorporate.

If you're lucky, you'll have a friend to help you ladle out each portion of mac n' cheese into the muffin cups. Then bake them at 350º for 15-20 minutes.

If you have the patience, add a smidge of butter and bread crumbs on top of each cup before baking to create more of a crust.

Repeat the process three more times if you're feeding over 100 people...

I could easily have gone a much fancier route with this mac and cheese,  maybe combining goat cheese and herbed alouette for a more grown-up palate, but fancy cheese costs a lot more than standard sharp cheddar, so I just used the mushrooms and truffle oil to step it up a bit.

But it was tasty!

Slow Roasted Caprese Skewers

This is incredibly straight-forward, but also usually a hit at parties.

All you really need is patience.

The only way these would be easier to make would be if you used the tomatoes whole and raw, in which case I would have just called these Caprese Skewers.

Unfortunately for me, the only tomatoes I could find in late May were still largely an under-ripe orange color and not very sweet. To combat this I sliced them all in half, spread them out on a sheet tray, sprinkled them lightly with both salt and sugar, drizzled them with olive oil, and then slow-roasted them at 200º (F) for two hours.

The resulting tomatoes will be sweeter and have a richer flavor, akin to sun-dried tomatoes, but still a bit juicy. Then it's just an assembly line of tomato half, bocconcini mozzarella (which I marinated overnight in good olive oil, salt, dried oregano, and some leftover oil from my marinated sun-dried tomatoes, but plain would be delicious as well) a torn piece of basil, and capped with the other half of tomato.

Super simple bites that are tasty at room temperature.

Note: you do not want to make these more than 24 hrs ahead of time, especially if you are using fresh tomatoes. The mozzarella needs to be refrigerated before serving, but if raw tomatoes spend too much time in a refrigerator they become mealy and unpleasant to eat. If you are roasting the tomatoes as I did here, refrigerating overnight should be fine.

Just don't serve the skewers cold from the fridge.

Sage & Pecorino Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

More experimentation, inspired by what's on hand and what might only have another day or two of a shelf life.
And it worked!!

I feel as though all I ever cook (and so all I really write about on here) are dishes consisting of chicken breasts or pork tenderloins. Again, because they are both affordable and healthy lean proteins, and also because they ensure that I can make dinner in under half an hour most nights.
The only problem is redundancy of meals!

So this time 'round I had fresh rosemary, some sage that was on its last legs, and as always I had pecorino cheese. So, I decided to stuff my tenderloin instead!

I made a slice straight through the center, but refuse to hammer out the meat. Yes, if you do so, you could get more of a roll going, but that isn't the point. I like my meat PLUMP and juicy, and when you beat chicken or pork into a cutlet or schnitzel-ready, you just destroy the meat.

At least that's my opinion.

Since this was only a .85lb tenderloin, I only used 1/4 of a sprig of fresh rosemary, finely chopped, and about 6 sage leaves, also finely chopped. However much fresh herbage that creates, add an equal amount of grated cheese. Sprinkle that down the center of your tenderloin pocket and roll shut.

Use a little butcher's or kitchen twine to make sure your tenderloin stays closed and your filling stays inside.

Season all over with salt, and add it to a hot pan to brown.

Brown all sides and throw into a 425 degree oven for 7-10 minutes (for a tenderloin as small as this one I only needed 7 minutes.)

Remove to a plate to rest and start the gravy.

To the oil and drippings in the pan I added 1 small shallot, diced, 1 clove of minced garlic, and a bit of salt. Once that has softened I add a little flour and stir to incorporate it well, and then throw in more diced sage. Maybe another 5 leaves worth.

(Remember, this was just to feed 2 people.)

Add equal parts chicken stock and white wine and reduce.

That pork looks a bit pinker than it did in real life, but it was tender and delicious. The sage was aromatic, the cheese had a bit of bite that worked surprisingly well with the pork, and the small bit of rosemary made the whole dish feel earthy and pulled together.

(You could go with just one or the other herb. I happened to have both, so used both.)

The hubs approved and it will definitely be a new addition to the dinner rotation!

Spinach & Artichoke Pasta

Really?
Only one reader liked my 3-day red wine-braised short ribs with porcini and tomato dinner?
That's just... well that's sad really. On a number of levels.
I'll stop shaking my head in disbelief long enough to post another meal, albeit a slightly clichéd one.

I have probably had the same package of frozen artichoke hearts for the past year, JUST IN CASE I ever wanted to make Spinach & Artichoke dip.

Finally, it all worked out.

I was without a protein to make for dinner and scrounging around, finding little in the way of fresh ingredients that would make an inspiring meal, when my brain clicked. I had just registered that I had fresh ricotta cheese and half & half, and I knew I could finally make S&A dip, only I would serve it over pasta so it would be dinner.

Step one: set water to boil and defrost artichokes and spinach

Step two: sauté one medium onion, chopped, in olive oil. Add 3 cloves of grated garlic (allowing 30 seconds to cook out and become fragrant) and toss in 1 package of defrosted artichoke hearts. 

Once the artichokes have warmed through, add in the defrosted (and well-drained) package of spinach and season with salt.

(Optional addition here of 1/4 cup of white wine to simmer and reduce down to almost nothing except flavor.)

Once those have picked up some of the onion-garlic flavor, it's time for the CHEESE!!!

 I used about 7 ounces of fresh whole milk ricotta.

Thin out the cheese into a sauce with any of the following:

chicken stock, half & half, pasta water

Use a little at a time until you reach your desired consistency.

Then, MORE CHEESE!!!

This time about 1/3 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano.

Stir to combine.

If you like nutmeg, this would be a good time to grate a few wafts of nutmeg into the mix.

I like to add the juice of about half a lemon because I think it really brightens what could otherwise be a really heavy, creamy mess.

Check your seasoning and drain the pasta 1 minute shy of the box's directions, reserving a bit of pasta water in case you still want to thin out your sauce. Add pasta to the pan and stir well to combine.

I topped mine with a little more parmigiano reggiano and a little lemon zest.

It's a bit heavy, but it's a delicious indulgence and packed with vegetables.

So long as you keep your portions small ;)

Sunday Food Porn

Some of you out there may have gone to your usual establishments of worship on this warm and advancingly muggy day. (Come on thunderstorms!)
 I am lucky in that I do not need to wake up and shower, dress, or even leave the house in order to worship, because my place of worship is my kitchen.
And when the weather is this warm, actually turning on the stove is not on the top of my to-do list.
Instead, I worship the following:

That, my friends, is fresh burrata. 

Really good fresh burrata.

No thick casing here with a few sloppy curds inside. Only the thinnest skin of fresh mozzarella restrains the gooey guts of this brilliant concoction. Served best, in my opinion, with just a light drizzle of your best fruity olive oil, and a small pinch of salt. 

And a fork, because sometimes the cheese doesn't make it as far as the bread before hitting my taste buds.

Flown in directly from Italy, arriving at 6AM, and going straight to the purveyor of deliciousness on W 74th Street, where I happily hand over money in exchange for cheesy goodness.

I also take home some of their freshly made focaccia, as I believe it is some of the best in NYC, full of olive oil and salt so that you must lick your fingers repeatedly so as not to waste the goodness.

Now for the money shot.

Beautiful.

If I do say so myself.

And I do.

And then I eat the whole thing.

Too Darned Hot

How does that old rhyme go? "April showers bring May flowers"?

Not today.
Today, April 7th, 2010, the temperature hit 90º in NYC. That is ABSURD!!! And also, in my book, unpleasantly hot. So while running my afternoon errands I decided to treat myself to a delicious lunch that required no cooking.
Unfortunately I was foiled in my attempt because apparently Salumeria Rosi changed their delivery schedules, and now they receive their fresh burrata on Thursdays instead of Wednesdays.
Damn.
Not to be too disappointed, I still purchased their fresh focaccia (truly, some of the best in the world. Definitely in NYC.) and some freshly carved prosciutto.

You know the focaccia is good just by seeing how the olive oil has already soaked into the paper it was wrapped in. It only took me 15 minutes to get home, and already the bottom of the paper was slick.

In case you have never had freshly sliced prosciutto, it is much more velvety and chewy than anything you buy pre-packaged from a store. Delicious.

Now, since I could not have my perfect meal, which would include the fresh burrata with a fruity olive oil and salt, I decided to try to make a substitute creamy cheese spread. I still had some mascarpone cheese in the fridge, as well as some fresh ricotta, so I decided to make a spin on my Creamy Orzo sauce.

Since I was sticking to my rule of not cooking for this meal, I had to try to create this sauce without heating any garlic or oil, or reducing anything. This does not create as fabulous a sauce. But it was still fresh and creamy and bright.

First I combined a spoonful of mascarpone (right) with about 2 spoonfuls of fresh ricotta. I added the zest of half a lemon, and some kosher salt. (I also dropped about a teaspoon of white wine in it just for fun.)

Stirring all of that together, I added some chopped fresh thyme, and called it done.
As I said, it was not as fabulous as the full-on sauce I made for the orzo and peas, but it was a nice accompaniment for the salty, chewy prosciutto and the airy, oil-rich focaccia.

If the roof to my building were open now, I would be eating this up there and drinking a glass of pineapple sparkling wine that I brought back from Maui a year ago.
Pineapple wine?
What?
It's real. Last year my in-laws invited us to Maui and we drove up the side of the volcano to a vineyard that made regular wine as well as blends with passion fruit, mango, and this pineapple sparkling wine that I just loved. And unfortunately, their website does not ship to NJ or NY, so I can only get it if I'm actually IN Hawaii.
(Unless someone who loves me in Oregon wants to ship a bottle or two along on their own...)
Pineapple wine is not something you can drink a lot of. Or at least not something that I can drink a lot of in one sitting. But it is incredibly refreshing on a 90 degree Summer day... even if it happens to be April.