Puff, Puff, Pass

Hello, yes it's me. Miss Bad Blogger. The holidays can go either way really. Some years I have next to nothing going on so I'm blogging away about this and that and other years I'm so busy that I'll be walking down the street thinking some random thought and taking a mental note to blog it later and then I'm distracted by whatever bakery I pass or some odd smell (pine, good. homeless, bad). This holiday is busy. I know I said I wasn't going to use that word… so let me rephrase. This holiday has been hectic. You already know I'm moving, work is full throttle until break, I have 3 freelance projects going at once (not complaining, I love you freelance clients. You rock my world!) and I'm trying to find the energy to begin running again and possibly pick boxing back up.

In the midst of everything I've been cooking and baking lots. So much that I haven't been able to post any of the recipes. I hope that someone out there takes a chance and cooks something I post because they really are tried and true. Either way, it's nice to bookmark recipes so that I can go back to them from time to time. I just sat down after prepping tonight's dinner for Chris and I. The menu is comprised of roasted brussel sprouts, garlic and rosemary potatoes and lemon chicken. After dicing and chopping and having everything ready to boil, brown and bake I sat down to work on freelance and thought… one quick post. 

A month or so ago I picked up November's issue of Bon Appetite and tried to cook my way through it. I think the favorite dish was the spinach puffs. I made these during hurricane Sandy. My supermarket was surprisingly stocked and I was itching for some sort of a project. I set to these puffs and ate the entire pan myself. Not in one day though, I'm not that disgusting. They are delicious and like most things I post, easy. I would suggest whipping these up for a dinner party because they taste very impressive and require minimal ingredients. My only recommendation is that you use a mini muffin pan. These are a bit big so I think if I were to serve them to guests, I'd make them more bite size and easy to eat. I was unable to purchase the frozen puff pastry so I made crust and rolled it thinly to line the pan. I also used fresh spinach where the recipe called for frozen. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 cup chopped fresh spinach

1/2 cup crumbled feta

1/4 cup minced onion

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon chopped dill

1 teaspoon minced garlic

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 large eggs

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (from a 17.3-ounce package), thawed, rolled out to a 12-inch square, kept chilled (or sub homemade crust, just scroll down some here)

Chop up your spinach and mix with next 5 ingredients in a medium bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. In a separate small bowl, beat 1 egg to blend; fold into spinach mixture. 

Cut puff pastry into 3 equal strips. Reserve 1 strip for another use. Cut each remaining strip into 3 squares for a total of 6. Place a square in each muffin cup, pressing into bottom and up sides and leaving corners pointing up. Divide filling among cups. Fold pastry over filling, pressing corners together to meet in center. If you make your crust just be sure to roll it to about 1/4" thin.

Preheat oven to 400°. Beat remaining egg to blend in a small bowl. Brush pastry with egg wash (this will give the pastry a nice sheen). Bake until pastry is golden brown and puffed, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let puffs cool in pan for 10 minutes. Run a sharp paring knife around pan edges to loosen; turn out puffs onto rack to cool slightly before serving.

original recipe bon appetite magazine

quiche me

I have a confession. While I've been fully moved out of my parents house for 7 years, it wasn't until roughly the last summer that I've taking an interest in actually cooking for myself. I am a living example that one can live on eggs, toast, waffles and soup. It wasn't that I couldn't cook but cooking for one always seemed a bit dramatic. City living doesn't make it any easier either. I walk past 10+ delicious restaurants on my way to the market, then have to lug everything I bought back home and then use my barbie-sized kitchen to prepare a meal that may or may not turn out the way the picture looked online. My daily routine consisted of working late, running a few miles and then satisfying my hunger with whatever took the least amount of time. I always felt cranky, tired and suffered from sweeps of anxiety. Something had to change.

Change one, new apartment and neighborhood. Suddenly there were markets all around me that didn't charge $10.00 for mustard. Change two, a new job. 40 hour weeks rather than 50-60 hours. Change three, I got really sick of eggs, toast, waffles and soup. I also watched a lot of Top Chef at my first apartment in Hoboken. I'm not sure why exactly but eventually all those episodes sparked something in me. A commitment to a healthy mind and body, I began to cook. 

I started small. Basic chicken, seafood and dips. Guacamole became a staple in my world last summer. I didn't cook for anyone but myself. I would think back to Top Chef were the challenge was to whip up a 5 star meal in 15 minutes. Well I had 2 hours and aimed at about 3 stars, how hard could it be? I learned to cut recipes down to simple fresh ingredients. What the staples were in whatever I was preparing and what might improve the meal depending on fresh produce or what I was craving. I often pretended that I was hosting my own cooking show to an invisible 20 something crowd. A very casual, "I was just like you once, didn't know a mince from a chop but look at me now," cue severely professional knife skills.  

You've (whoever you are that reads my random internet thoughts) probably caught on to the more food related posts within the last year. More recently I've started cooking not just for myself but for my boyfriend. Prep work is my favorite. Happily dicing up onions while mascara tears stream down my face or pulling basil leaves apart and measuring flour, sugar, etc. Thinking about the day, putting worries to rest, focusing on the equation of ingredients rather than what needs to be completed at the office. More than anything an importance on slowing down. Why rush the process? There is no race against the clock. Sip water, breathe in, smell lemon and garlic, warm up the oil, warm up the oven. My most recent work is quiche. Inspired by a quiche my good friend Erin used to make at my first job and by a more recent bite at The Blue Stove in Williamsburg. The recipe below and for anyone who has never made crust, this crust is very simple and easy. I was sure that this would be the crust that ruined my cooking run but alas, perfectly golden. Enjoy.

crust

1 1/4 cups of flour

1/2 cup butter, chilled and diced

 1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup ice water

Combine flour and salt in a bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles crumbs. Stir in water, a tablespoon at a time, until mixture forms a ball. Refrigerate while you prep the filling. Roll dough out to fit a 9 inch pie plate. Place crust in pie plate. Press the dough evenly into the bottom and sides of the pie plate.

filling

6 large eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

salt and pepper

2 cups chopped fresh baby spinach, packed

1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine the eggs, cream, salt, and pepper in a bowl and whisk together. Layer the spinach and cheese in the bottom of the pie crust. Add bacon to the the egg mixture then pour on top of cheese and spinach. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until the egg mixture is set.

original recipes for quiche and crust

cool off

Maybe I'm a bit behind this trend but I figure if I am, some of you might be too. A recent favorite spot The Smile serves up basil lemonade daily. It's become an obsession of mine recently and since the restaurant is too far from my apartment, I had a moment of genius/realization that I can make my own. While watering the garden at my guy's place yesterday it hit me that all the basil growing, combine with the lemonade in the fridge would be the cherry on top of the beautiful midweek holiday. There isn't much to this drink but for some reason it makes me completely content within a few seconds. Add in sitting in the sun, a bit of music and a book and I was in heaven. Hard to believe it was a Wednesday. I'm starting to think that maybe every Wednesday should just be a holiday. While I'm back at my desk today, I'm looking forward to a full weekend of basil lemonade. 

Side note, just found this list and I'm planning to try some of them out!

say cheese

  I feel that I am not alone when I say some days I miss the comforts of home. One of the ways I bring that comfort to my small upper west side apartment is by cooking. I wasn't always comfortable in the kitchen. My cooking skills didn't go past french toast and grilled cheese. But it's true that practice makes perfect and the latest experiment of mine has been homemade macaroni and cheese. Following one of my favorite blogs, I came across this recipe. I thought it was a perfect way to wrap up a long day and make up some time in the kitchen. While I was making this for a special dinner guest, I wish he had been there to help. There were many things happening at once and it would have been good to have another set of hands to grate cheese and check the boiling pasta and milk. Either way I believe it turned out well. Next time I would like to make more of the béchamel sauce for a cheesier dish. Make sure you are paying attention when constructing this masterpiece because if you over cook your pasta, burn your milk or get too carried away with the béchamel, you'll have to start over. Recipe below and enjoy!

delish mac-n-cheese

Ingredients
1 lb pasta (your noodle of choice)
1 1/2 cups pancetta
2 cups béchamel (see recipe below)
1  1/2 cups cheese (I used a 1/2 cup of each - grated Asiago cheese, smoked gouda and cheddar)
1/2 cup of panko crumbs

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease 2-quart casserole dish. I used a bread pan for a smaller batch. Cook pasta according to directions but al dente (do not overcook!). Drain pasta and set aside. Prepare meat by dicing pancetta into tiny cubes; then sauté in a separate pan until slightly crispy.

Make a medium thick béchamel sauce (see separate recipe below). Gradually add the three cheeses to the béchamel, stirring until melted. Stir in the cooked pancetta. Stir the (cheesy-pancetta-béchamel) mixture into the cooked pasta. Pour the (pasta and cheesy-pancetta-Béchamel) mixture into the casserole dish.

Sprinkle the Panko crumbs on top of the pasta mixture. Cook in the oven, uncovered, for 25 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe for béchamel:
2 cups milk
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Put the milk in a saucepan,turn on the heat to medium low, and bring the milk just to the verge of boiling.

While heating the milk, put the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and turn the heat to low. When the butter has melted completely, add all the flour, stirring it in with a wooden spoon. Cook, while stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes. Do not allow the flour to become colored. Remove from heat.

Add the hot milk to the flour-and-butter mixture, no more than 2 tablespoons of milk at a time. This seems a bit excessive but makes all the difference. Take your time for a perfect sauce. Stir steadily and thoroughly. As soon as the first 2 tablespoons of milk have been incorporated into the mixture, add 2 more and continue to stir. Repeat this procedure until you have added 1/3 cup milk; you can now put in the rest of the milk 1/2 cup at a time; stirring constantly, until all the milk has been smoothly combined with the flour and butter.

Place the pan over low heat, add the salt, and cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce is as dense as thick cream.

do the macaroni

Perfect for a cool day or just a day where you need some comfort in the form of food. This simple recipe was easy, quick and delish. We haven't had the coldest winter (thus far anyway) but that's no reason to not enjoy winter-like food. Enjoy.

cheesy baked pasta with spinach and artichokes
real simple magazine, april 2012

serves 4

8 ounces mezzi rigatoni or some other short pasta (1/2 box)
1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, rinsed and quartered
1 9-ounce package of frozen creamed spinach, thawed
1/4 cup grated parmesan (1 ounce)
2 cups grated mozzarella (8 ounces)
black pepper and salt to taste

Cook the pasta according to the package directions, drain and set in broiler proof baking dish. Add in the artichoke hearts, spinach, parmesan, half the mozzarella, pepper and salt. Toss to combine. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella on top. Broil until the cheese is browned in spots, 2-3 minutes.

lavender longing

Whenever I see a familiar scent listed as a food item on a menu I am always intrigued. For example, lavender. This strong, cozy scent is a favorite of mine that reminds me of home. While out to dinner this weekend at the legendary 21 Club in Manhattan, I ordered a Lavender-lime rickey which was simply listed as a combination of Tanqueray, fresh lime and lavender syrup. I've had food before that's been infused with lavender but never anything so strong. I highly recommend visiting the restaurant if you're visiting or live in the city. The "rickey" would be a perfect drink to serve with brunch.

fast food

I'm a big fan of easy, fast dinners. I never feel like cooking anything when get home from work and the gym at the end of the day. I am constantly looking for recipes that are quick, delish and can be made with only a few main ingredients (I loath grocery shopping!). Here's one below that I made up as I went that took 20 minutes and tasted amazing!

Day before: Marinate your chicken breast over night with just a few ingredients listed below. I just put mine in a zip bag, nothing fancy!
-Fresh basil leaves
-Montreal chicken seasoning
-Virgin olive oil
Day of: Set your pasta to boil and put your chicken in the oven at 350 degrees. Depending on how thick it is, cooking time may vary. Add more seasoning if preferred. Whisk together butter, freshly chopped garlic, pepper, pinch of salt and minced basil leaves. Once your chicken is done chop up and put it into pasta and pour butter sauce over. Enjoy!