D is a simple man. He likes what he likes, dislikes what he doesn't, and has clear lines drawn between the two. He isn't overly excitable and he hardly ever gets mad. He wants very little, and what he does want, he gets. I love him for these qualities, but it sure does make his birthday tough :)
Speaking of birthdays, he recently celebrated his 25th. Between his job being crazy, the new house, life, etc we were pretty busy, but I made sure I had time to make him his birthday meal. Its the same every year - baked ziti for dinner, dirt dessert after. The key to a good baked ziti is a good sauce and this year I was able to make the sauce using tomatoes and herbs from our garden! Needless to say, it tasted better than last year.
Baked Ziti
My momma's recipe
For the sauce:
1 onion
3 celery stalks
2 carrots
1 tbsp garlic
a whole bunch of tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
red wine
salt and pepper
oregano
basil
1 lb ground beef, cooked
turkey sausage, to taste, cooked
Chop the aromatics and saute in olive oil in a large pot - I used my dutch oven. When the carrots are starting to soften add garlic and half of the chopped tomatoes. Cook until carrots are soft and tomatoes are bursting.
Remove from heat. Let cool, then puree in blender. Return the puree to low heat and add tomato paste, wine, and water as needed to get to a saucy consistency. Add remaining chopped tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper, and herbs; add meats. Let simmer for as long as possible to let flavors meld.
For the ziti:
2 boxes ziti, cooked
Parmesan Cheese
Mozzarella Cheese
Combine cooked ziti and sauce in a large, oven safe pan. Stir in a few handfuls of cheese. Top with extra sauce and extra cheese. Bake until pasta is warm throughout, and cheese is melty and bubbly. Serve.
September 28, 2010
September 22, 2010
Chocolate Ice Cream with Peanut Butter Swirl
I came home from work after a long, long day and was seriously not in the mood for dinner. I ate some refried beans - you know, for the nutritional value - and whipped up some of this ice cream. I can say with 100% confidence that it was a very, very good decision.
Double Chocolate Ice Cream with Peanut Butter Swirl
Adapted from here
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup smooth salted peanut butter
In a sauce pan over medium heat, stir together cream, milk, sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Heat until the milk and boil until thickened. The mixture will look the consistency of chocolate pudding. Remove from flame and stir in the the chocolate chips.
Place mix in a bowl, covered with plastic wrap or a lid, and put in the fridge until cool.
Once cool, follow the manufacturers instructions on the ice cream maker to churn ice cream. Once the mixture has chilled and thickened in the ice cream maker, slowly drizzle in 1/4 cup of peanut butter. Don’t over mix. You want a nice ribbon of peanut butter running through the ice cream.
Transfer the ice cream into a freezer safe container and fold in the remaining 1/4 cup of peanut butter. Cover and freeze until solid.
Double Chocolate Ice Cream with Peanut Butter Swirl
Adapted from here
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup smooth salted peanut butter
In a sauce pan over medium heat, stir together cream, milk, sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Heat until the milk and boil until thickened. The mixture will look the consistency of chocolate pudding. Remove from flame and stir in the the chocolate chips.
Place mix in a bowl, covered with plastic wrap or a lid, and put in the fridge until cool.
Once cool, follow the manufacturers instructions on the ice cream maker to churn ice cream. Once the mixture has chilled and thickened in the ice cream maker, slowly drizzle in 1/4 cup of peanut butter. Don’t over mix. You want a nice ribbon of peanut butter running through the ice cream.
Transfer the ice cream into a freezer safe container and fold in the remaining 1/4 cup of peanut butter. Cover and freeze until solid.
September 16, 2010
Pizza Sauce
I've talked about my adoration for pizza, and my ongoing project to recreate the perfect Brooklyn pie. I've discussed dough and oven and things like that, but one thing I hadn't delved into, either on this blog or in my life, was pizza sauce. The Mister had been bugging me for a while to make my own sauce and I finally gave in tonight. I'm really glad I did because in the world of pizza making, this is the simplest part of pizza to tackle and it really made a big difference.
When researching sauces I found that traditional Neopolitan pizzas (which are most like the ones you can find in New York City) are generally made with sauces that are not cooked prior to going in the oven. This proved to be an easy way to wade through the millions of sauce recipes available on the web. I ended up combining a few recipes to come up with something that sounded tasty, was easy to make, and used only things I had on hand. It came out really well and truly made a difference in the overall taste.
Pizza Sauce
1 can tomato paste
1 can tomato sauce
dash paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp italian seasoning
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tbsp olive oil
Whisk together all ingredients. Let sit for 1 hour before using to allow flavors to meld. Enjoy!
When researching sauces I found that traditional Neopolitan pizzas (which are most like the ones you can find in New York City) are generally made with sauces that are not cooked prior to going in the oven. This proved to be an easy way to wade through the millions of sauce recipes available on the web. I ended up combining a few recipes to come up with something that sounded tasty, was easy to make, and used only things I had on hand. It came out really well and truly made a difference in the overall taste.
Pizza Sauce
1 can tomato paste
1 can tomato sauce
dash paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp italian seasoning
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tbsp olive oil
Whisk together all ingredients. Let sit for 1 hour before using to allow flavors to meld. Enjoy!
September 12, 2010
Dulce de Leche Brownies
Despite my best efforts to get rid of any leftovers, I still had dulce de leche around the house. The situation was getting desperate - something had to be done to get that gooey, caramelly goodness out of my fridge. Luckily, I had this recipe in my pile of things-just-begging-to-be-made and a bunch of hungry coworkers to enjoy them.
Dulce de Leche Brownies
8 tbsp unsalted butter
6 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 cup dulce de leche
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch square pan with aluminum foil to cover the bottom and the sides of the pan. Grease the bottom and sides of the foil.
Melt the butter and the chocolate over low heat in a medium saucepan. Once melted, remove from heat and whisk in cocoa powder until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, then stir in the sugar, vanilla, and flour.
Scoop only half of the batter into the prepared pan. Then drop one-third of the dulce de leche over the brownie batter and drag a knife through to swirl it slightly. Repeat with remaining batter and dulce de leche.
Bake for 35 minutes, or until center is just set.
September 9, 2010
Challah for Rosh Hashanah
Challah has been on my to-make list for a long while. When the Mister and I started dating he introduced me to challah french toast and I've been hooked ever since. Because he is not particularly observant we usually only have a loaf around the holidays, and my yummy french toast is a special occasion treat.
Last year at this time I worked in an area with a large Jewish population. There was a bakery that I had heard good things about, so I decided to get our holiday loaves there. The day before Rosh Hashanah I stopped by on my lunch break and found a line out the door and around the corner - there was no way I was going to get back to work on time. Luckily, a patient of ours recognized my scrubs and not only let me cut ahead of her in line, but also bought me two loaves of bread!
This year, both to cross an item off my list AND to avoid that line, I decided to make my own challah. I roughly followed a recipe from The Complete American Jewish Cookbook, which has been my lifesaver as the main cook in a half-Jewish household. One change I did make was to add raisins, and I didn't braid the loaf as is tradition at Rosh Hashanah.
The loaf came out very pretty. It was really fun to make and even more fun to cut into and enjoy as a part of our Rosh Hashanah celebration. (PS - Challah + honey = yum) I'm really excited to make it again, and to try braiding.
Shana Tovah!
Challah
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup hot milk
3/4 tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water
2 eggs, 1 yolk reserved
3 cups flour
1 cup raisins
Melt the butter in the milk. Pour into a large mixing bowl. Add sugar and salt and let cool to lukewarm.
Meanwhile, dissolve the yeast in the water. Let stand until yeast has activated. Mix in 1 full egg and 1 white, then pour into milk mixture and mix well.
Slowly pour in flour, mixing well. Knead until smooth and elastic (I used my mixer; the book says it should take about 5 minutes). Place dough in a large greased bowl and cover with a cloth. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.
After the rise, punch the dough down. Flatten into a rectangular shape and pour raisins down the center. Fold top of dough over and pinch edges shut.
Roll the dough into a long rope. Coil the rope into a 9" cake pan or pie pan. Cover and let rise for 1 hour, until puffy and full.
Whisk the reserved egg yolk with 1 tbsp cold water. Using a pastry brush, lightly cover the dough with the egg wash.
Bake at 375 for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Tent with aluminum foil if loaf becomes too brown.
Last year at this time I worked in an area with a large Jewish population. There was a bakery that I had heard good things about, so I decided to get our holiday loaves there. The day before Rosh Hashanah I stopped by on my lunch break and found a line out the door and around the corner - there was no way I was going to get back to work on time. Luckily, a patient of ours recognized my scrubs and not only let me cut ahead of her in line, but also bought me two loaves of bread!
This year, both to cross an item off my list AND to avoid that line, I decided to make my own challah. I roughly followed a recipe from The Complete American Jewish Cookbook, which has been my lifesaver as the main cook in a half-Jewish household. One change I did make was to add raisins, and I didn't braid the loaf as is tradition at Rosh Hashanah.
The loaf came out very pretty. It was really fun to make and even more fun to cut into and enjoy as a part of our Rosh Hashanah celebration. (PS - Challah + honey = yum) I'm really excited to make it again, and to try braiding.
Shana Tovah!
Challah
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup hot milk
3/4 tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water
2 eggs, 1 yolk reserved
3 cups flour
1 cup raisins
Melt the butter in the milk. Pour into a large mixing bowl. Add sugar and salt and let cool to lukewarm.
Meanwhile, dissolve the yeast in the water. Let stand until yeast has activated. Mix in 1 full egg and 1 white, then pour into milk mixture and mix well.
Slowly pour in flour, mixing well. Knead until smooth and elastic (I used my mixer; the book says it should take about 5 minutes). Place dough in a large greased bowl and cover with a cloth. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.
After the rise, punch the dough down. Flatten into a rectangular shape and pour raisins down the center. Fold top of dough over and pinch edges shut.
Roll the dough into a long rope. Coil the rope into a 9" cake pan or pie pan. Cover and let rise for 1 hour, until puffy and full.
Whisk the reserved egg yolk with 1 tbsp cold water. Using a pastry brush, lightly cover the dough with the egg wash.
Bake at 375 for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Tent with aluminum foil if loaf becomes too brown.
September 5, 2010
Apricot Cherry Clafoutis
A few weeks ago a patient brought in some apricots from his tree. He brought several large bags, and any of the staff who wanted some had more apricots than they knew what to do with, including me. After a quick search on the internet (and a trip to the store for some cherries) I knew exactly what I would be making: clafoutis.
I'd had my eye on clafoutis recipes since this time last summer, when cherries were in season. I never did get around to making it last year, mostly because I ate all the cherries on their own before I had a chance to. By using apricots and cherries I had plenty of fruit for the clafoutis, and could still snack on cherries to my stomach's content.
Apricot Cherry Clafoutis
Adapted from here
6 large or 8 small fresh apricots, pitted and cut into chunks
1 cup fresh cherries, pitted
1 1/4 cups milk (low-fat or whole)
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup flour
1/8 tsp salt
Powdered sugar for serving
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a pie plate with cooking spray and put the apricots and cherries into the pie plate.
Whisk together the milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla extract and almond extract. Add the flour and salt and whisk until smooth. Pour the batter over the fruit and slip the dish into the hot oven.
Bake the clafoutis 45 minutes or until it is lightly browned around the edges and the custard is set - it will still be somewhat jiggly, but it should no longer be liquid in the center. Remove the pan from the oven and let the clafoutis cool to room temperature. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
I'd had my eye on clafoutis recipes since this time last summer, when cherries were in season. I never did get around to making it last year, mostly because I ate all the cherries on their own before I had a chance to. By using apricots and cherries I had plenty of fruit for the clafoutis, and could still snack on cherries to my stomach's content.
Apricot Cherry Clafoutis
Adapted from here
6 large or 8 small fresh apricots, pitted and cut into chunks
1 cup fresh cherries, pitted
1 1/4 cups milk (low-fat or whole)
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup flour
1/8 tsp salt
Powdered sugar for serving
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a pie plate with cooking spray and put the apricots and cherries into the pie plate.
Whisk together the milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla extract and almond extract. Add the flour and salt and whisk until smooth. Pour the batter over the fruit and slip the dish into the hot oven.
Bake the clafoutis 45 minutes or until it is lightly browned around the edges and the custard is set - it will still be somewhat jiggly, but it should no longer be liquid in the center. Remove the pan from the oven and let the clafoutis cool to room temperature. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
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