week of carbs!!

I think I ate WAYYYYY too many carbs this week.  But it was all delicious!  

Kevin came over last Thursday and I made this super easy dinner from The Best of Fine Cooking Weeknight Dinner cookbook that my friend from work had sent to me.  It's a one pot dish - quick and easy.  

Check it out: 

Garlicky Chicken Thighs in Red Pepper Sauce

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 3 pounds), trimmed of excess fat and skin
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
• 1 cup homemade or lower-salt chicken broth
• 3 jarred roasted red peppers, drained and cut into 1-inch strips (1&1/2 cups)
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
• Crusty baguette, for serving

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 425 degrees.  Heat the oil in a large, oven-proof saute pan over medium-high heat until it's shimmering.  Sprinkle the chicken with 1&1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.  add half of the thighs to the pan, skin side down.  Reduce the heat to medium and cook without touching until the skin browns and easily releases from the pan, about 3 minutes.  Turn and cook for 1 minute.  Transfer to a large plate.  Add the remaining chicken and cook it in the same manner.  Transfer the chicken to the plate.  Add the garlic and thyme to the pan and cook until the garlic is lightly browned, 2-3 minutes.  Add the chicken broth,red peppers, potato, and sherry vinegar to the pan and bring to a oil.  Remove from the heat, return the chicken to the pan (skin side up), and transfer to the oven.  

Braise the chicken, uncovered, until the potato pieces are tender and the chicken is completely cooked through, about 30 minutes.  Serve with the baguette for soaking up the broth.  

Yum!!  I asked Kevin if this was a go-to meal, and he was a little hesitant, but I loved it!  Super juicy chicken and EASY! 

On Saturday I took a pasta making class.  I LOVE cooking classes.  I have no idea why I don't take them more often.  Anyone care to join me?  I took this class at Cooking Fools in Wicker Park right at Damen/Milwaukee/North intersection.  It's a cute little storefront that specializes in catering and corporate cooking events.  There were about 33 people in the class, but the two chefs who taught the class did a demonstration first of what to do, then walked around the class giving feedback and help while we tried.  We made pappardelle noodles with vodka sauce and spinach-ricotta stuffed ravioli with pesto sauce.  Amazing!  It was definitely a time consuming process, but I think I would like to try this again at home.  Of course, then I need to buy a bunch of new kitchen gadgets including the pasta maker.

So to continue the carb load on Saturday, Chelsea came over and we made another dinner from the Weeknight Dinners cookbook.  Another pasta dish.  I liked this, but I think I liked Ina's pasta dish that I made a couple weeks ago.  It was also a spicy pasta dish, but with an olive oil sauce rather than butter.  

Linguine with Hot Chile, Caramelized Onion, and Gremolata

• Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, very thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 serrano or other fresh small, hot red or green chile, cored, seeded, and finely diced
• 4 ounces (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into about 5 pieces
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 pound dried linguine
• 1/3 cup roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped lemon zest
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano; more for serving

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil.  Meanwhile, heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and red pepper flakes, season with a big pinch of salt, and cook, stirring frequently, until tender and nicely browned, about 15 minutes (reduce the heat to medium low if the onion is browning too fast).  Add the chile and continue to cook for 1 minute.  Turn off the heat, add the butter, and swirl the pan to melt the butter.  Add the lemon juice and another pinch of salt.  Keep warm. 

Cook the linguine in the boiling water until al dente, about 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, make the gremolata.  Combine the parsley, garlic, and lemon zest on a cutting board and chop them together with a chef's knife until the parsley is finely chopped and mixed well with the lemon and garlic.  

Drain the linguine and return it to its cooking pot.  Over medium heat, add the onion mixture to the pasta and toss to combine.  Add the Pecorino, quickly toss again, and add salt to taste.  Transfer the pasta to a platter or shallow bowls.  Sprinkle liberally with the gremolata and more Pecorino and serve.  

Oh and thank you for Chelsea bringing up truffled popcorn because we perfected a home version on Saturday night.  Chelsea had tried Public House, a new restaurant/bar in Chicago and she said she had the most amazing popcorn there.  So we tried to recreate it.  I popped the popcorn, melted butter and poured the butter and truffle oil over the popcorn, then added pepper and parmesan.  Fantastic.  Great little snack that is kinda ritzy (for popcorn).  

Don't judge me on the randomness of this post!

Some recipes from this week:

Giada's mini turkey meatballs - Not so new as I've made them before, but they're my favorite!!  Plus, I usually keep all of the ingredients in my apartment so it's a go-to!

Gina's Lighter Buffalo Chicken Dip - For those on Weight Watchers - this is great!! Only 2.75 points!  It's all low fat or fat free ingredients and quite tasty.  I made this for book club and everyone loved it.  Erin has made this recipe tons of times for parties.  It's quick and easy, and after looking at Gina's blog, I'm kind of obsessed.  Check out her remake recipes at skinnytaste.com.

and I tried another one of Ina Garten's recipes from her Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That? Cookbook.  Her recipe is great, however, I didn't put large enough eggs in so my cupcakes were a tad bit dry.  The frosting however was phenomenal and perfect!
Red Velvet Cupcakes

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup buttermilk, shaken
• 1 tablespoon liquid red food coloring
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 extra large eggs, at room temperature 
• Red Velvet Frosting (recipe follows)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line muffin tins with paper liners.

In a small bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In a large measuring cup, combine the buttermilk, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter ad sugar on meium speed for 1 minute, until light.  Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until combined.  With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients alternately in 3 parts, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, and mix until combined.  Stir with a rubber spatula to be sure the batter is mixed.

Scoop the batter into the muffin cups with a 2 1/4-inch ice cream scoop or large spoon.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean.  Cool completely in the pans and frost the cupcakes with Red Velvet Frosting.

Red Velvet Frosting

• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (3/4 pound)

Place the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and mix on medium speed just until combined.  Don't whip!  Add the sugar and mix until smooth.  

On the menu for this upcoming week:
Taco Night with Biz - let us know if you care to join on Monday!
and Banana Bread.
Also, I'm taking a pasta making class on Saturday at Cooking Fools in Wicker Park!  Can't wait to learn how to make homemade pasta!

Restaurant News:
I got a chance to meet up with my old recruiter, Rhine and we tried a new restaurant. We tried Bull eh Dias! on Southport and Waveland which officially completes my 2010 goal (a month late...oops).  It's a tapas place, but I was incredibly disappointed in their food.  If you're looking for a great tapas place in Chicago, try Twist (my fav) on Roscoe and Sheffield or Cafe Ba Ba Reeba on Halsted.

Kevin and I finally went on a date on Friday.  It's been awhile so I'm glad we went even though he worked 23 hours straight before dinner.  We ate at Nick's Fish Market in the Merchandise Mart.  They had a great selection of seafood.  For starters, Kevin tried the lobster bisque which I don't remember his thoughts on it.  Kev, can you comment?  I had the caesar salad which was fantastic.  Then for entrees, Kevin had crusted medallions (so not exactly seafood at a Fish place, but I know he liked those!), and I had Mushroom, Feta and Spinach stuffed tilapia.  I definitely need to try to remake that!  It's probably easy enough!  The dinner was great and the molten chocolate cake topped with white chocolate ice-cream was an excellent finish to the meal.

Time to get organized! Biz came over on Monday and made me throw away 4 bags!!! of clothes and a bag of garbage from my bedroom.  How that all fit in my room before, I have NO idea.  But Eleni and Nikki are getting a lot of clothes from me :)!  Tuesday, I tackled the bathroom - a little easier, but add on another bag of trash.  I'm severely close to being labeled as a hoarder.  This has got to stop!

Ridiculous.

Look at those clean closets! 

2 more recipes from Barefoot Contessa

So I liked one of the recipes I cooked tonight.  I made Roasted Summer Vegetables and Spaghetti Aglio e Olio.  I wasn't a huge fan of the roasted summer vegetables, but I think that may be because of the time.  Normally I love grilled vegetables, but typically with just olive oil.  These used a ton of garlic and some thyme which maybe i'm just not a huge fan of.  I'm still learning the herbs I like.  I'll give you the recipe anyways.  But the pasta...delicious.

Erin! Your dishes!

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio

• Kosher Salt
• 1 pound dried spaghetti, such as DeCecco
• 1/3 cup good olive oil
• 8 large garlic cloves, cut into thin slivers
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add 2 tablespoons of salt and the pasta and cook according to the directions on the package.  Set aside 1 1/2 cups of the pasta cooking water before you drain the pasta.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a pot large enough to hold the pasta, such as a 12-inch saute pan or a large shallow pot.  Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until it just begins to turn golden on the edges - don't overcook it!  Add the red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds more.  Carefully add the reserved pasta-cooking water to the garlic and oil and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat, add 1 teaspoon of salt, and simmer for about 5 minutes, until the liquid is reduced by about a third.

Add the drained pasta to the garlic sauce and toss.  Off the heat, add the parsley and Parmesan and toss well.  Allow the pasta to rest off the heat for 5 minutes for the sauce to be absorbed.  Taste for seasoning and serve warm with extra Parmesan on the side.

Roasted Summer Vegetables

• 2 medium zucchinis
• 1 red bell pepper, preferably Holland
• 1 fennel bulb
• 1 small red onion
• 2 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 

Trim the ends of the zucchini and cut them diagonally in 3/4 inch thick slices.  (The slices will seem large, but they'll shrink while they cook.)  Cut the peppers lengthwise in 1 1/2 inch-wide slices, discarding the core.  Trim off the fennel stalks and cut the bulb through the core in 1-inch wedges. (Cutting through the core keeps the pieces intact.) Peel the onion and slice it in 1/4 inch thick rounds, leaving the slices intact. 

Place the vegetables in groups on a sheet pan.  Drizzle with the olive oil, add the garlic, and toss gently to be sure the vegetables are lightly coated with oil.  Spread the vegetables in one layer on 2 sheet pans.  (If they're crowded they'll steam rather than roast.)  Sprinkle with the salt and pepper and place the thyme sprigs on top.  Roast for 15 minutes.  Turn each piece and put the pans back in the oven for 5-10 minutes, until all the vegetables are crisp-tender.  Sprinkle with extra salt and serve hot or at room temperature.    

Bakin' and Eggs

I completely forgot to write about a wonderful breakfast!!! On New Year's Day Kevin and I met up for breakfast with Biz and Dodo.  The only place they usually go for breakfast is Ann Sathers, so they asked me for a suggestion on where to go.  I've ran past Baking and Eggs on Lincoln between Barry and Ashland a couple of times so we decided to go there.  I'm so glad we did!  They had a FLIGHT OF BACON!!! Why has no one thought of that before!  The flavors included Cherry, Maple, Mesquite, Jalapeno and a couple of others that I can't remember.  The Jalapeno was the best.  It had a great kick to it.  We had the flight for an appetizer, but back to the beginning.  When we showed up I was expecting a huge wait because obviously most people had the day off, however, we walked right in and sat down.  Thank the lord for the hangovers on New Years preventing people from getting up early.  I ordered Blood Orange Green Tea for breakfast which they filled a small pot with hot water and tea leaves and left it at the table.  I love that!  I'd much prefer than just the packet.  I think everyone else just got coffee or water, but nothing was special about the coffee from what I remember.  Now on to the goodies... I ordered a BLT with egg and a basil-pesto mayo.  Mine was good, but it was what everyone else ordered that was phenomenal.  Kevin ordered Bacon Waffles.  Sooo good.  Two great dishes combined.  Dodo and Biz each ordered different french toasts - one was titled Lovely and the other was a banana bread french toast with different dippings including a chocolate hazelnut dip.

If you're looking for a good brunch place, I would definitely suggest trying Bakin' and Eggs.  Oh and they have WHOOPIE PIES! :)

 

So it begins! Recipe #1 (and #2) of 2011!

I made dinner tonight! I'm determined to cook a new dinner at least once a week in 2011!  I need to build up my go to recipes and I think what I made tonight will definitely be made again! It was delicious.  


I had gone out to lunch with Chelsea the other day and her kitchen gadget Christmas got us talking about recipes.  So she brought up one of her go tos: Parmesan crusted Whitefish.  I had forgotten the exact ingredients and details she had given me so I googled Parmesan Fish and a Rachel Ray recipe came up that was amazing!  I was thoroughly impressed as Rachel Ray's recipes are hit or miss.  

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

• 4 Servings
• 
• Prep 10 min
• 
• Cook 10 min

INGREDIENTS:

• ¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 4 tilapia fillets (about 1 pound total)
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

DIRECTIONS:

 

Preheat the oven to 400°. In a shallow dish, combine the cheese with the paprika and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the fish with olive oil and dredge in the cheese mixture. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake until the fish is opaque in the thickest part, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve the fish with the lemon wedges.

As a side, I was flipping through my new Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That? recipe book and decided to try garlic-roasted cauliflower.  It was phenomenal and a great side for the tilapia!  

Garlic-Roasted Cauliflower

• 1 whole head of garlic, cloves separated but not peeled
• 1 large head of cauliflower, trimmed and cut into large florets
• 4 1/2 tablespoons good olive oil, divided
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Bring a small pot of water to a boil and add the garlic cloves.  Boil for 15 seconds.  Drain, peel and cut off any brown parts.  Cut the largest cloves in half lengthwise.  

On a sheet pan, toss the cauliflower with the garlic, 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper.  Spread the mixture out in a single layer and roast for 20-25 minutes, tossing twice, until the cauliflower is tender and the garlic is lightly browned.

Scrape the cauliflower into a large bowl with the garlic and pan juices.  Add the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, the parsley, pine nuts, and lemon juice.  Sprinkle with another 1/2 teaspoon of salt, toss well, and serve hot or warm.