sesame tofu with cold noodles

I love cold Asian noodles & this dish does not disappoint! This recipe makes about 2-3 servings.

tofu marinade

1 lb extra firm tofu, well-drained

3 tablespoons soy

2 tablespoons fish sauce

2 green onions, chopped

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

Whisk together soy, fish sauce, sesame oil, vinegar and onions. Pour over cubed tofu and allow to marinate for an hour (up to overnight in the fridge).

Bake tofu at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, until just browning. Remove and cool. 

peanut sesame sauce & noodles

1/2 pound whole grain angel hair pasta

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1 teaspoon Sriracha

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated or chopped

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

2 green onions, chopped

1 to 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Prepare pasta according to package and then rinse under cold water, set aside to drain. In the blender combine peanut butter, stock, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, Sriracha, sesame oil, garlic, ginger until smooth. In a large bowl, toss the noodles, bell pepper, green onions, peanut butter sauce (reserving about 1/4 of the sauce at least) and sesame seeds. Assemble into bowls, place tofu on top, spoon reserved sauce over tofu and sprinkle with a few more sesame seeds. 

The tofu adds some protein to this dish but you could easily leave it off. Enjoy!

put an egg on it

Before the warm weather arrived, I made a delicious farro risotto - truthfully though, this lighter spin on my beloved risotto, makes it a great spring option too.

asparagus farro risotto with farm fresh egg - inspired by Mark Bittman
2 lbs. asparagus, peeled, trimmed and cut into one-inch-long pieces, tips reserved
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock (homemade or low-sodium)
2 tablespoons EVOO
3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
½ medium onion, diced
1¼ cup semi-pearled farro
½ cup dry white wine
1 heaping teaspoon Kosher salt
¾ cup grated Parmesan
¼ cup finely chopped parsley
4 fresh eggs

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add half the asparagus stalks (not the tips) and cook until quite soft, at least five minutes. Rinse quickly under cold water or put in ice water. Put cooked asparagus in a blender or food processor and add ¼ cup water. Purée adding more water one tablespoon at a time if necessary. Set aside. Place stock in a medium saucepan over low heat. Put oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large, deep skillet or pot over medium heat. When it is hot, add onion, stirring occasionally until it softens, 3 to 5 minutes. Add farro and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is glossy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add white wine, stir, and let liquid bubble away. Add the salt. Add warmed stock, ½ cup or so at a time, stirring occasionally. Each time stock has just about evaporated, add more. After about 15 minutes, add remaining asparagus pieces and tips, continuing to add stock when necessary. After 5 minutes, begin tasting the risotto. You want the grains to be tender but with a bit of crunch; it could take as long as 30 minutes total to reach this stage. When the risotto is almost ready, bring a medium saucepan with 4 eggs in it to a light boil - boil eggs for about 4 minutes (start timer when boil begins). When risotto is ready, stir in ½ cup asparagus purée. Remove skillet from heat, add cheese, parsley and remaining butter, and stir briskly. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve in a shallow bowl and gently crack an egg, scooping out the yolk for serving. Discard the egg whites and shell. Serve immediately.

When the egg is mixed into the risotto it helps create an even creamier delicious dish!

Enjoy!

a cold dinner for a cold night

Even though a nice warm meal is typically just the thing to beat the chill on a cold night, some nights it's nice to have room temp or cold dinner option (especially if your husband is getting home from the hospital at 11:30 p.m. and will be raiding the fridge). Enter - Asian noodles & spring rolls. I have shared a pork spring roll recipe before - these were pretty similar. Shredded pork, carrot, bell pepper, lettuce, little soy and some spicy peanut sauce.

Spring rolls are so delicious, Vance and I can't get enough of them! Next time will be shrimp and veggies. The unexpected star of last night's dinner was adapted from The Pioneer Woman's Sesame Noodles, adjusted to serve a very hungry couple or three normal adults.

6-8 ounces, whole grain angel hair pasta, cooked and drained
2-3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon Sriracha
2 whole green onions, sliced thin
(little vegetable or canola oil if the flavor is too strong for your palette)

Whisk together all ingredients except noodles. In large bowl, pour dressing over noodles and toss. Try not to choke as you inhale this delicious and simple dish. This would be great with some sauteed shrimp, veggies, chicken, old sneaker, tire...anything.

And when I said it was cold here...I meant like 7 degrees cold, almost a state of emergency for Nashville.

snausages

In true chilly weather spirit, I made a few comforting dishes this weekend. And Vance worked almost all weekend - so I cooked, and cooked some more, and then a little bit more.

sausage & spinach ziti

10 ounces cooked rigatoni or penne

6 ounces baby spinach

6 ounces mozzarella, shredded

4-5 links Italian sausage (hot or mild), removed from casings

1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

1 small onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

28 ounces chopped tomatoes with juice

1/4 cup pesto

bit of EVOO

In a heavy bottom pan, heat EVOO and sauté onion and garlic for about 5 minutes, add sausage - breaking it apart with a wooden spoon. Cook sausage for about 10 minutes then add tomatoes and juice and pesto - mix well. 

Season with salt and pepper. 

In a large bowl, toss pasta, about half to three quarters of both cheese and spinach. Add tomato-sausage mixture and mix with pasta. Pour into a prepared baking dish and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes at 375 degrees. 

sausage, kale & white bean soup

2 tablespoons olive oil

8 ounces pancetta, small cubes

small onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

4-5 fresh thyme sprigs, whole

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 head Swiss chard, (about 1 pound) trimmed, washed, and coarsely chopped

2-15 ounce cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes w/basil, garlic and oregano (with juice, preferably no salt added)

5 cups chicken or pork broth

3 sausages, pan-cooked or grilled and chopped – I used Bratwursts and roasted 

them for about 10 minutes at 475 degrees

 S&P to taste

Heat EVOO and sauté pancetta for about 8 minutes until browned - remove from the pan, reserving fat in pan. Add onion, garlic, thyme and red pepper - sauté for about 10 minutes. When onion is translucent, add Swiss chard, tomatoes, beans, broth and sliced sausages. Bring to a light boil and then reduce to simmer for about 25 minutes.  

Stir in pancetta and S&P. 

These dishes are heart and pair very well with a simple salad and a crusty roll.

Enjoy your snausage!

waiting for the right weekend

This weekend was dedicated to work as we had visiting students on campus Friday and Saturday. Lots of smiling, talking, moving crowds of people...basically being on. By Sunday, I was looking forward to some quiet cooking time to make a dish that has been on my list all fall - pumpkin, honey, sage risotto. With goat cheese - ahhh-mazing. This was the right weekend to make a very hearty comforting dinner!

1&1/4 cups Aborrio rice

knob of ginger, peeled and grated

small onion, chopped well

 5 cups chicken or vegetable stock, simmering

3/4 cup white wine

half can of packed pumpkin (or about 6 ounces)

2 pound Golden Nugget Squash (sometimes called Oriental Pumpkin)

2-3 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons EVOO for squash

1-2 tablespoons EVOO for rice

1-2 tablespoons butter for rice

2 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped

2 ounces soft goat cheese

S&P

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice pumpkin in half and scoop out seeds. Using a sharp knife, carefully peel off skin. Chop pumpkin into small even cubes. Toss with 2 tablespoons EVOO and S&P. Assemble in an even layer on a baking tray and roast for 15 minutes. Remove and slightly toss, drizzle honey over pumpkin and return to oven for another 15 minutes. 

While pumpkin is roasting, place stock and packed pumpkin in a sauce pan over medium-low heat - warm until simmering. Place EVOO and butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. When melted, add onion and ginger - sautee for about 10 minutes. Add rice and continue to cook for another few minutes (adding a bit more EVOO if needed to prevent sticking). Pour in white wine (save some for yourself too - obviously), stir well. When wine is almost absorbed, begin adding pumpkin stock to the rice mixture, one large ladle-full at a time, continuing to stir. You will keep adding stock for about 25 minutes - always lots of stirring with risotto! When rice is at a good consistency, turn off heat. Add in a generous amount of Kosher salt and some ground pepper. Stir in goat cheese and sage. Gently fold in about half of the roasted pumpkin and reserve some to place on top of plated risotto. Taste for seasoning. Plate risotto, top with roasted pumpkin cubes and serve with fall salad (perhaps walnuts, dried cranberries & apple).

i heart eggplant.

I have had this recipe for months and have been dying to try it! 

Eggplant (meatless) Balls

1 large purple eggplant

2 cups bread crumbs

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoons dried oregano

2 eggs, whisked

1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup wheat or white flour

EVOO for frying

Preheat oven to 350. Prick the eggplant all over with a fork and place on a baking sheet. Roast for 1 hour or until skin is collapsed and insides are totally soft. Let cool for at least 20 minutes and then slice open and scoop out insides, discarding the skin. If necessary, chop coarsely with a knife.

Place the bread crumbs to a large bowl. Add the eggplant, garlic, oregano, beaten eggs, grated cheese, and salt. Stir thoroughly with a spatula to completely incorporate all ingredients. Refrigerate for at least an hour. Pour flour on a plate and set aside. Using a tablespoon, place a scoop of eggplant mixture into your hands and roll into golf ball sized balls. Rolls the balls gently into the flour. In a large saucepan, pour olive oil until it’s about 1/4 inch high. Heat over medium heat until the oil begins to bubble. Carefully add half of the meatballs and let cook 2-3 minutes, until medium brown on the bottom. Gently flip them over and cook 2-3 minutes more on the other side, until they are evenly colored. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the meatballs to the paper towel. Gently press down with another paper towel to absorb some of the oil. When preparing to serve the eggplant balls, warm them in your sauce over medium heat for at least 10 to 15 minutes to ensure they are warm all the way through.

We enjoyed our meatless eggplant balls with spicy vegetable marina on top of roasted spaghetti squash. Meat-free and very delicious!

Eggplant balls would also be fantastic in a crusty hoagie roll with sauce and cheese on top.

best of both grandmas

For Vance's birthday, I made one of Vance's favorite dishes - a famed entree in his grandma Hamor's repertoire, swine hocks. The hock of the swine translates to the lower leg of the pig. These big lugs are rubbed, seared, roasted and shredded. 

The evening before serving, chop 8 garlic cloves together with 3 sprigs fresh rosemary or 2 teaspoons dried rosemary. Add about one tablespoon kosher salt and a generous amount of fresh ground pepper. With a sharp knife, poke slits all over2 1½–2 lb. pork shanks (fresh hocks) and rub the garlic mixture over the shanks. Refrigerate overnight.The next day, wipe most (but not all) of the garlic mixture off of the shanks with a paper towel. Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven or large heavy skillet. Add shanks and brown them well. Add 1½ cups dry white wine and ½ cup low-salt chicken broth. Bring to a boil, and then lower heat to simmer. At this point, either put the pan in a 350 degree oven (covered by a lid or foil), or transfer the contents of the pan to a crock pot. Cook for about 3 hours, basting regularly and turning the shanks about halfway through. If liquid evaporates, add more broth. When the meat falls off the bone easily, remove the meat and bone. Discard bone and set the meat aside.

I served the hocks (or shanks) with roasted carrots & white turnips, braised red cabbage and smoked gouda grits. It was a bit of Germany meets the South. 

In keeping with the "Vance's favorite childhood foods" theme, I Haluski last night. Haluski is a Polish dish of cabbage, onions and noodles (and butter - typically lots of butter). This dish is big in the Pittsburgh area and Vance's Grandma Albaugh used to make it as a side for Sunday dinners. I added some carrot and parsley for color and sliced some sausage to make it a main course.

We should have been drinking Iron City or Penn Pilsner instead of Amstel!

8 ounces uncooked egg noodles

2 large carrots, peeled and sliced

1/4 cup butter

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 smal head of cabbage, rough chopped

3-4 tablespoons parsley

S&P

1-2 tablespoons EVOO

2 bratwurst sausages (or sausage of your choice)

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook egg noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside. Meanwhile, add oil to a large dutch oven on stovetop. Sear the sausages for a few minutes, remove and set aside. In same pan, saute onions until softened, 5-10 minutes. Add carrots and garlic and saute for another 5-10 minutes - add cabbage. Slice the sausage into about 5-6 slices each and add to pot. Saute for another 15 minutes.Once the noodles and cabbage mixture are ready, add the noodles to the dutch oven. Stir to combine then add black pepper and parsley on top.

When Vance asked for Haluski this week and I said "sure" he exclaimed..."it's like the best of both grandmas!" = love.

see ya later summer

I am so ready for fall weather - but Nashville is taking its good ol' time cooling off. Asparagus was on sale this week so I made an end of summer risotto. Next risotto will be pumpkin - or mushroom - or some other lovely winter dish. This recipe serves four.

1 cup Aborrio rice

4-5 cup of chicken stock, simmering

small onion, chopped

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons EVOO

3/4 cup white wine

1/2 -3/4 pound asparagus, blanched and chilled - cut into fifths

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

3-4 tablespoons of pesto (I used some lemon-almond pesto that I made this summer)

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

S&P 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss cherry tomatoes with some EVOO and S&P on a baking sheet. Roast for about 12 minutes until tender and set aside. Over medium heat, saute onion in butter and EVOO until tender. Add rice and stir quickly. Ensure all rice is coated, add wine and continue to stir until absorbed. Add simmering chicken stock, one ladle at a time, stirring until absorbed before adding another. Continue to add stock and stir for about 25 minutes. Reserve a ladle of stock for end. Remove pot from heat, stir in cheese, pesto and S&P to taste. Add a bit more stock if needed and add in asparagus. Plate risotto and top with cherry tomatoes. Last few dishes of summer vegetables...next stop fall.

mediterranean pasta night

mediterranean whole wheat pasta with broiled tomatoes

This dish is a great weeknight dinner - fast and delicious. Serves 4 - (Vance enjoyed left overs!)

2 pints cherry tomatoes (I used yellow and red)

3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

12 oz uncooked whole-wheat fettuccine

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cups baby spinach

6 oz cream cheese (feel free to use fat free)

teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, sliced

1/3 cup capers, drained

2-3 tablespoons fresh shredded Parmesan cheese

S&P to taste

1/3 cup torn fresh basil

Preheat broiler. Broil tomatoes and garlic on a misted baking sheet for about 4-5 minutes. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta water. Heat oil in a large skillet; sauté spinach 1 minute. Add cream cheese (broken up into little pieces) to soft spinach, add about 1/3 cup of reserved pasta water and red pepper. Light stir until cheese melts. Add tomato mixture and some more pasta water until the sauce is a consistency you desire. Add drained pasta, olives, capers, S&P to taste. Turn off heat and toss with basil before serving. Top with a little extra basil and Parmesan cheese. Spoon sauce  over pasta and serve with salad, delicious and takes well under 30 minutes.

comfort foods from around the globe

I must be getting ready for fall - even though it is 90 degrees in Nashville today. I have been making some heartier meals and stocking our freezer full. Over the past few weeks, I made an assortment of what I think of as comfort foods (with some international flare - very minimal at times). Chicken Florentine bake, peaches 'n cream pork empanadas and chicken schnitzel with red cabbage and spaetzle.

Chicken Schnitzel for Two

2 chicken breasts, skinless/boneless pounded

1/2 cup wheat or white flour (for dredging)

1 large egg and a touch of water

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 

1 cup (or more) whole wheat bread crumbs  

2 tablespoons canola oil, divided  

Chopped flat-leaf parsley 

Lemon wedges  

 Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Place flour on a plate. Beat eggs and Dijon mustard to blend in a shallow baking dish. Place bread crumbs in another shallow baking dish. Working with 1 chicken breast at a time, dredge in flour, shaking off excess, then dip into egg mixture, turning to coat evenly; carefully coat with crumbs. Transfer chicken to a plate. Heat oil in large saute pan. Add 2 chicken breasts to skillet and cook until golden brown on both sides, 8-10 minutes. Transfer chicken breasts to a paper towel then serve with a lemon wedge.

So Co Peaches 'n Cream Empanadas
I had about a pound of frozen pulled pork meat that I wanted to use up in a creative way so I tried something new. Empanadas are a delicious treat that Vance loves. Roll out pie or pizza dough and cut into squares, fill with whatever cooked food you like and make a triangle turnover. I used pizza dough and filled them with pulled pork with peach barbecue sauce and a dollop of cream cheese. Baked on prepared pan at 400 degrees for about 12-15 minutes until golden.
So Co Peach BBQ Sauce|
1 ripe peach, pureed
2/3 cup tomato sauce
¼ cup water
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
½ teaspoon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
  2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Southern Comfort (or other bourbon, etc.)
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ dried oregano
4-5 dashes of Chipotle Tabassco
Mix all ingredients together. Combine about half the sauce into the pork and use the rest as a dipping sauce. This sauce is delicious on chicken t

 "Lower Fat" Chicken Florentine Bake

2 large skinless chicken breasts, pre-cooked, cut into cubes
1/2 box frozen spinach, thawed & squeezed to remove access liquid
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon flour
juice from about 1/4 of a lemon 
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
pinch nutmeg
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup low fat cottage cheese, blended to make smooth consistency
2/3 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, grated 
1/2 pound whole grain pasta (I used penne)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and mist a 9 x 11 baking dish with oil. Cook pasta according to package directions. In a large pot, heat olive oil to medium-low and saute garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add flour and whisk for 30 seconds. Add chicken broth and stir until thickened. Add lemon juice, nutmeg, oregano & pepper. Bring to simmer. Remove from heat and add blended cottage cheese, spinach, chicken, Parmesan cheese & pasta. Stir to combine. Place in casserole dish. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden & bubbly.
This is delicious and creamy (and since it doesn't have heavy cream it isn't so terrible for you).