Category Archives: Dinner

Amatriciana Sauce & the new Bon Appetit

Posted on by tinycookba
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This is for all the Slavinskys out there!  When I received the latest issue of bon appetit magazine the other day, I knew we would be eating pasta this week.  I made the Bucatini all’Amatriciana (except that I used spaghetti instead of bucatini) and it was DELICIOUS!  The crushed red pepper adds just enough heat to make the sauce interesting, but not enough to burn your tongue – even my toddlers loved it.  I will definitely be making this again and again.  Just a reminder to add lots of kosher salt (maybe 2 Tablespoons) to your pasta water – it is the key to delicious pasta and it is especially important in this recipe since  you use the pasta water to help create the sauce, and the salty water adds flavor. Okay, now for a review of the magazine….

The May 2011 issue of bon appetit is a wonderful issue, focusing mostly on Italian cuisine.  There are many great pasta recipes as well as a few amazing dessert recipes, like zeppole, chocolate tiramisu, rhubarb and raspberry crostata, and a pistachio biscotti.  There is a wonderful article about traveling to Rome with young kids – makes me excited to think that we could actually do that with our kids in a few years!  On top of all the amazing Italian recipes and articles, there are also Cinco de Mayo recipes and dreamy chef Eric Ripert shares his recipe for Blender Hollandaise.  This is one of the best issues of bon appetit that I’ve ever read – go out and get it, or at least check out their website for some of the recipes.~

Mushroom Marsala Lasagna

Posted on by tinycookba
2

Let me start by saying that my husband said this is one of the best things I have ever made – that’s big praise from a man who does not get nearly as excited as I do about food.  As far as lasagna goes, I’m not a big fan of ricotta cheese ( I prefer it in desserts), so I don’t find myself liking most lasagnas.  I do, however, love the combination of mushrooms and marsala and have been wanting to make a mushroom lasagna for awhile.  I had planned on doing a bechemel with sauteed mushrooms, but this recipe I found from Gourmet magazine, takes it a few steps further with flavorful porcini mushrooms and whipped cream on top!  You can find their recipe for Mushroom Lasagne with that link.  I did make a few changes and here they are:

  • I used marsala instead of sherry (personal preference).  The recipe calls for 2 T to be stirred into the cream sauce when it’s finished, I added 3T because I couldn’t taste the marsala with only 2T.
  • I used cremini mushrooms instead of white mushrooms because I’m a mushroom snob.
  • I added more salt (kosher salt) and not quite as much nutmeg.
Absolutely delicious!  If you like mushrooms, then you have to make this – you will not be disappointed!

Homemade Cheese (it’s easier than you might think)

Posted on by tinycookba
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I absolutely love the flavors of Indian food and have been wanting to unlock to mystery of cooking with Indian spices.  I took an Indian cooking class a few months ago from Chef Amanda Cushman at Surfas (an awesome restaurant supply store with an amazing cafe).  One of the dishes we made was Saag Paneer – a spinach dish with homemade cheese (called paneer).  I know this might sound daunting, but it’s easier than you might think!  (I apologize for not taking pics of the cheesemaking, but I’m new to this blogging stuff and am just getting into the habit of taking pics of my food).  The basic process of making the cheese is bringing whole milk to a boil and then adding some lemon juice and voila! – you have curds and whey.  Then you strain it through a fine sieve lined with cheesecloth and in about half an hour you have fresh cheese – this process for Paneer is also similar to the mexican cheese Queso Fresco.   I took a cheesemaking class last year at Surfas and we learned to make goat cheese (which I’ve done before and is easy and delicious) and fresh mozzarella (this was a little trickier).

Back to the Saag Paneer – basically some spices and aromatics with some fresh spinach wizzed in the food processor, then cooked with the fresh cheese, and you have deliciousness that even my toddlers love to eat. It’s a great way to make spinach taste amazing.  I cannot give you the recipe as it is not mine to share, but you can find great Indian recipes from chef and author Julie Sahni and can probably find her books at the library.

Give cheesemaking and Indian cooking a try – you won’t be disappointed.

Next post: Mushroom Marsala Lasagna!

I want my Baby Back Ribs

Posted on by tinycookba
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Spring is here and to me that means grilling!  I saw some baby back ribs at costco and my mouth started watering.  I can’t remember where the original recipe was from – but this is what I do to the ribs:  Take 2 racks of baby back ribs and sprinkle them liberally with kosher salt and chili powder.  I stack them on top of each other and wrap tightly in a double layer of aluminum foil.  Put those babies on a cookie sheet and bake in a 400 degree oven for 1 1/2 -2 hours, until tender and falling off the bone.  Then slap on whatever BBQ sauce you like and throw on the grill to get some caramelization.  Cut, eat, lick fingers, and then floss.

I make my own BBQ sauce – I tweaked a FineCooking.com recipe a little bit for that (I just add a bit more sugar and salt).  I always make a double batch and freeze some of it because it really freezes beautifully.

I also made some roasted asparagus – drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle liberally with kosher salt and cook in a 400 degree oven just until tender.

And some twice baked potatoes – bake potatoes, let cool a bit, cut in half and scoop out flesh.  Mix flesh with kosher salt (don’t be stingy with the salt-potatoes need a lot of salt), milk, shredded sharp cheddar cheese, sour cream and chopped scallions, until it tastes nice and yummy.  Top with some more cheese and pop back in the oven until warmed through.  These are great because you can make them ahead.  I made them for Christmas dinner and they got rave reviews.

Next post: Saag Paneer – a delicious Indian dish with spinach and homemade cheese!