no-cook pasta sauce

this technique was born from a tip i read in my favorite cooking magazine. (for those of you not down with the twitter, it’s called cook’s country and it’s the bomb. why? because it is so incredibly informative in so many ways.)

every month they share reader tips. one woman wrote in that she liked onions with her pasta, but wanted to eliminate their bite and sharpness (her words). so, she put chopped onions in the bottom of a pasta strainer and when she poured the hot pasta/water through the strainer, it “cooked” the onions just enough.

eureka! i thought, why not use that same technique with all the ingredients of your sauce?

first, i seeded and finely chopped my tomatoes (i was using very small pasta and i like to keep things proportionate) and let them drain a little to get out excess water. you don’t want soupy pasta sauce, now do you?

to a larger pasta strainer, i added finely chopped red onion…

…the tomatoes and some baby spinach.

in my serving bowl, i put in a healthy handful of feta.

all this got done in the time it took me to boil water and cook pasta (and take pictures), so rachael ray, eat your heart out!

when the pasta was done, i poured it over the to-be sauce in the strainer. (steamy!)

make sure to shake out the water VERY well. some might get stuck in the veggies. but don’t wait too long because you want everything still very hot when you pour it over your feta and mix well.

doesn’t that look bright and colorful and amazing??

i’m sure you could use other ingredients than what i used, but make sure they’re very fresh and don’t use anything you wouldn’t eat raw anyway because the cooking is so minimal. (off the top of my head, i’d say yes to finely chopped bell peppers, but probably no to mushrooms, for example.)

but, i think, this technique is well worth the minor effort it takes to enhance both the texture and flavor of your “sauce.”

upside-down cake

today’s guest blogger is one of my oldest friends (church choir, what what!) and just got engaged. i think you will all be jealous of her fiance when you see what kind of desserts he’s getting. and did i mention she’s working on her phD, too? what a catch.

the trick to this recipe is having the proper size skillet; an 8-inch skillet is too small and a 12-inch skillet is too large. the ideal size is 9-10 inches.  cast iron is traditional, but any relatively deep ovenproof skillet will do.  if you do not have a skillet of the proper size, simply heat the butter-sugar mixture in a saucepan for 4 min, add the fruit, stir until the sugar is completely dissolved, and then pour it into a 9 x 3 inch cake pan.  pour the batter on top and bake.

upside-down cake
(from christopher kimball’s dessert bible)
FOR the FRUIT
2 c fruit (peaches, plums or pineapple) cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 Tbsp lemon juice
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 c packed dark brown sugar

FOR the CAKE
2/3 c buttermilk
4 large egg whites
3 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
3/4 c granulated sugar
1 t baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 c cornmeal
1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temp

editor’s note: separate your eggs by cracking them gently and pouring them back and forth between the shell halves over a bowl to catch the whites. collect the yolks in another bowl.

preheat oven to 350 degrees

prepare the fruit: toss fruit with lemon juice and set aside.

in a 9 or 10-inch cast iron skillet, melt the 4 tablespoons butter. add the brown sugar and, stirring occasionally, heat for 4 min.  add the fruit and stir until the sugar is totally dissolved.  remove from heat.

make the batter: stir together 1/3 c of the buttermilk, the egg whites, yolks and extracts with a fork; set aside.  in a large bowl, mix the next 6 ingredients (flour through salt) until blended. add butter and remaining 1/3 c buttermilk and beat on low speed or by hand until dry ingredients are moistened.  beat on medium for 1 1/2 min.  scrape down sides of bowl and add half of egg-buttermilk mixture. mix for 30 sec. scrape down sides of bowl, add remaining egg-buttermilk mixture, and finish beating for 30 sec. scrape down sides and beat 20 sec more.

pour batter over fruit in cast iron pan and smooth top.

bake about 30 min, or until top of cake springs back when lightly pressed in the center.  rotate pan front to back after 15 min and check cake after 25 min.

remove skillet to a cooling rack and let rest for 3 min.  place a serving plate over top of skillet and invert cake onto plate.  if any of the fruit sticks to the pan, remove and place on top of cake.

ready to propose yet?! yummm

tortilla chips

you may never buy chips again when you learn how easy and quick it is to make your own. (and probably much healthier, but i’m not sure how to calculate that…)

start with several large flour tortillas – one or two per person, depending on how much you expect you and your guests to eat, is a basic estimate. lightly oil the top of one and salt it, lay another on top, oil and salt, another… you get the picture.

then use a large sharp knife to cut the pile. you can cut them in triangles if you’d like, but i prefer rectangles or strips (with a few curved edges). triangles don’t bake as evenly and get burnt tips. no one likes a burnt tip.

lay them out on a baking sheet.

then into the oven (or toaster oven, i guess) at 350 degrees until toasted (about 20 mins). make sure you keep a close eye on them, and toss or flip or shake the pan when necessary.

when they reach your preferred brown-ness, take them out and serve!

if you want to get really fancy, when you’re making the oil-salt stack, add other flavors. like chili powder (and a squeeze of fresh lime juice when they come out of the oven) or garlic salt or a shake of dried herbes of provence. or maybe cinnamon and sugar, if you want a sweet munchie. munch munch.

applesauce

when life gives you apples… (and that’s just what life did the other day, in the form of my coworker who bought baking apples by mistake. when he realized that baking apples are harder and more tart than regular apples, they came to me.)

…make applesauce!

don’t be scared! getting from apples to applesauce is really not as hard as it sounds.

first, chop up a whole mess of apples into large chunks. (these were organic – never mind the brown spots.)

put them in a large pot with an inch or two of water, just a sprinkling of sugar and a pinch of salt. (salt, you say? in something sweet?! yes, my friend. salt brings out the flavor. salt in everything, please. never mind your cholesterol.)

cook on medium-high heat until the apples are the consistency you want. i like mine pretty smooth – longer cooking time – but my mom likes hers chunky – shorter cooking time and less liquid. (if they need more liquid, just add a little more. if there’s too much, it will cook off.)

now think of the apples as merely a canvas. a blank slate on which to paint your saucy picture.

this time, i added two chopped peaches because that was what i had around, but my mom adds finely chopped fresh ginger to hers. and in the fall, i like to add raisins and cinnamon. or what about a vanilla bean? or a few handfuls of fresh raspberries or dried cranberries? or something you thought of that i didn’t!

the possibilities are endless. and delicious at any time of the day.

faux-tanesca pizza

gimme a…

what does that spell?!

faux-tanesca pizza!

slightly different from the original because of the appalling lack of olives, this “puttanesca wannabe” is what i came up with out of the depths of my fridge.

first, trader joe’s 99-cent pizza dough is an absolute necessity. buy one every time you’re there. in all the flavors. it keeps in the fridge, but you probably won’t keep it for long! tj’s crust = quick, easy, yummy dinner.

this is the garlic-herb flavor.

second, saute up your onions and mushrooms in a little olive oil. i don’t have to show you that, do i? okay, just this once.

(yes it’s a weird pan for sauteing, but, patience, grasshopper. there’s a method to my madness.)

you don’t want to cook this sauce too much, because remember it’s going to cook more in the oven (oh! preheat your oven to 400, please) and you want the ingredients to still be recognizable.

(let us pause here for a moment for the story of how my can opener failed me and i opened the crushed tomatoes with a wine key. there was only a small amount of blood and it looks a lot like tomato sauce, right?)

anywhoodles, voila why i was using a sauce pan. to make room for a can of diced tomatoes without most of the liquid.

then i added a little hot pepper (shocker, right?!), some worcestershire and a little bit of sugar (for the tomatoes. always.) oh! and the capers. a lot of capers because to me, they are but candy.

let it cook a bit so some of the liquid boils off. at this point, you could toss it over pasta, of course, but i have this beauty a-waiting:

you know how to do it from here. (and yes, that’s parchment paper. my pan sucks and i canNOT scrape/soak another pizza off it.)

pop it into the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of your crust, and until the cheese is nice and bubbly and browning on top. mmmm.

even better cold the next day. if you’re into that kind of thing.

food porn

wow. yum. stay hungry, my friends.

greek shrimp and a new toy

and here’s another! this fellow polar bear, fellow dc-lover, fellow feminist and fellow shoe enthusiast is also a really great cook.

as a friend of the fabulous ms. akp, i have frequently had the honor of being her dinner guest.  last week i was able to return the favor.  akp asked if i would be willing to blog about my meal, but i think she mostly just wanted me to show off my fun kitchen toy.  so without further ado – the garlic grinder thingamagiger:

i don’t know what the thing is called and can’t find it anywhere online, and since it was a gift to the bf, i’m at a loss as to its origin.  but the little gizmo is quite fun.  simply peel garlic gloves, stick them in the top one at a time and move the device back and forth on the wheels to grind up the garlic.  it produces chunks smaller than hand-chopped, but larger than garlic pressed.  the only downside is that the garlic is somewhat difficult to remove.

this lovely device produced the starting point (what dish doesn’t start with garlic?) for my recipe for the night – greek shrimp over pasta.  unlike the talented akp, i need recipes to make my meals.  this one is a family favorite.

greek shrimp
pan 1 – cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp chopped garlic (i use more)
2 cups peeled, cubed fresh tomatoes
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup fresh, chopped basil
1 tsp dried oregano

pan 2 – cook until shrimp turn red
3 tbs olive oil
1 1/2 lbs shrimp (with tail on)
1/4 tsp hot red pepper flakes

meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees and cook a box of rigatoni (i used penne here because i already had it in the cabinet).  once the two pans are set, put pan #2 into a small baking dish.  sprinkle with 3/4 lb of feta cheese, then spoon pan #1 on top.

bake for 10 minutes, then combine with the pasta.  and voila:

don’t forget to enjoy the meal with the rest of that white wine and a good friend.

editor’s note: omg YUM. i love when people cook for me. especially when it includes shrimp and feta. this was a quick and very effective recipe that i think anyone can duplicate at home.

tweet!

icf is on twitter. catch me if you can!

washington’s green grocer

yesterday something happened that will change my life.

i received my first delivery from washington’s green grocer.

from now on, every two weeks, i’m going to get a box of fresh fruits and veggies delivered right to my door. i can see a list of what to expect online, and switch out produce that i don’t like. i can even make an always deliver/never deliver list. (mine currently includes garlic – always, and celery – never.)

for me, this is so perfect and exciting because i don’t have a great produce store, i always want fresh ingredients AND i love the excitement and challenge of dealing with things i would probably never buy. like portabello mushroom caps.

this first box included:
a cantaloupe
3 ears of corn
2 large eggplants
a head of red cabbage
4 bananas
a couple pounds of green beans
3 nectarines
3 plums
3 peaches
2 portabello mushroom caps
2 vine ripe tomatoes

yum, right?!

i was so happy and excited and overwhelmed…!! that i ate leftovers.

polenta with white beans and tomatoes

this was one of my favorite childhood dinners. it was a go-to for my mom and i recently whipped it up for that guy i cook for sometimes…

as usual and not surprisingly, he suggested an improvement that i think needs to be a permanent addition to the recipe.

how good does this look?

traditionally, this dish was a puddle of polenta (use the easy quick-cook, available in pretty much any grocery store, but add lots of grated mozzarella) covered with a can of white beans and a can of crushed tomatoes, heated, salted, peppered and with plenty of dried rosemary.

the suggestion was to make a polenta pancake (cook it following directions on the box, then fry it up in a cast iron pan) for the glop to be served on. this is a major improvement because of the awesome crunchy texture and browned flavor the pancake adds to the dish.