Phil & Stephanie's Simple Salad

I fucking love this salad. It is one of my all time favorites. There is something that happens when you mix this and let it sit for about 15 min. The garlic has time to infuse...it's so refreshing and zesty. The secret ingredient, which Phil & Steph actually use in everything, is olive juice. A dash in dressing or pasta sauce layers it up like you wouldn't believe.

• green-leaf lettuce, tear bite size pieces
• arugula (optional)
• garlic  (1 clove per person) finely chopped or creamed
• olive juice 1 - 2 tbs
• extra virgin olive oil
• red wine vinegar

um...toss it. And use your hands, don't be such a wuss.

Bachelor Roast

This is what happens when your wife and kid split. For vacation that is; I should have clarified.

I had plenty to cook with, having again received a massive infusion of fresh my farm veggies from the parental garden. But unaccustomed to the empty quiet of a baby-less house, I was scattered and unthoughtful of my order and ate the eggplant much later than anticipated. This worked out for the better as I was able to savor every little nuance of the roasted vegetables untouched by anything else. Absolutely delectable. The taste of garden fresh roasted eggplant is one of the most amazing flavors. It is melt in your mouth earthy goodness surrounded by chewy caramelized savory skin, crackly in some spots. The course salt & pepper still in place from where it landed, roasted and somehow melded with the flesh. The pasta was unrelated but still tasty. Could of used one more ingredient..but I don't know what that is. The simple salad is one of my all time favorites and should be a post all on its own.

• Japanese eggplant, split lengthwise,
• bell peppers, split in half, de-seeded
• rotilli pasta
• Roma tomatoes, cut in chunks
• handful of shallots, sliced
• sherry

Brush both eggplant and peppers with olive oil and s+p - place on baking pan in 400º oven.
Cook for about 45 min - 1 hour. Should look like this:

In fact, I was so hungry by the time these were ready that forgot to snap a photo right away. These were near perfect. I was watching Blade Runner and left them in about 10 min too long. They were still super soft inside and crispy roasted on the outside. The pepper was so caramelized it was chewy.

Simple salad will have to be it's own post.

Here's the pasta recipe - ridiculously easy, make it in the time it takes to cook the pasta.
Saute shallots in olive oil. add tomatoes. cook. add sherry. s+p.
drain pasta & save a cup of water.
add tomato mixture to pasta...add water as needed. hit with bit of evoo.

done. bed.

Dutch Oven Ratatouille

My folks gave me a huge basket-full of vegetables from their garden and it was great, except...my wife and daughter left town for 2 weeks. I knew I had to do something with them STAT, but what could be an easy one-shot deal? Then I remembered we recently bought a cast iron dutch oven and haven't really used it yet.

The best part of this meal is how good your house will smell when you're done.
The worst part...probably how long it takes: 1 hour in the oven. It might have been a better idea on my part to do this in the winter, considering it's one of the hottest summers on record. But regardless, was fab.

Here's what I had and here's what I made....substitute if you dare:

(everything is rough chopped into 1 - 1.5 inch cubes)
• 3 Japanese eggplants
• 2 squash medium to large
• 1.5 boxes of baby portobello (halved if large, whole if not)
• 1 large red onion
• 2 medium tomatoes (I would've used 2 more if I had them).
• 5-7 garlic cloves, whole
• 1 bell pepper
• several glugs of olive oil
• several generous sprinkles of salt and crackles of pepper
• for later, have about 15 basil leaves ready

Mix well in a huge bowl and toss into the dutch oven, preheated to 400º, covered...40 min.
Open and uncover, cook for 20 - 30 more minutes - the mushrooms should be shriveled, the whole mess will be half it's original size, with a nice broth developed. Fold in the basil leaves.

I served this with a spicy couscous, but could go well as a side with pork chops or crusty bread too.
1:1 ratio ----> couscous : water
To the water, add sage, thyme, dried parsley, salt pepper and 1tb sriracha sauce. When boiled, remove from heat & add couscous. Cover and fluff in about 5 - 10min.

This made a ton, so share it.

Old Tomato Meets Young Tomato Pasta

I accidentally put too much cayenne in this one, but we still ate the hell out of it. The contrast of that heat with a cool crisp salad was absolutely perfect. The toddler was out of the house so I decided to make something hot as shit, because I usually can't. The cayenne has an interesting way of creeping up slow and burning deep and low in the throat, so it actually helps to just keep eating it...almost like a boa constrictor killing its prey. Awesome.

• 6 - 7 cloves of garlic, rough chop
• 1 medium white onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cup feta cheese, cubed
• 1/3 cup dry sherry
• large handful of fresh basil (from your own garden, come on)
• olive oil & butter
• chopped chives
• simple greens or bitter, for salad
• large handful of fresh cilantro (from same garden)
• ground cayenne pepper, to taste
• nutmeg, a few good dashes
• white pepper, same
• sugar, 2 teaspoons
• s & p

Add some light & extra virgin olive oil in a steel pan together, once heated (4) add garlic and toast them nice and golden...but don't burn! Add onion when color looks like above. If too hot add half the sherry and let it become translucent. Add the sun-dried tomatoes first, then the raw after a few minutes when the pan is nice and dry. Drop in 3 pats of butter & let them melt. Add the rest of the sherry and all the spices: sugar, cayenne, nutmeg, white pepper, and s&p.

Once water is boiling, add salt and the pasta. Pick something bite size, we had O's and that seemed perfect. The sauce should be starting to get sticky, keep it stirred every once in while to scrape the bottom...don't burn it, keep it riding the evaporation/reduction wave.

Once pasta is al dente, drop in a cup to a cup and a half of pasta water into your sauce. Stir well & scrape up ovalit.  Put in the pasta and then the basil, coat well. Place in bowl and fold in feta. Serve ASAP with the simple greens tossed with rough chopped cilantro. Coat the salad with plain ol' olive oil, red wine vinegar, s & fresh ground p.

Oy, just writing this makes me want to go raid the fridge for some more.

Rustic Portabello Vermicelli

This is exactly what happens when things just come together. I scavenged, scrambled and scrounged through the multitude of deliciousness my wife always stocks. The leftovers that usually & inevitably get tossed were instead exactly the thing that tied it all together.

This dish was savory and warm and so goddamn satisfying. Sylvie, even with her stuffed pretzel/milk belly, climbed up on the dining bench and started stuffing her face. I think the deep earthy flavors of the sauce were well balanced by the fine light texture of the vermicelli. Would also make a great lunch, maybe with a squeeze of lemon and an iced tea. (actually just had it for lunch with Jess...perfect.)


Ingredients:

• 4 cloves of garlic - chopped
• 1 med onion - halved & sliced
• 8 - 10 mini peppers (raw) - sliced
• 2 portobello caps - halved & sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped oil-infused sun-dried tomatoes
• 1/2 cup dry sherry
• 4 tbsp sun dried tomato pesto (this was the leftovers from a larger container of pesto - most likely destined for the trash since 4 tbsp of pesto won't really get a meal, but enhances the flavors of the created sauce)
• large handful of fresh basil
• 1 lb micro thin rice vermicelli
• olive oil
• salt & pepper

Once all veggies are prepped, start by turning on pasta water.

In a large steel pan, saute the onions with a good amount of olive oil, medium to medium/high (Jess, set the dial to 6). You don't want them to just sweat, but also not to caramelize too much. No salt yet, this is my secret...I add salt at the end to prevent the veggies from bleeding their liquids right away. When the onions are good and translucent, add the peppers. These should be in little bite-sized rings and add sweetness. When they are slightly carmelized, drop the shrooms in and drizzle them with olive oil before mixing it all up. Let saute for 1 - 2 min, stirring once or twice, then add sherry and sun dried tomatoes. Cook until mushrooms are tender.

Turn heat down slightly and add garlic, basil, ground pepper & pesto. Add 1/2 - 1 cup pasta water if dry. Taste, add salt as needed.

When pasta water boils, add vermicelli and remove from heat and cover for 3 minutes. When tender, use pasta spoon to add vermicelli directly to vegetables. Mix well and serve immediately with fresh grated reggiano parmesan.

Buckwheat Kasha

Who cooks buckwheat anymore? Seriously?
Well, this recipe is so simple, so good and so nutritious, it might just restart everyone's love for buckwheat. This grain is easy to cook and a perfect breakfast start - packing a punch that will keep you full for a long time. My wife always wants to know how I make this, so this should once and for all clear it up and help any of you who might have been intimidated as to what in the hell to do with wholegrain buckwheat. Did I mention that toddlers will devour this?

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup Buckwheat
2.5 cups water
2 cups 2% milk
salt & pepper

 Buckwheat can be found sold in bulk in most health food stores and some grocery stores.
The best way to cook is to toast the grain first before cooking. This brings out the nutty flavors and is really tasty. So, before you begin, make sure to pick through your grain in large bowl or sheet pan and remove any small pebbles or seed hulls or dark grains.

Toast the buckwheat in the same pot you'll cook it in, a medium sized one. When you can start to smell the toasted grain, that's when you know it's ready. Add the water & keep on high until it boils. Add a pinch of salt. Reduce to low and cover. Should be done in about 10 min. Will be a mushy consistency, with little or no water left. There should be whole grains visible, but they should be tender. Don't overcook.

Next add a large wad of the buckwheat to a bowl and add about half a cup of cold milk to it. This makes it creamy, adds nutrition and simultaneously cools it down to be ready to eat. Add a pinch of kosher salt, some fresh ground pepper and stir. Yum!

Double Spinach Pasta and Roasted Brussel Meat Balls

My take on spaghetti & meatballs, with roasted brussel sprouts as the "meatballs." They work really well with the light savory spinach pasta.

This recipe feeds 2.5 people.

Ingredients:

spinach linguini (fresh)
brussel sprouts - whole
3 large handfuls of spinach
1 medium onion - sliced
3 garlic cloves - minced
half of a lemon - juiced
half a green pepper - sliced thin (optional, I think it might have been better without it)
1 cup of sliced olives & their juice
olive oil
salt & pepper
Parmesan cheese - shredded or shaved

Wash & trim the brussel sprouts and toss well in olive oil and s&p. Put them on a sheet pan and roast on 400º for 20 min, shaking the pan every 5 min. They should look like this when done:

Meanwhile, set up a pot of water for pasta, heat on high.
Heat some olive oil in a steel pan and add garlic - 30 sec.
Add onions - 2 min.
Add peppers - 2 min.
Add spinach, lemon juice, olive juice & olives - cook until spinach wilts fully then remove from heat.

When water boils, add salt & pasta.  Cook to package instructions; fresh pasta needs 4-5 min tops.
When pasta is almost ready, add 1 cup of pasta water to pan with veggies & return to heat.
Use pasta spoon to remove pasta from water directly into sauce pan.

Cook for a minute or two until sauce thickens up. Add a few tbsp of good quality olive oil & serve immediately with tongs and top with Parmesan. Serve with roasted brussels on the side in a large bowl.