9.03.2010

fettuccine with fresh corn.



you've heard this old conversation starter before. what would eat for your last meal? as much as i enjoy a wide variety of foods and flavors this is still a very easy question to answer. it would be gino's spaghetti marinara...without a doubt, case closed.

when i was a little girl i seemed to go to new york with my parents quite a bit and when i was there with my dad he always took me to gino. it was one of those old-school new york restaurants across the street from the big bloomingdales uptown. it was the type of italian joint where most patrons were regulars and the waiters were italian....at least, new york italians. you could've imagined a mafia scene being filmed at their corner table beneath their zebra wallpaper.

the first time my dad took me there he told me i had to get the spaghetti marinara.....it wasn't a choice. i was irritated, i remember wanting a steak...i didn't like pasta that much. the smallish bowl of spaghetti was eventually plopped down in front of me and i tasted......and tasted, and tasted. it was gone pretty quickly. gino, sadly, just recently closed for good {why? come back! you've been around since 1945 for god's sake!} but its marinara has been my "last meal" and pasta, in general, has been my favorite food ever since that first bite.

now i can and sometimes do eat pasta for ever meal. another reason to love it is because it's one of those foods that's so simple make yet easy to mix up. a hearty bolognese sauce in the winter, a creamy carbonara in the fall, some peas, butter and asparagus in the spring, corn and bacon in the summer......

this dish, though untraditional, turned out nice, light, and fresh. it's a great summer pasta dish. adding chopped almonds i understand could throw some people off but it did end up adding a nice crunchy dimension {what i'm really saying is that it made the pasta sauce fucking good....add it!}.



fettuccine with fresh corn.
adapted from bon appetit
serves 2
  • 2 bacon slices, cut lengthwise in half, then crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces.
  • 2 cups fresh corn kernels (cut from about 3 large ears)
  • 1 large garlic clove, minced
  • 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 cup of chopped almonds, for serving
  • 1/2 lb. fettuccine
  • 1/2 tbsp. of unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup coarsely torn fresh basil leaves, divided
  • salt & pepper
  1. cook bacon in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp and brown, stirring often. transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. pour off all but 1 tablespoon drippings from skillet.
  2. add corn, garlic, coarse salt, and pepper to drippings in skillet. sauté over medium-high heat until corn is just tender but not brown, about 4 minutes.
  3. transfer 1/2 the corn kernels to small bowl and reserve. scrape remaining corn mixture into a blender with butter. puree.
  4. cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. drain, reserving some pasta cooking liquid.
  5. return pasta to pot. add corn puree, reserved corn kernels, 1/2 the basil leaves, and 1/2 the parmesan. toss pasta mixture over medium heat until warmed through, adding reserved pasta cooking liquid if needed. season pasta to taste with salt and pepper.

  6. transfer pasta to large shallow bowl. sprinkle with remaining basil leaves, parmesan, reserved bacon, and chopped almonds. serve.

posted by jordan.
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9.01.2010

roast chicken with bread salad.



everyone seems to have a very distinct opinion on the proper way to roast a chicken. do you roast per pound or roughly estimate? and how do you know when it's properly done? do you use an instant thermometer or do you see if the juices run clear? butter or olive oil? under the breast or in the cavity? to tin foil or not to tin foil? for all these reasons and more a roast chicken can seem like an overwhelming task. on top of that chicken is one of those things that gets a bad wrap for being boring, tasteless, and dry. it also sometimes seems to get itself involved with salmonella which is another strike against it. "so you say it doesn't taste of much AND could, on the off chance, potentially kill you? count me in!"

when i suggested that i roast a chicken for a friend, he didn't seem too impressed, in fact, he pretty much begged me not to make it. "how about pork? ....or maybe some lamb or something?" ouch, i get it! even my friends don't have confidence that i can properly roast a chicken. well, friendship be damned! i would roast a chicken and succeed!

then i got off my kitchen stool where i usually make these declarations and became nervous. what if i didn't? i would need something else to help salvage the meal. a backup plan.....that's where the bread salad came in. and no, this isn't the famous zuni cafe roast chicken and bread salad recipe. if that's what your looking to recreate i suggest you look at any reasonable food blog like this one, or maybe this one, how about this one? i've seen that recipe so many times that even i don't care how good it might be. it's probably great, but never trust hype.....it leads to expectations and i didn't want my expectations to be high at all. at least if i failed with random recipes i, in my own mind, wouldn't get all the blame. it was probably a bad recipe.....

the funny thing is that the meal didn't end up needing to be saved at all....the chicken was moist and delicious, it's skin crispy and golden {my buddy had seconds!}. it was hardly intimidating to make and my bread salad was a perfect compliment. it may not be from the zuni cafe cookbook but it was still super bomb {yeah, i typed that. deal!}


roast chicken with edible roasting rack
adapted from martha stewart
serves 4-6
  • a day-old baguette
  • whole chicken {about 5 pounds}
  • 2 tbsp. softened unsalted butter
  • a bunch of thyme
  • 7 garlic cloves, lightly smashed
  • 1/2 a lemon, quartered
  • salt & pepper
  1. preheat oven to 425. arrange torn day-old baguette in a roasting pan.
  2. place the cleaned chicken on bread. stuff 3-4 thyme sprigs under the skin of each breast. season the cavity with salt and pepper then stuff with the lemon, a small handful of thyme sprigs, and 2 smashed garlic cloves. cross and tie legs with kitchen twine.
  3. brush the chicken with the softened butter. season the outside liberally with salt and pepper.
  4. scatter the rest of the garlic cloves and 4-6 more thyme sprigs at the bottom of the pan.
  5. roast chicken and bread for 40 minutes. then remove bread from pan and set aside for the salad. continue roasting the chicken for around another 15 minutes or until done*.
  6. cover chicken with tin foil and let rest for 10 minutes. carve and serve.
*as i briefly referenced above, doneness can be checked by a instant-read thermometer. insert into the thickest part of the thigh and the temperature should read 165. if you're old school, like me, you can also check doneness by cutting into the thigh. if the juices run clear it should be ready.



farmers market bread salad
adapted from gourmet
serves 2
  • 1 sliced portabella mushroom
  • 3 cups of watercress
  • 1/3 cup gouda cheese, cuded
  • handful of chives, chopped
  • handful of dill sprigs
  • 1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp. dijon mustand
  • salt & pepper
before roasting chicken*:
  1. preheat oven to 425 with rack in the middle.
  2. toss mushroom w. 1 tbsp olive oil, salt & pepper. roast in 1 layer in a 4-sided sheet pan, turning once, until golden brown and tender, about 10 minutes. let cool.
*mushrooms can be roasted 4 hours ahead and kept at room temperature.

once the croutons are removed from roasting pan:
  1. whisk together vinegar, mustard, and olive oil until combined. salt and pepper to taste.
  2. toss half the dressing on the warm croutons. toss the other half with the mushrooms, gouda, watercress and herbs.
  3. serve croutons with salad.


posted by jordan.
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chocolate, almond, & banana parfaits.



parfaits are sort of the ugly ducklings of the desert world. it's difficult to make them look good but they usually taste awesome. see above for a superb example, c'mon, can i really convince you from that picture that parfaits are delicious? no, it honestly looks pretty sloppy. you're probably thinking 'gross, why on earth would i want to eat or make that?' but, trust me, this is a good everyday desert. all those layers of different flavors and textures seem like something that i would've found equally frightening and exciting to eat as a kid.....who am i kidding? parfaits still seems so wrong, but are so right.

this particular combo is fairly classic. if you've enjoyed a frozen chocolate banana you'll probably be into this too.


chocolate, almond, & banana parfaits.
adapted from bon appetit
serves 2
  • vanilla ice cream
  • 1/2 a bar of bittersweet chocolate
  • amaretto liquor
  • 1/2 cup marcona almonds
  • 1 large banana
  1. roughly chop almonds and cut the banana into quarter-inch slices.
  2. heat the chopped chocolate in a double boiler until melted. add a generous splash of amaretto to the melted chocolate and stir until blended.
  3. layer banana and almonds into the bottom of two tall glasses. top each with the melted chocolate and layer with a scoop of ice cream. repeat. finish the parfaits with a drizzle of chocolate, slices of banana and a sprinkle of almonds.
posted by jordan.
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8.31.2010

roasted yams with sour cream & chives.



i mentioned before how my sweet tooth is highly underdeveloped. when i make deserts it's pretty much a given that it's really for someone else to enjoy. my love of savory flavors is so extreme that even certain veggies don't get invited to my house often {corn....peas....i'm looking at you!}. one of those veggies is definitely yams. it's not that i don't like them {they really are quite lovely} it's just most recipes aim the draw out their richness while i would rather be hiding it. they are sweet enough on their own. do you really need to add maple syrup, or pecans, or brown sugar? please....

these yams take the place of a normal baked potato with highly satisfying results. the sweet yam mixed with the tangy sour cream and sharp chives is oddly complimentary. i never thought a roasted yam could make a baked potato {one of my favorites} look so boring.

roasted yams with sour cream & chives.
adapted from bon appetit
serves 2
  • 2 small to medium-sized yams
  • unsalted butter
  • sour cream
  • chives
  • sea salt
  1. preheat oven to 350. prick yams with the tines of a fork and wrap separately in aluminum foil. bake until tender, about 45 minutes.
  2. cut yams into 1/2'' slices. coat slices in a little butter and salt.
  3. top slices with a generous dollop of sour cream and a handful of torn chives.
posted by jordan.
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8.30.2010

a cheese plate.



5 years ago i met the boy that would end up becoming my best friend, confidant, and so much more. he was 21, wore pleated khakis and had a terrible military style haircut. he had never tried sushi and mostly lived off of canned soup and chili. on our first outing together he took me to the cheesecake factory not realizing that any restaurant with the word factory in its name is not to be trusted. i took him to nic & stef's, a steak house, where he literally orgasmed over the combination of cold tomatoes, hot steak, and strong scotch. i think something happened to him that night.....

fast forward to the present where now this boy only shops at zara man, likes to wear his hair longer, and can appreciate many more foods than just ones that come from a can. in fact, he loves food....almost as much as i do! it's one of the major bonds of our relationship. together we have discovered some of the best cuisine that la offers and a myriad of ways that an underage girl can score a hard drink.

this boy instantly {and happily i might add} became my official cooking tester. chorizo, kale & potato soup was a smash success. vegetables with orzo & feta.......a major flop. he has seen the best and the worst of me, one of those ways definitely being found in the kitchen. our favorite way of spending time together is through eating and one of our favorite things to eat is cheese. cheese is something i could exist on singularly and i'm ecstatic that my best bud feels the exact same way about it as i do.

a cheese plate is almost comically easy to put together and there's no recipe involved. grab some of your favorite cheeses, add some accompaniments, pour some red wine and voila....you're done! this was an especially tasty cheese plate but add and subtract. the whole point is to make something you enjoy. if you impress your guests you might even get a chic hostess gift like my green tea kit kats from japan.



a cheese plate.

cheese:
  • triple cream brie
  • smoked gouda
  • stilton blue cheese
accompaniments:
  • marcona almonds
  • dried figs
  • dried cherries
  • mango honey (not pictured)
  • pureed raspberry jam (not pictured)
tips:
  • try to buy cheeses that each have there own unique taste and/or texture. otherwise, the flavors will blend too much.
  • like melon and prosciutto or peanut butter and chocolate, wine and cheese really are meant to be together. even if you don't like or drink wine, cough up the dough and buy a bottle. trust me, for this, it's worthwhile.
my favorite cheese plates in los angeles:
posted by jordan.
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8.26.2010

zucchini-pecan cake with cream cheese frosting.



i enjoy baking! as a girl that is sometimes accused of being too boyish baking tends to be the time i feel the most womanly. i awkwardly imagine i'm wearing a full skirt and apron with pearls dangling daintily from my neck {usually i'm wearing a grubby t-shirt and loose sweatpants but hey, i can dream!}. unfortunately there are not tons of occasions when baking is useful. i'm not going to make myself a cake every week because, well, my cats and i would surely become obese and because as much i like baking i oddly don't have a major sweet tooth. thankfully there are still birthdays, holidays, tailgate parties, and these are definitely the times i can and do bake.

there is also an enemy in this sweet story. an arch-adversary that is secretly trying to sabotage my pies and pound cakes, my crisps and cobblers, his name is whirlpool accubake....my oven! my {goddamn, piece of sh*t} oven is out to destroy me, either that or show off. no matter what a recipe cooking time is supposed to be my accubake makes it 10-15 minutes faster....sometimes....other times 15-20, 20-30, he's not very consistent but, boy, is he fast. baking is such a strangely scientific process and my oven makes my attempts at it a crap shoot.

when i saw this recipe for zucchini cake with cream cheese frosting i almost fell over. i love carrot cake and this sounded like it would have a striking resemblance to that desert we all know. i had to try....accubake be damned!

my oven "brought it" and tried his hardest to ruin me. the cake ended up tasting and smelling fantastic {i could eat erasers in that frosting} but did turn out to be a tad too dry {you win this round accubake!}. i'm going to post the recipe anyways because it was still terribly tasty and if you have a tamed oven it should turn out perfect! i thought of mine as zucchini bread and ate it for breakfast. don't worry about me i'll break my accubake someday......hopefully.


zucchini-pecan cake with cream cheese frosting
serves 10

cake:
  • nonstick vegetable oil spray
  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 3/4 cup olive oil (not extra-virgin)
  • 1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups coarsely grated zucchini (about 8 ounces)
  • 3/4 cup chopped pecans
frosting:
  • 1/2 8-ounce package philadelphia brand cream cheese (do not use reduced-fat or fat-free), room temperature
    3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon


for cake:

  1. position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. line 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides with parchment paper. coat parchment paper with nonstick spray.

  2. whisk flour, baking powder, coarse salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg in medium bowl to blend well.
  3. whisk oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in large bowl to blend well; fold in flour mixture, then grated zucchini and pecans. transfer cake batter to prepared pan.
  4. bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. cool cake completely in pan, about 1 hour. cut around sides of pan to loosen. turn cake out onto platter; peel off parchment paper.
for frosting:

  1. beat cream cheese and butter in medium bowl until blended. beat in sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon
  2. spread frosting thickly over top of cake. sift cinnamon evenly over the frosting.

posted by jordan.
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8.25.2010

a strip steak.



it's always hard for me to cook for someone for the first time. my self-consciousness rises to new heights and my taste buds don't ever seem to throughly enjoy what i've prepared. i'm always dreading my friends being too polite while secretly wanting to spit out what i've made. though they never do and most even asks for seconds.

when my friend recently asked me to make something for him i felt that awkward first twinge of fear which grew into nauseous alarm when he threw in that he'd really enjoy "a steak or something". you know what? i get it, he's from minnesota where i'm sure cow is served in some form for breakfast, lunch, & dinner but here in los angeles steak seems unhealthy, fattening, and most of all cooking one threatens to set off the two fire alarms in my 900 square foot apartment.

personally, i love steak. it, along with sushi, is one of the main reasons i could never be a vegetarian but preparing a strip steak in my home always seemed intimidating. i could probably manage to cook it, yes, but would it be good? i was willing to gamble my reputation and friendship to find out.

my fire alarm ended up sounding for 15 straight minutes but, boy, was that crust worth it.



strip steak
adapted from gq
servers 2

  • 1 strip steak of the best quality you can afford, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches thick, about 1 pound.
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • sea salt & black pepper
  • fresh parsley {optional}
  1. take the steak out of the fridge about an hour before cooking. let come to room temperature.
  2. set your oven to 500 degrees.
  3. heat tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, or until it's smoking.*
  4. pat the steak dry with paper towels. generously salt and pepper it on all sides.
  5. lay the steak in the pan and cook, untouched, for about 5 minutes. flip and move skillet to the oven. cook steak for about 8 more minutes.
  6. remove the skillet from the oven and cover the steak with foil and let rest for 5 minutes.
  7. drizzle steak with extra virgin olive oil and finish with a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley.
* take out your fire alarm batteries if you live in a small space. make sure to keep windows open and turn your vents and fans on.....you'll thank me later.
posted by jordan.
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8.24.2010

green beans and zucchini with sauce verte.



as someone who loves food it seems almost wrong to type what i'm about to. vegetables aren't that much fun to prepare. they are rarely the main event and honestly it takes a great amount of skill to coax the flavor out of them. i like em' don't get me wrong but they can easily get a little dull. no offensive veggies, you're cute and all.

now there are simple ways of remedying this issue. the easiest being to give the veggies there own sauce. my mom did this a lot when i was a kid. broccoli just wasn't broccoli without a thick layer of cheddar cheese sauce on top. it was delicious but what's the point of eating your vegetables when it's accompaniment has more calories and fat than the rest of your meal? this sauce verte on the other hand is flavorful, fresh, and, dare i say, a healthy sauce for some green beans & zucchini.



green beans and zucchini with sauce verte
adapted from bon appetit
serves 3

sauce verte:
  • 1/4 cup (packed) fresh basil leaves
  • 1/2 green onion, coarsely chopped
  • 3 tablespoons (packed) fresh Italian parsley
  • 1 tablespoons drained capers
  • a squeeze of fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 garlic clove, peeled
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
vegetables:
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 a pound green beans, stem end trimmed
  • 1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise, half cut lengthwise into 1/3-inch-wide strips
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 1 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley leaves (for garnish)

  1. Roughly chopped the the first 7 ingredients. put all the chopped ingredients in a bowl and add the extra virgin olive oil. let stand.
  2. Heat oil in heavy large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add vegetables; stir until coated. Sprinkle with salt and 3 tablespoons water.
  3. Cover; cook vegetables until almost crisp-tender, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Uncover; cook until vegetables are just tender, about 2 minutes longer.
  4. Stir in enough sauce verte to coat vegetables generously. Season with salt and pepper.
  5. Transfer to bowl. Garnish with parsley.
posted by jordan.
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8.23.2010

homegrown tomato bruschetta.



my grandfather loves his backyard. growing up i remember him holding the hose constantly watering his flower pots and fruit trees while i swam and splashed in his pool. my bare feet would sting as i ran on the hot summer cement to steal a plum or an apricot. those summers my chlorine-filled eyes were always bloodshot and my hands were always sticky. i ate as many wonderful fruits as his trees would allow and was curious as to why the things he grew tasted a million times better than produce from the market. i was 7.

at 23 i have a obvious understanding of why a plum picked off a tree tastes better than one flown in from chile but there's still a level of craftsmanship i don't throughly comprehend. i've tried dozens of times to grow simple things like rosemary and cilantro and i still can't get the hang of it. my grandpa can grow a zucchini that has more flavor than a piece of lamb and that skill is something inherent and something i don't possess. maybe it stems from his poor childhood when he was forced to pick his way through fields of ripe fruits and veggies or maybe, just maybe, he's lucky. either way, my papa joe gave me some of his tomatoes....

cooking a papa joe homegrown tomato seems like a travesty of justice. it tastes so good all on its own. i mainly have been eating them sliced thin with a pinch of sea salt and a little good olive oil. when a buddy came over hungry i wanted to show off a bit so i decided to whip up this quick bruschetta. the equation ended up like this = tomatoes + toast > tomatoes.


homegrown tomatoes with balsamic and dill bruschetta.
serves 2
  • one tomato
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • balsamic vinegar
  • crushed red pepper flakes
  • chopped chives
  • dill sprigs
  • salt & pepper
  • 2 slices of sourdough bread
  1. chop the tomato and toss with balsamic vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil, chopped chives, and a pinch of crushed red-pepper flakes. salt and pepper to taste. let stand.
  2. heat a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. add the sourdough slices. flip slices when toasted (about three minutes) and repeat. sprinkle toasts with a pinch of salt.
  3. spoon tomato mixture onto toasts, and garnish with a few dill sprigs.
posted by jordan.
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