The cold weather months always make us crave warm, comforting foods. Often times, they are rich stews. I wanted to mix things up a bit and see if I can attain the same comfort with just veggies, some bread and top with a poached egg.
Category: <span>Cookery</span>
Today marks the first night of hannukah. We’re spending this holiday close to home and are forging our own traditions. It turned out to be a glorious day (weather-wise) and we took full advantage of it.
Of course latkes were mandatory, but who says you can’t pair them with a chicken and broccoli stir fry? That’s exactly what we did when I made our (some say famous) chicken stir fry.
Thankfully, there are quite a few more nights of Hanukkah which present the perfect opportunity to create more family traditions.
We decided on a low-key, home-made dinner for hubby’s birthday. After a long discussion, he ordered some sort of a stew, mashed potatoes and Tiramisu. I happily obliged. Warning: there is no finished picture of the Tiramisu as we devoured it, and my mother’s AMAZING apple cake before snapping any pictures. I assure you, they both were delicious.
Manly beef…
Seared for MAXIMUM flavor…
Accompanied with mashed potatoes and sweet snap peas.
Chased with dessert…
Hubby turned 30 yesterday. The B-I-G 3-0 as I like to refer to it. In reality, it isn’t so big and we celebrated low-key with my in-laws which is just like we wanted. We did start the weekend early, with an indulgent (in calories) dinner at home with the baby and continued the celebrations into his actual day.
… anyway. Back to Friday’s indulgent dinner. Nothing is more indulgent than … well, butter and heavy cream and carbs. So, Cacio e Pepe which literally means Cheese and Pepper it was — with luscious fettuccine. To reign in the calories and health factor, we went with olive oil and we added a little bit of meyer lemon zest into the sauce and juice when finishing. We also added arugula for the health factor. The kitchen lit up with that delicate, zingy lemon fresh smell as the essential oils in the zest infused the butter. Mmmm… good.
… and …
The perfection of even the simplest menu can be elusive. We celebrated Thanksgiving with our families which included both our sides of the family. I was responsible for the stuffing (plain and turkey sausage and apple) and stuffed mushrooms while my mom took on sweet and mashed potatoes and provided the raw bird. The rest of the delicious dishes came from my mother-in-law and sister. My mother-in-law brought amazing the cranberry sauce, a carrot cake and turkey-shaped cookies. My sister brought a sumptuous green bean casserole, a honey cake and a chocolate pie-cake (amazing thing-a-ma-bob). But the simplest dish of them all can quickly turn into dry, mealy, flavor-less disaster which we successfully avoided this year.
The day before Thanksgiving, we brined the turkey in sugar, salt, sage, rosemary, garlic and thyme. The day of, I made an herb butter which i slathered under the turkey’s skin and we baked it, first at 500*F and then at 350*F. Here are the before and after:
I know that slathering in herb butter sounds… well… luxurious but you should do it right, or go home. Sophia tried the feast and definitely approved!
Sunday mornings are all about sleeping in, sumptuous breakfasts and a lazy day that follows. Sleeping in is a thing of the past in our house and so there is little energy left for sumptuous breakfasts too. Besides, we’re trying to be healthy this week, month, now. Healthy doesn’t have to be bland! I present to you … the easy vanilla parfait with strawberry vanilla stew, and a vanilla almond granola.
The vanilla yogurt was low fat — I refuse to eat anything non-fat because fats help you stay sated & are good for you in moderation. The strawberry vanilla stew was whipped up in 5 minutes while making Sophia’s whole-milk oatmeal (yum) and the granola was Bear Naked!
It is no longer summer outside, the holidays are coming and with them the cold and holiday parties. We decided to whip up a healthy breakfast in order to suppress the inevitable weight gain and stave off the wintery blues. I present to you: A whole grain english muffin topped with baby tomatoes, avocado and an egg (sunny side up). It was delicious and worth the effort.
These past two weeks, in fact, these past two months have been very hectic. That also explains a “writer’s block” that this blog has suffered from. Hubby’s has had a ridiculous work schedule and I’ve been busy taking care of the baby while he’s bringing home the bacon so to speak. I work also, but manage a much more respectable schedule — at least for now.
I couldn’t wait until yesterday (Friday, at last). We acquired groceries, the house was clean and were both very ready for the weekend. Whole Foods was running a rediculously great sale on New York Strip Steak and so we picked up a single steak, haricot verts and russian fingerling potatoes. We didn’t want to go out, since dinner out with a 13-month old is hardly enjoyable, and we didn’t have a babysitter, so we had dinner at home: Romance for Three.
Hubby whipped out his Shichirin grill and made a perfect steak. I drizzled olive oil, garlic and salt over the haricot verts and boiled the potatoes to be dressed later. While the potatoes are not an homage to my homeland, we did prepare them in a typical russian style: dressed in sour cream, garlic and dill.
And now, the ultimate key to a flawless romantic dinner for … three: feed thy child before you eat and ensure plenty of nibbles (i.e., cheerios, kix, cookies… etc) to play with.
I recently discovered that cooking or doing anything for that matter is simply impossible if you’re also the chief caretaker of an active toddler. Our dinners and lunches have gotten progressively simpler, easier to make and healthier. The latter is due to the lack of time in preparing any sauce or anything else too fattening. Chicken, chicken, more chicken. Did someone say chicken? Of course even chicken can be spruced up and made into something special. To me, there are only two special chicken dishes: sous which is something my mother makes and homemade chicken soup.
I made this dish recently … it took a long time, but it was a lazy weekend. First, a whole chicken went into a giant pot to make chicken stock along with parsnips, onion, parsley and celery. Then, two chicken breasts were roasted whole in the oven with salt and olive oil to be shredded and added to the stock. Lastly, onion, garlic, celery, carrot and potato were sauteed lightly along with shiitake mushrooms to form the base of the soup. Mmm good! I finished off with petit peas for color and added green.
The summer and fall were busy seasons in our family as they were peppered with many children’s birthday celebrations. Although tiring to commute up north to Pennsylvania and Delaware, it is always great to see family and watch kids play together. This past Saturday marked the last of the children’s birthdays; It was my nephew’s 9th birthday and I had offered to make his cake. My sister and brother-in-law accepted my offer and gave me free reign on the theme. Their sole request was that the cake be any flavor other than chocolate. Begrudgingly, I agreed. I mean c’mon, how can you not want a chocolate birthday cake?!
Regardless, a roasted apple spice cake with cream cheese (and butter) frosting was baked with love and adorned with fondant legos. It was a hit with the kids and sophisticated enough for the adults despite the aqua blue icing. Maybe next year, I’ll make Sophia’s cake…
