The Incredible, Edible Egg

I've been really into eggs recently. Not just your standard scramble or omelette, but eggs on everything. Deviled eggs, eggs on pizza, eggs on grits, eggs on rice. Basically eggs on any sort of carb-bomb. Maybe it's because they're super easy, versatile and cheap. They can go from breakfast to lunch to dinner; and are essential to my favorite course: dessert. Or maybe it's that eggs are timeless. People have used eggs since we figured out that chickens laid them. (Or did the egg come first and then the chicken? Another story for another day...) It could be that during my recent training for a half-marathon, I found myself craving some serious protein. I inhaled smoked salmon eggs benedict from The Bowery Diner after the actual race like it was oxygen (which was delicious and I definitely recommend it!).

Regardless of the reason, I don't think anyone could argue that eggs are delicious and a staple as an ingredient or as a stand-alone course. So when I saw a recipe for carbonara pasta on one of my favorite blogs How Sweet It Is, I had to give it a try. I've had spaghetti carbonara several times in restaurants (in fact, the carbonara at Landmarc - shameless plug - is quite tasty), but have never ventured to make it on my own. I guess something about eggs and pasta intimidated me. But after my new egg-kick, there's nothing I wouldn't put an egg on. Not surprisingly, this dish was totally foolproof and absolutely egg-cellent even on a warm evening in New York City.

Spaghetti Carbonara adapted from How Sweet It Is
makes 2-3 hearty servings

Ingredients:
1/2 lb long, thin pasta (I used brown rice spaghetti, but you could use linguine, angel hair, whatever you have in the pantry)
1/4 lb pancetta, chopped
1 medium-large shallot, chopped
10 oz baby bella mushrooms, quartered
2 large eggs
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
salt & pepper

1. Cook the pancetta in a large skillet over medium-high heat, until browned and the fat has rendered, about 5-7 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Turn down heat to low.
2. Add the shallot and mushrooms to the pan with a pinch of salt. Cook until browned and softened, about 8 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add the pasta. While the pasta and mushrooms are cooking, mix together the eggs and cheese in a small bowl.
4. When the pasta is cooked to al dente, reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water, then drain. Add the cooked pasta to the skillet with the shallot and mushrooms. Quickly toss to mix.
5. Remove the skillet from the heat and pour in the egg and cheese mixture. Stir constantly for a minute or two until all the noodles are coated.
6. Stir in the pancetta and top with more parmesan cheese and a couple grinds of black pepper.

MMMBop & MMMTasty

I'm beginning to think I have an obsessive personality. Mostly in terms of entertainment, but nonetheless obsessive. It all began with Hanson in the 4th grade. Taylor Hanson's high tenor had me hypnotized at the first "MMMBop. I had a pile three feet tall with every issue of Teen Bop and Tiger Beat that those three heads of luscious blonde locks ever did grace. I knew all of their birthdays, favorite colors, favorite foods. I knew more about Hanson than they knew about themselves. My greatest possession was a gigantic, wall-sized poster of the trio, which served as my audience while I danced and sang along to all of their songs. But the greatest testament of my love was the not one, but two Hanson concerts I went to, after which I cried for days because I was so devastated that it was over. I wasn't your average teeny bopper, I was dedicated to the core. I lived and breathed Hanson.

While that enormous poster has been rolled up in the attic for some time now, I've found other outlets to latch my obsessive tendencies onto over the years: NSYNC, Britney Spears (still pretty obsessed with her), Harry Potter (also still in love with him). And most recently, The Hunger Games. As my friends and I waited inside the theater at 8:45 PM for the midnight movie debut, I actually had butterflies in my stomach. I was so overwhelmed with excitement and anticipation. Would it live up to the hype? What if I left disappointed? It was the same sort of nervous-excited I remember feeling at my first Hanson concert. To my stomach's relief, the movie was all that I'd hoped it would be and left me wanting a loaf of bread kneaded by Peeta <3

The only thing that could make Hunger Games week even better was... MAD MEN!!! Another current obsession of mine, and probably the most age appropriate. So to top off such an epic week, Elana and I decided it was totally necessary to make a Mad Men themed feast to celebrate. Complete with deviled eggs, homemade onion dip & Peeta chips (sorry, had to!), mint juleps, and a funfetti cake. I really couldn't have asked for a better way to sign off the weekend. Well maybe with Peeta and/or Don. And a little MMMBop in the background.

Cilantro garlic pita chips, recipe at Epicurious 

Caramelized onion dip, also Epicurious

Deviled eggs, recipe adapted from Big Girls Small Kitchen

Mint Juleps - Epicurious 

Funfetti - greatest ever boxed baked good

What does your cereal say about YOU?

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am not a spontaneous person. I do not live by the seat of my pants, but by schedule. I like routines. I like making plans. "Spontaneous" for me is sleeping until 9 A.M. on a Saturday and splurging on a bagel instead of my usual Kashi cereal. In fact, my brother and I were joking the other day about what kind of cereal we would be. We said he'd be Coco Puffs and I would be Bran, because I'm always regular (hehe). So that's me. A big bowl o' reliable Bran.

My need for a routine and structure translates into my eating habits as well. I always eat three square meals a day, and of course a snack and dessert (or two). I really do not understand people who just "forget" to eat a meal, or somehow manage to stave off hunger all day simply by eating a banana or yogurt. Not only do I get irritable like a 5 year old if I've gone too long without eating, but what I eat is all I think about. All. Day. Long. Thinking about food (and of course eating it too) is what makes my world go round. A life without breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert(s) is simply a life not worth living.

People always say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And while I agree that nothing beats a big bowl of cereal with cold milk, I do think lunch gets shafted. Lunch is sadly an afterthought for many people in the busy working world. Scrapped for time, some people will just grab a so-so sandwich or soggy salad at the corner deli. But for me, planning my lunches every week is like a secret drug. Picking the recipe, making the shopping list - it's a Type A's dream. As soon as I get to work every morning I start counting down the hours until it is acceptable to eat lunch. If I didn't have a delicious lunch to look forward to, what would be the point of getting up every day?

Here I bring you my lunch for the week: wheat berry salad with figs, golden raisins, celery and red onion. Stirring the pot of wheat berries this weekend, all I could think to myself was "I cannot wait for lunch on Monday". I know I sound crazy - a compulsive planner with the mentality of a morbidly obese person - but you should trust me on this one. This salad is good. And totally worth a little compulsive planning.

Wheat Berry Salad adapted from The Kitchn
makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups wheat berries
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup orange juice
2 tbs honey
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup dried figs, finely chopped
1/2 medium red onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs lemon zest (from about 2 lemons)
1 cup roasted almonds, roughly chopped
Handful fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp kosher salt
Freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

1. Cover the wheat berries with water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and partially cover the pot. Cook 45 minutes, until the wheat berries are tender and chewy.
2. Meanwhile, whisk the rice vinegar, orange juice and honey together in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and add the raisins and figs. Turn off the heat and let the fruit steep in the liquid.
3. When the wheat berries are ready, drain and add to a large bowl with the celery and red onion. Toss with olive oil and lemon zest. Add the vinegar and juice mixture, with all the fruit and mix. Stir in almonds, parsley and salt. Season with pepper as desired. Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold.

Lessons from Ina: How easy is that?

I have a mental list of recipes that I've always wanted to try, but haven't had the guts to. As easy as Ina makes it look, that double-layer chocolate cake really can't be that simple. There are several factors that might shy me a way from a certain recipe: too many ingredients, need for particular (or expensive) cookware, patience. This is why I rarely blog about baking; because I don't have any more space in my apartment to house five different cake pans and I don't have the patience to follow a recipe word for word.

While I don't see myself getting over my baking phobia any time soon, I will brave more savory recipes when I'm feeling adventurous. Some feared recipes that I've been able to cross off my list: frittata, risotto, braised short ribs. The funny thing is, every time I've finally attempted one of these dishes, I'm always surprised at how easy and not scary it is.

So this past Friday evening was the perfect occasion to give lasagna a go. I was having some friends over, so I wanted to serve something that I could prepare ahead of time and just heat up before they arrived (Ina's number one rule when entertaining: never serve something that will keep you over the stove while guests are waiting hungrily). Lasagna has always been hallowed ground for me. Gaga makes lasagna every Christmas Eve, so I've always felt that lasagna was her territory, not to be toyed with. Luckily, this lasagna was for friends, so I didn't have to live up to the decades-old expectations from family and could play with the recipe as needed.

While I tend to use recipes more for inspiration (see above, re: lack of patience), I do stick closely to a recipe when trying something for the first time. So who better to go to than the Food Goddess Herself: Ina. While there was no one part to the recipe that was particularly difficult, it was a bit time consuming between cooking the sauce, pasta, and actual cook time. But all good things come with a wait, right?

Right. So, so right. The lasagna was incredibly cheesy, with so many great flavors - tanginess from the goat cheese, butteriness from the mozzarella, and a fresh, herbiness from the basil. We all went back for seconds and thirds, and yet somehow managed not to feel heavy and weighed down at all. A great dish to feed a crowd or impress your friends, yet relatively simple. As we shoved our faces, cheese oozing down our chins, I couldn't help but think (in the words of Ina): Now, how easy is that?


Ina Garten's Lasagna with Turkey Sausage
serves a crowd
Ingredients:
For the sauce:
2 tbs olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb turkey sausage, casings removed
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley, divided
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
Kosher salt
Pepper

For the lasagna:
1/2 lb lasagna noodles
15 oz ricotta cheese
4 oz creamy goat cheese, crumbled
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for sprinkling
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 lb fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
2. Add the sausage, breaking up with the back of a wooden spoon and cook until no longer pink, about 10 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, basil, salt and pepper. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat until thickened, about 15-20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with the hottest tap water. Add the noodles and let sit in the water for 20 minutes. Drain.
5. In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, goat cheese, Parmesan, the egg, the rest of the parsley, and salt and pepper. Set aside.
6. Ladle a third of a the sauce into a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish, spreading over the bottom. Layer  half the noodles, half the mozzarella, half the ricotta and one-third of the sauce. Repeat. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese to lightly cover the top. Bake for 30 minutes in a 400-degree oven, until bubbling. (If serving later, refrigerate as needed, but allow to come to room temperature for about an hour before putting in the oven. This is what I did and it worked out great!)

Lotsa layers!

Cheesyliciousness

In the words of Ina, how bad can that be?

Generalgowslover: My Love of Chinese Food Through The Ages

I really love Chinese food. Like really. So much so that my AIM screen name in high school was generalgowslover (no, I'm not kidding; and yes, that's spelled incorrectly). My friends and I would walk downtown after school to the Three Gorges Restaurant to get platters of fried rice, lo mein, and general tso's chicken. A more than hefty afternoon snack, I often left feeling nauseous and sometimes doubting that the general tso's was actual chicken, but I always came back for more. The sweet and spicy sauce, the fried coating - it was a greasy teenager's dream.

Now five years later, with a metabolism half the speed and a palate somewhat more refined, my general tso's consumption has greatly decreased. In fact, up until this past New Year's Day I had never even eaten Chinese food in Chinatown! Hard to believe, but after living in Chinatown for a summer in college, I was pretty scarred by the constant fishy smell and little ladies yelling "handbag, handbag!" at your every step. If I wanted Chinese, I would order delivery (this is New York City after all!) to avoid my stinky, stressful memories of Chinatown. However, this New Year's Day my friend Hayley invited me and some other friends to venture into the forbidden land. Normally, I would have been turned off by this idea, but this seemed like the perfect situation for several reasons:

1. New Year's Day = hungover = in dire need of greasy, fatty, salty food
2. Chinatown is one of the few areas in NYC where you can hide your post-binge drinking shame under Uggs and sweatpants in public and not feel bad about it
3. A New Year means time for new experiences!
4. HUNGOVER!!!

As we walked to our destination, Shanghai Cafe on Mott Street, my memories of Chinatown quickly came back to me: shop owners yelling at each other, the smell of fish making my nose hairs curl. But I was so focused on getting to the restaurant and eating myself into a food coma, that these distractions didn't bother me. And the trek was totally worth it. The food was insanely cheap, and the portions quite generous. We were a group of eight people and only shared about ten sentences the whole meal, as we shoveled food into our mouths, determined to kiss 2011 and the residual hangover goodbye. 

Thanks to that meal, I made it out alive of my post-2011 haze; and while I can't say that I'll be venturing into Chinatown every time I have a craving, my initial fear of the area is now gone. So until my next adventure (or serious hangover), here's a more healthy version of one of the dishes we shared that fateful night: orange chicken. 

Orange Chicken with Broccolini (inspired by Epicurious)
makes 2-3 servings


Ingredients:
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp finely grated orange zest
1 tbsp canola or vegetable oil
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 bunch broccolini, ends trimmed
salt & pepper
cooked brown rice

1. Whisk orange juice, soy sauce and cornstarch together in a small bowl until cornstarch is dissolved. Stir in orange zest. Set aside.
2. Heat oil over high heat in a large skillet. Add onions and red pepper flakes. Saute about a minute, until onions are fragrant.
3. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to the skillet, stirring occasionally, letting the chicken and onions brown slightly. About 7 minutes.
4. Add the juice mixture and broccolini to the pan. Stir to coat chicken and broccolini in the sauce. Cook until the broccolini is tender, but still crisp, and the sauce thickens, about 8 minutes. Serve warm (or cold!) over brown rice.

Kitchen Casualties

Okay, so maybe the title is a little dramatic. I personally don't know of any actual casualties in the kitchen, but I've had my fair share of burns, bumps and bloopers. One of my first cooking conundrums I can remember was in my high school French class. We each were to prepare some sort of traditional French dish. Mind you, I was only a high school freshman and my cooking skills ranged from preparing Kraft mac & cheese to heating up Ellio's pizza in the microwave. I can't remember the exact name of the dish, but it was some sort of white cake with a whipped topping and berries - not very memorable, and not very good. As I was taking the hot cake pan out of the oven, I burnt my arm on the side of the oven and dropped the cake on the floor, which crumbled into several pieces. Luckily, the cake pieces were still large enough to salvage, and I quickly - so as not to disobey the 5 second rule - picked up the broken cake and glued it back together with the whipped egg whites. This probably says a lot about my character (or lack thereof) that I was willing to serve cake that had fallen on the floor to my fellow classmates, but I'm pretty sure no one wound up touching it anyway, as it looked like a crumbly, bland mess. 

My most frustrating and humbling cooking experience was a couple years ago during my week-long "boot camp" at the Culinary Institute of America. The day's lesson was knife cuts: brunoise, chiffonade, julienne (don't these all sound like awesome names for a little French child?). My breaking point was segmenting oranges and grapefruits. It was a total, utter mess. I could not, for the life of me, cut between each thin, delicate membrane. Sticky pith stuck under my fingernails, juices running all over my hands, causing my grip on the knife to slip over and over, leading to several little cuts all over my fingers, which then began to sting like hell from the all citrus juices. Our petite yet stern instructor clearly did not approve. I was ready to call it quits and give up on cooking forever. Luckily, I didn't, and luckily, my hands smelled citrusy fresh for days. 

Skip ahead a few years, and minus a few minor cuts, I've escaped any major mistakes. Until last week that is. It was Thursday night and I was ready to celebrate the looming weekend with a decadent dinner. Enter bacon and bacon fat. With some brussels sprouts still in my fridge, I knew that frozen bacon in the back of my freezer would be the perfect way to add some indulgence to an otherwise healthy veg. After frying up the bacon, the fatty, salty smell had me just so excited to eat that I hastily dumped the brussels sprouts into the hot bacon fat. NEVER DO THIS!! Hot bacon fat everywhere! On my clothes, stained the white paint on my walls, and burned the skin on my wrist. Ouch! After some icing and a nice glass of wine, the redness and swelling went down significantly, and now I'm left with a little constellation of red marks on my arm. Injury aside, the pasta with brussels sprouts and bacon was absolutely delicious and totally worth the pain. 

Pasta with Bacon & Brussels Sprouts

serves one

Ingredients:

2 slices bacon

1 1/2 cups brussels sprouts, quartered

1/2 tsp salt

pinch of crushed red pepper flakes 

1/4 cup chicken broth

2/3 cup whole wheat penne

1/4 cup grated Asiago cheese (or Parmesan)

1. In a medium skillet, cook bacon over medium-high heat until crispy. Transfer to paper towels to drain.

2. Turn down the heat on the skillet and wait a minute for the hot bacon fat to cool slightly (do not skip this step!). Add brussels sprouts, salt and crushed red pepper to the skillet. Toss to coat in the fat and saute a couple minutes until the sprouts start to brown. Add the chicken broth, cover and cook about 5 minutes until sprouts are just tender.

3. Meanwhile, cook pasta in salted boiling water until al dente. Drain.

4. Remove the lid from the sprouts and add in the cooked pasta. Crumble the cooked bacon over the pasta. Stir gently to combine.

5. Remove pan from the heat and stir in grated cheese. Serve hot!

A New Year's Resol-soup-tion

It's been almost a month since my last blog post, and while I haven't written in a while, I can assure you that this time has been filled with lots of cooking, eating, and drinking (repeat that sequence about 14 times). From gingerbread cookies to Gaga's lasagna, it's been a nonstop comfort-food-filled-and-sugar-high month.

To "make up" for a month's worth of indulgences, many people vow to be healthier or go to the gym in the new year. Frankly, this annoys me. First of all, these gym newbies take over all the treadmills from us regular gym-goers from January until those resolutions grow stale. Let's be honest people: flocking to the gym on January 1st isn't going to get rid of the 5 chocolate Santa's you gobbled up in December. And the "be more healthy" resolution is perhaps even more of an empty promise than the born-again gym rats. In order to be more healthy, you need to set real, tangible goals (i.e. cook at home more, eat smaller portions). The reason so many of these resolutions fail is that they are too elusive to see any real progress or change, so people just give up. But if you take easy, measurable steps, you're much more likely to stick to and succeed at your goals.

Now I'm not here to lecture. What do I really know about resolutions and life goals? I'm mostly just bitter about the new guy at the gym who's always walking on my favorite treadmill (WALKING, not even running!!) But I am here to share a delicious recipe for Italian Wedding Soup. I came across a recipe last week via Pinterest (check out my page!) that piqued my interest. I'm not sure why, as I've never actually had or made Italian Wedding Soup, but something about the meatballs and kale sounded enticingly healthy, yet still satisfying. And I was right. This soup feels and tastes like the ultimate comfort food, without weighing you down after. Forget your "be more healthy" resolution; making more meals, like this soup, should be a resolution in itself!

Italian Wedding Soup (adapted from The Kitchn)
makes 5-6 servings

Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey meat (or ground chicken)
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
3 eggs
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese, divided
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 garlic gloves, minced
8 cups chicken stock
1 bunch kale, roughly chopped (I used an entire 10 oz. bag from Trader Joe's)

1. Combine turkey, bread crumbs, 1 egg, 1/4 cup of each cheese, oregano, salt and pepper in a bowl. Roll into 1-inch diameter balls. You should have about 20-25 meatballs.
2. In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook the meatballs in batches until lightly browned on all sides. Set aside on paper towels to drain excess oil.
3. In a large stock pot, heat remaining oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until tender, but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Add the kale, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Add the meatballs and cook 5 minutes more.
4. Meanwhile, combine 2 eggs and remaining cheeses in a small bowl. Pour the egg mixture into the hot soup, stirring constantly. Cover and simmer until the eggs are just set, about 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper.