Spork or Foon?

Top Chef with Teanna is BACK with Mike Isabella's Cousin Antonia's Braised Veal with a Spring Risotto.

 

Testing. Testing... Is this thing on?

Well. I'm back.  I could have come back with some big proclamation about my return to blogging. Like, "I'm BAAAAAAAAACK." Or, "I'm back, b*tches!"  But it just didn't feel right. Because I'm just not that self important. But, truth of the matter is that I'm back and ready to blog. The season for the sport in which I work is over and I am back to cooking, working out, and being a normal human being again. 

And frankly, I couldn't go out on this post. No. God no. 

I have months of photos (many, many crappy photos, so I warn you for the upcoming posts, that there will be some rough photos. And some items that I have no idea what they are or when I made them, but they look tasty, so I'll post them anyways :)) to get up on this blog, and I didn't know where to start. Should I do a sweet or a savory? This is more a baking blog than it is a savory blog, but I am an equal opportunity eater, so I'm going to go with a Top Chef All-Stars recipe. 

Speaking of Top Chef All-Stars, was this not the best season EVER? By far, my favorite. 

I'm not going to go through all of the recipes just yet (because frankly, I haven't made any of them except for this one), but this one is a great one. Hailing from the episode in which Antonia, aka The Black Hammer, discovers with a look of disgust that she is related to her arch-nemesis, the farting, burping, ball-scratching, possibly recipe stealing, Mike Isabella.  To be honest, I have a horrible memory, so I can't remember if this dish won, but if it didn't, it should have, because it is amazing. A creamy risotto filled with spring vegetables, rapini, and topped with crisp breadcrumbs which lend an incredible crunch contrast to the smooth texture of the risotto and topped with a perfectly tender braised veal tenderloin.

The recipe actually calls for this to be cooked in a pressure cooker, but seriously, who owns a pressure cooker (ok I know lots of people do, but seriously, in my small Manhattan kitchen, my half-sized oven is a perfectly fine "pressure cooker").

Braised Veal Shank with Spring Risotto adapted from Top Chef

• 2 pounds Braised veal shank
• 2 cups onions, carrots, celery, rough chop
• 2 sprigs parsley and thyme
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 vine ripe tomato, chopped
• 1 bottle red wine
• 1 cup Armagnac
• 1/2 gallon chicken stock
• 4 tablespoons all purpose flour
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 veal demi cubes

Risotto:

• 1/2 onion, brunoise
• 1 pound Superfine risotto
• 2 cups white wine
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup picked blanched fresh green beans
• 1 cup blanched rapini leaves
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 cup shredded parmesan reggiano

• 1 teaspoon chopped Marjoram
• 2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 4 tablespoons ciabatta bread crumbs, garnish

DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 350F.

Heat 2 skillets and 1 large dutch oven. 

Season shanks with salt and pepper. Dust with flour and sear until golden brown in skillets.

Sauté minepoix in a dutch oven. Add shanks, paste, tomato, parsley sprigs, thyme sprigs, red wine bottle, Armagnac, 6 cups chicken stock, and veal demi. Cover and place in oven and braise for 4 hours.

Risotto:

In large sauté pan, sweat brunoise onions. Add risotto. Toast for 20 minutes on low heat until crispy. Add white wine and reduce.

Add 2 cups remaining hot chicken stock slowly and whisk and beat until creamy and cooked.

Finish with brown butter, fava beans, rapini leaves, lemon zest, and parmesean cheese. Shred in large piece of veal shank, remove marrow and whip into risotto.

Assembly:

When plating, ladle risotto in middle of plate, spoon veal shank over and sprinkle with bread crumbs chopped herbs and microplaned parmesan reggiano.

 

 

Top Chef with Teanna - Season 7, Episode 4- Braised Short Rib wih Polenta and Citrus Gremolata

This is just a solid, solid dish from Kelly and Andrea. And excuse me from yelling from the cheap seats, because although it was a solid dish, I'm surprised that this was a winning dish on Top Chef. Because this is something I make at home on a normal night.

Ok, ok. I know I sound like a total jerk. It reminds me of when we used to watch the World Cup this past summer. For a few months, all of America pretended like they were huge soccer fans and scream at the TV when someone wouldn't score a goal.

"What's wrong with this guy?" We would shout as we adorned ourselves in garrish red, white and blue star-spangled gear and ridiculous Uncle Sam hat. "How hard is it to just kick it in the net?!  Look at how big that thing is!"

So I know. I know. I shouldn't speak poorly of this dish. Because frankly, there is nothing to speak poorly about. Tender, rich braised short rib. Creamy polenta that is always a winner in the DiMicco/Tycher household.  Crispy fried shallots. The fresh zing of gremolata. And the most delicious balsamic vinegar sauce that I could drink through a straw.

Solid dish. Like our play in the World Cup this summer. Solid. Is it enough for the wonderful din of vuvuzelas to fill my kitchen as I eat it? Maybe not, but definitely something that I will want to experience over and over again. A great, All-American, meat and potatoes dish with a twist. Like soccer. Because soccer is All-American with a twist, no?  It's like... football.  Without the pads.  Or 300 pound men. Or the hard hitting. But they do run up and down a big field! So that's the same, right? Anyone? Bueller?

Braised Beef Short Rib, Polenta, Shiitake Mushrooms & Gremolata adapted from Top Chef

4 Servings

Braised Beef Short Rib:

4 (10-oz) short ribs

2 carrots, chopped

2 ribs celery, chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 shallots, chopped

3 cloves garlic, smashed

3 Tbl tomato paste

2 cups port

2 qt veal stock

1 sprig thyme

2 bay leaves

10 peppercorns

Polenta:

2 cups chicken stock

1 ½ cups polenta

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Salt and white pepper, to taste

Sauce with Citrus Gremolata:

Remaining braising liquid

1 cup balsamic vinegar

Zest of 1 lemon

2 cloves garlic, chopped

¼ cup chopped parsley

Roasted Shitake Mushrooms and Pearl Onions:

1 cup pearl onions, peeled

3 cup shitake mushrooms, sliced

6 Tbl olive oil

2 Tbl butter

2 Tbl fines herbes

2 Tbl balsamic vinegar

Crispy Shallot Salad:

¼ cup whole parsley leaves

¼ cup whole tarragon leaves

¼ cup chervil pluches

¼ cup chive batons

2 shallots, thinly shaved

2 Tbl rice flour

DIRECTIONS

For the Braised Beef Short Rib:

1. Sear short ribs until deep brown. Remove from pan. Add all vegetables and brown well. Add tomato paste and fry until orange in color. Deglaze with port to au sec.

2. Put ribs and vegetable mixture into pressure cooker with veal stock, thyme, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Cook in pressure cooker for 1 hour 45 minutes.

3. Allow ribs to cool in liquid if not serving immediately.

For the Chevre Scented Polenta:

1. Bring stock to a boil  Add polenta and reduce heat to medium-low. Use whisk and whip polenta. When the polenta has soaked up the stock, taste for consistency. If still undercooked, add an additional 1/4 chicken stock or water to adjust consistency.

2. Fold in grated parmesan. Season with salt and white pepper to finish. Polenta should be creamy and fluffy and hold shape while still being soft.

For the Sauce with Citrus Gremolata:

1. Strain braising liquid (reserve about 2 cups to heat ribs) and reduce liquid by 1/3. Reduce balsamic vinegar by ½ or slightly syrupy. Add about 2 tablespoons balsamic reduction to braising liquid reduction. Season with salt to taste.

2. Chop parsley, garlic, and lemon zest together and add 2 tablespoons to sauce immediately before serving.

For the Roasted Shitake Mushrooms and Pearl Onions:

1. Toss pearl onions in 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons balsamic and roast covered at 400-degrees F for about 25 minutes.

2. Sauté shitakes in olive oil until tender. Finish with fines herbes, butter, and roasted pearl onions.

For the Crispy Shallot Salad:

1. Toss shallots in rice flour and fry at 350-degrees F until golden brown. Toss with herbs and a drop of olive oil.

To Assemble:

Place polenta in the center of the dish. Top with one short rib. Scatter mushroom and onion mixture around the plate. Sauce right on top of the meat. Garnish with crispy shallot-herb salad.

Top Chef with Teanna is BACK! Season 7, Episode 2! Pork Carnitas Tacos with Pickled Red Onions and Homemade Tortillas

I'm a little late with this. I totally missed the boat on Season 7. Ed and Tiffany's questionable romance, Kenny's questionable obsession with "duo's" Angelo's questionable taste in shirts (I mean, really, what was he wearing at the reunion?). I missed it all. But it didn't stop me from cooking at home, Top Chef Style!

Where do I begin? Ah, yes. Episode 2 is a good place to start.  I would have started at Episode 1, but I am still trying to find some time to get some good sashimi grade fish to make Angelo's winning dish of Arctic Char Sashimi with Tapioca and Bacon foam.  But it was a good episode, all in all. I really was pulling for Kenny, Angelo seemed like a douche, Leah had some weird thing on her mouth (which I am hoping was an unfortunately season-long pimple) and there were some very funny characters that I would have wanted to hang out with, namely Tiffany and Brian (seriously, how funny was that segment in the reunion with Brian and his "Sexual Chocolate" voice?).  Oh, and the strange guy with the dreads was kicked off for using a store-bought puffed pastry (WHEN WILL THEY LEARN!?!). I shouldn't be mean and call him strange. I'm sure he's a very nice guy... with questionable taste in hair.

Anyway...

I decided to bang three of these winning recipes out in one day to get ahead of the game that I fell behind on, if that makes any sense.  So I started with Episode 2's winning dish by Kelly, Braised Pork Carnitas Tacos with Pickled Onions and Cilantro, made for the healthy lunchroom challenge.

Can we just take a break and talk about childhood lunchroom eating? Sit back while I regale you with stories of what I ate as a child.

We used to get pretty disgustingly creative with our school lunches. I would use my $2.00 (hey, it was the 90s. Lunch was pretty cheap back then) to buy two monster-sized chocolate chip cookies in the cafeteria.  I would dream about the slightly raw centers, not realizing in my nascent teenage mind that mass-produced raw cookies in the school cafeteria probably were a health hazard. I would savor each undercooked bite as the cookies provided me my nutrients for the day and what was sure to be at least 1,000 calories of pure butter and sugar. But I didn’t care. I loved my sweets.

If I wasn't in the mood for cookies, I would buy the square-shaped pizza (which I now realize was probably Elio's pizza) and a bag of peanuts and strategically plunge the peanuts into the doughy flesh of the pizza as the grease from the cheese oozed up and entrapped my peanut into its place.  I would then eat that pizza like it was the last pizza on earth, thinking I was a true culinary genius for my concotion. Or, if I was feeling really risque`,  I would buy the doughiest bagel imaginable, a packet of cream cheese and a bag of Doritos, and, yes, I would make a bagel, cream cheese, and Dorito sandwich.

Every. Single.  Day.

The sad thing is, that as I write this, I am totally craving any of those meals. Maybe not the raw cookies, but the peanut pizza and Dorito sandwich for sure.

Sigh.

So it was pretty admirable that the team at Bravo tried to find a gourmet solution to let kids know that "Hey, kids, you don't have to follow in the steps of Teanna. You can be healthy and enjoy your food!"

And I'm not going to lie, if I had tried Kelly's pork carnitas taco in liu of my Lunch of Death, I may have sung a different tune. Because these were GOOD. After seven hours in the oven, the pork was incredibly tender and touched with the most wonderfully smoky flavor.  .

Oh... and don't you even get me started about the homemade tortillas.  If I could take anything away from this dish, it is the homemade tortillas. I was a little nervous at first, because I dont' have a tortially press. But then, when I think about the kitchen equipment I do not have because of my smallish NYC kitchen, I think,  "Hey!  What did the old grandmothers do back in the day?!  They used two arms and a roller! Get it together!"

And so I got it together and ended up with the greatest reward ever - hand-rolled, completely addictive tortillas. The flavor was just incredible.  Sweet, with a hint of oat, and completely rewarding.

TORTILLAS!

The roasted tomato salsa was surprisingly complex and added an incredible finish that tied all of the flavors of the dish together, and the pickled red onions added a nice bit of tang that was needed for the dish.  Definitely a winning dish, I must say. More so than the squirt of peanut butter on the sad little sprig of celery.

.......

You know, I must say that after a cooking a few of these recipes (which I will write about in upcoming posts), I've got to say there haven't been any that I have been impressed with like I was with last season's Pressed Chicken with Calamari Noodles, Slow Braised Pork Belly, or, yes, even the Guacamole Meringues (which I still don't get).  But I'm hoping it only gets better from here.

Kelly's Pork Carnitas Tacos with Pickled Red Onions and Homemade Tortillas

4 Servings

Tortillas:

¾ cup oats, pulverized

1 ½ cup AP flour

¼ cup olive oil

½ cup cold water

1 Tbl salt

Pork Carnitas:

2 lbs pork butt

2 Tbl chili powder

1 Tbl garlic powder

1 Tbl onion powder

Salt & Pepper

Water

Roasted Tomato Salsa:

3 tomatoes

½ red onion

¼ cup lime juice

½ cup cilantro

Salt & Pepper

Pickled Red Onions:

1 red onion, julienned

3 cups water

1 cup lime juice

½ cup fresh cilantro leaves

DIRECTIONS

For the Tortillas:

Place dry ingredients in a stand mixer with dough hook. Add wet ingredients and knead for 5 minutes. Allow dough to rest for at least 20 minutes. Roll golf ball sized portions into a ball, and roll out the dough between two pieces of wax or parchment paper to 1/4" thickness. On a dry griddle over medium-high heat, cook tortillas until lightly brown.

For the Pork Carnitas:

Season and rub pork with spices, salt, and pepper. Put pork into a pressure cooker with enough water to cover the pork half way. Seal lid and place over medium-high heat. When steam starts, reduce to simmer and cool for 1 hour. When pork is done, pull into bite-sized pieces. Discard liquid. Pour roasted tomato salsa over pork and reserve in warm place.

For the Roasted Tomato Salsa:

Roast tomatoes and onion under broiler until charred. Combine with all remaining ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth.

For the Pickled Red Onions:

Boil water and pour over onions. Let sit for 5 minutes. Strain. In a bowl, combine onions and lime juice and let sit overnight. Strain juice off and discard. Toss onions with cilantro leaves.

To Assemble:

Warm tortillas wrapped in a damp towel in a low oven. Place tortillas on plate. Top with pork. Garnish with picked onion salad.

Capellini with Fresh Ricotta, Roasted Garlic, Corn and Herbs

Last night, one of my best friends from college texted me asking me for more savory foods on my blog --so this post is for PJ in LA!  Love you!

I often sign up for email communications from my favorite websites, stores, etc., hoping to find some great gem of a deal or a fantastic recipe, but more often than not, I get annoyed at the emails that clog my inbox and delete them in a huff.  Why do they send me so much crap? I think to myself, as I click my mouse or swipe my screen (iPhone users, you understand) to delete the pesky emails, never once reminding myself that it was I who initiated the email communication by signing up for email alerts.

Sometimes, though, an unexpected gem pops up. Like this recipe. Bon Appetit sent out one of their emails featuring recipes and this pasta just jumped out at me.  My eyes fixated on the “Fresh Ricotta”.  Recently, I’ve been wanting to use fresh ricotta in everything, mainly because I now know how to make it from scratch and, even though it’s the easiest thing in the world to make, I always feel so accomplished when I do it. Because I’m making CHEESE. Kind of.

So off I ran to the supermarket to pick up ears of corn, a variety of fresh herbs, and some cappellini, which I have never used before and now I knew why.  Out of the hundreds of varieties of macaroni (pasta), there was only one box of cappellini left.  The box had seen better days (aka, it looked like someone tried to beat the crap out or use it as a whiffle ball bat in a a 5-year old t-ball tournament) so I asked a salesperson for another kind.

“What kind of pasta are you looking for?” he asked, kindly.

“Cappellini.” I told him, my eyes scouring the variety of packed boxes and bags holding an array of different shaped noodles.

“Ha!”  He scoffed. I looked at him, confused.

“Good luck,” he said as he walked away.

Thanks, guy.

I could not find any more boxes and contemplated subbing a thin linguine, but I thought better of it, so battered box it was.

I returned home, roasted some garlic and corn, and began to chop the herbs. The nutty smell of the garlic intensified as time passed, while hints of lemon, pine, fennel and onion wafted through the air as my knife chopped through the dill, parsley and chives.

I made a sauce out of fresh lemon, lemon zest, and mashed roasted garlic.

When the cappellini was ready, I tossed the still warm noodles with the lemon and roasted garlic “sauce” and the citrus scent of lemon infused with the nutty roasted garlic and created a wonderful juxtaposition of light and earthy fragrance.  I added the herbs, greens, roasted corn, and fresh ricotta cheese, and finally, some grated Manchego cheese.

The dish, besides being beautiful, is one of the most interesting, wonderful summer pasta dishes I have ever tasted. The light notes of the lemon really shone through and was the perfect final touch to the dish that was bursting with flavor from the chives, parsley, and dill especially. The corn provided a nice textural surprise, and of course, the cream ricotta was superb and the mixed greens and radicchio provided a wonderful burst of color, and the Manchego cheese added the most perfect finish to the dish, tying all of the flavors together with it's nutty, sharp flavor.

A true gem, indeed.  Keep those emails coming (but not as frequently, please. Thanks.)

Capellini with Fresh Ricotta, Roasted Garlic, Corn and Herbs adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients

1 large head of garlic, top 1/2 inch cut off

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

4 ears of fresh corn with husks

6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

4 teaspoons grated lemon peel

8 ounces capellini

2 cups (loosely packed) mixed greens

2 cups torn radicchio leaves

1 cup fresh ricotta cheese (7 to 8 ounces)

1/2 cup finely grated Manchego cheese plus shaved Manchego for

garnish

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/3 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place head of garlic on sheet of foil. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil; wrap foil around garlic and crimp to seal tightly. Place garlic and corn on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until corn is tender and garlic is soft, about 25 minutes for corn and 40 minutes for garlic. Cool slightly.

Squeeze garlic out of skins into large bowl; add any oil from foil. Add lemon juice, lemon peel, and 3 tablespoons oil; mash garlic, then whisk mixture. Shuck corn; cut kernels from cob and transfer to same bowl.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Rinse with cold water; drain well. Place in medium bowl; toss with 1 tablespoon oil. Using kitchen shears, cut pasta crosswise several times.

Add pasta, greens, radicchio, ricotta, grated Manchego, and herbs to bowl with garlic mixture; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with shaved Parmesan.

Tagliatelle with White Truffle Oil, Parmesan, and a Poached Egg

 

This is a fun little dish.  For dinner with friends the other night, I was trying to thing of a fun, easy appetizer and found this recipe on What's Cooking America.  It's a quick, simple dish that is whimsical and delicious. 

What I love about this dish (besides that it is quick to make), is that it is a play on carbonara and has some fun little elements.  I love poached eggs on anything, because I love to plunge my knife in the center of the egg and watch the yellow yolk ooze out of the center, adding luxury to any simple dish.

I also get excited because I am proud of myself for poaching an egg correctly.  I've been doing it for years, and I still get excited.  It's the little things, people.

Tagliatelle is cooked to al dente, tossed with parmesan cheese and a little bit of butter and of course, earthy white truffle oil. The recipe calls for two tablespoons, and you are going to have to use two tablespoons. Yes, they are the most expensive two tablespoons you'll ever use in a dish, but you just need to do it.  The flavor will suffer.

Finally, the gills of a large portobello mushroom are "shaved" atop the dish, bearing resemblance to black truffles.  Sure, you could use actual truffles, making you cool and super rich, but for those of us uncool and not super rich people, portobello gills it is. 

The result is a luxurious, creamy pasta with fragrant white truffles, poached eggs, and lots of fun.

And it only takes about 15 minutes to make.
 

Click here for the recipe.

Quick Chicken Paella with Sugar Snap Peas

 
 

This'll be a short post today, as I have lots of things going on. 

I saw this quick Chicken Paella in Bon Appetit Magazine and thought it would be a quick, easy dinner to throw together.  And it was.  In about an hour, the entire dish was finished and I was left with a delicious dish that left me food for days (and days, and days... I think it's time to get rid of the leftovers). 

Tender chicken thighs are rubbed with smoky paprika and cooked on a bed of basmati rice, simmering in a broth of chicken stock, tomatoes, saffron, onions, white wine, and roasted red peppers as the grains soak up the juices and result in a deliciously tender, creamy rice and tossed with spanish chorizo (to keep it healthier, I actually used andouille chicken sausage) and crisp sugar snap peas that lends a wonderful textural contrast and a refreshing change to the dish.  

Now, paella purists may have me blackmailed for this one.  Is this exactly like paella? No.  Is it a nice substitute for those of us who lack paella pans (like... 99% of the population?) and the time to put in to make the beloved dish? Absolutely.

Jack especially loved this, but is now demanding more Top Chef-like meals, so you'll be seeing some very complicated recipes in the coming weeks. I'm going back to my roots. I've been slacking. 

Quick Chicken Paella with Sugar Snap Peas adapted from Bon Appetit

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/4 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 6 large chicken thighs with skin and bones, excess skin and fat trimmed (about 2 1/2 pounds)
• 4 ounces 1/4-inch-thick slices fully cooked smoked Spanish chorizo (or, for a healthier option, spicy chicken sausage)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion (about 1 large)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 cups long-grain rice
• 2 cups low-salt chicken broth
• 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
• 1/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers from jar
• 2 1/2 cups sugar snap peas, trimmed (about 8 ounces)

PREPARATION

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix white wine and saffron threads in small measuring cup; set aside. Combine salt, smoked paprika, and black pepper in small bowl; rub spice mixture all over chicken thighs. Heat heavy large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add chorizo and sauté until fat begins to render and sausage browns, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Transfer chorizo to large plate. Add olive oil to skillet. Add chicken thighs to skillet and cook until browned, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate with chorizo.

• Pour off all but 1 tablespoon drippings from skillet. Reduce heat to medium. Add chopped onion and cook until translucent, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and stir 30 seconds. Add long-grain rice and stir to coat. Add wine-saffron mixture and bring to boil, scraping up browned bits from bottom of skillet. Add chicken broth, tomatoes with juice, and roasted red peppers. Bring to simmer. Stir in browned chorizo. Place chicken thighs, skin side up, atop mixture in skillet. Cover skillet tightly with foil, then cover skillet with lid. Bake paella until rice is almost tender, about 25 minutes.

• Transfer chicken to plate. Stir rice; season to taste with salt and pepper. Scatter snap peas over. Return chicken to skillet, nestling into rice. Cover with foil and lid. Bake until snap peas are crisp-tender, rice is tender, and chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes longer.

Soba Noodles with Grilled Shrimp

 
 

I've become newly obsessed with spinning. Not in-a-circle-with-my-arms-outstreched-until-I-feel-like-I-want-to-vomit spinning, but actual spin class.  

I was a spinning newbie up until a few weeks ago. Then, I walked into this new state-of-the-art spin studio down in Chelsea.  I walked sheepishly to the counter and asked how to register.  The pretty girl behind the counter handed me a waiver and a pair of shoes with metal clumps on the bottom.

Now, I am always wary when I have to sign something that says, "We are not responsible for your death." Especially when all I am doing is riding a stationary bike. But seriously, I thought, what are these metal things? 

I walk into the spin studio and see women on their bikes, spinning furiously (class hadn't started yet) and chatting away with one another.  I found my way to my bike and began to examine.  The pedals were tiny little magnetic bars. OK.  So these attach to my feet. 

Um?

I got on the bike and tried to attach my feet to the medal bars.  Of course, I slipped right off, knocking off the little meter showing the Torq and Resistance. CLANG! CRASH!

Great.  I'm that girl right now. I thought to myself, as I sheepishly tried to get back on. After I finally was able to keep my balance on the seat, I struggled with attaching my feet to the medal bars.  Finally, I heard the click and suddenly, I was locked in.  No way out now. 

Now, I am a workout nut. I love working out. I love athletic challenges.  So I. Loved. Spinning.  I didn't want to stop.  The studio has a Torq Board where you can see your position against all of the other spinners in the class on a large screen in the front of the room.  Some people call that torture.  I call that... well, I guess it is torture. I didn't sign up for it and was glad that I didn't. 

Class was over and it was time to stretch.  The instructor told us to unlock our feet (such an odd statement).  Of course, I did not know how to do that.  I pressed the red release knob and of course, nothing.  I struggled and pulled but my feet were stuck.

This sucks. I'm totally that girl.

I gave up and just pulled my feet out of my shoes, falling forcefully backwards as I released myself.  Luckily, I was in the back row. I stretched and ran out before the lights went on, just to save face.

I went back the next day.  Some may call me a masochist.  But I loved it. 

In the March 2010 Issue of Food and Wine Magazine, Editor-In-Chief Dana Cowin stated that she wanted to redirect the focus of the recipes in F&W to feature healthier recipes.  

I'm down for some healthy recipes. It energizes me when I get stuck on my spin bike. 

So I tried the cover recipe from the magazine.  Soba noodles, tossed with a tamari-soy sauce sauce,topped with lime marinated shrimp and sprinkled with pan-fried garlic and shallots, cilantro and scallions. 

Easy enough.

It was quick to make and smelled delicious.  But I was a bit disappointed with it.  I found the sauce to be very salty on the already salty soba noodles. Sure, I loved the crisp garlic and shallots, the lime flavored cilantro (and I never like cilantro) and the scallions.  And the lime shrimp were incredible.  But I wasn't crazy about the dish.

But the next day. Oh, the next day was different. The flavors mellowed.  The sauce became a subtle coating to the tender noodles.  The lime flavor of the shrimp was even more pronounced.  Definitely a winner.  A nice, healthy winner.

Click here for the recipe.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Pear, Potato and Bacon Salad and a Rosemary Mayonnaise

 
 

This is yet another recipe that I am revisiting from a page in the history of Spork or Foon?  The last time I wrote about this recipe, back in April of 2009, I discussed the friendly cooking competition that took place between Jack and myself.  Jack was an incredible cook. He was the reason I started cooking. But I never wanted to admit to Jack that sometimes his dishes were, in fact, better than mine for two reasons: 1. he's likely to rub it in a lot and 2. I'm a big baby. 

Well, since April of 2009, Jack has completely stopped cooking.  His reason, he states, is because "Why would I cook when I have a girlfriend who cooks everything perfectly?" 

First of all, I don't cook everything perfectly. I make mistakes. I'm human.  And if people tell me the food is good, I don't believe them.

But it is nice to hear.

Jack has gone so far in his self-imposed cooking strike that he doesn't even help me prep food anymore.

"Hey, Jack can you chop this onion for me?"

"I don't know how."

So. Ridiculous.

So when I was searching my archives for a meal to prepare for dinner and came across the aforementioned blog post, I had to chuckle to myself.  And I wonder, what do I like more?  Not being told that I come in 2nd place in this household or not having someone help me chop an onion.

It is a question for the ages. 

At least this dish is as good as ever.  I actually forgot how good it was.  It is another Top Chef Recipe, this time by Dale of Season 3.  It features a deliciously moist pork tenderloin perched atop a salad of roasted potatoes, crisp haricot verts, diced onions quickly cooked in red wine vinegar and a bit of sugar to give it a wonderful, almost-pickled flavor, sweet and tender pears and bacon. Sweet, sweet bacon. And of course, the incredible rosemary mayonnaise flavored with woody rosemary, soy sauce, and delicate honey that adds the perfect finish to an already wonderful dish.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin - from Top Chef

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Pear:

2 pork tenderloins, silver skin removed

2 pears, peeled, diced

2T butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Potato & Bacon Salad:

1 lb new potatoes, cubed (in water until use)

4T extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 lb haricot vert, blanched, shocked

1 red onion, diced small

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

8 slices bacon, cooked to crisp

3T sherry vinegar

Rosemary Vinaigrette:

2 egg yolks

1/4 cup sherry vinegar

1T Dijon

1 cup grapeseed oil

1/4 cup rosemary (ground in spice grinder)

2t soy sauce

1t honey

Salt and pepper to taste

Potato & Bacon Salad:

Toss potatoes in olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast at 450 degrees until golden but not overcooked, about 1 hour. Cut blanched and shocked haricots into bite-sized-pieces. Place diced red onion in nonreactive pot with red wine vinegar and sugar; bring to boil and remove. Let cool and strain. Cook bacon until very crispy and drain on paper towels. 

Rosemary Mayonnaise:

Place yolks, vinegar and Dijon in blender. Slowly drizzle in oil until thick. Add in other ingredients and season to taste with remaining ingredients.  (If you want, you can use pre-made mayonnaise and just add rosemary, honey, and soy sauce).

Pork:

Grill pork until done, about 2-3 minutes on each side, depending on size of the tenderloin.  Saute pears in butter until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Season with Salt and Pepper.

To Serve:

- Season pork tenderloins and grill until desired doneness. 

- In a large bowl, toss roasted potatoes, haricot verts, onions, bacon and pears with sherry vinegar.  If it has cooled, heat up potato salad. 

- Top with slices of pork and rosemary mayonnaise.

Easiest (and Best) Roast Chicken Ever.

   
 
 
 Updated from the Archives.

About a year ago, I made (read: molested) a roast chicken straight from the Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School Lesson Plan.  Though moist and juicy, the skin on this chicken left something to be desired.

The chicken was rubbed down with butter and then tied and trussed like a... well... chicken. And frankly, I hate trussing chickens.  For some reason, it reminds me of changing a baby's diaper. And since it reminds me of changing a babies diaper, I fear for my unborn child, because I'm sure trussing a chicken is nothing like chaning a diaper.

This is why I love Alice Water's Roasted Chicken, which, in true Alice Water's fashion, is much less of a hassle to make, focusing only on a few ingredients and minimal fussing (read: molesting).  Garlic and fragrant herbs such as rosemary and thyme are tucked under the well seasoned skin and tossed into the cavity of the bird.  The bird is then placed in a roasting pan and tossed in the oven.  No molesting with butter. No trussing like a babies dieaper. Just turned once at twenty minutes, then again twenty minutes later.  That's it.

The result was a moist chicken with crispy skin that bursted with the flavors of sweet thyme, woody rosemary, and pungent garlic.  This golden skin crackles as the knife cuts through, revealing the tender white flesh as the juices of the meat dot the blade likemorning  dew. It is a roasting dream come true.

Jack and I always eat roasted chicken with Jack's favorite side: Fresh green peas sauteed in a bit of sugar and butter with pearl onions and romaine lettuce cut in a chiffonaide.  He's so classy like that.

Recipe - Adapted from Alice Waters - The Art of Simple Food

1 chicken weighing 3 1/2 to 4 lbs.

Several sprigs fresh thyme

Several sprigs fresh rosemary

3 cloves garlic, sliced thick

salt and freshly ground pepper

oil for the pan

Remove the giblets from the cavity of 1 chicken weighing 3 1/2 to 4 lbs.

Remove the pads of fat inside the chicken. Tuck the wing tips up and under to keep them from burning. Season, 1 or 2 days in advance, if possible.  Sprinkle inside and out with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Put a few sprigs of thyme and rosemary under the skin of the breast and thighs and within the cavity. Add a few thick slices of garlic clove under the skin.

Cover loosely and refrigerate.  At least 1 hour before cooking, remove and place in a lightly oiled pan, breast side up.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Roast for 20 minutes, turn the bird breast side down, and cook for another 20 minutes.  The turn the breast side up again and roast until done, another 10 to 20 minutes.  Let rest for 15 to 20 minutes before carving.

Spaghetti tossed with Spicy Tomatoes and Arugula with Chicken Meatballs

I need to come up with a catchier, less wordy title for this dish. 

Friends and family often say to me, "Teanna, you need to post simpler things on your blog. Your recipes are too complicated."

And to them I say, "What? You mean people don't like to sweat, curse, and cry in their kitchens while trying to juggle tons of ingredients, 3 burners and an oven like I do?"

But my friends and family are right. Sometimes simple is best.  Yes, I like challenging recipes, but there are nights where I just want to throw something together with what is in my pantry.

Oh, and when I say "pantry", I mean "make-shift shelving that hovers between my kitchen and living room". This is New York City. There are no pantries in New York City unless you are a bajillionaire. 

Last night, I opened my freezer and stared into its meager depths.  Frozen fruit, veggie sausages, ice, frozen mocha buttercream (Seriously. I don't even know if you can freeze buttercream, but I did), short ribs... ah! Ground chicken.  I always keep ground chicken on hand to make my favorite go-to, simple dish: Chicken Meatballs.

I normally serve these chicken meatballs as a salad atop arugula and sprinkled with fontina cheese with a basil pesto vinaigrette, which was inspired by a favorite lunch place of mine, Penelopes (I love to adapt salads that I have at restaurants).  But this time, I wanted something different. I rummaged through my make-shift shelving.  I have 15 different types of pasta (all people should have 15 different types of pasta. You'll never know when the mood will strike for trottoloni. I'm still not even sure what trottolini is, but I bought it because it looked cool), but grabbed what tugged at my heartstrings: spaghetti. I plucked a can of San Marzano pomodori pelati (whole peeled tomatoes) from the shelves, grabbed some fresh arugula and a half a ball of mozzarella from the fridge, and, finally, a head of garlic.  I didn't know where I was going, but I knew wherever I ended up, it would be delicious. 

I ended up making a quick sauce out of the tomatoes (sans juice), garlic, and a bit of olive oil and tossed my al dente spaghetti with said sauce and some fresh arugula.  I shaved some fresh mozzarella on top and topped my dish with three tender chicken meatballs.  I was in heaven. 

So no crying, cursing, and very little sweating went on in my kitchen that night. Maybe I'll start to like the simpler things. 

 

Spaghetti tossed with Spicy Tomatoes and Arugula with Chicken Meatballs

For the Meatballs:
1 pound ground chicken
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1/3 cup finely chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

For the Sauce:
1 35-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes (San Marzano, preferably)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/3 finely chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

1- pound spaghetti (or other type of macaroni)
1 cup loosely packed asparagus
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Directions:

For the Meatballs: Preheat oven to 350F. Line a two rimmed baking sheets with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl until just incorporated. Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Roll meatballs into 12 balls, approximately 2" in diameter. 

Arrange meatballs approximately 2" apart on baking sheets. Bake for 20-minutes or until meatballs are cooked through. 

For the Sauce: Remove the whole tomatoes from the can.  Reserve the juice for another use.  Roughly chop tomatoes (keep the juices that come out of the tomatoes for the sauce). Set aside. 

Heat 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.  When glistening, add garlic and cook until garlic is brown and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes (and their juices) to pan and let cook for 2 minutes, until the sauce is slightly thickened.  Add parsley and red pepper.  Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.  Set aside until ready to use. 

To Assemble:  Cook spaghetti according to package directions.  Drain and add arugula. Toss with sauce until arugula is just wilted. Sprinkle mozzarella atop spaghetti and serve immediately.