Not A Quesadilla

Potato, Onion, Mushroom, Garlic Pizza!

2011-10-22T10:23:00.003-04:00

INGREDIENTS:

4 small new potatoes
3 TBSP olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
5 small mushrooms, thinly sliced
Enough pizza dough to make a 12 inch pizza (I bought my dough at Trader Joe's)
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 small ball of mozzarella cheese
Salt and pepper
Poppy seeds for crust (if you want)

RECIPE:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit
Bring a large pan of water to boil and cook the potatoes for 5 minutes
When the potatoes cool (running them under cool water helps), peel the potatoes and slice them thinly
Heat 2 TBSP of olive oil in a frying pan. Add the sliced potatoes and garlic and fry over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 6 minutes
Roll out the pizza dough on a floured surface and brush the pizza base with 1 TBSP oil
Scatter the onion over the pizza, then arrange the new potatoes, garlic, and mushrooms on top
Slice the mozzarella and scatter over the pizza - it will not be enough to cover everything, just to fill the holes
Sprinkle the crust edges with poppy seeds and grind plenty of pepper on top
Bake for 20 minutes on a pizza stone or screen

FINAL RULING: Artisanal delight! And super easy. Yay. Better than a quesadilla.

Baked Stuffed Squash

2011-10-22T10:00:00.004-04:00

I am scared of squash. HOW DO YOU CUT IT IN HALF? The other day I figured out the answer - with a giant knife. Duh. Anywho, I now present...stuffed squash!

INGREDIENTS:

2 acorn squash
1 TBSP olive oil
1 cup drained canned sweetcorn kernels
1/2 crushed sliced almonds
5 TBSP plain yogurt
2 oz goat cheese
salt and pepper
mixed salad leaves (as a side)

RECIPE:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Cut the squash lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and place the squash on a baking sheet, skin side down
Brush the squash lightly with olive oil and bake for 30 minutes
While the squash is baking, mix the corn, almonds, and yogurt in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
Remove the squash from the oven and divide the mixture in the bowl between the squash, spooning it into the hollows
Top each half with the goat cheese and return to the oven for 10-15 minutes.
Serve with a side salad!

Hmm, stuffed squash was good. But the mixture was a bit dry. But my Plus One enjoyed it big time.

Final Ruling: Equal to a quesadilla. But squash is awesome.

Tofu & Green Bean Red Curry

2011-10-13T22:31:00.006-04:00

You know how when you go to a Thai restaurant they give you the food in mere minutes? I know why - it's because you can make curry in minutes! This is an exciting discovery at Casa Not A Quesadilla. In the land of ten minute meals spaghetti is king, but I think I have a new contender.

INGREDIENTS:

2.5 cups coconut milk
1 TBSP red curry paste
3 TBSP oyster sauce
2 tsp sugar
1.5 cups mushrooms
Enough green beans for two people, trimmed
Enough tofu for two people, sliced

RECIPE:

Pour 1/3rd of the coconut milk into a pan and heat until it starts to separate
Stir in the curry paste, oyster sauce, and sugar
Add the mushrooms and cook for 1 minute
Stir in the rest of the coconut milk and bring to a boil
Add the green beans and tofu and simmer for 5 minutes

FINAL RULING: Better than a quesadilla. And almost as easy to make!

Eggplant & Goat Cheese & More!: A Salad

2011-07-21T22:09:00.003-04:00

Ok, so this dish could use a better name. But there a number of ingredients and I think they're all awesome, so I didn't know what should get top billing. In any case, it's almost 100 degrees here so I needed something that didn't involve much cooking. I also now work pretty late so I needed something that would feed me quickly. From all these desires a star was born!

This feeds one, but you could easily just increase the ingredients for more people

Ingredients:

Quinoa (however much you want)
2 mini eggplants or 1/3 or a large eggplant. Peel and cube the eggplant.
Crumbled goat cheese (however much you want)
1 small tomato, seeded and cubed
1/3 of a red onion, diced
1 TBSP fresh lemon juice
1 crushed garlic clove
1/4 TBSP sesame oil
1 TBSP chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

RECIPE:

Cook the quinoa according to directions
Meanwhile, steam the eggplant pieces. My steamer fell apart so I actually boiled the eggplant and it was just fine -- took about 7-10 minutes
In a small bowl mix together the lemon juice, garlic clove and sesame oil
In a large bowl toss the eggplant, tomato, red onion, feta, and parsley with the lemon juice mixture
Serve over the eggplant mixture over the quinoa
Enjoy life

This was so easy to make and plenty filling. I used fancy feta and it was totally worth it - so much creamier and delicious. Totally hit the spot!

Final Ruling: Better than a quesadilla (and certainly cooler!)

Coconut Curry Chicken

2011-02-21T15:10:00.006-05:00

I have had a can of coconut milk on my shelf for over a year. It sits next to a jar of peanut sauce and below an unopened bag of peanuts from a Delta flight I took in 2009. I believe in saving things. Last week I finally decided enough was enough (or bought five cans of corn and needed to make space...) and decided to make a coconut curry.

INGREDIENTS:

Two boneless, skinless chicken breasts
A few large carrots, sliced
12 oz coconut milk
Curry powder
1/2 red pepper, sliced
Rice (I use the kind that cooks in ten minutes)

RECIPE:

Cook the rice according to directions
Wash the chicken, cut into pieces, and coat it with curry powder on all sides
In a pan saute the chicken until it is nearly cooked
When the chicken is nearly done, add the coconut milk, carrots, and red pepper
Cook until the milk is warmed and the chicken and carrots are cooked
Serve over the rice

It turns out that coconut milk is strong. It doesn't have a heavy taste, but it definitely overpowered the curry powder, even though I used a fair amount. The whole dish ended up being fine but pretty bland. Next time I'd definitely add some more spices or use less coconut milk. Still, it was a good base and someone with better spice skills than I have could probably make this into a rocking meal.

FINAL RULING: In a rare 4-1 split, quesadillas win!

Simple Fried Rice

2011-02-13T15:02:00.009-05:00

This is a super simple veggie recipe -- definitely a staple. Recipe below serves two.

INGREDIENTS:

Rice (I buy the kind that cooks in ten minutes)
1 TBSP vegetable oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 garlic glove, crushed or grated
1 1/2 cups of button mushrooms, sliced
1 TBSP soy sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil

RECIPE:

Cook the rice according to directions. Meanwhile...
Heat 1 tsp vegetable oil in a non-stick pan. Add the beaten egg and cook it, stirring with a wooden spoon so that it gets a bit scrambled. Remove the egg and set aside.
Heat the rest of the vegetable oil in the same pan. Add the garlic and let it fry for a minute.
Add the mushrooms and stir fry for about two minutes. Add a bit of water if it looks like they might burn.
Add the cooked rice to the pan and toss with the mushrooms and garlic. Cook in the pan for about four minutes
Add the scrambled egg, soy sauce, salt, and sesame oil. Cook for another minute and serve.

As I said, this was super simple and quite tasty, especially with the egg.

FINAL RULING: I dub thee better than a quesadilla

Paula Deen's Broccoli Casserole

2011-02-07T09:15:00.004-05:00

A few years ago I received a Paula Deen cookbook in a gift bag from an event, and recently I sort of fell in love with it. Every recipe is: A) So bad for you B) So simple C) So good. Alas, I think this was only so-so. I'm sorry Paula! Recipe below feeds 2-3.

INGREDIENTS:

5 ounces of frozen chopped broccoli
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
5 oz can of condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup crushed Ritz crackers
1 TBSP butter, melted

RECIPE:

Preheat the over to 350 and spray your baking dish with cooking spray (if necessary). You can use a dish that's around 6 x 4. If you have a dish that's too big, simple cut it in half by creating a wall with tin foil. Surprisingly effective!
While the oven is heating up, cook and drain the frozen broccoli
In a large bowl, combine the broccoli, mayo, cheese, mushroom soup, and egg. Mix well.
Put the mixture in your baking dish and top with crushed crackers. Then pour the melted butter evenly over the crackers
Bake for 35 minutes

See, really simply right? And actually it was somewhat tasty, but I felt pretty bad after eating it. I think it was just too much butter/mayo/cream of mushroom soup. Maybe you can handle such things better than I can, in which case I salute you and hope you have a great metabolism.

Final Ruling: Quesadilla with a bullet!

Banana-Nutella Bread

2011-01-29T09:07:00.007-05:00

Lately I've seen recipes for this all over the place, and randomly two friends were making this the same day I was. Finally I'm on trend! I really love chocolate chips in banana bread, and this recipe takes it one step further. The swirls of Nutella are a bit gooey, but also really pretty. Just make sure you have napkins around when you cut a piece

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, AT ROOM TEMPERATURE
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3-4 mashed ripe bananas
1/3 cup skim milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup Nutella
1 loaf pan (mine was 9 x 5 and that worked fine...others recommend 8x 4)

RECIPE:

Preheat oven to 350 and spray the pan with non-stick spray or grease with butter

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt

In a large bowl, beat the sugar and butter together using an electric mixer. Beat until well blended (this is why it matters if the butter is at room temperature)

In the large bowl, add the eggs one at a time, beating after each one

Add the bananas, milk, and vanilla to the large bowl. Beat until everything is well blended

Add the flour mixture to the large bowl, beating slowly until mixed. Beat until just mixed -- don't over do it!

Soften the Nutella by putting it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds (I put it in the oven for about 45 seconds...in an oven safe dish)

Add 1 cup of the banana bread mixture into the dish with Nutella in it and stir until mixed

Alternately pour the banana bread batter and Nutella mixture into the loaf pan so that they form layers. Drag a knife through the loaf pan to create a swirl and mix the layers

Bake for 50-55 minutes -- the Nutella may still seem gooey, but that's not a bad thing!

This was very easy and a fun fancy addition to banana bread. People couldn't keep their hands off it!

FINAL RULING: Better than a quesadilla

Butternut Squash and Sage Pizza

2010-12-20T09:01:00.004-05:00

I have had a butternut squash sitting in my apartment for...ever. But I'm going out of town this week so I was finally inspired to use it up. Time to get my squash pizza on!
INGREDIENTS:

1 small butternut squash
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp butter
fresh sage
1 pizza crust (I don't make my own...bought it in the fridge section of my supermarket by the cheese)
tomato sauce
3 oz mozzarella cheese
3 oz goat cheese
salt and pepper

RECIPE:

Peel, seed, and cube the squash. I had no idea how to do this. But this site was very helpful.
Preheat oven to 400. Melt the butter in the oil in a roasting pan.
Add the squash and some sage to the pan and make sure it's coated in the oil/butter. Roast for 15-20 minutes, or until tender
Take the vegetables out and increase the oven temp to 425. Put your pizza dough/base on a baking sheet and spread the tomato sauce over it evenly, leaving some space from the edge of the crust
Using a fork put the squash on the pizza (use a fork because otherwise all the oil comes with the squash)
Thinly slice the mozzarella and arrange on the pizza. Crumble the goat cheese over the pizza. Scatter more sage leaves and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Bake for 15-20 minutes.

This take a little while because you have to roast the squash, but it's a delicious and you feel fancy. Also, I spent a significant amount of time smelling the fresh sage. Delightful!

Final Ruling: This quesadilla is wearing a squash necklace and she looks all the better for it.

L & D's Holiday Fudge!

2010-12-20T08:45:00.004-05:00

Tis the season for holiday treats and this year I actually made something that did not take 8 hours. Well, it took 4 hours--but that's only because I made seven batches and watched a few episodes of Grey's Anatomy during the process.

I now present a very, very simple holiday gift: fudge! This is for one batch (8x8 pan)

INGREDIENTS:

7 oz. jar of marshmallow fluff (or marshmallow creme)
1.5 cups white sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup butter (half a stick)
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups milk chocolate chips
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla extract
Mix Ins (I used candy canes..nuts are most common)

RECIPE:
You have to act quickly on this recipe so it's best to measure out all the ingredients before you start. Time is quality!

Line an 8x8 pan with foil (or use a disposable foil pan)
In a large saucepan combine the marshmallow fluff, sugar, butter, evaporated milk, and salt. Heat over medium heat until it's at a FULL BOIL. Don't confuse air bubbles with boiling. Keep careful watch over it because...
At soon as it's boiling start stirring constantly for six minutes. Directions can vary on this but the longer you let it boil, the less creamy it will be (and less likely to fall apart). I've seen directions that say five minutes and others that say seven minutes. I found it was still easy to pour at six but that may be my stove/pan.
At exactly six minutes take the saucepan off the heat and pour in the chocolate chips. Stir until combined and creamy.
Add the vanilla extract and any mix ins. I crushed candy canes and mixed them in, and then also sprinkled the top of the fudge with them.
Pour into the pan and place in fridge for at least two hours

I'm not a huge fudge fan, but my feelings were transformed by adding candy canes. The mint really helps you get through how dense the chocolate is. I brought this in to work and it was gone in an hour. It's super, super rich so a large number of people can share it. Success!

You can also see above how cute marshmallow fluff jars are. Finally I have a way to store all my extra candy canes. Phew.

Final Ruling: I'd prefer a quesadilla, but the crowds seemed pleased.

Roasted Cauliflower & Couscous Delight

2010-12-03T17:23:00.007-05:00

I'm sure there's a better name for this, but it was...delightful so I'm sticking with this name. I especially loved the yogurt sauce--I actually made extra and just ate it straight. I am awesome.

INGREDIENTS (to serve 3):

15 oz can of chickpeas
Sliced almonds to taste
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 clove of fine chopped garlic
1 tsp ground cumin
Juice of 1 lemon
1.5 cups vegetable or chicken broth
3 TBS olive oil
Couscous (however much you plan to serve)
Cauliflower (as much as you want)
Pitas
Salt, pepper

RECIPE:

Preheat oven to 425
Cut the cauliflower into bite-size florets and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper
Arrange in a single flat layer and put in the over until it browns, 20-25 minutes

Meanwhile..

Drain the chickpeas and arrange them with the slivered almonds on a baking sheet in a single layer. You'll put this in the oven for about 7-8 minutes to warm/toast them. Save this until the cauliflower has 8 minutes left so you can roast them together
Combine the yogurt, garlic, cumin, and 1/2 the lemon juice in a small bowl. But aside.
Cook the couscous according to box directions. Use the vegetable or chicken stock instead of water.
When the cauliflower, chickpeas, and almonds have about 3 minutes left toast the pitas so they are warm
Once they're ready toss the cauliflower, chickpeas, almonds with the rest of the lemon juice and 2 TBSs olive oil. Season with salt and pepper
Fluff the couscous and serve on a plate. Top with the cauliflower mixture. Serve with the yogurt and bread.

Final Ruling: I've made this 3 times in the last 4 days and only eaten a quesadilla once.

Cream Cheese and Lox Omelet

2010-11-21T09:50:00.003-05:00

I had a little marathon-watching fiesta last week and it left me with a ton of leftover cream cheese and lox. What to do, what to do? Make an omelet!

This is essentially a lesson in how to cook eggs, as the only thing I did with the cream cheese and lox was to add them in before I folded it all up. That said, cooking eggs is really hard! The recipe below feeds two (it's a big omelet).

INGREDIENTS:

4 eggs
1-2 TBSps butter
Lox to taste
Cream cheese to taste
Salt and pepper, if you want (I don't add them, but most others do)

RECIPE:

Crack the eggs into a bowl and scramble them with a fork. Add in some salt and pepper if you'd like.
Get a large pan and put it on low heat. Put the butter in the pan. When it's melted the pan is ready. Make sure you move the butter around so it covers the pan and make sure it's not boiling/burning
Pour the eggs over the pan. Keep the heat low and watch it. Use a spatula to carefully go around the edge of the eggs as it starts to solidify. Lift the edge and tilt the pan so liquid eggs can flow underneath
When the eggs are in a mostly solid pancake-esque state but still a bit liquidy in the center, add the cream cheese and lox and quickly fold over like a taco/burrito. Let it sit in the pan another 30 seconds
Serve!

The eggs will make the cream cheese and lox warm and gooey and you'll have a fancy little omelet meal. The real trick of this is not burning the omelet. Honestly, practice makes perfect on this one. And also maybe watching some YouTube videos on how to make an omelet. Maybe the one below?

Final Ruling: Better than a quesadilla!

Zingy Tortellini with Peas

2010-10-26T08:25:00.004-04:00

INGREDIENTS:

Package of tortellini
2 TBS olive oil
3/4ths of an onion, chopped
3 TBS unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/5 cups frozen peas
salt, pepper
grated Parmesan
Red pepper flakes

RECIPE:

Cook the tortellini according to package instructions
Meanwhile, saute the onion in the olive oil until soft
Add the butter to the pan and continue to saute until brown, probably another 3-4 minutes
Stir in the garlic, peas, and 1/2 tsp salt and cook until the peas are heated through, another 3 minutes or so
Add the tortellini and 3 or 4 shakes of red pepper flakes (depending on how spicy you want this) and toss
Sprinkle with Parmesan

Spice and peas and pasta, oh my! This is good. Deal with it.

Final Ruling: Better than a quesadilla.

Crack Bars (or a more PC name to be chosen by you)

2010-10-19T20:11:00.004-04:00

Today was a co-worker's birthday and I thought this would be a good chance to take on something new--a vegan dessert. Navigating vegan recipes online is mad hard--everything sounded ok but I can't remember the last time I took butter and eggs out of something and it still tasted good. So I wrote to several vegan friends asking for help and voila! Crack Bars. I think these are technically called something like "peanut butter & chocolate bars" but they got the nickname due to how addictive they are. Who needs needle exchange programs when we have these?

INGREDIENTS:

2/3 cups vegan margarine. I used Smart Balance, which is pretty easy to find
2 cups powdered sugar
2 cups peanut butter (I used crunchy)
3 cups plain granola
3 cups crisp brown rice cereal (I didn't have this so I sub'd crumbled rice cakes)
2.5 cups vegan chocolate (I used dark chocolate...most dark chocolate is vegan)
8x8 or 9x9 pan

RECIPE:

In a large bowl mix the powdered sugar, peanut butter, granola, and brown rice cereal
Melt the margarine and add to the bowl as well
Mix everything in the bowl very well and press it into the pan. It'll be kind of like Rice Krispy treats
Melt the chocolate--be very careful not to burn it! Use verrrrrry low heat!
Spread a layer of the chocolate over the peanut butter mixture
Refrigerate at least 3 hours

These didn't stick together as well as they could have but people went bananas for them. Turns out you can't mess up something that's 75% peanut butter 25% chocolate. Who knew?

Final Ruling: The Wire was right--Crack rules all!

Fresh Fruit Tart(s)

2010-10-05T08:29:00.003-04:00

A friend of mine had a birthday on Sunday and requested a dessert that involved "fruit, cream cheese, and tarts." I'm not much of a tart-maker so I started looking through my cookbooks. I found "fruit tart" in the index of my given-to-me-in-a-gift-bag-at-a-charity-event PAULA DEEN & FRIENDS: LIVING IT UP, SOUTHERN STYLE. Apparently the southerners love their cream cheese because she had a recipe that was almost word for word what my friend requested. I had to make some modifications due to equipment and food shortages so let's call this recipe PAULA DEEN HELPS A SISTER OUT: LIVING IT UP, TINY APARTMENT STYLE.

INGREDIENTS

Two frozen pie crusts. I used 9" but 12" is great too. Mine also came in pans but you can buy the kind you roll out if you have pans.
8 oz package of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup + 1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries (or whatever you want)
6 oz can frozen non-alcoholic frozen margarita mix, thawed (or frozen limeade concentrate...this is where I started to really veer off the track)
1 TBSP cornstarch (or 2 TBSP flour as a substitute)
1 TBSP fresh lime juice
Whipping cream or whipped cream for garnish

RECIPE

Bake the frozen pie crusts according to instructions--probably about 12 minutes. Let cool.
Beat the cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, and vanilla together until smooth. Spread over the cooled crusts. I had enough for two 9" pies. If you're making a bigger pie you'll only have enough for one
Cut the fruit in half or in quarters, and arrange in concentric circles on the cream-cheese covered crust. Use the blueberries to fill in any holes
Combine the thawed margarita mix or limeade mix, cornstarch, lime juice, and 1/4 cup sugar in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until thick. Paula said 2 minutes. Mine took about 4 or 5 minutes. Let cool!
Using a pastry brush, brush the glaze over the fruit tart--you will have a LOT of extra glaze
Keep the tarts in the fridge and remove about 20 minutes before serving. Serve with whipped cream.

So I didn't make the pie crust from scratch. And I couldn't find limeade so I used margarita mix (which, in my defense, featured lime prominently in the ingredients). I also didn't have cornstarch so I used flour. And yet these tarts were the hit of the party. I was very worried about the margarita glaze so I only put it on one pie but people loved both. I'm sure the limeade is probably better, but the margarita glaze gave the fruit a real (non-alcoholic) kick.

Because I didn't make the crust and you don't have to bake the fruit this was super, super easy. And really delicious. You don't even feel that bad eating a bar of cream cheese because this tart is 95% fruit.

FINAL RULING: QUESADILLA & FRIENDS: LIVING IT UP, FRUIT TART STYLE. (That means pair this with a quesadilla)

Mustard-Crusted Pork and Roasted Carrots

2010-10-03T15:00:00.004-04:00

I have so many carrots in my fridge. SO MANY. It's like I woke up one day last week and decided that I needed after-school snacks for an imaginary pack of rabbits and guinea pigs. But there is no such pack, and even if there were I would totally serve them Hi-C. Duh. In any case, this little meal was born from my need to use up some carrots.

INGREDIENTS:

As many pieces of pork tenderloin as you'd like
As many peeled, cut up carrots as you'd like
3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons dijon mustard
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
2 or 3 garlic cloves, cut up
Fresh thyme sprigs
Salt & pepper
A roasting pan

RECIPE:

Pre-heat the oven to 425
Toss the cut up carrots and garlic cloves in olive oil and with salt and pepper to taste
Put the carrots and garlic in a roasting pan with the thyme and put in the oven to begin roasting while you prepare the pork
Rinse the pork and pat it dry and sprinkle with a little bit of salt
Heat 1 Tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet and put cook the pork in the skillet until it's brown all over--about 3-4 minutes
Take the pork out of the pan and place on a plate. Brush the mustard on all sides of the pork
Mix the bread crumbs with a little bit of olive oil and pour the bread crumbs over the mustard-covered pork until it is covered with a thin bread crumb crust
Add the pork to the roasting pan with the carrots and cook until everything is cooked through--about 20-25 minutes
Serve. Be delighted

I'm a novice at roasting but this just made me want to go out and invest in a root vegetable farm. Easy, zingier than just pork, and I used my carrots. Yay. I used a bit too much olive oil with the bread crumbs so it wasn't as crunchy as I wanted it to be, but lesson learned.

Final Ruling: Better than a quesadilla!

Salmon and Steamed Veggies

2010-09-29T08:10:00.003-04:00

I'm not a skilled fisherlady so I don't end up eating seafood very often. But I do love me some salmon so I went out on a limb the other day and made some simple fish 'n' veggies. It was pretty straightforward and definitely not hard to make.

INGREDIENTS: 2 salmon fillets, 1 TBS olive oil, 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar, 1/2 TBS honey, 1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes, salt, carrots, cauliflower

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Whisk the olive oil, vinegar, honey, red pepper flakes, and a pinch of salt in a small bowl
Place the salmon, skin-side down, on an oven-ready pan or cooking sheet that has a small amount of olive oil on it and brush the salmon with the honey glaze. Cook until cooked through, about 10-12 minutes. You'll know it's done when the salmon is flaky when you put a fork in it
While the salmon is cooking, steam or boil the veggies until just soft when you put a fork in them (5-7 minutes for the carrots, a little less for the cauliflower)

Hmm. This meal was easy and pretty good. But I wasn't insane about the honey on the salmon--it kind of dragged it down rather than featuring the salmon flavors. Blerg.

Final Ruling: Quesadilla takes this round!

Ravioli with Sage Butter, baby

2010-09-18T21:25:00.003-04:00

I had minimal hopes for this meal. I used Trader Joe's ravioli--historically worth exactly how much I paid for it, I didn't realize I was missing major ingredients until I was fully committed to my pajamas, and part of the recipe involved making a syrup, which is not something I really want on my pasta.

But dudes, I was wrong. Thank goodness I was already wearing my drawstring (very stylish) pants because I ate this meal in minutes.

INGREDIENTS

Salt
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tsp honey
Cheese ravioli
6 tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup fresh sage leaves
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

RECIPE

Cook the ravioli according to package directions. Meanwhile...
Combine the vinegar and honey in a small pot and boil over medium-high heat until syrupy, about 5 minutes. Cover to keep warm.
Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Once it's melted add the sage and keep the heat on for about 3 more minutes
Increase the heat under the large pan and add in 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Cook until reduced by about half--2-3 minutes.
Drain the ravioli and add to the pan and toss to coat.
Remove the pan from heat and toss with parmesan and season with salt
Put the ravioli on a plate and drizzle with the balsamic syrup

Honey balsamic syrup is the bomb! This was a nice change from normal marinara and the Trader Joe's ravioli even stepped up. Nice.

FINAL RULING: Better than a quesadilla.

Mini Black & White Cookies (are awesome)

2010-09-01T23:38:00.006-04:00

I like to bake. I like the specific instructions, I like that it's scientific, I like that there's usually sugar involved. The entire point of this site was to get me cooking more but at this point I almost think I should have a side site for things I bake. I could call it Not A Flourless Chocolate Cake. That joke would make sense if you knew that I make a TON of flourless chocolate cakes (and they are all fabulous). Now that you know I'm sure you're lol'ing all over the place.

But back to the topic at hand: baking. I'm reading White Noise and for whatever reason I thought it would be fun to make a dessert themed around White Noise. A normal person would theme it around something actually in the book but I just Google'd "White Noise theme dessert" and a recipe for mini black and white cookies was the first logical thing that popped up. And now I think they are the greatest thing ever. Thanks Google!

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 3/4 cups confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
4 to 6 tablespoons water
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

To Make The Cookies:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt
In a small bowl/cup mix the buttermilk and vanilla
In a large bowl beat the sugar and butter until it's fluffy (About three minutes with an electric mixer. About forever without one)
Add the egg to the sugar/butter mixer and beat until well combined
Reduce the speed of the mixer and add the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture, alternating until they are full mixed in the large bowl
Drop small (about 1 TBS size) amounts of cookie dough on the sheet
Cook 6-8 minutes, until the cookies rise up a little and a springy to the touch

To Make the Icing:

Stir together the confectioner's sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, lemon juice, and 2 TBS water
If the icing is very thick add a SMALL amount of water a little bit at a team until it's spreadable
Put half of the icing in another bowl and add the cocoa power. Mix. Add SMALL amounts of water until the icing is the same consistence as the white icing.

Finally:

Wait until the cookies are completely cool to frost them (it won't take long)
If you need to preserve the frosting while you wait, put a damp paper towel over the frosting and cover the bowl with saran wrap
It's easiest to use an offset spatula to ice the cookies, but a knife will work
Ice half of each cookie with the white frosting. Ice the other half with the chocolate frosting.

These cookies weren't as neat as I wanted (frosting mini cookies is mad hard) but they were delicious. The lemon in the frosting really made everything fabulous. Icing the cookies was a little tricky but everything else was super duper easy.

Final Ruling: They are in different categories, but I still think I'd rather eat these than a quesadilla. I must be growing up.

I Am Going To Love This Lunch: Summer Salad!

2010-08-29T15:35:00.003-04:00

You know, I recently saw an ad for a cooking class on "Summer Salads." Is this how dumb we've gotten? I own and enjoy The Complete Idiot's Guide to Running and this seems beneath even me. Salads are just ingredients! And summer salads are just ingredients you bought in the summer! Come on people, have some dignity. Unless you want to give me $40 for sharing that news, in which case I'm going to buy me some fancy ice cream tonight. But first, the goods:

Just mix...

Leafy greens
Green zebra tomatoes (It's tomato season at the farmer's market! Also probably at farms!)
Sunflower sprouts
Blackberries
Mandarin oranges
Gouda cheese

Bread is also my favorite food so that little challah roll on the side has done nothing to hurt my mood.

Final Ruling: Quesadillas aren't even allowed to compete when it's this hot outside

In Which There Is Smoke But No Fire, or Curried Fish

2010-05-20T21:49:00.004-04:00

I've been gone a long time. Oopsie. But don't worry, I brought you something back--tilapia! I have not always been a lover of fish (aka, I've never been a lover of fish) but recently all that has changed. And it's awesome. Tonight I got festive and decided to make curried fish. In the process I caused there to be a fun amount of smoke in my apartment, but it all worked out in the end. If you're making this I recommend you live in an apartment with windows. I also recommend that in life.

Ingredients: fish fillets (I used tilapia), curry power, plain yogurt, olive oil, breadcrumbs or wheat germ, cooking spray

Preheat the oven at 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a cooking sheet with cooking spray and put in the oven.
Dust the fish with curry powder. then rub with olive oil and sprinkle with breadcrumbs or wheat germ so that there is a thin layer of the coating
Place the fish on the hot cooking sheet and let bake for about 8 minutes. Get a little freaked out when the stove starts to smoke because 500 degrees is really hot.
I made couscous as well, but you could make anything you want to accompany
Have some plain yogurt on hand as an accompaniment to the curry

Well, this was easy. And this was fish. Check, check. The curry wasn't as strong as I thought it would be, and the breadcrumbs didn't make things as crunchy as I like. But it was still good. I vote yea!

Final ruling: Dude, fish is so good!

Chocolate Mousse

2010-03-02T22:58:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the absence, but apparently February was a month 'o' distractions. But I'm back! With more desserts. What can I say, I heart chocolate. I made this delightful mousse for my book group. We had just read the book Salt (disappointing, though if you're reading this Mark Kurlansky, I am sort of obsessed with you) and I wanted to make something somewhat thematic. And chocolate. Enter this magical mousse made with olive oil and fleur de sel. I thought mousse would be hard to make, but this took 20 minutes and the hardest part was getting over the fact that it has five raw eggs in it. Viva la chocolate!

INGREDIENTS: 60 oz 70% dark chocolate, 5 eggs, 1/4 cup plus 2 TBS sugar, 1/4 cup fruity and peppery olive oil, 1 TBS whiskey, 1/8 tsp. fleur de sel

Chop up the dark chocolate and slowly melt the chocolate. If you have a double boiler, you're awesome. If you don't, just keep the heat very low and watch the chocolate. Don't let it burn! That's sad.
Set the chocolate aside to slightly cool
Whisk 5 egg yolks and the 1/4 cup sugar
Slowly add the chocolate to the egg yolk/sugar mixture. Make sure you do this a little at a time so as to temper, but not cook, the eggs
Add the olive oil, whisky, and fleur de sel and fold in
In another bowl, beat the 5 egg whites until they are frothy. Then add the 2 TBS sugar and beat until medium peaks form. I hiiiiiiiighly recommend an electric mixer for this. If you can do this by hand you are a stronger lady than I.
A little at a time, fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Keep folding (spatulas work best for this) until there is no more white visible
Divide the mousse into small containers. I used little custard cups, but glasses (ooh, martini glasses!) work great as well
Cover and set in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or longer if you wish

I served this with homemade whipped cream (just, um, whip whipping cream) and it was so so rich and decadent and yummy. It also seems sort of fancy, even though it's easy--this would be great for a dinner party. One thing to know about this recipe--it only makes 4-5 servings, so plan bigger if you are feeding more than yourself (and 3 friends, I suppose).

Final Ruling: Quesadilla, you should really stop trying to compete with desserts. Mousse all the way!

I Knew You Were Coming So I "Baked" A Cake

2010-01-23T16:57:00.004-05:00

Making desserts is the best. Everyone loves you! You love you! You get a dessert! And it's especially fun to make a dessert when you let Julie's Organic Ice Cream Sandwiches do most of the work. This is quite literally an ice cream sandwich cake. A cake made out of ice cream sandwiches. And it takes about 10 minutes to make. Joy.

INGREDIENTS: six ice cream sandwiches, 1 cup heavy cream, 2 TBS confectioner's sugar, a bunch of chocolate chips

Line a 9 x 5 baking pan with wax or parchment paper. Leave enough so that the paper hangs over both sides of the pan. Feel free to use a smaller/bigger pan, though it's best if it's deep. I used a pan I usually use for making banana bread. The cake did not take up the entire pan but it held together just fine.
In a large bowl, combine the cream and confectioner's sugar. Beat (using a mixer) until stiff peaks form--you're making whipped cream!
Line three of the ice cream sandwiches across the pan. Cut them to fit if necessary.
Cover the ice cream sandwiches with half the whipped cream
Add another layer of three ice cream sandwiches
Cover with the rest of the whipped cream
Sprinkle chocolate chips on top
Cover in plastic wrap and leave in the freezer for at least an hour

When I put this in the freezer it did not look very pretty. But when I took it out magical things started happening. First, once it's frozen it's super easy to lift out of the pan using the wax paper. It's also easy to remove the wax paper once it's frozen. And when you cut it...let's just say I got oohs and aahs. Let's also say the whole thing got eaten in minutes. Next time I'll try neapolitan ice cream sandwiches!

Final Ruling: Actually, this would go really well with a quesadilla.

Gingerbread Cookies

2010-01-10T20:11:00.003-05:00

I've been making gingerbread cookies for years and this recipe from Joy of Cooking never fails. Making cookies in the shape of a groundhog (or chipmunk?) also adds to the fun

INGREDIENTS: 3 cups all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 3/4 tsp. baking soda, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1 TBS ground ginger, 1 3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. ground cloves, 6 TBS. softened unsalted butter, 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar, 1 egg, 1/2 cup molasses, 2 tsp. vanilla, 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest (grated lemon peel)

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves
In a large bowl beat (using an electric mixer) the softened butter, brown sugar, and egg
Into the large bowl add the molasses, vanilla, and lemon zest and beat until well combined
Gradually add in the flour mixture into the large bowl until it's all well blended. This will be tough as it's a lot of flour. Don't worry if it looks white for a long time
Divide the dough in half and wrap in plastic. Let sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours (this isn't absolutely necessary but really helps with rolling the dough out)
After the dough has been sitting out for a few hours set the oven to 375 degrees Farenheit and grease your cookie sheets
Flour a surface and a rolling pin and roll out the dough to about 1/4" thick. Cut out your cookies and place on a cookie sheet
Bake for 7-10 minutes. The cookies will be slightly soft when you take them out of the oven but they will harden (in a good way) as they cool

These are a big hit every time. I always make them for the Super Bowl--if you do this you should cut them out in the shape of footballs (an oval usually does the job) and make white icing for laces. To make the icing:

Make sure not to ice cookies until they are cool--this icing will melt into the cookie if you do it too soon
Mix powdered sugar and a small amount of lemon juice. Make sure you only put in a little juice at a time so that the mixture doesn't become liquidy
When the icing is a gooey consistency put it in a plastic bag and cut a TINY piece off the corner of the bag
Use that corner to pipe icing onto the cookies

Final Ruling: Why must they compete?

Tuna Nuna = Love

2010-01-10T20:03:00.002-05:00

I needed some comfort food this week and I now present you with the mother of all such things: Tuna Nuna! I know it looks like a hot mess in the picture, but it is seriously delicious. This is technically called Tuna Noodles, but it was what my mom made when my parents were going out for the night and I guess my childbrain couldn't handle a non-rhyming food--thus Tuna Nuna was born. Pass out the cigars!

INGREDIENTS: egg noodles, 1 can of CONDENSED mushroom soup, 1 can of tuna (adjust how much of each depending on how much you want to make)

Cook the noodles according to directions and drain
Stir in the can of condensed soup. DO NOT add any water.
Stir in the tuna (drained)

Enjoy! It's really that simple. It's also great with some peas in there. Also good if you bake it and make Tuna Noodle Casserole. I personally don't like to wait, though I do sort of wish I had put in some peas. Next time, next time.

It doesn't get much better than this (unless you hate tuna). I personally promise it will bring joy to your life.

Final Ruling: Oh quesadilla, you don't know who you're messing with

Sweet & Spicy Pork with Baked Potatoes

2009-12-25T14:06:00.003-05:00

I made this on Christmas Eve because I decided it was somehow fitting to the spirit of the Eve. I am not really sure how I came to that decision. In any case, I heart baked potatoes, and I heart that I have off from work today so let's just say it all fits together.

One other note: baked potatoes take forever. Sweet & spicy pork does not. Just letting you know ahead of time.

INGREDIENTS: russet potatoes (however many you want), olive oil, salt, pork chops (again, however much you want), 2 TB. canola oil, 2 TB. honey, 1 tsp. paprika, 1 tsp. cumin

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Farenheit
Washing the potatoes and dry them off. Leave the skin on! It's so tasty!
Using a fork, poke deep holes into the potatoes. Do this about 7 times. This lets the steam vent. You do not want your potato to explode.
Brush olive oil over the potatoes and sprinkle with salt
Put the potatoes in the oven for an 60-75 minutes

20 minutes before you take out the potatoes...

Cut the pork up into pieces. Or don't--up to you
Mix the oil, honey, paprika, and cumin
Pour the mixture over the pork, making sure to fully coat it
Put the pork in a skillet and cook for about 10-12 minutes, until it's fully cooked

Again, I love baked potatoes. The pork was pretty good, but it didn't have enough kick to it. Maybe next time I'll add more spice.

Final Ruling: Potatoes are better, but a quesadilla beats the pork.

Enchiladas!

2009-12-25T13:57:00.002-05:00

I'm a bit torn about this meal. After doing some soul searching I think I know why--I essentially made a quesadilla. How can I ask someone to compete against his own brother? I'm sorry quesadilla...I didn't mean to hurt you. This recipe makes about 4 enchiladas.

INGREDIENTS: 4 large tortillas, 16 oz. can of black beans (drained), 1 cup corn kernels (fresh or frozen), 4 0z. cream cheese, 8 oz. shredded cheese, 1/2 tsp. cumin, 1 cup salsa

Preheat the over to 400 degrees Farenheit
Combine the beans, corn, cream cheese, half the shredded cheese, cumin and 2/3 of the salsa in a large pan
Heat the mixture in the pan until everything is combined
Split the mixture between the four tortillas, making sure you are able to fold them closed
I am terrible at folding tortillas. Don't feel bad. If you are good at it...you are annoying.
Line up the tortillas in a baking pan (I used a springform pan b/c I burnt my brownie pan. Go team!
Pour the remaining salsa over the enchiladas. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese
Bake for about 10 minutes

Final Ruling: Let's call this a tie. Everyone hug now.

Spicy Linguini Cha Cha Cha

2009-12-25T13:49:00.004-05:00

This dish is easy. This dish is spicy. This dish is tasty. Without further ado, I present thee with linguini with hot pepper flakes and oil. You're welcome! The recipe below feeds 3 or 4

INGREDIENTS: linguini, olive oil, white onion, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper

Cook the pasta according to the package
While the pasta is cooking, heat 1/4 cup olive oil over low heat and saute 1 chopped onion, 3 tsp. chopped garlic, and 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
When the pasta is done, drain it and add the pasta to the skillet
Turn up the heat and let things sit in the skillet for a minute or two
Serve, with salt, pepper, and parmesan to taste

Final Ruling: Better than a quesadilla! Caliente!

Special Holiday Gift Edition (part 2): Mint Chocolate Truffles

2009-12-22T21:09:00.005-05:00

In my quest to overextend myself, I decided that this was the year I was going to learn how to make truffles. I attempted them last year, but was quickly thwarted by the fact that liquor stores in NYC don't open until noon on Sundays. Silly laws. But I have learned much since last year--not about time management, but about making really tasty truffles in much less time and with much less liquor! These are so, so rich and quite tasty (if so, so rich is your thing), but it's best you not tell anyone what's in them. I think you'll see why in a minute...

INGREDIENTS: one bar of room temperature cream cheese, one package of mint Oreos (the big one...three sleeves), 2 bags of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Open up the Oreos and separate the cookies from the inside cream filling. Put the filling in a bowl and the cookies in a plastic bag, save for 4 cookies, which you should place in a separate plastic bag and put aside
Add the bar of cream cheese to the bowl with the filling and mix. I used an electric mixer and it was easy peasy. It should get whipped and creamy
Roll over the plastic bag of cookies with a rolling pin (or bottle of wine, or can) until the cookies are finely crushed. Do the same with the other bag of cookies you set aside.
Pour the crushed cookies into the bowl and mix until everything is blended. Again, I used a mixer, but you can use a spoon or your hands
Refrigerate or freeze the bowl filled with everything until it's easy to play with. I did this for 30 minutes, you can do it for however long you want--it's like dough in that it's easier to work with when it's cold
Scoop out small balls (about 1" in diamater) and place on plates
Place the truffles back in the fridge/freezer for another 30 minutes or so (or as long as you want)
Melt the chocolate. If you do this on the stove make sure it's on a very low heat, as chocolate burns easily. Start with one bag of the chips and use the second if needed (I needed)
Dip the truffles into the chocolate. The easiest way to make sure they're fully covered is to use two forks to roll them around in the chocolate--much how you might lower an egg into boiling water.
Quickly place chocolate-covered truffles onto wax paper and sprinkle the extra cookie crumbles on top
Place the truffles in the fridge for at least an hour, longer if you'd like
It's best to leave them in the fridge until serving, though they can be packaged and kept unrefrigerated for at least a few hours.

Tadah! You have yummy, decadent, seriously bad for you mint chocolate truffles! This made about 32 truffles for me. There are so many variations--you can use regular cream cheese and not have them be mint. You can use peanut butter instead of the Oreo filling. You can sprinkle crushed candy canes on top for some festive spirit. A good time!

Final Verdict: I can't even pretend these are in the same category as a quesadilla. But if you like chocolate, you'll like these. And only three ingredients!

Special Holiday Gift Edition (part 1): Sugared Cranberries

2009-12-20T21:30:00.008-05:00

I like to give well-packaged gifts. Or I am a sucker for packaging and it holds true for everything I give, as well as buy. Either way, I have a damn cute shampoo bottle in my shower right now and I made some adorable edible gifts for co-workers this year. This is a two-part post, but I'm tired so for tonight it's just...Sugared Cranberries! I got the idea for these from an article on entertaining and I fell in love with how pretty the finished product is. And then I fell in love with how simple it is. Seriously...

INGREDIENTS: 1 bag fresh cranberries (usually with the produce in a grocery store), 2 cups water, 2 cups sugar, 3/4th cup superfine sugar. Yes Superfine sugar is its own product and no you can't just use regular sugar.

Combine 2 cups sugar and 2 cups water and heat until the sugar dissolves. Do NOT let the water boil
Pour the sugar water over the cranberries in a large bowl

Cover the cranberries/water and put in the fridge for at least 8 hours
Drain the cranberries
Put 3/4ths cup superfine sugar on a plate
Roll the cranberries in the superfine sugar until they are covered and place them out to dry on wax paper (this takes the longest, since each one must be picked out individually--you can't dump the sugar over the or it will dissolve.)
Let the cranberries dry for at least an hour, longer for a stronger taste

Put the dry sugared cranberries in a bag, a jar, a bowl, whatever--they are so pretty and the sugar fights the tartness for a great taste

Final Ruling: Better than a quesadilla. Especially if you pretend pretty is a taste.

Bean and Sausage Stew

2009-11-18T22:42:00.007-05:00

This week I did something I haven't done in a while--I went out and bought the ingredients for a quesadilla. But then I decided I would not be daunted and I also bought the ingredients for a tasty stew. And some ice cream. Maybe a lot of ice cream. In any case, I'm not sure what separates a stew from a soup, but this was slightly thick so a stew it is!

INGREDIENTS: olive oil, a few chicken sausage links, 2 cloves garlic, 16 oz can of white kidney beans, 1 can diced or stewed tomatoes, 14 oz chicken stock, a few kale leaves, salt, pepper, yummy crusty bread

Cut up the sausage links to bite size--maybe 1/4th inch thick
Heat up 1 TBS olive oil in a pot and cook the sausage for about 6 minutes, flipping them at 3 minutes
Please note--this assumes the sausage comes fully cooked and just needs to be heated. Please don't poison yourself.
Into the pot add the beans, broth, and tomatoes (including the tomato juice)
Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer
Tear the kale off the stem and toss into the pot and let cook for another few minutes
Season with salt and pepper as you want (and while you're at it get out the crusty bread)

Again, this was easy like a soup in that all I had to do was toss everything in a pot. But it has sausage! And kale! And ice cream! Well, maybe that's just what i had for dessert, but they go so well together.

Final Ruling: When was the last time you threw the ingredients for a quesadilla in a pot and they cooked themselves?

Rhubarb Tartlets

2009-11-15T21:02:00.005-05:00

I had so much fun making the mini pumpkin bites, that for a housewarming party this weekend I made another mini treat! I couldn't find any solid recipes online for how to make mini rhubarb pies (at least the way I wanted them)...so I made it up! It actually turned out really well, so enjoy!

INGREDIENTS: 1 package of refrigerated pie crust (usually has two 9-inch crusts), a few stalks of rhubarb, strawberry applesauce, egg whites, sugar, allspice, soup can (to cut the crust)

Roll out the dough to slightly thinner than it already is and cut out round shapes using a soup can
Stuff the crust circles into mini muffin molds, making sure the outer edges don't touch each other
Brush egg whites over the outer crust edges
Place a small amount of strawberry applesauce in each tartlet
Cut up the rhubarb into small pieces (no bigger than an inch)
Mix sugar and allspice (a lot of sugar, a small amount of allspice) in a bowl
Allspice can be bought in a grocery store and according to the jar I bought it's "rich like clove, touched with cinnamon and nutmeg." They suggest a pinch or two in fruit pies. I used about 2-4 pinches because I like it
Get the rhubarb a little wet and toss it in the sugar/allspice mixture
Place as many pieces of rhubarb as you can fit/want in each tartlet
Cover the rhubarb with more of the sugar/allspice mixture. Rhubarb is extremely tart and the sugar helps that so really douse it
Cook at 375 for 25 minutes

I put a bit too much applesauce in the bottom of the tartlets and the base of the crust was a little soggy. Just a little will do! I also used rhubarb from a few months ago that I had frozen. When I defrosted it, it was soggy, which may mean I had a different result than if I had baked it raw. The crusts will bake in 20 minutes--anything after that is just to make sure the rhubarb is cooked, so keep an eye on it.

This was easy despite the fact that I was winging it, and came out as a very classy treat.

Final Ruling: Better than a quesadilla!

Pumpkin Bites

2009-11-09T21:17:00.006-05:00

Over the weekend I attended a potluck dinner where guests were asked to bring a dish featuring an autumnal food. I got PSYCHED to make a fancy rhubarb pie, but the World Series and the fact that rhubarb pie takes some advance planning got in the way. So I moved over to pumpkin pie! I find everything small to be cuter and therefore taste better. I put my friend Libby to the task of finding me something fun and tiny to make and she rocked it out. The recipe is from Bakerella and you can find her recipe and (much better) pictures here.

It seems redundant to repeat the directions, as I followed them almost exactly (except for the chocolate part...I ran out of time). Two things to note: My recipe actually made about 34 pumpkin bites and I found it very hard to beat the pumpkin mixture into something smooth. There are no real instructions for that part and even using an electric mixture I could not get the cream cheese to completely blend. In the picture below you'll notice that there are some bumps in the little pies. While not gorgeous, they were tasty so it all evens out in the end. Also, this recipe is siiiiiiiiiiiimple. The hardest part was figuring out how to brush the egg whites on the dough (I used a brush...duh).

FINAL RULING: Dessertier than a quesadilla. Very good, very easy.

Portabello Burger

2009-10-24T12:44:00.004-04:00

Before I get started, let me say right now that this is a burger made out of mushrooms, not a burger topped with mushrooms. I made this last night and Marty accused me of playing a little trickaroo. Who, me? Also, I'm sorry that the picture above is not so much of the burger itself. My apartment has poor lighting and this was the only non-blurry picture I could get before I gave up out of hunger.

On a side note, while making this VERY simple dish I somehow managed to set off my smoke alarm. Again. I have a super fancy smoke alarm that not only beeps at levels the entire world can hear but says in a very loud, clear voice, "THERE IS A FIRE. MOVE TOWARD AN OPEN WINDOW FOR HELP." Good times! Lesson here--balsamic vinegar in a hot pan will cause smoke. Who knew?

INGREDIENTS: large portabello mushroom, english muffin, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, cooking/olive oil, cheddar cheese, small tomato

Put the mushroom on a plate smooth side up. Cover in the vinegar, salt, and pepper to taste
Let the mushroom sit for 10-15 minutes
Heat up a small amount of olive oil in a pan and put the mushroom in the pan. I cooked it for about 5 minutes on each side, though that was dictated by the above mentioned smoke alarm.
Meanwhile, toast an english muffin (or any type of bun...I love english muffins!)
When the mushroom is done, place it on the bun and top with cheese and tomato to taste
Easy von peasy!

Final Ruling: Surprisingly juicy. Better than a quesadilla!

Soup's On!

2009-10-20T08:11:00.003-04:00

Because global warming is taking over and the earth is about the get sucked into the sun, it was unusually cold in NYC this weekend. I tried calling my brother to complain but he's apparently shoveling snow where he lives, so instead I made soup! Soup is one of those strange things that sounds hard to make but is a one pot meal that cooks itself--the broth literally cooks everything in the soup. I just dumped things in, waited a few minutes and tadah! I'd made a seemingly fancy meal. You can put anything in soup and I intended to make tortilla soup, but I only have a small pot and it got overfilled so I stopped before I got to the chicken. So I now present...veggie soup!

INGREDIENTS: 12oz chicken stock (to feed 2-3), 1 can peeled stewed tomatoes, corn kernels (fresh or frozen), super thin egg noodles, carrots, parsnips, celery, onion, oregano, thyme, pepper, hot sauce

Pour the stock into a pot and turned the heat on low
Cut up the carrots, parsnips, celery, onion into whatever bite size you like
Drop the cut up veggies and the can of stewed tomatoes in the soup and turn up the heat slightly. Let it simmer for 5-7 minutes
Drop in the corn and egg noodles and let it simmer for as long as it takes to cook the noodles
Stir in oregano, thyme, pepper, hot sauce to taste (hot sauce is what gives the soup its kick, spices are what make it smell good)
Make sure everything is fairly cooked and the soup is warm
Serve!
If you'd like, grate some fresh parmesan over the soup. Yums.

I actually had enough to feed two people big bowls and have one big bowl left over. So maybe this serves three. In any case, I felt very domestic and it's fun to make a soup with exactly what you want in it.

Final Ruling: Better than a quesadilla! Though also very different (I'm starting to feel bad for quesadillas).

Macaroni and Cheese...and Cauliflower

2009-10-14T07:42:00.003-04:00

I made this meal because I was in the mood for straight comfort food, and while it's not as cheesy as you might expect it definitely does the trick. Plus you feel a lot better about eating astounding quantities of mac & cheese when you make it yourself, which turned out to be necessary because this recipe feeds about 4. The cauliflower was a nice addition and adds a little lightness to the meal, which it definitely needed. I'll note that I'm leaving out a potential tasty crust on this dish, only because it requires a food processor and my NY kitchen doesn't have room to house one. Essentially you mix torn up wheat bread, olive oil, parsley, salt, and pepper in the processor and sprinkle on top before you bake. But on to what the small kitchen people can create:

INGREDIENTS: 12 oz multi-grain or rice elbow noodles (you can use regular, but these hold up better), 6 oz grated extra sharp cheddar cheese, olive oil, salt, pepper, small head of cauliflower, 1/2 chopped onion, 1/2 cup 1% milk, 1 1/2 cups sour cream, 1 TBS dijon mustard

Heat the oven to 400 degrees
Cook the pasta according to directions and add the roughly chopped cauliflower for the last 2-3 minutes. Drain.
In the pasta pot, heat up a small amount of olive oil and toss in the onion, 3/4 TSP salt, pepper to taste, and cook until the onion is soft
Mix in the pasta, cauliflower, sour cream, milk, cheese, and dijon mustard and stir it all up (it will be thick!)
Put the mixture in a 3QT baking dish (or close to that--you want it to fit but not have lots of unfilled dish)
Cover the top with some extra grated cheese and bake for 17 minutes, or until a little brown on top

I'm a little silly and didn't buy pre-grated cheese, so most of the time I took making this meal revolved around grating a lot of cheese using my teeny tiny grater. Seriously, it's small. I've put a picture up above to show you the scale. Once that was done this was easy and will last me for days. As I said above, it's not as cheesy as you might think, but you can't go wrong with tons of sour cream on anything. Unless you don't like sour cream...then maybe you should pass.

Final Ruling: Better than a quesadilla!

Chicken with Radishes & Garbanzo Beans

2009-10-03T20:45:00.004-04:00

This is a fast meal, and sounds a lot classier than it is. It's also more filling than you think it will be, thanks to the garbanzo beans. I bought super fancy $3 chicken breasts. I don't know if that helped things, but they were so juicy and delicious so let's just say it did.

INGREDIENTS: chicken breasts, olive oil, flour, few squeezes of lemon juice, radishes, garbanzo beans, pesto

Slice up as many radishes as you'd like and mix in a bowl with garbanzo beans
Toss in pesto to taste, and add a squeeze or two of lemon juice. Put aside.
Coat the chicken breasts in olive oil, and then cover them in flour. It gets a little messy
Cook the chicken breasts in a pan until they're done. The flour should add a little crunch--fake breaded chicken!
Squeeze some lemon juice over the chicken and serve with the beans/radish salad

Again, this was easy and tasty, but nothing special. Definitely something to keep around, though. And it's taught me that everything tastes better with pesto.

Final Ruling: Equal to a quesadilla, and that ain't bad

Ravioli with Radish & Tomato Salad

2009-09-27T12:56:00.005-04:00

I had an entirely different meal planned for last night, but then the farmer's market intervened and a colorful treat was born. It's tomato season and I totally got caught up in the frenzy--and I don't regret it. I also spent a whopping extra $2 and bought fresh pasta (not frozen) and man alive is it better. As I was already doing zany things, I then read the label on the pasta which said, "The filling is the sauce," and I took it to heart. Tasty, tasty, tasty.

INGREDIENTS: 1 package Bertagni spinach and ricotta ravioli (anything fresh will be good), olive oil, fresh parmesan cheese, balsamic vinegar, radishes, green zebra tomatoes

Cut up the radishes and tomatoes and put in small bowls (or big ones if you're really hungry)
Add a bit of balsamic vinegar and toss
Boil water. Cook the ravioli according to directions (4 minutes for me, since it was fresh pasta)
Dress the ravioli with olive oil and shred some fresh parmesan cheese over it
Serve immediately

The whole thing took maybe 10 minutes to make, and that's only because I'm hilariously bad at cutting tomatoes. Deelish!

FINAL RULING: Better than a quesadilla!

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love White Wine: Chicken With Spinach and Mushrooms

2009-09-14T22:36:00.004-04:00

I've been on a bit of a hiatus, but today I went running and then failed to figure out a way to watch Glee online (cooking is not the only thing in which I'm lacking skills) and I felt like I deserved a treat. So I bought a box of ice cream sandwiches. But I also cooked something really healthy and easy to compensate!

INGREDIENTS: chicken breast (as many as you want), salt, pepper, olive oil, dry white wine, 1 red pepper, button mushrooms, spinach, garlic

Heat 1 TBS olive oil, season the chicken with salt and pepper, and saute the chicken in a large pan for 5-7 minutes on each side
Put the chicken aside and heat up another TBS of olive oil in the pan
Add some cut up mushrooms and sliced red pepper and saute for 2-3 minutes
Add 1/2 cup dry white wine and two cloves diced garlic to the pan and cook for another 3 minutes, or until the wine is mostly evaporated
Stir in the spinach and some salt & pepper
Serve!

Seriously, this was easy. And seriously, the white wine made everything taste so much better. I'm a convert. And now that I've shared the gospel I have earned another ice cream sandwich...

Final Ruling: Better than a quesadilla

Ravioli with Spinach and Bacon

2009-08-30T22:21:00.006-04:00

People have commented that I cook a lot of meat, and they find that impressive. I would like to reiterate that I have NO IDEA WHAT I'M DOING. Really, I'm pretty scared of heated food in general. I've put up the above picture to show you what I looked like while I was cooking the bacon for tonight's dinner. It's 83 degrees in NYC right now. And I'm wearing a parka. Over the stove. That's how scared of the flying grease I was, and continue to be. I did, of course, manage to get hot oil on my foot, the one part of my body I did not cover. Next time I'll wear slippers.

INGREDIENTS: ravioli (I bought Trader Joe's ravioli...I don't recommend it), 6 slices of bacon, 2 diced garlic cloves, olive oil, two bunches of fresh spinach, salt, pepper, lemon juice

Cook the ravioli according to directions and set aside
Meanwhile, cook the bacon according to the directions on the package. Mine took about 3 minutes per side, though I like it crispy
Put the bacon on a plate lined with paper towels and put a paper towel over it to absorb excess grease
Once the bacon is dry, break it up into little pieces
Drain the bacon pan and wipe dry and the saute the garlic in 2 TBS olive oil for a minute or two
Add in the spinach (no stems) and some salt & pepper to taste and saute until just wilted (another minute)
Stir the bacon and 1 TBS lemon juice onto the spinach
Serve over the ravioli

I made this kind of late at night, after having just seen Taking Woodstock so I was in a bit of an odd mood. I threw this dinner together, and obviously spent most of my energy avoiding bacon grease, but it actually was pretty tasty. Bacon and spinach and lemon a good meal do make.

Final ruling: Better than a quesadilla.

Sauteed Pork with CousCous and Plums

2009-08-26T20:33:00.004-04:00

Pork + Plums = Yums. Wow, that was bad. But this meal was not! Following the success of "grilled" peaches in a salad a few weeks ago, I thought it was high time for more. Seems you can't go wrong sauteed fruit. The preserves on the pork also gave it a nice flavor without having to put on a heavy sauce. In fact, I think the plums alone would be fantastic on top of vanilla ice cream. So fantastic that I might go buy some ice cream after I post this. Try it and let me know how it works!

INGREDIENTS (for 2): CousCous, a couple scallions, 1/4 cup apricot preserves, 1 TBS white wine vinegar, 2-3 pieces boneless pork loin cut up into square pieces, olive oil, salt, pepper, 4 small plums

Cook the couscous according to the box. Chop up the scallions and fold into the couscous when it's done
Mix the preserves and white wine vinegar in a small bowl and set aside
Meanwhile, saute the pork in a pan with some olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste. This should take about 10 minutes. When it's almost done, brush the preserves/vinegar mixture over the pork. You can also dump it into the pan and stir it all together, as long as there's not too much olive oil in the pan.
Quarter the plums and saute them for a couple minutes with a small amount of olive oil, salt, and pepper
Serve all together

Final Ruling: A great fruitification of pork. And better than a quesadilla.

Definitely Not a Quesadilla: Throw Pillows!

2009-08-25T08:15:00.003-04:00

Ok, this may break all the imaginary rules, but I made throw pillow covers and I am proud so I present...throw pillows! Oooh, ahhh. Seriously, I do not know how to sew, so this was a coup.

I used instructions found at the Tiny Decor blog, which is subtitled, "Create a naturally modern nursery." Well, um, check? Anywho, if you're interested you can find the instructions here. The first pillow took me an hour. The second took 15 minutes.

Final Ruling: Prouder than a quesadilla

Lasagna!

2009-08-23T09:25:00.005-04:00

It's lasagna! I've been dreaming of making lasagna for a couple weeks now, and last night I wrangled Jennie and Anna over to eat some. I used a recipe from Jennie's sister and it was deeeeelicious. And produced a lot of leftovers, so make sure to invite some people--I'd say this recipe feeds 5 women and 3-4 men. Also, you'll see this recipe calls for simmering the beef (or just the sauce) in the sauce for 2.5 hours. To answer your question, no you don't have to do it, but you really should. It's not that long--just set it on the stove and watch three episodes of Season 1 of the original Beverly Hills: 90210. I highly recommend Episodes 8,9, and 10 in which Carol Walsh attempts to go all Beverly Hills and leave the dad for a much hotter photographer guy, Brenda stops a date rape by breaking every existing law, and Dylan threatens to hit Brenda and so they finally kiss. Seriously people, good times. But back to my other interest:

INGREDIENTS: 1 28 oz. can peeled diced tomatoes, 2 8 oz. cans tomato sauce, salt, pepper, oregano, onion salt, 1 onion, 1 garlic clove, 1 lb ground beef (or other meat, or no meat), 1 lb ricotta cheese, 1 cup grated parmesan cheese, 1 large ball of mozzarella, lasagna noodles (fresher the better)

In a large saucepan mix the tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, 1 tsp salt, 1.5 tsp oregano, 1/8th tsp pepper and simmer (low, low heat) on the stove uncovered
Dice the onion and garlic clove and saute on the stove with the beef
When the beef is brown, add the contents of the pan into the sauce; let simmer for 2.5 hours
If you're using fresh noodles (fancy), there's no need to cook them. If you're not, cook the noodles
In a pan (I used a 9x9 brownie pan) put a thin layer of sauce. Then a layer of noodles, then a layer of ricotta, then a layer of mozzarella (thinly sliced),then a layer of parmesan. Repeat until you're out of ingredients, but make sure you have some mozzarella left for the top.
Bake in the oven for 50 minutes at 350.
In case you want to make a delicious salad, I also made one with walnuts, blue cheese, and cut up plums. Awesome.

Final Ruling: So. Much. Better. than a quesadilla. And really, really easy, even if does take forever

Guest Post: Fake Nicoise Salad

2009-08-20T07:34:00.006-04:00

I've been traveling for the last few days and it's been so hot in NYC that cooking has seemed un-awesome, but I'm back! Sort of. Today I have a Guest Post from Hollis, who claims she accidentally made a "super yummy, well rounded AND healthy dinner." She calls it the "Fake Nicoise Salad" because it's like a nicoise salad...only different.

INGREDIENTS: mixed herb salad package, half a cucumber, half a bell pepper (Hollis prefers red for color), carrot or baby carrots, any veggies you may want in a salad (mayhaps cold sauteed asparagus?), 1/4-1/2 cup chopped up mixed olives, one can of tuna in oil, one hard boiled egg, 2 cloves garlic, 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/2 TBS brown sugar, 2 TBS dijon mustard, salt & pepper, box of quinoa, can of black beans

Thinly slice the cucumber, pepper, and carrots
Toss the salad, veggies, olives, egg, and tuna and put aside
In a jar/cup mix the garlic, vinegar, olive oil, brown sugar, mustard, salt & pepper (just a dash) and let it marinate for 20 minutes--you've got dressing!
Meanwhile, make the quinoa according to box directions
Heat the beans on the stove over medium heat, stirring, for about 5 minutes or until warm
Dress the salad with the dressing and serve with the quinoa and beans. If you'd like, to the beans with a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt and salsa
Yum!

Final Ruling: Healthier than a quesadilla. And also yummier!

Chicken with Creamed Spinach

2009-08-13T08:39:00.010-04:00

This recipe is very simple, but somehow filled my apartment with smoke. I guess I wasn't ready to graduate from skinless, boneless chicken breasts. Also please note my exciting new Coney Island bowl in the picture above.

INGREDIENTS: Chicken thighs, olive oil, salt & pepper, 1/4 cup dry white wine, 1/4 cup sour cream, 1 onion or 4 shallots, two heads of spinach

Flavor chicken thighs (as many as you want) with salt & pepper
In a pan heat 2 TBS of olive oil and cook the chicken--about 8-10 minutes on each side
Once the chicken is cooked, place on a plate and drain 3/4ths of the fat/oil from the pan
Cut up 4 shallots (or half an onion) into thin slices and place in the pan. Saute for about 2 minutes until soft
Stir in 1/4 cup of dry white wine and 1/4 cup of sour cream
Add in two bunches of spinach with stems removed (about 8 cups). It's important to use a lot of spinach because it wilts very quickly when heated and becomes a lot smaller than you expect (note how little spinach is on the plates above)
Stir until the spinach begins to wilt--about 1-2 minutes

Final Ruling: Smokier than a quesadilla, but not better. Though I do recommend the creamed spinach--so easy and tasty!

Chicken & Eggplant with Grilled Peaches and Arugula Salad

2009-08-11T07:24:00.005-04:00

Success! This may have been better without the eggplant, but I had some lying around, so I figured why not. I don't own a grill, nor would I have any idea how to use one, so everything here was put in a pan on the stove. Worked just fine, though it would have been nice for the peaches to have a bit of a charred flavor.

Cube boneless breasts of chicken and slice an eggplant (however much you want to serve)
Brush the chicken and eggplant with olive oil and sprinkle a small amount of salt and pepper over them
In a bowl, toss one large red onion (sliced so you get concentric circles), 2-3 sliced peaches, 1 TBS olive oil, and 1/4 tsp each salt & pepper
In two separate pans saute the onion/peaches combo and the eggplant/chicken. The onion/peaches should take 5-6 minutes (take the peaches out after 2-3 minutes) and the eggplant/chicken about 7-10 minutes
Toss the peaches and onion in a bowl with arugula, some balsamic vinegar, and 1 TBS olive oil
Arrange the salad on a plate and sprinkle with crumbled blue cheese; serve with the chicken/eggplant

Final Ruling: Better the a quesadilla! Especially the warm salad. Yum.

Eggplant with Cheese Sauce

2009-08-09T20:51:00.007-04:00

Welllllll, this didn't quite work out. I think there was a chance for this to be glorious, but I didn't have the right amount of ingredients and I made a substitution that may have been a mistake...

Cut up 2 large eggplants into 1/4 inch thick slices
Sprinkle them with salt (in a bowl) and leave for 30 minutes. They'll basically perspire and won't be filled with as much water
Rinse them off and cook them in oil in a frying pan until they are golden brown on both sides
Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix 2.5 cups of savory white sauce with 14 oz grated cheese (preferably Gruyere, or a mix of parmesan or cheddar)

****This is where I started to go wrong. I don't really know what a "savory white sauce" is so I used alfredo sauce. In hindsght, I should have made bechamel sauce, which is actually very easy to make. Look it up!****

Mix most of the grated cheese into the sauce (save a little cheese for the end)
In a bakeproof dish, put a layer of the eggplant and cover in sauce. Repeat until you're out of eggplant/sauce and sprinkle the top with the remaining grated cheese
Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown on top

In the end, I shouldn't have used alfredo sauce, I had too little sauce anyway, and grating 14 oz of cheese took a lot of effort. It didn't taste bad (how can you go wrong with a pot of cheese?), but was also improved by being surrounded by a salad and chocolate muffins that some friends brought over for a dinner party.

Final Ruling: You win this round, Quesadilla

Grilled Chicken with Corn and Tomato Salad

2009-08-07T21:32:00.010-04:00

Tonight was special, as I was cooking for Marty--the originator of the tease that I can't cook anything besides quesadillas. This blog was created entirely to prove him wrong. And tonight I did! In your face, Marty! Er, I mean Martadilla!

Cut up chicken breasts into 2 inch cubes and place in a bowl
Add 2 tsps diced garlic, 1 TBS thyme (fresh or not), 1 TBS olive oil, 1/2 tsp each of salt & pepper
Toss the chicken, etc.
Saute the chicken in a pan on the stove until done (7-10 minutes)
Meanwhile, saute sweet corn in another pan. I used frozen, but you can also use fresh. Saute the corn until it's a little charred
Cut up a pint or so of cherry tomatoes and toss with scallions, 1 TBS olive oil, and salt & pepper to taste
Arrange it all on a plate and enjoy!

Final Ruling: "Superior to a quesadilla" - Marty

Linguine and Homemade Tomato Sauce

2009-08-04T21:57:00.007-04:00

Tonight my friend Hollis and I celebrated her homecoming (she's been on the road for two months) with a little comfort food. That's right, we made our own pasta sauce!

In theory I should have used a food processor, but I don't own one of those. Instead, we put the stove to work:

Dice up 2-3 vine-ripened tomatoes, half an onion, a couple cloves of garlic, and some fresh basil
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan
Toss in the tomatoes, etc. and let simmer for 10-20 minutes (the longer it simmers, the more it becomes like a sauce)
Add salt and pepper to the sauce (to taste) as it simmers
Cook linguine as directed by package
Put the sauce on the pasta, add some fresh basil and parmesan cheese, and enjoy!
This is a light sauce, which I like, but don't expect it to be like canned sauce

Final Ruling: Fancier than a quesadilla

Flank Steak and Spinach CousCous

2009-08-03T21:47:00.001-04:00

That's right, I cooked steak! In your face, Quesadilla! This recipe was actually pretty simple:

Heat 1 TBS. or so of olive oil in a pan on the stove
Cook the flank steak in the pan on medium heat (about six minutes per side)
Make the couscous according to directions on the box
Fold in lemon juice, feta, and baby spinach
Add salt and pepper to everything, according to taste

Final Ruling: Better than a quesadilla