Jeremy Cooks: Part Duex

I'm not even kidding ya'll, Jeremy made yet another delish dish!  Our agreement tonight was that he would prep the salmon, and I would take care of the details and cooking it.  Well, when I walked in the door tonight he had everything ready to go and was just waiting on me.  I think I am facing some serious competition in the kitchen.  Is it just me or is it totally hot when your man cooks for you?  I love how excited he is when he cooks for me - sigh.  I'm a lucky lady.

This recipe comes to you straight from a recipe card in my recipe basket...I have no idea where I got it.  Usually I'm pretty good about writing where the recipe comes from - but not this time.  I am assuming it is a Cooking Light master piece because I have the nutritional information at the end of the recipe...

Honey Glazed Salmon

2 tablespoons minced shallots

1 tablespoon fresh or 1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons honey

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (J couldn't find the ground red pep so he used red pepper flakes instead - nice kick and I highly recommend this switch-a-roo)

4 (6 oz) salmon filets (about 1" thick)

Cooking spray

Thyme Sprigs (please note how Jeremy garnished my salmon with some fresh sprigs on top - isn't he the cutest??)

Instructions

1)  Prepare grill or broiler (we actually baked it at 350* for 10 and then broiled for 5 and got a nice char on top - smelled and tasted great!)

2)  Combine 1st 6 ingredients in a small bowl.  Brush honey mixture over skinless side of fish.  Place fish on grill rack or broiler pan coated with cooking spray and cook 6 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily tested with a fork.  (We improvised and placed it on foil on a regular old super market jelly roll pan and drizzled a little olive oil - always on a quest for those healthy oils!)

Bon Appetit!  

Lasagna to end eating of all other Lasagnas

I'm not even kidding. Cooking any other lasagna is just pointless. Much like the pumpkin chili, this lasagna has ruined me for anything else. It must be the "shower of cheese" (see the "J Man Cooks Too" post) that does me in...or the yummy spicy turkey sausage and fresh basil, or the fresh mozzarella, or the whole kit and caboodle (did you guys have have "caboodles"??? My sister and I totally had one and it was excellent. Especially when we needed to pack up all of our makeup in the 5th grade and head to grandma's house. Except we didn't use it for makeup really-we kept all of our beads in it! If memory serves me correctly, it still serves as a bead-keeper in the toy closet at my parent's house...)

Anyfood, this recipe is from my girl Ina out of "Barefoot Contessa Family Style." Get it already!!

Lasagna with Turkey Sausage

(Serves 8)

Ingredients

2 tbsps olive oil

1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed

1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes in tomato puree

1 6-oz can tomato paste

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, divided

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 pound lasagna noodles

15 ounces ricotta cheese

3-4 ounces creamy goat cheese, crumbled

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling (I used Romano and it tasted great!)

1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten

1 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced (Tip: freeze the mozzarella for 30 minutes, it makes it easier to slice)

Instructions

1) Preheat the oven to 400*.

2) Heat the olive oil in a large (10-12 inch) skillet. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the sausage and cook over medium-low heat, breaking it up with a fork, for 8-10 minutes, or until no longer pink. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tbsps of the parsley, the basil, 1 1/2 tsps salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat for 15-20 minuets, until thickened.

3) Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with the hottest tap water. Add the noodles and allow them to sit in the water for 20 minutes. Drain. (Different - isn't it? Totally works great!)

4) In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, goat cheese, 1 cup of Parm (or Romano if you are me), the egg, the remaining 2 tbsps of parsley, 1.2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. (My cousin JJ and her hubby recommended adding a few pinches of red pepper flakes for some heat and few shakes of nutmeg - I'm not sure what it does, but it does something and it makes my taste buds sing.)

5) Ladle 1/3 of the sauce into a 9 x 12 x 2 inch rectangular baking dish, spreading the sauce over the bottom of the dish. Then add the layers as follows: half the pasta, half the mozzarella, half the ricotta mixture, and 1/3 of the sauce. Add the rest of the pasta, mozzarella, ricotta mixture, and finally, sauce. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of Parm. Bake for 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling. (You can totes make this one ahead and refrigerate it - buts be sure to bake a little longer, 35-40 minutes, or until bubbly.)

**The recipe doesn't say this, but I would advise showing some restraint and letting the lasagna sit for at least 5-10 minutes to let the cheese set. I showed absolutely no self-control when we ate this the other night and the cheese shower was a bit of a mess all over my cook top...lesson learned. Have a snack before dinner so you aren't ravenous, or plug your nose before you pull the lasagna out of the oven so you are tempted by the decadent scents emitting from the lasagna!!

An old family friend was in town from Nicaragua visiting schools and he joined us for a meal and a great snow storm! Good luck with grad school Brian!

Errata on the Cinnamon Buns.

I am absolutely horrified to report that I provided the wrong amount of flour on the cinnamon buns. My dear friend Angela was in the process of making the buns and apparently I was nearly 2 cups off! The recipe should read 2 1/2 cups flour - NOT 2/3 cup flour. How could this have happened??? I am SO sorry Ang! Thankfully she is an excellent cook and was able to correct the recipe. Ang - please let us know how your cinnamon buns turned out despite my unintended misdirection!!

Flava Fave

I always say I'm going to blog about restaurants we like but I haven't really done it. Well I couldn't pass this one up! For Valentine's Day, my Valentine picked the best restaurant ever! We had reservations at a fancy place in Georgetown, but a week before V-Day, the restaurant decided to change its menu to fix pris for the Day of Love and it would be a mere $100 per person. Um, no thanks! So J did a little searching and found Lima - one word: AMAZING. Seriously, delish! Loved that we sat right at the window over looking the park across the street - it was so romantic! I know alot of people poo poo Valentine's Day, but we had so much fun!

The only reservation we could get was at 5:30 - which we found extremely curious due to the fact that we were one of three couples until about 6:30...Aside from that, we had a lovely meal! The waiters were polite, ever present - but not to the point of annoyance, and had lovely accents. While we had a fix pris menu, there were no complaints from us!

There were four courses (I know, 4?). We shared the frito sampler for two which included empandas (amazing), Chicken croquette, and salted cod fritters. Devine.

For the second course we both got the Chilean Sea Bass with cilnatro crust, wild mushrooms, and root veggies. The pic below isn't fabulous, but seriously, Jeremy and I couldn't believe how amazing it was! J actually said that this was the best dish he'd ever had. I would agree - the fish was cooked perfectly and the cilantro crust was the perfect compliment.

For the third course (meat - why would we need meat and fish?!) I had cuban chicken and J had beef cheeks. I was a little frightened of "cheeks" so I got the chicken. I've never had better chicken - NEVER. I ate it too fast to take a picture. Basically it was a roast of chicken that was so incredibly moist and flava fave!! It had this yummy lime braised red onions on top that made my mouth water. And then there was the corn tamale - yummmmmmy.

Dessert was a chocolate flourless cake with dolce de leche ice cream. Perfect finish to a perfect night!

The J Man Cooks Too!

It's true, he does.  (Doesn't he look cute?  I tried to get him to wear an apron but that was a no go.)  Lately the J Man has been dabbling in the kitchen and creating some absolute masterpieces!  This is just one of many delightful little treats he has whipped up for me.  Can you see the steam coming off the pasta?  And can you see the fabulous pasta bowl??  

This recipe is out of Tyler Florence's "Dinner at My Place."  My sister got it for the J Man as a birthday gift and inscribed it stating, "Jeremy, we thought it would be fun for you to invite Megan over to 'your place' for dinner."  And that he did!  Yummo!

Penne with Spicy Italian Sausage, Cream, Tomatoes, and Peas

Ingredients

4 links spicy Italian sausage (always on a quest to cut fat/calories but not flavor, we substituted the sausage for spicy turkey sausage)

1 pound dried penne

EVOO

1 mediume onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

1 28 ounce can crushed San Marzano tomatoes (do not skimp on this one - totally get the San Marzanos!!  They were delish!  I looked them up on Wikipedia and they are grown in the San Marzano valley in Italy and chefs swear by them - and I do too!  We got them at our local Italian store.)

1/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup heavy cream

2 cups peas blanched

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving (we used Romano cheese b/c that is what we have in the fridge...)

Fresh basil leaves, for garnish

Instructions 

1)  Preheat oven to 350*F.  Place the sausages in roasting pan and roast in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, until slightly golden and just cooked.  Cut sausage at an angle into bite-size pieces.  (We've never cooked sausage with casings this way before but it turned out fine.)

2)  Place a large pot of salted water over high heat and bring to a boil.  Drop the pasta into the boiling water and cook until tender yet firm (al dente).

3) Set a large, heavy-based pot over meidum heat and add a 2-count of olive oil (about 2 tbsps).  Add onion and garlic and saute until translucent and fragrant.  Add tomatoes and basil; season with salt and pepper.  Simmer for 15 minutes, then fold in cream and continue to simmer until rich and creamy.  Add sausage, blached peas (I LOVE PEAS), and Parm.  Fold together and cook for 2-3 minutes to allow the flaves to come together.  Serve topped with a shower of cheese (don't you just love that description: "a shower of cheese" - I want a shower of cheese), and garnish with basil.

TIP: To blanch the peas, submerge them into boiling water for 2 1/2 minutes (1 minute for frozen peas), then strain them and plunge them into ice water to stop the cooking process.  Strain them againad set aside.

The finished product.  Doesn't it look amazing?  J Man did an amazing job!  Bravo!  (And again, how cute is that pasta bowl??  Thanks Cindy!)

Give it to me straight.

Be honest. Do any of you who read this blog ever cook anything I post? I realized this week that the reason that I'm not as consistent as I'd like to be is that it takes forever to write recipes and post pictures. It literally took me 2 hours to post the last two recipes b/c the picture and formatting functions are a little jumpy.

So I decided to reevaluate my quest to bring good recipes to the fine people who read this blog. Please let me know if (a) you read this blog; (b) if you are inspired to cook after reading the recipes; (c) if you have ever cooked any of the recipes; and (d) if you have any problems and or didn't like one of the recipes I've posted.

My goal is to post reasonable recipes that everyone can cook, that have a ton of flavor, and generally can be cooked on a weeknight after a long day at work. If that is not happening, I would love to know!

Happy Cooking,

Meg, AKA Little Martha

I can't believe it.

I cannot believe I waited 31+ years of life to try, let alone make, Chicken Piccata - delish, divine, delightful Chicken Piccata! For serious - I cannot believe how easy and stinking amazing this dish was. Not only did I make this oh-so-satisfying meal on a weeknight, but we dined on it while watching the Bachelor. Don't hate, you know you love it.

This juicy little number comes, once again, from my New Best Recipe cookbook from the foodies of America's Test Kitchen. If you haven't purchased this book yet, you are crazy. That and all the Barefoot Contessa books - yum.

Ingredients
2 large lemons
6 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts (5 to 6 oz each - weigh those suckers - I found that the ones I got from the Giant were 8-10 whopping ounces!!); tenderloins removed and reserved fro another use, fat trimmed
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
4 tbsp veggie oil (again, I used EVOO)
1 small shallot, minced, or 1 small garlic clove (did you know you can get frozen cubes of already crushed garlic at Trader Joe's? I always have them on hand in case I (a) don't have any fresh garlic on hand, or (b) I am too lazy to peel and mince the fresh garlic! I used the shallot option on this one, yum.)
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tbsp small capers, rinsed
1 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 tbsp minced fresh parsley leaves

Instructions
1) Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position, set a large heatproof serving or dinner plate on the rack, and heat the oven to 200*.

2) Halve one lemon pole to pole. Trim the ends from one half and cut it crosswise into slices 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick; set aside. Juice the remaining half and whole lemon to obtain 1/4 cup juice; reserve.

3. Sprinkle both sides of the cutlets generously with salt and pepper. Measure the flour and shake to remove the excess.

4. Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in the heavy bottom 12" skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Lay half of the chicken cutlets in the skillet. Saute the cutlets until lightly browned on the first side, 2 to 2/ 1/2 minutes (I did about 3 after cutting into the cutlets - mine were probs a little thicker than the instructions imply). Turn the cutlets and cook until the second side is lightly browned, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes longer. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the cutlets to the plate in the oven. Add the remaining 2 tbsp oil to the now empty skillet and heat until shimmering. Add the remaining chicken cutlets and repeat.

5. Add the shallot to the now-empty skillet and return the skillet to medium heat. Saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds (10 second for garlic). Add the broth and lemon slices, increase the heat to high, and scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon or spatula to loosen the browned bits. Simmer until the liquid reduced to about 1/3 cup, about 4 minutes. Add the reserved lemon juice and capers and simmer until the sauce reduces about to 1/3 cup, about 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and swirl in that beautiful butter until it melts and thickens the sauce. Stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve immediately.

The lemon slices were amazing - they turned all soft and the acidity wasn't as sparky as an uncooked lemon. They tasted amazing with every bite of the chicken...do it, eat the rind and all!

Once again, it was so freaking good, I didn't get a spare moment to snap a quick pic. This will have to do - clearly I belong to the clean plate club!

Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater

If there is one thing I could say that I like about snow, its the insatiable desire to cook yummy comfort food like Pumpkin Chili!! I know I posted a pumpkin recipe earlier this year - but this one is totally different despite the the common denominator of 100% solid pack pumpkin.

I will admit, I have become immune to the delights of regular old chili - I have been spoiled by this yummy, healthy, pumpkin filled option. My mom got this recipe from the people of Libby's Solid Pack Pumpkin. She called the 1-800 number one day and asked what else she could use pumpkin in and the fine people of Libby's sent her a whole cookbook of delightful recipes. Stay tuned for more to come!

Ingredients

2 tbsp veggie oil (I use EVOO)

1/2 c chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup diced red bell pepper (I always use one whole bell pepper)

1/2 cup diced green bell pepper (ditto - and sometimes I mix it up a bit and throw in an orange or yellow bell pepper)

1 pound ground turkey or lean ground beef

3 1/3 cups (2 14.5 oz cans) Recipe Ready diced tomatoes - undrained (I never use the same thing twice as far as the toms go - I've used Rotel to spice it up, or Italian recipe stewed toms, etc.)

1 3/4 cup (15 or 16 oz can) Libby's Solid Pack Pumpkin (be careful you don't get the pumpkin pie mix!!)

1 3/4 cup (15 oz can ) Tomato Sauce

1 1/2 cup (15 1/4 oz can) kidney beans, drained

1/2 cup (4 oz can) diced green chiles

1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn (I always use one can of sweet corn, drained)

1 tbsp chili powder

1tsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Toppings (totally optional - I never use any toppings - it is so amazing on its own!)

Instructions

HEAT oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, and bell peppers; cook for 5-7 minutes or until tender. Add ground meat; cook until browned. Drain. (Note: if you are using turkey, entirely unlikely that you will have anything to drain...)

ADD tomatoes and juice, pumpkin, tomato sauce, kidney beans, chiles, corn, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low. Cover; cook gently for 30 minutes. Serve garnished with toppings, if desired.