Fresh Ravioli and a salad with homemade Italian dressing

It is always a joy to shop at Russo's in Watertown, MA http://russos.com/. They carry, among lots of other goodies worthy of many more blog entries, the best fresh raviolis I have found! For $6 I was able to purchase 10 of these beauties. We ate them all, 4 each for the adults, 2 for Andrew (and this is why I am gaining weight, eating his leftovers).
For the sauce, from the freezer I pulled out 2 small (1/2 cup?) containers of Emeril's (formerly jarred) Vodka Cream Sauce. I popped it into the 1 quart sauce pan and let sit to melt a bit while prepping the salad dressing and salad. I nearly always freeze a leftover pasta sauce or else it goes to waste.
I usually just buy a packet of "Good Seasons" Italian dressing mix but the past couple times have made it with my own stash and it's very satisfactory. Unless you buy that dressing mix on sale, it's $2 for one packet. This is a fraction of the price.
The inspiration: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Italian-Dressing-Mix/Detail.aspx.
I scaled it down by 1/3 or so and just use a 1/2 teaspoon measure which is easy to dip into spice containers. A handy fact: 3 teaspoons= 1 tablespoon.
The easier you can make it on yourself, the better.
That recipe calls for a whopping 2Tb of salt, which I do not use. Also, I would never buy dried parsley.
I used a scoop each of garlic powder, onion powder, 4 scoops of Penzey's "Italian Herb Mix", a dash of celery salt and a grind of salt and a bit more of a grind of pepper. All went right into the Good Seasons cruet. It has handy dash marks indicating how much vinegar, water and oil you need. The spice mix takes up room on the bottom or the cruet so I guess the levels a tad higher.
I love this store: http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/shophome.html
At first we received their catalog but a couple years later they opened a store nearby in Arlington, MA. What's fun is that their quarterly catalog always has a free coupon for a jar of spices. In this case, it was the Italian herb mix. It contains Turkish oregano, basil, marjoram, thyme and cracked rosemary.
Their prices are a fraction of McCormick/supermarket spices. One thing I find annoying is that their products do not have "best by" dates. I mark the bottles with the date purchased.
The salesperson explained that you can tell if your spices are good by smelling them.
I guess this makes sense. But I like to know if something's been in the spice cabinet for 10 years!
Salad prep: mixed baby greens (there are some in the garden but I didn't feel like washing it all tonight), thin sliced red onion, quartered tomatoes, cucumber, mushrooms, and shredded carrot. In action below is a nifty carrot shredder purchased a while back at Crate & Barrel (no longer available).
Now I heat up the sauce pan and get the ravioli water boiling. The frozen sauce is at first very watery and needs to be stirred often and reduced to a nice spattering-over-the-pot consistency.
The cheese raviolis cut apart, ready to take a dip in the boiling water! You have to guess how long to cook them. 8 minutes seems to be the best time. They are fragile and need to be handled gently to prevent bursting open. I separate them using a knife (oh well, jagged edge). I've tried pulling them apart in the past and almost always that weakens them and there is breakage while boiling. Not this time!
Also, I used to drop them in by hand (ouch! splashing hot water!) and learned my lesson to use a slotted spoon, gently lowering them in, one by one. This was also the tool to use for removing them, directly to a dinner plate.

"Mangia, mangia!"

Andrew kept requesting, "More cheese?"
Just before dinner was served and no one was paying attention, much like a sneaky cat, he found the opened bar of parmesan on the table and started taking bites from it! I cut his "contaminated" bit pieces off and he snarfed them down, wanting more. During dinner, we had to grate (hefty amounts, I might add) 3 times! I then realized his raviolis needed to be cut down further than 6ths so he could enjoy them more. Oh well. Someday he'll learn to use a knife!
Alex also pointed out we forgot garlic bread! It is a nice accompaniment for a hearty appetite and we keep some slices on hand in the freezer. As it turned out, we ended up sharing 1 salad and putting the other in the fridge for later.

Tasha Tudor's Meat Loaf with Parsley Baked Potato and Mixed Vegetables

Tasha Tudor is a famed children's author/illustrator who passed away last year at age 92.
She's a fascinating woman. Her biography:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/20/books/20tudor.html
"Ms. Tudor frequently said that she was the reincarnation of a sea captain’s wife who lived from 1800 to 1840 or 1842, and that it was this earlier life she was replicating by living so ardently in the past."
I love that the end of the obituary reads, "She told The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk in 1996 that it was her intention to go straight back to the 1830s after her death."
I began making dinner by picking and washing the parsley then prepping the potato.
This is an easy way to make a baked potato for two. A single potato is usually much too big for one so this makes perfect sense. The parsley is, of course, optional.
I discovered this technique in The Gourmet Cookbook.
First, heat the oven to 375. Put a couple of dabs of butter in your baking dish and melt. Since I cook these in the toaster oven, I just press the "toast" button and the butter melts while I cut the russet potato in half. Turn the potato on its side (usually it would rather lay flat) then cut it in half, on a diagonal. You could just cut the thing in half, but the diagonal is to show off the parsley presentation. Stick a leaf of parsley (or any herb, perhaps rosemary) on the surface. Sprinkle with salt (I grind coarse sea salt set on "fine" in a grinder). Place parsley side down in the butter.
Once prepped, I wait until the meatloaf has been baking 20 minutes or so before I pop the potatoes in the oven. 375 for 45 minutes.
Make the meatloaf mix:
In a large bowl, combine (approximate measurements)
a squeeze of half a lemon (and pluck out those seeds),
2 TB chopped parsley (we are lucky to have some outside),
an egg yolk, and, as illustrated here,
fresh bread crumbs. I use a fork to scrape them off. The recipe calls for 1 TB but I think more is better.
Add 1 tsp (more like 1 TB or more) of chopped onion. If I have time I sautee it until soft in 1 TB butter. If you skip the sautee step,
also add 1 TB soft butter to the mix.
Grind in some pepper. I omit salt since the evil MSG containing beef broth (used for gravy) has plenty in it. (I WILL make my own beef stock, someday soon!)
Dump in 1/4 lb of ground pork and 3/4 lb ground beef. Usually the packages we purchase at the supermarket are twice that quantity. I just freeze the other half and label it "meatloaf mix".
Many meatloaf mixes call for veal. Baby cows! No thank you.
The only thing I don't like about making this recipe is getting my hands coated in raw meat! Really, the only way to do it is use your hands and blend it all together. Step up, disposable gloves!
After the loaf is formed, pour over the (hopefully not MSG laden) beef broth. Use 3/4-1 cup.
Bake at 350 for 1 hour. I neglect to baste it, which is fine. Feel free to, if you think of it. I find that the gravy is a perfect moistener anyhow.
Below, is Tasha's recipe.
Once out of the oven, I use a big spatula to transfer the meatloaf to a serving plate. The leftover juices then get poured through a sieve (to get rid of the gunk) into a small saucepan. Heat on medium low and toss in a TB or so of flour, whisk, and a drop of sherry. Bubble away until thickened nicely, about 5 minutes or so.
While this is going on, the potatoes should be done and cooling and the mixed frozen veggies should be cooking in the microwave. I poured 1/2 a package of them in the rinsed out baked potato dish, added a splash of water and pat of butter. Microwaved 4 minutes. Birdseye bagged veggies are priced right when on sale: $1/bag is a nice buy! Andrew loves and devours them....
They are also easy enough to zap in a small dish for a healthy toddler eat. This mix does not contain the "dreaded" lima beans ;D

Chicken Fajitas

This is another kitchen staple. The tried-and-true spice mix recipe remains taped up inside our spice cabinet door. If you have trouble seeing the fajita spice mix, double click on the photo to enlarge. Much like taco mix, I wouldn't buy something like this "conveniently". Or rather, since much prepped stuff contains the evil MSG.
We have been eating "burger cheeses" and Mickie D's far too often lately (ya know, "Happy Meals") and I eat the fries. Look here for a SCARE:
http://www.msgexposed.com/boat-loads-of-msg-in-mcdonalds-food-are-you-lovin-it/
So, o.k., off the subject but I feel that today I likely had more than my fair share of incidental MSG. Now I remember why I don't like McDonald's. MSG and sodium hangovers.

Chicken breast! 1 big frozen one, thawed in the microwave on the lowest setting for 20 min. If it's thawed on too high of a heat, the tips will cook and be tough! Better if you put in the fridge to thaw the day before. Don't forget a plate or bowl underneath, sometimes baggies leak and you don't want to deal with THAT mess! Once thawed, add 1/2 of squeezed lime to marinate while you prep veggies.
Peppers can be quickly dealt with if you slice down the side. The bitter white pith and seeds are therefore avoided (how annoying to pick off little seeds). The sides are then cut into long strips.
Alex grated a fresh bar (1/2 cup or so) of NY sharp cheddar. Grated bars are better than prepackaged grated cheese but I am not one to argue for convenience!
The pepper strips go into a medium-fire skillet with a TB of preheated vegetable oil. Sizzle away and toss often. They got dumped into a bowl once I smelled burning sugar (they are sweet, after all) and the sides had some browning.
Next up, the onions! This was the end 1/4 of a super-big sweet onion, thus the uneven slices. When cutting your ingredients, please make sure that your knives are sharp or you will be annoyed and/or cut yourself!
I noticed my knife was turned dull while slicing peppers so I switched to the (seen here) serrated knife. I love this knife for precise thin slices of onion, tomato... And chicken!
The chicken was gently sauteed, not too fast so it remains tender.
Once the chicken was turned, the spice mix and veg were all added. As was use of a fresh pair of clean tongs. I added something like 1/2 cup of water then simmered it down.
Video: when it's done! Turn off the heat!


Quick! The tot is in his chair! He is our first tester.
Yum! Mind you, he ate a full "burger cheese" 3 hours earlier.
Mommy's is all ready to be rolled up.

He asked for "ice cream" at this point (aka sour cream since we never have ice cream). I tried mine and determined why! It was on the spicy side. I love it like that- always challenging the brain-spice-sensors, but I can see where he is just in training!
A big forkful! Anythig dairy always coats the tongue and removes the burn.
It was a hit!

Eggs benedict

Eggs Benedict on the first morning of 2010.

Ooops! I already cut mine in half and served Andrew before remembering this blog. He wanted to look at the camera.

This is a favorite breakfast of ours. I don't hesitate making it in the morning if I have twenty minutes to spare and all the ingredients on hand. I've made it so many times that it's no longer necessary to consult a cookbook.
I forgot that I am "actively" blogging about what we eat, so pictures are not illustrative of the process. I will explain it instead.

Serves two.
Need:
3 eggs
2 TB butter (I prefer unsalted)
a lemon wedge
a dash of cayenne pepper
2 english muffins
2 slices of ham (skip the canadian bacon, that's a waste of money)
white vinegar

First, put a small saucepan filled with water on to boil.
Find a bowl that can be inserted in the top (sitting directly on the water).
Place the bowl on the saucepan while it heats and drop 2 TB of butter in it to melt. Please, no measuring.

Meanwhile, separate an egg white from the yolk. I just discard the white unless using it later that day (say, for breading). Carefully slip (avoid breaking the yolk) into a small dish. Put a splash of water in it, a squeeze of lemon (estimate 1/2 teaspoon-1 tsp) and a dash of cayenne.

Return to the simmering water and drop the egg mix in if the butter is melted.
Use a small whisk and combine until a desired consistency. If it's too watery, just cook until it thickens up. If it's too thick just add small amounts of water.
Remove bowl from stove (I place it on the warm toaster oven), add more water to the pot if needed (to poach in)... Add a splash of vinegar to the water.
Bring to a slight boil (more than a simmer but not a rapid bubble).

Slice and toast english muffins.

When water is ready, stir it briefly with a slotted spoon to create a spinning motion. This and the vinegar help to keep a runny egg white together. In quick succession, crack in two eggs. Don't worry about them sticking together, they won't.
Time them for 4:30-5 minutes. I usually start the timer at 5 then crack them in. Keep an eye on the pot, you don't want the water to start boiling away (or overflowing!)
Place a bowl of warm water next to it and transfer the cooked eggs (to rinse) from the vinegar water.
Microwave 2 pieces of ham for 20 seconds (you will hear them pop and snap, that's when it's time to take them out).

Serve it up!
I like to first drizzle a little hollandaise on a slice of english muffin, then top with ham, then the poached egg and drizzle the rest of the sauce over the top.

Nice to also have some fresh fruit on hand (in this case, grapes!).

Pizza Night!

It is usual to make this nearly same exact pizza once a week. We enjoy using store made Shaw's or Stop & Shop pizza dough. At one point in time I was obsessed with making my own dough, but that was definitely before Andrew existed. Now it's a faint memory.

First: oven on 500 degrees, pizza stone in to preheat. Then the ingredients are prepped: Sliced and chopped onion, 1/4 of a sliced green pepper, sliced mushrooms (better to be lazy and buy them this way), grated low fat (green package) Dragone mozzarella (the best to be found at the supermarket, others are too salty) and sliced prepackaged pepperonis, arranged on 1 side of tripled up paper towels (then fold the other half over), microwaved for nearly a minute (our microwave is a dinosaur so surely yours will take probably more like 20 seconds). This removes excess fat and grease while concentrating their flavor. You don't want them totally crispy though (sometimes an accident).
Prep your pizza peel with a coating of corn meal (do not buy coarse).
Hopefully your dough is nearly room temp but not really cold. I put my dough package on the preheating oven while veggies and sauce are prepped. Put flour in the sticky dough bag and gently pull the dough off the plastic. Try to handle minimally, get get the flour down the sides of the bag to "release" the dough. At first make a disk then begin to let gravity do its work, all the while rotating and working on the thick parts to "gravity flop" them out.
Working with pizza dough is like any skill: at first you are intimidated but with practice you become comfortable enough to do it regularly.
I can handle distractions stretching it now but in my novice days it required so much concentration, I would make people leave the room!
I don't know if the day will ever come when I am spinning pizza dough over my head so don't let the pros intimidate you!
I do advocate hand stretching rather than using a rolling pin.
Dough gets tough if worked too much.
First spread sauce (duh) then top with cheese! If you don't allow sampling, you can get 3 pizzas from one $6 (better if you buy it on sale) Dragone block! Typically it's 2 pizzas from one block. I will sometimes supplement (lazily) with store bought shredded mozz. Explore the brands. Long ago I swore off some (Sargento, Shaw's...) Stop & Shop store brand is ok (by the way, they don't sell Dragone).

Andrew sampling the next topping: green peppers!
Feeling soooo bad since momma allowed a sample of *only* one olive! Andrew and myself love olives, the fave being unpitted Kalamatas. I only put them on 1/2 the pizza since Daddy is not an olive eater. (Hmmm, next will be 1/2 a pizza of anchovies! Don't tell Daddy!)
After slipping the pizza off the peel and into the oven onto the preheated stone (again, slightly a skill that at first requires focus) and baking for 8 minutes, use heavy duty pot holders to pull the stone out of the oven and place on the stove top. Allow to sit a minute (or longer for crispier crust) then slip onto a big cutting board (I like the wooden as opposed to plastic one which steams it). Let sit for a total of 8 minutes (same as cooking time so just reset the timer). Once cooled the proper time, you won't burn your mouth when you ravenously eat it!
Here, I placed the super hot stone in the sink and dusted the corn meal off with a pot holder then put the hot stone back in the oven and rinsed the sink out.
While the pizza cooled I dispensed the leftover sauce into freezer containers. Oh yeah, the sauce! Sometimes it's premade in the freezer (less time, just microwave 3 min to thaw), sometimes (every 3 pizzas) we need to make it from scratch.
Everyone (even Alex and I) have our unique seasoning techniques.
I like to use Penzey's Italian herb mix with a dash of garlic powder.
Our sauce base has been varying. We are suckers for a bargain and frequent (what Alex coined) the "dent bin" at Shaw's. Sure enough, many still useful but otherwise unsightly products (damaged in unboxing/sliced or dented cans/discountined merchandise) end up here.
Yesterday I scored! Funfetti mix and frosting for $1, a box of Swiffers for $1.50, you get the picture. Anyhow, we have 1 more dented Hunt's tomato sauce left. I won't buy it again. Too salty. (And I am a salt freak.) ..... I do enjoy Muir Glen (organic) products.
I have always loved our Kitchenaid pizza cutter. Nice and heavy and no damage (after years) of being dishwashed.
Of 8 slices, we (adults) eat 3 slices each. Andrew strips the toppings off his with maybe some crust. Sometimes it's 2 pieces. We were fortunate to have 1 slice leftover! Perfect reheated in the toaster oven :D.....

Toddler lunch!

Glad 1/2 cup semi-disposable plastic containers are the perfect size! Packed with tabbouleh, Sabra garlic hummus and blanched carrot sticks. Hummus is always a hit! Tabbouleh can be hit-or-miss. It was served with a spoon. The carrots were great for the hummus then the spoon came in handy once the carrots were gone (yes- all eaten up!).

Blanching carrots makes them far more toddler-friendly. Boil a pot of water and plop your carrots in for 3 minutes. Drain in the same pot, wit running cold water for nearly the same amount of time. Use a paper towel to dry a bit. I prefer using carrots with the greens on as opposed to baby carrots or others in a bag. Though more effort peeling and cutting, fresh is tastier and more vitamin packed. Most of the time I can't stand processed baby carrots since the flavor is "off". This is not to say that I don't occasionally buy them for convenience.

Joseph's flax, oat bran and whole wheat flour (boy, do I feel good saying that!) pita... Cut a round in half, stuff with shredded cheddar, toast, sliced in easy to handle wedges then packed in a paper towel lined container. The paper towel helps prevent excess moisture (without it they can get chewy). Also handy if you can reheat in toaster oven.

Day 2 of beef roast leftovers

We really enjoyed the infusion/flavor boost of carrots, onions and celery (mirepoix) in beef broth so I tried it again tonight. First I sauteed the mirepoix in a 1/2 TB oilive oil 1/2 TB butter mix. The mushrooms were sauteed separately, once the mirepoix was done (a tad of additional butter). After they were softened I put the mirepoix back in (no 'rooms) and 1/2 cup or so (unmeasured) of beef broth and a splash of sherry. This bottle has actually survived (with being drunk) for probably almost a year in our fridge. It's really delicious and drinkable but lends itself best to its distinct flavor in cooking. I highly recommend it (price tag: $13.99).
I put a sieve over a bowl and strained the awesome both from the chunky mirepoix whose flavor was now extracted. Added the mushrooms back in and a TB or so of sour cream. Beware if your sauce is near boiling the sour cream will coagulate. Though unattractive it's not a total failure. I did it by accident but rescued it by whisking a lot. Add your cold, thin sliced roast and turn off the heat. The hot sauce will warm the meat and the meat will cool off the hot sauce. Serve immediately over egg noodles, or in this case, plain white rice cooked in beef broth.
Meanwhile, blanched green beans in boiling water for 4 minutes. Drained, added a spot of butter, a quick zest of lemon and a genorous sprinkle of dried Marjoram. I love green beans with Marjoram! I think this is the only time I use that herb. Put the lid on and toss to coat.
Plating: Must slice and dice before the tot gets it, to ensure (somewhat) uninterrupted eating.
Toddler taste test: approved! Though he ate a lot earlier (requested banana, chocolate milk, etc.) he ate most of the rice, some of the beans, a bit of meat (I forgot to cut it smaller) - so a mushroom and strip of meat was flung to the floor, followed by the obligatory "Uh oh!"...