So I know earlier in the week I posted how on Friday I was planning to switch things up a bit and make something out of the Gourmet Today cookbook. However, sometimes plans change and the weather in southern New England today calls for a hearty soup. So, I’m back to making an Ina recipe. I’ll be making Winter Minestrone & Garlic Bruschetta out of Foolproof. I can’t wait to try this recipe since I am a big fan of minestrone soups in general. They’re so hearty. Especially in the winter.
Tag: vegetables
Recipe #29 Roasted Broccoli with Panko Gremolata
This recipe can be found in Cook Like a Pro, page 164.
Last Friday I made dinner for the family. The main course consisted of Lemon Chicken Breasts. The vegetable was a beautiful and simple broccoli dish that I think will be a common recipe in my household from now on.
Roasted Broccoli with Panko Gremolata adds a bit of flair to what may otherwise be a boring broccoli dish. The toasted panko crumbs with the lemon and garlic flavor really shines and adds a much needed taste-boost to the broccoli.
Often times, Ina comments on how after she discovered roasting vegetables and the flavor it brings out, she fell in love with preparing them that way. I have to say that I agree. There have been a few recipes on this blog that have the vegetables roasted and I am always impressed with the results.
I will admit that I should have let the gremolata mixture “toast” for a few more minutes prior to serving, but the chicken was already done baking, and people were hungry. Myself included! You live and learn, right?
Recipe #27 Orange-Braised Carrots and Parsnips
This recipe can be found in Foolproof, page 170.
The other recipe I made on Tuesday was a dish that went along with our dinner for that evening. While the dinner we had was not an Ina recipe (it was just chicken sausage), I decided to at least make the vegetables tasty.
Continue reading “Recipe #27 Orange-Braised Carrots and Parsnips”
Recipe #24 Confetti Corn
This recipe appears in Back to Basics, page 160.
As the side dish for the Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas I made for dinner last Friday, I decided to keep with the Mexican theme and a make corn side. This looks like a simple corn dish, but since it’s from Ina Garten, we know that the dish takes a humble corn side dish and cranks up the flavor volume.
There isn’t much to say about this flavorful and easy side dish. It combines uncooked corn (I used canned corn since it’s winter), a red onion, a pepper, and some spices to add color and flavor to what would be an otherwise bland dish. This is totally one that should be in your back pocket for large crowds since it has the potential too feed around a dozen people.
I did modify the recipe and used a red pepper instead of an orange one and I changed up the spices. As long as the spices you choose work well together, you shouldn’t have an issue with this dish being tasty.
(The photo of this dish is in the header image above!)
Yesterday’s Cooking
As I mentioned in my previous post, I did do some cooking this weekend, but I did not make Ina recipes.
Instead, I chose to make recipes that would give my family and me a little more plant protein versus meat protein. So, I crafted two dishes and my family liked them.
The first one was a take on Beef Wellington, but instead of meat, I used a delicious mushroom mixture to wrap in the puff pastry.
The other dish I made was kind of my own creation. I used quinoa and chickpeas (garbanzo beans) as the star players and make a dish that also featured kale, an orange pepper and cherry tomatoes. I added in some sherry wine and spices and it was so yummy! Though, I think I needed more salt and pepper. Oh well, you live and learn, right?
I’m not sure what I will make this week, but it will be an Ina recipe, that’s for sure!
Also, the cookbook reviews will return next week, but there will be more time between them. They will not be a weekly post, but I do still plan to review all twelve.
Sit tight, more is coming your way soon!!
Thanksgiving Cooking
This year, Thanksgiving will be much smaller than usual. However, it will also give my family a chance to cook for a change. We usually visit our relatives on Thanksgiving and they handle the cooking.
To help my parents with the meal, I have offered to handle the sides. Over the weekend we agreed on carrots and green beans. I will be looking through Ina’s cookbooks tonight and tomorrow for a recipe that will work well for those choices.
I can’t NOT cook an Ina recipe on the largest food holiday of the year, right?
Recipes #15 and #16 Orange-Honey Glazed Carrots and Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes
Both of these recipes can be found in At Home
In addition to the Parmesan Chicken I made last Saturday, I made two side dishes. Both of which complemented the main course nicely.
The buttermilk mashed potatoes are amazing! As someone who doesn’t get to have mashed potatoes very often, these were a welcome addition the meal. The potatoes were so creamy and flavorful. The salt Ina calls for is a lot, but the potatoes do not taste overly salty. The addition of pepper merges all the flavors and makes for a very tasty side dish.
The Orange-Honey Glazed Carrots are hands down, the BEST carrot recipe I’ve come across!
Using ginger, honey, and orange juice to turn up the volume on these carrots was a great choice for the meal I made. But, it’s also a great recipe crafted by the great IG! In fact, my family loved these carrots so much that we will be making them for our small family gathering at Thanksgiving. I can see them making a regular appearance at the Thanksgiving table year after year.
They are also going to be the first side dish recipe added to my list of Favorites!
As I may have mentioned earlier, I will be taking this week off from cooking dinner. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to make an IG recipe! I plan to bake this weekend, but not dessert! Probably muffins or scones. Both of those are types of food I haven’t attempted yet. Plus it’ll be a good excuse to tackle one of the Breakfast recipes!
Come back to the blog tomorrow to check out my review of Back to Basics!
Until next time…
Recipe #11: Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette
This recipe comes from “Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics,” page 88
The second of three recipes that I made on Friday was the side dish.
I decided to complement my main dish and the dessert, I wanted a nice Fall-themed salad. So, I found a salad that used both butternut squash and apple cider! Perfect!
Granted, I ended up serving this a bit differently than called for. The vinaigrette ended up being cool, not warm, but I’m not really sure I would like a warm dressing anyway.
Despite this dressing tasted yummy and complemented the roasted butternut squash, walnuts, and dried cranberries in the salad. I also discovered that arugula is NOT my favorite lettuce, so I may end up having to switch it out in the future. It seems like Ina uses arugula quite often.
If you are interested in making this dish, be warned that if you add the cranberries to your roasting pan for the last 5 minutes, like the directions state, you may end up with some burnt cranberries on your tray. But! It’s totally worth it. Who knew roasting dried cranberries would bring out the flavor??
Sadly, I do not have any photos of this salad…or even the main course. I get too excited to eat the things I make that I sometimes forget to snap a pic!
Please forgive me.
Recipes #6 and #7 – Fingerling Potatoes, and Peas and Pancetta
Fingerling Potatoes from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, page 159 AND Peas & Pancetta from Make it Ahead, page 158.
To pair with my Turkey Meat Loaf, I decided I needed potatoes. After all, is a classic American dinner like meat load complete if there are no potatoes? I think not.
Luckily, Ina has numerous recipes involving potatoes. I chose for a simpler one, but also a somewhat non-traditional one since meat loaf is usually served with mashed potatoes.
Ina’s fingerling potatoes are just about as basic as you can get and it was lovely anyway. I purchased fingerling potatoes from the store and sliced them before cooking to save time. Since I had more time in the morning, after slicing them in half I filled a pot with cold water and let them sit in there on the stove (it was off) until I needed them for dinner. The potatoes were cooked until fork tender, I drained them, let them steam for a few moments while I was working on the Peas & Pancetta, then tossed them in olive oil, salt and pepper.
They paired really well with the meat loaf and it was probably the most basic recipe Ina has.
The Peas & Pancetta is where we bring in the “gourmet” that is typical of Ina Garten’s recipes. Pancetta is not something that I typically cook with, so going to the store to get pancetta would have been a hurdle. I’m not sure if the deli department in the grocery store would have it. Luckily, I didn’t have to find out because where the cheeses are on display with the other cured meats, they had prepackaged pancetta already diced just how I needed it!
It was a win for me and what a great way to start the day!
When it came time to make the veggie, I sliced up the shallot and threw it into the pan with some oil, I added the pancetta and shortly after I heard little crackling noises of the pancetta searing. Once the shallot turned translucent, I added the peas, the salt, pepper, and mint. I gave some time for the peas to defrost (since they were frozen) and cook. Almost as soon as the peas were ready, the meatloaf was done.
I plated everything and served it to my family. Everyone liked it. The pancetta was a welcome change to our usual routine of having plain peas or just something out of a steamer-bag. I do think I had too many peas…I used a larger bag than called for, but it was all I was able to find in the freezer. Oh well, I got the gist of the taste.
You may be wondering if made a dessert for this meal.
Well, I did…sort of. But it wasn’t made the same day as these. I made it Friday morning, which I will discuss on Monday’s post!
Recipe #3 – French Chicken Pot Pie
French Chicken Pot Pie from Make It Ahead
On Friday I decided to make another recipe from one of Ina’s cookbooks. The meal I made it for would be dinner so I paged my way through the “Dinner” sections of each of her eleven cookbooks until something caught my eye. I eventually found the French Chicken Pot Pie.
I went to the grocery store, found the leeks and mushrooms and opted for the a roll of the Pillsbury biscuit dough over the boxes of puff pastry as she suggested (I wanted to save a few bucks!), and I went home.
This was the first time that I can recall in which I cooked with leeks. And it was interesting. Every time I watch a chef on TV cook with leeks they say something like “You need to wash leeks really well because they are so sandy and dirty.” Remembering this, I was prepared for a mess of sand and dirt, but thankfully that wasn’t the case. These leeks were relatively clean and required only minimal additional cleaning.
The hardest part about this recipe was all the prep work. First you have to cook the chicken in the oven, then wait for it to cool to shred it by hand to get the pieces of chicken that will be “pie friendly.” Then you need to cut carrots, mushrooms, and the leeks into bite-sized pieces (half-inch dice). All of these cutting took some time and was probably the most time-consuming aspect of the recipe.
Finally, my mise en place was done and I was ready to cook. I followed the recipe diligently and when it came time to add the tarragon (after more knife work), the kitchen almost immediately smelled wonderful and I felt like I had just walked into a fancy-smanzy restaurant.
Ina’s original recipe calls to make individual portions of the pie in two-cup bowls that are oven-safe. While cute, it isn’t very practical. So I poured the mixture into a 13-by-9 baking dish and rolled the biscuit dough over it. I still brushed it with an egg wash and some salt and pepper, and it looked amazing!
While it baked, the house filled with wonderful smells of chicken, leeks, carrots, tarragon — and yes, Pillsbury biscuits.
Finally, the time came to eat the pie. I let it sit for a few minutes after removing it from the oven and it was worth it!
Upon having my first bite I immediately thought, “All the prep work was worth it!”
We had leftovers and I think the pie even tasted better the following day. Overall, it wasn’t all that much work (if you get over the chopping) and totally worth the effort!!
Sadly, the only photo I have of it is while the contents of the mixture was simmering on my stove, but the picture wouldn’t do it justice anyway. I highly recommend you try to this one for dinner soon.
