Dear Spicy Chicken Sandwich with Avocado and Spinach

Dear Spicy Chicken Sandwich with Avocado and Spinach,

Thank you for feeding my grumbling belly on such short notice. You made for a beautiful impromptu lunch with your lime green avocado slices, delightfully crisp wheat toast, and crumbled white cheddar cheese. I hope we'll meet again soon.

Love,
Kathryn

Spicy Chicken Sandwhich with Avocado and Spinach
1 boneless skinless chicken breast or thigh
1 handful fresh spinach
1/2 c. crumbled or grated sharp white cheddar
1/2 avocado, sliced
salt and pepper
cumin
cayenne pepper
olive oil
2 slices of good bread

Sprinkle salt, pepper, cumin, and cayenne over your washed chicken. Turn and repeat on the other side. Drizzle some olive oil in a non-stick skillet. Saute your chicken for five minutes on each side or until its cooked through and the spices have started to blacken. Top the chicken breast with cheese and cook for one or two minutes longer until the cheese is melted. Toast your bread. Top with spinach and avocado. Add the cheese covered chicken, and enjoy!

An Update... And Taco Seasoning

(photo courtesy of Urban Decay)

...and so the sun set on Brooklyn and rose on the other side in Chicago. The move was not terrible, but was followed by the challenge of finding a new job and a new apartment, both of which met with a feisty, albeit lucky, challenger and were conquered. This, my friends, is why I've been so quiet...

Soon, a much welcomed routine will enter back into the equation. We'll move into our new place. My humble dishwasher will be delighted to be replaced by our very own dishwashing machine. And evenings will once again return to routine, a change I plan to welcome like an old friend.

And so in favor of time and simplicity and due to a particularly ugly three hour commute, I've been throwing together simple meals on a whim, if I even have the energy to cook at all. These tacos were particularly tasty.

El Paso would be offended at my use of homemade taco seasoning, but really, who want's to run out to the store at 8 pm on a Tuesday? My thoughts exactly. 

Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix 

• 1 tbs. chili powder
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. onion powder
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne
• 1/4 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

Double, triple, nay quadruple this recipe and store it in a ziplock or spice jar for future taco making. Adjust the seasonings to your liking and sauté a small spoonful with your choice of meat. (Note: amount will vary based on the amount of meat.) I used diced chicken thighs this time, but you could easily use ground or shredded beef, diced chicken breasts, or pork. Take that, El Paso!

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Fancy Spring Chicken with Tomatoes & Basil

Being a "grown-up" is hard. Sometimes, even as we appear to have mastered the art of the day job, the social life, the "grown-up" apartment, there are days it's just easier to stay at home and surround yourself with quiet comfort and perhaps something luxurious with which to coax the taste buds into submission. It's days like these, I find myself baking focaccia bread, stirring up a new soup, or reveling in a freshly stocked Sunday kitchen. And after all is put away and the last dish is clean, perhaps steaming over a cup of vanilla spice tea leftover from the winter months. This, some might argue, is also the magic of being a "grown-up." 


Let me share with you a meal from one such night. Perfect, simple, healthful, this supper is all about love. 

Chicken with Tomatoes & Basil
(Adapted from Eat Well)


Note: This meal is best eaten fresh. Make only as much as you plan to eat. 


2-4 chicken breasts, halved (depending on how many people you're feeding)
1/4 c. minced shallots
1 clove garlic, minced
1 package grape tomatoes, halved
olive oil
salt
pepper
3 tbs. balsamic vinegar
1/2 c. fresh torn basil leaves


Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet or frying pan. Cook chicken about 4 minutes on each side or until cooked through and browned on both sides. Cover with foil and set aside.


In the same pan, saute your shallots and garlic, stirring frequently, until fragrant and softened (about 2-3 minutes). Add tomatoes and vinegar and stir until tomatoes begin to split (about 2-3 minutes). Turn off heat. Stir in basil, salt and pepper to taste, and add chicken back into the mix. Serve and enjoy. 

Portobello & Roasted Red Pepper Sandwich

The other day, I ventured to Murrays' Cheese Shop for lunch. Encouraged by the aroma of stinky goodness upon my arrival, I surveyed the pressed sandwich selection and decided upon the Veggie Bite - complete with goat's milk gouda, artichoke pesto, arugula, and tomato slices. Needless to say, it was a little slice of heaven in my day. Though Thich Nhat Hanh's new book Savor encourages mindful eating, I must admit I'm guilty of the occasional sandwich-on-the-run. The sandwich is a food of convenience, one you can wrap up and haul along, tuck it in your purse or pack, and eat when the time is right. This sandwich was particularly tasty:

Portobello & Roasted Red Pepper Sandwich with Feta and Spinach

Heat a splash of water in a small frying pan with a lid. Steam a washed and stemmed portobello mushroom for 10 minutes or until tender and the juices have released. With the top of the mushroom facing down, add a handful of feta (next time, I'll use goat cheese), and let it melt for a couple of minutes.   

Meanwhile, toast two slices of whole grain bread. Compile your sandwich by stacking roasted red peppers on top of the mushroom and cheese. Top with fresh spinach or arugula. Slice and enjoy!

A Nod to My Mother: Casserole

I am a girl who grew up on casseroles - sweet potato casserole, broccoli cheese casserole, and squash casserole to name a few. They were the highlight at family gatherings, alongside sweet peas, tomato biscuit sandwiches, and a large red bucket of fried chicken.  But for some reason I have always been reluctant to return to mass quantities of mush, however delicious and flavorful, in my own cooking adventures. But something about Mollie Katzen's scheherazade casserole caught my attention. In an era of "eat this, not that" advice from every direction, diets, cookbooks, nutritional theories and postulations, casseroles are not high on anyone's list of healthy foods. But this one combined several ingredients on my most coveted foods list, namely tomatoes, feta, and cumin. How could a dish that combined these ingredients turn out badly? And so the experiment began. A trip to the store supplied me with raw bulgur, dry soybeans, a beautiful red bell pepper, and white onion (because the spanish and yellow onions just aren't up to par lately). With garlic, olive oil, and spices on hand, that's all you really need.

Scheherazade Casserole 
(Adapted from Mollie Katzen's The New Moosewood Cookbook)

1 c. raw bulgur
1 c. boiling water
1 tbs. olive oil
2 c. minced onion
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. dried basil
3 twists of freshly ground black pepper
3 dashes of cayenne
1 large bell pepper, diced
3/4 c. dry soybeans, quick soaked & drained
1-14 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
3 tbs. tomato paste
1/4 c. dried parsley
2 c. crumbled feta cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Oil a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.

Place the bulgur in a medium sized bowl and add boiling water. Cover with a plate and let stand at least 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add onion, garlic, salt, and other seasonings. Stir occasionally as you saute over medium heat for 5 to 8 minutes. Add bell pepper and saute for 5 more minutes.

Place your drained soybeans in a blender with a cup of water. Grind until it resembles a coarse batter. Transfer to your largest mixing bowl.

Add soaked bulgur and sauteed veggies to the soybeans. Stir in the tomatoes, and add tomato paste, parsley, and 1 cup of the feta. Mix well.

Spread into your dish. Sprinkle remaining feta on top. Bake uncovered for 40 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove and place under the broiler for 1-2 minutes or until the cheese is browned on top.

It is debatable as to whether or not this would make a satisfactory entree. I can see it doing very well alongside a piece of chicken or a mild fish. Also note this dish makes for fantastic leftovers, especially after sitting in the fridge overnight, allowing the flavors to mingle a bit more.

A note on terminology:
If you're from the Dakotas you might refer to this type of dish as a hotdish. If you're British, you might call it a bake. For the rest of us folk, casserole works just fine.

Sunday Supper

Sometimes, when my humble dishwasher is watching horrible sitcoms on BBC America, I like to sneak away into the kitchen for some meditative vegetable chopping. Though my kitchen is more like a cubby hole, so deficient in storage space I must store bakeware and pots and pans in my oven and can't actually chop vegetables in the kitchen. It is a wonderful reminder of how lucky I am to have pots and pans in the first place and a little oven nook in which to store them.

On this particularly warm March afternoon, a colorful soup full of spices and magic was in order, as was a variation Momofuku's famous crack pie. Here it goes...

Gypsy Soup (adapted from The New Moosewood Cookbook)

2 chopped and seeded plum tomatoes from a can (or 2 fresh seeded and peeled tomatoes, chopped)

1 tbs. olive oil

2 c. chopped onion

2 cloves of garlic, crushed and minced

3 stalks celery, chopped

2 c. sweet potato, peeled and chopped

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. turmeric

1 tsp. dried basil

2 dashes cinnamon

2 dashes cayenne

1 bay leaf

3 c. water

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 can chick peas, rinsed and drained

Heat olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven. Add onion, garlic, celery, and sweet potato, and saute over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add salt, and saute for 5 more minutes. Add seasonings and water. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. 

Add tomatoes, bell pepper, and chick peas. Cover and simmer for 10 more minutes. Serve and enjoy with a cool glass of water. 

And then there was dessert...Momofuku's crack pie is perhaps the most egg-, butter-, and sugar-laden pie I've ever encountered. A surefire way to satisfy any sugar craving, it's actually not as labor-intensive as people make it out to be. It basically involves making a giant cookie, cooling the cookie, crumbling it into some butter and sugar and molding it into your pie pan. Then, pouring some more butter, sugar, and egg into the pie shell and baking it for about 20 minutes. Peas Love Carrots has a lovely version of this pie as well, complete with step by step photographs. 

Eggs, the Food of Many Faces

How many ways are there to enjoy eggs? You can poach them, fry them, scramble and bake them. But eggs alone cannot satisfy this cook... There are perhaps as many ways to enjoy eggs as there are to make heuvos rancheros. Simple and delightfully messy, huevos rancheros are a terrific gentle-on-the-wallet weeknight meal. Like tortilla soup, huevos rancheros are all about the garnishes. Collect your favorite mexican food memories and compile them over tortillas and eggs, and you will have something like huevos rancheros. While a particularly creative friend of mine poaches her eggs in tomatillo salsa, I prefer to fry mine before transferring them to a cheese topped tortilla in a heated skillet.

Huevos Rancheros My Way

1 avocado, cubed

1 package of grated sharp white cheddar (Cabot Farms in Vermont makes a great sharp white cheddar)

1 c. salsa (I used Green Mountain salsa, later rinsing and saving the jars for water glasses)

6 small corn tortillas

6 eggs

1 tbs. butter

Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Place a tortilla in the pan and top with cheese grated on the big holes of a box grater. In another frying pan, melt butter, and begin to fry your eggs, one or two at a time.

When the eggs are begin to brown on the bottom, transfer them one at a time onto the heated tortillas. When your eggs are done cooking to your satisfaction, transfer the egg and cheese topped tortilla onto a plate. Garnish with salsa and avocado. Repeat the process, beginning each time with a clean tortilla, fresh grated cheese, and fried egg. Garnish and serve. Easier than pie.

Goat Cheese and Bacon Pizza

What are your favorite pizza toppings? This is the question I asked yesterday to any one who would humor me with an answer. The most popular answer? Goat cheese.

The most memorable pizza I've ever eaten did not contain goat cheese. It was a basic margarita pizza made right in front of us by a skilled pizza chef at Lucali in Brooklyn and cooked in a brick oven. This is no Dominos. This is the real thing. Thin crust. Limited toppings. Simple and beautiful pizza. Truth be told, there are only two items on the menu at Lucali: pizza and calzone. Talk about no frills Italian.

I came up with this recipe last night, and was pleasantly surprised. And don't even think about leaving out the green onions. They add a freshness and crispness that's balanced by the addition of bacon.

Goat Cheese and Bacon Pizza

1 batch of pizza dough (Available in most supermarkets, I recommend an incredibly elastic and classic dough is available at Trader Joe's for 99 cents. You can also buy these at your local pizzeria for about $3. If you have a 2-3 hours to spare, make your own.)
6 slices of bacon
6-8 green onions, chopped, white and light green parts reserved
7-1/4 inch slices low-moisture whole milk mozzarella ~2 inches in diameter each
1 small log of goat cheese
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1 tbs olive oil
Flour for dusting
Cornmeal for dusting

Preheat oven to 450 degrees, and let your dough sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. Precook your bacon in the microwave between sheets of paper towel for 4 minutes. Place on a cutting board, coarsely chop and set aside.

Roll out your dough on a well-floured surface. Roll it as thin as you can without creating gaping holes. Don't worry about making the dough into a perfect circle. As long as it fits onto your baking sheet or pizza stone, you're good to go. Any organic shape will do, and to  be quite frank, can add a lot of character to your pizza.


With the backside of a spoon, spread tomato sauce evenly across the dough, leaving about 1/2 inch at the edges.

Add the slices of mozzarella, making sure that none are touching. Crumble goat cheese between and over the slices of mozzarella. The idea here is to ensure that the cheese will melt evenly across your pizza.

Sprinkle with green onions and chopped bacon.  Brush the crust with olive oil.

Scatter a small handful of cornmeal onto your baking sheet. Carefully transfer pizza onto your baking sheet.

Bake for 14 minutes or until browned and bubbly. Let sit for 5 minutes before slicing into the pizza. Because I do not own a trivet or cooling rack, I always turn a pyrex dish or a muffin tin face down on the counter, and let the baking sheet rest on top until cooled. Slice and enjoy!

Carbohydrates, I love you, but you're weighing me down

On particularly cold & blustery nights....

When all you want to do is cuddle up in your comfy cozies....

You can take solace in baking.

Baked ziti may not sound all that impressive, but my belly would disagree with you. This baked ziti is simply marvelous. My humble dish-washer and I feasted on this dish two nights in a row (mathematicians take note, this is 4 main-course servings).

Supplemented with a simple salad, this is the carbohydrate-lovers perfect winter weeknight meal. If you are me, a simple salad consists of arugula, fresh cilantro and/or basil, lime juice, olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.

And on a particularly grueling day, a lone can of your cheapest brew.

Baked Ziti with Three Cheeses

(adapted from the Williams-Sonoma Cookbook: The Essential Recipe Collection for Today's Home Cook)

Olive oil for coating and drizzling

1 c. ricotta

1 egg yolk

1 c. freshly grated asiago or pecorino romano

A generous pinch of ground nutmeg

1/4 c. dried parsley

salt & pepper

1 lb. dried ziti

Your favorite tomato sauce (I used 1.5 28-oz. cans of Trader Joe's pasta sauce)

1/2 lb. mozzarella, cut into cubes

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Coat your baking dishes (I used one rectangular and one square pyrex dish). Bring salted water to boil, and cook your pasta until it is al dente (12-16 minutes).

Combine egg yolk, ricotta, half of the asiago, nutmeg, and parsley in your largest mixing bowl. Toss well. Add the heated tomato sauce, mozzarella, and drained pasta. Toss again.

Transfer mixture to your coated baking dishes. Smooth on top. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle the remaining asiago. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes until bubbling and lightly browned. Let the baked ziti rest for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh basil if desired.

Photos 1 and 2 courtesy of Urban Decay