Fried Green Tomatoes!

I have found that folks fall into two basic camps when it comes to fried green tomatoes.  There is the "why would anyone want to fry and then eat a green tomato???" camp.  The teenager is the president of this camp.  Then there is the "fried green tomatoes are one of the reasons life is worth living" camp, and I am the president of this camp.  The New Jersey chapter, anyhow.

So, you start with, yes a green tomato.  These are pretty widely available at farmer's markets in August and September as the tomato crop goes nuts and they start picking green ones that haven't ripened yet.  The green ones are firmer and will stand up to the frying you are about to do without falling apart.

You have to use them pretty soon after you buy them, though, because if they are more mature tomatoes, they will keep on ripening, and your fried green tomatoes will be fried orange-ish tomatoes.  And we're looking for authenticity here!

So, if you are looking for your standard fried green tomato, the basic approach is this: slice those green tomatoes into nice thick slices, dunk them in flour, then egg, then cornmeal, fry them in some canola oil until they are a handsome golden brown, drain 'em on paper towels, sprinkle them with salt, and then dig in.

However.  If you want to go to fried green tomato heaven, you can take things a step further.  After you have your fried green tomatoes all nice and golden, build a stack of tomato, mozzarella cheese, tomato, cheese, tomato.  You can even use a slice of a red one (unfried!) in the center for a little color.  Sprinkle with some grated parmesan, skewer them with a long wooden toothpick so they stay together, and then pop them in the oven until the cheese juuuuust starts to melt.  

Need I say more?  Hurry hurry, before the green tomatoes leave to make room for the pumpkins.

Fried Green Tomatoes,  basic recipe from Real Simple with embellishments from Framed Cooks

• 1/2 cup flour
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 pound green tomatoes, sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• Kosher salt

• Sliced mozzarella
• Grated parmesan

1. Place the flour, cornmeal and eggs in separate bowls.  Dip the tomatoes first in the flour, then the eggs, then the cornmeal, pressing gently to help the cornmeal adhere.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Working in batches, cook the tomatoes until golden brown, 1-2 minutes per side.  Drain on paper towel lined sheet and season with salt.
3. These are fine to eat just as is, but if you want to take it step further, preheat the oven to 400.  Make a stack of tomato slice, mozzarella cheese, another tomato, more cheese, one more tomato slice.  (You can use a regular red tomato slice in the middle for color if you like.)  Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top and stick a toothpick down the middle.  Bake just until the cheese starts to melt, about 2-5 minutes.  If they slide apart don't worry, you can push them back into a stack once they are out of the oven.

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Grilled Rosemary Merlot Flank Steak

If you hang in with this post long enough I promise that there is a pretty fabulous grilled steak recipe at the end, but in the meantime...the backstory!

At least once a year...sometimes more...the Southern husband and I head north to my favorite place on earth, otherwise known as Vermont.  Sometimes the teenager comes with us, even though there is no cell phone service whatsoever in our little neck of the Vermont hills.  (Believe me when i say that in the teenage world, there is no greater love for one's mama than going outside the zone of Verizon coverage.)

Other things that are not in our little corner of Vermont: Movie theaters.  Starbucks.  Kentucky Fried Chicken.  ATM's.   Etc.  They do have a lot of these though.

Here's the Southern husband scanning the area for a gas station that will take that little gizmo on his keychain that allows you to pay for your gas without actually taking out your wallet.

Nope.  As a matter of fact, finding ANY gas station is a wonderful thing.  It's one of the reasons I love the place.  We are Away From It All whenever we go up there.

So imagine my surprise when we stopped at the one local supermarket on the way to our cabin to pick up essentials (milk, eggs, Oreos) and discovered that they had put in a teeny tiny wine section.  We were so shocked and amazed that we automatically picked out a bottle, just to make sure we weren't dreaming.  And it instantly turned into our new favorite merlot...right there in the middle of Poultney, Vermont.

Once we got home, the Southern husband sprang into action and ordered a case of it, and ever since then it has been our merlot of choice.  So when the grill was back in service for the season, I pulled out this tried and true recipe to see if it was as good as a steak marinade as it is was in my wineglasss.

It was.  And so here you go (finally!)...this is a recipe that I have talked about before, but since it is one of my faves I am talking about it again with a little extra twist.  First,  grab a bottle of YOUR favorite merlot, and mix up 3/4 cup of it with some chopped fresh rosemary, some chopped onion,  some beef broth and a few spices.  Pour it all in a ziplock bag, add a flank steak and let it sit in the fridge while you make the grilled vegetable salad.

First you need some lettuce.  I grow my own in an AeroGarden and pretty soon it is going to need its own zip code, there's so much of it.  But I do have fresh fresh fresh lettuce whenever I need it.

Now gather up whatever veggies you have around that catch your fancy.  I had some frozen artichoke hearts that I thawed out...

(Okay, that's not a frozen artichoke heart, but it's the only artichoke picture I have, and there's an artichoke heart in there somewhere.)    The picture below IS the actual asparagus that I used...



...along with some cherry tomatoes that I cut in half.  Scatter them all on a cookie sheet that you have lined with foil and spray or drizzle them with a little olive oil.  Toss on a little salt and pepper and pop them in a 425 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes.

When they are done, set them aside to cool a little while you make the steak.  Send someone reliable outside to grill the steak, and while they are doing that, pour the marinade into a saucepan.   Add a little tomato paste and mustard and boil it up for about 5 minutes.  When the steak comes off the grill, let it sit for about 5 minutes and then slice it thinly across the grain.

Now!  Cover half of each plate with lettuce.  Spoon some nice roasted veggies on top.  I think they are just fine plain, but feel free to drizzle a little dressing on top if you like.  Lay some sliced steak on the other side of the plate and pour some of the merlot marinade sauce on top.

You are now in paradise.  Promise. 

Grilled Rosemary Merlot Flank Steak with Grilled Vegetable Salad, steak recipe from Cooking Light

• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 3/4 cup low-salt beef broth
• 3/4 cup Merlot or other dry red wine
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (1-pound) flank steak, trimmed
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 

• lettuce
• your choice of vegetables to grill
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

1. Combine first 7 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add steak; seal bag. Marinate in refrigerator 20 minutes, turning once.
2. Preheat oven to 425.  Line baking tray with foil and lay veggies in a single layer.  Spray or mix with a little olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper on top.  Roast for 10-15 minutes.  Remove and let cool.
3. Remove steak from bag, reserving marinade.   Heat grill to high and cook steak  6 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Let stand 5 minutes. Cut steak diagonally across grain into thin slices; keep warm.
4. While steak cooks, combine reserved marinade, tomato paste, and mustard in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring well with a whisk. Bring to a boil, and cook until reduced to 1 cup (about 7 minutes).
5. Arrange grilled veggies over lettuce on each plate.  Place sliced steak alongside veggies, pouring a little merlot sauce over the top.

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Roast Beef and Brie Sandwiches, aka The Gatsby Arrow

Ok, before I start telling you about the best sandwich in the Entire World, I need to give you just a tiny bit of background, and I will start this by telling you I am a proud graduate of Georgetown University.   That's right, I am a Hoya, and while I'm not telling you exactly HOW long ago I graduated, let's just say that Patrick Ewing lived in the on-campus apartment right next door.  You do the math.

Georgetown was a fabulous place to go to college in so many ways.  The gorgeous campus, the fact that we were right in Washington DC, some of the best professors in the world, and a campus pub where I would...well, never mind.

(Note that I am showing you all these lovely pictures of the campus (not mine, I should state for the record) and none of me as an undergraduate.  Nope, those shots are not ready for prime-time.  No sirree.  Anyway, you will note that the cafeteria was NOT included in the list of Georgetown wonderfulness.  Because it was not wonderful.  At all.  Ever.  So every so often we would trundle down Prospect Street to the world's most fantastic sandwich shop, which is (thank goodness!) still there, and that is Booeymongers.

Affectionately known by the Hoya faithful as Booey's.  And there was only one thing I ever got at Booey's...the Gatsby Arrow.  I have no idea how it got that name, I just know it is the most delicious sandwich I know...a baguette stuffed with rare roast beef, Brie cheese and lettuce.  When I make my own version I use a little Dijon mustard as well.  It brings me right back to my college days, only without the blue book exams and the eight track tapes.

So here you go, the very best sandwich I know.  Go Hoyas!

Roast Beef and Brie Sandwiches, with love to Booeymongers

• One loaf french bread
• 1/2 pound rare roast beef, sliced very thin
• 1/2 pound Brie cheese
• Romaine lettuce leaves
• Dijon mustard

1. Split the loaf of bread down the middle and spread one or both sides with mustard, depending on how much of a mustard-lover you are

2. Layer the roast beef on the bottom of the loaf, top with lettuce and then slices of Brie.  Place top of loaf on sandwich.

3. Cut into as many sandwiches as you like - this will feed 2-4 people, depending on how hungry those people are!

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Brie Croque Monsieur Sandwiches

There are grilled cheese sandwiches, and then there are Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.  I have always been helplessly enthralled with any menu that has the words Croque Monsieur on it.  Because that basically translates to a rocking great grilled cheese sandwich that involves thin-sliced ham, swiss cheese, an egg batter that the whole thing has been dipped in, and some deep-frying.  Usually with some fries on the side, to make sure your calorie intake is high enough.

So imagine this: the very same thing...except instead of the swiss cheese, you use Brie cheese.  And in  my case, I used D'Affinois, which is the cheese I would choose to take with me if I was ever banished forever to a desert island and could only choose one cheese to take with me.  (These are the things I think about, just so you know.  It never hurts to have a plan.)

Now, some Croque Monsieurs out there in the world use a much thicker batter, but I think the light (and I use that word loosely, given what we are talking about here) french toast-type egg mixture approach is actually kinda better.  It lets the whole cheese and ham end of things shine through in all their glory.  And this is one of those recipes that is, well, glorious.  You practically have to eat it with your eyes closed just to make sure nothing else in the world interferes.

Please go make this right now.  Time's a wasting.

Brie Croque Monsieur Sandwiches, adapted from Ile de France Cheeses

9 oz.  Brie or D'Affinois cheese, cut into 12 thin slices

3 large eggs

3/4 cup milk

1/4 tsp Salt

1/8 tsp Pepper

6 slices thin sliced ham

12 slices white bread

4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted, divided

• In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk salt and pepper. Set aside.
  
  
• Assemble six sandwiches, each with one slice of ham and two slices of cheese between two slices of bread. Cut each sandwich into quarters.
  
  
• Heat half of the melted butter in a large nonstick pan on medium heat, swirling to coat bottom of pan.
  
  
• Dip half of the sandwich quarters into the egg and milk mixture, turning to coat. Immediately place in preheated pan, and cook for 2-3 minutes per side or until bread is golden brown and cheese is melting. Repeat with remaining butter and  sandwiches. Serve hot.

Click here for printable recipe

Linguine in Herbed Artichoke Sauce

This recipe dates WAY back to the days when the Southern husband and I were young and carefree, spending our Saturdays browsing around antique shops and street fairs and used bookstores.  We would wander here and there with our string shopping bags and not a care in the world, picking up this and that, and me being me, a lot of what we picked up were interesting cookbooks, often ones that were stacked in corners of little bookstores.  This particular recipe comes from one of those books - a terrific cookbook called SIMPLY ELEGANT COUNTRY FOODS.  The price is still there, written in pencil on the inside front cover.

Let's take a closer look at that price, shall we?

Now THAT'S what I call a bargain.  About five minutes ago when I started writing this post, I made a bet with the Southern husband about whether you would even be able to find this cookbook anywhere, lo these 20 years later.  He said no way.  I said absolutely yes.

Simply Elegant Country Foods : Downhome Goes Uptown

All I will say about THIS is that he is a gracious loser, and I am a nyah-nyah-nyah-ha-ha-ha-told-you-so type of winner.  And that I just LOVE being right.

Meanwhile, back at the recipe, it is every bit as easy and simple and elegant and delicious as it was all those years ago, and as an added bonus, it involves one of my very, very favorite vegetables.  (This picture may look familiar to my beloved frequent readers.  I love you guys.)

And before you worry, you can and should use frozen artichoke hearts - you don't have to mess with stripping and prepping fresh artichokes.  I just had this artichoke picture hanging around and I love looking at artichokes whenever possible.  Anyway,  besides the artichokes, the rest of the dish is a fast and simple concoction of onions, garlic, white wine, a teeny bit of tomato paste and heavy cream, and some herbs and spices, all tossed around with linguine.  Perfect, simple, delicious and you get to have artichokes.  Life is good.

Linguine in Herbed Artichoke Sauce, adapted from Simply Elegant Country Foods : Downhome Goes Uptown 

• One pound linguine
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 cup chicken broth
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped basil, or one teaspoon dried
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 ten ounce package frozen quartered artichoke hearts, thawed
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Heat butter and oil in skillet and add onions and garlic.  Saute for 3 minutes.

2. Raise heat and add wine and broth.  Stir until boiling, then stir in herbs and tomato paste.  Simmer for 5 minutes.

3. Add artichoke hearts and simmer for 2-3 more minutes.

4. Meanwhile, cook pasta and drain.  Return to pot.

5. Stir cream into the sauce, heat to almost boiling and then pour sauce over pasta and toss.

6. Grind fresh pepper over top and serve.

Click here for printable recipe.

Egg Sandwich with Spinach, Brie and Maple Bacon

Things I love in life:

1. Bacon

2. The Southern husband

3. Brie

4. English muffins

5. Baby Spinach

6. Noisy, disobedient but lovable dogs

7. Eggs, over easy

8. Noisy, disobedient but lovable teenagers.

Five of these things are part of the sandwich we had for dinner tonight.  (And by the way, don't you love sandwiches-for-dinner night? I do.  Add that to the above list.)

I won't lie to you, this is a messy one to eat, but man, is it worth every single drip and spatter.  You toast up the muffins and while they are still warm, spread on some nice soft Brie.  Yes, on both sides.  Let them sit there while you slather some maple syrup on the bacon and cook it in the oven.  While the bacon is cooking, saute some baby spinach until it is nice and soft, and then cook up some eggs, over easy - as hard or soft as you like.  I like soft, myself.  

Now slide the egg onto the bottom half of the muffin, lay some spinach over the egg, and a couple of maple bacon pieces over the spinach.  Pop the other muffin half on top.  At this point, the heat of everything is going to start turning that cheese into a melty sauce of molten Brie, and you may start to weep a little in anticipation.  This is normal.   Now sit down and get ready to eat the best egg sandwich in the world.

The best!

Egg Sandwich with Spinach, Brie and Maple Bacon

• Two strips bacon, each cut in half
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups baby spinach
• One English muffin, split
• 2 large slices of Brie cheese, softened
• One egg
• 1 tablespoon butter

1. Preheat oven to 425.  Cover baking sheet (use one with sides) with foil and lay bacon on top. Brush with maple syrup.  Bake for 10 minutes or until bacon is done to your liking.

2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in skillet and saute spinach until wilted, about 2 minutes.  Cover with skillet cover and set aside.

3. Toast English muffin and as soon as it is toasted, spread both sides with cheese.

3. Heat butter in second small skillet over medium heat until melted.  Fry egg until yolk is soft set. Flip and cook another minute longer.

4. Lay egg on bottom of English muffin.  Top with spinach.  Cover spinach with bacon.  Cover with top of English muffin.

Click here for printable recipe

The Best, Easiest, Quickest Chicken Noodle Soup Ever

There are few things I love as much in the cold heart of winter as a bowl of chicken noodle soup.  I'm most definitely not talking about the one in the can.  I'm talking about soup in a rich, flavorful broth with chunks of roasted chicken, freshly chopped tender pieces of carrot and celery, bow-tie noodles soaking up the chicken taste and fresh parsley and thyme floating throughout the whole thing.

Sounds long and involved and exhausting, right?  Well, usually that is right.  What usually happens is that you start out with all great intentions and energy and a nice whole chicken.  You toss it in the soup pot with some water and a prayer or two, and hours and days and weeks later you have a cooked chicken and some "broth."  But the chicken is a little rubbery from having boiled away for ages and I'm sorry, all the onion and carrots in the world have not been able to produce a nice rich broth  -- for me, anyway.  It ends up watery and sad and you have to skim the top of it, and on and on and on.  

It was time for something to be done.  It's our right to have a fantastic chicken soup that doesn't require a nap and a degree from the Culinary Institute of America.  So here's what needs to happen.  First of all, the foundation is the broth, and while pre-made chicken broth used to be a sad state of affairs, things have gotten a whole lot better lately.  There are two brands that are actually EXCELLENT, and they both come in boxes that are stacked in the supermarket right next to those nasty cans of chicken broth.  My fave is this one:

Although this one is pretty good as well:

 

Don't be tempted by the canned broth - go for one of these guys.

Next, you need a bone-in split chicken breast.  Put in in a baking pan, brush that baby with a little olive oil, sprinkle with some salt and pepper and roast it for about 50 minutes.  Meantime, chop up some carrots, some celery, an onion and some fresh parsley and thyme.  If I have a leek on hand I'll chop that up too.  Once your chicken is roasted and cooled a little, the chicken soup is about 20 minutes away.  Bring the broth to a nice simmer and drop in the veggies and some bow-tie pasta and simmer it covered until the veggies are tender and the pasta is cooked.  While this is going on, take a fork (or your fingers, if you are me) and pull the roasted chicken off the bone into bite-sized pieces.  Now toss the chicken pieces and the herbs into the soup and simmer for another few minutes until everything is all warm and perfect.  Taste to see if you need to add in any salt or pepper...and that's it, folks.  You have now made the perfect chicken noodle soup.  It will keep for several days and get better and better.  If it gets too thick, pour in a little more broth and it will be just fine.

Doesn't everything seem right with the world now?

Quick and Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

• 1 split bone-in chicken breast
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Two 32 ounce boxes of chicken broth
• Two large carrots, sliced
• Two stalks celery, sliced
• One leek, sliced or one onion, chopped
• 1 cup bow tie pasta
• 1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Place chicken skin side up on baking sheet lined with foil.  Rub olive oil onto chicken and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast for 50 minutes and then cool until chicken is cool enough to shred with your fingers.  Discard bones and skin.

2. Heat broth until simmering.  Add carrots, celery, leek or onion and pasta and cook until pasta is done, about 10 minutes.

3. Stir in parsley and chicken and season to taste.  Ladle into bowls and serve.

Click here for printable recipe

Naked Ravioli

Okay, so I would like to clear up something right away.  When I posted on my Facebook page that I was making this particular recipe for dinner, there was a fair amount of, shall I say ALARM, about the title of the recipe.  Some people were concerned for my safety.  Others were just discombobulated in general about what on earth was going on in my kitchen. So just let me state clearly and for the record: it is the RAVIOLI that is naked.  Not the cook.  The cook remained fully clothed at all time, as you can see from the photograph below.

Now that we can all breathe a deep sigh of relief, let me tell you what is going on here.

Naked ravioli basically means that you are getting the filling of the ravioli - in this case a scrumptious mixture of veal, parmesan cheese, herbs and some other things - OUTSIDE of the pasta. So the ravioli filling is, well, naked.  I toss some bow-tie pasta into this dish so you still get the happiness of the pasta part, it's just not wrapped around the filling.  Making the filling naked.  Are you getting the drift here?  

So now that we all understand each other, here's what happens.  You mix up some ground veal, chopped onion, a beaten egg, some grated parmesan, a little chopped fresh parsley and some salt and pepper, and roll them into a whole batch of little tiny meatballs - about 1/2 inch inch in diameter, give or take.  Drop them in some salted boiling water, and at the same time melt about a half a stick of butter with some fresh sage leaves until the butter is melted and golden brown.

When the meatballs are done, scoop them out with a slotted spoon and cook up a batch of bow-tie pasta in that same water.  Save about 1/2 cup of the pasta water and when the pasta is done, toss everything together in one bowl - pasta, meatballs, butter mixture, some of the pasta water to loosen up the sauce - and add in some peas and a little more parmesan cheese. And there you have it - all the makings of ravioli, but WAY easier than making it from scratch and with the filling on the outside rather than being contained in the pasta.  Or in other words...naked.

I think I have now used the word "naked" on my blog more times than I ever have before, or ever will again.  I'm hoping and wondering if this might actually increase my blog traffic.

One way or the other, give this fun dish a try!

Naked Ravioli

• 1 pound ground veal (you can also use ground pork or beef or any combo thereof!)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 pound bow-tie pasta
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 20 fresh sage leaves
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• Salt and pepper
• Extra grated parmesan for garnish

1. Combine meat, egg, cheese, parsley and onion.  Roll into balls about 1/2 inch in diameter and pop in the fridge until ready to use.

2. Bring a large pot of water to boil and add a tablespoon of salt.  Cook meatballs in boiling water for 5 minutes and remove with slotted spoon.  Put in a bowl and cover to keep warm.  Cook pasta in the same water until done, adding the peas during the last minute of cooking.  Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water.   Drain.

3. Meanwhile,  cook butter and sage leaves together in small pot until butter is light brown, about 5 minutes.  Toss pasta with butter mixture, reserved meatballs and enough pasta water to make a light sauce.  Salt and peper to taste.  Top with grated parsmesan and serve.

Click here for printable recipe

Cottage Pie

A while back I made a recipe for what I called Shepherd's Pie.  It is a scrumptious mixture of ground beef and vegetables in a light tomato-ish sauce, topped with mashed potatoes and baked.  Perfect, easy comfort food.  I wrote a little story about how I fell in love with shepherd's pie.  I even included a picture of a sheep, because I had one hanging around and it seemed like the perfect time to use it.  I posted it up on the blog, and started reading the comments.  (I love comments, by the way.  Leave me comments!).

Anyway, in addition to all the sweet things everyone says to me about the pictures and the recipe and the story, more than one person gently told me that I had not in fact made Shepherd's Pie.  I had made Cottage Pie.

Huh?

Well, as it turns out, that's exactly what I did.  Apparently Shepherd's Pie is made with lamb, and Cottage Pie is made with beef.  Which now made me feel bad about the whole sheep picture thing, because I was unwittingly including a really cute picture of the, um, ingredients.  Oh dear.

So long story short, I recently ran across this recipe for Cottage Pie, which used a topping of very thin-sliced potatoes instead of the mashed version...and while I am probably the world's biggest fan of mashed potatoes, I actually LOVED this version.  The filling is the usual mixture of ground beef, carrots and peas, and the whole thing was just as delectable as its incorrectly named predecessor.

So at the end of the day, no matter what you call it, MAKE it.  Delicious, delicious, delicous.

Cottage Pie, adapted from Everyday Food

• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 3 large carrots, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
• Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
• 1 cup dark beer
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 large russet potato, sliced very thin

1. Preheat oven to 400.  In large skillet, heat one tablespoon butter over medium high heat.  Add onions and carrots and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.  Season with salt and pepper and add tomato paste.  

2. Add meat and cook for 3 minutes, breaking up with wooden spoon.  Add thyme and beer and bring to a boil.  Cook, stirring frequently, until slightly reduced, about 3 minutes.  Sprinkle flour over top and stir.  Add 1 cup of water and cook until slightly thickened, another two minutes.  Stir in peas and then season to taste.  

3. Transfer to baking dish and top with overlapping potato slices.  Drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.  Bake until potatoes are browned at the edges, about 40-45 minutes.  Cool ten minutes before serving.

Click here for printable recipe

My Favorite Cookbooks!

So, one of the questions I get a lot is what my favorite cookbook is. It's a question that requires a loooonnngggg involved answer, which is one of the reasons I was so delighted when Booklist magazine asked me if I would write an article on this very topic. It involved a long, soul-searching trip through my jam-packed kitchen bookcase, and an agonizing decision about which cookbooks to write about, but at the end of the day there were four favorites that ended up on the top of my my list.

The first was my very first cookbook, THE POOH COOK BOOK. It's out of print, but trust me when I say it is completely charming. Not especially practical, but adorable.  Next was THE SILVER PALATE COOKBOOK, which contains my favorite pasta recipe of all time, for which you need the following things:

 Pasta with Brie and Tomatoes.  Make it as soon as you can!

Next is what I call my "desert island" cookbook...the one I would want if I was stranded on a desert island. This desert island contains a fully decked out kitchen and a great supermarket, just so you know. Anyway, that one is THE NEW BEST RECIPE from Cooks Illustrated, from which I have made this, over and over again...

Cooks Illustrated's The Best Beef Stew.  Yes it is.

And last but not least, my new favorite, which is THE PIONEER WOMAN COOKS. This gem of a cookbook finally ended my lifelong search for a decent chicken fried steak recipe, and for that the Southern husband will be eternally grateful.

However, for me cookbooks are about SO much more than recipes, and that is why I am so grateful to the Booklist folks for giving me the chance to say my piece about them. If you would like to read about my life-long love affair with these amazing books, click the link below...

My Life Is An Open Cookbook!

And in the meantime, I should let you know that I am already two recipes into the new FAT WITCH BAKERY COOKBOOK...and I think I am hooked again....so stay tuned to this channel!

Eggs and Soldiers

Every now and then I wake up on a weekend morning, and I just NEED a poached egg. I need one. Not want. Need. Which for a while was a problem, because the only person I know who can actually make a poached egg with only water and a pan and an egg is my mother, who whips them up effortlessly. For me, the road to the decent poached egg has been a sad and rocky one. Yes, I've tried all the usual tricks, including putting vinegar in the water, and cracking the egg into a teacup and slipping it into the water, and buying an electric egg cooker (which was great for hard boiled eggs and kinda dismal for poached eggs).

All of that left me with disorganized masses of under or overcooked eggs that looked nothing like the neat little round organized eggs that my mama makes me. But that was before I found THESE.


They are called Poach Pods, and they have transformed my life, at least the poached egg part of it. They are little silicone guys, and here's what you do. You bring a pan of water to a slow simmer. Spray one of the pods with Pam, and crack an egg into it. Lay it in the water (it will float!). Cover the pan, and simmer that egg for 4 minutes. Uncover the pan, gently lift out the pod, run a knife or a small spatula around the edge of the egg and it will slide right out. Perfect poached eggs Every Single Time.

Back to the eggs and soldiers: this is one of my all-time favorite comfort food dishes, and here's all it is: a poached egg and a slice of toast that has been buttered and cut into little strips, otherwise known as soldiers. Take a soldier, dunk it into the poached egg, feel like all is right with the world.

That's it, folks -- not even a recipe needed. And because there is no recipe, here's a list of other great things to do with a poached egg:

1. Put it on top of a bowl of buttered Cream of Wheat or grits.

2. Include on the top of a lightly dressed salad of romaine lettuce, croutons and bacon.

3. Slice it into a plate of pasta with some butter, grated parmesan and fresh ground pepper.

4. The old classic: put on top of a plate of hot corned beef hash.

I have to leave and poach an egg now.

Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's Pie...it might be my all-time favorite comfort food, and I never get tired of making it. I am very particular about the kind of shepherd's pie that I like, though, and that all dates back to my days right out of college, living with my dear friend C in the world's smallest studio apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Ah, that apartment -- it had exposed brick walls that got red-hot in the winter (why? we didn't know and were afraid to ask), the world's dinkiest, oldest refrigerator, and a reclusive next door neighbor named Bruce who was straight out of a Seinfeld episode. We made a combined salary of about $25,000 per year, and probably spent $20,000 of it on rent for this glorious pad, and so our nights out on the town were few and far between, and divided between what is STILL the best pizza place I have ever been to and this Irish joint called Finnegan's Wake.

Finnegan's was loud and dark and the floor was sticky and they served the best, cheapest, most delicious shepherd's pie I've ever had. It was made with beef, not lamb, and featured peas and carrots in a thick tomato-ish sauce, all topped with mashed potatoes. (The picture above is before the addition of the potatoes, in case you are wondering. Because once you put the potatoes on top it would look like a picture of, well, potatoes.)

The Finnegan's version spoiled me forever in terms of shepherd's pie, and ever since I have been in search of a recipe that stood up to Finnegan's. (Of course, it might have tasted so good because the rest of the time we were eating cold cereal, ramen noodles and macaroni and cheese out the box, but whatever.)

So this recipe has all those elements, and whenever I have leftover mashed potatoes I make it. By the way, I'm not sure exactly why it is called shepherd's pie -- maybe shepherds eat it? Maybe because - eek - it is usually made with lamb? At any rate, it's also a good excuse for me to show you the one and only picture I have ever taken of a sheep.



And now that you have all this useful information, here's the best part, which is the actual recipe.

Shepherd's Pie, adapted from Everyday Food

2 pounds freshly ground beef

1 large onion, finely chopped

4 carrots, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons flour

1 to 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Coarse salt and ground pepper

10 ounces frozen peas, thawed

Potato Topping:

2-½ pounds russet potatoes, peeled and quartered

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1 cup milk

6 tablespoons butter

1. Preheat oven to 425°. Heat a large skillet over high heat. In two batches, cook beef until no longer pink, about 5 minutes per batch. Transfer beef to a colander set in a bowl; let fat drain off and discard.
2. Add ¼ cup water to the skillet, scraping up browned bits with a wooden spoon. Reduce heat to medium; add onion and carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste. Add flour; cook, stirring, 2 minutes.
3. Add Worcestershire sauce, 2 cups water, and beef. Season with 2 teaspoons salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Simmer until thickened, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Stir in peas; cook 1 minute. Divide among eight 8-ounce ramekins or two 9-inch glass pie dishes.
4. Meanwhile, make potato topping. Spread over pies; use a fork to make peaks. Bake on a baking sheet until tops are browned, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool slightly; serve.

Potato Topping:

1. In a medium saucepan, cover potatoes with salted water by 1 inch; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer until fork-tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain.
2. In pan, bring milk and butter to a simmer; remove from heat. Return potatoes; mash. Season with 2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Click here for printable recipe

Lobster Pie

One of my very favorite cookbooks is one called POT PIES: COMFORT FOOD UNDER COVER. It is full of recipes for, you guessed it, pot pies...but not just the typical kind with the pastry crust. Nope, in this fabulous book basically anything that involves something covering the main ingredient counts as a pot pie, so this cookbook includes Shellfish Pie with Artichoke Crust. And Shepherd's Pie Topped With Garlic Mashed Potatoes. And Tuscan Braised Pork Pie with Polenta Crust.

But my very, very favorite recipe in this book is for something that is simply called Lobster Pie. So let me explain this one a little. It is actually Lobster Pie with a Buttered Parmesan Parsley Breadcrumb Topping.

I know.

I know!

You take two lobsters (which your supermarket has steamed for you and your significant other has shelled for you) and cut the meat into pieces, and heat it up in a sauce made out of butter and flour and clam juice and sherry and cream, and pour it into an oven-safe dish. You probably won't need all the sauce -- just use your best judgement to see how much you need to make it sauced but not too soupy.



Then you take some nice bread - I used french bread -- and whiz it up in your food processor. Add some melted butter and chopped parsley and fresh grated Parmesan cheese to the crumbs and spread it over your lobster mixture.



Bake it all up until the crumbs are golden.



I promise you, it is all you hope and dream it will be.

Lobster Pie, adapted from POT PIES: COMFORT FOOD UNDER COVER.

• 4 tablespoons butter, plus 6 tablespoons melted
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 1/2 cups clam juice
• 1/4 cup sherry
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 lobsters, cooked, shelled and meat cut into chunks
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 cups soft french bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a saucepan and add flour, whisking until smooth. Gradually whisk in the clam stock until the sauce is smooth and thickened, about 5 minutes or so.

2. Add sherry and cream and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and add lobster. Taste sauce and add salt and pepper to taste. Using slotted spoon, transfer lobster to oven-proof casserole and spoon just enough sauce over to cover the lobster without making it too soupy.

3. Preheat oven to 375. Place bread crumbs, parsley and cheese in mixing bowl, pour melted butter over top and mix thoroughly. Spread crumbs over lobster.

4. Bake for 20 minutes, or until crumbs are golden. Serve immediately.

Click here for printable recipe.

Spaghetti with Garlic Bread Crumb Wine Sauce

This is one of my favorite pasta recipes ever, and every time I make this one the Southern husband and I look at each other and say, why don't we make this more often? But absence makes the heart grow fonder, and I am VERY fond of how this looks, tastes, and is so very easy to throw together at the end of a long day.

And even better, odds are you have everything you need to make it at the spur of the moment. Any long strand pasta will do, although I think good old spaghetti works best. Bread for the bread crumbs -- any kind you have on hand. Butter. White wine. Fresh parsley. Parmesan cheese and fresh ground pepper. All stuff I highly recommend having in your kitchen at all times...and if you don't, I recommend going out to get whatever is missing JUST to make this delicious little dish, which is great on its own or as a side dish for grilled chicken or fish.

The sauce is made by melting up butter, garlic, white wine and a little salt. Meantime, you make the breadcrumbs by whirling whatever bread you have on hand in the food processor, adding a little butter and white wine, laying it all out on a cookie sheet and toasting it in the oven. Don't worry if your crumbs are a little mushy before they are toasted, I promise they will cook up to be golden and crispy, and you will have to have a stern talk with yourself about snacking on them before they go in the sauce.

Then all you have to do is cook the pasta and toss it with the sauce, some parsley and grated parmesan and those perfect little crumbs. Save some of the crumbs to sprinkle on top and give the whole thing a good grinding of black pepper. Comfort Food Extraordinaire.

SPAGHETTI WITH GARLIC BREAD CRUMB WINE SAUCE

• 1 cup fresh bread crumbs (2 slices bread chopped in food processor)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter
• 2 tablespoons white wine
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 pound spaghetti
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• fresh ground pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line a cookie sheet with foil.

2. Mix bread crumbs, melted butter and 2 tablespoons wine with salt in small bowl and spread in one layer on cookie sheet. (Don't worry if it's mushy).

3. Bake about 12 minutes or until golden.

4. Meanwhile, cook pasta until al dente.

5. Meanwhile again, heat butter, garlic, 1 tablespoon water and one teaspoon salt in small skillet for about 3 minutes until butter is melted and garlic is starting to turn golden. Stir in wine and simmer two minutes.

6. Toss together pasta, wine sauce, crumbs, parsley and cheese. Serve immediately.

Click here for printable recipe

Shrimp in Gorgonzola Sauce

Shrimp, shrimp, shrimp....what else can I tell you about shrimp that I haven't said a hundred times before?

Here's my shrimp video, in case you missed it last time...

I kind of can't believe I made this whole shrimp slideshow extravaganza without including this recipe, which I love with a passion and which I have been making ever since the Southern husband and I were first engaged, lo those many years ago. It is still as scrumptious as it was back then, and is one of those easy, reliable, elegant recipes that you will go to again and again...at least, I do. So for all you shrimp-lovers out there, here's one of my all-time favorites.

SHRIMP IN GORGONZOLA SAUCE

• 10 ounces large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
• Chopped fresh parsley
• Fresh ground pepper

1. Melt butter with garlic in large pan over medium high heat, and saute shrimp until opaque. Add cheese and lemon juice and stir until cheese is just melted.

2. Serve over rice, garnished with parsley and fresh ground pepper

Click here for printable recipe

Italian Wedding Soup

Oh, I love and adore this soup. For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, til death do us part, I love this soup, and true love lasts forever. For me, this soup is all about the adorable little meatballs, which cook right in the soup. You make them nice and tiny so they fit right on your spoon. Use a really nice prepared chicken broth for the soup base -- these days I am liking Imagine free range chicken broth, which comes in a box and has a smooth and rich chicken broth flavor (some of the canned chicken broths taste a little tinny and watery to me). The broth is enhanced with some chopped sauteed veggies, some pasta, some fresh baby spinach...and of course those wonderful teeny meatballs.

I like to make a nice big batch of this soup on a Sunday afternoon -- it makes a perfect Sunday supper, especially served with some crusty French bread and butter, or even grilled cheese sandwiches if you have an especially hungry crew on your hands. The leftovers save just beautifully and will give you a warm and fuzzy feeling when you look into your fridge wondering what's for lunch and see the container of wedding soup.

Ah, Italian Wedding Soup. Make it for your true love today.

ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped fine
• 2 ribs celery, chopped fine
• 1 medium onion, chopped fine
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and pepper
• 1 pound ground pork/veal/beef combined
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/3 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cup dried pasta (I use tiny shells, but your choice)
• 1 pound fresh baby spinach

1. Heat oil in a deep large saucepan over medium heat and add carrots, celery, onion and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper, cover pot and cook veggies for 5 minutes, stirring now and then.

2. While the veggies cook, combine meat, egg, garlic, cheese, crumbs and nutmeg.

3. Uncover pot and add broth and water and bring to a boil. When soup boils, reduce heat a bit and start rolling the meat mixture into very small meatballs, dropping them in the soup as you go.

4. When you are done with the meatballs, add the pasta, stir, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

5. When pasta is tender, stir in spinach. When spinach is wilted, the soup is ready. Taste, adjust seasonings, light some romantic candles and serve.

Click here for printable recipe

Chicken Fried Steak

Now, I need to tell you a little story about this one. It is called "The Chicken Fried Steak Rule," and it dates back to the beginning of time, before the teenager was even born, and it goes like this.

Once upon a time, there was a Northern girl and a Southern guy, and the Southern guy introduced the Northern girl to the culinary delicacy that is Chicken Fried Steak. He found a great restaurant right nearby that did a scrumptious chicken fried steak with cream gravy and mashed potatoes, and he held her hand across the table and promised his undying love in that mesmerizing Southern accent of his.

The Northern girl girl was smitten with both the Southern guy AND the chicken fried steak, and decided to make both her own. The Southern guy proved to be a lot easier to figure out than the chicken fried steak. She tried recipe after recipe after recipe for chicken fried steak, with no luck. The breading fell off, or burned. The steak was tough. The cream gravy was lumpy, or runny, or bland. The Southern guy bravely ate his way through one disappointing chicken fried steak dinner after another.

Then one day he got down on one knee, took her hands in his, professed his undying love, and reminded her that there was a perfectly wonderful restaurant nearby that served perfectly wonderful chicken fried steak. And thus the Chicken Fried Steak Rule was born, and it goes like this. If there is someplace nearby that makes something wonderful that you like to eat, do not try to reinvent the wheel at home. For the past 20 years, this has saved me from trying to make chicken fried steak (Live Bait restaurant on 23rd street in NYC), doughnuts (Krispy Kreme!) and cinnamon rolls (Grandma). And life was good and peaceful, because whenever I got a jones to make chicken fried steak either the Southern husband or the teenager looked me in the eye and said "Chicken Fried Steak Rule," and I came back to my senses.

Then the Pioneer Woman wrote her fabulous cookbook, and there it was. On page 142. Her recipe for chicken fried steak, complete with irresistable step by step photos. I wavered. I faltered. I fell. There I was, with my cube steak and flour and eggs and milk, flagrantly breaking the Chicken Fried Steak Rule for the first time in years. And you know what? Rules are meant to be broken...this was the chicken fried steak of my dreams, right here in my own little kitchen!

Anybody out there got any Krispy Kreme doughnut recipes???

CHICKEN FRIED STEAK, adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks!

3 pounds sliced cube steak
2 large eggs
3 1/2 cups milk
3 1/3 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoons paprika
1/4 teaspoon red pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
3 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup canola oil

1. Beat the eggs with one cup of milk and place in shallow dish

2. Mix 3 cups flour with 2 teaspoons salt, paprika, cayenne and black pepper, place in shallow dish

3. Season the meat with salt and pepper. Dip in flour, then eggs, then back in flour, coating thoroughly each time. Place on empty plate until ready to cook.

4. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Fry meat 3 pieces at a time until golden, about 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove to paper towel lined plate and keep warm.

5. After frying all the meat, pour out all grease except for 1/4 cup and heat up the grease. Sprinkle 1/3 cup flour over the grease and whisk it together.

6. After a couple of minutes the flour mixture will turn brown. Whisking constantly, pour in 2 cups of milk. Let gravy come to slow boil to thicken. Add more milk as needed if it gets too thick. This should take 5-10 minutes.

7. Generously season with salt and pepper.

8. Place meat on plate and spoon gravy over. Serve with mashed potatoes and whatever other veggie you like. I serve with corn to make sure we really DO get enough carbs. Yum yum yum.

Click here for printable recipe

Best Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce Ever!

This recipe, along with my beef barley soup and a chocolate pudding cake that I am going to make for you guys one of these days, is the reason I adore my slow cooker. Yes, it is a huge, old-fashioned, clunky appliance that only does one thing. But MAN! it does that one thing really well, and I promise you that if you will just drag yours out of the attic or basement or garage or wherever you have it and make this sauce, you will be a believer! Trust me on this one, will you? I won't let you down.

Now with most things that have to do with my slow cooking, this recipe makes way too much to eat in one sitting, unless you are feeding an entire Boy Scout troop.

But that is why they invented those disposable Gladware containers - just scoop the leftovers into those babies, pop them in the freezer, and so long as you have spaghetti in the house somewhere you will be all set for future dinners when you are faced with a ravenous family and your mind is a blank.

In the meantime, this is a fantastic, rich, meaty sauce that cooks away all day long in the slow cooker and makes your kitchen smell like an Italian paradise. There is just the tiniest bit of prep involved (browning the meat), and then the whole shebang gets dropped in the reliable old slow cooker, and your work is done for the day. Some pasta, a little fresh grated Parmesan cheese, and you are in dinner heaven.

Go find that slow cooker now. I know you have one somewhere.

BEST SLOW COOKER BOLOGNESE SAUCE EVER

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 14 oz cans chopped tomatoes, drained
• 2 15 oz cans tomato sauce
• 2 6 oz cans tomato paste
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 2 teaspoons dried marjoram
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

1. Cook beef in large skillet until browned.

2. Transfer to 5 quart slow cooker. Stir in all remaining ingredients, mix well.

3. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

4. Serve over your favorite pasta. Happy sigh.

Click here for printable recipe

Kate's Taco Salad

Okay, I love love love this taco salad, and here's why. Not because it is ridiculously easy to make (and it is). Not because it tastes ridiculously good (and it does). It's because -- unlike 99.9% of most taco salads -- the crunchy part of the taco salad is actually worth eating. You know what I am talking about. Usually you order a taco salad and it comes in a giant tortilla "bowl." You say to yourself, Self, I'm just going to eat the salad part, and you work through all that good stuff in the bowl. The spicy taco meat, the avocado chunks, the chopped tomatoes, the cheese (ah! the cheese!!) and pretty soon your taco salad is gone and the only thing left standing is the tortilla bowl.

So you break off a piece of the side of it, and honestly? It's not that good. It's okay....but it's kind of bland and not that tasty...but it's there on your plate, and pretty soon you have picked off most of the sides of it. And so your awesome taco salad has ended with a whimper.

But in MY taco salad, my friends, that tortilla bowl is transformed into Fritos, which are added to the salad at the very end and tossed right into the salad along with everything else. So every other bite contains a hit of salty corn chip wonderfulness along with all the other taco salad taste sensations. Now there are those among you out there (my oldest friend? are you listening to me?) who will say Fritos are the work of the devil. And maybe they are...but DANG! they are good. And all I have to say is, if you are going to eat the taco salad bowl -- and you KNOW you are -- let's at least make sure it tastes pretty great going down.



These pictures show the ingredients before the tossing (and the lettuce is underneath all that other good stuff) just because it is more photogenic that way, but let me be clear -- you should be toss, toss, tossing all those great ingredients together so that each bite is a mixture of all those rocking taste sensations. So for all of you who like to walk on the wild side with the Fritos, here is my favorite taco salad recipe.

KATE'S TACO SALAD

• 1 pound ground beef
• Taco seasoning mix
• 1 head iceberg lettuce, chopped
• 3 chopped tomatoes
• 2 chopped avocados
• 1 cup shredded cheddar
• 2 cups Fritos
• Whatever else you like in your taco salad. Corn, beans, onion, etc etc.

1. Prepare taco meat with ground beef according to taco seasoning mix directions.
2. Combine all ingredients except Fritos in large mixing bowl. The taco flavoring in the meat juices will serve as the "dressing" for the salad.
3. Add Fritos and toss again.
4. Throw caution to the wind and have seconds.

Click here for printable recipe