Weekend in Columbus

I'm back! My Monday absence can be attributed to a long weekend at home, a rare occasion that I was very excited to indulge in. I hadn't been home in almost 5 months! That may be the longest I've ever gone. And may I just stop for a second to say - is it REALLY November? Really?! I feel like it should be just a couple weeks after Labor Day. I'm so not ready for the onslaught of Christmas candy/gifts/trees/paraphernalia/tv ads/stuff in the mail that's about to happen.

Back to my weekend at home...first order of business - Jeni's. Obviously. That's a "trio" of heirloom pumpkin five spice, spicebush apple butter, and brown butter almond brittle.



Some flowers...and some foliage. Isn't that red leaf so bright and pretty that it almost looks fake?



A stop at my favorite pizza place, Rubino's. This place seriously has not changed since 1954. Not in a cute, vintage way - in a serious, time warp way. Linoleum floors, a few booths and tables, a pinball machine, fluorescent lighting...it's kind of the restaurant version of an old basement rec room. But I don't care, it's my hands down favorite pizza.


$6 for a small pepperoni. The crust is so thin and crispy, almost like a cracker, with a little cornmeal on the bottom. Not too much sauce or cheese, and mini pepperonis. I could have easily eaten that whole thing myself. We split one to share while watching football so it was just a mid-day snack.



A fire and some furry friends. Lots of quality time with my furry friends.


And a delicious Sunday night dinner. A side of brussels sprout hash and an apple crisp for dessert.


And a new recipe - whole wheat pasta with roasted eggplant, pepper, and garlic.



Ahh, what a great weekend.

Pasta with Caramelized Onion, Swiss Chard, and Garlicky Bread Crumbs

And anchovies. The New York Times didn't include anchovies in the title of this dish, but they're in there...important to mention since they're probably a deal-breaker for some people.



I used rainbow chard instead of regular Swiss chard, and it made the dish look so vibrant and pretty. The red leaves colored the onions red, too. All the ingredients are in season right now - the chard, garlic, and onion all came from the farmers market. Pasta, bread crumbs, and anchovies were from the store. And best of all, this dish incorporates a whole pound of dark, leafy greens.


3 tablespoons butter or olive oil
5 anchovy fillets
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2/3 cup bread crumbs
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus additional for drizzling
1 yellow onion, halved from stem to root and thinly sliced crosswise
Kosher salt and pepper
1 pound Swiss chard, ribs removed, leaves chopped
1/2 pound whole-wheat pasta, such as fusilli

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add 3 anchovies to the skillet; cook until melted, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute.



Stir in the bread crumbs and toast until golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

Wipe the skillet clean and return it to a medium-high heat. Add the oil, the onion and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until very soft and caramelized, 15 to 20 minutes.



Chop the remaining 2 anchovies and add them to the skillet. Cook until melted. Add the Swiss chard, a handful at a time, and cook until wilted, about 4 minutes. Cover and keep warm.



Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain well. Toss with the chard mixture and bread crumbs, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with oil.



I didn't change anything from the NYT recipe except to use rainbow chard instead of regular green Swiss chard, which really doesn't count as a change. Not that I didn't expect this dish to be good - why would I make something if I didn't think it would be good - but I didn't expect it to be THIS good. I made it in the early evening, before going out to dinner, to eat for lunch over the next few days. But when I tasted it, I couldn't stop eating it. The saltiness of the anchovies and the sweetness of the onions work so well together. If you really, really can't stand the thought of anchovies, I would add parmesan cheese or maybe even some pancetta to make up for the lack of a salty ingredient. But I liked the anchovies. This one's a keeper.

36 Hours in Chicago

This weekend's "36 Hours" in the Travel section of the New York Times is Chicago! Here are some of the food-related suggestions:

• Gilt Bar
• Xoco
• Girl & the Goat
• Longman & Eagle
• Terzo Piano

The three I haven't been to (Gilt Bar, Xoco, and Longman & Eagle) are all definitely on my list. My very long list. So much to eat in this city...

This reminds me, there was a "36 Hours" about Boston not long ago, and a short article about Columbus recently. Take a look.

Tunisian Carrot Salad and Lamb Kabobs

I read a great article in the New York Times about French Rosh Hashanah recipes with North African origins, and the three recipes in the article sounded so good I couldn't get them out of my head. I really want to make the semolina pastry with dates, but since I'm going out of town tomorrow I didn't think it made much sense to make three dozen pastries a couple days before leaving. I decided on the Tunisian Carrot Salad, and some lamb seasoned with ras el hanout.

Serves 6-8
2 pounds carrots, peeled
1 teaspoon salt, or as needed
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground caraway
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon harissa or other hot sauce
Fresh lemon juice, as needed, optional.



1. Bring a pot of water to a boil, and add carrots and 1 teaspoon salt. Boil until almost tender, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, set aside a bowl of ice water. Transfer cooked carrots to the ice bath and chill.

2. Drain carrots, and cut into disks about 1/4-inch thick. Transfer to a bowl and add olive oil. Sprinkle with cumin, caraway, and coriander. Add harissa or hot sauce, and mix gently. Season with lemon juice and salt to taste. Serve at room temperature.



So you may notice A. the lack of pictures, and B. the lack of carrots. There were so few steps I barely had anything to take pictures of. And I cut the recipe into 1/4, to serve two people. The flavors in the carrot salad were great. Instead of making harissa, I bought a little bit from the falafel/schwarma place by my apartment.



I served it with cous cous with arugula mixed in, and lamb kabobs seasoned with ras el hanout. This was the first time I used ras el hanout and it was really good. It's a North African spice mixture with sometimes as many as 30 spices, although it greatly varies depending on where you get it. Some of the spices that are almost always included are coriander, cumin, cinnamon, peppercorn, and turmeric. I had to go to the Spice House to get it, as well as the caraway for the carrot salad. And I'm SO MAD that I forgot my camera because it's such a great store. Next time.

Have a great Labor Day weekend, I'll be back next week!

Sunday Sauce - Ragu Antica

Growing up, Sunday night in our household was not only family dinner night, but pasta night. And until my sister and I got older and busier with high school sports schedules and other activities, we usually made homemade pasta with my dad. I don't usually make pasta on Sunday nights now, but for some reason it just sounded perfect last night.

I found this recipe in the New York Times, adapted from Osteria Morini in New York which is set to open next month on Lafayette Street in Soho. So here's my adaptation on their adaptation. You can find the NYT's original recipe here.

Time: 2 to 2 1/2 hours
Serves 4

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced celery
2 tablespoons tomato paste
One 28-ounce cans Italian diced or chopped tomatoes, with their juice
Sea salt and black pepper
1/3 lb. ground beef
1/3 lb. ground pork
1/3 lb. ground veal
1 sprig rosemary
1 sprig sage
1 bay leaf
Parmigiano-Reggiano rind, about 2 by 2 inches, optional
1/2 pound garganelli or other tube-shaped pasta.

1. In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.



Add tomatoes and any juice from the can. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and reduce heat to low.

2. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef, pork, and veal, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook, breaking the pieces with a wooden spoon, until the meat is no longer pink, about 7 minutes.



3. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meat to the sauce. Add rosemary, sage, bay leaf and Parmigiano rind, if using. Cover, and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Discard rosemary, sage, bay leaf and cheese rind. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.



4. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling, lightly salted water until al dente (about 2 minutes for fresh pasta, or follow manufacturer’s directions for dried), then drain well. Divide the pasta among four plates or bowls, and top with ragù.



I've never added Parmigiano-Reggiano rind to a sauce before, and I have to say it made a pretty big difference. By letting the rind cook in the sauce for about an hour and a half it got a bit melty, and released a great salty flavor into the sauce. But it wasn't just a salty flavor, it was more complex...and then I didn't have to add as much salt. This dish was very easy to make, it does say you need 2 1/2 hours but a majority of that is just letting the sauce cook. I used tagliatelle because I had it on hand, but next time I'll use a tube-shaped pasta because ragu sauces are easier to eat with rigatoni, penne, or something similar. Yum!

Vegetable Torte

I started with this:



And ended up with this:



I'm not going to lie, it was a lot of work. But it was delicious. I saw a Mark Bittman article and recipe for a vegetable torte in the New York Times a few days ago, and it was something I had never made or even thought of making before. So, why not?

1 large eggplant, cut into 1/4-inch slices
4 medium zucchini or yellow squash, cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 portobello mushrooms, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, or more as needed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 plum tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/2 cup bread crumbs, preferably fresh



Heat oven to 400 degrees. Put a grill pan over medium-high heat, or prepare a grill; the heat should be medium-high, and the rack about 4 inches from flame. Brush eggplant, zucchini and mushrooms lightly with half the oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; if roasting, grease 2 baking sheets with oil. Roast or grill vegetables on both sides until soft.




Coat bottom and sides of 8-inch springform pan with oil. Layer a third of the eggplant slices into bottom of the pan, then layer in half the zucchini, mushrooms, tomato, garlic and basil, sprinkling each layer with a bit of salt and pepper. Repeat layers until all vegetable are used. Press the top with a spatula or spoon to make the torte as compact as possible. Sprinkle top with Parmesan and bread crumbs, and drizzle with about 1 tablespoon oil.




Bake torte in oven until hot throughout and browned on top, about 30 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes before removing outer ring of pan, then let cool for another 10 minutes before cutting into wedges.



When I read the recipe, I noticed at the top it said "Time: 2 hours, largely unattended". I thought - ok, I can accept that. Two hours is a long time, but if it's largely unattended, fine. Well...not so much. The grilling of the vegetables was by far the most work. Because they are sliced so thin they cook pretty quickly, not to mention that it's just a lot of work to grill about 20-30 slices of squash at once. And I had to do 3 or 4 batches of 20-30 slices. Think about it - an eggplant, 2 zucchini, 2 yellow squash, and 2 portobello mushrooms all cut into 1/4-inch slices...that's a lot of slices.

But once that was done, all I had to do was assemble the tart and bake it. All the work was worth it, the tart came out perfectly and was really good. Also I should say, in terms of his directions - don't worry about preheating the oven right when you get started. It took awhile to chop and grill everything, and I turned the oven on after all that was done. Chopping the tomatoes, garlic, basil, and assembling the tart takes just as long as the oven takes to preheat so that was perfect. Also, for the assembly rather than do exactly as he said I did one layer of eggplant, one layer of squash, some mushroom and tomato, and some basil and garlic. Repeat. Not something I would delve into on a Tuesday night after work, but for a Sunday evening activity it was perfect.

Salade Niçoise

It was really hot out yesterday, at 84 degrees it felt like a real summer day. I wanted to make something light for dinner, but still use the grill...Salade Niçoise it is! I knew it would be pretty easy, there's only a few basic ingredients and the tuna barely requires any cooking. I was reading the New York Times Dining section yesterday and stumbled upon an article with a recipe for a Dijon vinaigrette so I figured it was meant to be that I should use it.



How pretty does that look? The ingredients: lettuce, green beans, tomatoes, potatoes, olives, and tuna. And...there should be hard boiled eggs, but they're really not my favorite. I did try to make them, but since I never eat them I didn't really know what I was doing and they were runny so they ended up in the garbage. Not a major loss for me.

Salad:
1/2 head butter lettuce
1/2 lb. green beans
12-15 white boiling potatoes
3 vine tomatoes
handful black olives
1 1/4 lb. tuna

Assembling and cooking the elements of the salad can be done earlier in the day and kept in the refrigerator...or not.

Potatoes: Put in a pot with enough water to cover them by a couple inches. Bring water to a boil and reduce to a simmer, and let cook for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Drain in a colander and put the colander back into the empty warm pot and cover with a kitchen towel to steam for another 20 minutes. Cut into bite-size pieces. Chill in the refrigerator.

Green beans: Cook in boiling water for 5 minutes, then put in an ice water bath or hold under cold running water. Cut into halves or thirds. Chill in the refrigerator.

Lettuce: Wash and dry the lettuce, and chop.

Tomatoes: Chop into large slices, about 6 per tomato

Tuna: Salt and pepper both sides of the tuna, and rub a bit of canola oil on both sides to prevent sticking. Grill for a little less than 2 minutes on each side. Slice against the grain.

Dressing:
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon red-wine vinegar
1 shallot, minced
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Combine the lemon juice, vinegar, shallot and mustard in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until the dressing emulsifies. Add salt and pepper to taste. Whisk again before dressing salad.

I used white wine vinegar instead of red, which was fine. I mixed some of the dressing in with the lettuce, then poured the rest over the other veggies.



Success! There were three of us dining last night, this recipe is a too big for two people and seared tuna doesn't make for very good leftovers so thank goodness Scott came over to share our dinner.

Dessert was just two-bite macaroons from Whole Foods (my favorite!), so I really only took the picture because I love my cute new bowl from Anthropologie.

Olive Oil Matzo

I saw this Mark Bittman article in the New York Times about his attempt to recreate a Sardinian-style flatbread he had at Grandaisy Bakery (which is one of my absolute favorite places). The recipe only has 4 ingredients, one of which is water, so I thought I should give it a try.



2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup water
Sea salt, optional.

Heat oven to 500 degrees. Put flour, salt and olive oil in a food processor. Once machine is on, add 1/2 cup water. Continue to run machine until dough forms a firm ball, rides around on blade and is not at all sticky. (If you prefer, whisk together the water and oil and add this to machine all at once.)

Cut dough into 12 small balls — this is easiest if you cut the ball in half, then half again, then into thirds — and flatten each into a 3- to 4-inch patty. On a well-floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll each patty into a 6- to 8-inch circle. The shapes can be irregular, but dough should be so thin you can almost see through it.

Put dough on ungreased cookie sheets, sprinkle with sea salt if you like, and bake for about 2 to 3 minutes, keeping a very close eye on breads — they can burn very quickly. Once they begin to puff up and brown, flip and cook for another minute or so on second side. Repeat with all the dough and let cool completely.

So that's the recipe, and here's how it went for me. I whisked the olive oil and water together and then added it to the machine. It creates an almost milky yellow color:



The dough did not ride around on the blade, but rather was crumbly and stuck against the wall of the food processor. But once i got it all out it was very easy to form into a ball.




And here they are on the baking sheet, and the finished product.




I made them last Friday for pre-dinner snacks with my mom and dad. Peter's review: "They're gross and biscuity. We can be honest with each other, right? I better run out and get some crackers." My mom said that yes they are biscuit-like, but she liked them. I liked them too, but I do agree they weren't exactly matzo-like. And as the article says, Mark Bittman isn't sure if they technically qualify as matzo. I will have to try them again and roll them out even thinner...I already felt like I was rolling them very thin, I could see the pattern on my cutting board through the dough. But next time I'll go even thinner, and add a little more kosher salt than I did this time. If you want to watch Mark make them, check out this short video.