Matzoh Ball Soup

Yeah yeah I haven't posted in a while....blah blah blah. I got engaged, what do you want with me? I'm busy planning a wedding here!

Oh yeah, Matzoh Ball Soup. This is a really good, super easy Sunday Night Dinner. Thanks to my dear fiance for teaching me this delicious recipe. Make it anytime you or your loved ones feel sick, you'll feel better in no time. If you like chicken soup with dumplings, you will love matzoh balls. Trust me, kids.

Start yourself off with a big stock pot. As you heat a three count of olive oil, roughly chop one yellow onion, 4-5 stalks of celery (leaves and all), and 3-4 carrots. You don't have to be too concerned with size or nice little conform pieces, you are going to strain these veggies out later. If you plan on eating your veggies (and you should, Grandma says so), then chop them into bite sized pieces. Toss the veggies in the olive oil and sautee for a few. You don't really want to get much color here, you are just softening the veggies. Add some salt and pepper, and if desired some fresh or dried dill. I'm not a huge fan of dill, but Adam is and says it is a major part of the recipe. Meh. I put in a pinch of the dried dill. The things we do for love.

Anyhoo, once you see a little color on the bottom of the pan, pour in three glugs of white wine and deglaze that stuff. Next add a 64 ounce can of chicken stock. I usually empty the can into the stock pot, then fill the can about up almost to the top with water, add that to the pot, then add four or five chicken bullion cubes. Bring this all to a boil, then cover the pot and lower to a simmer. Cook that for at least an hour, but the longer you cook it, the better it will get. Be sure to taste often for seasoning, you'll probably want to add some salt and pepper.

Once the soup has cooked for at least an hour, get your rotisserie chicken out that you bought at the market. If you want, you can poach some chicken in the broth, but I'm not a fan. I really think it tastes dried out. The rotisserie chicken is really flavorful. Pour the juices from the chicken into your stock, and then take the skin off, de-bone, and shred. Strain the veggies out of the soup and set those aside, then add the shredded chicken to the broth.

Time for the matzoh balls! Matzoh is made from un-leavened bread cracker crumbs. You can buy matzoh ball mix at the market, there is a brand called Manischewitz that is great. Be sure to get the Mix, not just the meal, or you'll have more work on your hands. While you're at the market, get the Manischewitz yolk-free noodles too.

So, after you've strained the broth and added the chicken, get out your trusty matzoh ball mix, and follow the directions carefully. The directions for the matzo balls say to boil some water to cook them in, but you should ignore that part and bring your freshly made stock to a boil and cook them in there. It's super easy, I know you can do it. In a separate pot, boil some water with a bullion cube for the noodles. Cook, strain, and set noodles aside. They only take 2 or so minutes, so be careful.

Okay! So you've followed the directions on the matzoh ball mix box and you're done! Get your bowls out, put some noodles in the bottom, followed by some of the strained veggies, and then broth, chicken, and of course one or two matzoh balls! You will have traveled back to delicious town, and will be welcomed with open arms. Enjoy, and Mazel Tov!

Better late than never Sunday Night Dinner

I totally made Sunday Night Dinner, but I had a cold so I forgot to write it up. I swear. But here's what I made and it was yummy. Give it a go.

Chicken with Riesling

Rice Pilaf

Mixed Green salad with mustard vinaigrette

Okay here is how it went: the chicken with Riesling is a Mark Bittman recipe, from his cook book called "The Minimalist". I totally recommend picking it up, it's an amazing book, along with Bittman's "How to Cook Everything". It's the cooking encyclopedia.

Anyhoosers, start with a whole chicken (bone in, skin on), cut up. In a heavy bottomed dutch oven (le crueset people!), heat a three to four count of olive oil over medium high heat. Salt and pepper the chicken, then sear all of the pieces in batches in the oil. Don't overcrowd the pan, get some good color on both sides of all pieces and take it out of the pan. While the chicken is done browning, slice four onions. Yeah that's right I said four. To avoid stingy onions tears, refrigerate the onions beforehand. It's the only trick that's ever worked for me - it seems as if the onions are cold they don't release as much of the tear inducing air. That's science right there, peeps. Theater degree, what.

After removing the last of the chicken from the dutch oven, put all of the sliced onions in with a good dose of salt and pepper. I also added five or six shakes of garlic powder, one bay leaf, and a good handful of fresh thyme wrapped in butcher's twine. It's easier to do the thyme that way because you don't need to scrape all of the thyme leaves off - they fall off in the sauce and you can remove the stems in one fell swoop. Stir the onions often and get them nice and soft. I let them go a bit farther than soft, because I like a little carmelization on the onions, but don't let them burn. Once they are to the color and texture that you like best, add half of a bottle of dry Riesling. Be sure to look for a Riesling that says "dry" on the bottle, because you do not want this dish to be too sweet. Add the browned chicken pieces back to the pot, and settle them in the sauce - make sure all of the chicken is mostly covered by sauce. Add more wine if necessary. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to simmer, and cook that deliciousness for about forty five minutes. As I like to say: taste taste taste. You really need to balance the sweetness of the Riesling with salt, so be sure to taste and season to your liking. When it's done, the chicken on the thighs and legs should be falling off of the bone.

As the chicken cooked, towards the end I made two boxes of Near East Rice Pilaf. I know that's cheating, but like I always say - take the help where you can get it. You know that the boxed rice pilaf will come out perfect every time, so why not do it. I also made the mustard vinaigrette for the greens: two tablespoons of Dijon mustard, a splash of the Riesling that you cooked the chicken in, three tablespoons of red wine vinegar, salt/pepper and a 1/4 cup of olive oil. Whisk all ingredients together and set aside. Right before serving, toss your greens in the vinaigrette. Ha, toss it.

Once the chicken is done, remove it from the pan and then get out my favorite kitchen tool. Say it together people: "immersion blender". Awww yeah. Immersion blend that sauce until it thickens a bit, then add the chicken back in and heat through. Again, if you don't have an immersion blender, dudes, buy one. Orrrrrrrrrr blend it in a blender, sheesh.

Serve the chicken with the rice pilaf and the pan sauce, along with your salad with mustard vinaigrette. A baguette to soak up the sauce is also helpful, and everyone loves bread! It's a delicious, slow cooked meal worthy of the coldest of days. It will warm the cockles of your heart. Haa, I said cockles.

As always, let me know how it goes.

BFF,

Dana

White Bean Chili Sunday Night Dinner

Hey kids, sorry for the absence last week. I was super busy....getting engaged! Woot!

But back to the grind. There was a bit of chill in the air today, fall is finally coming. Well, fall in California terms anyways. So of course I immediately thought of chili! However, instead of a heavy red meat chili, I went with a white bean and chicken chili. It's creamy without having any cream, and it still has the nice burn down the throat that you want from chili.

So, start with a rotisserie chicken from the deli. Like I've said before, take the help where you can get it, even when you are making a Sunday Night Dinner. Take the skin off, de-bone, and shred the chicken. Set aside for laters.

In a stock pot, pour a five count of olive oil and add on large onion, sliced. Add some salt/pepper and let the onions sweat out a bit. Next add four chopped garlic cloves and one can of diced green chiles (the brand is Ortega, it's a small-ish can; you can usually find it in the salsa aisle at the market). Let those flavors meld a bit, and when the onions start to get some color, add a few glugs of white wine or light beer to deglaze. Cook that down for a bit, and then add a box and a half of chicken stock and two and a half cans of white cannelloni beans. You will use the rest of that half can later. Give it all a stir, and then it's time to add the seasonings that make chili taste like chili! I really eyeball this when I make it, so I apologize for not being able to give you specific measurements, but you'll just have to deal. Man up, and add some chili powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Go eaaaaaaasy on the cayenne at first, maybe five or six shakes. You can always add more, but you can't take it out. You can go heavier on the chili powder and cumin, but remember that cumin can overpower a dish quite easily, so be careful. You'll probably need some salt at this point, so season away and taste taste taste. Let the chili bubble away for about twenty minutes at this point so all of the flavors can meld. Keep tasting and adding more cayenne if you want more heat. You could also add a few shakes of tabasco or sriracha.

Okay now we want to thicken this chili up so that it resembles chili and not tortilla soup. Get that handy dandy immersion blender out and blend it up! If you are super lame and don't have an immersion blender, go get one. Or use a normal blender, but blend in batches and don't burn yourself. Then go buy an immersion blender.

So now that your chili is nice and blended, add your shredded chicken along with a can and a half of white cannelloni beans, and half a bag of frozen corn. Let this all bubble away while you make some corn bread.

Oooh I love me some corn bread. I am not a giant fan of baking, so I used a mix. Just follow the directions on the box and bake - it was delish. But if you want to make it from scratch, good on you.

Now, no bowl of chili is complete without some accoutrement on top. I shredded some pepper jack cheese, chopped some avocado, and put out a bowl of tortilla chips. Please add whatever you love best on top of your bowl of chili, and do it now! Try this recipe, it's a really great twist on traditional chili but it still gives you that chili love that I know you are jonesing for.

Let me know how it went!

Thanks for the great recipe, momma :-)

Baked Pasta Emmy Night Sunday Night Dinner

Hi Everyone! Welcome to Sunday Night, a very special Sunday Night. In honor of Hollywood on Emmy Night and an its strict diet restrictions, I made a carb and cheese filled Sunday Night Dinner. Suck it, Hollywood.

Okay! Here's the menu:

Sausage and Zucchini Baked Rigatoni

NO. SALAD.

What.

This recipe is a Tyler Florence Ultimate Dinner. Seriously, go get his cookbook. Its one of my favorites ever. The major difference between Tyler's recipe and what I made is that he uses eggplant and I use zucchini. I'm not a giant fan of eggplant, I find it gets super mushy super fast. I'm big on food texture.

Begin by browning some SPICY Italian sausage. If you want to use links, go ahead, if you want to use bulk, super. Just make sure it is around one pound of hot sausage. Heh. You are just searing the outside, don't worry if it doesn't cook through, it will continue to cook in the oven. If it is bulk sausage, leave it in bite sized chunks. If it is links, sear the outside of the links and then after you take then out of the pan, chop them into bite sized chunks. Either way, get a good sear on it, and then pop it out of the pan and into a large casserole or baking dish. In the same pan, pour a two count of olive oil and then throw in two large zucchinis that you have roughly chopped. You want the sausage pieces and the zucchini to be about the same (bite) size. Season with salt/pepper. Again, you just want to get some color here, do not over cook or the zucchini will mush out too, ewww. One they've got some color but are still firm, toss the zucchinis into the casserole with sausage.

Meanwhilst, simultaneously in a separate, large skillet, heat a four count of olive oil, then throw in one chopped onion. Let that soften for a few minutes, then smash three to four cloves of garlic and chop. Toss that in and let it cook for about a minute. Deglaze the pan with a few glugs of your favorite red or white wine. Remember, if you won't drink it, don't cook with it. It concentrates the flavor, for reals. Let the wine cook down for a few moments, then put in one 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes. I like to use the kind that has italian seasonings in it because it saves some chopping and sometimes I'm super lazy. True story. Turn the heat down to medium-medium low and simmer the sauce for at least 1/2 hour. Add some chopped Italian parsley. Be sure to salt and pepper and taste often for seasoning.

Again, meanwhilst (lots of multitasking here, people!), pre-heat a large pot of water. Once boiling, salt generously and toss in 1 pound of rigatoni. Cook the rigatoni to just baaaaaarely al dente. It will continue to cook in the oven. Before you drain the pasta, fill half a coffee mug with the starch pasta water and set aside.

Okay, while all this was going on, pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Add your pasta and red sauce to the casserole along with the sausage, zucchini, and 4 ounces of FRESH mozzarella (the kind that comes packed in delicious mozzarella water) that you've chopped in large pieces. Buy the eight ounce container, use half to mix into the pasta, and half you will sprinkle on top. Mix the pasta, sauce, sausage, zucchini, half a cup of pasta water, and half of your mozzarella in the casserole. Once well mixed, spread the rest of the mozzarella with some grated parmesean on top of the mix. You want to make a nice crust, so be sure to get some good cheese coverage. Pop that delectable mix into the oven for fifteen to twenty minutes. Keep a weather eye on it, once it looks browned an bubbly, take it out.

Let the pasta sit for at least ten minutes (this will be hard). Trust me, though, kids. You will sear the roof of your mouth otherwise, and no one wants that.

Your pasta bake should be cheesy, spicy, saucy, and delicious. Give it a try, especially on a night when you want to give a big, fat, carb filled middle finger to all those couture wearing biatches.

I'm not bitter.

XO,

D

Tuesday Night Sunday Night Dinner

Hi everyone! I am sorry that tonight's dinner wasn't on a Sunday Night. I had to make some cash Sunday night to support my cooking, and last night was a very important birthday party. Next week will be all Sunday Sunday Sunday, I promise! Or not. You don't own me.

Any hooooooo.

Tonight's menu:

Chicken Marsala: Revamped!

Spinach Salad

So this Sunday Night Dinner isn't as involved as usual because it's a Tuesday Night Sunday Night Dinner. You could totally do this after work, even if you have to stop at the store for ingredients. Give it a shot.

I've been making chicken marsala for a while now, but I saw a Giada recipe today with a twist, so I added some things from her recipe while keeping a few of my favorites.

Start by filling a large pot of water to cook the pasta. Seriously do this first. That is one of my biggest flaws. I never put the pasta water on to boil soon enough. Just do it. If it boils too soon, tough. Let 'er boil away. A watched pot never boils. It's totally true.

Or not at all. Whatever. Just put the pot on.

While the water gets all hot and ready for your pasta, take four chicken breasts that you've pounded flat with a meat mallet - DO NOT try to take your meat mallet on a plane with your carry on luggage, right Karla? Preheat a pan (I used my larger cast iron skillet, ten inches) with a three to four count of olive oil. Salt and pepper those guys and throw them in the pan. You want to get some good color on them, but do not over cook. If they are underdone, totally fine. You are going to put them back in the skillet with the sauce later to finish cooking. Probably four to five minutes per side, depending on how thin they are. Take them out and put them aside.

Slice up some prosciutto and add it to the pan, I'd say four ounces or so. While it cooks, slice a medium sized onion. I'm not a fan of chopping onions. I've become a grown up lately about onions, I can eat them in their cooked form, the more cooked the better. So I find when I slice them they brown faster. Go figure. When the prosciutto has cooked a bit (but not too much - you don't want it to burn - I'd say one minute), throw the sliced onions in with one tablespoon of butter (yup, even on a Tuesday) and some salt/pepper. If the pan looks dry, and a little more oil. Whilst your onions cook, slice some mushrooms. DO. NOT. WASH. MUSHROOMS. Lightly wipe them with a damp cloth. If you wash them they get all rubbery, and I think they have a tendency to be rubbery to begin with. But I am trying to become a grown up about mushrooms too. So after the onions have cooked for a few minutes, toss the sliced mushrooms in. You want those to get some color on them as well. While the mushrooms cook, smash and chop a few cloves of garlic. Put those in only after the mushrooms have cooked at least eight or so minutes. Let the garlic cook just a minute or so until you smell it, then add a cup and a half of marsala wine. MMMM, delish. Let that simmer for two to three minutes to cook the alcohol off. Next add one and a half to two tablespoons of dijon mustard. I made it with two tablespoons and looooved it, but my other half found it to be a little mustardy, so I think it depends upon your love of mustard. I'm Daddy's girl, so I love me some mustard. With the mustard, also add half of an eight ounce container of mascarpone cheese. This will really thicken the sauce and make it deliciously creamy. Once the mustard and mascarpone cheese are mixed in, slice up the chicken in large slices and add them back to the skillet, along with any accumulated juices. Be sure to taste taste taste for seasoning. I found I wanted more garlic, so I added a few shakes of garlic powder. Also add some chopped Italian parsley at this point. It really brightens up the flavor.

Did you put the pasta in the water? You should have put the pasta in around the time you put the mushrooms in. I used farfalle, it's really great to hold this sauce. But you could go with linguine or spaghetti if you like the twirling effect. Once the pasta is al dente, drain it and add a little olive oil so that it doesn't stick.

And you're done! Build your plate with pasta on the bottom, chicken and sauce on top, and a lightly dressed spinach salad on the side. The sauce is velvety and creamy, but still has that unmistakable Marsala taste. It's really delicious, and I urge you to give it a go! Thanks, Giada, for the inspiration!

As always, let me know how it goes with you!

-D

Carne Asada according to Sunday Night Dinners

Hello All! I'm back in California from a lovely trip to Minnesota. What better way to celebrate being back than to grill some Carne Asada? Seems about right. Here was the menu tonight:

Citrus marinated flank steak and shrimps

Fresh grilled corn and black bean salad

Guacamole

Flour and/or corn tortillas

Brewskies by way of Pacifico

It was a really great summertime meal with bright, simple flavors. For the steak, you can use either flank or skirt steak. I asked the butcher for a piece that would feed about six. To marinate the flank steak, I put it in a plastic freezer bag along with the following:

-The juice of two limes, as well as the husks.

-The juice of one lemon, as well as the husk.

-The juice of half an orange, as well as the husk (sensing a theme here? Why not chuck the whole thing in after you've juiced it and get as much flavor as you can? That's what I thought).

-One chopped jalapeno pepper. I took the seeds and ribs out, but if you want more heat, by all means leave them in. It totally won't hurt my feelings.

-Two or three chopped cloves of garlic.

-Salt and pepper, depending on your taste. I threw in a couple of good pinches of salt and grinds of pepper.

-An eight to ten count of olive oil.

-A couple of splashes of beer. A little for the marinade, a little for me.

I sealed the bag and mooshed everything up together and threw it in the fridge. I only had time to marinate for an hour, but you could go up to two or three. The marinade for the shrimps was quite similar but, but I didn't put jalapeno pepper. Instead I added a dash of cayenne pepper. Also there were way less shrimps than steak, so I just eyeballed it and cut back on the marinade. The shrimps were purchased already peeled and de-veined, by the way. No need to do that yourself. Shudder.

While the meat was in the fridge getting delicious, I made the guacamole. This is my wonky version, but I find it to be pretty popular. Add or change as you feel, but only if you're super lame. I took four ripe Haas avocados and added the juice of one lime, two grated cloves of garlic, some chopped cilantro (although I had to omit the cilantro tonight on account of my dear friend, let's call her Shmannie), a few splashes of beer (another theme this evening), and some salt and pepper. I mixed this all up together and mashed the chunks of avocado with a fork - I like my guacamole fairly smooth. Be sure to taste and taste until you get the seasoning just right.

Next I made the corn and black bean salad. I shucked four ears of fresh corn and brushed them with some olive oil and salt/pepper. Adam threw those guys on the hot grill for a few minutes to give them a nice char, but not too much. You don't want them to be over cooked. Once the corn had cooled a bit, I cut it off of the cob into a bowl. I then added two cans of black beans that I had drained and rinsed. In a separate bowl, I made a vinaigrette with four table spoons of red wine vinegar, two tablespoons of dijon mustard, a few......splashes of beer (yes, again. Deal.), the juice of half a lemon, some salt/pepper, and half a teaspoon or so of chili powder. Whisked that, then streamed in a quarter of a cup of olive oil. You don't want this vinaigrette to be too thick, so watch the consistency, and add more beer if necessary. To the vinaigrette I added half a red onion that I sliced thinly and a chopped jalapeno (again with the seeds removed, you know the drill). When I put raw onion or shallot in a salad, I like to let it sit in the vinaigrette first to take out some of the raw bite. After the the onions and jalapeno soaked for about ten minutes, I added the mixture to the corn and black beans. I tossed in some chopped parsley (should have been cilantro, but whatevs. I love Miss Annie) and some Manchengo cheese. You could also use a softer cheese here: a feta, ricotta solata, or cojita would all be super tasty. Finish it off with another squeeze of lime, and as always, taste for seasoning. A few dashes of sriracha or tabasco would be yummy too.

Okie, so that was the side dishes. As the steak marinated, I made sure to toss the bag around a few times so that the marinade was evenly distributed. I wrapped some flour and corn tortialls in foil and had Adam throw those on the grill with the steak. I really like flank steak medium rare, and it depends on the thickness of the steak but it seemed as though it was around seven minutes for the first side to get a good sear, and about four or five for the second. As it rested, Adam skewered the shrimps and threw those on the grill for really no more than five minutes total. Apparently overcooked shrimps aren't so tasty. As if I would know. I'm a giant baby and don't like seafood. Yeah yeah yeah I know. I don't know what I'm missing blah blah blah.

This last step is super important kids: after the meat has rested a bit, slice it AGAINST the grain of the meat. It will be super tender if you do so. Then it was time to build some tacos! Guac, black bean and corn salad, cilantro (hooray!) carne asada and mmmmmmmmmmmmm. I ate too much but it was totally worth it.

Do it.

Saturday Night Sunday Night Dinner!

Sup cuz! Here I am in Minnesota, it sure is nice to be home. Tomorrow is Momma's birthday, and I cooked tonight so we can go out tomorrow. Mom has a fantastic kitchen to cook in, and Mom is the whole reason I love to cook so much, so tonight was a real treat.

Menu:

Olive tapenade bruschetta

Duck ragu with polenta

Tomato and cucumber salad

Totally rad. Here's what you do:

The bruschetta is a super tasty appetizer. Take some pitted kalamata olives (I'd say a half cup) and throw them in the food processor. Pulse a few times. Next add one clove of chopped garlic, two tablespoons of chopped fresh basil, two tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley, one tablespoon of fresh thyme, one tablespoon of lemon zest, a handful of capers, some ground pepper, and about a half of a cup of olive oil. Put everything but the olive oil in the food processor and pulse. Keep the mix going and stream in the olive oil, then taste for seasoning. Meanwhilst, toast some sliced ciabatta bread, then spread the tapenade on the warm bread, put a dollop of ricotta cheese, and top that beauty off with some drizzled olive oil. En - effing- joy.

Take the help where you can get it - Costco sells a half duck that is fully cooked. It is so delicious and so versatile. You can roast it in an oven until it is heated through and pour the orange sauce that comes with it on it. ORRRR you can make duck ragu. Totally up to yous. For the ragu, heat a three count of olive oil in a sauce pan and get it nice and hot. Put the duck in skin side down and brown it: render some of that delicious, precious duck fat. Uhhhh, duck fat.....Back on track. Once some good fat has rendered, take the duck out of the pan and set it aside. Chop one onion and throw into the pan with the duck fat, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and some salt/pepper. Get that nice and browned (10 minutes), and toss in a good tablespoon of fresh rosemary and two cloves of chopped garlic. Cook that for a few minutes longer, and then deglaze with 1/2 cup of red wine (or white, whatevs. I used white because I didn't have red). After the wine cooks down for a few minutes, toss in one fourteen ounce can of diced tomatoes and 2 cups of chicken stock. Let that simmer for at least an hour so the flavor can develop. Your next step involves using one of my favorite kitchen tools: the immersion blender. Get one. Now. I'll wait.

Sweet, that's a rad new immersion blender. My pal Emeril and I call it a boat motor. Stick that sucker in the pot with the ragu and blend away. This will puree and thicken your ragu. Set it back on simmer, and shred up that duck that you heated up earlier, then throw the shredded meat (sans skin, boo) into the pot with the ragu, and set to low. Finish that pot of love with three or four heaping tablespoons of ricotta cheese.

Now it's time to make that polenta! I freaking love polenta, it's delicious, easy to make and has a great texture. Not everyone is a giant polenta fan, so if you're not, you could totally make some linguine or pappardelle with this.

But I think you should man up and make the polenta. My mom made it tonight, and she's super cool. One cup water, and one cup half/half (Sunday night diiiiiiinnnnnerrrrrrrrr) into a saucepan with a teaspoon of salt and bring that shiznat to a boil. Throw in a half cup of corn meal and whisk your life away. Whisk, I say! Whisk until it thickens, and then switch to a wooden spoon. Guess what's next? Butter! Woot! Put a pat of butter in the polenta with some freshly ground pepper.

This is where my Aunt Carol lent a hand. She chopped up some garden fresh tomatoes and a giant cucumber from Farmer Rog's garden. Next she added some salt, pepper, a few dashes of balsamic vinegar and some fresh basil. Done, and delish.

Serve the ragu over the polenta with the tomatoes and cucumber salad and BOOM. Super awesome Saturday Sunday Night Dinner. Boosh.

Dinner from Sunday Night Past....

Hi friends! Alas, I cannot make Sunday Night Dinner tonight, gots to go sling some ale. But do not fret! You will be visited by the ghost of a Sunday Night Dinner past....but you won't be scared. You will become the mayor of Delicious Town.

Menu:

Brisket burgers with umami mushrooms, caramelized onions, avocado, and Cabot white cheddah

Artichoke-Zucchini Gratin

Mache and Heirloom tomato Salad with a mustard vinaigrette

I know, right? It was a tasty one. The brisket for the burgers is clutch, I urge you all to try it. Go to Whole Foods or Bristol Farms or Byerly's (what up, MN peeps!) and head on over to the meat counter. Ask for a pound of brisket and have them grind it for you. I have a grinder attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer, and the Whole Foods butcher was cranky, so I just brought the brisket home and ground it myself (read: Adam ground it; that's a boy's job).

To make the brisket patties, I put the ground brisket in a mixing bowl with a few squeezes of ketchup, a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce, some salt/pepper, and one egg to bind them all. Use your hands here, guys - the are your best tools. Get everything nice and incorporated, but don't overwork the meat. Heh. Divide the meat into four and form into patties and refrigerate until you're ready to grill.

The Artichoke/Zucchini Gratin is pretty tasty - and a healthier alternative to delicious fries. It is a Giada De Laurentiis recipe, but I changed it just slightly as so to feed four people. For the artichokes, don't be scrrrd: you do not need to use fresh artichokes. Most grocery stores have them in the freezer section. Just let them thaw before you use them so that they don't steam when you saute them. So, I pre heated the oven to 450 degrees. As it heated, I threw the entire bag of thawed frozen artichoke hearts (it was almost a pound) in a skillet with a three-count of olive oil, three zucchinis that i roughly chopped, three cloves of chopped garlic, a handful of chopped parsley, and a pinch of red pepper flake. I got the veggies to brown a bit, and then added to the pan 1/2 cup of chicken broth and 1/4 cup of dry Marsala wine. I let that simmer for another couple of minutes, then transferred the mixture to my gratin pan (any shallow roasting pan will do here). Meanwhile, I melted some....butter! 2 tablespoons and then mixed it with 1/3 cup bread crumbs and 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese and poured in on the vegetables for a yummy, crusty topping. Into the oven until it turned golden brown, it took about 15 minutes. Dude. So good.

For the salad, I got some Mache, from Whole Foods - which I love. I heart it. I really like soft lettuces like mache and butter lettuce. Give them a go. I made a quick vinaigrette with mustard, red wine vinegar, a splash of white wine, salt/pepper and olive oil. I like to whisk the vinaigrette in the bottom of the salad bowl, then pile the greens on top. That way you can toss it right before serving, and the lettuce won't wilt. I also added chopped heirloom tomatoes, which were so sweet and delicious. Big step for me here, as I am usually only a fan of tomatoes in their sauce form. I'm such a grown up.

Okay - burger toppings. If you read last week's dinner, I do so love caramelized onions. I made these in the same way: two to three count of olive oil in the pan with a sliced onion with some salt/pepper. Get some good color on those boys and deglaze the pan with some white wine. Take the onions out and set aside, you're going to use this same pan to cook the mushrooms.

Time for umami mushrooms! I wear very fancy pants, by the way. Just kidding. Adam and his brother wear fancy pants - these mushrooms were their idear. So I took 10 or so crimini mushrooms and cleaned them (do NOT wash these, just brush the tops with a damp cloth; or don't if you like super rubbery mushrooms) and quartered them. I let them marinate during the burger and artichoke prep in some soy sauce, some Worcestershire sauce (five or so good shakes of the bottle of each), a small palmful of dried thyme, and some salt/pepper. After the onions are caramelized and out of the pan, pour the mushrooms and the marinade in, and cook those delicious fellas until they are browned but not too dry.

Sliced avocado and some Cabot white cheddar rounded out these outstanding, melt in your mouth burgers. Since grilling is also a boy's job, I sent Adam down to our apartment community's grill. He had gone down about ten minutes earlier to clean and heat the grill. When he went down there with the the meat and the ciabatta buns, a lovely neighbor of ours had totally bogarted the grill that Adam had prepped. Had it ENTIRELY covered . Uh, hello? Did you think that this grill was prepped just for you? Ah, apartment living. My patient fella shot the duder some laser beam looks and just prepped another grill. Sigh.

Anyhoosers, the burgers were cooked medium for me and medium well for those who can't handle a little pink in their burgers. Not naming names. The brisket was like butter, so juicy and melty and you can really tell the difference when it is freshly ground. With all of the toppings and side dishes, this was a really special meal. So tasty and refreshing on a beautiful, warm Sunday night. Try it tonight! Let me know how it goes!

-D

First Sunday Night Dinner!

Tonight's menu: Roasted pork tenderloin, caramelized onion mashed potatoes, and sauteed spinach. Awwwww damn.

Hi guys! I've been making Sunday Night Dinner for a while now, so I wanted to share my weekly meals in the hopes of spreading this tradition worldwide! Lofty goals, children. We must have lofty goals.

Okay tonight - I went with the pork tenderloin. Not generally a favorite protein of mine, as I've always been dissatisfied with the moisture content. Thanks to my dear friend Ina Garten, I tried a method of roasting the tenderloin that I hadn't done before. Honestly I don't know why I didn't think of it before, but I guess that's why she is the Barefoot Contessa. It is a tried and true steak cooking method of sear-then-oven roast.

So. Tenderloin. I overcame my reservations and got a beautiful looking tenderloin from Ralph's for under $6. Dude. This loin comfortably fed my fella and I with plenty of leftovers - it probably could have fed four people. I went with Ina's marinade as a guideline: I threw the tenderloin in a freezer bag with the zest of one lemon, the juice of two lemons (and I put the husks in the bag as well), a tablespoon of dijon mustard, four cloves of chopped garlic, three sprigs of chopped fresh rosemary, a palmful of dried thyme (I would have preferred fresh, but Ralph's didn't have it, c'est la vie), a six count of olive oil (bar talk - I have a bar pour spout on my olive oil bottle, quickly turn it upside down to pour and count to six), a good pinch of kosher salt and some ground pepper. I squeezed and tossed the bag around (after sealing, doy) to fully coat the tenderloin. Let that sucker marinate for at least two hours - it's not a Sunday Night Dinner if you can do this quickly!

Towards the end of the two hours, I began to caramelize some onions for my caramelized onion mashed taters. I thinly sliced half an onion and threw it in a pan with a two count of olive oil and some salt and pepper. I let the onions get some color, and deglazed the pan with some sauvignon blanc. It took probably twenty minutes total. Onions out, set aside. Meanwhile, I threw some quartered new po-tay-toes in a pot of water with two cloves of garlic that I smashed. Brought that to a boil until tender, drained, and immediately put the hot potatoes and garlic back into the pot. Now comes the butter. Remember, kids, it's Sunday Night Dinner; this is no time to skimp on the butter. Two tablespoons into the pot. What. Don't judge. Throw on the cover and let that beautiful butter melt. After melted, mash those suckers with a little milk or half and half, salt, pepper, and your beautifully caramelized onions. Shoooot. Put the cover back on and keep it warm until you are ready to eat.

Multi tasking here! While your taters are going, heat a cast iron or other oven safe pan over medium high heat with a two to three count of olive oil. When the oil is good and hot, take your tenderloin out of the marinade and carefully place in the hot pan. That sizzle is golden. I browned the tenderloin all around with a little more salt and pepper to form a nice, moisture locking crust. Don't blacken, just get a nice brown crust. The use of a meat thermometer at this point is clutch. I have one that is digital, so the readout stays out of the oven, whilst the pin and the connected cord go into the oven. Skewer that sucker in the thickest point and put the entire pan into the oven. You want the thickest part of the tenderloin to be at 137 degrees. When it reaches that point, put away your fear and take it out of the oven. Out, I say! Out of the oven and out of the pan, and for the love of all things holy, let. it. rest. For at least five minutes. All of those juices that you locked in by searing need to be redistributed.

While the meat was resting, my adorable sous chef made some sauteed spinach: a two count of olive oil in the pan that I caramelized the onions in with some chopped garlic. Let the garlic cook for thirty seconds to flavor the oil and toss three to four good handfuls of fresh spinach in. Add some S and P and let the spinach wilt, it really should take no more than five minutes. I like to keep a bit of crunch to the sauteed spinach.

Oh man, all of this work is what a Sunday night dinner is all about. The tenderloin was sliced on an angle. The middle was pink - this is perfect! The ends were more well done, so choose to eat which portion you like. Me, I thought the pink center was perfect and moist, and not the chewy toughness that I was expecting. It was like butter. You may have realized I do so enjoy butter. The caramelized mashed potatoes and the sauteed spinach were really nice compliments, along with my glass of sauvignon blanc. We had some crusty french bread and butter too, because dammit: it's Sunday night. It's your night to splurge.

Try it, eat up, and enjoy. Don't be afraid of the juicy pink center of the tenderloin. Don't be afraid of the tenderloin, period, like I was! And please, kids, don't skimp on the butter. It's what Sunday nights were meant for.

-D