Lasagna

Who doesn't love lasagna? I make a classic version with ricotta, mozzarella, and homemade sauce. I'm able to get local, fresh ricotta at the Whole Foods here, which I think makes a difference in taste and texture. It's definitely more creamy and less cottage cheesy. I made my own meatball-based meat sauce for this recipe. By meatball-based, I mean I prepped the ground meat the same as I would if I made meatballs, but instead browned the whole batch and made sauce. I think it makes for extra flavorful lasagna without being too greasy like sausage can. This is definitely not diet food, but it's great for leftovers.

HOW TO:

Sauté diced onion and garlic until softened in a large pot. Remove half and add to ground beef, pork, and veal in a separate mixing bowl. Add grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, soaked bread or bread crumbs, fresh chopped parsley, one egg, salt, and pepper. Mix until combined and set aside for at least half and hour to marinate. Add the meat mixture back into the pot with the onions and garlic and brown. Deglaze with a cup and a half or so of red wine. Pour in two jars or cans of good crushed tomatoes. (I use jarred to avoid BPA in cans.) Toss in a handful of ripped basil leaves. Simmer for at least 45 minutes.

To a pound-ish of ricotta, add chopped parsley and basil, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, one egg, salt, and pepper. Mix until well combined. Boil a box of lasagna noodles until slightly under-cooked. Remove and add a little olive oil to prevent them from sticking together. Now it's finally time for the fun part. Add some sauce to the bottom of a large baking dish. Layer noodles, ricotta, sauce, and shredded mozzarella until the pan can't hold anymore. Then top with one last layer of noodles and sauce. I added some basil leaves to the top of my lasagna because I love basil and I think it looks pretty, but it's a totally unnecessary step. Finish with mozzarella and parmesan. Bake for 45 minutes at 350ºF or 375º being careful not to burn the cheese. After removing from the oven, try really really hard to not eat it right away. It's better it sits for 20 or 30 minutes.

Ribs with Spicy "Pickled" Cucumber, Red Cabbage Slaw, and Sesame Paste Green Beans

Um, what can I say. The ribs were rubbed with almost every spice in the pantry and finished with some barbecue sauce from Whole Foods. I regret not making my own sauce, but Monday night is not the ideal time to be experimenting. The cucumber was marinated with brown rice vinegar, turbinado sugar, salt, garlic, chili paste, and sesame oil. The slaw was red cabbage, red onion, and carrot in a light dressing of lemon juice, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, mustard seed, mustard, and a little mayonnaise. The green beans were simply blanched and served with a sesame paste dipping sauce (sesame paste, sesame oil, garlic, brown rice vinegar, turbinado sugar, salt, and soy sauce). It's probably my favorite way of eating green beans...totally reminds me of my childhood.

HOW TO:

Start with a rub. I used salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, white pepper, turbinado sugar, curry powder, a little cinnamon, cayenne, and cajun seasoning. I probably forgot something. There may have been a little chili powder as well. Marinate overnight in a ziploc. In the morning, add some barbecue sauce and marinate until dinner time. Bake at 325ºF covered with foil for two hours, flipping and basting halfway through. Raise the temperature to 475ºF, remove the foil, baste one last time, and bake for 15 minutes.

Grilled Rib-Eye

I love steak, but since my stove is, oh maybe 15 feet from my bedroom and I don't have a range hood or any real ventilation system for my "kitchen," I don't make it at home that much. This weekend was special. I was able to use a real, four burner grill, so I went all out. The steak was grass-fed, bone-in rib-eye, cut about two inches thick. I usually like dry aged, but there wasn't any available this time.

For those that don't know, grass-fed is the way to go for heath and the environment. Here are a couple links for some basic information:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/grass-fed-beef/AN02053

http://www.eatwild.com/

HOW TO:

Let the steak sit at room temperature for an hour or so. It's important to have the meat not be right-out-of-the-fridge cold. Preheat the grill (or pan, or grill pan) on high. Rub both sides with a gently crushed garlic clove and softened butter, and heavily salt and pepper. Throw those bad boys on the grill. Cook for 6-8 minutes a side, and either close the grill or put into a 425ºF oven for another 6-8 minutes for medium-rare. The times are extremely variable though, so use the touch test to determine how done the steak is. Serve with amazing red wine. I have an example below.

Lunch: Ham Sandwich

This isn't just any ham sandwich. This is a sandwich made from the best deli ham I've ever had. I don't know what kind of magic or crack the people at Fra' Mani use, but their rosemary ham is SO GOOD. This sandwich is: Fra' Mani rosemary ham, white cheddar, lettuce, tomato, red onion and avocado on buttered and toasted French boule with a little mayo and grain mustard. Looking at this picture is making me hungry. I wish I had some of that ham left...

Roast Chicken with Fingerling Potatoes and Butternut Squash

Sometimes a simple roast chicken is the perfect weekday dinner. It's surprisingly easy to make and even comes with its own side dish! It's cooked on a bed of root vegetables or squash, so it pretty much makes for a complete meal. The vegetables cook in the chicken juice, so the they always turn out extra delicious. Mmmmm. I used butternut squash and fingerling potatoes from my CSA in this version.

HOW TO:

Peel and cut the vegetables into 1-inch or so pieces. Toss with garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil and spread them out on the bottom of a large baking dish. Wash and dry the chicken. Season inside and out. Stuff with rosemary or thyme, one lemon, and half a head of whole, peeled garlic cloves. Tie the legs together, tuck the wings in, and place on the vegetables. For a 4-5 pound chicken, roast at 425ºF for about an hour and fifteen minutes. After cooking, cover with foil and rest for 20 minutes before carving.

Lobster and Scallop Ceviche

The Union Square Greenmarket on Saturday morning is one of the few reasons I will get out of bed before 10AM on the weekends. One of my first stops is always PE & DD Seafood. They have a great selection of really fresh fish that usually sells out by 2PM. I was in the mood for some ceviche and was originally planning to make a fish version, but nothing at the stand was calling my name. Their scallops are always a safe (and delicious) bet, except scallop ceviche just sounded boring, so I picked up a lobster as well. I've never made ceviche before, but I figured if people can sell it out of unrefrigerated carts in Central America I can definitely manage to put something together. The "How To" for this is pretty simple: just marinate the scallop and lobster together with cilantro, onion, tomato, avocado, Serrano peppers, lime and orange juice, salt, pepper, and a little olive oil. Two hours and some home baked tortilla chips later...ceviche!

Lunch: Duck Rillette Sandwich

I was hankering for some pâté the other night, and ended up getting some duck rillette from Dickson's Farmstand in Chelsea Market. Not quite what I was looking for, but still delicious. What better overindulgent way to use the rest of the rillette than to make sandwiches? Particularly on some nice, sliced French boule with some prosciutto di Parma, arugula, grain mustard, and thin carrot slices. Seriously, has to be one of the top 5 sandwiches of my life. It was meaty and crispy with a good balance of acid from the mustard and sweet from the carrot.

Penne with Eggplant, Sausage, and Kale

My solution for a "quick" Monday meal. It's pretty close to a one pot dish. I guess it's technically two if you count the one needed to cook the pasta. It's vegetable heavy with two large eggplants and a whole bunch of kale. The spicy Italian sausage rounds it all out. The pasta makes for great leftovers, particularly when baked with mozzarella and topped with breadcrumbs and parmesan. Actually, now that I think about it, it's probably better the second time around. 

HOW TO:

Sauté garlic and onion with olive oil in a large pot. When lightly caramelized, throw in the sausage and cook through. Add the diced eggplant, stir to coat, and cook until they are just beginning to soften. Add crushed tomatoes and simmer until fragrant. Finally, throw in the chopped kale around the same time that the pasta starts cooking. When the pasta is just al dente, stir the pasta into the sauce, adding some pasta water if necessary. Cook another 3 or 5 minutes and serve with parmesan.