Roasted Vegetable Medley

Sorry about the blogger hiatus. The gourmet among us got a full time job, and my problem is I just spend way too much time making mac & cheese and spaghetti and other such boring kid-friendly foods. But, we recently had company and I had the chance to try out an amazing recipe that was shared by a friend of mine (Yvonne, you have changed the way I look at vegetables!).


There are two amazing things about this recipe. First, the fact that this post is being done by the sister who used to hide carrots in her napkin at dinner time and not the sister who was nicknamed "vegetable vacuum." The second amazing thing is the way the flavor of the vegetables changes so drastically when you roast them compared to just zapping them in the microwave or boiling them in water on the stovetop.

I used this recipe to as a starting point but substituted the vegetables I felt like using that day. I just cut them up, drizzled them with olive oil, and baked them in a 425 degree oven for about an hour (for firmer veggies) or 40 minutes (for softer veggies).

These pictures are not the greatest but I am not married to a photography enthusiast like my two blogging partners so you'll have to use a little imagination. I roasted some red potatoes and some sweet potatoes:

And some carrots, parsnips, and zucchini:

The zucchini ended up getting too soft so I think next time I'll try to find a firmer squash.

After the vegetables were thoroughly roasted and a deep golden brown, I tossed them with salt, pepper, some minced garlic and some chopped basil. So simple yet so amazingly delicious - you must try it!

Butterscotch Gingerbread Cookies

I call these my "tastes-like-fall" cookies and I like to make them at this time of year.

I got the recipe from a friend (shout out to Becca if you're reading this!) and I quickly adopted it as one of the more unique cookie recipes in my repertoire.







The recipe starts out with your basic cookie ingredients - butter, flour, sugar, eggs - and a few special ones - most notably molasses and butterscotch chips, along with some cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.

 Cream the butter and the sugar, beat in the wet ingredients, then stir in the dry ingredients... if you're a fellow cookie lover, you know the drill. When the dough comes together it looks something like this:

You'll have to excuse the lack of pictures for this cooking endeavor, but you would have difficulty remembering to take photos, too, if you had a half-naked urchin hanging on your oven incessantly asking "my have some, mama?"

So without further ado, here's the recipe if you want to give it a try:

Butterscotch Gingerbread Cookies

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup molasses
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ginger
3/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1 (11 oz) package butterscotch morsels

Cream butter and sugar, beat in egg and molasses until creamy. Mix dry ingredients in separate bowl; mix in. Add morsels. Bake on greased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 9 to 11 minutes. Makes about 4 dozen.

Easy Apple Crisp

If you are lucky enough to be swimming in freshly picked fall apples in varieties with names like Ambrosia and Senshu, give this a try... homemade apple crisp with just 5 other ingredients!

Peel, core, and slice five large apples for a 9" x 9" pan. Toss them with sugar (1/2 cup or to taste), flour (2 or 3 tablespoons will do), and cinnamon (to taste). Add a dash of lemon juice or water if you need to thin it out.

The topping is just as simple...  Mix some flour and sugar together and cut in some butter.

Then just spread your streusel topping over the apples and bake for about 30 minutes.

Top with apple ice cream... but that's another post.


Easy Apple Crisp

5-6 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1/2 cup sugar
few dashes of cinnamon
2-3 tablespoons flour + 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter

Toss apples with 1/2 cup sugar (or more to taste), 2-3 tablespoons flour, and cinnamon to taste. Use a splash of lemon juice or water if you need to make it coat the apples. Arrange apples in 9" x 9" pan. In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup flour with 1/2 cup brown sugar, cut in butter. Spread topping over apples. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes until golden brown and apples are at desired softness.

Buttermilk Pancakes

Yes, that picture was taken from an iphone. No, this post is not from Nathanael.

I wasn't intending to post this recipe, as it was just an experiment. But it was so good, I just had to share it. Hence, only one picture, taken when there was hardly any food left on my plate ;). Next time I make it (which may be tomorrow) I'll take more pictures!

This morning, when I sleepily wandered out into the kitchen to make my morning coffee, I decided I should cut up the mango and strawberries in my fridge into a nice fruit salad. Then I decided they would taste delicious on Alton Brown's buttermilk waffles. Problem #1: I don't own a waffle maker.

But sometimes, even pre-coffee on Saturday mornings, I have brilliant ideas. Waffle batter and pancake batter are basically the same, right? So I pulled out Alton's recipe. Problem #2: If I wanted to make the pasta extravaganza I had planned for tonight, I only had one egg to contribute to this morning's breakfast.  Problem #3: I also only had 6 ounces of buttermilk. 

But pancake batter is supposed to be thicker than waffle batter, right? So I mixed up all the ingredients I had, cooked them in my skillet, and topped them with my strawberries and mangoes. So. So. Good.

Mom's Macaroni and Cheese

For those of you with a little more time on your hands, you will be pleased to know that Macaroni & Cheese does not necessarily have to come from a box. Unless you are a bachelor, of course.

Macaroni and Cheese is a very flexible dish-- it can be a showcase for gourmet cheeses by night, comfort food by day, and a tasty, but easy, potluck dish on the weekends.


I took this to a potluck and a friend asked for the recipe, so I am posting it for everyone to try. I have never really had a recipe for this--it's more of a 'process', as my daughters tell me. Basically, I make a roux, add liquid, salt, pepper, and my signature ingredient, nutmeg. Then I melt in the cheese and add to cooked pasta.

This recipe as is makes enough for a medium sized Corning Ware dish, and serves 4-6 people.

Easy Hummus. And then some.

I know the rest of the country probably realized this a few months ago, but spring is finally here! This week, in fact, it has felt like summer. At least, like a New England summer--which probably also feels like spring to the rest of you ;).

I had no idea how much I liked the idea of summer until I moved up here. Who knew that sunshine and warmth could make me this happy? And with sunshine and warmth come a whole new world of Summer recipes.

For some reason, I always associate hummus with summertime. Maybe it was that one summer in college when I ate tomato and hummus sandwiches for lunch every day. I would walk to the D.C. farmer's market every Saturday and carry piles of fresh produce back to my apartment's closet-sized kitchen. One of the booths there made some pretty awesome cilantro-lime hummus.

Or maybe it is hummus' place as my picnic food of choice. Hummus, crackers, and vegetables make a great lunch after a long hike to the top of a mountain.

But there is one problem. Hummus is expensive. A little tub for $3.50? Now, I'd pay that for good farmer's market hummus; but not so much for plastic-packaged grocery store stuff. So here is how to make your own:

Cupcakes!

I made vegan cupcakes.



If you have known me for more than a week, you will know how funny that sounds. I mean, have you ever seen me make a dessert without mounds of butter, cream, and at least a few eggs?? Growing up, I always equated the words 'vegetarian' and 'vegan' with 'disgusting,' because, well, all the food I had like that when I was younger pretty much tasted like cardboard.

Maybe it's living in this eco-friendly slightly hippie town (it tries, for New England). Or my weekly trips to the local organic bakery to buy bread. Or the fact that I just signed up for a produce share from a local farm. Whatever it is, we have discovered some pretty delicious organic, vegetarian and vegan food in this town. Which is probably why I looked twice at this recipe.

And I am glad I did, because these were yummy vegan cupcakes.

And I used plenty of glorious butter in the frosting, so Mom, you can stop looking so shocked now ;)

Reason #2 that you should make these cupcakes, is that they are incredibly easy. Seriously, I could make them with my eyes closed. Your seven year-old could make them. Just measure half the ingredients, stir, measure the other half, stir, combine, and stir again. Then bake. That's it!

Tomato Sauce with Butter & Onion

This sauce is the easiest yet. So easy in fact, that I don't always make homemade pasta to go with it. (shhh, don't tell anyone!) But seriously, if you are looking for a simple dish you can make with ingredients you already own, try these three:

Yes, that's it. Just tomatoes, butter and onion. Pour a can of whole peeled tomatoes, with their juice, into a pan. Add 5 tablespoons of butter and half an onion (peeled, but not cut). Simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes until thickened. Stir occasionally to break up tomatoes.

Discard the onion (save it for later!), and serve over cooked pasta. This serves 3-4 people, depending on how much sauce you like on your pasta. Even your pickiest of eaters will like it!

Yum.

Pasta Month: Annie's Mac 'n' Cheese (aka: Nathanael remembers his bachelor days)

Nathanael Yellis

Most people do not have 4,000 years to make their own pasta. They go to the store and buy it. If they are bachelors, they forget to purchase sauce. Someone invented Annie's, and now people like this can buy pasta and cheese sauce in a handy box. Here's how to make it.

Goals: speed, minimization of dishes, and multi-tasking opportunities.

Ingredients:

Also one pot--it could be a used tin can, if you are comfortable putting that on the stove.

Introducing: Homemade Pasta Month!

The month of March, along with warmer temperatures, spring rains, and flowers, also bring something exciting to Epicurable-- Pasta month!

I am fairly certain that there isn't a drop of Italian blood anywhere in our family's heritage, but for some reason, we do love our pasta. It can be made quickly for a weeknight meal, prepped ahead of time for dinner parties, or dressed to the nines for a fancy weekend dinner. What is not to love?

Well, ok, maybe not this:

Don't get me wrong, it will do in a pinch, and we certainly have a stock in our cupboard. But there is a much, much, much better way!

Homemade pasta tastes incredible, and requires just two ingredients: flour and eggs. This month, we will be featuring three ways to make homemade pasta -- by hand, with a hand-crank roller, and with a Kitchen-Aid attachment. We are pretty certain that once you try it, you will never go back to the box. 

Click below to find out how to make hand rolled pasta!

Valentine's Dessert, Part 2

Since I am still pretty enamored with the fact that I finally have my own kitchen, I opted to cook for Valentine's Day, rather than have my husband take me out for dinner. Which, considering the plethora of good restaurants in our town, is no easy decision!

Our menu:
Steamed Mussels
Truffle-Butter Pasta
Broiled Asparagus
Mexican Chocolate Pots de Creme

I think we made a good choice.

Krispy Kale

Today's post comes from my friend and faithful blog reader, Natalie Glaser. As much as I enjoy vegetables, I must admit I was a bit skeptical about this recipe. I was even more skeptical after the first time I made it, and it turned out a slimy, chewy glob of green leaves. Even my husband wouldn't eat it.

But Natalie had raved about this recipe so much, I thought I should probably give it another try. Plus, I still had half a bunch of kale in my fridge! Not one to waste food, I looked around online for a better method of making this dish.

Natalie's method called for sautéing the kale in a very hot skillet (or "flash frying" it, as she calls it--which is a pretty cool name, I think!). I deduced that I did two things wrong the first time I made it: I used too much oil, and I didn't cook it long enough. The first problem I solved by tossing the oil with the kale first--this way I could use whatever amount of oil I wanted, but since it was evenly distributed, the kale would cook evenly. Secondly, I tried using the oven instead of a skillet, which again, caused the kale to cook more evenly.

The oven method worked much better for me. After 10 minutes at 400 degrees, the the kale was bright green, with lightly browned edges. The kale shattered when you bit into it--a vast improvement from the "stewed" version I came up with last time. When you cook kale this way, it has none of the bitter taste you usually associate with kale, and easily takes on the flavor of whatever aromatics you flavor it with (salt, garlic, lemon juice, etc.). And there you have it: a tasty side dish for about 15 cents per serving!