Spaghetti (squash) Night!

I have always been a vegetable lover, but the same was not true for one of my brothers. One of the ways that my mom cleverly snuck them in was with spaghetti squash and meatballs. With all of the flavors going on, it never dawned on us that we were greedily gobbling up veggies.
With some ground lamb from the farmers market, I made a more grown up version of this childhood favorite.

The sauce:
1) Saute 1 diced onion in some butter in a medium saucepan
2) Add 1 bay leaf and some fresh rosemary
3) Crumble 1 lb ground lamb into the pan and stir until it is well broken up and browned (other meat would do just fine here and the dish would also work just fine vegetarian)
4) Core 1.5 lbs tomatoes (In this case 3 hefty heirlooms; one red, one green and one purple) and then squish the tomatoes into pieces over the saucepan - a genuine tactile pleasure! For the non-squishers among us, dicing with a knife also works.
5) Bring sauce to a boil then reduce to a simmer for about 20 minutes.
6) My sauce ended up being a bit too runny. To fix this I added in small crumbs of bread that I had bought at the market that day. It ended up being a delicious addition that really added to the heartiness of the whole dish.


Easy Spaghetti Squash
1) Cut in half
2) Scoop out seeds
3) Put 1 inch of water in the bottom of a 9x9 glass baking dish and put one half of the squash in it, cut side up
4) Cover tightly with plastic wrap
5) Microwave on high for 8 minutes give or take
6) Once it cools enough to handle, use a fork to scrape the inside of the squash. Out will fall a torrent of spaghetti-esque strands.

Brats with a twist

It is easier to get creative with some ingredients than with others. Boneless skinless chicken breasts are simple. Right away I think of chicken tenders, tandoori chicken, a stir fry, chicken tacos....the possibilities are endless. Brats are a bigger challenge. There is this default of popping them on the grill and then into a bun. At the Pearl Market this week, Jack and I had our horizons expanded by the Dorper Lamb farm. The were offering samples of brat pieces sauteed with green peppers and onions in olive oil. It was delicious. Part of what made it so good was that it is easily the best lamb I have ever tried, but the method also added a lot.
For my rendition, I put a tablespoon of butter and some olive oil into a saute pan and heated them up well. I then added some diced onion to the pan and cooked them until they were starting to caramelize. Next the brats went in until they were fully cooked. Finally, I made a coarsely chopped arugula and rosemary "pesto" and added that to the pan, letting it cook long enough for the arugula to lose its bite. With this meal the brat was fun again - - and especially delicious!

simply delicious

These locally-grown strawberries would have been an excellent dessert on their own, but I got carried away. Sometimes I am like that fabulous children's book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie when I cook.

I swear I had intended to just plop the strawberries down in the middle of the table and let them speak for themselves. It is easy to follow one urge to the next though. Here is how it happened for Mr. Mouse.


And here is how it happened for me!

If you give a foodie some fresh strawberries, they will probably start dreaming of things that they could do with them. They will ask you for a cookbook and start flipping through recipes, just to realized that there is no whipping cream in the house. Once they find a recipe, they will want the whipping cream so they will go out to the store to get some. In the store, they might walk down the baking aisle and come up with a new recipe. Scharffen Berger chocolate was the perfect catalyst for a change in direction. Once home, things started to come together.
When a foodie starts to whip cream, they will wonder if there is anything they can do to glam it up. Having heard about the magic of balsamic with strawberries they may add a splash to the whipped cream. Now that the whipped cream is a bit tart, they will probably need some sugar too. Thank goodness that there was sugar in the house. With all of the components ready, they realize that the dish needs a presentation so they pull out some wine glasses. Layers are put in; lightly sugared strawberries (in quarters) , melted chocolate, and balsamic whipped cream. When I realized it looked so pretty, I decided that I needed a garnish. Out into the garden I went to find some chocolate mint (yum!). In the garden I realized that the thyme needed to be trimmed back and I was about to follow that train of thought when my stomach growled. Time for dessert!

Market Fresh

The Market Inspired Meal!

After all of the work I did with the Wesleyan Farmer's Market this year and all of the great foodie books I have read (Food Matters by Mark Bittman, Real Food by Nina Planck, and In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan, among others) I decided that it was time to bring my consumption in line with my beliefs. I have gotten my family to agree to a summer full of whole, traditional foods at the dinner table! We are no longer supporting the industrial food industry whenever we have a viable alternative. As an added bonus, we are all having a lot of fun on this journey and it has allowed for a lot of family bonding time between trips to the market, dinner prep and of course, eating.

Focaccia from Omega Artisan Baking

This mission is what brought my mother and I to the Farmer's Market at North Market on Saturday morning. It was really great to connect with the individuals that grow our food and it was a nice opportunity to mingle with other Columbus residents. Sunday dinner was inspired by our trip to the market. We bought a chicken that had been spatchcocked (a method of flattening it for grill-friendly cooking) and sealed in a vacuum bag with fresh lemons and rosemary. We also bought fresh shelled peas and a freshly baked loaf of garlic focaccia bread!
While the spatchcock method allows the chicken to grill evenly, it doesn't make it easy to grill chicken. This is a job that requires full attention and/or indirect heat. When the chicken sits atop active flames, it is bound to catch on fire. As I learned the semi-hard way, this is not a dish you can prepare while watching TV. Luckily I saw the grill smoking before the meal was ruined!

Freshly picked peas! You can't beat the flavor!

Rosendales Modern Bistro

Rosendale's Modern Bistro

We went to eat at the new, informal rendition of Rosendale's on Father's Day. The Modern Bistro differs in that it is priced more modestly and that the food is more familiar. All in all, I think it was a good business decision, but the restaurant lost a little of what had previously made it so special. While the bistro food was great, I think that next time we will try the more glamorous upstairs. Honestly, with a chef as good as Richard Rosendale, I would rather go on a culinary adventure than play it safe. That said, kudos to the chef for making his food more accessible!

Ahi Tuna Tartare Tacos with Sesame Oil & Pickled Ginger

This appetizer was the favorite of both myself and my father. He thought that they were "uniquely delicious". These tacos were different than anything I have ever eaten! The presentation was sparse and modern allowing the food to speak for itself. Each ingredient was perfectly highlighted and they paired together wonderfully.

Ham and Melon Skewers with Reduced Sherry Vinegar Syrup

These were given to us as a treat from the chef in between our appetizers and entrees. The flavor of the watermelon was very intense; I suspect it had been prepared sous vide. Chef Rosendale advocated this method of concentrating flavors in a cooking class I had taken with him. The prosciutto was very good, but the watermelon is truly the star.





White Truffle Popcorn

The popcorn was Rob's favorite appetizer. Jack commented that "it was the best popcorn I have ever had, but that it is still just popcorn". I agree with Jack, the dish was good, but the truffle flavor could have come through more strongly. I thought the idea of finger food was difficult in a restaurant because my fingers got all greasy.






Baked Potato Poppers with Pesto Aioli and Crispy Prosciutto

This appetizer was Jack's favorite, but was thoroughly enjoyed by all of us. The basil pesto aioli was refreshing and delicious. It was a nice spin on a classic potato appetizer that is traditionally very heavy. The potatoes were small enough that served alone they would make a great amuse bouche. It was a very coherent mouthful.




Black Grouper with a Corn Tortilla Crust and Avocado Lime Sauce

On the new bistro menu at Rosendales, when you pick an entree the protein comes by itself in a ceramic dish. Sides are chosen a la carte and are big enough to share. Jack ordered this fish dish and thought that it was "exquisite" He reported that the avocado under the grouper complemented the other flavors of the dish perfectly. Rob ordered a ribeye steak and I ordered the half chicken in herb butter. Dad chose the 48-hour Osso Bucco.

Cowboy Fries w/ Rosemary Sea Salt

We decided that we needed to try the fries as one of our side dishes. You can't truly judge a place without trying the fries. These fries were crispy and delicious. The other sides that we ordered for the table were the onion rings, steamed asparagus, and french beans.







If you were wondering why the photos are all of a sudden so good, it is because I have hired my brother as our art director. Thanks Jack!

Family Affair

One of the nicest things about growing up (and having my siblings grow up) is that we are able to have collaboratively prepared meals. It makes the whole cooking and eating experience so much more rewarding to have the family function as a culinary team. Hovering over the cutting board is a good place to learn from each other, both about food and about each others lives. This is one of the rare group activities that we all enjoy together.

For dinner we had a rack of lamb, roasted green beans and quartered new potatoes. We kept the seasonings pretty simple to highlight the delicious ingredients. I made an olive oil rub for the lamb with dried rosemary, fresh ground pepper, salt, and minced garlic. Rob carefully applied the mixture all over the lamb. The meat was then finished by our father aka they "jedi master" of the grill. It turned out deliciously, but next time he thinks he would put tin foil over the ribs and to stick with his instincts on the touch. Part of being the jedi master is to constantly be fine tuning your technique!

Jack's job was to cut the green beans. He treated each green bean as an individual, cutting them one by one into small pieces. These were roasted at 450 degrees topped with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Dad also took on the potatoes. He shook them in a bag with salt, pepper, rosemary, Italian seasoning, Cajun seasoning, and vegetable oil to get them evenly coated. These were then baked at 450 for a good 40 minutes until they were soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. It makes for a very texturally stimulating side dish!

We finished the meal off with some ice cream from Jeni's, a local Ohio chain that was recently written up by Bon Appetit magazine for having some of this country's best ice cream. Now I have some real Ohio pride! What I love about Jeni's is that they support a collection of local farmers for the cream and other ingredients. The flavors are inspired by seasonal ingredients and are unlike flavors found anywhere else. Dad had lemon blueberry yogurt, Rob had Salty Caramel, Jack had Lime Cardamom, and I had Wildberry Lavender. I plan to visit some of the dairies that serve Jeni's and post in more detail on the sustainable and delicious practices that they uphold.

Mulitpurpose Marinade

After being in Honduras for the past 10 days, I was really excited to cook when I got home. My grandfather was coming to dinner and that was enough of an excuse to go slightly beyond the normal dinner at home. I served a seared tuna steak over brown rice with caramelized asparagus pieces. Since it was the first day back home, it was a very busy day so I took a nice shortcut. I made one huge batch of marinade and used it for the tuna and for the asparagus (with the addition of some orange flower honey!). The marinade was what really made the meal. I didn't measure, but I will estimate the best I can.

1 tbs brown sugar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup sesame oil
Salt and Pepper




Really not to complicated, but when you add that to the fire on the grill you get some delicious caramelization. Especially on the asparagus! Grilling veggies is a nice way to change things up!

His and Her Pizza on the Grill

We have a long history of preparing pizza outdoors on the grill. This could possibly be related to Sarah J’s father’s obsession with pizza, a meal he would happily consume for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. You have to expand your pizza prep repertoire in order to eat so much pizza! Equally pertinent to this post is my quest to concoct a healthy pizza dough - hearty enough to support the massive amount of meat lovers man-pizza toppings favored by Andy the pizza connoisseur, yet pliable enough to satisfy the stretchy, glutinous demands of Andy the consummate dough crafter. I figure we can do better much than those premade dough offerings in the grocery deli or bakery case.

The June issue of Gourmet magazine includes a recipe for Pizza Rounds. I decided to go out on a limb and use the recipe as the foundation of our pizza on the grill while enjoying a respite in the Adirondack Mountains. But not exactly. I replaced the white flour completely with white whole wheat flour. I added a second round of rising, punching down the dough after the first rise to allow for additional lightening of the whole wheat dough and to avoid critical comments from the pie maker about the inferior qualities of whole wheat flour. Except I goofed and added half the amount of yeast called for in the Gourmet recipe – so perhaps the second rising would have been unnecessary.

All I know is the result was up there with the best pizza on the grill we have ever experienced! The crust was crispy, crackery, tasty. Held up well with lots of toppings! Makes me wonder whether we want to add that second package of yeast after all!!

About the His and Her aspect of this round of our continuous pizza improvement … we each added sliced tomatoes, freshly grated parmesan, sliced local mozzarella, kalamata olives and fresh basil and oregano from our garden atop our perfect crust. The His and Hers part came when I continued to layer my pizza with spinach (from our garden), caramelized onion, sliced mushrooms and local feta cheese. Meat man added pepperoni, salami, sausage, bacon and hot banana peppers.

Pizza Dough

1 c. (or more) warm water (105 – 115 degrees), divided

2 ¼ oz. packages active dry yeast

1 t. sugar

2 ½ c. white whole wheat flour (King Arthur)

½ c. rye flour

2 T. yellow cornmeal

1 ½ t. salt

2 T. EVOO

Place ¼ c. warm water in medium bowl. Sprinkle yeast and sugar over, blend. Let stand until puffed, about 6 minutes.

Mix both flours, cornmeal and salt in processor. Mix ¾ c. warm water and 2 T. EVOO into yeast. With machine running, gradually add yeast mixture to dry ingredients. Mix until dough just comes together, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if needed. Process 1 minute.

Transfer dough to lightly floured surface, knead 1 minute. Brush large bowl with oil, transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat with oil. Cover bowl with plastic, let dough rise in warm, draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Punch down and repeat for a second rising if desired.

Transfer dough to lightly floured surface; form into 2 balls. Roll/stretch each ball into desired shape.

Makes 2 pies.

Corned Beef Hash

I am in Roatan, Honduras right now which is why there haven't been any posts in awhile. I did decide to put this post up though because I was so fascinated by some of the things I learned! Why was I researching corned beef while in paradise? It all started with a very corny comment that I made this morning. I really couldn't help myself. My mom was inspecting the hash we had gotten for breakfast and was pondering out loud whether it was corned beef hash or regular beef hash. Jack asked how one would know. I had to go for it...I announced that this was regular beef hash because there was no corn in it. Rob asked if I was stupid. Clearly I was not as clever as I thought.

Anyway this made me wonder what makes beef corned. I checked www.kitchenproject.com/history to find out more. This site is fabulous for answering all of those I wonder why questions. It turns out that the term corned comes from a preservation method of putting beef in a large crock and covering it with big kernels of rock salt known as "corns of salt". This particular method sources back to Ireland, but the practice of salting meat itself goes back to ancient times. Corned beef was served at the inaugural dinner of Abe Lincoln along with parsley potatoes, mock turtle soup and blackberry pie.

The hash part comes from the verb "to hash" which means to chop up. Any ingredients can go into a hash, but typically it comes from leftover corned or roast beef, onions and potatoes.

Anything Goes Granola

The best part is the strawberry is from my own garden!

At the very same wedding this past weekend, we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast Saturday morning before our yoga class at the spa. (There's a lot to be said in favor of these "destination" type weddings!) The star of the show for me was the Manor's homemade granola. I'd been meaning to make some of our own ever since I encountered the recipe while reading Mark Bittman's Food Matters earlier this spring. (Highly recommended reading!!) Bittman's "Anything Goes Granola" is versatile and so simple to make that there's no excuse for having the expensive, sweet and fattening commercial varieties ever again!

Here's the recipe as I made it this morning, but remember, anything goes!!

6 c. rolled oats (I used Bob's Red Mill Extra Thick Whole Grain)

2 1/2 c. mixed nuts and seeds: walnuts, almonds (whole and slivered), cashews, sesame seeds, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds
1 c. shredded unsweetened coconut
1 t. cinnamon
pinch ground cloves
1/3 c. honey
1/3 c. maple syrup
1 t. vanilla
salt
1 c. dried berries (mix of cranberry, blueberry and strawberry)
1/2 c. raisins (golden and regular)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, combine oats, nuts, seeds, coconut, spices, honey, syrup and vanilla. Sprinkle with a little sale. Toss to combine well. Spread the mixture on a rimmed baking sheet and bake 30 minutes or a little longer, stirring every 10 minutes or so. I like dark, crunchier granola, so my batch cooked for closer to 40 minutes.


2. Remove pan from the oven and add dried fruits and raisins. Combine. Cool on rack until granola reaches room temperature.

Bittman says this will keep indefinitely if stored in the refrigerator in a sealed container but I question the need for indefinite storage as it will be long gone before it has any chance of going stale!!

Taste of a Weekend Wedding

My cousin Chris got married this weekend to his longtime girlfriend Nora. The wedding was held in the picturesque Berkshire mountains. With the scene set so beautifully, everything else fell into place. From the flower arrangements to the dress, through the vows and the Hava Nagila it was a memorable weekend. Lots of memories were made and there are many things that could be chronicled. What I ended up focusing on (surprise, surprise!) was the food.

Having interviewed several family members, the weekends menu was deemed "good and thoughtful", "visually appealing", and "creative". The Friday night tapas dinner was really what won the couple the creativity points. The tapas really stood out. As Rhiannon said, " They could have done your stereotypical stuffed mushroom caps and what not, but they didn't - they went for unique and creative fare."

The Tapas included a tuna tartare, a fruit compote topped with Brie on a crostini, beef and caramalized onions on polenta circles and an aioli topped chickpea cake

Some of the favorite dishes from Friday night were the lemon squares, the chicken, the beef on polenta appetizer and the prime rib.

Friday Night's Dinner - Prime Rib, Paella, Salad, Vegetable Medley and Chicken

From Saturday the filets, the crabcakes, the shrimp with mango salsa, and the artichoke appetizers were big hits.

The Famous Shrimp Tower

The wedding cake was also especially memorable. Dorothy described it as "deadly" (in a good way) with lots of coconut and walnut. I really loved the icing.

Carrot cake with cream-cheese icing

With 2 fun-filled days and all the meals that came with it, I could write a small novel, but instead I am going to provide you with the visual experience. The food was really presented so nicely that this is the way to go!

Thanks to Dorothy for the photos!