Man, I didn’t even realize it until recently but I have been in a serious cooking rut this summer. I know I’ve complained about the heat and not being hungry due to work and blah blah blah on here, but it was only this past weekend that I realized I had kind of lost my excitement and joy for cooking at home. I used to get a little jolt of glee in my stomach every time I found a new recipe to try or idea that would come up. That just hasn’t been happening the past 2 months. I blame it on spending all my creative juices at work coming up with recipes on demand and focusing so much on that. The home cook in me was exhausted. Cold cereal, yogurt, take-out… it was a lot of assembling – not cooking. But last week something changed.

I was making scrambled eggs for breakfast because I had a few extra minutes before work and realized I hadn’t done it in months. I used to love actually making breakfast every day before work when I lived in Colorado, and I just stopped doing it when I moved. So all week I made breakfast. Egg sandwiches, waffles, bagels w/cream cheese and lox. No yogurt. Cooking – not assembling. It felt so good.

And suddenly, the jolt was back. The yearning to cook and bake everything I was going to eat instead of gorging at panel at work and then snacking for dinner. I wanted to save space and make dinner. Screw my kitchen being boiling and being exhausted at the end of the day. It’ll be worth it. And this dish is worth it.

When I saw this recipe my stomach did the familiar little somersault. Perfect summer tomatoes, perfect summer herbs, all nestled in a flaky pastry dough and topped with creamy goat cheese. Pure summer and dead simple to boot. I knew I would make this and love it. And I did. I hope you do too.

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Summer Tomato Tart

Serves 8

Based on the recipe from the fabulous David Lebovitz.

If you don’t want to make the dough from scratch, feel free to get some help from the Pillsbury Doughboy. I won’t judge you.

Ingredients:

For the tart shell:

• 1½ cups flour
• 4½ ounces unsalted butter, chilled, cut into cubes
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 1 large egg
• 2-3 tablespoons cold water

For the filling:

• Dijon mustard
• 2-3 large ripe tomatoes (or a few handfuls of cherry tomatoes), sliced
• 1 teaspoon really good extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• two generous tablespoons chopped fresh herbs, such as chives, basil, and tarragon
• 8 oz. soft goat cheese (herb or plain), sliced thin (dental floss is great for this) or crumbled

Directions:

1. Make the dough by mixing the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the butter and use your hands, or a pastry blender, to break in the butter until the mixture has a crumbly, cornmeal-like texture.

2. Mix the egg with 2 tablespoons of the water. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the beaten egg mixture, stirring the mixture until the dough holds together. If it’s not coming together easily, add the additional tablespoon of ice water.

3. Preheat the oven to 425º F.

4. Gather the dough into a ball and roll the dough on a lightly floured surface, adding additional flour only as necessary to keep the dough from sticking to the counter.

5. Once the dough is large enough so that it will cover the bottom of the pan and go up the sides, roll the dough around the rolling pin then unroll it over the tart pan. “Dock” the bottom of the pastry firmly with your fingertips a few times, pressing in to make indentations.

6. Brush an even layer of mustard over the bottom of the tart dough and let it sit a few minutes to dry out. The amount of mustard is at your discretion – use a little or a lot, depending on how much you love it.

7. Sprinkle the chopped herbs over the mustard. Top with tomato slices in one even layer and get fancy with it if you like. Sprinkle the tomatoes generously with salt and pepper. Top tomatoes with goat cheese and drizzle with olive oil.

8. Bake the tart for 25-30 minutes, or until the dough is cooked, the tomatoes are tender, and the cheese on top is nicely browned. Depending on the heat of your oven, if the cheese doesn’t brown as much as you’d like it, you might want to pass it under the broiler until it’s just right.

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Post tags: fruit, summer, vegetables

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Pickles.

It’s borderline insane and almost bizarre that I have yet to write about pickles, considering they are my all-time favorite food. Dill cucumber pickles, to be exact. Sechler’s Polish-style dills to be even more exact. But alas, I’m not trying to better the best today. I’m all about pickling other things. Like carrots.

I think I made these pickled carrots at least 30 times last year. Addiction is such a… strong word, but sometimes it is fitting. They’re just so damn tasty. No other way to put it. Not only are these quick pickled carrots dead easy, they’re so unbelievably refreshing and crisp and my mouth is literally watering as I type this. Not even kidding.

For anyone who’s ever been afraid to pickle or even worse, preserve and jar things, these are for you. Since they’re refrigerator pickles they just sit in the brine in your fridge which means they’re quick – but also means they don’t last more than 5 weeks. Not that it matters because they’ll be eaten long before then.

Trust me.

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Quick Pickled Carrots

Based on the recipe from Gourmet.

Makes 2lbs pickled carrots (I did 2 recipes worth in the photos above).

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. carrots, peeled and cut into sticks or slices (other good veggies: green beans, asparagus, snap peas, etc)
• 2 large sprigs fresh dill
• 3¾ cups water
• 3 cups white vinegar (I like my pickles strong, go for cider vinegar if you’re a weakling!)
• ½ cup sugar
• 5 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
• ¼ cup dill seeds
• ¼ cup salt
• 1 large jar with screw-on lid (at least half-gallon)

Directions

1.) Add carrots and dill sprigs to jar.

2.) Bring water, vinegar, sugar, garlic, dill seeds, and salt to boil. Simmer 3 minutes and remove from heat. Pour brine over carrots in jar. If you have too much liquid, poor off the excess but keep the dill seeds and garlic and pour them into the jar with the carrots. Let cool to room temperature before screwing on the lid. Refrigerate at least 24 hours before devouring.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2010. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: side, summer, vegetables

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A quick Friday post for a quick Friday dinner!

These zucchini and squash ribbon salads are so hot right now.  (Hansel… so hot right now).

It’s a super easy and refreshing dish using summer’s best produce and it gets bulked up with some toasted pine nuts and creamy goat cheese, 2 of my favorite things. You can easily throw this together in a few minutes and if you want to be super ambitious, make it the side to a great piece of grilled chicken or a steak. Either way, it’s good (and easy) eats.

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Zucchini Ribbon Salad

Based loosely on the recipe from Emeril Lagasse.

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 2 zucchini
• 2 small yellow squashes
• 6 tablespoons champagne vinegar
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• freshly chopped herbs (I like basil, chives, and mint)
• 6 oz. fresh chevre or soft goat cheese
• ¼ cup pine nuts, lightly toasted

Directions

1.) Using a mandoline, slice the zucchini and squash lengthwise. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and toss in the squash. Blanch them for 60 seconds and then shock in an ice bath.

2.) Toss the zucchini and squash with the vinegar, olive oil, and herbs. Taste to season. Sprinkle with goat cheese and pine nuts.

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Post tags: salad, summer, vegetables

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Another quick post for a quick Friday dinner!

I think it’s this warm weather finally getting under my skin. I always eat so much lighter (see: healthier) when it’s warm and sunny, and the other day it was in the low 70′s and sunny. I had a big ol’ bulb of fennel lying in my fridge and most of the other ingredients on hand (a special trip for proscuitto but well worth it) so I whipped this salad together for a nice light supper.

Crunchy and refreshing fennel and apples with salty satisfying proscuitto, this whole dish just feels clean and oh-so-springish. Adding some walnuts (or even goat cheese would be nice) bulks things up a bit, but feel free to add some grilled chicken breast or serve it with nice hot crusty bread.

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Fennel and Apple Salad

Serves 2

If you can, get the proscuitto sliced fresh at your deli counter over buying the pre-sliced stuff. Not only is it unbelievably cheaper, it’s also better tasting sliced fresh. Just get it sliced as thin as humanly possible!

Ingredients

• 1 small fennel bulb, ends trimmed and then halved, fronds reserved
• 1 medium pink lady apple, cored and cut into quarters
• 3 ounces proscuitto, torn into smaller pieces
• 2 big handfuls spring mix or leafy greens, washed and spun dry
• ½ cup walnut halves, toasted and cooled
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon honey

Directions

1.) Using a mandoline, slice the fennel on thinnest setting possible. If you have the julienne attachment for your mandoline, cut pink lady apple into matchsticks, otherwise slice very thin and then cut into matchsticks. If you don’t have a mandoline, just slice them as thin as possible. If not using right away, keep fennel and apple slices in a large bowl of cold water with some lemon juice squeezed into the bath.

2.) Whisk together the apple cider vinegar, mustard, oil, and honey. Taste for seasoning. Toss fennel, apples, and arugula lightly with dressing. Add a little dressing at a time, pouring more if necessary.

3.) Chop up the reserved fronds a bit. Sprinkle over salad along with walnuts, proscuitto, and then enjoy!

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: fast and easy, quick friday dinner, salad, spring, vegetables

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Ok, this dish did not start as kluski kapusta po at all. I had this recipe of ribs cooked in cabbage and kraut bookmarked for ages and realized I had all the ingredients except the actual ribs (which were on sale at my grocer) and cabbage,  which is also cheap, so I went ahead and made it.

And sadly, I was glad I didn’t spend much money on the dish. It wasn’t bad per se, just good. Okay. Fine. The cabbage-kraut mixture was surprisingly mild (see: bland) and the ribs were nice and tender, but really fatty. The (small amount) of meat I did get off them was very tasty, but it’s one of those dishes where you have to eat a little bit of everything in one bite for the dish to work. The components on their own were just okay, but together pretty good. So an idea came to mind.

I decided to make an omnivore version of kluski kapusta po, a traditional Polish noodle-cabbage dish where onions and cabbage are cooked in butter and tossed with hot noodles. For my version, I shredded the pork, heated up the cabbage-kraut mixture, stirred in some sour cream, and then tossed the mixture with hot egg noodles. And it finally worked! So I thankfully don’t have to tag this a failure – more like a salvage. Victory is sweet! (and delicious!)

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Kluski Kapusta Po (Polish Noodles with Cabbage)

Serves 5-6

Salvaged from the recipe on AllRecipes.

Ingredients

For the rib rub:

• 3 pounds pork spare ribs, bone-in
• 2 teaspoons canola oil (or other neutral vegetable oil)
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tablespoon caraway seeds
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper

For the ribs and accompaniments:

• One 32-ounce jar sauerkraut, drained (but not rinsed)
• 3 cups thinly shredded green cabbage (about 1 small head)
• 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• 1 bottle of your favorite beer (I gotta give hometown love by using Unfiltered Boulevard Wheat)
• ½ teaspoon caraway seeds

To serve:

• ½ cup sour cream
• ½ cup sauerkraut (uncooked)
• 12 ounces egg noodles
• Freshly chopped parsley (optional)

Directions

1.) Combine the oil, garlic, caraway seeds,salt and black pepper in a small dish. Rub all over the ribs and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate up to 24 hours to marinate.

2.) Preheat the oven to 400° F. Wrap the ribs in a big tinfoil packet and place in a roasting pan. Bake for about 45 minutes or until tender, and then set aside.

3.) Reduce the oven temperature to 375° F. In a large Dutch oven, combine sauerkraut, onion, caraway seeds, brown sugar, cabbage, beer, water, and chicken stock. Bake (without the ribs) covered, for about 2 hours.

4.) Lower the oven temperature again, this time to 325° F. Carefully remove the lid from the Dutch oven, nestle the ribs and their juices into the kraut mixture, adding more stock if the liquid is low, recover, and cook for another hour.

5.) Once everything is ready, remove the ribs from the pot and set aside on a plate. Pour off most of the liquid from the cabbage-kraut mixture and set aside.

6.) While the ribs cool off, bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook the egg noodles according to directions.

7.) While the noodles cook, using either 2 forks or your hands, pull all the meat off the ribs and shred to small pieces. Add to the cabbage-kraut mixture, stir in the sour cream, extra sauerkraut, and taste for seasoning. Toss with hot egg noodles and garnish with freshly chopped parsley, then devour!

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: pork, salty, salvage, savory, vegetables

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