Töltött Káposzta- Hungarian Stuffed Cabbage

In so many many ways, I am a carbon copy of my mother. I ended up with so many of her traits, mannerisms, and special quirks (umm... like my love for pretty things... furry four legged things... and men just like my father.) But, one thing that I got from my dad was my passion for cooking.

Just like his mother (my grandmother), my father is not just a cook, but a phenomenal chef. I mean, when my Dad had the day off work, we knew dinner would be something special that night. (Except that time he made spinach soup... which is something we will never let him live down). My Hungarian grandmother, Ama, as we like call her, is probably the best chef that I have ever met in my life. And, since she taught my dad everything she knew... my dad was able to teach it to me. Now, it probably would have been better if I had been eager to learn how to cook when I was a bratty teenager before moving to LA, but no. I chose to learn over many panicked phone calls after moving to Los Angeles and having no idea how to feed myself!

When I was fresh to LA and missing my family, I would always cook Paprikash (now one of Rich's favorites too... I will post the recipe one day, I promise). For me, hungarian food has always had a way of making me feel right at home. Now that I'm married and not so lonely, I almost always cook something Hungarian when Rich and I are craving comfort food, just like my dad... and my Ama. So... when Richard and I both woke up with nasty colds this morning (UGH!) and could use a little comforting, that is exactly what I decided to do....

Töltött Káposzta, or Hungarian stuffed cabbage, is actually not something that my dad made often, but the great thing about Hungarian food is that the flavors are always the same. It's what Anthony Bourdain refers to as peasant food, and as you can imagine, back in the day peasants only had access to very limited ingredients, usually of the root vegetable variety. The cabbage (a staple of Hungarian cuisine) is stuffed with beef, paprika, onions, caraway seeds (you'll see, keep reading)...  So, since I was itching to try something new, this seemed like just the dish... something new with a little taste of home to treat the adventure in my spirit and the sniffle in my nose.

Now, don't be intimidated... there are a lot of ingredients, and a lot of steps, but if you have the time, this dish is actually much easier than it seems... and HOLY DELICIOUS!

Töltött Káposzta

Ingredients:
For the cabbage leaves-
1 head of cabbage
3 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 cup apple cider vinegar

For the meat filling- 
1/2 onion, diced
1 pound ground beef (preferably grass fed)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large egg
1 tsp caraway seeds
3/4 cup rice
Salt and cracked pepper to taste

For the sauce- 
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
10 ounces tomato paste
16 ounces sauerkraut, drained (available at most grocery stores, I found it at Whole Foods)
2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika
1/2 tablespoon caraway seeds
2 cups water
Salt and cracked pepper to taste

To garnish-
Sour cream or greek yogurt (I always use greek yogurt!)

Method:
For the cabbage leaves-
Cut the core out of the cabbage. Put the head of cabbage, bay leaves, spices, and vinegar in a large stock pot and cover with cold water. Heat the ingredients on high and bring to a boil. Cook for 20- 30 minutes until the cabbage leaves have softened. Drain and let cool.

For the meat filling and stuffing the cabbage-
In a large bowl, combine meat, onion, egg, garlic, spices, and rice. Mix with your hands until just combined. Do not over mix.

Lay a single cabbage leave on your cutting board or work space. Remove any leftover hard stem that wasn't already removed when you cut out the core. Put a spoonful of meat filling the the center of the leaf. Fold the bottom (stem side) of the leaf up, each side in, and then roll the cabbage leaf up toward the unfolded part (have I lost you, yet?) You will then tuck the open end of the leaf into the roll. It should be pretty secured and look like a little envelope, or an innie belly button.

Continue to make the rolls until you are out of cabbage leaves, placing them in a baking dish as you go. Once finished, refrigerate the rolls while you prepare the sauce.

For the sauce:
Drain and rinse the sauerkraut. You do not want it to taste sour. Squeeze out the water and set aside.

In a large sauce pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the onion and bell peppers until translucent. Add spices and garlic and cook until fragrant.

Add the tomato paste and water. Bring the mixture to a simmer. If it is too think, add a little more water. Once the sauce is simmering, add the sauerkraut and cook for 20-30 minutes, letting the flavors deepen.

To assemble-
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

In a large baking dish, pour half of the sauerkraut sauce. Layer the cabbage rolls with the seam facing down/ towards you. You want to place them in fairly tight rows so that they will not loosen up while they are baking.

Pour the remaining sauce over the cabbage rolls, cover tightly with foil, and bake at 425 for 1 1/2 hours until the meat is cooked through and the rice is tender.

Serve topped with sour cream or greek yogurt!

Short Rib Bolognese

I am less than thrilled to report that I have caught one of the nasty bugs that's floating around town. Yup, I currently have a 102 degree fever (which is not the kind of hot I like to be) and a very cranky attitude (which is not kind of bitchy I like to be.) And, while I am much more lucky than most and have the freedom in my schedule to indulge my immune system with 48 hours of couch ridden movie watching, I am still very mad. Sick and tired and mad... or as Rich would say, "Somebody please help me." 

Right now, there are two very big problems that I am having with being sick. Firstly, at this very moment in my fridge, there is a fresh black truffle from Burgundy, France. I know... I am one lucky ginger... (or "zhan-zhay" as I say when I'm being fancy.) You see, this truffle was bought to be shaved over uova da raviolo tonight at a dinner that I have been really been looking forward to hosting. A dinner that has been scheduled for nearly six weeks. A dinner that due to my germ-ridden-self, now has to be rescheduled. 

Secondly, also calling my refrigerator home is a very large tupperware container filled with homemade pasta tossed with a decadent short rib bolognese. Why is this a problem? Because my sick ass is eating chicken soup instead. Ok, maybe I'm being slightly dramatic, but I had to tie my "poor me, I am sick" pity party to my bolognese recipe somehow, right? But, let's focus on what's important, shall we?

Short rib bolognese. I know, I had never thought of it either... and neither had the sweet boy helping me at our butcher shop. His mind was blown when I told him why I had requested 2 pounds of short rib to be ground up for me. You see, Richard are I were at McCalls Meat & Fish Co. last weekend and brought home short rib and gruyere sausages, which was one of the most delicious things that I have ever put in my mouth. And then these sausages got me thinking... why don't people use short ribs for everything!? Ok, maybe not everything, it would probably make a terrible face cream, plus it's pretty fatty and Pilates can only do so much... but, every once in a while, a little indulgence is good for you! And that, my friends, is how this recipe came into play. 

Unless you are much fancier than I am and have a meat grinder at home (hint hint, dear husband,) you will need a butcher to grind the meat for you but, trust me when I say that, this is one of the tastiest, most decadent bolognese sauces that I have ever had... let alone made! 

You can, of course, substitute the ground short rib for a more traditional blend of ground beef, veal, and pork, but then you may as well make split pea soup with turkey bacon. And that, for me, is a fate worse than this immobilizing infection.

Homemade Fettuccine & Short Rib Bolognese

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped 
2 carrots, peeled, finely chopped
2 pounds ground short rib
1 cup dry red wine
3 cups (isn) beef stock or chicken stock, divided
3 Tbsp. tomato paste
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup whole milk

Homemade fettuccine... find my recipe HERE!

(if you must use store bought pasta, look for a fresh egg pasta!)
Finely grated Parmesan 

Method:

• Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, celery, and carrots. Sauté until soft, 8-10 minutes.  Add the ground short rib and sauté, breaking up with the back of a spoon, until browned, about 15 minutes. Make sure that you brown the meat all the way, that is where a lot of the flavor comes from! Add wine and reduce 2-3 minutes, stirring often and scraping up browned bits. Add tomato paste and then the stock, stirring to blend. Reduce heat to very low and gently simmer, stirring occasionally. As the liquid reduces, continue to add more stock. Cook for about 2-3 hours.
• Bring milk to a simmer in a small saucepan and then gradually add it to the meat sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the milk is absorbed, about 45 minutes. 
  
  
  Serve over pasta and top with freshly grated parmesan cheese. 
  Makes about 8 servings. 

Guinness Beer Braised Beef Brisket (it's a mouthful!)

Happy Monday. According to British researchers the first Monday of the year is statistically the MOST depressing day of the year. But not for me. For me, it's a day of triumph. Over mind, matter and meat.

You know those days when you are quietly keeping to yourself in your miserable post-wine-induced-couch-coma, just watching a little food porn, while waiting for delivery pizza? Don't lie. We both know that you do. Anyways. Food porn. You know what it is. I know what it is. And, a few days ago, while I was minding my own business in the lovely aforementioned scenario, I got really, really food horny. Which, according to Rich, looks very similar to the "real thing" and is very confusing for him. And yup, I went there. 

We were watching some wonderfully over-produced show where a semi-overweight man was stuffing his face with tender, fatty BBQ (it is much "food-sexier" than it sounds...) when I got the overwhelming desire to cook the biggest piece of meat that my butcher could cut for me. I'd pick it up early in the morning and spend the next 36 hours with it. You know, one of those day dates that turns into dinner and "stuff."  So, our butcher got a visit from his favorite ginger and I headed home with a nice, big piece of meat. (Note: Rich said this is the one of the only times he's okay with me "talking about spending so much time with another piece of meat." He's dirty. So are you. Get your mind out of the gutter)

I think that brisket might be the most underrated cut of meat... EVER. It is pretty much perfect in every way if you can give it the kind of love and attention it demands. You have to warm it up nice and slow...to temperature! Jeez, now I'm being dirty. Oh well, this recipe deserves my unrequited lust. Brisket needs to be cooked low and slow and pretty much wooed into the juicy, tender perfection it's capable of. And since it's winter and the smoker is off for now, I decided the best woman to guide me through the process was one of my personal favorites, Suzanne Goin. So, I broke out my Sunday Suppers at Luque's cookbook and found a superb recipe that I followed pretty much to the 'T.' I paired the brisket with beluga lentils and sautéed broccolini with garlic and shallots and everything turned out absolutely perfectly. Plus, the best part of my day today was eating last night's leftovers for lunch. Absolutely DELICIOUS!

*Note that you need to marinate the brisket with the dry rub at least 24 hours before cooking. You can also cook the brisket 24 hours in advance for a dinner party. It can be served hot or chilled. Ok, that's all of the notes... now to the good stuff...

Ingredients:
1 beef brisket, about 5-6 pounds with a 1/2 inch fat cap. Do not have your butcher remove the fat cap, it is essential for moist and flavorful cooking. 
2 tablespoons dried thyme leaves
2 bay leaves, crumbled
10 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
3 chilies de arbol, crumbled with your hands (do NOT touch your face after... ouchie...)
2 tablespoons cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons coarse salt
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into thirds
2 stalks of celery, cut into thirds
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
3 cups Guinness Beer
4 cups beef stock

Method:
Combine the thyme leaves, garlic, bay leaves, chilies de arbol, and cracked pepper and rub the spice mixture onto all sides of the brisket. Place the brisket in a shallow baking dish, cover, and refrigerate over night. 

Take the brisket out of the refrigerator 1 hour prior to cooking it to bring it to room temperature. 30 minutes before, season the meat with salt. 

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. 

Heat the olive oil over high heat in the largest sauté pan you have. Scrape the garlic and chiles off the brisket and reserve them. When the oil is shimmering, add the brisket and sear well on both sides—you may have to do one end of the brisket at a time, depending upon the diameter of your pan. It will take about 8 minutes per side, a bit more if you’re searing only a portion of the meat at one time. Once the meat is well browned, transfer to a large roasting pan or dutch oven, big enough to accommodate the entire piece of meat.

Add the vegetables to the sauté pan over medium high heat and cook 8 to 10 minutes, until they’re nicely caramelized. Stir often with a spoon to scrape up the bits on the bottom of the pan. 

Add the reserved garlic and chiles and cook another minute or two more. Turn down the heat and add the vinegar and the beer to the pan. Bring to a strong simmer and reduce the liquid by one-quarter. Add the stock and bring the mixture to a boil, scraping the bottom of the pan again to loosen any crusty bits on the bottom. 

Add the vegetables to the pan with the brisket, tucking them around the meat, and then carefully pour the hot stock mixture over the meat. Cover the pan tightly with foil—use two layers if it doesn’t have a lid, or one layer if your pan has a lid. 

Braise in the oven for 5 to 6 hours. The meat will be done when a fork slides into it easily.

When the meat is done, remove from the oven.  Let it cool in its juices for 30 minutes, then remove the whole brisket from the sauce to a baking sheet. Allow it to cool completely, and cover and refrigerate if you’re not serving right away.

Strain the braising juices into a saucepan, pressing down on the vegetables to extract all their liquid. Chill the liquid, and when cold, remove the top layer of fat.

Preheat the oven to 400F. Slice the cold brisket against the grain, and put back into a large roasting pan. Heat the braising sauce (you may want to allow it to reduce a bit to thicken—that’s up to you) and pour a bit over the meat enough to just cover the bottom of the pan and moisten the meat thoroughly. Put the roasting pan in the oven and cook about 20 minutes until the meat begins to get crispy on top. Serve with horseradish creme fraiche (recipe below.)

Horseradish Creme Fraiche
1 cup creme fraiche (or sour cream, but creme fraiche is preferred)
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
Coarse salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Mix ingredients together. Serve over brisket. Even if you are not a fan of horseradish, this is quite possibly the most delicious sauce ever. 

Serve. Enjoy. Brag. Eat leftovers. 

Carolina Style BBQ Pulled Chicken

Oh, hi.
Remember me?
Ya... I have a blog.

You may remember me from the past few posts about my daily juicing "habit," buttttt, well.... I caught a cold and now the last thing that I want to drink is juice, so we are going to take a short break from that whole idea. I'm certainly not the best at committing to these grande plans that I come up with, but I am really good at my marriage and that is a huge commitment, so that's gotta give me some points, right? It kind of evens out? Look, I juiced some really good juices... and now I am ready to move on. Maybe I will come back to it, maybe I won't. I am on the no plan juice plan and were gonna play that plan by ear.

On a more positive, solid food note.... I catered a party a couple of weekends ago and pretended that I was a southern belle again. You know, the whole she-bang. Biscuits, pimento cheese, slaw, mac n cheese.... I did it up real southern and real delicious.

I really just love southern food. SO much. It's comforting, it's satisfying, and it's gosh darn delicious. (Ya, I said "gosh darn." It was cute, right?) You should give it a try... Southern food that is. It will make you happy and it will make you full which are the very best things to be.

a little southern birthday catering by yours truly. 

Ingredients:
5 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs (they don't have to be boneless and skinless, but it makes everything easier because you don't have to pick out the skin and bones. That all sounds very barbaric, but it is true.)
2 onions, quartered
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons liquid smoke
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Special equipment:
Slow cooker

carolina style BBQ pulled chicken

Method:
Place onions in slow cooker.
Blend brown sugar, paprika, salt and pepper; rub over chicken things.
Place chicken in a slow cooker and drizzle the liquid smoke over it. If you haven't used liquid smoke before, you are in for a treat. It is awesome.
Combine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and garlic, stir to mix well and then pour into slow cooker.
Cook the chicken on low for about 8 hours until it is falling apart and your house smells like heaven.
Remove meat and onions, discard onions and shred meat. Add juices from slow cooker to the shredded chicken so that it is super moist. I know that word is gross to many of you, but it is the only appropriate word. I am sorry.
Now, here's the really great thing... this chicken is freaking delicious by itself, or you can pile it on a bun, top it with some slaw, and eat it as the most delicious pulled chicken sandwich ever.

Enjoy!

Fried Chicken Southern Feast

I talk about a lot of things that I love on this blog. It's safe to say that I'm a pretty lovey- dovey person. (You should see me after a glass of wine...) But there are few things that give me butterflies more than a dinner party. (Except Rich, a glass of wine... or even better, Rich handing me a glass of wine). As I've gotten older, I've even found ways to tie all of the things that I love into a dinner party.  And with Michael's sister, Elizabeth, in town, it was the perfect time to tie all the people I love into a meal that was, if I must say so, to die for. And, if you've read my blog, you know that if I'm cooking dinner, people are gonna get fed... a lot.

Since Elizabeth is from North Carolina (she goes to college in Boone, the same little town Rich grew up in), and since I am trying to look as unattractive as possible before heading to our Palm Springs vacation, I decided that it was the perfect night for some fried chicken! I mean, when is it not the perfect time for fried chicken? Now, since I don't break out the deep frier very often (I care about my health and I would like my husband to still have three or four abs), when I do bust it out, IT'S ON! Like Donkey Kong. Which is about how big I felt after eating my way through this epic dinner. Who wants to go bikini shopping!?

Dinner Menu:

Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Biscuits with Pimento Cheese

Fried Pickles

Marinated Heirloom Tomatoes

Cheddar Grits

Homemade Fresh Mint Ice Cream

Ingredients

3 pounds or so of chicken pieces. I used thighs and drumsticks. (If you buy happy, humanely raised, free range chickens, I will think you are a better person and so will the universe. Thanks.)

1 quart buttermilk 

4 cups unbleached flour
1 tbsp baking soda

3 tbsp garlic powder

2 tbsp onion powder

1 tbsp hungarian paprika

2 tsp black pepper

3 tsp kosher salt

Canola oil for frying (Or peanut, or another high heat oil)

Special Equipment:

Deep Fryer or heavy dutch oven pan (think Cast Iron Le Crueset.) We have the Breville deep fryer from Williams Sonoma and I love it.... I just wish it was 4 times bigger!

Method:

Place chicken pieces in a large bowl and pour the buttermilk over them. Let marinate for as long as possible. I marinated for about 12 hours, but overnight would be ideal!

Set deep fryer to 320 degrees. If you are using a dutch oven, use a thermometer to regulate temperature. Mix flour and spices together in a large bowl. Remove chicken from buttermilk and coat with flour mixture. Fry chicken for about 12 minutes until golden brown, crispy, and 160 degrees in the center. I am OCD and temperature check every piece of chicken! Transfer to a drying rack to drip and then keep warm in the oven until ready to serve.

 

cheddar grits.

i spy....

 

and then Tuna joined us for dinner. 

*Note: We don't usually let Lucy (Tuna) sit at the head of the table,

but she hurt her paw so we wanted to make her feel better

Uova da Raviolo & Kitchen Cartwheels

Richard and I are going to Italy in October (ah!!!) and in preparation for our trip we have been watching a lot.... I mean A LOT of Anthony Bourdain. It's no secret that we are huge food people... I mean, I would skip Vatican City AND endless gondola rides to experience some serious bolognese (yes, I plan to eat meat in Italy... but that's another conversation, one I'd honestly prefer not to have.) 

With Rich being on be rest, he has been doubling up on his "No Reservations" episodes (and his TV watching and eating). Yesterday, while I was at work bringing home that cheddar (both figuratively and literally... SEE PHOTO below**) he watched the episode on Emilia-Romagna and the next thing I know, the text messages start pouring in..... "you have to make this," "please PLEASE make this, my lovely darling wife...." "our relationship depends on you making this ravioli." He said all of that, minus the pleasantries and with more threats, that our true love truly depended on me making this dish. Anyway, you get the picture.....

me... bringing home the cheddar.

So, being the wonderful, caring, pretty wife that I am (pretty first, wonderful and caring a distant second and third)... I did it. And it did it 'effing' well. 

Here's the thing. I can cook. Pretty well. (Toot Toot) But no matter how great you think you are at something, there are still things (really difficult dishes) that scare the living crap out of you. For me, this was one of them. First off, I had never even heard of "sunny side up egg filled ravioli" and second.... I am sorry.... I have to COOK the pasta while keeping an egg inside of it RAW?!?! 

WTF.

I am not a wizard. No matter how many times I watch Harry Potter.

But again, being the (insert a bunch of flattering adjectives here) wife that I am.... I decided to give it a whirl.... and ended up pretty much doing cartwheels in my kitchen (which, in hindsight, considering Rich's condition could definitely be considered showing off)... But what could I do, I was  overwhelmed with joy and I'm terrible at dancing (which I was too gluttonously full to do anyway). 

Uova da Raviolo

Ingredients:

For the Pasta

3 to 4 cups flour (I used exactly 3... it was humid out)

4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

For the Ravioli

1/2 small white or black truffle, shaved***

1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated, plus more for garnishing pasta
1/2 cup fresh sheep's milk ricotta
1/2 cup spinach, blanched, drained and chopped
Scant pinch nutmeg
Salt and white pepper to taste
1 recipe basic pasta dough, recipe follows
7 very fresh eggs
12 tablespoons butter, melted and kept warm

***If you cannot find truffles or cannot afford them because they are priced like gold, you can use black truffle butter (found at Whole Foods) or could sprinkle the dish with truffle salt (also found at Whole Foods.) I don't recommend using truffle oil... if doesn't actually contain truffles, usually just the fragrance of them and the flavor will cook out with you heat it. 

This makes 6 raviolis, which, in my opinion, could feed 4. They are soooo filling. But, three per person is a good portion. 

Also, I would have a couple extra eggs on hand in case you break one of the yolks. 

happy eggs from happy chickens.... buy them!

Method:

For the Pasta

Mound 3 1/2 cups of the flour in the center of a large wooden cutting board. Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the eggs and the olive oil. Using a fork, beat together the eggs and oil and begin to incorporate the flour, starting with the inner rim of the well.

As you expand the well, keep pushing the flour up from the base of the mound to retain the well shape. The dough will come together when half of the flour is incorporated.

Start kneading the dough with both hands, using the palms of your hands. Once you have a cohesive mass, remove the dough from the board and scrape up and discard any leftover bits. Lightly reflour the board and continue kneading for 6 more minutes. The dough should be elastic and a little sticky. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. Roll or shape as desired.

For the Ravioli
Recipe from Mario Batali

In a bowl, combine 1/2 the truffle shavings, the Parmigiano, the ricotta and the spinach, mix well, and season to taste with nutmeg, salt and white pepper. Set aside.

Roll out the pasta dough to the thinnest setting on a pasta rolling machine. From the thin pasta sheet, cut 12 circles with a 6-inch diameter. Set 6 of the circles on a sheet tray dusted with flour, cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

In the center of each of the remaining 6 circles, mound an equal portion of the ricotta mixture. With the back of a small ladle or spoon, hollow out a well in the center of each mound. 

Carefully break the eggs, 1 at a time, into a small bowl, and transfer 1 yolk and a bit of white into the center of each well. It is imperative that the yolk remain unbroken.

Cover each filled circle of pasta with an unfilled circle, and press the edges together with fingers to seal.

Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons salt. Gently, using a wide spatula, lower each ravioli into the water to cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the water and place gently into a 12 to14-inch saute pan with the remaining butter, shave the remaining truffle over, add a generous grating of Parmigiano-Reggiano and carefully put 1 on each plate.

Vegan Five Bean Chili

I know.... I said the "V-Word..."

When I first stopped eating meat, 6 whole months ago, I had this idea that I would just continue cooking all of my favorite meals and just leave out the meat. Super simple. Except for that Beef commercial I booked one month later (hey, I'm a capitalist first) things were pretty simple. Chicken stir fry became veggie stir fry. Chicken soup became veggie soup (not for Rich, he's "not a quitter"). But then my little trick became, well, trickier. You see I'm not a fan of fake meats. If you give up meat, why are you in such a hurry to eat a "burger." Maybe try eating more vegetables? So without fake meat at my disposal, some of my favorite dishes became hard to adapt to my new diet. For example chicken paprikash did not become veggie paprikash... it became disgusting red vegetable gloup. Braised beef short ribs? Let's not even go there...

Don't get me wrong, I love my veggies and there are endless amazing vegetarian dishes that I have seriously started mastering, but steak.... is still steak. And while cauliflower steaks with smoked cauliflower puree (recipe coming soon) are delicious, you can only eat so many grilled vegetables before considering suicide.

Enter chili.

I have tried a lot of vegetarian chili recipes and to be honest, none of them are bad.... they just aren't chili. At least not by the standard definition of flavor profile. Sure, chili pretty much tastes like chili. It's beans and spices, but when you leave out the meat, you lose that comforting, warm THING that feels good in your mouth. You know, that thing chili is all about. What is that thing, you ask? That thing is lentils.

Yup. LENTILS! Bet you didn't see that coming, carnivores.

This recipe is actually VEGAN. It's crazy, I know. I made a dish Fiona Apple would eat. But don't stop reading yet. I fed it to our uber-carnivorous roommate Michael (yup, we're married with roommates) and he didn't even realize it was missing meat... it's that tasty.

five bean chili.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped..... use one whole RED bell pepper. It doesn't matter- go crazy!!

4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 cups lentils, cooked

1 can black beans, drained

1 can great northern beans, drained

1 can kidney beans, drained

1 can pinto beans, drained

1 28oz can chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp cumin

3 tbsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp dried oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

In a large pot (I use a Le Creuset dutch oven because my husband loves me and bought me one) heat olive oil and sauté onions and bell pepper over medium heat until golden. Add the garlic and sauté 1 minute until fragrant. Add the rest of the ingredients.... the beans, the lentils, the spices.... you name it and mix them all together. Bring to a simmer and then turn the heat to low and let cook for 30 minutes or so until all of the flavors are combined.

this is how I roll.

And, if you're like me and you're ok with making your vegan friends happy and jealous all in one bowl- pile on the cheddar cheese, greek yogurt (extra protein!) and avocado on your own bowl and I dare you to miss the meat!

If you're vegan? Add some sliced green onions and avocado and try not to cry at how much better my bowl looks with ten tons of cheddar on it.

Homemade Ricotta Cheese & Lemon Ricotta Pasta with Arugula

Can my titles get any longer? Jeeze. 

There are some mornings where I wake up and think "Do they deliver pizza at 10am?" (Translation: How do I keep from having to cook today. Alt translation: I am hungover.) Then there are other mornings where I wake up and think, "That laundry won't smell that much worse tomorrow. If a bill is already late what's one more day?" (Translation: I love cooking so much that you can't get me out of the kitchen today). Today is a "Let the mold grow on my old towels, I'm finding a home-made cheese recipe" day. 

Rich is playing dead on the couch with a tweaked back. This happens to him sometimes. He is old now. It could be worse. He could be actually dead on the couch. Not that I would know, today I'm busy being a cheesemonger. I kid. Usually I would feel bad for him, but this time I think his agonizing pain may have to do with karma and the location of his wedding band being somewhere in the middle of Melrose Avenue (read more here) but either way..... I take playing nurse very seriously and as the world's best nurse- I know that curing a man is just as easy as making him fall in love with me.... through his stomach, of course. 

Homemade Ricotta Cheese

We were at a friend's party a few months ago... you know, one of those super grown up, bring a dish to contribute, cook with your friends party. A party like that is usually my favorite kind because I can show off a bit,  but oh no. Not this time. Some girl walked in the door and announced that for her "party trick" she was going to make homemade ricotta cheese because "it's so much better to eat it fresh and warm." I bet she's an actress. I should give her some notes and make her say that again, but in a way that didn't make me want to gag. Who am I kidding, it wasn't how she said, it was what she said. I hated her instantly. I hate most people that show me up (I also hate other gingers for a similar reason. Except for Prince Harry. Rich, I dare you to lose another wedding band.) So, everyone gathered in the kitchen (I sulked in the back corner) and began ooh-ing and ah-ing at how much cooler this girl was than me. Even worse, they didn't even bother to compare her to me. Now, usually after such a traumatizing experience I would have gone home that night and made 6 batches of perfect ricotta just to repair my ginger ego... (which is as tender as ginger skin in the June sun) but this time was different. I needed a few months before I was ready to tackle this cheesy masterpiece... and today seemed like the perfect day. 

Now, had I known that ricotta cheese is literally one of the easiest things I have ever made, maybe I would have been a little bit less of an embarrassment to myself in the story above. But, alas, nobody is perfect... including Ms. Party Ricotta (worst Halloween costume ever.)


Ingredients:
4 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp kosher salt
3 tbsp organic white wine vinegar


Method:
Set a large strainer over a deep bowl. Dampen 2 layers of cheesecloth with water and line the strainer with the cheesecloth.

Combine the milk, cream and salt into a pot and bring to a full boil over medium heat. Turn off the heat and stir in the white wine vinegar. Allow the mixture to stand for a couple of minutes until it curdles. It will separate into thick parts (the curds) and milky parts (the whey).

Pour the mixture into the cheesecloth-lined strainer and allow it to drain into the bowl at room temperature for 20 to 25 minutes, occasionally discarding the liquid that collects in the bowl. The longer you let the mixture drain, the thicker the ricotta. Transfer the ricotta to a bowl, discarding the cheesecloth and any remaining whey.

That's it! So simple and it really makes such a difference to use fresh ricotta in a recipe..... like this one:

Lemon Ricotta Pasta with Arugula

I love pasta so much. I have said this 1000 times just today. My favorite pasta dishes are bright, hearty, and fresh tasting and this one is exactly that! Now, you do not have to use homemade ricotta cheese, though I do recommend it. If you MUST buy a store-bought cheese, try to find a whole milk ricotta so that you get a creamier texture. Not a vegetarian? Add some grilled chicken to this dish for a great dinner.

Ingredients:
1 pound whole wheat spaghetti
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
5 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
2 lemons, juiced and zested
2 cups fresh ricotta cheese (the above recipe should yield about that)
A few big hand-fulls of arugula (I used both baby and wild)
A pinch of red pepper flakes
1/4 cup reserved pasta water
Kosher Salt

Method:
Cook pasta in well salted water. Cook it to al dente- it's better that way.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil, sliced garlic, and red pepper flakes over low heat. You are just infusing the oil... do not brown the garlic or your pasta will taste bitter. Strain the garlic and pepper flakes from the oil. 

Drain the pasta, reserving 1/4 cup or so of the water, and toss the pasta with the garlicky olive oil, ricotta cheese, lemon juice and zest, and arugula. The heat from the pasta should be just enough to wilt the arugula. If your pasta is a little dry, you can add the reserved pasta water a little at a time. 

Season with kosher salt and serve. 

Menu Changes and Hair Chops

In true Sarah Keith fashion I have only the best of reasons why I haven't blogged in a month (er... 6 weeks.) BUT... to try something new and completely crazy, I am not even going to give any excuses, but go straight into the best blog post that I have ever written in the last month!

I have had two major life developments in the past few weeks. Don't get too excited.... neither has to do with buns in my oven or cooking shows starring yours truly (yet!) No, these two things are far less serious. Get ready......

1. I chopped my hair off. All of my pretty long hair that I spent months growing out for my wedding... CHOPPED! Watch out.

2. I have decided to stop eating meat. The word vegetarian may come to your mind.... and that is pretty damn accurate. However- let's clear a few things up......

I am a chef. I love food and I also have a husband that has agreed to cut back on his twice daily meat consumption, but has not agreed to be as drastic as his wonderful wife. So.... when you combine all of those things what do you get? This rant that I have decided to put in all caps just in case there are any misunderstandings. I WILL STILL BE COOKING, TAKING PHOTOS OF, BLOGGING ABOUT, AND LOVING THE TASTE OF MEAT. Yes, all caps. My point better be made after that.

So, you may wonder if all of the above is staying the same, then why stop eating meat in the first place? Well, I love animals.... sometimes too much (re: number of dogs in the Keith household) and as much as I love food, I can keep on loving it without consuming meat. That's that.

Here's the other thing related to the above rant..... let's say I am ohhhh, I dunno- In the south spending a weekend in Charleston and eating at my favorite restaurant with my sweet husband. If he orders the most amazing, inventive, culinary masterpiece that may contain meat you may ask- "Sarah, I know you are a vegetarian now, but since you are a chef and love food so much, will you still try your husbands dish?" The answer is yes. That's just life. Take it or leave it.

So I am sure at this point you are obviously biting your nails wondering what my recipes are going to start looking like and here's what you have to look forward to:

Dutch baby pancakes with blueberry vanilla maple syrup, bananas, and lemon zest. 

Roasted carrot salad with avocado, roasted beets, and citrus dressing.

Grilled zucchini salad with fresh basil, almonds, hazelnuts, and feta cheese. 

Caramelized fennel with kalamata olives, creamy goat cheese, roasted garlic, and fresh dill.

Orecchiette with roasted beets and arugula topped with shaved parmesan.

Kale caesar salad with homemade croutons.

Yup, that's a chicken. Told you nothings changing.