Rain, Sleet, Snow...Spring in Michigan

Having lived in Michigan for 14 and half years now, I still am in shock and awe that when March arrives there are continuous "Winter Weather Advisories". You would think I would know by now what to expect.

On a day like yesterday where you couldn't tell if it was snowing or raining, I needed something warm and comforting to come out of my kitchen. I was craving something earthy, with herbal goodness, and I definitely wanted something with pasta. There's nothing better than a bowl of pasta on a rainy day. I had purchased some Whole Wheat Chicciole, a pasta shaped like snails. Chicciole actually means "snail" in Italian. One of my favorite brands for this pasta is Bionature.
I also had some white mushrooms. Immediately, I thought of creamy mushrooms over pasta. Fresh dill was on sale the last time I was at the grocery store, so I knew the combination of creamy mushrooms and onions over a whole wheat pasta would be complimented well by the dill. I was getting close to finding my earthy, herbal, pasta goodness. I live with a carnivore, I mentioned him a few posts ago, therefore I wanted to incorporate some pork tenderloin that I had in the freezer. I thought I would simply make pan seared pork tenderloin medallions. This dish already was full of flavor, and kind of heavy considering the creamy mushrooms and whole wheat pasta, but since I was cutting the meat into small pieces, I thought I would, in the words of Emeril Lagasse, kick it up a notch. Since we are still in this confusing transition from winter to spring, I thought I would bring back an old time favorite from the icy days; nutmeg. I prepared a rub for the pork consisting of nutmeg, dried tarragon, ground coriander, paprika, and white pepper corn. Now, we're cooking.
The dish was comforting and incredibly satisfactory. The nutmeg in the pork rub played so well with the creamy mushrooms and onions, and the tarragon with its licorice hints was outstanding in its supporting role. The dish was earthy, herby, creamy, and surprisingly fresh with the addition of fresh dill over the pasta. A perfect meal for a rainy, snowy,sleeting Michigan spring day.

Here's the recipe:

Chopped White Mushrooms
Sliced White Onion
Olive Oil
Garlic Powder
Milk
Parmesan Cheese
Black Pepper

Whole Wheat Chicciole Pasta
Fresh Dill

Pork Tenderloin
Pork Rub:
Dried Tarragon
Ground Coriander
Nutmeg
Paprika
Salt
White Pepper Corn


Pork Preparation:
1.1 1/2 teaspoon of tarragon, 1 1/2 teaspoon of coriander, 1 teaspoon of nutmeg, 1 teaspoon of paprika, 1 teaspoon of white pepper corn mixed to make rub. Cut the meat in half inch medallions and sprinkle with salt. Rub the meat with spices. Pan sear in olive oil. For medium cooked meat, about 5-7 minutes.

Mushrooms:
1. Slice white mushrooms and onions. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil to medium heat. Add the mushrooms and onions and 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder to saute. When onions have become translucent, add 1/2 cup of milk. Bring the heat down to medium low. Add about 1/4 cup of shredded parmesan and black pepper. Let sauce simmer until it starts to become less runny and more thick.

Pasta:
Make according to directions.


I hope you enjoy this dish and please share any variations that you like to include. No matter if you are accustomed to the Michigan "Spring" or a dreamer like me, this dish will sooth any kind of rainy day blues.

As always, Pleasant Eating.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

There are so many things I could write about the following recipe, but I need to gather my thoughts. Therefore, I will share the recipe for now, and share my thoughts later.

This recipe fits everyone, the family on the go, the bachelor, the "single lady", the aspiring chef, and of course, even the college student. There are always shortcuts in cooking, therefore, you could cut this down to 20 minutes if needed, but we're going for some authenticity here, so let's roll up our sleeves, put on our apron, and get together in the kitchen.

Here's what you need:

Ground Turkey thigh
Bread crumbs
Carrot
Onion
Garlic powder
salt and pepper
Dried Tarragon
Ground Coriander
Chicken stock (not necessary, but if you have it, great)
Olive oil

Canned "Italian style" tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes (or any other kind of fresh tomato)
Tomato paste
Dried Oregano
Sugar
Salt and pepper
Dried Thyme
Fresh basil (not necessary, but really makes a difference)

The Meatball:

I didn't really measure anything, just portioned it, so the following measurements are an estimate.

Shred one carrot and one onion. Mix 1/2 pound of ground turkey meat with shredded carrot and shredded onion (small), 1/3 cup of bread crumbs, teaspoon of salt, pepper, and coriander, and 1/2 teaspoon of tarragon. Mix this together, set aside.
Turn on oven to 425. Put a pan on the stove with some olive oil and set to medium heat. When the olive oil is warm, shape meatballs and fry in pan just so that each side is seared and brown. Set aside meatballs after you are done.

Line a baking dish with aluminum foil and put the meatballs inside. Pour the water from the canned tomatoes over the meatballs, and about 1/3 cup of chicken stock. Cover with foil and bake. About 25 minutes.

The sauce:

I would recommend doing this with a homemade marina if you have one, but for now, we will do the quick version.

Set a sauce pan to medium heat. Now, TOOL DISCLAIMER, if you have a food processor or blender, follow the next steps, if not, no problem, wait for instructions at the end.
Throw the canned tomatoes and cherry tomatoes into the food processor/blender and puree. Add to heated pan. Add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste. 1/2 teaspoon of oregano and thyme. 2 teaspoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt with black pepper to taste. Let this simmer at medium heat, stirring every 3-5 minutes. You want the sauce to reduce, but not to get dry. If it looks like it's getting dry, lower the heat.

Alright, instructions for the tool-less: Dice your fresh tomatoes and add to the canned tomatoes in the pan. Use a fork to mash them after they have cooked for about 10 minutes. Your sauce will have a different consistency than if you were to puree your tomatoes.

The Pasta:

Do your thing, if it's spaghetti or rigatoni, or linguini, to each his own. Add some of the pasta water to the tomato sauce (about 2 tablespoons). Also, add some of the cooking liquid from the meatballs into the sauce (also 2 tablespoon).

Sauce will be done when the pasta is done. Meatballs should only be in the oven for 25 minutes.

Plate: pasta, meatballs, sauce, fresh basil and grated parmesan....mmmm..mmm..mmm So good, you might even impress an Italian.

The meatballs are tender and full of flavor. They are also lighter on the stomach and body since its turkey meat versus beef. The sauce is sweet, and floral (with the help of the basil and oregano). The fresh tomatoes really make the sauce light and juicy.

This took me about 45-50 minutes to do. Let your kids help by shaping the meatballs, have your husband do the dishes. This is a great dish to make with roommates in college, and its super cheap to put together for a group if you share ingredients. Also, a great dish to make for a date fellas/ladies, especially if she/he loved the movie Lady and the Tramp.

Pleasant Eating!

Just Regular Lunch

One of the greatest things about cooking is that there is always a treat for you in the end. Whether its the first warm chocolate chip cookie that you sneak away, a tiny piece off the roasted chicken leg thats just dripping with herb and butter goodness, or the surprising lunch that you flipped from predictable to amazing with just one ingredient.

Great victories, like the roasted chicken, are in fact by definition, great. They will fill up your memory bank and be passed down generations. But what about the everyday activities that seem to boost your confidence while feeding your belly? I believe that those are the moments that make us who we are in order to achieve the great victories. Never think of your everyday lunch or breakfast the same; think of them as training sessions for the big game (ex: dinner party, grilling gathering, dare I say it, Thanksgiving).

Here's my little victory of the day:

Last night I made vegetarian burritos. Budget has been tight lately so it was a minimalist kind of dinner (I hope I made Mark Bittman proud). I sautéed yellow peppers and onions with cilantro, garlic, cayenne pepper, and s&p (salt and pepper for future reference). I steamed some basmati rice as well. The burritos were assembled with rice, sautéed vegetables, black beans, avocado, salsa, sour cream, and cheese. Here's the interesting part about the cheese. I didn't buy any for the burritos, but I had some string cheese (which is mozzarella) in the fridge, so I grated it and put it on top of the warm rice. Seriously, one of the best mistakes I have ever made. I baked some of the tortilla with olive oil and sea salt and had chips to go with my delicious burrito.

Now onto today's victory, I promise. My boyfriend came home for lunch, and we had about 20 minutes together (it's our 3 and a half year anniversary today...aww..that's us in the picture). Instead of the usual turkey sandwich, we made wraps with the leftover tortillas. Nothing new, has been done before. His wrap was smoked turkey breast, freshly shredded white cheddar, and BBQ sauce, all melted in the microwave. I added Romaine lettuce for some crunch. He will eat anything with BBQ on it, so why not stuff it with extra veggies for my dear carnivore.

I've been craving sushi, I mentioned the budget issue earlier, right? So this is where the avocado came to play. I put together the same smoked turkey breast, same cheese, cucumber slices, avocado, and romaine in the tortilla wrap. The end product? Delicious! Turkey and avocado go so well together. I was surprised by the white cheddar and cucumber combination! If this was dressed up a little, it would definitely fit on a California deli menu. Best part of this, it really didn't need dressing of any kind. The cucumber and avocado keep everything together and the smoked turkey and cheddar are great boosts of flavor. Therefore, this is great for your body as well.

It's a foggy, rainy day here in Michigan, but I just went to my kitchen and had lunch in San Francisco : ) And that is the best victory of my day.

Pleasant eating everyone!