Cassoulet

I lived far too long without ever experiencing the awesome power of Cassoulet. Our wonderful neighbors offered to cook it for us sometime last year and I had to look it up the night before when they asked if we liked it- hmmm ,stew/casserole with white beans and meat, sounds delicious.

It was so delicious, rich and hearty; it tasted like something that had been simmering all day but this version was put together in just 30 min or so. This version is lighter and faster than its richer meatier counterpart but lovely just the same. This is based the original recipe that we had but tweaked just a bit seasoning wise. It is the only dish that I cook regularly that uses wine (mostly I don't like the flavor of wine sauces) all of the alcohol cooks out if the directions are followed and it doesn't taste the same when replaced with chicken broth. Being the non drinker I am and living with a non wine drinker, I usually get a better quality canned wine or whatever is on sale.

Stove top Cassoulet Recipe

2 15 ounce cans white beans- rinsed

1 T olive oil

1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs-fat trimmed, chopped into bite sized pieces

1 large onion

6 cloves garlic-roughly chopped

2 T fresh rosemary- chopped

1 t Herb de Provence

1 t fresh ground pepper

1/2 c dry white wine

1 c chicken broth

1/2 lb sausage (chicken keilbasa works great)-sliced into 1/2 in pieces

2 T fresh parsley- chopped

Put 1/2 cup of beans in a small bowl and mash with a fork, add remaining beans and set aside.

Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat, add chicken in a single layer and cook until browned (2-3 min. per side). Transfer to a plate

Add onion and garlic to pan and cook until onion is softened (about 5 min.) Add seasoning and cook until fragrant (30 sec.) Add wine and increase to high, stirring to scrape up bits until wine is decreased by half (1-2 min). Add broth, sausage, beans and chicken; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is cooked through (about 5 min.) Top with parsley and serve with buttered bread.

For spicy sauce enthusiasts, I highly recommend a bit of Sriracha over the top....So good!

To please the Vegans

Ok, This is the post wherein I will write about the awesome pizza that I made last weekend but can't show you because I forgot to take pictures of the beautiful, finished product. You will just have to trust that it was as amazing as I say.

First the dough, remember? I decided to make something special for a vegan friend so no delicious buttery tomato sauce this time, i don't think margarine would be quite the same. I vaguely remember a seasonal fall pizza I had long ago that involved butternut squash and a balsamic reduction so I decided to try my hand at it. I am also a huge fan of potato pizza so i made a vegan version of it too.

I caramelized some onions, very simple but very time consuming. Lots of oil, lots of onions lots of stirring, time and tears. Roasted a small butternut squash with olive oil, salt and pepper and a bit of "pasta seasoning". Very easy- just throw it in at 400 and toss every 20 min. until done.

After the onions were done I deglazed the pan with 1/2 cup of Balsamic vinegar and reduced it by half. It turned out so good but the aroma in my house was very intense for long afterwards.

For the potato pizza I thinly sliced potatoes (the # 1 use for my mandolin slicer) for dairy eaters I use a base of Creme Fraiche and top it with a good white cheese (gruyere, swiss, gouda etc. )this time I used a smoked Gruyere blend from Trader Joes. For Vegans an olive oil base.

But all topped with caramelized onion and salt and pepper.

For the Butternut squash pizza- an olive oil base, salt, pepper, squash, caramelized onions (cheese for the normies) and a drizzle of the balsamic reduction right as it came out.

So, sorry you couldn't be there and that I forgot to photograph it but you can ask this girl, it was awesome.

Don't Stop Till You Get Anoff

It all started with Ravioli. Part of my Christmas vacation was spent with my fabulous friend Wylie making delicious butternut squash and ricotta spinach ravioli's for a friend in the middle of a big, and sure to be incredible Art installation ( The excellent Mandy Greer). Wylie came up with a great idea - to get together once in awhile and cook food for incredible people who are incredibly busy. Such a fantastic idea! I will let you know how it goes, it's my turn to pick someone next!

Ok, Stroganoff. When we ran out of ravioli filling I made some regular pasta from the egg dough. I can be a bit picky about what egg pasta is good for. Mostly I think it suits hearty stews and things well, not so much regular pasta sauce.

I decided to try my hand at Beef Stroganoff. I haven't ever really made it, but have fond memories of it as a kid. I chose a cooking light recipe but really can't bring myself to buy low fat dairy products so didn't quite follow it. I used the slow cooker, because its easy, but didn't get it started until a bit late.

The man and I decided on Brussels sprouts and carrots to accompany (because that is what we had) and mostly followed this recipe.

Despite, the beef ending up a bit underdone because of my trying to rebel against the cooking time. The verdict is- Delicious!

Pizza time

Yum! While opinions may vary about what makes a great pizza, I pretty much love them all. Ever since a trip to Italy in 2006 though, I have had a special place in my heart for Neopolitan style thin crust pizza. The Man will eat most anything but loves to mock this pizza "a pizza should feed more than one person" is one of his favorite sayings on the subject. It certainly does seem like a trend in most cities right now, these fancy places with gigantic multi thousand dollar pizza ovens that have to heat up all day because they are wood fired. I like going out for it and all but I am very happy to have been introduced to a way of making it at home that is truly gratifying (thanks Jen!) and delicious!

Dough- after getting a Kitchen Aid as a Christmas gift from the Man last year my goal was to use it at least once a week, I had never ventured into this sort of baking and after almost killing my moms bread machine as a teenager, was super scared of yeasty things. The only time i've really screwed up so far was when i over kneaded a batch of this and semi-fried my beautiful green beast (Kitchen Aid) Those folks at Kitchen Aid are super helpful though, they replaced it right away. So lesson learned if it doesn't pass the "windowpane" test, don't just keep mixing it, give it a rest...literally.

The recipe I have liked the best is a Peter Reinhardt pizza dough reblogged here-

Awesome pizza dough

It's fantastic and freezes really well.

Also I can't say enough good things about this beauty-

pizza stone

She's a real fine Pizza Stone that washes up real nice.

Sauce- The easiest, most wondrous pizza sauce ever-

The Sauce

Crushed tomatoes, simmered with butter and what ever else sounds good. Put through the food mill. That's it and it is incredible.

Their is no shame in keeping it simple with cheese, less is more with these things though, for sure.

Artichokes, left over from a fantastic New years crab boil. I just harvested their heart and put them on a base of Ricotta, with a bit of Mozzarella and some Parm...amazing!

Hello

Hi! I am mostly starting this as a way of keeping track of my projects. I hope to talk about and feature things that I make- food, clothes etc. But totally reserve the right to flake out at any time, that seems to be how it goes with these things.