Plus, this recipe is vegetarian – a good start to the Mark Bittman lessmeatarian challenge!

Lasagna roll-ups

• 9 lasagna noodles
• 1 10 oz. package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
• 15 oz. part-skim ricotta
• 1 cup mozzarella
• 1/4 c. Parmesan
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 26 oz. jar tomato sauce (any flavor will work – I chose tomato and basil)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook lasagna noodles according to directions.
3. In a large bowl, mix spinach, ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, and egg. 
4. Put 1/2 c. of tomato sauce in the bottom of a casserole dish (they’ll squeeze into a 8×8 pan).
5. Spread about 1/3 c. of the spinach/cheese mixture on each noodle and roll up.
6. Place each roll seam-side down in the pan.
7. Pour the rest of the sauce on top of the rolls.
8. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes or until hot.

But finally my luck started turning!  First there was the dessert for our Valentine’s Day dinner: King Arthur Flour’s fudge brownies, described as in-between fudgy and cakey.  Oh my lord, these were amazing.  I made a half batch of these, and scanted the sugar as I always do.  I used my new favorite cocoa, Droste (has to be amazing because it’s Dutch! like me!) as well as Ghiradelli 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate chips.  Perfect combination.  These brownies were dark and rich and just sweet enough and absolutely positively addictive. 

Then there was the dinner party featuring Ina Garten’s Spinach in Puff Pastry.  It can be tricky finding appropriate main dishes for dinner parties including vegetarians, because, well, the Boy loves meat (bless him) and is just the tiniest bit picky about what vegetables he’ll eat.  I’m not entirely convinced that he loved this dish (actually I know that he didn’t love it) but I count it a success since he ate it without complaining.  For 3 nights in a row.  (We’re in a frugal state of mind …. leftovers are sacred things these days).  ANYhow, this is a spectacular dish.  It looks pretty coming out of the oven, and the filling itself is so flavorful and tasty.  The puff pastry … that, of course, can speak for itself.    I found the recipe here,  and I think the only change I made was to use a 16 oz bag of frozen spinach – the more the better in my opinion!

This raging success was followed in a milder form by a solid soup recipe I made for a staff potluck at work.  It’s a recipe for cheddar, corn and potato chowder I found at Whole Foods.  It’s not out of this world amazing, but it’s an easy solid recipe.

In my opinion, at least, it was easily overshadowed by my second batch of brownies (yup! Two batches in 3 days – that must be a record of some kind!)  This time I tried the King Arthur Flour recipe for fudgy brownies, found in their amazing Cookie Companion cookbook.  There isn’t a recipe for it online, but it’s actually quite similar to the in-between recipe referenced above.  It has less butter and sugar and cocoa, but I can’t remember the exact amounts.  In any case, I made this batch with the remaining Ghiradelli chips, and scanted the sugar even more than usual …. because this batch I frosted.  And the Boy and I have now concluded that these brownies are the most irresistible dessert in the world.  They are seriously delicious.   Aside from the old standby of chocolate chip cookies, this is one of the first desserts that the Boy would probably fight me for.  (If you have any experience of the differing attitudes towards dessert found in his family (not Dutch) and my family (very Dutch), this will mean something to you.  If not … just take my word for it.)

The recipe wasn’t difficult to put together, but I struggled a bit with RTFR, and mis-judged the total amount of time it would take.  The Boy was very sweet about the delay, even though he was hovering around the stove – a clear indication that he’s hungry. 

We are sans microwave, so I cubed the squash and roasted it for about 30 minutes, with great results as always.  I made my own pie crust, using the old faithful Betty Crocker recipe I rely on.  In an attempt to make it a bit healthier, I used half white whole wheat flour and half all-purpose.  But the crust was definitely where the recipe faltered. 

I wanted so much to love this recipe.  And it came so, so close.  Even the Boy liked the flavors of it, and he’s a reluctant squash eater  (I should probably mention that I added bacon, since we had some leftover slices and the Boy loves bacon.  Yes, it was a bribe.  And it worked!)  But the crust!!  I don’t know what it was – maybe spraying the tart pan was the wrong move, because the crust ended up extremely tough and nearly impossible to cut neatly with a fork.  (We took different approaches to this problem: I ended up eating my tart in my hand like a slice of pizza, while the Boy slid the topping off and ate the crust separately.)  The topping was also a little on the crunchy side for my taste – it seemed to form a top crust that was also difficult to eat daintily.    

In the end, we decided it earned about a B as it was, but I look forward to trying it again, playing around with the crust.  Because seriously people, the smooth squash with the caramelized onions and the thyme, and the apples – really, really good.  And the bacon didn’t hurt either.

UPDATE: We brought the leftovers in for lunch today, and I was very pleasantly surprised by how well it re-heated.  We both thought it was even better today than last night.

I tried a new recipe last night, and it was definitely a keeper.  Very quick to make, very few ingredients, and both filling and yummy!  Best of all, it’s dairy free except for the cheese, which suits the lactose intolerant Boy just fine!  The original recipe came from here.  I didn’t change too much, but have noted my changes below. 

Broccoli and potato cheddar soup

• 6 medium Yukon gold potatoes, cubed into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces (I only used 4)
• 1 large bunch broccoli
• 2 cups cheddar, separated (I probably used about 3/4 cup total)
• salt
• olive oil
• pepper (to taste)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Put the potatoes in a large stock pot, approximately 6 quarts. Add cold water until the potatoes are covered by about an inch of water. Add two tablespoons of kosher salt. Place the pot over high heat and cover with a tight-fitting lid.

Chop the broccoli to remove the florets.  Keep the florets intact and spread on a cookie sheet.  Sprinkle with salt and drizzle with olive oil.

When the oven is at temperature and the potatoes are boiling, place the broccoli in the oven and let each cook for seven minutes (or until the potatoes are tender and the broccoli is crisp).

Remove the broccoli from the oven and take the potatoes off the heat. Don’t drain the potatoes (like I did!!)  Add half the broccoli to the potatoes and puree using an immersion blender. Chop the remaining broccoli and stir it into the soup, then slowly fold in about half a cup of the cheddar cheese. Serve with hearty bread and garnish with a teaspoon of the remaining shredded cheddar in each bowl. Bring the soup to table with the remaining cheese and allow people to stir it into their soups as they see fit.

But for this one occasion, this was absolutely the perfect recipe.  Our friend’s birthday was this past week, and he loves to cook.  Not only does he love to cook, but he actually does love those weird combinations, like basil-infused chocolate truffles or bacon-wrapples (bacon strips wrapped around apple slices and fried).  So for his birthday potluck yesterday, I whipped up a batch of these cupcakes. 

I took the recipe from here, and only made a few changes.   I halved the amount of bacon so that I could make half of the cupcakes vegetarian friendly.  In order to distinguish between the two, I made the veggie version regular size, and made the bacon ones miniature.  I also halved the amount of sugar in the recipe, using only 1 heaping cup (once you add frosting they are plenty sweet!)  I tried to get the bacon as crisp as possible and crumble it in the tiniest pieces, but despite my best efforts, the pieces were still too big for at least one person.   I didn’t garnish the tops with the reserved bacon – the Boy ate the bits before I noticed.  But I think I liked them better without bacon on the top anyhow. 

So.  The verdict?  I won’t make them again.  At least not with the bacon.  But the cupcakes themselves?  Absolutely amazing.  I have a feeling that this may well become my go-to recipe for chocolate cupcakes – they’re so moist and dark and yummy.

From a psychological standpoint, I find it fascinating that my mind immediately turned to food: specifically, what I could go home and make that night for lunches for the rest of the week.   I very happily spent my evening in the kitchen making split pea soup and no-knead dinner rolls.  It probably took me about 2 hours, not much of which was incredibly active work, and we have had absolutely delicious, hearty lunches this week as a result! 

Split pea soup (from 101 Cookbooks)

This is about as easy as it gets.  I substituted 1 cup of chicken broth for 1 cup of water, but otherwise followed the recipe almost exactly.  I found that 20 minutes was nowhere near long enough to get the peas as tender as I prefer, so I went to about 30 minutes.  I especially liked the touch of lemon – added a nice hint of acidity to the dish.

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
2 cups dried split green peas, picked over and rinsed
5 cups water
juice of 1/2 lemon (reserve the zest)

a few pinches of smoked paprika
more olive oil to drizzle

Add olive oil to a big pot over med-high heat. Stir in onions and salt and cook until the onions soften, just a minute or two. Add the split peas and water. Bring to a boil, dial down the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the peas are cooked through (but still a touch al dente). Using a large cup or mug ladle half of the soup into a bowl and set aside. Using a hand blender (or regular blender) puree the soup that is still remaining in the pot. Stir the reserved (still chunky) soup back into the puree – you should have a soup that is nicely textured. If you need to thin the soup out with more water (or stock) do so a bit at a time. Stir in the lemon juice and taste. If the soup needs more salt, add more a bit at a time until the flavor of the soup really pops.

Ladle into bowls or cups, and serve each drizzled with olive oil and topped with a good pinch of smoked paprika and a touch of lemon zest.

Serves 4 to 6.

No-Knead Dinner Rolls (from Everyday Food)

I halved the recipe, since the two of us don’t really need to eat 18 rolls (although next time I’ll try freezing the rest).  I used canola oil instead of the butter throughout the recipe, and substituted in 1 cup of white whole wheat flour for 1 cup of all-purpose.    This recipe is very easy and basically fool-proof.  I will absolutely be making these again!

Ingredients

Directions

1. Pour warm water into a large bowl; sprinkle with yeast, and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
2. Add sugar, butter, eggs, and salt; whisk to combine. Add flour; mix until incorporated and a sticky dough forms. Brush top of dough with butter; cover bowl with plastic wrap, and set aside in a warm place until dough has doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
3. Turn dough out onto a well-floured work surface. With floured hands, roll dough into a thick log. Cut into 18 equal pieces (halve log, cut each half in thirds, then cut each piece into thirds again).
4. Brush a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with butter. One at a time, flatten each piece of dough, then fold edges toward the center, pressing to secure, until a smooth ball forms. Place dough balls in prepared baking pan, smooth side up (you should have 3 rows of 6). Cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 30 to 40 minutes. (Alternatively, refrigerate, at least 4 hours and up to 1 day.)
5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove plastic wrap; brush rolls with butter. Bake until golden and rolls sound hollow when tapped on bottom, 35 to 40 minutes (tent with aluminum foil if browning too quickly). Pull rolls apart, and serve warm.

Smelling the aroma of bread fresh from the oven has to be one of the best smells there is.  Sunday was a cold day here in Boston, and due to the snowfall we got Saturday night I was perfectly happy to remain inside all day.  I’ve been wanting to try a recipe for English muffin toasting bread from King Arthur Flour for a while now, but had to wait until I could purchase some instant yeast. 

This is, as the recipe promises, a “mix-it-slap-in-the-pan-bake-and-eat-it” loaf, and it is dee-licious.  It seriously could not be easier to mix up: the hardest part was (at least for microwave-less me) warming the milk mixture.  (And by hard, I mean I had to linger by the stove periodically checking the temperature while simultaneously reading a book and keeping an eye on the TV.  Rocket science, people.)  The only change I made to the recipe was to substitute in 1 cup of white whole wheat flour for 1 cup of white flour.   This made no substantial difference in taste, so I will definitely do it this way again, just to get a little more nutrition in there.  I’ll probably experiment with upp-ing the ratio even more. 

English Muffin toasting bread (from King Arthur Flour)

Ingredients

Directions

Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and instant yeast in a large mixing bowl
Combine the milk, water, and oil in a separate, microwave-safe bowl, and heat to between 120°F and 130°F. The liquid will feel very hot (hotter than lukewarm), but not so hot that it would scald you. As a reference point, the hottest water from your kitchen tap is probably around 120°F (unless your tap water is so hot that it burns you).
Pour the hot liquid over the dry ingredients in the mixing bowlBeat at high speed for 1 minute. The dough will be very soft.
Lightly grease an 8 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ loaf pan, and sprinkle the bottom and sides with cornmeal
Scoop the soft dough into the pan, leveling it in the pan as much as possible.
Cover the pan, and let the dough rise till it’s just barely crowned over the rim of the pan. When you look at the rim of the pan from eye level, you should see the dough, but it shouldn’t be more than, say, 1/4″ over the rim. This will take about 45 minutes to 1 hour, if you heated the liquid to the correct temperature and your kitchen isn’t very cold. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 400°F.
Remove the cover, and bake the bread for 20 to 22 minutes, till it’s golden brown and its interior temperature is 190°F.
Remove the bread from the oven, and after 5 minutes turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool. Let the bread cool completely before slicing.

So for the first time, I actually think that New Year’s resolutions kind of make sense.  The whole idea of making oneself over, starting from scratch.  My sister-in-law is doing a detox this month with her family;  I commend her but don’t think I could actually give up most of the list on the forbidden list.  For me, what’s worked is establishing a more regular exercise routine (hi yoga dvds from target!)  ad just being more conscious of what I’m eating.

It has certainly helped that the Boy and I have been staying in a lot more.  This is never something we can agree to do, but some combination of saving money in a down economy, dark nights and cold weather with lots of snow has encouraged us to snuggle up inside with some comforting food.  Oh, and we’re attacking the Boy’s wine cellar, which has been needing some pruning. 

It’s also helped that I got some fabulous cook books for Christmas.  One of them was the 12 Best Foods Cookbook by Dana Jacobi.  As you might guess from the title, every recipe includes at least one ingredient from her list of 12: blueberries, black beans, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, salmon, spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, chocolate, walnuts, soy, and onions.  You may agree with me that this list sounds fairly fabulous!  I love all of those things, so we’ve been having fun making recipes from it.  The Boy  has burned out on sweet potatoes already, but I have a sweet potato and pecan burger from this issue of Cooking Light that I’m dying to make.  

But whether or not a recipe includes “best foods,” I’ve found that the simple act of preparing meals from fresh ingredients is somehow nourishing in and of itself.  It goes a long way to preserving my sanity in these dark months!

Good lord, it’s been a long time.  Did you notice I was gone?  You were probably too busy ripping open presents and drinking too much and then recovering from your subsequent hangover. 

I noticed I was gone, though.  I’ve had so many ideas and recipes I’ve wanted to share over the past 3 weeks but unfortunately I just couldn’t get near a computer.  I’m hoping to make up for it this month by posting as often as I can!

So to backtrack a little.  Some people may not realize that I was born on Christmas.  It’s both a blessing and a curse, let me tell you.  It’s a blessing in that my birthday is a guaranteed national holiday.  I have friends whose birthdays fall between Christmas and New Years and that is much, much worse.  But it’s a bit of a curse because I’ve never really had a traditional birthday party and more often than not, I’m completely wiped out by the end of the day with no interest in actually celebrating said birthday.  There’s a family legend in which I as a four year old child stamped my foot and told all my assembled family to go home.  I meant it with every fiber of my being …. they laughed and told me I was cute. (It still rankles a tiny bit.)  My birthday has usually been a day with as many family members around as possible and lots of stress due to multiple meal preparations.  I tend to be my mother’s favorite helper in the kitchen, so most of my birthday is spent making and cleaning up food.

So this year I mixed it up a bit: we celebrated my birthday on the 26th instead.  I had the whole day to make my own birthday cake, and I wasn’t too burned out on sweets (not quite at least) to enjoy a piece of it.

I had originally wanted to make smittenkitchen’s amazing looking peanut butter chocolate cake (this one here - my god! how delicious does that look?!?)  But my birthday falls at the wrong time of year, when I’m so tired of sweet things, that I made a scaled down version instead.  I used the devil’s food cake recipe from the King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion.  I used half of their chocolate buttercream recipe for the top and half of their peanut butter frosting for the middle and decorations. 

Honestly, the cake was just okay.  Well, to clarify: the cake itself was awesome, and both the frostings were fine – but somehow the combination did not wow me.  Normally I love peanut butter and chocolate, but I think when it comes to cake, I’m a plain Jane who prefers straight up vanilla or chocolate frosting.  I’ve included the recipe for the Devil’s Food Cake below. 

Devil’s Food Cake (from King Athur Flour)

The party was awesome though, and we were thrilled that so many people actually did venture out into the winter wonderland!  I’m sorry that I didn’t think to take a picture of the overly laden table: it was pretty impressive!  Everything turned out marvelously (except for the vegetarian chili, but I have mentally moved so far past that failure already that it doesn’t even bear further mention.  Suffice it to say that it was a) way too spicy and b) depressingly watery.) 

The surprise hit of the evening was guacamole with pear and pomegranate seeds.  The recipe is originally from epicurious, but I originally found it on one of my favorite blogs: Mighty Girl.  It’s a perfect recipe for Christmastime with the red and green.  Plus pomegranates are in season right now!  The pear, grapes, and pomegranate seeds are a surprising addition to the guacamole: they add little addictive flavor bursts.

Guacamole with Pear and Pomegrante Seeds

• 1/3 c. white onions, finely chopped
• 3 to 4 serrano chiles, finely chopped, with seeds (I used 4 garlic cloves instead)
• 1 tsp coarse salt
• 2 pounds ripe avacados (about 4 large)
• 2 to 3 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 3/4 c. pear, peeled and finely diced (I used 1 pear)
• 3/4 c. seedless red grapes, halved
• 3/4 c. pomegrante seeds (I used the seeds from an entire pomegranate, which ended up being closer to 1 c.)

In a molcajete or food processor, grind onion, chiles, and salt into a rough paste. Gradually add the avocado, coarsely mashing it (you’ll want it to be chunky). Stir in the lime juice. Fold in the pear, grapes, and 1/2 cup of the pomegranate seeds. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds over the guacamole and serve.