BLT Bucatini

I know it's been forever since we last updated!  From our honeymoon, to summer travels, and a starting work, it's been difficult to update.  But, we still have been cooking delicious meals.  Last night, we made this awesome dish that Marc heard from NPR.  Sadly, I didn't get a picture of ours, but will attach the photo from the BLT Bucatini recipe from NPR.  It was so delicious.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 8 ounces thickly sliced pancetta, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 1/2 pounds cherry tomatoes, slow roasted,* with their juices
• 1 pound dried bucatini or spaghetti
• 8 ounces arugula, coarsely chopped or torn
• 1/2 cup freshly shredded pecorino romano cheese for serving

Recipe:
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and salt generously.
While the water is heating, warm the olive oil in a large frying pan placed over medium heat. Add the pancetta and saute, stirring frequently, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the pancetta begins to render its fat and turn somewhat crispy. Stir in the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, or until they are heated through. Turn off the heat and cover the sauce to keep it warm.

Add the pasta to the boiling water, stir to separate the noodles and cook according to the manufacturer's instructions until al dente. Reserving about 1 cup of the cooking water, drain the pasta in a colander set in the sink.

Transfer the pasta to the frying pan and gently toss the pasta and sauce to combine thoroughly, adding a splash or two of the cooking water if necessary to loosen the sauce. Add the arugula by the handful and continue to toss for a minute or so, or until the greens are just wilted. Transfer the dressed pasta to a warmed serving bowl or to warmed shallow individual bowls and sprinkle the pecorino over the top. Serve immediately.

*To make slow-roasted cherry tomatoes, heat the oven to 275 degrees. Cut the tomatoes in half and arrange them in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil over the tomatoes, then scatter 2 thinly sliced garlic cloves over them. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 2 hours, or until the tomatoes have collapsed and shriveled a little but are still moist. Let cool and use immediately, or store in a tightly lidded container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Verdict:
It was pretty easy to make.  We used the pre-cut pancetta from Trader Joe's which makes it that much easier.  I also just roasted my cherry tomatoes at 425 for about 30 minutes.  I added onions and this awesome basting oil that I got from my sister Jane.  I left my tomatoes whole and then squished them in the pan with the pancetta.

Pork Fried Rice

We were pretty lucky this week as my mother in law gave us tons of delicious leftovers from Easter dinner.  She made the most delicious pork roast & ham and we took advantage of all that was left!  I had just gotten a box of vegetables from Door To Door Organics (which I'll review), so I decided to make pork fried rice last night since we still had meat left.  You can use any vegetables you want.  Here's what I put in my last night. 

Pork Fried Rice

Ingredients:
- Pork
- Ham
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- handful of baby carrots
- handful of bok choy, sliced
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 2 eggs
- frozen peas, and vegetable mix
- 3 cups of rice (cooked)



Secret Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 5 teaspoons mirin or sake
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar

Combine the sauce together in a small bowl.  Add some butter or oil into a pan saute garlic & onions.  Then add in pork & ham.  Once full heated, stir fry all the vegetables until soft.  Then scramble in eggs into the pan until fully cooked.  Mix in rice then add in the sauce.  Mix well until rice is fully heated.  Eats well with Cucumber/Bok Choy Kimchi. 

Verdict:
Husband loves fried rice.  I wouldn't tell him what was in the sauce for the longest time, so it was always considered secret sauce! 

Fried Tofu - Dubu Buchim

I decided to make some Korean food for dinner.  I knew I wanted make bulgogi but I felt like we needed some other items to accompany.  I made some korean spinach, miso soup & fried tofu.

Ingredients:
- 1 Pack Firm Tofu
- 2½-3 Tbsp Soy Sauce
- 2 Tbsp Red Pepper Powder
- ½ Tbsp Minced Garlic
- ½ Tbsp Sesame Oil
- 1 tsp Sesame Seeds
- 1 Tbsp Sugar
- Some Green Onion (to garnish)

Directions:
Cut the tofu into 1 x 1.5 inch pieces.  In a bowl, combine 2½ to 3 Tbsp of soy sauce, 2 Tbsp of red pepper powder, ½ Tbsp of minced garlic, ½ Tbsp of sesame oil, 1 tsp of sesame seeds, and 1 Tbsp of sugar. Mix everything together.

Add some oil in a nonstick pan and then place the tofu pieces in it.  Fry the tofu pieces until they become golden brown.  Add sauce on top!


Verdict:
They were delicious!  A perfect side to any meal!  

 

Lemon Pound Cake

I for some reason have been wanting to eat pound cake.  So when this recipe came in from America's Test Kitchen, I immediately knew it'd be perfect to bring over to my in-laws for Easter breakfast. 


Cake
- 16    tablespoons  unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened but still cool, plus extra for greasing pan
- 1 3/4    cups  all-purpose flour , plus extra for dusting pan
- 1/2    teaspoon  baking powder
- 1/2    teaspoon  table salt
- 1/4    cup  sour cream
- 1 1/2    tablespoons  lemon juice
- 1 1/2    tablespoons  grated lemon zest
- 1    cup  granulated sugar plus 2 additional tablespoons
- 5    large eggs , at room temperature, beaten
- 3 lemons







Syrup
- 1/4    cup  granulated sugar
- 1/4    cup  lemon juice

Glaze
- 1/2    cup  Confectioners' sugar , sifted
- 1    tablespoon  lemon juice


Directions:
1. For the cake: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with butter; dust pan with flour, then tap out excess. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into bowl. Stir sour cream and lemon juice together in second bowl.

2. Using fingers, toss lemon zest and sugar together in large bowl until clumps are gone. Add butter and beat with electric mixer at medium-high speed until smooth and light, about 3 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add beaten eggs in three additions, mixing until smooth and scraping down bowl after each addition (mixture will begin to look curdled). With mixer on low, add one-third of flour mixture, followed by half of sour cream mixture, stopping as necessary to scrape down bowl. Repeat, ending with flour mixture. Scrape down bowl, then mix on low until smooth, about 30 seconds. Use rubber spatula to give batter final stir.

3. Pour batter into pan and smooth top. Gently tap pan on counter to release air bubbles. Bake until golden brown and toothpick inserted into center comes out with a few crumbs attached, 55 to 70 minutes.

4. For the syrup: While cake bakes, stir sugar and lemon juice together in saucepan over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves. Simmer for 2 minutes, remove from heat, and set aside.

5. Cool cake in pan on cooling rack for 10 minutes, then turn out onto rack. Brush top and sides of still-warm cake with syrup and cool completely, about 2 hours.

6. For the glaze: Whisk confectioners' sugar and lemon juice in bowl until smooth. Spread glaze over cake, allowing some to drip down sides. Let glaze set for at least 15 minutes before serving.


Make Ahead
The test kitchen found this cake to be more moist the day after it was baked. In fact, when tightly wrapped, the cake will stay fresh up to 5 days. This cake also freezes well. Apply syrup, let cool, and wrap, unglazed, in two layers of plastic wrap and freeze in a zipper-lock plastic bag for up to 1 month. When ready to serve, defrost the cake, still wrapped, at room temperature, then remove the plastic wrap and proceed with the recipe from step 6.


To Make Two Cakes
Double all ingredients except the eggs, using 9 eggs (instead of 10). Cream the butter and sugar in step 2 for 6 minutes (rather than 3 minutes) and add the eggs in four additions (rather than three). Divide the batter between two buttered and floured loaf pans and bake as directed, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time.

Verdict:
It was a bit more lemony that I had expected.  The actual cake and the texture was perfect!  I will however next time I make it will skip the syrup & the glaze.  I don't think it's necessary and makes the cake too lemony. 

Eggplant Pasta

I oddly like to watch the food network while at the gym.  It's like motivation to run more so that I can eat whatever the Barefoot Contessa makes!  The other day, she had a friend on and made this delicious eggplant pasta.  It was perfect for our one day a week veg day.

Ingredients:

- olive oil

- 2 tbsp butter

- 1 large vidalia onion, chopped

- 2 large eggplants chopped

- 3 whole garlic cloves, peeled

- leaves from 10-12 sprigs of fresh basil

- salt

- 10-15 plum tomatoes

- fresh ground pepper

- pinch of sugar

- 1 lbs dry fettucine

- 1 lb mozzarella

- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Heat 1/2 cup of oil and the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and eggplant and cook gently over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often, until tender. It may be necessary to add more oil as the eggplant soaks the oil up quickly. Towards the end of cooking time, add the whole garlic cloves and half of the basil leaves.


In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and blanch the tomatoes for 4 to 5 minutes until the skin splits and the tomatoes are softened. Remove the tomatoes with a slotted spoon and place them in a mesh colander set over a large bowl. Reserve the cooking liquid.


When they are cool enough to handle, core the tomatoes and peel off the skin. Using clean hands, squish the tomatoes, pushing the pulp through the sieve into the bowl underneath. At first you will have a watery liquid. Add the tomato liquid to the eggplant and then continue to push the tomato pulp through the sieve, until you have only seeds and hard pulp pieces left. Finally, add the rest of the pulpy liquid to the eggplants and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the sugar and continue to cook for 10 more minutes, until thickened.


In the meantime, bring the reserved cooking liquid back to a boil, add additional salt, and cook the fettucine according to directions on the package. Drain well.


To serve, spoon a third of the eggplant into a bowl and set aside. Toss the pasta in the saute pan with the remaining eggplant and mozzarella. Place the mixture in a large serving bowl and top with the reserved eggplant and Parmesan. Garnish with the remaining basil leaves and serve hot.

Verdict:
It was really good.  We modified the recipe slightly.  Minor changes like less fettuccine.  I used 13 plum tomatoes and that seemed good.  I think however, using a can of diced tomatoes would be great too, and much easier.  I also added in crushed red peppers as I like all foods with a kick.  It's pretty cheesey with the mozzarella, which beware is a bit of a pain to wash everything!  We drank it with a delicious shiraz. 

Zucchini Bread

We got a new bread pan, so I decided to make some zucchini bread!

 Ingredients

- 3 cups flour

- 1 tsp salt

- 1 tsp baking soda

- 3 tsp ground cinnamon

- 1/4 tsp baking powder

- 1 cup vegetable oil

- 3 cups grated zucchini

- 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Sift together flour, salt, soda, cinnamon, baking powder.
3. Beat eggs. Add and mix well sugar, vanilla, and oil. Add zucchini to egg mixture. Add dry ingredients, mixing well. Stir in nuts if desired. Pour into 2 ungreased loaf pans.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour. 

Verdict

It was dense, moist and delicious.  I made 1 loaf since my bread pan is big and 6 muffins.  I baked the muffins for 30 minutes. 

Leftovers: Chicken Taco

The perfect meal with leftover roasted chicken is taco night!  We used the leftover chicken for the roasted chicken, made some fresh guacamole and pico de gallo.  Some sour cream & cheese with corn tortillas.  An easy, new meal with no fuss!

 

Verdict: This is one of our favorite meals!  Ole!