Potato Leek Soup with Crispy Shallots

super easy and tasty. the crispy shallots add some nice crispy texture and have a nice sweet taste.

Potato Leek Soup:

Ingredients:

4-5 leeks, white and light green parts only, chopped

2-3 russet potatoes, peeled and sliced

1 onion, chopped

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups water

1 cup heavy whipping cream

s&p

butter

1) In a big pot, melt some butter about 1 tbsp and saute the onions and leeks for about 3 minutes. s&p

2) Add potatoes, and cover with broth and water. It should cover the potatoes so if you’re short add more broth or water.

3) Cover and boil for about 20 minutes on medium to low heat.

4) Let the soup cool a little and then using a hand held blender, blend the soup until it’ s smooth and creamy.

5) Add a cup of heavy whipping cream, s&p and cook on low for another 10-15 minutes.

6) Top with some crispy shallots.

Crispy Shallots:

Ingredients:

1 tbsp butter

1/2 -3/4 cup of olive oil

2 shallots, sliced thinly in rings

1) Melt butter and olive oil over medium high and heat oil for about 5 minutes.

2) Add the shallots and saute until crispy and golden for about 2-4 minutes.

3) Transfer to paper towels. 

Butternut Squash Soup

It’s official. It’s fall in SF. Normally, I’m really excited for fall but since summer skipped us i’m not quite ready for the wind and rain, but it came in crazy storm form yesterday so what better than some fall soup and i do love me some butternut squash soup.

Butternut Squash Soup:

Ingredients:

2 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, diced

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, seeded, diced

2 pieces of bacon

1 leek, chopped

1/2 onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 bay leaf

4 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup water

2 tbsps creme fraiche

chives

1) In a pan, cook bacon until crisp and drain, reserving 1 1/2 tablespoons fat. Crumble bacon.

2) In a pot, cook onion, leek, garlic, and bay leaf with salt and pepper to taste in reserved fat over moderate heat, stirring, until softened.

3) Add squash, apple, broth, and 1/2 cup water. Simmer mixture, covered, until squash is very tender, about 15 minutes, and discard bay leaf.

4) In a blender, purée mixture in batches, transferring to a clean saucepan.

5) Whisk in crème fraîche and salt and pepper to taste and heat soup over moderately low heat until hot.

6) Serve soup topped with crumbled bacon, chives and more creme fraiche if you want.

Shrimp w/ Cannelini & Pancetta and Baked Polenta with Mozzarella

Beretta is a sorta new restaurant in the Mission that does ‘Delfina’ style pizza.  I say their pizza is ok but their appetizers are amazing! We went back awhile ago and among the many things we ordered these 2 stood out: scampi with pancetta & cannellini and baked polenta with gorgonzola. soooo, i decided it didn’t seem that difficult and i would try recreate it since i started craving it immediately.

Shrimp with cannelini & pancetta:

Ingredients:

10 medium sized shrimps shells off and deveined (no frozen!)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 lemons

2 shallots, diced

2 tsps red pepper flakes

1 tomato, diced

1/4 cup basil, chopped

1 can of white/cannelini beans

1/4 cup of italian parsley, chopped

1/2 cup of pancetta

2 tsps, dried oregano

s&p

olive oil

1) Marinate the shrimp with s&p, olive oil, 1/2 of the minced garlic, and 1/2 lemon juiced for about 10 minutes to an hour

2) In a large skillet, cook the shrimp literally about 1 minute on each side. overcooked shrimp is never good and set aside.

3) In the same pan, cook the pancetta until it starts to get crispy and set aside leaving some of the fat.

4) In the same pan, add the shallot and garlic and saute for about 3-5 minutes.

5) Add the red pepper flakes and saute for 1 minute.

6) Add the tomato and saute for about 3 minutes.

7) Add the drained beans, basil and oregano. Cook for 5 minutes. Taste and see if it needs more s&p.

Stir in the shrimp just to reheat and add the rest of the lemon juice.

9) Garnish with the parsley and basil and serve with some crusty baguette.

Baked Polenta with Mozzarella:

Ingredients: 

I could not for the life of me find polenta anywhere not TJ’s, not Safeway, not Whole Foods, not even a specialty store – there must have been a polenta shortage that particular day, so I used instant Polenta. The only thing they had at Safeway.

1 log of fresh mozzarella

2 cups of tomato sauce (i used from my reserves)

1) In a baking dish, ladle the 2 cups of tomato sauce on the bottom

2) Cut the polenta into 1/4 inch thick slices and arrange in the baking dish. Sprinkle a little s&p

3) Cut the mozzarella into thick slices but thinner than 1/4 inch thick and layer on top of the polenta. Sprinkle with a little s&p.

4) Bake in the oven according to the polenta package instructions. Check to make sure the mozzarella is nice and melted and bubbly.

What made the dish at Beretta was the polenta and sauce. I couldn’t find the right polenta but the instant satisfied my craving and got the job done. The tomato sauce reserves I used covered up for the instant polenta and of course the cheese.

Best Snack Ever

Kimchee Savory Pancakes

YUM and so easy and so quick.

Ingredients: (makes 2 large pancakes)

one handful or like 2/3 cups of kimchee sliced into thin strips (*very important* the kimchee must be good otherwise the whole thing will taste bad. use kimchee that’s been fermented for awhile and not just recently made)

3/4 cup of Korean pancake flour (any brand is good just make sure it’s something like this one)

1/2 cup of water

1/2 onion sliced medium to thin

1) In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour and water and then add the kimchee and onion. The consistency should be like regular american pancake batter consistency but maybe a little more on the watery side because you want them to get crispy.

2) In a large pan, heat oil enough to coat the whole pan and pour batter to fit the whole pan.

 

3) This is a crispy, fried pancake which calls for more oil than you’d like but it’ll be ok , so when you’re ready to flip over to cook the other side, drizzle some more oil before you flip. It’ll keep it crispy and delicious.

4) Serve with some soy sauce mixed with ponzu or white/rice wine vinegar.

Skirt Steak & Horseradish Potato Salad

mmm horseradish. love it.

Ingredients:

3 tbsps prepared horseradish

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 tbsps white wine vinegar

7 tbsps olive oil

2 shallots, diced

1 russet potato, cubed

1 tomato, diced

1/2 cup of peas

1 bunch watercress, stems cut

1 lb skirt steak

1) In a bowl, whisk in olive oil to the horseradish and white wine vinegar and season with s&p.

2) Then add shallots and garlic.

3) In the meantime, boil the potatoes until tender (use a fork – if it goes in the potato easily it’s done). Set aside and let it cool.

4) Cook the peas, set aside and cool.

5) Mix all the ingredients with the dressing: potatoes, tomato, peas, shallots, garlic, and half of the dressing.

6) Heat a skillet with olive oil over high heat. Season skirt steak with s&p. Sear on both sides 4 minutes per side. Let it rest for at least 5 minutes and slice the steak on a diagnoal across the grain.

7) Cut the hard steams off the watercress and mix with remaining half of dressing. Top with the potato salad and steak slices.

*extra: I fried some shoe string potatoes to add some crunch. If you have a mandolin it’s really easy. Just use about 1/4 of a russet potatoe. Towel dry the potatoes a little so they don’t stick when you fry them in the oil. Season with s&p.

Grill-Roasted Rack of Lamb

aigneau. je t’aime. <3 you forever.

L’aigneau:

Ingredients:

1 lb frenched rack of lamb

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 sprigs rosemary, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves crushed with skin on

s&p

1) Take the lamb out and bring it to room temperature so it’s not super cold.

2) In a large skillet over high heat, heat the oil in the pan for about 2 minutes.  Make sure the pan is hot so you can get a nice sear on the lamb.

4) Season the lamb with s&p on both sides and then fat side down sear for 5 minutes on each side.

5) Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350.

6) Mix the rosemary, garlic, olive oil and s&p.

7) Transfer the lamb to a baking dish and brush garlic/rosemary mixture all over lamb. Also, add the whole smashed garlic cloves and drizzle some olive oil over the cloves to get some extra roasted garlic.

8)  Roast for about 15 minutes and then cover with foil and roast about 5-10 minutes more. The lamb will be medium rare.

6) Please don’t skip this step : let the lamb rest for 10 minutes. THEN slice up the chops.

Grilled Eggplant Panini

Totally unrelated but wanted to give some official props to the bf.  Picked me up at my office for our walk home after work with flowers.  my cheeks hurt from grinning so much.

Grilled Eggplant Panini:

Ingredients:

2 eggplants sliced into 1/2 inch thick  slices (I used Japanese eggplant. I like it better)

1 handful of arugula

1/2 handful of fresh oregano

1/2 handful of fresh basil

fontina cheese, in slices

1/4 cup of grated pecorino or parmesan

s&p

2 tomatoes, cut in 1/4 inch thick slices

focaccia bread (or any bread you like)

1) Brush olive oil on both sides of the eggplant and tomatoe and season with s&p.

2) Brush olive oil on both sides of the panini grill (I used the handy dandy George Forman grill and set the front on some cardboard so it wouldn’t drip)

3) Grill the eggplant for about 5 minutes. Grill the tomatoes for about 30 seconds to a minute.

4) On the focaccia, layer on the fontina, grilled eggplant, arugula, basil, oregano, parmesan/pecorino, tomatoe.

5) On the other slice of focaccia layer on more fontina.

6) Brush olive oil on the Foreman and place the sandwich on the grill and close.  It takes about 4 minutes for all the cheese to melt mmmmmmm.

Summertime!

Is not in SF but I will not let that stop me from enjoying all the summer time festivities.

We recently went camping for Trav’s birthday and we were in 100 degree heat. Why we didn’t bring watermelon is still a mystery so to satiate that craving I had some when I came back to 65 degree weather San Francisco with winds of 100mph (not really but pretty windy).

Watermelon Salad with Feta

Ingredients:

Seedless watermelon, just cut up however much you want to make.

handful of arugula

olive oil

salt & pepper

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar, reduced to a glaze

1) In a small pot, add 1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar. Reduce on medium heat until thick and syrupy. It should reduce to about 3 tbsp. Set aside.

2) In a big salad bowl, add watermelon, arugula and feta cheese. Drizzle a little olive oil and s&p.

3) Drizzle the balsamic reduction over the salad.

Channeling Paula Deen

I love my best friend. I love my boyfriend. I love food. I love spending time with them individually and together. A few Saturdays back, we drove up to her parent’s house and had some good times and what started out as Carmen finding a box of cornmeal and suggesting we make cornbread turned into us channeling our inner Paula Deen and making a southern feast. We made enough food for more than 6 people!  Apparently our stomachs rule our minds – what were we thinking?? By the time the food was all done we weren’t even hungry but yet we still ate most of it. Porkers!

Fried Chicken, Collard Greens, Mac n Cheese & Cornbread

Fried Chicken: (we didn’t actually fry the chicken not enough oil and baking is easier and sometimes just as good)

Ingredients:

chicken with skin on and bone in (we used chicken thighs)

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

salt & pepper

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

1 egg, beaten

1) Clean and dry the chicken thighs.

2) Combine all the dry ingredients together.

3) Dip the chicken thighs in the egg.

4) Dip and coat the chicken thighs in the flour mixture.

5) Place the battered chicken thighs in a buttered baking casserole.

6) In a 450 degree oven, bake the chicken for about 45 minutes.

7) About 20 minutes in, using a basting tool, baste the chicken with the juices in the casserole dish. Repeat once more.

Collard Greens:

Ingredients:

2 bunches collard greens, chopped into thin strips

2 garlic cloves, minced

Olive Oil

1/2 tbsp butter

s&p

1) In a large saute pan, heat the oil and butter and saute the garlic for a few minutes.

2) Add the collard greens and wilt down. Season with s&p.

Mac n Cheese:

Ingredients:

1/2 bag elbow macaroni

3 tbsps flour

3 tbsps butter

3 cups milk

3 cups shredded sharp cheddar

2 cups shredded cheese (i can’t remember which cheese we used but we used a combo of 3 different kinds. it might have been gruyere.)

1 cup shredded pecorino/parmesan

s&p

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1) Cook the pasta in salted boiling water.

2) In a sauce pan, melt the butter and stir in the flour and whisk constantly for about 2 minutes or until all the flour and butter and incorporated and it looks like a white smooth consistency.

3) Stir in the milk and whisk and heat until the consistency is smooth and thick.

4) Turn off the heat and add all the cheese, s&p and nutmeg and stir until it’s all incorporated and melted.

5) Mix the pasta with the cheese and in a large baking dish or individual buttered baking dishes, add the pasta.

6) Top with some bread crumbs and little butter.

7) In a 350 degree oven, bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the cheesy is nice and bubbly.

Cornbread:

We used the recipe on the box and it actually came out a little dry. I found a better cornbread recipe thanks to Trav’s mom and sister that uses shortening! mmmm. I can’t wait to try it.

Sausage & Artichoke Pasta

Awhile ago I found a really simple but delicious recipe for homemade marinara/tomato sauce.  You can freeze it and have several different combinations of pasta dishes.  I had artichoke hearts and italian sausage so that’s what I used.  I also like eggplant, mozzarella, italian sausage, fresh basil with this tomato sauce as well. It’s super easy and versatile.

Tomato Sauce:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

s&p

2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes

4 to 6 basil leaves

2 dried bay leaves

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional

1) In a large pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft about 2 minutes.

2) Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.

3) Add tomatoes, basil, and bay leaves and simmer covered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. Sometimes tomatoes can taste a little acidic so if it does add some of the butter.

4) Let the sauce cool and blend until smooth in a blender or a hand held blender.

*This will make about 6 cups of sauce so you can freeze the rest for up to 6 months. I usually use about 1 cup for a 1/2 pound of pasta so you can freeze in portions if you want.

Artichoke & Sausage Pasta:

Ingredients:

frozen artichoke hearts, 1 package

Italian sausage (hot), 2-3 links

1/2 pound of thin spaghetti

1/4 cup of basil

1/4 cup of pecorino romano

s&p

1) Remove the sausage from the casings and saute breaking it into small pieces.

2) Cook the artichoke hearts according to the package directions.

3) Cook the pasta.

4) Reserve about 1/4 cup of the pasta water. Toss 1 cup of the tomatoe sauce, sausage, artichoke hearts, basil and pecorino. Taste and add more s&p if necessary.

5) Plate and top with more pecorino and basil.