Personal Note: Quesadillas should be everyone’s go-to food. All you need are some tortillas for the bread, cheese to make it stick together, and you can fill it with anything you find in your kitchen. For this most recent weeknight recipe, we used apples (always in season), brie (creamy taste of heaven), carmelized onions (if you have read any of my earlier posts you know that I think it makes everything taste better, kind of like bacon), arugula (for the pepper taste) and delicious Indian chutney (the green kind, coriander, and can be found at specialty food stores).
Time: 30 minutes for onions, 10 minutes for the quesadillas
Cost: $8
Servings: 3
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 2 tablespoons butter
- salt
- 6 spicy tortillas
- 1/2pound of brie, cubed
- 1 apple
- arugula
- olive oil
- coriander chutney to taste
Directions
- Slice the onion very thin.
- Heat a pan over medium heat and melt the butter. Add the onions and salt. Stir until caramelized, around 20-30 minutes.
Make sure to cook the onions for a long time so they carmelize. Stir them every five minutes or so but not constantly.
- Meanwhile slice the apple very thinly.
- Once the onions are done, heat another pan over medium heat with a little bit of oil. Lay one tortilla flat on the pan, then cover with Brie, sliced applies and onions. Cover with a top for 5 minutes until the cheese is melted.
- Once the Brie is melted, add arugula (a handful) and put another tortilla on top of the arugula.
- Then flip the quesadilla over and let cook for another 3 minutes until the bottom is browned.
- Cut into 4 pieces and top with chutney!
Filed under: Recipes | Tags: avocado, beans, Cilantro, onion, red pepper, rice
I know it has been a LONG time (two months now?) since my last post. With finals, traveling, and the holidays I didn’t even have time to cook for myself (I have never eaten so much Subway in my life). Now that I’m back to being a normal person I promise to update more regularly.
Personal Notes: Costa Rica is one of my FAVORITE destinations. The Ticos are genuinely nice people and live out their motto of “Pura Vida.” Yes, I admittedly went there twice in one year but both were relaxing and beautiful trips. Monkeys, beaches, and sun- it doesn’t get much better than that.
This may seem silly but one of my favorite foods to eat there is Gallo Pinto – or, rice and beans. It would seem like an easy dish to throw together (and it is), it just takes a long time to properly cook the beans. They are surprisingly satisfying and really filling. However once you make a giant dish you can refrigerate them or freeze them.
I love to eat my rice and beans with some avocado, salsa (something similar to ketchup but I think its much better- probably because its not eaten here), and tobacco.
Enjoy!
Servings: 8 to 10
Time: 3 hours (mostly stove time)
Cost: $9
Ingredients
- 1 pound dry black beans, soaked overnight and rinsed
- 10 sprigs cilantro, chopped finely
- 1 small onion, chopped finely
- ½ red pepper, chopped finely
- 3 cups water
- 2 cups rice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil + extra for sauteing the gallo pinto
- Put the black beans in a pot, cover with fresh water, add salt and bring to a boil.
- Cover the pan and reduce the heat to low. Let simmer until the beans are soft, about 3 hours.
- Heat the oil over medium heat. Add the dry rice and sautee for 2 minutes.
Add the onion, pepper, and cilantro and sautee for another two minutes. 
- Cover with water, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer until rice is cooked, 25-30 minutes.
- Once the beans and rice are cooked, add the beans to the rice, including some of the extra black liquid.
- Sautee the bean/rice mixture in oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes before serving- This is the KEY to delicious gallo pinto!
- Top with avocado, cheese, salsa, tobacco, or whatever your heart desires!
Filed under: Recipes | Tags: gnocchi, nutmeg, parmesan cheese, ricotta, Sage, sweet potatoes
Personal Notes: The first time I tried this recipe it was a huge success! It has been a crowd pleaser ever since, each time tasting a bit different but still as wonderful. The great thing about gnocchi is how easy it is to make. Once you have the dough prepared, all you have to do is roll it out, slice it up, and boil the pieces!
The most time-consuming part is baking the potatoes. That could take a good hour to do so usually I bake the potatoes a day or two beforehand, peel them, mash them, and leave them in the fridge until I am ready to make the gnocchi.
I most recently made this with my friend Beth, new med-school life partner! It was a great study break from talking about the nerve and arterial supply of the UG Diaphragm (dorky, I know, I’m done!!!!!).
Also- DO NOT FORGET THE FLOUR! I did that once and I assure you, the gnocchi will fall apart when you boil them.
Cost: $10
Servings: 6-8
Time: 1 hour (plus 1 hour for the potatoes)
Ingredients
- 2 1-pound red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams), rinsed, patted dry, wrapped in aluminum foil
- 1 12-ounce container fresh ricotta cheese
- 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)
- 2 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- 2 3/4 cups (about) all purpose flour
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 6 tablespoons chopped fresh sage plus whole leaves for garnish
Directions
Preheat an oven to 400 degrees. Bake the sweet potatoes for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until soft. Cut in half and cool.
Scrape sweet potato flesh into medium bowl and mash; transfer 3 cups to large bowl. Add ricotta cheese; blend well. Add Parmesan cheese, brown sugar, 2 teaspoons salt, and nutmeg; mash to blend. Mix in flour, about 1/2 cup at a time, until soft dough forms.
Turn dough out onto floured surface; divide into 6 equal pieces. Rolling between palms and floured work surface, form each piece into 20-inch-long rope (about 1 inch in diameter), sprinkling with flour as needed if sticky.
Cut each rope into 20 pieces.
Roll each piece over tines of fork to indent.
Bring large pot of water to boil; add 2 tablespoons salt and return to boil. Working in batches, boil gnocchi until tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer gnocchi to clean rimmed baking sheet. Cool completely. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)
Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until butter solids are brown and have toasty aroma, swirling pan occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add chopped sage (mixture will bubble up). Turn off heat. Season sage butter generously with salt and pepper.
Transfer half of sage butter to large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add half of gnocchi. Sauté until gnocchi are heated through, about 6 minutes. Repeat with remaining sage butter and gnocchi.
Divide gnocchi and sauce among shallow bowls. Garnish with sage leaves.
Filed under: Recipes | Tags: beans, carrots, garlic, kale, onions, red pepper flakes, savoy cabbage, sourdough bread, tomatoes
Personal Notes: This recipe is quite special to me as it comes from one of my favorite cookbooks I own- Tuesdays. While I was living in New York, five of us would get together every Tuesday to make dinner, drink wine, and watch The Biggest Loser.
It was something we always looked forward. Before I left the city, they compiled a book of most of the recipes we had cooked over the past few months. It is a beautiful book and must have taken forever to create.
Nina contributed this recipe. Its perfect for cold weather and makes a ton of soup (I would suggest using a huge pot. Mine definitely overflowed.). Its also quite pretty and very filling!
In terms of the beans, I usually soak them overnight, boil them in the morning while I’m getting ready and then leave them sitting on the counter, covered, until I make the soup later at night. You could also use canned beans but its not as tasty.
For the kale, before chopping it make sure to destem it. You can just rib the leaves off with your hands to make it easy. Otherwise the stem is really tough and fibrous- not so great to eat.
Time: 90 minutes
Cost: $12
Servings: 8-10
Ingredients
- ½ lb dried white cannellini beans
- kosher salt
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 cups chopped onions
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 28-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes in puree, chopped
- 4 cups coarsely chopped savoy cabbage
- 4 cups coarsely chopped kale
- 1 cup fresh chopped basil
- 6 cups vegetable stock
- 4 cups sourdough bread
- ½ cup freshly grated parmesan
Directions
Cover beans with cold water and cover with plastic wrap and soak overnight.
Drain beans and place them in a large pot with 8 cups of water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes. Add 1 tsp salt and simmer for another 15 minutes. Set beans aside to cool in their liquid.
Heat the oil in a Large Pot. Add onions and cook for 7 minutes. Add carrots, celery, garlic, 1tsp salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.
Cook over medium heat for 7 to 10 minutes until the veggies are tender. Add the tomatoes with juice, cabbage, kale, basil and cook on medium to low heat for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Drain the beans, reserving their cooking liquid. In a food processor puree half of the beans with a little of their liquid.
Add pureed beans and whole beans to the pot with the cooking vegetables. Pour 2 cups of the bean stock and 6 cups of the vegetable broth into the pot with veggies and beans. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Serve over the bread and top withParmesan.
Enjoy!
Personal Notes: So sometimes I cheat and eat free-range bacon. Yes, its true but bacon is by far the only worthwhile meat to eat (don’t even get me started on my dislike for chicken). This recipe took an hour from start till finish and was extremely satisfying.
I bought a variety of mushrooms from the farmer’s market but you can use whichever kind you like the best.
You could easily add more crushed red pepper if you want it spicier. I would advise against using skim milk as the sauce will not be creamy. If you want less fat, try half-and-half but I would not use anything lighter. The sauce is not overpowering so if you like more, double the recipe.
Time: 60 minutes
Cost: $20
Servings: 6 large servings
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 3/4 cup whipping cream
- 5 large garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 16 ounces crimini or button mushrooms, cut into 1/2-inches pieces
- 14 ounces penne or other tubular pasta (whole wheat)
- 2 1/2 cups frozen green peas, thawed
- ¼ lb bacon cut thickly
- Additional freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
Bring broth, cream, garlic, and crushed red pepper to boil in medium saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer until liquid is reduced to 3/4 cup, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Mix in 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese; cover and keep warm.
While the sauce is simmering, cook the bacon over low/ medium low heat until slightly browned and slightly crispy.
Once the bacon is cooked, remove all but approx 1 tbsp of the bacon fat from the pan.
Then add all the mushrooms to the pan and cook on medium high for eight minutes.
Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite.
Drain pasta and return to pot.
Add cream mixture, mushrooms and peas and stir over low heat until well coated with sauce, about 3 minutes.
Slice bacon into pieces and add the bacon to the pot.
Cover and let stand 1 minute. Transfer to bowl. Serve, sprinkling with Parmesan cheese separately.
Filed under: Recipes | Tags: carrot, dill, green bean, green pepper, onion, Parsley, red pepper, sweet potatoes, tomato
Personal Note: Another recipe from my Aunt Margaret. I LOVE THIS RECIPE. It makes nearly 20 servings and is absolutely delicious. It will please everyone and stores well, the flavors mixing with time. You can use pretty much any vegetable you like. I love sweet potatoes, carrots, green peppers, and green beans in this recipe so I usually use those. Serve this with rice (and tzatziki if you have time) and you have a perfect meal.
Make sure you have a really large roasting pan on hand or two 9×13 inch pans to use. I mix everything together in the pan to avoid doing extra dishes.
Time: 2 hours, 1 ½ hours of cooking time
Cost: $15
Servings: 15-20 servings when served with rice
Ingredients
- 1 lb. carrots, whole or cut in large pieces
- 2-3 large sweet potatoes, and cut in large pieces
- 2 large potatoes, cut in large pieces
- 2 or 3 parsnips, cut in large pieces
- 1 cup green beans
- 3 zucchini, cut in large pieces
- 3 onions, sliced (not small slices)
- 2 green peppers, cut in large pieces
- 4 cloves garlic, diced
- 2 to 3 15 oz. can tomato sauce – the plain variety, like Hunt’s, not a prepared
- marinara sauce (I often use 2 cans here.)
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
- ½ cup chopped fresh dill
- 1 cup olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Toss to combine. Put in large pan (11 x 15 ) or casserole. Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. Uncover and continue baking at 375 degrees for 45 minutes more until done.
Personal Notes: This is one of my favorite soups to make during the end of summer/early fall. There is just nothing quite like fresh sweet corn chowder.
I use whole milk (I only make this recipe once a year, so I like it to be rich) but you can try skim.
This recipe makes a lot of soup so if you can’t eat it all in 2 to 3 days, cut the recipe in half as it does not hold up well beyond then.
This recipe is seriously easy with delicious results!
Time: 1 hour
Cost: $8
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 6 ears of corn, kernels removed and cobs reserved
- Salt and pepper
- 4 Tablespoons butter
- ½ cup chopped scallions (which are green onions)
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ cup flour
- 1 quart milk (4 cups)
- 2 large potatoes, diced
Directions
Broth: Break the corn cobs in half and put them in a pan with three cups of water and salt and pepper. Bring the water to a boil and then lower the heat, put the lid on the pot and let simmer for 30 minutes. Make sure to check on the water frequently so that you aren’t loosing too much to evaporation. Turn the heat off after 30 minutes and leave the cobs in the pot until you are ready to use the broth.
Soup: Put the butter in a skillet over medium heat. When the butter is melted add the scallion and sugar. Cook for one minute until the scallion is soft. Add the flour and turn down the heat to medium. Cook, stirring constantly, for 8 minutes. Add the milk and broth. Turn the heat up to medium-high and whisk constantly until the flour dissolves (about two minutes).
Add the corn kernels and potatoes and lower the meat to medium or low. Cook stirring for 10 to 15 minutes until the soup is thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!
Filed under: Recipes | Tags: Butter, Goat Cheese, Greens, Oregano, Sage, Shallots, Thyme, Zucchini
Personal Notes: Clearly, this idea for a wrap came when I was very hungry and just needed to throw together something quick from my fridge. Wraps from restaurants generally don’t sit too well with me- I find them soggy and lacking in flavor. However, homemade wraps definitely hit the spot. You can fill them with whatever you want in just a few minutes.
This combination works really well. Whenever you get sage, butter, and shallots together you can’t go wrong! The zucchini adds some substance. I like cheese but you could add hummus or any other type of binder.
Shallots are in the onion and garlic family (Allium) but they have a much more mild flavor. They definitely add a different flavor from onions that I love. Warning: they can still make you cry if you are sensitive to onions!
You can really take whatever you have in your fridge, sauté it up, and put it in a large wrap and you will most likely have a great meal.
If you want to use basil as your herb, go for it! Don’t cook it with the zucchini though- it tastes much better raw.
Time: 15 minutes
Cost: All from my fridge? Around $3
Servings: 1 HUGE serving
Ingredients
- ½ tablespoon butter
- ½ shallot, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ½ zucchini, diced
- 1 handful of fresh herbs, including sage, oregano, and thyme
- ½ cup salad greens (optional)
- 1 ounce goat cheese (or hummus)
- 1 whole wheat wrap.
Directions
Melt the butter in a small sauté pan. Add the shallot and cook over medium heat until softened (about 4 minutes). Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Mix in the zucchini and continue to sauté for 2 to 3 minutes until it has all warmed up.
Add the fresh herbs and cook for another 30 seconds.
While the shallots are initially cooking, lay the wrap on a plate, coat it with your cheese or hummus and put the lettuce on top.
Once the zucchini mixture is done, put it inside the wrap, roll up, and enjoy!!!
Personal Notes: This mixture can be used as a salad, a salsa, or a topping for other foods. I eat it as a salad because it is filling, refreshing, and a perfect mid-day snack. You do not have to cook anything and it requires very few ingredients.
If you do not like cilantro, try using parsley. Many scientists believe there is actually an enzyme difference between people who like cilantro and people who do not, so take it seriously if your friends do not like it!
Time: 10 minutes
Cost: $4
Servings: 5
Ingredients
- 4 ears of corn
- 1 pint of cherry tomatoes
- 1 avocado
- 1 bunch of cilantro, washed thoroughly
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- juice from 2 limes
- salt and pepper to taste (around 1/2 to 1 teaspoon)
Directions
Slice the corn off the ears (no, you do not need to cook it)
Cut the tomatoes into quarters. Cut the avocado into small pieces.
Shave the cilantro off the stems. If you have some stems in the mix that’s okay, you just do not want any of the fibrous parts.
Mix the corn, tomatoes, avocado, cilantro, olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper in a bowl. Enjoy!
Filed under: Recipes
Personal Notes: I generally make these toasts with my truffle risotto (which will be posted later). However, they are a PERFECT appetizer or little snack food, especially if you are looking to impress someone. I made over 60 of these toasts for my family and they were gone in under 10 minutes!!!! They are best served warm, right out of the oven. In the photo you can see my family enjoying them before they ate the last ones!
Time: 25 minutes, 15 minutes of cooking
Cost: $10
Servings: 40-60 toasts
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- Juice from 1 lemon
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- salt
- 1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
- Black Pepper
- 1 Tablespoon White Truffle oil
- 1 to 2 loaves of Italian bread, sliced into 1 inch thich slices, dried overnight
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a food processor or blender, blend the egg and lemon juice together for 10 seconds. White the processor running, slowly pour in the vegetable oil through the feed tube. The mixture with thicken. Add the mustard and salt, and pulse one or twice to blend well. Spoon the mixture into a small bowl and add the cheese, pepper, and truffle oil. Mix well. Spread about 1 tablespoon of the mixture on each triangle (Just like my cousin Lia is doing here!).
Place the slices on the baking sheet and bake until lightly golden, about 15 minutes.
MMMM Delicious!
