Jen's Pasta

Eating out can be detrimental to your waistline. I think everyone can agree on that. We love to eat out but we are almost always conscious of what we eat because (having worked in restaurants) most people have no idea what goes into making your food so delicious.

But another thing most people don't know is that you can often request the kitchen to make you your own creation - in fact a lot of cooks actually like it because it breaks up the monotony and gives them a chance to be a little creative.  Since Jen does not like traditional tomato-based pasta sauces and can't have milk, this was a dish she started to request at Italian places.

As nearly always, it's been simplified over time but the basic makeup is very easy and very quick.  Some of it can be pre-made (the chicken) and the rest of the ingredients we always keep in the fridge or pantry.

Ingredients:
2-3 servings of any cooked pasta (this is gluten-free penne made from quinoa and buckwheat)
1/2 lb chicken breast (or any other part if you prefer)
1/2 C julienned sundried tomato
1/2 C marinated artichoke hearts
1 small bunch of asparagus (or broccoli works well)
1 C sliced cremini mushrooms (not shown in photos - we were out)
1 C low-sodium chicken broth
1 Tbs butter or margarine
1 tsp dry marjoram
1 tsp dry oregano or basil
1/4 tsp sea salt

In a hot pan, brown the salted chicken breasts in a small amount of oil.  Be careful to keep them juicy by not overcooking them.  At the same time, boil the pasta to just underdone and drain the water.

Remove the chicken from the pan and place on a plate to rest.  Put the butter and 1/2 of the chicken broth in the pan and bring to a boil. Rough chop the chicken breast. Once the broth starts to boil, add the remaining ingredients.  Bring it to a full boil, cooking the pasta to al dente and softening the asparagus. Add the remaining chicken stock and bring to a boil, reducing it by about half.  Serve and garnish.

The point to the extra broth is in fact to serve it slightly soupy, especially if you use gluten-free pasta which will soak up the extra liquid quickly.  Hope you enjoy!

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Images by MadeForJen

Eggs Benedict

I've never met anyone, Jen included, who didn't like Eggs Benedict.  I've always wondered why it was considered to be an extravagant dish because it is so much simpler to make than people make it out to be. The only real trick is timing - you will have to have all 5 parts (muffins, eggs, meat, hollandaise, vegetable) cooking at the same time!

So this recipe will have everything timed. It takes a little practice but be sure to have everything out and ready to go before you start.

Ingredients (for 2):
2 English muffins
6 large eggs (4 to poach, 2 to make the hollandaise)
2/3 stick of butter
1 lemon, cut in half
4 slices ham, Canadian bacon, prosciutto or speck or 8 slices bacon
A green vegetable* (asparagus, spinach, or chard work well)
1 tsp white vinegar
Salt & pepper to taste

Tools:
2 qt pot for poaching
slotted spoon
Double boiler for hollandaise (or a pot and a metal bowl)
Whisk
Pan to cook meat (either fry or poach)
Pan to cook veggies (I prefer fry)
Toaster

Separate the yolks from 2 of the eggs. Discard the whites or save them for another meal. Put 1 qt water in pot and bring to boil then turn down to simmer. At the same time, bring the half-filled double boiler bottom to a boil and turn down to simmer. Turn both the meat and vegetable pan on medium. I use a scant dash of oil only - put it in when the pan is hot.

Put the vinegar in the egg pot. Put the muffins in the toaster but don't turn them on.Very slowly ease each egg into the poacher.  If you have to, poach one at a time. Poaching is a bit of an art so it may take a few tries to eventually get it right but at the end of the day it's just an egg - just cuz it looks funny doesn't mean it tastes different!

When the eggs are poaching, put the meat and veg on to cook. Once started, you can always turn off the heat when done. Begin toasting the muffins.

Put the butter in the boiler top (or bowl) and melt the butter. Once melted, it will begin to heat. Put in the separated yolks and begin to whisk evenly - not hard, not too gently though. The butter will begin to cook the yolks. When it thickens to near consistency, remove it from the heat and set aside, and quickly squeeze 1/2 of the lemon in and whisk it.  Check the consistency and taste and if more is needed, use the other half.

Check the eggs. When they are done, gently pull them out with a slotted spoon, shake off the excess water and put into a bowl to hold.

Ready to plate. Put the halves of one muffin on each plate then later with meat, vegetable and egg and then the Hollandaise. 

Image by MadeForJen

Berries with Sabayon

Saba-what? This was a new one for Jen that I'd learned to make from mom but Jen tasted for the first time at a neighborhood Italian place and fell in love with it.

Sabayon is a foamy egg-based mixture of generally Italian origin and related to zabaglione.  It's perfect for those who are lactose-intolerant because it's got no milk but it has a texture similar to whipped cream but heavier and tastier than meringue. It can be saucy (more watery) or thick (like meringue) depending on how long you heat it for. Commercial versions use cornstarch but I think that that's a cop-out.

Sabayon can be made a variety of ways, but traditionally it is made with a Marsala, port, sherry or Madeira.  Some recipes, like the one in these photos, use champagne, so it really depends on your taste and what you intend to serve it with (if you want less savory you can even use water). Some fancier methods even call for the use of a whipped cream that is folded into the sabayon and then broiled to cause it to glaze and crust with a nice golden exterior.

Finally, it can be served warm or cold.  We prefer cold so if you do that, keep an ice bath ready to prevent overheating. If warm, make it at the last minute since it cannot be re-heated.

The other nice thing is that it is pretty easy to make if you pay attention. The basic premise works a lot like a Hollandaise sace - using a liquid to heat egg yolks which causes them to thicken but not "cook".  I urge you to try it out!

Ingredients:
6 egg yolks
1 C liquid: water, Marsala, port, sherry, Madeira or champagne
1/3 C sugar (or 5 tsp Splenda)
1 pint fresh berries

Utensils:
Balloon whisk
Steel or copper bowl
Saucepan of simmering water

Bring the water to boil then turn to simmer. In the meantime, set up your berries in the presentation.  Here I've sliced the berries up and plated them, but often it's seen served in dessert goblets or gratin dishes.  Separate the yolks and whites (which I save for omelettes) and put the yolks into the bowl along with the sugar and liquid. Blend with the whisk.

Rest the bowl over the hot water (should no longer be boiling).  Whisk constantly for 4 to 5 minutes until it reaches the consistency of light whipped cream.  Be careful to not overcook or the eggs will scramble (it will turn clumpy).  If serving chilled, remove from heat and put the bowl in the ice bath.  Otherwise, just begin "plating." Spoon the sabayon right onto the berries and serve.  Garnish with mint sprigs. Enjoy!

Image by MadeForJen

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Cupcakes! Yes, cupcakes! And red velvet with cream cheese frosting at that.

So I actually made these several years ago but in light of Jen's birthday (these were for a little birthday party then) I thought I'd throw this out there.  Will post the recipe shortly.

Images by MadeForJen

Happy Birthday, Love

My true love turns         today...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JENNIFER!

She is the love of my life, and I think she is more beautiful today then every day before it. -m

Jen's birthday post

Image by Janis Nicolay

Guacamole

Guacamole is literally one of our favorite snack foods - the creamy mix of avocado with the sour of the lime, the savory onions and garlic, the freshness of the cilantro just seems to go so well together. And whether served by itself with tortilla chips or as an accompaniment, the flavor is just excellent.

I think the only reason people don't make it from scratch so often is because it seems like a complicated food to make but really it's quite easy and quick.

Ingredients:
2 medium avocados*
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
1 small bunch cilantro
1 lime
Sea salt to taste
Optional: diced tomato, diced jalapeno or habanero, pepper

Dice the onion finely and put into a bowl. Smash and chop the garlic and add. Wash and roughly chop the cilantro (or if you prefer, leave the leaves whole). Peel and pit the avocado and add to the bowl.  Using a fork or masher, simultaneously mash and mix the ingredients.  Squeeze half of the lime juice in and a dash of salt.  Blend well with the fork and taste.  Add more lime juice and salt as needed.

Jen doesn't like spicy food at all, so we don't add anything hot but this can obviously be made spicier.  Also, we prefer it chunky but if you like smoother, just keep mashing until you reach the consistency.  A mortar and pestle also work well.

Make often, serve with everything :)

*Note: This time of year, most of the avocados we get in NYC are Florida which are lighter in color and taste a bit milder.  I prefer to use good California Hass (early summer) or Fuerte (winter) when they are ripe.  If you can only get unripened ones, leave them in a paper bag at room temperature until they are just right.

Images by MadeForJen

Plum Pop Pops

The quest for popsicle flavors continues...

This one we call Plum Pop Pops. Pretty basic, like the watermelon agua fresca pops, we used seltzer to give it a lighter "texture." The tartness and rich color of the plum skin (which we left whole when blending) was perfect for me, though Jen prefers the milky ones like the cappuccino and blueberry-yogurt.

Ingredients:
3 ripe black plums
1/4 C agave or honey
1 C seltzer

Blend the plums in a food processor on a high setting for at least 2-3 minutes. There will be lots of tiny skin pieces in the mix, which can be strained if you don't want them. Toss in the sweetener and seltzer and pulse blend for 10-15 seconds. Pour into molds and freeze.

Images by MadeForJen

Iced Cappuccino

Jen's favorite cool drink on a hot and humid NYC day is iced cappuccino.  Fortunately we have a Nespresso machine to make super good coffee.  The problem was that the ice was watering down the coffee too much so to make sure that didn't happen, we made iced coffee cubes using slightly sweetened coffee in a regular ice tray.

After much delicious trial and error, we discovered that the Soy Dream brand vanilla enriched soy milk works better than any other milk (we tested real milk, 2 brands of soy milk and with flavors and not, along with almond and rice milk) for the most froth from the aerator.

This iced cap uses 2 lungo shots of Decaffeinato Lungo (if you like stronger and with caffeine, I recommend Arpeggio), 6 coffee cubes, 1 Splenda and 1 C soy milk fully cold aerated. Jen, of course, added some cocoa powder and a wafer cigar :)

Images by MadeForJen