Food In Many Forms

Each time we go on a sailing trip for a week at some marvelous destination, I look up what other people have done for meals. It always feels like there are very few resources available, so I thought I would add my menus to the collective knowledge base, talk about what was easy to find, what was hard to find, and what I want to remember for next time. For your reference, we sailed with Dream Yacht Charter out of Portorosa Marina in mid-September. This is considered shoulder season for the Aeolian islands. The weather felt like shoulder season, but the vibe on the islands was "off-season" - a lot less nightlife and fewer people. The Menu  Saturday   Portorosa        Sunday Panarella by dinner  Monday Panarella  Tuesday Panarella > Stromboli   Wednesday Stromboli > Salina > Lipari  Thursday Lipari > Vulcano  Friday Vulcano > Lipari >  Mari...

It was just a matter of time before Pinterest entered my life in food form , and this recipe was too easy to resist. It took 10 minutes to prepare after I got home from the gym, and 25 minutes to bake. The original recipe had too many egg whites , and too few whole eggs for my taste, so the modified version below has twice as many whole eggs and half the egg whites. There are four servings after all, I think one egg yolk per person is okay. And that is my professional opinion ;) Healthy Breakfast Frittata Makes 4 Servings Ingredients: 1 Cup Eggwhites (I use eggwhites from a carton to make my life easier) 4 Whole Eggs 1/2 a Small White Onion Finely Chopped 2 Cups Spinach (not packed) 1/4 Cup Reduced Fat Feta Cheese Black Pepper, to taste Crushed Red Pepper, to taste Salt, to taste Directions: Preheat oven to 425 F. Place all ingredients in an 8×8 previously oiled baking dish sprinkling your spices on top. Using a fork fold ingredients together....

There is a lot to be said for a recipe that cooks up quick and requires minimal prep time. Even more so if it is also healthy, cheap, and uses nonperishable ingredients. So even though this is not my favorite Giada recipe, it is definitely worth keeping the ingredients around in case I ever need to cook up  a good amount of food in a short amount of time. I promise you, it will grow on you as you eat, especially if you are generous with red pepper flakes and the parmesan ;) Ingredients: 1 pound farfalle pasta - I had gemelli so that's what I used 2 heads broccoli, trimmed to florets (about 4 cups) - I used frozen 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 3 garlic cloves, chopped 5 anchovy fillets, diced 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/2 cup grated Parmesan - I used Romano cheese Directions: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally. Cook the bro...

 This week was my turn to work the weekend, which meant I had Thursday off, so I spent the day grocery shopping, prepping veggies, making dip and baking lasagna. With the thermometer stuck below 20 degrees, it was too cold to do much else.  I was inspired by a roasted root vegetable lasagna that I had at Kramerbooks in Dupont Circle a few years ago. You wouldn't think that radishes, squash and leeks would make for delicious lasagna, but it did. So I had high hopes for this recipe from "The view from great island" blog. Ingredients: 1/2 butternut squash, peeled and sliced (I used the pre-cut squash) 1 leek, sliced 1 fennel bulb, sliced a couple of handfuls of Brussels sprouts, quartered about a cup and a half of thickly sliced mushrooms 3 garlic cloves,whole with skin on olive oil 1 package of no cook lasagna noodles (I used a little more than half the box) 1 large jar of your favorite tomato sauce, or tomato puree 1 1/2 lb of whole milk ricotta cheese ...

Can I first say that it is great to be back in a kitchen I can call my own ? Even working 40 hours a week, I've cooked and baked more in the past two weeks than I did all summer. Having a consistent schedule really helps, along with a few easy strategies. 1) Make meals on the weekends for the week... this feta and summer squash orzo with feta cheese and basil was the first dinner of my internship. I had no idea how I would feel after my first day and I was grateful for anything I could throw in the microwave and eat. Luckily, I had gotten to the grocery store that weekend. Unluckily, the squash was less than fresh after a day in the fridge. Live and learn. 2) If you can't cook for tonight, cook for tomorrow... I also bought chicken that week, which needed to be cooked pronto. When I got home hungry the next night, I popped a frozen dinner in the fridge, and once I was fed, I figured out what to do with all that chicken. I ended up making my own breadcrumbs and using an eg...

Last night I was hungry, there was no fresh food in the house , and I went into a food frenzy . Immediately, I pounced on the frozen shrimp and canned tomatoes, and before I knew it I was cooking Giada's Shrimp Fra Diavolo recipe. Of course there are a few small differences. No fresh food means no fresh onions, so those were nixed, but it actually made the recipe ten times simpler. Ingredients 1 pound large shrimp, peeled, deveined 1 teaspoon salt, plus additional as needed 1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus 1 to 2 tablespoons 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes 1 cup dry white wine 3 garlic cloves, chopped 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves 1 tablespoon chopped  Italian parsley leaves 1 tablespoon chopped  basil leaves Directions Toss the shrimp in a medium bowl with 1 teaspoon of salt and red pepper flakes. Heat the 3 tablespoons oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp and saute for abou...

Chicken may be healthy, it may be cheap, but I am still scared to cook it. The threat of Salmonella is constantly in my mind every time I use a new utensil or dish. My biggest mistake is overcooking it. Without a thermometer, I always err on the side of caution and cut up the chicken into small pieces so I can make sure every piece is cooked through. I couldn't do that for this recipe since I had to cook them whole, and they actually turned out really moist and flavorful. Ingredients •4 4 oz chicken breasts •Olive Oil Pam •2 Tbsp flour for Breading •6 oz white wine •1 garlic clove •1 bay leaf • Salt and Pepper Directions  Slice the chicken breasts along the length to obtain large, medium-thick slices. In a large frying pan pour the extra virgin olive oil and add the crushed garlic clove and a pinch of salt. set a layer of flour on a flat dish and dampen the slices of chicken one by one on each side, until you have covered the entire slice with a thin layer of flour. Avoid clumps of...

My recipes need to be turned in next week, so I was in a scramble to find a good vegetable side dish after making some very lackluster spinach cakes. I needed more bright color, which initially made me think of spinach, but eggplant also has a beautiful color . The big issue with eggplant that I always hear is that it soaks up oil very quickly, so I reduced the olive oil from 5 tablespoons to 1 tablespoon, and it turned out great! I served it with toasted French bread and spread the eggplant mixture on top like a crostini - delicious! Ingredients 1 tablespoons olive oil 1 1 1/2-pound eggplant, unpeeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes 1 medium onion, cubed 4 large garlic cloves, chopped 1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes with Italian seasonings in juice 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil Directions Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add eggplant, onion, and garlic cloves. sauté until eggplant is soft and brown, about 15 minutes. Add d...

Once I did the nutritional analysis of my original appetizer for my themed meal - a prosciutto and goat cheese salad - I knew I had to change it. It had more fat then I care to admit. So I went in the exact opposite direction and found a recipe that is amazing with minimal oil and no cheese at all. Just think how good it would be with a sprinkle of Parmesan! It was still tasty after a few days in the fridge so I had it for lunch a few days in a row. Thanks Giada! Ingredients: 8 ounces green beans, cut into 1 to 2-inch pieces (about 2 cups) 1 head Romaine lettuce, torn 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed 1/2 cup pitted black olives 1/2 red onion, cut into slivers 1 lemon, juiced 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 ounce shaved Parmesan (about 1/2 cup) Directions: Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the green beans and stir. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until beans are slightly tende...

These beans had great reviews and were promoted as great cold-weather comfort food , but although they were good, they were not AMAZING, and I am going to have to make them again before I completely decide to make these for my theme meal. First of all, they took 2 1/2 hours to cook, which may or may not have been because I kept steaming off the bean broth. Second, maybe I just don't understand how to cook dried beans, but "boiling the beans until 3/4 done " doesn't mean anything to me. I ended up just boiling them for an hour and fifteen minutes and transferring them to the other pot because I don't want them to "go soft on me", but I'm not sure why since they are going to get soft when they stew in the tomato mixture. Anyways, bitterness and confusion aside , I'm going to give the recipe another chance, and maybe with this experience under my belt (and a little google research), I can do better . Fagiuoli all'Uccelletto Prep Time: 30 minutes...

       For my food service class, I have to plan a big three or four course meal, and I decided I would make tiramisu for dessert . Although there are many complicated recipes, this one by Sandra Lee who is known using preprepared ingredients and simple preparation methods, took only about 20 minutes. The most time-consuming part is layering the ladyfingers, cream cheese frosting and whipped cream. I didn't have wine glasses so I experimented with making parfaits in bowls before trying them in some plastic cups.         It didn't take me long to figure out that if you dip ladyfingers in hot coffee they pretty much disintegrate , so I began spooning coffee over the cookies instead. Spreading the cream cheese mixture on top was also a little frustrating. But when I used a cup instead, I could just drop a generous tablespoon in and press it down with the next layer of ladyfingers to spread it out.  Ingredients 1 cup heavy cream 3/4 cup su...

There is something soothing about cooking Italian food. The lasagna, baked ziti, stuffed shells...all slowly come together piece by piece into the most wonderful comfort food. Stirring the sauce, preparing the filling, putting down the layers of pasta and sauce are like a ritual that you know leads to something special and exciting. After going away and eating nothing but sandwiches and French fries, I really wanted some homemade food, and decided on stuffed manicotti. The recipe is similar to stuffed shells - there is a ricotta filling inside pasta with tomato sauce - but I wanted to add some more nutritional oomph, so I added chopped, cooked spinach to my filling. Stuffing the manicotti was a little tricky with a regular spoon, but a long skinny spoon worked great. A lot of the manicotti was ripped on the side, or all the way through, leading me to cheat a little on one of them and simply open the shell up, lay down the filling and close it again. It's in the oven now - I'l...

I came home for part of the labor day weekend, and I thought I would take advantage of the most convenient proximity of an actual grocery store :) While reading Oprah's magazine last night I found an article about cooking for one. It reaffirmed something I already know but I wasn't sure how widespread this belief is - that you are worth cooking for. Just you, by yourself, deserve a good, healthy, satisfying meal. Well, with that in mind, I tried one of the recipes made for one and now want to share it. Penne with Tuna, Plum Tomatoes, and Black Olives (Oprah Magazine, October 2009) - Salt - 3 ounces penne (or fusilli or shell pasta) - 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil - 1 small onion or fat shallot, thinly slices (about 1/4 cup) - 1 clove garlic, peeled and thinly sliced - 2 large, ripe plum tomatoes, cut into rough chunks - 1 Tbsp. white wine - 2 1/2 to 3 ounces canned tuna in olive oil - 10 Italian or Greek black olives, pitted and quartered - 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 1. Cook p...