Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts

A Chocolate Soufflé Kind of Weekend

February 5, 2025


Because sometimes you just have to stay up till midnight baking chocolate soufflé
(Scroll down for recipe)

Lately, my friends and family have been a balm for me; I've been feeling especially connected to them. A few weeks ago, one of my college BFFs, Tessa, came to stay for the long weekend. She's one of the smartest and most talented people I know, and she only lives 45 minutes down the road from me now! (A vast improvement from the multiple-states-away arrangement we had until the middle of last year.)

A real text I sent her before her arrival on Friday

We did all the usual best friend things—ran to Target for cookie dough and gummy bears, swore we were just looking when we popped into Barnes & Noble and somehow both ended up leaving with full bags, and spent a glorious two hours sipping tea at the Virginia Museum of Fine Art's gorgeous teahouse, Floris. We had also planned to pay a visit to Richmond's newest celebrity: Poppy, the zoo's newborn pygmy hippo. As it turns out, the Richmond Zoo follows in the grand Abrahamic tradition of observing the Sabbath. Alas, our date with Poppy will have to wait.


We also did a lot of cooking, which is not entirely typical for two girls who once lived on Fruity Pebbles, bread ends, and house dressing. A video of Lauren Sephton (@brightmomentco) making homemade fish and chips inspired me enough to try to overcome my longtime fear of deep frying, to success I'd say! Lauren's recipe is delicious and easy to follow—I highly recommend it for your next dinner night attempt. 

But we weren't done! For an extra-challenging encore, we picked up my copy of Claire Saffitz' sweet cookbook, What's for Dessert . Soufflé is notorious for being a difficult bake but even though we messed up some of the directions, our delicate chocolate confections turned out wonderfully! Claire's cookbook is perfect for baking novices—she makes everything, even the most difficult of recipes, digestible and provides important context about why things are done the way they are. 





Ingredients
  • 7 tbsp of sugar
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 1/3 cup whole milk
  • 2 tbsp brewed coffee (I substituted espresso powder mixed in water)
  • 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 4 oz bittersweet chocolate (70% cacao), coarsely chopped (I used a dark chocolate bar)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 5 large egg whites at room temperature
  • 1 tsp kosher salt (Claire makes a difference between Diamond Crystal and Morton kosher salt, only 1/2 tsp of the latter)
Steps
  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. 
  2. Brush the bottoms and sides of four 6 oz. ramekins with room temperature butter. Sprinkle the ramekins with sugar and shake to coat. 
  3. Prepare a pot with ~1 inch of water on the stove for a double boiler. In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk 3 tbsp of the sugar and 2 egg yolks together until combined. Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly, followed by the coffee. Add the flour and cocoa powder and whisk until smooth. 
  4. Put the bowl over the boiling water. Whisk constantly until it's thick like pancake batter and faintly holds the shape of the whisk, ~5-7 minutes. Remove from the heat at that point. 
  5. Add the chopped chocolate to the bowl and whisk to incorporate it, then set the bowl aside until the chocolate melts. Slowly whisk the mixture until smooth, then add the remaining egg yolk. (This is where Tessa and I messed up—we forgot to add the additional egg yolk until later! The mixture was incredibly dry and I thought all was lost, but adding the yolk fixed it entirely.) Pro tip: Don't let the chocolate cool to room temperature, or the chocolate will solidify. If that happens, rewarm the mixture over the double boiler until it's smooth.
  6. In a large, non-plastic bowl (another place I messed up—I used a plastic bowl!), combine the egg whites and salt and beat until the mixture is white and opaque. Then, slowly add the remaining 4 tbsp of sugar. Once all the sugar is added, beat until you have stiff peaks. 
  7. Scrape about one-third of the beaten egg whites into the bowl with the chocolate and whisk briskly to combine. Using a large, flexible spatula, fold int he remaining beaten egg whites in two additions until the mixture is almost entirely streak-free. 
  8. Scrape the batter into the prepared ramekins—they should be filled to the very top! 
  9. Lightly sprinkle the surfaces of the ramekins with sugar. Place the ramekins on a sheet pan and transfer to the oven, immediately reducing the oven temperature to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake until the soufflés are risen, firm and springy but still have a small wobble, ~15-20 minutes. 
  10. Enjoy immediately! Claire also includes a recipe for a crème anglaise, but I found Trader Joe's whipped cream was the perfect companion (and much easier). 
Top image credit @_chloechloee

Summer Orzo Salad

July 23, 2024

Every summer, my mom's half of the family decamps to our beloved family beach house on the Outer Banks of North Carolina for a week of pool sitting, ocean plunging, cocktail sipping, outdoor showering, domino playing, and gaudy t-shirt buying. Part of the magic of this week, besides the ability to LEAVE MY PHONE IN MY ROOM ALL DAY (!) and trying my best to read a book a day, is the food. 

Being a foodie is in my family's DNA. My grandmother, aunts, and mom are all fabulous cooks. My mom brings a fat stack of new recipes to try every year and, despite the ability to make literally anything else, we always force my eldest aunt to make her signature spaghetti pie dish. The heart stomach wants what it wants! 

All of this to say, when I returned to my home after a week slurping oysters, cracking crabs, and biting into dribbly s'mores, I was in the mood for something fresh and light. Enter: Summer Orzo Salad. 

This dish is super simple, extremely hearty without making me feel overly stuffed, and (best of all in the summer) best served chilled. You can totally customize the ingredients to your taste, too. Some salty feta cheese, or grilled peaches and creamy ricotta, or tomatoes and parmesan could turn this into a completely new dish! And if you're not a big fan of dressing, I think the orzo packs such flavor when cooked in broth that you could probably get away with just a fat squeeze of lemon on top. Yum! 

Summer Orzo Salad


Ingredients

  • 4 cups vegetable broth 
  • 2 cups orzo pasta 
  • 2 bell peppers
  • 2 cucumbers
  • 1/2 red onion
  • 1 can of corn 
  • 1 can of northern white beans 
  • Fresh basil (to taste) 
For the dressing:
  • 1/4 cup olive oil 
  • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • Salt and pepper (to taste)

Steps

  1. Bring your vegetable broth to a boil in a sizable pot. Once boiling, add your orzo and turn down the heat. Stir regularly until the majority of the broth has been absorbed into the pasta. Once that happens, turn off the heat. 
  2. As your orzo cooks, dice all the vegetables.
  3. Add the cooked orzo to a big serving bowl and let it cool as you make the dressing. 
  4. Whisk together all the ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl. 
  5. Toss the vegetables in the orzo, mixing thoroughly. Dish up delicious bowlfuls of the salad and dress liberally! (Don't add the dressing to the huge batch because it's likely to get soggy) 

This recipe is based off the one I found here. 

10 Minute Banana Bread

July 9, 2024



A few weeks ago, I had to drop off some misrouted mail to my mom's house and I returned with half a loaf of freshly-baked banana bread! #perksoflivingnearyourmom The bread was SO yummy that Mary and I devoured it in under 24 hours. I just had to have the recipe to try it myself.

Mom sent me the recipe (a clipping from an old cooking magazine) and I eagerly got to work with the quickly decaying bananas in my fridge. That first time, I followed the original recipe to the letter and I was less than impressed with the results. Even with Mom's instruction to lower the baking time, I ended up with a loaf that was almost too crusty on the outside and an unbaked gooey mess on the inside. I ate around the goo and resolved to try again. 

This time, I made a few tweaks to the ingredients and the instructions and ended up with the simplest, yummiest, best banana bread muffins! 

Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 3 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 2 ripe bananas mashed
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil (I didn't have vegetable oil, so I substituted grapeseed)

Steps

  1. Preheat the oven to 320 degrees Fahrenheit and spray or butter a loaf pan or muffin tin. 
  2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. 
  3. Whisk together the eggs, sugar, bananas, and oil in a large bowl. 
  4. Sift the dry ingredients into the banana mixture and stir until just combined. 
  5. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. 
I really liked making these as muffins instead of a loaf because they're more portable and I find the baking easier to manage in my rather unruly oven. They're also easier to freeze and save for later that way. I think next time I'll try adding nuts for a delicious crunch on the inside. 



Hearty Italian Pasta and Vegetable Stew

December 29, 2023

Mamma mia was I proud of my own creation...

A few weeks ago, I found myself craving a hearty stew that would fill me up and warm my chilly bones from the inside-out. Instead of following a recipe, I did something I very rarely do in the kitchen—improvised entirely. I am definitely not skilled enough as a cook to do this on the regular, but my improvised Italian stew turned out deliciously, if I do say so myself. 

Ingredients

  • 4 cups of vegetable stock + ~1 cup of water
  • 1 tbsp of veggie bouillon 
  • 1 good, hearty-sized yellow onion, diced
  • 2 stalks of celery, diced
  • 2-3 large carrots cut into small rounds
  • 2 tbsp minced garlic
  • 1 pound of little potatoes, quartered
  • 1-2 cans of white beans
  • 1 box of teeny farfalle or pastina pasta
  • Lemongrass paste (optional; I used ~1 tbsp) 
  • White pepper, to taste (I used ~2 tsp) 
  • Chili crisp, to taste (I used 2-3 tbsp) 
Steps

  1. Toss the garlic and onion into a large pot over medium heat. Cover and heat for 3-5 minutes, or until fragrant. Toss the celery and carrots in as well. Cover and cook for another ~3 minutes or so. 
  2. Pour in the vegetable stock, bouillon, and potatoes. Cook until the potatoes are tender enough to be easily pierced by a fork. This will depend on how many potatoes and how big the chunks of potatoes are. It took about 20 minutes for the potatoes I was using to cook. Make sure the potatoes are not overly done, though, otherwise they'll disintegrate. Add the chili crisp, too. 
  3. Add the beans and pasta at the same time, plus the extra 1 cup of water. Check the cooking directions on the box for an estimated time. It's okay if the pot is very crowded—the pasta will absorb most, if not all, of the liquid. Add the lemongrass paste and white pepper, if using. 
Once all the liquid is absorbed by the pasta, your stew is ready to serve! I could easily see how carnivores could add shredded chicken or small meatballs to beef up the dish, but trust me—the vegetable version alone is hearty enough to fill a cold stomach on a blustery winter day. 

Neapolitan Cookies

August 18, 2023


As soon as I came across the recipe for these beautiful cookies, I knew I wanted to try to make them. I'm still a beginner baker, but I tried to not be intimidated by the idea of combining three different doughs into one coherent cookie. 

Turns out, it's pretty easy! The hardest part was sourcing the ingredients. I don't have a food processor so making my own freeze dried strawberry powder was out of the question, and I only have the average grocery store brand of cocoa powder. Kate's Naturals and King Arthur to my rescue! I was delightfully surprised by the rich taste of the strawberry powder. The black cocoa powder is quite dark, but provides the perfect color compliment. Next time I'd probably do half black cocoa and half regular.

Neapolitan Cookies

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups + 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup of freeze-dried strawberries
  • 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature (I used my typical salted butter here, and I can taste the added salt)
  • 1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
  • 2 tsps pure vanilla extract
  • 2 -3 drops red food coloring optional
  • 2 tbsps Dutch-process black cocoa powder OR 1 tbsp Dutch-process black cocoa powder and 1 tbsp regular cocoa powder
  • Sprinkles or granulated sugar for rolling
Steps

  1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. 
  2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a different bowl, either attached to a stand mixer or using a hand mixer, beat the 1 cup of butter for ~1 minute until creamy. Add the 1 3/4 cups of sugar and beat for 2-3 minutes until well combined. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat on medium until combined. 
  3. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and beat on low speed. (I only have a hand mixer and I finished combining it with a rubber spatula. That seemed to work better.) Dump the dough onto a workspace and divide into 3 equal parts.
  4. Put one third of the dough into the bowl with the mixer and add the powdered strawberries. Blend together before adding food coloring to achieve your perfect shade. Remove the strawberry dough from the bowl and wipe the bowl clean of any color. Repeat the same with the dark cocoa and another third of dough. Sprinkle finishing sugar or sprinkles on a piece of aluminum foil or in a shallow dish (opt). 
  5. When you have your three balls of dough, pinch small portions from each and set to the side. This is how I combined my dough: I took 1-2 pinches of strawberry and pat into my palm. I did the same with the chocolate dough, and ended with the vanilla. I then pinched the stack together until I could roll them together into a regular-sized ball of cookie dough. This resulted in the beautiful blend of colors that I had. If you're using finishing sugar, roll the ball in the sugar before placing on the cookie sheet.
  6. Bake for 10-11 minutes. 
The original recipe poster has great tips on how to combine the doughs, if my method isn't working for ya. 

Note from Kate: Hi! If you buy something through a link on my page, I may earn an affiliate commission. I recommend only products I genuinely like & recommend, and my recommendation is not for sale. Thank you!

30 Minute Italian Subs with Peppers and Onions

August 12, 2023


I've been a vegetarian for over 10 years now. In that time, I've seen (& eaten!) vegan meat substitutes that are exponentially better than the joyless soy crumbles of yesteryear. So when I came across Sam Sifton's recipe for Italian sausage subs in the No-Recipe Recipes cookbook, I knew I'd have no trouble finding some vegan sausage to substitute.

The unique thing about the No-Recipe Recipes cookbook is that Sam, founding editor of New York Times Cooking, doesn't provide any measurements and very bare bones instructions. Sam is a big believer that everyone can learn to cook instinctually and his recipes are designed to inspire improvisation and, eventually, the confidence to leave cookbooks and recipes behind entirely. I'm not quite there yet, and I must profess my love for my ever-growing cookbook collection, so for now I'll stick to using recipes, whether or not they have measurements. 

(Vegetarian) Italian Subs with Peppers and Onions


Ingredients

  • 1 good-sized yellow onion, diced
  • ~5 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tbsp red pepper flakes (to your taste) 
  • 2 medium bell peppers, sliced into strips
  • 4 sausages, meat substitute or regular
  • 4 sub sandwich rolls
  • 1 cup mozzarella cheese
Steps
  1. Place 2 skillets on medium heat and gurgle olive oil onto both of them. Add your diced onions to the smaller pan and season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Stir occasionally as the onions begin to brown, and keep covered when not stirring. 
  2. Meanwhile, add your sausages to the other pan and turn often to ensure an even brown on all sides. When the onions have softened, add the bell peppers and continue stirring occasionally. 
  3. When vegetables and sausages are cooked to your liking, split the sub rolls open and either press the bread on the inside down or pull some of it out to create enough space.
  4. Add the onions and bell peppers first, then the sausage. Top with mozzarella (I stuffed some of the mozzarella inside the bread to double-down on the cheese) and slide under the broiler for ~3 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bread is lightly toasted. Enjoy!

Note from Kate: Hi! If you buy something through a link on my page, I may earn an affiliate commission. I recommend only products I genuinely like, and my recommendation is not for sale. Thank you!

Your New Favorite Way to Cook Peas

August 8, 2023

Nearly ten years ago, my family went to Paris. Of all the magnificent things we saw and did, the food is a special highlight of my memories. And there is one meal, in particular, that stands out to me. 

When you visit the Eiffel Tower, you take one of three bright yellow elevators. These lifts only have three stops: ground level, the second floor, and the tippy top of the tower. The elevators are the only way to get to the top observation deck; the staircase ends on that second floor and I thought the only reason the elevator would stop on the second floor is to then escort the people who opt for the stairs to the top. Spoiler alert: I was wrong. 

Turns out, there's a restaurant on that second floor of the Eiffel Tower: Le Jules Verne. It was an über-fancy restaurant where waiters rush over to adjust your chair whenever you get up and I was nervous. Honestly, I don't remember much about the lunch we had. There were multiple courses and I'm sure everything was delicious. 

There's one dish that I do remember, though. And actually, I don't even remember the entire dish. I remember one ingredient above all others: peas. We ate (something) on a bed of creamy, delicious, puréed peas. They had been whipped into this delightfully creamy texture and I could tell even then that the peas were so fresh and bursting with flavor. I simply couldn't get enough of them. I mean, I've been thinking about these peas for ten years!  

So, after I made a recipe that called for heavy cream and found myself with a fair amount leftover that I didn't want to waste, I googled "how to use extra heavy cream." As soon as I saw this recipe, I knew I was making it. Because of the peas!

Creamy Green Peas
(option to add salmon)

Ingredients

    For the creamed peas:
  • 1/4 of a red onion, diced
  • 1 cup peas, fresh or frozen
  • 4 tbsp butter, split in half
  • 1/4 cup veggie stock 
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 3 scallions
  • Salt and pepper
    For the salmon dish, you'll need everything for the peas plus:
  • 2 filets of salmon
  • Drizzle of olive oil 
  • 1/4 — 1/2 cup heavy cream (1/4 cup if you're pureeing half of the peas, 1/2 cup if you're blending all of it)
  • Salmon seasoning, to your taste (I use salt, pepper, steak seasoning, and garlic powder)
Steps
  1. Cook the peas in a pot of boiling, lightly salted water for ~6 minutes. Frozen peas might need less cooking time than fresh. Drain the peas and set aside. 
  2. Melt half the butter in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Once it's melted, add the diced onion and cook until soft.
  3. Add the stock to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes until the liquid is reduced. Add the heavy cream and stir, cooking at a steady simmer for another ~3 minutes.
  4. Add the peas and stir. Cook at a low simmer for 5-7 minutes until thickened. 
  5. Add the rest of the butter and scallions. Stir and let cook for another 2-3 minutes. Enjoy warm! 
For the salmon dish: 
  1. Cook the salmon in a skillet drizzled with light olive oil, skin side down to start. (I used the same one as the peas.) Season the salmon with spices to your taste. Flip the salmon halfway through cooking. Cooking times will depend on the size of your salmon fillets.
  2. As the salmon cooks, add the peas and 1/4 cup of heavy cream to a blender. Blend/pulse until combined. The mixture should be thick. 
  3. Pour the pea mixture into the bottom of a large dish and place the salmon on top. Enjoy! 
The peas on their own were delicious. So flavorful and the perfect side dish to any summer meal. I wish I had cooked the peas a little bit more, they were a bit underdone and that made them a little over-firm. I saved half of these peas to eat as a side dish and blended the rest to recreate my version of that Parisian dish. The finished product made for the tastiest sauce/base for a freshly cooked fillet of salmon. 



Lemon Ricotta Spaghetti with Asparagus

August 1, 2023

 


One of my all time favorite summer dishes is any kind of creamy, lemony, cheesy pasta. This pasta checks all those boxes, plus the delicious crispy asparagus. I cooked by instinct on this one for the most part, that's why some of the ingredients in the ingredient list are approximate. 

Ingredients
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic, diced (to your taste)
  • Half of a red onion, diced
  • 3/4 cup ricotta cheese, plus more for topping
  • 1 lemon (you'll need juice and zest)
  • 3/4 cup breadcrumbs
  • 1 pound of asparagus
  • ~3/4 pound of spaghetti (more accurately....1 large handful)
  • Garlic powder for sprinkling
  • Kosher salt & black pepper
Steps
  1. Preheat your oven to 375° Fahrenheit and start boiling a large pot of salted water.
  2. Chop the ends off of the asparagus spears and arrange on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil. Drizzle the asparagus spears with 1 tbsp of olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. 
  3. When the water starts boiling, add the spaghetti and cook until it's almost done. Save at least 1.5 cups of the spaghetti water. When your oven is preheated, slide the asparagus in for ~15 minutes, or to your preferred level of crispy. 
  4. As the spaghetti and asparagus cooks, place a medium-to-large skillet over medium heat. Pour the remaining olive oil in the pan and add the diced garlic. Cook for 30 seconds-1 minute, or until the garlic becomes fragrant. Add the diced onion and cook for another 30s-1min. 
  5. Turn the burner heat to low. Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon into the pan and add the ricotta. Add small portions of the pasta water to the pan to thin the ricotta. Stir together. When the pasta is ready, add it to the pan and swirl to combine with the ricotta sauce. As you do this, you'll need to add more pasta water in increments. 
  6. Turn the heat off. Sprinkle the pasta with lemon zest and half the breadcrumbs. Stir together, then add the rest. Pull your asparagus out and dollop a spoon of ricotta on your bowl. Enjoy! 
Suggestions
This recipe was super yummy, but I concede it could've been even better. Throwing some shrimp or scallops in the skillet with the garlic, onions, and lemon and adding some chili flakes for spice would absolutely take this to another level. Ricotta cheese can also be a little gummy, so using less ricotta in the pan and substituting with heavy cream would make for a smoother sauce that doesn't need as much pasta water to thin. You can then add more ricotta on top of your bowl to keep the flavor.

I adapted my recipe from this one, but it's pretty different.

Creamy Tuscan Salmon with Spinach

July 26, 2023

 

As a pescatarian, I cook a fair bit of fish at home. Salmon is definitely my favorite, though, so when I stumbled across this recipe for pan-seared creamy cheesy salmon, I knew I had to try it. This dish is incredibly simple and took less than 30 minutes, chopping time included. 'Nuff said.

Ingredients
  • 1 tbsp butter (I like Kerrygold salted)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • Large salmon filet, cut into 3 pieces
  • 2-3 medium cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine (I used a dry sauv. blanc that added the perfect fruity twinge)
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup (ish) fresh spinach

 Steps

  1. Dice the 2-3 garlic cloves & set aside for later. Pat the salmon dry with a paper towel and sprinkle some salt & pepper over it. 
  2. Heat the 1 tbsp of butter & olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until melted. Sear the salmon skin side up for ~2-3 minutes before flipping. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until the salmon is golden and crispy but not cooked all the way through. Set the salmon on a plate.
  3. Add the minced garlic to the pan and sauté until fragrant. Add the 1/2 cup of wine and stir. Let it cook down for 5 minutes, or so, until the liquid is reduced by about half.
  4. Add the heavy cream & grated parmesan cheese, stirring until it all comes together. Add the spinach & the salmon back to the pan. Cover the pan with a lid and let cook over medium-low heat for another 5 minutes.
  5. Once the salmon is cooked to your liking, remove from the heat, plate, & devour!

This sauce was so delicious I might find myself making it to toss with pasta or scallops, too. I'm not usually a fan of creamed greens, but this spinach was so tasty. I used this recipe from Julia's blog as my guide, though I skipped the sundried tomatoes and switched up some cooking times.

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