A few months ago, I found myself at a local grocery store staring at the colorful selection of winter squash. Out of all the different types of squash, butternut squash was by far the most intimidating to me. Up until this winter, I thought it belonged only in the hands of professional chefs, crafting their fancy raviolis and creamy bisques.
Before I knew it, I had a 4-pound squash in my shopping cart, and it was time to find out what to do with it! Knowing that I wanted to use the squash in a pasta dish, I began searching for recipes and found a lasagna dish on Epicurious. While it was a tasty starting point, I wasn’t completely in love with it. The use of only Parmesan cheese resulted in a lasagna that lacked a creamy texture, and the lasagna topping left the top layer dry and uncooked.
Two months and six pans of lasagna later, I created my perfect recipe. I made some tasty changes to the original recipe, such as the addition of Asiago Fresco cheese. A cheese connoisseur at Whole Foods recommended Asiago Fresco, suggesting that it would melt better than Parmesan but would not overpower the butternut squash. I also added mild Italian sausage to the filling, although you can skip it for a delicious vegetarian version. Altogether, the flavors are simple yet rich: sweetness from the squash and nuttiness from the cheese are bound together by a creamy Béchamel sauce. Also, I really liked serving the lasagna with a simple salad. One of my new favorites is just mache/lamb’s lettuce tossed in a simple dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, and salt + pepper.
After making this recipe for my family, friends, and even FareStart volunteer buddies, I can proudly post this as my lasagna season finale. I hope you can try it for yourself before we’re forced to say farewell to fresh butternut squash! read more…
Thanksgiving is hands-down my favorite holiday. It’s wonderful to take a few days off from work to spend time on what matters most to me: family, friends, and food. Each year, my Mom hosts an amazing Thanksgiving dinner with the traditional fare including (but by no means limited to) turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and…potato dinner rolls! Just as good with leftovers as they are fresh out of the oven, potato rolls are deliciously soft and melt right in your mouth. These rolls don’t really taste like potatoes, but the addition of mashed potatoes gives the dough a fluffy texture.
A Thanksgiving without potato rolls is truly not a real Thanksgiving for my family. My Mom has been making potato dinner rolls for as long as I can remember, and this was the year for me to learn. The pressure was on! read more…
Last Friday, I attended a great event called “Blog Meet Blog” at BoConcept in Seattle. Hosted by the lovely ladies of Needle+Thread and The Clothes Horse, the event was filled with a variety of bloggers, ranging from food to fashion.
The casual setting at BoConcept (actually a furniture gallery), accompanied by tasty treats and great music (DJ Tiger Beat), made for an enjoyable night. One of my favorite samples from the night was Mike’s Hard Spiced Cider. The cider can be served either hot or cold, and both options were equally delicious. Since it’s just a seasonal drink, so I’ll have to stock up before the winter ends! read more…
It’s good to be back in the kitchen and back to the blog, especially in time for my favorite season!
I love autumn for more reasons than just food, but that’s definitely on my list. I’m on the prowl for recipes starring this season’s delicious vegetables: squash, pumpkin, Brussels sprouts… Yes, Brussels sprouts. Unlike the childhood experiences of many I know, mine was without Brussels sprouts. I discovered them for myself a few years ago and absolutely love their slightly bitter and nutty taste. I found a recipe from Gourmet Magazine that does them just right: Seared Sea Scallops with Brussels Sprouts & Bacon.
It’s nearly impossible to go wrong with scallops and bacon. Seared scallops are super simple to make – one reason why I usually don’t order them at a restaurant. The key is to make sure the sea scallops are dry. Any moisture will make it difficult to get that desirable golden sear. read more…
My refrigerator has never been this empty. I had a Lean Pocket for dinner last night. And today, I had scrambled eggs for breakfast. JUST scrambled eggs – no creme fraiche, no chives, no fancy omelet.
Please forgive me (and my poor diet) for the next month. Those who are close to me know what’s been taking up my time, and for the rest of you, I’ll just leave it a mystery (it’s really not that interesting). In the meantime, please use your kitchens to make up for the lack of cooking in my own.
Thanks to the film “Julie and Julia”, beef bourguignon has never been so popular, especially in the summertime. I’ll be the first to say that it’s pretty strange that there are hundreds of foodies cooking beef bourguignon in August. Consider it just as out of place as Thanksgiving in June – though, like beef bourguignon, that would still be delicious. I’d like to believe that the French are laughing at us, but it’s really hard to care when you have a refrigerator stocked with some of the finest leftovers to grace its shelves. New foodie rule: Beef bouguignon is *absolutely* delicious, regardless of the time of year.
I was able to find a copy of the Julia Child recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking (now on the NY Times bestseller list). While Child’s recipe took some time and effort, it wasn’t nearly as difficult as I expected it to be. As Julie Powell did in the movie, I recommend making this the night before you plan to serve it. The bourguignon was good the first night, but the flavors really develop after a day, so make sure to cook enough for leftovers. read more…
It’s 4pm on very long Tuesday in the office, and I’m already thinking about dinner. I’ve switched gears from creating formulas in Excel to planning my dinner via Google search. “Enchiladas Verde”…no not quite. “Enchiladas with Tomatillos”…getting warmer. After a half hour of intense searching, I now know of Enchiladas Suiza.
Still, there are many variations to Enchiladas Suiza. The consensus is that it includes chicken, tortillas, cheese, and a sauce made from green chiles and sometimes, tomatillos. Most of the recipes I found involved buying enchilada sauce or pre-made salsa verde. I decided to make my own sauce, because I’ve been eager to cook more with tomatillos. I’ve used them in salsas before and really like their tangy flavor and tomato-like texture. The salsa recipe below is from Tyler Florence, but I’ve modified it by grilling the peppers instead of broiling, as well as changing some of the proportions. read more…
There’s nothing like being stuck in a plane, waiting on the runway at JFK airport for 4 hours. There’s also nothing like landing at Sea-Tac airport at 3:30am on a Monday, 5 hours after you originally planned…knowing that you have to be in the office in 5 hours. Let’s just say that when it came to making dinner on Monday night, I wanted to make something *really* easy and delicious.
Why not just order food and take the night off from the kitchen? As much as I love to cook, I recognize the value of delivery pizza and take out Chinese food. But, I had just spent 8 days in New York, and that meant eating out for every meal. There comes a time when all you are craving is something homemade…even if that means being half asleep while cooking. read more…
A few nights ago, my sister offered up one of her world-famous recipes for The Midnight Cook: Thai Chicken Summer Salad. Well, maybe not world-famous (yet), but definitely a popular recipe among my family and others who have tried it. My sister is a serious Asian food lover - her pantry filled with every type of sauce you’d find in Chinatown: hoisin, fish, and even wok vinegar. Not to mention, she even owns a Le Creuset wok. That being said, I quickly jumped at the opportunity to join her in the kitchen, and witness her Asian culinary magic.
Her Thai Chicken Summer Salad was the perfect meal for a hot summer evening. This salad is best served as a dinner salad, and the recipe below is enough for two large servings. One of the best qualities of this recipe is the short amount of time needed to put the salad together. The step which takes the most time is marinating the chicken. She recommends marinating it for 2 hours for maximum flavor. If you do this step first, that gives you plenty of time to cook the noodles, prep the vegetables, and make the Sweet & Spicy sauce. As with most Asian recipes, there is a fair amount of chopping and slicing so you can do this while your chicken is marinating. read more…
A friend and fellow blogger inspired me to start cooking with quinoa, a fluffy, mild and nutty grain. I’ve had an unopened box of this healthy grain in my pantry for the last 6 months, but always seemed to reach for the familiar scoop of rice or box of pasta. It was definitely time to expand my culinary repertoire in this area.
On Epicurious.com, I found a recipe for beef tenderloin, served with a roasted garlic sauce and a leek & yellow tomato quinoa. While beef tenderloin is fairly simple to grill, I was more interested in the different options to serve alongside it. With an impressive Epicurious rating of 4 forks (based on 24 reviews), I was easily convinced to give the recipe a shot. read more…
