Potato and Onion Flatbreads

Lately, I've been wanting to make homemade pizza or bread. Flatbreads seemed like a great place to start. Since I don't have a pizza stone, I did some research on making flatbread in an oven safe skillet or pan. The following recipe worked pretty well in my skillet, though it probably would work even better in a cast iron skillet (I only have a square grill pan). I topped one of the flatbreads with thinly sliced fingerling potatoes, and the other with loads of caramelized onions. They were both very tasty, served with a side of homemade marinara sauce.

Potato Topping

about 6 fingerling potatoes, very thinly sliced

salt and pepper

olive oil

Heat a bit of olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add sliced potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Fry until golden brown and remove from heat.

Onion Topping

about 6 baby red onions, sliced (I found baby onions at the greenmarket, but you can substitute 2 or 3 regular sized onions of your choice)

1 tablespoon butter

olive oil

salt and pepper

Heat a bit of olive oil and the butter in a pan over medium heat. When oil is hot, add the onions and stir to coat. Let cook for about 15 minutes, shaking the pan and stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper, and let cook until lightly browned and caramelized (scraping up the brown bits helps this process a bit).

Flatbread

2 cups whole wheat flour

3 cups water

a pinch of salt

olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Meanwhile, combine salt and flour together in a large bowl. Incorporate water slowly, while whisking, to create a thin, pancake-like batter. Put a bit of olive oil in your skillet, enough to generously coat the bottom. Preheat the pan on the stove over medium heat, or in the oven. When the oil is hot but not smoking, remove pan from heat and pour about half the batter into the pan. Place the pan in the oven and bake for about 40 minutes until browned and cooked through. When the flatbread is ready, the sides will start to come up a little bit, and the center should be pretty firm. It took a bit of cajoling to the flatbread out of my pan, but I imagine with a cast iron skilled it should lift right out. Top the flatbread with desired topping and return to the oven on a baking sheet for a couple of minutes to crisp it up. Repeat with the rest of the batter.

Kale with Buckwheat and Acorn Squash

In keeping with my new tradition of cooking every Sunday and, of course, posting it here, I invited my friend over on Sunday for a nice, healthy, home-cooked meal. This Sunday's recipe is inspired by a dish that I had at Barbuto. My roommate and I have been getting kale and squash almost every week this winter from our CSA, so this dish is a great way to use up our weekly veggies. And everyone agreed that it's delicious, too! I served it as a main course with a side of avocado salad, but this dish itself would make a great side.

Kale with Buckwheat and Acorn Squash

1 bunch kale

1 clove garlic, minced

1 small acorn squash (I only used half of the squash, and saved the other half for lunch the next day)

1/2 cup buckwheat

juice of 1 lemon

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and stringy insides and discard. Place cut side down in an oven safe dish. When oven is ready, place squash in oven and roast until tender, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring 1 cup water to boil, add buckwheat, and let simmer until water is absorbed, about 20 minutes (or cook buckwheat according to instructions on package).

Rinse and dry kale. Trim off the stems and chop coarsely. In a saute pan, heat a bit of olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, then add kale and combine. Saute until tender, about 8 minutes, and season with salt and pepper.

When the acorn squash is ready, remove from oven and let cool. Reserve one half of the squash for another use. With the other half, scoop out the flesh and chop coarsely. Combine kale, buckwheat, and squash. Add lemon juice (start with juice from half a lemon and taste from there) and a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, and mix to incorporate.

Kohlrabi, Four Ways

For my first food project this year, I experimented with the vegetable kohlrabi. Kohlrabi smells and tastes a lot like broccoli stems and can be eaten raw or cooked a variety of different ways. I made it four ways: raw, in a salad; as crostini; roasted, with tomatoes; and sauteed, served with polenta. All dishes tasted pretty great, but my favorite was the kohlrabi crostini. After this meal and its leftovers, I must say, I'm kohlrabi-ed out! At least I'll know what to do with it the next time my roommate and I get it for our CSA.

Pear and Kohlrabi Salad with Orange Vinaigrette

1 small kohlrabi

1 small pear (I used Bosc)

2 scallions, chopped

a couple handfuls of mixed greens

Trim and peel the kohlrabi. Using a mandolin or a vegetable peeler, slice the kohlrabi into thin strips. Core the pear and cut into thin slices. Combine kohlrabi, pear, chopped scallions, and greens with orange vinaigrette.

Orange Vinaigrette

3 tablespoons orange juice

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

a pinch of salt

Combine orange juice, vinegar, and salt. Whisk in olive oil.

Kohlrabi Crostini

1 kohlrabi, trimmed, peeled, and cut into 1-inch cubes

1 small yellow onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 cup olive oil, plus some for sauteing onions

salt to taste

1 baguette, sliced and toasted in the oven

parmesan cheese

Bring a pot of salted pot of water to boil. Add kohlrabi and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat a bit of olive oil in a pan. Add onions and saute until tender but not browned, about 7 minutes. Add garlic and saute for an additional minute or two. Blend kohlrabi, onion mixture, and olive oil in a food processor until smooth. Add salt to taste. Spread kohlrabi on baguette toasts and serve topped with shaved parmesan.

Roasted Kohlrabi with Tomatoes

1 small kohlrabi, trimmed and peeled

1 pint cherry tomatoes

olive oil to coat

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Halve the kohlrabi and cut into thin slices. Toss the kohlrabi with cherry tomatoes and olive oil. Place on baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Bake until kohlrabi is tender, about 35 minutes, shaking the pan a few times in between.

Kohlrabi with Polenta and Mushrooms

1 kohlrabi, trimmed, peeled, and cut into bite-sized pieces

1 clove garlic, minced

1 shallot, finely diced

1 pound mushrooms, whichever kind you like, sliced

1 cup medium grind cornmeal

1 tablespoon butter

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Bring 4 cups of lightly salted water to boil. Stir in cornmeal and lower heat. Allow polenta to cook, stirring consistently until creamy. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil. Heat a bit of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add shallot and cook until softened, then add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add kohlrabi and cook until tender, about 12 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from pan and set aside. Add butter and a little bit more olive oil to the same pan. Add mushrooms and cook until tender. Season with salt and pepper. Serve polenta topped with kohlrabi and mushrooms.

New Year's Resolution and First Project of the Year

One of my New Year's Resolutions this year is to keep up with this blog. I've been such a slacker with it, and I don't even know if anyone out there is reading what I post. But there are some food projects and adventures that I've been concocting, so I will try my best to document them and share them with you here.

My first project, inspired by a topic on Serious Eats, is to choose an adventurous vegetable and cook it a bunch of different ways. Since my roommate and I belong to a CSA, we usually get a bunch of different vegetables, some of them pretty adventurous. But I always do the same thing with them. If it's kale, I'll saute it with some onions. Brussels sprouts, roast them. Root vegetables, roast them. Fennel, grill it. It's getting a little boring. So this weekend, I'm going to go to my local Green Market and find a fun vegetable that I will then cook several different ways.

Any suggestions for the vegetable?

Brianna's Graduation Party

Hi friends! Sorry for the long absence! It's been a hectic couple of months, what with graduating from Fordham, moving to an apartment in the East Village, and starting "real life". I finally feel like I'm settled in, though, and I'm excited to start posting new recipes again! Actually, this past weekend, my roommate's parents threw her a graduation party in Quincy, Massachusetts... and they asked me to cater it! Of course I was happy to plan the menu and prepare the feast, and I had lots of help from my roommate, her mom, and friends and neighbors. I was a little nervous to cook for so many people (I believe there were over 40 people at the party), but everything turned out pretty well and everyone had a great time!

I decided to go with kebabs as the main dish for the party, since they're easy to prepare and pretty fun to eat. As for the type of cuisine, recently I've been pretty obsessed with the idea of Asian/Latin American fusion, so I tried to stick to that. So, the week before the party, I planned a rough menu and sent my roommate's mom a list of the groceries and supplies that we would need. The day before the party, my roommate, her boyfriend, and I drove up to Quincy. We arrived pretty late, but I was so excited that I couldn't get to sleep! On the morning of the party, we woke up early to start preparing. I had even planned the order in which everything should be made, so as to avoid chaos at the last minute. We started with the marinades, dressings, and sauces for the various dishes. Then came the rice dish, followed by assembling the kebabs, and finally putting together the different appetizers and salads. We fired up the grill, put the kebabs on, and soon everyone was enjoying the feast and partying the night away!

Here are the recipes from the party (keep in mind that all these recipes serve 40+ people!!):

Guacamole
Guacamole is usually always a hit at any party, and sure enough, at Brianna's graduation party, it disappeared even before all of the guests had arrived. I should have doubled the recipe!

5 avocados
1 red onion
2 tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lime
salt and pepper, to taste

Finely dice the onions and tomatoes. Halve the avocados, remove the pits, and scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Mash with a fork to desired consistency (I like to leave some big chunks of avocado in my guacamole, but some might prefer a smoother, creamier guac). Add the diced onions and tomatoes, along with the cilantro and garlic. Add the juice of 1 lime and season with salt and pepper. Serve with tortilla chips.

Mexican Bruschetta
This appetizer was a hit, too! A twist on the classic Italian bruschetta, this version includes cilantro (instead of parsley), melted cheese, and red pepper flakes.

10 tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 white onions
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
salt and pepper, to taste
olive oil
2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar, monterrey jack, or any combination), or more, if you like
3 baguettes

Set the oven to broil. Finely dice the onions and tomatoes. Combine with garlic, cilantro, and red pepper flakes. Drizzle mixture with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Set aside. Cut baguettes in half, lengthwise. Broil in the oven for up to 2 minutes, just until the bread is toasted on the outside. Remove from the oven. Using a slotted spoon (so that you don't drown the baguettes in tomato juice), scoop the tomato mixture onto the baguettes. Sprinkle with cheese and put back under the broiler, just until the cheese melts. Remove from the oven and slice into individual servings.

Orzo pasta salad with lime cilantro dressing

2 boxes orzo pasta
3 cans garbanzo beans
5 red or green bell peppers, or a combination

For the pasta salad: Cook orzo according to directions on the box. Dice the bell peppers and combine with cooked orzo. Rinse the garbanzo beans and add to the mixture.

5 limes
4 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon dijon, wholegrain, or horseradish mustard
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

For the dressing: Juice the limes. Add the cilantro and mustard and mix well. Drizzle in the olive oil while whisking the mixture, forming a creamy dressing. Add sugar and season with salt and pepper. Dress the salad just before serving.

Avocado, spinach, and quinoa salad with miso ginger dressing

6 avocados
1 bag spinach
1 box quinoa
1 red onion
2 cans black beans
1 bunch scallions

For the salad: Cook the quinoa according to the directions on the package. Empty the bag of spinach into a large serving bowl. Rinse the black beans and add to the spinach. Add the quinoa to the bowl. Halve and pit the avocados. Score each halve into slices, then scoop out the flesh into the bowl. Dice the red onion and chop the scallions, adding those to the bowl as well.

1.5 tablespoons white miso paste
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
4 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon minced ginger

For the dressing: Scoop the miso paste into a large measuring cup. Add the soy sauce and rice vinegar and mix well. Add the sesame oil and mix, then add the ginger. Taste the dressing - if it is too salty, add a little more vinegar and a little more sesame oil. Dress the salad at the last minute, just before serving.

Garlic Saffron Rice

10 cups basmati rice
10 cloves garlic, minced
1 large pinch saffron
2 white onions
olive oil
salt, to taste

Rince the rice under cold water in a large sieve and drain well; set aside. Dice the onions. In a large pot over medium-high heat, saute the onions in olive oil. When the onions begin to soften, add the minced garlic. Saute until fragrant, then add the saffron and a nice sprinkle of salt. Add the rice and saute until the grains are slightly translucent. Add 20 cups water*, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and let simmer until cooked through. Serve warm, or at room temperature.

*Take a look at the directions on the package for the basmati rice. If the directions say, for example, that to cook 1 cup rice you need 2.5 cups water, adjust the proportions in the above recipe accordingly.

Steak Kebabs

8lbs tri tip or top round steak
assortment of veggies, such as bell peppers, white mushrooms, eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, and onions
wooden skewers, pre-soaked for at least 30 minutes
miso ginger dressing (recipe above)
10 cloves garlic, minced

Cut everything into kebab-sized pieces. Add the minced garlic to the dressing (you will have to at least double the recipe for the dressing if you are using this much meat) and marinate the steak in the dressing for at least 1 hour. Assemble the skewers, alternating between veggies and meat. Grill over medium high heat.

Chicken Kebabs

8lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
4 tablespoons peanut butter
4 tablespoons hot water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
wooden skewers, also pre-soaked

Mix the peanut butter and water in a bowl until it forms a sauce-like consistency. Add the soy sauce and sesame oil. Cut the chicken into kebab-sized pieces. Assemble the kebabs and grill over medium high heat until chicken is cooked through. Just before removing the kebabs from the grill, spoon or brush some peanut sauce on every kebab.

Tofu Kebabs

4 packages tofu
assortment of veggies
salt and pepper
olive oil
wooden skewers, also pre-soaked

Cut everything into kebab-sized pieces. Assemble the skewers, alternating between veggies and tofu, season everything with salt and pepper, and brush each kebab with olive oil. Grill over medium high heat until nice grill marks appear on the tofu and veggies. Serve with peanut sauce or miso ginger dressing (recipes above).

Fruit kebabs with raspberry sauce and vegan chocolate sauce
My roommate Brianna is vegan, so for this dessert, instead of using regular chocolate to make the chocolate sauce, I substituted vegan chocolate. Simple enough, and everyone was able to enjoy it!

assortment of fruit that will hold when grilled, such as pineapple, strawberries, and firm peaches
wooden skewers, pre-soaked
1 bag vegan chocolate chips
1/2 cup soy milk or soy creamer
1 cup raspberry jam
1 small box of raspberries

Cut the fruit into kebab-sized pieces. Assemble the kebabs, alternating fruits. Grill over medium heat, just until there are light grill marks on most of the fruit. Meanwhile, combine the chocolate chips and soy milk and melt, either in a double boiler or a makeshift one. In a different pot, combine the raspberry jam and the raspberries and heat until the jam melts down to a sauce. Serve the fruit kebabs with the sauces on the side.

Peppers stuffed with Tomato Rice

For one of our recent family dinners in the apartment, I made roasted peppers stuffed with tomato rice. If you have leftover tomato rice and some peppers lying around, this makes for a quick, simple, and tasty dinner! Adjust this recipe for the number of people you will be serving.

2 batches Tomato Rice (recipe previously posted)
5 bell peppers (red, yellow, or green)
bread crumbs
grated Parmesan cheese
grated mozzarella cheese (or other melt-y cheese)

Remove the stems of the bell peppers and halve lengthwise. Rinse out the inside so there are no seeds. Turn a burner on your stove on high, and place each half of the pepper, cut side up, directly over the flame, resting on the burner itself. Leave until there are a few black scorch marks on the pepper. Once all peppers have been toasted, line them up in a 13x9 baking dish (you might need 2, depending on how big the peppers are). Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Fill each half with 2 heaping spoonfuls of tomato rice. Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of grated mozzarella, then 1 teaspoon bread crumbs, and finally 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan on each half. You can eyeball these amounts, and adjust based on your taste. Cook in the oven until cheese is bubbly and peppers soften. If using as a side dish, one half is enough per person; otherwise, serve 1 whole pepper per person.

Pinwheels

Every Sunday night, the organization that I volunteer for, National Student Partnerships, has a volunteer training meeting where we discuss client meetings, talk about upcoming projects, or have an issue-specific training. This Sunday, instead of studying for my midterm on Monday (hello, senioritis), I made a little appetizer for the meeting. This recipe is a take on my friend Peter's Italian pinwheels (I forget what they're called in Italian), and also a recipe that I made with my cousin from Giada De Laurentiis' new cookbook. They're fast, easy, and you can fill them with anything you like! I made 2 batches of veggie pinwheels and 2 batches of meat pinwheels. 1 batch (meaning 1 pastry sheet) makes about 12-15 pinwheels.

1 sheet frozen puff pastry*
egg

for the filling:
pesto
tomato sauce
spinach
sun dried tomatoes
prosciutto
salami
mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese

Follow instructions on puff pastry box to defrost the pastry. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Once the puff pastry is thawed, unroll the sheet on a floured surface. Leaving about a half an inch on all sides of the pastry, fill with whatever you like, starting with sauce, such as tomato sauce or pesto. Add cheese, then spinach and sun dried tomatoes, or spinach and prosciutto. Really, anything goes. Roll up the pastry jelly-roll style, tucking in the ends. Using a pastry brush, spread a bit of egg on the closing flap of the roll to secure it, then brush a little bit of egg on top of the roll. Freeze the roll for about 45 minutes on a baking sheet. Remove from freezer and cut crosswise into 1/2 to 1 inch slices. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the slices on their sides, so that the filling is face-up. They will expand in the oven, so leave room on the baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes, and allow to cool slightly before transferring to a serving plate.

*You can substitute store-bought pizza dough as well, adjusting thawing process and baking temperature to the directions on the box or tube. Don't cut these before baking; instead, bake first, then cut into 2-inch slices.