Saucy Braised Meatballs

Happy 2 days before new years! 

So much excitement for the new year! I haven't made any new years resolutions yet, but they are clearing coming up soon, soon, soon. School just ended a week ago but too close to christmas, which means the number of cookies I made for this holiday season = zero. But I made up (am making up? will be making up?) for it with a bunch of other goodies, especially since TC came around to visit me for a whole 2 weeks. 

Well actually, the real reason (shh.) I baked absolutely nothing this past week is because I bought another le creuset and really felt like I needed to braise everything in sight.  This makes it no. 3(!!), a pretty braiser in white does this qualify as an LC addiction yet, or do I need 3 more??? I justified it by telling myself I hadn't bought one in a whole two years, that it was an early xmas gift to myself, that I really needed a pot wider than my 3.5 wide dutch oven. Obviously the real reason is that I suddenly fell in love with the color dune (which I found out gets so much hate by basically everybody else in the universe, what gives guys?!?)

We broke in baby no. 3 with a pound of meatballs - the easy kind that follows no recipe, just blind throwing and a non-fancy sauce. No regrets on the purchase obviously, although my bank account is a little mad at me...

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Saucy Meatballs
four servings (twenty-ish meatballs)

How to do it:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Mix everything except for tomato and basil leaves using your hands. It should be well combined, but not overworked!
• Roll out little meatballs, about 1.5 inches in diameter, and assemble in a wide pan with a lid.
• Combine drained canned tomato and basil leaves (plus other seasonings if you want!) in a food processor, and puree until very smooth. Pour over meatballs so that the pan is evenly covered with a shallow layer of sauce.
• Cover the pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 30min, until meatballs are soft and tender. Serve with lots of fresh veggies and pasta!

What you need:

• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1/2 pound ground veal
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• 28oz canned tomato, drained
• 1 handful basil leaves, plus any additional seasonings as desired.

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Bacon Fried Rice with Roasted Bok Choy

We have about 3 weeks left before TC has to pack up and move out to California to go to law school, which he is apparently completely unexcited about. I'm bummed about him moving across the country and completely, totally jealous that his winters are going to be so much better than the absolute misery that I must endure in the Boston snow.

On the brightest of sides, this means I basically get a completely-justified-no-one-can-judge-me 2 week long vacation. No one will fault me for helping my boyfriend move to a new city, right? I can’t wait to explore San Francisco of course, because the last time I was there I was about 12 years old and all I remember is this amazing white hoodie I bought with a giant sequined dragon on it {coolest hoodie ever}. This time I’m going all out - I’m making my list of restaurants and coffeeshops and I’ll just have to hit them all up.  

Before TC leaves, I've been threatening to make all of his favorite foods, all the time, so that he doesn't forget about me in his three years of being away. I'm obviously kidding sort of totally kidding. But I did make this fried rice because it's definitely one of his favorites. It's simple and delicious and completely non-healthy thanks to the bacon! bacon! bacon! but it's made with brown rice so let's just agree that its health benefits cancel out the bacon! 

The fried rice should always be paired with bok choy because my mom said so, but have you ever grown up with a vegetable that can never be prepared a certain way? For our super chinese households, the idea of roasting bok choy is basically heretical, but oh my god it is so delicious that way. TC loves it, but no one tell my mother...

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Bacon Fried Rice with Roasted Bok Choy
2 servings

for the bacon fried rice

What you need: 

• 4 strips of bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1/3 cup frozen corn
• 1/3 cup frozen peas
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups cooked brown rice {or white rice}
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp shaoxing wine or chicken stock
• 1 tbsp red pepper flakes {optional}
• 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds {optional}
• salt and pepper to taste

How to do it:

• Over medium-high heat, fry bacon in a wok or deep pan until the fat has rendered. Add frozen corn and peas.
• When corn and peas have cooked, push the mix along with the bacon. Pour egg into the pan and reduce heat to low. Slowly scramble until egg has cooked, and mix in the corn, peas, and bacon. 
• Add rice and turn the heat up to high. Dig a well into the middle of the pan and add soy sauce and the shaoxing wine or chicken stock. Stir everything together and fry until rice is toasty. Add red pepper flakes and sesame seeds {if using} along with salt and pepper to taste.

for the roasted bok choy

What you need: 

• 10-12 heads baby bok choy {I used Taiwan bok choy, which I think roasts better than Shanghai bok choy}
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

How to do it:

• Preheat oven 400 degrees. Toss bok choy in olive oil and spread onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt and roast for 10min, until leaves are lightly charred and the stalks are tender but still crispy.

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Tagliatelle with Kale, Bacon, and Crimini

Fresh pasta is a difficult subject for me. It falls into the category of homemade foods that are so many millions of times better than the prepackaged kinds, but which I am still reluctant to play with on a regular basis. All that work for something that I have grown to accept as a ten minute meal between classes, to be doused with marinara sauce from trader joes. 

It's the time it takes, which I underestimate every. single. time.
The egg yolks. 
What to do with the egg whites?
The flour everywhere.
The rolling. 
The lack of my very own pasta machine ugh.

Then comes the sauce of course, the unsolvable dilemma, every time. Because we shy from cream sauces, tomato sauces take forever to cook, and then what else is left? Sauceless tagliatelle? Lame.

Invariably though, I end up with olive oil {which I pass off as a sauce shh} plus a fatty flavorful meat, a dark leafy vegetable, and some extra things thrown in for fun. Sometimes a squeeze of lemon, sometimes a dash of balsamic. Always a sprinkle of a bold, hard cheese. The familiar combinations have made pasta-making a less frustrating and more comforting activity lately, when time is more plentiful during the lazy summer.

Tomorrow, though, I will make a bolognese sauce.

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Tagliatelle with Kale, Bacon, and Crimini
4 servings

For the tagliatelle

What you need:

• 3 egg yolks
• 2 eggs
• 1.5 cups AP flour {00 flour for you fancy folks}, plus extra for kneading and rolling
• 1/4 tsp salt

How to do it:

• Mix flour and salt in a bowl until well incorporated. Dump flour onto your favorite dough-kneading surface, and make a well in the middle. Drop in egg yolks and eggs.
• Use fingertips to slowly incorporate flour into the eggs, until a dough ball forms. Sprinkle additional flour to prevent sticking, and knead until fairly smooth. Wrap dough ball in a bowl and let it sit for 30min.
• After 30min, roll dough out to desired thinness either with a pasta machine, or by hand {I like a little less than 1/8inch thick}.
• Boil in salted water for 3min, until pasta is cooked through but retains a little bite to it. 

For the toppings

What you need:

• 8 strips bacon, cut into 1 inch strips
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup sliced crimini mushrooms
• 1/4 cup basil leaves, finely chopped
• 4 cups packed kale, stems removed and roughly chopped
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup Shaved gouda

How to do it:

• Crisp up bacon in frying pan and then discard half the bacon fat. 
• Add minced garlic, crimini mushrooms, and basil leaves. Lightly sauté until mushrooms are cooked but not wilted. Add kale leaves and sauté until leaves are bright green and slightly wilted. 
• Toss tagliatelle with olive oil and divide into four bowls. Sprinkle each with some pieces of shaved gouda, and then top with the kale, bacon, and crimini mushrooms. 

Bolognese Pizza {with ridiculously lazy dough}

We were in morocco {squeeee} a month ago, when I had my very first bolognese pizza. It was a ridiculously hot day, and we were one week into our vacation. We had just reached the lovely, lovely town of chefchaouen, which is known for its beautiful blue walls but no one ever mentions that millions of steps you have to climb to get everywhere. Because, you know, it's in the mountains. At that point, we had been on the overnight bus for a good 12 hours and were not ready to whip out a map and explore the medina for food. So we decide to wing it and go into the first place we see that has A/C.

It was a mistake, we got so lost. Should have brought the damn map.

Finally we stumble into this pizza joint, where we ordered many, many cold sodas before even sitting down. And then I saw bolognese pizza on the menu. First, I freaked out because bolognese pizza is such a great idea and why haven't I thought of it?? Why haven't I had it before?? Does everyone know about it but me?? Second, I obviously asked the chef how she made that sauce, since asking the chef for their secret recipes is apparently fine/encouraged in the country of the friendliest people you've ever met.

Which is, by the way, why I came back from morocco with one clay tagine, a small packet of ras-el-hanout spice, and a new pizza recipe.

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Bolognese Pizza {with ridiculously lazy dough}
12 X 10 pizza

for the dough

What you need:

• 1.5 cups flour
• 1/8 tsp yeast
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic
• 3/4 cup water

How to do it:

• Stir flour, yeast, salt, and garlic powder until well combined. Mix in water until a shaggy dough forms. Cover dough and let rise overnight, between 12-14hrs. 
• Before baking, preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheeting with parchment paper. Transfer the risen dough out onto a floured surface and gently form a soft smooshy ball with the dough.
• Drop the dough onto the parchment paper, and pull dough into a rough rectangle.

for the toppings

What you need:

• 14oz canned tomato, drained
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1/4 lb ground beef
• 1/4 tsp salt
• drizzle of olive oil
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

How to do it:

• Blend tomato, oregano, and pepper until it becomes a smooth sauce.
• Heat oil on medium. Stir salt into the ground beef and fry until browned. Add tomato sauce and mix well.
• Spread the meat sauce mixture onto the dough and drizzle with olive oil. Top with 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella.
• Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20min, until dough is cooked through.

Grilled Apple and Blue Cheese Flatbread with Arugula Pesto

Happy very late 4th of july! 

I think, I think, that it may have been a million years since I've last posted. A million and one years, maybe? Soooo much has happened since then, yet it feels like nothing has happened at all. Time passes fast these days, life has been fun. I've picked up new hobbies, got re-hooked on that stupid 2048 game, somehow started a collection of evil funko pop characters, and finally {fiiiinally} settled on a coffee bean that is to die for. I sort of developed an addiction to hotdogs but I've learned to control myself. And I'm on a quest to find an awesome cinnamon roll recipe {i will prevail!!!}

I'm not sure why I took this months long hiatus. I would say that work has been terrible, but that isn't 100% {or even 60%} true. School has been over since mid-May, and I've found enough time to take a two week trip in morocco it was amazing by the way, so clearly I'm just making excuses for myself here.  I mean, first all the papers were due, and then the exams started coming up. And then I'm packing up the apartment and moving back down hang out with TC over the summer. A day later, it's straight to new york, to morocco, and next thing i know it's mid - june what?! 

It's kind of a shame to have a neglected blog though {oh the neglect!} so I'm back with something that I made one whole year ago. Most delayed recipe ever, but it's still sounding as yummy as the day I made it so I guess that's alright? Plus I've procrastinated so much, it's basically apple season again.

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Grilled Apple and Blue Cheese Flatbread with Arugula Pesto
1 serving

What you need:

• 1/2 tsp yeast
• 2/3 cup AP flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp warm water
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup packed baby arugula leaves
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp walnut
• 2 tbsp parmesan
• 2 tbsp shredded mozzarella {optional}
• 1 small granny smith apple, sliced
• 2 tbsp crumbled blue cheese

How to do it:

• Mix yeast, AP flour, and salt together. Add warm water and olive oil, and stir until a dough forms. Knead dough in the bowl until smooth, about 5min. Cover with a tea towel and let the dough rise for 1-3 hours.
• After rising, turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead again for 5min. Let dough rest, covered, for another 15min while preparing the pesto.
• Blitz arugula, garlic, olive oil, walnut, and parmesan in a food processor until pesto comes together. 
• Brush grill with olive oil and heat on medium high. Roll dough out into a circle and grill on one side until dough has puffed up and the bottom is a light golden brown.
•  Flip dough around. Immediately pread with pesto, and top with a sprinkle of shredded mozzarella if using.
• Arrange sliced granny smith apple and crumbled blue cheese. Turn the fire down to medium low and cover the grill with a large bowl or lid. Let it cook for about 5min, until cheese is slightly melted but apples are still a bit crunchy.