Alla Crazy Bastard

You guys have made this tough! When I started this post, I had seven votes for pasta and seven votes for cookies. (Oh, and have you taken my reader survey yet? It's up until Wednesday, so please, Click Here! and tell me your deepest secrets.) Then, last night, one more vote came in, swinging it in favor of pasta.

I gotta say, I was rooting for pasta. I don't have much of a sweet tooth, and if it didn't sound so... well, gross, I'd say I have a green tooth. That is, I can't seem to get enough of them. Plus, look how pretty rainbow chard is! All those beautiful colors from one plant.

And then you toss in some cherry tomatoes and let them get all soft and squishy in a good way. Something about warming up mid-winter cherry tomatoes really does make them taste more tomato-ey.
This recipe comes from Food and Wine, which is one magazine I don't subscribe to. I bought the January issue back at Christmas when I was spending a lot of time in airports. It's by Andy Nusser and apparently it comes from a New Yorker cartoon where the punchline is "fusilli, you crazy bastard!" except... I used gemelli. You can use whatever twisty short pasta you like.

Pasta alla Crazy Bastard
adapted from Food and Wine

serves 2

1/4 cup walnut halves, toasted and chopped
1 pint cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound fusilli pasta (I used gemelli)
3 garlic cloves, sliced
1 bunch swiss chard, rinsed and coarsely chopped, large stem pieces separated
Pinch of crushed red pepper
4 oz log soft goat cheese, sliced or crumbled
freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Preheat the oven to 450°. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the cherry tomatoes with 1 teaspoon of the olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Roast the tomatoes for about 10 minutes, until browned in spots.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium low heat. Add the garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until golden, 2 minutes. Add the chard stems to the pan and cover for about a minute, as they will take longer to soften than the leaves. Add the roasted tomatoes, chard leaves and crushed red pepper and cook, crushing the tomatoes slightly, until the greens are just wilted, about 5 minutes. You may want to cover the pan to help things along.

Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Add the pasta, the reserved cooking water and the sliced goat cheese to the skillet and cook over moderate heat, tossing to coat the pasta. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the pasta to a bowl, garnish with the chopped toasted walnuts, top with the Parmigiano-Reggiano and serve immediately.

Well now I feel old!

Whoa. This is my 100th post! And on this momentous occasion, instead of giving you a recipe, I'm going to ask YOU for something. Not your first born child or anything, I'm just curious about you, so I'm asking for a teensy bit of information. Nothing big, just a quick little survey. Click here, it'll be painless, I promise! Click Here to take survey

Oh, and one other question. Which would you rather see next?

Oatmeal "irish coffee" sandwich cookies (coffee + whiskey in cookie form!)


OR Pasta alla Crazy Bastard (goat cheese + tomatoes + greens, oh my!)


Leave a comment and let me know!

Flank Steak with Potato and Artichoke Hash and Aleppo Aioli

Apparently I'm on a meat kick. You haven't really seen it here because I've posted two meatless, brunch-y recipes in a row, but I have been eating burgers and Reubens and steak like it's my JOB this past week. And I'm usually such a vegetable girl!

That said, I try to listen to my body when it tells me to eat certain things like greens or beef, because I tend to be borderline anemic. Red meat and leafy greens are the most delicious sources of iron I can think of!

It also helps that steak makes Adam very, very happy.

So when I happened across Flank Steak with Artichoke-Potato Hash and Aleppo-Pepper Aioli in the April issue of Bon Appétit, I knew it would be on the menu in short order.

Have I mentioned that I've rediscovered my cast iron pan? I bought it at a yard sale in Vermont four years ago, used it twice, and hid it away in the cupboard. A few months ago I took it out again and it's perfect for things that need to be seared.... and now have noticed the correlation between the cast iron pan and eating more steak lately. Hmmm.

And now I must admit I've never prepared an artichoke before. The recipe calls for eight baby artichokes, which makes sense now that I've done it, but I used three grown-up specimens. More work, pricklier, still delicious. Basically, you lop off the top and start pulling/cutting the leaves off until you get to the pale yellow ones underneath. Since they were big, I cut them into twelve wedges each instead of 8.

I also used Yukon Gold potatoes cut into bite size pieces instead of searching out Russian Banana potatoes because let's face it, we make do with what we have. Oh, and one more thing - see how clear the grain of the meat is in that raw steak photo up there? It is VERY important that you slice it perpendicular to the grain ( + not = ) or the meat will be unpleasantly chewy, not the tender deliciousness you've been anticipating.

Flank Steak with Potato and Artichoke Hash and Aleppo Aioli
adapted from Bon Appetit

Aioli
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper (can sub sweet paprika + chipotle powder 4:1)
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Sherry wine vinegar

Steak + Hash
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons Aleppo pepper
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1 1/2- to 2-pound flank steak (mine was 1.25 lbs and plenty for 2 with leftovers)
1/2 lemon
8 baby artichokes, stems trimmed
1 1/4 pounds unpeeled small yellow potatoes, cut into bite size pieces
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 cup water
2 fresh thyme sprigs
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons cream
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Start with the aioli. Mash garlic, Aleppo pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt to paste in mortar with pestle or in small bowl with back of spoon. Whisk in remaining ingredients and set aside. (If you're making this ahead of time and refrigerate it, you'll want to give it some time at room temperature to loosen up so it's more drizzle-able.)

Mix thyme, Aleppo pepper, 1 teaspoon coarse salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper in small bowl. Rub seasoning mixture into steak (both sides, now!); set aside

Squeeze juice from lemon half into medium bowl of water. Cut 1/2 inch from tops of artichokes. Working with 1 artichoke at a time, break off dark outer leaves until only pale yellow leaves remain. Cut artichokes lengthwise in half; cut each half into 1/2-inch wedges. As you work, place artichoke wedges in lemon water to prevent browning. You may want to rub the cut surfaces with the other half of the lemon, too, before you put them in the water.

Place potatoes in heavy large saucepan. Add enough cold water to cover; sprinkle with salt. Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium-high and boil until potatoes are just tender, 8 to 10 minutes. (Mine took less than that, just start checking around 5 minutes if you've cut them small) Drain and set aside. Now would be a good time to preheat the oven to 400.

Drain artichokes; pat dry, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add artichokes and sauté until browned, about 4 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water, thyme sprigs, and garlic. Cover skillet and simmer over medium heat until artichokes are tender, about 5 minutes. Uncover and boil until no liquid remains, stirring often, 2 to 3 minutes. Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and potatoes; stir to coat. Add cream and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until potatoes are heated through and browned in spots, stirring often, about 6 minutes. Season hash to taste with salt and pepper.

While the artichokes are browning, heat vegetable oil in heavy large ovenproof skillet (cast iron does a BEAUTIFUL job) over high heat. Add steak and cook until bottom is brown, about 2 minutes. Turn steak over; transfer to oven and roast until cooked to desired doneness, about 7 minutes for medium-rare. Transfer steak to work surface; tent with foil to keep warm. Let rest 10 minutes, while you're finishing the hash.

If needed, rewarm artichoke-potato hash gently over medium heat. Stir in chopped chives. Thinly slice steak perpendicular to the grain. Divide steak and hash among plates. Drizzle some aioli over steak. Serve, passing remaining aioli alongside.

Weee!

Well, it's the first day of spring, and even thought it's cooold here in Boston, the sun is shining AND I won Paper Chef 38! My fig and mint meatballs with anchovy tomato sauce over creamy polenta has edged out the competition, which means I get to randomly select 3 and purposely select 1 of next month's ingredients. Send in your ingredient ideas to paperchef@gmail.com and check out the rules - maybe this month you'll play, too!

The Muffins of My Childhood

I know this isn't the most ringing endorsement I'll ever give a baked good, but: this is a solid muffin. It comes together lightning quick (mixing bowl to table in half an hour!), it tastes good, and it makes the house smell fantastic. It's flavored with nutmeg, though I usually add a bit of cinnamon to the batter as well as to the top of the muffin. Adam and I whipped up a batch to take to a birthday brunch last weekend, and I think that's their best application. They're small, so one is not enough for breakfast (at least not for me, but take that as you will) but they are a good supplement to a larger spread.

These are the muffins my mom used to make before church when I was little, and I thought "donut muffin" was just what we called them, but apparently that's their real name!

Doughnut Muffins
adapted from the Marjorie Standish Cooking DownEast Cookbook

1 large egg
1/3 cup cooking oil (canola or vegetable)
1/2 cup milk or plain yogurt
1 1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
cinnamon, sugar, and butter for the tops of the muffins

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Using a fork, beat egg in mixing bowl. Add oil and milk or yogurt. Continue beating with fork. Sift flour, measure and sift with sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Add to mixture and stir with fork, very lightly. Turn into 12 greased muffin tins. (Next time I'll use 9 instead of 12, they were awfully tiny. Fill the empty cups with water so they don't warp in the oven.) Sprinkle each muffin with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon and put a dot of butter or margarine on top of each. Bake at 400 degrees about 20 minutes. Best served warm.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I'm not going to end this post with a recipe for corned beef and cabbage, or try to get you to drink green beer, but Sunday was South Boston's annual St. Patrick's day parade so I'm going to show you some pictures of cute kids.

(and one cute dog.)
And girls in matching flag sweaters.
And little girls with flags.

And little boys sharing their beads. Aw.

And me with the mayor! Pardon me sir, would you mind taking a picture with me? Sure, let's face this way because of the light. Wow, Mr. Mayor, you're better at this than I am. Yeah, I do this for a living.
Balconies were popular.

And there were some clowns. Very observant clowns.

Oh, and storm troopers. Did you know they were Irish?

Also, the parade is a day for costumes.

This one is questionable at best, but her friends thought it hilarious that I wanted a picture.

I'm pretty sure I went to college with this guy (in the Maine shirt) but I didn't see him until I uploaded my photos. Tyler? Is that you?

And also there were old guys in a band on an old fire truck. Plus it was 55 degrees and sunny. Not a bad St. Patrick's day tradition. Not bad at all.

Eggs in Toast

I wish I could claim credit for this idea. Alas, I cannot, because it's Zoe's (one of the authors of Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, you may recall my obsession), but I can show you how it turned out for me!

Essentially, you roll out some dough, tuck it into a muffin tin, and slide an egg all cozy into the little toasty basket. I skipped the bacon but I did put some cheese in the bottom, and after I took this photo I added several hearty shakes of Frank's Red Hot sauce. I make myself an egg and some toast every morning so I have it down to a seven minute science... these take a little longer, but I think they would make a great addition to a brunch menu. Yum!