Quick and Easy weeknight dinner

I hate cleaning the kitchen, which poses a huge problem since I love cooking. And if you've seen me in the kitchen, I have several times been compared to the Swedish Chef on the Muppets who makes a bit of a mess (bork bork bork). So it should come as no surprise that some of my favorite meals are those that require only one pot.

Last night I made this little dandy: Enchilada Casserole.

Presentation wise, it ain't much to write home about.

But as Dave says, you eat with your mouth, not your eyes. And your mouth will love it.

And so will your dishpan hands for only have 2 dishes to clean.

Enchilada Casserole

-1 Package 97% lean ground turkey (about 20 oz)

-1 large yellow onion, chopped

-1 can sliced olives

-2 fresh jalapenos, diced or 1 can store bought diced green chiles.

-1 28oz can Las Palmas Enchilada Sauce (sometimes called Red Chile Sauce) choose your heat level

-1 19oz can Las Palmas Enchilada Sauce

-1 package whole grain tortillas, cut into 1-2" pieces

-1 package corn tortillas cut in 1-2" pieces

-3 cups shredded cheese (I like to use 2 cups sharp cheddar and 1 cup pepperjack)

-1 package taco seasoning or make your own with cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, paprika, salt and pepper.

Optional Ingredients:

Cilantro

Greek yogurt or sour cream

Avocado

Green onion

Preheat oven to 350

In large pot on stovetop brown turkey meat. Remove once brown and add onion and 1 TBSP olive oil. Saute onion until soft. Add meat back in. Mix in taco seasoning until onions and turkey are coated. Add olives and jalapenos. Stir. Pour in both cans enchilada sauce plus 1 cup water. Bring to boil. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in tortillas.* Now get your large casserole dish (I use 10x15) and ladle half of the tortilla mixture into it, spread evenly across the bottom. Sprinkle half of your cheese across then ladle the rest of the tortilla mixture in and top with remaining cheese. Bake uncovered until sides start to bubble. Remove from oven and let rest 10-15 minutes to set. Serve and top with optional items above along with a salad. Makes 8-10 servings

*I don't usually use all the tortillas, I find that it makes the casserole too dry. I use about 8-9 of the whole grain ones and about 15-18 corn. You have to make the call, you want the mixture to be the consistency of thick stew, but not so your fork stands up in it. It will lose more moisture as it cooks in the oven.

Simple Soup, Step by Step (Oooh Baby)

I feel it. Do you? The change in the air? Autumn is coming, and with it, cold nights. For me, cold nights mean soup for dinner. I love soup. It's simple, healthy and delicious. I may have jumped the gun a bit (it only just dropped below 70 degrees) but I miss soup, so tonight's dinner was one of my favorites; Curried Zucchini. I got to break out my old friend Mr. Le Creuset Knockoff, and fill our home with savory smells of chilly nights to come.

Because prep time for this dish takes maybe 20 minutes, it makes it a great weeknight go to dinner. The only real work is chopping the onion, garlic and dicing the zucchini. If you have frozen stock (either your own or a really high quality one you've purchased) this is the place to use it. With so few ingredients, using high quality stock will make a huge difference. But should you not have access to that, I have used Trader Joe's reduced sodium organic chicken broth in a pinch and it works just fine. If you want to make this a vegetarian dish, simply sub vegetable stock instead. 

Mise en place: I used a shallot as well because I happened to have it

To begin

Add some oil to your pot (I prefer coconut oil because it likes high temps, but olive oil works too.) Turn heat to med-hi.

As oil is heating, chop your onion. Add to pot and stir to coat. 

As onions are cooking, chop one clove garlic (and a small shallot if you prefer). Once onions have softened, reduce heat to med (you don't want to burn the garlic, yucky) and add garlic, stir. 

Now dice your squash. I quarter mine then slice in 1 inch pieces. 

Add to pot and increase heat back to Med-Hi. Add salt, pretty liberally, zucchini is a high water content veg and you really want to draw that liquid out. I apologize for not measuring, I just eyeball it. Better to go light, you can always adjust your seasonings later if need be.

Stir.

Saute the zucchini for about 5 minutes to soften it, once it starts to loosen up, add in about 1 1/2 TBS curry powder, and again...stir.

This is when your house begins to smell divine. For that reason alone, I love making this soup. After the veg are all nice and coated in curry, pour in your stock, enough to cover just the top of the zucchini. 32 ounces should do it.

Here is where I encourage you to break away from the recipe. Dave likes things spicy, so I add in a few shakes of chili flakes and some cracked black pepper. Feel free to try your own version.

Now crank that baby up to high, slap a lid on that pot, BTB (bring to boil), RTS (reduce to simmer) and relax for about 25 minutes. 

Once the zucchini get to the point of such softness that they look ready to fall apart, and you look into your pot and think "Man that's one ugly soup", it's time to puree.

There are 2 ways to do this, the easy way and the hard way. The easy way is with this

 This is an immersion blender, one of my most favorite kitchen gadgets.

The hard way really isn't that hard, just use a regular blender, Carefully. Hot liquid and blending can be dangerous. Do it in batches and keep the lid on tight.

Once you have pureed your soup, taste it. 

Does it need more salt? More pepper? More heat? You could add some cream for richness, butter for a satiny finish. Keep it healthy and try Greek yogurt. The options are only as limited as your imagination. I like to finish mine with a little smoked paprika for color.

Finally it is time to enjoy.

Curried Zucchini Soup (basic recipe Ingredients)

2 tablespoons coconut or olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 1/2 tablespoon curry powder

sea salt to taste

4 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into 1 inch slices

32 ounces chicken stock

In case you weren't aware...

A friend of mine recently posted in her blog this little nugget of info that I assumed everyone knew. Apparently they don't and I should learn never to assume.
So for those new to the blogging world, when you see those green words in my posts, it means there is a link.
You can click on them and they will transport you to other cyber worlds.

And just in case you missed it, read this (shameless self promotion).

Cheers!

Pensare Globale, Mangiare Locale!

Last night, Dave said something that perfectly summed up how I was feeling:

"Now I understand the allure of a vomitorium."

While Dave had misunderstood the meaning of the word, his intentions were clear; this food is so freaking good, and I want to continue to eat every delicious morsel until my plate is licked clean,

but I am Stuffed!

We continued to eat anyways. Food that amazing can not be wasted.

Last night I took Dave to dinner at a restaurant that I have been hearing tremendous things about.

A restaurant with over 1100 reviews, and none of them under 4.5 stars.

A restaurant that has been heralded as putting San Diego on the culinary map.

Needless to say, I had high expectations, and a concern that I would be met with slight disappointment.

Can anything live up to this kind of hype?



Cucina Urbana: can I just say how much I love the decor?!

 OK, before I get into the food, let me discuss how they do wine. And how I now believe any smart restaurant should do wine. CU is also a wine retail shop, and a pretty decent one at that.

When you dine there, and inevitably want some vino with your meal, you purchase a bottle at their retail price and then simply pay a $7 cork fee. What this means is, no ridiculous restaurant mark-up!  

We were able to enjoy a very nice bottle of Santi 'Solane' Valpolicella Ripasso for a whopping grand total of $27. And it was good. Really good. For those of you that dine out often, you know that a mediocre wine usually runs around $35 on a restaurant menu.

These CU peeps really know how to do things right.

Now on to the food!

We partook in the Prix Fixe menu they were offering. Usually, Dave is not a fan of the prix fixe, he feels that they are too limiting. And they usually are, offering only a couple of choices for each course. But at CU, there will be none of that. Each course had a several options to choose from, 6 for the secondi piatti alone.

What I like best about this type of dining is that instead of trying a couple plates, I got to sample six, Dave's 3 choices plus mine.

We began our tantalizing taste bud tour with a Farmer's Chopped Salad (Dave) and some Sage and Brown Butter Ricotta Gnudi (mine). The salad was quite pleasant; loads of flavors, crisp vegetables, hearty meats all dressed in a nice light roasted garlic vinaigrette. As salads go, it was delightful.

But the star of the starter course had to be the Gnudi. 

I always forget to take the picture in my excitement to eat the food.

I know it doesn't look like much but let me tell you, these little pillows of perfection were heaven in my mouth. The ricotta was so soft and light, with a perfectly crisped exterior giving way to the creamy center, all doused in warm herby brown butter and topped with crispy fried sage leaves and a sprinkling of parmigiano.

That could have been the entire meal and I would have been a happy girl.

But alas, there was so much more wonderfulness to come.

As we relaxed in between courses, I took some time to notice an equally important component that

contributes to a pleasant dining experience: The wait staff.

While I can't speak for the entire entourage, I can say that our server was attentive, friendly and inconspicuous. This last one is important. I believe that a good server is one who can sweep in and out of service without interrupting the conversation of the table. If you can sneak in to refill my dwindling wine glass without me noticing, that is impressive. Our wine glasses were always full, our water never less than half, and when I had questions about menu items, he was there with a true opinion, not just lip service. We were never rushed, the time between plates was leisurely without being too drawn out, and when dinner was finished, they did not present the check immediately to get us out and another table in. Bravo!

Back to dinner...

For our main courses, the decision was tough. Everything sounded incredible.  I chose the roasted 'jidori' chicken with fontina polenta, asparagus, swiss chard, pistachio pesto and a poached hen egg. Dave chose the short rib pappardelle with crimini mushrooms. Both were perfection.

The pappardelle was soft yet firm, and those generous pieces of short rib meat were sinfully flavorful. It was like a rich, hearty stew with pasta. The perfect fall dish to warm your insides and fill you with happiness.

My roasted chicken made me want to cry. Why can't I ever make a roast chicken that moist and tender? The skin was crackly crisp like a potato chip, and the meat cried little tears of juiciness as I sliced it. Under the chicken breast was an array of some of the most wonderful accompaniments I have ever eaten. A polenta so creamy I wanted to use it as lotion. Smoky swiss chard that tasted like it had been kissed by fire. And a perfectly poached egg that looked like a ball of fresh mozzarella, but when i cut into it, oozed a rich golden liquid across the plate that blended with the pistachio pesto to make a sauce that approached the divine.

It was quite possibly one of the best meals I have ever eaten in my life.

And I've eaten a lot.

Molto bene Cucina Urbana.

If you have ever dined with me when I am truly enjoying something, you have inevitably heard the audible moans I am unable to suppress. It is totally subconscious, I don't even hear myself until it is pointed out to me. But last night, even I was aware of my noisiness. Every bite was followed by sound. I heard it, I tried to stop, but I was absolutely unable to. The food was that delicious. It actually evoked moans of pleasure.
Every.
Single.
Bite.

As if all this gluttony wasn't enough, we still had dessert to get through. And I say get through, because at this point, I was so tremendously stuffed that I was considering removing my cardigan to place over my belly just so that I could undo the buttons of my pants. But I pushed on and persevered.

Dessert was a confectioner's delight of crisps and cremes. We chose the Granny Smith Apple and Quince Crisp and the Bittersweet Chocolate Bundino (think Pots de Crème). I do not feel that I can properly pay homage to these desserts, as I was so tremendously full that I could not truly immerse myself in them. What I can say, is that they were beyond yummy. The crisp was tart and sweet and cinnamony with a crunchy crumbly top that offered wonderful texture and was softened by a spiced ice cream that melted over the top. The bundino was rich and decadent, and enveloped every corner of my mouth with its chocolaty velvet.

2 spoonfuls of each and I was done. I had reached my limit.

Just in case you missed the point, I absolutely recommend Cucina Urbana. If you live in San Diego, pass through at any point, or are planning a visit in the future, you should make it a point to visit this amazing restaurant.

Keep in mind, all of this deliciousness wasn't even their complete menu, which you can drool over here.

As we were leaving, and feeling of melancholy began to set in with the realization that I may never eat this well again, I remembered that in just a few weeks, my parents are coming to visit. Having learned my appreciation of great food from them, I already knew where we would be dining while they are in town and happiness returned.

Ti amo, Cucina Urbana.

7 Day Vegan Challenge

On Oct 1, Dave and I will be attempting an entirely new dietary challenge. It is called a "plant based diet", similar to a vegan diet where you remove all animal products, but you also remove all processed foods as well. After watching Forks Over Knives, I thought it would be interesting to try this out for 7 days. I can do pretty much anything for one week can't I?

 I quickly found a helpful website called Meatout with an entire weeks worth of recipes designed to simplify the process for newbs; 7 days of breakfast, lunch and dinner ideas ready to go. For breakfast there are tasty treats like Banana Oat Waffles or Apple Harvest Oatmeal. Lunch features delectables such as Thai Vegetable Curry and a Pesto White Bean Bowl. Dinner makes me drool with creations of Asparagus Tarts and Stuffed Acorn Squash.  They have done a great job of providing creative, tasty options to keep a novice vegan from getting bored.



Pesto White Bean Bowl

If you would like to join us in our 7 Day Challenge, feel free to offer your comments about your experience!

The fun begins October 1st!

Dinner: Power Outage Style

Southern Ca and parts of Mexico suffered one heck of a power outage last night. Some Zoni did something bad and caused 1.5 million people to lose their electricity (and 742,805 to lose their minds). The ever resourful Gores were ready though, and we whipped up this amazing meal in no time, saving ourselves and a couple of friends from starvation. Sadly this meal was supposed to be what I was going to serve at my dinner party tonight, but desperate time call for delicious measures.

If you have a grill, make this. I have never had such a delectible (and EASY) pork loin. Just head to your closest Trader Joe's and grab one of their Peppercorn and Garlic Pork Loins (or more, seriously 4 of us chowed through 2, it was so good!). Then preheat your grill, toss it on, wait a bit and enjoy. I wish I could tell you how long to cook it, but you'll have to use the finger test or a meat thermometer to judge.

I always use the finger test, partly because the last thing I need is another dish to wash, and parlty beacuse it works best for me.

Ours was perfect, if I do say so myself. Moist, flavorful, lean. Amazing!

I paired this with the delicious Fennel and Arrugula salad I featured here. I intended to also pair it with this yumyum french potato salad, but no stove means no water to boil potatoes. You should try it though. It goes perfectly with the pork.

I think I just drooled on my keyboard.

This recipe is absolutely NOT ALLOWED. If my weight loss couselor even knew I was just thinking about making it, she would kill me. But my in-laws are coming to town for 5 days, and this quick easy dinner might have to be made. For them, of course. The can't eat out every night... And I would pair it with a salad, to make it healthier. This is so going to happen.


Pasta with Peas, Bacon and Ricotta
10-oz. package of frozen peas
1/2 pound bacon, as lean as possible
salt
3-4 tablespoons fresh ricotta
1 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus extra for the table
fresh-ground black pepper
1 pound pasta (I like orecchiette, penne rigate or cavatappi, but really this combination goes with any shape.)
1. Fry the bacon until crisp, then tear it up and set aside. Pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of bacon fat from the pan.
2. Put the frozen peas in the pan with the bacon fat (no need to thaw first, though you can). Cook at medium heat for about 4 to 5 minutes (slightly less if thawed), stirring to thaw and coat the peas thoroughly.
3. Put the ricotta in the bowl the pasta will be tossed in, and break it up with a fork if necessary. Add the butter.
4. Cook the pasta in salted water, drain, and place in the bowl, tossing it immediately with the ricotta and the butter. Add the shredded bacon back to the pan with the peas, rapidly warm it all up, and pour the entire contents of the pan onto the pasta. Toss thoroughly, add the grated Parmesan and 2 or 3 grindings of pepper, toss once or twice again, and serve.

I need another cookbook like I need a hole in the head

When I started this blog, I was truly excited by the thought that I now had a place to come and share with everyone whatever had excited me about food that day. Sadly, I have not lived up to my end of the bargain! Life gets busy, I get distracted, my computer takes a dump... excuses, excuses. I currently have 3 unfinished blogs just sitting in literary limbo, waiting to be shared.

1) Wine tasting in the Santa Cruz Mountains: Lovely!
2) Dinner at Flea St Cafe: Amazingly Scrumptious.
3) Cauliflower Fried Rice: Much better than it sounds, I promise.

And share I will, soon. Cox Cable just figured out we'd been getting free tv and put a stop to that pronto, so I really don't have much to do anymore.

But for the time being, this will have to suffice. What I am most excited about today is the discovery of the blog 101 Cookbooks, and a book from the blogs author titled (big breath) Super Natural Cooking: 5 Delicious Ways to Incorporate Whole and Natural Foods Into Your Cooking. whew!

Just from this excerpt on Amazon I knew I must have it: "There's definitely room for improvement in the average American pantry- the flour is all purpose, the sugar is white, and just about everything else is some combination of chemical-laden, highly refined and nutritionally barren."
Wow.
I mean, Wow. Right on!

So I ordered her book, and the companion that goes with it: Super Natural Everyday that featured this Ah-mayzing recipe for shaved fennel salad. Make this. Fennel is in season right now so you really should take advantage. You won't be sorry.

Shaved Fennel Salad

Mandolin preferred, but if you're using a knife to prep here, do your best to slice things very, very thinly - not quite see through thin, but close

1 medium-large zucchini, sliced into paper thin coins
2 small fennel bulbs, trimmed and shaved paper-thin
2/3 cup / .5oz/ 15g loosely chopped fresh dill
1/3 cup / 80ml fresh lemon juice, plus more if needed
1/3 cup / 80ml extra virgin olive oil, plus more if needed
fine grain sea salt
4 or 5 generous handfuls arugula
Honey, if needed
1/2 cup / 2 oz/ 60g pine nuts, toasted (I used almonds)
1/3 cup / 2 oz / 60g / feta cheese, crumbled

Combine the zucchini, fennel and dill in a bowl and toss with the lemon juice, olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Set aside and marinate for 20 minutes, or up to an hour.
When you are ready to serve the salad, put the arugula in a large bowl. Scoop all of the zucchini and fennel onto the arugula, and pour most of the lemon juice dressing on top of that. Toss gently but thoroughly. Taste and adjust with more of the dressing, olive oil, lemon juice, or salt if needed. If the lemons were particularly tart, you may need to counter the pucker-factor by adding a tiny drizzle of honey into the salad at this point. Let your taste buds guide you. Serve topped with pine nuts and feta.
Serves 4 to 6.

Prep time: 10 min