This Thai-inspired peanut stir-fry comes together in a jiffy for a healthy, satisfying weeknight meal.
Thai-Style Peanut Chicken Noodles
3 stalks celery, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 carrot, halved and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 onion, sliced thin
1/2 lb. chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 Tbsp. canola or peanut oil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 lb. whole wheat spaghetti, cooked until barely al dente
For the sauce
1/4 c. peanut butter
1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. pomegranate molasses
2 tsp. rice vinegar
2 tsp. sesame oil
1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. chili garlic paste
4 Tbsp. rice wine
4 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. +1 tsp. lime juice
Water to thin
Whisk all sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. Add water, a Tablespoon full at a time, until thin enough to pour as a sauce (I ended up using 4 Tbsp.).
Heat 1 Tbsp. canola or peanut oil in a large wok over high. Add chicken and stir-fry until golden brown and cooked through. Set aside.
Add the rest of the oil, onion, celery and carrot. Stir-fry until beginning to brown.
Add garlic, stir-fry until softened. Add spaghetti and sauce. Remove from heat and toss to combine.
1 cup shelled pistachios
1 Tbsp. kosher salt plus
½ pound whole wheat elbow macaroni
2 cups broccoli, chopped
2 garlic cloves
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
Juice of ½ an orange
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 cup flat-leaf parsley
½ cup mint
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. sesame oil
½ cup finely grated Pecorino Romano (omit for vegan)
2 Tbsp. finely chopped chives
Preheat the oven to 350°. Bake the shelled pistachios until really fragrant and just starting to brown, about 5 – 6 minutes. Watch your nuts carefully; they can go from pleasantly golden-ish to a hot mess in seconds. Set aside to cool, then whiz in a food processor until they resemble a coarse meal.
While you’re babysitting the pistachios, bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta. Chop your broccoli while you are waiting for the water to boil and set aside. Once the water is at a boil, add a handful of salt and the pasta and boil until the pasta is almost al dente, about 7 minutes. In the last 2 minutes of cooking, add the broccoli. You want tender but not overdone. Drain the whole shebang, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid for the sauce. If you aren’t ready to add the pasta back to the pot for saucing at this point, run it under cold water to stop the cooking process.
While you are cooking the pasta/broccoli, add the garlic, lemon zest, red pepper flakes and kosher salt to the food processor and grind into a fine crumb. Add the parsley and mint and pulse to process down. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the olive and sesame oils. Transfer to a medium saucepan and add the reserved pasta water. Bring the watery pesto to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes.
Remove from the heat and add the pasta/broccoli. Stir in the lemon juice and cheese and let sit for 5 minutes to give the lemon a chance to work its magic. Top with the chives and serve.
Prep your eggplant by trimming the ends and cutting into a small (about 1/4 inch) dice. Set aside.
Prep your starfruit by cutting into 1/4 inch slices and quartering.
Put a large sautee pan on medium high heat and a large pot of water on to boil. Add a good glug or two of canola to the large sautee pan (you want the bottom covered).
While your pan and pot are coming up to temperature, combine the vinegar, sugar and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved fully (about 1 minute). Set aside. Add the pressed garlic, red pepper flakes and sesame oil.
Your oil should be just getting up to temperature (you’ll know it is hot enough when a drop of water sputters when added to the pan). Add half of the eggplant and fry until nice and browned. Scoop out with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Sprinkle with salt. Add the second half of the eggplant and repeat.
When the water comes up to a boil, add the soba noodles. Cook according to package directions until al dente (about 3 mins). Drain and immediately rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process. Knock as much water off as possible. Add a little olive oil to your hand and toss the cooled noodles around in the colander to coat. This will help the noodles from clumping all together into a gluey mess while they sit.
Prepare the rest of your ingredients.
Slice the onion into wafer thin slices (you only need a handful or so).
Sliver the basil.
Chop the cilantro.
Zest and juice the lime and add to the dressing.
In a medium sized bowl, combine all ingredients. Toss with the dressing and let sit an hour to give the flavors a chance to marry.
Toss again just before serving & enjoy.
Serves 2 for dinner with enough left over for a nice-sized lunch.
This is a riff on one of my favorite uses for canned pumpkin. I make this pasta a thousand different ways – with fresh pasta, with wontons, with greens or without, but always with pumpkin and nutmeg. The combo is great, and a perfect light weeknight meal.
Pumpkin Goodness
Taste of Fall Pumpkin, Arugula & Pecan Ravioli in Brown Butter Sage Sauce
1/2 can pumpkin puree
4 oz. goat cheese
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 bunch arugula, finely chopped
4 leaves fresh sage
1/2 c. pecans, chopped
olive oil
butter
Approximately 30 wonton wrappers
Combine the pumpkin, goat cheese, nutmeg and 2 big handfuls of arugula in a small bowl. Stir, mashing with the back of your spoon, until the mixture is integrated well.
Put a large pot of salted water on to boil.
Arrange your wontons in a single layer on the countertop. Fill each wonton assembly style with 1 tsp or so of the filling (place the filling in the middle of the wrapper. Dip your finger in a shallow bowl of water and lightly moisten 3 sides of the wonton wrappers. Fold the edges of the wrapper together so you have a rectangle ravioli. Make sure to press out any excess trapped air.
When the water comes up to a boil, add the raviolis in batches of 6 or less at a time. You don’t want to dump them all in at once, or they will stick together in a soggy messy lump of grossness. As each batch floats to the surface, skim off with a slotted spoon and run under cold water to stop the cooking process. I then moved each batch of six to a plate so there was no chance of stickage, which worked great.
While your last few batches are cooking, put a large pan over medium/medium-high heat. Add the butter. I used a little less than a Tablespoon for serving 12 wontons. When the butter is starting to brown and turn nutty, add your ravioli. Cook, swirling in the pan with the occasional flip until the bottoms just start to brown. Add the remaining arugula and sage and cook, continuing to stir occasionally until the arugula wilts, approximately 3 minutes. Add a shot or so of olive oil if the sauce looks lacking and serve.
30 wontons serves 2 for a light dinner or 3 for an appetizer. I served 12 as a stand-alone dinner and was hungry an hour later.
This dish started with the question, what can I do with these CSA radishes other than serve them raw or pickled? I’d made simple roast English breakfast radishes before, and knew they turned sweet with heat. I’m happy to report that this dish turned out great – the radishes were sweet, almost turnip-y and the greens worked well with the sauce and carrot. All in all a satisfying, healthy weeknight dish.
Apparently the dish was so good I forgot to take a picture of it. These are watermelon radishes.
Preheat the oven to 425 F. While your oven is preheating, chop the radishes into roughly 1 inch chunks. De-stem the kale and slice it into ribbons. Slice the carrots into thin rounds.
Put the radishes into the oven on a cookie sheet. Bake 25-30 mins. or until they reach your desired softness. I left mine a little al dente, and they tasted just fine.
While your radishes are cooking, add the vegetable stock and kale to a large pan and cook approximately 10 minutes until the liquid has evaporated and the kale is soft. Add the carrot halfway through the cooking time (this will give you crisp carrots – for softer carrots, add at the beginning with the kale).
While all this is working, toast your sesame seeds in a dry pan over high heat until they just begin to brown and smell nutty. Set aside and make your radish dressing.
In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine 1 Tbsp. honey with 1 Tbsp. soy. When the radishes are done, pull the sheet from the oven and pour the radish sauce over. Add the shallots, toss to combine, and put back in the oven for 3-5 minutes. Watch carefully so the mixture does not burn.
Cook the soba according to package directions, about 3 minutes, and drain.
When the radishes are done, add the sesame seeds and toss to coat.
Add the noodles to the pan with the kale and carrots, along with the miring, 1 tsp. honey, 1 tsp. soy, and chili garlic sauce. Toss to combine.
This pho, while not strictly traditional, has a nice taste and satisfies those mid-week noodle in broth cravings nicely.
Faux Pho
Broth
8 c. beef broth
2 stalks celery
2 small carrots
2 cloves garlic, well and truly smashed
1 shallot, chopped
2 star anise podsa
12 peppercorns
1 Tbsp. grated ginger Pho
1c. when chopped red yard long beans (or any other bean, really)
1/2 lb. baby pac choi
1 package per person instant noodle soup Udon noodles (I used the brand from the picture, which I picked up at Super Target) Fixins
Ground ginger
Fish sauce
Soy sauce
Cilantro
Sriracha
Lime juice
First, make the stock. The goal here is for a flavorful stock in its own right. You want something that tastes good before you add all the fixins.
Add the stock to a medium pot over high heat. While your stock is coming up to the boil, slice your celery into thin moons, your carrots into thin rounds, and smash the garlic. Add to the pot as you go.
Once the broth and its additions come up to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer 30 minutes. You can go longer if you would like, just don’t loose too much volume. You want the flavors to marry and the stock to pick up some great fresh taste from the veggies and spices.
While your broth is working, prepare your vegetables. I went with red yard long beans and pac choi, since that’s what came in my CSA share this week. My rule of thumb for any asian soup is this: a green + a color. Any green + something from any other color. Slice the beans thin (about 1/4 inch long) and chop the pac choi into bite-sized pieces.
At the 30 minute mark, strain your broth to take out the solids. They’ve given their all at this point and you have fresh things to add to the pot.
Add the beans and simmer 5 mins.
Add the pac choi, simmer an additional 2 minutes. Kick the heat up to a boil
Add the udon and boil 3 mins or until done.
Split into 2 bowls and season with fixins to your particular taste. I used 1 tsp. ground ginger, 1 Tbsp. fish sauce, 2 Tbsp. soy sauce, 1 tsp. cilantro, 1 tsp. sriracha and 1 tsp. lime juice.
Serves 2, with enough broth left over for a third serving.
Kohlrabi & Apple Slaw Noodles
I’m cautiously optimistic that this single dish will pull me out of my cooking rut. This was great, though next time I may double the sauce amount. It came out on the dry side for my taste so I finished with an additional drizzle of sesame oil. A nice touch, but the sweet/sour/bright sauce would have been even better.
Set a large pot of water on to boil for the noodles. Boil noodles 6 minutes (or the lowest cook time listed on the noodle package – you want al dente). Drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking.
While you’re waiting for the noodles to cook, make the sauce. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk. Adjust seasoning to taste. You want it to taste great on its own.
Add the sesame oil to your your largest pan over high heat. When the noodles go into the boiling water, toss the kohlrabi bulb and garlic into the pan. Cook, stirring, until the noodles are done.
When the noodles are done, add them to the pan. Keep everything moving so the noodles don’t stick all over the place. Add the kohlrabi greens and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add the sauce, carrots and apples. Stir fry an additional 2 minutes to combine everything well.
This dinner was pretty good. The beef smelled great, but came out somehow lacking in the spice and smoke department. Don’t get me wrong, this beef was good — juicy, perfectly tender and all around a nice main component — it just wasn’t the ballsy spicy richness I half hoped it would be. It tasted more like a pot roast.
Which got me thinking….
Dinner 2: Faker Pot Roast
Mmmm…. pot roast. Pot roast is one of those dishes that picks you up, gives you a nice snuggly blanket, a soft place to sit and a nice book to read. Pot roast tucks you in. I remember as a kid opening the door to the house on cold winter nights and being buffeted by the wall of warm beefy goodness only pot roast that’s cooked all day in the Crock Pot can provide. Good times.
I wasn’t feeling making another haunch o’beast, so I decided to do the next best thing. I winged it with ingredients I had on hand.
Faker Pot Roast
This spin on pot roast transforms humble leftovers into a deeply satisfying super quick to throw together weeknight meal.
Leftover slow cooker chipotle beef, approximately 1 1/2 cup.
1 c beef broth
1/4 c. red wine
1 1/2 c. carrots, sliced into 1/4 inch thick coins
1 leek, halved lengthwise and sliced into 1/4 inch thick moons
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 lb. egg noodles
1/4 c. chopped parsley
1 Tbsp. butter
Warm 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a large high-sided pan over medium heat. Once the oil is up to temperature, add the leeks, onions, carrots, wine and broth. Sautee 5 mins.
Put a large pot of salted water on to boil. Once the water is boiling, add the egg noodles. Cook to al dente according to package directions
Continue cooking veggies 10 minutes, or until the carrots are soft. If at any time things look too dry, add additional wine and/or stock.
About 2 minutes before cooking is finished, add the leftover beef. Stir to combine until the beef is warmed through. Add the noodles and toss to combine. Remove from the heat. Add the butter and parsley and stir to combine until the butter has melted.
We recently ate at Scott Conant’s ode to Italian fine dining, Scarpetta, and although neither of us are fully on board with true serving and a half sized vegetarian spaghetti for $23 a plate, it was damn tasty nonetheless. We went into the dinner wanting to find fault, too, since Conant can come off as bristly and derisive to say the least when he judges on Chopped (one of our favorite shows). See our full Scarpetta review on Foodie In Miami .
So, we ate there, and predictably fell in love with the pasta sauce (it seems everyone has the same reaction to this sauce, too). And, in a providential all-things-are-connected-on-the-Internet twist, it just so happens Deb & Alex from Smitten Kitchen had recently visited Conant’s NYC location and determined the very same thing at nearly the same time. We (mostly) followed their recipe for this first foray, and found it a worthy sauce, but not quite up to the Scarpetta standard. Something is missing, and I can’t quite put my finger on it just yet. I’m sure the restaurant uses more butter than we did, and maybe that’s all it takes to get the velvety creaminess they achieved. I can’t help but think there was a wallop of cream hidden in there somewhere, though. We shall see in future iterations.
Scarpett-ish Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce
A note on pasta: We used bucatini, a spaghetti-shaped pasta with a hole in the middle and cooked it to just barley al dente. Conant would approve. The bucatini holds up perfectly with its little hole, which holds small bits of saucy goodness for extra taste with every bite. If you cannot find bucatini, you can certainly use spaghetti, but I would lean more toward using something with some ridges or a hole so the sauce can cling to each and every bite.
28 oz. can San Marzano tomatoes, squished over a strainer to become seedless
Big pinch Kosher salt
1 large garlic clove sliced wafer thin
Big pinch red pepper flakes
A small handful of fresh basil leaves, cut into ribbons
1/4 c. olive oil
12 oz. dried bucatini
1 1/2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
Pour the tomatoes and salt into pot (large enough to accommodate the tomatoes with some room left over to toss the pasta) over medium-high heat. With a potato masher, break the tomatoes down until you reach the desired consistency. For us, that was somewhat chunky but mostly on the smooth side. Bring up to a boil, then knock the heat back until the pot is just barely simmering.
Gently simmer 35-45 minutes, adding a splash of water if things look too dry in the pan.
While your pot is simmering away, combine the garlic, red pepper flakes, olive oil and about half of the basil in a small pan over the lowest heat setting. Gently bring the oil up to a simmer (don’t raise the heat), and strain into a small dish. Set aside.
After the sauce has been simmering about 25 minutes, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a palm full of salt. Add the pasta and cook until al dente (when it’s still firm to the tooth, aka could use another minute or two on the heat) and drain, reserving half a cup of the pasta water.
Once the sauce reaches the consistency you like, stir in the olive oil and adjust seasonings to taste. Add the pasta along with half the pasta water to the sauce and toss together, cooking for another minute or so. If things look dry, add the rest of the pasta water. Add the butter and remaining basil; serve immediately.
Serves 2, a reasonable amount and perfectly fine for a nice dinner
This dish was intended to be a showstopper. Picture it: Miami, 2011. A group of 40 seasoned foodies gathered on a sweltering late July Saturday in a Midtown penthouse with sweeping views for a potluck promising gastronomic delights. A XX-something year-old me with my Darling Dedicated Husband sous, bustling around to make sure our dish turns out right.
I’m happy to say that my two weeks of freaking out trying to make sure our dish not only fit the ‘avant garde’ theme of the potluck, but was damn tasty, paid off. The dish was a smash success and avant garde enough to wow. Go, me. I even managed to make 40 servings that were just the right size — a little cup full — so no one was completely stuffed after eating it. More on the potluck.
This recipe is not a quick cook by a long shot and the broth makes a big batch. Freeze the leftovers in quart freezer bags to pull out and thaw as necessary. Although it takes a long time to cook, this broth is totally worth it. Definitely the best broth I have ever made by far.
So nice, I just had to take another shot of that scallop
Ramen with Kickass Broth, Fresh Bacon and Mousseline “Scallop”
Don’t be afraid of the long ingredient list. This dish, while not quick, is well worth the extra effort. Makes a great showstopper for company, and the extras can be dressed up in a million different ways.
1.5 lbs. scallops
1.5 lbs. crab (I used 8 ounces claw meat and 16 ounces lump meat)
3 large egg whites
1 1/4 c. heavy cream
5 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. white pepper
Juice of half a lemon
2 oz. Wakame seaweed
1 1/4 gallons water (16 cups)
1 1/2 ounces dried shiitake mushrooms, ground into as fine a powder as you can get them
5 pounds chicken wings and necks
1/2 pound chicken wings
1/2 cup sake
1/2 cup mirin
1 cup usukuchi (light) soy
1/3 pound double-smoked bacon
Ramen noodles
Enough house bacon to make a nice garnish, sliced into small batons and fried
Finely diced chives (optional, for garnish)
Finely diced red jalapeños (optional, for garnish)
1.5 lbs. scallops
1.5 lbs. crab (I used 8 ounces claw meat and 16 ounces lump meat)
3 large egg whites
1 1/4 c. heavy cream
5 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. white pepper
Juice of half a lemon
About half an hour before you want to start making your mousseline, put the bowl of a large food processor, the blades, and another large bowl in the freezer.
Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F.
In the food processor (out of the freezer), puree the scallops and egg whites until smooth. With the motor running, add the cream, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Blend to combine.
Dump the crab into your chilled bowl, picking through the meat to ensure there are no shells.
Fold your mixture into the crab and set in the fridge to chill while you prepare the terrine.
To make a quick & dirty terrine, take two small disposable aluminum meatloaf pans and line them with enough plastic wrap to completely cover the bottom and sides and fold over the top. Wetting the
pans slightly before placing the plastic wrap will help the plastic wrap stick in the corners.
Gently fill your terrines – this recipe makes enough to just about fill two of the meatloaf pans, or one large bread pan. Fold the ends of the plastic wrap up on the top and cover with tinfoil.
Place in a large roasting pan, and add hot water halfway up the sides of the terrines to make a water bath.
Bake until a thermometer inserted in the center reads 140 degrees F.
While your mousseline is baking, prepare the terrine “lids”. Cut cardboard (I used the container from a 12 pack of pop) so it fits as snugly as you can get it in the meatloaf pans. Make sure the edges of the “lid” aren’t getting hung up on the inner lip of the terrine. Cover with tinfoil and set aside.
When your mousseline has reached 140 degrees, pull from the oven and remove from the water bath. Cool and add your terrine “lids”. Weight both (I used 2 15-ounce cans of beans for each terrine) and chill in the refrigerator overnight.
To make the “scallops”, unmold each terrine and cut into 8 equal pieces widthwise. Use either a very small round cookie cutter or a film canister with the end snipped off (I’ll give you one guess as to which method I used) to carefully punch out your scallops. This quantity makes 40-something small scallops, with enough scraps leftover to completely fill a quart freezer bag.
Kickass Broth Adapted from David Chang’s Ramen Broth 2.0 from Lucky Peach Volume 1
2 oz. Wakame seaweed
1 1/4 gallons water (16 cups)
1 1/2 ounces dried shiitake mushrooms, ground into as fine a powder as you can get them
5 pounds chicken wings and necks
Kickass Broth Seasoning Adapted from David Chang’s Tare 2.0 from Lucky Peach Volume 1
1/2 pound chicken wings
1/2 cup sake
1/2 cup mirin
1 cup usukuchi (light) soy
1/3 pound double-smoked bacon Make The Broth
Heat the water in your largest stock pot to 150 degrees F. Add the seaweed, turn off the heat, and let steep 1 hour.
Fish out the seaweed and discard. Add the chicken and bring to a simmer. Simmer 15 minutes and scrape off any chicken scum that has risen to the top. Add the mushrooms and kick the heat down until the pot is very gently simmering. You’re looking for an occasional lazy bubble to rise to the top. Simmer gently for 5 hours, checking every once in awhile to make sure you’re neither too cold or too hot.
Strain and chill. For a more refined stock, strain, chill and remove the fat that solidifies on the top.
Make The Seasoning
Preheat your oven to 250 degrees F. Place the chicken wings in an oven-safe pot or steep-sided pan that is large enough to hold them without overlapping. Roast 5 minutes just to get the fat to start rendering out.
Crank the heat to 400 degrees. Cook, flipping occasionally, until the chicken is deeply mahogany–you’re not going for burnt, but the more color on the chicken = the better the resulting taste. This process took me around 40 minutes.
Remove the chicken and deglaze with the sake, scraping the browned bits of lovely goodness off the bottom of the pan. Set the pan over medium-high heat, and add the remaining ingredients (including the chicken).
After your mixture comes to a simmer, kick the heat back until you have the barest of simmers going. You’re not looking to reduce the liquid, just infuse it. Keep at a bare simmer for an hour and a half.
Strain and chill. Skim the fat that rises to the top.
If you’re feeling really froggy, you can save that fat to use as a topper for your ramen. Conversely, if you’re feeling really rushed for time, you can skip the skimming step and all will be well.
Finish The Broth
Season the broth with seasoning sauce until it tastes perfect to you. You may need additional salt or some heat, you may not. We added all of the seasoning sauce to the whole batch of broth and the taste came out perfect. And there you have it, a whole big pot of fabulous, rich, flavorful broth.
Cook The Noodles
Cook noodles according to package directions. Rinse in cold water to stop them from clumping and divide into your serving bowls.
Assemble The Dish
Add broth to your noodles until only a small island of noodle is left peeking out. Top the small island with a mousseline scallop, garnish with fresh bacon, chopped chives and jalapeños.
Gastography 