15
Sep 2012

Spicy Pappardelle with Sausage and Shiitake Mushrooms

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Spicy Pappardelle with Sausage and Shiitake Mushrooms ~ Savory Simple

Something you might not know about me: I love making pasta for dinner.  So it’s kind of weird that I don’t share more pasta recipes on this site, right?  Here’s the reason: I never follow a recipe, I’m always adjusting things along the way and I rarely make the same thing twice.  To me pasta is the ultimate vehicle for whatever’s in my refrigerator: cheeses, meats, veggies, herbs, etc.  No two pastas are ever exactly the same.  I like the spontaneity of making pasta and stopping to jot down notes takes away from it a bit. More garlic? Bam! Scribble Scribble.  But I made this pasta dish a few weeks ago and decided to recreate it for the site because it was that good!  I used a delicious pork and fennel sausage from a local company called MeatCrafters, but any sausage will work in this dish.  I think it would be great with chorizo (what isn’t great with chorizo?)  You can also swap out the mushrooms for any variety you happen to have on hand.  Between the sausage, mushrooms, stock and cheese, this dish is just bursting with meaty umami flavor.

Homemade stock is one thing that really makes this recipe stand out in flavor.  I just can’t use the boxed stuff; I’d rather cook with water.  It’s like the difference between a moist homemade cake and the day-old birthday cake bin at a chain grocery store.  Please try making your own chicken stock; it’s very easy and I’ll be happy to answer any questions about it!

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Categories: Cooking, Pasta, Risotto & Grains, Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
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07
Sep 2012

Creamy Millet with Sweet Corn and Chives

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Creamy Millet with Sweet Corn and Chives ~ Savory Simple

Have you ever tried millet?  I had never had it before this year and it’s now one of my favorite whole grains.  The flavor and texture is similar to polenta and just like with polenta, it can be used in an assortment of dishes.  Millet works great as a sweetened hot breakfast porridge or as a savory side dish with olive oil, salt and veggies. Much like with risotto or quinoa, the leftovers can be used to make millet cakes.  In Japan you can actually find candied millet puffs called Awaokoshi.

So whole grains are healthy, right?  Yeah, I kind of drown out most of the health benefits in this dish with heavy cream and cheese.  I couldn’t help myself; cream and cheese are really tasty.   HOWEVER, I’ve included easy substitutions at the bottom of this recipe to create a light and healthy (though not nearly as decadent) side dish.

Don’t forget, there’s still time to enter my King Arthur Flour Giveaway!

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Categories: Cooking, Pasta, Risotto & Grains, Recipes, Seasonal, Side Dishes, Summer, Vegetarian Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
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06
Aug 2012

Bacon Polenta Pancakes with Maple Whipped Cream

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Bacon Polenta Pancakes with Maple Whipped Cream ~ Savory Simple

I’ve always been a breakfast for dinner kind of girl.  I just can’t deal with heavy or sweet foods first thing in the morning.  They weigh me down and make me sleepy while I’m supposed to be waking up. Doughnuts at work?  No thanks, I’ll save one until the afternoon.  But this doesn’t mean I don’t love traditional breakfast food.  Quite the contrary.  I love big breakfast meals where the maple syrup from my pancakes runs directly into my eggs and bacon.  I love going to a diner and ordering thick cut challah French toast.  I’ll take doughnuts, muffins and hash browns.  Really, it’s all good to me.

The idea of bacon pancakes hit me one day.  Since I’ve always dipped my bacon in the maple syrup, why not combine the two and see how they turn out?  Brilliant.  Because these were already really healthy, I decided to make maple whipped cream for the top in lieu of syrup.  I also used candied bacon for garnish.  AND I decided to add cornmeal to the batter because that just sounds awesome.

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Categories: Breakfast, Cooking, Recipes, Reviews Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
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26
Jun 2012

Basil Mint Ice Cream

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Basil Mint Ice Cream

There are many things I love about our new home.  Friendly neighbors, an attic, packages delivered to my front door.  A real dining room.  Stairs!  The neighborhood is wonderful; we’re in walking distance to downtown as well as a beautiful trail for nature walks.  After years of living next to a fire station, we now enjoy quiet evenings (and as the world’s lightest sleeper, I really appreciate this).  I’m excited about having a real Halloween in the fall where costumed children come to my door for treats (I promise not to give them boxed raisins even though I hate keeping candy around).  I have to say, though, my favorite thing about home ownership so far is our large back deck.  I finally have a garden!  I still squeal with excitement every time I see a new veggie:

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Categories: Ice Cream, Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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13
Jun 2012

Strawberries and Cream Tart

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Strawberry Tart ~ Savory Simple

I love preparing desserts.  There’s something so methodical about the process of baking that I find very soothing.  Planning, measuring, creaming, layering, decorating…  and beautiful vibrant colors to inspire me!  I certainly love cooking as well, but I don’t find it nearly as relaxing.  I feel as though I achieve almost a meditative state of focus and calm while baking, even when the dough misbehaves or an ingredient responds in an unexpected way.  This is why I also like more complex desserts.  Maybe that sounds backwards, but allow me to explain. At first glance, a recipe such as the one below might appear time consuming and overwhelming.  But it’s actually just two smaller recipes prepared back to back.  Most of the steps are relatively simple and you can work in phases.  When a recipe takes 4-5 hours, it can usually be broken down into 2 days.  This is especially true with tarts.  The dough almost always requires several chill/rest periods.  And for a no-bake tart such as this one, the cooked shell also needs to cool completely before adding the filling.  You can certainly do this in one day, but I find separating the days to be more enjoyable.

If you’ve never made a tart before, rolling and distributing the dough can take a bit of practice. Don’t let it worry you, though.  Anyone can do it!  I recommend watching a few YouTube video tutorials that demonstrate technique.  And then just go for it.  You can practice multiple times with the dough before baking it.  This dough is especially forgiving.  Just allow it to rest and chill between attempts.  It’s much easier to work with cold dough. Feel free to contact me with any questions!

This strawberries and cream tart is spectacular.  The filling is reminiscent of panna cotta and the sweet cream flavor is perfect with strawberries.  The dough, Pate Sucree, tastes like a cookie.  Since strawberries are in season right now I didn’t feel the need to glaze them, but if you make this in the off season, brushing some melted apricot jam on top will give the tart a beautiful shine and add flavor.

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Categories: Baking, Recipes, Tarts Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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