This Is How We Eat

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Smelly Danielly

Since we haven’t been doing a lot of our own home cooked meals while living at the parentals, we decided that on NYE we would cook them out most favorite dinner, Ciavarro style. This dinner is somewhat similar to the dinner Colin made us last year. I guess you could say we were inspired by the best.

Our dinner included…

Garlic & Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes
Roasted Carrots
Steak House Salad
BBQ’d Beef Tenderloin

I don’t actually have a recipe for my mashed potatoes because they are so easy to make, you really can go by feel and taste, however, I use this basic standard of measurement when making them..

Ingredients

1 Russet Potato per person
1 Clove of Garlic per person
1 Green Onion per person (sliced)
2 Strips Cooked Bacon per person (chopped)
1 tbsp Milk per person
Butter, Cream Cheese, Salt, & Pepper to taste

Steps

Peal your potatoes, cut them in half and add to a large pot of water. Peal your garlic, leave them whole, and add them along with the potatoes. Bring the water to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Turn down the heat to a simmer and test the potatoes after 15 minutes for doneness. Your fork should be easily slide through the potato. If the potatoes are not quite done, let them cook for a couple more minutes and check again. The timing really depends on the size of the potatoes. Drain in a colander and let them steam for 5 minutes.

Using a potato ricer, mash the potatoes and garlic back into the pot. Place back on the stove and turn on the heat to low. Add the milk and mix with a Wisk. Next add the butter, salt & pepper and mix. You want to make sure that the base of the mashed potatoes tastes right before adding anything else. Next add the cream cheese. I would start by adding a tablespoon at a time, depending on how creamy you want it. Wisk it until the cheese is melted and taste. For 5 potatoes I used about half a stick of cream cheese. What can I say, I love cream cheese!

Once your potatoes have the right creaminess and texture add in the green onions and bacon and mix. These potatoes are quite rich, but once you have tried them you will never want to go back to regular mashed potatoes again! If you like the creaminess and flavor that the cream cheese adds, try using an apple wood smoked cheddar next!

It took me a while to find a great carrot recipe. I love carrots that are sweet and caramelized and Chad likes carrots that are crunchy and buttery. This recipe is really the best of both worlds.

Ingredients

5 large Carrots
3 Clove of Garlic smashed
1 tbsp Thyme
1 knob of Butter
Drizzle of Olive Oil and Red Wine Vinegar
Salt & Pepper

Steps

Pre heat the oven to 400 degrees. Peel the carrots and cut in half. If the carrot is very thick, cut it down the middle so that all the pieces are relatively the same size. Place the carrots in a roasting pan with the garlic, butter, oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and thyme. Mix so that everything is coated well. Cover the pan with tin-foil and cook for 30 minutes. Remove the tin foil and place back in the oven for another 10 minutes so that the carrots have a chance to caramelize.

You can play around with the timing depending on how you like your carrots. Chad likes them crunchy and I like them a soft, so I try to aim for something in between. Also, if you want more sweetness, try using balsamic vinegar instead of red wine. This recipe is super easy and has such great flavor!

We essentially stole this recipe from Milestone, but made it our own of course. We use to eat this salad all the time, which probably isn’t the healthiest thing ever, but oh well! Here are the ingredients for the dressing.

Ingredients

1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 cup Lemon Juice
1 small Shallot diced
1 dollop Dijon Mustard
1 tsp Dried Oregano
Salt & Pepper

Steps

I use an immersion blender, but you can use a regular blender. Place all the ingredients in a bowl and whip it up! It’s as easy as that.

The salad itself is also really easy.

Ingredients

Diced Red Onion (about 1/4 cup)
Iceburg Lettuce cut into strips
Crumbled Blue Cheese

Steps

Mix ingredients to taste. Red onions and blue cheese can be quite strong flavors but the dressing tones them down quite a bit. When first making this salad, I would go a little easy on the onion and cheese until you get the flavor profile you like.

Dress the salad with a light coating of the dressing. You do not want to add to much, and you will have leftovers. Toss and taste adjusting the flavors as needed!

Chad is the magic man when it comes to grilling steak. We buy the Beef Tenderloin steaks from Costco. They are the best ones we’ve found and they turn out perfect every time.

Ingredients

Sea Salt
Pepper
Garlic Plus Seasoning
Italian Steak Spice – You can get this at your local Italian deli. We get ours from Bosa.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Steps

Here are the grilling instructions as per Mr. Ciavarro.

Preheat BBQ to high. Take thawed steaks and rub both sides with olive oil. Generously cover both sides of steak with Italian steak spice. Let sit for at least 20-30 minutes.

Grill steaks for two minutes then rotate 90 degrees (for grill marks). Grill for another 2 minutes then generously add sea salt to each steak. Flip steaks and generously add sea salt and garlic spice to the now exposed grilled marks. Grill for another 4 minutes for medium rare. 5 minutes for medium.

Serve with freshly ground black pepper

These steaks rival the Keg. I can’t tell you how excited I get when I know it’s steak night!

The goodness that was NYE dinner.

We eat rich foods, what can I say. The flavor profile of this meal is out of this world. Everyone really enjoyed it and I was glad we could share our Classic Ciavarro dinner with the parentals!

Pasta and the Food Processor

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Smelly Danielly

There is that rare magical day where the that one kitchen gadget that you have finally decided to buy for yourself actually gets sent to you for free.

There were a lot of big kitchen gadgets that I never bothered to register for when we got married. I knew we didn’t have the space for a lot of stuff in our apartment and having little to no cooking experience I didn’t really know one thing from the other. So I decided that I would get some experience under my belt and when it was time for us to move into our big shiny new house I would buy all the things I was missing.

I never really thought a food processor was all that necessary. My mom didn’t have one and she made amazing meals, so was it really something I needed? After watching several thousand hours of the Food Network and attempting to make certain meals myself, I realized that it was a tool that I definitely needed to add to my kitchen. So off I went to do research.

If there is one thing you need to know about me it is that I go big or I go home. It doesn’t matter what I am buying I want the biggest and the best of what you have, especially when it comes to my kitchen. Sometime it is over kill and sometimes it is just right.

I started to see commercials on the Food Network for the new KitchenAid 13 cup Food Processor. I watched almost possessed as they demonstrated all the different features that it could do. I compared it to other food processors on the market and was sold that this was the one I needed.

I harassed Chad about it for two days straight until I woke up one morning to an email offering me the opportunity to test out the features of the new KitchenAid 13 cup Food Processor. Umm, what? Did this just happen!? Stuff like this NEVER happens to me.

A couple of weeks ago it arrives, in all it’s glorious beauty.

This puppy can puree, chop, knead, shred, and slice with its 3 blades and 2 discs. It has an externally adjustable, stainless steel slicing disc that lets you adjust the slicing styles for all types of food. It has a large 13 cup bowl as well as a smaller one that fits inside of it for smaller jobs. It is the most gorgeous piece of kitchen equipment I now own, next to my KitchenAid Stand Mixer, of course.

I haven’t had much time to play around with it, but this weekend I took the opportunity to try my hand at making fresh pasta dough and ravioli. Yes, I know, kinda weird that I chose to make dough with something that is so good at slicing and dicing, but this is the way that Lidia does it and she is my Italian Food Muse.

I used the dough blade and mixed up my flour, egg, oil, and water. The dough was a bit wet so I pulled it out and kneaded in some flour my hand.

Now, I didn’t really think this whole process through. Nonna has a pasta maker, but we don’t, and while I should have gone over and borrowed hers, I figured we could just do it by hand. I mean that is the way Lidia perfers to do it. Yea, that didn’t work out so well. The dough looks pretty thin in this picture but as soon as I cut out the shapes it was like the dough scrunched up and doubled in size.

Yea, they look like hockey pucks haha!

I stuffed them with Brie cheese and a couple with roasted tomatoes for my brother who doesn’t eat cheese. I know, don’t ask.

As for the sauce I made a brown butter and sage sauce. It was so amazing I will have to post the recipe on here.

The ravioli took forever to cook. The thickness of the pasta really kind of screwed me over, but you live and learn!

Over all the flavors were amazing. Melty yummy brie inside with a butter and sage sauce on the outside, all wrapped together with home made pasta dough. The flavors were a huge success, the dough, not so much.

Mom and I did a bunch of research and we agreed that I need to get the pasta making attachment for my KitchenAid Stand Mixer. I plan on making a lot of fresh dough, and with out a pasta maker we are just going to by eating huge clumps of it!

Now I have to plan my next dinner using my KitchenAid Food Processor!

Smitten in my Kitchen

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Smelly Danielly

Corn, Chive, & Buttermilk Pop Overs

I’ve become smitten with a food blog called Smitten Kitchen. The photos are simple and useful, the recipes are easy to follow, and there is a personal touch to each blog post that I love!

While perusing all their amazing recipes the other day, I came across this one for Corn, Buttermilk, and Chive Popovers. I drooled at the sight of them. I love corn. I love chives. I love things that popover!

I went out the next day and bought all the ingredients needed to put together these delightful little treats. I followed the recipe exactly as stated except instead of using chives I used green onions. I also used a muffin tin instead of a popover tin. While they didn’t turn out 100% like the pictures they were pretty tasty and as Deb mentions in her blog post, they can be a little finicky to perfect. I think my oven had a role to play in the way they turned out. This recipe yielded me 12 popovers in a muffin tin.

The popovers were wonderful but I think the next time I make these I will do two things differently.

Actually use chives. I found the green onions provided too strong a taste for my liking in this particular recipe.
Mix everything together instead of blending it in a blender. I would have liked the corn to stay whole so that you get pops of sweetness when you bite into them.

Over all, this is definitely a recipe I want to try over again and perfect. It really was quite easy to make, I just need to figure out my oven!

I strongly suggest you checking out the Smitten Kitchen. There are so many great recipes on there I am sure you will find something you will love!

Roasted Tomato Soup with Broiled Chedder! OMG!

Zza on the Q

Posted on September 22, 2011 by Smelly Danielly

The other night we made pizza from scratch, like really from scratch. Our favourite go to is to buy pizza bread from Bosa, throw on our toppings and then in the oven it goes, but I remembered seeing a recipe in the Weber grill book for pizza on the BBQ and I really wanted to try it out.

I haven’t been very successful with making dough that has yeast in it, so I was a little weary of this recipe, but to my delight it turned out awesome!

For the dough you will need…

1 1/2 cup warm water
1 package rapid-rise active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons salt

In the bottom of an electric mixer combine the water, yeast, and sugar. Stir briefly and let stand for 5 minutes. Add the flour, oil, & salt. Fit the mixer with a dough hook and mix on low speed for about 2 minute or until the dough begins to come together. Increase the speed to medium and continue to mix until the dough is slightly sticky, smooth, and elastic (about 10 minutes). Form the dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Turn it over to coat all sides and tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise in a warm place until it has double in size, about 1 1/2 – 2 hours.

The dough it supposed to yield 8 small pizzas (about 6 inches across) but we made 2 larger sized pizzas and saved a smaller ball to do some pizza bread later on.

The best part about preparing the dough was the fact that I didn’t have a rolling pin and so I had to use a bottle of Pam to roll it out. Oh yea, classy all the way!

To prepare the dough for the BBQ lightly brush it with oil (top and bottom) and allow it to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. Place the dough on parchment paper, as this will allow the dough to keep its shape while on the BBQ. Once you’ve done that, place the rounds on the BBQ over direct medium heat with the paper size up. With the lid closed, cook the dough for about 2 – 5 minutes. You want to make sure the dough is well marked and firm before you flip it over. Peal off the parchment paper and cook the other side.

The essence of an Italian pizza is simplicity. Clearly I did not get that message.

Chad made a classic Diavola with marinara sauce, Calabrese salami, mozzarella, and basil.

I used roasted tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini, garlic, mozzarella, and basil, with a tiny drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Not very simple at all!

Back on the BBQ they go. Cook once again over medium direct heat for 2 – 5 minutes until the cheese is melted and everything is warmed and yummy!

NOM NOM NOM

The pizza turned out really good. The only thing we realized is that the dough becomes quite thick when it cooks, so the thinner you can roll it out the better (unless you like a thicker crust pizza).

My toppings were a good choice but I had way to many of them. Probably could have cooked half the veggies that I did.

Chad and I bought finished off our pizzas by drizzling flavoured Olive Oil over the top. We have a spicy one we bought in Seattle and it went so well with the pizzas. Flavour Olive Oils are my favourite ‘condiment’ ever, if you can consider it a condiment.

I was pretty proud of myself for not screwing up yet another yeast dough, so this has definitely given me the confidence boost I needed to try more yeast doughs.

Pizza on the BBQ. You should try it!

Bucatini with Toasted Bread Crumbs

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Smelly Danielly

The sun is out, our 2nd move is 85% done, and it’s Friday! Lets celebrate today with my new favorite pasta recipe.

I discovered Bucatini while watching none other then Lidias Italy. The amount of new foods, techniques, and recipes that this woman has single handily introduced me to is amazing! I love thicker noodles so as soon as I saw her make this recipe with Bucatini, I knew I had to try them.

This recipe, like many Italian recipes is simple, fast, and delicious. This is definitely something you can make when you are pressed for time but want a tasty satisfying meal.

Ingredients

200g bucatini
1 chunk of country style bread, day-old preferred
1½ tablespoons Coarse sea salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons sliced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped
½ cup Pecorino Romano, freshly grated

This made enough for 2 pasta dinners plus leftovers for lunch.

Steps

Cut off the crust of the bread chunk and with your fingers tear the interior of the bread into irregular shreds or grate with a corse grater. For 200g of pasta shread about 1 cup of rough bread crumbs.

Heat the water with a tablespoon of salt until it boils. Add the bucatini. Cook, partially covered, until al dente.

As soon as the pasta is in the pot, pour 1/4 cup of olive oil into a large skillet, set over medium-high heat and scatter in the garlic slices. Cook for a couple of minutes until the garlic is sizzling and fragrant but still pale. Drop in the torn bread crumbs. Stir and tumble them over to coat with oil. Keep tossing as they start to toast and color, sprinkle over the oregano, and continue stirring and tossing. Lower the heat to avoid burning and, as soon as the crumbs and garlic slices are deep gold and crisp, turn off the heat.

As soon as it is cooked al dente, lift out the bucatini with tongs, let the water drain off for just a second or two, then drop it into the skillet.

Turn the heat up a bit and immediately toss the pasta with the bread crumbs and garlic. Sprinkle on a 1/2 teaspoon salt and keep tossing. If the crumbs absorbed all the oil and the pasta seems dry, drizzle over 1 or more tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil and toss well. Taste and season with more salt if needed. Finally, sprinkle on the parsley and greated cheese, toss and serve right away.

Tips from the Chef…

This recipe is SO GOOD. What I love about it, as Lidia says, is every Italian has these ingredients in their pantry at all times, so it is the perfect meal to make when you are out of ideas. It’s budget friendly and your taste buds will love it.

When it comes to the bread, you don’t want to use store bought bread crumbs, or a rock hard piece of bread. You want one that has started to go stale, where the outside is crunchy, but the very center is still a little soft. We used a corse grater, so our crumbs were a bit smaller then if we had tron them by hand, so really, the preference it up to you. You can also try flavoured breads to see if that changes the profile of the dish to something you like more.

As for the Bucatini, I am in love. It’s such a fun noodle, thick and a little bit chewy, with a mind of it’s own. Sometimes the best part of a new pasta recipe is getting to work with a new pasta. Sure they are all taste the same, but the different shapes and sizes add certain elements that change the experience of each dish.

I love PASTA!