The Heat of the Moment

I've been on this crazy cleaning-slash-organizing tear through my apartment. After seven years in a tiny homestead, it's become time to toss out all of the crap and to get super organized with what remains. My plan was to just go through my closets, but at the urging of a friend, I attacked ALL of my kitchen cabinets too. An episode of Hoarders could totally have been filmed...

Living in such a small space requires creative storage solutions, and unfortunately I am now one of those people who stores their over sized pots and pans in the oven. I always wondered who those crazy people were, and now I know. They're me. (Stay with me. This IS going somewhere.)

The thing is, once you store things in surprising places, you have to actually remember that you did. Like, when you turn your oven up to 400+ degrees, like, when you're making scones or something, you might not want to leave certain pans in the broiler that have been layered with rubbery/plastic like substances to protect them from scratches. Scratches won't mean much to you once the plastic has melted and glued your nice Le Creuset frying pan to your $3.99 quarter sheet pan. (Oh, yes. That happened!)

Fortunately I am crafty and figured out how to separate my pans (low heat to soften said plastic material) and how to remove a charred substance from the face of my frying pan (water/vinegar/baking soda/heat). How did I even discover this whole mess? Only when I decided to roast a bunch of yellow peppers in my broiler but found a modernist kitchen pan sculpture in the way. But all's well that ends well. I only lost the cheapie pan and still managed to make dinner.

My first pepper pasta dish was made for a True Blood post last year and used red peppers that were simply sauteed. This recipe uses yellow peppers that have been roasted,* but the recipes are pretty interchangeable. You can even use roasted peppers from a jar. But if you decide to make your own, just make sure that you haven't stashed any winter sweaters in the oven before you turn it on.

*TO ROAST: Cut the peppers in half lengthwise, remove the stems and seeds, place them cut side down on a sheet pan, and place them under the broiler until the skins turn completely black. Once cool enough to handle, remove the charred skin and cut the peppers into strips.)



Pasta With Roasted Peppers and Goat Cheese
(Adapted from Martha Rose Shulman)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup thinly sliced roasted sweet peppers (from a jar or homemade, see above)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 large basil leaves, cut in slivers (optional)
3 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
3/4 pound pasta, any shape

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet. Add the garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the sliced roasted peppers, and stir together for about a minute. Season with salt and pepper, and stir in the basil (if using) and the goat cheese. Remove from the heat.

2. When the water comes to a boil, cook the pasta until al dente — firm to the bite — following the recommendations on the package. Ladle about 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water into the frying pan, and stir well so that the goat cheese begins to melt. Drain the pasta, and toss immediately with the pepper mixture in the pan. (You can place the pan over low heat if the pepper mixture needs to be rewarmed.) Serves four.

Advance preparation: You can make this through Step 1 several hours before you wish to serve it. Add the basil and cheese only when you reheat it.

Lock, Stock, and Barrels

This past weekend I made my maiden voyage to the North Fork of Long Island while on a field trip with my wine class, or rather a couple of peeps from my wine class. (I could have brought friends!) The educational emphasis was on viticulture and vitification because that is the unit that we are currently studying, but let's face it, it was also about tasting and buying wine.

We started out at Paumanok Winery, then moved on to Lenz Winery, both smallish but quite well established wineries making delicious wine in Long Island. (No, it's not an oxymoron, though it certainly could be.) We ended up capping off the day with a trip to a goat cheese farm called Catapano Dairy Farm to buy some delicious goat cheese and then finally ended up at Briermere Farms where several peeps stood in line to buy one of their abundant pie selections. I just bought some beets to roast up to go with my bevy of goat cheese (lavender-honey and plain chevre). All in all it was a pretty fabulous day.


Yep. With 30-some-odd wineries (vs. just a couple in the South Fork) the North Fork is synonymous with wine country.


An example of the trellising/pruning technique called replacement cane pruning. I won't bore you with the details that I have to know about this. Gnarly. Harvest was just completed a few days ago, hence, no grapes.


Hello, Cabernet Franc.


Extra barrels just waiting to be used.


A Lenz Gerwürztraminer just after fermentation. Cloudy yet delicious, but not quite as Gerwzy (my word) or clear as it has yet to become.


Paumanok Winery on a lazy October afternoon.

Warm Goat Cheese Salad

Here's a recipe from The Ski House Cookbook in case you ever have an excess of goat cheese, and eating it with a spoon just won't do.

2/3 cup bread crumbs
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
1 large egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
6 ounces goat cheese
6 - 9 ounces baby greens

Dijon Balsamic Vinaigrette
Whisk together:
3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Extra virgin olive oil

1. In a small bowl mix the bread crumbs, pepper, thyme, and parsley. In another small bowl whisk the egg with the salt and mustard.

2. Cut the goat cheese into 4 equal pieces and form into disks about 3/4” thick. Roll the disks in the egg wash and then in the bread crumb mixture, pressing the crumbs gently into the cheese to coat. Place the disks on a small baking sheet and transfer to the freezer for 15 minutes.

3. Preheat the oven to 450°F. In a large bowl toss the greens with the vinaigrette. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove the cheese from the freezer and brush the tops lightly with the oil. Transfer to the oven and bake until golden, about 10 minutes.

4. Divide the salad among 4 plates and top each with a goat cheese round. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

Vino Blanco

After serving Prosecco at my little wine party, I moved on to a Sauvignon Blanc that I first tried in a restaurant while eating a vat of steamed mussels (Sauvignon Blanc and shellfish is a common pairing). I liked it so much that I wrote down the name so that I could check it out later. (I usually don't do that because I forget to look at my list anyway. Having an iPhone makes those little notes more accessible.) Plus, I figured that a $45 bottle of wine in a restaurant couldn't be more than $20 in a wine store.



I was right! The 2007 Domaine Mardon Quincy is about $15.99 in most stores. And it's delicious. I did a little research and found out that Quincy lies approximately 50 miles west of Sancerre in the Loire Valley, arguably the most notable region for Sauvignon Blanc. (No wonder it's tasty!) It has a crisp minerality with citrus notes, and although I didn't have any shellfish on hand, I got lucky with some goat cheese, another common pairing with Sauvignon Blanc. I served the goat cheese on dried apricots drizzled with a touch of honey then sprinkled with toasted pine nuts and fresh thyme leaves. I made sure to top the apricot with plenty of goat cheese so that the acidity of the Sauvignon Blanc had something to complement (you wouldn't want to pair anything overly sweet with it). I've served this little nosh at parties before and it's always a big hit. And I'm not even going to write it up as a proper recipe. It's more of an assemblage. Think of the photo below as my own personal Ikea assembly instructions. Just follow the picture.

Lentil Love

I just realized something. I haven't paid a visit to my favorite Recipes for Health column in a while. Maybe because I haven't really been cooking in a while. Must be the recent discovery of the Yakitori place down the block from me or the box of chocolates from Norman Love that I recently received. Or both. Oh, I'm eating. Just not cooking.

One RFH recipe that I have made a few times is a simple lentil concoction that is as great as a side dish served warm as it is as a leftover cold salad, served alone or on greens sprinkled with toasted pine nuts. I love all beans but since dried lentils cook up so much faster than other beans and don't require soaking, that means more food in my belly fast! And they're good for you. Or so I've been told.



Warm Lentils With Goat Cheese

1 pound green or beluga lentils (about 2 1/4 cups), washed and picked over
1 medium onion, cut in half and peeled
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 bay leaf
Salt, to taste
1/4 cup minced flat-leaf parsley
4 ounces fresh goat cheese, cut in rounds
1/4 cup sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup cooking liquid from the lentils
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1. Place the lentils in a large saucepan or soup pot with the halved onion, the garlic cloves, and the bay leaf. Add enough water to cover by 1 1/2 inches. Bring to a simmer, add 1 teaspoon salt, cover and simmer 25 - 30 minutes, or until the lentils are tender all the way through but intact. Set a strainer over a bowl and drain the lentils. Remove the onion halves, bay leaf, and garlic and discard. Return the liquid to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to 1/2 cup.

2. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Whisk together the vinegar, minced garlic, Dijon mustard, olive oil, and cooking liquid from the lentils. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss with the lentils. Stir in the parsley, place in a baking dish and top with the rounds of goat cheese. Heat through for 15 minutes, until the goat cheese has softened, and serve. Serves 4 to 6 as a main dish salad or 8 as a side dish.

Advance preparation: The lentils can be made and tossed with the dressing up to 3 days ahead. Do not add the parsley until just before warming the salad.

Not Your Mother's Leftovers

The other day when I made the Prosciutto Wrapped Fish, included in the recipe was a little herb pesto that was spread on the prosciutto before the fish was wrapped up (sorry you couldn't really see it in the photo!). Since I only roasted 2 pieces of fish, I had quite a bit of the pesto left over. Not the worst problem to have.



Oh, wait. Before I go into my miraculous solution for what to do with leftover pesto (yawn) I have to mention what happened when I was actually making it. I grabbed my mini-prep, threw all of the ingredients into it, and it didn't work. Annoying! After 18 times of unplugging it and plugging it back in, and 17 times of taking the top off and putting it back on, I finally remembered that I had dropped the plastic top a few weeks ago. I discovered that I had totally broken off the little tab that slides into the mechanism that allows the whole thing to turn on. Crap. So I did what anyone in this predicament would do. I shoved the handle of a plastic spoon into the slot to turn it on. Hurray! To make a long story short (too late!) I need a new mini-prep. Waah.

OK so back to the recipe. It's a sandwich, folks. Nothing fancy, but definitely a step up from PB&J. (Not my fave.) Wait, does a sandwich even qualify as a recipe? I say yes, if there is more assembly than a piece of bologna nestled between two pieces of bread. And you have to make the herb pesto for this one. By the way, this pesto isn't made with cheese, so if you aren't into dairy, you should make it and toss it on your favorite pasta, or...whatever, with no need for Lactaid. But then you might not want to make this sandwich the way I did, with gobs of goat cheese oozing out of it. For everyone else...



Tina's Red, White and Green Sandwich

For the Herb Pesto (sans cheese - by way of Mark Bittman):
1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup pine nuts
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the Sandwich:
Baguette, Ficelle or other rustic bread, cut into 5-inch lengths, then split lengthwise
2 large beefsteak tomatoes, thickly sliced
4 ounces goat cheese
Herb Pesto
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. In a small food processor, combine the herbs, pine nuts, olive oil and salt and pepper to form a thick paste. Set aside. (Or use your leftover pesto from the Prosciutto Wrapped Fish recipe.)

2. Arrange the bread cut side up. Spread half of the pieces with the goat cheese, then top with the sliced tomato. Season the tomato with salt and pepper. Spread the pesto on the remaining bread pieces, and close the sandwich. Serves 4, more or less.

Iron Chef-ing It Out

Sometimes after several days of not grocery shopping (or several weeks), I find myself at home with nothing to eat. Shocking. A normal person would just flip through their menus and simply decide between Thai and Mexican, call for delivery, and be done with it. I instead like to repeatedly open my refrigerator and cupboard doors, staring blankly as if something delicious is just going to miraculously appear on a silver platter. I've done this so many times that I know that I will usually be able to throw something together (with my seemingly random ingredients) without resorting to the delivery menus. It's my mini-version of Iron Chef, except without the stadium, weird ingredients, opponent, running commentary...you get the idea.

Fortunately I have some basic pantry essentials in my kitchen at almost all times (canned tomatoes, garlic, half-eaten cheese and dried pasta on this particular day), and with these basics you can easily make a much better meal than would come out of an aluminum or plastic container. After taking my 84th look through my kitchen, I decided that I had the makings of a meal that I had recalled reading about in the NY Times Recipes for Health section (my fave). I did make some minor adjustments to the recipe because I didn't have enough tomatoes, I don't like adding sugar to my tomato sauces, and I don't like breadcrumbs as a topping. But the cool thing is that this recipe IS forgiving and you can tweak it to your personal tastes (or grocery shopping forgetfulness).


Below please find my modified version of:
Macaroni With Tomato Sauce and Goat Cheese

10 ounces dried, small, whole wheat pasta (about 2/3 of a 1 pound bag)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 plump garlic cloves, minced

1 (28-ounce) can diced or whole peeled tomatoes

Salt to taste

A couple of fresh basil sprigs (optional - I didn't have any but I think it would be a good addition)

1 teaspoon dried oregano, if not using basil

Freshly ground pepper to taste

4 ounces soft, mild goat cheese

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Freshly ground pepper

1. Heat a large pot of water for the pasta. Meanwhile make the tomato sauce. Pulse the chopped or whole tomatoes in a food processor fitted with the steel blade, or puree with an immersion blender before you begin. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan and add the garlic. Cook, stirring, for 30 seconds to a minute, until it begins to smell fragrant, and add the tomatoes and their juice, salt, oregano if using or basil sprigs. Stir and turn up the heat. When the tomatoes begin to bubble, lower the heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until thick and fragrant, 15 to 20 minutes, or longer if necessary. Remove the basil sprigs and wipe any sauce adhering to them back into the pan. Add freshly ground pepper, stir in the goat cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan and combine well. Taste and adjust seasonings.

2. Preheat the oven to 350ºF and oil a 2-quart baking dish with olive oil.

3. When the water for the pasta comes to a boil add a tablespoon of salt and cook the pasta for a minute or two less than the instructions on the package indicate. It should still be a little underdone as it will finish cooking in the oven. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Add the tomato-goat cheese sauce and stir together until the pasta is thoroughly coated. Transfer to the baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan over the top of the macaroni.

4. Bake in the preheated oven until the casserole is bubbly and lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Yield: Serves 4 to 6