Cook: Pasta with Roasted Garlic and Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes Recipe

Last weekend, we went to the Brentwood farmers market for the first time! We usually visit the Santa Monica market, but our friends highly recommended this one so we decided to give it try.

It must be tomato season, since heirloom tomatoes were going for $2.50 a pound (normally you can find them in CA grocery stores for $4.99). There was one stand selling cherry tomatoes - 3 pints for $5! I picked out the super sweet orange variety, a small yellow(squash shaped) variety, and some juicy looking red ones.  Then I had to figure out what to do with all these tomatoes!  I found this recipe for roasted cherry tomato pasta, and followed it with a few modifications. It was a big hit and was super delicious and easy to make!

Pasta with Roasted Garlic and Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes Recipe, Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half*  (I used the 3 pints minus a few bruised tomatoes = prob closer to 5 cups, and only cut the larger sized red ones in half. The orange and yellow ones were small, so I left them as is) 
• 12 garlic cloves, cut in half (I did use this quantity and it was perfect!)   
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 lb pasta (I used bowtie)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (I used a little less)
• 1/2 cup freshly shaved parmesan cheese

Directions: 

1. In a  bowl toss sliced tomatoes, sliced garlic, oil, basil, salt, hot pepper flakes and ground pepper.
2. Place in a 9 X 13 metal cake pan or baking sheet pan with edges,  and roast at 400°F for approximately 30 minutes, or until tomatoes are shriveled and the garlic tender.
3. Cook pasta in a pot of salted boiling water while tomatoes and garlic are cooking.
4. Drain and return pasta to pot.
5. Add garlic tomato mixture and parsley, tossing to coat.
6. Serve with sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
7. If you don't have any fresh Parmesan try other sharp hard cheeses such as Romano or Asiago.

Cook: LA Burger by Bobby Flay

 

Summertime is a great time for refreshing salads, watermelon, and of course - burgers.  The other day, J and I were looking for a solid simple recipe to try and came across Bobby Flay's recipe for the LA burger. It was a hit - even more delicious than it looks!

Ingredients:

• 80 percent lean ground beef chuck (1 lb serves four)
• Cheese - you pick - monterey jack or cheddar (we used cheddar)
• 2 hass avocado (we picked them up from the farmer's market) 
• 1/2 diced small onion
• 1 minced jalapeno
• juice of 1 lime
• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• salt and pepper
• greens - watercress (I think we used arugula)
• tomato slices

Directions: 

1. Bobby's Perfect Patty -  Shape 6 ounces of 80 percent lean ground beef chuck into a uniform patty, no more than 3/4 inch thick (don't overwork the meat). Make a depression in the center with your thumb so the burger won't bulge; the indent will rise as the patty cooks. Preheat a grill or cast-iron grill pan to high. Brush the burger with canola oiland season with salt and pepper. Grill until golden brown and slightly charred, turning once (7 minutes for medium-rare). Avoid pressing with a spatula! Add cheese for the last minute of cooking.
2. Avocado Relish - Avocado is one of Bobby's favorite ingredients. He mixes 2 chopped Hass avocados with 1/2 diced small onion, 1 mincedjalapeno, the juice of 1 lime, 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro, andsalt and pepper.
3. Garnish: According to the recipe, "L.A. doesn't do iceberg lettuce, so Bobby tops off the burger with Watercress instead. (we used arugula)".  Add slice of tomato

 

As seen: served with pan roasted shishito peppers, heirloom tomato salad, and watermelon for dessert. 

Cook: Scarpetta Inspired Tomato and Basil Pasta

This is one of J's recipe and it is AWESOME. This is seriously one of the most delicious pasta recipes that I've eaten.  The original can be found at Scarpetta Restaurant in Beverly Hills, but J's version is pretty close.  J derived his recipe from this Serious Eats post, and this Grubstreet post.  

Cook: Al Forno's Baked Pasta with Five Cheeses, Tomato, Cream, and Corn

Al Forno's in Providence, RI is one of my favorite all-time restaurants, in the world!  In fact, their baked pasta and grilled pizza may very well be amongst my top 10 favorite foods ever!!!   I always enjoyed the opportunity to dine at Al Forno when I lived in Providence. However, since moving to LA, I haven't had a chance to make it back to RI.  Fortunately, Johanne Killeen and George Germon published a cookbook "On top of Spaghetti" that allows me to recreate the delicious baked pasta whenever I have the craving! The following recipe is a definite hit - it has received compliments with everyone who I've shared it with.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Cook: Shrimp with Chili, Parsley, Ginger and Garlic onToast by Jamie Oliver

J surprised me one night with this delicious and creative dinner.  The shrimp was bursting with flavor! 

Shrimp with Toast (serves 4) Recipe by Jamie Oliver.

Ingredients:

• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
• 2-3 fresh red chilies, deseeded and finely sliced
• 16 large whole raw strip, tails left on
• 1-2 lemons, to taste
• 1 good handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley roughly chopped
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 long slices of ciabatta bread toasted

Directions:

1. Into a large, hot, frying pan, put around 4 tablespoons of olive oil,  ginger, garlic, chili and shrimp. fry for about 3 minutes, then turn the heat down and squeeze in the juice of 1 lemon. Add the parsley and a a couple "glugs" of olive oil. 
2. Toss over and remove from the heat. You should have a nice juicy sauce, add lemon and salt /pepper to taste.
3. Serve shrimp and sauce over the ciabatta and have a few more slices of bread on the side to mop up the juices!

Cook: French Meat Pie

Since the last couple of posts were recipes for salads, I thought I'd post something meaty!  Both J and I enjoy meat pie,  but hadn't had it since we moved to LA.  I'm sure we could find it somewhere, but we decided to try making it ourselves. It was easy enough (weeknight dinner easy!), and very delicious.  We modified this recipe slightly by adding a few sliced jalapenos.  We served it with sauteed green beans and a side of ketchup and Worcestershire sauce.

Cook: Autumn Sausage and Butternut Squash Pizza

For those of you who know me personally, and/or follow my blog - you're probably aware of my passion for pizza making. To make it easier for those who are interested to find other pizza recipes featured on the blog - I've created a new label "Cook - Pizza".  The story behind this week's pizza recipe is that there was a pizza shop, Corner Grille, that J and I used to frequent when we lived in Worcester, MA.  They had this fabulous sausage and squash pizza that I loved, and since I haven't been able to find this combo anywhere in LA, I had to figure out how to make it myself.  It's not exactly the same as Corner Grille's, but if I can say so myself, this pizza is quite delicious!!!  

Cook: Zinfandel-Braised Beef Short Ribs with Rosemary-Parsnip Mashed Potatoes

We wanted to cook a hearty fall meal so we searched epicurious.com's recipe database and settled on this one.  For those of you who have been following this blog, we paired this main course with the radicchio fennel arugula salad, and finished it off with the caramel apple tart dessert.  J made the short ribs as I prepared the salad and the dessert. Don't be intimidated by the gourmet sound of this recipe, it was actually pretty simple. However, you do need to plan ahead because it needs to simmer for a few hours. 

Cook: A Twist on the Classic: Variations of Pepperoni Pizza

I've been posting a bunch of pizza recipes recently.  (FYI - we do cook non-pizza dinners here in the FJ household and I'll be posting some other recipes soon :)  After the last non-meat (turkey bacon per Steph's request) pizza post, I wanted to return to a classic. Pepperoni.

I'll admit. I never was much a fan of the chain restaurant style pepperoni pizza. But after mixing up some higher quality pepperoni (nothing too fancy, I just got it at Trader Joe's) with some hot pepper, pizza sauce, good cheese and fresh basil - I must say, I'm a convert. Of all the pizzas we've made so far, the Pepperoni variations are my favorite.

Cook: Fig, Turkey Bacon and Goat Cheese Pizza

Ever since I got my pizza stone, and pizza peel - I've been making pizza about once a week.  It's fun to come up with new combinations - I no longer feel the need to follow any recipes, I just think of something that inspires me and go for it!

Figs have been in season, so I've been having a lot of fun with putting them on pizza. When you add them at the end for about 1-2 minutes, they become nicely caramelized.

This week's pizza recipe was for my friend Steph. She is new to pizza making, so I asked her to bring over some toppings she'd like to see on her pizza. She doesn't eat meat, so she brought over some turkey bacon to go along with some fresh figs she had picked up that morning at the Santa Monica farmer's market. She also brought some goat cheese and arugula. 

Cook: BBQ chicken pizza

My latest food obsession has been homemade pizza (except the dough part :) The Fig Gorgonzola Proscuitto and Arugula Pizza  (pictured below and recipe here) is one of our favorites, but every time I make pizza, I like to try a new combination.

This time, I decided to give BBQ chicken at try. I searched online for some recipes, but in the end, I made up one myself. :)

Cook: Pasta with Heirloom Tomatoes and Herbed Ricotta

"This is a great pasta for a hot summer day. The heat of the steaming spaghetti is tempered by tossing it with a tomato salad. It chills just enough to keep the sweat off your brow." 

- Johanne Killeen and George Germon, from their cookbook On Top of Spaghetti

The past two days have been scorching in LA. I wanted to make something out of the ingredients I already had on hand - ricotta, heirloom tomatoes, shallots, pasta, and basil from our new basil plant. After reading the description of this pasta recipe in my cookbook from the chefs of Al Forno (my favorite restaurant in Providence, RI ), it was decided. J and I would eat this for dinner, along with a side of jalapeno pork sausage which I had picked up from Whole Foods a couple days ago. It was just as Johanne and George promised, refreshing and comforting - a perfect summer pasta dish. As an added bonus, this recipe is quick and easy to make. 

Cook: Savory Roast Chicken Quarters with Fennel, Thyme and Rosemary

Ever since we first tried roasting chicken (we followed Thomas Keller's tried and true recipe with great success), I have been a big fan of making "roast chicken dinners".  There is nothing like juicy, flavorful, tender chicken and caramelized roast vegetables.

I decided to mix things up a bit and created this recipe with some inspiration from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. Since I didn't feel like trussing a bird, I took a shortcut and bought 4 chicken leg quarters (includes thigh and drumstick) and added potatoes so we had a complete meal.  We like to bring leftovers for lunch, so this recipe serves 4. :)

Cook: Fig Proscuitto Gorgonzola and Arugula Pizza!

I have been meaning to make homemade pizza for awhile.  Inspired by photos of my friend Monica's pizza feast on facebook, I decided to give pizza making a try this past weekend.  J and I like our crust thin and crispy so I followed the recommendation of reviewers on line and rolled 1/2 a bag of premade pizza dough as thin as I could, rather than the entire ball of dough. I warmed up with a classic margherita pizza and ended up with this gourmet one inspired by a recipe I found on epicurious. This pizza is so easy to make, but sure to wow! 

Cook: Pasta with pancetta and peas

Pasta with pancetta and peas is a simple and comforting dinner recipe. I served this with butternut squash soup and roasted cauliflower.

Ingredients:

• 16 oz fettucine (I used slightly less than one box of thin spaghetti)
• 8 oz pancetta, diced (I used 2- 4oz packages of diced pancetta from Trader Joe's)
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 1 (10 oz) bag of frozen peas
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2  to one whole lemon, juiced.

Cook: Orecchiette with Spicy Sausage, Broccolini and Peppadew

As noted in my previous post, I LOVE the orecchiette at Bottega Louie. I order it every time I go there. So, this week, I decided that I would try to recreate it at home. I pieced together several different recipes that I found online and came up with this one. J said it was fantastic and delicious - as good, if not better, than the orecchiette at Bottega Louie! :)  This recipe serves 4-6

Cook: Pan Seared Scallops with Crispy Bacon, Sage, and Lentil Salad

 

It's been a while since I've posted a recipe. Here is a nice light, yet complex and sophisticated, salad by Jamie Oliver that I tested out a few weeks ago.  I used pre-cooked ready to eat lentils from Trader Joe's so that cut prep time by a lot.  I bought my scallops from local Santa monica seafood.

Cook: FJ Chicken Chorizo and Seafood Paella

This may not the most traditional or authentic paella (for one, I used a large all clad deep skillet because we do not own a paella pan; secondly most paellas are either meat or seafood but I went for a combo!), but it certainly is delicious and spectacular! All paella must have three important components: 1) the sofrito base, 2) the rice (short grain and starchy) and 3) saffron.

This recipe is a little more labor intensive then most of the recipes posted on this blog, but it is so worth it. The following recipe makes 6-8 hearty servings.

FJ Chicken Chorizo and Seafood Paella

Ingredients:

• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 red pepper sliced into strips
• 1 green pepper sliced into strips
• 3 large (4 medium) tomatoes chopped
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1/4 tsp Saffron (or a hearty pinch)*
• 2 1/2 to 3 cups of Valencia or Arborio rice
• pinch of paprika
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1-2  lemon
• 1 small bunch parsley
• 1 lb chicken breast (boneless, skinless) chopped into pieces
• 1/2 lb spicy dry chorizo, casing removed and sliced
• 12 fresh mussels, 12 fresh clams, 12 shrimp (raw with shells removed except tail)

Directions:

Start by making the sofrito: Heat a large saute pan or paella pan.  Add a generous drizzle of olive oil and add chopped garlic and onion, red and green peppers and the tomatoes. Cook for 5-10 minutes until the veggies are soft

In a separate small pan, brown the chicken in olive oil, remove from heat. Add the browned chicken and chorizo to the softened vegetable sofrito, let it bubble for 1-2 minutes.  Add the rice! Stir the rice continually in the sofrito until the pan becomes nice and dry (the rice should absorb all the liquid)

• When pan is dry, it's time to add more liquid. Add water to cover the rice plus 1/2 an inch more.  Add the saffron.
• Only stir the paella occasionally at this point to make sure the rice isn't sticking (burning) to the bottom of the pan. you don't want to overstir or the rice will start to break down and release too much starch. 
• Once the liquid is all absorbed, taste rice for doneness. Add liquid little by little (similar strategy for making risotto) until rice is done. 
• Add the seafood now as well as the edamame (or peas). Stop stirring. Turn down the heat, cover the paella pan with aluminum foil and let it gently simmer for 10-15 minutes 
• Remove foil, test for saltiness. Add salt to taste, paprika and/or cayenne pepper.  Squeeze some lemon juice and toss some chopped parsley into the mix.

Cook: Incredible Roast Chicken & Potatoes Dinner

We have been wanting to try Thomas Keller's (of the famed French Laundry) "My Favorite Simple Roast Chicken" recipe for a while. We finally made it last weekend and it was AWESOME. I'm sharing the recipe today so that maybe you can make it this weekend! It's an incredibly easy recipe so don't hesitate to try it. It would work great on a weeknight as well.  We made only very slight modifications to the original recipe shared on epicurious, here is our version.

DeliciousLA 5 lb Roast Chicken and Potatoes (makes 4 to 6 servings)

Ingredients:

• One 5 to 6 pound farm raised chicken
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• a few thyme sprigs, plus some 2 Tablespoons minced thyme
• a few rosemary sprigs

• Baby Potatoes (we used a 1.5lb bag of Dutch Yellow baby potatoes), sliced in half
• a little bit of salt 
• 3 garlic cloves sliced 
• a couple of rosemary sprigs
• Drizzle of Olive oil

* You will also need some kitchen twine
* Dijon mustard to serve

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 F
2. Rinse the chicken, then dry it very well with paper towels, inside and out. (The less it steams, the drier the heat, the better)
3. Salt and pepper the cavity, stuff a few sprigs of thyme and rosemary in the center
4. Truss the bird. See this video to learn how. 
5. Salt the chicken, TK recommends "raining the salt over the bird so that it has a nice uniform coating that will result in a crisp salty flavorful skin (about 1 tablespoon).   Season with pepper
6. Place the chicken in a roasting pan (we didn't use the rack).
7. Prepare the potatoes (halved) by tossing with a drizzle of olive oil (it doesn't need much as later it will cook in chicken fat) with sliced garlic, rosemary springs, and a little bit of salt.
8. Add potatoes to pan surrounding the chicken. Place pan in the oven. 
9. Roast until the chicken is done (the potatoes take the same time) - our chicken took about 60 minutes but cooking times may vary based on your oven. The best way to test doneness is with a meat thermometer. The thighs should be 185F, and the breast should be 165F
10. Remove from oven, and add the minced thyme to the pan. 
11. Baste the chicken with the juices and thyme and let rest for 15 minutes on the cutting board.
12. Remove twine.  Removed legs and thighs and then keep on eating!!!

TK recommends serving with mustard on the side, and slathering the meat with butter. We didn't do the butter part as the chicken was plenty juicy and rich already. This recipe really was worth all the hype. It was the best homemade roast chicken either of us had ever eaten. We served it with delicious beet, gorgonzola and spiced pecan salad and a buttermilk biscuit. Yum!

Cook: Baked Cod with mozzarella and tomato by Jamie Oliver

The way to a wo(man)'s heart is through her stomach. This is one of my favorite dinner dishes by J.  He is a truly fantastic cook and I am so lucky. :) The great thing about is dish is its simplicity. Believe it or not, but we make this on weeknights! It takes less than an hour to prepare and is so satisfying! We usually serve it with chard or a side salad. 

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time : 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes!

Ingredients:

• 2 8oz cod fillets (skinned)
• olive oil
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 handfuls red and yellow cherry tomatoes, halved 
• 1 handful of fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces
• 1 ball buffalo mozzarella, finely sliced (we use a little more! :)
• 1 handful of grated Parmesan cheese

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 425 F
2. Place cod fillets in an oiled roasting pan or earthenware dish. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
3. Place the tomatoes, basil and mozzarella slices to cover the top of the fillets. 
4. Sprinkle parmesan over the top
5. drizzle with some more olive oil
6. Bake at top of preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted and golden. 

Yield 2 servings (can be doubled, and we usually do because it is soooo delicious!) 

Recipe source: Happy Days with the Naked Chef by Jamie Oliver.