Sweet Potato Ravioli

Want to seem like a culinary genius but stay true to your lazy, short-cutting self? Then try this great cheater ravioli made with wonton wrappers! Actually, it's still pretty time consuming- took me an hour to assemble- but seems much less daunting than home-made pasta. I've made peirogi before but never its classy Italian cousin, ravioli. But I had leftover sweet potato puree so I thought I'd give it a shot. It actually doesn't take much filling, so if you even have a couple of cups left you'll have plenty.

Using store bought wontons, I laid each one out and filled it with a heaping teaspoon of the puree mixed with toasted walnuts for a little extra body.  For a fancy-smancy touch, I pressed a small basil leaf into the bottom layer of each wonton before filling. Then I dipped my finger in a little bowl of water and ran it around the edges of the wrapper, and layered another wrapper on top, pressing the edges to seal. I tried using an antique star-shaped cookie cutter on the first few, which turned out super-cute, but the pressure required to cut through the wontons caused the copper finish to come off on the ravioli, and i decided poisoning was NOT super-cute.  For the rest I opted to give the ravioli a trim with a knife, just lopping off the extra dough in a basic diamond pattern. The trimmed pieces turned out to be pretty substantial triangles of wontons, so instead of throwing them out I threw them on a baking sheet under the broiler and tossed them with a little salt for a quick wonton chip snack.

I dropped ravioli three at a time into a gentle rolling boil so as not to rupture the delicate parcels. After a few minutes they bobbed to the top and turned translucent, letting me know they were ready.  Most sweet potato ravioli recipes call for a brown butter sauce, but I found the filling to be so rich already that I decided on a very clean and light herb broth reduction to ladle over the finished ravioli. I simmered vegetable broth with fresh bay leaf, rosemary and thyme for 20 minutes or so. I then removed the herbs before reducing so the broth wouldn't get bitter.

It turned out to be a perfect herby counterpoint to the luscious creaminess of the sweet potato.  I'm very satisfied with my first foray into ravioli and can't wait to experiment with more wonton concoctions.

Super Food

I love the idea of super foods- you know, the ones with all the beta-keratine and omega 3s and anti-oxidants. It makes me feel like Pop-eye eatin' a can o' spinach and then going all bad-ass.  Here is a great Super Meal that is so easy and quick and delicious- spicy mustard greens in a balsamic glaze, tangy sweet potato puree, and panko-crusted herbed tilapia- all chock full o' super vitamins and minerals.

The greens are very easy. I know a lot of people are scared of greens and don't know how to cook them and think they have to be cooked to death to be edible,  but I find them to be the easiest side dish ever. To get started with mustard greens or any thing with a thick stem, just fold each leaf over and make one quick slice to remove the stem. With spinach or swiss chard, just rough chop it and its good to go. Sautee green garlic, red pepper flakes and sea salt in a little olive oil. De-glaze the pan with balsamic vinegar then throw the greens in. After a few minutes give them a stir as they cook down and then pop on the lid, turn down the heat and let them simmer.

My favorite sweet potato puree is simply baked sweet potatoes whipped with low-fat sour cream and some garlic powder and salt. The sour cream turns the sweetness into a lovely tanginess.  Check out my post on Sweet Potato Ravioli for a great way to use the leftovers.

As for the tilapia, I patted the filets dry, sprayed them with cooking spray, and then plonked them down into a plate of panko crumbs flavored with chopped sorrel and salt and pepper. Sorrel has a really nice lemony flavor and complements fish perfectly. I baked the tilapia at 450 for 10 minutes and then switched the broiler on at the last moment to get them a little golden brown and crispy.

All in all, a super fast Super Meal that is as colorful as it is yummy.

Grilled Veggie Plate

Grilled Veggie Plate with Lentil Salad at North by Northwest, a great brewery slash restaurant in Austin. It can feel a little corporate, what with the extra-large Industrial-chic dining room and all the yuppies, and I was actually surprised to find it is not a chain when i scoped out their website. But, they have good food and great micro-brews, so who cares? The veggie plate has a really scrumptious grill flavor to it with what I believe to be a cilantro and mint pesto slathered all over it, and its layered on top of a yummy lentil salad. Both times I've ordered it there has been a little bit of an issue with all the veggies being done to the same amount- the thicker slices of carrots and onions were inconsistently cooked. But I still ate them, and over all I will go back and get it again, as well as the twice-fabulous Blue Cheese Scalloped Potatoes. I should really branch out and try some new things- they have a Cornbread with mushroom sauce or some such that sounds awesome. Next time.

Green Pizza

I'm really interested in eating local and organic, but it can be pretty pricey and I don't usually have the green to be green, if you know what I'm saying. But through the magic of Groupon, I recently had the chance to try out a local sustainable food delivery service for half price, and oh boy is it fun to go on Greenling.com and start popping local fresh produce into your virtual basket- I spent my $50 groupon in no time. After seeing all the amazing greens they had to offer a plan started to formulate-I decided to make the best salad ever and a green pizza to go with it. It must have been fate, because Greenling also had fresh mozzarella from a local farm on special.

I toyed briefly with the idea of incorporating some greens into the crust, but ultimately went with a traditional hand made crust (with some little tweaks- I added a 1/4 cup of white wine and a tablespoon of honey for added flavor) and opted instead for an arugula pesto topped with fresh sliced tomatoes and the creamy farm-fresh mozzarella.

To make the pesto I blended about a handful of fresh basil, a few handfuls of arugula, a half cup of toasted walnuts, one diced stalk of green garlic (like green onions, but garlicky! Another awesome find on Greenling,) a couple pinches of sea salt and then streamed in some olive oil until I got the perfect pesto consistency: thick and creamy but spreadable.

I'm usually more of a thin-crust kind of girl, but after a few tosses- yes, I spun the pizza pie up in the air like a real Luigi- I realized I had more dough than I had room for in my pan. So I simply rolled up the edges and made a really thick rim. The deep-dishness turned out to work perfectly with the pesto and fresh tomato topping- there was so much going on I think the pizza really needed a substantial base to hold it all up. The crust was really like a loaf of light fluffy bread, since I used bread flour instead of regular, and the pesto soaked into the top half inch of crust for a melt-in-your-mouth-feel.

The salad was made up of entirely local greens- a pretty head of boston bibb lettuce, savory broccoli micro-greens, which are kind of like leafy sprouts that grow from broccoli seeds, and tender pea shoots. I also threw in the rest of the Greenling tomatoes leftover from the pizza, and dressed the whole shebang with a vinaigrette that I mixed right in the mini food-processor I had made the pesto in so none of the herby deliciousness went to waste. A couple teaspoons of smoky mustard, a couple tablespoons of garlic vinegar, and a wee bit of olive oil gave my greens a light, silky coating.

And while the salad was amazing- all the leaves tasted so tender and mild- the pizza was what turned out to be one of the best things I've ever eaten.


Seriously. So Good.

Impromptu Mexican Brunch

I found myself on a Sunday morning, hungry and lonely, and thought, hey, what better remedy than a delicious spontaneous brunch? Invite a few friends over and raid the fridge! I pretty much always have the basics used in this brunch- eggs, bell peppers, onions, garlic, and canned tomatoes and beans. I had avocado, green onions and cilantro left over from fish tacos the night before, so I skewed it tex-mex. Frittatas are the best way to make use of last nights veggies- just saute them up with olive oil and garlic. Beat the eggs a little first to get the yellows and whites incorporated and make sure to add plenty of salt and pepper, because you can't season the frittata after it's done! Pour the eggs right into the skillet over the veggies after they are mostly cooked. Don't stir! After a minute you can tell the eggs on the bottom are getting done because they start to pull away from the edges of the pan. Sprinkle liberally with cheese- I used a blend of shredded cheddar and jack that's always in my fridge. Then simply wrap the handle of your skillet in foil, and pop it in the oven on broil for a moment- it won't take long to finish cooking the top of the frittata. When it's done, you can place a serving platter or large plate over the top of the skillet and then flip the frittata onto it.

For a hearty side dish, I drained and rinsed a couple of cans of beans. I used one can of Goya 'Pink Beans' and one of black beans. I sauteed a whole white onion with garlic and red pepper flakes. When the onion is translucent, stir in a can of diced tomatoes, then add the beans and spice it up with coriander and cumin. For an extra kick I added a heaping tablespoon of Coriander Chutney I got at an Indian grocery store- I find it gives a perfect spicy cilantro flavor to lots of my mexican dishes.

Top it all off with a guacamole of avocados mashed with green onions and tomatoes and a little garlic red wine vinegar and lime juice. I served the meal up with tortilla chips, salsa, sour cream and extra chopped cilantro for those who love it. What a feast! My favorite kind of brunch, just made from whatever you have on hand and shared with whoever can make it on a moment's notice.

Current Obsession: Broccoli

Is eating too much broccoli bad for you? Or is it oh so good. My new favorite snack that I've been devouring almost daily is Roasted Broccoli. I know, even broccoli lovers will think it can't be that good, but I swear it is. You just have to try it this way.

Simply slice the tops off the broccoli stalks and give a quick chop to any extra-large florets, toss it on a cookie sheet and give it a spritz of cooking spray. Now salt it up! I like these really really salty, like movie popcorn, and sometimes I add a pre-made grill seasoning to it, like roasted garlic and herb, whatever you have on hand. Now pop it in the oven, set the temp to 500, and check back in 20 minutes or so to give it a stir. I know its ready when the tops have gotten all brown and crunchy and the florets have shrunk up considerably.


Mmmm salty toasty goodness!! I've been eating this as an afternoon or evening snack- when the chips beckon, reach for the green.

Fondue Party

Fondue Party

What better way to kick things off than with a Fondue Party? My friend Bryan and I are trying to start a kind of gourmet club, and our first foray was a delicious homage to gourmets past with a fondue party straight out of the seventies, vintage fondue-pots and all. My parents had a long history of Gourmet, with a capital G. Back in the day, they got together with their fellow newly-well-to-do middle class friends and had swinging (not that way) dinner parties with silly themes. One of my first memories is being given the honor of opening the front door to guests and greeting them in my tiny liederhosen for a German food party way back in what must have been 1983 or so.

I've always loved anything themed, and, of course, food, so this Gourmet club has always been something I admired about my parents, and I love the idea of resurrecting it. I feel like every dinner or cocktail party I've ever had has been imagined in the shadow of these early memories of themed food and fellowship. I've had movie themed cocktail parties, and cuisine themed, and season themed, whatever I can find to theme it up, really, and a Fondue Party is just such a classic. I borrowed my parents' supercute mushroom-emblemed and brightly-hued fondue pots and forks and we had a cheese-filled night to remember.

Fondue night is definitely not for the lactose-intolerant. Bryan made some delicious canapés- bruschetta with tender heirloom tomatoes and mushroom quiches, and Monica rounded out the evening with her amazing chocolate fountain accompanied by marshmallows, green apple slices and strawberries. If you haven't expienced the chocolate fountain, you haven't lived. The satiny sheen of creamy chocolate cascading in an endless bounty of indulgence is simply mesmerizing, even to someone who is not a total chocoholic.

But I have to admit, even as I was entranced by the zen of the chocolate fountain, my heart truly lies in a rich bubbly cauldren of cheese. I have tunnel vision where cheese is involved, and it is all I care about. I live in Texas, and even though queso is de rigeur for most occasions, I think of fondue as something different, something special. My family actually has gotten into the habit of having fondue at Christmas, it is our go-to special meal. When I lived in France, I actually only had fondue a couple of times, most memorably on my 21st birthday. My roommate Sarah and I indulged in something entirely different to my American tastebuds- Raclette. They brought out a glistening hunk of it to our table where it was slowly melted by a sort of hot plate, and we sliced off melty slabs of it and layed it on small plates of fingerling potatoes and vegetables.

For the party, I wanted to create the traditional fondue experience and then something a little different, so I made two different pots of goodness- one was sort of Breton inspired, with gruyere melted in cider and a little apple cider vinegar, and the other was pure decadence, but so simple to make.

I bought a generous wedge of a double creme mild brie and two smaller wedges of danish blue that I could tell were very soft and smushy at room temperature, to match the consistency of the brie. I waited until after the first fondue was mostly consumed at the party to make the second, because I knew it would take only moments to melt the second one, and I like bringing out a kind of surprise second course at a cocktail party after everyone has arrived and taken the edge off with a few munchies and drinks. Just heat up some white wine in a deep sauce pan, and stir in hunks of your creamy cheeses while they slowly melt up, and voila, a rich velvety fondue is born. This one goes extremely well with the green apples, since it is so rich it is nice to cut it with the crisp tartness of the fruit. Both fondues are well served with chunks of baguette, steamed asparagus and broccoli, fingerling potatoes, and especially with this amazing dense moist multi-grain bread found at Whole Foods called Seduction Bread. It is full of millet and sunflower and other wonderful seeds and really lives up to its name. It was an all-around favorite at the party.

The night eventually devolved into a compulsion to dip everything in the table in cheese- strawberries, whole bruschetta, marshmallows- but this kind of debauchery is only to be expected. People love cheese.