Shrimp and Vegetable Stir Fry with Kale Fried Rice

There are two types of people in the world. Those who hate Gwyneth Paltrow, and those who love her. I happen to fall into the latter category. I 'm a subscriber to her GOOP site, make sure I catch any movie or TV show she's appearing in, and even think she's a pretty good singer. Since I keep up on all things GP, I also know that she is a big foodie and loves to cook. As I've told my husband a time or two, I just know that if GP and I were to meet, we would be instant friends.

So knowing that Gwyneth loves to eat and cook, I was excited to get my hands on her first cookbook when it came out in late 2010. Since then I have cooked my way though most of "My Father's Daughter" and have not been disappointed. Just about everything I have cooked has been delicious. The food is the kind of food I love to cook and eat too; simple, easy food with fresh ingredients.

Two of my favorite recipes in the book are the stir-fry and fried rice. Both are great ways to pack lots of veggies into your dinner. Actually, GP's recipe for this stir-fry doesn't include any vegetables, but I've decided to go ahead and load this up with all my stir-fry favorites. Her recipe is also for a chicken stir-fry, and I've substituted shrimp. Too much chicken eating going on around here. We needed to change things up a bit.

Another nice thing about these recipes is that they cook very quickly. The only time consumming part is the chopping. If you are in a pinch you can pick things that are either prepped for you (sliced mushrooms, bean sprouts, shredded carrots, snap peas) or really easy to slice up (peppers, zucchini, broccoli florets). If you get those taken care of, the hardest part of this dish is the peeling and chopping of the ginger. I've come to find that if you keep ginger, wrapped in paper towels and bagged, in the freezer, it makes much easier work of the peeling. A trick I was taught is to use a spoon to peel the ginger. Just scrape the spoon over the ginger and the peel comes right off, and you don't trash half the ginger like when you cut it off. With those things taken care of, the rice takes about 15 total minutes and the stir-fry, about the same. A healthy, delicious dinner ready in less time than take out!


Shrimp Stir-Fry
adapted from "My Father's Daughter" by Gwyneth Paltrow

serves 4

3/4 lb. shrimp - peeled and deveined
2 tbsp cornstarch
kosher salt and fresh pepper
2 tbsp canola oil
1/4 cup garlic- peeled and minced
1/4 cup ginger-peeled and minced
1/2 cup scallions- white and green parts, minced
pinch red pepper flakes-optional
8 ounces mixed mushrooms- sliced
large handful snap peas
1 small zucchini- thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper- sliced into strips
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar (light or dark, whatever you have on hand)
2 tbsp soy sauce (I like to use reduced sodium)
2 tbsp cilantro- chopped





Toss the shrimp with the cornstarch, a pinch of salt and some fresh pepper.

Heat the oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, ginger, scallions and pepper flakes and cook, stiring, for 1 minute. Add the vegetables and cook for another minute. Add the shrimp and continue to cook for 5 more minutes.


Add the vinegar and sugar and a bit more black pepper. Cook for 3 minutes at a boil so that the sugar can caramelize.



Add the soy sauce, cook 30 seconds longer and the serve, sprinkled with the cilantro, along side....


Kale Fried Rice
pretty much how it is published in "My Father's Daughter" by Gwyneth Paltrow

serves 4

1/4 lb. kale - stems removed
1 1/2 tbsp canola oil
2 cloves garlic- peeled and minced
3 scallions-thinly sliced
2 1/2 cups cooked brown rice (my secret here is to buy the already cooked and frozen brown rice from Whole Foods. All I need to do it throw it in the microwave for 3 minutes and it's ready to get thrown in the pan. Of course any cooked rice, brown or white, will do.)
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp soy sauce

Cut the kale in half, then crosswise into strips. Or if you are like me, just coarsely chop the leaves into small, uneven, pieces. Steam kale for 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes, making sure not to brown it. Raise heat to medium and add the kale and scallions. Cook 2 more minutes and the add the rice and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring. Add the soy sauce, cook for 30 more seconds and serve along with the stir-fry.

Lentil Soup (with or without Sausage)

Soup goes hand in hand with cold weather. Usually by January in Connecticut we are dealing with snowfall, cold and the need for a warm meal to heat us up. Fortunately we have had warmer than usual temperatures around here so soup hasn't really been on my mind. So why did I make lentil soup? Because lentil soup is made with staples I have around the house and I didn't have the energy to go to the grocery store. Truth. I also had a half eaten package of chorizo in the refrigerator and for some reason when I saw that package I thought "lentil soup."

Ina Garten, aka The Barefoot Contessa, is making a comeback on Artisanal Food. She disappeared for 2011 and I've been hesitant to bring her back into my life after the amount of butter I was plowing through during my "Ina" phase. We've been on a dairy free kick around here since our daughter was born 9 months ago, so naturally Ina's style of cooking had been banned from my kitchen. When I think "Barefoot Contessa" I immediately think "butter and cream" so I hadn't been reaching for her cookbooks. Well, Ina has the best lentil soup recipe I've ever had and that chorizo reminded me of that. And, naturally, there is no butter or cream in lentil soup!

Another great thing about this recipe is that is makes A LOT! There is a little bit of work that goes into chopping all the veggies for this dish, but you'll get at least two dinners out of it. Add a salad, and maybe three dinners. I'm good until at least Tuesday. Also on the upside for us busy people, this can be made earlier in the day (or even the night before) and reheated for dinner. I made mine during nap and put it back on to a simmer 15 minutes before we sat down.


Lentil Soup (with or without sausage)
Adapted from "Barefoot In Paris" by Ina Garten

Serves 8-10 (can easily be halved if you don't want all the leftovers)


1 lb lentils ( the original recipe calls for French du Puy lentils, which are tiny green lentils, but I usually use regular green lentils if I can't find the French variety)
1/4 cup olive oil
3 large yellow onions- diced
2 leeks- chopped, white and light green parts only (make sure that you wash these well. They hold a lot of dirt in their layers)
2 large cloves of garlic -chopped
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp fresh thyme- chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
8 stalks celery- chopped
6 carrots- peeled and chopped
3 quarts chicken stock (or veggie stock if you want to make this vegetarian)
1/4 cup tomato paste (I found a brand that sells tomato paste in a jar.. Bionatura. I use to always waste half cans of tomato paste..genius!!)
2 links chorizo (the original recipe calls for 1 lb of kilbasa, but I found that amount to be too much. You can adjust to your preference, use whatever type of precooked sausage you like, or omit it all together.)
2 tbsp red wine or red wine vinegar (I used Chianti that has been sitting around, uncorked, since Christmas. Pretty much just like vinegar.)


Put lentils in a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Let sit for 15 minutes, then drain and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a very large (I use a 9.5 quart dutch oven) pot.

Add onion, leeks, garlic, thyme, salt, pepper and cumin. Cook over medium heat for 20 minutes,stirring occasionally until vegetables are softened.

My sous-chef doing prep work for me

Add the celery and carrots and cook for another 10 minutes.

Add stock, tomato paste and drained lentils.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook, uncovered, for an hour (or longer if needed ). You want to make sure the lentils are cooked well. Add in the sausage, if using, and the red wine or vinegar. Cook for another 5 minutes. Serve with crusty bread!

Looks good right?? Not that I'm bragging or anything,

but you see that bread and butter in the photo? We made

those too. Yup. Really easy. My four year old made

the butter. It was amazing. Recipes for another post!

Fusilli Alla Crazy Bastard

I can't say that this recipe originally caught my eye for any other reason besides the name. I was flipping thought the January 2009 issue of Food & Wine magazine when I came across this Mario Batali creation. The ingredients were interesting, but I wasn't sure that it would be a keeper for my book. Walnuts and beet greens in pasta?? I was intrigued and decided to give it a shot. That was two years ago and this meal has been in rotation in my house since then. It actually even has its own page in my heirloom recipe book. Yes, the ingredients sound like an odd pairing, but it all works.

Just like most recipes, this lends itself well to certain substitutions. Don't have access to beet greens? Use Swiss chard, kale or collards. If you don't have fresh tomatoes, you could probably use canned, though I've never tried it and the roasted grape tomatoes are really good. What I wouldn't substitute are the goat cheese and walnuts. The creaminess and tanginess of the goat cheese makes a fabulously silky sauce and the walnuts just tie everything together and add a nice crunch. If you choose to substitute the type of pasta, you'll have to rename the dish.;)

This is a pretty simple recipe. There are not a lot of ingredients, 7 to be exact. The process is easy and the results are great. What are you waiting for?!



Fusilli Alla Crazy Bastard
adapted from Food & Wine Jan '09 recipe by Mario Batali

serves 4-5


Ingredients

1/2 cup walnuts
1 pint grape tomatoes
2 Tbs + 1 tsp olive oil
1 pound fusilli (whole wheat is a great option here)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 lb beet greens, chopped (I've used Swiss chard and collards)
pinch red pepper flakes ( or to taste)
1/2 lb goat cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

Toast walnuts on a baking sheet for 7 minutes or until fragrant and golden. You'll start to smell them when they are ready. Remove, cool and coarsely chop.

Raise oven temp to 450. Toss the tomatoes with 1 tsp oil and 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper on a baking sheet (use the same one you cooked the walnuts on). Roast for 10 minutes or until tomatoes have burst.

Cook pasta in well salted boiling water. I've been told that pasta cooking water should taste like the sea so I add quite a bit of salt to my pot. The type of fusilli that I use says 8-10 minutes, and I cook it for 7. You are going to be adding the pasta to the sauce so it will continue to cook and you don't want it to get mushy. When pasta is done, reserve 1 cup of the cooking water before draining. Don't forget!!

While the pasta cooks, heat 2 Tbs olive oil in a large saute pan. Add garlic and cook over medium heat. Keep an eye on it as you don't want to burn it. Once the garlic starts to get fragrant, add in the roasted tomatoes, greens and red pepper flakes. Cook until greens are wilted, about 3 minutes, depending on the type you are using.

DON'T FORGET TO RESERVE THE PASTA WATER!!!!

Add the pasta and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water, into the sauce. Crumble in the goat cheese and stir to melt and combine everything together. Add additional water to loosen up the sauce if you need it.

At this point you can choose to season with additional salt and pepper, though I find if you season the water well you shouldn't need any additional salt. Make sure you taste before adding more seasoning.

Transfer the pasta to individual bowls and sprinkle with the toasted walnuts.

Israeli Couscous with Cranberries and Pecans

So I'm having a Whole Foods moment. Well, what I mean by that is that I've been inspired by my favorite store more than once in the last few weeks. I love tuna, but I also love this couscous. If I can make it myself, why buy it! (I know not everyone shares this sentiment...but just think of all the money you'll save!)

Let me throw a little food knowledge at you first. There are two types of couscous. Moroccan couscous is a tiny rolled pasta, usually made from semolina, that is mostly sold pre-steamed. This type of couscous is cooked by adding it to boiling water, removing from the heat and resting for 5 minutes, then simply fluffing with a fork. Super easy and fast. Israeli couscous, the type that is used in this recipe, looks like little pasta balls. It is cooked like pasta too. Add it to boiling water and cook for 8-10 minutes, then drain. Got it? Now you have a great holiday party conversation starter, and possibly a dish to bring!

This recipe makes a lot. Which is a good thing. The sweet/salty flavor of the cranberries and salted pasta can be blamed for the inability to remove your spoon from the bowl while standing in front of the refrigerator. At least that is what people have told me.... Besides eating it for breakfast and lunch, this would also be great as a side next to poultry or pork. Throw some sautéed greens on the plate and dinner is done!

Israeli Couscous with Cranberries and Pecans

Serves 8-10 as a side, 4-5 as a lunch

12 oz Israeli couscous (about 2 cups)
1 1/4 c. dried cranberries
1 1/4 c. chopped, toasted pecans
4 scallions, white and light green parts finely chopped

Dressing

3 TBS neutral oil (canola, vegetable or grapeseed)
1 1/2 TBS Champagne vinegar (you could probably substitute white wine if you don't have champagne)
zest from 1 orange
juice from 1/2 orange
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
salt and pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add couscous and cook for about 8 minutes. Drain and put into a large bowl.

The best way to toast pecans is to do them on the stove top in a fry pan. I find that if you bake them in the oven, you are most likely going to forget about them until you smell them burning. I heat my dry pan on medium heat for a few minutes, then add the nuts. Give them a shake every 30-60 seconds. Once they give off their lovely nutty smell, they are usually done. Add these to the bowl with the couscous, along with the cranberries and scallions.


In a medium bowl combine all the dressing ingredients. (Make sure that you zest the orange before you juice it. A juiced piece of citrus is really hard to zest. I've done that more than once!) Pour dressing over the salad and fold to combine.

Don't eat it yet. As hard as it is to hold back digging in at this point, it is worth the wait to let the dish cool and the flavors come together. Tasting the dish now doesn't taste anything like it will in a few hours once it is cold. The easiest way to avoid the temptation is to make this right before bed. If waiting all night doesn't work for you, give it at least 2 hours. The leftovers on day two are even better!

Best Ever Tuna Salad

Ok, so I know that 8 months is way too long to not post a new recipe, BUT I had a baby. Doesn't that allow for some laziness in certain areas of my life? It doesn't mean that I haven't thought about writing. It doesn't mean that I haven't prepared meals with the idea of photographing and sharing. My follow through has been what's lacking.

What inspired me to finally dust off my keypad was a little Thanksgiving celebration at my son's preschool. I made this tuna salad and it was a hit. For something seemingly so simple, I received more complements and requests for my recipe than any other I've ever made. One of the best compliments was from my friend Martha, who told me that her husband was not a fan of tuna salad until he ate this dish. After having about 8 people ask me for the recipe I felt obligated to write, making it easy for me to share with the masses!

I really can't take all the credit for this recipe. I was inspired by one of my favorite cold bar offerings at Whole Foods, the Fuji Apple Tuna Salad. My son eats it by the pint, and it started to get kinda pricey to keep him fed. Lucky for me, Whole Foods discloses all their ingredients in each of their prepared food items so my job was to simply get the proportions correct. Every time I make it I tweak it slightly. This is the best ratio I have come up with to date! Enjoy!


Best Ever Tuna Salad

Serves 3 hungry adults - can easily be doubled or halved

2 cans solid or chunk light tuna, drained (depending on preference)- you can buy them without salt but I go for the salted version. Have tried with both and definitely tastes better if there is salt added to the tuna- I haven't gotten the recipe perfected with adding my own salt.
3/4 small apple, small dice
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1-2 TBS fresh lemon juice (I just cut a quarter of the lemon from the end and that seems to be perfect)
1 TBS chopped fresh dill
1/2 cup mayo (I use spectrum canola mayo but Hellman's is good too)

In a large bowl, flake the tuna with a fork.

In a smaller bowl, toss the apple, cranberries, lemon juice and dill

Add apple mixture to the tuna and stir to combine. Fold in mayonnaise and serve!
I like mine on a bed of greens or open face on a good piece of bakery bread. The day I made it for my son's school I put it on Whole Food's multi grain boule.

This is great the day that you make it, but even better the next!

Rigatoni with Eggplant and Pine Nut Crunch

So, I've been slacking in the food blogging department recently. I've had other things on my mind... most importantly getting ready to give birth to my second child! Instead of obsessing about what to make for dinner, I have been focusing my creative side on decorating and cleaning, readying my house for a new person's arrival. Obviously food has to figure into this somewhere in my house and I have been trying to plan ahead and freeze some meals for post-delivery chaos. When my son was born, almost four years ago, I had every intention of filling my freezer with easily reheatable meals. That never happened. I wanted to make sure this time I actually had a few things tucked away, so take out wouldn't be our only option.

In order to make sure this happens, I have been making one dinner per week that makes enough for at least two meals, eating one and freezing the other. So far only two things have made it into the freezer, but in my opinion that is better than zero. One of the meals is chicken pot pie, filling frozen in containers and the pastry topping frozen in plastic baggies. All I'll need to do is defrost and assemble. The other dish is this baked pasta that I found in the March 2011 issue of Bon Appetit. We had it for dinner last week and it is really tasty. It is a little labor intensive, so it's nice that it makes enough for at least two meals. You could always double it and pack more of it away if you wanted.


Rigatoni with Eggplant and Pine Nut Crunch
Adapted from Bon Appetit March 2011

1 1/2 - 1 3/4 pounds of eggplant cut into 1/2 inch cubes (I used about four Italian eggplants
2 medium yellow bell peppers cut into 1/2 squares
1 pint grape tomatoes, cut in half lenghtwise
5 cloves of garlic, divided
1/3 cup olive oil
2 cups firmly packed fresh basil leaves
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 28 oz can whole tomatoes (San Marzanos make all the difference!)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 pound rigatoni
1 pound mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes


Preheat oven to 425

On a large baking sheet toss eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, 3 cloves of minced garlic, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast until tender, stirring often, 35-45 minutes.

Meanwhile combine 2/3 cup basil, 1/2 cup Parmesan, pine nuts and 1 clove of garlic in a mini food processor. Blend until crumbly. Season with salt.

Blend tomatoes with their juice, cream, 1 1/3 cups basil and 1 clove of garlic in food processor or blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook pasta in salted boiling water until just tender and firm to bite. Drain and return to pot. Add vegetables, sauce and 1/2 cup Parmesan. Transfer half to baking dish ( or all if you plan on making all at once) and half to a freezer and oven safe container (I filled a 7 cup Pyrex). Sprinkle both portions evenly with the pine nut topping and mozzarella.

If you are baking, add to preheated (425) oven and cook through, about 25-35 minutes or until bubbly and browned on top.

If freezing, seal well and tuck away for a lazy night. I am not sure if I will be defrosting this before heating or just putting the frozen meal directly into a preheating oven and cooking until heated through. Either way, I'll be happy that I planned ahead!

"Unboring" Salmon Casserole

This post goes out to my dear friend Renee. I will forever think of her as the source for this following recipe. She will tell you differently. Not sure why I am convinced that this was her recipe, but to this day, 12 years after first having made this, I still think of it as hers. She will tell you that she has never made tuna casserole. We'll agree to disagree, but I think you will have to agree that this is a pretty darn good casserole. My husband and son get pretty excited when it's on the weekly menu.

I call this a "pantry" recipe. All the ingredients required for the basic recipe are kitchen staples. Over the years I have fancied up this basic budget meal. Firstly, I make it with canned salmon instead of tuna. You get a good dose of omega-3 and I prefer the taste of the salmon over the tuna. Feel free to use tuna if you would rather. The second major change was adding tarragon. Tarragon has a licorice flavor that I think goes really well in this dish and elevates it to a respectable meal. So don't brush off this recipe. Try it at least one. I bet it will start making a regular appearance on your weekly menu!


Salmon Casserole

Serves 3-4

1 cup elbow macaroni
1/4 cup italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 Tbs unsalted butter- melted
1 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped shallots or onion (whatever you have on hand)
3 Tbs unsalted butter
1/4 cup flour
1 cup milk
1 cup chicken stock
1 Tbs chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbs chopped fresh parsley
6-9 ounces canned salmon, drained and flaked

Preheat oven to 375

Combine bread crumbs and 1 Tbs melted butter- set aside

Cook noodles according to package al dente (6-7 minutes)- drain and set aside

Meanwhile, melt 3 Tbs butter over medium heat in a large saute pan. Add celery and shallot and cook until tender. Add in flour, cook for about 1 minute then add milk and stock, herbs and salt. Cook, stirring, until thick.

Add noodles and salmon to the pan and stir to combine.

Transfer to a baking dish, sprinkle with bread crumb/butter mixture and bake for 20 minutes.