Creamy Goat Cheese Polenta

I always love polenta, but this is so delicious to serve with the short ribs. Another future recipe will suggest making a ragu/bolognese sauce and serving it over the polenta.

Because this polenta takes so little time, you can prepare it right before you are ready to serve your meal. With the short ribs, I prepared this while the ribs were sitting out of the oven for 20 minutes.

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Ingredients:
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tsp salt
2 tbs butter
4 oz goat cheese

1. Bring 4 1/2 c of water to a boil. Add cornmeal to the water in a thin stream, whisking constantly to avoid lumps.

2. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, adding salt and any extra tbs of water as needed.



3. When polenta is done, stir in goat cheese and butter. Add salt to taste. Serve immediately!

Risotto!

Although I feel like I've been doing nothing with my life besides studying for the past month and a half, I have taken some time to cook so that I don't completely lose my mind. The bar is less than a week away, and hopefully by the end of it I will be a licensed attorney. In the meantime, I've managed to a) accumulate blisters all over my hands, b) fail to answer my phone/call people back in weeks, c) cry more times in the past month than in years, and d) accumulate a pretty impressive amount of notecards (see Exhibit A for evidence).


While that isn't fun, what is fun is food. In my mouth. And my stomach. And all over my face.

Dried-Porcini-Mushroom Risotto with Goat Cheese
Adapted from Quick from Scratch Italian Cookbook

Ingredients:
1 c dried porcini mushrooms (approx. 1 oz) (or others if you prefer other flavors)
3 c hot water, more if needed
3 1/2 c canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock, more if needed
3 tbs olive oil
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups arborio rice
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 tbs butter
1/4 tsp fresh-ground black pepper
2 oz mild goat cheese, crumbled
Grated Parmesan for serving

1. Put the dried mushrooms in a medium bowl and pour the hot water over them. Soak until softened, about 20 minutes.


2. Pour the mushrooms/liquid through a strainer into a saucepan. Add the broth to the mushroom liquid in the saucepan and bring to a simmer. Chop the reserved mushrooms.




2. In a medium pan, heat oil over moderately low heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped mushrooms, the rice, and the salt and stir until the rice begins to turn opaque.


Note: the recipe claims that it only takes about 2 minutes for the rice to turn opaque. I say- LIARS. It takes me about 20 minutes, which could be due to poor quality pan or something, but you really want to make sure you cook it long enough that you see a change in color. Otherwise it takes forevvvver for the rice to soak up the liquid enough to soften. You can't really overcook the rice, so if in doubt, leave it on the heat.


3. This is important- add about 1/2 cup of the simmering broth and cook, stirring frequently, until the broth has been completely absorbed. DO NOT just keep pouring broth in there- it won't absorb properly, and your rice will have a nice crunchy texture. Keep adding about 1/2 cup at a time, until it is all absorbed.


4. This should take about 25-30 minutes, perhaps longer depending on your heat. If the simmering liquid isn't enough, bring some more broth and/or hot water to a simmer and keep adding it. By the end, the broth that hasn't been absorbed should be thickened by the starch from the rice.


5. Stir in the butter, the pepper, and the goat cheese. Serve with grated parmesan.

Bruschetta

This isn't so much Mom's bruschetta (which always makes people spill the food all over themselves in a rush to get it into their mouths), but something using some stuff left over in my fridge. I have to double check, but I think the main difference is just the cheese. Anyway, I think this is pretty good for you, and it's really easy and tasty (and if you eat enough, it transforms from an appetizer into an entree). And I may or may not have spilled some on myself in my rush to get it to my mouth...

Ingredients:

2-3 tomatoes (I used roma, but whatever you like) OR 1-2 bell peppers (for the non-tomato eaters, aka my boyfriend)
Goat cheese
Basil
A baguette!

1. Cut baguette into 1 inch slices, lay them down on a cookie sheet. Drizzle both sides of pieces with olive oil (brush it evenly across the surface).

2. Dice tomatoes (I cleaned out the inside of the tomatoes a little bit, cause I'm not a big fan of all of the seeds).

3. If you are making the peppers (instead of or in addition to the tomatoes) cut into long slices (fajita style!), heat 1 tbs of oil in a skillet, and sautee peppers until they have begun to soften. I like to sprinkle the peppers with some seasoning salt to give it more flavor, but up to you.

4. Clean and chop basil- mix the tomatoes, basil, and however much goat cheese you want together in a bowl. If you are making the peppers, just mix the softened peppers and the cheese together.

5. Turn oven on to broil- on top rack, broil baguette slices for a few minutes until it starts to brown, then turn slices over and toast that side. Take baguette slices out, pile your mixture on top of it, and then put it back in the oven for a few minutes until cheese starts to melt.

Munch on the food.

Penne with Butternut Squash and Sage Pesto

So, Alex's mom gave me this cookbook way back in the day, and it made me wonder "is she trying to tell me something?" But then I looked through the cookbook and decided that no, probably not, its just full of interesting and supposedly healthy recipes. The one thing that creeps me out is that it puts all of the meat in quotations (like Ovenfried "Chicken" and Cornbread, or "Meatloaf" and Gravy). Since they substitute weird things like Seitan (WHAT?!) and vegan cream, I'm going to avoid those.

Adapted From Skinny Bitch in the Kitch

Ingredients:
1 box of Penne Wheat Pasta
1.5 lbs (or so) of Butternut Squash, sliced and cut up into 1-1.5 inch slices
5 tsp sea salt
Ground black pepper
2 shallots, thinly sliced
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
Sage pesto
sliced toasted almonds for garnish (optional)

For the pesto:
1/4 cup whole almonds
1 1/2 cup fresh sage
3/4 cup fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic
3 oz light cream cheese
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

First off, make the pesto first. I actually doubled the pesto recipe because I like leftovers, and my box of pasta was bigger than the recipe called for.

1. In a food processor, combine the almonds and garlic and pulse to roughly chop. Add the sage and parsley (and seriously, don't forget to wash your herbs) and pulse to chop. Add the cream cheese, salt, and pepper and process into a paste.


2. With the motor running, slowly pour in the olive oil, processing until the oil is fully combined. Use immediately or transfer to a small container, cover with a thin layer of olive oil, and store in the fridge for 3-4 weeks.


3. After your pesto is made, get your water boiling and start the pasta. Add about 1 1/2 tsp of the sea salt to the water beforehand. While your pasta is cooking, make the squash!

4. Heat the olive oil in a 10-12 inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the squash and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 or 5 minutes.


Note: I found these pre cut-up squash pieces, and I was SO happy! Let me tell you, I have had some epic battles with peeling squash.

5. Stir in the shallots, pepper, and the remaining 1/2 tsp salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the squash and shallots are tender, for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.


6. When the pasta is done, drain it. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the pasta water in case your pesto mixture is kind of dry. Return the pasta to the pot and stir in the pesto. Add in the squash mixture, and add some of the pasta water if you feel like it (I didn't). Serve!

Pretzels!

Because it is exam time, I have slacked off and entered the world of frozen pizzas, delivery chinese food, and diner fare. We did have an amazing experience last night though- dinner at my professor's house with 4 different kinds of appetizers (like duck confit on toasted baguette with a bing cherry jam and a platter of cheese that made my heart smile), an awesome entree that included what appeared to be sauteed brussel sprouts (btw, YUM) and a fancy pants lemon dessert accompanied by biscotti and a variety of chocolates. The wine was amazing and the company was great, and in between worrying about damaging the crystal or knocking the server's hands, I enjoyed the amazing meal without an ounce of work. Something to strive for, I guess...

ANYWAY- digression and obsession with past meals aside, I made these pretzels a week or two ago, and forgot to share! The recipe comes from my friend Emily, a fellow chef who is much more adventurous than I am. Every time she makes these, they are gone in half a second (seriously, before you can blink). She gave me some tips, which I am passing along as well. Also, surprisingly enough, this is a really healthy recipe- great for snacking and guilt free!

Whole Wheat Soft Pretzels
Adapted from "Steph Chows"

Ingredients:
1 tsp active dry yeast (this is less than a packet of yeast, so if you don't have a jar of yeast like I do, check the packet information)
Pinch of sugar
1/3 cup warm water (110 degrees)
1/2 cup bread flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp splenda blend (2 Tbs white sugar)
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp baking soda
1 cup hot water (as hot as your tap can get)
Sea salt or whatever other toppings you want
1 tbsp canola oil (I didn't have canola oil, so I used olive oil instead. It turned out well, but I think canola oil is the healthiest in the oil family)

1. Dissolve yeast into water with a pinch of sugar, let stand 10 minutes until the mixture is creamy colored. Mix the yeast mixture with flour, sugar, salt and canola oil, and knead until combined (this will take only a few minutes, not even 5).

Emily's tip: the dough will be a little dry this way, so you can dissolve the yeast in a little more than 1/3 cup of water, and you can let the oil overflow the tbs measurement a little.

2. Let the dough rise in a greased bowl until doubled in size, about 1 hour (my apartment is cold, so it took a little longer than this. I left it for a couple of hours while I did some studying, which worked out fine! You still won't have a ton of dough, so don't be scared if it doesn't look that big).

3. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. When the dough has risen, pinch off a handful and roll it out into a long strand. Set aside. Repeat with the rest of the dough, about 6 times. Once all the strands are rolled out, pick up the first one and stretch it out again (the gluten will have relaxed and it should stretch further now). Twist it into a pretzel shape and place it on a baking sheet lined with cooking spray. Repeat with the rest of the strands.

4. Dissolve baking soda into hot water and stir until dissolved. Quickly dip each rolled pretzel into the mixture and place it back on the baking sheet. Sprinkle all the pretzels with sea salt, to your preference. Bake for about 8 minutes, until pretzels have browned. (You can try baking them for 8 minutes and then dropping the temperature to 350 for an additional 4-5 minutes for better browning).

5. Emily's tip: to make them even more delicious but less healthy, brush them with melted butter once they've come out of the oven! I did this, and I didn't regret it for a second.


Serve with this honey mustard sauce, and it. is. AWESOME.

Honey Mustard Sauce:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and pepper

1. Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper (this is obviously optional- I skipped it and didn't find it lacking at all!). The sauce can be held in the refrigerator for 1 week.

Note: for storage purposes, bread can be a little funny. DO NOT refrigerate these, and DO NOT store them in an air tight container. They'll get moist and gross and you don't want that. I wrapped them in foil and left them on the counter, and it was fine. If you are worried about Sparky getting into them though... eat them in one sitting.

Stuffed Peppers

This is a really easy, really delicious recipe. And best of all, depending on how much rice you have, you can have leftovers for days! It is fairly healthy, but a lot of it depends on personal decisions (i.e. how much cheese you use, whether you make them vegetarian, with ground turkey, or ground beef).

Ingredients:
4-6 Bell Peppers (any and all colors!)
Approx. 1 lb ground beef OR ground turkey
Long grained white rice
2 cans tomato sauce
Spices
2 c Mozzarella


1. Chop off the top of your peppers, and clean out the inside. Take a big pot of water, and bring it to a boil. Add your pepper in, 3 at a time, and let them boil for 5 minutes, turning to make sure all sides have cooked (this makes the peppers softer, so they are easier to eat in the end product). Remove, drain, and set in a glass cooking dish to cool.


2. Meanwhile, cook your rice according to package instructions. I like to make approximately 4-6 cups of cooked rice; while this will be too much for the peppers, I take the remainder and put it in a separate baking dish.

4. Preheat oven to 350. Brown the ground beef or turkey in a heavy skillet. Season well, and drain excess fat when browned.

5. Mix cooked rice with ground beef/turkey. Add in UP TO 2 cans of tomato sauce (it is up to you how wet you want it). Season well- I usually put in lots of Johnny's Seasoning Salt, some salt, pepper, and garlic salt.


6. Spoon the mixture into the peppers, piling as high as you'd like. Cover the top of each pepper with mozzarella. If there is excess mixture, place in a separate glass baking dish, and cover with the cheese.


7. Bake in the 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Serve!

Mushroom Bourguignon

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

This recipe is an adaptation of Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon. While we all love Julia's original, it is very-time consuming and labor intensive. That being said, once I came across a version of this meal that is quicker, much easier to make, and (allegedly) healthier for you, I was incredibly happy.

While this recipe doesn't call for nearly as much butter or fried meat, it still is rich and arguably better the next day. Because I like my pearl onions close to carmelized and very soft, I decided to rely on Julia's method of brown-braising instead of just tossing the onions in near the end.

Ingredients:
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs butter
2 lbs portobello mushrooms, cut in 1/4 inch slices (you can buy the pre-sliced, bagged portobello mushrooms as I did to cut down on time, or you can buy the mushrooms, cut them up, and save the stems for another use)
1/2 carrot, finely diced
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup full bodied red wine
2 cups beef broth + 1/2 cup for the onions (I sometimes use beef stock- when you buy them pre-made at the grocery store, there isn't much of a difference, but beef stock is traditionally thicker and tends towards a more jelly-like consistency)
2 tbs tomato paste
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 tbs all-purpose flour
1 cup pearl onions, peeled (thaw if frozen, but I have never used frozen)
Egg noodles for serving

Note: I would err on buying too much rather than too little beef stock (1-2 of those big containers at the grocery store ought to do it). If you buy too much, it will refrigerate for a decent amount of time, and they keep unopened for quite a while. You will use the broth for the bourguignon and for the onions, so it is pretty crucial.

Also, I tend to add more mushrooms and onions than called for (i.e. 2 1/4 lbs mushrooms, 2 bags of the mini-onions). They are the best part, and make the leftovers much more substantial.

Pre-peel your onions (it will take you a while, and make a big mess) before you start cooking!

1. Heat the one tablespoon of the olive oil and one tablespoon of butter in a medium Dutch oven or heavy saucepan over high heat. Sear the mushrooms until they begin to darken, but not yet release any liquid — about three or four minutes. Remove them from pan.



2. Lower the heat to medium and add the second tablespoon of olive oil. Toss the carrots, onions, thyme, a few good pinches of salt and a several grinds of black pepper into the pan and cook for 10, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for just one more minute.

3. Add the wine to the pot, scraping any stuck bits off the bottom, then turn the heat all the way up and reduce it by half. (At this point, if you want to make onions the Julia Child way, start the onions. See directions below). Stir in the tomato paste and the broth. Add back the mushrooms with any juices that have collected and once the liquid has boiled, reduce the temperature so it simmers for 20 minutes, or until mushrooms are very tender. Add the pearl onions (if you made the Julia Child version, don't add yet) and simmer for five minutes more.



4. Combine remaining butter and the flour with a fork until combined; stir it into the stew. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 more minutes. If the sauce is too thin, boil it down to reduce to the right consistency (I ended boiling mine down for about 15 minutes to make it much thicker). Once you have boiled down to your preferred consistency, if you made the Julia Child onions, add them now. Season to taste.

5. To serve, spoon the stew over a bowl of egg noodles, and dollop with sour cream (optional) and sprinkle with chives or parsley.



For Julia Child Brown-Braised Onions:
18-24 peeled pearl onions
2 tbs butter
1/2 cup beef broth
Thyme, parsley, and a bay leaf

Heat the butter in a pan; when bubbling, add the pearl onions. Roll them around until browned- they won't be browned consistently on all sides, but you want to see some color on them.

Once browned, add the herbs and the beef broth. Cover, and simmer for 40-50 minutes, until broth is absorbed. If you don't want to wait the full 40-50 minutes, wait until they appear carmelized, and add onions (and I prefer to add the left over liquid as well) into your dish.

Asparagus, Goat Cheese, and Lemon Pasta

From Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:
1 lb spiral-shaped pasta
1 lb slender asparagus spears, trimmed, cut into 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbs finely grated lemon peel
2 tsp chopped fresh tarragon plus some more for garnish (if you don't have or want to buy fresh tarragon, just add dried tarragon to taste)
1 5 to 5 1/2 ounce log of soft goat cheese (not the pre-crumbled stuff)
Fresh lemon juice to taste

Note: don't forget to reserve 1 cup of the pasta water after boiling; it is a step easily forgotten or skipped over.

Cook your pasta in a large pot of well-salted water until it is almost tender, or about 3 minutes shy of what the package suggests. Add asparagus and cook until firm-tender, about 2 to 3 minutes. Drain both pasta and asparagus together, reserving one cup of pasta water.

Meanwhile, combine olive oil, lemon peel, tarragon and cheese in a large bowl, breaking up goat cheese as you add it in. Add hot pasta and asparagus to bowl, along with a couple dashes of the reserved pasta water. Toss until smoothly combined, adding more pasta water as needed. Season generously with salt and pepper, and flavor with lemon juice to taste.

Butternut Squash with Sage

From Everday Food, Great Food Fast

Ingredients:
2 tbs butter
2 lbs butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 3/4 inch pieces
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp dried sage

Melt the butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the squash; season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing frequently, until the squash is lightly browned. 5 to 6 minutes.

Add 1/4 cup water and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover, and cook until the squash is fork-tender, 8 to 10 minutes.

Toss with the sage. Serve.

Per serving: 137 calories; 6 grams fat; 2 grams protein; 22.5 grams carbs; 3.5 grams fiber.