Pesto and Feta Orecchiette Salad

After a particularly draining day at work, I was really craving some carbs last night.  For me, a hearty bowl of pasta is the perfect comfort food when I am stressed out.  While I wanted to indulge in my cravings, I decided to demonstrate some self-restraint by making a side dish of a pesto pasta salad.

To start, I put some pasta water on the stove to boil.  Although I had some penne on hand, I decided to use some of these beautiful dry orecchiette pasta that I picked up at Savenor's earlier in the week.  I find orecchiette so adorable in their resemblance of small ears and hope to someday learn to make them myself!

While my pasta was cooking, I prepared the other ingredients.  Bret helped me out by shucking some fava beans from their pods.  We had about half a dozen pods on hand but it didn't yield a lot of fava beans.  I'll definitely have to grab more the next time I make this dish.

I also washed and halved about half a carton of large cherry tomatoes.

And I also cubed some leftover feta cheese from my watermelon and feta bites that I made this past weekend.

When the pasta was done cooking, I drained it and gave it a quick rinse in cold water.  I put the fava beans in the already boiling pasta water.  The fava beans took only a few minutes to cook and I also gave them a quick rinse when they were done.

I put all the ingredients in a large bowl along with the final (and perhaps most important) ingredient - homemade pesto.  I made the pesto the previous weekend since I had a lot of leftover basil.  I made a simple pesto with basil, walnuts, parmesan cheese, olive oil, salt and pepper. 

The pesto orecchiette salad mad a perfect side dish to my pan-seared chicken breast (marinated in soy sauce, vegetable oil and Mongolian ginger BBQ rub) with sauteed greens (broccoli rabe, black beans, onions and red Russian garlic).

I loved all of the fresh flavors in the pesto and feta orecchiette salad and it was absolutely perfect for summer.  Best of all, there were lots leftover, which I'm looking forward to nibbling on during the rest of the week.

What kind of food do you crave after a long, stressful day?

Local Ingredients: Spicy Sausage with Peppers and Onions

When I was growing up, my mom would make the best grilled sausage sandwiches with sauteed peppers and onions.  There was nothing particularly fancy about this sandwich and in fact it was usually fairly messy, but it was full of lots of great flavors and really stands out among my childhood food memories. 

Last night, I decided to recreate this meal and Bret was very excited since he loves sausage and peppers as much as I do!  I was especially excited to make this dish because I had a lot of really great local ingredients to work with and I think that everything tastes better with fresh local ingredients. 

To start, I had some great hot Italian sausages from Stillman's Farm. 

I pierced both sides of each sausage with a fork and put them in a skillet.  I added enough water and a splash of vegetable oil into the skillet so that it covered the bottom half of each sausage.  I put the skillet on medium-high heat, put a cover on the skillet and then got to work on my vegetables. 

First, I washed a small handful of broccoli rabe (from Siena Farms) and put it in the salad spinner to dry.  Once the greens were dry, I gave them a rough chop and put the broccoli rabe aside.

I then got to work on my peppers.  I had a beautiful red pepper along with three Hungarian hot wax peppers that were also from Siena Farms.  I chopped those up, along with half a large white onion. 

I put another skillet on the stove on medium heat with some vegetable oil.  When the pan was warmed up, I added the onions first because they would take the longest to cook down.

I then added the red pepper and also seasoned the vegetables well with salt and crushed black pepper.

The wax peppers were the next vegetables to be thrown in.  I very casually de-seeded them because Bret and I both like a lot of heat in our dishes.

I took a break from my vegetables and quickly checked on my sausages.  The water had cooked down, which meant that the sausages would be cooked through.  I turned the sausages over to make sure that they were nicely crisp and brown on the outside.  I returned back to my sauteed vegetables and added the broccoli rabe, which only needed a quick toss.

I loaded my veggies onto a crusty ciabatta roll and added the sausage. 

Bret chose to top his sandwich with brown deli mustard but I chose a roasted garlic mustard.

I don't want to tell my mom, but I think my sausage and peppers might just be better than hers.  I really liked the contrast of the spicy sausage and wax peppers with the sweetness of the white onions and red peppers.  Plus, the crusty ciabatta bread was the perfect vehicle for the sausage, peppers and onions.

What have you made recently that was inspired from a food memory?

Watermelon and Feta Bites

The first time I went to Vlora (a local Mediterranean restaurant), I fell in love with a delightful appetizer called the Watermelon and Feta Tidbit.  This dish contains watermelon, feta, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and parsley.  While none of the ingredients are particularly exotic, the combination of flavors are really vibrant and this dish always really stood out to me.

This past weekend, I decided to recreate this dish for Bret's dad's birthday party, which would be a casual get-together with his family where we would be grilling and eating all day by the pool.  When I volunteered to help make something for the party, Bret's mom suggested that I make a light appetizer and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to finally make my version of the watermelon and feta appetizer.

The day before the party, Bret purchased a watermelon and cubed it for me while I was out at a girls golf outing.  Bret creatively scooped out a little at the top of each watermelon cube to make room for the feta cheese.

The next day, at the party, I cubed out pieces of a firm feta cheese.

The feta cheese was placed into the hollowed-out section of the watermelon.

Bret chopped up some mint.

And I drizzled the watermelon and feta bites with balsamic vinegar.

Finally, each cube was topped with a bit of the chopped mint.

Like Vlora's version of the dish, I really loved the flavor combination of watermelon and feta but I think the substitution of mint over parsley made it even better.  In the future, I will probably cube the watermelon even smaller and maybe drizzle the balsamic on the watermelon before putting the feta on it for a prettier presentation.  But overall, I was pretty happy with this dish, especially when it got a lot of compliments from Bret's family and requests to make this again in the future.

What dish have you tried in a restaurant that you just had to recreate at home?

"Clean Out the Fridge" Potato and Mushroom Hash

If you cook as much as I do, you're bound to have lots of leftover ingredients in your fridge.  As I've written about before, I absolutely hating wasting food so I try to utilize and maximize every ingredient before it reaches its expiration date.

Last Thursday, I already had a simple summer meal planned out of grilled hot dogs and corn on the cob.  I wanted to add a small side dish to this meal but I also wanted to use the ingredients pictured below that had been sitting in my fridge for way too long:

I decided to go with the first idea that popped in my head - a potato and mushroom hash!  The preparation was simple enough and mostly involved lots of chopping.  Bret and I slowly got to work on the ingredients while we caught up with each other about our respective day.  I honestly think this is what I enjoy most about cooking with Bret - the bonding that we do as we spend time together.  But I digress.

Bret washed and chopped up the two potatoes.

Meanwhile I got to work chopping up the mushrooms at a similar size to the potatoes.  We wanted to make sure everything was cut uniformly so that all the ingredients cooked evenly.

Around this time, Bret got the skillet ready by heating it at medium-high heat with vegetable oil.  When the skillet was sizzling, he added the potatoes since they would take longer to cook through.  We liberally seasoned the potatoes and I chose a mix of seasonings like salt, fresh cracked peppercorns, cayenne and cumin.

While the potatoes were cooking, Bret got to work on chopping one large onion.

And I remembered that we had some leftover red Russian garlic from Siena Farms.  The bulbs were on the smaller side so I roughly chopped up one entire bulb.

Then I got to work slowly adding each ingredient to the skillet.  I started with the onions and mixed up the hash.  I then added the mushrooms and let those cook down a bit.  Finally I added the garlic and after giving everything a good taste, I added a bit more of the spices to make sure it was seasoned well.  I put a cover on the skillet and let all of the great flavors come together.

And it was delicious.  Of course our ingredients made a lot of potato and mushroom hash, but it was an easy leftover side dish and even better when it was re-heated!

What are your favorite "clean out the fridge" recipes?

KO Prime: A Nine-Course "Steakcation"

Last night, I had the privilege of attending a wonderful dinner at KO Prime at the invitation of Nicole Kanner of All Heart PR.  While I have been to KO Prime previously for cocktails, I've actually never had the chance to dine there and I was really excited about the opportunity.

Since dinner started at 6:30 PM, I had some time to kill after work and met up with Rachel and Megan at Marliave for a pre-dinner cocktail.  Since it was a gorgeous night out, we sat on the patio and I indulged in the W.C. Fields (Pimm's No.1, Absolut Vodka, Cucumber, and Lemon).  It tasted like a perfect adult lemonade!

After our cocktails, we headed over to KO Prime, which was just around the corner and we were excited for what the night had in store for us!

After we got to meet our dining companions for the evening, which included the personable Michele of Foodie Mommy, William of the Boston Foodie, Aaron of Eat Boston, the fabulous Robin of Doves and Figs - just to name a few, we sat down to begin a dining adventure.  We were greeted by Executive Chef Josh Buehler, who is clearly full of passion for sincere and thoughtful cooking.  Throughout the evening I discovered that each dish contained such great contrast of flavors and  I especially loved Chef Josh's use of a myriad of spices, which made this no ordinary "steak" dinner.  In fact, this meal was called a "Steakcation" to demonstrate that you can find more than just great steak at KO Prime.  I found that each plate was so carefully plated and I'll have to ask you to forgive the photos as the lighting changed throughout this almost three-hour dinner.

First up was the Squash Blossom Crab Rangoon with Duck Sauce.  The squash blossom was so delicately fried and was actually a great combination with the crab rangoon stuffing.  This surprised me as I'm not a crab rangoon fan.  But the real gem for me was the not-too-sweet and perfectly spicy duck sauce.  This was a perfect first plate to start the evening.

Then we were onto the gorgeous Heirloom Tomato Salad with crispy Manouri cheese, tomato-basil vinaigrette, peach and apricot aioli.  I think all of us were in agreement that there is nothing better than fresh tomatoes during the summer and I was happy to discover at the end of the meal that Chef Josh Buehler uses local tomatoes when in season.  The Manouri cheese was seriously addictive stuff and the slices of heirloom tomatoes were in one word - gorgeous.

Our third course was a Roasted Jalapeno Beef Tartare with smoked poblano jam and topped with a crispy quail egg.  I thought I was going to love this dish but it honestly wasn't my favorite.  I thought that the beef tartare was good but it didn't really stand out to me and my crispy quail egg lacked the runny yolk I was hoping for.  But the smoked poblano jam was definitely my favorite component and it had the perfect balance of smokiness and heat.

The next course, however, was my hands-down favorite - Fricassee of Escargot with thumbelina carrots, mushrooms, salsify, lardons, and brioche.  The escargot was perfectly, and I mean, perfectly cooked.  The brioche with the unbelievably flavorful carrot puree and escargot made the amazing bite of deliciousness.

I think this definitely calls for a close-up of these gorgeous escargot!

As I licked my last plate clean, I couldn't believe we were onto another course - the Seared Stripe Bass with summer succotash, cockles, and homemade chorizo.  Although the stripe bass was perfectly cooked with a delicious crispy skin but the highlight for me was the amazing succotash filled with patty pan squash, okra, fava beans and wax beans.  The chorizo in the cockles added the perfect element of saltiness to the dish and it lead to some serious discussion about where to find the best chorizo in town.

After five courses, we had a whimsical palate cleanser of an Apricot Soda with a yuzu-mint creme fraiche foam.  This was so completely refreshing and I absolutely loved the creme fraiche foam, even if the mint flavor was a little lost on me.

And finally Chef Josh presented us with a steak course, which we are all so looking forward to - a Pork and Beef Duet.

The pork was a dry rubbed pork loin with stewed olives and tomatoes, and a chantrelle mushroom polenta cake.  While I'm not a huge fan of pork, I really loved the combination of flavors and textures with the creamy polenta cake, salty olives and the perfectly tender  pork loin.

But it was the grilled flat iron steak with pickled ramps and harissa that stole my heart.  I can never resist anything with pickled ramps and I love the mild flavors of the harissa (although I certainly would have welcomed even more heat)!

As the night began to wind down, we enjoyed the most refreshing Pineapple Sorbet with a passion-fruit cream sauce.  This was the perfect summer dessert and I seriously licked the plate clean.

Our second dessert, the Dark Chocolate Marquise with buttery popcorn ice cream and caramel sauce, was more rich and dense.  I loved unusual ice cream flavors and the buttery popcorn wasn't too intense and went well with the caramel popcorn.

The meal ended with some delightful miniature nibbles (which I'm having difficult uploading at the moment), along with some photos with one of my favorite food blogging pals!

I must give many thanks to KO Prime and Chef Josh Buehler for giving me a dining experience to remember!  After sharing the photos with Bret, he asked how soon we could make a reservation! The service was absolutely lovely from holding flashlights to aid us in our photos to the wonderful wine selections (J Vineyards Pinot Gris and Parlay "The Bookmaker").  And of course, thanks again to Nicole Kanner of All Heart PR for making this lovely evening possible.

KO Prime is located at 90 Tremont Street, Boston, MA.

Sunday Brunch: Upstairs on the Square

It should come to absolutely no surprise that one of my favorite TV channels is the Food Network.  Last week, I had the Food Network channel on and it was playing an episode of The Best Thing I Ever Ate.  I absolutely love this show because it is mindless food porn and I often watch it while I'm playing around on my laptop.  As I was writing a blog post, I was absentmindedly watching the show when I heard Sunny Anderson describe that one of the best things she ever ate was a delicious dish of eggs Benedict.  Since I am a huge fan of poached eggs, this immediately caught my attention.  When Sunny Anderson went on to say that these eggs Benedict were from Upstairs on the Square, I knew that I had to try them out and the following day, Bret made reservations for us for Sunday brunch.

On Sunday, we arrived at Upstairs on the Square for our 11:30 AM brunch reservation.  Although it was a beautiful day out, the temperatures were slowly rising so we opted to sit indoors for our meal.  I've been to Upstairs on the Square before and each time I am so charmed by the delightfully pink tea party decor.

To start off the meal, I ordered a glass of sparkling rose wine (Manoir de la Tête à Claques Rosé
(Saumur)).  I thought that ordering a pink beverage was completely appropriate for Upstairs on the Square!

Bret and I were excited about our bread basket, which contained miniature breakfast pastries, including the most delicious bite of coffee cake and sticky buns.  The miniature sticky buns never made it in the photo since we eagerly devoured it!

I didn't even have to look at the menu to decide what I wanted to eat, but Bret had a lot to choose from.  Ultimately, he went with the steak and eggs with a garlic and rosemary-rubbed rib-eye steak served with chipotle butter and fried potatoes.

I obviously went with the eggs Benedict, which was the reason we were there to begin with!

When I broke into the eggs, I saw that they were poached beautifully as the eggs were deliciously runny.  Instead of bacon or Canadian ham, the eggs were on top of crisp slices of pancetta and golden griddled English muffins.  The pancetta was a bit salty but the saltiness balanced out nicely with the rich tarragon hollandaise sauce.  You could really taste the tarragon, which was a nice element to this dish.

I can totally understand why this dish made it onto "The Best Thing I Ever Ate."  While I think that the "BLT" eggs Benedict with bacon, grilled lobster and grilled tomato that I tried at Blue Heaven while I was in Key West last month are the best eggs Benedict I've ever eaten, this dish comes in at a close second and is obviously a lot closer to home!

After brunch, Bret and I wandered around Harvard Square to a few of our favorite stores and eventually found ourselves at the Harvard Square Farmers Market.  Since we had a lot of fresh ingredients already in our fridge, we passed on a lot of the local fruits and vegetables.  But we did make one stop at the Taza Chocolate tent.  Like others, we wanted to help out Taza as much as possible with the recent flood damage to their factory.

After trying the Guajillo Chili Chocolate Mexicano, we picked up a disc, along with a disc of the Salted Almond Chocolate Mexicano.  We're saving both of these treats for a special occasion!

How do you like your eggs and where can you find your favorite egg dish?