Dinner Tonight

Meg

Zucchini Cornbread Muffins

by

These originally started as corn fritters and kind of morphed  from there. I made these for picnic of dietetic students this last weekend. I was assigned to make an appetizer for the potluck and was intrigued by the idea of a corn fritter and hush puppies recipe I saw in an old cookbook. They obviously wouldn’t work for this exact occasion (they need to be hot, and I wasn’t really cooking for a fried food audience), but they got me thinking about flavors and ingredients.

Read more

Caramelized Onion and Tomato Tart

by

On to the second week of school, and I had to give an in-class presentation worth 25% of my total grade. Oof. And then head to Joslin for a few hours of data analysis. And then head home and make… a tart dough. Uff da. But I’m the kind of person who volunteers to go first for these kind of projects (now I don’t have to worry about it again).

And the crust was a press-in.

Read more

Figs and Goat Cheese Crostini with Port Reduction

by

One of things that is sometimes hard when you blog what you cook is the fact that you have to snap a few photos of the finished project before digging in. Sometimes this doesn’t happen, and the post gets lost altogether, which is what happened last weekend when it was dark and stormy in Boston and I made the Cook’s Illustrated version of Pad Thai. Today I made these goat cheese and roasted figs on baguette, drizzled with a port wine reduction. It was a light and quick lunch, and I really couldn’t spend the time getting the just-so photos because the food was hot, and it looked delicious, and it needed to be eaten.

Read more

Swordfish with Corn & Pancetta

by

Leftover ingredients can sometimes take you to an unexpected dish. I already had pancetta on hand, and a bunch of chives were starting to go bad in the fridge. Based on this pairing, I searched the web for a recipe that would help me use up a lot the chives before they went to waste, and I found this dish. Despite trying to use up the food I already had in my fridge, I brought home nearly a pound of swordfish.

The recipe is called oil-poached swordfish, which makes little sense to me. Poaching involves using  a moderately low temperature “bath” to cook delicate meats like fish. The original recipe called for a lot of oil (4 cups!) – although the fish won’t absorb all that oil (over 7,000 calories), it will absorb some. I made a couple of changes to this recipe to simplify it, starting with searing and pan-frying the swordfish. Swordfish is a meaty fish, and it doesn’t need the delicate treatment of poaching. I’m also a fan of using (and washing) as few dishes as possible, so instead of making a chive oil suspension, I muddled the herbs in the oil for a chunkier dressing.

Read more

Lentil & Sweet Potato Salad

by

I saw these beautiful French lentils at Whole Foods and had to take them home.

I’ve never been a lentil fan, but I’m determined to start liking them. As with beans, I’ve been turned off by their grainy and sometimes mushy texture. But, as with getting kids to like veggies, you just have to keep exposing yourself to a food to find an affinity for it. I thought that with the right combination of ingredients, these beautiful lentils could be delicious.

Read more

Whole Wheat Strawberry Mini Loaves

by

I bought my first strawberries of the season last weekend. A little premature, given that it was actually snowing again in Boston today. Another sign that I was a bit ahead of myself was that I hadn’t devoured them within the first day, so, after a few days, they started to look a little dull and limp. To avoid wasting them completely, I turned them into a healthy breakfast: strawberry muffins made with whole wheat flour… except a few years ago, I bought a mini loaf pan that is now my stand-by for muffin tins. It makes fewer finished goods, but it also turns out a nice breakfast portion, including whole grains and fruit. So, here’s my take on strawberry muffins, turned into miniature loaves.

Read more

Soba noodles with asparagus and prosciutto

by

Eggs on top of pasta and other starches is one of my favorite things to eat. The taste of runny egg yolks sopped up with buttered toast is amazing, so translating that same idea to dinner, with the addition of other fresh and savory ingredients is perfect. Living in the North End, I’m lucky enough to have access to a great mercato that sells shaved prosciutto.

I was first introduced to the idea at Smitten Kitchen’s website — one of my favorite blogs! She made an egg-topped rice dish with caramelized leeks, and sauteed garlic and ginger. If you don’t know about her already, check out her site. And make the recipe. They’re both fabulous.

Then I found this recipe in a Bon Appetit magazine. It turned out really well! I’m just cooking for two, and thought getting so many pans dirty was pointless, so after cooking the prosciutto, I used the same skillet to cook the eggs. If you’re not using multiple pans, work quickly so everything stays hot until you eat it.

Read more