Halloween Dinner: Carrots and Black Bean Dip, Black and Orange Pasta

Happy Halloween!! 

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I love pumpkin carving, I love candy, I love dressing up...it's got everything. Jamie and I had some friends over this weekend for pumpkin carving and I wanted to make a Halloweeny dinner. The black and orange pasta recipe came from Epicurious, and then I made a roasted garlic black bean dip with carrots as an hors d'oeuvres. It was yummy - the bean dip was silky and had a great depth of flavor from all of the roasted garlic, and the pasta had a great mix of flavors with the spiciness of the red pepper flakes and the sweetness of the roasted peppers and butternut squash. And, of course, it looks very cool and Halloweentastic. If you have no plans tonight (and need some fuel before braving the crowds for the village Halloween parade), whip this up and celebrate All Hallows Eve in style.

Roasted Garlic Black Bean Dip
Ingredients:
1 whole head of garlic
1 can black beans, drained
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp water (maybe more)

Patisserie Claude

Any West Village resident has probably stopped in (or at least strolled by) Claude's on West 4th Street. This teeny, unassuming bakery has the flakiest pastries outside of Paris - and their meringues are incredible as well. This morning, I wanted to treat myself to a special breakfast. (After spending two days on Nantucket and indulging in amazing oysters, crab cakes, rabbit tagine, clam chowder, and chicken liver pâté at TOPPER'S and Brant Point Grill, I didn't eat much last night and was finally hungry again this morning.) I got a pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant). It's fabulous! I just finished it and I am now picking up the flakes of crumbs to eat. Their croissants are great too, but I was craving something sweet this morning. If you live in the West Village, or are in the neighborhood around breakfast time, definitely stop in for a latte and a pastry. Or pick up some meringues for a dinner party dessert!


Patisserie Claude
187 West 4th Street (between Barrow and Jones)
New York, NY 10014

Rustic Hearty Fall Pasta

Jamie and I had some sausage from Faicco's for breakfast on Sunday which inspired me to make a pasta with sausage. I love using sausage with Swiss Chard or kale, so I decided to make a fall pasta with Swiss Chard, sausage, butternut squash for sweetness, and some white beans (because I had them). It was a good Sunday night dinner and we had plenty leftover. I used orecchiette because Jamie loves little pastas and it goes well with sausage.

Ingredients:
1 hot and 1 sweet sausage link (can use more if you want)
1 shallot, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch Swiss Chard, rinsed and chopped, separated into leaves and stems
1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 cup chicken broth/stock
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
salt and pepper
orecchiette (or your choice of pasta)

Directions:
Line a baking sheet with foil and preheat the oven to 450. Toss butternut squash with 2 tbsp olive oil, the red peppers flakes, and plenty of salt and pepper and roast until tender (about 30-45 minutes).

Summer Rolls

After a very fun weekend in Seattle full of eating and dancing and sightseeing at the wedding of our friends Charley and Andrea, we needed something healthy and veggie-full. Light and crunchy and fresh, summer rolls sounded perfect. I found a tasty recipe and whipped some up. They're not very hard, except it takes some time to assemble everything. They were so good that we ate them two nights in a row. I even found rice paper at the grocery store. They're colorful and full of fresh flavor and the spicy peanut sauce is amazing.

Ingredients:
Sauce:
3 tbsp finely chopped yellow onion
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp water

Red Wine Braised Chicken Thighs

I wanted something somewhat healthy for dinner last night, and something cheap. It was a little cold, so I thought chicken thighs braised in red wine would be perfect and warm and tasty. My grocery run cost $5.06 (for 5 chicken thighs and a big leek) and it fed two of us for dinner and lunch the next day. Letting the red wine and broth cook down makes the sauce so flavorful. I served it over some Israeli couscous just because that's what I had on hand, but this would be great on polenta or mashed potatoes too. The whole process took an hour, and most of that was just braising/cooking down, so it's totally doable for a week night. Of course, feel free to add other veggies if you want it to be more coq au vin style, but this is simple, tasty, and cheap.

Ingredients:
5 chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on)
1 large leek, rinsed and sliced into 1/4 inch rings
5 cloves garlic, crushed

Taureau

Jamie and I went to Taureau last night for some fondue. I had been once before and the damp weather had me craving warm gooey cheese. This is the sister restaurant of my fave La Sirene and is also BYOB. We grabbed a Cotes du Rhone and ordered up the prix fix (for $37 per person, you get a cheese fondue, a meat fondue, and a chocolate fondue). We ordered the Pyrenees cheese fondue which was a mix of Swiss cheese with garlic and white wine and nutmeg. It was amazing. As you can see, we devoured it. The garlic flavor got stronger as we got towards the bottom. Yum! So decadent. It comes with a little salad and some torn up bread pieces. You can also opt for additional sides like veggies or charcuterie. We got some asparagus which was super tasty.

The cheese fondue when we finished it

Jamie not wanting his picture taken while eating the hanger steak

Apple Tart

This is from Ina Garten's recipe, but instead of making the pastry by hand, I just use puff pastry. This always looks really fancy and just takes a few steps and ingredients. Great to serve with some vanilla ice cream. Don't be alarmed by the sugary caramel that forms around the pastry - it's totally normal. Just make sure to use parchment paper to line the cookie sheet otherwise clean up really stinks.

Ingredients:
2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored (melon ballers work well), and thinly sliced
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
just under 2 cups sugar
3 tbsp cold, unsalted butter cut into cubes
2 big tbsp apricot jelly
2 tbsp water

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. Roll out pastry into a square and put on parchment lined baking sheet. Arrange apple slices overlapping (as shown below) and sprinkle with sugar and dot with butter.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Jamie has a cold, so I wanted to make him a warm soup to make him feel better - and I also love soup and the weather is cold and rainy, so I was in the mood. He requested chicken tortilla soup - one of my favorites. It's not too tricky to make and it's so flavorful and also pretty healthy. This recipe serves 6-8, so we'll be eating it for lunch for a while too, but I don't mind. I definitely suggest making this soup this week to ward off the fall dampness creeping in.

Ingredients:
3 large bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
olive oil
1-2 tbsp canola oil
2 yellow onions, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 quarts chicken stock
1 28oz can whole tomatoes, crushed
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp chipotle powder
1/2 tsp oregano
salt and pepper
2 minced jalapenos
4 gloves garlic, minced
4 corn tortillas, cut in strips
1 bunch cilantro, rinsed (half the bunch, including stems, minced, other have roughly chopped for topping)