Fettuccine with Truffle Sauce

Yum! This is an Ina recipe that my mother-in-law loves. It's decadent and delicious and if you love truffles, it's so great. It is on the heavy side, so great for a cold winter night and a special dinner. We had our friends Kara and Jon over for dinner and served it - big hit. 

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 cup heavy cream

6oz truffle butter

1lb fresh fettuccine 

6 oz pecorino, shaved thin with a vegetable peeler

Directions:

Heat the cream in a sauté pan over medium heat until it simmers. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil to cook the pasta.

Bay Scallop Gratin

It's bay scallop season! Peconic Bay Scallops are so, so good. Go get some if you can! They are so little, and tender, and sweet. I made them two ways for Valentine's Day - this was Ina Garten's recipe. It's so tasty! Great for a dinner party because it cooks quickly and you can prep ahead. The topping is incredible. 

Ingredients:

1/2 lb bay scallops

2 tbsp butter, room temperature

2 gloves garlic, minced

1 small shallot, minced

1 slice prosciutto, chopped

1 small handful parsley, chopped

1/2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp vermouth

kosher salt

black pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup panko

2 tbsp wine

Roasted Cauliflower with Panko and Pecorino

Happy New Year! As with most early January weekends, I've had my nose in cook books - all my wonderful Christmas presents from the people who know me best. Every Christmas I amass several new books to add to my growing collection. My mother-in-law gave me Ina Garten's new "Make It Ahead" book. I love Ina, and pretty much everything she makes is good. Healthy, not always, but reliable and tasty, yes. This cauliflower is fantastic! Totally addicting. I will certainly be making it again. It's pretty simple and it will disappear quickly. 

Mustard and Creme Fraiche-Roasted Fish

This is a quick, easy, and tasty Ina Garten recipe. The whole thing takes about 20 minutes. The sauce is so flavorful.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 filets of fish (I used striped bass - wonder why?)

1/2 cup creme fraiche 

1.5 tbsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tbsp grainy mustard

1 small shallot, finely chopped

1 tsp capers, drained

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425. Mix the creme fraiche, mustards, shallot, and capers and season with salt and pepper. 

Tomatoes Gratin

I saw a recipe from Ina Garten and thought it sounded easy and like a great side. I modified it a bit to make little miniature ramekins. They were tart and sweet and the crispy bread crumbs were a great contrast. Super easy, too.

Ingredients:
2 big handfulls grape tomatoes, halved
1 piece of bread
1 clove garlic
olive oil
pinch of thyme
olive oil

Directions:
Heat oven to 400. Pulse the garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. Add piece of bread and pulse to get course crumbs. Add 2 tbsp of olive oil and pulse. Add a tsp or so of olive oil to the bottom of the ramekins along with the thyme and a big pinch of salt.

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

I'm a fan of just roasting brussels sprouts tossed with olive oil and lots of salt at high temperatures, but I tried Ina's recipe with bacon - yum! The brussels sprouts get really caramelized and sweet and the bacon is salty. I didn't have balsamic so I drizzled them at the end with a little of rice vinegar. I'm sure the balsamic is better, but honestly, it was great with the rice vinegar too. This is a great side dish!

Ingredients:
1 1/4 lb brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half or in quarters if they're really big
4 oz thick bacon or pancetta, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and add Brussels sprouts, pancetta, olive oil,  1 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Toss thoroughly and spread out in a single layer. Roast for 20-30 minutes tossing once or twice, until sprouts are tender and the browned and the bacon is cooked. Remove from the oven, drizzle with balsamic vinegar, and toss. Season with salt and pepper and serve hot.

Pea Soup (another Ina)

Another Ina recipe here. I wanted a simple but homemade lunch for us on Sunday and this looked great. It's easy and a great lunch (I've been eating leftovers for days).

Serves 6
Ingredients:
Good olive oil
2 lb frozen peas
4 cups chicken stock
2 large shallots, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 slices prosciutto or serrano ham

Directions:
In a big pot, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium and add shallots, sautéing for 3-5 minutes until soft and starting for brown. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add stock, peas, 2 tsp salt, and 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Ina's Easy Sole Meuniere

This Ina recipe is from her cookbook "Back to Basics," another Christmas present (this one from my lovely sister-in-law, Katie - everyone seems to know the way to my heart). It's easy enough that I'm going to teach it to my novice-cook friend Alice, and it's so rich and tart and great. It serves two, but with some hearty sides it can serve four.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup flour
Kosher salt and black pepper
4 fresh sole fillets, 3-4 oz each
1 tsp lemon zest
6 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh parsley
6 tbsp butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 200 and have 2 heat-proof plates ready.

Lobster Corn Fritters

...or the Best Hors d'Oeuvres Ever. Yum! These are amazing. I made them for Jamie to start out a special dinner. They taste like summer. The lobster is rich, the corn is sweet, and the spicy mayo is the perfect accompaniment. They're definitely a treat and a little pricey, but tooootally worth it! Ina is just the best. (These are from her new cookbook, Foolproof, a wonderful Christmas present from my mother-in-law - thanks, Cindy!)

I halved the recipe because there were just two of us, but I will definitely be making it again another time in full force. This recipe makes 12-14 fritters and served 4-6.

Ingredients:
6-8 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 scallions, thinly sliced
1 1/4 cups fresh corn (I used frozen)
12 oz freshly cooked lobster meat, 1/4-inch diced
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp paprika
3/4 tbsp Old Bay
Kosher salt
2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup half and half

Valentine's Day Dinner!

Jamie sent me two bouquets of roses! One the day before Valentine's Day to psych me out, and then an even prettier one on actual Valentine's Day. Isn't he the best?? We have a Valentine's Day tradition of staying in and having some sort of special dinner, then going out to Long Island the weekend after and having a long, relaxing weekend, just the two of us. I wanted to make him something special and toyed with a few ideas and decided on salmon roe caviar and creme fraiche as an hors d'oeuvre, lobster pot pie and salad, and pink cupcakes. (It was going to be a pink heart shaped cake, but they heart shaped cakes fell apart, so I just used the cupcakes!) All of this was complemented by a bottle of our favorite bubbly, Graham Beck. (We were introduced to it by Luvo Ntezo, the amazing sommelier at One&Only Cape Town in South Africa - it's fab. Made in the Champagne style, so very yeasty and dry, not sweet. And about $15 per bottle. Love!!)

I was able to whip this up on a weeknight, but it was a bit crazy, so I'd recommend saving it for a special weekend night home-date, or intimate dinner party.

Lobster Pot Pie
This was really decadent, but great and choc full of lobster. I used Ina's recipe, but used puff pastry instead, and didn't do the bottom layer. Also, I didn't use any Pernod because I didn't have any.

Pot Roast with Polenta

Merry belated Christmas! Sorry for the break in posts. On December 23, Jamie and I decided we'd exchange our presents and have a special dinner. (He's quite the wrapping enthusiast as you can see above - aren't I lucky?) 

He is not wont to making dinner requests, but I implored him. His request was pot roast. I've never made pot roast before, but it follows the same formula as short ribs, lamb shanks, etc. (Anything you cook for 2+ hours with wine and lots of veggies is always melt-in-your-mouth delicious, so I obliged.) I followed Ina Garten's recipe, but added a little Balsamic vinegar - a trick I learned to give amazing flavor and a touch of sweetness from another slow braise recipe.

Ina Garten's Outrageous Brownies

The batter bowl after Jamie snacked on it

I love Ina Garten and have probably watched all of the Barefoot Contessa episodes. She and Mario Batali are my favorite Food Network chefs because their recipes are always great. I saw these brownies on her show a while ago and have always wanted to make them. I got a craving for some super chocolaty, home-made brownies the other day, so I whipped these up. It's a labor of love - much more time consuming that boxed brownies, but sooo tasty. I might cut back on the butter next time (they were a little crumbly) but they were so chocolaty and rich. Jamie and I each brought them into our offices - big hit. The coffee really makes the chocolate flavor stand out (a great Ina trick).

Outrageous Brownies
Ingredients:
1 lb butter (4 sticks)
1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons instant coffee granules
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups chopped walnuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.