I know we've made pasta alla puttanesca before, but somehow it never made it onto the blog, so here it goes!

This recipe is not quick to put together, due to the long simmering stages, but is is easy and all of the ingredients are either shelf-stable or will keep for a long time in the fridge, making it a good "oh no what do we make" pasta dish. The proportions given here are for 450g of dry pasta, but it also works great with fresh pasta; I made it tonight with home-made fettuccine. Long noodly pasta is traditional with this sauce -- spaghetti, linguine, etc.

Compared to the recipe in the book, I use less oil and salt and more anchovies and garlic, but make no other changes.

Pasta alla Puttanesca

The Classic Pasta Cookbook

Ingredients

• 80mL olive oil
• 8 anchovy fillets, chopped
• 2 large cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 ~750mL tin of diced tomatoes, with juice
• 3mL dried oregano
• 30mL capers
• ~10 black olives, pitted and thinly sliced

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-low heat. Add the anchovies and cook, stirring occasionally, until the anchovies start to soften and flake, ~10 minutes. (Hazan claims that they will "dissolve". I have never observed this.)
2. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, but without letting it brown, ~30 seconds.
3. Add the tomatoes. Increase heat to medium high and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium low and simmer until the sauce has reduced and the tomatoes started to break down, 30-40 minutes. (You can fridge the sauce at this point and resume later, if you want.)
4. Bring the water to a boil and begin cooking the pasta.
5. While the pasta cooks, increase heat to medium and stir in the oregano, capers, and olives.
6. Serve with freshly grated parmesan.

I'd never even heard of chiffon pies before coming across this recipe. Apparently they were popular from the 30s up through the 70s, but you don't see them so much these days. I'll still always love the classic cooked custard pumpkin pie, but it was nice to try something a little different this time. This does make a lovely light and airy pie. And it's not as difficult or fussy to make as I was expecting. I did use a ready-made graham cracker crust rather than making my own. Homemade would, of course, be nicer, but I was happy enough with the short-cut.

Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country October/November 2016

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 ready-made graham cracker pie crust
OR

• 9 whole graham crackers, crushed into fine crumbs
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Filling

• 1/4 c. dark rum
• 1 Tbsp. gelatin
• 2 c. pumpkin purée
• 1/3 c. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 4 large egg whites
• 1/3 c. sugar

Topping

• 1 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 gingersnap cookies, crushed

Directions

Crust

1. Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and ginger and mix well.
2. Stir in melted butter.
3. Press crumbs into bottom and up sides of pie plate.
4. Bake at 160°C (325°F) for ~15 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Filling

1. Sprinkle gelatin over rum and set aside for ~5 minutes.
2. Microwave until mixture is bubbling around the edges and gelatin is completely dissolved (30-60 seconds). Set aside to cool until just warm.
3. Microwave pumpkin until also just warm (1-2 minutes).
4. Beat pumpkin with brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and cream until completely combined.
5. Stir in gelatin mixture.
6. In a clean bowl and with clean beaters, whip egg whites on medium-low until foamy (~1 minute).
7. Increase speed to medium-high and whip to soft peaks (~1 minute).
8. Gradually add sugar and whip until stiff peaks form. (You should be able to invert the bowl without the meringue slipping or dripping.)
9. Whisk about a third of the meringue into the pumpkin mixture to loosen it.
10. Gently fold in the remaining meringue.
11. Scoop the filling into the crust, letting it mound in the centre slightly.
12. Chill for at least four hours.

Topping

1. Combine the cream, sugar, and vanilla in a blender¹ and mix on medium for 30 seconds or so.
2. Increase to high until cream stiffens.
3. Spread cream over pie.
4. Top with crushed gingersnaps.

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¹ Using a blender rather than beating with a hand or stand mixer results in smaller air bubbles and a denser, stiffer whipped cream that will last much longer without "deflating". If the pie will be eaten right away with no chance of leftovers, feel free to use the beaters for extra fluffy whipped cream. ^Back

This was really good. Better than I was expecting based on the recipe if I'm honest. And, even with making the cheese from scratch, it came together pretty quickly and easily. And I think you could easily substitute the vegetables depending on what you have on hand or what's in season. The carrots and spinach were great, but I think zucchini, snow peas, corn, or maybe even shaved asparagus would all work well. Sautéed kale would be nice too. Or even beets if you don't mind the extra overhead of cooking them first.

Farro Grain Bowls

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country April/May 2018

Ingredients

• 6 c. water
• 2 tsp. coarse sea salt, divided
• 2 c. farro
• 6 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 3 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 4-5 carrots, shaved into ribbons
• 4 c. baby spinach
• 450g cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 batch fresh goat cheese

Directions

1. Bring water to a boil.
2. Add 1/2 Tbsp. salt and farro, return to boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, combine 1/4 c. oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper.
4. When farro is done, drain and mix with vinaigrette.
5. Add carrot ribbons and spinach and toss to combine. Set aside.
6. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil over medium-high heat.
7. Add mushrooms and 1/8 tsp. salt. (Add a little more pepper too if desired.)
8. Cook, covered, until mushrooms release their liquid.
9. Uncover and continue to cook until liquid has evaporated.
10. Stir 1/8 tsp. salt into the cheese.
11. Add cheese and mushrooms to farro mixture and enjoy!
12. For prettier presentation, divide farro mixture into individual serving bowls and top each with mushrooms and cheese.

The Kidlet saw some cartoon characters eating tamales on TV the other day and asked if we could make tamales sometime. I said "sure" but didn't really have high hopes for her actually liking them. Turns out I was wrong. She loved them! She ate FOUR tamales for dinner tonight. Four! That makes this by far the most successful dinner we've had in recent memory. She's already asking if we can make them again sometime. I think I may end up putting my other cooking plans on hold for a bit and just spend tomorrow making several batches of tamales to go in the freezer. (Stay tuned for more recipes!)

For this batch I decided to wing it on a bean and cheese filling. The Kidlet has been pro-beans and tomatoes lately, so I figured that would be a good jumping off point. Plus I already had those things on hand. I tried to keep the flavours fairly mild since she's still not really down with "spicy" or "strong flavours". Feel free to add more chilies and seasonings if you're cooking for more adventurous palates.

One unwrapped tamale and one still in its banana leaf wrapping.

Cheese and Bean Tamales

Adapted from Gimme Some Oven

Ingredients

Filling

• 2 Tbsp. corn oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1/4 tsp. chili powder
• 1/16 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 2 c. cooked black beans
• ~600mL diced tomatoes
• 1 chipotle in adobo, minced
• 1/2 c. mushroom or vegetable stock
• 1 c. corn kernels (fresh, frozen, or canned)
• 1 c. mozzarella grated cheese
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Dough

• 2 c. masa harina
• 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 c. corn oil
• 2 1/2 c. vegetable broth

Assembly and Serving

• corn husks or banana leaves
• Cheddar cheese (optional)
• salsa
• sour cream

Directions

Filling

1. Heat oil over medium heat.
2. Add onion and cook until softened.
3. Add garlic and cook for another minute or two.
4. Add coriander, cumin, chili powder, cinnamon, black pepper, salt, and sugar and cook for another minute.
5. Add black beans, tomatoes, chipotle, stock, and corn and cook until slightly thickened.
6. Stir in cheese and mix well.
7. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice and cilantro. Set aside.

Dough

1. Combine masa harina, sumin, and baking powder and mix well.
2. Use a hand or stand mixer to beat in oil.
3. Gradually beat in broth.
4. Increase speed to high and beat for 5-10 minutes.

Assembly

1. If using corn husks, you'll need to soak them for at least half an hour first. My banana leaves just needed to be thawed out and trimmed to appropriate sizes and they were good to go.
2. Spread a thin, even layer of dough over ~1/2 the leaf/husk.
3. Place a couple Tbsp. of filling in a line down the middle of the dough¹. Add a little Cheddar cheese on top if you like.
4. Fold both sides of the leaf/husk in toward the centre, then fold the bottom up.
5. Tie with a string or narrow strip of husk/leaf.
6. Place open end up in steamer.
7. Repeat with remaining dough. (You will have a bunch of filling left over.)
8. If steaming on the stove-top: Cover and steam for 30-50 minutes. If steaming in an InstantPot/multicooker: set to high pressure for 20 minutes².
9. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

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Variations

Alternate Masa Recipe

Slightly adapted from Tastes Better From Scratch

Ingredients

• 2/3 c. vegetable shortening or coconut oil
• 375-450mL vegetable broth
• 2 c. masa harina
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds, ground

Directions

1. Beat shortening with 2 Tbsp. broth until light and fluffy.
2. Combine masa harina, baking powder, and cumin and stir into shortening.
3. Gradually add broth and beat on high for several minutes.
4. Add more broth as needed to get desired consistency³.

This dough seemed to cook up about the same as the previous batch. It was much easier to work with though. It seemed to spread more smoothly and it was easier to get a relatively thin, even layer put down. That said, I'm not sure how much of that is down to the recipe and how much is down to the fact that I was using a different brand of masa harina.

Sweet Potato, Spinach, and Black Bean Filling

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. corn oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1/4 tsp. chili powder
• 1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 2 c. cooked black beans
• ~600mL diced tomatoes
• 2-3 chipotles in adobo, minced
• 1/2 c. mushroom or vegetable stock
• 1 c. corn kernels (fresh, frozen, or canned)
• 1 large sweet potato, cubed
• 250g baby spinach
• 1 c. mozzarella grated cheese
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Cook the sweet potato. (Boiling or microwave works well.)
2. Make the filling as above, but add sweet potato along with corn.
3. Toss spinach in on top, cover, and cook until wilted. Stir to combine.
4. Continue with recipe as above.

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¹ How much filling you need will depend on how big you make your tamales. I think I used ~2 Tbsp. of filling per tamal on average. ^Back
2 The instructions said 20 minutes "high pressure, natural release", but I forgot and did a quick release and they seemed fine. ^Back
3 The recipe author notes that the masa should have the consistency of peanut butter and be slightly sticky. The instructions also say that a small ball of dough dropped into a glass of water should float. If it sinks it needs more beating and/or broth. Mine didn't quite float, but it also didn't sink all the way to the bottom. It was sort of neutral. It probably could've done with more beating, but I was tired and in a hurry so I called it there. ^Back

I needed to make something to augment our dinner options. I needed to be relatively quick and easy and involve vegetables. It also needed to be something that we had all the ingredients on hand for already. Bonus points if it called for something we'd been having trouble using up. After a few minutes flipping through the vegetarian cookbook it was between latkes and tamale pie. Latkes won out because they were a little simpler and let us use up some carrots and potatoes that'd been hanging around. We also figured there was a good chance the Kidlet would like them. This, sadly, turned out to be wrong, but we tried!

These latkes are a little more involved than my usual approach of stirring eggs into grated potatoes, but they did turn out pretty nice. I'm not sure I'd always bother going to the extra effort, but it's nice to know a few tricks for making really good latkes. TF certainly enjoyed them!

Latkes

Slightly adapted from The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook by America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients

• 400g potatoes, grated (preferably russet or some other floury variety)
• 1 large carrot, grated
• 1 onion, grated (or chopped fine)
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 2 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley
• oil, for frying

Directions

1. Combine potatoes, carrot, onion, and salt and mix well.
2. Wrap half the potato mixture in a tea towel and wring out as much water as possible, reserving liquid. Repeat with second half of potato mixture. Set liquid aside for 5-10 minutes to let starch settle out.
3. Microwave potato for 1-2 minutes in 30 second intervals. It should be warmed through but not hot. Spread out onto a baking sheet and set aside to cool.
4. Once the potato liquid has separated, carefully pour off the water from the starch.
5. Add eggs to starch, beating and mixing well.
6. Return potato mixture to bowl and pour starch-egg mixture over.
7. Add parsley and pepper and mix well.
8. Pour oil to a depth of 3-4 mm and heat over medium to medium-high heat.
9. Scoop generous 1/4 c. portions of latke mixture into the hot oil and flatten with a spatula to form pancakes.
10. Cook until underside is golden-brown, flip, and continue cooking until second side is done.
11. Repeat until latke mixture is used up.
12. Serve with sour cream and/or applesauce.

Lobster rolls are a divisive topic, primarily because there's two main schools of lobster rolling: cold, with mayo and celery, and hot, with butter. I like both, although I have few chances to eat either. This recipe for the hot ones comes from Cook's Country.

They recommend cooking and disassembling a whole, live lobster, or, failing that, using frozen raw lobster tails. I very much did not want to do the former, and didn't have access to the latter, so I used frozen, pre-cooked lobster bits. Interestingly, this doesn't seem to be one of the formats CC tested -- they tried whole lobster, frozen tails, tinned cooked lobster, and fresh pre-shelled lobster bits. The results were definitely not as good as fresh lobster, but a great deal faster and easier.

Similarly, they call for New England-style "split-top" buns, which are not readily available here. Normal hot dog buns do fine, though, as do small kaiser rolls or pretty much any other slightly crusty bun; you'll lose out on some of the crispness of the outside, though.

The recipe as recorded here is the recipe as I made it, but with quantities appropriate for four people, in keeping with the original; when I made it I was cooking for myself and halved everything. Compared to the original, apart from the change of lobster format, I also increased the proportion of chives and shallots slightly.

I suspect, but have not yet tested, that adding a few minced garlic cloves and sauteeing those and the shallots in the butter for a bit before adding the lobster would make things even better.

Hot Buttered Lobster Rolls

Cook's Country

Ingredients

• ~900g frozen cooked lobster meat, thawed
• 30mL softened unsalted butter
• 90mL unsalted butter, cubed
• 4 split-top hot dog buns (or alternative bunbreads)
• 2 shallots, minced
• 30mL minced fresh chives

Directions

1. Use softened butter to butter the outsides of the buns. Toast in a skillet over medium heat. Remove to a plate and set aside.
2. Melt the remaining butter in the skillet over medium-low heat.
3. Add the lobster, shallot, and 1mL salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the lobster is heated through and the shallot softens, ~2 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and stir in chives.
5. Divide filling between buns; drizzle additional butter from the skillet over filling, if desired.

I've had my eye on this one for a while. TF loves both dark chocolate and orange and especially so when they're combined. As long as you plan ahead a little to account for the chilling time, this makes for a very quick and easy dessert to throw together. And if you're concerned about eating raw eggs you could always look for pasteurized ones.

Chocolate-Orange Mousse

From Cook's Country February/March 2019

Ingredients

• 225g semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 large eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. grated orange zest
• 1 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 3 Tbsp. orange juice

Directions

1. Gently melt the chocolate and set aside to cool¹.
2. Combine eggs, yolks, sugar, and orange zest in a blender and process until light and frothy (~1 minute).
3. Add cream, orange juice, and chocolate and process until slightly thickened (~1 minute).
4. Pour ~1/2 c. each into six ramekins, cover, and chill until set (~3 hours).
5. Uncover and let sit at room temperature for ~10 minutes before serving.

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¹ The original suggests melting the chocolate in the microwave -- 1-2 minutes at 50% power. Something went wrong with my microwave settings though and the chocolate ended up slightly burnt. I think next time I'd just do it on the stove. ^Back