Ratatouille by Heather

The past few days have been filled with pasta, burgers, and a day of wine tasting in Sonoma (poor me, I know).  Since it's Sunday, and we usually make a heartier meal, I wanted to make something that was roasted and warm, but still healthy, so that's where the ratatouille comes in! I had an amazing ratatouille at The Little Prince in SoHo- it came with a poached egg on top, and it added a great richness to the dish.  I'm making mine a little more rich by adding some goat cheese, too.

Of course I couldn't make ratatouille without watching Ratatouille, and I suggest you do the same!

Ingredients:

1/2 large eggplant (I used a Chinese eggplant since it's similar in circumference to the zucchini)
3-4 Roma (plum) tomatoes
1-2 zucchini
1-2 yellow squash
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small can tomato paste or 8 oz. tomato sauce
2 sprigs rosemary
couple sprigs of thyme
2 eggs, poached (or 1 egg for each person)
goat cheese
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbs. white vinegar

To make this dish even more substantial you could serve the ratatouille over couscous or some rustic toasted bread.



Directions:

Saute onions in large Dutch oven until nearly translucent, about 3 minutes.  Add garlic cloves and saute two minutes more.  Add in tomato paste, incorporating ingredients; smooth out the sauce into a thin layer, covering the bottom of the pan.



Slice veggies on a mandolin about 1/16 inches thick.  I found it hard to slice the eggplant on the mandolin, so I ended up slicing it by hand.  Start by laying a piece of eggplant on the outer perimeter of the pan, then lay down a piece of yellow squash, zucchini, then tomato.  Make sure you have about a 1/4 inch gap between each slice, but no more.  Repeat this pattern, making a concentric circle towards the center of the dish.  Season with salt and pepper, and some thyme leaves.

Place the Dutch oven on a piece of parchment paper, tracing the perimeter so that you have a piece that will fit perfectly on top of the ratatouille.  If the ends of the parchment paper roll up once you've placed the parchment paper on top, crinkle the paper into a ball and then unfold once again.



Bake the ratatouille in the oven for about 45-55 minutes, or until the slices are cooked, but not falling apart.



In the last 10 minutes or so, poach the eggs.  Bring about 2 cups of water to a gentle boil, along with 2 tbs. of white vinegar (it helps the eggs stay together).  It also helps to use really fresh eggs.  Crack each egg into a ramekin first, then slide each egg in the water one at a time, swirling the water to encourage the eggs to stay together.





Turn off the heat, cover the pan, and set aside for 5 minutes.  Remove each egg with a slotted spoon, and lay over an individual serving of the ratatouille.  Add some crumbles of goat cheese, and serve!

Special Ingredient: Ribeye Steaks with Blackberry and Red Wine Reduction

This month, our special ingredient is blackberries.  They're perfectly sweet and in season right now!  Since I don't do a ton of baking, I wanted to make a blackberry reduction, and the best thing to drizzle this over is a nice, juicy steak.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lb. ribeye steaks, cut about 1 inch thick
2 tbs. butter
salt and pepper
1 tbs. olive oil
3 tbs. red wine
parsley for garnish

Blackberry reduction:
3/4 cup red wine
1 sprig rosemary
couple of fresh blackberries
1/4 cup blackberry jam
2 shallots, minced
2 tbs. butter
1 tbs. olive oil

Tomato Cobbler by Rachel

So much energy goes into make the holiday entree that sometimes the side dishes are forgotten.  If you're looking for something easy and new to serve at your holiday dinner this year, try this easy recipe for tomato cobbler!

It's a warm and festive dish to serve for the holidays with the bright color of the tomatoes and the toasty-ness of the biscuits on top.  Without further ado...!

Inspired by Joy The Baker

Ingredients

Filling

1 large onion, diced

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, diced.
2-3 pints of grape or cherry tomatoes, washed and halved
1 tbsp fresh, chopped basil

3 tbsp flour
3 large pinches of salt
black pepper to taste

My Dad's Lamb Chops by Rachel

A great meat for a holiday dish if you want to do something a little different is lamb.  When I went home for Thanksgiving, my dad made a delicious lamb chop dish and I'm not even a lamb person.  I'm very sensitive to gamey tasting meats, but my dad's recipe eliminated a lot of that taste from the lamb chops.  They were tender and very yummy!

I made these for a holiday party with my friends and they were a huge hit, so these will definitely be going into my recipe book for life.

Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs of lamb chops, frenched
2 tbsps / 6 sprigs of rosemary (it's really however much you want, but don't go too overboard, otherwise your food will taste like Christmas trees...)
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp agave

+extra soy sauce used during cooking

Truffled Mushroom Risotto with Gruyere by Heather

It was a snowy evening in NYC, so I wanted to make something warm and hearty, and this risotto does the trick.  It takes some work to make risotto, but the end product is definitely worth it.   It definitely helps if you have somebody that can help you stir!

Ingredients:
1 lb. arborio rice
3 tbs. olive oil
2 32 fl. oz cartons chicken stock
13 fl. oz marsala wine
7 oz (2 packages) shiitake mushrooms or assorted mushrooms, diced
1 onion, diced
3 sage leaves, minced
1 spring rosemary, minced
.3 lb shredded gruyere cheese
.1 lb shredded mozzarrella
truffle oil for drizzling
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup parsley, chopped

Roasted Cornish Game Hens by Heather

Brandon and I are going to Ireland, but we still wanted to have a nice Thanksgiving dinner.  Since it was just the two of us, I decided to make Cornish game hens.  They're really easy to make, and they always turn out juicy.  I also made oyster stuffing, truffle mashed potatoes, and brussels sprouts with prosciutto, and I'll be posting those recipes over the next couple of days.

Ingredients:
2 cornish game hens
1 tbs. butter
1 lemon, quartered
1 clove garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
2 tbs. mixture of chopped herbs such as sage, rosemary, and thyme
2 tbs. olive oil
1/4 cup wine or chicken broth

Special Ingredient: Brussels Sprouts and Pancetta Pizza by Rachel

Brussels sprouts get such a bad rep because sometimes they can taste a little bitter if not cooked through enough.  Well, I'm here to tell you that they make an excellent pizza topping.  Pair them with a little pancetta and they are wonderful!  

Pizza is not an easy food to make so if you are going to embark on this journey, give yourself time and be prepared to work.

The recipe below makes about 2 pizzas that are a little larger than personal pan size.

Pizza dough recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients for the One Day Pizza Dough:
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup + 2-3 tbsp water

Sunday Bolognese by Heather

When it gets colder out, Brandon and I make Bolognese every other week.  It's easy to make, and great for a cozy Sunday dinner.  This is a slightly more fancier version of a Bolognese, as it adds some pancetta and fresh tagliatelle from Eataly.   You certainly don't have to get your ingredients at Eataly, but it is nice if you can get fresh noodles.

Ingredients:

1 lb. mixture of ground pork, beef, and veal
1 lb. fresh tagliatelle pasta
5 fresh sage leaves, thinly sliced
28 oz basil tomato sauce
1/4 cup diced pancetta
1/4 lb. assorted chopped mushrooms such as oyster and chanterelle
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. rosemary, minced
Red pepper flakes to taste
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 cup milk
1 1/4 cup red wine
Grated parmesan cheese for sprinkling
1 tsp. salt, plus more to taste
Black pepper to taste

 We chose a pound of the "meatball" mix, which is a mixture of pork, beef, and veal.

It's best to choose an uncured pancetta.  You'll need to dice it, so it's best to get the rounded pancetta and have them slice it 1/4 inch thick.