Spaghetti with Spinach-Walnut Pesto and Green Beans

There are many things you can use a food processor for, but my favorite has always been pesto. It’s the first thing I made after we got married and opened the large Cuisinart box from one of our wedding guests. At the time we had space for a large basil plant on the patio, and I, not surprisingly, became slightly obsessed and made pesto every chance I could.

Since then, I’ve branched out. I still make basil pesto, but I’ve used kale, arugula and now, spinach. Pesto makes for a hearty pasta, and is extra healthy if you use whole wheat pasta as well.

{The Saturday Post} Aunt Sabella's Black Chocolate Cake

I’ve made a few treats recently, including strawberry ice cream and a raspberry buckle, but I was secretly itching for chocolate cake. Do you ever feel that way? That you’re just feeling the need to soften some butter and cream it with sugar and pull a cake out of the oven? I was starting to become desperate.

Sometimes cake can be overwhelming. There are layers. And fondant. And Swiss buttercream. Layer cakes are showpieces, always impressive and festive, but I wasn’t in the mood for one of those. Instead, I craved the beauty of a single layer. And chocolate. I was also looking for the recipe I could make again and again, for any occasion.

Shells with Roasted Cauliflower, Zucchini and Anchovies

Can you believe it’s been five weeks since I’ve posted a pasta recipe? I’ll give you a moment while you catch your breath. While I have absolutely no explanation for this oversight, I can assure you there will be no shortage of pasta moving forward, because that would just be a tragedy.

This recipe from Bon Appetit combines a few of my favorite things: roasted cauliflower, breadcrumbs, and pasta. It's similar to the Sicilian Spaghetti I love so much, but with larger, cooked-to-toasty-perfection breadcrumbs that play a big role adding texture to the dish.

Orange-Scented Olive Oil Muffins

In case you haven't noticed, I'm very fond of muffins. I especially love them in the car, and make a habit of baking a batch whenever a long stretch of highway is in my foreseeable future. This time, my nephew was graduating from high school, and although the drive was a mere two hours, muffins were still very much appropriate. Road trips aside, muffins also make great afternoon snacks at work, or a light breakfast (unless you have an addictive cereal habit like me).

Quinoa Burgers with Greek Yogurt Dressing

Can someone please tell me how it became June so quickly? It seems like just yesterday I was blending warm soups and baking macaroni and cheese, when suddenly it became summer. Oh my. Now that my lamenting is out of the way, let's focus on one of my new favorite dishes.

I love quinoa for it’s health benefits and quick cooking powers, but lately it’s been salad after salad. And while there’s nothing wrong with finding new ingredients to toss it with for a simple dinner, I did a little investigating and came across a fresh and satisfying way to prepare it.

Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

I love the way a lime smells, and for this reason am drawn to find ways to use them more in my kitchen. So when I decided to make a big pot of simmered black beans to eat with homemade flour tortillas (recipes here), the table needed a little something extra.

I stumbled upon this recipe on my Epicurious iPhone app when I was searching for a way to use the sweet potatoes that were delivered in my vegetable box. With lime and cilantro as the key ingredients, I knew it would be perfect to go alongside the beans.

Tuna Melts

Sometimes there are nights when I don’t feel like cooking, and I know I’m not alone. For all the fun I have meal planning, flipping through my glossy magazines, and cooking new things, I have days when I'm just not interested in spending a lot of time in the kitchen. But I’m still interested in eating well, so you can see the dilemma.

For a lazy night, tuna melts are life-savers. They take almost no time to make, and are satisfying with just a few simple ingredients. I’ve made these twice for dinner in the last week, which is reaching my quota for repeat recipes, but I love having this sandwich in my recipe box now. You know, for whenever I need something really, really simple (yet delicious).

Garden Salad with Warm Goat Cheese + Green Onion Vinaigrette

Everything tastes better fresh from the ground, don't you think? Arugula, I learned this month, has the most vivid pepper taste when it’s wild, and I’m only privy to this information thanks to my mother. Recently, with the assistance of my brother, my parents have planted a garden in their backyard this spring, and the vegetables are already starting to sprout.



During a recent visit, I arrived home with green onions, which I spread on my cutting board, admiring the fresh dirt. Yes, dirt from the earth! I couldn’t have been more excited to wash them off. Also present were a head of lettuce greens, and a bunch of arugula. All the salad needed was a little goat cheese to be the perfect weeknight meal.



GARDEN SALAD WITH WARM GOAT CHEESE + GREEN ONION VINAIGRETTE


The best way to slice goat cheese without it crumbling is with dental floss, so raid your medicine cabinet before heading to the kitchen.


Serves 2


For Salad
6 cups lettuce
Chives, for garnish
4 ounces goat cheese
¾ cup Panko breadcrumbs
1 egg, lightly beaten and thinned with a bit of milk or water
Salt and pepper
Olive oil, for grilling

For Vinaigrette
4 green onions
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper, to taste
Olive oil


Directions


Place breadcrumbs and the egg into separate, small bowls. On a cutting board, slice the goat cheese with dental floss into ¼ inch slices, about 8 to 10 pieces. One at a time, dredge goat cheese rounds into the egg, then cover with breadcrumbs and set on a small platter. Place the goat cheese into the fridge and chill for 15 minutes. 

While the goat cheese chills, wash and dry the lettuce, and keep it in the fridge until ready to plate.

Make the vinaigrette. In a food processor, combine green onions, mustard, salt and pepper, and pulse to combine. Add oil in a slow stream, about half a cup, until the dressing is emulsified and the desire consistency is reached.

Heat a nonstick sauté pan to medium heat and add a turn of olive oil to coat the pan. Add three or four of the goat cheese slices and cook two minutes per side, or until golden brown and heated through. Set aside on a paper towel to sop up any excess oil.

Serve the salad scattered with a few goat cheese rounds and a sprinkling of chives on each plate.

{The Saturday Post} Raspberry Buckle + CAF’s Two Year Anniversary

Time flies. Two years ago I was becoming disenchanted with a job I was over qualified for, and started to spend more time in the kitchen as a way to release some creativity. Then, over dinner one night, a friend suggested I start a food blog. Since it combined my interests in writing, cooking, design, and photography, blogging was a natural fit and I've been hooked ever since. My job has changed (for the better), we've moved, and life has taken it's twists and turns, but there's no denying the force of food in my life.

Thomas Keller's Garden + Creamy Barley with Spring Vegetables

In the charming town of Yountville, just north of Napa, is a garden. The garden is at the base of the mountains, with vineyards running up the side and wildflowers springing up in the grass, directly across the street from Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry. It has rows of carrots, chives, garlic, fingerling potatoes, rainbow chard, and some empty plots I imagine will soon be planted with tomatoes.

four years

{4.22.06 around 7:30 pm.} We've said I do, my dad gave a toast that made us all laugh and cry, and we've even managed to nibble at our salad of dark, leafy greens, avocado and a citrus dressing. That's us with my very Italian Uncle Nick, at our wedding reception four years ago. Where are we now? Somewhere just north of downtown Napa, winding our way through the vineyards. In my absence, I leave you with risotto, a dish I think is quite romantic, perfect for a day like this.

Pizza with White Sauce, Caramelized Onions and Arugula

I hope you're not bored with all the pizza on this blog lately. It wasn't intentional, but happens to be the product of my latest obsession. I actually blame Peter Reinhart, and you can too, because his crust is just too good to be true.

For a little variety, I used white sauce instead of red and infused it with garlic and basil. Next, caramelized onions, and while the pizza is still hot, it's scattered with arugula. I also drizzled on some balsamic syrup for a little sweetness.

{The Saturday Post} When the moon hits your eye + Peter Reinhart's Pizza Dough

Phase 1: Pizza for Beginners. It started with a pizza stone. My mom bought us one for Christmas two years ago, and since then I've gone through several recipes on a passionate search for the ultimate pizza. But I didn't start out this obsessed. I made the first of many pizzas using the perfectly acceptable fresh dough from Trader Joe's, topping pie's with pesto and tomatoes, and shredded mozzarella. The crust, thanks to our stone, was crisp, and at the time it was everything we hoped for from a standard home oven. Then the dough experiments began.

Shrimp Cakes with Basil Aioli + Raw Asparagus Salad

I know now, having watched Anthony Bourdain’s recent episode on Provence, France, that aioli should not, under any circumstances, be called mayonnaise. Aioli is thick, garlicky and creamy, and takes patience to make. The perfect aioli is a product of the ideal environment in which it comes together. The sun, the breeze, the love of the cook holding the mortar and pestle, are all factors. So while the accompanying sauce is called aioli, it’s not of the French variety. This aioli, which sounds lovely to say, is all-American (albeit homemade), basil mayonnaise. And it’s delicious.

{The Saturday Post} Cauliflower and Caramelized Onion Tart

What do you make to celebrate an upcoming marriage, that will cater to a groom’s cravings and a bride’s desire to fit into her wedding dress in six months? This was the question I asked myself when planning the menu for a little engagement party we had a couple of weeks ago.

Tarts immediately came to mine. They’re light, but depending on which ingredients you choose to fill it, hearty enough to feel like a meal. I’ve made tomato tarts and ricotta and zucchini tarts with much success, but wanted to try something new this time. As usual, Deb reads my mind, and posted a delicious, party-worthy tart just days before I started planning.