Yesterday I went to the farmer’s market here in Stone Harbor, NJ. I love farmer’s markets and possibility of all the good things to eat.  I want it all – fresh vegetables, loaves of crusty bread, and juicy rich fruit that I can bring to the beach. Summer produce is one of my favorite things  – and today’s recipe for garlic scape pesto pasta salad has lots of summer veg. I admit, some of the ingredients are more spring vegetables (asparagus, peas, garlic scapes) and so slightly out of season. However, this recipe is worth sharing anyway. 

If you’ve stuck with me beyond gushing about vegetables, let me tell you why I really love this recipe. It’s the mozzarella. Mozzarella might be my favorite food. For real.

I believe that when people go to the grocery store they sometimes buy themselves a treat. Maybe it’s a soda, a candy bar, or a trashy magazine. For me, it’s a ball of mozzarella. I buy it for myself when I’ve had a great day. And I buy it for myself when I’ve had a bad day. Sometimes I take that ball and eat it like an apple. Or perhaps, I’ll slice it and eat pieces little by little. If I’m feeling really fancy, I’ll make a caprese salad and sprinkle flaky salt on top. I love mozzarella.

And the small globes of soft, creamy, milky mozzarella make this garlic scape pesto pasta salad really special. Yes, fresh seasonal vegetables are delicious and good for you. Sure, pasta is delicious and filling. And duh, pasta salad is a staple of summer time cook-outs and parties. But add balls of cheese and you’re truly stepping up your game. Have I talked enough about cheese? I think so. Let’s move on and talk about garlic scape pesto.

I like this pasta salad also because it’s not coated in mayonnaise. “Salads” that are basically sloshing around in a mayo soup skeeve me out. Instead, this recipe retains moisture through garlic scape pesto. It’s just like regular pesto, but instead of basil you use garlic scapes.

What are garlic scapes? They’re the flower bud of the garlic plant and they’ve got a lovely garlic flavor without being as bitter as raw garlic. Although the Nickelodeon green slime color of garlic scape pesto might not be so appetizing it’s really delicious. And besides, you’ll feel good for eating some veggies. Make a big batch for this recipe and then use any leftover to coat cauliflower florets and then roast them. SO GOOD.

Ok so get to it. Make this for your next summer party and people will thank you for stepping it up with something so delicious and perfectly straddling the line between feeling healthy and indulgent.

Adapted from Epicurious and Five Heart Home.

Messy level: I hate calling this a four spoon recipe because I feel like that could put people off. The method is really simple, so please consider making this! But unfortunately, you’ll need a few pots, pans, and a food processor. That’s a lot of dishes. Sorry folks.

Garlic Scape Pesto Pasta Salad

 

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Prep time

25 mins

Cook time

12 mins

Total time

37 mins

 

Author: Cooking is Messy

Serves: 6

Ingredients

Garlic Scape Pesto

• 10-12 large garlic scapes, roughly chopped
• ⅓ cup/ 45 grams pine nuts
• ⅓ cup/ 35 grams finely shredded Parmesan cheese
• ⅓ cup/ 78 milliliters olive oil
• salt and pepper

Pasta salad

• 1 pound/ 454 grams orecchiette
• 8 ounces/ 230 grams pancetta, cut into small bite sized pieces (I bought the pre-cut package from the deli counter)
• 1 pound/454 grams asparagus spears, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1½ cups/ 225 grams frozen peas
• 8 ounces/ 230 grams small mozzarella balls
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Put the garlic scapes, pine nuts, and Parmesan in the food processor. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Turn it on and let it go until you have a chunky puree.
2. With the processor running, slowly pour in the olive oil. Let it go until it all comes together in a thick sauce. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if need be.
3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water. Then add the orecchiette. Cook until al dente, according to package instructions.
4. While the pasta is cooking, heat a skillet over medium heat. Cook the panchetta until crispy, about 5-7 minutes. Drain on a paper towel.
5. Four minutes before the pasta is done throw the asparagus into the pasta pot and give it a stir.
6. One to two minutes before the pasta is done throw the peas into the pasta pot and give it a stir.
7. When the pasta is done, drain it in a colander. Then put the pasta, asparagus, and peas into a large bowl.
8. Add the mozzarella and pancetta to the large bowl.
9. Put one cup of the garlic scape pesto into a small bowl. Then stir in the red wine vinegar and the olive oil. Stir until smooth.
10. Mix the pesto in with the pasta. Add more pesto if you think it looks too dry.
11. Serve as a main or a side dish.

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Last summer when I wrote about tomatillo salsa, I also wrote about Star Hollow Farm. It’s a farm in Pennsylvania owned and run by my friend Anna’s family. I am excited about it again because I just joined their CSA. So yeah, it’s early spring and I have gorgeous fresh vegetables from a farmer I know. Woot!

I like this CSA because I can pick the foods I want. Purple carrots? Yes. Lots of leafy greens? Pass.  As I went through the online store, I was most drawn to the kit for sorrel soup. The kit came with sorrel, a potato, an onion, and the recipe. All I had to do was pick up a few things and get in the kitchen. 

I know talking about a CSA, and knowing my farmer, and being jazzed about sorrel soup are super nerdy/hipster/foodie things to say. Perhaps you’ve rolled your eyes at me. It’s fine, I accept that. The thing is, I just can’t help myself. I love food and vegetables and trying new recipes. Food nerd: it’s who I am.

Prior to this soup, I’d only had sorrel a few times before. Part of my job is taking elementary school students out of the classroom and around DC. One place we go is the Washington Youth Garden, which is where I’ve had sorrel before. So get ready for it, because here comes another hipster/foodie/eye-rolling statement: I’d only had sorrel plucked fresh from the garden. Talk about farm to table! What’s fresher than that?!

Sorrel has a lemony flavor and is a bit tart. It looks like any old green, but it also has a fun and surprising flavor. When cooked the color darkens, and while not so pretty, it still tastes great.  This soup is also a perfect dish for springtime weather. It’s warm and soothing during cold snaps. It’s also light, and not too hearty, for when the weather warms up. According to the recipe, it’s also good cold. Try it, it’s totally worth it. I’ve been eating it for every meal – breakfast included!

If you have other uses for sorrel let me know! I’d love to try them.

Adapted from Star Hollow Farm.

Messy level: There’s so little work involved here it’s amazing. The only chopping is for the onion and potato! And the messiest is part is pureeing it. Be careful and gentle with your immersion blender and your kitchen will remain splatter free.

Sorrel Soup

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

27 mins

Total time

37 mins

 

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

• 1½ tablespoons butter
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 medium potato, peeled and cut into ½" cubes
• 3 oz/85 grams/ 1½ cups tightly packed sorrel, washed and stems cut off
• 3½ - 4 cups stock (I used chicken, but feel free to use vegetable)
• ¼ cup sour cream
• salt and pepper
• juice of ½ lemon (optional)

Instructions

1. In a large soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Saute the onions until they are soft but not brown, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the potatoes, sorrel, and 3½ cups of stock.
3. Bring soup to a boil, then lower the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Puree the soup using an immersion blender, food processor, or blender.
5. Add more stock if the soup is too thick. (If you used a blender or food processor, return the soup back to the pot.)
6. Add the sour cream, lemon juice if using, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir and then make sure everything is heated through, just 1-2 more minutes
7. Remove from heat and serve. (Add another dollop of sour cream for serving if you like.)

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Happy New Year! And I guess also a belated Merry Christmas. I’ve been a bit out of the blogging game over the holidays and I’ve got nothing but excuses. Excuses such as: I was busy – we had family in town. I was lazy – Making a Murder isn’t going to watch itself. And I was having fun – at all the parties with my friends. But I’m here and back to business with a recipe for roast beef, plus I’ve got big news.

Let’s start with the news: Ryan and I are moving back to Washington, DC at the end of the month. After nearly two years we felt it was time to go back. I’m excited to be closer to my family, back with old friends, and living in a city that feels like home. However, I’m sad to leave London. I have loved getting to see so much of this city, learn about a different culture and history, and I have made some of the best friends of my life. I’ll stop there for now, as I’m sure I’ll get mushier as our move date approaches.

For now, let’s just say this month I’m going to pay tribute to my time in the UK by posting all British recipes this month. In the US we have the incredibly wrong stereotype that British food is bad. And sure, there’s a lot of boiling vegetables (soggy and gross) and a friend of mine has described British food as “beige” (hardly appetizing) but there’s a lot of good stuff out there and we’re starting with roast beef.

Sunday roasts are an incredible British tradition that made me love British food. Big piece of meat, potatoes, gravy, Yorkshire pudding, and some veg? What is better than that?! It’s cozy and filling and a perfect meal for a lazy Sunday inside. Not only is this good weekend food, it’s great holiday food too. Ryan and I made this for our family for Christmas and I think it was a hit.

I think that roasting a big piece of meat can be intimidating. First, It can be expensive to buy (though doesn’t have to be). I’ve been using beef top rump joints. Sometimes I also see meat in the store labeled as beef roasting joint. Ask the butcher if you don’t know! And the second worry about cooking meat is knowing when it is done. Here’s my two cents: check the meat a few minutes before you think it’s going to be done and then trust your gut.

Check it with either a meat thermometer (I got a Thermapen for Christmas and I’m in love with it! I’ve been taking the temperature of glasses of water just because). Or check it by making a small cut and seeing if the juices are bloody or clear. And then trust your gut meaning, if it seems done take it out of the oven. Ryan and I have over cooked meat more than once by putting the meat back in because the “internet” or “recipe” told us to. Trust yourself and it will all be fine.

Messy level: Surprisingly neat and straightforward. Minimal amount of cutting, then season the meat, pop it all in the oven and the let it be until it’s done. No muss no fuss. How great is that?!

Roast Beef

 

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How to roast a beef joint. For 6-8 people use a piece of meat about 5-6 pounds. For just two people I've used made an 1.8 pound joint and that made two and half big servings for each of us.

Ingredients

• 2 yellow onions
• 2 carrots
• 2 stalks of celery
• fresh rosemary
• fresh time
• 6 cloves garlic
• Beef joint
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• 1 tablespoon flour

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 475°/250°.
2. Cut the onions in half and remove the skin. Place in the bottom of a roasting pan.
3. Cut the carrots (no need to peel) and celery into large pieces (it's not so serious the size). Throw them into the pan too.
4. Add the garlic cloves (no need to peel) and 3-5 sprigs of rosemary and thyme. Throw those in the pan with the rest. These herbs and vegetables are going to help season your meat and create great flavor in the juices, which you can use to make gravy.
5. If your beef came tied in string, leave the string on. It will help it keep shape while cooking.
6. Rub the beef all over with a thin layer of olive oil. This helps keeps things moist!
7. Season the beef generously with salt and pepper (if you have other seasonings you like on beef you could sprinkle a bit of that on too)
8. To add a bit of an exterior crust, rub the flour evenly all over the exterior of the beef. You might not need the whole tablespoon.
9. Put the beef on top of the vegetables in your roasting pan.
10. Lower the heat in the oven to 400°F/200°F.
11. Put the beef in the oven. Cook for 20 minutes plus 15 minutes per pound, for rare beef. Add 15 minutes more for medium and add 30 minutes more for well done. So a 2 pound beef cooks for 50 minutes for rare, 65 min for medium, and 80 minutes for well done.
12. When the meat is cooked to your liking, remove the pan from the oven. Cover it with aluminum foil or a kitchen towel and let it rest for 10-15 minutes. Resting is important! Cut it too early and all the juices fall out.
13. Once the meat has rested, slice and serve. Best with lots of gravy, potatoes, and vegetables!

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Weeknights after work are the least desirable times to start cooking. Work is tiring, commutes can be unpleasant, and by the time I get home I want to eat right now. I could order take out (and sometimes I do) but then I still have to wait for the food to arrive. And I could heat up something pre-made, but I rarely do that because I don’t find refrigerator section foods to have that much personality. So I cook at home, even when I don’t want to. This recipe for orzo with sausage and tomatoes (and some other vegetables), will be a meal you’ll be happy to cook and eat after work. 

Although cooking dinner after work can feel like a chore, I really do love it and think it’s important. I like that it makes the whole apartment fill up with the yummy smell of sauteing garlic or onions. It makes me happy that in less than hour something that didn’t exist before, that was just separate ingredients, has come together to make something tasty and filling. And also, when it goes well I love the appreciation I get when dinner has been delicious and satisfying.

Everyone should have a handful of go-to of weekday meals that they can get on the table in an hour of less. Some of mine are taco salad, spaghetti and homemade tomato sauce, roast chicken with broccoli, baked salmon, and chicken and vegetable stir fry. But sometimes, the old favorites get well…old, and so I experiment. Sometimes I experiment with recipes from other sources and sometimes I make things up based on what’s available in my house and the tiny convenience store I pass on the way home from the tube. This orzo recipe is one of those I just made up. And it’s pretty good ya’ll.

The orzo, which is pasta cut short and shaped like rice, was taking up space in my cabinet so I decided to highlight it for dinner. I especially like dinner recipes where I can fit multiple food groups together, so I decided to do something like a stir fry with sausage, tomatoes, and leafy greens. The sausage I had, the vegetables were what the conveniences store had. I figured it’d be easy and it would have protein, grain, vegetables, and fruit (the tomato I guess…) all in one. I like when the vegetables are woven throughout because it means I’m more likely to eat them than if the vegetables are kept on the side. Yes, I’m 30 years old and I have ways of tricking myself to eat vegetables.

The first time I made this I used kale instead of spinach. Ryan and I agreed we really liked the dish overall, but we really didn’t like kale. I know kale is a super food and has been impossibly trendy recently, but I just don’t like it. I’m sorry, I just don’t. No matter how it’s cooked kale always always tastes like a dead crunchy autumn leaf off of the sidewalk.

We decided for future iterations we’d use other leafy greens like spinach, but I think chard word work nicely too. Ryan also suggested adding peas, which I think adds nice color and a different texture. In fact, I think this recipe is really versatile and can easily be changed to suit your tastes. If you like kale, or collards, or whatever – use that leafy green instead. If you don’t like sausage you could do this just as easily by sauteing bite sized chunks of chicken breasts, shrimp, or tofu. It’s s-i-m-p-l-e. And that’s totally what we want for after work dinner. Also, it’s great as lunch leftovers for the next day too!

Messy level: Two spoons only because you need a pot for the orzo and a separate frying pan for everything else. Overall though, not too many dishes.

Orzo with Sausage and Tomatoes

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

40 mins

 

Serves: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

• 6 sausages, in whatever seasoning flavor you like (about 400g or about 1 pound)
• olive oil
• 4 medium sized round tomatoes, chopped roughly to 1" pieces (about 380g or about .8 pounds)
• 1-2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 cup orzo
• water to cook the orzo
• 3 cups spinach
• ½ cup frozen peas

Instructions

1. Remove the sausages from their casings.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the skillet is hot add the sausage meat. Cook the meat until cooked through. This takes about 10 minutes depending on the heat of your pan. As you cook the meat, use a wooden spoon to break the sausage up into bite sized pieces.
3. Cover a plate with a paper towel and put the cooked sausage on top. Try to pour out as much of the grease from the skillet as you can, but it doesn't have to be perfectly clean. This step helps to drain off the excess grease. You can skip this step if you want, but the overall dish will taste nicer without the grease.
4. Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of water to boil. Once it's boiling generously salt the water. Add the orzo to the water and cook for 8 minutes (or check package for timing recommendations). When the orzo is done cooking, drain the water and set the orzo aside.
5. Return the empty skillet you used before back to the stove. Add a splash of olive oil if the pan is dry. Once the oil is hot, add the tomatoes, garlic, tomato paste. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until the tomatoes are losing their juices and everything is starting to simmer. Taste and adjust seasonings if you need to.
6. Add the spinach to the skillet. Stir the spinach in until it starts to wilt, about 1-2 minutes.
7. Next add the frozen peas. Stir the peas in until they lose their frozen look and start to turn brighter green, about 1 minute.
8. Now add the sausage and orzo to the skillet. Mix so everything is coated with the tomato juices and the vegetables are distributed throughout.
9. Serve in a bowl or on a plate.

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Sometimes you have the best of intentions. You intend to make healthy vegetable based meals, but instead you just want something that has no nutritional value, feels like summer, and will make your taste buds sing. And sometimes, your husband is really happy and excited when you make said unhealthy meal that you just can’t help yourself. So you do it, you make pretzel dogs and eat that instead of the huge amounts of produce that just got delivered from Waitrose. Oops. 

This is a wonderful weekend treat though. The work to make this isn’t all that difficult but it is time consuming, which means it’s not a weeknight dinner. Although, it does make a pretty indulgent and happiness inducing workplace lunch.

The first time I made pretzel dogs was for lunch on my 30th birthday. The end product was delicious but making them was extraordinarily frustrating. I could not get the dough to come together. It stayed sticky until I added almost a cup more flour than listed in the recipe. And once it was dough, it was hard to handle and roll it out to wrap the hot dogs.

But, since pretzel dogs taste so good Ryan and I wanted to make them again. We’ve been missing baseball a lot this summer, and pretzel dogs remind us of the ballpark. I love getting a pretzel dog, with some cheese dipping sauce, and sitting out in the sun, sweating and cheering on the Nats.

For this recipe, I combined what I’ve done before with soft pretzels with some general research, and a recipe from Buns in My Oven. Her recipes uses Auntie Anne’s pretzels from any mall in America as her inspiration. Both those mall pretzels and ball park food are junk foods that you know lack nutritional value, but you just have to have them. Seriously, I just gotta eat pretzels when I smell ’em. They are staples for those places and it’s not a proper outing to the mall, or the ballpark, without a pretzel. This time to ensure successful dough I mixed everything by hand instead of with the stand mixer. Kitchen gadgets are my favorite, but sometimes doing it manually is a safer bet. You’re just unlikely to overwork dough when you do it by hand. Your (ok, my) arms are going to give out before the dough does. And I think that was part of the problem in my first attempt. I used the dough hook attachment in my mixer and I think it overworked the gluten in the flour, which ultimately made everything tough and dense.

This time I used a wooden spoon to bring together the liquid and dry ingredients together. Once they formed a messy dough that could be handled I kneaded it for 4 minutes until it came together as a smooth ball. It’s pretty easy. I think when you’re a dough/bread novice (like me) it’s best to start out using your hands to get a feel of what well done dough looks and feels like. Unsure how to knead? Check out the step by step photo tutorial on Wikihow.

This dough makes enough to cover 10 hot dogs. Originally though I only cut 8 pieces of dough because I didn’t realize how many dogs were in my pack. Oops. This recipe works for 10, but then the pretzel layer is a bit thin. I think 6-8 hot dogs is the sweet spot for this recipe. That way you have a thick enough layer of pretzel so you can really enjoy its flavors, but not so much that you lose the hot dog and feel like you’re just eating bread.

I know the pretzel dogs might sound like a crazy recipe you might never actually make, but I encourage you to think about trying it out. It’s delicious and I think it would please any member of your family – especially children. It’s fun and it’s a different way to eat a classic summertime barbecue food. Also did I mention?  It’s delicious!

Finally, if you can go to a baseball game this summer, please have a pretzel dog for me.

Messy level: I badly want to say this is an easy mess free recipe, but it’s really not. You need to make the dough, then roll it on the counter, then boil the dogs quickly, then bake them. It’s a lot of steps. None of them difficult, but it requires a lot of dishes. And also, drops of baking soda water leave white marks on dark surfaces so you definitely have to wipe down the stove afterwards.

Pretzel Dogs

 

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Prep time

90 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

1 hour 45 mins

 

Serves: 8-10 pretzel dogs

Ingredients

• ¾ cup warm beer, or water (about 110°F/43°C)
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1½ teaspoons active dry yeast
• 2¼ cups flour
• 1 tablespoon/14g butter, melted
• Vegetable oil
• 10 cups water
• ⅔ cup baking soda
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• Coarse salt for topping
• 6-10 hot dogs

Instructions

1. To heat the beer or water microwave it in 15 second bursts. Use a thermometer if you have one to check its temperature. Otherwise, if it feels warm to your finger but not scalding hot, then it's probably fine.
2. Once the beer is warm stir in the sugar and yeast. Let stand for 5 minutes. In this time the yeast will get foamy and smell like bread.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the salt and flour. Create a well in the center of the flour mixture.
4. Pour the beer mixture and the melted butter into the well of the flour mixture. Using a wooden spoon (or a dough hook on low) mix together the liquid and flour mixtures. Mix until you have a shaggy ball.
5. Knead the dough for 4-5 minutes or until it forms a smooth ball. I recommend doing this by hand, but you can use the mixer.
6. Lightly oil a medium bowl with vegetable oil. Put the prepared dough in the bowl and roll it around a bit so it's lightly coated in oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit for 1 hour or until it's doubled in size.
7. Towards the end of that 1 hour, preheat the oven to 450°F/230°C.
8. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and grease the parchment.
9. In a large pot combine the water and baking soda. Bring to a boil.
10. Now that the dough is ready, divide it into the same number of pieces as the number of hot dogs you have.
11. Using a rolling pin or your hand flatten the dough so it's about ¼"-1/2" in thickness. Put the hot dog in the middle and wrap the dough around it. Depending on what look you prefer you can cover the hot dog entirely or let the ends stick out. Pinch the edges of the dough together to form a seal so that the dough won't unravel.
12. Once all the hot dogs are covered, in batches of 3-4, drop the hot dogs into the boiling water. Let them boil for 30 seconds them remove with a slotted spoon.
13. Place the pretzel dogs on the prepared baking sheet. Leave at least 1" in between the pretzel dogs.
14. In a small bowl beat together the egg and 1 tablespoon of water.
15. Brush the egg over the tops of the pretzel dogs. Sprinkle each dog with some coarse salt.
16. Bake for 15 minutes, or until nicely browned all over.
17. Let cool just slightly.
18. Serve with ketchup, mustard, or cheese sauce and a beer.

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Are you ever intimidated by a recipe? There are some recipes that seem difficult and scary and daunting. Before I even start, those recipes make me feel certain that the final product is going to come out wrong. Macaroons, croissants, and souffles are the kinds of recipes that scare me. I’m also nervous about making whole pieces of meat. Just think about Thanksgiving – a whole turkey is a nerve wracking endeavor! And that’s also how I felt about roasting a leg of lamb. And then, it turned out all right. 

For awhile Ryan and I have been talking about cooking our own Sunday lunch, but I’ve been putting it off because I thought it would be too much work. And then I saw a recipe for roast lamb with a spiced crust in a magazine and I thought, “yes…”  Yes, I want to eat that. Yes, let’s have lunch at home. And yes, I can make that. But why this particular recipe called out to me, I don’t know. It required ingredients I’ve never used or tasted, a meat I’ve only cooked a few times, and a cut of lamb I wasn’t sure where to buy.

Now you might be thinking, Mariel, buy your lamb from the grocery store or a butcher like a normal human. But here’s the weird illogical thing, sometimes I don’t like going up to people behind a counter and asking for help. I worry I’m being an inconvenience or that I’ll embarrass myself because I don’t know what I’m doing. But that’s the reason why customer service people exist. It’s an even more ridiculous fear because my whole job at the Science Museum is being available to talk to people and help them out when they don’t know anything. And I love when people ask me questions; so why shouldn’t I ask someone else for help?

So I plucked up my courage and went to the meat counter at Waitrose, I showed the butcher the recipe, and she hooked me up. It was so easy! She asked a few questions, looked over my recipe, and then prepared the meat. It was so simple and painless, that I think I’ll be more willing to ask for help in the future.

I went home with a gigantic piece of meat. There was no scenario in which I wasn’t going home with a ton of meat as I was going to roast a whole leg of lamb for just two people. I arrived home and told Ryan that we’d be eating lamb all week. In fact, this recipe has provided us with 7 meals – two dinners each, and three lunches for me.

It also tastes delicious. I told you I was nervous because I had never used some of the ingredients before, like garam masala and tamarind sauce – but I loved it. The flavor of the crust is bold, but in a great way, and it also has lots of familiar tastes too. I was also worried about preparing and cooking the meat. However, that also turned out to be easy. All it took was preparing a marinade, letting the meat sit in the marinade, and baking this in the oven. The magazine says you can also cook it on the grill – and that would give it a gorgeous dark brown crust – but I don’t have a grill. So I used the oven, an that was perfection because I could set it and walk away. After about 30 minutes I had a fully cooked lamb leg that smelled good, looked good (once it’s cut, the whole leg is sort of overwhelming to look at), and tasted even better. Moral of the story: attempt your cooking fears people! Sometimes it turns out great.

Adapted from Great British Food Magazine

Messy level: Three spoons, but only because of the marinade. Making it in the blender is easy enough, but then you have to massage it into the lamb, and then get that lamb into a container to rest. I used a large bag and while trying to get the lamb in and out, I ended up with marinade all over my arm. Messy and yucky. Yeah, yucky is the technical term.

Roast Lamb with a Spiced Crust

 

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Prep time

8 hours 30 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

9 hours

 

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg/3 pound, well-trimmed boned and butterflied leg of lamb

Marinade

• 1 yellow onion, quartered
• 30g/1 oz/ a big handful of mint leaves
• 3½ tablespoons vinegar
• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 35g/thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled
• ½ teaspoon red chili powder
• 120g/ slightly less than ½ cup plain Greek yogurt

Sauce, to serve

• 120g/ slightly less than ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
• 120g/ ½ cup tamarind sauce
• mint leaves, chopped - amount to your taste (I used about 2 tablespoons)

Instructions

1. Ask your butcher to prepare the leg of lamb. Or if you're awesome, do it yourself.
2. In a blender or food processor, add all the marinade ingredients and blend until fairly smooth. It's ok if it's a little chunky, but it should be blended enough that it can be poured together as one thick sauce.
3. Put the lamb on a large cutting board, plate, or storage container. Piece the lamb all over with the fork.
4. Place the lamb into a large bag or in a large storage container (something that will fit in your fridge). Pour the marinade over the lamb.
5. Use your hands to massage the marinade into the lamb. Close the bag or cover the container. Put in your fridge and let it sit overnight - or if you have less time do it for as long as you can.
6. minutes before your ready to start cooking, remove the lamb from the fridge.
7. Preheat your oven to 425°F/220°C.
8. Place the lamb into a large shallow baking dish. Put the dish in the middle of the oven and roast for 15 minutes.
9. Turn the oven down to 350°F/180°C and roast for another 15 minutes.
10. After these 30 minutes, make a small cut in the thickest part to see if the lamb has been cooked to your preferred level of doneness. For me, the edges of the lamb were well done and the middle was still a slight pink (medium). Cook a little longer if you want less pink.
11. Turn the oven off, remove from the heat, and cover loosely with foil. Let the meat rest for 15 minutes.
12. While the lamb is resting make the sauce. In a smallish bowl (a cereal bowl size works) stir together the yogurt, tamarind sauce, and mint leaves. Taste and adjust flavors as needed. Add salt and pepper to taste also.

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Kim is actually someone I credit with helping me learn to cook. Five years ago when I moved to New York I was sad to leave my friends, but one of the ways we kept in touch was through a food blog that Kim ran. You can check it out here. Five of us were contributors and in the about section it says “we can’t cook, but we are gonna damn well try.” All of us had talked about wanting to cook and learn more, and the blog was a way for us to do it together. Kim would choose a theme and we’d all cook to the theme, share some stories, the recipe, and photos. It pushed us to try new things in the kitchen, help each other learn, and for me stay involved with them even though I was states away. When that blog stopped, it pushed me to start Cooking is Messy. 

I like that good food can be a way to connect with people. This recipe in particular is really nice, but the first time I made it Ryan said, “smells good, tastes good, doesn’t look good.” I asked him why and it was because I made it with white rice. It was white chicken, on white rice, on a white place. He was right, it looked bland and not very inviting. Which brings me to something I’ve thought about a lot – what’s more important taste or appearance? I always want to say taste because if food doesn’t taste good then what is the point? However, if it looks bad you won’t even want to eat it so you won’t want to taste it. For example, one of the best things I’ve ever tasted is Jacques Pepin’s French onion soup but the photos I took of it are hideous. How will people know it’s amazing if it looks bad? What do you think – taste or appearance? Feel free to weigh in in the comments.

So to improve, the next time I made this I used red camargue and wild rice, which I had never tried before. The rice is chewier and nuttier than regular white rice. It also of course adds nice color and helps the green basil pop.

Overall this recipe is pretty easy to make, which just a few elements that might be unfamiliar. First, it includes oyster and fish sauces, which are ingredients I’ve never used before. However, if you like cooking Asian dishes it’s probably a worthwhile investment and they aren’t so expensive to buy. Also I really liked the flavors. Something I did final unusual is that this recipe asks you to blitz the chicken in a food processor. This is nice because it decreases cooking time, but it’s just not something I thought about doing before. If you could find ground chicken then you could probably skip this step. What’s best about this recipe is that the final dish ends up with all the flavors – sweet, bitter, spicy, umami. It’s really lovely and complex. Basically, the flavors are doing a ton but it doesn’t require a lot of work from you to get all that deliciousness.

Messy level: So much of the prep is done in the food processor that this makes the cooking part really easy and mess free. However, I hate cleaning all the parts of the food processor and since you’re pulsing raw chicken, you really are going to have to do some serious scrubbing in the end.

Basil Thai Chicken

 

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Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 1 cup of rice (whatever kind you prefer)
• 2-3 cups water
• 1 cup fresh basil, divided
• 2 green or red Thai chiles, or 2 serrano chiles, or 1 jalapeno; stemmed and seeds removed
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1½ teaspoon oyster sauce
• 1½ teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon white vinegar
• 8oz boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2 inches chunks
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• red pepper flakes

Instructions

1. Read package instructions for rice and follow those guidelines. White rice usually needs twice as much water as rice. Red rice needs about three times as much water as rice. So, in a medium saucepan add rice and water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover and let simmer for 30-40 minutes or until the water is absorbed.
2. In a food processor, pulse ½ cup basil with chiles and garlic. Pulse until finely chopped, about 10-12 pulses.
3. Transfer 1½ teaspoons of the basil mix into a small bowl. Scrape the rest of the basil into a large skillet. Set the skillet aside. (Don't put the food processor in the sink, you'll need it again!)
4. Return to the small bowl with the 1½ teaspoons of basil mixture. Add the fish sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, and vinegar. Mix until well combined. Set the sauce aside.
5. Add the chicken pieces to the food processor. Pulse until meat is chopped into small pieces, about 6-10 pulses.
6. Take the food processor bowl with the chicken in it and put it in the fridge for 15 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, add the shallot and oil to the skillet with the basil mixture. Stir until everything is well mixed. Turn the heat to medium and stir occasionally. You want the mixture to be sizzling. Cook for 5-8 minutes or until the shallots are browning and soft.
8. Add the chicken to the skillet. Increase the heat if needed. Stir and break up the chicken with a wooden spoon. After 4-6 minutes, when there are only traces of pink, add the basil-fish sauce mixture.
9. Stir until all the chicken is coated with the sauce. Cook until the chicken is no longer pink, about 2 more minutes
10. Turn off the heat, then add the last ½ cup of basil. Stir until the basil is wilted.
11. Serve chicken on top of the rice. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes.

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I like leftovers. I love having yesterday’s dinner for lunch because something warm and satisfying is often better than a pb&j that got squashed in my purse. While Ryan was in South Africa, I decided I didn’t want to cook every night of the week so I wanted to make something that would yield a lot of leftovers. Meatloaf seemed like a hearty and delicious option. And this recipe fit the bill. I had it for a few days of lunch, and there was even some left over for Ryan to eat when he returned to London tired and hungry.

In my search for a tasty meatloaf recipe, I came across one from Yotam Ottolenghi. To be honest, I’m intrigued and intimidated by Ottolenghi recipes. Yotam Ottolenghi is an Israeli chef based in London. He has multiple restaurants and many cookbooks. His food tends to be influenced by Israeli and Mediterranean flavors. And he’s well known for creating delicious vegetable based recipes. Obviously I’ve ignored the vegetable part and gone straight for the meaty recipes. 

For my birthday last year, Ryan and I went to his restaurant on Upper Street and it was very good. I also felt, it was slightly hyped up. I was expecting to have my mind blown by the food, but everything was served small plate style, and it was kind of expensive and overall I felt that the cost didn’t match up to my expectation. But, I will say the dessert was amazing. The window display overflowed with dessert options, each looking so tempting it was hard to choose. My overall takeaway of the experience was that everything we ate was a combination of interesting and unusual textures and flavors.

And the same is true for the recipes in his cookbooks. When I was first learning to cook, I wanted to get ideas about how to do more with vegetables. I borrowed his book Plenty from the library and I was intimidated. Some of the ingredient lists were a long and had items that I wasn’t familiar with and wasn’t sure I wanted to buy. I wasn’t ready for risk taking and complex cookery.

So when I came across this meatloaf recipe, I was nervous. I read through the recipe and thought, yeah I can do this. Sure, it has some ingredients I wouldn’t usually put in meatloaf, like cinnamon or pine nuts. But, I was willing to try something new. And in fact, I think this is a perfect starter Ottolenghi recipe. Even though the ingredient list is a bit long, it includes items that are all familiar and seasonings you probably already have in your house. I think this recipe will push you out of your comfort zone, but only just the right amount. I thought the texture and combination of this meatloaf was fantastic and really different from the usual slab you’d get at a diner. This recipe also made me receptive to trying other Ottolenghi recipes. This one went well, so I feel confident enough to go back to Plenty and try to tackle some more complex recipes and learn to do awesome things with vegetables.

The original recipe (found here) includes recipe for a yogurt-tomato salsa. I didn’t make that, but you might want to consider it. The first day I made this the meatloaf was so moist that I didn’t need any gravy, ketchup, salsa, or sauce. It was delicious just plain. But as with all meatloaf, after a few days in the fridge it started to get a little dry and would have benefited from the salsa. Since I didn’t make it, I just used barbecue sauce and that was delicious as well.

Finally, this recipe asks you to grate some tomatoes and an onion. I highly, highly, highly recommend using a food processor. I grated the onion using a box grater and started profusely crying. Seriously, I had to stop occasionally because I couldn’t see. Use a food processor and save yourself!

Messy level: The assembly for this recipe is fairly straightforward. You mix all the ingredients in a bowl and then press it into a large pan. It’s the prep where you get messy. You’ll need to do a fair bit of chopping and then the grating requires a food processor which is more equipment to clean. The actual food won’t get everywhere as you cook, but you will have a pile of dishes at the end.

Beef, Lamb and Bulgur Meatloaf

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

1 hour

 

Author: Yotam Ottolenghi

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

• 150g/ ⅔ cup bulgur wheat
• 400g/ 14 oz ground lamb (if you go for a full pound of meat that's ok)
• 400g/ 14 oz ground beef (if you go for a full pound of meat that's ok)
• 1½ teaspoon ground allspice
• 1½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 medium onion, peeled and roughly grated
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 20g/ ¾ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
• 20g/ ¾ cup cilantro leaves, chopped
• 60g pine nuts, roughly chopped
• 2 medium tomatoes, cut in half and roughly grated (discard the skins)
• olive oil

Instructions

1. Put the bulgur in a medium bowl. Cover with 2 cups of warm water and let soak for 15 minutes.
2. Heat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
3. Line a 8x12" pan with parchment paper.
4. Drain the bulgur and press it to squeeze out excess moisture.
5. In a large bowl, add the bulgur, lamb, beef, allspice, cinnamon, salt, grated onion, garlic, parsley, cilantro, pine nuts, and grated tomato. Mix well until everything looks evenly distributed.
6. Transfer the mixture to your prepared pan. Use your hands to press the mixture down so it is tightly packed and even across the pan.
7. Brush the top of the meatloaf with a little bit of olive oil (less than 1 tablespoon should do it).
8. Bake for 30 minutes, or until brown on the top and cooked through.
9. Let cool slightly, then serve.

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One of the things I wanted to eat while in the US was nachos. You might be thinking to yourself, “Mariel, they have to have good nachos somewhere in the UK.” And they probably do, but I was burned – and burned bad. So I’ve only had nachos once in London and didn’t want to risk it again.

Here’s what happened: Ryan and I went to a pub to watch the Arsenal match. We had a few pints and started to feel hungry and we thought, “What kind of bar food do we want? Oh, nachos sounds good!” So we ordered them, not thinking about where we were. Because in the US you can have satisfying nachos pretty much anywhere.

When our plate arrived there were some chips, a smattering of cheese, and big dollops of sour cream and watery salsa. No meat, no beans, no veg, no gooey-ness. I mean, we ate it of course, but I was disappointed. Since then I’ve stuck to homemade nachos.

In Colorado, Katy (my sister-in-law) suggested we make nachos for when we watched the Broncos football game. Boden was our adorable little helper who let us dress him as a football. Isn’t he freaking cute? I made a photo of him the background on my phone and it makes me so happy! Ok but I’m digressing, let’s get back to nachos.

So the thing is, you don’t really need a recipe for nachos because there’s plenty of room for improvisation. We used bison meat which I’d never cooked before this! It’s leaner than beef and has a really delicious flavor. We didn’t add much to it in terms of seasoning, but it was so flavorful!  I know you can get bison meat all over the United States, but being at the edge of Plains and having bison meat somehow felt authentically Colorado. Maybe it’s not authentically Colorado, but that’s how it felt. Anyway, instead of bison, you can use ground beef or turkey, sliced chicken breasts, or beans. In fact, go bigger and make a combo and use both meat and beans!

You can also make nachos really homemade or somewhere in between. We bought jarred salsa but we made guacamole. However, instead of chopping up tomatoes, onions, cilantro and jalapenos we bought pre-made pico de gallo. You can find pico de gallo in the refrigerated section on the produce department. Or, if you want to make your own here’s a recipe from the Pioneer Woman. So find your perfect balance and make what you want or buy what you want.

The key to good nachos is layering. Katy’s secret to good nachos is two layers of cheese. First, a layer of chips, then cheese, then meat, then toppings, then cheese, then salsas. Double cheese layers add extra deliciousness and work as a glue to hold all your nachos fillings together. Genius right?

Last thing, Katy is responsible for the beautiful sour cream piping. Those clouds of sour cream are gorgeous! What’s great about nachos is you can make them your own, and so we decided to make them beautiful.(I alternated in the spoonfuls of guac and salsa) But, it needs to be said that I am so impressed with Katy’s piping as I’m terrible with a piping bag. We decided we would be a perfect team in a bakery – I prefer the baking and she prefers the decorating. Win-win baby. Anyway, presentation is important to making tasty food look even more desirable so artfully dollop on your salsas and once you serve people will be dying to dig in.

Messy level: One spoon. Nachos are so easy! For preparation we only needed one skillet and a bowl to make the guacamole. Everything else just gets layers on the main serving platter. Easy and clean – that is until you start eating.

Bison Nachos

 

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A recipe for hearty bison nachos with guacamole. You will have extra guacamole at the end!

Author: Mariel & Katy

Ingredients

• olive oil
• 1 pound ground bison meat (or substitute ground beef or turkey)
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into thick matchsticks
• 1 green bell pepper, cut into thick matchsticks
• 2-3 ripe avocados
• 1 cup pico de gallo
• 1 lime, sliced in half
• salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp chili powder
• 1 bag of your favorite tortilla chips (we used Scoops)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (you might not need it all)
• ½ cup salsa
• ½ cup sour cream

Instructions

1. Heat a splash of olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
2. Once the oil is hot, add the garlic and ground bison. When 75% of the meat is browned add in the bell pepper. I like adding it here to soften the peppers up a bit and give them some more flavor. Remove from the heat once the meat is completely browned. Set to the side.
3. Cut the avocado lengthwise around the pit. Now you'll have the avocado broken apart into two halves.
4. Using a spoon, scoop out the pit and set it aside.
5. Scoop out the avocado flesh into a medium bowl. Using a fork, mash up the avocado until it is smoother but still with some chunks.
6. Add the pico de gallo to the avocado. Mix thoroughly.
7. Add garlic powder, chili powder, and salt (to your taste) to the avocado mixture. Squeeze half the lime in too. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Add the other half of the lime if you like it, add more garlic and chili powder if you want more "pop." Now you've got guacamole. Add the avocado pits back in to the guacamole. This keeps it from getting immediately brown.
8. Arrange the tortilla chips onto a large serving tray.
9. Sprinkle half the shredded cheese over the chips.
10. Spoon the ground bison and bell pepper mixture evenly over the cheese.
11. Sprinkle the other half of the cheese over the meat.
12. Put the serving tray in the microwave and heat on high for 1 minute at a time, until the cheese is melted.
13. Artfully dollop the sour cream, salsa, and guacamole evenly on top of the cheese.
14. If you have more cheese left over, sprinkle a little more on top.
15. Serve while hot and gooey!

3.2.2925

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Almost every time I go to a book store, I look at Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I hold it in my hand and I think about buying it. Julia Child is an iconic American cook and it feels like this book is one of those books you’re supposed to have if you are a cooking enthusiast. But, I never buy it. I never buy the book because usually it’s a gigantic hardcover and costs a ton of money and will be frustrating to lug home. However, that day in the book store they had both volumes of Mastering the Art of French Cooking in a slim paperback form. The book was inexpensive, the size of  novel, and would easily fit into my purse.

I had a quick internal debate with myself. It went something like this: This is a good deal, I should buy it. Should I buy it? No, I have enough cookbooks. But this is not just any cookbook. It’s Julia Child’s cookbook. And it’s so small and a good price. Should I get both volumes? No, then I’ll definitely have too many and both won’t qualify as an impulse buy. I’ll get just the one. What if it’s written with European measurements since I’m buying it in London? Whew, no it’s not. Ok I’ll get it. Should I check on Amazon to see if I get a better deal? No, if I do that I’ll definitely talk myself out of this. Ok, let’s buy it.

Does all of that back and forth make me sound neurotic? Maybe. But, now I had the book and it was time to start cooking. No surprise, the book is really nice. The tone is straightforward but helpful and encouraging in the notes and directions. There are tables for weight and temperature conversions, helpful illustrations, and information on what types of tools to use.

I decided to start with beef bourguignon, in part because it sounds delicious, and in part because in the movie Julie and Julia it looks so decadent. Honestly though, I have no idea how Julie Powell ever cooked through this book because some of these recipes take a really long time! Like this one, it takes all day. You should eat lunch while making this, and not just have an ice cream cone. If you just have an ice cream cone you’ll be ravenous by the time this is done. I may or may not have done that. But I’m an adult, I can have ice cream for breakfast if I want to.

Truly, this stew is a lazy Sunday kind of meal because it takes over three hours to prepare. In the end it’s worth it, because all that time creates a complex and layered broth that is so lovely. The meat becomes tender, the onions soft and herbal in flavor, and the mushrooms (which I usually hate) have a nice silky texture.

Recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Simone Beck, and Louisette Bertholle. Also, a warning, this recipe has two mini-recipes within the larger recipe.

Messy level: I found this one hard to quantify. You can definitely reuse pots and pans in this recipe. And, while the stew is in the oven for 3 hours, there is plenty of time for  leisurely clean up. However, even though my kitchen didn’t look like a disaster at the end of cooking, I know I used a lot of knives, cutting boards, pots, pans, and general utensils. Even just writing out the instructions, I was exhausted by the amount of dishes needed. I just had to give this four spoons.

Beef Bourguignon

 

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Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 6 oz streaky bacon (you can also buy this pre-cut into lardons)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 pounds lean stew beef, cut in 2 inch cubes
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 oz flour (about 2 tablespoons)
• 1¼ pints (about 3 cups), red wine (I used Chianti)
• ¾ pint (slightly less than 2 cups), beef stock
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 cloves garlic, mashed
• ½ teaspoon thyme
• 1 bay leaf, crumbled

brown-braised onions

• 18 small onions (about 1" long)
• 1 oz butter
• 1 tablespoon oil
• ¼ pint (slightly more than ½ cup) beef stock or dry wine (red or white, I used white)
• salt and pepper
• 4 parsley sprigs
• ½ bay leaf
• ¼ teaspoon thyme

sauteed mushrooms

• 2 oz butter
• 2 tablespoon oil
• 1 pound fresh mushrooms, cut in quarters

Instructions

1. Cut bacon into lardons (sticks ¼x1½" long)
2. Bring a pot of water to a simmer. Add the bacon to the simmering water and cook for 10 minutes. Drain and dry.
3. Preheat oven to 450/230°.
4. In a saucepan, saute the bacon in oil over moderate heat for 2-3 minutes. This is to brown them slightly.
5. Remove bacon from pan with slotted spoon and set aside.
6. Make sure the fat is still hot, then add the beef a few pieces at a time. Cook until browned on all sides.
7. Remove beef from fat and put with the bacon.
8. In the same fat, now cook the vegetables until browned.
9. Put the bacon, beef, and vegetables in a large casserole dish. Season with the salt and pepper, then mix.
10. Now sprinkle with the flour and mix again to lightly coat everything in flour.
11. Place casserole in the oven for 4 minutes.
12. Remove from oven, mix the meat again. Return to the oven for 4 more minutes.
13. Remove casserole from the oven, and turn it down to 325/160°.
14. Stir in the wine. Then add enough beef stock so the meat is just covered.
15. Add the tomato paste, garlic, and herbs.
16. Cover the casserole, and place in the oven.
17. Cook for 3-4 hours. The meat is done when a fork can easily piece it.
18. While the beef is cooking, first prepare the brown-braised onions. Peel the onions (you can do this straight away or by putting them into boiling water for 10 seconds, then it's easier)
19. In a large saucepan, heat the butter and olive oil. Heat until the fat is bubbling a bit.
20. Add the onions and saute over medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Roll the onions around so they brown as evenly as possible.
21. Then, pour in the liquid (stock or wine). Add the herbs (parsley, thyme, and bay leaf) to the liquid.
22. Cover the pan and turn the heat to low. Simmer for 40-50 minutes. The onions are done when they are tender but aren't mushy, and the liquid has evaporated.
23. Next start on the sautéed mushrooms. Clean out the frying pan you used for the onions. Heat up the butter and oil over high heat. Once the butter is done foaming, add the mushrooms.
24. Toss the mushrooms for about 8 minutes, until the mushrooms are starting to brown. Remove from heat and set aside.
25. Ok your meat is finally done! Using a sieve, or a slotted spoon, separate the meat and vegetables from the broth.
26. Put the broth in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Skim off the fat. Heat the broth until it lightly coats the back of a spoon.
27. Plate the beef and vegetables. Pour the broth over meat. Eat!

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