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Colorful Market Cooking

29 Sep

One of my dear friends, Noa, introduced me to the market in Grand Central Station.  Prior to that, I didn’t think shopping for fresh goods in a train station was rational, but boy was I wrong!  She introduced me to the market a few months ago and I wrote about it here.  This time, I went back to Koglin Royal Hams and got the same delicious veal brats as last time as well as the Swiss cheese filled hot dogs.  As we were exiting I decided I had to have a pluot(cross between a plum and an apricot) and noticed that this stand had beautiful looking purple potatoes.  I thought these would be a lovely compliment to falic looking meat so I went with it.  I tasked Mike to pick up whatever veggie he wanted to complete the meal.

I decided to go with roasted purple potatoes with roasted garlic.  It was a good decision. They were easy, amazing, and I highly recommend them.

Going into the oven:

Coming out of the oven:

Mike’s selection was broccoli with parmesan cheese.  I steamed it first, then put the shaved parm over it and put it in the oven with the potatoes for 5 minutes to get the cheese nice and melty.

I was much more careful not to explode my brats this time and went with a slightly different preparation method.  I put them into a pan with about 1/2 inch of water and let it simmer slightly for 10 minutes (no boiling… except when I left the heat on too much). 

I still preferred the veal brats over the Swiss cheese dogs, but the dogs would be great on a grill. The Swiss cheese filling was quite yummy.

It made for a colorful (and delicious) plate:

I’m not the biggest broccoli fan but with melted cheese it is absolutely delicious.   The potatoes were, by far, the stand out on this plate.  I want to eat more right now just looking at the pictures.

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RECIPE
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Roasted Purple Potatoes

Ingredients:

  • Purple potatoes (we got 1 pound, but more would have been better)
  • Head of garlic (all garlic peeled and removed whole)
  • 1 Tbs. Olive oil (or more, whatever is needed to coat)
  • 1 tsp. Rosemary
  • Salt & Pepper

Directions:

  1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
  2. Cut up potatoes into wedges or slices about 1/2 inch thick
  3. Toss potato pieces, whole pieces of garlic, rosemary, and salt and pepper to taste in pan with olive oil
  4. Cover with tin foil and put in pre-heated oven for 45 minutes
  5. Serve

It’s that easy!

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Jewish “Soul” Food

25 Sep

The first time I ever cooked something (baking doesn’t count) that made someone say “Wow! This is good! What on earth is this and how do you make it?” was when I made Kasha Varnishkas for my roommate, Kim, in college.  Now I think I managed to screw that one up by adding about 6 cloves are garlic (I learned), but I think Kim saw the hope.  She has since begun cooking this dish for herself (and her husband) and it makes me proud to hear.  I have actually been trying to make it lately, however, the grocery store near my apartment doesn’t carry Kasha (boo!)  When Kim heard of this problem, she sent me a surprise package of Kasha all the way from the Pittsburgh suburbs.  Thanks Kim!  It arrived on Monday morning and I cooked it Monday night.

Now I don’t make kasha in the way that Jewish delis make kasha.  This was the first recipe I ever really experimented with.  Rather than follow the directions on the box, I decided first to add garlic.  Then the next round I added onions.  Then next time it was mushrooms.  It was slowly getting there.  Then I did an experiment that revolutionized kasha (to me and the family anyway).  I added cream of mushroom soup.  V’oila!  Sara’s Kasha was born.

The pictures look pretty bland, but it’s delicious.  I like it alone as a meal, but some people would probably prefer it as a side dish.  Added benefit: Kasha is pretty healthy! It’s a whole grain (buckwheat), low in fat, and gluten free.  You can add other veggies into the browning process or grilled chicken, but I like it pretty basic.  Maybe it’s nostalgia…


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Recipe:
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Kasha Varnishkas:

Ingredients:

  • Varnishkas, I believe, is just bow-tie pasta.  So buy a box and cook it up!
  • Kasha (Wolf’s brand is good and the only kind I’ve ever seen in normal grocery stores, and I prefer the large grain, though fine is good too)
  • Egg (check recipe on the box… some require egg and some don’t)
  • Butter
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 1 medium onion
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • Olive Oil
  • 1/2 cup of fresh mushrooms or 1 small can of mushrooms
  • 1 can of 98% Fat Free Cream of Mushroom Condensed Soup

Directions:

  1. Cook Kasha per the recipe on the box (about 10 minutes)
  2. Cook Pasta per recipe on the box (start pasta pending how long it takes to cook)
  3. While the Kasha is cooking, brown onion and garlic in a bit of olive oil. 
  4. Toss in mushrooms and cream of mushroom soup into the onion and garlic towards end of cooking time for Kasha, just to warm
  5. When kasha is done, fold in soup mixture
  6. Toss with pasta and serve (I recommend with salt)

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An excuse to use adorable poachers

19 Sep

So upon a shopping spree at Broadway Panhandler (thank you Lori for turning me onto this store!) I found these adorable egg poachers.  They’re cracked egg shaped silicone bowls that you float in boiling water to perfectly poach an egg.  I was looking for a good excuse to use them, so a night without dinner plans proved perfect. 

I heated up soba (buckwheat) noodles and some frozen veggie assortment that had sat in the freezer since who knows when.  Added some Purdue Italian Marinated Chicken “Short Cuts” (they are fabulous and easy!) and topped with the poached egg and a splash of basil olive oil. 

The meal was good but not great.  Would have been much better with fresh veggies, this brand of soba noodles were bland, and I slightly over poached the egg. Will know for next time!

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