Foodmomiac

Foodmomiac's Macaroni Salad

I have never been a huge fan of macaroni salad. It's usually gloppy and overly sweet, and just... blah. But, there's something really appealing about a macaroni salad. I love elbow macaroni, and I love mayo-based salads, so I always knew that I could probably rescue this dish.

After doing some online research and some in-kitchen tinkering, I think we have a winner. This is based off of a recipe I found on All Recipes, but the additions and changes make it my own. Enjoy! (Note: this makes 10 VERY generous servings, so make sure you have plenty of guests, or are ready to eat macaroni salad every day for a week.)

Foodmomiac's Macaroni Salad

1 box elbow macaroni
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup turbinado sugar
2-1/2 tablespoons yellow mustard
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 sweet white onion, cut into 3-4 big chunks
2 stalks celery, cut into 3-4 big chunks
2 carrots, cut into 3-4 big chunks (you can use a handful of baby carrots if that's all you have on hand)
3 hard boiled eggs, diced
2 dill pickles, diced

Cook macaroni for eight minutes. Drain, rinse in cold water and set aside.

Mix together the mayo, vinegar, sugar, mustard, salt and pepper in a large bowl.

In a food processor, mince the onion, celery and carrots. (You can also just dice these finely on your own, but the food processor does a great job and is super fast.)

Add the veggies to the sauce in the bowl, along with the macaroni, eggs and pickles. Mix to combine, cover, and refrigerate for at least two hours (overnight is fine, and probably preferable!)

Winging it (Chorizo Kale Pasta)

Chorizo Kale Pasta
Originally uploaded by Foodmomiac

We were away all last weekend in Toledo, which was a lot of fun, but we didn't get home until late Sunday night. This translates to no groceries in the house. I DID get our au pair a Trader Joe's gift card, so that she could pick things up for the house while we're at work, but that seems to have translated from English to German into, "Hey, go buy as much mochi as you can find! Hurry! Fill the freezer with mochi!!" So... lots of Japanese ice cream. But, in terms of other food? Not so much. I take full blame for this. Sending an 18-year-old to the grocery store with no list is just not smart. So, anyway... we don't have much food.

Luckily, we did have some fun ingredients left over from last week's trip to the Farmer's Market, including kale and lamb chorizo. I decided to create a pasta dish. I minced one small onion and sauteed it in a tablespoon or two of extra virgin olive oil. Then, I sliced up two links of the chorizo and added those, cooking them until they were nice and brown. I then added a couple of tablespoons of flour to create a roux. I poured in a box of chicken broth, added the cleaned and chopped kale, and covered the pan until the kale was steamed to perfection and the sauce was slightly thickened. (I stirred occasionally to help things along). While I made the sauce, I cooked the pasta. Once it was done, I drained it, added it to the sauce, and tossed the whole concoction with a handful of grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

Yum - it was really good!

P.S. How is everyone doing with the shred? I've missed a few days, but I'm up to Level 3. Was not a huge fan of Level 2.

Vegan Curry

  Steamy Vegetable Curry 
  Originally uploaded by Foodmomiac

When I was a junior in college, I was a miserable person. I spent the first semester in Paris, which sounds very romantic, but in reality, it was pathetic. Instead of exploring the city, I sat in my depressing ground-level apartment, smoking endless cigarettes and pining for my boyfriend back home (with whom I broke up a day after I returned home).

Second semester, I was back at school, but still in a funk. I moved off campus, tried to teach myself guitar, and spent a lot of time sitting in my tapestry-heavy room, just brooding and listening to the Grateful Dead.

It's probably a good thing that I stayed in that room so much. The house I moved into was disgusting. (Seriously, ask my dad. He still has nightmares about the compost heap we had stewing IN OUR KITCHEN.) At the time, though, I thought it was amazing. I lived with a bunch of vegan hippies, and despite the filth that surrounded us, we managed to make some amazing meals.

My veganism lasted just a couple of months, but I still make this recipe. Back then it was part of our weekly menu. These days, I make it less often, but you've gotta love a recipe that uses up leftover veggies, is loved by kids (Dylan helped herself to a second bowl when I served it Monday night), and is super healthy.

Vegan Curry
Olive oil
1 apple
1 onion
2 Tb. curry powder (at least)
3 small potatoes, diced
3 carrots, diced (you can also just cut some baby carrots in half, if that's all you have)
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup frozen peas
1 can chickpeas, drained
1/2 cup raisins
2 Tb. apricot jam (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the oil. Saute the onions and apples in the oil until the onions are translucent and the apples start to soften up a bit. Add the curry powder and combine well. Quickly add the potatoes and carrots, stirring the entire time. You don't want the curry powder to burn, but you do want to release all of the fragrance. Add the vegetable broth, chickpeas and raisins. At this point, you'll want to taste your concoction. The potatoes will still be firm, but you will get a sense of the seasonings you need to add. If it is too bland, add more curry. I added the apricot jam the other night, because I wanted it to be sweeter. You can also add salt and pepper at this point. Once it is seasoned properly, turn the heat to low and cover. You'll probably need to cook it for another 30 minutes, but this will vary based on the type of potato you used and how small you diced it. The dish is done when the apples have melted into the sauce and the potatoes are no longer raw.

This dish is GREAT over basmati rice, but I didn't plan ahead the other night, so we had it with Garlic Naan from Trader Joe's. (The Naan is NOT vegan - it is made with yogurt.)

Roasted Vegetable Risotto (with a story)

  Roasted Vegetable Risotto 
  Originally uploaded by Foodmomiac

Jen was my roommate in college for both our sophomore and our senior years. Actually, (and this is probably one of the reasons we still keep in touch), we never had to share a room. Our sophomore year, we had the very best dorm room at Vassar. It was called the Rockefeller suite, and legend had it that it was built for the Rockefeller girls. I'm not sure if that's true, but the room ROCKED. There were two bedrooms, a full bath (seriously!) and built-in bookcases. We were living the life.

Senior year, we shared a townhouse with three other roommates, and did a ton of cooking. Towards the end of the year, we decided to invite one of our professors over for dinner with his wife. I can no longer recall what inspired us to do this, but I remember working so hard on a risotto dish. I'll need to pull out that recipe sometime, but it wasn't a true risotto (I'll explain what that is in a minute). It was basically rice, veggies and LOTS of cheese. It was really good, though. So good, in fact, that a couple of months ago, Jen emailed me asking for the recipe and for tips on how to make risotto!

As is often the case with me, I don't use a recipe. But, trust me, this is easy. I made this last night with Max literally hanging from my back pocket. (I don't recommend that, by the way. TOTALLY annoying.)

Risotto alla Danielle

Stock
Onion, chopped finely
Arborio Rice
White wine or dry vermouth
Stuff (roasted vegetables, cooked chicken, sauteed mushrooms, whatever you want)
Parmigiano Reggiano

Pull out two pots (one bigger one, one smaller one). In the small one, heat up some stock (chicken or vegetable), and keep at a low simmer (I used almost an entire 32 oz. box). Heat the large one over medium heat, and add some olive oil. Add the onion and saute until translucent. Put in the rice. For a family of four, a cup of raw rice is sufficient. Saute the rice for a minute or two. Add a splash or two of the wine (I used dry vermouth since I didn't have a bottle of white open), and cook until it evaporates. Then, using a ladle, add a 1/2 cup or so of stock and stir it into the rice. Continue stirring until the rice absorbs the liquid. Once it's absorbed, add some more. You want to continue doing this until the rice is cooked. Arborio rice will still be kind of al dente when it's done. It will have a nice chew to it. When the rice is NEARLY done, you can add your "stuff." I added some roasted cauliflower and asparagus (roasted with olive oil at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes). You can add sauteed mushrooms, or cooked chicken, or whatever, really. A good idea is to Google "risotto" and find some ideas. The above formula will work for whatever risotto you make.

When the risotto is done, top with grated Parm and serve!

The World's Most Expensive Chicken (with a recipe for Hungarian Dumplings)

  Homemade Chicken Soup - Max's Bowl 
  Originally uploaded by Foodmomiac

I think I mentioned that after I finished Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, I did my food shopping online. I got my staples from Peapod, and then ordered my meat and produce from Fresh Picks, a local service that gets food from (mostly) local farmers, and delivers it once a week. One of the items I ordered was a whole chicken, cut up. It was about 5 pounds, and the total cost was $20.

For those accustomed to buying their chickens at Costco or the supermarket, this price is outrageous. But, when you consider that this chicken was organic, and was raised at a family farm, allowed to roam free all day, it becomes worth it. Also, if you compare it to eating out, it's way cheaper. This $20 chicken fed three adults and two children on Wednesday (we made a version of Chris' recipe). And then it make a delicious soup for two adults and two children last night. AND, I have a really big container of the soup left over. See?? A bargain.

For the soup, I was craving Hungarian dumplings (virtually the same thing as German Spaetzle), which are really easy to make, especially if you have a Spaetzle Maker. I put the leftover chicken in a big pot with carrots, celery and onion. Then, I covered everything with fresh water and let it cook for a few hours. I removed and discarded the onion. I pulled the chicken off the bone and chopped it up, adding it back into the stock. I also chopped up the carrots and celery and added those back as well. This soup went into the fridge to hang out until we were ready to eat.

About 45 minutes before dinner time, I put the soup pot back on the stove. In the meantime, I prepared the dumpling batter. The recipe came from The Frugal Gourmet on our Immigrant Ancestors. It's super easy. Combine 2-1/2 cups flour, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. baking powder. In another container, combine 2 eggs beaten, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup water and 2 Tb. oil (you can also use lard for a more authentic Hungarian flavor). Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well. This will produce a very sticky batter. Let it hang out on the counter while you wait for your soup to get nice and hot. When the soup is ready to be dumpling'd, put the batter into your spaetzle maker, and let the dumplings fall in. They will quickly rise to the surface, at which point your soup is ready to eat. If you don't have a spaetzle maker, you can put the batter in a large ziploc bag and cut a 1/4 inch size hole in one corner. Then, squeeze out small pieces into your soup.

You can also cook spaetzle in salted, boiling water. Once done, transfer them to a colander. If you cook them this way, you also have the option to follow the boiling with some pan frying in butter. Yum.

Chicken and Rice Casserole - A Not So Surprising Hit!

  Chicken and Rice Casserole 
  Originally uploaded by Foodmomiac

Late yesterday at work, I realized that I had no plans for dinner, didn't want to take the kids out, and couldn't bear the thought of another home-cooked meal snubbed by my children.

After thinking things over, I decided to stick with a tried and true kids' favorite, the casserole. Now, I know this might be surprising to those of you who consider me a food snob, but sometimes we all crave comfort food, and sometimes we all need a dish that is easy to prep and leaves very few dishes in its wake.

The other day on eGullet, someone linked to the top 100 recipes piece on the Food Network site. Number six was this casserole, and something about it hit home for me. It just seemed like it would be so comforting and easy. It totally was, and both kids ate it. (Cue applause.)

I made a bunch of changes, so feel free to do so yourself. I used frozen Trader Joe's french green beans (broken up) instead of canned. I added frozen peas. I omitted the water chestnuts and pimentos. I used a touch less mayo. I used dehydrated minced onion instead of a fresh one sauteed. I used organic cream of celery soup. Oh, and I used Jasmine rice instead of a wild rice blend. To add to the ease of preparation, the rice I used was the precooked kind from the Trader Joe's freezer section - it cooked in 3 minutes. For the chicken, I didn't have any cooked chicken on hand, so based on a past recommendation from City Mama herself, I used the ultra premium canned chicken from Trader Joe's. And, it was perfectly good.

Halloween biscuits

I am on the plane to London, but we are stuck at the gate. We were actually racing down the runway when the plane abruptly stopped. Apparently, the computer radar was alerting the pilots to weather problems that weren't. So, as I wait for the technicians to fix things, I figured I'd blog from my blackberry.

A couple of weekends ago, Dylan's friend Ruby and her mom Michelle came over for a playdate. Dylan had been well-behaved the week prior, so I wanted to reward her with some baking. She loves her Pink Princess Cookbook (by Barbara Beery) and picked out the cheesy biscuit recipe. In the book, these are shaped like flowers, but we used our Halloween cookie cutters. They looked great, especially since they were bright orange from the cheese.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a big bowl, combine a very soft stick of butter, 2 cups of heated cheddar cheese, and a tablespoon of worcestershire sauce or soy sauce. Once this is well blended, add one cup of flour, a dash of salt and a pinch of cayenne if you like. Roll out and use cookie cutters to form any shapes you want. Place biscuits on a nonstick cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. 

Easy Pasta Salad

  Trashy Pasta Salad 
  Originally uploaded by Foodmomiac.

I never order Ranch dressing at a restaurant. I get Bleu Cheese, or Vinaigrette, or if I'm feeling wild, Thousand Island. At home, I make my own dressing. We never buy the stuff.

Ranch dressing, though, seems to be the most popular dressing in the US. Whenever I'm out to dinner, I hear people ordering it left and right. Most of my friends at work get Ranch on their salads. But I never do. And, were it not for this pasta salad, I'd even venture to say that I hate the stuff. I certainly would never eat it on a typical lettuce salad.

But, for some reason, this pasta salad is different. It makes Ranch taste great. I have no idea why. And, were it not for Jessica Alexander, back in 8th grade, I'd never know how good it was. She brought it in one day for some sort of class party, and went on and on about how fabulous it was. And, she was right. It was damn good. Stupid easy, but good. I used to use Hidden Valley for the salad, but tried Marzetti's tonight. It was an excellent substitute, and the ingredient list was blessedly short and simple.

Pasta Salad
Cooked and cooled pasta (I love using tri-color rotini)
Bell peppers, multi-colored, cut into small dice
Gherkins or small dill pickles, cut into small dice
Small can of diced ripe olives
Ranch dressing

Add veggies and dressing to pasta, toss and serve. I don't have any measurements here - make as much or as little as you like. If you use Hidden Valley, one bottle is enough for a pound of pasta.

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