Mashed Potato Remix

Sometimes leftovers surprise you. I started out with a version of Bubble & Squeak – also known as mashed potatoes fried up with cabbage or other leftover roasted veggies. Already, we’re in leftover territory, although I made this dish as the original meal using homemade mashed potatoes and braised chopped cabbage.  A good meal for [...]

Very Late Summer Pasta Bake

This is more of an improvisation than a recipe, which feels fitting for the very tail end of summer. I used what I had in my kitchen, and I didn’t do any measuring for this one, so here’s a rough sketch of the steps involved. For one person, collect about 1/2 pint of late summer [...]

Mushroom Scramble

For this spur-of-the-moment, dark-hued scramble, thinly slice or dice one shallot and add this to a pat of butter melting in a skillet over medium-low heat. Let the shallot soften for about 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add anywhere from three to five smallish crimini mushrooms, roughly diced. If the pan is dry, add a [...]

Cool Rice Salad for Hot Days

For days when it’s just too hot to contemplate cooking, it’s good to have some meals on hand that are filling but don’t require actual cooking. The trick with this one is that you have to plan ahead a bit because the two main components do require the hot stove as well as time – [...]

Zucchini “Pasta”

Something to do with the summer squash invasion while also incorporating some of the mint from the huge bunch you may have picked up at the farmers market or your own garden: 4 small zucchini, about 1 pound, julienned 1 clove garlic (or more, if you love garlic), red pepper flakes, vermouth (or white wine) [...]

Fun Things to Do With Pita

Here are some things you can do when you have a stack of pita (rounds): Spinach enchilada (variation): grated Colby Jack cheese, mixed with chopped fresh spinach, between pita halves; proceed as with a classic grilled cheese sandwich: start with one pita half in a hot, oiled cast iron pan, layer on the spinach and [...]

Mushroom Stroganoff

A comforting dish for those times when things are colder than they should be. For this version: 10 – 16 oz mushrooms (a mix of wild ones, or some crimini, or basic white ones) halved or quartered or thinly sliced; 1 large or 2 small onions (or just half a large one, if you’d like [...]

Cooking the Pantry – Winter Pasta Edition

At times, it becomes glaringly necessary to clear out some aged items from your pantry or fridge. I had a quarter (approx) bottle of blue cheese dressing sitting in the fridge that needed to be used. Bottled blue cheese dressing is not one of my favorites (I inherited that bottle) but I also hate to [...]

Spanish Tortilla (sort of)

A dish like this is why I love having a mandoline/slicer: it makes quick work of potatoes, delivering lovely thin slices that cut down (ha, sorry) on the time required for something delicious like Spanish tortillas. In this case I started with Austrian fingerling potatoes, reducing two mutant fingerlings the size of small hands (well, [...]

Spring Salad

Once again, I’m spurred to action of the cooking sort by rapidly aging produce. This time, it’s peas. Spring means fresh peas, and in a burst of enthusiasm I got shell peas from my CSA. And then promptly let them sit in the fridge for a week. Luckily, the awesome Orangette‘s podcast Spilled Milk just [...]