the arugula files

Savory Palmiers

When I was fifteen I worked at a Barbara Ann's Bakery,  where I would eat sugary palmiers by the dozen when my boss wasn't looking.  These savory palmiers are stuffed with goat cheese, sundried tomatoes, and pesto. They are easy to make and are a perfect treat for salty snackers like me.

The recipe comes from Ina Garten's book Back to Basics.  I think Ina should have called her book Back to Heaven.  If you have a few bucks to spend on a cook book, this is the one for you.

There's a New Grilled Cheese in Town

I love me some grilled cheese.  Over time my grilled cheese sandwiches have transformed from white bread and Velveeta cheese wonders to a healthier, tastier version (not that the original wasn't good).  I've just become a little more health conscious.  I also discovered that whole ingredients taste better. 

Here's my take on grilled cheese. Think of it as inspiration, rather than a recipe.

Rigatoni with Arugula Pesto and Prosciutto

A big bowl of pasta makes me seriously happy.  Really, really, happy.  I think pasta triggers a dopamine response in my brain.  It's a little like heroin.

Remember in Brokeback Mountain when Jack says to Ennis, "I wish I knew how to quit you." I feel the same way about pasta.  I just can't do it.  And I won't switch to whole grain pasta.  I tried that ugliness before and those were dark days.  How many people out there eat whole grain pasta instead of the regular stuff? 

Carrot Tea Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Does a slice of carrot cake count as one of your daily vegetable servings if you use real carrots?  I think so.

I really like carrot cake, but I don't make it often because baking an entire cake is just too much cake in my house.  We just can't eat it fast enough, no matter how good it is.  That's why a smaller version of this cake jumped out at me from the pages of Everyday Food, Martha Stewart's TV Guide size magazine. 

With a few adjustments, the cake turned out perfectly.  I added raisins because, really, is it carrot cake without raisins?  I also decreased the amount of sugar in the frosting because I prefer the taste of cream cheese to sugar.  And, as a postscript, the next time I make this I will probably add walnuts as well.

Bravo!  The cake was moist and light, with a hint of spicy sweetness.  Just the way carrots should be.

Angel Hair Pasta with White Clam Sauce

I really enjoy eating seafood. But, I'm concerned.  I'm worried that some day there will be no more fish in the sea, and my kids (who are theoretical at this point) will ask me what lobster tastes like, and, instead of serving some, I'll have to describe it to them.  Even worse, I'll have some explaining to do when the next question--why aren't there any more lobsters in the ocean?--comes up.  Um, because Mommy ate all of them.

Bay Scallop Gratin for One

This recipe is adapted from Ina Garten's book, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: How to Get Great Flavors from Simple Ingredients.  As far as I'm concerned it's the best cookbook of the year. 

Since Marcus doesn't eat scallops, I had to turn this dinner for four into dinner for one.  I made guesses on how to adapt the ingredients so that I could use a half pound of scallops instead of two pounds, which is what the original calls for--and I had to omit some ingredients that I didn't have on hand, and I wanted to cut down the butter (just a bit).  In spite of my guess work, the dish turned out perfectly.

The original recipe is here.  I must say that Ina is one of my favorite cooks.  Her recipes always work and they are full of flavor.  Did you know that Ina started off her career in Washington, DC as an examiner at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)?  Crazy.

Happy Valentines Day, Cilantro

photo by flickr user abbyladybug

Recently the Wall Street Journal ran an article  describing cilantro haters.  According to the article, cilantro haters are rabid beings that are known to hurl burritos across the room if they include any green flecks.  Apparently the number of haters is not trivial and they are showing up all around the internets, including 40 FACEBOOK pages where cilantro-phobes congregate.  I remember reading once that 10 percent of the population thinks cilantro taste like soap, or dirt.   Cilantro has inspired poetry, but no wars, at least that I know of.

I'm a cilantro lover myself.  And, since I'm a champion of the under dog--and cilantro appears to be getting some bad press, and, of course, it's valentines day--I thought I would send a little love note to my favorite herb in the form of a haiku.

Cilantro green love
You make everything taste good
Ignore those hatahs

Are you a lover or a hater?

Biscuit-Palooza: Cream or Lard? Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits

Welcome to part 2 of biscuit-palooza, where a few biscuit lovers are searching for the answer to the age old question--cream or lard? During part 1 of biscuit-palooza we tested a cream biscuit recipe.  This part 2 recipe falls into the lard category; these biscuits are made with butter, buttermilk, and vegetable shortening.  A word about vegetable shortening, i.e., Crisco.  It's weird--and scary.  It's also not good for you.  Still, we wanted to try it to see if shortening improved the taste.  Plus all of us remember having cans of Crisco in our childhood homes, so it was a little bit of nostalgia as well.

Fig, Thyme, and Andouille Sausage Pizza

The other day I spotted a box of figs at Whole Foods.  Yes, they were from California.  Yes, I still wanted them.  Yes, I bought them.  Go ahead and judge me.  I'm at the point in winter when I'm over apples that are totally past their peak and I am craving blood oranges and pineapple.  Strawberries too.  I can't take it any more. After making my case to a small jury of lemons and limes, I convinced myself that my carbon footprint was relatively impressive.  So I bought the figs with pizza in mind.  A pizza that I had a Liberty Tavern that still takes up space in my brain and makes my stomach growl. 

Biscuit-Palooza: Cream or Lard? Cream Biscuits

Here's a critical question: which is better for making biscuits--cream or lard?  This question--the great debate, so to say--is the focus of biscuit-palooza.  The challenge: find a great biscuit recipe that isn't too complicated, and produces biscuits that taste buttery, salty, flaky, and yummy in my tummy.  To find the answer, my friend Jeff and I embarked on an epic journey.  We tested three different recipes: one with cream, one with Crisco and butter, and one with butter and cream.  All of these recipes had different prep difficulty ratings, which I will discuss.  There's no time to waste.  Let's get started.