Category Archives: Dishes

Frittata with Wild Mushrooms, Ramps, and Goat Cheese

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In the digital age that we live in, it shouldn’t surprise you to hear that I do most of my grocery shopping online through Fresh Direct. Aside from amazing convenience and consistently great quality produce one of my favorite features is the “great right now” section with all the top rated, in season fruits and vegetables for the week. For the most part, that’s how I decide what to get each week.

This week, ramps were on the list so I decided to try some! I learned from some research that ramps are wild leeks and have a taste that is somewhere between onion and garlic. They have a bulb similar to a spring onion and a leafy top that reminds me of spinach. What I didn’t realize was that there aren’t exactly a plethora of unique recipes out there for ramps. It seems like you have 3 main options: pickle them, make pesto out of them, serve them with eggs. After searching around and consulting some cooking friends, I decided to go for a light, springy recipe to celebrate the ramps: a frittata.

Now, I’m not going to re-hash all the reasons why I love frittatas (you can read them here). Tonight my frittata included:michdish 001

  • 1 Tbsp vegetable oil (or olive oil)
  • 4 oz mixed mushrooms
  • 1/2 a bunch of ramps, washed, bottoms trimmed, and roughly chopped
  • 1/4 tsp garlic salt
  • 4-5 splashes worcestershire sauce
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/3 cup skim milk
  • 1 1/2 tsp bouquet garni (or Italian seasoning)
  • 2 oz goat cheese

The other thing you’ll need is a non stick skillet that is ovenproof. I used a medium sized one because I was making dinner for two. Before you start the stove-top prep, preheat your oven to 375*F. Heat the oil in your skillet and add the bottom of the ramps (the parts that look most like scallions). Once the whites become translucent and the greens start to brown, add the mushrooms and garlic salt. Worcestershire sauce is my other trick for mushrooms. Just 4-5 splashes while they’re cooking adds such a nice depth of flavor and compliments the earthiness nicely. michdish 005Once the mushrooms are cooked, add the leafy parts of the ramps. michdish 006Don’t be alarmed if your pan looks like it’s going to overflow, these greens (like most others) will wilt down to almost nothing!

In a separate bowl, mix eggs, milk, and seasoning until well combined. I used bouquet garni because it’s a great Italian style seasoning blend from Penzey’s,but any type of pre-made Italian seasoning or whatever similar seasonings (basil, rosemary, oregano) you have in the cabinet will be fine- at the end of the day you’re seasoning eggs. Once all the vegetables are cooked, spread them out evenly along the bottom of the skillet:
michdish 007 Pour egg mixture evenly around the skillet to coat veggies. Lower the heat to medium-low and crumble the goat cheese over the top. michdish 008Move skillet to the top rack of the oven and cook for about 10 minutes or until the center is firm. michdish 009Be careful removing the pan because the handle is hot!! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve burnt my hand because I forgot that the whole thing was in the oven and I accidentally grabbed the handle. You should be able to turn the whole frittata out on to a plate (the bottom always looks nice and browned with bits of the veggies peaking through. michdish 010

This is a great under 30 minute meal that you can eat at any time of the day. It was well received even with all it’s veggies and we decided the ramps were a winner. Happy Spring! Make some frittatas!

 

ANZAC Biscuits (also amazing oatmeal cookies)

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Food has an amazing ability to transport you back to a certain time, a specific memory. There are certain tastes you’ll always associate with mom’s kitchen, that perfect date night, or that amazing trip.

I spent my first semester of junior year abroad in Melbourne, Australia. Many of my memories have to do with friends, and just as many have to do with food (most of the time it’s the two combined). I remember family dinners prepared in the dorm kitchen, sticky date pudding from blue train cafe on the Yarra River, and ANZAC biscuits. ANZAC stands for Australia New Zealand Army Corps and I first learned about these cookies from my contemporary Australia course. They were created to be sent to soldiers fighting overseas during World War 1. They have no eggs in them so that they wouldn’t spoil. They’re also one of my favorite cookie– a delicious blend of coconut and oatmeal and though traditionally they’re a hard cookie, I’ve always made them soft and gooey because who doesn’t love a soft cookie?

Though the ingredients are few and simple, they can be tricky to find in the US so I’ve had to substitute… that is until one day about a month ago I went into a fancy food shop in Hoboken and found golden syrup and unsweetened desiccated coconut (finely shredded). Right then I knew I was making ANZAC biscuits.

Ok so here’s what you’ll need (easier to find substitutions in parenthesis as usual)

  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut (shredded coconut is fine, unsweetened shredded coconut is better)
  • 1 cup granulated sugar (if you have sweetened coconut, cut this back to 1/2 cup)
  • 1 stick of butter
  • 1 Tbsp golden syrup (or honey)
  • 4 Tbsp boiling water
  • 1 tsp baking soda

The prep is quick and simple as well! Melt butter and golden syrup in a small pot over medium heat. Don’t melt it in the microwave… you’ll see why later. sort me! 017In a mixing bowl, combine oats, flour, sugar, and coconut. sort me! 018Dissolve baking soda in boiling water and pour into melted butter mixture. This is why you shouldn’t use the microwave… because awesomeness ensues! sort me! 019Add the butter mixture to the dry ingredients and mix. sort me! 020The mix will likely be a bit dry, but 4 Tbsp of water should get you the right consistency (you can add a bit more if you want). sort me! 021Picking up a small amount of dough, roll it into a ball between your hands, this will help bind everything together and keep the cookie from crumbling.sort me! 022 Place on lined baking sheet and bake at 350*F for about 12-15 minutes (I like to rotate the cookie sheet from the bottom to the top shelf halfway through). 12-15 minutes should let the cookies be crispy on the outside and deliciously soft in the middle. You can adjust the baking time to your taste. Let the cookies cool on the sheet or on a cooling rack and enjoy!Finished ANZAC biscuit

I made smallish cookies and ended up with about 3 dozen which happily fed 2 offices and let us have a few at home for about 1 day. These cookies were a huge hit and I’ve had the recipe requested twice so far. So here it is! A small taste of Australia in the form of a delicious cookie. They’re a fun spin on an oatmeal cookie and if you use unsweetened coconut it’s not overly coconut-ty (though I dont understand people who don’t like coconut). Let me know what you think!

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

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Saturday nights are perfect in so many ways. You didn’t go to work today.You don’t have to go to work tomorrow. You can be totally lazy (hey, you’ll be productive tomorrow, right?) Saturdays are also usually “date night”– you know, you go out to a nice dinner and maybe a movie? Maybe you splurge a little budget-wise or calorie-wise? Well after working through last weekend and both full weeks surrounding it, Geoff and I needed a date night… but also a lazy night at home. The solution? An Asian inspired meal eaten at a candlelit table in sweats.

I had been wanting to try some recipes from my new Chinese cookbook and also was in the mood to invent a new recipe. From the cookbook I made egg drop soup. For my recipe I created sweet and sour meatballs. Now, recipes are rarely perfect upon first conception and there are definitely some changes I would make, but overall these were a success. Geoff said he liked them as is so I feel comfortable sharing the original recipe and adding my modification thoughts at the end. So here we go:

First, I made the sweet and sour sauce by combining these ingredients:michdish 043

  • 2 Tbsp ketchup
  • 1 Tbsp plum sauce (in the Asian aisle. You can also use duck sauce)
  • 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 Tbsp pineapple juice (or brown sugar or regular sugar)
  • 1 tsp rice vinegar
  • 1/4 tsp sesame oil
  • 4 Tbsp water
  • 1 tsp cornstarch

I always keep empty glass jars in the house (salsa, mustard, jam). They are perfect for mixing sauces or salad dressings. That’s what I use to mix this sauce.

Next I made the meatballs. I had ground pork on hand, but these would be really good with chicken as well. For the meatballs:

  • 1 lb ground pork
  • 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, finely minced (or 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger)
  • 1 Tbsp crushed garlic
  • 1/4 cup water chestnuts, diced
  • 1 cup diced mushrooms

I wanted the ginger and garlic to really penetrate and flavor these meatballs so I ended up making a ginger garlic paste by running my knife through both ingredients and then using the side of the knife to smash them together. michdish 046The mushrooms were my way of keeping the pork moist and bulking out the meat with veggies. As you can see I tried to chop all ingredients into pretty tiny pieces that way you didn’t end up with a meatball that was half mushroom. michdish 048

Add all the ingredients into a bowl and mix until evenly distributed. I used a tablespoon measure to help keep the meatballs evenly sized. michdish 051Bake meatballs at 375 for 18 minutes. After 18 minutes, remove from oven and brush on sweet and sour sauce. michdish 052This should use up about half of the sauce and you can reserve the rest for dipping (or store in your fridge for later). Return to oven and bake for 5 more minutes.

The recipe made 24 meatballs and was 6 points + for a serving of 4. As you can see I served this with the egg drop soup and some ginger, garlic, and soy sauteed mushrooms and spinach. michdish 054This whole meal took about 40 minutes including cooking time and the timing for all 3 dishes worked out perfectly! I hope you treat yourself to a lazy date night soon! Making an out of the ordinary (but easy and healthy) dinner like this can make your Saturday at home feel just as special as going out to a fancy restaurant.

So… for next time here are my thoughts:

  • Add 1/2 tsp garlic salt to meatball mixture before baking
  • Add 1-2 Tbsp sweet and sour sauce to meatball mixture before baking (to keep the meatballs moist)
  • Brush on the sweet and sour sauce a bit earlier (maybe after 10 minutes) so the moisture and flavor penetrates