Italian Basil Feta Chicken

This is my introduction to marinades.  I didn't want to have to scour specialty stores for exotic ingredients.  So here's the easy way:

Buy a bottle of Italian dressing.

Put it on your chicken (in a pot, a plastic bag, anything where it's covered).  

After 3 hrs, cook the chicken.

To dress up the chicken, I put a side of brown rice, chopped basil, and crumbled feta.

My lunch for a few days.  

It's important to invest in a surplus of plastic containers of all shapes.  Not only are they great for boxed lunches, but they let you store half prepared ingredients.  You only need to make sure your food is cool in temperature before boxing them.

Spaghetti with Clams

This is one of those dishes that I've always wanted to make at home, but like SP, I've had a few unsatisfactory experiences. The problem with clam pasta has always been a sauce that's just too soupy, like a thin broth rather than a smooth, velvety coating for the pasta.

Inspired by his recent post, here's how we did it tonight. And it was perfect. The trick, I found, is to let my anal retentive tendencies go wild.

Start with the basic base for just about everything: warm up some minced garlic and red chili pepper flakes in olive oil. I added four anchovies and mashed them up in the olive oil. Finally, I added a pint of grape tomatoes and some white wine and let the tomatoes wither and dejuice. When the tomatoes look like prunes, add some more white wine, and then place some well-scrubbed clams in the pot. Turn the heat on high and cover up the pot. A couple minutes later, the clams are steamed open.  I'm so relieved when all the clams are open, and I don't need to throw any away.

Now, here's where I went a little psycho, but it's worth it. I removed all the clams from the pot, and add the spaghetti that's only cooked about half way. Removing the clams ensures that I don't scratch up my pot. And then I let the spaghetti finish cooking in the winey/clammy/tomatoey soup. The spaghetti absorbs the flavors of the sauce while releasing starches that thicken up the sauce. We call this win-win-Win-WIN!

When the spaghetti's done, I throw in some basil.

And then toss the whole mess together. With tongs of course. Like Shep said, tongs are indispensable to making pasta.

Sandwich Tips

Start simple.  Bread, meat, cheese, romaine heart, tomato, condiments. 

Construct everything neatly.  We're going to be toasting this and want to avoid as much cleanup as we can.

Into the toaster it goes.  Set it for a medium/dark toast.

Slice your tomatoes very thinly.  Otherwise, you risk tearing out your bulky ingredients prematurely due to shoddy construction. 

The pesto mayonnaise prevents the bread from burning. 

Fully constructed

The bread is the ingredient that is most variable in quality.  Buy fresh when possible.

Turkey Burger

In a bowl, mix:
One package of ground turkey (3 lbs)
Feta cheese (handful)
Egg white (1)
Soy sauce (splatter)
Minced onion (1/2 yellow)
Minced garlic (3 cloves)
Sea Salt
Black Pepper

Gently shape into 6 patties.

Place on a SMALL nonstick skillet on medium high heat.  Flip once at about 3 minutes.  During the flip, assess your progress.  When 90% complete, transfer to another plate and let it rest for 1 minute.

Assemble on a toasted English muffin
Optional: add a romaine heart, a tomato slice, pesto and mayonnaise. 

Notes:
1) The lettuce can interfere in a clean bite out the burger and you'll end up squeezing out a lot of goodness.  Either shred the lettuce or go without.
2) I mix by hand, using nitrile gloves to prevent bacteria from getting under the fingernails.
3) Freshness is key: The last 5 burgers were nowhere near as tasty as the first.
4) Chili mentality: If you have something that you need to get rid of, consider tossing it into the mix.
5) The smaller your skillet, the better.  This keeps the heat going right into your turkey, speeding the cooking time.
6) Why not a grill?  You'll find that when you shape the patties, they don't hold together quite the same as beef.  This is due to the lower fat content.  I didn't want the turkey falling through the grate.  Additionally, with the low fat, there were barely any drippings in the pan, making it a viable option.
7) BBQ rule: Only flip once.

Huevos Rancheros

Every time we make Mexican food for dinner, I always end up with an assortment of scrappy leftovers. This is one of our favorite brunches, and a perfect way to use up what would otherwise make for a rather meager and unsatisfactory taco.

In a non-stick pan, warm up the tortilla so it's soft. Flip it over. Add some black beans, sprinkle over just enough cheese to seal the beans to the tortilla, and crack an egg over. I like to place the beans strategically so they form a border of sorts to keep the egg white from running off the tortilla. 

Add some salt and pepper. Now the only trick here is the heat factor. You want to melt the cheese and get the egg white to set slightly but NOT burn the tortilla. Sometimes I'll keep the heat low and cover the pan with a lid to get the egg to cook faster.

Regardless, the egg whites will pretty much be clear till the flip, and I basically decide to flip once the tortilla is as toasty on the underside as I'd like. Now get the biggest spatula you own. Slide it under the tortilla and flip it decisively and with conviction. Evan goes for speed. I like to make sure the yolk is directly over my spatula to keep the flip well-balanced. Whatever you do, it is imperative that you commit to the flip. And if it isn't totally clean, you'll just need to eat it and make another one. Tragic.

You'll hear a nice sizzle as the eggs/beans/cheese make contact with the hot pan. Give it a minute or two to cook through and then gently flip back. Mine usually don't come out as perfectly bronzed as Evan's above because I use less cheese. 

Serve with last night's salsa, guacamole, and/or sour cream. 

Kale Rice

We've eaten out every night for the last two weeks. It was fun at first, but now we're feeling the pain. Too much wine. Too many ridiculously large portions.

Here's the first step to recovery: kale! Best food on earth. 

First, slice up the kale into thin strips, chop up half an onion or some scallions, mince some garlic, and saute it all together in some oil. While it's all softening in the pan, make your brown rice. I love Trader Joe's brown rice because it comes together in the microwave. When the kale is starting to brown along the edges, throw in some salt or a little soy sauce. After a minute or so, mix in the brown rice and let it sit and crisp a little in the hot pan before stirring it all together.

We ate this with salmon, broiled with a miso glaze.