Spring in a Bowl

According to plan, I made Tortellini and Spring Vegetable Salad tonight, and totally loved it. It couldn't be any easier. Unlike other salads, this recipe didn't even require a large amount of chopping - only asparagus, chives, and some red onion that I substituted for radishes. I hate radishes! The asparagus and peas blanch in the water along with tortellini, and using the fresh pasta ups the speediness as well. Heck, you don't even have to pre-mix the dressing - just toss the vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper straight into the salad. I also used chopped walnuts instead of pine nuts, and regular goat cheese crumbles instead of the herb and garlic.

It really is spring in a bowl!

Once it is all mixed up, the goat cheese starts to coat all of the salad and melds with the tart red wine vinegar. The group of vegetables really do taste springy. Asparagus, peas, spinach, plus the pesto filling of the pasta makes the salad taste incredibly fresh. It really doesn't feel like you are eating pasta salad, it is salad with pasta. Plus, the recipe is HUGE. I had a small dish for dinner tonight, then packed up 3 separate plastic container's worth of salad. I can't wait to try it tomorrow for lunch when the salad has marinaded longer in its dressing.

Plans for the Week

There was no actual cooking this week to report, but I thought I'd share some upcoming recipes. I began a new job last week and as you might guess, my focus has been on that and not on cooking. I didn't find much time to plan or grocery shop, except for one quick stop where I bought macaroni and cheese, strawberries, and yogurt. Those items have essentially gotten me through to the weekend. How sad!

I really noticed not having home cooked meals for dinner and not having leftovers or any freshly made food for lunch. Only a little while ago, I virtually lived on Lean Cuisines - my work friends and I regularly discussed which ones were the best. But since I began cooking so much more and making a concerted effort to cut out pre-made food from my diet, I hadn't had a Leanie in quite a while. In my hurry this week I bought some and found them so uninspiring and bland. It felt fake and unsatisfying. It was enough to get me running to the grocery store this weekend!

On the docket:

• The Kitchn's Tortellini and Spring Vegetable Salad, made and stored in individual servings, purely for lunch. I've had my eye on this incredibly fresh-sounding salad for weeks now. It is perfect to last a few days in the fridge and hopefully only get better.
• Black-Bean Burgers discovered while trolling Epicurious' Best Burgers list. I had a black bean burger at a restaurant last weekend and really enjoyed it. These sound simple and delicious. The trick will be keeping them together while they cook. I'm also planning a garlic mayo and maybe some tomato slices for a topping - the Mexican theme on a bun doesn't thrill me. I'd rather go a little Mediterranean. This will be a dinner for me and Ken one night this week, with 2 patties left over for subsequent lunches.

Check back in a few days for the results of my trials!

An Ode to Brookline Spa

Friday nights I don't cook. It's a rule of mine. It's my night to really relax and that's how I like it. Ken and I usually order from one of our standard delivery or take out places; this isn't a night where we experiment too often, it's all about comfort. That's where the Brookline Spa comes in. It's a pizza and sub shop right down the road from me, and it is most often where we order Friday night dinner. I decided it was the night to finally try the Spa's Ranch Pizza. Yes, that's right, ranch pizza. I have an unabashed love of ranch dressing, but I have had to almost fully eliminate it in my diet so I don't turn massive. If I have it, I'll use it on everything. It is what it sounds like - basically a white pizza with ranch dressing as the sauce. It is then topped with mozzarella, bacon, tomatoes, and diced chicken cutlet. The crust managed to be both chewy and crispy at the same time. It might be the best pizza I've ever had.

This pizza is a definite once in a while thing - I cringe to think of how many calories I just inhaled. It was completely worth it. It has also affirmed something I have thought for a while now - the Brookline Spa in my neighborhood of Brookline Village is truly one of the best pizza and sub shops I've ever come across. I have sampled a myriad of items from their menu and not one has ever disappointed me. Some highlights include:

• The Furio - grilled chicken, spinach, fresh mozzarella, and roasted red peppers with a pesto sauce, all on a soft foccasia - heavenly
• Eggplant Parm - HUGE and incredibly comforting - my sister's personal favorite, I have once brought it all of the way to Cambridge to her
• Club Sub - literally all of the things on a club sandwich on a really good sub roll - so simple yet so good. It's amazing what really fresh ingredients do to a sandwich.
• Bumpy Wrap - my current obsession - grilled chicken, lettuce, tomato, melted American cheese, light bit of ranch dressing - I probably rate this the top thing I've had at the Spa

I live a 5 minute walk from the Spa and it has become the go-to place for me and Ken. Sometimes I wish I didn't live so close to it! If you ever find yourself in the area, stop by. There's no real seating but it's not that kind of place. It would be great picnic food. The only problem is that they are closed on Sundays! When Ken and I first got to Boston and football was still on, we always wanted to get sandwiches and would go to look at the menu and realize, oh no, its closed! They could make a good buck!

Brookline Spa
75 Harvard St.
Brookline, MA
617-566-9446

Steak Night

Once again a little time has passed since I've been cooking, mostly due to a long weekend in New York, and I definitely had the itch tonight. I bookmarked a bunch of new recipes recently and one that kept sticking in my mind was a steak dish from Epicurious. I was so pleased with my lamb experiment a few weeks ago that I really wanted to try a different meat. I hadn't made steak in quite a while - I don't tend to eat a lot of red meat, which is clear if you read this blog. This recipe for Grilled Lime-Curry Rubbed Hangar Steak with Fresh Melon-Cucumber Chutney sounded great and felt like summer.

Steak cooking away, look at those grill marks!

Ken and I hit the store and I luckily found a package of 2 large steaks, the exact cut of which I cannot recall, but they worked fine. My steak was probably a little thicker than the 1 inch that they recommend. It was on sale and one was plenty for me, Ken, and some lunch. The other went into the freezer for another recipe soon. I let the steak marinate for about 15 minutes while I made the chutney, I figured any extra time is a good thing. I kept the chutney mostly the same except I did not use cilantro or coriander because I just don't like it myself. I used parsley instead, though after tasting it, I think next time I would try out a mix of parsley and mint - mint and melon is a wonderful combination and it would simply add another layer of flavor. I also took the seeds out of the jalapeno and next time I would add them, because you know I love the spice. Cooking the actual steak was a bit of a challenge. Getting steak to the exact right doneness is really something you learn by doing it over and over again, and I just haven't made much red meat. The recipe recommended 14-16 minutes total on an indoor grill pan, but I don't think I took into consideration that my steak was thicker than what they were referring to. I had to put the steak back on a couple times after cutting into it to find it too rare for my taste. Ken commented, and I think he is totally correct, that with our particular grill pan, it is better to start the flame a little lower and then just crank it up at the end to get some crust. But in the end, we got the meat to a perfect spot, still red but really well seared. The steak was incredibly flavorful. The curry is not strong, just adding a bit of heat in the back of your throat, and the lime adds a little tartness. I particularly loved the chutney. It was very light and fresh yet tangy, and it really went well with the steak and the couscous I served along side. My only wish is that I'd had a better melon. It is just not melon season quite yet in New England. If you had a really juicy, sweet melon, that would add a whole other level to the dish.

Mmmm...meat.

I was so pleased. This is a great meal for a crowd, and it's also very pretty! For tomorrow, I made up a bowl of couscous, chopped up steak, and chutney, and tossed it together as a cold salad. It will be just as delicious, and it is always important to have a good lunch when you start a new job!

Pretty!

Cheesy Goodness

I got a good for you tonight, folks. Pasta, pesto, goat cheese, tomatoes. Need I go on? How no one has introduced me to the concept of mixing pesto with goat cheese, I do not know. It is amazing. The recipe I tried tonight, Fettuccine with Goat Cheese Pesto and Roasted Tomatoes, takes no time to make and is decadently cheesy and tangy. You simply make pesto, and mix it with soft goat cheese. The sauce is creamy and garlicky. Ken took a little taste and said, this would be a great dip for crackers. He was right - it would spread very well. While the pasta cooks, you roast little tomatoes in the oven. Roasted tomatoes get incredibly sweet and they burst in your mouth. I used spaghetti but it didn't matter (that's what we had).