Tonight I hosted my parents at my apartment for our very first Boston dinner! It's been quite busy around here so I had to come up with a menu that I could make easily after work and didn't need a lot of prep work. It also needed to be light - no one wants to eat heavy when the air is heavy - and of course, take advantage of the fresh fruits and vegetables that have finally come into season in New England. I am eating as much of it as I possibly can!

The menu I settled on was Chili-Rubbed Steak Tacos with Tomato and Peach Salad. Yum! I used the spice rub from this Food Network recipe on a large steak I'd been storing since buying a double pack a few weeks ago (see Steak Night). I let the rub settle into the steak for about 30 minutes before grilling it. It took no time at all. The salad recipe came from Mark Bittman's 101 Simple Salads for the Season, an article he wrote for the New York Times last week. If you haven't read this yet, read it now. If you have a picnic to go to or you just want to use up the items you bought at the Farmer's Market, you will surely be able to find something delicious in Bittman's list. Tomatoes and peaches are among my favorite summer fruits (yes, tomatoes are fruits) but I'd never thought of pairing them. With the cilantro, lime, and onion, this salad sounded like a perfect companion for tacos, and it really was.

I went family style and let everyone make their own tacos. I wish I'd taken some pictures but there was just too much going on. I put most of the taco fixings on one big platter - thinly sliced steak, red onions, cilantro, shredded cabbage, and lime wedges. These are all of the traditional Mexican toppings like I always ordered in the LA taquerias. I also had some salsa verde and hot sauce. You can't have tacos without hot sauce! I learned from my last experience in grilling steak and the meat was the level of doneness I desired - rare but not bloody. The salad was absolutely delicious, and luckily the peaches and tomatoes were very ripe. With a light Chilean white wine, it was a great summer night meal and my parents were quite happy.

Penne with Chicken, Lemon, and Feta

After I came home from the gym tonight, I was starving and wanted something hearty but not heavy. But, after a busy weekend I had not had a moment to go grocery shopping, and didn't have much to work with. In my fridge, I noted a single lemon and a hardly used chunk of light feta cheese. Feta and lemon is a quintessentially Mediterranean combination that is hard not to like. I was also craving meat, probably for protein after a good work out, and luckily Ken had just restocked our freezer with boneless skinless chicken breasts.

I made up this quick sauce of lemon and garlic, similar to a piccata, and it worked very well. The sauteed chicken added the heartiness I desired, and the juice of a whole lemon made the sauce just tart enough over penne pasta. I only wish I'd had some sort of herb available - a dusting of basil or parsley would be just the finish the dish needs. I used a bit of pasta water, which helped the sauce thicken up once the pasta was added. I also think this sauce would be just as tasty with Parmesan cheese instead of feta - whatever your personal tastes are.

Penne with Chicken, Lemon, and Feta
(serves 2)

1/2 lb. penne pasta
1 large clove garlic, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed
1 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup basil, chopped

Cook pasta in lots of boiling, salted water until al dente. Heat olive oil to medium and add garlic. Cook garlic until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add chicken, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes, and saute until chicken is lightly browned, about 10 minutes. When chicken is just starting to brown, add juice of 1 lemon and 1/2 cup of the hot pasta water. Turn the heat to medium-high and simmer for 2 minutes. Add pasta, feta, basil, and toss with sauce, allowing pasta to sit in the pan with burner turned off for about 2 minutes. Serve warm in shallow bowls.

Review: La Morra, Brookline Village

I had a fabulous girls weekend this week and happily, it involved amazing food. I am lucky to have some good friends who share my love of food and are always excited to try new places. On the recommendation of my friend Jessica, we ate at La Morra, an Italian bistro in Brookline on Saturday night.

The atmosphere was much cozier than most restaurants can attain - it felt like eating in someone's home. It's candlelit and woody, and we sat in a really lovely table with a bench on one side. When we sat down, our hostess offered us a menu of chinchetti - small tapas-like dishes often served in bars in Italy. We ordered wine (a very crisp Pinot Grigio for me) and the fried risotto balls, which might have been my favorite dish of the night. Risotto is stuffed with cheese and a shredded beef that was smokey and tasted like it had cooked all day, then lightly fried. They were decadent and delicious. I also ate one too many pieces of fresh, warm bread just to have more of the fresh ricotta topped with olive oil, salt, and pepper that was in the middle of our table.

Everyone debated long and hard over what to order as an entree because so many items looked so good! I eventually landed on their lasagna at the recommendation of the waitress. It was a great decision. It was vegetarian - layers of homemade pasta, braised kale, fresh local mushrooms, and ricotta cheese. On top was a sprinkling of garlic breadcrumbs. The flavors were so deep - everything here seemed slow-cooked, which I just love. The mushrooms were incredibly fresh and not overcooked and mushy. I tried a bite of my friend Lauren's tagliatelle with bolognese sauce, and also loved it. You can't get better than homemade pasta and real large chunks of meat.

I didn't have room for dessert but two friends ordered a strawberry-rhubarb compote, saying it was delicious. The service was quite good, though they definitely believe in long, lingering meals at La Morra. Our waitress answered all of our questions and gave us good recommendations. She offered tastes of wines and also poured me a half glass when I couldn't decide if I wanted another one. We just had a wonderful time. It's a great places to take visitors and I would certainly return Village, and enjoyed it immensely.

La Morra
48 Boylston St.
Brookline, MA 02445
(617) 739-0007

www.lamorra.com

The Perfect Summer Dinner

Supposedly, it's summer. We're almost a month in, technically, but I don't think Boston got the message. June and early July have felt far more like April and it's rained probably 75% of the time, so when the sun actually peeks out, I feel the need to take advantage of it. Today was one of those days. It wasn't exactly the warmest day, but considering yesterday I wore boots to work, it was warm enough. I decided to walk home and spotted the small farmer's market that runs every Thursday across from my office. The weather has certainly affected the New England crops this year because the few times I've been able to actually get to a farmer's market, there was little stock and what they had was expensive. Finally, today I saw some great, inexpensive produce. I wished I could buy more, but I have a busy weekend ahead and know I won't have time to cook much. I settled on just two beautifully ripe tomatoes, and walked home.

I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with these tomatoes for dinner, but I knew that I wanted something simple, easy, and that would let the taste of the tomato come out. I thought about just cutting them up and eating them with just salt and pepper, but that didn't seem too exciting. I opened my fridge and magically, there was 5 leaves worth of basil in the drawer, still good! Then I opened my cabinet and spotted spaghetti - sold! Pasta with fresh tomato sauce it is!

I could have easily thrown this together on my own but while I waited for the water to boil I did a quick recipe search on Food Network and found this Bobby Flay recipe for Penne with Summer Tomato Sauce. I happened to have all the ingredients except the fresh mozzarella in my pantry. This recipe has all of the flavors I love with tomatoes and is completely no-cook. I mixed the tomatoes with the rest of the ingredients in a big bowl, poured my cooked spaghetti on top, and gave it a good mix. The just-drained pasta heats the sauce through and allows it to meld together. Finally, I found the small block of cheese left over from last weekend's pasta salad, and tossed that into my dish in place of the mozzarella. The final product was delicious! Fresh, light, garlicky, and slightly sweet from the balsamic vinegar. It was exactly what I wanted. I love when that happens!

July 4th and Food Go Hand in Hand

What an amazing July 4th weekend I have had! I credit Boston - they really know how to do this holiday right. After spending a lot of Saturday shopping and mastering my black bean burgers, early Sunday was again spent mostly in the kitchen, preparing a picnic for myself, my roomie Ken, my sister and her roommate. We started with sweets, taking on a cookie recipe that looked and sounded so good that I'd decided literally 30 seconds after reading it last week that I'd soon be making them - CANNOLI COOKIES. I discovered the recipe on The Kitchn and absolutely could not resist them. I love cannolis! The cookie recipe is a sugar cookie darkened with brown sugar and flavored with cinnamon, orange zest, and chopped pistachios - all flavors you find in a cannoli shell. You freeze the dough in rolls so that you can easily slice them into thin rounds, then create little sandwiches with a basic cannoli filling of sweetened ricotta and mascarpone cheese. If that isn't enough, we drizzled (ok, tried to drizzle, it really became more of a smear) melted chocolate on top of them. These cookies are a little labor-intensive because there are a lot of steps - making the dough, letting it freeze, making the cookies, the filling, the chocolate - but they are SO worth it.

Just prior to getting their chocolate smears

We brought the cookies and a fresh fruit salad to our picnic, along with a couple bottles of crisp white wine. My sister made an awesome potato salad (actually the same one my mom made a few weeks ago) and her roommate Brittany took on a very impressive strawberry shortcake. Needless to say we kind of had dessert for dinner. Hey, its a holiday! We found a great little spot in the area called the BU Beach, near the river behind Boston University where there is a footbridge to the riverside. We sat and laughed and ate and drank while the sun set. Around 10pm we packed up and crossed over to the river's edge where we had the most incredible view of the fireworks. Amazing, incredible fireworks like I had never seen. The entire city comes out to see them, crowding the Charles River banks and cheering at the display of colors and lights above them. I have never felt so happy to live here.

To cap off the weekend, we went to Chowderfest! People keep telling me its "Chowda" but that's not it's real name, I checked. You go down to the City Plaza and for $10 you get entrance to the festival and includes all you can eat chowder samples. There were about 8 restaurants featured and each passed out small cups of their signature clam chowder with oyster crackers. You try all of them and then you can vote for your favorite. By the time you've tried each one you've basically had a bowl of soup. I had forgotten how awesome good clam chowder really is. It was a beautiful day and a lot of fun. I voted for the Algonquin Club as best chowder - it was very rich and creamy, with a good amount of clams, and a mild bacon flavor in the background. Most of the other selections were very good with the exception of the House of Blues, not surprisingly. House of Blues is basically an overpriced chain restaurant - good for concerts, not for meals. Their chowder was overly herby and didn't actually taste like clam chowder at all.

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend, particularly for food! Tonight, though, I'm ordering takeout!

A Vegetarian Early July 4th Barbeque

I had the day off from work yesterday, obviously because of July 4th, and days off are great for cooking! Independence Day is synonymous with burgers, but rather than make another beef or turkey burger, I decided to try my hand at something different - a veggie burger! Blame California, but I love veggie burgers, though admittedly it can be hard to find really good ones. They have reputation for being dry and tasteless, and I can see why. Often veggie burgers are made with little actual vegetables and use grains as filler. But recently I've noticed more and more restaurants serving their own housemade veggie burgers with ingredients like beans, portobello mushrooms, and zucchini. A couple weeks ago, I had a great portobello and black bean burger at a pub near the Sam Adams Brewery, and it inspired me to try making my own. I found this great recipe on the Epicurious Favorite Burgers list for Black-Bean Burgers with a slight Latin flavor.

The first big plus for this recipe was the cheapness of the ingredients! Beans are such a great deal - really inexpensive but incredibly healthy and filling. I already had cumin and oregano in the pantry, and I was happy to have an excuse to buy some cayenne. This meal was also so easy to prepare. Everything goes into the food processor. My only trouble was that I have a small food processor, and I probably should have blended the bean mixture in two batches. The processor was so full and the mixture was so thick that the blade was getting stuck. A little shaking and mixing with a spoon took care of it, though. The burgers cooked up very quickly in the pan (don't try to grill these - they need a completely flat surface) and I had no problem with them staying together or flipping. The recipe suggested serving them with lettuce, sour cream, and salsa, but that didn't really appeal to me. Mexican food is a whole other animal. Instead, I made a garlic and chive mayo - mayonnaise mixed with pasted garlic, chives left over from my tortellini salad, and some lemon juice.


The mayo turned out to be all the burgers needed because they had great flavor. The cumin provides a great smoky background flavor to the beans, and I actually loved the cilantro. Yes, I liked something with cilantro in it. The only complaint I had was that the burgers were a little mushy. Although I managed to get a good crust on the outside, the burgers did sort of squish when you bit into them. I'll have to look into how to make them a little firmer. But overall, I loved the flavor and really enjoyed trying something totally new! Ken had never really had a real veggie burger and he fell in love with them. They have already gone on the "Make Again" list.


For a side dish, I made a great pasta salad based on Giada DeLaurentiis' Antipasto Salad. Her salad has meat in it, which was a little heavy for what I wanted, so I just cut that out and put in some cucumbers instead for crunch. The basil dressing was delicious! And we will be eating it for days...I made quite a bit. It was a great meal, and a fun day of cooking! A rare day of baking is coming up tomorrow, so stay tuned!