Blue Stone

So, a quick restaurant review for my fellow Ithacans:

We went out to Blue Stone last weekend. It's located on the commons, near Just a Taste and across the street from Viva La Taqueria.
It's a small, eclectic place with great decor. The walls showcase some great unusual artwork by a local artist. The tables are actually chalkboards, with chalk for you to show off your own artsy side while waiting for your entree. The place is small enough you might want to consider a reservation if you're going on a weekend.
The food is very original, and very good. I had the special, which I can't remember the exact name of but had turkey and a pistachio mole sauce served over an herbed tortilla. My husband had wasabi salmon which he enjoyed as well. We shared a piece of their "Famous Carrot Cake" (their name and claim!), which was also very good. The one down side I would say is the size of the appetizers. We ordered some Thai chicken skewers and they were TINY. Not at all what we expected when we ordered them!
But, overall, I would give Blue Stone a definite thumbs up, just consider going early so you can find a parking place somewhere downtown . . .

A little indulgence . . .

I've obviously been going through Nigella Lawson's cookbook, "Feast". I have to admit I'm not a huge hot dog fan. But this recipe looked interesting enough and easy enough that I thought I'd give it a go. Especially because I thought my kids would like it!
So, this recipe is:
Pigs in a Blanket with Mustard Dipping Sauce
1 sheet puff pastry (just one box, I can't remember the size of the sheet)
1 package hot dogs (I prefer the all-beef, but go with what you like)
1 egg, beaten in a small bowl
Mustard dipping sauce:
(you can halve this if you want, we had a lot leftover, and I made the full recipe)
scant 1/4 c Dijon mustard
scant 1/4 whole grain mustard
2 T sour cream

1. Thaw the puff pastry according to the package instructions (either in the fridge or on your countertop). 2. Carefully unfold the sheet and spread it onto a floured surface. 3. Roll out just a little, rolling the long way, just to even and smooth it out. 4. Cut in half both directions (Since I am very type A, I used a ruler, but you can just eyeball it!), a pizza cutter works well for this. 5. Cut twice more, to halve each of the four pieces. You should have 8 pieces total. 6. Place a hot dog, lengthwise, on each piece (the puff pastry should be approximately the length of the hot dog). 7. Brush the puff pastry with the egg, then roll each hot dog in its piece of pastry. 8. Cut each wrapped hot dog in 4 pieces. Place on a greased baking sheet, seam side down. 9. Brush each "pig" with more egg wash. 10. Bake 15-20 minutes, checking after 15 minutes, the pastry should be puffed and golden. 10. Remove from oven, let cool slightly, and serve with the mustard dipping sauce. This fed 4, with quite a few leftover. Might make a great appetizer for that big game I've heard about this weekend . . .

So: This (of course) was a big hit with the kids. My husband and I really liked them, too--the dipping sauce made them a little more sophisticated and delicious. And, it was SUCH an easy weeknight dinner. Serve it up with a salad or some fruit, practically no work at all!
Photo courtesy of aperiodictableblog.com since I ALWAYS forget to take a photo until it's all over with and who wants to see a photo of our leftovers?!

Pasta with Butternut Squash and Blue Cheese

Recipe adapted from "Kitchen" by Nigella Lawson
picture courtesy of dinnerdujour.org

First I have to ask--have you ever seen one of Nigella's shows on Food Network? She just makes everything look so satisfying. Well, this dish is exactly that. So many flavors and textures, you just feel satisfied. And it's not hard to make. But, it does include a couple of pricier ingredients (ie: pine nuts and good blue cheese), so depending on your budget maybe this would have to be a special occasion dish, not a weeknight dinner! Although, I think it's okay to sometimes splurge on a really good weeknight dinner. Especially when it is delicious and hot and it's 12 degrees outside . . .

Pasta with Butternut Squash and Blue Cheese
1 large butternut squash (2-3 lbs)
1 medium-large onion (I used white, but I think any kind would be fine)
2 T olive oil
3/4 tsp paprika
1 T unsalted butter
3 T chicken broth or stock
1/2 c water
salt, to taste
2/3 c pine nuts (I may have used less, the store I went to only sold them in these little jars about the size of a spice jar, but it still seemed enough)
1 pound pasta, Nigella calls for Papperdelle but I couldn't find it so I just used bowtie and it was fine. She just says use a "robust" pasta
6 fresh sage leaves
5 ounces soft blue cheese, such as Saint Agur (I was able to find Saint Agur, but those of you who don't have a Wegmans may need to substitute. Saint Agur is just a nice creamy, fairly mild blue cheese)

1. Peel and seed the squash, cut into roughly 1" cubes.
2. Peel and finely chop onion and fry in olive oil in a large heavy-based saucepan (make sure it's big enough to add the pasta to later). When the onion starts to turn golden, add the paprika.
3. Add the squash cubes and butter, stirring until everything the squash is well-covered with the butter and oil. Add the broth/stock and water, then let the pan come to a boil. Reduce the heat, put the lid on, and simmer about 20 minutes or until tender. *Check the squash before the 20 minutes, you don't want mush!
4. Meanwhile, put a large pot of water on to boil for the pasta. Toast the pinenuts (*watch them closely--they are too expensive to burn!) in a small hot, dry frying pan until dark gold, then tip them into a bowl or plate to cool.
5. Once the water boils, add some salt (1 T per pound is recommended, but whatever you like), then the pasta and cook according to package directions. Check the squash and if it is tender, take the pan off the heat. Chop the sage leaves and crumble the blue cheese. Sprinkle the sage over the butternut sauce once it's done.
6. Before draining pasta, lower a cup or mug into the pan and collect a little pasta water to reserve for sauce if needed. Drain the pasta and pour into squash pan. Gently turn pasta into sauce to combine, adding pasta water if needed to loosen the sauce. Drop in crumbled blue cheese, stir gently, and serve.
*A tip for those with kids--I actually pulled out some of the pasta and sauce before I added the blue cheese, thinking they wouldn't like the blue cheese. Turns out one of my kids did like the blue cheese, and one didn't. So, do whatever works for your family!
Enjoy!

Tasty, tasty brownies . . .

Maybe it's pregnancy, but as soon as I saw this brownie recipe on one of the cooking blogs I haunt, I couldn't stop thinking about it. And thinking about it. And, well, you get the idea . . .

Plus they use these fun new "StackerMallows" that we discovered. These marshmallows are intended for s'mores, but (if I do say so myself) we have become quite the s'mores connoisseures (ever since we put in a backyard firepit last year!), and these just aren't great for s'mores. Primarily because, how do you get them on a roasting stick? The package suggests you put together your grahams, marshmallows, and chocolate, then wrap the entire thing in a piece of foil to stick it on the grill or in the fire. But really, apart from satisfying a wintertime craving for smores (this would work in a toaster oven too I assume), who would pass up the toasty marshmallow exterior and risk a soggy graham with the tinfoil method??

Anyhoo, back to brownies . . .
I risked heating up the house to make these the other day and believe me, they did not disappoint. I especially liked the ooey, gooey frosting. I might have to make another batch soon. We took a couple to the neighbors and gobbled the rest up.
Here's the link so you can try them:
http://www.ourbestbites.com/2011/07/mississippi-mud-brownies/
Yum, yum, yum . . .

Strawberries and Cake

Ahh . . . Strawberry season at last . . .

Strawberry picking is very popular around here. So when I got an email from my favorite local farm that their berries were ready, I planned an excursion for the following day. But woke up to drizzly rain. After some indecision, I decided to pull on my Wellies and go pick anyway. And I'm so glad I did! The berries were fantastic and me and my little helper had the fields practically to ourselves. We picked 11 pounds of berries in little over half an hour. I made 5 batches of freezer jam (which I of course forgot to take a photo of!), and a strawberry pie. YUM!
For Father's Day, I became a pastry chef. I test recipes for America's Test Kitchen (just an informal, non-paid, but very fun job . . . ). This recipe was for a pastry called "Paris-Brest Cake". Apparently this pastry was created in honor of a cycling race originally started in 1891. It is the longest running cycling event although it's no longer a race, just a ride.
There are two rings of cream puff-like shell. The larger one is cut in half, filled with a hazelnut-praline pastry cream, then the smaller ring is set inside. Just like a bicycle inner tube.

More delicious pastry cream, then the lid goes on and it is dusted with powdered sugar.

A very rich slice (can you see the "inner tube"?). A tasty dessert.

But, I am hanging up the pastry chef's hat. I just don't think the results justify the amount of time! This cake took a lot of work! The recipe was in 3 parts: a homemade hazelnut praline, a pastry cream, and of course the pastry shell.

So, kind of a fun novelty, but not one I'll make again soon.

BTW, I can't share the recipe as it's still in testing and not been published yet, but if you're interested, leave me a comment and when it's published I'll post it.

Linguine with Tomato-Almond Pesto

This is another Smitten Kitchen success (one of my favorite foodie blogs, www.smittenkitchen.com). It's a great summer recipe: quick to make, doesn't heat up your house much, and is just as tasty served at room temperature. It's also vegetarian. I have a New Year's Resolution this year to prepare at least 2 vegetarian meals a week. Not because we're against meat, but because I am trying to get our family to eat more veggies and more healthy, lean meals.

A quick little toast on the almonds gives them fantastic flavor.
The pesto mixed in with some cooked linguine.

And ready to eat. Enjoy!

LINGUINE WITH TOMATO-ALMOND PESTO

3/4 c slivered almonds

1 large handful fresh basil leaves

1-2 large cloves garlic (I only used one so it wouldn't be too spicy for the kiddos)

several sprinkles sea or kosher salt

6 ripe plum tomatoes, quartered OR 2 small packages grape tomatoes

1/2 c grated Parmesan (I may or may not have added an extra 1/4 or so . . . just for good measure . . . )

1/4-1/3 c olive oil (I thought 1/4 was plenty)

1 pound linguine

In large skillet, saute the almonds in a little olive oil until toasted. Let cool, then blend in food processor until they are in coarse pieces. Scoop out of processor and set aside.

Put basil, garlic, and a few pinches of salt into processor and chop. Add the almonds back to the processor along with the tomatoes, cheese, and olive oil and process briefly. Season with ground black pepper.

Cook the linguine to al dente (according to package directions). Reserve 1 c of the pasta water before draining. Toss hot pasta with pesto and mix quickly. Add pasta water to loosen to your desired consistency. Serve lukewarm or at room temperature.

NOTE: this makes a LOT, I will halve it next time for our family of 4.

Mushroom Strudel

I am very sorry about the lack of a picture to go with this recipe! If you want to see what these look like, please go to www.smittenkitchen.com/2008/05/mushroom-streudels/.
That being said, the recipe is from one of my favorite cooking blogs, Smitten Kitchen, but I made a few changes and had a few things turn out a little differently.
I originally found this while searching for a tasty appetizer to take to a dinner we were invited to. I needed something to serve to someone who is lactose intolerant, and it was surprisingly difficult to find an appetizer that didn't have cheese! These call for Parmesan, but I made some with the cheese and some without, and the ones without turned out just fine and were very tasty.
So, here's the recipe as I made it:
MUSHROOM STRUDEL
*Notes on phyllo: if you've never used it before, you may want to know that you will need to let it sit in the refrigerator to defrost about 7 hours, then on the counter for 30 minutes or so before you use it!
Small box of phyllo pastry (I used about 10 sheets)
1/2 c butter, melted
1 egg, beaten for egg wash
Filling:
1 pound cremini mushrooms (also called Italian brown mushrooms)
1 medium onion, minced
3 T butter
1 T chicken broth (recipe called for dry sherry but I don't use alcohol)
1 T flour
leaves from 1 sprig thyme
6 T freshly grated Parmesan (optional)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400F. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray or line with parchment. It helps to have a large work surface for this, like your kitchen table. Have all your ingredients ready and laid out before you get the phyllo out: melted butter, egg wash, filling, and cheese.
To make the filling: cook the onion in the butter until soft. Clean your mushrooms really well and slice fairly thin. If your mushrooms are large you may want to halve them before slicing. Add the mushrooms to the softened onion and saute until mushrooms are cooked through and some of the juices have begun to evaporate. Add the chicken broth (or sherry) and cook a couple of minutes more, until most of the liquid is gone. Stir in the flour, herbs, and salt/pepper to taste and let filling cool.
To assemble strudel: You'll need 2 damp dishcloths. Place one on the table, and use one to cover the remaining phyllo sheets as you work. Take one sheet of phyllo at a time from the package and place the remaining sheets between the damp cloths. Brush one half of the sheet at a time with butter. Carefully fold the unbuttered side over the buttered side and gently smooth out wrinkles and bubbles (doesn't need to be perfect). Repeat again, buttering half and folding it over, so the sheet is folded to 1/4 the size. You'll have one long column. Here I departed from the recipe the most. You can place a spoonful of filling, and fold triangular (like a flag) all the way up the column for one strudel per sheet of phyllo, or just place a spoonful of filling and fold over once in a triangle like a turnover and cut (a pizza cutter worked great), then repeat to get several strudel from one sheet (I did the latter--more filling to phyllo ratio worked for me!). If you use cheese, sprinkle each spoonful of filling on the phyllo with the cheese before folding the dough over. Then, brush the finished strudel with the egg wash and sprinkle more cheese on top. Place folded strudel on greased baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes until browned and crisp. Serve warm.