Roasted Pork with Fresh Orange Sauce p. 751

Hi Guys! Guess what!? I cooked something from How to Cook Everything! Life’s been a bit crazy the first few months of 2012, but as of last week things are finally starting to settle down a little bit. At least for the foreseeable future. Things tend to slow down for the summer and I’m looking forward to that.

I planned this meal for when I knew Bryan was going to be in town, but we got caught up in the NBA playoff games and we didn’t cook the night I had planned this meal. So I made it when Bryan was out of town, which is too bad because he really would have loved it.

Orange juice, shallot, cumin, and cayenne makes an amazing sauce. As a side dish I steamed broccoli and poured the sauce over the broccoli as well. Delish.

This was a simple, quick week night meal with a lot of flavor. To be repeated soon!

Mashed Sweet Potato Brulee p. 359

For our post-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving meal I decided to try the mashed sweet potato brulee since no turkey can be served without a side of sweet potato. I was originally planning on doing this dish, but once I got the book out I wanted to see if there was something else new to try. Of course there are several varities of mashed sweet potatoes to try, but this one looked nice as I could put it in a smaller dish that would fit in my awkward side oven, leaving more room in the real oven for other sides. (Its all about oven space planning when it comes to the holidays.)

I baked my sweet potatoes a day in advance when I was baking some pies. (How’s that for green energy?!) It was simple to prepare, but it wasn’t the greatest sweet potato dish I’ve ever had. Especially compared to the candied sweet potato casserole my mother-in-law made the day before. Although, I’m sure this version is a little lighter in the calories.

Classic Roast Turkey p. 697

This Thanksgiving I deviated from my usual recipe and decided to trust Mark Bittman once again turning to How to Cook Everything.

 

 

Bryan and I celebrated Thanksgiving with each of our families, but I still wanted my own turkey and leftovers for the long weekend, so on Friday we made another.

It was super simple and delicious. Mark mentions in the intro that it “might make you think about preparing turkey year round” which isn’t a bad idea at all.

Roasted Shrimp with Herb Sauce p. 577

I’ve been on a shrimp kick this summer. This is one the recipes that started it out.

I made this a few months ago, so I don’t have any details or pictures, just a recap.

Mixing a combination of herbs, oil, and garlic with shrimp and then roasting them on a baking sheet could not be easier. It was a tasty, quick weeknight dinner. n

Spinach Croquettes p. 354

A few months ago I cooked several items from the book but I never got around to posting about it. Whoops-a-daisy!

I was pretty excited because this sounded like a fancy recipe, but it was rather simple. My only issue was that I did not drain the spinach well enough. It is very important to drain your spinach very very well.

Which brings up the question: How do you drain your spinach?

Broiled Cherry Tomatoes with Herbs p. 362

I’ve been taking a bit of a hiatus from my How to Cook Everything book. Every once in a while I have something laying around and I’m not sure how to use it. This is when I turn to my trusty cookbook.

Yesterday my husband was gifted with some home grown cherry tomatoes. I was very pleased, but unsure of what I should do with them.

Mark Bittman to the rescue. I have a plethora of herbs right now so this was a great use of both. I mixed up some fresh oregano, thyme, and rosemary. Toss with some cherry tomatoes, halved, olive oil, salt and pepper. Put under the broiler for about 5 minutes or so.

pre broiled tomatoes

Viola! Dinner!

Accidental Dinner: Spaghetti with Eggs

I’ve been in a not-cooking mood this week. I cooked a flank steak (from the freezer), a frozen veggie, and some mashed potatoes one night and Bryan cooked dinner for me another night. Last night I was convinced it was either left over night or breakfast-for-diner night.

Thursday nights Bryan doesn’t get home until late due to a group run, so I caught up on some reading. This is the last week of the Minimalist on NYT and there were a bunch of links to recipes, favorites, and videos posted the other day. One of the recipes which Mark Bittman cooked on the Today Show and was also listed as a favorite was Spaghetti and Eggs.

The concept is pretty simple. Cook pasta. In a separate skillet/pan fry some eggs. Mix together, maybe top with cheese and fresh cracked pepper.

I have a serious pasta addiction, so after viewing the video I knew I needed to make it. Right away. So I put down the laptop and started cooking. We only had two eggs (Mark Bitman used four in the video.), but I had a few other things lying around that I thought might be a good addition.  Below is my accidental dinner recipe:

Spaghetti with eggs and other stuff:

2 eggs

3 pieces of bacon, chopped

a bunch of asparagus, snapped into bite size

a cup of cheese (parmesan)

cooked noodles (a long variety)

Start cooking your noodles. Drain and set aside.

Cook your bacon until crispy. Remove to cool on a paper towel. Sautee asparagus spears for 5-8 minutes until your desired tenderness (Bryan likes his with some crunch). Remove. Throw in the eggs to the warm pan. Cook until the whites are set. They don’t have to be all the way set, but mostly. Add the bacon (I crumbled mine), asparagus, cheese, and noodles and toss to combine.

Serve garnished with more cheese.

It was a pretty terrific dinner for a whim.