FamilyFood

Family Food is no more

No, it's not completely gone, I've just moved my content over to my primary blog, CityMama.  So many people have separate blogs for this and that, and I respect that, but cooking meals for my family is apart of me, hence the decision to merge the two blogs.

I'm also thumbing my nose at food snobs who think that moms don't or can't cook. A sentiment I've heard a lot over the years. (Why can't cooking moms get any respect? That's a question for another post...)

I'll no longer be updating this blog and you can find every recipe that was on Family Food over at CityMama (plus many more to come) so I hope you'll join me over in my new digs where there is always a seat a table for you.

Thanks for reading Family Food,

Stefania

I'm doing 30 days of recipes over on CityMama

Please hop on over there for the recipe of the day. It's my theme for NaBloPoMo. I'll be posting daily through the end of November, and tomorrow kicks off a week's worth of Thanksgiving recipes.

Favorites: Frozen Homemade Organic Greek-style Yogurt

This is a far cry from TCBY. Imagine your favorite Greek yogurt: so creamy and delicious.  Now imagine it frozen. That's what I'm talkin' 'bout.

Sweet.  On many levels.

A very lucky little girl.

Ravioli with Butternut Squash and Pancetta

It's only taken five years, but Bunny will now eat ravioli. You'd think all kids would like tortellini, ravioli, or other stuffed pastas, from the get-go but not so. It took a long time for Bunny to warm up to ravioli, but now she loves it. 

Our favorites are stuffed with some kind of meat, usually prosciutto. Lately we've been loving the grilled chicken-stuffed, triangle-shaped ravioli from Costco.  It comes in a two-pack and, in our Costco, is located near the hummus. Because it's so flavorful it marries well with simple sauces.

To make the sauce above, I baked off a buttnernut squash then cubed it.  I added it to a pan in which I sauteed garlic, shallots, and about 4 ounces of diced pancetta. I tossed the squash gently and just warmed it through. I added a spoonful of pasta cooking water to the sauce to loosen it, then tossed it with the cooked ravioli.  A little parmesan cheese and fresh ground pepper were the finishing touches.

Korean Braised Short Ribs (Kalbi Jim)

See the recipe at my personal blog, CityMama.

Farmer's Market Salad

No recipe needed here, just the freshest of fresh greens: Little Gem lettuces, local cress, fresh dill, sweet cukes, and a little late afternoon sunshine. Ain't it purty?

Roasted Broccoli Rabe with Bacon and Onions

Broccoli Rabe (or broccoli di rape as I grew up calling it), is one of my favorite vegetables. It's assertive flavor pairs well with Italian sausage in pasta sauce or on its own next to roasted meats.  I notice that the broccoli rabe that I get at the farmer's market is far superior to what is available in the supermarket. I find that supermarket rabe, no matter how "fresh," is often unpleasantly bitter. Rabe from the farmer's market—at least the one that I frequent—is consistently sweet with just a hint of bite, and full of delicious broccoli flavor, right down to the leaves.

You've probably noticed if you've been reading for a while that I like to roast my veggies.  I do this for two main reasons: 1) It's a no fuss way to cook vegetables while I do something else. I don't need to tend them, I can just let them roast away in the oven until they are done. 2) I love the carmelization that occurs when you roast vegetables. I think it makes veggies taste just as good hot or at room temp. And, I guess, 3) I find that my kids prefer to eat veggies roasted as opposed to other preparations. They might turn up their noses at steamed green beans, but will gobble them up when they are roasted. I think they enjoy the crispy carmelized bits, too.

For this recipe, I took two bunches of broccoli rabe, trimmed it, and washed it.  Then I put some diced bacon (about 2 strips) and a small diced onion into a roasting pan with a little olive oil and let it hang out in the oven while it preheated to 350º.

I then carefully removed the roasting pan, dumped in the broccoli rabe, some salt and pepper, and gave everything a toss.  After about 10-15 minutes it should be fairly wilted.  Give it a gentle toss, then let it roast about 5-7 minutes more. Be careful not to burn the delicate leaves.

Serves 4 as a side dish.

White Asparagus with Ham and Gruyere

For this easy side dish, I tossed a bunch of white asparagus gently with a little olive oil (not too much as the cheese will release some oil), salt, and pepper.  I arranged it in a baking dish and topped with:

• 1 large slice or 2 small slices of Black Forest Ham, julienned
• a handful of grated gruyere
• a handful of grated parmesan

Bake at 350º until asparagus are tender but crisp, about 10-15 minutes depending.

Simple Sides: Roasted King Trumpet Mushrooms

I love King Trumpet (or Oyster) mushrooms because they have the same meaty texture of fresh porcinis (which are nigh impossible to find) even if they don't exactly have a fresh porcini's rich flavor. They also don't have the creepy gills and unappealing sponginess that portobellos have. (I love mushrooms and simply cannot choke down a portobello.)

The easiest way I know to make them is just to stick 'em in a hot oven and don't bother them too much.  You begin with beautiful raw mushrooms, ends trimmed. Toss them with olive oil, garlic, and alae (pink) Hawaiian salt (or sea salt).

Get into my belly!

Put them into a 375º oven for about 25 minutes. You can give them a gentle stir about half-way through the cooking time.  When they are done, they come out looking like this:

Chewy, garlicky yumminess.

I served these alongside lamb chops when the smart and soignée Katherine came to dinner a few weeks ago.

Crunchy Korean Cucumber Salad

This salad is so easy to prepare it's stoopid.  The key, though, it making sure you serve it immediately after you toss it so that the salt doesn't have a chance to wilt the cukes. I like it when the cucumbers are still icy-cold from the fridge and you get the pleasant crunch of sea salt with every bite. The recipe calls for ground toasted sesame seeds (You can find sesame seed grinders at any Japanese market.), but if you can't find a grinder a mortar and pestle will work.  Or just sprinkle them on without grinding.

KOREAN CUCUMBER SALAD

• 2 medium-sized cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and chopped into chunks
• half a thinly-sliced small yellow onion, or 1-2 green onions, thinly-sliced
• a drizzle of toasted sesame oil (maybe a teaspoon or two)
• a hefty grinding of toasted sesame seeds (see photo)
• sea salt to taste (large flakes are great, but avoid large the coarse rocks usu. found in salt grinders)
• optional: shaved garlic is great in this, so are a few very thinly-sliced green chilis.

Toss everything together and serve immediately. Serves 4 as a side dish (or two of my children--they love this).  We had this along-side kalbi (Korean BBQ ribs) last night.