A Dilemma Turns Delicious

Rice pasta with Vodka Cream Sauce and Tofurky Italian Sausage

Ever have one of those evenings when you come home from work, starving of course, and have been trusting the last couple of hours that the fridge does contain the dream meal that you've been drooling all over your desk about only to find mere bits and pieces of ingredients?! After the sad discovery, what next? Do you really just gulp down the last vinegary bit of that unnamed red wine on the counter, break open the slimy lunch meat and declare a feast??? How about NO. For two reasons. One, the heartburn that one gets from cheap and old wine is hardly worth that instant moonshine buzz that clouds your contacts for 10 minutes, and second...there must be something better in there. You just need to dig a little deeper and throw out that meat for Pete's sake (and yours).

I was faced with this dilemma a couple of weeks ago (only it was tart and surprisingly sparkling) white wine in the back of the fridge. Miraculously I survived the wine without incident and was able to procure a rather healthy dinner out of very minimal effort. (10 min tops)

My favorite meal on earth is any kind of pasta with a cream sauce. My love of carbs can never be satiated and could possibly be categorized as an addiction! I am proud of this. However, in an effort to consume less gluten I occasionally indulge in rice pasta which I accept with little to very inaudible grumbling. In fact, it's quite good and you don't feel so round after a meal of it.

So here's my little throw together meal of leftovers:

1 Cup of Rice Pasta
Leftover Vodka Tomato Sauce (from Trader Joes)
Leftover Cream
A sprinkling of Parmesan Cheese
Freshly ground Black Pepper
Dash of fresh pesto on top

In a saute pan, lightly brown your tofurky sausage according to the directions on the package. It's fully cooked already, you're just warming it up. Add your leftover tomato sauce and simmer for 10 minutes at least. Especially if you're dealing with leftovers, make sure that the mixture actually almost boils. You want to kill off any bacteria that has been accumulating and no that 10% proof old wine won't do any good against botulism. After you've reduced the heat, just add your cream and stir. Simmer for another few minutes until the sauce has thickened a bit. Now, if you want to fool those spur of the minute house guests. You could start out with some olive oil in the pan and saute some shallots or any other kind of onion that hasn't sprouted, as well as some fresh garlic, then follow the recipe. The onions and garlic will breathe new life into your (relatively) old sauce and a fresh sprinkling of parsley when everything is said and done will add a heavier cloak to complement the dagger combination your whipping up in your kitchen.

WARNING:
Do not overcook the Rice Pasta. Follow the directions on the bag/box/whatever extremely carefully. Make no sudden moves. Accept no phone calls. Don't leave the kitchen, and most importantly be ready to drain at a minute's notice.
If you don't heed this warning, start gathering construction paper, glitter, and felt because you'll have enough paste for two kindergartens' art projects.

1 Serving:
Tofurky Italian Sausage 270 cal 29g protein
Rice Pasta 200 cal 4g protein

*A small note to gluten folks, the tofurky does have wheat gluten in it (sigh). Pick your battles.
*Another note, you can't call yourself a vegan eating the cream sauce.
*So, all in all, this dish is intgrediential (part vegan and part gluten free). Just be accepting.

Day Old Pommes Frittes Make it to the Breakfast Table

Maybe like me, you have the occasional craving for fries. Nothing can stand in the way of this long standing desire for something crispy, hot, and (of course) deep fried. Not threatening fat stats or even deplorable calorie counts that can ruin a week in the gym. No way! I'm loyal...so to comprise I don't eat all of the fries that are bestowed on me with my double double.
So, after basking in the afterglow of my fried feast the evening before, I created an ode to hash browns with my beloved pommes frittes that were patiently waiting in the fridge.

Ingredients:
Your Day Old French Fries (what's left of them)
2 Eggs (beaten)
1 Cippollini Onion
Sliced Minisweet Bell Peppers
Chopped Cilantro
Dash of Seasoned Pepper & Salt
1/2 Roma Tomato
Small Handful of Blended Shredded Cheese (I like Mozzarella, Jack & Cheddar)
Avocado Slices
Corn Tortillas
1 T Canola Oil

Start with a hot pan and then add your Canola oil. Throw in your onion and your fries and saute them quickly until they become slightly browned. Add your peppers and tomato and stir a bit. Next comes your eggs and scramble the entire mixture until the eggs begin to fluff. At the very last add your cilantro and cheese and stir. Don't wait another minute! Scoop this mixture into warm tortillas and top with avocado and maybe some Tapatio!!

Overstuffed Mushrooms

My mom called me up the other day and said that she was trying to think of something to serve the neighbors when they come over for some wine and asked if I have any ideas for some appetizers.
I love adults.
I don't think most of my friends would gift a crap, much less notice if I invited them over for some wine and didn't have anything for them to nosh on. Mutiny might arise after the case of wine was finished, but then it's every man for themselves...you either jump ship or start into whatever is lying dormant in the freezer.
Back to mom. So, I was racking my brain, trying to think of what she would want to serve the Chardonnay loving crowd who will be driving (not because it's far but because it's fricking cold in Chicago) over to the house to escape cabin fever. My thoughts drifted to fungi, warmed of course. A tasty reward for braving the snow drifts and the black ice patches. For all you southern Californians who don't know what that means, let's just keep it that way. You're better off with your heads in the sand.
For all of us smart enough, er, lucky enough to be living in a warm climate, these mushrooms will be quite yummy on a chilly night when it hits 60 and we're grabbing our Uggs and clutching our fleece and taking about "winter" in very dramatic fashion. Devour a couple of these with a big glass of something fermented and relish the banishment of cold limbs and empty bellies.

Ingredients:
1 Shallot, diced.
18 White Mushrooms
1 T Butter
1 T Olive Oil
2 Cloves of Garlic
2 T Bread Crumbs
1/2 C Whipping Cream
1 T Pesto
2 t Parmesan Cheese
Salt/White Pepper

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
You'll probably want to wash your mushrooms. Yeah. Gross. You know where they come from. The best way is to fill a bowl with cold water and squeeze half of a lemon in there and then let the lemon float. Wash the mushrooms in there and then remove one at a time, dry, twist of their stem, and place on a baking sheet. What's the lemon for you say? Ever had your mushrooms turn a horrible brown or grey color after washing the crap off of them? Yep. They are sensitive little things and the lemon actually keeps them whiter. Cool huh?
So, after you've removed all the stems, chop them up fine. Saute your butter, oil, shallots and garlic until the mixture is glassy. Then add your mushrooms stems to the pan.
Next add your breadcrumbs and stir. The cream comes next. Mix this in thoroughly until it is absorbed and then drop in some pesto and your Parmesan cheese. You can add salt and white pepper to taste just before stuffing.
Now, you get to stuff these little buggers. They should be all lined up on your baking sheet like good little sailors. Take a really small spoon (I like iced tea spoons) and carefully stuff each cap. In they go into the fiery furnace for 5 minutes.
Then, turn right around and broil them for 2 minutes. Keep a close eye. All stoves aren't created equal (mine sure isn't). When that timer goes off, quickly remove your tray and place on your serving tray or individual plates. That's it! Done! How easy was that??!! Now your adult guests won't be cranky that you didn't feed them and you're not so adult guests might try them and not crash on your couch. You're welcome.

The Party's Not Over

OK, New Years was last week people. Have we forgotten already? Has reality set in and spoiled the fun? Did Monday come on strong like a used car salesman and convince you that the fun is over and now it's time to invest in something exciting like having the carpets cleaned? Maybe Tuesday went a step farther to make you forget that champagne induced make-out session with that (hope he was hot as he looked) guy at your neighbor's? It's time to fight back! Let Thursday be the day where we beg the most important existential question of our time...
"Why does the fun have to stop and the bubbly cease to flow"??!!!
We should be celebrating for at least another week or so. God knows it's more fun than facing the reality of a dismal economy, global warming, and mass death on TV. With the spirit of "let's bury our heads in the sand as long we can" I proudly produce another way to utilize the champagne/sparkling wine/way too old grape juice that is now fermented stuff that is perched in your fridge. This year I found myself strung up on antibiotics and couldn't fully participate the way I wanted to, so I popped the bubbly at the precise moment the Z-pak ran out, but I think I was a bit ambitious for the magnum. Even with my drinking habit.
So, I find myself confronted with a rare situation...alcohol that I can not finish in one sitting! And so, to keep the party going I share with you now a cream sauce to die for. A new resolution in itself...cook with Champagne more often!

Ingredients:
2 Cipollini Onions (or one Shallot)
2 Garlic Cloves
1 Roma Tomato
1 tsp. Lemon Juice
2 tblspns. Fresh Basil (Chiffonade)
1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 cup Champagne
1 1/2 cups Whipping Cream
1 tsp. Butter
1 tsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 tsp. White Pepper
1/2 tsp. Sea Salt


I've recently discovered cipollini onions and love that Trader Joes has these little beauties all peeled, cleaned, and good to go. Chop up a couple of those or use a shallot to be safe/boring. Add your onions and garlic to a mixture of butter and olive oil in a hot saute pan. Let the mix get glassy, but be careful not to let it get any color! Then add the tomatoes and saute for a minute or so. Deglaze with lemon juice.

Next...the champagne! Make sure your heat is still on high, boil this down to about a quarter to what it originally was. Like those chocolates sitting on your counter....
After that, reduce the heat to a simmer and add your cream. Reduce this just by half. Still a spoon in the mixture and see if it's coating the back, if it is, time to add your Parmesan. At the very last season with salt and pepper and stir in your basil. Whoo hoo! You're done.

This sauce works great with seafood. I just used this over plain Tilapia, but you could add some shrimp, crab, or lobster and put this over pasta. If you're not going to incorporate fish, you could just ignore the lemon juice all together. This sauce will hold up in the oven too and works well if you wanted to bake chicken.
Cheers!

The Beginning

I took this picture from our night cruise on the Seine in March 2002. Cordon Bleu sponsored a little outing for all of us student, perhaps feeling a bit sorry for all of us having endured three tumultuous days of intense scrutiny and pressure to perform for our chefs and prove that we deserved to be at this illustrious institution (I was already having my doubts…I could barely sputter out the right vowels to describe the dish I just plated that afternoon).

I remember that freezing cold night as I shivered with my new found friends against the dampness of the city (who said Paris was this COLD in the spring!?!) The strangers I had met 72 hours ago were now my soul mates. They too had given up a lot to come here like me, given up jobs, loves, homes, all for pursuing a dream. I was pinching myself to see
1. If I had frost-bite and
2. Is this still a dream?

From that freezing moment on (and a couple of kirs later), Paris became my home. I think Paris is the only city in the world that can do that to you. It intimidates you and tests you to see if you are really going to be a loyal to it, and then it just throws its arms around you at every turn and you wonder how you could live all those years never knowing the embrace of Paris. In its embrace is the subtle lesson of appreciating life and all its subtleties; that you can be completely happy living in a ridiculously small space, content in never having to own or drive a car, joy in sipping coffee and people watching, and the highest achievement of all…savoring the crusty tip of a baguette fresh from the bakery around the corner. Not that you don’t get lost along the way. The streets of Paris make sure that finding your way around is never easy, but that’s part of the adventure too. Even getting lost can be a treat when you look up in utter frustration only to find the exterior of Notre Dame is smiling down on your path.

Almost seven years later and after getting a little lost I think I’ve finally found where I’m supposed to be and applying it to my life here in San Diego. I created this blog, Savvy Cuisine as a playground of flavors and a carnival (without any analogies to clowns…eew) of ingredients in hopes of capturing the happiness and contentment that I had so many years and miles away. A place where the door is open and there’s a table just waiting where we can all come together and share our love for cooking and for the twists and turns of life! So let’s uncork, sit back, and toast to life’s journeys. Here’s to a new adventure, a new beginning, and a new life for all of us in this new year. Cheers!