culinary flights of fancy

Home Cooking Adventures in Berkeley Heights

Category Archives: Main Courses


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Off the Shelf: The Classic Italian Cookbook by Marcella Hazan

Asparagus with Parmesan Cheese and Fried Eggs

Enjoy this hearty dish as a starter or as a main course. Like the best of Italian dishes, this dish is simple and complex at the same time!

Enjoy this hearty dish as a starter or as a main course. Like the best of Italian dishes, this dish is simple and complex at the same time!

Roast the asparagus. I layered the asparagus spears with grated Parmesan cheese.

Roast the asparagus. I layered the asparagus spears with grated Parmesan cheese.

You know, there are a lot of great cookbooks released every day and most of them contain updates and new approaches to classic dishes and/or new flavor combinations that are both interesting and exciting.  However, there is something to be said for the timelessness of classic cookbooks.  So, from time to time, I’m going to highlight recipes that may have fallen out of fashion or slipped through the cracks from cookbooks past.  Marcella Hazan’s classic cookbook, The Classic Italian Cookbook is a great place to start.  I love the fact that the tagline beneath the title of this cookbook is:  The art of Italian cooking and the Italian art of eating.  Somehow lost in the various mounds of recipes we forget that eating and enjoyment of food is an art in and of itself but that wasn’t lost on Marcella Hazan.

This dish presents the best of Italian cooking in that it celebrates seasonality and simplicity while at the same time combining those simple flavors into something much bigger than its’ individual components.  This dish is traditionally served as a starter but certainly could suffice as a main course.  The book suggests serving two eggs per person as a main or one egg as a starter.  In my copy of the book the exact recipe can be found on pages 356-357.  The recipe below deviates from the recipe as written just slightly as she suggest to use an asparagus steamer and I skipped that step.  Also, I reduced the amount of butter used to fry the eggs.  I also reduced the roasting temperature from 450 degrees to 425 as I didn’t steam the vegetable prior to roasting so it needed a bit more time in the oven.  At 450 degrees, the cheese would have melted very quickly and burned before the asparagus was cooked through.  Other than that, everything else remained the same.  Recipe follows after the jump… Continue reading →


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Tagliatelle Pasta with Squash Blossom, Spring Onion, and Ricotta

Delicate squash blossoms are tossed in raw at the very end allowing the residual heat from the cooked pasta to lightly wilt them.

Delicate squash blossoms are tossed in raw at the very end allowing the residual heat from the cooked pasta to lightly wilt them.

Gently toss the squash blossoms into the pasta as they will tear and break very easily.

Gently toss the squash blossoms into the pasta as they will tear and break very easily.

It’s been a while…I hope you are well.  I’m kicking things off with this very summery pasta dish that happens to be both beautiful and simple to make.  It’s pretty delicious as well!  Stay tuned as there’s lots more ahead…I’ve been cooking a lot and am way behind on writing the recipes up for publishing.  I hope to correct that very soon with a slew of new things to keep you busy!  I apologize for the delay.

Squash blossoms are available in markets and farmer’s markets but you have to look for them.  If you go to a farmer’s market, you will likely have to arrive early to find them as they usually go quickly.  As implied by the name, they are simply blossoms found on the plants of summer squash.  They have a delicate squash flavor and are really beautiful.  Unfortunately, as they are delicate, they have a tendency to go bad rather quickly so it’s best to use them the same day you buy them.  Since they do have a more subtle flavor they can take on various flavors rather quickly and can easily be overpowered.  Traditionally, they are often served stuffed with ricotta and delicate, lightly flavored herbs such as parsley and chives.  Sometimes they are steamed or flash sautéed with just a touch of olive oil.  Another very popular thing to do is stuff them as above but then lightly bread them and serve them fried.  I love stuffed squash blossoms but sometimes they are small and since they are delicate, they can fall apart rather easily while attempting to stuff them.  So this is a great recipe to use if you find yourself with small blossoms.  Further, if you are like me, and you just want to make it easy on yourself sometimes, skip stuffing them and simply toss them in some pasta with the same flavor profiles used when stuffing.  This is a fast and easy pasta dish that is great either for a weekday meal or for a more special occasion because no matter how you serve them, they really are striking in their presentation.  Recipe follows after the jump… Continue reading →


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Seared Ribeye with Polenta, Broccoli Rabe, and Spring Vegetables

Colorful spring vegetables coupled with rare, sliced ribeye and naturally creamy polenta.

Colorful spring vegetables coupled with rare, sliced ribeye and naturally creamy polenta.

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I’ve mentioned this before but I’ll say it again:  ribeye is by far my favorite cut of steak.  Here, it is rubbed with a few spices, cooked rare, and then cut into strips.  Cutting the steak into strips is a great way to enjoy beef without eating a huge amount.  Instead, you get the flavor of the beef and enhance the flavor with fresh vegetables of the season.  The extra bonus about serving beef this way is that you cut down on how much you need to purchase.  In fact, in this case, a large 16 ounce steak can serve four.  I chose a simple pan cooked broccoli rabe which has a subtle bitterness to play off the sweeter corn based polenta.  The raw tomatoes add color and some acidity and the whole thing is then simply garnished with a sprinkling of raw, thinly sliced spring onions.  I finished the dish with just a touch of heated veal stock to bring a light sauce and more meatiness to the dish.  If you don’t have veal stock, you can certainly skip it all together or if you prefer, simply drizzle just a touch of olive oil over the top.  Either way, you can’t go wrong!  Recipe follows after the jump… Continue reading →


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Roasted Portobello Mushroom with Spinach, Cream Cheese, and Sage

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I thought I would stick with another easy vegetable recipe this week.  Like last week, this recipe is both delicious and easy to make.  It’s versatile as you can play with the flavors, the greens used, etc.  Here, a simple roasted Portobello is stuffed with a mixture of wilted spinach, cream cheese, a few sprigs of fresh sage, and finished with fresh breadcrumbs for texture and crunch.  The entire thing is roasted again until the cream cheese mixture is melted and browned to your liking.  You can serve this as a main course or as a hearty appetizer.  This dish is great served hot, warm, or at room temperature.

PS:  All of these vegetables can be found at your local farmer’s markets and, luckily for us, most if not all area markets are now open.  So, take some time and support local farms!  You not only help the local economy but your taste buds will definitely thank you for the effort.  Recipe follows after the jump… Continue reading →


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Lavender, Honey, and Sherry Braised Short Ribs

Lavender, honey, and sherry short ribs with risotto style farro and wilted greens.

Lavender, honey, and sherry short ribs with risotto style farro and wilted greens.

Raw thinly sliced radishes and spring onions add an earthiness and slight spiciness to the sweetness of the lavender honey sherry reduction. Balance the whole dish with a very small drizzle of sherry vinegar.

Raw thinly sliced radishes and spring onions add an earthiness and slight spiciness to the sweetness of the lavender honey sherry reduction. Balance the whole dish with a very small drizzle of sherry vinegar.

This is another seasonal transition dish that marries hearty braised short ribs with some liter, more spring-like flavors.  I paired the short ribs with risotto style farro, wilted greens, and the braising vegetables and garnished it with thinly sliced radishes and spring onions.  This dish would be great with any rice or grain.  You can also skip it completely and serve it simply with vegetables and maybe some crusty bread to soak up the beautiful sherry and veal stock reduction that’s scented with lavender and honey.  Here I used a sweet sherry and, coupled with the honey, was almost too sweet.  So, if you prefer your main meals more on the savory side of the spectrum, simply use a dry sherry instead.  It will be great either way.  However, if you do use a sweet sherry, the extra sweetness added a nice balance to the earthiness of the farro, greens, radishes, and onions.  If you don’t have sherry, feel free to use a good quality white wine…it will turn out just as great.  Recipe follows after the jump… Continue reading →


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Corned Beef Hash with Mixed Vegetables

Lighten up a traditional corned beef hash by added greens, different types of potatoes, herbs, and other vegetables.

Lighten up a traditional corned beef hash by adding greens, different types of potatoes, herbs, and other vegetables.

Use a heavy bottomed pan or cast iron pan to cook the hash.

Use a heavy bottomed pan or cast iron pan to cook the hash.

If you are like Tara and I, then you celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in some way.  For us, that meant homemade corned beef and cabbage last week.  If you ended up making or buying corned beef, you likely had at least a bit of corned beef left over.  I love left over corned beef as it makes great Reuben sandwiches as well as awesome hash.  Often we have breakfast for dinner and this is a dish we would definitely make for dinner.  However, it certainly could be used for brunch or a hearty breakfast.

Traditionally, corned beef hash consists of shredded corned beef with cubed or hash brown potatoes and some onion and served alongside a fried or poached egg.  This dish definitely has all of that, but I tend to take a kitchen sink approach to it in terms of adding additional vegetables.  I like to add greens, peppers, a mix of potatoes, and any other vegetable that I might have on hand that needs to be used.  By preserving the crispy potatoes and corned beef as a base, adding additional vegetables simple adds complexity, color, and more nutrition to the mix.  It also lightens it up.  Make no mistake, this is still a hearty dish.  However, it just is not quite so meat and potatoes focused.

In order to make the potatoes crispy, there are really a number of ways to go.  One, you can cube the potatoes and cut them very small, thus shortening the cooking time in the pan (so that the potatoes brown and crisp at the same time they cook through…otherwise you can end up with browned potatoes that are not cooked through or black potatoes that spent too long in the pan, so they burned).   Another way you can go is to shred or grate the potatoes and then wring out the excess water, which allows for improved browning.  I decided to go a different route and keep the potatoes in relatively larger pieces.  You can do that while at the same time avoid burning them by parboiling them.  That is, cooking them in boiling water for 10 minutes or so (depending on the size of the potatoes) until they are half cooked.  I then dunk them in ice water, which stops the cooking.  From there, you simply dry them off and cut them in larger sized pieces.  This allows the potatoes to finish cooking in the hash pan, browning them as they finish, without risking burning them (or at least reducing that risk).

If you don’t have corned beef or if you don’t care for it, you can certainly use sausage, bacon, ham, or any meat you’d prefer.  If you want to make this a vegetarian meal, skip the meat completely and stick with the vegetables or add cooked beans or lentils at the very end for additional protein, fiber, and flavor.  At any rate, you can’t go wrong with hash and you can certainly make it your own based on your personal tastes while using ingredients you have on hand.

In programming notes, a Reuben recipe using the leftover corned beef is coming tomorrow.  That will be the last of the corned beef for a while and I don’t know about you, but I am definitely glad (though it was good).  Also, later this week a veggie hash with fresh cranberry beans, a Croque Madame recipe, and not too far on the horizon, a double veal chop coupled with spring vegetables in a white veal stock and cognac sauce.  So, stay tuned!  The recipe and more pictures follow after the jump… Continue reading →


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Roasted Leg of Lamb with Tuscan Herbs and Garlic

Whole leg of lamb just prior to carving.

Whole leg of lamb just prior to carving.

Plated leg of lamb with polenta, roasted sweet potatoes and carrots, veal demi-glace, and tomato reduction. Garnished with watercress. Notice the three different pieces and their varying levels of doneness.

Plated leg of lamb with polenta, roasted sweet potatoes and carrots, veal demi-glace, and tomato reduction. Garnished with watercress. Notice the three different pieces and their varying levels of doneness.

I don’t absolutely love lamb so I don’t make it very often.  However, Tara really loves it and when my parents visited last weekend, they requested that I make a lamb dish.  So, I opted for roasting a leg of lamb.  It feeds a crowd and is pretty forgiving.  The other bonus is that it produces slices of meat with varying levels of doneness so if you enjoy rare meat, it’s there.  Likewise, if you prefer your lamb on the medium or medium rare side, the leg provides slices at that temperature too.  I think a lot of people might get a bit intimidated with the leg of lamb because of both the size of the meat as well as the perceived time it takes to cook.  The good news here is that it really doesn’t take longer than a traditional roast pork or beef.  I started it at a very high oven temperature and allowed it to cook for about 20 minutes and then lowered the temperature, removed it from the oven, and rubbed it all over with the garlic and herbs before returning it to the oven at a much lower temperature to finish cooking for about an hour.  As it turns out, everyone (myself included) really liked the lamb so I will definitely make it again at some point in the near future.

I paired the lamb with roasted vegetables and polenta and accented that with a veal reduction and tomato reduction and a touch of watercress.  It was very good that way but if you don’t want to make the veal reduction or the tomato reduction, you can certainly skip one or both.  The dish would be delicious without it as well.  Recipe and more pictures after the jump… Continue reading →


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Pioppini Mushroom Salad with Watercress, Soft Boiled Egg, and Pickled Red Onion

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This is a great little salad that can be used as either a starter or a main dish.  Pioppino mushrooms have a mild flavor with a long stem and small button on top and are light to dark brown in appearance.  They can be found in farmer’s markets and at specialty food stores.  If you have difficulty finding them, simply substitute your favorite mushroom.  The watercress with its pepper flavor and almost vine like appearance provides a nice balance in color and flavor to the mushrooms.  The pickled red onion simply adds a bit of color and a touch of acidity.  If you don’t like pickled onions or simply do not feel like making them, chives or green onions would work well too.  Finally, the soft boiled egg adds color and protein and brings a creaminess to the salad.  It also adds another level of heartiness to the meaty mushrooms.  If you prefer, hard boiled eggs would work as well, though I think the creaminess of a soft boiled egg or even a poached egg adds a nice touch that would be missed if you go that route.  .

All of this produce (except the onion) came from Just Farmed…I believe they are accepting new participants for this year (which starts in May.  Do yourself a favor and inquire as the service is very good!  If you live locally in New Jersey, it’s a great way to bring farm fresh produce right to your door every week.  Recipe follows after the jump… Continue reading →


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Roasted Chicken Rubbed with Roasted Garlic and Sage

Roasted chicken rubbed with roasted garlic and sage

Roasted chicken rubbed with roasted garlic and sage

Carving a roasted chicken is easy. Follow the joints of the chicken, carefully inserting your knife between the joints to separate the various parts. Then remove the breasts.

Carving a roasted chicken is easy. Follow the joints of the chicken, carefully inserting your knife between the joints to separate the various parts. Then remove the breasts.

If I were to ask my wife which dish I make or have made that she likes best I guarantee it would either be roasted chicken or a ribeye steak.  That response usually drives me nuts because they are so basic and given all the other things I cook around here, I would think there would be other things she prefers.  However, despite the very basic nature of a simple roasted chicken, I love it too.  It’s really hard to beat a really well executed roasted chicken.  I define well executed being a roasted chicken that is nicely browned with crispy skin while remaining juicy, succulent, and tender.  That, my friends, is not so simple to pull off.  So, despite the basic nature of such a simple cooking method, it really is not that easy to perfect.  That said, it is possible to create an approximation to the ideal of a well executed roasted chicken with practice and doing some basic things to help it along.

In culinary school, we were given a five step method for preparing and roasting a chicken.  Some of those steps are designed to help with cooking the chicken properly and some of those things are designed to improve the overall appearance of the chicken once it’s carved.  Personally, I don’t think all five steps are necessary for home cooking purposes.  I really don’t follow all the steps but I do follow a couple.  I also add in a couple of steps that I feel make a big difference.  More thoughts and basic recipe follow after the jump… Continue reading →


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Ground Pork Lettuce Wraps with Vietnamese Caramel Sauce, Mixed Vegetables, and Radish Ginger Vinaigrette

Assembled Lettuce Wrap

Assembled Lettuce Wrap

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This dish, though Asian influenced, does not really hail from any particular country or region.  However, the caramel sauce is distinctly a sauce from Vietnam.  The sauce both simple and complex imparts a subtle sweetness with hints of smoke and bitterness.  There’s really only one way to make a classic Vietnamese caramel sauce and directions for creating it can be found here.  It takes about a half hour to make but a little of it goes a long way and can be stored in a glass jar in your pantry indefinitely, so if you make it once, it will last a pretty long time.  In addition, there is a ton of different things you can do with the sauce beyond this recipe so, go ahead and make it and experiment with it!

The pork and vegetable base can be used in many different ways.  Here I simply used leaf lettuce as a wrap and garnished it with a few vegetables.  However, this mixture would be great with steamed buns, as a filling for dumplings, tossed on top of rice, or simply combine all the vegetables and pork and add more lettuce for a hearty Asian influenced salad.

There are a lot of ingredients with this recipe, but don’t let that be intimidating.  Beyond making the caramel sauce all the ingredients can be found at any grocery store and the whole thing should pull together in around an hour or so.  Also I used ground pork but this basic recipe/technique would work with diced or ground chicken, turkey, or even shrimp.

As an aside, Tara told me this was one of her favorite things that I’ve made in a very long time.  So, she really liked it.  We both really enjoy Asian influenced food and perhaps I need to make more of it since it was such a hit with her!  I thought it was great for dinner or you can certainly use it as an appetizer.  Enjoy…Recipe follows after the jump. Continue reading →