30-Minute Red Curry

I've been making a lot of curry the past six months. Turns out my 1.5 year old prefers a good home cooked curry than just about anything else. This little boy loves his food spicy and saucy. He gets a whiff when I'm heating it up and starts to kick his legs in his high chair and bounce up and down. This Thai red curry from Bon Appetit is one of the best that I've made over the years. You could do this with fish, chicken, shrimp, just veggies - rice noodles or rice.

1 large shallot
6 cloves of garlic
1 2" piece of ginger, peeled and cut into pieces
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp red curry paste
2 tsp tumeric
1 28oz can of diced tomato
1 can of coconut milk
1 lb vegetables - cauliflower, carrots, etc.
1 lb white fish (cod, halibut, haddock) or chicken, shrimp

1. Pulse shallot, garlic and ginger in a food processor to finely chop. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and cook the garlic mixture until golden. Add the curry paste and tumeric and cook until darker in color and starts to stick to the pan - about 3 mins.

2. Add tomatoes and cook for about 5 mins. Stir in coconut milk and season with salt. Simmer and stir occasionally until its thickened - about 10 mins.

3. Add vegetables and add enough water to cover the veggies. Bring to a simmer and cook until veggies are crisp but tender - about 10 mins.

4. Season the fish/chicken/shrimp with salt and pepper and add to the curry. Return to a simmer and cook until meat is cooked through. Serve over rice noodles or rice with a squeeze of lime and some cilantro.

Pork Shoulder Ragu

This is my grand finale for winter time, one pot masterpieces. We still have a few chilly days left so squeeze this one in while you can. We're big on pasta and sauce in our family. It's Paddy's favorite. But sometimes I get a little tired of the same ole sauce. I came across this one on Food52 and boy is it good. I've made it twice in the last two months - the first time in a dutch oven, the second time in a slow-cooker because we just had to get. out. of. the. house. If you use a slow cooker - I highly recommend still browning the meat on the stove top and transferring 24it after. Serve this with a wide noodle like papardelle or tagliatelle.

2 - 2.5lb boneless pork shoulder (I've made this with bone-in too. If you use boneless, tie up loose pieces)
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small pat of butter
1 28oz + 1 14oz can of crushed tomatoes (San Marzano the best for this)
1 cup red wine
5 sprigs of fresh thyme
5 springs of fresh oregano (use fresh here - it makes a difference)
*Tie the herbs together with kitchen twine so that you can scoop out later.

1. Preheat oven to 325. Liberally salt and pepper the pork. Heat olive oil and butter to dutch oven over medium high and add the pork roast to the pan. Brown on all sides.

2. Add the onion and garlic and saute for 1 minute. If you're using a slow cooker - at this point transfer everything to the cooker along with the rest of the ingredients and cook on high for 5hrs or low for 8hrs. Add the rest of the ingredients, cover and put in the oven.

3. Braise for 3-4 hours or until falling off the bone. When done, remove pork from the pot and shred on large plate or pan. Skim off any oil from the top of the sauce. Add the pork to the sauce and mix well. Serve with pasta and top with parm.

Chicken Saltimbocca

We eat a lot of chicken. Have you noticed? This is one of my all time favorites and it's a great work night dinner since it takes about 15 minutes to make. I usually serve it with asparagus or broccoli or some other kind of green. This is from Food & Wine.

4 chicken breasts, halved or pounded into thin cutlets
10 sage leaves
4 slices of prosciutto
1/2 cup flour
3 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp butter
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Place 2-3 sage leaves on each breast and wrap the breast with a slice (or two for full coverage) of prosciutto. The prosciutto should stick together so you shouldn't need a toothpick. Lightly dredge the breasts in flour and shake off the excess.

2. Heat a large skillet to medium high and add oil and 2 tbsp of butter. Cook the chicken until the prosciutto starts to curl  - the chicken may not be cooked through - you'll finish it after next step. Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate.

3. Add the remaining 2 tbsp of butter to the pan, add the win and cook over high until reduced by half. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Cook until reduced by half again.

4. Return the chicken to the pan and cook until chicken is done.

Fennel and Carrot Soup

When I was pregnant last fall, I made dozens of bulk batch soups and froze half for those first few months of parenthood when you can barely see straight. I came across some good, simple recipes and now that the cold weather is here again, I'm bringing them back! This is unbelievably easy and very flavorful. Jack loves it too! (modified from Bon Appetit)

6 tbsp unsalted butter, divided (I used olive oil this time since I knew Jack would eat it)
2 fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
2 small onions, thinly sliced
4 carrots, chopped
1 yukon gold or russet potato, peeled and halved
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
4 cups (1 box) of chicken broth or vegetable broth

1. Heat the butter (or oil) in a dutch oven over medium heat. Add fennel, onion, carrots, potato, thyme and bay leaf and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook for about an hour, stirring occasionally.

2. Add broth, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 10 mins or until potato is falling apart. Remove herbs.

3. Puree in a blender and serve!

Sunday Morning Waffles

Sunday breakfast is always reserved for something with maple syrup. Growing up, Sunday mornings were spent on Dad's lap as he read the comics. Later on my sister and I took turns picking pancakes or french toast. I've been conditioned. I wake up on Sunday mornings needing maple syrup. I hear the CBS Sunday Morning trumpet toot and I salivate like Pavlov's dog. It's always been pancakes and french toast in our family but I'm on to waffles. My friends Casey and Megan, fellow breakfast lovers, gave us a waffle maker for our wedding. It gets put to good use. I make a dozen or so about once a month and freeze them. Sunday mornings are for being lazy, not slaving in the kitchen so these babies get put in the toaster straight from the freezer and they're good as new.

Strangely it's taken me a looong time to find a waffle recipe that I like. These are perfect.

2 eggs
1 2/3 cup of milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
*I've been known to add a spoon or two of orange marmalade to my mix. Makes 'em even better.

Mix the dry, mix the wet separately, then combine with a whisk...don't overmix.

Sweet Potato Pie with Gingersnap Crust

The holidays are over....sigh. But luckily I still have a little leftover pie in the fridge. I wish it wouldn't go away. I keep taking only one bite periodically throughout the day, hoping it'll last a little longer. I'm usually on dessert duty for Thanksgiving and Christmas and the last couple of years I've changed up my pumpkin pie recipe a bit. It's not THAT original...I use the old trusted recipe off the One Pie can - but with a few substitutions that I think make all the difference: sweet potatoes instead of the canned stuff and gingersnap cookie crust instead of the standard.

Pie
1 3/4 cups roasted sweet potato (about 2 big ones)
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmet
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp melted butter
1 12oz can evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
1/8 cup molasses
2 eggs, beaten

Gingersnap Crust
1 1/4 cup ground gingersnap cookies
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
4 tbsp butter, melted


1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Pulse the crust ingredients in a food processor until well combined. Pour into a pie dish and press down so that crust is firm, covers the bottom and the sides of the dish. Bake for 15 minutes and let cool.

3. In a mixer or large bowl, whisk sweet potato, eggs, butter, molasses, and milk. In a separate bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Add to sweet potato mixture and whisk until combined.

4. Once crust has cooled, pour in the pie mixture and bake for about 50 minutes or until the pie is set.

Gingersnap Cookies

Gingernsaps are one of my favorite cookies. I tend to only bake them around the holidays when I need them for Sweet Potato Pie crust...and there are always a lot of leftovers. These freeze really well too!

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup molasses

1. Preheat to 350. 

2. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices in a bowl; stir well to mix. 

3. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together on medium speed the butter and sugar for about 5 minutes until very light, fluffy and whitened. Add the egg and continue beating until smooth. 

4. Lower speed and beat in half the dry ingredients, then the molasses Stop the mixer and scrape down bowl and beater. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients. 

5. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment. Scoop out 1-inch diameter pieces of dough. Roll into balls between the palms of your the hands. Place the balls of dough on the prepared pans leaving about 3 inches all around each, to allow for spreading. 

6. Bake the cookies for about 15 mins for chewy cookies and 20 mins for crispy ones.