Tag Archives: “food network”

“50 shades of grey” cooking

food is funCooking is one of those things that seems, at first, to be pretty black and white.  You either love to cook, or you don’t.  However…  After much deep thought, I have come to the conclusion that most of us are actually quite grey on this matter. On one extreme we have the “food network” gurus, restaurant chefs, food bloggers… At the other end we have the folks who still have the factory tape sealing their oven door, as well as telephone numbers for every local take out on their speed dial. Where does that leave the rest of us? Some shade of grey.  So –  where do you fall?

Personally – I really enjoy cooking; provided I am not rushed. Cooking, for me, is an act of love. I am focused on the person, or persons, for whom I am cooking. I want to be in the moment and enjoy the entire process.  A little music, a little wine… (RELAX!  I’m talking about dinner! Mimosas are for making breakfast, silly!!)

IMG_2610OK – CONFESSION: I do not clean up as I go. Yep. It’s true. I make a MESS!! None of this cooking show stuff where everything is premeasured in little bowls and things get cleaned up during the commercial break.  When I am done cooking, there isn’t an inch of (clean) counter space anywhere!! The good news? I have acquired quite a collection of happy little aprons.  (They keep the food from getting stuck in my sequin dress while I’m cooking – wink, wink)  Hey. What can I say.  Creativity is messy!

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I love to read cookbooks and try new recipes that intrigue me. I recently purged rather unsuccessfully, however – so I’m down from “a lot” to…say… something less than “a lot”? OK – Lies. I still have a lot.

IMG_2606Some are stacked decoratively, some are stashed inconspicuously… but they are all scattered about.  Here and there. To and fro. They are a part of me; they illicit memories and provide inspiration. One of the weird things that I really enjoy is the challenge of creating a meal with what I have on hand.  Lucky for me, my family LOVES (most) food, and they support my creative culinary experimentation.  They accept the fact that some dishes are going to be amazing, and others… well… not so much. 

birdie bread

So if you are feeling a little “light grey”… perhaps it’s time to just throw caution to the wind and experiment a bit. You DO have an inner creative self. Everyone does. Don’t be afraid to go there.  Baby steps. Fall in love with a beautiful new cookbook. Take a “hands on” cooking class. Watch (my fav show) “The Chew”. Peruse Pinterest boards for inspiration. There are NO RULES… Just. Have. Fun.

 

 

 

 

killer kale pasta

killer kale pasta

 

Do you ever do this?  You look at what you have in the refrigerator, the freezer, the pantry… and you try to come up with a plan?  For dinner?  WITHOUT having to go to the grocery store?  Ya… See; that’s the hard part.  Can you really do it without leaving the house…?  Well; this is kind of a game with me.  And I play it often.  Mainly because I hate going to the grocery store.  Unless it’s Trader Joes.  I LOVE me some Trader Joes!  We will expand on that in a future post… 😉

So today I had leftover “beer can chicken” that the hubbie did on the grill Sunday.  And a massive bag of kale (We LOVE kale around here!!)  And an onion.  So I “googled” to see what I could come up with.  Guy Fieri came through with a plan!!  I subbed in a jar of roasted red peppers from the pantry (easy peasy!) which saved me the time of the entire 1st step!!  I also subbed in a sweet yellow onion, that I needed to use up, for the shallots.  Sautéed that in the beginning, until translucent, and added the garlic. Everything else pretty much went according to the recipe, EXCEPT I did NOT end up using the chicken stock.  At all.  And we stirred in a bit of goat cheese instead of the parmesan.  It definitely had a “kick”, thanks to my neighbor, Deb, who saved me when I ran out of red pepper flakes!  But was honestly quite delish!  We enjoyed it with a bottle of Merlot (per Guy’s suggestion!)

So; there we go.  Dinner.  Lemme know what’s cookin’ at your house today…????

live happy, Cathy

Killer Kale Pasta (by Guy Fieri)    

Ingredients

  • 2 red bell peppers
  • Olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 medium shallots, diced
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes, plus extra for finishing
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • One 28-ounce can plus one 14-ounce can diced fire roasted tomatoes, such as Glen Muir
  • 2 large bunches kale (about 3 pounds)
  • 4 cups coarsely shredded roasted chicken meat
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 1 pound rigatoni
  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Rub the red bell peppers all over with olive oil and place directly over a direct flame to char on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side.  Remove from the flame and place into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to steam for about 10 minutes. Once cool to the touch, remove the steamed peppers from the bowl and pull off the charred skin, stem and seeds.  Cut into slices and set aside until ready to use.

Set a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil and saute the garlic with the shallots. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the garlic is fragrant and the shallots are translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes, and then add the white wine. Cook until most of the wine has evaporated. Add the cans of tomatoes and the roasted red peppers. Mix well and bring to a steady boil. Reduce the heat so it is simmering.

Meanwhile, prepare the kale by removing stems and discarding. Tear the leaves up into bite-size pieces. Fold into the tomato sauce along with the chicken. Toss to combine and cover with a lid. Cook for about 5 minutes, and if you notice that the vegetables are “dry,” add 1 cup chicken stock. Simmer until the kale is tender, all the flavors have come together and the sauce is thick, 15 to 20 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Cook the rigatoni pasta al dente in a large pot of salted boiling water according to the package directions, 8 to10 minutes. Drain the pasta and add directly to the Dutch oven with the finished sauce. Toss to coat everything and cook over low heat (this allows the last cooking of the pasta to be done in the sauce), 2 to 3 minutes. Add a little of the starchy pasta water if needed.

Serve the pasta in large bowls and top with spoonfuls of grated Parmesan and extra red chili flakes. Goes great with a chianti or merlot!