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By mlb, on April 30th, 2013%
This was a recent meal at our house and even though I accidentally made two “errors” with it, the meal was still delicious. So, I think we’ll call this one both forgiving and versatile.
Error number one was not realizing this recipe made two cake pans worth of polenta (not a big deal as the other polenta is safely in the freezer awaiting a dinner soon) and error number two was baking the polentas in the cake pans. Also not a big deal since, as far as I can tell, it worked out fine. Lessons learned: if you’re just trying to feed two, just make a half recipe of the below and for possibly crispier polenta, turn them out onto a baking sheet. But you know, no big deal.
That all said, the versatility comes in by really being able to top these pizzas with anything you might normally put on a pizza. Mushrooms, bell peppers, zucchini, lamb sausage, feta — it’s completely adjustable to the season and whatever you’re in the mood for eating!
 . . . → Read More: White Polenta with Sausage, Chard and Fresh Mozzarella
By mlb, on April 22nd, 2013%
In the last few months (year, maybe? I am bad at judging time), it seems that my stretch of SE Division street has just exploded with new places — Ava Gene’s, Xico, Lauretta Jean’s, Sunshine Tavern, Cibo. And I’m sure there’s more I’m even forgetting. Of this group, we’ve been to Cibo twice so far and I can’t wait to go again. It was a bit crowded on a Tuesday night for our last visit, so we started at the bar and moved to the table when one opened up.
Cibo
3539 SE Division Street
Portland, OR 97214
On that visit, we split the octopus dish as a starter and I think it’s my favorite plate featuring octopus in Portland right now. A great char, nice and tender, on a plate full of creamy beans, herbs and lemon. It changes from time-to-time (right now I think it’s on a bed of potatoes) but it’s definitely worth checking out no matter what version it is.
We also split the Caesar salad, which was also good and recommended, but the pizza. Oh my! Get the pizza. They are definitely big enough to share, but if you get one per person, you can try . . . → Read More: Cibo Italian Restaurant in SE Portland
By mlb, on April 20th, 2013%
This week’s French Fridays with Dorie was a very interesting thing indeed — so interesting, in fact, that I am a day late in getting the post up.
Cod and Spinach Roulades — a spinach and onion filling, wrapped up in fish mousse, steamed and served with tomato sauce and pesto. Kind of like an Italian-French fish tamale?
I don’t see the recipe officially online, so I can’t link to it, but it can be found in the cookbook, Around my French Table by Dorie Greenspan.
Notes:
1. I did not use plastic wrap. I know that it is probably fine, but I just don’t like the idea of wrapping plastic around food and then heating it. So…I used parchment paper. And it was moderately successful. It did let some steam/condensation in while steaming, but the fish still held together fine.
2. No cream on hand and didn’t want to go buy some for such a small amount, so I used a mixture of full-fat Greek yogurt and non-fat milk for a substitute. It seemed to work. I also substituted some plain lemon zest for the preserved lemon zest.
3. Plating was not as . . . → Read More: FFwD: Cod and Spinach Roulades
By mlb, on April 17th, 2013%
If you’ve ever made paneer, ricotta is a lot like that, except even easier as you don’t have to weight it down. It’s actually so easy that I don’t see how anyone could read through a recipe for it and continue to buy tubs of ricotta at the store. This is so much better! And, I know it’s not true ricotta (I think that’s made with just whey and not milk?) but this will do for any ricotta-like purpose that you want to use it for.
You can use lemon juice to make the curds, but I found that I really like to use white balsamic vinegar.
A portion of my homemade ricotta was mixed with lemon zest, garlic, fresh herbs and parmesan and stuffed into mushroom caps. Honestly, the ricotta, herbs, lemon zest and Parmesan was quite good just on its own. I mean, if you have mushrooms definitely give it a try as a stuffing, but otherwise, you know, use the ricotta-lemon-herbs mixture for crackers. Or just eat it with a spoon…that works too.
Also, you have a few more days to try to win some freekeh! Just leave . . . → Read More: Homemade Ricotta & Baked Mushrooms Stuffed with Ricotta (Funghi al forno ripieni di ricotta)
By mlb, on March 13th, 2013%
As promised, here’s another St. Patrick’s Day recipe (although it’s about a day later than I was hoping to post it). Luckily, there’s still plenty of time to plan on making a risotto like this for Friday’s (or Saturday’s, Sunday’s) dinner. If you are really smart, you will get a little extra corned beef and make yourself a sandwich at a later date — I was not smart. Learn from my mistake.
This is the second time I’ve used cabbage in risotto and I think it works very well — especially if you let it get a little color before you start adding broth.
On the side, we had a large arugula salad and, although we didn’t have any, some crusty bread or even Irish Soda Bread would be great too. Erin Go Bragh.
Corned Beef and Cabbage Risotto
Serves 3-4
4 cups vegetable broth
2 . . . → Read More: Corned Beef and Cabbage Risotto for St. Patrick’s Day
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