Do you keep running to-do lists? I have ones for karaoke, restaurants, NYC, books, wine, art & photography. Any time I check something off a list, I feel a bit more productive. My Things to Learn to Make list is growing slowly and I thought I’d cross one off tonight. At my work I’m constantly asking the chefs how they’re cooking something, why they’re doing something a certain way etc. and it blows my mind that they can remember so many different techniques without constantly messing up like I do. There are so many basics and classics I feel like I should know.. so I hope to explore some here. It’s like classical music – ones you have the melody down, you can create all sorts of variations on the theme, right? 

Ingredients

– 1 lb Pasta (I used Bucatini)
– 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
– 1 small Onion, chopped
– 1 clove Garlic, minced
– 2/3 cup dry White Wine
– 2 Eggs
– 3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan Cheese (brands like BelGioioso have rennet/enzyme free versions)
– 3/4 cup Peas, cooked 
– 1/4 fresh Parsley, chopped
– Salt to taste
– Fresh Cracked Pepper

Directions

In a sauce pan, heat up olive oil. Add chopped onion and minced garlic. Season with salt and saute until soft. Add white wine and simmer until it thickens slightly. Set aside. In a bowl, whisk together egg and cheese. Set aside. In a large pot, bring salted water to boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente (about 7-9 minutes). Reserve about 1/4 cup of pasta liquid and then drain pasta. Add pasta to a clean bowl and toss with onion and garlic mixture. While the pasta is still hot, add egg mixture slowly, stirring into the pasta constantly. The heat from the pasta will cook the egg mixture. Add in peas and parsley and toss together until incorporated. Salt to taste and add a generous amount of fresh cracked pepper. Serve immediately with more grated cheese on top. 

I must admit this didn’t go as smoothly for me as I hoped. When I’m researching a dish like this, I’ll usually read a bunch of different versions and then pull ideas for each one. I should have picked one and stuck with it! I will need to give this another run in the future. In the words of Aaliyah, if at first you don’t succeed, then dust yourself off and try again. 

I’m headed to WA next week (with Chris!) to see my family and meet my new nephew Killian. After these last uhhh 5 months of crazy amounts of work (btw check out these INCREDIBLE pics that Seattle-based photographer shot for a wedding I planned last month), I’m excited to have a long break and regroup. A redesign is coming soon as are hopefully more things.. Special shout out to Joan Y for your patience – sorry it’s taken so long for a new post!

I’ve been laying out my goals for 2013 and I must say I’m pretty excited about what’s to come for The Bored Veg in the next several months. Some things are already in motion, some I’m still working on (hey, it’s only January 2nd). One area I want to focus on is incorporating more baking into the blog. It sounds silly, but baking has always intimidated me. It’s so exact and… scientific. So much of what makes a delicious baked good is ingredients reacting with one another, temperature etc. Not to mention the fact that my convection oven is a giant POS and it’s difficult to evenly cook anything. Anyway, my point is that 2013 will be the year of baking. Or slightly more baking. This galette was the perfect way to get things started.

Dough  (recipe from Smitten Kitchen)

Ingredients

– 1 1/4 cups Flour, chilled in freezer for 30 minutes
– 1/4 tsp Salt
– 8 Tbsp (1 stick) cold Unsalted Butter, cut into pieces and chilled again
– 1/4 cup Sour Cream
– 2 tsp fresh Lemon Juice
– 1/4 cup Ice Water

Crust Glaze

– 1 Egg Yolk beaten with 1 tsp Water

Whisk together flour and salt in a bowl. Add chopped butter and use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour until the butter pieces are no bigger than a pea. The flour should be a meal consistency. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, ice water and sour cream. Add to the flour & butter mixture and mix together with your hands until the dough forms into large lumps. Pat the dough into a ball, being careful not to overwork. Wrap in plastic and chill for an hour in the refrigerator.

Filling

– 1 small Butternut Squash, peeled and slice thin (about 1/4 inch thick)
– 1 small Red Onion, sliced thin
– 1/4 cup Gorgonzola, crumbled
– 15-20 fresh Sage Leaves
– 3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
– Canola Oil for frying
– Salt & Pepper to Taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Toss butternut squash with olive oil and spread on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and roast in the oven, turning occasionally until the squash is cooked through. In a saute pan, heat 1 1/2 Tbsp of olive oil. Add onion and toss in olive oil. Saute over low/medium heat for a few minutes and then sprinkle onions with salt. Continue to cook over low/medium heat until onions caramelize (up to 30 mins). In a saute pan, add a couple of inches of canola oil and heat over medium heat for about a minute. Test a sage leave – it should crisp up in about five seconds. Be careful not to brown the leaves. Fry all sage leaves and drain.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove dough from the fridge and roll out into a 12-inch circle on a well floured work surface. Transfer onto an ungreased baking sheet. Leaving about 2 inches around the edge, layer the butternut squash in a spiral towards the center. Spread the caramelized onions over the top. Fold over the edges of the dough, pinching together where needed so that it partially covers the filling. Brush the crust with the egg yolk mixture. Bake in the oven about 30 to 40 minutes until the crust is a golden brown. Turn off the oven, pull the galette partially out and sprinkle with cheese and sage. Return to the oven until the cheese melts slightly. Remove from oven and transfer to serving plate. Cut into wedges and serve.  

It’s peak sweet potato season… and whiskey is in season all year round. 

Ingredients

– 1 large Sweet Potato, peeled and cubed
– 1 Apple, peeled and cubed
– 1/4 cup Heavy Cream
– 4 Tbsp Butter
– 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
– 3 Tbsp Whiskey
– Salt & Pepper (to taste)

Directions

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add sweet potatoes and boil until soft. In a pan, melt 2 Tbsp of butter. Add add apples and saute until slightly soft, but not mushy. Drain sweet potatoes and put back into pot. Add sauteed apples and cream and mash until potatoes are smooth. The apples will retain their shape. Salt to taste and keep warm as you make the sauce. In a saute pan, melt remaining butter. Add brown sugar and whiskey and whisk together over low/medium heat until it reduces a bit. Serve sweet potatoes hot topped with mascarpone and drizzled with whiskey sauce.

Ingredients

– 1 lb Brussels Sprouts, trimmed
– 3/4 cup Rice Wine Vinegar
– 2-3 Tbsp Sriracha
– 2 1/2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
– 1 1/2 Tbsp Sesame Oil
– 1 Tbsp Toasted Sesame Seeds (I used bamboo smoked)
– 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
– Salt to taste

Directions

Depending on the size of your Brussels spouts, either cut in half, fourths or leave whole. In a saute pan, heat olive oil. Add Brussels sprouts, toss in olive oil and season with salt. Begin to cook over medium/high heat, turning often to brown evenly. It’s ok if they get a little crisp. In a bowl, whisk together vinegar, Sriracha, sesame oil and sugar. Once Brussels sprout are cooked through, turn down heat to medium/low and pour Sriracha mixture over the sprouts. Toss to coat and turn up heat towards medium/high. The sauce will begin to bubble, so be careful not too burn. Once the sauce starts to reduce and get a little sticky to coat the sprouts, remove from heat. Move to a serving dish and garnish with toasted sesame seeds.

Gala Gala Hey! made it onto the New York Times Dining Calendar!

We are super excited about Sunday and I hope to see some of you there! Working on a vegan apple jello shot recipe and my apple costume came in the mail a few days ago…

It’s not too late to order a whole pie from Kate. Just email kate@pie-school.com

Ingredients

– 5 Mission Figs
– 1/3 cup Ricotta
– 1 Meyer LemonSea Salt
– French Baguette
– Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the stems off of the figs and slice in half lengthwise. Place on a baking sheet and drizzle with a bit of olive oil, tossing to coat. Roast in oven for 5-10 minutes or until the sugars start to caramelize. Remove from oven and set aside. Slice 5 1/2 slices from french bread and place on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and toast in the oven until crunchy and starting to brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. To assemble, spread each crostini with a generous amount of ricotta and spread two fig halves onto each one. Sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt. Using a microplane, zest the lemon over the crostini.

This salad has a natural sweetness from the corn and sun golds and would be a perfect side for a end-of-summer BBQ or even brunch.

Ingredients

– 2 ears fresh Sweet Corn
– 1 container Sun Gold Grape Tomatoes
– 1/2 cup Quinoa (uncooked)
– 3 Tbls Shallot (chopped)
– Handful of fresh Basil (chopped)
– Handful of fresh Italian Parsley (chopped)
– Sea Salt to taste

Directions

Bring 1 cup water to a boil with a pinch or two of salt. Add quinoa and bring down to a simmer, cover with a lid. Cook until water evaporates and quinoa is cooked (I like a little bite to mine). Remove husks and threads from corn. Using a knife, cut off kernels and break apart in a bowl. Slice grape tomatoes in halves and toss with corn. Add shallots, parsley, basil and quinoa and toss together. Salt to taste and serve at room temperature.

Those oddly shaped tomatoes you see at the grocery store? Pick them up! They’re full of deliciousness. With creamy Burrata and fresh basil, this salad is as simple as you can get, while packing a lot of flavor and visual punch. 

Ingredients

– Heirloom Tomatoes Burrata Mozzarella
– Fresh Basil
– Sea Salt Flakes
– Fresh Ground Pepper

Directions

Remove the cores of the tomatoes and chop into wedges. Carefully slice mozzarella (it’s filled with creaminess, so it won’t be perfect). On a plate arrange tomatoes and put a few pieces of burrata on top. Add lots of fresh basil and season with salt & pepper.

I was planning on uploading some pictures from last weekend’s trip to Long Island, but I have to scoot to see Imperial Teen at the Knitting Factory. I haven’t seen them live in something like 5 years and I love me some 90’s indie pop a little too much. Remember their song Yoo Hoo from the Jawbreaker soundtrack?

Next Friday at 7:00pm, I’ll be doing a Hungry on Spreecast with Shea of Hungry in Brooklyn. We’re going to talk about vegetarian food and our favorite places to eat in Brooklyn! You can participate too, so make sure to check it out!

Strawberries with Sour Cream & Brown Sugar
Sometimes the simplest things are the most delicious. When we were kids, my mom introduced us to this dessert some lazy weekend evening. Though we were skeptical, the tart sweetness of the berries and caramel flavor of the brown sugar mixed with the sour cream won us over pretty quick. Strawberry season is hitting early this year, so get picking!
Strawberries Sour CreamBrown SugarRinse strawberries in a colander and pat dry. Spoon sour cream and brown sugar into small bowls. Dip strawberry in sour cream and then dip into brown sugar. Eat, repeat. 

Whole Wheat Gnocchi with Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Lemon Garlic Brown Butter
Brussels Sprouts season is pretty much over, so I thought I’d have one last hurrah. Speaking of seasonal eating, I downloaded a free app called Locavore that tells you what’s in season, what’s coming up and where to shop for local produce.Now if only I could remember to go to the farmer’s market on Saturdays. Am I the only person who thinks Sunday is the best grocery shopping day?  Greenpoint is trying to get a Sunday market going in McGlorick Park. Crossing my fingers…
16 oz Whole Wheat Gnocchi1 1/2 lbs Brussels Sprouts4 Tbsp Butter6 cloves Garlic with individual papers wrapping on1 1/2 tsp Lemon zest1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive OilSalt & Pepper to taste 
Fill a sauce pan with water and bring to a boil. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Chop brussels sprouts into fourths and toss with 1-2 Tbsp of olive oil until coated. Spread onto a baking pan, one layer thick. Sprinkle with salt and roast on bottom rack of the oven, stirring occasionally. Cut the tops of the garlic cloves off. Make a container out of aluminum foil, add garlic and drizzle with olive oil. Roast in the oven with the sprouts until soft. Add gnocchi to boiling water and cook for a few minutes until they float to the top. While they’re cooking, melt butter in a saute pan over medium heat, careful not to burn. Remove roasted garlic cloves paper wrapper and stir into butter. Drain gnocchi in a colander. Once butter begins to brown, remove from heat and toss the gnocchi in the brown butter. Add lemon zest and toss well. Add roasted brussels sprouts and toss again. Salt & Pepper to taste. Serve immediately topped with fresh parmesan.