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!

This recipe is adapted from a recipe that Mardi from Sprout & Pea‘s mom gave to her. It can be made vegan if you replace the butter with olive oil!

Ingredients

– 1 cup Cous Cous (I used Moroccan cous cous)1 1/2 cups Vegetable Broth
– 2 Tbsp Butter (or 1 1/2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil if vegan)
– 1/3 cup Pistachios, shelled & toasted
– 1/2 cup Scallions, chopped
– 1/2 cup Dried Currants (soaked in hot water for 15 minutes)
– 1/4 cup Parsley, chopped
– 3 Tbsp fresh Lemon Juice
– 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Oil
– 2 tsp Cinnamon Salt & Pepper

Directions

Bring vegetable broth and butter (or olive oil) to a boil in a sauce pan. Add in couscous, stir and remove from heat. Let sit covered for 12-15 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Add scallions, currants and pistachios and toss together. Season with salt and pepper. In a bowl, whisk lemon juice, olive oil and cinnamon together. Toss cous cous with dressing to coat. Season again if needed.

When I’m feeling a little uninspired in the kitchen, sometimes all it takes is a visit to an amazing restaurant or two to get the wheels turning again. Usually it’s because I’ve had a new combination of ingredients or take that I hadn’t considered, but sometimes I get inspired to recreate a dish that isn’t as good as I think it could have been. Case in point the cauliflower soup I had a place in Bushwick recently. While it wasn’t terrible, I thought it was missing the rich silkiness (ew, that word) that cauliflower can create. I decided I should try my hand at it at home to see if I could make a version that captured the comforting and warm feeling that soup should give in the deep hellish depths of winter (also known as February in New York.)

Ingredients

– 1 head Cauliflower, trimmed of stalk and leaves
– 1 cup chopped Onion
– 2 cloves Garlic, minced
– 1/2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
– 6 cups Vegetable Stock
– 1 cup Half & Half
– Salt and Pepper to taste
– Truffle Oil (optional)

Directions

In a large pot, saute chopped onion and garlic on low/medium heat until translucent. Chop cauliflower into small, manageable pieces. Add to pot and cover with vegetable stock. Turn heat to medium/high until cauliflower is very soft, about 15-20 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to cool slightly. Using an immersion blender, blend the stock and vegetables until smooth. Add half & half and continue to blend. Salt and pepper to taste. If soup is too thick, you can add a little water or more half and half. If it’s too thin, continue to cook until to desired thickness. Serve hot in a bowl with a drizzle of truffle oil and a parmesan crispFor the Parmesan Crisp1 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese(for those asking, BelGioioso makes a rennet-free parm)Preheat oven broil. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread cheese in an even layer so that you can’t see the area of paper, about 4-5 inches around. Broil in oven until cheese melts and begins to crisp and brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Break into pieces and serve with soup.

Thanks to Mardi of Sprout & Pea for coming over for dinner and to share an amazing bottle of First Fruit from Shinn Vineyard on Long Island that I’ve been holding onto for far too long. It’s time I made a trip back there…

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.

You could try this with a variety of filling combinations – goat cheese with pine nuts, kale instead of spinach, wild rice or quinoa… the possibilities are endless – go crazy! Crazy with poblanos!

Ingredients

– 2 Poblano Peppers
– 1 cup Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded
– 2-3 cups fresh Spinach, stems removed, leaves ripped small
– 1 1/2 Tbsp Golden Raisins
– 2 Tbsp Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
– Extra Virgin Olive Oil
– 1/4 tsp Smoked Paprika
– Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet with aluminum foil and place poblanos on the sheet. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and rub all sides to coat. Sprinkle with salt. Roast in the oven about 15 minutes, or until skin blisters (make sure to turn the peppers so all sides get blistered). Remove from oven and set aside to cool. In a bowl, mix cheese, spinach, pumpkin seeds, golden raisins, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Once peppers are cool enough to handle, pinch the blistered skin and remove carefully. With a knife, make a length-wise incision and gently scoop out seeds and membranes. Using a spoon and your hands, carefully stuff the peppers with the spinach & cheese mixture. Bake in a 350 oven until cheese is melted and bubbly. Cool slightly and serve.

I discovered a brick city skyline in Long Island City on my way to a site visit with a client yesterday afternoon.

Is everyone else excited for Fall? There are so many awesome things happening in the next few months that I’m ok with saying goodbye to beach days and tank tops. One of my best friends Emma is getting hitched to my dear friend Andy (whom I set her up with!) in two weeks. I will cry a million sappy tears.

I will have more details soon, but I’m collaborating with my friend Kate Lebo of Pie Stand (check out her Tumblr) and The Drink on an event called Gala Gala Hey! which is a day-long celebration of apples on October 7th in Williamsburg. We’re super excited about it! I will post the run-down some time in the next week, but there will be pie (and a pie-making demo), country music, bobbing for apples and more.

Have you liked The Bored Vegetarian on fb yet?