Simple Measure

Took my sweet time getting out of bed today. Hours after Jared had braved the dark, rainy morning I finally emerged from the bedroom, doing my best vintage monster shuffle. (You know, dragging the feet, groaning. I blame last night’s airing of The Mummy with Boris Karloff…)

First things first, I grabbed my phone off the kitchen table (because someone might be inviting me to do something really cool at 10:00 AM on a Sunday, right? Sigh.) and discovered this text message waiting:

Hey. I bookmarked a recipe in a mag in the bathroom. Might be a good day for it. Cold and rainy. Winter herbs with bucatini pasta. Let me know and I’ll get ingredients.

Well, well Metzner. The kid just might be on to something. I always say inspiration strikes most brilliant in the bathroom…

I texted him the green light, and when he got home from work we threw this simple and super amazing pasta dish together in just about a half an hour.

Sage, rosemary, thyme, parsley, a little olive oil. Nothing schmancy, but the results are impressive. I got to use a little trick I saw on a cooking show last weekend, too: to get fast, fresh bread crumbs, just throw a couple cups of ripped up baguette into your food processor and give it a whirl.

For some reason I’ve never made my own bread crumbs like this before, but now I don’t think I can go back. A short toast in a buttery, garlicky, olive oil-slicked skillet and you’re rewarded with the tastiest bread crumbs, oh, maybe EVER.

A warning: only make this when you have at least four people on hand. Otherwise you and your dude or lady will not be able to resist finishing every last bite yourselves. Oof!

Winter Herb Pasta with Garlicky Bread Crumbs

From: Gourmet, December 2007

2 Tbs unsalted butter

5 Tbs olive oil, 1 Tbs set aside

3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

1 ½ cups fresh bread crumbs (use a fresh baguette if you can get your hands on one.)

1 lb dry bucatini (it’s like spaghetti, only rounder. Use spaghetti if you can’t find this kind.)

2 tsp fresh sage, chopped

2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped

2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped

1 cup loosely packed fresh Italian (flat) parsley, chopped

1. Heat a large pot of salted water for the pasta.

2. Heat the butter and 1 Tbs olive oil in a deep pan over medium heat until the butter has melted in fully and the foam has died down. Add the garlic and sauté, stirring, until just golden. Add the bread crumbs and sauté, stirring occasionally, until golden– about 5 – 8 minutes. Put the bread crumbs aside in a bowl, but save the oiled pan for later.

3. When the pot of water is boiling, add the pasta and cook until al dente, or about 10 minutes. Save 1 cup of the cooking water, then drain the pasta.

4. Add the rest of the olive oil to the pan you cooked the bread crumbs in and heat over medium until it starts to shimmer. Add the sage, rosemary and thyme and stir as they cook, for just about 2 minutes.

5. Add the pasta and ½ cp of the reserved cooking water to the pan. Add the parsley and toss well. The pasta should be evenly glistening, not dry, so add extra water if it needs it.

6. Remove the pasta from the heat and serve topped with bread crumbs.

Serves 4.

Another Christmas in Chicago. We celebrated our third one here with good friends, mimosas and some damn fine Greek food.

Kinda a no-brainer, seeing how my culinary co-captain Simon is half Greek (there’s generations of Mediterranean cooking in his blood – which he’ll tell you ALL about, go on, just ask).

I planned on getting all traditional with Spanakopita – a cheese and spinach pie – until Simon clued me in the day before Christmas Eve.

“Um, it took my grandmother HOURS to make her Spanakopita,” he said. “She’d use DOZENS of Filo dough sheets and butter every single one. Do you really feel like doing all that?”

Actually, no. I have mimosas to drink. That’s a good point you have there.

A quick call to Simon’s dad Kevork and we had the solution: “Eh. Why do it the hard way? I use puff pastry and it comes out just as good, takes a third of the time.”

Hey, with Kevork’s blessing I was down for a guilt-free shortcut. A simple dish flavored with dill, lemon and parsley, the puff pastry trick let me get these babies oven-ready in just about an hour.

Simon impressed us all with his Moussaka – a fried potato and eggplant casserole baked in a homemade tomato sauce and covered in rich Béchamel. He also rocked out some garlicky Skordalia, Greek green beans, and sun-dried tomato hummus.

We also made room on our plates for Brock’s lemony, olive oil-drenched Greek potatoes, Jared’s Orzo salad and Meg’s signature hummus. Opa!

Thanks everyone for reading, and happy New Year!

Spanakopita – Greek Cheese and Spinach Pie
Why make it the hard way when puff pastry is fast and full of flaky, buttery goodness? ‘Nuff said.

1 pkg. frozen puff pastry sheets

1 10 oz. package frozen spinach

8 oz. feta cheese

1 clove garlic, minced

Juice of one lemon

½ cup chopped dill

¼ cup chopped parsley

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tsp olive oil

1. Defrost the puff pastry following the package directions, and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Sauté the garlic in olive oil until fragrant, about 3 minutes.

2. Cook the frozen spinach following the package directions. Here’s the important part: make sure you squeeze out as much water as possible from the cooked spinach. I wrapped mine in cheese cloth and squeezed it for several minutes until it was just barely dripping any water. According to Kevork, a wet filling will leave you with soggy Spanakopita.

3. In a large bowl, mix the feta, spinach, garlic, dill, parsley and lemon juice. Taste and add more herbs if needed (you want the filling to taste very dilly).

4. Once you’ve got the filling to your liking, mix in the egg.

5. Lay out the puff pastry on a lightly floured baking sheet. Spoon the filling into the middle and spread it out over the dough evenly with the back of the spoon. Fold gently in half.

6. Seal the pastry by dipping your finger in water and lightly pinching shut all the open ends.

7. Pop it into the oven and cook for about 15 minutes or so, or until the dough is golden brown.

8. Let your spanakopita cool for about 10 minutes, then slice and serve.

Serves 4

It’s not just me, is it? I’m busy. You’re busy. We’re all busy. Sometimes we forget important things. Like anniversaries or phone calls or paying your student loans. So I guess I don’t feel too terrible for almost letting Simple Measure’s birthday go unnoticed.

One whole year, 47 posts. That’s a lot of recipes! Thanks everyone who’s kept reading — and especially those who tried out a dish or two at home.

A cake would be fitting for the occasion. But by the time I got home tonight, I was more interested in getting dinner together than trying a (really, pretty clumsy) hand at baking.

So here’s to you, Simple Measure. I hope you like brussels sprouts!

Pasta with Garlicky Brussels Sprouts
These sprouts arrived in our last farm box of the year (awwww!). The last bit of cold weather gives them a sweet bite — and makes them the best-tasting of the season.

If you’re not a fan of these guys, this is the way to get reacquainted. Lightly sautéed in garlic and covered in your favorite marinara sauce, they kind of remind me of meatballs. (OK, so maybe it’s been a long time since I’ve had a meatball.)

2 dozen or more individual brussels sprouts (if you can find them still attached to the stalk, all the better)

1 26 oz. jar of marinara sauce

1 box whole wheat spirals

3 cloves garlic, minced or crushed

2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil

¼ tsp. oregano

Grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Fill a medium pot of water and set it to boil. While it’s heating up, remove any bruised leaves from the brussels sprouts and wash them carefully. With a heavy knife, remove the very tough end (where the sprout attached to the stalk). Halve smaller sprouts, and cut the larger ones into quarters so the pieces are roughly uniform.

2. Place the sprouts in a steamer or metal colander and steam them over boiling water for 5 minutes. In the meantime, warm up the olive oil in a large sauce pan and sauté the garlic for a couple minutes.

3. Remove the sprouts from the steamer and add them to the oil and garlic with a dash of salt and pepper. Lightly sauté for about 15 minutes (or less, depending on the size), stirring frequently. Poke them with a fork every couple minutes until you can just pierce one through. This is the most important step, so be careful – brussels sprouts don’t taste good overcooked and mushy, so you’ll want there to be some resistance when you poke them. If in doubt, just eat one.

4. While the sprouts are sautéing, cook the pasta according to the package directions.

5. When the sprouts are just tender enough for you, pour the marinara sauce over them, add the oregano and heat until warmed through.

6. Serve the sauce and sprouts mixture over the wheat pasta, sprinkled with Pecorino Romano.
Serves 5 – 6

Well, I feel a little guilty. We’ve been getting lots of great winter squashes from the farm this season. Right now there’s two shelves brimming with delicatas, pie pumpkins, acorns, butternuts, sweet dumplings. Nothing wrong with that. It’s just there was one special squash I wanted to cook before it was their turn.

So last week I gave all those other worthy vegetables the brush off and asked Jared to bring home a spaghetti squash. If you’ve ever cooked one, you know how much fun they are.

The name pretty much sums it up: An hour in the oven and it pulls apart in thin, pasta-like strands. Fun! And that hour is just enough time to whip up a big batch of marinara to top it with. More fun!

A chunk of Roquefort was a last minute inspiration. We topped the sauce with a few pieces and let it melt slightly before we tasted it. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it’s salty earthiness turned out to be a great partner for the sweetness of the squash.

Give it a try with your own favorite Gorgonzola or blue cheese, or without any at all– you’ll still end up with a delicious meal.

Spaghetti Squash with Tomato Sauce and Roquefort

1 medium spaghetti squash

One 28 oz. can diced tomatoes

4 oz. Roquefort, gently crumbled

1 small onion, diced

1 small red pepper, diced

1 small green pepper, diced

4 Tbs unsalted butter

3 cloves garlic

4 large basil leaves, chopped

1 tsp dried oregano

¼ cup water

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Pierce the skin and place flesh-side down in a deep glass baking dish. Add the water and pop in the oven. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until a fork pierces very easily through both halves, and the skin dents a little when you squeeze it.

2. Heat the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed sauce pan over medium heat. Add garlic, onions and peppers and sauté for 10 minutes.

3. Add the tomatoes and stir. Raise heat and bring sauce to a light boil. Add the basil and oregano. Reduce heat and simmer until squash is ready, about 45 minutes. Stir to prevent sticking, but don’t over do it.

4. Remove the squash from the oven and let it cool until you can handle it comfortably. Hold the squash on it’s end and using a fork, scrape out the flesh. It should come out in spaghetti-like strands.

5. Top with sauce and sprinkle with Roquefort. Ready to serve!

Serves 2, with sauce left over.

Phew. It’s been eventful here lately. Let me backtrack to the weekend before last. It started on Friday when I found an apartment on Craigslist that looked interesting. Two days later we were signing a lease and giving our 30 days to the current landlord.

Thing is, we weren’t really looking for a new place. Sure, we’d been itching for bigger digs, and I’d been casually combing the listings for months. But nothing made me reach for the phone.

But when we saw this apartment, we knew we had to take it.

I mean, the kitchen’s bigger. And there’s room for me and Jared to have our own work spaces, which has become more important lately. And the porch with a swing, backyard with a peach tree and sprinkling of stained glass didn’t hurt either.

A celebration was in order, and as luck would have it, the pantry held everything I needed to make one of our favorite special occasion dinners. The hardest thing about this green curry is peeling the acorn squash, but if you’re up for that small challenge you’re in for a terrific meal.

Green Curry with Acorn Squash
Add your own favorite veggies to this flexible dish. Anything goes!

1 medium onion

2 cloves garlic

1 Tbs green curry paste

1 tsp. ginger, minced

1 can coconut milk

1 two pound acorn squash, peeled and cubed

1 block tofu, drained and cubed (you can substitute chicken)

2 tomatoes, chopped

¼ cup cilantro, minced and divided into two parts

2 cups cooked Jasmine rice

10 cardamom pods

¼ tsp. garam masala

¼ tsp. ground coriander

1 Tbs brown sugar

1 Tbs Shoyu sauce (or your favorite soy sauce)

2 Tbs vegetable oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Gently crush the cardamom pods with the flat side of a large kitchen knife. Add the pods to your rice to flavor it while it cooks. As the rice is cooking, start peeling the squash. There’s many ways to go about doing this and I’m still figuring out what works for me. This time I peeled as much of the squash as I could and then halved it. After scooping out the seeds with a spoon, I cut the squash into quarters and then began cubing it, taking care to slice away any remaining skin.

2. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, ginger, brown sugar, and Shoyu sauce and sauté for about 10 minutes, or until onions are soft and translucent. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking or burning.

3. Shake the can of coconut milk well and add it to the pan. Throw in the butternut squash, garam masala, coriander, tomatoes, tofu and curry paste. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes.

4. Stir in cilantro and continue to simmer until squash is very tender.

5. Serve over rice garnished with cilantro.

Serves 4