Fettuccine with Short Rib Ragu

The sun is shining, the snow is (almost) gone, spring is near... and I'm making slow cooked braised short ribs.  True to my blog title I'm still hanging on to winter, from a food perspective that is.  In fact I made this more than once last summer and another time early fall.  It's not really a winter dish, but is good on a cold night with a glass of red wine and a fire.

This is the epitome of the type of recipe that my mom would make.  Her menus often revolved around beef and she loved to cook things that she could start earlier in the day and cook for hours and meals that didn't require being served immediately out of the oven.  With five kids and a husband on different schedules I think she appreciated the ease of a recipe that would reheat well and serve a crowd.  This does both.  She would have loved it although I'm pretty sure she would serve it over mashed potatoes instead of pasta.  She was a potato lover but I guess more than anything, the people she was always cooking for, (us kids) were the potato lovers and she always had them on hand.  She would do the same for Beef Burgundy as it always called to serve over egg noodles or a garlic rubbed crostini but my mom always just bypassed that part of the recipe and made her usual mashed potatoes.

I think I just got burnt out on mashed potatoes as a kid because I'm definitely now more of a pasta lover.  It's a lot easier too, but serve it however you like.

This does take a rather large time commitment.  However, do not let that deter you because most of it is 'inactive' time meaning it is just simmering away while you are doing your Sunday chores, a few loads of laundry or maybe more realistically (like me) reading food blogs and watching Food Network.  It starts out this kind of soupy mixture and somehow over the coarse of a few hours transfers into a thick, rich, flavorful Ragu.

I made it recently for a friend who had a baby and Johnny was incredibly envious.  In fact this is apparently my "bring to a friend who just had a baby" dish because I made it last summer for another friend.  It's great for that because it would be fine to make even a day in advance, but also good for entertaining, or you know, just you and your husband on a warm spring day...

Trish's Tips:  If you can't find pancetta or prosciutto you could also use bacon.  The original recipe calls for pancetta, but I've used prosciutto and it turned out great.  If you are feeling adventurous... this recipe calls for a sprinkling of shaved bittersweet chocolate.  I KNOW... it sounds weird, but it seriously is good.  If you grate it on a microplane you won't even know it is there, it just adds complexity.  Kind of like a Mexican mole.  But feel free to omit as well.  As always, really take the time to let the meat brown very well over high heat, this will give it incredible flavor.

Fettuccine with Short Rib Ragu
Adapted from Giada de Laurentiis
4 to 6 servings


Ingredients:
3 TBL olive oil
2 oz pancetta or prosciutto, coarsely chopped
2 1/2 lb beef short ribs
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 medium onion, quartered
1 carrot, peeled and very roughly chopped
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 garlic cloves
1 (14.5 oz) can tomatoes (whole or diced)
1 TBL tomato paste
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 TBL fresh thyme leaves
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 bay leaf
2 1/2 cups beef broth
3/4 cup red wine
1 lb fettuccine
4 to 6 tsp shaved bittersweet chocolate (optional)

Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy soup pot over medium heat.  Cook the pancetta until golden and crisp, about 4 minutes.  Meanwhile, season the short ribs with salt and pepper and dredge in flour.  Using a slotted spoon, remove the pancetta from the pan and set it aside.  Shake the excess flour off the short ribs and add them to the pan and cook until browned on all sides about 20 minutes total.  Meanwhile, combine the onion, carrot, parsley, garlic, tomatoes and tomato paste in a food processor and pulse until finely minced.  Once the short ribs are browned, add the minced vegetables to the pot along with the pancetta and stir.  Add the rosemary, thyme, oregano, bay leaf, beef broth, wine, 1/2 tsp salt and 3/4 tsp pepper.  Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Remove the lid and simmer for another hour and 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Using a slotted spoon, lift out the short ribs and cool briefly on a plate.  Shred the meat with two forks and return it to the pot, discarding the bones.  Discard the bay leaf.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.  Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, following package directions.  Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.  Add the pasta to the pot with the short rib ragu and stir to combine.  If needed, add the reserved pasta liquid a little at a time to moisten the pasta.  Transfer to serving bowls and top each bowl with 1 tsp of chocolate shavings and serve immediately.

Banana Bread

Banana Bread showed up pretty often around our house growing up and I would imagine yours too.  I can't think of anyone who hasn't tried it.  It's got to be up there in popularity with chocolate chip cookies, and there has got to be a million different recipe combinations out there, just try googling it.  In general I like a lot of different, bold flavors but when it comes to some things I'm a purist.  Like mac 'n cheese for example (I always like to give examples).  I don't want bacon in it and I definitely don't want peas, just the cheese... and macaroni.  And when it comes to a hamburger, yes I love some caramelized onions and mushrooms but I certainly don't want a 'taco' burger with guacamole and taco seasoning.  I just want the burger.  I'm the same way with banana bread.  I've tried banana bread with lime zest and coconut (which was delicious) but generally I just want the standard, traditional recipe.  If you are searching for the same, you have found it.

As I have learned from making this several times, banana bread is not really bread per se, at least not by my definition.  Bread to me is something that requires copious amounts of time and kneading and rising and basically an incredible amount of patience.  So based on that description banana bread certainly does not fit the bill.   To me it was almost like cake batter and I say that because it is quite sweet.  The original recipe called for over two cups of sugar, but I did take that down a bit.  And as my mom would do, I threw in a little healthy ingredient, some flaxseed meal, but you could leave that out if you don't have it.

I don't know about you but no matter how many bananas I buy at least one goes bad.  How is it that they are green in the store and then two days later they are overripe?  Rather than throwing them away I will just put them in the freezer and when I have enough, will make this bread.  In fact, I don't know that I have ever actually bought bananas for it.  If you use frozen they will defrost in only a few hours or of course you can use fresh bananas just make sure that they are really, really ripe as in more ripe than you would normally like to eat.

I know I was just ranting and raving about being a purist and what not with this but I do love walnuts in it, because to me that's what 'goes'.  I'm a big believer that there are two different types of people in this world, those that like nuts and those that don't.  I am a nut lover so always add them although as a kid I didn't like them.  My mom would always make one loaf with nuts and one without to satisfy everyone's tastes so I tend to do the same if I'm not making it for myself.

This recipe comes from an adorable cookbook I received as a wedding shower gift and has plenty of good, homey recipes.  The authors suggest making one loaf to eat now, then, slicing and freezing the other.  You can take directly out of the freezer, toast it and put peanut butter on top.  I've tried it and it's delicious.  (Okay, so maybe I'm not always a purist when it comes to banana bread.)  So go ahead and start collecting those bananas in your freezer.  If you're as terrible an estimator as me it won't take you long to have enough for this recipe.  It's relatively simple to make and the smell of baking it alone will be reason enough to make it.

Trish's Tips:  Make sure to mash the bananas well or you will have bits of banana show up in the bread, not the end of the world, but not quite the right consistency you are looking for.  I just use a potato masher.  If you are like me, you almost never use buttermilk.  Don't buy it, make it instead.  In a small bowl mix 1/2 cup regular milk with 1 1/2 tsp either lemon juice or white vinegar and let sit for 5 minutes.

Unbelievable Banana Bread
makes 2 loaves
Adapted from Bride & Groom First & Forever Cookbook
by Mary Corpening Barber and Sara Corpening Whiteford

Ingredients:
1 1/2 C walnuts
2 1/4 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 C canola oil
2 C sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 C buttermilk
2 C very ripe mashed bananas (about 5 small bananas)
Cooking spray
2 TBL flaxseed meal (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.  Preheat oven in dry skillet over medium heat tossing occasionally until fragrant and golden.  Roughly chop and set aside.

Spray 2 - 9x3 or 9x5 inch loaf pans with cooking spray.  Stir together the flour, kosher salt, cinnamon and flaxseed meal if using in medium-bowl.  Set aside.

Combine the oil and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Alternatively, use a hand mixer and beat on low until combined.  Add eggs and vanilla and beat until incorporated, about 1 minute.

Stir the baking soda into the buttermilk in a small bowl.  Add one third of the dry ingredients to the mixer, followed by half of the buttermilk and mix on low speed until barely combined, 10 to 15 seconds.  Repeat.  Scrape down the sides and mix in the remaining dry ingredients.  Add the mashed bananas and walnuts and mix until just incorporated.  Do not overmix.

Pour the batter into prepared pans.  Bake until the bread is a golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour.  (Start checking at 45 mins.)  Transfer the pans to wire racks and let cool for 5 minutes, then remove the loaves from the pans and let cool.

Spiced Peanut Butter Dip

One of my favorite snacks as a kid was ants on a log.  Three simple ingredients, yet so good.  My strategy was to get an 'ant' in every bite.  I remember my mom packing these in my lunch as a kid and being so excited for lunchtime to pull them out of the Ziploc, or 'baggie' as everyone in my family calls them.  Sure they ended up a bit mangled with peanut butter smeared on the inside of the baggie and the ants were all mashed down into the peanut butter but still very much worth looking forward to.

Ants on a log... you must have had one at some point as a kid.  It's like having a PB&J or Peanut Butter & Banana sandwich.  You know what I'm talking about, right?  Celery with smeared peanut butter and raisins on top?  I thought I should force a reminder in case of the small possibility that my mom made up the name herself.  Like how I thought all kids knew that new shoes could make you run faster then realized later that the only other kids that 'knew' this were my siblings.

Regardless of what you call it, everyone's had one... Unless you were one of those kids I feel bad for that were allergic to peanuts and missed out on all good things that come with that.  Like Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs at Easter or Reese's Pieces at the Movie Theatre (that was always my choice), peanut butter cookies or those totally awesome Little Debbie peanut butter wafer things.  The cool kids (obviously including me) would always eat it layer by layer.  Yeah I feel pretty sorry for the kids who couldn't have peanut butter and you should just stop reading now because you're missing out on something even better...

I found this recipe in a cookbook I received as a wedding present.  Which when I was roaming around Crate & Barrel registering for wedding gifts a few years ago with the little gun thing and saw the title "Delicious Dips" I knew it belonged in my collection.  Anything that I can dip or dunk into I am a fan of, and this dip I am definitely a fan of.  It has peanut butter (of course) and is great served with celery, but that's where the differences to ant on a log end.  There is no 'ant' here and instead is ginger, sugar, garlic, soy sauce all blended up with the peanut butter and then you use the celery to dip in it.  So dip, peanut butter and Asian, three great reasons why I am in love with this dip.

Most of my family is huge peanut butter fans.  My dad's favorite snack is a scoop of peanut butter on a spoon.  And of course his favorite cookie is peanut butter.  Johnny's not much different, if I ask him to make me a piece of toast I am always alarmed at the inch thick layer of peanut butter, the same as he does for his own, so needless to say he loves peanut butter as well and is a HUGE fan of this dip.

In my mind this is the 'adult' version of an ants on a log.  But go ahead and throw yours in a baggie anyway... for old times sake.

Trish's Tips:  This keeps very well in the fridge for a few days.

Spiced Peanut Butter Dip
Adapted from Delicious Dips by Diane Morgan

Ingredients:
2 TBL fresh ginger root, peeled and minced
1 green onion, including green tops, cut into 1/2 inch lengths
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 cup chunky peanut butter (I used all-natural)
2 TBL low-sodium soy sauce
1 TBL Asian sesame oil

Directions:
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, process the ginger, green onions, garlic, sugar and red pepper flakes until minced.  Add the peanut butter, soy sauce and sesame oil.  Process until all the ingredients are well combined.  Transfer to a serving bowl.  Cover and set aside at room temperature until ready to serve.  Serve with celery sticks.

Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo

There are just some recipes that you make again and again.  Maybe it's ease of making them, maybe it's the memory attached to them or maybe it's just that they are absolutely delicious, but we all have those recipes that constantly make it into our weekly menu.  This is one of mine.  Ever since I found it I've made it over and over, at least during the winter months.  Of course I should tell you that I can get a bit obsessive.  Like last summer when I seriously would make my hummus recipe at least once a week and sometimes twice a week.  When invited as a guest to dinner, I think people stopped asked me to bring an appetizer for fear that I would bring it... again.  Although it is still one of my favorites and very delicious, I did get a bit sick of it.  Not sick of it like I'm not going to make it again, but just down to the hummus-eating pattern of a normal person.  This recipe I'm not sick of yet and I'm on year two of making it.  Although I guess I only make it during the fall and winter so maybe that's why. But it's not just me.  My friend Steph makes it basically weekly now after getting the cookbook it is written in as a Christmas gift.  That's the sign of a great recipe.

Everyone I know that has tried this soup loves it, which is funny because it is pretty simple.  It has a relatively straightforward ingredient list and doesn't take long to make at all, but I think maybe it just reminds everyone of home.  I made this at my parents once last year and my uncle came over for lunch and said, "What is it about the Pond women, they all know how to make soup so well?" Of course this was in comparison to my mom's soup skills.  Quite the high compliment in my book.

Everyone craves chicken soup when they are sick.  My mom would always make us soup when we were sick.  And not the kind from the can, but the homemade kind.  With real chicken and real homemade noodles.  (Mental note, another recipe I need to figure out of hers.)  And although I love that one, this one is a bit different.  When I am sick I don't want any of the other ones, just the simple straightforward one, but when I'm not sick I tend to crave a bit bolder flavors so will be more apt to make chicken soup with a twist.  Like a Thai version with coconut milk, a Mexican chicken tortilla soup or recently I tried a Polish pickle soup that my friend Kasia made for me.  (Very good, give it a try.)

Or, more than likely, I will make this one and of course it has a twist as well.  It's actually very similar to a Greek Soup called Chicken Avgolemono or Chicken Lemon Rice Soup.  You've probably had some version of it at some point.  I like it because it's just a bit turned up from your regular soup.  There's some lemon in it and the teeny tiny orzo noodles instead of the long egg noodles.  Which I love because I never did like eating chicken noodle soup when the noodles slop all over and won't stay on your spoon.  And the process of adding the egg threw me off too; it thickens it a bit so it's not as thin as regular chicken noodle soup so I think it makes it a bit more hearty.  It's different, but yet familiar.

Of course there's still a place for both.  I still need to figure out my mom's chicken noodle, but for now this will probably remain on my menu.  For the next few months at least.

Trish's Tips:  This, like most soups, keeps well.  It does however thicken quite a bit in the fridge.  I like to keep extra chicken stock on hand to thin out the next day, mainly because I'm a broth-loving girl.  I tried whole-wheat orzo for the first time.  And... not a fan.  I do love whole wheat and try to use it in almost everything but just didn't feel like it went here.  It turned out a bit gummier than the regular white pasta.  Make sure the vegetables are cooked before you add the orzo because once you add that your time is limited and you will then either have underdone veggies or overcooked noodles.  I like to cut up a lemon and serve it with the soup for those that like it with a bit more zest.  (Like me!)

Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo
Adapted from Ellie Krieger

Ingredients:
Olive oil
1 bone-in, skin-on split chicken breast
1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
2 tsp chopped fresh thme
6-8 cups chicken broth
1 cup orzo pasta
2 large eggs
3 TBL fresh lemon juice
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.  Put chicken in pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper then drizzle with olive oil.  Rub with your hands over the chicken to coat all sides of the chicken.  Put in oven and roast for 35-40 minutes or until done.  Let cool until cool enough to handle, remove and discard skin and shred or cube chicken.    Set aside.

Heat soup pot over medium-high heat.  Add 1 TBL olive oil.  When oil is heated add the onion, celery, carrot and thyme and cook, stirring over medium-high heat until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.  Add 5 cups of the broth and bring to a boil.  Add the orzo and let simmer until tender, about 8 minutes.  Turn the heat down to low to keep soup hot but not boiling.

Warm the remaining 1 cup broth in a small saucepan until it is hot but not boiling.  In a medium bowl, beat the eggs.  Gradually whisk the lemon juice into the eggs.  Then gradually add the hot broth to the egg-lemon mixture, whisking all the while.  Add the mixture to the soup, stirring well until the soup is thickened.  Do NOT let the soup come to a boil.  Add the cooked chicken to the soup.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Add remaining broth if desired depending on the level of thickness that you like or save the extra for when reheating to thin out.

Spaghetti with Meatballs

As I have written before, my mom was famous for saying, "We could make this!" after trying a restaurant dish that she admired.  Usually her attempts were still very good, albeit off, from the original.  I, though, am far less adventurous although I am getting better, making attempts at crazy things such as you know, salad recreations or copying a cheese plate from a restaurant, but clearly still have a long way to go to get to my mom's optimistic and adventurous approach.

So I bet after that you are now waiting for me to debut this adventurous, optimistic side that I supposedly should have learned from my mother?  Nope.  I'm not there yet, besides the aforementioned territories of salads and cheese plates.  However, I am good at taking a recipe from a magazine that in it recreates a fabulous dish from one of my favorite restaurants.  That I am good at.

Food & Wine debuted an article with the famed recipe from "Meatball Monday's" at A16, where this recipe comes from.  I had the great pleasure of meeting A16's wine director/owner, Shelley Lindgren, when I took a cooking class in San Francisco titled "Food and Wine of California" at the adorable cooking school, Tante Marie.  I was just (sob) about to leave San Francisco and wanted to absorb all I could.  She led the wine section of the class and was delightful.  She is the coauthor of their beautiful cookbook, which after taking the class and reading the Food & Wine Article, I absolutely had to have the cookbook.  (Well that one and about 50 others, but trust me, it's a good one.)  So I then had two copies of the recipe, was leaving San Francisco and could no longer go to Meatball Mondays.  It was time to make the meatballs.

My original theory about meatballs was, "Meatballs, how good can they be?"  It's just a meatball and there are good ones, but not truly 'great' ones although my husband vehemently disagrees, even pre-A16 meatballs.  My point of view was of course before I tried these.  I quickly then became a convert to my husbands perspective.  These are so much more flavorful than any other meatball.  And so light and moist!  After making them several times, I know the secret is the ricotta cheese and fresh breadcrumbs.  My mom always made meatballs with ground beef, but this also has prosciutto and ground pork, which I think adds a lot of flavor.  And there is no complicated sauce to cloud the flavor of the meatballs, just delicious San Marzanos, which if you haven't yet tried, after one taste you will for sure be a convert from regular old canned tomatoes.  This isn't your sloppy spaghetti meatballs for kids.  This is entertaining fare.  Once you try these, you'll be a convert too.

 So, one restaurant dish recreated... check!  Yes, I had the recipe, but I did make a couple of substitutions, that puts me in the adventurous category, right?

Trish's Tips:  This recipe calls for freshly made breadcrumbs.  Every time I buy a baguette I end up not eating it all and it turns rock hard and ends up getting thrown out.  My new strategy is to freeze the leftover baguette then just pull it out of the freezer 30 minutes or so before I need to make breadcrumbs so that it can defrost.  Just cut into cubes and put in your food processor.  These meatballs freeze great and can be made in advance.  To do so, roast the meatballs and freeze them.  Before braising, defrost completely then braise as directed in the recipe.  Through this recipe I learned that if you can't find the right meat ground, buy it unground, cut into cubes and put in your food processor.  You won't know the difference.  This time I was able to find it ground, but another time I just ground the pork myself.  I always end up grinding the prosciutto and bread crumbs myself.  If you are doing the same then do the bread crumbs and prosciutto before the other messy meats.

Monday Meatballs

Adapted from A16 Food & Wine Cookbook

Makes about 24 meatballs

Ingredients:

10 oz boneless pork shoulder (Either pre-ground from your butcher or cut up in cubes and finely chopped in a food processor)

10 oz beef chuck (Either ground or cut up in cubes and finely chopped in food processor)

6 oz. day old good baguette, ciabatta or country bread, cut into cubes and finely chopped in food processor

4 oz prosciutto, cut into slices and ground in food processor

1 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, coarsely chopped

1 TBL plus 2 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp dried oregano

1 1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp dried chile flakes

1/3 cup ricotta cheese

3 eggs, lightly beaten

2 TBL milk

2 - 28 oz cans San Marzano Tomatoes with juices

handful of fresh basil leaves, torn

block of parmesan cheese for grating

Extra virgin olive oil for finishing

Spaghetti to serve with

Preheat the oven to 400.  Coat 2 rimmed baking sheets with olive oil.  In a large bowl, combine the pork, beef, bread, prosciutto, parsley, 1 TBL of the salt, oregano, fennel seeds and chile flakes and mix with your hands until the ingredients are evenly distributed.  Set aside.  

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs.  Add the ricotta and milk.  Add the ricotta mixture to the ground meat mixture and mix lightly with your hands until just incorporated.  The mixture should feel wet and tacky.  

If desired, you can test your meatball at this stage by taking a spoonful of it, flattening into a disk and sauteeing in olive oil.  Taste for seasonings and adjust as needed.  

Form the mixture into 1 1/2 inch balls about 2 oz. each and place on the prepared baking sheets.  You should have about 24 meatballs.  

Bake, rotating the sheets once from front to back, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are browned.  Remove from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 300.  

Sprinkle the tomatoes with the remaining 2 tsp of salt and squeeze the tomatoes with your hands into small pieces.  

Pack the meatballs into 1 large roasting pan.   Pour the tomato sauce over the meatballs, cover tightly with aluminum foil and braise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the meatballs are tender and have absorbed some of the tomato sauce.  

Meanwhile cook spaghetti according to package directions.  Pull the pans out of the oven and uncover.  Top the pasta with the sauce, then meatballs, torn basil leaves and drizzle with olive oil.  Top with shredded parmesan.  

Road Trip!

I've been a bit MIA, I know. I was on a weeklong cross-country road trip with my sister who moved to Portland. It was a ton of fun, but now I am so anxious to get home and get cooking! Although I did do a quite a bit of cooking before I left.  I made loads of road trip snacks.  I knew our trip would mean lots of greasy foods like burgers and fries, which we did have and thoroughly enjoyed, but also knew that we would feel much better if we had a pack of healthy snacks so as to prevent a panicked gas station snack stop that inevitably would have ended up with a bag of premade cheddar chex mix followed by what I like to call 'junk food stomach'.

I'm no stranger to road trips. Being in a family of five children, we did a lot of traveling by car. I think the idea of buying 7 plane tickets put my parents over the edge, so most trips were in the family Suburban and there was always a cooler in the back with sandwich fixings and snacks and homemade cookies. I think my mom couldn't stand the idea of stopping every time one of us was hungry and my dad couldn't stand the idea of going out for every meal. Growing up in the 'great lakes state', most of our trips involved us never being far from the lake so my mom always packed us a picnic. With 5 picky eaters she just let us make our own sandwiches and would pack several kids of meats, mayo, mustard, chips, sweets and even some candy. I think as a kid I always wished we could stop for the McDonald's happy meal or whatever that now makes me wince.

So with that on my mind I packed sandwiches for our first day.  There was no notable stops/cities on our first day anyway, so I figured starting out with a homemade lunch would be better.  I've made this one a few times now, and it always hits the spot.  With the skin off and the addition of yogurt to make it creamy, this really is a pretty healthy lunch.  The aioli is DELICIOUS and also great on other things. There was a bit leftover that Johnny used to make a quick salad dressing.  Just add some white wine vinegar and olive oil and put over salad.  The aioli also has an anchovy in it but please don't let that scare you.  In fact, Johnny couldn't believe when I told him that it was in there.  Did you know that almost all caesar salad dressing have it?  It certainly doesn't taste fishy, just adds another flavor dimension.  If you are a total wimp, feel free to leave out ;)  Oh and don't throw the rest of the can out when you just use one itty-bitty half of an anchovy.  I put the rest in a small jar and throw it in the freezer until I need them again.  As my mom would say, "It is a sin to waste", and I therefore cannot STAND to waste.  I do the same trick with chipotle chiles in adobo and tomato paste.  I mean how often do you really use a whole can of tomato paste? I digress...

I probably should have taken pictures of this sandwich before I left, along with all the snacks that I made, but I'm sure you can relate to the chaos that ensues right before going on vacation.  The laundry, packing, planning and for me grocery shopping and cooking was too much for me to stop to take pictures at each stage.  So I recreated the sandwich when I got back.  I'm not going to recreate everything, at least right now, so I thought I would share links to the rest. For your next road trip!

1. My friend Patty's granola.  Delicious and about a million ways to mix and match to make it how you like it. This time I used almonds and coconut and dried cherries. In the past I've done blueberries, pecans and vanilla.
2. Granola Bars.  Oh so healthy, from the Mayo Clinic Cookbook.
3. Spiced Pepitas.  I knew that all of those sweets would make me crave something salty. This hit the spot.
4. Trail Mix. There really is no recipe for this, just mix whatever you like best. I mixed 1 cup of almonds, 1 cup of walnuts and 1 cup of dried cranberries, then just scooped it by the 1/3 cupfuls into snack bags. Use whatever nuts you like, these are great to have on hand.  Hopefully this leaves you craving not only a sandwich but also a road trip! Loads of fun!

Trish's Tips: The original recipe calls for arugula, parsley and chives, but I just used what I had which was basil, parsley and spinach.  Don't make the mistake that I made (especially if this is to go) and forget to check the seasonings after you mixed in the chicken.  My sister and I were both wishing it was more salty because I seasoned the aioli but didn't check it when I added the chicken.  The original recipe calls for a whole-wheat tortilla, which I have used before and liked, but this time I had a whole loaf of bread I was trying to get rid of so used that instead.  Use what you like.

Chicken Sandwich with Spinach and Basil Aioli
Adapted from Giada de Laurentiis
Makes 2 sandwiches

Ingredients:
Aioli:
1/3 cup lightly packed spinach leaves
1/4 cup lightly packed flat-leaf parsley
8-10 basil leaves
1/2 anchovy fillet
1 small garlic clove
1/4 cup lowfat greek style plain yogurt
1 tsp white whine vinegar
1/2 tsp lemon zest
salt and freshly ground pepper
Sandwich:
1 - Bone in, skin on chicken breast (Between .75 & 1 lb)
1 TBL Olive Oil
salt and pepper
4 slices bread (I like Ezekial)
1/2 C spinach leaves

Directions:
Preheat Oven to 350. Put chicken in pan and pour 1 TBL of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Rub to coat all sides.  Put in oven and roast for 35-40 minutes.  While chicken is roasting, make aioli.  Put garlic in mini food processor.  Pulse until it is minced.  Add anchovy and do the same.  Add the rest of ingredients and blend until mixture is smooth.  Add salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

When chicken is done and cool enough to handle, remove skin (if desired) and shred with 2 forks.  Add enough aioli to moisten.  Taste for seasoning, you may need more salt and pepper.  You may have some leftover aioli.  Assemble sandwiches.  Put spinach on one side of bread, then spoon chicken mixture on top and top with other slice of bread.

If you are taking this to go: Put spinach on both sides of the bread so that the aioli doesn't absorb in the bread and make it soggy.  Make sure the chicken mixture is extra wet, it will absorb and be drier by the time you eat it.  Slice sandwich and wrap first in wax paper then in tinfoil.  Make sure to pack napkins!

White Bean Dip

I had a fabulous weekend doing what I love: cooking.  My friend, Marcie, and I hosted a baby shower this Saturday along with a few other girls, and we were in charge of food.  We scoured through cookbooks for menu planning, did some strategic list making, hit three grocery stores and spent two days cooking.  We had a ton of fun doing it and it all ended up pretty good, if I do say so myself.  I kind of felt like my mom this weekend in the party planning zone, three recipes going at once.  What can I say, I learned from the best.

We made a pretty good mix of tried and true favorites, such as the tomato soup recipe I have posted here previously, and a few newbies as well.  I had several advertisers of my blog (slash followers of my blog telling others about it) at the party, so hopefully some of you have found me.  Sorry, but not all of the recipes will be posted because the added stress of taking photos of each recipe at each stage of cooking/chopping would have potentially put me over the edge.  But who knows, some of the recipes may just make an appearance here eventually.  For those of you interested, here was our menu:  Tomato soup in mini cups with grilled cheeses made with sharp white cheddar to dip in the soup.  We also served mini mac n cheese servings that we baked in a muffin tin and a spinach salad with hazelnuts and blood oranges.  For appetizers we served stuffed mushrooms filled with pecorino and turkey sausage, walnut pesto crostinis and..... White Bean Dip with crudites.

The White Bean Dip was definitely one that fell in the 'tried and true' category and is one that's been around in my family for a while.  My mom, sisters and I are all fans of Giada, whom this recipe comes from.  And I'm pretty sure we all had the cookbook that this comes from within the first few months of it being out.  In fact, I think this was one of the last things that my mom made for me because she knew it was one of my favorites.  I'm a hummus lover as you know, and this is a twist on hummus using white beans instead of chickpeas.  The original recipe calls for parsley and I made it that way for a couple of years, but one time as I went to make it, realized that I didn't have any parsley, but did have a huge bunch of basil from the farmers market.  I tried that instead and have yet to go back to making it the original way.

I often serve it with the pita chips as Giada calls for here, but don't have photos of it, as our menu for the shower was carb heavy enough so we served it with crudites.  Maybe try a mix of both, or depending on your mood or just pick one.  I love recipes like this because as long as you have a food processor it's pretty simple.  These are all ingredients that I generally have on hand, so this can be your go to recipe when you have unexpected hungry guests.  Or maybe even 18 or so expected guests and a pregnant guest of honor.  This will work for that too.  

Trish's Tips:  I have adjusted this recipe to be how I like it, but add more citrus, more oil, more salt and pepper if you like.  Or less, of course.  Make it your own.  Try it with parsley and basil and let me know which one you like better.  The hummus will keep in the fridge, but I think is best at room temperature.  I made it the night before the shower, but made sure to bring to room temperature.  The pita chips won't be the right consistency if made the day before; they tend to get a bit chewy.

White Bean Dip
Adapted from Giada de Laurentiis

Ingredients:

Pita Chips:
4 pita breads, split horizontally in half
2 TBL olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Dip:
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 (15 - ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup (loosely packed) fresh basil leaves (or parsley)
2 TBL fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove

Directions:
To make the pita chips:  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Cut each pita half into 8 wedges.  Arrange the pita wedges evenly over a baking sheet.  Brush the pita wedges with the oil, then sprinkle with the oregano and salt and pepper.  Bake for 8 minutes, then turn the pita wedges over and bake until they are crisp and golden, about 8 minutes longer.

To make the dip:  In the bowl of a food processor, put in garlic clove.  Turn processor on until garlic clove is sufficiently minced.  Add beans, lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Turn on until the ingredients are well mixed.  Add basil.  Slowly add olive oil until the mixture is creamy, adding more olive oil or water to get to desired consistency.  Taste and add salt as needed.  Serve with pita chips or crudites.