Monthly Archives: February 2013

Spinach and Squash Salad

Continuing with my butternut squash theme, I wanted to share what I threw together with the extra squash from my Butternut Squash Risotto.

Since it was already cooked and cubed, I added it to a healthy salad. The idea was inspired by the Moroccan Spiced Chicken salad at California Pizza Kitchen. I added some of my favorite winter salad ingredients: spinach, goat cheese, dried cherries, and toasted walnuts.

Then I just topped it with a homemade Chardonnay dressing:

1 tsp. Dijon
1 tsp. honey
dash salt
dash pepper
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/8 c. white wine

Combine, mix, and pour.

Butternut Squash Risotto

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I’m newly obsessed with butternut squash. For most of my life, I never really ate it. And then I was introduced to the most amazing pizza at our favorite restaurant in Hoboken that has butternut squash, truffle, and fontina. Sounds weird, but I think that’s what started my butternut squash kick and now I’m playing around with some new recipes, like my recent Butternut Squash and Apple Soup.

I thought I would try out a risotto, inspired by a few recipes I saw popping up on Pinterest. I love recipes by blogger Skinny Taste and of course for Italian, I end up turning to Giada. So I sifted through some recipes and did my own thing, and the risotto turned about pretty great. This recipe is a keeper.

To start, I cut the squash in cubes instead of roasting it whole. I think either method works, but this was just easier to deal with since I only ended up using half the squash. (Teaser: I’ll be posting what I did with the other half of the squash later in the week.)

This squash looked like a heart!

I put the cubed squash in a large glass baking pan (greased) and cooked for about 30 minutes on 350 degrees.

Add the cooked squash to a pot and cover with the broth. Let squash cook in the broth on low while you prepare the rice.

Meanwhile, sautee onion and garlic in butter until onions are soft, about 5 minutes.

Add the rice and stir until rice is coated in butter.

Add the sage and white wine. (You’ll see I used a classy $8 Sutter Home.) Let simmer until wine is mostly absorbed, about 3 minutes.

Then transfer the chicken broth from the other pot, one ladle at a time. Let rice absorb and then add another ladleful until most of the broth is absorbed and the rice becomes creamy. Stir slowly and constantly. (When you are not stirring, leave the lid of the pot on.) The whole absorption process will take about 30 minutes or more.

Once all liquid is absorbed into rice, remove from heat.

Note: Taste the rice. If all chicken broth is absorbed and the rice is still a little stiff, add in some water (or wine) and let it absorb.

Finally, mash the butternut squash and add to the rice and stir well. Add parmesan, salt and pepper.

Butternut Squash Risotto

3 cups butternut squash (about ½ a squash)
4 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth
3 tbsp. butter
1 small onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried sage
1/2 cup dry white wine (e.g. Chardonnay)
2 cups Arborio rice
½ cup parmesan
salt and pepper, to taste

Peel and cube butternut squash. Place in a large basking dish coasted with oil. Roast in the oven at 350 for about 30 minutes, turning the squash with a spatula halfway through.

When removing from oven, add squash to large pot, covering in the chicken broth. Let simmer on low, leaving squash cubed.

Meanwhile, sautee minced onion and garlic in butter until onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add rice and stir until rice is coated in butter.

Add sage and white wine. Let simmer until wine is mostly absorbed, about 3 minutes.

Slowly add in chicken broth, one ladle at a time. Let rice absorb and then add another ladleful until most of the broth is absorbed and the rice becomes creamy. Stir slowly and constantly. Process will take about 20 minutes.

Once all liquid is absorbed into rice, remove from heat. Mash the butternut squash with a masher or fork. Add to rice and stir well. Add parmesan, salt and pepper.

Mix and enjoy!

Some Fun for the Foodies

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Remember Mad Libs? I had so many of those books, putting in random nouns and adjectives that never made sense when the story was over.

A friend sent me a grown-up version for us foodies, as featured in Food & Wine magazine. (Thanks Katie!)

I think it’s more fun to not peek, so I’m listing the words you have to come up with here first. Then, pop them into the story below and see what you came up with.

Food & Wine is also encouraging readers to tweet a photo of your filled-in page to @fandw using #FWWordGames and they’ll be posting some of them on their website!

Beverage
African Country
Mammal
Bird
Family Member
Piece of Furniture
Body Part
Vegetable
Number
Large Animal
Body Part
Cured Meat
Big-Box Store
Items of Clothing
Historical Era
Reality TV Star
Eastern-European Country
Zoo Animals
Packaged Food
French Pastries
Distant Relative
Foreign Country
Type of Boat
TV Chef
Number Below 10
Medical Device
Number Above Two
Musician
Supreme Court Justice
Classical Composer
Condiment
Number above Four

Got your words? Now fill em in here and have fun with it:

Food & Wine Mad Libs Word Game

I also came across a nifty wine guide as featured on theKitchn. Wine Folly created a great color coded-chart for wine and food pairings.

However, I have to admit that the one tip I inherited from my dad is you don’t drink white until you’re out of red.

Wine Folly’s Guide for Pairing Food & Wine

See more tips from Wine Folly here.

What food and wine tips have you learned/inherited?

Review: Circolo

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Last weekend, Tom and I went into the city to meet with a travel agent and explore our options for our Italy trip in September. Our Labor Day getaway is my new project (yes, I love to plan) and I’m balancing a half DIY, half guided tour for me (who has been to Italy twice – yes, I’m spoiled) and Tom who has never been (don’t feel bad for him, he went to Switzerland, Germany, and Netherlands). Yeah, after graduation we both spent our life savings on traveling. Three years later, with full-time jobs and funds regenerating, and it’s time to travel again!

Anyway, afterwards we of course took advantage of NYC dining and tried out a new restaurant that I saw on UrbanDaddy. Circolo is an authentic Italian farm-to-table restaurant in NoHo. Since we were planning our Italy trip at STA in nearby East Village, it only seemed fitting.

Circolo: East Village Farm-to-Table Restaurant

We were a bit early for NYC standards so we had the place to ourselves (although the bar was getting quite crowded). The atmosphere was amazing – it really had that “farm-to-table” look – cute, quaint, and natural while still being modern.

We had the mozzarella appetizer (I’m predictable) which I knew would be great (because it’s cheese). Even the bread and olive oil tasted imported – the best I’ve had since Italy.

Circolo: Fresh Mozzarella

Tom had the pasta stuffed with spinach in a ragu sauce. I had the butternut squash ravioli. Both were homemade, shaped in more of a tortellini pasta. Also, both were delicious.

Circolo’s Stuffed Pasta with Spinach and Ragu

Stuffed Butternut Squash Ravioli

My one complaint was the price, but we expected a $100 bill for a place like this (appetizer + 2 meals + 2 glasses of wine). Homemade, East Village, farm-to-table… I’m not sure it was worth going back often with that price tag, but it was definitely worth trying.

After, since we were already in the freezing cold city, we wanted to make the most of crossing the river on a weekend. So, what else was there to do but bar crawl our way back to the PATH station?

We ended up at nearby Sweet & Vicious. Confession: I thought this was a dessert place similar to Sweet Revenge which we previously visited. It was not. Sweet & Vicious is just a bar, but a pretty fun one at that. Apparently in the summer it has a great outdoor area. But even in the winter, we weren’t disappointed. I’ll keep it on the list.

Sweet & Vicious

Next we headed towards Wilfie & Nell in the West Village, closer to the PATH. On the way, we had to stop in the puppy store. It wasn’t the first time I’ve been to this specific puppy store on the way to Wilfie & Nell. Kiley and I stopped in a few months back … it’s a real issue with Manhattan nightlife. The problem: NYC picks out the cutest puppies in the most popular breeds and brings them into the city when they are probably too young and adorable to even be sold. The puppies stare at you through their plastic windows and beg you to take them home. After even just two drinks, you want all of them. Sobriety struggles to win this internal battle, reminding you that you live in a 600 square foot apartment and have more expenses than you do income.

Drunk puppy buying is a serious epidemic in Manhattan. Do NOT fall victim. Luckily, I walked away. Some other bar hoppers are not as lucky. This girl was buying a pocket-sized Chihuahua that was smaller than my hand. It was the smallest dog I have ever seen in my life, and the girl admitted it will only grow to be 3 pounds – FULL GROWN. Majority of girls are only one drink away from shoplifting this little rat dog like it’s a lipstick from WalMart.

The smallest dog... ever. That I've seen.

Yes, Chihuauah shown to scale.

Just sayin.

But I digress. I made it home, sans puppy. The next day, we visited my FAVORITE Italian place which is Grandma Travis’ kitchen. In addition to a true home style Italian meal, complete with pasta and “gravy” and some great stories from Grandma, we even explored some old photos. Guess who this handsome little guy is?

If you guessed Lilttle Jimmy Jr., you’re dead on.

Better-for-you Banana Bread

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Happy Wednesday! I’m still doing some maintenance but I’m hoping you won’t notice a thing. Hopefully by the end of the week I will be migrated to the more flexible WordPress.org.

Anyway, this is my final muffin post… for now. My sister tipped me off to a better-for-you new twist in our banana bread recipe. I won’t call it “healthy” because I’m not counting the calories and carbs (it’s the politically correct PR person in me), but by replacing the butter with applesauce, the bread stays just as moist and I think it’s a little more sweet. I baked it into some muffins tins so that it was easy to pack them for an easy work breakfast.

Better-for-You Banana Bread
(or muffins)

1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. apple sauce
3 – 4 bananas, mashed
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine sugar, eggs, vanilla, and apple sauce. Mix well and add mashed bananas.

Sift together flour, soda, and salt. Add to wet mixture.

Place in greased loaf pan or muffin tins. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes (about 30 minutes for muffins) or until toothpick comes out clean.

It’s ready!

J’ai La Vie is Getting an Update

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Well, kind of. I’m in the process of switching over to WordPress.org and will be undergoing maintenance for the next day or so! The site may be down for very short periods of time as we undergo the transition.
Hang in there with me, everything will be up and running shortly and you won’t even notice a difference!

Happy Valentine’s <3

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It’s the special day of high expectations and every restaurant in town being booked and charging too much for a prix-fixe menu. Even when you aren’t single, it can be frustrating. But I love any holiday and it’s an excuse to spend time with loved ones and eat chocolate.

waiting for me this morning: my fav flower – from my fav guy :)

I had to share this story via the Huffington Post and the rest of the viral internet. It made my heart melt and my eyes tear, so I thought it was a good reminder of what today is REALLY about.

My Sweet husband, John, and I were married for 46 years. Each Valentine’s Day, he’d send me the most beautiful flowers containing a note with five simple words: ‘My love for you grows.’ Four children, 46 bouquets and a lifetime of love were his legacy to me when he passed away two years ago.

On my first Valentine’s Day alone, 10 months after I lost him, I was shocked to receive a gorgeaus bouquet addressed to me..from John. Angry and heartbroken, I called the florist to say there had been a mistake. The florist replied, ‘No, ma’am, it’s not a mistake. Before he passed away, your husband prepaid for many years and asked us to guarantee that you’d continue getting bouquets every Valentine’s Day.’ With my heart in my throat, I hung up the phone and read the attached card. It said, ‘My love for you is eternal.’

Enjoy the day.

Easy Mini Breakfast Quiche

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As I mentioned on Monday, I’m on a muffin tin kick. So I thought I would bring back an easy Paris-inspired recipe that brightens my workday mornings.

When I studied in France, I quickly became obsessed with quiche. Eggs, cheese, veggies – it just worked for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Quiche is so easy to make and relatively nutritious depending on the recipe. My sister and I started making mini quiche to reheat and pack for breakfast along with our lunch. Then, realizing that it was the crust that was adding the calories (although Pillsbury pie crust is amazing), we created these mini quiche snacks that are a perfect morning pick-me-up when paired with a caffeinated beverage.

Just start with any veggies (I prefer spinach, mushrooms, broccoli, or any combo) and sautee in a pan. Once cooked, add to the bottom of a greased muffin tin.

Top with eggs, lightly beaten.

Add salt, pepper, and italian seasoning, to taste. Top with shredded cheese (I prefer mozzarella or cheddar).

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until top is lightly browned and eggs are cooked through. (Test with a toothpick.)

Once cooled, removed from muffin tin and store in airtight container.

Pack with your lunch and reheat in the microwave or toaster oven.

Now you can look forward to breakfast as much as you enjoy lunch. That’s like, an extra 5 minutes of enjoyment in your work day. At least it is for me…

Mac and Cheese Cups

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These past few weeks I have been inadvertently experimenting with muffin tins. I guess it started when I had some Hershey kisses I was sick of having around the house, so I melted them with some peanut butter into a mini muffin tin and refrigerated them until they looked like peanut butter cups. Sorry, I ate them all before I got a picture.

So for the Super Bowl, I could not figure out what to make. Too many options, and none of them seemed right for the occasion. Then I settled on a specialty – mac and cheese. But in order to make it easily consumable, I cooked it in… well, yeah. Muffin tins.

I used my regular mac n cheese recipe. Then I scooped it into greased muffin tins, topped with Panko bread crumbs and parmesan.

Make at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until it is lightly browned. Once cooled, scoop out with a butter knife.

FYI… Essie nail polish: Baubles to Baubles

And when you bring these to any party, they will be an instant hit. Who doesn’t like mac and cheese? Added bonus: they are vegetarian, just in case you have a veggie at your party that doesn’t eat the pulled pork and pigs in a blanket.

Enjoy!

Turkey, Brie, and Apple Sandwiches

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It’s so good it’s embarrassing. Seriously, Kiley thought it was too embarrassing to tell people what she was eating because it was such a fancy dinner. It had a long name, but it’s just a sandwich!

I recently posted my recipe for Butternut Squash and Apple Soup. I paired it with my new favorite sandwich for a quick and easy after-work meal.

I was inspired by a recipe I found on Pinterest and decided to make Turkey, Apple, and Brie Sandwiches.

Turkey Apple Brie Sandwich with Butternut Squash Soup

The ingredients were simple: fresh bread, turkey (deli turkey is fine), apple, brie, and a spread. I used mango chutney to add some flavor, but I think Dijon would taste great too.

Just lightly toast the bread, then spread the brie (let soften for a few minutes) on one half of the sandwich and chutney (or your choice of spread) on the other. Then top with turkey and sliced apples.