Second Breakfast

Or, better yet, “Ho, Ho, Ho, the humanity!”…

Like the rest of the world, cold weather makes me yearn for comfort foods. I had some leftover Meatballs in Red Wine Gravy (which my husband really likes) and wanted to serve those with mashed potatoes, but felt the yearning for a vegetable accompaniment. Cabbage seemed appropriate, and I wanted something that was buttery and savory without being too heavy. I found this recipe in Madhur Jaffrey’s “World Vegetarian” (a wedding present that I don’t use often enough), and modified it to my own liking. Jaffrey’s recipe called for a hot chile pepper or two to be added with the shallots, and no paprika. You could vary this quite a bit to fit with whatever cuisine type you were working with.

Items

• 1 small head cabbage, cored and thinly sliced.
• 4-5 shallots, peeled and cut into slivers
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and cut into slivers
• 4 scallions, green part only, cut into 2 inch lengths and then into slivers
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken stock
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp paprika, or to taste
• 1 Tbsp butter

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a wide pan over medium-high heat.
2. Add the shallots and saute until softened, 5-6 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and scallions and sautee for another minute.
4. Add the cabbage, and saute 6-8 minutes until the cabbage is softened a bit.
5. Add the stock and cover, turning the heat down a bit, and cook until the cabbage is tender but not mushy.
6. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, add the paprika, and finish with the butter.

Serves 4 as a side dish.

This is my version of something I had at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, where I was last week for a technical conference related to my paid work. I was surprised throughout the three days that the conference offered meals how good the food was, despite the fact they were cooking for 1000+ people. Usually such fare consists of overcooked pasta and inedible chicken. But everything at CP was well-prepared and tasty, and this pasta was particularly memorable.

I haven’t seen a lot of recipes for something like this, which is surprising given that capers and lemon are a good match. I may be mis-remembering the lemon, but the combination of cream, capers, and small tomatoes was fabulous, and I’ve made some additional small modifications based on my own preferences. We had this alongside some brussel sprouts sauteed in olive oil and shallots, and then braised with some chicken stock.

My husband liked this enough to say “I’d pay for this.” Oh you do, honey. Every day.

Items

• 1 lb dried linguine (I prefer Barilla)
• 1 Tbsp butter plus 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup capers, roughly chopped. Salt-packed are best (rinse them), but the ones in brine are okay, just not as strongly-flavored.
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• rind of 1 lemon
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 shallots, minced
• 1/4 cup orange bell pepper, fine dice
• 2 cups grape tomatoes
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• Freshly grated pecorino romano cheese

Method

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Prepare the sauce while the pasta is cooking, finishing the sauce after draining the pasta and reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water.
2. Melt the butter and olive oil together over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook until they are quite soft, stirring regularly so they don’t brown.
3. Add the garlic, capers, bell pepper, and lemon zest, and cook for another minute or two, stirring often.
4. Add the milk and cream, turn the heat down to low, and simmer for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Don’t let it boil very heavily, since the milk will curdle and too much heat will kill a lot of the nice oils in the lemon.
5. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper. My tendency is to make the sauce a bit saltier than you’d expect, since the sauce on the pasta will be diluted and you won’t need to salt at table.
6. Add the tomatoes and turn the heat down as low as it will go and sweat the tomatoes in the sauce for a couple of minutes.
7. Toss the sauce with the pasta, along with a bit of the reserved pasta water.
8. Serve with the pecorino romano.

Serves 4-6.   

I like to cook, and my husband likes to eat, and we like to share, so we often have a friend or two over to share a weeknight meal. Our friend Kevin, who practices family medicine and obstetrics near Detroit, has been our regular diner for some time now, and we recently introduced him to a delicacy Alan’s side of the family, and he’s been bugging me for the recipe ever since. So here it is.

Tater Tot Casserole is essentially a prepared foods version of Shepherd’s Pie: cooked meat, vegetables, and a sauce, topped with potatoes and baked, and finished with cheese. In this case the potatoes are tater tots, those nuggets of shredded, baked potato goodness that one associates with pizza rolls and other artery-clogging inhabitants of the freezer aisle at the grocery store. I tend to be one of those who shops around the edges of the store and eschews most prepared foods, but this is tasty and easy and sometimes I don’t want to mess with a lot of prep.

This can be made with meat or as a vegetarian version. We usually leave the meat out and don’t notice the lack. This can be varied and fussed with endlessly. Since this is Alan’s mother’s recipe, he believes that any modifications are heresy.

Items

• 1 lb ground beef, or 1 pkg Morningstar “Grillers” Recipe Crumbles/TVP (yes, you can do that to the English language).
• 1 medium onion, fine chop
• 1 can cream of celery soup
• 2 cups frozen or 1 can corn
• 1 pkg Ore-Ida Tater Tots (I like the Onion-flavored kind myself) — you won’t use them all.
• 1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
• 10 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. Brown the beef or TVP and onion in a skillet. You’ll want to add a couple of Tbsp olive oil if you’re using the crumbles. Drain the excess fat from the beef. Season liberally with salt and pepper.
3. In a 2 1/2 quart round casserole, layer 1/2 of the beef, 1/2 of the corn, and 1/2 of the soup, spreading with a spatula. Repeat with the remainder of the beef, corn, and soup.
4. Arrange the tater tots in a single layer on top of the soup, in whatever arrangement or pattern pleases you best. I arrange them like little barrels standing up in circles for optimal packing.
5. Cook in a microwave on high for 10-15 minutes, until the inside is hot and bubbling. Alternatively, cook in the oven for 45 minutes at least.
6. Top with the cheese, and finish under the broiler for 5-10mins until the cheese is melted and slightly browned.

Serves 4-6.