Mod Ozzfest 2013 -- Australian Fry-Up with Spicy Bacon

(This recipe accompanies Naked Vine New Year 2013 -- A Taste of Australia.)

• Eggs
• Toast
• Baked Beans
• Bacon
• 2 tbsp. honey
• 1/4 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp. sesame seeds

Preheat the oven to 375°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange the bacon slices on the paper in a single layer. In a small skillet, combine the honey, coriander and cayenne and cook over high heat until melted, about 1 minute. Brush the spiced honey on one side of the bacon and bake for 10 minutes.

Sprinkle lightly with sesame seeds and bake for 5 to 10 minutes longer, depending on the thickness and fattiness of the bacon, until sizzling and browned. Transfer the bacon to paper towels, glazed side up, to drain and cool slightly. 

Meanwhile, make your eggs and toast however you like. Heat the beans. Serve.

Mod Ozzfest 2013 -- Mussels in White Wine & Garlic Sauce with Pepperoni & Yellow Pepper

(This recipe accompanies Naked Vine New Year 2013 -- A Taste of Australia.)

OK, folks. If you want to ding me for not being "authentic" with my mussel preparation, feel free. Then bite me. The idea here was for it to be easy, so as not to detract from the revelry. Trust me, you'd want to swim in this sauce. And doesn't this look tasty?

• 1 package frozen Kroger (or brand of your choice) mussels in white wine and garlic sauce
• 4 oz. or so good quality pepperoni, cut into small dice
• 1 yellow pepper, cut into small dice

In a large pot, saute pepper and pepperoni until slightly browned. Increase heat to high and add mussels. Cook according to package directions. Either eat as shown or pull the mussels from the shells, put them back into the broth, and serve as a bouillabaisse. 

Mod Ozzfest 2013 -- Lamb Kabobs with Mike's Garligorge Sauce

(This recipe accompanies Naked Vine New Year 2013 -- A Taste of Australia.)

• 1-one pound lamb steak, cut into four long strips
• 4 crushed garlic cloves
• 1/4 c. lemon juice
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. coarse salt
• Mike's Garligorge Sauce

Combine all ingredients besides sauce in a ziploc bag and shake well. Marinate for a couple of hours (overnight is best). 

Heat a grill to medium high heat. Grill to desired doneness (about 3-4 minutes per side for medium rare). Plate up with a salad. Serve with Garligorge sauce, sides of your choice, and a Barossa Shiraz.  

Simple Decadence (Roasted Shrimp with Thyme and Rosemary)

Made this tonight, paired with a Muscadet. Such an easy recipe for wonderful gustatory bliss. Seriously. If you're a shellfish fan at all, try this recipe.

Unfortunately, I've got no pictures of this meal -- but we can flash back to 1990 and relive the glory that was Extreme. Shred, Nuno! Shred!

• 1 1/2 lb. large shrimp (preferably peel & eat)
• 1/3 c. olive oil
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 6 springs fresh thyme
• salt & ground pepper
• 1 1/2 tbsp. white wine vinegar

Preheat oven to 400. Add oil to a baking pan. Add thyme, rosemary, and 1 tsp. pepper. Stir to coat herbs. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until fragrant. (Your kitchen will smell fantastic, by the way.)

Remove pan from oven. Add shrimp. Stir to coat. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until shrimp are pink and firm.

Sprinkle cooked shrimp with salt. Add vinegar and stir to coat again. Let stand for 5 minutes.

Serve with crusty bread. Reserve liquid for dipping.

That's it. Chow down.

Repurposing Basil, Part VII (Homemade Pizza, y’all!)

OK, simplicity itself. Homemade thin-crust pizza is simply wonderful.

Go to Kroger (or other supermarket of your choice). Get a packet of dry pizza dough. This will cost you about six bits.

Get a pizza crisping pan. This is one of those round pizza pans with all the holes in it. $15 will get you one that will last forever.

Follow the instructions on making the pizza dough. Let it rise. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450. If you’ve got time to roast your vegetable toppings, great. Otherwise (like in this case), we simply sliced up the contents of a jar of roasted red peppers. Also some shiitake mushrooms and a number of basil leaves. (You can use whatever you like, though.)

Spread the pizza dough on the crisper. Spread a thin layer of olive oil over the dough. Sprinkle some parmesan cheese across the oil. Top with...your toppings. Sprinkle with, in this case, goat cheese.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges start to brown nicely. Remove. You should have something that looks a lot like this:

Slice. Pour yourself a glass of bubbly. Be happy. Fun.

Fin.

 

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Repurposing Basil, Part VI (Extra-healthy red snapper in foil packs)

As the heat continues to blister us here around the neighborhood, light & fresh meals are the order of the day. If you’ve followed us here, you know that I love to do foil pack meals on the grill. Only problem – when it’s seven skadillion degrees out and the air feels like reclining on a damp sponge, even grilling can be a chore.

We took it easy. The Sweet Partner in Crime put together this delicious foil pack recipe with some fresh snapper filets in the oven. This is an incredibly simple, flavorful recipe that’s also super-healthy. No oil or butter was harmed in the creation of this dish. It’s unnecessary here:

• 2 (8 oz.) snapper filets
• 12-16 cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 medium yellow squash, cut in half lengthwise and sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 medium shallot, minced
• 2 tsp. dill weed
• 1 tsp. dried thyme or 4-6 sprigs fresh
• 8-10 leaves fresh basil, cut into small strips
• salt & pepper

Preheat the oven to 400. Put one of the filets in the center of a piece of foil. Top each with half of the ingredients listed above:

 

Seal the foil tightly to make a couple of pouches:

Bake for 25 minutes (cooking time may vary based on size and thickness of filets). Let stand for five minutes at room temperature. Be careful opening the packets. You’ll get a blast of steam when you do. Empty into bowls and serve with some crusty bread for sopping up the juices.

 

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Repurposing Basil, Part V (Basil-laced fresh tuna salad)

Tuna salad’s a summery dish, no? This was originally a Martha Stewart recipe for a sandwich filling, but we changed a few things up, made it a lot healthier (and tastier, in my opinion!) and turned it into a meal. You could use it for sandwiches, but I think just serving it with good bread on the side is more workable:

• 1 lb. fresh tuna steaks
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 c. sherry
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• 2 oz. Kalamata olives, drained and halved
• 1/4 c. fresh basil, cut into strips
• zest from one lemon, cut into thin strips

Cook the tuna how you’d like it – grilled, pan seared, roasted. Your choice. When cooked, cut the tuna into small chunks. Combine olive oil, sherry, shallot, olives, basil, and zest strips in a bowl. Add tuna and toss until coated and mixed thoroughly. Season with salt & pepper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Serve.

Serve either in a sandwich or on its own. Yum!

 

 

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Repurposing Basil, Part III (Angus Beef Brunch Melts with fruit salad)

Zzzz....zzzzz....zzzsnorg....huh?

Where were we? Ah, yes. Weekend. Sleeping in. Taking it easy. A bit too late for breakfast, so we’ll slide right into a throw-together brunch. With more basil, of course.

Take a couple of good Everything bagels, split them, and toast them. (You can use other types of bagels if you wish.)

On top of each bagel half, put a few slices of thin-sliced deli Angus Beef. (As the Kroger guy said to me, “Are you sure you want this? It’s real rare.” I assured him that I did.) Top the beef with a few leaves of fresh basil and a half a slice of swiss cheese. Put this in a toaster oven or under a broiler until the cheese melts.

Meanwhile, slice some fresh peaches and a couple of bananas. Take a few leaves of fresh basil and slice into ribbons. Toss everything with some blueberries. Sprinkle with a little bit of powdered sugar.

And floating a spring of fresh basil in V-8 gives it a yummy bouquet.

There you go – brunch in 10 minutes with basil appropriately integrated. Enjoy!

 

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Repurposing Basil, Part II (Basil-infused Sockeye Salmon, Grilled Pattypan Squash & Roasted Beets)

A recent trip to Lexington to spend some quality dude time with my friend The Chad yielded a deliciously unexpected result. The Chad and his lovely wife participate in a Community Sponsored Agriculture program. If you’re unfamiliar, a CSA is a program in which you buy a “share” of the output of a local farm. Each week or two, members pick up a variety of fresh veggies. Like the proverbial Gump box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.

When I was there, The Chad had picked up his share as well as the share of some friends, as they were on vacation. As a result, he had vegetables in every nook and cranny of his kitchen. He so much as begged, “Please...please...free me from this vegetal avalanche!” So I did.

Among other things, I ended up with a bunch of lovely looking beets and the first-ever pattypan squash I’d ever run across. A pattypan squash is a summer squash which looks like...well...a pan. It’s “flying saucer” shaped. It’s got a neutral flavor – like a very firm zucchini.

We were in the mood for some grilled stuff, so I simply sliced the pattypan in half, brushed both sides with olive oil, and sprinkled with salt, pepper, and garlic. The beets we sliced into rounds and put in a foil pack with olive oil, chopped garlic, salt, and pepper. There was some nice-looking sockeye salmon at the supermarket, so I snagged a couple of pieces and gave them the salt/pepper/olive oil treatment. I covered the tops of the filets with basil leaves.

Fired up the grill to medium-high and put the beet pack on there after a couple of minutes while the grill was heating up. After about 10 minutes, I killed the burners on one side of the grill. I’ve been cooking more and more fish over indirect heat. I’ve found that to be a much more forgiving cooking method. I put the fish over the now-off burners.

The squash went over direct heat. I grilled that for 6-7 minutes on a side. Everything finished at more or less the same time. When we dished it up, it looked like this:

 

The basil did infuse the fish with a nice, light herbal flavor – a good counterpoint to the smokiness from the grill and the earthiness of the vegetables. Quite a nice little dinner.

 

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Repurposing Basil, Part I (Penne with Chili-Rubbed Beef and Pineapple Salsa)

Hello all...

Yes, yes, it’s been next to forever since I’ve updated The Man Who Cooks. Lots of life events, transitions, and just plain laziness stood in the way. I thought about letting this little domain lapse into the ether, but thanks to a flash of inspiration around Vine Headquarters, I thought I’d get back in the ring and take another swing.

What’s the inspiration? A big-ass patch of basil, that’s what.

Fresh basil. Can’t live without the stuff during summertime. There’s something about the soil and sunlight in our garden, though – the stuff grows out of control if we don’t continually chop it back. Even with our barbering, we end up with jar after jar of frozen pesto at the end of the season.

I’m not saying that’s necessarily a negative, mind you, but I know I’m not alone here. Basil tastes best when it’s new. If you leave a basil plant to its own devices, the leaves lose some flavor, the stems get woody, and it’s just not as good.

To keep waste to a minimum, we decided to “repurpose” the basil by incorporating the stuff into as many things as we could this summer. Our attempts will follow.

Here’s the first installment. This pasta, adapted from a Food & Wine recipe, makes a really nice summertime pasta. The original recipe called for cilantro, but I think the basil’s spiciness gives a nice counterpoint.

• 1 lb. flank steak (I used a couple of pre-packed bacon wrapped filets instead)
• 2 tbsp plus 1 teaspoon cooking oil
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 tbsp. salt
• 8 oz. crushed pineapple, drained 
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded
• 1 shallot, chopped
• juice of one lime
• 1/2 c. chopped basil
• 1 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
• 1 pound penne

Heat the broiler. Rub the flank steak with the 1 teaspoon oil, 1/2 teaspoon of the chili powder, and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Broil until medium rare, about 5 minutes per side. Let it rest for 5 minutes and then cut it into thin slices.

In a large glass or stainless-steel bowl, combine the pineapple, the remaining oil, the jalapeño pepper, shallot, lime juice, bail, black pepper, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon chili powder. Stir in the sliced steak.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the penne until just done. Drain and toss with the salsa and steak.

Served this with a glass of Albarino. Tasty, tasty lunch...

 

 

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Coconutastrophe, Part II (Shrimp Masala)

So, something to do with your newly smashed up coconut? Well, you might consider something along these lines:

SHRIMP MASALA

• 4-5 cloves garlic
• 1 2” piece of ginger, chopped
• 1/3 c. of your just drained coconut milk
• 2 bags frozen large shrimp, thawed, peeled, deveined
• 1 (16 oz) bag frozen sliced okra, thawed
• vegetable oil
• shallot, chopped
• 1 serrano pepper, chopped
• 1 tbsp. garam masala
• 1 can coconut milk (you won’t have enough in the coconut)
• 1/2 c. shredded coconut
• 1/2 c. chopped cilantro
• basmati/jasmine rice

Pulse ginger, garlic, and coconut milk in a blender until it’s a paste.

Heat a tablespoon of the oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Stir-fry shrimp for 3-4 minutes until mostly cooked. Remove shrimp from wok and set aside. Add a little more oil. Stir-fry okra for 2-3 minutes and set aside.

Add a little more oil. Stir-fry shallot & pepper for 1 minute. Add garlic paste and garam masala. Cook for 30 seconds. Add remaining coconut milk. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 1 minute. Return shrimp to wok. Simmer for 1 minute. Return okra to wok and simmer for 1-2 minutes.

 

Meanwhile, make your rice. Serve masala over and top with cilantro and coconut:

Verdict? Pretty tasty.

That said, As much fun as it is to use household building tools in the kitchen, I’ll probably stick to getting my coconut pre-attacked. Some external labor is worth paying for.

American Highway Cauliflower (Pasta with turkey & peppers in cauliflower sauce)

(Well, it's as close as I could come. "Ask the Dust" is nowhere to be found...)

Since I may have managed to properly queasify most of the members of the audience who don’t much care for the dismemberment of furry woodland creatures, here’s something that’s a little less farm-to-table, although I guess it wouldn’t have to be for the most part.

Cauliflower is one of those vegetables I had to develop a taste for – but now that I have, I use it (as you’ve seen) in all sorts of ways. Instead of a heavy cream sauce for pasta, using steamed cauliflower as a base makes for a much healthier sauce. This savory bit of yumminess is very quick and healthy. If you’re a WeightWatchers person, as I once was – it’s about 5 points for a serving. (Thanks, Rachel.)  Here’s what you’ll need:

• head o' cauliflower, cut into florets (about 6-8 cups)
• 1 onion (preferably Vidalia or something sweet) cut into thin wedges
• 6 oz. roasted turkey from the deli, sliced thin
• a bunch of dried tomatoes, sliced thin
• 1 jar roasted red peppers, drained and sliced into 2 (or so) inch pieces
• chives
• 1/4 c. fresh basil, chopped
• thyme (2 tsp. ground or a heaping teaspoon of leaves, fresh)
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 c. skim milk
• 1 c. chicken broth
• 1/4 c. parmesan cheese
• 1 lb. pasta -- penne works well.

Steam the cauliflower until tender. (18-20 minutes in a steamer) Add to blender.

In a skillet over medium-low heat, add some olive oil and the onion. Cook until caramelized and tender -- 10-12 min. Add to blender.

Return pan (do not wipe out) to stove. Increase heat to medium. Add turkey and tomatoes. Saute until turkey begins to brown -- about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add peppers, stir to mix, cover and keep warm.

Start pot of salted water boiling for pasta. After you add the pasta to the water, add milk, broth, lemon juice, and herbs to the blender. Puree until smooth. Pour into saucepan over medium-low heat. Add parmesan cheese. Stir and cover.

When pasta is finished, drain, return to pot, and add cauliflower sauce and turkey mixture. Salt and pepper to taste. Plate it up. Garnish with a few chives.

Deli-meatin’ Workin’ Man Blues (Penne Salad w/Roast Beef & Capers)

“Man, it's hot. It's like Africa hot. Tarzan couldn't take this kind of hot.”

– Eugene Morris Jerome, Biloxi Blues

I don’t know about you, but the heat just takes it out of me. This weekend, heat indices were up around 100, and the last thing I felt like doing was spending a lot of time in the kitchen over a hot stuff, much less standing in front of my usual flaming implement of destruction to make dinner. I was in the mood for something light, but I wanted beef or something similarly meaty. Does that make any sense? In any case, we put out heads together and came up with this little gem. This recipe is something you can put together in less than 15 minutes, if you need something quick.

• 1/2 lb rare deli roast beef, cut into thin strips
• 1 lb. penne
• 5 oz. spring salad mix
• 3 tbsp. quality olive oil
• 1 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1/4 c. capers, drained
• Shredded parmesan

(Note: don’t skimp on the quality. Get the best roast beef your deli has. Use really good olive oil. Indulge yourself.)

Get the water going for the pasta. Take the beef and slice it into thin strips.

When the pasta is done, drain it and rinse it with cold water. When it’s drained, put everything but the beef and cheese into a big bowl. Add some salt and pepper to taste. Toss everything together. Add the beef and toss it again.

Plate it up and top it with the Parmesan. That’s all there is to it. As for a wine pairing, put it with some Beaujolais, which is one of the few red wines that should always be chilled. Then hunker down in the a/c and move as little as possible until the cold front comes through…

Pump It Up (Broccoli with Orecchiette)

Carbs are your friend.

They’re especially friendly when you’re doing a new fitness routine. After a conversation with a colleague of hers, the Sweet Partner in Crime decided that she wanted to try doing P90X – a home workout routine that many of you have probably have heard of at some point. Of course, I couldn’t let her go through that alone…

So we’ve started in on this fairly torturous workout set. Honestly, it’s a pretty solid set of exercises. We’re finding that we can at least handle it, and it seems to actually give some results as we “bring it.” There are, however, two drawbacks:

1) The workouts are all around 75 minutes (the power yoga is 90), and we usually can only do them after work.

2) These workouts leave us hungry, but also give us even less time to cook than usual. Even so, we’ve got plenty of recipes up our sleeve to replenish the ol’ glycogen stores. Here’s a quick, scrumptious pasta recipe that’ll quiet the cries of your aching muscles:

• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 5 (or more) cloves garlic, minced
• 2 (10 oz) packages of chopped, frozen broccoli
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 c. water
• 1/2 c. white wine
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano (or 3/4 tbsp. dried)
• 1/4 c. shredded pecorino or parmesan cheese
• 1 lb. orecchiette pasta
• salt & pepper

Fill a pot with water. Add some salt and a dash of olive oil. Get it boiling. Get another pot, add the remaining olive oil and put over medium high heat. When oil is hot, add the garlic. (Mmmmm….garlic…) Cook the garlic, stirring a time or two, until it turns golden and gets fragrant – about a minute. Add the broccoli, red pepper flakes, oregano, water, wine, and some salt & pepper. Stir it together. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has been absorbed. This usually takes about 15 minutes.

(Now, some of you may want to give me a hard time for using frozen broccoli. Use fresh if you want to. Frozen is easier to make quickly – and if you’re looking for nutrition, then frozen veggies aren’t a bad option. They’re usually prepared when they’re in season and ready to harvest. Some fresh vegetables may sit around awhile and lose some nutritional value.)

Meanwhile, when the other pot comes to a boil, add the orecchiette. Give it a stir and get it cooking until it’s al dente – about 10-12 minutes.

If you’re not familiar with this kind of pasta – it’s shaped like little flat shells or thumbprints. Since it’s flat, the individual pasta pieces tend to stick to both to the bottom of the pot and to each other. Give it a few good stirs while it’s cooking. Just before it’s done, reserve about a cup and a half of the cooking water.

When the broccoli mixture is ready, turn the heat down to low. Add the cheese and about half the cooking water. Stir until the cheese is melted and well incorporated. Cover and keep over low heat until the pasta is done.

When the pasta is done and you’ve reserved the cooking water, drain it and toss it with the broccoli mixture. If it starts to clump up, add some of the cooking water. After that, plate it up. I sprinkled it with a little paprika for color:

   

 

 

For a wine pairing, find yourself a white on the lighter side of things, but still with a little weight and fruit. We had a Torrontes with this. (Thanks, Joyce!)

Enjoy your carbo-loading…and bring it!

Get It While You Can (Mahi [or other fish] with Roasted Corn & Peppers)

Here…something very quick and impossibly tasty. Corn’s coming into season, so the fresh stuff is easy to lay your hands on. Also, this recipe is fish-related, and you might as well enjoy the critters while it’s possible. Thanks, BP & Haliburton…

Anyway…

• 2 bell peppers of different colors, diced
• 2 cups corn kernels (cut off about 4 ears fresh)
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme or several sprigs fresh
• 1 lb or so of grouper, mahi, or similar meaty fish filets
• salt & pepper

Preheat the oven to 450F. Toss the bell peppers and corn kernels with salt and pepper (maybe 1 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp pepper or so), 1 tbsp. olive oil, and about half the thyme. Put mixture in a baking pan and roast in the oven, stirring a couple of times, until things start to brown – about 12 minutes.

Rub the rest of the oil into the filets (we used mahi here). Remove the pan from the oven and push the corn and peppers aside to make room for the fish. Put the fish in the center of the pan (skin side down if there’s skin). Sprinkle the fish with more salt, pepper, and the remaining thyme. It’ll look something like this:

Return the pan to the oven and cook until the fish is just done. A 1” filet will take about 15 minutes, give or take.

Plate everything up. We added a side of sliced avocado sprinkled with lemon juice and served it with a light Sauvignon Blanc-ish white from Languedoc, but any light white will go nicely.

Enjoy. Total prep – under five minutes.

Dig (barbecue-glazed grilled salmon)

Cleaning out the pantry -- an iffy prospect.

I never know what I’ll stumble across while I reach for the back wall. It can be sort of exciting in a way. It’s a culinary archeological dig.

I’ll run into spices that I bought not realizing that I still had a supply (“What? Another bottle of fennel seed? More red curry paste?”), food-related gifts (“Dehydrated bean soup? Who gave me this?”), zippies with half a cup of unused orzo pasta and the like.

This time around, I came up with a bottle of old barbecue sauce. No idea where it came from, but I feel fairly confident that it’s shelf stable. What to do? What to do?

Keep it simple. Pour some of the sauce into a ziploc bag. Thin it a bit with cider vinegar. Put in a piece of salmon filet. Zip it up, slather it around, and throw it in the fridge for a couple of hours.

After that, fire up the grill. When hot, grill the salmon for 3-4 minutes on a side over medium-high heat. When it flakes, it’s done.

For a side, cut the kernels off a couple of ears of corn. Chop up some tomatoes and a green pepper. Heat some olive oil in a skillet. Throw in the veggies with salt, pepper, and a teaspoon of ground cumin. Sauté for just a couple of minutes -- until the pepper just starts to get tender. Plate it up. Pour yourself a glass of pinot noir. Enjoy.



Afterwards, rinse out the bottle of barbecue sauce, recycle it, and try to forget that it was ever there…

Where Is My Mind? (Roast Chicken with Tomatoes & Marjoram)

Ever tried to make dinner when you’re…shall we say…not completely there? I mean, who’d be silly enough to work around in the kitchen after that third happy hour martini or after a Lazy Sunday Afternoon with no mind to worry.* Certainly not me, of course. For the sake of argument, though, let’s imagine that we’re faced with this situation. Pop quiz, hotshot…what do you do?

The best way to deal with this little hypothetical would be to have a recipe or three in one’s back pocket that can be thrown together with a minimum of effort and time. Picking up an item or two at the store might be necessary, but I’ll assume your hypothetical shopping was done with a little more foresight than your pre-cooking revelry.

You really can’t go wrong with roasting chicken and tomatoes. It’s practically foolproof. Marjoram has a really fascinating flavor – it’s halfway between cilantro and sage. Besides, if you can still pronounce “marjoram” correctly, you’re probably in good shape to make this. A bottle of Spanish rose makes a great accompaniment.

Disclaimer: If the cook’s mental and physical state is such that a few simple slicing tasks pose a significant risk of permanent disfigurement -- plop down on the couch, put on some Allman Brothers, and call your local pizza place or Chinese delivery. Bodily humors make a poor seasoning for this dish. 

• 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2-3 tbsp chopped fresh marjoram (or 3/4-1 tbsp. dried if you must)
• 5-6 minced garlic cloves
• 1-2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 3-4 tomatoes, cut into thin wedges and seeded
• 1 c. couscous

Preheat oven to 450. Pat chicken dry. Mix all but 1 tbsp of the marjoram (or 1/2 tbsp. if using dried), the garlic, and the red pepper with about 1/4 c. olive oil in a large bowl.

Add the tomatoes and chicken to the mixture and toss. Spray a roasting pan with cooking spray and pour everything in. Arrange the tomatoes in a single layer around the chicken. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.

Roast for about 30 minutes. Check the pan at this point. The tomatoes should be breaking down and making a sauce and if you cut into the chicken (which should be browning), the juices should run clear. If it needs a little more time, put it back in for 5 more minutes.

Meanwhile, make the couscous however you prefer to make couscous. I keep it simple…water, salt, and a little bit of olive oil.

When everything’s done, put down a bed of couscous, top with the chicken, pour the tomatoes and collected juices over everything, and sprinkle the reserved marjoram over the top. What you’ll end up with this is this scrumptious one-plate meal, an easy cleanup, and plenty of time to either crash or recover, depending on your plans.

* Check out “Ogden's Nut Gone Flake” if you’re curious. (h/t to The Wizard of Covington)

Love & Hap-pea-ness (Pasta with Peas)

If there's a particular recipe site you like, get on the mailing list. Seriously – do it. Make a folder and route the mail there so you can go over it at your leisure. Chances are, you’ll delete about 95% of what you get – but every once in awhile, something comes over the transom that’s worth keeping.

I’ve made no secret of my admiration for Giuliano Hazan. I think his cookbooks are great, his recipes can be lifesavers, and I’ve very rarely had an issue with anything I’ve read from him.

The Sweet Partner in Crime and I were exhausted after a weekend that included our joint birthday/wedding celebration and hosting a Mother’s Day brunch. We needed something that would require a minimum of effort this evening and I’d been emailed a recipe that sounded promising. I took it and modified it a bit thanks to a couple of other ingredients we had around, and it turned into an ultra quick, very healthy vegetarian springtime pasta that was absolutely yummy. Alas, no pictures of this one…but you’ll be glad you threw this one together!

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 12 oz. package frozen peas
• 10-12 mint leaves
• 1/2 c. white wine
• 1 lb. pasta

Get a pot of salted water going for the pasta. Chop the onion and put it in a skillet with the olive oil over medium heat. Saute the onion until it’s golden. Add the peas and 1/2 c. water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the peas are tender (about 6-8 minutes). When the water’s boiling, add the pasta.

When the peas are ready, drop the heat to low. Put half the peas, the mint, and the white wine in a food processor and puree. Return the puree to the whole peas. Add 3/4 c. of the cooking water (more if necessary) to the peas and stir well to make a sauce. Season liberally with salt and pepper.

When done, drain the pasta and toss it well with the sauce. Top with a little parmesan and serve with a nice pinot grigio. It almost seems too simple, but trust me – try it.

Rocket Quinoa (Quinoa salad with black beans & peppers)

We hadn’t had a hamburger in awhile.
We knew we had one of those evenings where we needed to get down to the whole eating business pretty quickly. We happened to have some lean ground beef frozen. We decided to make burgers.
Only problem – we didn’t have a side to go with the burgers. We had some of the makings for a quinoa salad recipe that I saw in Food & Wine. If you’re not familiar, quinoa is a high-protein grain that can be cooked up like rice or couscous. We didn’t have all the ingredients, so, I improvised a bit:

• 3/4 c. quinoa
• 1 1/2 c. water
• green pepper, chopped
• roasted red peppers, a few, chopped
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3 oz. jar cocktail onions, drained and chopped
• 1/2 c. cilantro, chopped
• 3 tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 1/2 tbsp. ground cumin
• salt, pepper, olive oil

Put the quinoa in a saucepan with the water and some salt. Bring to a boil. Stir, cover, and cook over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring once. When cooked, spread on a baking sheet or in a baking pan and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Combine the green pepper, roasted red peppers, beans, onions, and cilantro in a bowl. Stir to combine.

Whisk together cilantro, lime juice, and cumin. When quinoa has cooled, add it to the mixture with the dressing. Mix well. Put back in the fridge until you’re ready to eat. (You can refrigerate overnight if you wish.)
For the burgers, the SPinC made patties that included diced onion, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and dill. We decided on mushroom & swiss burgers topped with a little mayo. The final result looked like this:

While we used the quinoa salad as a side, it would make a really tasty main dish if you’re looking for a simple meatless meal.

Hole in my Bread (thin crust pizza with roasted tomatoes & mushrooms)

Pizza…ain’t it great? Meal sized finger food – what’s not to love? No matter how nice it is to have someone walk up to your door and hand you food – for about a quarter of the price, you can make one of your own in as little time as it would take for someone to make it to your house from Snappy Tomato.

Making a pizza is super-easy, too. Just make some dough, get it thin, throw on some toppings, throw in the oven, wait a few minutes…and voila! Dinner is served!

OK, OK – a couple of caveats. I’m a thin crust kinda guy. I get enough carbs in my diet as is. I don’t need to load up on extra starch at home. With good toppings, why mask the flavor with a bunch of buttery bread? If you want to make good thin crust pizza, you need one of these:

This little gizmo is a wonderful invention. The crust cooks more quickly and more evenly. If you make your dough right, you don’t have to worry about it falling through the holes.
So, what about the dough? Yes, there are any number of really good, homemade crust recipes out there. But I’ll be honest. We cheat. We don’t make a lot of bread, anyway, so yeast isn’t something that I have lying around the house other than in the bottom of some homebrew bottles. For the sake of simplicity, I just get a Kroger brand pack of dry dough. Yeah, I’m probably wasting 30 cents. Sue me.

The dough’s easy enough. Basically just add water and knead. Check the package for specific directions. The Sweet Partner in Crime is particularly good at taking out her frustrations on that ball of flour and yeast. A tip? Clean your countertop really well before you start, scatter some flour, and knead it right there. Easier than trying to do it in a bowl or in a pan. Yes, you have to take some time to clean, but you have to do something while it’s baking, right?

When the dough is ready, spread it. You can roll it out, spin it, throw it around the kitchen – whatever floats your boat. Just make sure it ends up spread out on your holey pizza pan. Spread a little olive oil across the dough. Then top it.
In the case of this particular pie, we were in a roasting sort of mood. So, before we started making the dough, we preheated the oven to 425. We took some mushrooms and Roma tomatoes and sliced them thickly.

We sprayed a cookie sheet with nonstick, put the tomatoes and mushrooms on it, drizzled olive oil over them, then seasoned them with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. We roasted them for about half an hour, which is about the time it took to make and roll out the dough.

We let the roasted veggies cool for a few minutes, then put them on the pie. We added some sliced garlic-stuffed olives, crumbled feta, and basil.

Raise the heat to 475. In goes the pizza. Cook for 7-8 minutes, or until the crust gets to be about the color above. Take it out, let it sit to cool for a couple of minutes, then slice it.

Now, with this combination of flavors, I might consider cracking open an Italian red – but we went with our standby with just about any kind of pizza…dry sparkling wine. There may be some of you out there who haven’t tried this. I pity you. Champagne (and just about any other dry sparkler) is made to be drunk with fatty foods. Makes sense, doesn’t it? Bubbles cut through the fat on your tongue, and you get all the flavors instead of the coating on your palate.

If you really want to test this theory, get a bucket of KFC and open a bottle of dry sparkling wine. Or potato chips. Or Doritos. Seriously. You’ll love it.

This pizza was no exception to the rule. We had it with a bottle of dry cava, a Spanish sparkling wine. Yum.

Total time…about half an hour.

Oh, and just for the heck of it…meet the beagle: