Author: eatyeats

Whole Wheat Pasta From Scratch

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I was given a KitchenAid pasta press a few years ago as a gift and really enjoyed using it to make fresh pasta from scratch. I have to admit, the press doesn’t get used all that often because while it’s definitely fun to use, cleanup is it a bit of a pain. Yes, the results are great and the pasta deliciously fresh but it’s just not an every day kind of activity. Last weekend I had a bit of time up my sleeve and a craving for some whole wheat pasta so I thought “Why not?” Of course, just making pasta was the first step. I knew I’d have to compliment it with a delicious sauce and there were some strong opinions about the sauce needing to be tomato based. So I scoured the web looking for a recipe with my Ina Garten filter applied and lo and behold I came across this vodka-cream-sauce-like recipe published by Ina Garten titled “Nick and Toni’s Penne Alla Vecchia Bettola”. The recipe calls for Penne but I figured the Rigatoni that my extruder can make would be close enough. 

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Cilantro and Mint Chutney

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Whenever we get Indian food delivered my most favorite thing to do is drizzle the cilantro and mint chutney all over the dishes I’m eating, especially those yummy samosas. But I could eat that chutney with just about all my Indian dishes. It just adds a delicious zing to everything. I’ve often wondered what goes into making that chutney. I actually didn’t realize the key ingredients were cilantro and mint until I started googling “green indian chutney”.

It just so happens that I planted some cilantro a few months ago on my window planter and was left with a huge bunch that I wasn’t quite sure what to do with. Then I remembered this chutney and the rest is history.

I searched my favorite Indian food blog, eateastindian and quickly found a great video with simple instructions on how to make this chutney.

So here’s what you need:

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  • 1/4 cup mint leaves
  • 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp ginger
  • 1/2 green chili (I used more like 3/4)
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tsp brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp red chili powder
  • 1 tsp mango powder (amchoor)
  • 2 tbsp plain yogurt

And the steps are as simple as putting all the above ingredients into a food processor and blending until smooth.

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So simple! Here’s a video of me using my favorite kitchen gadget to blend it all together.

The verdict on this chutney? Delicious! It tastes even better than what comes from the local Indian restaurant. More zing and more spice. Yum. My only complaint is that it’s just not quite green enough. Maybe more cilantro or mint next time?

I’d definitely recommend making this accompaniment for your next Indian feast. It’ll make that meal even more special.

Rainy Day Green Goddess Chicken

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We’ve had pretty miserable rainy weekend here in NYC. My favorite activity on a day like today is to finally take the time to cook a recipe that’s been on the to-do list. I have many of these on pinterest!

I had a craving for something roasted and meaty so this green goddess roasted chicken from Melissa Clark and the New York Times seemed just right for me. My favorite chicken recipe is Ina Garten’s perfect roast chicken because it’s simple to prepare and always comes out prefectly cooked, moist and flavorful. Oh and you  get a bonus side dish with that delicious roasted carrot, fennel and onion. I sometimes add potatoes to that dish to give me even more roasted vegetabls to devour. But I’ll have to reserve more details on that for a separate blog post. Today it was time for something new, something untested. I figured if I test this out on myself I’ll know if it’s something I could confidently prepare for a larger group.

I’ve never left a chicken to marinate or roasted chicken at such a high temperature so these were all new cooking techniques for me. The stakes were high for this Green Goddess Chicken recipe. So here’s what you do…

Prepare all your Green Goddess Dressing Ingredients.

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Combine and blend together.

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Here’s some video of the blending action for dramatic effect.

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How to Make Half A Batch Of Chocolate Peanut Butter Globs

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Snow snow and more snow. Oh and another polar vortex. That’s the theme for winter this year. It’s not much fun but it really is the perfect weather to stay at home and bake this Ina Garten peanut butter glob cookie recipe. It takes some willpower but you *can* halve a peanut butter glob recipe and make 10 cookies instead of 20 cookies. I’ve made it even easier by halving all the ingredients including some of the trickier ones. So you have no excuse!

Even 10 cookies between two people feels like a bit much. Which is why we gave some cookies away to friends after doing some Chinese New Year Yu Sheng tossing of salads.

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By the way these globs are delicious. I’m always a bit hesitant when a recipe calls for the addition of coffee but I think it really works with this recipe. The combination of chocolate, two types of nuts and peanut butter chips is pretty impressive. Ina has certainly got a winning recipe on her hands here.

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