thursday is apparently sandwich & corn night

This trend has slowly been emerging for a while: on Thursday nights, we eat sandwiches for dinner. As I said in the last post, we're all about variations on a theme - last Thursday we even had corn with our sandwich, though served in a different style.

What's nice about tonight's supper is how simple everything is. There was very little preparation involved here: it was all about creating fantastic flavor combinations just by putting the right ingredients - as they are - together. The one surprise was the mozzarella cheese (the real stuff, people!) in the corn salad. Mozzarella is a very mild cheese, so this really added something texturally - something softer amid all the crunch - rather than flavor.

Italian "Burgers": pork sausage patties, mozzarella cheese, tomato, basil and mayo on a hamburger bun

Corn & Cucumber salad: corn, cucumber, cilantro, mozzarella cheese and white wine vinegar

variations on summer fish and chips

One thing we are pretty proud of is the fact that we rarely repeat a dish. We may do variations on a theme, but never the exact same thing. A recent summer theme for us has been fish with a cold vegetable salad, and potatoes prepared in a way that is meant to satisfy, generally either fries or chips. Fish and chips is obviously a classic, and this is our way of lightening it up for summer.


Tonight's fish was whiting, which I've never even heard of before (is this the same as white fish?). Anyways, this is a particularly fishy-fish, which is fine, but sometimes that fishiness can be overwhelming. We paired it with a cucumber and tomato salad, which turned out to be a perfect foil for the fishiness.




Oven-baked whiting fish served over a cucumber and tomato salad (literally just diced tomato, lemon cucumber and cucumber)

Oven-baked potato chips tossed with dill

what grows together goes together

As I was cutting the yellow squash for our curry tonight (no more curry fails, we went with an amazing pre-made sauce from Trader Joes that we've used before and loved), I started to wonder whether we could incorporate any of our other veggies. I knew that bell peppers are generally found in thai curries, but I couldn't imagine the combination of green peppers and yellow squash. But of course they pair nicely, because we got both in our CSA box last week - what grows together goes together. As if I needed more than a catch-phrase to convince me, listed in the Flavor Bible under bell peppers was "squash - especially summer squash". So there you have it.

Thai red curry with chicken, yellow squash, patty pan squash, green pepper and zebra tomatoes

In this week's box...

1 box cherry tomatoes
4 large orangey-pink heirloom tomatoes (maybe German Pink or German yellow?)
3 green peppers
1 lemon cucumber
1 cucumber
6 ears of corn
1 watermelon
red potatoes

Also: 6 eggs, 4 chicken legs, 2 lbs pork sausage

panzanella

Tonight's feature - panzanella - was inspired by Simply Recipes:

stale bread, tomato, zebra tomato, cucumber, onion and kipper* tossed with olive oil and basil

*Thanks Ricco & Kelsey!

now this is a sandwich!

In case it isn't obvious, the tomato was the star of this sandwich (note the meat-to-tomato ratio!). This sandwich was so simple, but was definitely one of the best we've made.

Sandwich: pork roast, aged gouda, tomatoes, artichoke hearts and wasabi mayonnaise on ciabatta

Served with a side of corn.

And here is just one way we can tell that our corn is raised pesticide-free: an earworm! While it is kind of gross to discover a worm when you are shucking corn (and maybe it's gross that our earworm was the star of a photoshoot?), it's kind of cool the way you can see the kernels they've eaten. And the rest of the corn is fine once you've removed the section claimed by the worm, so no big deal.

fried green zebra tomatoes

My love for eating tomatoes - especially at this time of year - is intense, but arguably normal. Tomatoes are pretty delicious, after all, and this deliciousness quadruples when they are in-season. But my obsession with photographing tomatoes? I don't know what to say.







But lucky for me both of these loves were uniquely satisfied today, because we got a new kind of tomato that I have never had before in our CSA box: green zebra tomatoes.

Green zebra tomatoes are extremely flavorful and more tart than other tomatoes (confirmed by my boyfriend and I in a taste-test). They also have a very high acid content, which can be bit overwhelming when the tomatos are raw (or so the internet tells me, we didn't notice this).

I also searched for recipe ideas using green zebra tomatoes, to see if there was any preparation that they are especially good for.  As soon as I saw them used for fried green tomatoes, I was sold. Normally the green tomatoes used for fried green tomatoes (i.e. unripe tomatoes) don't offer up much flavor on their own - which is why they are used for frying in the first place. These tomatoes, on the other hand, pack such a spectacular punch of flavor that we had to take our time eating these - the flavor was just shy of overwhelming, but in the best possible way.

Fried green zebra tomatoes topped with goat cheese

In this week's box...

1 melon (canary melon?)
2 cucumbers
2 green peppers
3 small banana peppers (we think)
4 yellow squash
4 brandywine tomatoes
8 green zebra tomatoes
4 ears of corn
red potatoes

Plus: 6 eggs, 2 lbs ground beef, 1 pork roast

risotto: i'll finally tell you how we do it

What makes risotto a great dish to have in your arsenal is that once you have the basics down, you can use just about any ingredients you can think of/have in the pantry and the possibilities are endless. All you need is time (consider it a time to catch up on some podcasts) and patience.

After a string of risotto successes, I think I can safely say that this is a dish my boyfriend and I have mastered. Perhaps the greatest proof is the fact that tonight I basically made the risotto myself, while my boyfriend gave instructions from the doorway (okay, he also chopped garlic, grated cheese, and took over stirring duty towards the end).

So here is tonight's creation: Risotto with sauteed green and white patty pan squash, onion, sage and chives






Now that I am a Risotto Master, it seems only fair that I break it down for you (but since we don't use measuring cups or anything when we've made risotto, all amounts are approximate):

Risotto Basics (serves 4)
- heat some olive oil and 1/4 stick of butter in a pan (ideally you want something wide and flat, but with sides, we use a stir fry pan)
- with burner on medium high, add arborio rice  (1 lb)
- heat 64 oz of chicken stock (or vegetable stock if you want to keep it vegetarian)
- once rice is hot, reduce heat (simmer-low)
- add chicken stock to rice one ladle at a time. After each ladle is added, stir until liquid is fully absorbed before adding another ladle-ful
- after about half the stock is gone (at this point you should begin to see the starchy goodness coming off the rice), add white wine (1/4 cup), herbs (whichever you are using) and chopped garlic
- add whatever veggies you are using after about 3/4 of stock is gone (you may want to saute these before adding to the rice, depending on what you are using)
- once the rice looks decadently creamy and is cooked through (test by taste) finish with a generous amount of grated parmesean cheese (1/2 cup)

NOTE: Risotto is easy to make but takes quite a bit of time, in our experience at least an hour.  So don't get discouraged when the rice doesn't seem to be cooking or you aren't seeing the starchy goodness. It takes time, but it WILL happen!

summer squash & potato gratin

Tonight's star was the side (made by yours truly). A friend and I were recently commiserating about how we are running out of things to do with yellow squash. Not long after, she sent me the link to this post on Smitten Kitchen, saying that she tried it and it was amazing. I'm not entirely sure why Smitten Kitchen calls this a "torte", since there is no crust or any kind, although the bottom layer of potatoes did get perfectly crispy and I suppose "crust-like". I'm calling it a gratin, since it is mainly layers of squash and potato with melted cheese. In any case, the parmesean cheese was a great match for the squash, and my boyfriend and I gobbled this up.

summer squash & potato gratin (adapted from Smitten Kitchen - we sadly had no green onions): yellow squash, Yukon gold potatoes, parmesean cheese, thyme, salt, pepper, flour


New York Strip steak

in defense of summer soup

As the temperature creeps higher and higher this summer, I keep finding myself suggesting soup for dinner. What? Soup? But it's SUMMER! And it's HOT! Don't think I don't know these things. I've decided that what I like about creamy soups in the summer is that they feel effortless to eat: only one utensil necessary, and hardly any chewing required. When it's so hot out I hardly want to eat, these are both excellent qualities. Both previous summer soups have been chilled (see our chilled cauliflower soup and creamy cucumber gazpacho). Tonight was our first hot summer soup. Maybe chilled would have been more in the summer spirit, but whatever, it worked.

Tonight's specific inspiration came from cheap lobster tails at the grocery store and Sippity Sup, whose creamy corn soup with poached lobster was so much more beautiful than ours I almost don't want to give you the link. Now, we didn't follow his recipe (just took the idea for corn soup with lobster), and ours did taste good, I was just disappointed that it didn't turn out as beautifully yellow. Instead, we got something leaning towards the "brown" end of the spectrum (my boyfriend says this is because we had to use beef stock, i.e. what we had in the house).

Corn soup with lobster tail: corn, potatoes, sage, onion, garlic, beef broth

creamy cucumber gazpacho: cold, refreshing, with unexpectedly deep flavor

Creamy cucumber gazpacho:
puree the following ingredients until smooth in a blender: 
- 2 large English cucumbers
- 2 lemon cucumbers
- 1 small green pepper
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 cup of sour cream
- 1/2 cup (or more!) chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- couple of drops of sriracha
- splash of white wine
- salt
- pepper

Served with chuck (flank) steak & oven-baked potato chips

another snack for the tomato-obsessed

All afternoon I was dying to get home so I could satisfy my hunger with some of our farm-fresh tomatoes. I  was mentally planning exactly what I would need to do to maximize the speed with which a caprese salad would be sitting in front of me, when suddenly I remembered another delicious tomato treat that we haven't made since last summer: bruschetta!

As usual, these tomatoes are so fantastic that they really don't need much help from other ingredients: olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic and basil is all you need.

In this week's box...

3 cucumbers
3 tomatoes (maybe German Pink?)
3 flying saucer squash (green & yellow)
2 paddy pan squash (white)
3 small green peppers
6 ears of corn
1 small bowl of red potatoes

Plus: 6 eggs, 2 New York Strip steaks and 4 beef chuck steaks

all about the hash

Potato, yellow squash, onion and pork sausage hash with cheddar cheese topped with an over-easy egg

Asian-inspired beef and summer squash two ways

For the past two nights our dinner goals have been to use up two ingredients: stewing beef and yellow squash. The revelation this led to was that yellow squash and sweet & sour sauce are a magical combination. I never would have thought of this, but it was really exceptional - when I started to get full I moved the beef aside to get more sweet and sour squash!

sweet and sour beef and yellow squash over steamed rice










fried rice with beef, carrots, onion, yellow squash, soy sauce, sriracha and Chinese-style bbq sauce

fish - and whatever we had in the veggie drawer - tacos

Fish tacos seemed like a great way to use the rest of the mahi mahi we defrosted yesterday, given that avocado and cilantro are two ingredients that pair very well with this particular fish.

But did we have avocado and cilantro in the fridge?

No.

So instead of creating a classic, we went with something very unusual. My boyfriend sauteed up a whole bunch of random things from the veggie drawer, bacon and the mahi mahi, mixed everything together with some mayonnaise, and stuffed the mixture into some pita pockets.

The resulting combination may sound weird, but you know, it tasted good. And as always, the beets (yes, beets! With mahi mahi!) turned everything a pink colour that hovers somewhere between pretty and disturbing.

Sauteed mahi mahi, bacon, corn, green pepper and beets mixed with mayo and served in a pita pocket

we did it: perfect french fries

It is what every restaurant in the world, from the fanciest steak house to the dirtiest burger joint, aspires to: the perfect french fry. And we, in our humble little kitchen, hit the jackpot. The stars aligned. We are living the dream...

We did have a little help from our downstairs neighbors, who, when they deserted us for sunnier skies in Ireland (ha!) last week left us with a generous supply of cooking oils, vinegars and wines, including peanut oil. If I have retained one fact from watching the food genius who is Alton Brown, it is that peanut oil is the best oil to use for frying because it has a high smoking point, which means it doesn't burn at high temperatures.

Excellent frying oil? Check!

The next secret is the double-fry, which is actually what defines a French fry in the first place. The first longer fry actually cooks the potato. The second faster fry creates the nice crispy exterior.

More specifically...

- cut potatoes into fries
- blanche fries (put fries in hot water then cold water, allegedly this helps the final product get crispy without getting limp from all the frying)
- put fries in hot oil until they start to cook on the outside (i.e. until they just start changing colour)
- take fries out of the oil and let them cool for 10-15 minutes
- put the fries back in the hot oil until they turn golden brown

And ta-da! There you have it: fries that are soft on the inside, crispy on the outside.

Now, I have read some recipes that are more specific about different oil temperatures for the different frying phases, but we didn't really bother with that so much and the end result was still terrific. You just want to make sure your oil is staying hot after adding the cold potatoes (we aimed for a constant temperature of 350 degrees).

Mahi mahi marinated in olive oil, red wine vinegar, chopped garlic, mustard, lemon juice and salt, then broiled

Served over cucumber and corn salad: corn, cucumber, white wine vinegar, mustard and dill

With a side of the Best. Fries. Ever.

oh CSA, I can't stay mad at you...

So fine, I was not too happy about getting a bazillion pork link sausages from our CSA this week. But, this was also the first week we got TOMATOES!!! Of all the produce we get from the farm, I think that we taste the difference the most with the tomatoes. They are so meaty and flavorful, it is really unbelievable. Within about 2 hours of unpacking them yesterday my boyfriend and I went through about half of them - my boyfriend ate an entire tomato in the form of a tomato and mayo sandwich, and I went with my favorite go-to tomato snack: cherry tomato caprese salad.

amazing cheese takes breakfast to new heights

Over-easy egg on toast with tomme de savoie cheese, cherry tomatoes and a side of smoked pork sausage

better get inspired by sausage

I think this is the first time I've been a bit disappointed with our CSA: we are supposed to get 2 meat "portions", and this is the first time that both (huge) "portions" were of almost the same thing. And an ingredient I don't find particularly inspiring, no less. What are we going to do with 20 pork sausages?!?! Luckily my boyfriend loooooves sausage (we came very close to buying sausages at the grocery store prior to our CSA pick-up this morning, good thing we didn't!), so was able to come up with a great supper. It will be interesting to see how creative we can get as we work through these over the coming weeks.

Smoked pork sausage sauteed with cherry tomatoes, served with a beef broth, onion and garlic sauce

Spicy baked sweet potato chips:
sweet potatoes sliced thin and sprinkled with a 6 pepper blend*, then baked until crispy


*thanks Ricco, you were right - Matt did find a way to use it!




Served with a corn and lemon cucumber salad (not pictured, obviously):
Lemon cucumber, corn, white wine vinegar, salt
1) Lemon cucumber is sweeter than normal cucumber and so went great with the corn
2) This served as a great cooling element to combat the spice on the chips.

In this week's box...

2 small cucumbers
1 large cucumber
3 lemon cucumbers
2 tomatos
1 pint cherry tomatoes
6 ears of corn
5 yellow squash
1 green pepper
6 carrots
1 pint blueberries
An entire bowl's-worth of potatoes

Plus 6 eggs and 20 (!!) pork link sausages

fish and chips and...goat cheese?

From the moment I saw this post on Love and Olive Oil I knew we would have to make beet greens and goat cheese crostini the next time we had beet greens. In fact, it gave me a craving for goat cheese, which led to my buying goat cheese, which led to my boyfriend's ability to actually execute this vision. I have to say we were far less fancy than the original recipe (see post linked above), and literally just put sauteed beet greens on top of crostini with goat cheese, but it was just as perfect a pairing as I hoped it would be.

Goat cheese and beet green crostini

White fish baked with scalloped potatoes with dill