recipe | olive oil potato gratin

Here's a secret. I'm not all that patient when it comes to cooking. I burn things a lot. I like to blame it on the fact that most evenings I'm cooking while tripping over a tiny toddler who likes to pull all the pots and colanders out of the cupboards and onto the floor before opening the refrigerator door over and over while saying, "hmm, thupperrr." I also like to blame my inadequacies on my gas stove, because it never seems to get low enough. Simmering is not an option. It's low boil, or boil over. Nothing in between. But, no, the truth is that I'm just not patient enough. I don't like to stand at the stove and wait, and flip, and test, and wait some more. Ryan, my dear husband, has unmatched diligence in the kitchen, which is why he is in charge of cooking any expensive cuts of meat we happen to have. He's also the boss of making bacon at our house, and working pizza dough into the most perfect circular shape. I can throw together a mean soup without messing anything up, and lasagna is totally my jam, But you don't want me caramelizing your onions or anything.

Except I really love caramelized onions.

Which brings me to this: Olive Oil and Potato Gratin. It's an easy yet hearty side dish, with just a few simple ingredients. Not super rich or creamy or cheesy like most potato gratins, but it'll warm your toes just right. The hardest part is standing by the stove and stirring those onions into sticky, garlicky sweetness for 15 minutes while your child pulls all the cucumbers out of the fridge drawer and rolls them across the floor. And then empties your purse till he finds the tic tacs. At least, that's how it was at my house yesterday. I did not burn the onions though. Progress!







And now, the recipe, changed ever so slightly from the America's Test Kitchen version. I served ours last night with a roasted chicken stuffed with onion and lemon, and some steamed peas (Ralphie's fave.)


Olive Oil and Potato Gratin

Ingredients:

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
2 onions, halved and sliced thin
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
1 cup chicken broth
3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9x13 baking dish.* Combine Parmesan, 3 tablespoons olive oil, panko bread cumbs, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet until shimmering. Add onions, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until browned (about 15 minutes.) Add garlic and 1/2 teaspoon thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add 1/4 cup broth and cook until nearly evaporated, scraping up any browned bits. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. Toss potatoes, remaining 3 tablespoons oil, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon thyme together in a bowl. Arrange half of the potatoes in prepared dish, spread onion mixture in even later over potatoes, and arrange remaining potatoes over onions. Pour 3/4 cup broth over potatoes. Cover dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour.

4. Remove foil, top gratin with reserved Parmesan mixture, and continue to bake until top is golden brown and the potatoes are completely tender, about 15 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes. Serve.

*It should be noted that instead of a 9x13 baking dish, I used 4 small individual baking dishes (a fun Christmas gift from my sister, purchased here.) and an 8x8 baking dish. I reduced the baking time a smidge, but otherwise followed these directions.

rose's vinaigrette

The first day of Spring seems like an appropriate time to share a recipe for my favorite vinaigrette. The days of bounteous fresh veggies will soon be upon us, and you know what that means. Salads! Every day, salads!

I first had this dressing right after Ralph was born. My sister brought some over in a jar the day we came home from the hospital, along with salad fixings and burgers. After having a baby and then having to eat hospital food for a few days, believe me when I say that that meal was one of the best I'd ever eaten. I've been making this vinaigrette non-stop ever since, and there's always a jar of it in the fridge. It goes great with everything-- any kind of greens or veggies you happen to have in the fridge will do. I really love it with just a plain spinach salad, with maybe some walnuts and goat cheese if you want to fancy it up. Arugula is good, too. I think I ate chopped garden tomatoes tossed in it every day for lunch last summer. Ohh, fresh garden tomatoes!



The best part is that it keeps for six whole months in the fridge. I really love that. Make it once, and you'll have weeks and weeks of homemade dressing for your lunch salads. Quick and easy. Bada bing.

Rose's Vinaigrette
(original recipe can be found here, a Martha/Lucinda creation, of course.)

1 tablespoon minced shallot or garlic
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 1/2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

In a clean jar, mash together the garlic, mustard, brown sugar, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour in vinegar, lemon juice, and olive oil. Cover tightly and shake well to combine and emulsify. Add salt and pepper to taste. Use immediately or store in the refrigerator, for up to six months. Makes one cup.



ps: my camera smells like garlic now.

handmade | herbes de provence

Have you ever tried cooking with herbes de provence? My sister put a jar of it in my Christmas stocking a few years ago, and I quickly became hooked on the delicious and fragrant blend of herbs. I love to use it with chicken and potato dishes, but I've found that it goes especially well with beef (beef stew. pot roast. oh man.) And I'll admit, I pretty much just toss it into any soup or casserole or savory dish I happen to be cooking up, because I love it that much. I'm no chef.

I've cooked my way through a few jars of it since that first one from my sister, and when my last jar bit the dust a few weeks ago, I did a bit of research to see exactly what goes into that tasty blend of herbs and try making my own. Turns out there are a lot of versions out there-- some are simple and more authentically French, and others are more Americanized. No matter what you like best, the good news is they're all pretty easy to make.



After reading through a number of versions, I came up with a blend that I thought I'd like best, based on what I've had before. I found all but a few ingredients at my grocery store, and the rest at World Market. If you're interested in making your own, be sure to buy in bulk so you don't have to pay for extra packaging! Here's how to do it:

Herbes de Provence (makes 1 cup)

2 tablespoons dried rosemary
1 tablespoon fennel seed
2 tablespoons dried thyme
2 tablespoons dried basil
2 tablespoons dried marjoram
2 tablespoons dried parsley
2 tablespoons dried lavender flower
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried tarragon
1 tablespoon coarse salt

Grind rosemary and fennel seed with a mortar and pestle until slightly crushed; transfer to a bowl. Add thyme, basil, marjoram, parsley, lavender flower, oregano, tarragon, and coarse salt. Stir to combine. Store in an airtight container.




I ended up doubling the recipe in order to have enough to give away as Valentine's day gifts. I put 1/2 cup of the mixture in a jar, made a label, and tied it up with twine. Super easy! Really, the hardest part of all of this is going to be deciding how to pronounce herbes de provence when I present the gifts to their recipients. Do I say it with an obnoxious French accent? Or do I say it normally with my Wisconsin accent, which is equally obnoxious? Wish me luck.

strawberry cake of my dreams

I've been craving a white cake with strawberries ever since I laid eyes on the cake seen in this post.

Oh that cake. It's been haunting me and my taste buds for months. And since the summer is almost over and strawberry season is sure to come to a close any day now, I felt it was time to make my own.

Ryan and I found some seriously beautiful strawberries at the grocery store--their sweet and sun-ripened scent filled up the whole car on the ride home. Then, while Ryan painted the old dresser we're going to use for the baby's changing table, I baked a cake in the kitchen.

I made a two layer white cake using this recipe and frosted it with whipped cream cream cheese frosting, using this recipe. I scooped out about 1 1/2 cups of frosting and added a few chopped strawberries for the middle layer. It's a refrigerator cake, which is my favorite kind. Good and dense and cold.

Now go and make one for yourself. Amen.

A recipe:: Roasted Veggie Summer Salad

I'm not going to pretend I totally know what I'm doing in the kitchen.

Before I got married, I promised Ryan that I'd have a good meal on the table every night. I talked a big talk. And then I got married, and had a job working 12-14 hours most days, and there was simply NO TIME to make a good meal every night. We had frozen pizza twice a week, probably. And then I quit that wretched job. And suddenly I was supposed to make dinner every night! And I realized I had no idea how difficult that really was! And whoops! 

I'm still learning my way around the kitchen-- making weekly menus, having a stocked pantry, using things up before they go bad, remembering to write down the meals that work and cut recipes in half so we're not eating leftover pot roast risotto four nights in a row. I call my mom with food questions so often that that I'm pretty sure it's become a joke between my parents. ("It's Amelia with a FOOD question again," says my dad as he passes the phone over to my mom. And then I hear them roll their eyes at each other.) I've slightly, slightly, improved my skills over the months, and I still have a strong desire to learn more. So that's good, right? Someday I'll be a delicious mix of Martha Stewart and Ina Garten! Someday!

What I'm trying to say is this: I made up (with my own brain!) a salad over the weekend that I think turned out pretty tasty. I'm no expert, and it's possible that this is just a crappy version of a real salad with a real name. But I made it all on my own without a recipe, and my hard-to-please pregnant taste buds voted that it's good. Real good. So I'm sharing it on my blog. 

Step 1: Get yourself some ingredients. I used peppers, zucchini, black olives, grape tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and 2 leftover cooked chicken breasts.

Step 2: Chop 'em up.

Step 3: Put your roast-able veggies (peppers and zucchini) on a baking sheet. Add a couple glugs of olive oil, salt and pepper, and whatever herbs you like. I used fresh parsley and basil because that's what I had on hand. But add whatever else you like, man. Onions! Garlic! Mushrooms! Dried herbs! Who even cares! Oh, and then toss your veggies with the oil and seasonings.

Step 4: Put the baking sheet into a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes, tossing again about halfway through.

You want your veggies to be soft and juicy, but not super mushy, you know?

Step 5: Let your roasted veggies cool off for about 5 minutes. Then, in a big bowl, toss your roasted veggies with the chicken and the other veggies you chopped but didn't roast (the olives, tomatoes, and artichokes.) Be sure to add all the oil and juices from the roasted veggies, because that's where the flavor is, guys! And it's important to do this while things are still warm, I think-- it softens the tomatoes perfectly, and makes everything super tasty. 

Step 6: Taste it. Observe. What does it need? I added a bit more olive oil, salt and pepper, and the juice from half a lemon to freshen things up. And then it's done!

Serve it up with a sprig of fresh parsley if you're feeling fancy. I ate it when it was cooled off, kind of lukewarm temperature, but I've been eating the leftovers cold and it's still good. The best part about this recipe is that it's really easy and super versatile-- use whatever veggies you have in the fridge, or make it vegetarian, or add quinoa, or (if you're not pregnant) feta cheese. Oh feta cheese. I'd have added the feta if I coulda.

And to make things easier for everybody, here's the recipe written down in real, official recipe form, exactly the way I did it:

Roasted Veggie Summer Salad

2-3 peppers (I used green, orange, and yellow) 

2 zucchini

1 can of artichoke hearts, drained and rinsed

a handful of grape tomatoes

a handful of black olives

2 cooked chicken breasts

1/4 cup olive oil

a few tablespoons of chopped parsley and basil

the juice from half a lemon

salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Chop your ingredients into bite-sized chunks. In a shallow baking sheet, toss the zucchini and peppers with the olive oil, chopped herbs, and salt and pepper. Roast for 25 minutes, tossing again halfway through. Remove from oven when the veggies are soft and juicy, but still somewhat firm. Let cool for 5 minutes. In a large bowl, toss the roasted veggies with the remaining ingredients, being sure to add all of the oil and juices from the pan. Drizzle with lemon juice. Add more olive oil and salt and pepper if needed.

. . .

the day ryan came home from work early

Ryan had a meeting in Chicago yesterday. When he kissed me goodbye at 6:50am, he told me he'd be finished around lunchtime, and that on his way back to the office he might stop at home for lunch.

So I scurried around making the house sparkly and welcoming. I put on some lipstick and whipped up a batch of brownies, and waited.

He texted me around 1:30 to tell me that the meeting went long, and that he and his coworker were getting lunch at Cheesecake Factory. Well. I asked him to make up for it by bringing home a piece of cheesecake for me. But he didn't.

It's fine.

No, actually it was fine. He ended up getting back around 3:30 and decided it wasn't worth it to drive back to the office. So he stayed home! The brownies were perfectly cooled by then, so we sat at our table and had a nice snack together. At 3:45pm! On a Tuesday! It was fun.

Afterwards I convinced him to take me to Anthropologie.

And then I convinced him to buy me a dress.

I had to give up 2 weeks of foot rubs to get it.

Worth it.

let's talk about banana bread.

National Banana Bread Day occurred sometime last week while I was sick and stuffy and out of milk, so I made up for it yesterday by baking my little brains out. I always use my Grandma's recipe-- it's the best banana bread I've ever, ever had. When I was younger, my grandparents lived in a little cabin on a lake and my Grandma would serve it every morning when my family came to visit in the summer. She'd wake up so early, before everyone else, and take a loaf out of the freezer. By the time the rest of us finally woke, the bread would be just barely thawed and ice cold. Oh. I'm convinced it's better cold. It tastes best with a thick coat of butter and a glass of orange juice. Dining whilst dangling your feet into a sun-sparkling lake is optional, but encouraged. As is the bowl of Cocoa Puffs on the side. Optional. But encouraged.

I'm not a batter eater, because hello guys, E. coli and Salmonella, didn't your mom ever tell you? But the combination of the buttermilk and the bananas makes this batter smell so divine. I would consider eating it.

Also, the recipe I use makes four loaves and was written out by my sister, who has enough pans and room in her freezer for four loaves. I don't always remember this, and usually end up with more batter than I know what to do with. I try to remind myself to cut the recipe in half, so that I have one warm and freshly baked loaf for Ryan, and one for the freezer (for that blessed cold loaf.)

Grandma Evie's Banana Bread::

ingredients::
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
2 bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream sugar and shortening. Add eggs and beat well. Slowly, mix in remaining ingredients. Divide batter into 2 greased bread pans. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

scenes from the weekend of a happily married couple (that is trying to save money) ((and likes to eat)) in the dead of winter

if he hadn't already been adopted, and we were allowed pets in our apartment, 

that pup would've come home with us.

pasta!

I'm still getting used to cooking for a husband who must have carbs at every meal. Growing up, my dad didn't appreciate any meal without meat, so I suppose I assumed every man was like that. And then I married Ryan. Don't get me wrong, the guy loves a good steak, but I've found that the way to his heart is through a starchy, bready-filled stomach. Bagels, potatoes, entire rolls of Ritz crackers--he must have it. Once, he made up a song entirely about biscuits. So it was no surprise to me when he asked for a pasta maker for Christmas. We tried it out for the first time on Saturday night, and the results were quite satisfactory. That thing is fun.

{sidenote:: my take on the granny-chic look that's happening right now is mostly just granny.}

And when we finished our meal, Ryan even helped me clean up. That's amore'.