"Fast
Weeknight Meals"
April 8,
2010 - Volume 1, Issue 06
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What's
for Supper???
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Home and
hungry? It's a daily dilemma we all face! We
want to have a nutritious meal, quality family time
around the table, but we need it now! Achieving these
potentially conflicting objectives is possible without
breaking the bank on take-out, or taking on an
over-achiever, plan-ahead persona.  In this issue, we focus on some
fast weeknight meal strategies, and offer advice on
setting up your pantry for weeknight success. Giuliano
Hazan's new book, "Thirty
Minute Pasta" provides recipes for practicing
weeknight speed with magnificent flavor and total
satisfaction. He also personally answers a few of our
inquisitive questions! Buon
appetito any night of the
week!
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Cooking Classes at Love to
Cook!
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We have a great
line-up of classes underway! It's a great way to spend an
evening or day! We look forward to having you in our
kitchen soon! Cooking classes make a great date night
too! Get all of the details on our
website's Cooking Class page
or Click the Class Titles
below.
Saturday,
April 10th - Authentic Brazilian Cooking - 11:00am -
Brazil has one of the world's most eclectic cuisines.
Traditional recipes are full of interesting influences and
history. Sonia Neale will share how to create delicious,
authentic Brazilian food right in your own home!
Tuesday,
April 13th - Dust Off the BBQ - 6:30pm - Winter is over!
Time to pull out the BBQ and fire it up! Chef Robert Sanderson will share
the secrets to great BBQ that will impress your family,  friends, and neighbors.
These tips and tricks are sure to add a new spin to your
old favorite recipes.
Thursday,
April 15th - Unforgettable Spring Dinner - 6:30pm -
Kristen Trevino will be preparing a delicious spring menu
bursting with fresh flavor. This will surely be an
unforgettable dinner that you will want to prepare for your
friends and family for any occasion!
Saturday,
April 17th - Color Me Healthy - 11:00am - Often we
associate a variety of color in our diet with eating
healthy. Learn new ways to incorporate fresh produce
into your family's diet with recipes they will love.
Registered dietician and chef Michelle Nowak is a master at
creating simple delicious recipes using fresh
ingredients. You won't even realize you're eating
healthy!
Tuesday,
April 20th - Journey To Spain: Tapas Night - 6:30pm - Join
Janice Boettinger & Geno
Schupp for another exciting night filled with
regional cuisine from Spain. Tapas or "Small Plates of
Spain" are a great way to enjoy an evening of fun and fabulous
food. Salut!
Wednesday, April 21st - Hands On Whole Wheat
Bread - 1:00pm - Come learn from our in-store instructor
how to make delicious wheat bread using freshly ground wheat
flour. Instructor will also demonstrate how to make our
cinnamon/currant variation. Includes pan and one loaf of
bread to take home.
Thursday,
April 22nd - Spring Luncheon - 6:30pm - Resident Chef JaDene Denniston has the
perfect menu for your spring luncheon. Invite friends or
family over and prepare this simple, elegant meal for
them. They won't soon forget it!
Friday,
April 23rd - Mexican Made Easy for the Children & Family
Support Center - 6:30pm - Tiffany Jeppsen will share
delicious recipes in her "Mexican Made Easy" class.
All proceeds of this class plus 20% of sales from 6-9 p.m.
will be donated to The Child and Family Support Center.
Come enjoy some delicious food and support a good
cause.
We have more wonderful classes planned for
Spring! Learn more on our
website's Cooking Class page. |
Simple Supper
Strategies
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It's a transition moment in the day, the late afternoon
hunger pangs, the clock ticking, and the realization that you
and a few others around you have expectations that there will
be something to eat shortly. First of all, alleviate any guilt
for not having planned the entire week ahead of time, or not
starting the slow cooker in the morning, or forgetting to pull
the meat out of the freezer to thaw - we're not here to spout
that gospel, however worthy a thought pattern that it is.
We're talking about real people, real days, and real
strategies for surviving suppertime on a real-time basis
without having to be a logistical genius! 
Relax - Use supper prep time
to transition yourself from a busy day. If you're alone in the
kitchen, enjoy the quiet; resist the urge to fill the void
with TV or radio. If the family is around, use the opportunity
to catch each other up on the day with conversation (instead
of texting!). Put your kids to work and surreptitiously teach
them how to cook. Not surprisingly, some of the best bonding
goes on in the kitchen.
Quick Cooking Foods - We're
not talking processed foods here, but rather, choose foods
that naturally cook quickly - keep those at the top of your
idea list. (See our Picks for the Perfect Pantry below). Pasta
is faster than rice, most seafood is faster than chicken or
beef, and "above ground" vegetables are faster than "below
ground" root vegetables.
 Quick
Cooking Techniques - Stovetop cooking is faster than
oven roasting or baking. Invest in a good all-around skillet
where you can sauté, stir-fry, or even pan grill in a jiffy.
The microwave is great, but for more than one or two people,
the time investment nearly matches the time it takes on the
stovetop. Steaming is faster than boiling. Dice potatoes,
carrots - any root vegetable - into smaller pieces with a
sharp knife; they will cook much faster.
Use All-in-Ones - Dishes
prepped in one pan, a stovetop oven or a wok, make clean up
just as easy as the preparation. Cook the dish in layers
beginning with the longest cooking items first. Many stovetop
pans are beautifully crafted and double on the table as the
serving dish. That same pot will slip into the refrigerator,
then back to the stovetop the next day - now that's all-in-one
cooking!
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The
Perfect Supper Pantry
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OK, perfection
is overrated, but you can give yourself a few advantages with
a reasonably stocked pantry. Based on your eating preferences,
your personal profile may vary, but here's a starting point.
Think of your "pantry" not just as the back cupboard, but also
your refrigerator and freezer.
Double Down on Fresh - Make
the most of your trips to the market. Buy double of
fresh/perishable items and give yourself a head start on
another day. Here are just a couple of
examples:
- Buy two heads of broccoli, cut, and steam them both. Use
half that day; freeze the remainder for a quick jump on a
stir-fry later in the week.
- Buy double the amount of boneless chicken breast, beef
steak, or pork tenderloin. Cut all of it into stir-fry-able
strips. Freeze half in a large single-layer zipper bag; it
will quickly defrost on another day and be perfect for
fajitas, a pita pocket sandwich, or a stir-fry.
- Buy double the salad ingredients, wash, spin-dry, and
store all for two days of fresh greens. Add dressing only at
serving time.
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Olave Flavored
Gourmet Olive Oils
Stonewall
Kitchens
Dave's Gourmet Pasta Sauces
Frontier Soups
Pasta Partners Handmade
Pastas
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Interview with Giuliano
Hazan
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 Giuliano Hazan comes
by his love of Italian cooking honestly as the son of famed
cook, Marcella Hazan. With this pedigree, Giuliano has
distinguished himself in his own right as the author of four
cookbooks, a guest cook on TV, and as the winner of the
International Association of Cooking Professional's (IACP)
award for Cooking Teacher of the Year in 2007. Giuliano Hazan
was kind enough to take our call and answer a few questions
about weeknight meals and a few other curiosities. Here's his
take:
(1) When you get
home from work and are hungry, what do you fix for yourself?
When I
return home from a teaching trip, what I most look forward to
is a comforting, satisfying dish of pasta with either a simple
meat sauce or a fresh tomato sauce. I'm not just saying it
because my recent book is on pasta. It's because pasta
has always been one of my favorite foods, and probably why two
of the four books I've written are on
pasta.
(2) What
items do you recommend always having in the
pantry/refrigerator for quick meals?
Basics such as
good extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, onions, garlic and
butter. In addition, things such as Parmigiano-Reggiano,
capers, anchovies, parsley, pancetta, and cream are always
useful. Ripe tomatoes don't keep very long, so good
canned tomatoes are good to have on hand, though sauces with
canned tomatoes are not usually as quick to make.
(3) What is your secret to creating
great flavor in your recipes?
Apart from obviously
using quality ingredients, it is paying attention to what you
are doing! The fewer steps there are in a recipe, the more
important each step becomes.
(4) When did cooking capture your
interest? Was there a particular aspect of cooking that you
focused on first? What culinary interest captures your
attention the most today?
I began cooking in earnest
when I left home because . . . I was hungry! I missed
the food I was used to eating at home every day. Though I love
to share the food I prepare with others,  it is usually the prospect of
enjoying a good meal that motivates me to cook.
(5) What would you recommend for the
perfect culinary trip to Italy?
With obvious bias,
I'd recommend a week at our school in northern Italy! For six
days you will immerse yourself in Italian food, wine, and life
through field trips to gastronomic locations not even the
locals know about. And, of course, there are the hands-on
classes in a luxuriously restored Renaissance villa where you
will also lodge.
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Smart
Fast Meal Tips
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Tip #1: Try making typical
breakfast fare more often for supper. Pancakes, waffles,
omelets, and frittatas are all quick, satisfying and delicious
options for a great supper. (See our previous e-newsletters -
"Breakfast
Breads" or "Omelets
& Others" for some great ideas.
Tip #2: Establish a
"household rule" - if you use the last of it, mark it down on
the grocery list. Keep the list in a consistent
location.
Tip
#3: Keep a loaf of your favorite bread or a stack of
pita pockets in the freezer for a sandwich solution to supper.
Get creative about what to put in your sandwich - open the
refrigerator and put those condiments to work in changing
something ordinary into extraordinary. If you like, pan grill,
or use your griddle to heat your concoction to
perfection.
Tip #4:
We use the inside of cupboard doors to our advantage!
As you discover quick supper or recipe favorites, make a
sticky note (a physical one and/or a virtual one) of the
recipe's ingredients and basic instructions. A quick look
inside the cupboard door (or virtual desktop) as you head out
the door may provide just the spark of inspiration you need,
and will be handy when it comes time to cook.
Tip #5: Have a standing
pantry plan or two for surprise guests. Keep a few cheeses and
unique crackers around, or perhaps some great coffee beans and
exquisite cookies, dried fruits and nuts, or ingredients for a
no-fuss pasta meal, a frozen loaf of bread, and, of course, a
good bottle of wine.
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Q
& A's
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 Q: How can I keep from getting into
a rut with my weeknight menus?
A: First of all, ruts aren't
all bad. Finding something you and your family like and
serving it often is a good thing. But, we understand that even
the best menu or dish can become tiresome. Expand your
repertoire with occasional variation. Perhaps there's one
night of the week that is less hurried than another - use that
as your "experimentation night" and enjoy the change of pace.
Always be "interviewing" recipes for inclusion on your own
personal "fast weeknight menus" list.
 Q: I forgot my pantry list at home. What
am I supposed to get?
A: Time to get hip and use
one of your mobile devices to your kitchen advantage. Write a
text message or an electronic note to yourself of the standard
pantry items that you'd like to keep on hand. Keep that
message or note in your device and add to it as needed.
Consult your device for a reminder of staples as you
shop.
Q: I can't find
the recipe I want to use for supper. How can I keep track of
my favorites?
A: Recipe cards are still
valuable for remembering and recalling favorite recipes. We
keep a recipe binder for paper copies of our favorite recipes,
both online printouts and scans of printed recipes. We also
"e-file" recipes in our computer's folders with customized
sub-folders for easy retrieval.
Q: With thousands of recipes
available online, why should I buy a cookbook for
recipes?
A:
For a cookbook to be published, there is a competitive review
process that results in the "best of the best" actually
becoming a cookbook. Cookbook authors and publishers must
design, edit, and produce a high quality product to warrant
the expense of publishing; the result is a juried and reviewed
compendium of recipes that have met the test. Internet recipes
may, or may not be, tested, and may, or may not be, in an
instructive context that broadens the cook's expertise. We
think there's room for both great cookbooks and the Internet
in the kitchen.
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Cookbook
Review
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Thirty
Minute Pasta, 100 Quick and
Easy Recipes by Giuliano Hazan. Photography by
Joseph De Leo. Copyright 2009. Published by Stewart, Tabori
& Chang, an imprint of Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York,
NY.
 We love pasta in any and every form and,
in fact, consider ourselves self-declared experts when it
comes to judging pasta dishes and recipes. In this, Chef
Hazan's latest cookbook, simplicity and flavor combine in the
most delicious ways. He sets the scene for thirty-minute pasta
dishes with precisely the right amount of context. He reviews
pasta shapes and their distinct purposes and traits, advises
us on the basics of a great pasta pantry, and expertly guides
us through boiling pasta for perfect results. The remainder of
the book is dedicated to 100 recipes that make you fall in
love with pasta even more. The chapters are divided into Pasta
Soups, Vegetarian Pasta, Seafood Pastas, and Meat Pastas. Each
recipe is written with efficient time management in mind,
i.e., the oil heats while the onion is being chopped; we're
instructed to boil the pasta at the proper time so that sauce
and pasta get to the finish line simultaneously, etc. We
appreciated this sequencing and attention to detail. The
photography by Joseph De Leo lavishly inserted throughout the
book brought the pasta into the realm of exquisite visual art.
This cookbook is one of our favorite picks so far this year!
Benissimo!
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Three
Thirty Minute Pasta Recipes
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Recipes excerpted from Thirty
Minute Pasta by Guiliano Hazan. Copyright 2009.
Published by Stewart, Tabori & Chang, and imprint of Harry
N. Abrams Inc., New York, NY. Reprinted with permission of the
publisher. All rights reserved.
 Penne
with Asparagus and Prosciutto
Penne
agli Asparagi e Prosciutto
View and
Print
If the pink and bright green colors of
this dish don't say spring, the flavors certainly do! Take
advantage of the seasonal bounty of asparagus with this
recipe. The prosciutto acts as a condiment with its salty
flavor, while the onions lay the foundation for a silky sauce.
Definitely an addition to the favorites list!
Spaghetti
with Raw Tomatoes, Herbs and Mozzarella
 Spaghetti
alla Checca
View and
Print
We have in our memory banks a
wonderful late lunch somewhere in the middle of Rome. It was
one of those hot August days when tomatoes were at their best.
This recipe recreated that moment with its simple, fresh
ingredients - tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella. We closed
our eyes and swore we could hear the Trevi fountain in the
background!
Linguine
with Shrimp and Porcini
L inguine
ai Gamberi e Funghi
View and
Print
This recipe turned out another perfect
plate of pasta! We used shitake mushrooms in place of the
porcini, due to a momentary shortage of porcini, but it turned
out wonderfully nonetheless. The shrimp and mushrooms huddled
in the nooks and crannies of the linguine and twirled onto our
forks and into our mouths with ease and
enjoyment!
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Enjoy the
pleasure of a simple supper well
made!
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Chris Beykirch and All the Staff at Love to Cook!
1211 N. Main Street Logan, UT
84341 435-752-9220/888-GADGET9 www.luvtocook.com | |
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