Test drives
January is past as is Groundhog Day and I haven’t even said Happy New Year to you. Holy smokes – have you missed me?
Most of my cooking and trying new recipes is done on the weekend, but for the last couple of months Mike and I have been test driving living in the city on weekends. I know weekend city living probably doesn’t give us a real taste daily city life, we’re having a great time and have made the commitment to move in the next couple of months.
The cooking problem, or lack of my keeping in contact here, stems from having minimal kitchen items at my disposal on the weekends – we’ve only brought necessities to the condo. I did finally bring an All-Clad skillet down, something that can be used on the stove top and in the oven. Before that I was limited to one stove top pot and things I could cook in the microwave or broil on a sheet of foil. Let me tell you, those parameters lead to some pretty interesting meals. Don’t even get me started about the day I realized I didn’t have a can opener, a cheese grater or a bottle opener. Off to the market we went to pick up some inexpensive items that really are a part of daily life, whether test driving a new home or not.
So, on a night where the weather looked like this:
I thought it was the perfect evening to make this skillet lasagna because the cooking is all done in one pan.
Skillet Lasagna
Adapted from Martha Stewart Everyday Food
12 to 16 oz bag fresh baby spinach
1 – 28 oz can tomato puree
1 – 15 oz can diced tomatoes
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1-1/2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese, room temperature
1 box (12 ounces) no-boil lasagna noodles
1-1/2 cup shredded mozzarella or italian blend cheeses
1/4 cup grated pecorino or Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Rinse the spinach well in cold water to make sure it’s very clean. Add 1 to 2 tbsp water to a large deep skillet and add about 1/3 to 1/2 of the fresh spinach, tossing to wilt. As the spinach wilts, add more to the pan until all the spinach in wilted. Drain into a colander and squeeze out as much excess water as possible. Set aside to cool slightly.
In the same skillet, bring tomatoes, garlic, and oil to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce to a simmer and cook on medium until thickened. You should have 5 cups marinara sauce.
Combine the cooled spinach with ricotta and set aside.
Pour sauce into a heat proof bowl and return 3/4 cup to skillet, spreading to cover the bottom. Add a single layer of noodles, breaking them up to fit. Spread half of the ricotta mixture over the top, followed by half the shredded mozzarella and 1/3 of the remaining sauce. Repeat your layers – noodles; ricotta mixture; mozzarella and 1/2 of the remaining sauce. Top with a final layer of noodles and the remaining sauce. remaining sauce. Sprinkle mozzarella and pecorino over top.
Bake lasagna until golden and bubbling, 40 – 45 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Just because…..
Despite the fact that this is the season for cookie baking and candy making, it’s been pretty quiet in my kitchen. In years past I would make six or seven different kinds of cookies, a pie or two and a couple of candies. So far this season I’ve made ……………. marshmallows. More than one person has said to me “You know you can buy those, right?” and my response is always “It’s not as much fun that way.” Besides, when have you ever seen snowflake shaped marshmallows at the grocery?
I’ve been eyeing marshmallow recipes for two, maybe three years now. Most recipes have similar ingredients but the dividing line seems to be between including beaten egg whites or not. The one I finally settled on is from Gourmet Magazine 13 years ago and it includes egg whites. In my mind the texture of marshmallows is similar to meringue so from a science side that made sense. Anyway, the ingredient list is simple and as long as you have either a hand mixer or a stand mixer (easier) marshmallows are a cinch to make. Enjoy them in your cocoa on Christmas morning or make s’mores with them.
Light, Fluffy Marshmallows
Gourmet Magazine, December 1998
Makes about 96 1-inch cubed marshmallows
About 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3-1/2 envelopes (2 tablespoons plus 2-1/2 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
1 cup cold water, divided
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites or reconstituted powdered egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla
Oil bottom and sides of a 9 x 13 pan and dust bottom and sides with some confectioners’ sugar.
In bowl of a standing electric mixer or in a large bowl sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water and let stand to soften.
In a 3-quart heavy saucepan cook granulated sugar, corn syrup, 1/2 cup of cold water, and salt over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to moderate and boil mixture, without stirring, until a candy or digital thermometer registers 240°F, about 12 minutes. Remove pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved.
With standing or a hand-held electric mixer beat the gelatine and sugar mixture on high-speed until white, thick, and nearly tripled in volume, about six minutes if using standing mixer or about 10 minutes if using hand-held mixer.
In separate medium bowl with cleaned beaters, beat egg whites (or reconstituted powdered whites) until they just hold stiff peaks. Add the whites and vanilla into the sugar mixture and blend until just combined. Pour into baking pan and sift 1/4 cup confectioners sugar over top. Chill marshmallow, uncovered, until firm, at least three hours and up to one day.
Run a thin knife around edges of pan and invert pan onto a large cutting board. You’ll need to loosen the marshmallow and ease out of the pan and onto the cutting board. With a large knife cut marshmallow into roughly one-inch cubes or using a cookie cutter, cut the marshmallow into the shape of your choice.
Put about 1/4 cup of powdered sugar into a zip lock bag and toss the cut marshmallows in the sugar, shaking them slightly to remove excess sugar. Marshmallows keep in an airtight container at cool room temperature for about 1 week.
Looking in other directions
You’ll never guess where I’m standing based on the picture. To me this looks like a small town main street in middle America. Truth be told, I’m standing in the heart of the Mag Mile, North Michigan Avenue in Chicago, right next to the historic Water Tower.
The view was just so out-of-place. If the camera was pointed in the opposite direction you’d see the hustle and bustle of one of the busiest streets in Chicago with crowds of shoppers and tourists all moving at whirlwind speed.
Recipes from Vermont
Not so long ago I celebrated my birthday. Not just any birthday, this one rolled me into a new decade. Our good friends Barry and Ciel couldn’t be here to celebrate with us but sent along a regional cookbook called Recipes from Vermont. They enjoy their weekends in Vermont at this beautiful home that they designed themselves.
You can teach an old dog new tricks
When I first started writing this blog a little more than a year ago, I had no idea what I was doing – not in the writing and definitely not in the picture taking – which is one of the reasons I’ve brought this post for Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins back up to the front.
Holy smokes, look at the header picture I posted with this recipe. I’d be surprised if anyone bothered to try these muffins based on this photo.
Here’s the photo I took the other day when I made the muffins again.
I’m learning as I go and while this new picture isn’t perfect, I think it’s much more appealing. So if you didn’t try these muffins a year ago, I encourage you to try them now.
You can find the original post here.
