Sage and Butternut Squash Soup

It's incredible how time flies when you're having fun and when you aren't.  It's been over 2 weeks and we have not posted a single recipe.  We were eating a lot of boxed macaroni, tuna sandwiches and boxes of Thai, Chinese and pizza while going in and out of vet appointments since we got back from our wonderful camping trip.  One week ago today we lost our little Lila to Lymphoma, she was a sweet cuddly 5 year old cat, and we will never forget her.  A great friend of mine said to me, "cooking is therapy", and it really is.  To get involved with the methods and timing and repetition of preparing a homemade meal, takes focus and meditation.  You can get lost in the tastes and smells and the anticipation of the final product.  So, this weekend we finally pulled out our books, made a list and went grocery shopping.  We cooked up lots of fall favorites, Warm Apple Slaw with Sage Pork Chops... Apple Pecan Muffins.... Pasta... and this gem of a recipe from Jamie Oliver.  We love to use fresh butternut squash and it is so simple to make it in to a hearty soup that will warm you up and make you feel happy when you might be feeling down.  Shorter days can do that to you, so have a toast ( or crouton) to Lila and remember that cooking is good for your soul, enjoy it with those you love....

superb squash soup with the best parmesan croutons ( gotta love his recipe titles!)

adapted from Jamie Oliver
serves 5-6

ingredients

olive oil
8 fresh sage leaves
1 red onion, peeled and chopped
2 sticks of celery, trimmed and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
1 sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves picked
½–1 fresh red chilli, to taste, deseeded and finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2.5 lbs  butternut squash, halved, deseeded and cut into chunks ( no need to peel)
38 ounces good-quality chicken or vegetable stock
extra virgin olive oil


for the croutons

extra virgin olive oil
16 slices of ciabatta bread
a block of Parmesan cheese, for grating


Put a very large saucepan on a medium heat and pour in a glug ( 2-3 Tablespoons) of olive oil. Add the sage leaves and fry for around 30 seconds or until dark green and crisp. Quickly remove them with a slotted spoon to a bowl lined with kitchen paper – you’ll use these for sprinkling over at the end. In the pan you’ll be left with a beautifully flavoured oil, so put it back on the heat and throw in your onion, celery, carrot, garlic, rosemary leaves, chilli and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook gently for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are sweet and soft. Add the squash and the stock to the pan, bring to the boil and simmer for around half an hour.


While the soup is cooking, make your croutons. Drizzle a little olive oil over the ciabatta slices, pat it in and press some grated Parmesan on to each side. Place in a non-stick pan without any oil and fry until golden on both sides.

When the squash is soft and cooked through, whiz the soup with a hand blender or pour it into a liquidizer and pulse until you have a smooth purée (but you can leave it slightly chunky if you like). Most importantly, remember to taste and season it until it’s perfect. Divide the soup between your bowls, placing 2 croutons on top of each. Sprinkle with a few of your crispy sage leaves and drizzle with a swirl of good-quality extra virgin olive oil.

Fancy Frozen Pizza

Almost every Friday, we pick up a frozen pizza.  Now this isn't glamorous, but it's our way of "eating in" instead of out, to save money, and also to just relax after a long week.  The last thing we ever want to do is make an extravagant dinner with a sink full of dishes to clean after a week of long days and work overload.  That being said, we go back and forth between $5 take and bake pizza from Dominick's or frozen ($7.50) Home Run Inn pizza.  To fancify, we'll chop up fresh garlic, basil, tomato, sometimes red peppers and mushrooms too... pop it in the oven and finish with fresh grated parmesan, a glass of wine ( or a cold beer depending on the day) and a new movie in your very own living room, snuggling with the people ( and kitties) you love :)  ooooo Fridays, gotta love em! 

Shakshuka

What is it?  Shakshuka, an Israeli dish with eggs poached in a flavorful tomato sauce.  This recipe has a small ingredient list or cheap grocery staples- packs a huge punch of flavor, and it is SO simple to make. Win Win Win!  The one tip is to use the BEST quality canned tomatoes, we used a store brand and there was a slight so so taste the tomatoes, which are the star in this recipe.

Shakshuka [Eggs Poached in Spicy Tomato Sauce]

Adapted from Saveur
Serves 4
1/4 cup olive oil
5 Anaheim chiles or 3 jalapeños, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, crushed then sliced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon paprika
1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, undrained
Kosher salt, to taste
4 eggs
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
Warm pitas, for serving

Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add chiles and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, and paprika, and cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is soft, about 2 more minutes.

Put tomatoes and their liquid into a medium bowl and crush with your hands. Add crushed tomatoes and their liquid to skillet along with 1/2 cup water, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly, about 15 minutes. Season sauce with salt.

Crack eggs over sauce so that eggs are evenly distributed across sauce’s surface. Cover skillet and cook until yolks are just set, about 5 minutes. Using a spoon, baste the whites of the eggs with tomato mixture, being careful not to disturb the yolk. Sprinkle shakshuka with feta and parsley and serve with pitas, for dipping.

Summer Vegetable Risotto

Risotto often raises a red alert flag in many fellow cooks because we all think it's too difficult to make. This really isn't true, and I think where the confusion lies is the fact that you have to slowly add liquid in and stir frequently- aka, be present while cooking. Stirring loosens the starchy molecules from the rice and into your liquid, creating a smooth rich creamy sauce. So adding in hot liquid and letting it absorb into the rice slowly and create the sauce. If you'd like to make this recipe more healthy you can use turkey or chicken sausage, or no sausage at all, and add in half the Parmesan and butter, or replace the butter with 1 T olive oil. This was a great way to use all the summer vegetables coming out of the garden right now. If you have the time and want to use fresh tomato go for it- but we had a lot of fresh corn, basil, zucchini! And let me tell you, this was SO fresh, so creamy and rich and delicious- I can't wait to eat leftovers for lunch and make this again as the seasons change with different veggies.

Summer Vegetable Risotto
Adapted from Martha Stewart Everyday Food
Serves 6
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes in juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 pound mild Italian sausage, casings removed
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 large zucchini, about 3/4 pound, coarsely chopped in bite size pieces
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup Arborio rice
1/4 cup cooking Sherry + 1/4 cup water
1 clove garlic, minced 
14 ounces baby spinach, chopped (about 7 cups)
2 ears of corn, boiled to cook and carved from cob
1/4 cup basil, chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving (optional)
2 tablespoons butter

In a small saucepan, combine tomatoes (with their juice) and 3 cups water. Bring just to a simmer; keep warm over low heat.

In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add sausage, zucchini and onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up sausage with a spoon, until sausage is opaque and onion has softened, 5 minutes. Add garlic to combine.

Add rice; cook, stirring until well coated, 1 to 2 minutes. Add sherry+ water; cook, stirring until absorbed, about 1 minute.

Add about 2 cups hot tomato mixture to rice; simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until absorbed, 4 to 5 minutes. Set your timer for 25 minutes, and continue adding tomato mixture, 1 cup at a time, waiting for one cup to be absorbed before adding the next (every 5-6 minutes), stirring occasionally, until rice is creamy and just tender (you may not have to use all the liquid).

Remove pan from heat. Stir in spinach, corn, basil, Parmesan, and butter; season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately (risotto will thicken as it cools), and sprinkle with additional Parmesan, if desired.

Pasta with Cauliflower, feta, and walnuts

This was pasta week, there was an epic fail of a recipe that we won't bore you with and then there was this. A unique spin on "healthy" eating these days is to use less pasta and add in vegetables to fill out the dish. Cauliflower is not usually something we crave here at Urban Kitchen... except maybe the kind we all grew up on with the buttery baked bread crumb topping- but this, this was even better- and it's really good for you too. The method is to saute ( stir fry) the cauliflower so it retains some texture, (and doesn't turn in to mush) this really adds a nice flavor complexity.  Insert garlic, red pepper flakes, onion... brightened with fresh lemon and parsley... topped with toasted walnuts and goat's milk feta- all tossed in with nutty whole wheat pasta; oh my, I wish I still had some to eat ( by the way- left overs at lunch were phenomenal!)  It is so flavorful with tons of garlic and onion, fits in a regular dutch oven style pan and made 5 normal sized portions. The extra red pepper flakes give it just the right amount of heat, I drizzled more olive oil before serving along with the fresh parsley, which really brightens up this dish visually and flavor wise, and the goats milk feta is just perfect- it’s more mellow and creamy then standard feta!  Please try this recipe if it sound sup your alley and let us know what you think- are we crazy or is this really, really THAT good?

Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower 

1 medium onion

4 LARGE cloves garlic 

1/2 lb whole-wheat pasta 

1/4 cup Extra-virgin olive oil ( divided) 

Salt and pepper ( to taste) 

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes 

2 tsp Champagne vinegar
1/2 lemon
1/2 cup toasted walnuts ( chopped)
4 ounces goat’s milk feta cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley



Put a large pot of water on to boil. Cut the cauliflower into small flowerets. Peel the onion and slice it very thin. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Put the pasta on to cook.

Saute the cauliflower in olive oil in a large saute pan. When the cauliflower begins to soften, season with salt and pepper and add the sliced onion and red pepper flakes. Saute over medium to high heat until the vegetables are brown and tender. The cauliflower should still be slightly crunchy and should not taste steamed. Add the garlic and remove from the heat, tossing and stirring so the garlic doesn’t burn; if it starts to brown, add a splash of water. Add the vinegar and lemon juice and the toasted walnuts. Taste and correct the seasoning. When the pasta is done, drain and add to the cauliflower, adding enough extra-virgin olive oil to coat the pasta thoroughly, toss together and serve, with the parsley and cheese crumbled over the dish.

Grilled Pizza with Leeks and Blue Cheese

photo courtesy of: Laura Ruszkowski

Leeks?  Definitely an underused yet fantastic vegetable.  Oniony but savory sweet when cooked and oh so good for you.  We've used this Leek Saute recipe on crostini breads based on the original recipe and we loved it SO much, we thought- "next time we do pizzas we MUST try the leeks on it" So we started up the grill, made this simple dough recipe and as they say "boom" an incredible pizza was born.  We've found that homemade pizzas are the best kind of pizzas, but the oven doesn't get as hot as the grill- so ultimately grilling gives them this perfect crispy light chewy to-die-for-good texture, so don't be afraid!  We used our charcoal Weber 22" grill and a 12" pizza stone on top to cook these babies.  Light your charcoal as usual and spread the coals evenly across the bottom, place the grill grate on top and then the stone.  If you don't have a pizza peel just use a large wooden cutting board with no ridges or grooves, it works just as well. 

Pizza Dough:

adapted from Bobby Flay

2/3 cup lukewarm water (105 degrees F to 115 degrees F)
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
4 T butter
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 3/4 to 2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour

2 teaspoons coarse salt


1 T olive oil for oiling bag
1/4 cup finely ground yellow cornmeal for the peel


In a large bowl stir together 1/3 cup water, yeast, and sugar and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/3 cup water, 4 tablespoons butter, 1 3/4 cups flour and salt and blend until the mixture forms a dough. Knead dough on a floured surface, incorporating as much of remaining 1/4 cup flour, as necessary, to prevent dough from sticking, until smooth about 5 to 10 minutes. Form the dough into a ball.

Lightly oil the sides and bottom of a large ziplock bag with oil, add the dough, turn to coat in the oil, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Gently punch the dough down and divide into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece on a lightly floured surface into a 10-inch circle that is 1/8-inch thick. Brush off excess flour and transfer the dough to a baking sheet, cover each circle of dough with plastic wrap and continue stacking rolled out pieces on top of each other. Wrap well with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to grill.

Leek Saute for Pizzas with Blue Cheese

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1 1/2 pounds leeks (about 3 big leeks), lengthwise and white and pale green parts sliced 1/4-inch thick (about 3 generous cups of slices)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
Coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled (a soft or crumbly goat cheese would also work)

Fill a large bowl with cold water. Add leeks and use your hands to pump them up and down in the water a bit, separating the rings and letting the dirt and grit fall to the bottom. Transfer to a dish or plate for a minute; no need to dry them.

Meanwhile, heat a large, heavy skillet over medium. Once hot, add butter and olive oil and once they’re fully melted, add the leek slices, still wet. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Reduce heat to low, cover with a lid and cook leeks for 25 minutes, stirring them occasionally. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Sprinkle corn meal on a pizza peel or flat cutting board ( to transfer on to hot grill) place a dough round on top and give it a little shake to make sure it's mobile.  Divide 1/2 of leeks mixture on pizza dough, sprinkle with cheese.  Transfer on to a pizza stone in your hot grill and cook till crisp and golden, about 7-10 minutes.  Enjoy hot

LOVE eggs and toast

Happy 7 years to US at Urban Kitchen.  We started the day with some themed breakfast, and how sweet does that look?  With a simple heart shaped cookie cutter you can make anything "lovable".  Simple eggs, toast and Farmer's Market tomatoes with salty cheese= perfect way to start the special day.

Serving for TWO

Brush olive oil on both side of two pieces of bread ( we used a dark rye), using a heart shaped cookie cutter, remove and reserve the center.  Heat a non stick pan over medium heat and place the bread and heart centers in the pan, crack and egg in to the cut outs and cook for 2 minutes before flipping, cook an additional minute until desired egg doneness, we like over easy.  Then serve the toasts with sliced tomato and a salty hard cheese such as Pecorino, Parmesan etc.  Enjoy and feel the love!

Ratatouille Tart

This is SO delicious and a gorgeous dish to serve as an appetizer; we usually have it as a meal and enjoy leftovers for lunches.  The crust has a great texture and is really decadent with the buttery corn flavors that really enhance each layer of vegetables and cheesy goodness. 

IngredientsCrust:
2/3 cup yellow cornmeal
1/3 cup whole-grain pastry flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons canola oil
3-4 tablespoons water

Filling:
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
2 shallots, thinly sliced (about 1/3 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Cooking spray
1/2 pound thinly sliced eggplant rounds (about 1/3 medium eggplant)
1 zucchini, sliced into 1/8-inch rounds (about 8 ounces)
3 medium tomatoes, sliced thinly
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 ounce goat cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup shredded fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Directions
For the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine cornmeal, pastry flour, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to incorporate. Add butter and oil and pulse about 20 times, until mixture resembles small pebbles. Add water and pulse until mixture forms a loose dough. Remove dough from processor and press into bottom and about 1/8-inch up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan with a detachable rim.  Place tart pan on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, or until no longer shiny and wet. Remove from oven and let cool.

For the filling: Increase the oven to 400 degrees F. Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat; saute shallots until soft, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add garlic and cook for one minute. Turn off burner and set aside.

Spray 2 baking trays with cooking spray. Arrange the eggplant, zucchini and tomato slices on the trays in a single layer and brush with the remaining olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, and roast the vegetables until soft but not browned, about 15 minutes. Remove the vegetables from oven and cool.Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Lay the eggplant slices in 2 layers on the bottom of tart; cover with 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese, the goat cheese and some of the shredded basil. Add the zucchini and shallots, top with another 1/3 of the mozzarella and basil, then the tomatoes. Top with rest of the mozzarella cheese and the Parmesan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and vegetables have further wilted. Remove from oven, let cool for 5 minutes, and cut into 8 slices. Serve warm.

Fresh Figs with Goat Cheese, Cinnamon and Honey

Figs are a great fruit to eat fresh, it's incredible the difference in taste and texture when you compare it from what we're used to- Fig Newton's anyone? We saw these beautiful and sensual fruits ripe and in season at the Whole Foods and couldn't resist trying something new with them. The mix of goat cheese and honey in a fresh fig creates a perfect balance of flavors and texture- this works great as an appetizer, dessert or even a quick breakfast in a pinch! Try these out fast, as this recipe works best with the fresh figs and like we said, they're in season now,




Ingredients:

10 fresh figs
4 oz Goat Cheese, room temperature
1 tablespoon good honey
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated Cinnamon




Directions:

Remove the stems of the figs and cut into quarters from the top down to, but not completely through, the base of the fig. Cream or whip the goat cheese with half the honey and a half the cinnamon, then and place it in a sandwich bag- snip the corner to allow a small hole for piping the cheese. Pipe cheese into the center of each fig. Drizzle the remaining honey and cinnamon over the figs and serve!




Ingredients:

10 fresh figs
4 oz Goat Cheese, room temperature
1 tablespoon good honey
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated Cinnamon




Directions:

Remove the stems of the figs and cut into quarters from the top down to, but not completely through, the base of the fig. Cream or whip the goat cheese with half the honey and a half the cinnamon, then and place it in a sandwich bag- snip the corner to allow a small hole for piping the cheese. Pipe cheese into the center of each fig. Drizzle the remaining honey and cinnamon over the figs and serve!

Tomato and Artichoke Orzo

We came across a great article on the web with some ideas for using the top super foods, Artichokes are one of them; this is some info from that article- followed by a recipe they shared and we adapted in to a meal!

"A study in the British Journal of Nutrition showed that artichokes had the highest antioxidant capacity of 40 vegetables and herbs tested. "Like broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower, artichokes are rich in flavonoids, which help slow the growth of breast and other types of cancer cells in lab studies," says Dong Moon Shin, M.D., a professor and Frances Kelly Blomeyer chair in cancer research at the Emory Winship Cancer Institute in Atlanta. "

Ingredients:

4 fresh artichokes

2 celery stalks, chopped

1/2 white onion, chopped

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 cup red wine

28-ounce can of chopped tomatoes

4 cloves minced garlic

fresh grated parmesan cheese

2 cups cooked orzo pasta

salt and pepper to taste

Boil 4 artichokes for 30 minutes; drain. In the same pot, brown 2 chopped celery stalks, 1 chopped onion, and 1 teaspoon dried oregano in 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add 1 cup red wine, a 28-ounce can of chopped tomatoes, and 4 cloves minced garlic. Place artichokes in tomato mixture; spoon mixture over then. Cover and simmer for about 35 minutes or until artichokes are tender. Serve over a bed of orzo pasta topped with grated cheese. Enjoy knowing that you are eating SUPER food!

Easy Homemade Monday night Pasta

Jason is the king of sauces, he also has a hard time following a recipe! This sauce is a classic Jason masterpiece with a few surprises like zucchini and baby bella mushrooms.

Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 small red onion, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup baby bella mushrooms, chopped

2 teaspoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup thin sliced zucchini (ours was from Jamie and Chris' garden- thanks!!)

1/2 cup red wine

2 cans diced tomatoes, low sodium, drained

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

1/2 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper to taste

unsalted butter as needed

freshly grated parmesan cheese

1 box of your favorite past- cooked and drained

Directions:

In a small pan, sautee the mushrooms and butter over medium high heat for about 3-4 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, set aside.

In a large dutch oven pan with lid, heat olive oil over medium flame. Add the onion and cook till transparent, not brown. Add in the garlic, stir to combine until fragrant- 1 minute. Slowly add the red wine, turning the flame high, and reduce by half. Add in the zucchini, mushrooms, tomatoes, sauce, 1/2 the basil, all the oregano, the bay leaf and a little bit of cheese. Reduce heat to medium and let the sauce simmer for 10 minutes. Taste test for salt and pepper, more garlic or more cheese... if you find the sauce is too acidic add in a pat of butter to smooth it out. Cook for 5 more minutes, then remove the bay leaf. Divide the sauce in half, blend 1/2 with an immersion blender, then stir it all back together. Serve over the pasta with fresh grated cheese and the basil divided evenly- serves 4

Pizza Night

Our first posting starts off with our favorite food- Pizzas! These aren't just any pizzas either- they are delicious home made pizzas using Chris Forberg's awesome dough recipe. Making the dough is very simple and is the best way to go for the best pizza. We like to make super thin crust that has a nice crispness to it. So to begin, we make a simple starter dough with warm water, yeast and flour (bread flour makes a crispier crust), then we add more flour and some melted butter water mixture to the bowl and beat it with the dough hook really really well. Kitchen Aid mixers are the greatest thing ever! We let it rise with a wet towel over it and punched it down every half hour or so for 6 hours. All of our fresh ingredients came from our Pilsen farmers market as well as Pete's fresh market. We had baby bella mushrooms, fresh from our garden basil, tomato, Kalamata olives, green and red onions, Italian sausage, green peppers, banana peppers, cilantro and a mix of parmesan and mozzarella cheeses ( the more the merrier here). Each pizza was hand made by yours truly and we documented them all for you to take a peek, don't be too jealous though... they were yummy! Ok, go ahead and be jealous. Enjoy!