Inspired by a Top Chef: Grilled Octopus salad with Lemon-Pistachio Vinaigrette

A couple weekends ago the hubs and I had the chance to spend a very short 2 days in Chicago. The hubs was headed there for business and his company was kind enough to get us a room starting Friday night so we could spend the weekend in the windy city. Maybe it's because we haven't had a little getaway in quite some time or maybe it's just because Chicago is a fabulous city but either way, we had an amazing time! It reminded me of how much I miss city life. Don't get me wrong, I much prefer to live in the country but in our last home in Cali we had the best of both worlds. We were only 15 minutes outside of San Fran but lived in the quiet suburban town of Mill Valley in a house in the woods on one of the many beautiful hills of Mt. Tamalpais... deemed by some of my friends as a tree house. Since I worked in the city I still experienced city life, more importantly city food, daily but was able to escape as much as we wanted or as little as we wanted every weekend. We still have the luxury of being near a city here in Jersey but since the commute is not quite as easy and it takes a lot longer we don't venture into New York all that often. It's been a couple months since I was last in NYC so our quick trip to Chicago was a much needed dose of city life.

We had very little time, arriving late Friday night and leaving early afternoon on Sunday so on Saturday we tramped all over Chicago. We checked out Lake Michigan, ventured to a street fair on Randolph Street, enjoyed a little baseball action just outside of Wrigley field, had a very creative dinner, and finally ended the night at a speak easy called the Violet Lounge. Chicago is such a cool city. It is really beautiful with the Chicago river running through it and all of the old architecture. It also has a pretty great food scene and as you can imagine, one of our goals for the weekend was to seek out a really great dinner. Initially we had planned to go to an old school steakhouse but after a little more thought I was craving something a little different. After some research I found that Top Chef Season 2 winner, Stephanie Izard, owned a restaurant in Chicago called Girl and the Goat. The menu looked really interesting, really creative, and really good. We decided to go for it even though we didn't have a reservation (apparently it takes months to get a table there but we went early and only waited about 20 minutes) and it was the best decision of the weekend! We had quite a few different dishes: sauteed green beans with a fish sauce vinaigrette, hiramasa crudo with crisp pork belly, crisp calamari with rabbit ravioli, wood oven roasted pig face with sunny side egg, a goat belly dish, and finally the highlight of the meal which was actually a mistake- grilled baby octopus with a pistachio lemon vinaigrette. Lucky for us the kitchen made this dish accidentally for another table and apparently we looked like we would be happy to take it... which we were.

I've had octopus once before in Greece but it was served cold. It was delicious but very different from this dish. We LOVED this dish! The octopus was grilled and had the perfect smoky flavor and every component in the dish complimented each other so perfectly. It included Fava beans, guanciale (a thin, non smoked or cured Italian bacon), red cabbage, wax beans, radishes and the vinaigrette. The flavor was perfect, the texture was perfect, and all in all this may have been the most memorable dish I've ever eaten. Thus, I had to try to re-create it. I've never made octopus before so it was a total shot in the dark. I also couldn't find all of the exact ingredients so my dish is more of an adaptation than a recreation of the dish we had at Girl and the Goat. Luckily for the hubs and I though, our dish wasn't half bad. I will definitely continue to experiment with this dish and try to perfect it and will for sure be serving this at our next dinner party!

Grilled Octopus Salad with Lemon-Pistachio Vinaigrette

Salad:
1/2 lb octopus
2 slices thin cut bacon
2 radishes, sliced thin
handful of yellow wax beans
1/4 cup fava beans
1/4 cup red cabbage
little less than a 1/4 cup pistachios

In a saucepan add octopus and enough water to cover octopus but about 2 inches. Bring to a boil and simmer about an hour. Remove from boiling water and once cool enough to handle cut into large bite size pieces.

Cook bacon in a fry pan until lightly crisp. Boil wax beans in water about 5-7 minutes until just starting to become tender.

Heat grill. In a bowl toss all salad ingredients in dressing to lightly coat. Transfer to a mesh fry pan (one made for grilling). Cook on grill until salad ingredients are lightly charred, about 10 minutes. Remove from grill and toss with a bit more dressing to lightly coat salad and serve.

Vinaigrette:
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 shallot, chopped
2 tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp dijon mustard
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup pistachios

In a blender mix lemon juice, shallot, tarragon, red wine vinegar, sugar, dijon mustard, salt, and pepper until smooth. With blender running, add olive oil in a steady stream until well incorporated. Turn off blender, add pistachios and pulse until finely chopped.

Just a couple tips:

2. You will not use much of the dressing for this recipe, only a couple of tablespoons. It is delicious though and can be stored in your fridge for about a week. It'd be great on a salad but tonight I'm using it as a marinade for some chicken I plan to grill which I'm pretty sure is gonna be goooood!

p.s. the photo above is not actually of my dish, it's of the dish that inspired me. my dish looked a little different, but sorta the same... you get the idea!

Summer Sides: Carmelized Tomato Salad with Smoked Gouda

One of my most favorite things about summer is delicious tomatoes. I am absolutely head over heels for fresh tomatoes that are best at the peak of summer. They are delicious in a tomato sandwich which I'm pretty sure my mom enjoys at least once a day all summer long. And by tomato sandwich I mean just that... soft fresh bread (toasted if you wish), tomatoes, mayo (or miracle whip as is the case in our family), and to top it off a sprinkling of salt, pepper, and a little dill. I also love roasted tomatoes as a super simple side dish... Roma tomatoes, olive oil, fresh garlic, salt, pepper and roast in the oven for about an hour in low heat. To make a long story short, I love tomatoes because they are absolutely delicious when you let them shine and when prepared in super simple fashion.

Now that I've professed my love to tomatoes and given you a couple super simple recipes to boot, let's get to the matter at hand... a recipe with both tomatoes and cheese... my two loves (other than the hubs and the hounds of course!). Summertime makes me want to cook lots of fresh vegetables and this recipe is one that totally enhances the freshness. It screams summer to me. It was great as a side dish. I served it with sea bass topped with a super yummy cilantro, lime, jalapeno sauce (recipe will come... promise). I think this could also be great at a summer BBQ as an app. It's super easy. Toss it all together, throw it in a bowl, toast up some bread and put it on a table for your guests to pick at until it's completely demolished.  Either way it's the perfect summer side dish.

Caramelized Tomato Salad with Smoked Gouda

2 cups olive oil
1 3/4 lb cherry tomatoes, divided
1/3 cup sugar
2 fresh thyme sprigs
1/3 cup sherry vinegar
8 oz smoked Gouda
8 green onions thinly sliced
baguette, cut into about 1 inch thick slices and toasted

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Place 1 1/4 tomatoes in a 8x8x2 inch metal baking dish and toss with oil, sugar, and thyme. Roast in preheated oven until tomatoes are tender, about 2 hours. Cool caramelized tomatoes in oil.

Using a slotted spoon transfer tomatoes to a large bowl. Transfer 1/2 to 3/4 cup oil from baking dish to a separate medium bowl, reserving rest of oil. Add vinegar to oil in bowl with oil. Whisk to blend oil and vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

Add reserved fresh tomatoes, cheese and dressing to bowl with caramelized tomatoes. Lightly toss just enough to combine all ingredients. Top with green onions and serve with toasted baguette slices.

Recipe adapted from epicurious 

Adventures in Baking: Zucchini Whoopee Pies with Cream Cheese Filling

So, I had this grand idea a couple months back that I was going to start a whoopee pie business. I mean, these days, my grand ideas need to get in line cuz I keep having them, but I ain't doin them! Funny thing about this particular idea is that I'm a terrible baker. My first attempt was just short of awful... ok, it was awful. The pies had these weird chewy chunks in them and the filling was way too runny. After this attempt, I was pretty convinced that whoopee pies would not make me famous. Just as I was about to give up on my latest and greatest plan, I stumbled upon this recipe for zucchini cookie sandwiches... aka zucchini whoopee pies! Clearly my business was not going to happen over night and I was not going to become a top notch baker without a little, ok, a lot more practice so I figured why the heck not try my hand at these little guys and with just a couple minor hiccups in the process I ended up with an uber delicious end result and my excitement and ambition for this new venture is back! I still have a lot more practicing to do but at least now I know it's possible which makes me very happy.


The texture of the zucchini cookies is perfect for whoopee pies and the cream cheese filling worked out way better than the marshmallow fluff filling I attempted last time. It is the perfect consistency to hold the yummy cookies in place. I think the only change I will make at this point is to make the cookies smaller next time. Oh, and the recipe I used called for walnuts which I decided not to include because I'm not a huge fan of nuts but I have to say, I think I will include them next time. I think they'll add a little needed crunch.


So, without further adieu... a super yummy recipe for baked goods that even I could make! Enjoy!


Zucchini Whoopee Pies


1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
coarse salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup finely grated zucchini
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted


Sift flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and 1/4 tsp salt into a bowl. Set aside. 


In a large mixing bowl, beat 1 stick of butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until fluffy and pale in color. Beat in egg and vanilla. Beat in flour mixture. Mix in zucchini, oats, and walnuts. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. 


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a parchment lined baking sheet, drop heaping tablespoons of zucchini batter about 2 inches apart. Bake until edges are golden, about 17 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on wire racks.


Beat together remaining 1/2 stick of butter, cream cheese, and confectioner's sugar until smooth. When cookies are cool enough to handle, drop a heaping tablespoon full of filling onto bottom side of one cookie and sandwich with another cookie. Repeat with remaining filling and cookies.


Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

Spring at the Farmhouse: Savory Wild Mushroom Bread Pudding

Finally... some recipes from my super yummy first ever holiday dinner party. While planning my Easter dinner menu I wanted to make some Spring classics while also including some dishes that represented my cooking style. One of the best dishes I've made and posted here was this past fall with my savory butternut squash bread pudding. It was a super yummy dish, I got great feedback from those who tried making it, and I was even linked to on a very cool blog that gives lots of tutorials on all kinds of different things called Tipnut.com. So, I decided that another, more Springy, bread pudding would make for a perfect side dish to pair with the classic Roasted Spring Leg of Lamb that I planned to make for my main dish.

One of the things I find so exciting about food these days are all the fun twists and turns chefs make. Obviously, bread pudding was a classic sweet dish generally served for dessert. Nowadays though, do a little google search for bread pudding and all kinds of sweet and savory recipes pop up. I found this dish on epicurious.com and with my love of mushrooms (and my moms) I couldn't help but add this to our Easter menu. It was a yummy alternative to plain old dinner rolls and it's a hearty dish so it would make for a really great dinner with a little mixed greens on the side.... whether it be a leftover from a big holiday dinner or made for a low key romantical dinner at home with you and the one you love.

Wild Mushroom Bread Pudding

4 cups fresh bread crumbs (preferably challah or brioche)
1 1/2 lb fresh mixed wild mushrooms such as criminis, oyster, chantrelles
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 cups half and half
4 large eggs
1/2 cup grated parm

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rach in middle of oven. Bake bread cubes in a single layer in a large shallow baking pan until lightly golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Tear or cut mushrooms into 1/4 inch thick pieces.

Cook shallot in butter over medium heat in a heavy skillet, such as a cast iron skillet. Stir occasionally until shallots begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, and cook until liquid that mushrooms release has evaporated, about 15 minutes. Add parsley and garlic and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Whisk together half and half, eggs, cheese, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper in a large bowl. Add mushrooms and bread cubes and stir to combine until bread is well coated. Let stand 10 minutes for bread to absorb egg mixture.

Butter bottom and sides of a baking dish or casserole. Spoon mixture into baking dish and bake until firm to the touch, 30 to 35 minutes. Serve hot.

A couple tips:
1. The bread is important! I used challah because that is what my local Whole Foods Market had on hand. Most importantly, you want a soft bread and not a crusty one such as a french bread or baguette.
2. The recipe says to cut mushrooms into 1/4" thick pieces but I really wanted to taste the mushrooms so I made mine a little larger, about 1/2".
3. There are lots of ways you can change up this recipe. Try different bread like whole wheat or a different type of cheese, fontina maybe? Also read reviews that made it a little healthier with substituting olive oil for some of the butter and lowfat milk for some of the half and half. Lots of things to try for the next many times I plan to make this dish!

Recipe adapted from epicurious

A Little Lovin For My Mama!

Don't you just hate it when life gets so busy that you have no time to stop and take a moment to appreciate all that you have? You know, a moment to stop and smell the flowers!? Well, I think that's basically what has happened to me this past month but luckily today I finally had my moment! While spending a little time at home, working in my flower gardens while the hubs smoked brisket in his new smoker I had some time to literally and figuratively stop and smell the flowers.

The last few weeks have been really great but really busy at the same time. The most important lady in my life, my mama, was here visiting for a little over two weeks. Now that she is gone, I'd give anything to have her back! Our time went way too fast and there is so much that we didn't get to do. There is just something truly special about every moment that I get to spend with my mama. We've always had a special relationship and I can honestly say, my mom has been my best friend my entire life. I've always thought of her that way and I know I always will.

One of the things I've enjoyed most with her the past few times she's visited is spending time in the kitchen together. The hubs and I hosted our first holiday dinner party this past Easter and frankly, I couldn't have done it without my mama. She was my sous chef the entire day. I barked commands to her and she gladly obliged, just as any well trained sous chef would. She put up with me while I was totally stressing out in the morning and not necessarily acting like the sweet lil' girl she raised. We managed to pull off the dinner without a hitch and I think everyone who attended will agree that it was a huge success.

Lucky for you I have a couple of yummy recipes to post.... a savory wild mushroom bread pudding, roasted leg of lamb, and maybe I'll even get the hubs to share his super yummy grilled calamari stuffed with feta cheese recipe which I think was totally devoured within a matter of minutes from us sitting down to eat. Ya, have I mentioned that the hubs is a ridiculously good cook! But for now I figured I'd just share some pics of the day and let this be a little lovin for my mama since today is meant for mamas! So mama, thank you so much for all of your help on Easter day but more importantly, thank you for being my best friend and the most amazing woman I've ever known! I love you!

Spring at the Farmhouse: Asparagus, Mushroom, and Onion Tart

One of the best things by far about being back in the Northeast are the changing seasons. Seeing all the new life bloom outside my windows this Spring is making me so happy to be back home. I have this gorgeous flowering tree right outside my living room window and each day it seems to get more and more beautiful. Witherspoon street in downtown Princeton, NJ (about 6 miles from where I live) is covered in flowering trees and super cute daffodils are springing up everywhere! And then there is the food. One of my favorite vegetables is asparagus which is a shining star of the spring season. I was looking for an easy recipe and something a little different. I've been waiting to make an asparagus tart since I watched Jamie Oliver make one a couple months ago on his show Jamie at Home and now that asparagus is springing up everywhere I finally have the chance to give it a shot.

I found this recipe on epicurious but I added sauteed onions. I was hoping the onions would add a hint of sweetness but I didn't cook them long enough. Next time I am going to try cooking the onions low and slow in a pan on top of the stove. This will give them that great slow roasted sweetness which I think will be the perfect compliment to the slightly bitter asparagus. I also cut back on the amount of lemon zest and added a bit more Gruyere because well, we all know how obsessed I am with cheese! I served this as a side to a slow roasted halibut with a cheesy herby bread crumb topping which don't you worry, I'll post soon. The tart would also make really great appetizers.... maybe for Easter dinner??? Just cut the puff pastry into smaller squares, for example cut one sheet of puff pastry into 8 squares instead of 4.

Asparagus, Mushroom, and Onion Tart

1 pkg. puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed
1/4 cup unsalted butter
12 oz shitake mushrooms, stemmed and cut into 1/4 inch wide strips
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 lb slender asparagus spears, cut on diagonal into 1 inch pieces
1 1/2 tsp fresh thyme
1 1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1/2 cup creme fraiche (can be found with specialty cheeses at your grocery store)
1/2 cup grated gruyere cheese
2-4 tbsp melted butter

Roll out each pastry sheet into about 10 inch squares. Cut each into 4 squares (or 8 if making smaller for appetizers). Arrange squares on rimmed baking sheets.

Melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms, sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Saute until tender and lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and cool about 15 minutes. Add asparagus, thyme, lemon zest, 3/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper to mushrooms. Mix in creme fraiche and cheese.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mound filling atop pastry squares leaving a 1/2 inch border around center of each tart. Brush border with melted butter. Bake tarts 20-22 minutes in preheated oven until tarts are puffed and golden brown.

Recipe adapted from epicurious

A Birthday Celebration with Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Pretty in Pork, happy birthday to you! It's Pretty in Pork's first birthday today! I'm very excited that my little piglet has made it through it's first year already! It's been quite the year for me and I'm so happy to have had this space to document it all. I feel like I've become a better cook and am growing closer to the possibility of fulfilling my foodie dreams... whether that be for Pretty in Pork to manifest into a cookbook one day, or to become a whoopee pie business, or maybe an underground restaurant. We shall see!

To celebrate I wanted to make something by one lady who I find very inspiring. I wasn't all that interested in Ms. Julia Child until I watched the movie Julie and Julia while spending one of the most fun weekends of my life in Mendocino with three of my favorites. I absolutely love all things french and often tell my husband that if I could live anywhere in the world, it would be in a rustic farmhouse in the south of France. I love that Julia was so inspired by food when living in Paris and that she became a famous chef with very little formal training. I don't think I'll ever get to live in France, or at least not any time soon, but I can channel all things french through Julia's recipes. I decided I should start off with her most famous recipe, Boeuf Bourguignon. I actually thought that it was more of a beef stew but came to find out that it really isn't. It's basically beef braised in wine and then served with a  delicious sauce. It was very fancy and very yummy. And, I got to spend quite a few hours in the kitchen making it so I found it super fun! I have to warn you, it's a lot of steps and a good amount of work but there is really nothing hard about it. Just follow Julia's steps and it will be great! It also looks and sounds very impressive so it would be a fabulous dish to serve at a fancy dinner party.

Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon

4 slices thick bacon
1 tbsp olive oil
3 lbs lean stew beef cut into 2-inch cubes
1 carrot, sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tbsp flour
3 cups red wine such as chianti or pinot noir
2 to 3 cups beef stock
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, mashed
1/2 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf
18 to 24 brown braised onions, recipe to follow
1lb sauteed mushrooms, recipe to follow

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot, saute bacon in oil over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes until lightly browned. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside. Dry beef in paper towels and saute in hot oil and bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides, about 5-7 minutes. Set beef aside. Saute veggies in oil and bacon fat until starting to lightly brown. Discard the sauteing fat and oil.

Add bacon and beef to veggies. Toss with salt and pepper. Add flour and stir to lightly coat beef. Move dish to preheated oven, uncovered, and cook for 4 minutes. Remove from oven, stir, and put back in oven for another 4 minutes. This will give beef a nice light brown crust. Remove from oven and turn down to 325 degrees.

Place dish over medium heat. Stir in wine and enough beef stock to barely cover beef. Add tomato paste. Place garlic and herbs in a little bundle in a cheese cloth (this makes them easier to remove later and saves a step when making the sauce) and add to dish. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove then cover and set in lower third of preheated oven. Let simmer very slowly in oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The meat is done when it is fork tender.

When meat is done, pour the dish into a colander placed over a saucepan. Wash out the casserole and return beef and bacon to it. Add the brown braised onions and mushrooms to the pot.

Skim fat off the sauce and simmer for a minute or two. You should have about 2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat the back of a spoon lightly. If too thin, boil it down rapidly until it thickens. If too thick, add a little beef stock. Pour sauce over the meat and vegetables. Cover and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat several times. Serve with boiled potatoes.

Brown braised onions:
18-24 small pearl onions, peeled
1 1/2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 tbsp oil
1/2 cup beef stock
salt and pepper to taste
4 parsley sprigs, 1 small bay leaf, 1/4 tsp thyme; tied in cheesecloth

Heat oil and butter in a skillet. Add onions and saute over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Stir frequently to try to brown as evenly as possible.

Pour stock, salt and pepper, and herbs in cheesecloth in a small saucepan. Add sauteed onions. Cover and simmer to braise the onions 40-50 minutes until all the liquid has evaporated.

Sauteed Mushrooms:
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp oil
1 lb mushrooms, quartered

Heat butter and oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Once butter has stopped foaming, add mushrooms and cook 4-5 minutes until mushrooms are lightly browned, stirring frequently.

Recipes adapted from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking with Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck