OMGSNAX!

one of the good things about staying at daniel’s house (vs mine) is that he has digital cable, which for us translates to: law & order reruns, dirty jobs on the discovery channel, & unlimited access to our hero alton brown on the food network. sometimes we also watch rachael ray, mostly b/c she just has to be 100% trashed during the course of whatever show it is that she’s filming.

last night, we watched an episode of 30 minute meals while waiting for brian potts to show up (he never did) & rachael did one of her late-night, just-gonna-throw-stuff-together meals. one of the dishes was this bread gnocchi, which looked really good — good enough to try tonight!

INGREDIENTS
8 slices day old, good quality italian bread
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
salt & freshly ground black pepper
2 cups tomato sauce
3 small plum tomatoes, seeded & chopped
several fresh basil leaves, torn
2 cups shredded mozzarella, smoked mozzarella, or provolone cheese

METHOD
preheat broiler.

heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. chop bread into bite size pieces. add extra-virgin olive oil, butter & garlic to the skillet. melt butter into oil then add the bread. season the bread with salt & pepper. toss & cook the bread 7 to 8 minutes then add the tomato sauce & fresh tomatoes. turn to coat & warm the tomato sauce, 3 to 4 minutes. remove the bread gnocchi & tomatoes from heat and transfer to a casserole dish, top with basil then cover the dish with cheese. place the casserole under the broiler & cook 2 to 3 minutes, until the cheese browns & bubbles. serve immediately.

DEVIATIONS & OBSERVATIONS
since we threw it all together sort of last minute, i didn’t have any fresh basil or plum tomatoes — so, those two steps were eliminated. additionally, there’s the issue of not being able to use the oven & stove at the same time (without tripping the circuit breakers), so i wound up melting the cheese right in the pot with the sauce-covered bread chunks (as rachael did during the episode). it was ok. i left the good mozz at home, sadly, & had to work with a combination of shredded mozz & romano cheeses — not nearly as satisfying.

basically, it was one of those meals where you scour the pantry looking for a few things you can put together to eat, & it worked. daniel, sarah, & i ate it while watching Payback, & we finished it all, but ok: it’s bread in tomato sauce with cheese. like, just have a pizza, ok? seriously: if it’s that late at night & you’re that lazy, order a pizza or heat up a frozen one. pretty much the same concept.

“Bread ‘Gnocchi’ with Tomato & Basil” from 30 Minute Meals with Rachael Ray

chili was daniel’s idea for our weekly dinner at his house last night — fairly easy, good for winter, feeds a lot of people. it sounded pretty good to me, too, so we pulled a couple recipes off the internet & out of cookbooks & intended to wing it when caroline reminded me that her mom makes a delicious vegetarian chili. one phone call later, we were on our way to get the surprisingly few ingredients in this chili recipe!

INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1-28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 can each kidney beans, pinto beans, & black beans, drained & rinsed
1-10 oz can enchilada sauce
1 teaspoon oregano

METHOD
in a large stockpot, sauté onion & bell pepper in oil. add remaining ingredients. bring to a boil & then reduce heat to medium-low. simmer, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes.

DEVIATONS & OBSERVATIONS
added: a second bell pepper, some carrots, a jalapeno. eliminated: all black beans (which daniel decided was somehow blasphemy). substitued: diced tomatoes for crushed (a mistake).

this is an easy recipe to double, which i did in anticipation of a larger than usual dinner crowd — most of whom were sadly no-shows. it tasted just fine, although it wasn’t spicy enough by far — i should’ve considered a spicier version of the enchilada sauce. the consistency was a little soupier than i generally like, & it didn’t reduce down despite simmering for an hour or so. my mom’s chili was always more robust, although hers was basically like eating spicy meat sauce with oyster crackers since no one in my family liked beans when i was a kid. i probably shouldn’t have subsituted out the crushed tomatoes — maybe the chili would’ve been a little less chunky/brothy, a little thicker.

we ate it with cornbread (made from a mix) & saltines, & everyone who ate it gave it top marks, so maybe i’m just nitpicking. if i make it again, though, some changes will be made.

“3-Bean Enchilada Chili” from caroline’s mom.

daniel picked me up from work today & we. were. STARVING. i convinced him to swing by trader joe’s on our way to his house, so he stirfried himself some of tj’s frozen orange chicken while i tried out this squash recipe. something about butternut squash really does it for me, & as soon as i read that they’re selling it ALREADY CUBED — thus greatly reducing my chances of losing a finger — i had to give it a try.

INGREDIENTS
1 16-oz package trader joe’s cubed butternut squash
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon curry powder
pinch of red pepper flakes
salt to taste
pepper to taste
2 minced garlic cloves
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
8 oz cooked trader joe’s gorgonzola-walnut tortellini
1 tablespoon grated pecorino romano

METHOD
preheat the oven to 400.

dump the butternut squash in an ovenproof dish & add the vegetable oil, curry powder, red pepper flakes, salt, & pepper. toss to fully coat the squash with the oil & seasonings.

cover the dish & roast until very soft, about 45-50 minutes. uncover the dish for the last 10 minutes of the roasting process to bring out a nice, toasty color in the squash.

while the squash is still hot, add the garlic & thyme and stir to combine. add the cooked pasta & toss gently until fully coated. garnish with the grated pecorino romano.

DEVIATIONS & OBSERVATIONS
(no photos; ill-prepared.)

considering how easy this recipe was, i found myself uttering, “oh … whoops!” an alarming number of times. #1: coating the squash in oil. (”oh … whoops! i guess that was maybe a little more oil than i needed.”) #2: adding the garlic too soon. (”oh … whoops! i was supposed to add that AFTER it was roasted.”) #3: the red pepper flake fiasco. (”oh … whoops! that’ll probably be too much.” (it was.))

it was easy as all get out, though, & the squash, though needlessly spicy, tasted great! i think the next time around, though, i’d substitute just a standard cheese ravioli/tortellini b/c the gorgonzola was a little strong for me. maybe adding some brown sugar &/or maple syrup to the finished pasta instead of the red pepper flakes would be a nice touch as well.

“Butternut Squash-tossed Pasta With Thyme & Pecorino Romano” from The Grub Report.