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Italian White Bean Salad

Written on August 8, 2013 by Wannabe Chef in Entree

This is one of my favorite things I’ve eaten this Summer, which is saying a lot since I love sweets and it’s a savory recipe. It’s just the prefect, refreshing thing to throw together and put on a plate and enjoy without ever turning on the oven.

The ingredients here are really simple: White beans, sundried tomatoes, onions, basil, dressing and seasoning. That’s all you need! Don’t let the raw onions scare you; soaking them in a little cold water first takes out the bite in their flavor but leaves them cool and crunchy. You might want to freshen your breath afterwards with a homemade peppermint patty.

Like all recipes, make sure to season these to taste. If the beans you used were cooked in salt, make sure to use less to keep the flavor light and fresh.

Italian White Bean Salad

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 4 servings):

2 cans white beans, drained
1/4 cup chopped sundried tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped onions
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons fresh chopped basil
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt

Method:

Let the onions soak in cold water for 5-10 minutes. Drain the water from the onions and lightly pat them dry.
Toss all of the ingredients except for the salt together in a large bowl.
Taste the beans and season with the salt as necessary.
Serve cold or at room temperature.

Italian White Bean Salad

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Vegetarian Grilling

Written on June 2, 2013 by Wannabe Chef in Entree

Italian Tofu & Bell Pepper Skewers

Prep time: 2 hours

Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients(Serves 3-4):

1 block extra-firm tofu, pressed
4 bell peppers, seeded
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning blend
Grilling skewers

Method:

Dice the tofu and peppers into 1-inch squares.
In a Ziploc bag, mix together the rest of the ingredients.
Toss the tofu and bell peppers with the marinade in the bag and let it rest for 2-4 hours.
Preheat your grill to around 400 degrees.
Put the ingredients on the grilling skewers.
Grill for 10-15 minutes, turning the skewer sticks every few minutes to a different side.
Remove from the grill. Serve hot.

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Easy Polenta And Eggs

Written on October 15, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Entree

Real Italians look away; this recipe definitely isn’t for you. Otherwise keep reading.

Now that it’s getting darker earlier and earlier I can’t help but be lazier when it comes to cooking meals. I’ve been looking for simpler things I can throw together in 10 minutes or so that still pack a lot of flavor. I’ve started keep a tube of pre-cooked polenta(the horror!) around to heat up in sauce whenever I need a quick Italian fix. Gourmet? Not at all. But it’s healthy, gluten-free, and much cheaper than take-out options.

This is hardly a “recipe”; more like a list of ingredients to throw together for a quick meal. If you’re not a vegetarian, you can skip the eggs entirely and use a meat sauce instead. But I think there’s nothing better on a cold night than warm marinara sauce and runny yolks.

I’d generally say to expect 3-4 polenta slices, 3/4 cup sauce, and 2-3 eggs per person but you can customize this to perfectly fit your appetite.

Polenta And Eggs

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

Pre-cooked polenta
Marinara sauce
Eggs

Method:

Add enough marinara to fill a frying pan.
Slice the polenta 1/2 an inch thick and spread it out on the sauce in a single layer.
Cook for 2-3 minutes on medium in a covered pan, flip, and cook another 2-3 minutes.
Move the polenta onto a dish but reserve the sauce in the pan. Add a little bit of water if it looks dry or is thinning.
Poach the eggs in the tomato sauce until the tops are cooked but keeping the yolks runny.
Serve the poached eggs and marinara sauce over the plated polenta.

Of course if you have time you can cook your own polenta and make the marinara sauce from scratch. But then again if you have time for all of that something tells me you aren’t looking at this recipe.

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My Favorite Store-Bought Sauces

Written on September 10, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Miscellaneous

The food bloggers who cook everyday and love making time-consuming sauces and stews amaze me.

I’m nothing like that.

Sure, I like making desserts and even occasionally a dinner or two, but a lot of the time I have no problem phoning in meals. Cereal and yogurt for dinner is more than fine with me. But occasionally I like to pick up pre-made products at the store to help me make something easy and delicious that’s also a little bit more impressive than cereal.

Here are a few of the trusty, reliable, go-to sauces I’m sure to have in my pantry.

Trader Joe’s Marinara Sauce

Trader Joe’s sells my favorite marinara sauce. I would happily serve this to guests and not say a thing. It’s delicious, cheap, and has all vegan and gluten-free ingredients. I usually have 3-4 in my pantry at any time because that’s how many I’ll go through in between shopping trips.

Of course it’s good with (corn) pasta and (soy) meatballs. I also like poaching eggs in the sauce and putting that over pasta or rice or quinoa. Just add some fresh herbs and you’ll forget it ever came from a jar.

Thai Kitchen Curry Paste

I really have no clue about Thai cooking and yet I love eating it; that’s where the Thai Kitchen curry paste comes in handy. All you need to do is mix it over a stove with coconut milk and it turns into a curry sauce—super simple. All the ingredients are vegan and gluten-free, too! I like it more than the bottled curry sauces because it lasts longer and the ingredients are simpler. Again, this is something I usually have in my pantry waiting to be used.

I always have tofu and frozen vegetables on hand and usually have some leftover brown rice in my refrigerator. When you mix them all together it’s a perfect combination.

San-J Stir-Fry Sauces

Like I mentioned, tofu, vegetables, and rice are big in my diet so I like anything that makes those tastier without lots of pressing and cooking. San-J stir-fry sauces are great because you just have to dice a block of tofu and sauté it in a pan in the sauce. It’s also hard to find sauces that use gluten-free soy sauce and I love the fact that they have a variety of flavors that are all gluten-free.

Perfect.

Have any favorite sauces I should try? By the way, none of these were given to me or offered compensation. I just really like the sauces.

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Mini Caprese Salad Bites

Written on July 4, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Snack

Happy July 4th! If you’re looking for red, white, and blue, then you’re going to have to take a second look at last week’s flag cake. Instead I have something red, white, and green. That’s close enough, right?

One of the best parts of Summer is how little you actually need to do to make food taste good. Some fresh vegetables and fresh herbs are all you need to make something taste clean and delicious. And when you’re spending time outside and at cook-outs, all that extra time is a great thing. You can make these appetizers in just 15 minutes and I guarantee they’ll be gone by the end of the party.

You could use 1-inch fresh mozzarella balls; however, when I was at the store those cost twice as much and the point is for this to be delicious—not expensive. A cheaper option is to buy a log of mozzarella, shave a thin layer off of the sides so that they’re flat, and cut the rectangle into equal sized squares.

Mini Caprese Salad Bites

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 5 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 24 bites):

1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
24 cherry tomatoes
24 basil leaves, washed
24 1-inch cubes or balls of fresh mozzarella
24 toothpicks

Method:

Pour the vinegar into a small sauce pan and bring it to a rolling boil over a burner for 5 minutes until it has reduced to half its original amount. Move it to a serving dish and let it cool.
Start by pushing a cherry tomato three quarters the way up a toothpick.
Next put on a basil leaf on and move it up to touch the tomato.
Lastly put on the mozzarella until the toothpick is mostly through.
Repeat until all of the ingredients are gone.
Plate the caprese bites and serve with the reduced vinegar on the side or decoratively pour the vinegar onto the plate before putting down the bites.
Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

You can make another easy dipping sauce by mixing extra virgin olive oil and crushed red pepper flakes in a bowl or small plate.

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Gluten-Free Pizzelles

Written on May 30, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

Over the weekend I made Christmas cookies. In May. But really, who’s complaining when there’s cookies involved?

This recipe was actually one of the very last ones I made before I got my first DSLR cameras. Since then I’ve been meaning to make them and take pictures again. I somehow never got around to making them last Christmas so now I’m fixing that mistake.

I had a friend help me make these and take some home afterwards. Clearly one of the best things about Christmas cookies is making many many dozens and giving them away to friends and family(but also keeping a stash for yourself because—hell—you baked them and deserve some cookies, too).

The one special piece of equipment you need to make pizzelles is a pizzelle press. The one I used is made by Cuisinart. You can easily use this recipe to make non-gluten-free pizzelles by substituting regular all purpose flour in for the gluten-free mix in a 1:1 ratio.

Gluten-Free Pizzelles

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 20 pizzelles):

3 eggs
1/4 cup neutral flavored oil
2 teaspoons anise extract
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour mix

Method:

Beat all of the ingredients together in a large bowl until smooth.
Heat an electric pizzelle maker according to manufacturer’s instructions until it’s ready to cook.
Take about an ounce of dough and roll it into a smooth ball in between your hands. Place the ball on the center of the pizzelle press, doing the same for both sides if your machine is double sided, and press the cover down.
Cook for about 45 seconds to a minute or until your pizzelle maker says that the cookies are done.
Lift the lid and carefully move the cookies to a separate plate to cool using a fork or other tool.
Repeat until all of the dough is used.
Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to a few days.

These are definitely too good to save just for Christmastime. My family’s favorite way of eating them is with a cup of coffee or tea and cream and dipping the edge in to soften right before each bite.

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Green Beans Provencal

Written on October 12, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Side Dish

When you’re around Italian cooking a lot, you start to pick up the unspoken rules of Italian cooking. These are the rules that tell you how to pair sauce with a specific shape of pasta, not to pair cheese with a fish dish, and to never put a red sauce over green vegetables.

Lucky for me this isn’t Italian, it’s French. There’s also no red sauce, just whole tomatoes. But I’m not sure that exception would fly in Italy. But what no Italian can deny is that when tomatoes combine with garlic and olive oil magic happens and whatever comes out of the pot will undoubtedly be good.

Green Beans Provencal

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 4 servings):

1lb green beans, trimmed
3 medium tomatoes
5 cloves of garlic
3 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Heat 2 Tablespoons of oil in a large pan over medium heat.
Slice the garlic cloves thinly lengthwise. Add the slices into the hot oil and sauté just until the edges begin to brown.
Add the green beans into the pan and toss with the oil. Continue cooking until the green beans cook and darken their color.
Slice the tomato into halves and then quarters so that each tomato yields 8 slices. Add those to the pan and toss with the green beans.
Continue cooking until the tomatoes blister. Remove the pan from the heat and drain off any water that’s cooked out. Add in the remaining tablespoon of oil, salt and pepper and toss one last time. Move to a serving dish and serve hot.

My original plan was to serve this with spaghetti squash. By the time I finally cooked it, I had eaten all the spaghetti squash and had it with quinoa instead, which is a grain that always reminds me of quinoa. I guess what I’m getting at is that this makes a great dish with any pasta.

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Grilled Eggplant Rollatini With Ricotta and Fava Bean Filling {Vegan}

Written on July 19, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Entree

Last Wednesday was my father’s birthday so I took it upon myself to make dinner for my family. Of course, since I was the one cooking I subjected everyone to the hippy vegan rabbit food I usually eat. Thankfully my family is willing to try anything, especially if it’s Italian, so I tried a vegan/vegifull version of an Italian favorite: Stuffed Italian shells.

Not only were these delicious and a hit, they were also a lot healthier than I even intended for them to be. The grilled eggplant, replacing breaded and fried eggplant, adds a smoky, charred flavor to the sauce. And the beans in the tofu filling give a good meaty texture contrast. It’s not something I’d throw together on a weeknight, but even so it couldn’t have been much easier to assemble and bake.

Grilled Eggplant Rollatini With Ricotta and Fava Bean Filling

Ingredients(Makes 4 servings):

1 large eggplant, sliced lengthwise 3/4 centimeter thick
3/4 cup tofu ricotta
1 cup fava beans
2 cups marinara sauce
3/4 cup vegan mozzarella shreds(I used Daiya)
Fresh basil for garnish
Oil for greasing

Toss the eggplant slices in oil and grill over high heat until soft and pliable. Remove after grilling both sides and let cool slightly before handling.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix the fava beans and ricotta and scoop a couple tablespoons of the filling into the middle of each eggplant slice. Roll up the eggplant and put them end-side down into a baking pan packed together.

Cover the eggplants in marinara sauce and then a layer of cheese.

Bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly—about 15 minutes.

Finish with fresh herbs and serve hot.

July 14th 038

This is Italian comfort food at its finest. The melted cheese was like the frosting on the cake. We easily demolished the pan. You could of course use regular cheese and make this a delicious vegetarian dish, too. Whatever you use, just don’t skimp on it.

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Secrets Of A Restaurant Chef (Intern)

Written on July 6, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Miscellaneous

Secrets of a Restaurant Chef

Move over, Anne Burrell, there’s a new restaurant chef in town.

Some of you have asked about my internship, which has been well underway for a month now. I haven’t talked about it much simply because I wasn’t sure what to talk about. A lot of the things I’m learning don’t translate to blog posts easily. So I sent out a plea asking for jumping points and here are some of the FAQ I got.

What’s involved in a typical shift?

My shift starts at 10am. The chef lays out a list of ingredients that need to be prepped for that night or the next few days so often I get started on one or two of those tasks. Our service is 11:30-2, during which time I could continue with food prep if it’s a light day or if things are busy get pulled into the salad and pizza station. The dinner shift chefs come in at 2 and for the last hour I’m there I usually work on one or two things that still need to be done for that night. I get out at 3 and, even though it’s just 5 hours of work, I feel as though a truck hit me usually. Time spent in the kitchen is no joke.

How do you think this internship will help you get to where you want to go?

To be honest I have no clue where I want to go. As much as I love food blogging, I wouldn’t put much stock into it as a job. I thought that working in a restaurant would be a logical step towards a real career. The very first day, my shift boss told me outright “keep cooking as a hobby.” As much as I’ve enjoyed learning to cook in a restaurant setting, I’m not sure I could see myself doing it day in and day out. Regardless, I’m picking up a lot of practical skills.

How do you stay gluten-free in an Italian restaurant setting?

Simply put, I avoid eating anything at the restaurant as much as I can. The food isn’t bad; in fact it’s terrific. It’s just what I would call a “meat and wheat” kind of menu and that’s not how I eat at all. Since I have to actually ingest gluten to have a reaction, I can work with it as much as I need to. If I do need a snack, I keep a bag of cashews with me.

What has been your biggest kitchen mistake?

Thankfully, I haven’t made any huge, irreversible mistakes. The only thing I can think of is when I was chopping parsley and nicked a tiny piece of my fingernail chopping it fine.

Another time I was using the meat slicer to cut prosciutto thinly and I got maybe 15 slices out of it before the meat was torn to shreds and useless. I’m not sure if it’s the way the meat was marbled or if I mishandled it on the slicer but I felt pretty bad after that.

What’s the best thing you’ve learned so far?

My knife skills have advanced leaps and bounds since getting into the kitchen. I now know the proper way to hold it and how to dice all the different types of vegetables. I’m even becoming jealous of the fancy knives and cutting boards I’m spoiled with at the restaurant and think I might have to splurge on a set for myself at the end of the Summer.

What has been the best job so far? The worst?

My favorite jobs are the ones that are simple, repetitive, and take a long time so I can zone out. Cleaning sugar snap peas and rolling garganelli pasta are some of the best.

The worst are beets—anything to do with them, like peeling hundreds of tiny beets after they’ve cooled or having to devein the leaves. Both leave me with sore hands and dirt under my fingernails for a week.

What goes on behind the scenes of your place?

There’s really no behind the scenes dirt to spill, and not just because it’s an open kitchen. I love the restaurant and their commitment to using fresh, local ingredients whenever possible.

Well, that’s a glimpse into my internship. If you have any other questions, I’d be happy to answer them either in the comments section or in a separate post.

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The Wannabe Chef Grows Up(Just A Little)

Written on April 20, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Miscellaneous

If you follow me on Twitter then you’ve probably heard this already because I’m a bit of a blabbermouth. Bear with me while I tell the whole story.

This past weekend I went home to interview for a Summer internship at a restaurant near my house. The restaurant, an Italian Trattoria, focuses on locally sourced food, making everything in-house, and using the ingredients to their fullest. I had eaten there several times over the past few years and knew I loved what they made.

As soon as I arrived I got to see the ins and outs of the restaurant—the kitchen, the walk-in, the pantry, curing meats—and then it was time to work. I started by learning how to roll garganelli pasta(all the pasta is made in house and frozen). After that I worked with the salad and pizza station manager making lemon-thyme dressing and then putting out all the salads during service with odd jobs in between. After only 6 hours of cooking I probably learned as much as I ever have food blogging.

This is what garganelli pasta looks like(taken from Wikipedia). To make it, you roll the dough into thin sheets, cut it into 2×2 squares, roll the dough around a dowel diagonally and press it on a rigid surface so that it will stick to itself. Who knew?

At the end of the night we mutually agreed that this internship felt like a good fit for me; I enjoyed learning so much in a professional kitchen and the staff appreciated an extra set of hands. The fun thing about this internship is that the restaurant does a lot between prep work to service to pastries and I’ll have the opportunity to dabble in each.

How will this change the blog? Well, probably not too much, if at all. Obviously I’m not there to take pictures of the restaurant or what I make there but just to learn. That being said, I’ll probably bring a lot of what I learn home and will definitely be influenced and inspired by the dishes. Maybe I’ll even start a new segment called Secrets Of A Restaurant Wannabe Chef a la Anne Burrell(did you know chefs don’t wear their own pants in the kitchen? More on that some other time).

In case you were wondering, yes, we wear a hat during service and this is what it looks like. Black is slimming, which is good because Italian food is not.

If there are any burning questions left I’d be happy to answer them.

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