Date, Goat Cheese & Mint Flatbread w/ Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

*Post by Mark

Eager to try out our new camera, my lunch yesterday was more about making something I could take a picture of than it was about putting food into my body.  So I scraped together a 'kitchen sink' flatbread pizza using only the random items I found in our mostly empty refrigerator.  The pictures turned out pretty fantastic, but I was shocked that the flatbread actually came together as well as it did.  Hell, I even popped another one in the oven for lunch today.

Click below to see what all went onto the Flatbread!

Butternut Squash and Chickpea Salad with Tahini

*Post by Angela.
Two vegetarian recipe posts in two days?  The world has gone crazy.  I actually made this beautiful salad from Orangette a couple of weeks back for my annual Easter/Passover dinner (a dinner I didn't end up posting about because as the wine started flowing, I quickly forgot to take photos of what I was cooking).  Cooking dinner for my friends can sometimes be a challenging (but rewarding) task - in my little group of lovable maniacs, I have a couple of vegetarians (and those who oppose them, which means EXTRA meat), a couple of celiac sufferers (no gluten!), those who won't eat pork, those who won't eat seafood, and one who is so particular about food I maintain an actual physical list of things he won't eat.

This meal around, I wanted to make some kosher-for-Passover food that my Jewish vegetarian friend (who will normally eat anything, as long as it doesn't include meat) could enjoy as the rest of us were busy chowing down on the roasted lamb.*  While it did require the extra step of finding kosher tahini, this salad was well worth it - everyone loved this earthy yet bright, slightly sweet and tangy salad, and it's something I'm looking forward to making again in the near future.

Click below to get the recipe!

Potato and Leek Flat Bread

*Post by Angela.
Lately, the stuff we've been eating at home I haven't felt was worth posting about (or am kind of embarrassed about eating) - pasta with store-bought pesto, sandwiches thrown together from leftovers, frozen goods, canned sardines and rice...sigh.  But last night, even though I was feeling super lazy, I wanted to eat something I didn't heat in the microwave.  With a little assist from some refrigerated pizza dough, I threw together this tasty potato and leek flat bread from Real Simple in virtually no time at all. 

Click below to get the recipe!

Gorgonzola Pear Pasta

I'm currently dying.  Well, okay, not dying, but very, very uncomfortable - right now, I'm sick, with a cough so bad that it makes me feel like my ribs are breaking with each fit.  But I still have to eat, right (and um, Mark does, too)? Luckily, I found this quick and delicious dish from allrecipes. And man, talk about easy - I'm not sure you can get much easier than this.  This vegetarian dish is worth putting in your weekday dinner line-up.  

Click below to get the recipe!

Artichoke and Spinach Dip

I headed to my friend Annie's place for Oscar watching last night, and while I wanted to be really creative and make appetizers to match each Best Picture nominee, I was just way too lazy (see endlesssimmer for more of an effort).  Instead, I decided to go with a tried and true artichoke and spinach dip, with some of my expected modifications.  The result?  A really quick and easy recipe you can take to any future shin-dig!

Click below to get the recipe!

Tandoori Chicken with Basmati Rice and Indian Dahl with Spinach

As you may have guessed from my recent posts, I haven't done much cooking lately - I've either been too busy/tired/lazy, or I've been out of town.  But the other day, I felt an undeniable itch to get back in the kitchen and make myself a nice, well-balanced, healthy-ish home-cooked meal.  As I've made a pledge to try to cook "outside the box" more, I decided to try out Indian (a cuisine I rarely eat, much less cook, but generally enjoy) with Tandoori-Style Chicken and Indian Dahl (for all you vegetarians out there!).  The recipe for the chicken I got from my Williams-Sonoma cookbook; then it was just a matter of finding a vegetable side dish to complement it.  I found this one at allrecipes, and the best part is that it called only for spices I already had (with the exception of the garam masala)!  Strangely, my vegetarian "side" dish turned out a lot better than my chicken entree, but I think with some practice in cooking Indian cusine, I can turn out tastier dishes in the future.

Click below to get the recipes!

Cannellini Bean Spread

I'm watching the Super Bowl at my friends' place, one of whom is a vegetarian.  So I decided to bring one of my favorites, a cannellini bean spread from Steamy Kitchen.  It's fast and simple, and the resulting spread is luscious and satisfying.  For a vegetarian recipe, that is. 

Click below to get the recipe!

Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic and cream-braised Brussels Sprouts

Okay.  I made two things tonight, one that looked beautiful*, and one that turned out...um,  unattractive (the more accurate description involves terms that would be inappropriate when discussing items to be eaten).  I was incredibly tempted to only post pictures of the element that  looked nice. But, in the spirit of honesty, I've decided to post both.  Also...while Mark enjoyed both, he did comment that I've made better sprouts and better chicken.  I liked both, but I can't really say I disagree.  I may try both again at some point, but for now?  On to other experiments.  

Click below for the recipes!

Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce and Garlic Basil Oil

Last night, I was simultaneously 1) craving pasta and 2) trying to figure out how to use up the three tomatoes that have been sitting in my veggie crisper for the last week.  Fortunately, steamykitchen.com had the solution:  Pasta with fresh tomato sauce and garlic basil oil!  I've actually been eying this recipe for a couple of weeks, as it is seemed simple enough to prepare (and cheap!), yet still managed to be a step above your typical tomato sauce.  As an added bonus, it provides me with an elegant pasta dish I can serve to my vegetarian friends.

Click below for the recipe!

Avocado and Arugula salad

If I had started this blog a few months ago, you can bet that I would have blogged the hell out of mine and Mark's trip to Chicago at the end of October. We basically ate our way through the city, including stops at two of Chicago's best restaurants, Blackbird and Frontera Grill. We also stopped in at one of Mark's favorite restaurants, Cafe Ba Ba Reeba. As wonderful as those meals were, the one dish that I took back with me and have included in my regular repertoire of meals is a very simple and delicious salad from organic pizzeria Crust, located in Wicker Park.


It doesn't get a whole lot easier than this: Toss a bunch of arugula in good quality olive oil, top with slices of avocado, shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano, and a few croutons, and finish with a squirt of lemon juice and a sprinkle of sea salt. The original uses Pecorino Romano, which is a little sharper and stronger, but as I'm more likely to have Parm in my fridge than the Pecorino, I use that. I love this salad with a bowl of soup for lunch, or as a lighter element with a hearty dinner.