A big pile of New England

Ok, so sometimes things taste WAY more delicious than they look. Hmm, can I think of an example? Finger tapping against pursed lips... Oh, yes - how about the photo at our left? I mean, this dish is AH-mazing, really one of my favorites, but it kind of looks like a third grader threw up on a piece of bread. Just to deconstruct it a little for you - we've got a thick slice of bread, topped with a piece of pan-seared cod, and then smothered with a chunky clam-chowder broth. And yes, those are pieces of bacon. Which my pescetarian brethren could leave out. In addition to the delish factor, this plate also has freez-a-bility going for it. When my husband and I make it, we make the entire clam chowder portion, but only cook two pieces of cod. Pop the leftover chowder in the freezer, and then you can just thaw it, sear up a couple more pieces of cod - and you've got a REALLY great, warming dinner in like 15 minutes.

Just a brief parenthetical word on bacon: I urge you to try the black forest bacon from the meat case at Whole Foods. Delicious.

Seared Cod and Clam Chowder on Bread, adapted from The Mist Grill: Rustic Cooking from Vermont*
Serves 4   

6 pieces of bacon, chopped
1 stalk celery, diced

1/2 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
3 small red-skinned potatoes, well-scrubbed and diced (keep the skin on)
1 quart clam juice (I've also used fish stock with good success)
2 cups milk
2 small cans of chopped clams (you'll use the whole thing, so don't drain them)
salt

pepper

butter

4 cod fillets (whatever portion size works for you)

4 thick slices of bread

In a heavy dutch oven or soup pot, cook the diced bacon over medium heat until brown and crispy. Remove the bacon and drain on paper towels. Keep about a tablespoon or two of the bacon drippings in the pot. Cook the celery, carrot, onion, red pepper and potato until softened, about 8-10 minutes. Pour in the clam juice and simmer for 20 minutes, reducing the heat if necessary. Stir in the clams (with their juice) and milk and continue to cook for another 10 minutes. Put the bacon back in the pot, and season to taste with salt and pepper. The cookbook notes: the chowder is not meant to be thick, but rather more brothlike. Sage advice - thanks cookbook!

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Once you've stirred in the clams and milk in the broth construction above, you are about ready to start these steps. In a heavy, ovenproof pan (have I mentioned my love of cast iron recently?), melt a tablespoon or so of butter over medium-high heat. Season the cod with salt and pepper. Once the butter stops foaming, but before it burns, add the cod fillets. Sear until the first side is golden brown. Turn them over, and then pop the skillet in the oven, cooking until the fish flakes easily with a fork - about 6 minutes.

To serve, put a piece of bread in each of four bowls. Top with a cod fillet, and then ladle the chowder broth on top. Note: The bread will soak up lots of the broth and get soft. This is supposed to happen.

*Apparently, the restaurant closed five years ago, and the cookbook is out of print. Ha! (I mean, I'm sad for them and all, but it's funny-ironic a little, right?)

You have to keep your head on a swivel

Every time I go to the grocery store, I like to peruse the meat section. I don't actually cook a lot of meat, but I still like to look. So the other day, I'm trolling the dead animal section of Whole Foods and I swear if my life was a TV show there would have been a bright light shining from the meat case and a chorus of angels singing "Ahhhhhhhh!!!!" There it was - a package of mismarked meat! I think when I first met my friend Emily G. she thought that all my boyfriend and I ever did was hunt for mismarked meats at area grocery stores. That is only what we did every weekend, Emily. We watched Matlock and darned socks during the week.

Anyway - back to the mismarked meat. It was a pound and a quarter of 93% lean free-range ground beef - marked at TWELVE CENTS. Yes, that would be one dime and two pennies. There were actually like five packages marked at that price. But since it was kind of like stealing (only kind of, it was technically and legally on sale for twelve cents), I only bought one package. Of course, when I got home, my husband couldn't figure out why I didn't buy ALL the packages. I like to think that I gave someone else the unadulterated joy of finding mismarked meat.

So what to do when life gives you mismarked meat? Make meatloaf!! (My god, I do love meatloaf.)

The best meatloaf ever, from Bon Appetit
Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 package crimini or baby bella mushrooms, stems removed and finely chopped (this should be about 1.5 cups)
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced
1 tablespoon fresh sage, minced (you could use 3/4 teaspoon each of dried if you don't have fresh)

1 1/4 lb ground beef or ground buffalo (preferably mismarked to twelve cents)
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup tomato sauce, divided
1/2 cup panko
salt and pepper
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper flakes

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and onions and cook until softened, about four minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the thyme and sage. Let it cool slightly.

Dump the ground meat, egg, 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce, panko and salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add in the mushroom mixture, and VERY GENTLY, using your hands, combine everything together. (Have you ever had a really tough, not delicious meatloaf? It could be because the meat was squished and squashed to death in between someone's fingers.) Dump this on a sheet pan, and form a loaf-like shape.

Cook in the oven for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the remaining 1/4 cup tomato sauce with the hot pepper flakes in a small bowl. Remove the loaf of meat from the oven, and cover the top with the tomato sauce mixture. Cook another 2o minutes. Let it rest for a few minutes before serving.

Tiny giant-headed lady cures hangover

Have you ever watched Giada De Laurentiis on the food channel? I have several observations to share. I shall make a list.

• She is very fussy and delicate with her garnishes, and makes complicated hors d'oeuvres.
• She takes very small bites when she tastes her food.
• She is teeny tiny with a giant head. And a giant rack.

But despite all that, I actually kind of like her show. (Aside from the one she did in DC and apparently forgot her fact checker and stated all kinds of erroneous information about the District. Georgetown is IN DC, not outside of it!) As long as you ignore her weird fussiness, she can serve up simple, classic food.

And she is Italian, and therefore knows how to do a thing or two with leftovers. Those Italians, I tell you, they are a resourceful people! Once she made leftover spaghetti into pie! Spaghetti pie, that is. And let me tell you, nothing cures a hangover faster than spaghetti pie. Well, maybe an IV drip, but I don't know how to make that.

Spaghetti pie
Serves 2-4

2-3 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
at least 2 cups leftover spaghetti with tomato sauce
1/4 cup olive oil

Whisk together two eggs, milk and Parmesan cheese in a large bowl. Stir in the leftover spaghetti. The mixture should be gloppy and wet. If not, add another egg.

Heat half of the olive oil in a non-stick skillet or cast-iron pan over medium heat. Once it's good and hot, pour in the spaghetti, spreading it around evenly. Let it be - don't fuss with it. After about 8 minutes, it should be golden brown and crusty on the bottom. Loosen the edges and invert the spaghetti onto a plate. Let the rest of the oil heat up for a few seconds, then slide the spaghetti pie back in, uncooked side down, and let it cook for about 6 minutes. You can either slide it onto a serving plate, or cut wedges directly from the pan.

Note: My photo depicts spaghetti made with yellow tomato sauce, so traditional red sauce would look more, um, red.

Another way to eat syrup

Mmm, weekend breakfast. There are so many possibilities! Why have lame-o cereal and orange juice when you have time to make something that will really work to soak up whatever you drank last night? Dippy eggs, toast, and bacon? Waffles? Bagels and lox? Or (drumroll please) APPLE PANCAKE! It takes a little bit longer than your average breakfast, but that just means your loved one has time to run out to fetch you a decaf skim latte while it bakes. This is a classic in our house, and we've played with the spices and sugars enough to get it just right. Goldilocks would be proud.

Apple pancake, adapted from Dishing Up Vermont
Serves 2-4

3 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 teaspoons cinnamon (divided)
2 apples, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
maple syrup (warm, please)

Put a cast iron skillet (or other oven-proof skillet) in a 425 degree oven.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, flour, salt, vanilla and 1 teaspoon cinnamon until smooth. In a separate bowl, combine the sliced apples, brown sugar and remaining 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon.

Take the skillet out of the oven and melt the butter. Add the apples in a single layer, then pour the batter on top.

Bake the pancake for about 25 minutes, or until puffed. Serve with warm maple syrup.

So easy even a caveman could make it

There's an awesome pizza place in my hometown of Beaver, PA, called Mario's. It's BYOB, serves a-frickin-mazing wood-fired oven pizza, and makes the most delicious chicken piccata pasta. These are all factors that make it the best place to eat in downtown Beaver. Plus there's a 92% chance you'll see my brother's friend Ryan there.

Mario's is also the first place I tried what is now my favorite speedy weeknight dinner. It's called beans and greens, and it might be the best complete dinner on the planet that can be ready in less than 20 minutes. You can use any kind of greens. Kale makes a nice hearty meal, spinach is soft and silky, and swiss chard is a happy medium between the two. I probably wouldn't use collard greens, because they take forever to cook. My trick to delicous kale and chard is to cut the stem out. The stems take longer to cook, and if you leave them in, the stems can be stringy in your final product. You could also use a hard sausage (like one of those fancy sticks of salami) here with delicious results.

Beans and greens
Serves 2-3

2 links fresh sausage, or 4 oz. hard sausage
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
1 bunch greens, de-stemmed and roughly chopped (no need to de-stem spinach)
1/2 cup chicken broth, beer or water
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Heat large skillet over medium heat. If you're using fresh sausage, squeeze it out of the casing and roughly break it up with a spatula. If you're using hard sausage, chop it into 1/4 inch half moons. Either way, brown the sausage. (I never add oil when browning sausage, because it has enough fat to get going on its own.) Add the sliced onion and cook just until starting to turn translucent, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and hot pepper flakes. Cook 30 seconds. Add the greens, turning them with tongs to equally wilt them. Add the liquid, and scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. If you're using kale or chard, turn the heat to low and cover and cook until the greens are tender, about 5-7 minutes for kale and 3-5 minutes for chard. You won't need to do this for spinach, because it wilts and softens so quickly.

Stir in the beans and warm through, about 1 minute. Turn off the heat and add the vinegar. Taste your final product to see if it needs salt. Because sausage and canned beans can be really salty, you might not need any. This is also great accompanied by some crusty bread.