The oppressive heat of summer is upon us.  And by us I mean those crazy kids that live in the valley, like Kim.  So in honor of those brave souls that bear the three digit temperatures, here’s a speedy weeknight dinner or side dish you can make ahead of time.  This is great for picnics or bringing to work as leftovers as no heating is required!

Cold Orzo Salad with Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette
Makes 6 servings

For the Salad:
4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups orzo
1/4 cup oil-packed sun dried tomatoes, roughly diced
A handful of basil leaves, chiffonaded
8 oz of fresh mozarella, 1/2 inch dice
1/8 cup of toasted pine nuts (optional)

For the Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup oil-packed sun dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/2 shallot, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
Small handful of basil
Small handful of parsley
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup reserved orzo cooking broth, or water
2 tsp tomato paste (get the tube, rather than the cans and keep it in your fridge for occasions like this)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

In a large saucepan, bring broth to a boil over high heat.  Add orzo and cook according to package directions until just al dente (usually 1-2 minutes shy of the recommended cooking time).  Strain the orzo, reserving 1/4 cup of the broth, rinse it under cold water, then spread out on a sheet pan to cool.  Give this a drizzle of olive oil to prevent the orzo from clumping.

While the orzo cools, make the dressing.  In a blender or food processor combine all the ingredients except the olive oil.  Blend until smooth and then drizzle in the olive oil as the blender is running to create a thick, bright orange, emulsified dressing.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  Depending on your tomatoes, you might be inclined to add a little sugar for balance.  Prep your other salad ingredients as the orzo finishes cooling.

In a large bowl, stir together the orzo, sun dried tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, and about 3/4 cup of dressing, reserving some mozzarella for topping.  Stir to combine and taste.  Now’s the time to adjust your seasoning and dress to your liking.  I ended up with a generous cup of dressing on mine.  Tuck this in the fridge to get nice an chilly, at least 30 minutes.  When ready to serve, top with reserved mozzarella and toasted pinenuts.

Enjoy!

My dutch oven has been seeing a lot of action lately.  I suppose it’s just that time of year when you want to dig your heaviest pot out of the back of the cabinet and fill it up with wonderful ingredients and allow it to simmer away until its contents are tender, rich, and filling.  But what I love even more about these one-pot wonders is how forgiving the recipes are, which might explain why there’s as many versions of chicken cacciatore as there are cooks.  Although definitively Italian in origin, you’d be hard pressed not to know a soccer mom with a crock pot that doesn’t have her own take on this.

But back to those Italians.  Pollo alla cacciatora translates to hunter’s style chicken.  For that reason, I like my cacciatore sauce to be thick and rustic, paying tribute to vegetables and herbs that might have been foraged back in the day.  I skip the French mirepoix, no carrots or celery needed, and instead opt for some lovely Italian themed ingredients.  Sliced garlic cloves, red peppers, San Marzano tomatoes, capers, lots of fresh basil, and a crisp pinot grigio.  Ok, I made myself hungry again.

Pollo alla Cacciatora  (Chicken Cacciatore)
Serves 4-6

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup AP flour
1 whole chicken (5-6lbs), butchered into pieces (or about 8 whole chicken thighs)
1 onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced lengthwise
1-12 oz pack of mushrooms, cut into thick slices
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
4 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
1 cup white wine, preferably Italian
1 26-oz can of whole or chopped San Marzano tomatoes
1/2 tsp dried pepper flakes
2-3 tbsp drained capers (go for 3 is you like them)
A large handful of basil, chopped
Parmesan cheese for topping

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

If you’re butchering a whole chicken, I recommend prepping two thighs, two drumsticks, and splitting the two breasts in half so that you end up with 8 similarly sized pieces total (freeze the wings, back, and innards to make nice stock in the future).  But if you’re a family that fights over the dark meat, go ahead and make this dish just with the thighs.  Either way, keep that skin on and the bones in, even if you plan to remove the skin when you eat.  The skin protects the meat through the long cook time, keeping it tender and preventing it from drying out.  Season your chicken well on all sides with salt and pepper, then dredge lightly in flour, shaking off the excess.

In a dutch oven, heat 1 tbsp olive oil plus 1 tbsp butter over medium-high heat.  Brown the chicken in two batches, about 4 minutes per side until the chicken is well browned and the skin is crisp.  Set aside.

Grab those lovely sliced onions, peppers, mushrooms and the fresh thyme and drop them into the drippings.  Saute for 3-4 minutes until they begin to soften and pick up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.    Now add the garlic and saute an additional 2 minutes, just to take the raw bite out of it.  Go ahead and add some seasoning to the dish right now: a healthy pinch of salt and a good grind of black pepper.

Pour in the wine, taking time to scrape the sides/bottom of the pan to pick up any more bits, and simmer just to let some of the alcohol burn off, about 3-4 minutes.  Now dump in the tomatoes.  If you’re using whole tomatoes, you should either chop them, or get into the rustic spirit by squeezing them whole straight into the pan. Either way, be sure to add all that wonderful juice as well.  Stir in the red pepper flakes and capers, then return the chicken to the pan, along with any juices that have accumulated while resting.  Bring the whole thing to a simmer.

When the dish is simmering, cover tightly and place into the oven.  It will only take 20-30 minutes to cook the chicken through, but I like to let this slowly simmer for at least an hour until the sauce has thickened, the chicken is very tender and the dark meat is beginning to fall off the bone.  If you’ve got a full hour and a half, go for it.  The dish will only get more flavorful.  Just check on it every 30 minutes to give it a stir to make sure nothing’s sticking or getting too dark on the bottom.

While the chicken’s in the oven.  Prepare your side dish.  We served ours over top some lightly buttered spaghetti squash that we quickly steamed in the microwave.  But this dish is delicious served over everything from egg noodles, linguine, creamy polenta, or even parmesan smashed red potatoes.

When the chicken comes out of the oven, stir in most of that chopped basil, reserving a little to top each plate.  Check the sauce for seasoning.  Mine needed a little more salt and pepper and just a touch of sugar to help bring out the tomatoes’ natural sweetness.  Pile a piece or two of chicken overtop your carb of choice and dress with lots of sauce, grated parm, and a touch more of basil.  Bellissimo!

If you’re cooking for two, I recommend taking some effort out of your leftovers.  Wait til the chicken cools down, then shred it by hand, discarding the bones and skin and return the meat to the sauce.  Stir to combine then scoop it over top your leftover pasta and dream about it all the way until lunch tomorrow.

It actually rained in LA today.  Seriously?  This came as an extra shock to Firat and I after our 95 degree weekend in Cabo.  So when dinner time rolled around we were looking for something warm and comforting and also wholesome to make up for our weekend of indulgence. So we figured, hey, let’s pick up a rotisserie chicken from Yummy and some veggies.  Alas, everyone else in Playa Vista had the same idea and our no-fuss dinner plans were foiled.  But have no fear, inspiration struck exactly when it was needed.

I’ve been known to whip up some spaghetti squash on occasion and lately I’ve been dressing it with pesto sauce.  So I took the same concept and prepared it with zucchini noodles.  The bright, sweet flavor of the basil is such a perfect compliment to the fresh, summery zucchini.  I rounded out the meal with some quick chicken paillards.  Let me tell you, not only was the pasta not missed, I truly believe the zucchini elevated the dish with its gentle flavor and crisp al dente texture.  Plus, you get all the comfort of a bowl of pasta with none of the heaviness associated with a carb-heavy meal nor the giant pot of scalding water.  The real trick to making this a weeknight meal is having a mandolin with a julienne blade attachment or a julienne peeler.  That will make extremely quick work out of an otherwise tedious job of slicing the zucchini noodles.

Chicken Paillards and Zucchini Noodles with Pesto Sauce
Serves 2

2 chicken breasts, butterflied open
5 smaller zucchinis, about 2 lbs
1/4 cup homemade pesto
1/4 cup half and half
1.5 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving

To make zucchini noodles, run your zucchini through a mandolin with its julienne blade attached.  Alternatively, cut zucchini into slices lengthwise, then stack and slice into thin long strips.  Uniformity is key here to make sure the noodles cook quickly and evenly.

Place a large skillet over high heat and add oil.  Season your chicken well with salt and pepper, then coat in flour.  Cook quickly over high heat, allowing chicken to brown nicely before flipping, about 5 minutes on the first side and 3 minutes on the 2nd.  Remove chicken from pan and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium-high then toss in all the zucchini noodles.  Saute about 4 minutes, tossing the zucchini regularly to ensure even cooking.  Add in the pesto and half and half and stir gently until the sauce is blended and evenly coating the noodles.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Allow to cook 1-2 minutes more, just until the zucchini starts letting off some of its water.  For a thicker sauce, remove noodles from pan and allow sauce to continue simmering 1-2 minutes more until reduced.  Place chicken over the stack of noodles, then drizzle the pesto sauce over the dish.  Top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

You can easily trade out the chicken in the recipe for shrimp, or lose the meat all together and reduce the oil to 1 tbsp, serving as a side dish instead of a main.  Either way, I really hope you give this recipe a go.

Sometimes all you want is a simple spaghetti! However, if you are my boyfriend, you tend to be very, very picky about the sauce, how it’s made, and especially how it tastes. He does not like any store bought sauce. I guess peoples of Italian descent feel the same. And now I have been schooled in the ways of sauces!

The following recipe is a Bolognese Meat Sauce via the boy’s mom with a little bit of my own addition and experimentation.


- 1 Large Can of Diced Tomatoes
- 1 Small Can of Diced Tomatoes
- 1 Small Can of Tomato Paste
- 2 Pounds (give or take) of Ground Beef
- Half a Very Large Onion
- 3 Sticks of Celery
- A Handful of Baby Carrots
- A Handful of Baby Portobello Mushrooms
- Wheat Pasta
- Cayenne Pepper
- Crushed Chili Flakes,
- Sweet Basil

It does take quite a long time for the sauce to stew. So if you’re planning on having it for dinner, I would recommend starting it around or after lunch so it can brew and stew and get into a lot of yum.

First, dice up all the onion, celery, and carrots.
The mushrooms I left a little chunkier and less dice-e-er.
If you don’t like a particular item in this list, you can totally substitute whatever veggie you want! It will still be yum. I just happen to super love onions so I put a lot of that in.

Next in a very large pot, I add about 1/3th cup of Olive Oil. Give or take. And put in a lot of garlic. I just rampantly throw it in cuz I loves the garlic, but if you don’t, you can use less.
Let that badboy cook and get all scented garlicly in yo face, yo!

Throw in the diced veggies (except the mushes) and let it cook for about 10 minutes or until the onions start to get clear.

Now throw in the mushes!
Cook for 3-5 minutes, until they’ve soaked in some of the juices.

Then we throw in the meat! ALL at once, oh yeah, bebe, just like that!

Also add the basil and a dash of the spices.

When the meat is about 75% cooked, and looks like this, throw in the tomato cans, minus the cans!

Mix it around for a while and let it cook on a low heat for about an hour. Stir occassionaly. This if my favorite part cuz it requires little attention.

After an hour, turn off the heat and mix. Allow it to sit there until it’s time for dinner! It will still be warm, but if you want it hotter, turn the heat to low and let it get hotter.

So when dinner comes around, time to make zee pasta!

Boil water, add salt, add pasta!
The salt will help keep the pasta from sticking together while cooking. No fancy salt is needed, regular girl with umbrella in the rain salt shall do!

Next, dump the pasta into some cold water and strain it. Wash the salt off good. (:
Put in a bowl and pour a little olive oil onto it. The olive oil will keep the pasta from sticking together while it sits on the counter, in your refigerator, tummy, loved one.

Plate, bowl, and serve!

After that delicious ultimate steakums dinner this week, I guilted myself into craving something a little lighter. I stumbled upon my love for spaghetti squash back in my South Beach days and this is one of the few dishes that still remains in my repertoire. It’s filling, tasty, and very healthful.

The ingredient list is fairly simple and is mostly things I have on hand. A medium sized spaghetti squash, a bunch a ripe roma or vine tomatoes, a medium onion, couple cloves of garlic, a bunch of fresh basil and some extra virgin olive oil.

First off, halve and clean your spaghetti squash. Discard all the seeds and fibers. It’ll look something like this:

Then stick them in a microwave safe container with about a half cup of water, cut side down please, and wrap it tightly with syran wrap. You want to trap all that good steam in there for super fast cooking.

Now nuke it in the microwave for a solid 13 minutes. I know that seems like a mightly long time for anything in the microwave, but it really steams it perfectly. If you’re weirded out by microwave radiation, feel free to roast the halves in the oven, but it takes 5 times as long and I don’t find much of a difference in taste or texture.

While the squash is happily steaming away, nows the time to whip up a quick fresh tomato sauce for it. Give your onion, tomato and garlic a good small dice. Start by sauteing your onions in some extra virgin olive oil over medium-high heat. Give them about a 5 minute head start to get soft before adding the finely minced garlic. Once you can start to smell the garlic, add in all the diced tomatoes and juices. Like this. Be sure to stop and admire Firat’s fine tomato dicing. Oh and photography.

Give this a shimmy shake and let it cook down for 5-10 min on medium heat while the squash halves cool down a bit. Now’s a good time to add in your salt/pepper. Also, if my tomatoes arn’t beautifully in season, I’ll throw in a 1/2 tsp of sugar to help balance out the flavors.

Back to that squash. Those suckers are reeeeally hot, so be careful with this next step. When they’re cool enough to handle (or you’re impatient enough to grab one with a towel) carefully scrape out the strands of the squash with a fork. I like to do one side, then the other, before dumping all the strands from one half out into a bowl. I find it helps keep the strands as long and intact as possible.

Now the final step! Dump the faux spaghetti strands into your sauce and stir to coat evenly with the sauce. I throw in a handful of chopped basil and another swirl of your good extra virgin olive oil to finish it. Make sure to check your salt/pepper seasonings now, since the squash can be a little bland. And don’t forget to throw on some freshly grated parm cheese!

We served ours up tonight with some grilled chicken tenders to complete our light and delicious dinner!

Ok, it probably won’t replace pasta for everyone, but the squash retains a nice al dente bite to it that’s crisp and fresh without being chewy like pasta sometimes can. And its extremely versatile. It can hold up to any pasta sauce, like alfredo or pesto. Some nights we add small bites of fresh mozzarella to the fresh tomato sauce for a caprese style squash side dish. It can be served hot, like a pasta dish, or room temperature like a pasta salad. Any way you make it, I hope you guys enjoy this as much as we do!