Apartment Dining

Ramsey and I have been trying to keep our weekly grocery bills under fifty dollars without sacrificing too much flavor and variety in our weeknight meals. A well stocked pantry of dry goods, new cooking methods, and planning weekly menus are three great techniques to achieve this, but sometimes you just stumble upon a combination of cheap, (mostly) fresh ingredients that create a great dish.

A prime example of this took place this evening when I made a simple dinner of spinach fettuccine with peas. While it sounds boring, the addition of onion, lemon zest, and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese resulted in an expensive-tasting meal for four that cost $5.68. » Read the rest of this entry «

There was a pizza disaster in my kitchen a few months ago. I tried to make a simple pizza topped with zucchini and tomato, but something went horribly wrong. The combination of bad dough and the moisture of the toppings led to a blob of undercooked, misshapen crust and vegetables that not even our agile hamster would want to nibble on. Ramsey and I ordered take-out instead.

My pizza stone and peel went unused until last week when I finally worked up the courage to try again, inspired by my abundance of homegrown basil. I was also armed with a different dough recipe and the determination to keep trying until I got it right. Luckily, I got it (mostly) right on my first attempt. » Read the rest of this entry «

There are two basil plants thriving on the mantle in my bedroom. I picked them up at the farmer’s market in February and they have not only been a great help to my recipes, but my wallet as well. Rather than spending two dollars for a small box of fresh basil leaves at the supermarket, I just walk ten feet, cut a few leaves off of the plants, and I’m ready to go.

The plants recently reached a stage of being weighed down by the amount of leaves that have sprouted. For the good of the plants and my dinner plans, I decided to have a basil harvest this week. It started with a simple Tomato and Basil Pasta. » Read the rest of this entry «

Remember the classic children’s book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, about a town where food falls from the sky for each meal? I found out recently that they’re turning it into a computer animated movie. Although the creators of “Clone High” have written and directed it, I highly doubt it will satisfy a generation for whom the book carries such strong feelings of nostalgia. I don’t know about you, but for me the book inspired many crayon drawings of houses and trees covered in a variety of foodstuffs. (I also understand they’re aiming for the twelve and under set rather than the jaded twenty-somethings in my peer group. The studios are betting we’ll all just go see the film version of Where the Wild Things Are, drawn in by a Dave Eggers screenplay, Spike Jonze’s direction, and a trailer that includes an Arcade Fire song. They’re betting right in my case, but such is life [link probably NSFW].)

Looking up information on a movie about meatballs falling from the sky naturally led me making meatballs in my kitchen. I’ve made meatballs only once before and while they turned out okay, they were far from great. After seeing a number of recipes around the web that combined ground beef with a number of other meats, I decided to try mixing ground beef and pork to create a more flavorful meatball. An additional twist was my use of whole wheat breadcrumbs instead of the traditional Italian breadcrumbs, which I believe added a very subtle nutty and sweet flavor. The recipe and more photos after the jump. Warning to vegetarian/vegan readers: raw meat photos ahead. » Read the rest of this entry «

During my recent series of pre-trivia night dinners, I made a lot of pasta. I wanted all meals to be vegetarian so anyone who came could partake. Each meal also had to require only a fork to eat because we don’t have a kitchen table and trying to wield a knife with a plate on one’s lap can end in disaster.

Pasta dishes became a bit old after a few weeks and I decided to mix things up with spanakopita, one of my favorite Greek foods. This spinach and phyllo dough dish is sometimes served as a pie, roll, or in individual turnover-sized triangles as I’ve done here. You can modify the size of the triangles and amount of filling to make small portions for an appetizer or party snack. You’ll find a recipe and informative graphics after the jump. » Read the rest of this entry «

I’ve been trying to keep food bills to a minimum the past few months, so Ramsey and I have been eating a lot of chicken and pasta. There are endless pasta variations that can be easily improvised, but I’ve been searching for more ways to prepare chicken beyond my standbys of roasting and pan-searing. A quick flip through my cookbook library yielded a technique I had never tried in my kitchen before: braising. It calls for searing meat and/or vegetables in a bit of oil, then slowly simmering them in flavorful liquid until they’re cooked through. It’s easy, delicious, and best of all, it’s cheap.

» Read the rest of this entry «

After graduating from college, I lived in Rochester for a year. It remains my favorite city in upstate New York because of the architecture of the mansions on East Ave, places like the Dryden Theatre, and overall ease of getting around. My apartment was on a dense, tree-lined street near downtown, but in ten minutes I could be driving through the Western New York countryside. Also, even though many of its big businesses are hurting, Rochester and its suburbs seem to lack the overwhelming feeling of decay found in most upstate cities. It could be due to the sixteen colleges in universities within an hour radius, or the fact that Wegmans (the best supermarket chain in existence) was founded there.

Rochester’s food scene is also vibrant, full of a variety of restaurants representing just about every kind of cuisine out there. One of my favorites is Sinbad’s, a Lebanese restaurant just a few blocks from my old apartment. My stand-by was their kofta kabob in a pita and it’s something I’ve had a craving for over the past few weeks. Thus, I decided to try and recreate the flavor in my kitchen. » Read the rest of this entry «

After many attempts to make pasta from scratch without a pasta machine, I finally gave up. I could never get the dough thin enough, which resulted in bowls of thick, chewy noodles that didn’t catch sauce well. I will wait until better financial times to spring for a machine, but in the meantime, I decided to try a pasta that doesn’t require creating near-paper thin sheets of dough: gnocchi.

Gnocchi are small dumplings that are typically made from either potato or ricotta, along with egg and a bit of flour. Common gnocchi variations include sweet potato, pumpkin, and potato with spinach, but you can experiment with just about any starchy vegetable. They’re best when matched with a light marinara sauce or pesto, as they can be a heavy meal. Here’s a recap. » Read the rest of this entry «