Italian Night!

"The trouble with eating Italian food is that five or six days later you're hungry again." -George Miller

A couple of weekends ago, Adrienne (a fellow Blue Devil) and I caught a Saturday morning train out of the city and rode it all the way to Red Bank, New Jersey. We were visiting Deech (yet another fellow Blue Devil) and his parents. The three of us planned to spend all of Saturday and Sunday lounging by the pool, playing games, watching movies, and more or less being on vacation. What I hadn't planned for was Mrs. DiChiara, who, by being the matriarch of an Italian family of four boys (plus Dad), had evolved into the ultimate cooking machine. Seriously- I have never eaten so much delicious food in my entire life!

The beauty of the Italians is that they have a very apparent love for food. I think back to the best Italian meals I've had in my life: Mom's chicken parm, linguini alfredo a la Giovanni (a foul-mouthed Italian chef from Chapel Hill), Mrs. DiChiara's lasagna... and I realize something. What makes real Italian cuisine so damn delicious is that it comes at you full force: no counting calories or even thinking about leaving the table without seconds. Eat, drink, and be merry! And trust me- when you know how to make a dish that dances on your tongue with every bite, you'd eat the Italian way too.

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Speaking of awesome moms, K's mom (Mrs. H) was kind enough to make an awesome donation to New Chefs: an ICE CREAM MACHINE!

This sucker is from 1989. Read that again: NINETEEN EIGHTY-NINE. How completely awesome is this thing? New Chefs is proud to call the Oster Quick-Freeze our first ice cream maker :D (Thanks Mrs. H!)

So here Karl and I are: it's Sunday, and we've got nothing to do but plan our dinner. Could it get much better than this? After perusing Food Gawker for a bit, we came upon what looked like the most delicious sounding ice cream recipe ever: Nutella & Mascarpone Ice Cream with Hazelnut Praline. *drool* And following the DiChiara example, we decided to accompany dessert (yes, that's right: accompany it) with Stuffed Shells and roasted zucchini squash.

One thing I really like about making your own ice cream is that it requires patience- lots of patience. But with patience comes great reward. K and I started the ice cream making process early. By early afternoon, we were already shelling hazelnuts, the banging of the meat tenderizer and popping of the shells confusing the dogs terribly. As we waited for the sugar to melt into caramel on the stovetop, we practiced saying 'mascarpone' and stole secret tastes of the delicious cheese. By the time we were mixing in the cream and nutella, we could barely keep our fingers out of the bowl- the flavor had already reached a level of decadence unlike any ice cream I've tasted before. We hastily moved the bowl's contents to the ice cream machine and gave it about ten minutes of ice cold whipping before the motor began to roar with fatigue. However short, that little bit of whipping was all it needed before the cream went into the freezer. Then it was just time to wait...

The afternoon puttered along at a wonderfully slow pace. We lounged and played Yahtzee and napped and before we knew it, it was time for dinner prep. We had a lot ahead of us. Our first goal was to make meatballs- really good ones that tasted awesome just on their own. Then, we planned to stuff each of our giant pasta shells with ricotta, meatball, mozzarella, and a hint of basil. Lastly, we wanted to make a tomato and cream sauce to top the shells off. It was quite ambitious, but we had a vision!

I've come to realize that making a really good meatball takes a certain level of magic. There are so many variables in the cooking- egg to bread crumb ratio, how much you mix the ingredients, frying versus baking- that to get the meatballs just right is tough. That said, here are a few tips that may help: 1) don't overmix the ingredients (a rough mix is best); 2) baking is healthier and much easier than frying; 3) if you trust the source of your meat, I would recommend tasting a small piece of the mixture before cooking it. What better time is there to make sure it tastes just right?; 4) soaking your bread crumbs in a bit of milk before mixing them in will keep them from drying out the mix. And that's about it! Hopefully your meatballs will come out tasting as wonderful as ours did :)

Lucy waited patiently to have a taste of a meatball :)

Once the meatballs were done, we began to assemble the shells....

A spoonful of ricotta...

...meatball and basil...

...topped with mozzarella...

Until this...

became this...

The shells went into the oven (along with sliced zucchini), and K and I went right to work on the final element of the meal: the sauce.

Now this sauce recipe is one that any aspiring chef ought to know. This is probably one of the first homemade tomato sauce recipes that I ever came upon, and it has certainly stood the test of time- as evidenced by us using it for this meal! The idea is simple: saute chopped garlic and onions in a tbsp of butter or olive oil (or mascarpone in this case). Stir in a can of diced tomatoes and turn up the heat so the water begins to boil off. When there's only about 1/2 inch of water/juice remaining, add the cream and simmer. And of course, throw in appropriate spices (salt, pepper, oregano...). Super simple!

The final meal was fantastic. K and I stuffed ourselves silly, drank most of a bottle of red wine, and still managed to clean up afterwards. The stuffed shells captured that incredible lasagna flavor, but in a neat, "fine-dining" appearance. As we had hoped, layering the cheeses and meatball inside of the shells gave each individual flavor its opportunity to be tasted within the context of the whole bite. And the ice cream...? Oh heavens...I may never eat store-bought ice cream again. The sweet, creamy, decadence that was every bite of this ice cream made me want to melt with joy. I'm drooling just thinking about it!

So take a night and do it up Italiano style. (A bit of a warning though: if you tackle all of these recipes in one night, you're going to feel as full as a caterpillar's sock drawer.) Bon appetit!

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Nutella & Mascarpone Ice Cream with Hazelnut Praline

• 3/4 c whole milk
• 1 1/2 c heavy whipping cream (lightly whipped)
• 4 oz mascarpone cheese
• 3/4 c sugar
• 1 egg
• 4 tbsp nutella
• 1/2 c hazelnuts (shelled)
• (another) 1/2 c sugar
• fresh strawberries

1. Heat the milk in a pan. While it warms, beat together 3/4 c of sugar, the mascarpone cheese, and the egg in a bowl.
2. Still whisking, pour the hot milk into the mixture. Return the entire mixture to the pan and cook over medium heat until it becomes a smooth custard. Once it's thickened, take it off the heat.
3. Pour the mixture into a bowl, allowing it to cool. Once cooled, add the lightly whipped whipping cream. Then stir in the Nutella.
4. Churn the mixture according to your ice-cream maker's instructions OR put the cooled mixture into a covered container. Place it in the freezer and whip it every hour for 3 hours as it freezes. You can whip it using either an electric whisk, by hand, or in a food processor.
5. Hazelnut praline: Roast the shelled hazelnuts for 8-10 minutes at 350 deg F on a foil-covered baking sheet. Rub the dark, outer skin off the hazelnuts once they have cooled. Meanwhile, put the sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat. The sugar will begin to caramelize; stir the sugar slowly and constantly, until it caramelizes into a medium amber and is completely fluid. Place the hazelnuts on a (lightly greased) sheet of baking paper and cover them with the caramel. Allow the caramel to set hard before breaking into fine pieces.
6. Serve the ice cream with a sprinkling of hazelnut pralines and fresh strawberries.

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New Chefs Meatballs

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 c chopped parsley
• 1/3 c parmesan cheese
• 1/3 c minced onion
• 1 egg
• 2 slices sourdough bread (toasted to dark brown, with crusts cut off)
• 1-2 tbsp milk
• salt, pepper
• oregano

1. Place the toasted sourdough bread in a plastic bag and seal tightly. Break the bread up until you've got just bread crumbs. Add the milk slowly, mixing the bread crumbs in it as you go. You want the breadcrumbs to be thoroughly wet, but not in so much milk it's like cereal.
2. In a large bowl, combine beef, parsley, parmesan, onion, egg, milk/bread crumbs, 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp salt, and 2 tsp pepper. Mix roughly, spreading the non-beef ingredients throughout, but don't overmix. If you feel comfortable with the cleanliness of your meat-source, taste a small bite of the mixture. This is the best opportunity to make alterations to the flavor of your meatball, so make any changes you deem appropriate.
3. Mold the mixture into 1 1/2" balls, placing them about an inch apart from one another on a tin-foil-covered baking sheet. Bake at 375 deg F for 25 to 30 minutes.

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Tomato Cream Sauce

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 tbsp basil, chopped
• 3/4 tsp white sugar
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 c heavy cream
• 1 tbsp butter

1. In a saucepan, saute onion, garlic, and olive oil over medium heat.
2. Add tomatoes, basil, sugar, oregano, salt and pepper. Boil for 5 minutes. Add cream and butter, lower heat, and saute for 5 more minutes.

Ostrich: The Other Red Meat

"An ostrich with its head in the sand is just as blind to opportunity as to disaster."

Oh hai there.

Honestly, I couldn't have asked for a better day than yesterday. Being a lazy Sunday, I was able to sleep in (you know you're a grown-up when sleeping until 10 am counts as "sleeping in") and lounge in bed before catching a late-morning bus to New Jersey. The bus let me off in Tenafly, a quaint borough where I've spent many an afternoon waiting to transfer from one bus route to another. Today, however, K drove over from his place in Norwood and met me for brunch and a stroll through downtown.

In all honesty, Tenafly isn't exactly a booming town, and the downtown strip is typically pretty quiet. Yet, as my bus skirted the first row of stores indicative of my arrival to town, my eyes widened from what I saw. I immediately texted K: "Oh my godddddd....tenafly is a goldmine today :)" There, in the parking lot on the edge of town, was a farmers' market.

Before we could adequately shop the farmers' market, K and I knew we needed energy, AKA: coffee. Luckily, in the center of town, there's an old train station turned cafe: Cafe Angelique. We grabbed the last table on the patio (you know how Sunday brunchtime can be), ordered coffees and a croissant each, and kicked back to watch the other customers. To the man in the tight pink shirt: your shorts were uncomfortably short. Fix that please.

K and I wrapped up and began making our way towards the market, noting along the way that most every store we passed was closed for Sunday (clearly not the busiest town). The market turned out to have a pretty good selection, all things considered: a vendor selling coffee, two tents with tons of vegetables, and a guy selling...ostrich meat?!

This friendly vendor (who I believe is named Todd) was representing Roaming Acres Farm, an ostrich and emu farm out in Sussex County. Todd explained to us how ostrich meat, despite coming from a bird, is considered red meat. It is incredibly lean (his filets were 99% fat free) and is high in iron (up there with venison). In fact, ostrich meat is lower in calories, cholesterol, and fat than skinless chicken and turkey. Honestly, if it weren't for the price, I'd consider ostrich meat my meat of choice.

Todd went on to tell us that at Roaming Acres Farm, the ostriches are raised until they're 12-18 months old. Ostriches grow very fast during this time and eat upwards around 4 1/2 lbs of feed every day. This leads to the higher price (we paid $12 for a 6 oz filet), but it means that the farmers don't have to add any growth hormones. K and I were sold. Two filets please!

Dinner was quite the treat; K sauteed the filets for ~4 1/2 minutes on either side in a little bit of oil, seasoning lightly with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. We accompanied the meal with delicious rosemary potatoes, roasted onions and bell peppers, and slices of fresh heirloom tomatoes. Excellente!

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Roasted Rosemary Potatoes

• 4 medium red potatoes
• 3 tbsp butter (melted)
• 3-4 sprigs rosemary
• salt, pepper, garlic powder, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375 deg F.
2. Cut potatoes into bite-sized wedges. Toss potatoes in melted butter to coat them.
3. Cover a baking sheet with tin foil, and lay potatoes on top in a single layer.
4. Remove the needle-like leaves from the stem of two rosemary sprigs and sprinkle them over the potatoes. Lay remaining rosemary sprigs on top.
5. Season lightly with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
6. Cook potatoes for 40 minutes, checking after ~35 with a fork to see if the potatoes are tender.

We Got the Beet!

"The beet is the most intense of vegetables. The radish, admittedly, is more feverish, but the fire of the radish is a cold fire, the fire of discontent, not of passion. Tomatoes are lusty enough, yet there runs through tomatoes an undercurrent of frivolity. Beets are deadly serious." -Tom Robbins

Reader! Long time, no see. A minor tragedy has befallen K and myself: our camera has turned up missing. :( Sad news, and it's provided a bit of setback for NewChefs. My motivation to blog is a bit reduced when I can't show you guys how delicious these meals are. But alas, the kitchen called, and I'm going to make do with pics from Google Images for the time being.

That said...

BEETS!

The beet is a magnificent vegetable that has long gone by the wayside. But why? Perhaps it is because when people think beets, they usually think of those bland, purple discs that you often find on the salad bar. Yet the beet is so much more than that!

I admit, I feel the desire to wax poetic- much like the author Tom Robbins, who managed to idolize the beet through most of his book Jitterbug Perfume. I remember reading his novel and wondering what was with his beet fascination...

Fast forward to today: Tuesday. Not much different than any other day, except for the fact that on Tuesdays, a farmers' market sets up shop just outside of my work building! People: find your local farmers' market. These places are just...wonderful. For less than $10, I bought a TON of fresh, delicious veggies. Could I have been much happier? Probably not. (Veggies make me smile.) But the most off-the-wall buy for me was a bunch of beets.

Beets. Beets. Beets. I remember when I was young, if I was in trouble, my punishment would often be to consume some food that I didn't like. I remember eating bowls of collard greens, glasses of tomato juice, and once...a small glass of beet juice. It's a shame that I was so turned off by these foods as a kid! If only I had known the joys of the beet!

Beets have vitamins A, B, and C. The greens are packed with more vitamins than the root, and actually have more iron than spinach! But let's focus on the root:

• Beet roots (the red part) are a great source of choline, folic acid, iodine, manganese, organic sodium, potassium, fiber, and good carbs.
• Beets' iron content, while not that high, is of the finest quality for the body to use in the making of blood.
• Beets have long been known to have healing effects for ailments such as...anemia, atherosclerosis, blood pressure, cancer, constipation, ulcers, kidney ailments, gout, and even varicose veins...among others.

The detoxifying effects of beets are so strong that people who begin consuming beets for the first time may want to ease into it; the juice can cause a mild dizziness from the removal of the body's toxins- though there is nothing to worry about. (Drinking plenty of water will help flush out those toxins.)

So anywho- enough about beets. On to the recipe!

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Seasonal Soups: Beet & Citrus Soup

• 2 large beets
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 large green onions
• 4 c water
• 1/2 pint heavy cream
• 1 large orange
• 2 lemons

1. Rinse beets, removing dirt (but not outer layer). Cut off greens, leaving about 1 inch to prevent bleeding of the beets. Place beets in a large pot and cover with at least an inch of water. Bring water to a boil; boil beets for 20-60 minutes, or until tender with just a bit of resistance. Larger beets will take a bit longer to soften.
2. Pour out hot beet water and run cold water over beets to cool them. While running under cold water, rub away the outer layer of the beets. Cut beets into ~1 inch cubes.
3. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Cut up the white and light green parts of the green onions, and saute this for a minute in the olive oil.
4. Using a blender or food processor (my kingdom for a food processor!), puree the beets in parts. I would advise using a cup of water with a quarter of the beets so that you don't burn out your blender. Place the pureed beets and any unused water in the saucepan with the onions and oil.
5. Turn up the heat, bringing the mix to a simmer and stirring regularly. Add the cream and juice from the orange and lemons. Continue to simmer ~20 minutes.
6. Serve hot or cold.

Number of times I managed to use the word beet in this post: 37

A New Way to Eat Lasagna

"The ear tests words as the palate tastes food." -Job 34:3

New Chefs has been riding high on the 'learn a new word' and the 'bananas are awesome' themes recently, so for this post I'd like to bring the two together. Introducing...

the Pastelón!

"Heavens to Murgatroyd!" you might be saying. But fear not, readers! The pastelón is your friend. And what a friend it will be...

New Chefs' discovery of pastelón came about when my dear friend Chelsea noticed that plantains were being sold 10 for a dollar at a store in my neighborhood. I was quite hesitant at first. I mean... have you seen what a ripe plantain looks like?!

(the ones on the left there)...

Ripe plantains look alarmingly like rotting bananas. Well...Cavendish bananas...since plantains are technically bananas too. And if I had a banana that ripe, I'd be making banana ice cream out of it as a last resort!

Yet as it turns out, when plantains do get this black, they're quite acceptable for cooking- as are the green plantains. It all depends on which flavor you want. When the plantain is green, it's starchy and works well with savory flavors. When the plantain is black, the taste is much sweeter.

So we had an abundance of plantains... (By the way, plantain season runs from May to September, so you'll have an abundance too.) What we decided to do, thanks to a recipe found on Food Gawker, was make pastelón.

The pastelón, in the simplest sense, is like lasagna- but with plantains instead of pasta. Honestly, I would tout this recipe as the best to hit the site yet. This pastelón has such a unique flavor- perhaps because I don't traditionally eat Puerto Rican cuisine. It's sweet...and yet savory...and the colors, oh, the colors! Whatever the case, I insist you give this a try. Other than the plantains, you've probably got most of the ingredients in your kitchen!

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Pastelón

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 onion, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small green pepper, minced
• 1 small orange pepper, minced
• 1 c chopped cilantro
• 2 tsp adobo
• 2 tsp oregano
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• 1 envelope sazón seasoning
• 8 green stuffed olives, quartered
• 1/2 c raisins
• 1/4 c diced tomatoes
• 4 plantains, peeled and sliced into strips (try and get them when they're very black)
• 3 eggs
• 2 tbsp milk
• 2 cups shredded white cheese
• vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9 x 9 pan with cooking spray or butter.
2. Mix beef, onion, peppers, garlic, cilantro, adobo, oregano, vinegar, and sazón in a bowl.
3. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil and add meat mixture. Cook the mixture until the beef is brown and the juices bubble clear. Add the olives, raisins, and tomatoes. Mix and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. In a large frying pan, heat up enough vegetable oil to coat the bottom. Fry the plantain slices for about 2-3 minutes on each side, or until they are golden and a bit crispy. Place cooked slices on a plate with paper towel to drain.
5. Piece together the pastelón in the square pan. First, make a layer of plantains. Cover this with half of the meat mixture, then a fistful of cheese. Make a second layer of plantains and cover with remaining meat mixture. Add another handful of cheese and one final layer of plantains.
6. Beat eggs and milk together. Pour over the pastelón and give it a minute to soak in. Add more cheese here if you like!
7. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes and enjoy :)

What Are...Curds?

"Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet, eating her curds and whey..." -Traditional nursery rhyme

Do you know what curds and whey are?! Because nobody ever really told me, and it was because of a recipe (after the jump) that I learned something new. Read on...

So....I wanted to make a lemon meringue pie dipping sauce, but really just the yellow part of the pie. This got me to thinking: what is that yellow stuff called? My first thought was meringue, but as it turns out, that's the white stuff on top! But it's not just lemon....hm.

I turned to Lord Google to investigate the name of that delicious yet elusive goo between the meringue and crust of these delectable pies. The answer? Fruit curd.

A la Lady Wikipedia, I learned that fruit curd is "a dessert spread and topping usually made with lemon, lime, orange or raspberry. The basic ingredients are beaten egg yolks, sugar, fruit juice and zest which are gently cooked together until thick and then allowed to cool." I was quite pleased to have learned a new word, but then I started wondering about Little Miss Muffet and her curds and whey.

The question was this: Why had I always imagined curds and whey to be something akin to very soggy, plain oatmeal? And if it tasted anything like fruit curd, then why the heck haven't I had it before?!

Back to Lady Wikipedia... "Curds are a dairy product obtained by curdling milk with rennet..." You know those chunks you get in your milk when it sours? Those are "natural curds." And what's rennet you ask? Well rennet is an enzyme produced in mammals' stomaches, and the rennet often used to make curds is gathered from cows. Now, I'm an adventurous eater, but this goes a bit beyond my tastes even. Plus my recipe called for neither milk nor rennet. So what makes a curd a curd then?

A bit more reading revealed this: fruit curd is similar to traditional curds in that it is the result of proteins being globbed together. In a fruit curd, eggs are substituted for milk. Since both are heavy in protein, both can be used to produce that gooey consistency. And instead of rennet, an acidic fruit juice is used. The acids work similarly to the rennet to cause those proteins to clump together.

And that's what I learned today! Now reward yourself with this delicious dessert:

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Ricotta Fritters with Lemon Curd

Ingredients for Ricotta Fritters:

• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups ricotta (about 1 pound)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• Corn or canola oil
• Cinnamon
• Brown sugar

Directions

1. Beat the eggs, ricotta, and vanilla together in a large mixing bowl. Sift the flour, sugar, and baking powder on top, and fold the mixture together until it is a homogenous if not entirely smooth batter.
2. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Bring 2 inches of oil to 375 degrees in a wide skillet. Add tablespoon-sized lumps of batter to the oil, working in batches as necessary to avoid crowding the pan. Fry the fritters for about 4 minutes, flipping them once mid-fry to ensure that each side turns a deep golden brown.
3. Remove them to a paper towel-lined sheet pan and put the pan in the oven. Let the oil return to temperature (375 degrees) before you fry the next batch. Put your serving platter in the oven to warm before adding the last of the batter to the pan.
4. Toss fritters in a bowl with some brown sugar and cinnamon to lightly coat them.

Ingredients for Lemon Curd:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 1 lemon, zested
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 egg yolks, beaten

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1 cup sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in water, lemon juice and lemon zest. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in butter.
3. Place egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually whisk in 1/2 cup of hot sugar mixture.
4. Whisk egg yolk mixture back into remaining sugar mixture. Bring to a boil and continue to cook while stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat and let cool.

Original recipes can be found at Sunday Brunch and AllRecipes.

Seasonal Soups: Sweet and Spicy Gazpacho

"Cold soup is a very tricky thing, and it is the rare hostess who can carry it off. More often than not the dinner guest is left with the impression that had he only come a little earlier, he could have gotten it while it was still hot." -Fran Lebowitz

Ah, soup! Who can resist the first cheesy bite of French onion soup? Or how about the hearty aroma of minestrone? Have mercy on the kid who suffered a sick day without a sip of chicken noodle!

'Tis oft overlooked-

That kaleidoscopic group

Of foods we call 'soup.'

Karl had a brilliant idea recently- let's celebrate soup in all of its glory! Here's our goal: one year...four seasons...and twelve seasonal soups. And it begins with this post!

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Sweet and Spicy Gazpacho

A gazpacho is a tomato-based soup, hailing from the southern region of Spain called Andalusia, containing raw vegetables and served cold. This particular gazpacho combines the sweet flavors of apple and cinnamon with the spicy kick of chili pepper and cayenne powder. The most difficult part of this recipe was waiting for the soup to cool before eating it! Or perhaps the realization that pureeing vegetables in a blender is considerably more difficult than in a food processor.

Ingredients:

• 5 large ripe tomatoes
• 2 medium red-skinned apples, quarted and seeded
• 1 chili
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp fennel seeds, chopped
• 1/2 tsp brown sugar
• 1 leek, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 sticks of celery, diced
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• cinnamon, to taste
• cayenne pepper, as desired

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 deg F.
2. Place the tomatoes, apple, and chili onto a baking tray, lightly drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with fennel seeds and brown sugar. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the tomatoes are beginning to brown and the apples soft. Remove from oven and cool.
3. After they have cooled, pulse in a food processor (or blender) along with pan juices until smooth.
4. Heat a tbsp of olive oil in a large pot. Fry the leeks over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes, then add the carrots and continue to cook for a further 3-4 minutes. (The carrots are going to retain their crunchiness.)
5. Add the celery, stock, and pureed tomato mixture. Turn the heat up to high and bring the mixture to a gentle boil. Continue to simmer for 25-30 minutes, adding cinnamon to bring to desired sweetness. I would also recommend adding ~2 tsp cayenne pepper here to bring out the spiciness, but make sure to bring it to your desired heat.
6. Soup can be eaten hot, but believe me- if you can wait long enough to serve it cold (as in make it a day early and refrigerate it overnight), it will be well worth it!

Special thanks to our guest chefs, Petra and Chelsea!

Let's Start a Food Revolution!

"Hungry men think the cook lazy."

-Anonymous

So think about this. When was the last time you went out to eat? What did you order? How much did you pay? Now ponder this: could you have made it yourself?

The sad truth is that most of us go out to eat because it's more convenient than doing the cooking ourselves, and then we end up paying an embarrassing amount of money for something pretty simple. CNNMoney.com reported in 2005 that an average meal in New York City runs $37.61! And San Francisco clocked in at a close second- $35.52! This point hit me pretty hard when I ordered a Buffalo Chicken Wrap from TGI Friday's a few weeks ago and ultimately paid $10 for what could have been a $3 meal.

Well enough is enough! I, for one, am sick of getting ripped off every time I eat out. So in honor of all of you readers who are smart enough to stay in and take the time to cook, here's an easy but delicious recipe.

Bon appetit!

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Black and Bleu Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

• lettuce leaves (4-6 large leaves will do)
• 1 lb beef rounds
• 2 1/2 tbsp cajun seasoning
• 1 red bell pepper, julienned
• 1 green bell pepper, julienned
• 1 small red onion, julienned
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp bleu cheese, crumbled (or more if you really like bleu cheese!)

Directions:

1. Julienne vegetables and saute in olive oil over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes or until tender and onions clear. Remove from heat and cool.
2. Wash and separate lettuce leaves. Store in an airtight container and cool as well.
3. Place rounds in a plastic bag and add cajun seasoning. Seal bag and tenderize meat liberally, making sure to cover the meat with the seasoning as you do so.
4. Pan sear the rounds to desired doneness. Karl and I seared the rounds over a high heat for a couple of minutes on each side (flipping as little as possible). Remove rounds from heat and cut into thing slices (cutting against the grain).
5. In each lettuce leaf, place a serving of sauteed vegetables, a few slices of beef, and some bleu cheese. Serve with bleu cheese dressing to dip!